February 2018 Issue by The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

CHRONICLE THE HARVARD-WESTLAKE

Los Angeles • Volume 27 • Issue 5 • Feb. 13, 2018 • hwchronicle.com

Ross raises depression awareness

Going Viral

Illness-related absences spiked last month in one of the worst flu seasons in nearly a decade. • Continued on B8

By JOSIE ABUGOV

Head of Upper School Laura Ross expressed sympathy and offered mental health resources to students in light of a suicide of a Buckley eighth grader in an email sent to upper school students, parents and faculty Feb. 2. “While there is no way to prepare for a tragedy like this, we hope that by sharing this news within our HW community it may help in a small way to unite us in processing our own personal reactions to this traumatic loss and in allowing us to support each other,” Ross said in the email. Ross also reached out to Harvard-Westlake students who volunteer as hotline listeners for Teen Line, a nonproﬁt teen helpline based out of the Cedars Sinai Medical Center. During First and Third Wednesday assembly on Wednesday, the volunteers shared why Teen Line is a resource beneﬁcial to the student body. “Teen Line not only provides a safe, anonymous, judgment free space for a teen to take any issue, but it more importantly is with a peer, someone their age, someone who really understands and has the 200 hours of training to handle every situation, despite their age,” Teen Line volunteer Evan Keare ’18 said. Continuing conversations about mental health, implementing clubs similar to Peer Support and ensuring counselor accessibility to a student

ILLUSTRATION BY KITTY LUO

body are some of the ways Teen Line Program Director Cheryl Eskin said schools could protect their students’ mental health and diminish the stigma surrounding it. “Depression and anxiety seem to be the biggest issues we are seeing [in teens],” Eskin said. “I think schools and communities need to look at the pressures we are putting on our kids, and prioritize sleep, down time and exercise. We need to teach coping

skills, things like mindfulness or meditation, and how stress can take its toll on your body.” Similarly, upper school psychologist Sophie Wasson said that based on the topics students speak with her about, some of the biggest mental health issues within the student body seem to be academic pressure, academic and social competition and anxiety and depression. Creating more spaces on campus to discuss mental health could

alleviate some of these issues, she said. “I think [the school should have] more spaces for students to engage in conversations around what they’re going through, around wellness and about what it’s like to be a Harvard-Westlake student,” Wasson said. Eskin also emphasized the importance of having an open and receptive school culture, in which there isn’t a stigma surrounding mental health is-

sues. “I think schools, parents and peers all contribute to the pressure,” Eskin said. “Suicide is very complicated, and I don’t believe there is one cause per se, but we are seeing more and more depression and anxiety, particularly among kids in these tough environments, which is alarming.” The administration is working on a number of long• Continued on A2

Committee visits campus as part of ONLINE accreditation process, offers suggestions By ANTHONY WEINRAUB

WASC “fosters excellence in elementary, secondary, The school received prelim- adult, and post-secondary edinary recommendations from ucation by encouraging school the California Association improvement through a proof Independent Schools and cess of continuing evaluation,” according to their Western Association website. of Schools and Col“[Former Head of lege after representaSchool Jeanne] Huytives visited campus brechts asked me if I from Jan. 28-31 and would be interested in analyzed the school’s being the coordinator 75-page report. for the process, and I History teacher thought it would be Katherine Holmesa pretty interesting Chuba is leading the ’ job because I get exgroup of administraKatherine posure to parts of the tors and faculty memHolmes-Chuba school I don’t often bers coordinating the school’s efforts. She has have,” Holmes-Chuba said. been busy the past couple of “I’ve been a teacher, departmonths, working with department chair and parent, and ment heads and spearheading this was something new and the more than year-long ac- interesting. I also serve on the creditation process in which board of a different school, so I the CAIS and WASC evaluate wanted to educate myself.” Every secondary school the school and offer areas for improvement. that awards diplomas in CaliWHITE S

fornia must be accredited ev- Faculty Academic Committee, ery six to seven years, and among others. the process is fairly standard“What they ask us to do is ized regardless of type or size respond to a set of questions on of school, Associate Head of institutional purpose and core School Liz Resnick said. values, teaching and learnThe first ing, financial step of the acsustainabilcreditation proity, operations, What they ask cess involves institutional us to do is respond to composing a stewardship self-study on and leadera set of questions on areas adminisship, and iminstitutional purpose trators and facprovements in and core values.” ulty members sustainability,” recognized for —Liz Resnick Resnick said. improvement. we are reAssociate Head of School “So According to sponding to the Resnick, many same questions of these fields were areas al- every school goes through.” ready identified for improveHolmes-Chuba compiled ment in 2015 as part of Presi- the report, which was finished dent Rick Commons’ “Visions last year and edited by memfor 2020” initiative. bers of the English departThe 75-page report on the ment. school included sections filled “There are so many voices out by department heads, the • Continued on A3 athletic coordinators and the

“

QUAD TALK: Eli Adler ’18 asks students on the Quad about their second semester workload.

UPCOMING

PANORAMA ISSUE 2: Be sure to check out Panorama Magazine when it comes out next week.

A2 NEWS

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 13, 2018

Weddington opens to community BY KAITLIN MUSANTE

Weddington Golf & Tennis facilities are now open for student and employee use free of charge after the school ofﬁcially closed escrow on the property in early January. The facilities, which include tennis courts and a driving range, were purchased in October with the intention of building a Community Athletics Center, putting plans to build a new parking structure on hold following complaints from neighbors. In an effort to bridge the gap between the communities, students and neighbors are welcome to use the facilities, President Rick Commons said. “The principle that we are trying to pursue long-term is sharing the property that we own with the community at large, Studio City, and the community at Harvard-Westlake, and this seemed like a great way to continue that sharing,” Commons said.

KAITLIN MUSANTE/CHRONICLE

A SWINGING SUCCESS: A neighbor hits a golf ball on the driving range at the Weddington property. The facilities are now open to all community members. Students and faculty can swipe their school ID card to use the golf and tennis courts during the day. In order to promote further communication with the neighborhood, Commons said that the school has hosted a series of meetings with Studio City residents since escrow closed. He plans to provide more opportunities for neighbors to share their thoughts before making any decisions about the new athletics center. “We really want to make sure that as we develop plans,

we are doing so with the full understanding of what the community is interested in, which doesn’t mean that everything that the community asks for will be granted in the ﬁnal analysis, but it will certainly be considered,” Commons said. “We want the community to be happy.” Weddington golf instructor Keith Roberts said that although there have been ru-

Administration offers list of mental health resources in face of tragedy

• Continued from A1

term initiatives regarding mental health, Ross said. The upper school counseling team consists of Wasson, Assistant to the Head of Upper School Michelle Bracken, Chaplain J. Young and counselor and humanities teacher Luba Bek. The counseling team is also working with faculty and staff. “While the kids might not be hearing about it, faculty and staff are talking about [mental health issues] behind closed doors and how to best balance all the academic pressure you’re under with selfcare and being able to chill out, hang out with friends and enjoy other things, [in addition to] all the school work,” Was-

son said. This spring, students will have the opportunity to take the Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences, which Ross said can be helpful in determining the source of students’ stress. More than 100,000 students from over 150 schools have participated in the survey, according to challengesuccess.org. Additionally, the administration is planning on initiating some late start days next school year, as well as experimenting with different types of schedules, including a block schedule. Prefect Council seniors initiated a mental health committee, which consists of Prefects

In the issue

News

and Peer Support leaders Sarah Conway ’18, Eli Timoner ’18 and Prefect Princie Kim ’18. “Being a Peer Support leader, I’ve deﬁnitely been on the side of helping kids get through their mental health issues when they come up, but I think [Prefect Council’s] biggest concerns were that there isn’t enough mental infrastructure at the school and enough things put in place to protect students’ mental health,” Timoner said. The committee’s main focuses are currently mitigating workload problems, working with the administration on a potential late start policy and addressing student nicotine addiction, Head Prefect Julia Cosgrove ’18 said.

mors throughout the community about the school restricting public access following the purchase, which caused some concern, the relationship between neighbors and students has been amiable overall. “[Weddington] is a melting pot for the community and the transition [to Harvard-Westlake ownership] has been really great overall,” Roberts said. Students and faculty also

“

I think [Prefect Council’s] biggest concerns were that there isn’t enough mental infrastructure at the school and enough things put in place to protect students’ mental health.” —Eli Timoner ’18 Prefect

They hope to change the current testing policy, in which students can reschedule assessments if three or more fall on the same day, to a system where students can reschedule an assignment to a later week if they have four or more “big assignments” in a week, Timoner said. In handling student nicotine addiction, Timoner said Prefect Council aims to ensure students will receive help instead of punishment. Looking ahead to the longterm mental health initiatives, Ross emphasized the impor-

Arts & Entertainment LAW AND BORDER: Photographers and ﬁlmmakers traveled to Mexico to make projects about those deported from the United States, including war veterans. C3

victed man speaks to Criminal Law and Advocacy classes about his experiences. A6

discusses how most people have a certain image of another person even before they meet and converse with each other. A10

tance of thoroughly examining the school environment. “We want to make sure students understand what the resources are, who’s on campus and what they can do if they’re worried about a friend,” Ross said. “At the same time, it’s deeper. What is it in these competitive environments that can make kids feel less than or feel like they’re not enough? That’s the feeling that can trigger someone who has depression, other [mental health issues] or not. We want to make sure we’re looking deeper.”

NO TRIVIA-L MATTER: Students discuss their experiences playing HQ, a live trivia game of 12 questions. Players are able to win real money and play with friends and family. B8

PARTNERS IN CRIME: Wrongly con-

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Sophie Haber ’19

WHITE’S

Features

AN OPEN BOOK: Mudd Library’s closing time is now 6 p.m. to allow students to work until the late bus. Individual classrooms are locked after 4 p.m. A4

Opinion

said that they feel they have been able to foster a positive relationship with neighbors and appreciate the free access to the facilities. “I have played [at Weddington] for 11 years, so it’s been convenient having free access because those are my local courts,” Grace Swift ’19 said. “I know all the people who work and play there so my interactions with them are friendly.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIN KUWADA

#BHM: Alumni, current students and faculty members reﬂect on their experiences as people of color on Harvard-Westlake’s campus and discuss the school’s history as it relates to diversity. B1

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 873 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

Sports

GIRLS’ WAPO: After an utterly dominant league season, the team heads into the playoffs led by recent Athlete of the Month winner Pria Pant ’18. D2

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 Jiwon Park at jpark3@hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

FEB. 13, 2018

HWCHRONICLE.COM/NEWS

NEWS A3

Senior recognized for debate

By SOPHIE HABER

ILLUSTRATION BY SAM KO/CHRONICLE

Looking to the future: Deans and HW Works reintroduce Career Day after hiatus By LUKE SCHNEIDER

The upper school deans and HW Works administration announced that Career Day would be reintroduced for sophomores, following a fouryear hiatus, at class meeting Feb. 7. Career Day grants students with the opportunity to meet with a specialist in their chosen ﬁeld of interest and talk with them in order to gain a better idea of what their occupation entails. “We have a team of people working in alumni relations and we’re re-engaging our young alumni and our current students,” HW Works Administrator Zaakirah Daniels ’10 said. Daniels also said that Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Hannah Platt ’08 was able to revitalize the connec-

Corrections Former math teacher Suzanne Lee will not be writing recommendation letters for students. Performing arts teacher Ted Walch started working at the school after the merger. Skylar Graham ’20 also earned recognition in the Drexel Photography competition. Equestrian team captain Skylar Calkins ’20 was misquoted in an article. The corrected version is on hwchronicle.com

tions that the school has with younger alumni to help reintroduce the program. All sophomores were asked which professions interested them in order to best match them with someone in the alumni network. “I feel like a lot of students here are primarily driven by college, and it’s easy to forget that there’s life after college,” Daniels said. “Besides just creating relationships between parents, alumni and students, we’re looking at Career Day as a way for our students to get in touch with what drives them to be great people.” Sophia Nunez ’20 indicated her interest in shadowing professionals in the ﬁelds of art museum curating, painting and activism. “Those are my passions and I’d really like to pursue them later on in life,” Nunez

said. “We’re starting to build skills through its immersion a path for the rest of our lives program, which devotes two so it’s good to have an idea of weeks of the acedemic year where we want to go.” to experiential learning. She Many students also ex- said that she looks forward to pressed their support for having a similar opportunity learning about potential career to develop her skills outside of fields. the classroom enviGuy Hartstein ’20, ronment. who is interested in the “I’m excited to life sciences, expressed get out of the school his frustration with the element and go into difficulty of being chothe real world,” sen for an internship Poveda said. but said he is hopeful Freshman said that Career Day will that they are gratelead to more job opporful that they will be tunities. able to participate ’ “I think career day in the program next Zaakirah provides students with year. Daniels an opportunity to try “I feel that it is something they’ve never tried beneficial for students to get a before,” Hartstein said. glimpse into what life might be Emma Poveda ’20 said like after Harvard-Westlake, that she has friends at Oak- and this is a great program for wood School who have the the school to do,” Taylor Dees opportunity to learn specific ’21 said. WHITE S

Debater and Chronicle freelancer Indu Pandey ’18 won the Golden Desert Invitational Tournament at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for Lincoln Douglas debate Feb. 4. Pandey debated for a total of 495 minutes over 11 rounds on whether the plea bargain should be abolished in the U.S. justice system. “We were all really proud of her and we were sticking with her to the end, prepping with her and just giving her support,” debater Jake Davidson ’19 said. “We were all pulling for her so it was really nice that we came out of there with a win.” Pandey said she didn’t expect to win the whole tournament but felt excited that her hard work paid off. “You always go to every tournament wanting to win and putting in enough effort to warrant you winning,” Pandey said. “I worked hard and got a good result, but debate is variable so you never know.” The debate team has a lot of depth this year, with around eight or nine high level debaters, Pandey said. “The success doesn’t come from one individual person winning a debate tournament or round,” Pandey said. “It comes for the general high caliber performance of the team.” The debate team competed at the 32nd annual Stanford tournament Feb. 9-11. 50 debaters will travel to northern California Feb. 16 for the California Invitation and UC Berkeley tournament. Pandey and Jaya Nayar ’20 will compete in the Round Robin tournament. “I’m so excited to go to Berkeley because it’s one of the only tournaments all year where everyone goes, so it’s a great bonding experience for the team,” debater Lauren Morganbesser ’19 said. “Also, it’s one of the biggest and most competitive tournaments all year so I’m excited to compete.”

CAIS to give school their stamp of approval, reps give preliminary feedback to school administrators • Continued from A1

and I wanted it to seem cohesive, while also having many voices represented.” Holmes-Chuba said. The visit itself was led by Eric Niles, Head of School at The Athenian School in Danville, California. Ten administrators and financial officers from schools across California in total toured the school. “What they’re really looking at it is, ‘Is what we said in the self-study a reflection of actual practice on campus?’” Resnick said. “So they met with tons of different groups, they met with our prefects, they met with teachers, they met with administrators, they met

with the admissions office, they met with the development office, they met with the business office, they met with the athletic department, they met with parents, they met with alumni.” At the conclusion of the visit, Niles delivered a presentation to faculty, in which he identified three main areas for improvement. The first was to emphasize cultural competency and continue the school’s recent efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion. “We acknowledged this is a growth area for Harvard-Westlake, and we want to preserve our academic excellence, and we are a fairly traditional school, but there’s lots of

room for us to be academically excellent in traditional ways while still broadening our curriculum and making it more diverse,” Commons said. A recommendation includes surveying students on how their experiences align with the emphasis on happiness, balance and purpose beyond self. A comprehensive risk assessment was suggested. “It was really gratifying to hear the committee talk about how extraordinary Harvard-Westlake seems to be in every respect and how strong the school seems to be in every department, and their recommendation was rather than simply smile at that and pat ourselves on the back for

it, we need to make sure we are thinking about what risks there are to those strengths,” Commons said. Commons said that those recommendations were ones the school planned to address, and they will be discussed at a meeting of the Board Planning Committee on Feb. 28. The visiting committee will then compile a longer report to be sent later this year. Resnick credited Holmes-Chuba for “wrangling everyone to complete their sections of the report,” and after the committee members left, Holmes-Chuba’s desk was covered in pastries and a note that said, “Congratulations, Katherine!”

A4 NEWS

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 13, 2018

Policy requires classrooms to be locked after hours By KAITLIN MUSANTE

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ROSEMARY VAN VLIJMEN

SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND: Middle school math teacher Dan Reeves ’94 teaches charter school students about robotics during one of the after-school sessions, which aim to enrich students.

Shining stars: middle school runs after-school enrichment program By ELI ADLER

Harvard-Westlake partnered with Bright Star Schools to launch the HW Bridge Partnership, bringing 27 seventh graders from charter schools to the Middle School twice a week to participate in enrichment courses taught by faculty. The new program ties in closely with the core tenets of the Harvard-Westlake mission statement, according to HW Bridge coordinator and history teacher Rosemary Van Vlijmen. “In regards to our mission

statement, we want to be diverse and inclusive not only on campus, but in the community as well,” she said. “We want to be inclusive of all students and give a lot of students the chance to try things they wouldn’t be able to, further tying in to the idea of purpose beyond ourselves.” The Bridge program has provided the students with opportunities they don’t often have in their communities. “From facilities to technology in the classroom that we don’t have on our campus, our

students are being exposed to activities and learning styles they haven’t experienced before,” Stella Middle Charter Academy Dean Rob Brown said. Coming from Stella Middle Charter Academy in West Adams, Rise Kohyang Middle School in Koreatown and Valor Academy in Granada Hills, the students are spending time with other middle school students both from their school and Harvard-Westlake and taking classes that would be hard to ﬁnd in their home communities.

ever, have expressed concern about the new policy. Members of the debate Individual classrooms and gathering spaces are team, who used the open rooms now locked after 4 p.m. every to run practice rounds, said day to prevent student use that the classroom closures without adult supervision. have had a significant negaAs a result, Mudd Library tive effect on weekly practices. “When the classrooms is now open until 6 p.m. to provide students with a are closed, we can’t have the place to work until the 6:15 same type of practice because late bus departs. Previous- we are confined to one or two ly, the library was open from rooms with a debate coach,” 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday debate team member Lauren through Thursday and 7:30 Morganbesser ’19 said. “We p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. only have so many coaches, so Head of Upper School the element of supervision is detrimental. As a reLaura Ross said sult, our practices are that the school imgreatly restrained.” plemented the new Morganbesser said policy to prevent futhat the increased ture liability issues. number of library “[The classroom hours does not solve issue] was somethe problems that thing we really needthe closures present. ed to take a close “You have to be look at,” Ross said. W ’ quiet in the library “I am grateful that Julia and you definitely our library staff MacCary ’19 can’t give speechstepped up and figured out a way to shift their es or do practice debate staffing so that someone rounds,” Morganbesser said. could be in the library until “I’m sure that if we tried to six, because we didn’t want use the library as another to start locking classrooms place for debate practice that if the students didn’t have a we would get kicked out.” Although Ross said that warm, safe and quiet place to go until the late bus leaves.” she acknowledges that the Some students said that change may have an imthe extended hours have pact on certain students, she been beneficial in helping hopes that the policy will overthem to complete their work all benefit the student body. “We know that, as with “I really appreciate it because when I don’t have cheer any change in procedure or practice, I like to stay at school structure, there will be issues and get most of my work done that arise that we need to figbefore I get home,” Julia Mac- ure out how to address, but Cary ’19 said. “It was hard for we feel confident that this is me to finish all my work when a good step toward continuthe library closed at five.” ing to help ensure the safety Many students in af- and security of our students ter-school programs, how- and our campus,” Ross said. HITE S

Pianists and drummer perform for students By ZOE REDLICH

vinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” for the philosophy class. “I thought that the musiProfessional pianist Danny Holt visited the Upper School cians who came in definitely to teach classes and perform added an aspect of the unit that was more personal than for students Feb. 1-9. Holt taught five classes that any other we’ve studied befocused on musical develop- cause they let you connect ments during the 20th centu- with the material and step into that time,” ry to students philosophy stuenrolled in Philosophy in Art I thought that the dent Jarett Malouf ’18 said. and Science musicians who came Holt and classes, which in definitely added an Vanhauwaert are taught by have been visitperforming aspect of the unit that ing philosophy arts teacher was more personal.” classes for the Ted Walch and math teacher —Jarett Malouf ’18 last four years and are a part Kevin Weis. of the Kutler “It fits into Center’s initiaphilosophy because they spend the unit tive to bring in professionals really talking about aesthetic who can teach and work closeand the aesthetics of music,” ly with students in a variety of Director of Kutler Center and interdisciplinary fields. Summer Programs Jim Patter“[Holt] is a trained musison said. cian,” Patterson said. “That Pianist Steven Vanhauwaert is really his vocation. That is and drummer Mike Robbins his academic training. That is performed with Holt during his professional training. But, philosophy classes, as well as he also cares very much about during activities period. how music interacts with culHolt and Vanhauwaert ture, music interacts with the make up the critically-ac- history of the period and muclaimed piano duo 4handsLA. sic interacts with the philosoThey performed Igor Stra- phy of the period.”

“

SABA NIA/CHRONICLE

SHOOT FOR THE STARS: Laura Siahaan speaks to students about using computer science in statistics and data research. She also provided examples of how she applies this to her job at JPL.

NASA scientist speaks to Girls who Code

By SABA NIA

NASA’s Lead Data Scientist for Business Operations Laura Siahaan shared her experiences as a woman working in the computer science ﬁeld at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to members of the Girls Who Code club Jan. 29. “It’s great to have the opportunity to be here and help the students learn more about data science and to see so many eager students in this ﬁeld,” Siahaan said. After explaining how she uses computer science to ana-

lyze data for JPL’s business and hiring purposes, Siahaan described projects that required her to utilize her knowledge of statistics and programming. “It made me realize that institutions like JPL involve so many different ﬁelds that are all equally important,” attendee Jenna Wong ’19 said. After learning how computer science can intersect with business, students said that the speaker’s presentation opened their eyes to how organizations can use computer science in many ways. “I found the variety of

careers very interesting,” Clara Ross ’19 said. “I never thought about it before that within organizations such as JPL and NASA there are people using the same scientific and statistic skills to work on administration, not just sending objects into space.” Students said they appreciated hearing Siahaan’s experience and felt inspired. “It’s nice to interact with someone of a particular ﬁeld that I’m interested in and see how my club interests have real-world application,” Wong said.

FEB. 13, 2018

HWCHRONICLE.COM/NEWS

NEWS A5

Junior starts company,

aids Haiti By SOPHIE HABER

Eliza Yoon ’19 watched with disbelief as a young boy dragged a toy car made out of a plastic bottle across a dirt ﬁeld in Haiti. She was inspired to combat Haiti’s cholera epidemic after learning about it from a family friend who works in Haiti’s medical clinics. She used the money she raised through her company, The Cupcake Communities, to build latrines in Haiti. In January, she visited a village in Haiti where all of the houses were made of twigs. There was no electricity, no water and trash covered the ground. “It was heartbreaking,” Yoon said. “These people have absolutely nothing.” In villages like these, people are forced to go to the bathroom on the ground, Yoon said. This contributes to the spread of cholera, which has caused 8,183 deaths in Haiti since the cholera outbreak in 2010, according to the Center for Disease Control. She used her love of bak-

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ELIZA YOON

SISTERS AND SERVICE: Eliza Yoon ’19 and Samantha Yoon ’18 pose with the children they met while volunteering in Haiti in January. Eliza Yoon raised money through her company The Cupcake Communities where she sells cupcakes and used the money to build latrines.

ing as a way to help the community. After teaching herself how to make cupcakes by watching YouTube videos, she made her cupcakes for a local soup kitchen. This summer, she decided to sell the cupcakes and use the proceeds to help people in Haiti. Yoon created a website as a platform to sell the cupcakes,

trademarked the name and is working on making it a 501(c)3 certified nonprofit organization. She collected $6,000, which was enough to build a couple of latrines as well as make hygiene packages with toothbrushes and aquatabs to purify water. “I specifically wanted to build latrines because you

have to realize that they don’t have basic necessities,” Yoon said. “I’m hopeful that it will help the community.” Seeing the affects of her work had a powerful impact on Yoon and her sister, Samantha Yoon ’18, who helps make the cupcake orders for The Cupcake Communities and also traveled with her to Haiti in January.

Eliza Yoon said that she and her sister started crying when they started to interact with the people in the village and saw the latrines that they had raised the money to build through their organization. “It’s very emotional just to see that baking a few cupcakes and working just a little bit can help a lot of people,” Eliza Yoon said.

Just JSA-ying: Junior State of America hosts one day conference By ALEX GOLDSTEIN

SOPHIE HABER/CHRONICLE

JSA-BAE: Eleanor Halloran ’18 speaks at the JSA conference about

civil rights. While there, students participated in a variety of debates.

The school’s chapter of Junior State of America hosted a conference on civil rights that gave students the opportunity to participate in debates and activities Feb. 3. JSA is a nationwide organization that works to strengthen American democracy by educating high school students on how to be leaders in a democratic country, according to its website. They have many chapters throughout the country and have a government made up of governors, senators and assembly members. Participants debated topics including the effectiveness of the Women’s March, the pay that prisoners should receive

Ethics Bowl team’s season ends at first regional competition of the school year

By ALEX GOLDSTEIN

The Ethics Bowl team ﬁnished in second place at the Southern California Regional Ethics Bowl at Chapman University on Feb. 3, ending their season. The team, which is overseen by English teachers Charles Berezin and Melina Mamigonian, won ﬁrst place in the same competition the past two years, and two years ago came in second place in the national competition. Earlier in the year, the

team received hypothetical situations that posed potential ethical and moral dilemmas. During the year, the team discussed the cases and the central ethical questions during their practices. At the competition, teams analyzed the ethical theories of each case and responded to questions posed by a panel of judges and an opposing team. To win the round, team members must defend their opinion and prove that they have thought through the case. The judges evaluated the

performances of the debaters based on how well they understood the case, answered the questions and responded to the other team, team member Jenna Wong ’19 said. Some case topics included the morality of driverless cars, a discussion over bodily identity integrity disorder and breed-speciﬁc legislation. One team did not show up the morning of the competition. A team of alternates made up of Joseph Kagan ’19, Anita Anand ’19 and Erin Lee ’18 competed in their place.

for their work and a ﬁctional debate about whether or not Star Wars accurately portrays fascism. “I’ve always had an interest in history and political debate, and JSA gives you a place where you can debate these topics in a pretty casual setting,” JSA member Francis de Bexidon ’19 said. Lucy Kim ’19, a member of the JSA cabinet who helps run and organize the larger conferences as, participated in the time machine debate. In this debate, participants pretended they were in a speciﬁc era and argued from the point of view of someone living in that era. Kim debated over whether or not Malcolm X should be considered a leader of the civil

“

rights movement. “I don’t have the strongest opinion about that [topic], but one of the things I really like about JSA is that it forces you to look at issues from all sides, even if it is not your own perspective,” Kim said. Students also participated in activities, such as one in which participants debated while playing musical chairs. Kim said that she enjoyed the conference and felt that it helped to bring new members. “The one-day [conferences] are really a great way to pique interest about JSA because [they are] not the biggest commitment but also a great way for people to stay involved in JSA year round,” Kim said.

It was really fun to be able to work with [Berezin] and [Mamigonian] because I learned how to talk about ethics and what is morally permissible and what isn’t.” —Chloe Carter Beardmore ’19 WHITE’S

At the competition, only the team who came in ﬁrst place moved on to the next round to compete against the winning team from Utah. Aside from two returning seniors, the team consisted solely of juniors who were new to Ethics Bowl and said they learned from the experience. “The competition was really interesting because I had never

done anything like that since I have never done debate,” team member Chloe Carter Beardmore ’19 said. “It was cool to see how each school had a different ethical stance on each question. It was really fun to be able to work with [Berezin] and [Mamigonian] because I learned how to talk about ethics and what is morally permissible and what isn’t.”

THE CHRONICLE

A6 News

inbrief

Alum’s technology used at Super Bowl

The Washington County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce used technology created by Alex Popof’s ’10 company Visual Labs to maintain security at Super Bowl LII on Feb. 5. The company also had private security contractors using the technology at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis during the game. Visual Labs produces body-worn computers that can function as cameras to allow police ofﬁcers to record their interactions with civilians in the event of an incident. Dozens of law enforcement agencies nationwide have signed contracts with the company. —Kendall Dees

Students send their thanks to alumni Members of the Student Alumni Association wrote thank you letters to alumni at their Thankathon on Jan. 29. Students wrote short postcards to alumni donors and school volunteers at the event. “We hope that students will get an idea of just how many alumni help our school and have chosen to give back,” Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and Adviser for the Student Alumni Association Hannah Platt ’08 said. Platt said the idea for the Thankathon originated years ago when the Student Alumni Association was more active. This year, around twenty students participated in the Thankathon. —Lindsay Wu

Let’s taco-bout it: School hires truck In an effort to unify different grades and promote sporting events, Prefect Council hired taco food trucks for the Varsity boys’ basketball game against Loyola High School on Jan. 31. “We had a chance to enjoy some time with our friends over a delicious meal,” Taka Khoo ’20 said. “I think that this catering idea is very smart, and it allows us all to come together as a school, exhibiting our true Harvard-Westlake Pride and community.” —Joanna Im

Unify for UNICEF: photos chosen for show By ANUSHA MATHUR

Heine’s ’19 pieces. He said that he is grateful for the opportuniUNICEF selected the work ty to submit her work to a conof seven student artists to test outside of school and benbe auctioned at the orga- eﬁt a charitable organization. “With art it is rare to have nization’s 2018 Next Generation Art Party on Feb. 24. your work and your effort obProfessional wedding and jectively validated, so being fashion photographer and vice accepted into anything is suchair of the fundraising auction per special” Heine said. “This Rebecca Yale ’06 encouraged feels especially exciting though students to submit their work. because my work is going to Students whose photo- help raise money used to help people. It feels great graphs were chosen to be a part of that.” are invited to attend According to the event where their the organization’s work will be displayed website, UNICEF and bid on. All proNext Generation is ceeds beneﬁt UNICEF. comprised of entreVisual arts teacher preneurs and inKevin O’Malley said novators between he is proud of his ’ the ages of 20 and students’ work and Kevin O’Malley 30 who research pleased that they were and attempt to alchosen among other professional submissions. leviate issues that affect “Their work was chosen by children around the world. The annual UNICEF Next a panel of photographic experts to be included in the show, Generation Art Party funcwhich is in and of itself very tions to recognize volunteers’ impressive,” O’Malley said. work, in addition to raisUNICEF selected three of ing funds for their causes Photography II student Cole through the sale of artwork. WHITE S

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF COLE HEINE ’19

SURF’S UP: Cole Heine ’19 was recognized in the UNICEF NextGen Art Party contest for his photo, taken in Santa Monica.

Innocent until proven guilty: Wrongly convicted man speaks to criminal law class on his experience By RYAN ALBERT

Ruben Pinuelas, a wrongfully imprisoned ex-inmate, spoke to the Criminal Law and Advocacy classes about his experience being erroneously convicted and how spending 10 years in solitary conﬁnement impacted his life Feb. 5. Carly Burdorf ’19 said she thought the speaker was interesting and provided a new perspective on a subject they studied in class. “He told us to believe in the justice of the law and be thankful to have the freedom we have,” Burdorf said. Burdof also said Pinuelas was motivational and the class was a success. “I really enjoyed his speech because it made me realize

how much we can help others and how important it is to appreciate what we have,” Burdorf said. “He has gone back to school and has a passion for life because of how much he missed while in solitary conﬁnement. It was very inspiring.” Pinuelas currently attends Pierce College and has offers to attend multiple major colleges after he ﬁnishes studying at Pierce. As a Professor of Law, Levenson runs Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent, which is dedicated to exonerating wrongly imprisoned people and reforming the legal system to prevent further injustice. Levenson has invited many other colleagues, friends and former students to present to her students in the class.

These speakers have in- the criminal justice world cluded exonerees helped come alive for the students.” Levenson uses these speakby the Project for the Innocent, LAPD ofﬁcers, deputy ers to give her students an exdistrict attorneys, judges perience similar to a higher and cybercrime experts. law education and practice through simLevenson ulated legal said she hopes exercises. to improve classIt made me “I’m so room experience realize how much we proud of by bringing in my HW stucan help others and these experts dents,” Levand said she how important it is to enson said. feels the stuappreciate what we “They care dents enjoy these deeply about have.” experiences. what hap“Unques—Carly Burdorf ’19 pens to peotionably the ple in our speakers have a criminal jusdramatic impact on the stutice system and world.” dents,” Levenson said. “They Other exonerees, Obie give a real-life perspective on Anthony and Kash Regthe issues we are discuss- ister, have presented to ing in class and they make

“

Therapist teaches ASiA club about mental health

Prefect Council hosts Food Truck Friday

Slammin’ Sliders Food Truck came to campus Jan. 26 for the ﬁrst Food Truck Friday, a new event series Prefect Council is initiating. “Food trucks are always great during events, so we wanted to maximize their presence on campus,” Ryan Stanford ’19 said. Prefect Council encouraged students to pre-order online. Students said they enjoyed the ﬁrst Food Truck Friday. “The food truck was a great idea,” Tyler Kim ’20 said. “It was also delicious, and I am looking forward to the next Food Truck Friday.” —Lindsay Wu

FEB. 13, 2018

By SABA NIA

SABA NIA/CHRONICLE

REACHING OUT: Liberman-Genile speaks to students about improving their mental health through mindfulness exercises.

Marriage and family therapist Jacqueline LiebmanGentile (Kate ’09 and Judd ’12) visited Asian Students in Action club to speak to students about mental health. Club leaders said they decided to host LiebmanGentile’s visit in light of the recent discussions about mental health occurring in Asia, which followed the suicide of K-pop star Kim Jong-hyun. “It’s a controversy because in Asian cultures people are like it’s taboo to talk about mental illnesses or mental health,” ASiA club leader Isabella Huang ’19 said. “We wanted to talk about that and clear it up and have a discussion

with all of our club members.” Liebman-Gentile taught audience members that in addition to conﬁding in others and holding discussions, students can improve on their own mental health through relaxation and led students and faculty members in an exercise of mindfulness. Focusing on their own mental health would also allow students to help others improve theirs, Liebman-Gentile said. “Different cultures have different beliefs about mental health and so one of the things that we have to is remove the stigma of shame around mental health,” Liebman-Gentile said. “I think that we have to not only do it in private school but do it in the whole country.”

Feb. 13, 2018

hwchronicle.com/news

News A7

inbrief

Paul Ryan refuses student signatures

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF CHRISTOPHER MOORE

ALEX GOLDSTEIN /CHRONICLE

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan returned a petition The Human Rights Watch Student Task Force sent to him. The petition was returned unopen. The task force collected over 100 student signatures Nov. 10, supporting a clean DACA bill, meaning that it would not be accompanied with any other proposals. They sent the petition to Ryan, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “I think that [Ryan’s] behavior was inexcusable,” Student Task Force leader Catherine Crouch ’19 said. — Casey Kim

Aloha: Hawaiian administrators visit

ALEX GOLDSTEIN /CHRONICLE

CHOIR CONNECTION: (Top left) Assistant News Editor Alex Goldstein ’19 and Catherine Crouch ’19 play an improv game. (Top right) Maya Hinkin ’18 poses before the show. (Bottom left) Students talk with children from the school. (Bottom right) Anna Katz ’20 performs.

HW Outreach Performers hold workshops with elementary and middle school students By Isabela Llevat and Saba Nia

Harvard Westlake Outreach Performers put on a variety show at local middle school St. Martin in the Fields on Feb. 9 and at the Jewish Home for the Aging on Feb. 10. HWOP is a student-run club that creates and performs variety shows at schools and old age homes. St. Martin in the Fields had its art funding cut, so the club came to put on a show with acts such as singing, dancing and reciting poetry. The St. Martin show was Valentine’s Day themed so many of the poems and songs were about love. Club members said they enjoy the outreach aspect of their work and how they can positively influence the lives of others.

“What first got me involved was that a lot of seniors in my improv group were doing it and they said it was really fun,” Nicole Bahar ’18 said. “But definitely after doing the first show, I really loved how it felt to work with kids and to perform with the kids, so that is why I keep doing it.” Participants also said that they appreciate the opportunity to combine their love of art with community service. “It was an amazing experience and I love to see how much happiness the arts can bring to the children,” Jake Schroeder ’20 said. Members of HWOP also lead arts and crafts and improv workshops, which allow them to interact directly with their audience. At the St. Martin show, the students led the kindergarten and first grade class in an arts workshop

where they decorated hearts ’18 said. “I think that overall, with things they loved. The the atmosphere is a little more hearts were than placed on a relaxed but that’s good for this kind of club where we know board that the class kept. what we are doing. “My favorite part We are having fun was the workshop afin a way that we can terwards,” Nicole Balet other people have har ’18 said. “I was fun, which is what with fourth and fifth the club is about.” graders, and we did Students said a dance party and they are planning on played limbo and holding performances freeze dance and a later in the year and dance off. It was a lot ’ hope to continue doof fun.” Jake ing community serMembers said Schroeder’18 vice through art. that they appreciate “It’s kind of great the flexible structure of the club and that it is one to combine performing arts of the reasons they are able to with outreach,” Nicole Baeffectively hold many perfor- har ’18 said. “And it’s just a great way for the kids at Harmances. “I think there is a better vard-Westlake and the kids in sense of communication be- the arts community to get clostween the leaders and the stu- er, in addition to helping out dent participants in the club,” our community and showing club member Angel Hoyang kids the importance of arts.” white s

Sophomores receive research grant, study autism By Jeanine Kim and Zoe Redlich

Stephanie Cho ’20, Coco Kaleel ’20 and Jenna Kronenberg ’20 won the STEM Research Grant from Archer School to create an app that will focus on testing and improving eye contact with autistic children. The students, who all are members of the robotics team, were awarded $1,875 to work on the project after submitting

an application to the school containing an outline of their general ideas. Kronenberg said the team hopes to complete the app by mid March. Autism is a common disorder that personally affects many members of the school community, whether directly or indirectly. It is known to stunt the development of social skills, many of which are communicated through the eyes.

Kaleel said that the team came up with the idea to research autism after deciding that they wanted to make a sizable impact on the community at large. “We are planning on studying the effect that interactive and focused technology usage can positively have on the social skills of a child with autism,” Kaleel said. “We chose to focus on this area of research because we felt that our technology would be able to make

a positive social impact, one that affects us personally.” Since receiving the grant, the three have been programming the web app and are hoping to begin testing it by mid March, according to Kronenberg. Kaleel said that the team is looking forward to completing their research and seeing the results. “I am excited to build this app, and I hope our hypothesis is proven true,” Kaleel said.

Representatives from the Hawaiian private school system Kamehameha Schools visited the upper school campus to learn about the Kutler Center and video art programs Jan. 22 and 23. Kamehama administrators are planning on creating a capstone project for their eighth graders relating filmmaking to expressing their students’ indigenous backgrounds. They wanted to draw inspiration from Harvard-Westlake’s curriculum. The representatives from the school visited video art and Kutler Center classes, spoke to President Rick Comons and Head of Upper School Laura Ross and met with department heads and students. — Zoe Redlich

Mathletes: students compete in AMC

Over 100 students participated in the first round of the American Mathematics Competition on Feb. 7 in Taper Gym. The AMC is a 75 minute, 25 question multiple choice exam that tests both problem-solving skills and mathematical knowledge. Participating juniors and seniors took the AMC 12, but sophomores had the choice of either the AMC 10 or AMC 12. Students who perform well will participate in the next round of the competition. —Anusha Mathur

School to host Special Olympics HW Community Council and Special Olympics, the world’s largest sports organization for athletes with intellectual disabilities, will host its annual Special Olympics event March 9 on Ted Slavin Field. About 100 young student athletes will compete and participate in different activities with HW student volunteers. HW students who do not choose to work directly with the athletes will be able to cheer with a variety of posters and horns from the bleachers. —Casey Kim

A8 NEWS

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 13, 2018

Students teach preschoolers By ANUSHA MATHUR

Student members of TriSCI volunteered at the Mar Vista Family Center on Feb. 6 to teach science to preschool students. TriSCI, a student-founded non-profit, aims to improve girls’ confidence and interest in the sciences. TriSCI has been teaching lessons at Mar Vista for the past three years. Typically, three to six volunteers teach around 15 students. Club heads Benjamin Major ’18 and Danny Seplow ’19 finalized six lessons for the remaining sessions this year. “The purpose of our trips is to get young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds interested in science,” Seplow said. “We do this by doing fun experiments on subjects from non-Newtonian fluids to biology to engineering, and many things in-between,” Seplow said. The event was originally scheduled for Jan. 23, but staff changes at the center caused delays. The administration is in the process of redesigning the club, after which the club will be renamed. During this process, student club members will continue to tutor at the Mar Vista Family Center. “I feel like I make a difference in these girls’ lives and hopefully influence their career paths in the future,” Seplow said. “It is wonderful to see how enthusiastic they are during the experiments. There are many children in these communities who are eager to learn, but do not have adequate resources at their schools, and Harvard-Westlake students have a lot to offer.”

RYAN ALBERT/CHRONICLE

Fanatics support basketball and soccer teams on Loyola night

FANATIC FUN: Student fanatics cheer on the varsity basketball team during their game against Loyola High School. Harvard Westlake defeated Loyola 65-48. Before the basketball game, the boys varsity soccer team lost to Loyola 0-5. In between the two games, the Student Athletic Advisory Council invited spectators to a taco tailgate with a taco truck and Kona shaved ice.

Sign-ups fill up for Valentine’s themed Coffeehouse By KENDALL DEES

Students performed a variety of original and cover songs at the Valentine’s Day-themed Coffeehouse in Chalmers East on Feb. 12. All slots filled up five days before the original sign-up deadline, making this the first Coffeehouse this year to reach its maximum capacity. “I really enjoy Coffeehouse because I love seeing our community come together to support each other and appreciate the immense amount of talent and creative individuality at HW,” Prefect Caroline Cook ’19 said. Cook led the committee on Prefect Council that organized the event.

“I think the HW community enjoys this aspect too and also enjoys seeing the well-known and yet-to-be discovered talent among the student body,” Cook said. “I also love helping to plan Coffeehouse because it has allowed me to get to know [Director of Instrumental Music Shawn] Constantino, our faculty advisor, and reach out to people who want to express themselves through performance.” Many acts featured students in the choral program, since the performances were supposed to be a send-off for students who leave on the upcoming choral trip to Canada, Cook said. Jake Schroeder ’20 and Lauren Juzang ’20 performed

Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” eryone you know. I love that “I love the Coffeehouse be- Coffeehouse is a comfortable, cause it is an awesome plat- casual place for people to form to share my craft,” Schro- share their talents and their eder said. passions.” Andrea YaP r e f e c t gher ’20 perCouncil enI love seeing formed a song couraged atthat she wrote tendees to our comunity come called “Alright.” bring hometogether to support This was her made or storeeach other and third perforbought Valmance of the appreciate the immense entine’s Day year. treats. amount of talent.” “Performing “I really apis one of my —Caroline Cook preciate having favorite things the opportuto do,” Yagher nity to be insaid. “I love to volved in Coffeehouse,” Cook watch my friends perform as said. “I think it is super fun, well. I signed up because Cof- super special and I encourage feehouse is a great opportunity everyone to come see at least to have fun and celebrate ev- one.”

“

Helping hands: Students volunteer at Middle School By SOFIA HELLER

their school, so we could work side-by-side to help beautify Nearly 100 members of the the school,” Rosen said. Rosen said community serschool community helped to clean up the Bethune Middle vice at other schools usually School campus by painting, requires backround checks, sorting and gardening Jan. 27. but Bethune was very accomThe HW Parents Commu- modating of Harvard-Westnity Service program orga- lake. It will be an annual event. Seeing the difference in nized the event in partnership with Bethune and Big Sunday, the campus’ appearance, Rosen said she was very an outreach organihappy will the outzation that aims to come of the project. “beautify” schools. “I just loved to see Students from both the kids all together,” school communities Rosen said. “I think worked together to it’s great for the kids complete the project. from Harvard-WestStudents also lake to see another donated college part of Los Angeles sweatshirts, clothW ’ and be with another ing and khakis to Ari community that you the Bethune school Shooshani ’18 might not normally store. Linda Rosen (Kyra ’18) [be in]. They’re our neighbors, said HWPA was looking for a and it was an opportunity for community service event for us to just be with them. Bethune’s Vice President of Harvard-Westlake students to work with other students in Student Government Natalie Garcia kicked off the event by Los Angeles. “Bethune was generous advising students to use the enough to welcome us into day as a unifying force. HITE S

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF JACKIE KLEIN

PAINTING THE TOWN: Students help to paint a mural at Bethune Middle School. Close to 100 members of the school community worked with the Bethune students to help clean up the campus and paint.

“In [a] time of great division, we need common projects to bring us together,” Garcia said. “Today is such a day. Don’t make today’s event just about cleaning and painting, make it about meeting new people, sharing stories and having fun.” The president of Bethune also thanked Harvard-Westlake students and parents at the closing ceremony for help-

ing to clean the campus and acting as good neighbors. Oceania Eshraghi ’18 said she helped to paint the campus with her group, which included a few student leaders from Bethune. “It was extremely rewarding especially to hear directly from the Bethune students how grateful they were,” Eshraghi said. “It was also really fun and deﬁnitely a bonding

experience.” HWPA board member Jackie Klein (Andrew ’18) said that she feels the event was a success. “I’m so proud of the warmth and kindness that our HW community shared on Saturday,” Klein said. “It was fun getting to know HW parents and students while working to help others.”

C HRONICLE the harvard-westlake

Editors-in-Chief: Josie Abugov, Danielle Spitz Print Managing Editors: Maddy Daum, Alena Rubin, Anthony Weinraub

Opinion The Chronicle • Feb. 13, 2018

Los Angeles • Volume 27• Issue 5 • Feb. 13, 2018 • hwchronicle.com

editorial

Digital Managing Editors: Eli Adler, Noa Schwartz Executive Editors: Ellis Becker, Elly Choi Presentation Editors: Nicole Kim, Kitty Luo News Editor: Emory Kim Assistant News Editors: Kendall Dees, Alex Goldstein, Sophie Haber, Saba Nia, Kaitlin Musante Opinion Editors: Brittany Hong, Claire Keller Assistant Opinion Editor: Vishan Chaudhary Features Editors: Kristin Kuwada, Kate Schrage Assistant Features Editors: Sofia Heller, Sam Ko, Jenny Li, Alison Oh, Cameron Stokes A&E Editors: Gabi Berchtold, Sarah Lee Assistant A&E Editors: Kaelyn Bowers, Alexandra So Senior A&E Writer: Caty Szeto Sports Editors: Aaron Park, Matthew Yam Assistant Sports Editors: Ryan Albert, Lucas Gelfond, Jackie Greenberg, Ryan Kim, Asa Saperstein, Ben Tenzer Multimedia Editor: Isabelle Eshraghi Engagement Editors: Oliver Akhtarzad, Zach Swartz Innovation Editors: Sam McCabe, Adam Yu Business Editor: Jiwon Park Assistant Business Editor: Cameron Stokes Photography Editor: Pavan Tauh Freelance Cartoonist: Anna Gong Layout Assistants And Staff Writers: Noah Aire, Tammer Bagdasarian, Graham Berger Sacks, Salvatore Casola, Caitlin Chung, Giselle Dalili, Jessa Glassman, Ty Goodrich, Sarah Healy, Kyra Hudson, Joanna Im, Madison Huggins, Cole Katz, Casey Kim, Sun Jae Kim, Spencer Klink, Yoohan Ko, James Lassiter, Isabela Llevat, William Mallory, Anusha Mathur, Keila McCabe, Alex Mork, Jordan Murray, Lauren Nehorai, Nina Nuemann, Grant Palmer, Zoe Redlich, Sarah Reiff, Marcelo Rodriguez, Luke Schneider, Zack Schwartz, William Seymour, Emma Shapiro, Dylan Shenson, Jane Sidon, Valerie Velazquez, Astor Wu, Lindsay Wu, Eugene Wyman, Amelie Zilber Layout Assistant Adviser: Juliet Suess Adviser: Jim Burns 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 Jiwon Park at jpark3@ hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or school.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SAM KO

Giving voice to vulnerability

Mental health has been on everyone’s mind recently. An email from Ms. Ross two weeks ago informed us of a recent suicide by a student in our area. An event like this is a reminder that we should cherish those we love and never be afraid of seeking help for whatever personal struggles we all may be going through. The effects of a tragedy like this are wide reaching and long lasting, and our thoughts are with his family and school community. As the email said, “traumatic grief can often flood over us when we least expect it.” In order for our community to heal, we should be willing to discard the taboo that surrounds mental illness and talk openly about our struggles. It’s easy to feel uncomfortable talking about such a heavy issue, and it can be tempting to carry on as if nothing happened. However, events like this happen because people feel they cannot share the burden of what they’re going through. But it should be encouraged to be vulnerable and reach out for help. As Ms. Ross outlined in her email, there are a number of resources available to students within our community. Deans and teachers are always available to talk to. Dr. Wasson, Ms. Bek, Ms. Bracken and FJ, who make up the school counseling team, have helped many of us with issues big or small. Peer Support is a great resource for students who want to share their issues with others their own age. Those who want to share anonymously can call or text Teen Line, a crisis hotline with teen listeners. But discussions don’t have to be limited to these resources; as a community, we should be receptive and open to listening to each other. Depression is the predominant cause of illness for people aged 10 to 19, according

to a United Nations study. Evidently, more people are struggling with depression than we would otherwise know, so it’s critical to adopt an attitude of kindness and compassion. We all have a greater responsibility to be there for our community. This can be expressed in different forms: checking in from time-to-time on friends, smiling at people in the hallway, inviting someone to eat with you at lunch. Part of becoming a more receptive student body is recognizing that we all have strengths and weaknesses. It’s easy to identify our strengths but often harder to come to terms with our faults; nobody is perfect, everyone has their flaws. In an environment as stressful as ours, it can be easy to put our mental health aside as we focus instead on fulfilling our academic and extracurricular duties. As important as it is to celebrate ourselves and be confident in our abilities, understanding our weaknesses will undoubtedly help us become stronger. One of these fragilities is our fear of being vulnerable in the eyes of others. Many of us feel that sharing our feelings is a sign of weakness and that we will be judged if we voice our emotions, even when there are resources around us. But again, we must realize that opening up about our feelings is a sign of strength in and of itself. For those of us who may not be feeling lost or alone, we must also remember the people that are. Just because you are having a good day doesn’t mean the person across from you is. If you’re having that good day, that should be more of a reason to be a resource and a shoulder for someone else to cry on.

A10 OPINION

THE CHRONICLE

FEB 13, 2017

We should not write off hip-hop

BRITTANY HONG/CHRONICLE

Seeing past our stars By Sophie Haber

very night when I was a toddler, I sat on my couch sandwiched between its corner and my mom as she read me a bedtime story. My favorite story book, “The Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss, is about two types of creatures distinguished by the presence of stars mark their bellies. Those with stars thought they were superior to those without, and those without felt excluded and oppressed. One day, Sylvester McMonkey McBean came to the beaches where the sneetches resided with “star-on” and “star-off” machines, adding and removing the labels that once deﬁned them until no creature could determine who originally was starred and who was starless. “Sneetches are sneetches” my mom would read as I looked over her shoulder at drawings of whimsical yellow creatures. “And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.” At the time, I appreciated the story mostly for its tonguetwisters and rhymes. I hadn’t given it’s meaning much thought. That is, until I had a conversation over FaceTime recently with a 17-year-old evangelical who I connected with through a mutual friend over social media. I remember that when she added me on Instagram, I noticed the name of her church was the

only way she chose to describe herself in her Instagram bio. She had never met a Jew and I had never met an evangelical, so we decided to talk. We each answered the phone that day with our own biases. I thought that I would be talking to a modern version of Jonathan Edwards, who I read about in my history textbook – someone close-minded and steadfast in their beliefs. Going into our conversation, she probably thought I was similarly tied to my background. We both didn’t expect to find common ground. Aside from the fact that when I finish my homework, I study “The Real ACT Prep Guide,” and when she finishes her homework she studies the gospel, I found that we actually lead fairly similar lives. More so, I found that we share similar values – most importantly, we both value tolerance. She told me that to her, evangelism means strict adherence to the Bible. But, she said, her interpretation doesn’t always line up with that of the stereotypical fundamentalist Christian, or all of the members of her church. One person in her congregation spoke derogatorily about gay people, she remembered. “It’s 2018,” she retorted. “What do they need praying for?” As our conversation came to a close that day, she emphasized that she never tried

to push her religion on others. However, after talking to me about the differences in our backgrounds, she said she realized that instead of looking for ways to make everyone the same, she should look for ways that everyone’s beliefs can be valid. That day, I did end up having a conversation with someone who was steadfast in her beliefs. I spoke to someone who was not close minded, but quite the opposite. I realized then that I had neglected to see our similarities because of one aspect of our lives that made us different.Recalling the book that my mom used to read me, I came to understand that the true lesson she was teaching me with those bedtime stories was not just how to read, but how to read past labels. Looking back, “The Sneetches” shed light on the importance of accepting all people despite their differences. It was likely a commentary on anti-Semitism, with its yellow-starred characters. It also could have been meant to call attention to racial and class divisions. While today we might not have McBean’s machine to erase the marks that distinguish us, we do have the powerful tool of conversation. It is through conversations, I have learned, that we can see past the stars on our bellies and the words in our Instagram bios.

The Indu-sputed truth By Indu Pandey

Chronicle reports on student eating lunch

he Chronicle made headlines after releasing an article titled, “Student eats lunch.” “Well, I guess since we’re the only paper, we made our own headlines,” Chronicle Editor-inchief Danielle Spitz said, “But, that doesn’t matter! We’re like rocking the world of journalism.” The paper found itself with few articles to ﬁll its news section after an unprecedented drought of bake-sales the previous month. “We’re the only paper covering, debatably, the second-most important meal of the day,” Chronicle adviser Jim Burns said. “It’s not about what’s in the mainstream, it’s about what the public needs to know.” We reached out to The New York Times to comment on the moral degradation of modern

journalism or just young people in general, but they resisted our bait. “I guess the article’s an accurate description,” Brent Wood said between bites of his sandwich, wiping his mouth on a stray Chronicle. “At least they’re not #fakenews.” The Hufﬁngton Post and Buzzfeed showed their support for the Chronicle’s new direction in cutesy listicles, featuring more than one gif from Friends. Articles such as “Ten Reasons Why The Chronicle Is So Woke” have drawn some backlash, however. “I don’t get why the Chronicle is getting all of this buzz,” a Loyola Loyalist reporter said. “We’ve been covering this stuff for years, and you don’t see any of us making a big deal out of it.”

By Lucas Gelfond

here is a part of our community that is apathetic or openly hostile to the genre of hip-hop. I hate hip-hop,” a student said. “Hip-hop is not real music,” a teacher said. I have been a hip-hop fan my entire life. I don’t remember a time in which it was not my favorite genre of music. While I was initially attracted by the catchy beats and lyrics, it has taken on an entirely new meaning for me. Hip-hop is essential for understanding the world around us. The genre is commonly written off with ideas that the genre is simply one of bling, braggadocio, misogyny and vulgarity. While some of these criticisms are valid, disregarding this genre just because of these flaws ignores the crux of this issue; hip-hop and the genres it originates from (like jazz and soul) give voice to the black community in a way that few other genres do. Hip-hop is a substantive genre that gives me a unique view into the lives of people often unlike myself. As a white male student at our elite college preparatory school, I am a person of immense privilege. And in the same way that a goldfish knows nothing outside of its glass bowl, I often can lose sight of that fact. While I have never and will never be able to claim I know anything near to what it is like to actually live and be a black student at our school or even in our country, listening to hip hop exposes me to these viewpoints. For example, if I were to be stopped by a police officer while driving, I wouldn’t fear for my safety or worry that said officer would act unfairly. I wouldn’t worry about being suspected of shoplifting in a store for no reason other than the color of my skin. I don’t fear being heckled or called barbaric slurs when I go out. While this list is not conclusive, hip-hop has

opened me and many others up to the unique struggle of the African American student and teenager in the United States. “You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture” Kendrick Lamar cried on The Blacker the Berry, a song off of his 2015 political masterpiece, To Pimp a Butterﬂy. While many might dismiss the album’s title as mere vulgarity, Lamar explains on the last track, Mortal Man, that the butterﬂy is a metaphor for the thoughtfulness of the black community that are so praised by society, and the “caterpillar” represents those still trapped in the ghettos, lamenting the hypocrisy of the white community for their lack of concern of those black people who aren’t celebrities or creators. “My teacher told me we was slaves,” Vince Staples moaned on his seminal album, Summertime ’06. “My momma told me we was kings, I don’t know who to listen to, I guess we somewhere in between.” If we look hard enough, hip-hop is uniquely dense in substance. If our school wants to be as diverse and inclusive as our mission statement calls for, we are doing ourselves a disservice by writing off the hip-hop genre. If we ignore the genre, we are actively ignoring this segment of people within our own community. To say that everyone should like or religiously listen to the genre is nonsensical and pointless; music is obviously very dependent on taste. However, we are choosing ignorance if we write it off simply for its profanity or abrasiveness. So, next time you hear someone mention the Public Enemy song they’ve had on repeat, try and reserve your judgement. And maybe ask if you can join them for a listen.

Former Chronicle News Associate gives her take on current pop culture and politics in a recurring satire column. In this issue, she discusses substantive journalism and McConnell and Schumer’s DACA budget agreement.

McConnell, Schumer announce release of their new children’s book

enate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the release of their upcoming children’s book, Tale of Turtle and Toucan, on Wednesday. The duo made the announcement during their press conference for their two-year budget deal. “Chuck and I really got close these last few weeks,” McConnell said, grabbing Schumer’s hand. “I can’t even remember how this friendship started, but I’m glad it did. It’s like a dream!” The book, featuring illustrations from Senator Dick Durbin, chronicles the adventures of two super best buds, pursuing their dreams no matter what. “What’s so powerful about TTT, as Mitchie and I call it, is that these two pals can live life to the fullest despite their backgrounds and who their parents are,” Schumer said, swinging McConnell’s hand back and forth. “You know—it

reminds me of Mitchie and I!” The book is expected to be released on the pair’s friendship anniversary March 5. “TTT’s bound to be a smash!” President Trump tweeted. “Barron and I plan to read this American masterpiece! Third best after Art of the Deal and the Bible!” Leaders in the House expressed similar pride in their Senate colleagues. “The younglings need wholesome family content,” a snoozing Nancy Pelosi mumbled. “Sorry, just taking a break from resisting. Don’t mind me.” Others were less than thrilled. “I mean – you make friendship bracelets, coordinate matching half-smiles to make while standing behind Donald…” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan seethed to anyone in the random gathering of immigrants at the press conference who would listen. “I just can’t believe he’s cheating on me. Geez, do any of you know what it’s like to be let down like this?”

HWCHRONICLE.COM/OPINION

FEB 13, 2017

quadtalk:

Sorry, not sorry

By Saba Nia

Poll

Would you support the school implementing a late start schedule? Yes: 79% percent

No: 21% percent

265 students weighed in on the Feb 9-10 poll INFOGRAPHIC BY BRITTANY HONG

“A lot of people are more night people than morning people, so I feel like people will feel more awake in their classes, but it might have an impact on afterschool activities.”

Charlie Kogen ’19

Gina Choi ’18

BRITTANY HONG/CHRONICLE

“I think having a later start time for school will help me free me up in the morning. I don’t know how it will affect my time in the backend, but I wouldn’t be opposed.” Eunice Kiang ’20

BRITTANY HONG/CHRONICLE

“A benefit will be to help students be less tired, and pay attention more in class. A way that it could hurt is that it will make less time for classes.” BRITTANY HONG/CHRONICLE

Seasoned Seniors

By Matthew Yam

irst of all, I’d like to thank the opinion editor for offering me this spot in our wonderful publication. This is my ﬁrst column as a second semester senior, so it is, in essence, recreational writing. It’s ﬁtting then, that the deadline got extended to “by Friday night” and the top right corner of my computer reads “Friday 11:38 p.m.” This situation is quintessential me. The deadline maniac is who I’ve become. I’ve never not written at least three-fourths of an essay the night before it was due. I’ve written an embarrassing number of essays the day they were due. I put all of my college essays off to the last minute and

then blasted through them in explosions of passion and sensitivity. My friends know. I don’t have enough ﬁngers and toes to keep track of the number of times that they’ve chastised me for putting things off until the last minute. “You’re so dumb, Matt”. Ah, a classic line. Love you guys. Seniors! It’s so weird to think that we’ve completed the brunt of our journey that’s been Harvard-Westlake. It seems like just yesterday we showed up at the Upper School and were immediately hit with the ﬁgurative mountain of work or had our back-

OPINION A11

eing the diligent reporter that I was, my ninth-grade self was running late to my interview. Trotting down the steps that led to the Marshall Pool, chastising myself for losing track of time yet again, I stumbled in front of a closed gate. I grimaced as I gently opened the door to the tennis court, and took a tentative step inside. “Sorry!” I squeaked to the startled coach and the pair of athletes inside. “Do you mind if I just squeeze by to get to the pool? I’m so sorry!” The coach set his racket down and stared at me. “Don’t you ever say that again,” he called out in a stern voice. But he was smiling. “Don’t say sorry! I have two daughters, and I tell them everyday to stop feeling the need to apologize. Girls do it all the time without thinking about it!” He then pointed to the pool. “And don’t worry about passing through – it’s not a problem at all!” The thing is though, it is a problem. It’s telling that somebody I didn’t know could easily pinpoint one of my greatest weaknesses: my apologetic nature. And it’s rather disconcerting that it took a complete stranger’s observation to prompt me to realize that I tend to say sorry when it’s not necessary. Though it doesn’t excuse my behavior, it’s not surprising as to why I’ve cultivated this habit. Besides the whole gender aspect (I think it’s a given that girls generally apologize more than guys), I was raised in a culture where humility and graciousness were the most important virtues. Whereas other families don’t think twice about their body language or accepting compliments, it becomes a whole ordeal for mine. Whenever someone in my family compliments anything that belongs to someone else (and I mean anything: a necklace, a jacket, a potted plant), my relative will immediately offer to give up that object. Everyone in my family practices this almost unconsciously; it’s not uncommon for my own mother to literally try to give me the shirt of her back because I

said it looked “cute.” I have vivid memories of aunts tackling frightened waiters and trying to discreetly slide their credit cards into aprons so they can pay for the table’s dinner before we could. It’s almost expected to say sorry anytime you turn your back on an elder. I’ve essentially been groomed since birth to accommodate other’s needs with or beofer my own, and to profusely apologize when I can’t. My habit, however, is not just a result of my cultural background. I’ve noticed that I catch myself saying sorry far more than people from other schools. Though Harvard-Westlake certainly has students who are externally and internally conﬁdent, the majority of us are either outwardly self-assured yet internally insecure, or the opposite. In an attempt to make sense of our rigorous and competitive school, most of us partake in the daily ritual of saying we’re not good enough, while hypocritically trying to convince others that they’re being too self-critical. Sometimes I feel like we’re sorry for everything, literally everything: for not getting perfect grades, for not having enough extracurriculars, for not doing more for the community, for not taking advantage of the resources around us, for not deserving the advantages we’ve been given, for not being nice and smart and good enough. For our very existence, it seems. You don’t have to have be a girl or come from a Persian family to grow up in an environment where you feel more disposed to self-criticism – you’re already at risk enough attending this school. It’s an ugly truth but one that we need to hear if we want to foster our inner strength. And I would say sorry, I would apologize for taking up some of your time to read this article (which I’m really grateful for, by the way) and forcing you to listen once again to another one of my rants, but the thing is – I’m really not. It’s time I learned to own my inner conﬁdence on the outside and be unapologetically myself. And it’s time you did too.

A second-semester senior reflects on his chronic wait-til-the-deadline syndrome and encourages fellow Harvard-Westlake seniors to cherish their last few months together through seeking new experiences and learning to enjoy themselves. packs thrown into that poorly planned “backpack mountain” senior prank. It seems like just yesterday I wrote a column lamenting how I felt so average here at Harvard-Westlake as a retired elementary school superstar. It seemed like just yesterday I wrote a column sharing when I ﬁrst learned how to empathize with others, when I learned that anxiety and depression are real and prevalent, when I learned the pain of wanting to do nothing more than to help out a friend in need, and being utterly powerless to do so. As I start to enjoy my time as a second-semester senior, I’ve been able to reﬂect on and appreciate what Harvard-Westlake has been to me. I strug-

gled through every moment of it, but through it all I learned. No, I don’t remember what DNA polymerase does, nor can I rattle off the “what where, when, and signiﬁcance” of an event for an ID on a history test, nor am I able to look at an equation and instantly know how to take the integral of it, but I learned what it means to really work. I remember what it feels like to want to do well on something so badly that I stay up all night studying to get the result I want. I know what it’s like to work as hard as I possibly can and still fail. I learned how to accept results, persevere and bounce back. I know all of you, my dear friends, have gone through

similar experiences of growth, and have become inﬁnitely stronger people because of it. I mean, you guys are basically superheroes. And now, with only about three months left in school, I encourage everyone to cherish these last few months we’ve got together. I encourage you to do the following: Try new things, go out on a school night, keep up with your stuff but don’t overstress about it. Share your wisdom with sophomores and juniors as they navigate the trials of Harvard-Westlake. Help to make this campus a better place. And last but not least, you should all strive to ﬁnd your own joyful pursuit.

A12

This town is Our Town

spotlight

Feb. 14, 2018

Students preformed in a production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” a three-act play set in the small town of Grover’s Corners that follows the every day lives of its residents. The show took place from Feb. 1-4.

OFF IN THE DISTANCE: (Left to right) Yagher, Sakura Price ’18 and Vanessa

Payne ’19 engage in conversation. The characters had just left a choral rehearsal.

WELCOME TO OUR TOWN: Ari Yaron ’18, who played Frank Gibbs, and Uriah

Celaya ’18, who played Joe Crowell, have a discussion while Joe delivers the paper.

HIGH IN THE SKY: (Left to right) Naomi Ogden ’20, Jack Nordstrom ’19, Ben Pimstone ’18 and Charlotte Weinman ’18 perform a scene on ladders. The cast and crew brought in Jim Fenhagen to design the set.

CONVERSATION CORNERS: Price and Weinman exchange dialogue during the performance. Price played Mrs. Webb, who is the mother of Weinman’s character.

ALL PHOTOS PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF WOO SIM

MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Andrea Yagher ’20, who played Mrs. Gibbs, speaks with her children, who were played by Ogden and Nordstrom. In this scene, the children were eating breakfast before leaving for school.

DANCING QUEEN: Weinman balances invisible books on her head while playing

the role of Emily Webb. Her character explored various pivotal moments in life.

DEEP IN THOUGHT: Nordstrom tries to solve a hard math problem while perched

on top of a ladder. His character struggled, but received help from Emily Webb.

Features The Chronicle • Feb. 13, 2018

A Flash from the Past Alumni and current students look back on the progress of diversity at Harvard-Westlake. • Continued on B7

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIN KUWADA

B2 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 13, 2018

Students and faculty discuss their experiences playing HQ, a live trivia game, and whether or not it is a distraction in classes. By RYAN ALBERT AND ASTOR WU

percent of which said they play at school. 38 percent of those students said they play during class. The app demands the atRyan Stanford ’19 had a secret weapon for the HQ Trivia tention of a noticeable fan each day at noon. Christmas round: her grandma. base Upper school dean Celso Anticipation built as she and her sisters approached the game’s Cardenas said he is unfamil12th and final question. Final- iar with the app but has seen ly, the question flashed across students playing it in his office. “It was during a free,” Cardethe screen: “Which U.S. President has never earned a Bach- nas said. “They were countelor’s degree?” “Harry Truman!” ing down and waiting for it to her grandmother exclaimed, win- come on so they could play.” Cardenas said he thinks in the ning Stanford both the round and the game’s real cash prize. last few weeks, HQ has circulated HQ Trivia is a live triv- around campus to the point where ia game competed in twice a he began to hear about it, but he day–at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. does not know how widespread it PST–with real cash payouts. is yet. Although he has not heard Since HQ Trivia’s iOS launch of students playing in class, he imagines that it might in Oct. 2017, the app has be a growing concern. developed a large fanMath teacher Adam base, becoming the thirVarney said that he knows teenth most popular iOS very little about HQ but app in the United States sometimes sees students as of Jan. 1, according to in his fifth and sixth period Quartz, a news website classes on the app. He said owned by Atlantic Media. the app can be distractHQ’s national poping but has a creative ularity peaked during ’ method to keep students their special game at focused on classwork. Ryan Super Bowl LII halfStanford “[I] take their phone, time: a record number turn their phone of more than 2 million players competed for 20,000 over and select the wrong andollars, their biggest prize ever. swer for them,” Varney said. Varney also said that he would Even though Stanford started playing HQ within a few weeks prefer if HQ’s playing times were after the app was released, she later in the day so that the app said she got her first win during wouldn’t interfere with student’s the Christmas HQ Trivia game, learning in class. He also exa $5.17 share of the $2,000 pot. plained that a later start time “[Winning] was the most val- would encourage productivity. “I think [HQ] should start idating thing,” Stanford said. “I had been playing HQ for a around midnight because then I long time at that point. I fig- think they would have a higher ured I was never going to win.” player base, as all our students Recently, more students have would still be up doing work,” Varjoined the HQ craze, playing with ney said. “[HQ] could be a nice comfamilies, during free periods and, panion during the evening hours in some cases, during class. In a when there’s cramming for exams survey of 264 students, 47 per- the night before, rather than while cent said they play the game, 78 they’re in class trying to learn.” WHITE S

Varney said he thinks if play- dent gathered around Cosgrove’s ing in class becomes a great- phone, as she was only one corer distraction to students, the rect answer away from victory. school should regulate the “I had never made it that far, use of cell phones altogether. and I was proud of myself for Cardenas also said he thinks guessing so many of the quesif playing HQ at school rises tions correctly,” Cosgrove said. to a distracting level, the adWhen no one knew the anministration might make a no swer to the final question, Coscell phone policy or be more grove was left to randomly guess. strict about use during classes. She guessed incorrectly, but “If we see it impeding on the edu- said she found it more rewardcation of students throughout the ing to focus on the fun she had day, then I think we would want playing trivia rather than the to have teachers enforce it a little,” money she could have won. he said. “I know some teachers are “I honestly did not care a little bit more lax about students about the end result,” Coshaving cell phones out and what- grove said. “I was just hapnot, so we would probably just py to have made it so close.” try to do something to curtail it.” Some students, like Coco Kaleel Some stu’20, play HQ to dents, howevdestress rather er, feel like the than compete impact of HQ to win money. If we see it impeding on campus is Kaleel said she on the education of not enough to does not have establish any the app on her students throughout the rules or limphone, choosing day, then I think we would itations on to play with her when or where friends on their want to have teachers students may phones instead. enforce it a little.” participate “I enjoy playin the game. —Celso Cardenas ing HQ because Michael Lehis low stress Upper School Dean it rhoff ’20 said with a fun rehe disagrees ward and has that HQ is too fun questions,” much of a distraction to be a Kaleel said. “If nothing else, concern based on the time stu- you can learn a bit of trivia.” dents spend playing it. He said Kaleel, who plays exclusively he enjoys playing HQ because with friends, also said she thinks of the live aspect and the excit- that using the app should not ing prospect of winning money. be restricted at school because “Because it’s only on for about of its brief air-time and the rela15 minutes during one part of the tively low disturbance it makes. school day, I don’t think it interferes “I think HQ should be perwith school if someone just plays mitted so long as it isn’t played during a free period,” Lerhoff said. in class,” Kaleel said. “Since it One day in Student Govern- is short and only twice a day, ment class, after Head Prefect only once during school hours, Julia Cosgrove ’18 and her fel- it should be fine. Compared to low prefects finished up their many other apps, HQ is not a mawork, they decided to play HQ. jor distraction in my opinion, and By question 12, each stu- should definitely be permitted.”

“

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SOFIA HELLER AND NICOLE KIM

FEB. 13, 2018

HWCHRONICLE.COM/FEATURES

FEATURES B3

Hit the Snooze

Students and faculty discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a late start to the school day. By LUCAS GELFOND

I need to go to sleep,” Grode said. Grode said she would rather get On a chilly December evening, extra time in the morning to sleep. Some students participate in Flynn Klace ’19 arrived home at around 9 p.m. after a hard game of extracurriculars that would not soccer. Exhausted from her game change if the Harvard-Westlake and long round-trip drive to Norco, start time was moved later. Luke Rowen ’19 said that mornCalifornia, Klace stayed up until 1:30 a.m. to finish her homework ing practices for his club swim before waking up at 6:30 a.m. the team start at 5:30 a.m. every day and involve students from other next day. Although school was cancelled schools, meaning he would still the next day due to the Skirball need to wake up early. Rowen said fires, Klace said this timing is not that the extra hour of sleep on days uncommon for away games and without practice would be nice but waking up to get to school early would have little impact overall. “I think that if strains her sleep we had a later start and work schedand everything was ule. “By eighth By eighth period, shifted over an hour, my schedule period, I’m usuI’m usually about to fall then would just shift an ally about to fall asleep in class and you hour over,” Rowen asleep in class said. and you just fijust finally can’t focus For sports playnally can’t focus towards the end of the ers who already miss towards the end school for meets and of the day,” Klace day.” games, excuse times said. —Flynn Klace ’19 could potentially Klace is not mean missing more alone. In a Chronschool. icle poll of 265 Jack Nordstrom students , 91 percent of respondents said the cur- ’19, a volleyball player, said that rent school schedule affects their he could see a later start benefiting sleep schedule. Of those students, teams by allowing for more morn95 percent said the school’s 8 a.m. ing practices. “I feel like a later start would start time negatively affects the amount of sleep they got per night, help teams because there’s a lot of and 79 percent of students polled competition over gyms,” Nordstrom said they would support a later said. “If they have a later start they could definitely use that to their start time. Head of Upper School Laura advantage and do more morning Ross said she is looking into the practices.” While students could benefit possibility of changing the schedule. Ross said the school is going to from extra sleep or the extra time try out a few late start days with a for their sports commitments, trafblock schedule, where only four out fic concerns could negate any real of eight classes will meet. On those benefits. Almost 90 percent of redays, there will be no morning lifts spondents in a Chronicle poll of 220 students said that they would for athletic teams, she said. Rachel Grode ’19 said she struggle to get to school at a later thinks she would get more sleep time because of traffic. President Rick Commons said a from a later start. “I know personally once I hit a late start would potentially be imcertain time mark in the night, my practical because of traffic. “The obvious negative is trafwork isn’t productive anymore and

“

fic,” Commons said. “As a commut- on Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. while er myself, I know that when I leave keeping a regular start on other my home at seven or a little after, days of the week and ending school the commute is half of what it is if I the same time every day. Marlborough junior Arien Afleave my home at eight or a little after. That has been the reason that shar said that while she didn’t perwe have not pursued more aggres- sonally benefit much from the polsively the path that some schools icy, she thinks others do. “Since I live so far from school I have with regards to later starts. We have so many buses going all have to get up really early anyway over the city. As it is the rides on but I think that for people who live those buses are anywhere between near school they probably benefit 30 minutes and 90 minutes for quite a bit because they can sleep our students and we don’t want to in a lot later,” Afshar said. Despite obstacles in impledouble that to 60 minutes and 180 menting an earlier start time, The minutes. That’s just untenable.” Atlantic reported that At Campbell Hall, the adresearch suggests ministration has embraced adolescents struggle a late start. Students start more than other age school at 9:30 a.m. on groups to fall asleep Wednesdays and 8:50 a.m. earlier in the evening. on other days of the week, Therefore, early start ending school at 3:40 p.m. times make it more everyday. High School Prindifficult for students cipal Carolyn Lagaly sent the to achieve the Cenproposal to the school in an ters for Disease Conall-community letter in March ’ trol and Prevention’s 2011. It included a new block Rachel recommended 8.5 to schedule and differences in Grode ’19 9.5 hours of sleep per the grading calendar as well night. The article also cited a study the changes to the start time. “The question became: could we from Brown University showing develop a daily schedule that would that sophomores making a switch allow our secondary students to to an earlier start time fell asleep begin their academic day slightly at the same time on average, 10:40 later while providing us opportuni- p.m. This suggests that a different ties to continue enhancing the ac- start time didn’t affect what time ademic rigor of our program?” Lag- they fell asleep, and they would aly said in the letter. “Could we, in therefore get more sleep on the lataddition, have one day of an even er start time. Commons said the research later start at 9:30 a.m., allowing students to sleep in, make person- surrounding adolescent sleep patal appointments, have breakfast terns was a strong pull toward a with their families and maybe even later start. “I have heard from other school practice sports, which also seems to help adolescents focus better heads about the success of starting throughout the day? Could this be later and giving students a chance accomplished without drastically for extra sleep because, whether extending the school day? The an- we like it or not, the science shows us that adolescents physiologically swer was a resounding ‘yes.’” Campbell Hall sophomore tend to go to bed later and sleep Bryce Jacobs said that the late later, so accommodating that tenstart is overwhelmingly beneficial, dency among adolescents would and other schools have embraced seem to be a real positive in considering a later start,” Commons some type of middle ground. At Marlborough, classes begin said. WHITE S

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY PAVAN TAUH AND JENNY LI

THE CHRONICLE

B4 FEATURES

FEB. 13

24/7 School

Students discuss the impacts of attending a “24/7 school,” a school where students can be punished for their actions even off school grounds.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SAMANTHA KO

3, 2018

HWCHRONICLE.COM/FEATURES

By SOFIA HELLER AND JENNY LI

FEATURES B5

school.” The school created a disciplinary policy for outsideJoe* ’18 glanced anxiously of-school actions when cyaround the grocery store, his berbullying became more heart racing, wary of skepti- prevalent, Director of Student cal onlookers. Taking a deep Affairs Jordan Church said. In several nationwide cybreath, he placed the vodka bottle in his shopping cart, berbullying court cases, the reassuring himself that it was court held schools responsible for harm done to students legal. In a foreign country where online, which Church said the drinking age is 16, Joe was major impetus for the said his friends promised him policy. “Legally, schools are being that drinking would make the brought more into the situschool trip more fun. Hours ation, so it becomes under later, however, a chaperone smelled the alcohol in his our purview,” Church said. hotel room, and he and his “Who you are as a person is friends were promptly sus- extended onto that online presence. Social media exists pended for three days. everywhere, includThey had violating on our campus. ed the school’s disIf we knew about two ciplinary policy for students doing someoutside of school thing really harmactivities, which ful to each other on dictates that the campus, we would do school can punsomething about it. So ish students for the question is, ‘where their actions even does that extend?’” ’ when they are not However, most vioJulia on campus during Cosgrove ’18 lations of the outsideschool hours. of-school disciplinary The school reserves the right to punish any policy do not involve social behavior that “constitutes a media, Head Prefect Julia major rules infraction, is a Cosgrove ’18 said. Cosgrove also said violaviolation of the basic standards of ethics and morality tions of the school’s policy or is illegal,” according to the for outside-of-school behavUpper School Student/Parent ior only constitute about 10 percent of honor board cases Handbook. “It was a school-sanctioned overall. Despite the infrequent vitrip, and I personally signed the liability form where I said olations of the policy, Cosit was something I wasn’t go- grove said she agrees with the ing to do,” Joe said. “I think school’s decision to continue [peer pressure] made me act to enforce the policy. “I think it’s a fair rule, but the way I did, and I regret it it’s hard to punish somebody of course. You’re going to another country representing when they did something on a your own country and your Saturday night off-campus,” Cosgrove said. “However, as a WHITE S

Live on HW

student at Harvard-Westlake, you represent the school no matter where you go. If you technically violate the honor code, then I think that is under the school’s jurisdiction.” Lindsay* ’18 said she also thinks that the school’s policy to punish students for their actions is reasonable. But Lindsay admitted that the school’s policy did not inﬂuence her in the long run. Caught up in the freedom of a school-sanctioned trip, she said she accepted a friend’s offer to smoke weed one night. Once the school found out about her actions, they kicked her off of the trip and suspended her for one day. “I don’t have that much regret because it was a very impulsive decision,” Lindsay said. “We didn’t go out with the intention of getting high. The amount of independence we had on the trip played a part in our lack of reasoning. It was almost as if we forgot we were on the school trip.” Joe, in contrast, said he does not feel the school is justiﬁed in punishing students for behavior outside of school. The actions of students outside of school are out of Harvard-Westlake’s domain, he argued, and the school should allow them to enjoy their own free time during their formative years. “The school [values] their reputation highly, and I think their way of making that reputation stay at such a high standard is by trying to control students outside of school,” Joe said. “I disagree with it because, to a certain extent, teenagers will be teenagers, and we are all develop-

ing and learning about our- like the rule is just taking selves.” away an important part of our Although he believes he high school experience.” deserved some form of punAlissa said that restricting ishment, Joe said he was sur- high school behavior only creprised at how drastic the con- ates more problems and does sequences were. not effectively act in the way He said he was unaware the school intends it to. that it would end up on his As a result, she said stutranscript, which colleges dents will instead behave would be able to see and re- more impulsively in the fuduce him to that single inci- ture. dent. “It’s not really protecting “I don’t feel as though us,” Alissa said. “If they remy reputation has been strict us in high school, more tarnished, but I do think kids are just going to get crait sucks,” Joe said. “When zier in college. Since they arsomeone doesn’t know you en’t under the intense superand what type of person you vision of their parents, they are, they see that, it’s like, will have freedom that they ‘Oh, this is the type of person never had before. When they you are.’ That aren’t used to sucks, but this freedom, at the same they’re more It’s not really time, having likely to ﬂout protecting us. If they the school it.” restrict us in high hold me acAlthough countable for the rule can school, more kids are my actions harsh, just going to get crazier be has helped Lindsay said in college. me a lot.” the school The threat helped her —Alissa* ’19 move forward of punishment has led in a positive some stuway, so she dents to be more cautious could use the experience as a of their behavior outside of productive lesson from which school. to grow. Deterred by the actions the “[The school] deﬁnitely school has taken against stu- helped me make the best out dents who have violated the of it while at the same time school’s policy, Alissa* ’19 acknowledging what I did said she has not been able to was not right,” Lindsay said. enjoy parties as much as she “It was kind of a wake-up used to. call. It helped me to realize “When I go to parties, I ac- how careless my tendencies tively try to be more reserved, were, and it helped me to be and I usually get scared to more conscious of decisions drink or anything like that,” I make, especially when it’s Alissa said. “In a sense, I un- something to do with school derstand that the school is or a school trip.” trying to protect themselves *Names have been changed. and us as students, but I feel

“

The Chronicle polled 279 students Feb. 10 about the impact of the school’s disciplinary policy.

68%

40%

43%

of students said they are not familiar with the details of the school’s disciplinary policy for outside-of-school behavior

of students who said they are familiar with the details of the school’s disciplinary policy agree with the policy

of students familiar with the details of the school’s disciplinary policy think it affects their behavior outside of school ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE KIM

B6 Features

highstakes

The Chronicle

Feb. 13, 2018

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SAM KO

Crossing the Finish Line The four players received their Early Decision results and are faced with choices about their futures.

By Kate Schrage Early Decision results were released mid-December for our portfolio and athletic applicants, Audrey* and Nate*, leaving them with decisions in their hands. However, our service and audition applicants, Jenna* and Christopher*, had to wait a bit longer to know their fates. The Portfolio Applicant: Audrey With a smile on her face, Audrey breathed a sigh of relief: “I feel good.” Having been admitted Early Decision to her first choice in December, Audrey has finally reached the end of her college application process and said she feels more stress-free than ever. However, while Audrey no longer has college looming over her everyday life, her experience as a second-semester senior hasn’t been all that she’s expected. “Second semester isn’t shaping up to be what everyone says it is,” Audrey said. “The workload is still pretty intense, unfortunately.” Despite her rigorous course load, the lack of college applications to complete has allowed her enough time to get back to her hobbies and passions that she plans to pursue next year. “Thankfully, I have been able to paint lately, and I finished my last series so I’m working on something pretty different,” Audrey said. “I’m glad that I have more time to focus on things like that than I did during first semester.” Though most of Audrey’s friends are unsure of their plans for the coming year, she said there’s an air of relief and relaxation among the senior class. “I think that now that apps are in, a lot of my friends are a little more calmed down than they were maybe a month ago," Audrey said. "But I still can see that some of them are worried and it’s justified. I can empathize with them, but I am grateful for the fact that

there’s that stability in my situation right now." Audrey said she will be looking at dorm rooms and shopping for warm clothes in the coming months and is excited to attend Barnard College. The Service Applicant: Jenna Having just received news that she has been admitted to her top choice school, Jenna officially passed the finish line of the college process. After completing her Candidate Fitness Assessment at West Point, Jenna received a nomination from her congressman in addition to another unexpected nomination, meaning that her application was fully complete and supported. Regardless of the stress Jenna she said felt after submitting her application, she also said that the wait was worth it and is proud to announce that she is officially a member of the United States Military Academy at West Point’s Class of 2022. “[Getting accepted] shows me that all my effort has paid off and been validated,” Jenna said. Jenna said she plans to ease up on her academic obligations and prepare for the next steps of entering service academy as a part of the United States Military Academy. “My current mindset is just not to fail any classes but mostly to get into better shape,” Jenna said. “Mentally, I’m trying to prepare myself for [cadet basic training], which is what I’m most stressed and nervous about.” CBT is a seven-week summer training session required of all future academy students. During this period, students have no access to the internet or communication devices, with the exception of letters. “I’m just making sure I’m as mentally and physically prepared for the first summer as I possibly can be and then keeping in mind that it’s going to

be a big mental game when I get there,” Jenna said. “I’m less worried about the academic school year than I am about CBT.” Now that she has accepted her appointment to the academy, Jenna said her stress level is very low and comparable to any other senior that already knows where they will be going next year. The Athletic Applicant: Nate Following his admission into his Early Decision school as a swim commit, Nate said he can finally take it easy, and considers himself to be “on the very low-stress end” of the second semester senior spectrum. “With academics, I’m definitely trying to relax a little bit more," Nate said. "I’m still putting in effort, because I can’t let my grades drop too much. It’s not something I want to let myself do.” Though Nate’s outlook on his academic career has shifted a bit, his plans for swimming remain as intense as they were before. “I’m super pumped for high school season," Nate said. "I definitely have some high goals in mind, so nothing has changed in that regard." Nate said he plans to continue this dedication as he transitions to swimming on a college level. On the whole, he said he is relieved to know his plans for the coming year and is excited about being a college athlete. "I want to be able to contribute as much as I can to the team my first year there and get there as a freshman ready to go and make an impact,” Nate said. "I think [being on the swim team] takes away a lot of stress from being thrown into a new place and not really knowing any people and trying to desperately find friends quickly. I kind of know that when I get there, I’ll have people who are there for me who are really excited to meet all of us.”

Until he arrives at Williams College in the fall, Nate said he is looking forward to finally joining his teammates on campus. "I've been in contact with a lot of my future teammates in my class and older classes," Nate said. "I think it will be even a lot more fun to finally see and meet them in person." The Audition Applicant: Christopher Christopher, still celebrating his admission to his top choice college about one week ago, is finally at ease and finished with his college search. After traveling to Colorado the weekend of Feb. 3 to audition for the music programs at both the University of Colorado Boulder and Denver University, Christopher said he was delighted with both the experiences and the outcome of the visit. “It was lovely,” Christopher said. “Both auditions for Denver and for Boulder were just really comfortable. The whole process was really nice and I found out immediately after that I got into the [Bachelor of Fine Arts] program for Boulder and it’s my top choice right now.” Though he had originally intended only to audition for theatre, Christopher decided to add a classical vocal audition to his application to Boulder, with hopes of a double major between a B.F.A in Theatre and a B.M. in Voice. In addition to being accepted into the B.F.A program at Boulder, Christopher has also been accepted to Denver University and Willamette University. While Christopher said he is comfortable and relaxed knowing that he has been admitted to his top choice university, he will wait to decide if he will accept his offer of admission until he has received decisions from all the other schools and music programs to which he has applied. *Names have been changed

FEB. 13, 2018

By JOSIE ABUGOV

HWCHRONICLE.COM/FEATURES

Looking Toward the Future

Harvard School in 1954. Six years later, Kay Tottori In the spring of 1956, ’60 was the first east Asian as applications for Harvard graduate of Westlake School School trickled into the ad- for Girls. Yin said there were missions office, controversy only four Jewish students in broke out within the school the Harvard School for Boys community. Bothered par- class of 1950. Kirk Holloman ’62 was ents frantically contacted then-headmaster Father the first black graduate of William S. Chalmers. What Harvard School for Boys and would this change? Would it Cynthia Williams ’70 was Westlake School for Girls’ affect their children? “Inevitably there was first black graduate. In 1986, concern among some par- Kimberly Willis ’89 and Tiffaents and alumni, and people ny Johnson ’88 established needed time to think through Westlake’s Black American the question,” Chalmers Culture Club. Prompted by wrote in an archived memoir. racial tension in Los AngeThis “question” was les and a political climate of whether or not the school change, Willis said the origshould admit its first black inal members of the group applicant to the Harvard communicated their idea to then-Headmaster Nathan O. School. “I well remember Trust- Reynolds. “As an African-American ees meeting that Spring,” Chalmers wrote. “Mr. Frank woman, there were issues King produced a sheaf of that were germained to my letters protesting the en- experience as a student, rollment of a black student what was happening on camand asked Bishop Bloy’s ad- pus and off campus, that I vice on how to answer them. felt wasn’t being addressed,” Bishop Bloy replied that Willis said. The adminissince he had made tration, especially certain that Father Reynolds, was reChalmers and the ceptive to the proadmissions composal. mittee had reached “The campus their decision upon was lacking in repa fair and equitable resentation in terms basis, the answer of the groups,” Wilshould be that the lis said. “However, school as a Chris’ when we told the tian institution did Taylor administration that not refuse admisRedmond ’18 we wanted to start sion to qualified students on the basis of ra- the BLACC, they were very supportive.” cial or cultural differences.” In addition to being an The dispute seemed to be environment for students resolved. “So quietly and almost to discuss their experiences serenely Harvard School set- and relevant issues, Willis tled this situation and with said the club also aimed to almost no exceptions the instigate substantial change. “We were definitely feelschool’s supporters accepted the situation with equanimi- ing like we could do more than just celebrate Black ty,” Chalmers wrote. Ultimately, however, the History Month once a year,” applicant did not attend Har- Willis said. “We could do more about having a voice on vard School. “When the schools were campus if there were issues founded, it wasn’t a diverse that affected us. We didn’t place,” archivist Eric Yin want to wait for something to said. “That’s the only way occur. We wanted to be proyou could describe it. Even active and bring the environif it’s not racism coded into ment that we thought Westlaw, it was sort of norm at lake could be for us.” Similar to Willis’ characthat time.” During the 1950s and terization, Jennifer Haley ’84 1960s, both Harvard School (Charles Flippen ’18, Spenand Westlake School for cer Flippen ’21) described Girls slowly began to accept the students and faculty students of color into their at Westlake as generally communities. The first Indi- open-minded about diversian student graduated from ty, despite the lack of it at WHITE S

first black student graduates from Harvard School

the school. After graduating from Westlake, she attended Howard University. “Culturally, it was insightful because I would say I had formed beliefs in my mind that I hadn’t noticed until I went to a campus where everyone looks like me,” Haley said. “It was eye-opening that I even had biases that I wasn’t aware of.” Matriculating from Westlake as one of three black students in her grade to a historically black college, Haley noted the differences in her experiences attending demographically dissimilar institutions. “It was rather uncomfortable feeling like a minority all of the time,” Haley said. “And then I went to Howard and that was a relief. When people were treating me in a way that maybe I didn’t care for at Westlake, I never knew whether it was because of race or if it was because of how that person was, so I think that is why it’s important to have that diversity.” As a current Harvard-Westlake parent, Haley said she has noticed signiﬁcant changes in the school. “The diversity of the student body is really impressive, and that was one of the things that really attracted me in wanting my kids to go here,” Haley said. “I thought it was much more diverse than many of the other independent schools right now.” Both Haley and her son, Charles Flippen ’18, said the school could improve by diversifying its faculty. Flippen also said middle school students should be more extensively educated about issues relating to race. “There are deﬁnitely more micro-aggressions at the Middle School,” Flippen said. “Interactions between kids—they don’t get it. They always play off stereotypes and things like that in normal conversations. It was a weekly occurrence where [I would] be going to the cafeteria, and someone would start saying that they’re serving watermelon in the cafeteria.” Nya Beckham ’19 said students of color like herself have a different Harvard-Westlake experience, both socially and in terms of athletics. “I would really like to be

first black student graduates from Westlake School

FEATURES B7

able to say that the experi- school’s curriculum, havence of Harvard-Westlake ing a more diverse faculty was the same for white stu- and staff and ensuring that dents and students of color, students “feel included, celbut unfortunately it’s not,” ebrated and respected for Beckham said. “I think that whatever their particular females of color are out- identity is.” cast, while males are not She highlighted that this and are more accepted in effort included respect to dithe Harvard-Westlake com- versity of thought, a type of munity. It’s obvious that diversity she said is not as Harvard-Westlake strives to frequently discussed.Before be diverse, but I think we the implementation of her give more credit than is de- position, Jones said issues served. Going to a predomi- relating to diversity were nantly white institution, it is dealt with on an ad hoc baextremely hard to be black sis. and not an athlete, and even “In the past, it was someharder to be an athlete and thing that was thought to be not be good because of the everyone’s job and no one stereotypical standards.” person’s job,” Jones said. While BLACC leader Tay- “What tends to happen when lor Redmond ’18 said race that type of approach is takdoesn’t significantly affect en is that people get really her socially, she said stu- busy and it never becomes dents of color have different one person’s central job or experiences from white stu- responsibility. So while indents in certain academic dividually people are doing a settings. lot of great things, there’s no “It can be starkly differ- collective approach to DEI.” ent during classes where Similar to Redmond, black history is discussed, or Head of Upper School Laura when there Ross said culis a minority tural compecharacter or tency is one of It’s obvious that author in a her main goals Harvard-Westlake book in Enfor the future glish,” Redof the school. strives to be diverse but mond said. “I would I think we give more “A lot of love to get to credit than is deserved.” a point in the students of color feel the —Nya Beckham ’19 school where responsibilit felt like ity to repteachers saw resent their cultural comrace and their history accu- petency just as central to rately during moments like understanding their subject those, which can sometimes matter,” Ross said. “It’s unbe a heavy burden. This year, derstanding how you crea lot of other things have be- ate a learning environment. come prevalent for students You’ve got to understand the of color as well with the social emotional stuff that Trump presidency. Pressing goes into it, you’ve got to unissues for [people of color] derstand the brain science can be very different from is- and you’ve got to understand sues that others find import- cultural competency.” ant in today’s climate.” She cited President Rick Redmond, Beckham and Commons’ views on incluFlippen all said Director of sion as valuable to the school Diversity, Equity and Inclu- community. sion Janine Jones’ work feels “Equity, inclusion, hapencouraging. piness and balance magnify “The biggest thing to con- excellence, they don’t detract gratulate the school on is for from it,” Ross said. “It’s not recognizing that there was separate. It’s just reimaginan issue, and trying to find ing what excellence means. a way to fix it in a variety of Maybe at Harvard-Westlake different ways,” Redmond there was a more narrow said. “So for that, I commend definition. It was more acaHarvard-Westlake.” demic excellence, outcomes Using the data from last and where we get into colyear’s climate assessment, lege. It’s equally important Jones said her main initia- that people feel, in their extives are improving the di- perience here, that they are versity and inclusivity of the known and valued.”

Black Leadership Awareness Culture Club is established

“

janine jones is appointed as first director of dei PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIN KUWADA AND JENNY LI

B8 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 13, 2018

Flu Frenzy By DANIELLE SPITZ

form of prevention against flu viruses. Recent studies show It wasn’t until she couldn’t that the vaccine reduces the stand up without getting a risk of flu illness by about 40 headache that Alyse Tran ’18 to 60 percent among the overfinally decided she was too sick all population during seasons to come to school. She had en- when most circulating flu virusdured three days of body aches es are like the vaccine viruses. to avoid missing class, but The recommendation to not use eventually her flu symptoms be- the nasal spray flu vaccine was came too debilitating to ignore. renewed for the second year. “The vaccine still can be “I had a lot of tests and labs due, so I definitely felt pressured helpful because, first of all, it to come to school even though protects against other strains of I was sick,” Tran said. “Final- influenza because there is more ly my parents made me stay than one strain going around, home. I didn’t even want to stay and it can confer partial immuhome but my parents made me.” nity so that even if you catch This past month set the re- the flu after you got the flu cord for highest number of ab- shot, it probably won’t be nearly as bad,” sences due to illRubin said. ness for the month Tran said of January in the I had a lot of she usualschool’s history, tests and labs due so I ly gets the flu according to upshot but didn’t per school student definitely felt pressured get around to it discipline and to come to school even this year. After attendance coorrecovering from dinator Gabriel though I was sick.” the flu, she Preciado. A total —Alyse Tran ’18 said her body of 2,794 absences was so weak due to illness were that she actureported in January, close to the 2,841 that were ally contracted strep throat. Even though he planned reported in October of 2009, when the swine flu broke out. on getting vaccinated like he The predominant strain of does every year, Jack Riley ’19 the flu this year is H3N2, which got the flu before he had the pediatrician Deborah Rubin chance. Riley missed two days said is particularly virulent. of school due to illness and “The vaccine is not as good said being sick this of a match for that particular year convinced strain this year, so the virus him to get can mutate and it can tend to the flu shot have the vaccine be less effec- more contive and therefore more flu gets sistently spread around,” Rubin said. in the However, the Centers for Dis- f u ease and Control Prevention still t u r e . recommends a yearly injectable flu vaccine as the most crucial

“

“I’ve definitely had the flu in ’19 said he did not receive the past but not as bad as it the flu vaccine this year but was this time,” Riley said. “This did his best to prevent gettime, on one of the days, I was ting sick through other preclose to a 103 degree fever.” cautions. Wheaton eventualTo differentiate between a ly contracted the flu and had regular cold and the flu, Ru- to miss one day of school. bin said the hallmarks of the “I use hand sanitizer all flu are high fevers, body aches the time and I try to not and significant coughing. touch people, but then people Although the school has would cough on me on purseen an increase in students pose as a joke and it definiteand faculty with the flu, the ly got me sick,” Wheaton said. cases have been well-manThe school offers the flu vacaged due to the school’s health cine to faculty and staff during campaign that started this fall, the health fair at the beginning community health officer Milo of the year. However, histoSini said. With emails sent out ry teacher Dave Waterhouse, to the school community and who had the flu this year, did messages posted on “Wolver- not receive the flu vaccine. screens” around campus, Sini “My doctor told me that it aims to educate stuonly prevented about 10 dents, faculty and percent of the flu germs,” staff on proper preWaterhouse said. “I so cautions to prevent rarely get it that I don’t contracting the flu. even think about it.” The campaign reBefore being out sick minds community for two days this year, members to be dilWaterhouse said he had igent about washnot missed school due to ing their hands, illness in about 9 years. ’ avoid sharing perEven after he came back Sirus sonal items with to school, he said he had Wheaton ’19 others and staying to sit down during class home for at least because standing up for 24 hours after a fever is gone. too long made him feel dizzy. “Everyone has to do their Although he’s had the part,” Sini said. “With an epi- flu in the past, Waterdemic, it takes everyone. So if house said this year’s sickyou are sick, stay home. My ad- ness was strong enough to vice to students who feel pres- defeat his “iron stomach.” sured is communicate While timing of the flu seawith your teach- son is unpredictable and can ers. Just because vary every year, flu activity typyou’re home ically peaks between December sick doesn’t and February, according to the mean that you CDC. But even if flu activity can’t be do- peaks soon, patterns from past ing work.” seasons dominated by the H3N2 S i r u s strain indicate that there may be W h e a t o n many more weeks of flu activity. WHITE S

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE KIM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Chronicle • Feb. 13, 2018

MexiGO!

Students photographed and filmed cities along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to hear stories firsthand from the people who live there. By CATY SZETO Students traveled to San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico as part of the latest HW GO! Digital Storytelling trip, which allows students to share stories of countries recovering from conflict through short films and photography. Staying true to the focus of these trips, students documented the struggles of those who live near the Mexican-American border and how strict border protection and deportation have affected their lives. The 20 students began their four day trip in Old Town San Diego where they met with border patrol for an official tour of the Mexican-American border. With four patrol agents, they explored “No Man’s Land,” the area of land between the two fences where the Tijuana and U.S. border lies. During their stay in Old Town, the students also learned about the history of Chicano Park, located beneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan. The park is home to the largest collection of murals in America, containing a large volume of cultural history and significance for the predominantly Mexican-American and immigrant community living there. Over the next three days, the students spent time on the other side of the border in Tijuana. The students focused mostly on their projects for the trip, interviewing different groups of people living in the border city, many having been recently deported from the United States. The two groups that students mainly worked with were “Las Madres”, a support group for deported mothers, and a veteran support group consisting of U.S. army and

military veterans. “These are men who have served in the U.S. Army or the U.S. Military, but they were, like dreamers, brought to the U.S. when they were little children so they were never citizens but they served in the army,” upper school Visual Arts Head and Director of HW GO! Cheri Gaulke said. “They were told they would become citizens but they never did become citizens and so if they ever have a trafﬁc violation or something, they can be deported.” Listening to the stories and experiences of these deportees, the students said they gained new insight and perspectives on what life is like as an illegal immigrant and how increased border protection affected their lives. “Interviewing deportees, especially mothers and veterans, was an eye-opening experience in that, while a lot of us have near perfect lives here in the U.S., so many people struggle to be with their families and to have the opportunities that we do,” Justin Park ’20 said. “The fact that families are being torn apart every day in the U.S. makes me hope for a better future where everyone is given the equal opportunity to care for themselves and for their families in a place where they are not judged for their roots.” The faculty chaperones said they were also touched by the stories they heard while observing the students work. “It was very powerful,” Gaulke said. “These were people that served our country, they had [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder], they were proud veterans. They didn’t speak Spanish. They didn’t know anybody in Mexico. They literally just get booted across the border with the

clothes on their back.” To help with their projects, students worked with Dignicraft, a media company in Tijuana. Outside of conducting interviews and working on their projects, the students visited museums and cultural centers. Prior to the trip, the students gathered for a one day workshop with the trip’s faculty mentors. At the workshop, the students learned basic video skills and worked with other artists who have done work relating to border control and deportation. They discussed ethical issues associated with documenting other people’s stories and learned about some of history on the border. After the end of the trip, the students gathered into small workshops where they could work on and edit their projects. During this time, they consulted with faculty mentors on how to organize their material into projects that accurately depicted the stories of the people they met on the trip. All projects will be on display in the Ahmanson Lecture Hall on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. The showcase will include a showing of all the ﬁlms made during the trip, as well as a photography exhibition featuring student shots from their time in San Diego and Tijuana. The students will present their projects and answer questions. “I encourage my fellow students to take action in any way they can, even if it is simply by coming to our exhibition in late February to learn more about what is going on and by sharing the deportees’ stories with the rest of the world,” Park said. “We are the leaders of the future, and have the most chances to make a difference.”

ILLUSTRATION BY SAM KO

C2 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 13,, 2018

Together in Harmony Upper school orchestra and choral students came together to present two combined concerts showcasing the abilities of both groups.

By ALEXANDRA SO

“Quartet for the End of Time,” a piece written in 1945 by Olivier Upper school orchestra and Messiaen, a French composer choir students collaboratively who was a prisoner of war in hosted two concerts Feb. 9 and a Polish camp. Hilt assigned 10 at the Emmanuel Lutheran three movements: “Abyss of Church and Feldman Horn Gal- the Birds,” performed by Jenny Yoon ’19, “Intermezzo,” lery. The first concert included a performed by Megan Chang variety of performances, includ- ’19, Yoon and Ori Zur ’18, and ing pieces by solo instrumental- “Praise to the Immortality of ists and chamber groups. Addi- Jesus,” performed by Hilt and tionally, students participated Clara Ross ’19. “It is a major in larger choir group piecmilestone of the es, Symphony and Cam20th century of this erata Strings. century of music,” The second concert Hilt said. “To be was dedicated to chamber able to give high music without the use of school students a piano. It included group that challenge of performances, varying in playing that music size from a duet by Jo’ seph Lauber to a septet Zanaida Robles and introducing it to them for the first by Adolphe Blanc. “I really love all the music time is a big deal. It is difficult. because I chose everything for It is good to give challenges certain students,” performing like that.” As for the choral program, arts teacher Mark Hilt said. “Some students came to me with all three of the selections that suggestions, so it was a real they are singing are selections collaborative process. I have to that they will perform on their consider each student’s poten- trip to Canada next week. “This gives us an opportial as a player, and what they are capable of. If I give them a tunity to perform some of our challenge, I consider how far most challenging and most inthey can grow in it. It is real- spirational pieces in public bely about choosing music that fore we actually take it on the is appropriate for the students road,” performing arts teacher Zanaida Robles said. “I thought who are going to perform.” One of the challenges as- it was a very good opportunity signed, according to Hilt, was to put that repertoire out there WHITE S

chamber groups use their free for our audience.” To prepare for the concert periods to get together to pracand the trip to Canada, choir tice their pieces. Despite all of the hard work students have been rehearsing during class, after school dedicated to music, Robles believes that the music classes and on some Saturdays. “Practice, practice, prac- at the Upper School allow stutice,” Robles said. “Students dents to have a place to escape. “I try to create an environwork really hard in sectionals, during free periods and when- ment that’s non-competitive and ever they can they get togeth- gives [the students] a chance to er so they can memorize their blow off steam so that this class music on their own. They sub- becomes an environment where they can escape the mit reports other stresses,” Roabout what bles said. “This is they have [Music] really a different kind of worked on connects us with who focus. I think the in their secstudents apprecitionals on we are as human ate the opportunity their own beings.” to make music tojust to make — Mark Hilt gether in an envisure that evPerforming Arts Teacher ronment that gives erybody is them the power of on it.” expression.” OrchesHilt said music is beneficial tra students had a different practice regiment. Hilt had to not only for students but for evsplit up students into small eryone. “[Music] really connects groups and organize a schedule since several students us with who we are as human were in multiple chamber beings,” Hilt said. “You are in touch with something that is groups. “It is a real challenge,” Hilt bigger than yourself and your said. “I make the rounds first cares. By connecting us to the period. It is a balancing act all music, we also connect to the the time. I’ve given students people who listen to the music some real challenges and ev- in some unseen way. I think erything I’ve heard sounds music is not just important for students, but for everybody. It terrific.” In addition to the rehears- is crucial to who we are as huals in class, many of the man beings.”

“

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDRA SO AND PAVAN TAU

FEB. 13, 2018

HWCHRONICLE.COM/AE

A&E C3

Life in “Our Town” Members of the audience and the company attribute their emotional connection with the upper school winter play to its larger themes of love, death and daily life.

By SARAH LEE

at Harvard-Westlake, but he said the responses he has gotten from Though more than a week has the audience at this most recent passed since the final show of the production are the best he has reupper school winter play, “Our ceived of all time. “You can tell from the audiTown,” Coco Kaleel ’20 still finds herself talking about the play with ence reaction that it was very her family and friends. She tells warm, very responsive and deeply them how she was almost brought moving for lots of people,” Walch to tears and how much she wish- said. “It is about the fact that we are all mortal and it actually dares es she could see it again. “I was moved by [the actors’] to address the question, ‘What portrayal of life and death, as well happens after we die?’ I think this generation responded more as the emotion the actors to some of the deeper put into their scenes,” philosophical insights Kaleel said. that this play has to ofKaleel is not alone fer.” in her response to “Our Máté Major ’18, who Town,” a play by Thornplayed the role of Stage ton Wilder depicting the Manager, said he was daily life and ultimate able to connect with the death of people living in themes of life and death the small New Hampin “Our Town” not in shire town of Grover’s ’ spite of, but because of Corners. Performing arts Ted Walch his youth. teacher Ted Walch, who “Being a certified brooding directed the play, said he has been receiving emails from both faculty teenager, I contemplate a lot on, and students about how they felt ‘What’s the point of all this?’” Major said. “[‘Our Town’] alluded to after seeing the production. Walch said that one of his fa- something greater than myself, vorite emails was one from a stu- and it helped me feel more part dent who, like Kaleel, was still of some interconnection between thinking about the play even after myself and others that I might not have been as aware of.” it was over. Charlotte Weinman ’18, who “I got one Wednesday from a kid who said, ‘I can’t shake it. played the role of Emily Webb, a It’s just still inside me and I just girl who grows up and gets married in Grover’s Corners, wanted you to know that,’” Walch said playing her said. role made her Walch has directed think more four productions of about her “Our Town” own comduring ing of age. his time WHITE S

“I think putting this play on applicable.” with high schoolers is both tricky Walch said that because the and necessary,” Weinman said. main ideas of the play transcend “We are at times in our lives when demographics, “Our Town” repwe can look back on a lot of de- resents human society at all velopment and look forward to a points in time and in all commulot more. It makes me look at my nities. own age very differently and has “This play allows all possibilgiven me another perspective to ities because the title ‘Our Town’ see things and people from.“ now comes to mean our town— Subjects such as aging are who we are,” Walch said. “The what Weinman said she attri- truths about human beings in butes to the play’s ability to res- the play are absolutely universal, onate with such a large audience. whether they’re male, female, non“It’s not like binary, transgenthe immediate plot der, black, white, points are the most Asian or Jewish.” I realized that relatable, but the Because he what Wilder tapped overarching themes felt all audiences into was something of growing up, famshould be able to ily relationships, connect with the more profound and love and mortaliplay, Major said a lot more widely ty are some of the he hopes that applicable.” most universal those who saw themes out there,” Town” leave —Máté Major ’18 “Our Weinman said. “I with a greater think the script in appreciation of all its awkward, heartbreaking the time they have while they are glory really resonates more than alive. you’d imagine at a ﬁrst glance.” “I hope people gain a greatLike Weinman, Major said the er awareness of every little moplay’s themes were what made it ment—these little details that so relatable, regardless of the fact surround us that we can never rethat it takes place over ally process fully,” Major said. “[I 100 years ago. hope] that people will consequent“The play did ly be a little more aware of their seem distant,” Ma- o w n place in their own world jor said. “But as I got and everyone else’s, to know it, I realized and not necessarthat what Wilder ily contemplate tapped into was great philosophical something more questions in every profound and waking moment, a lot more but be a bit more widely present.”

“

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF WOO SIM PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ISABELLE ESHRAGHI AND SARAH LEE

C4 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE CHRONICLE

Taking the World by Nord-Storm

By KAELYN BOWERS

Looking through the monitor of his Canon 80D, award-winning filmmaker Jack Nordstrom ’19 filmed as the license plate of his grandfather’s Jeep Wagoneer faded into the distance, signaling the closing shot of his original short film “Old Bloo.” Nordstrom said he first started filming on iMovie when he was about six years old and is heavily inspired by his father and brother, who both love filmmaking. Director Wes Anderson often inspires his filmmaking style, he said. “I’m a big fan of Wes Anderson and I’m a big fan of retro music, art and rock,” Nordstrom said. “I’ll often think of an idea for a script while I’m listening to one of my favorite albums.” Nordstrom said Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” in partic-

FEB. 13, 2018

Jack Nordstrom ’19 talks about his experience writing, directing, acting in and filming his own original short films.

ular has become one of his fa- basically inspired by my dad’s vorite films because of its use movies and how he would bring all of his friends and of visual balance and props. “All of the props are they would use airsoft guns to eye-catching and they don’t do battles and film it ” Lots of Nordstrom’s inspiratake you away from the story,” Nordstrom said. “Whenev- tion comes from his childhood er I make my movies, I think experiences. His film “Puget Sound,” set in about includPuget Sound, ing a very deWashington fining prop Don’t centers around that is in no procrastinate, don’t one of his faother movies. vorite childhood I’m always on wait until you get a spots. ebay looking His newest for old phones good camera, just go short film, “Old and stuff.” out and do it.” Bloo” is a film Nordstrom by his said his cre—Jack Nordstrom ’19 inspired grandfather’s ative process 1976 Jeep Wagbegins with finding inspiration, writing a oneer, whose license plate script and then directing, act- reads “Old Bloo” and functions as the main prop of the film. ing in and editing his films. Nordstrom entered his film, “The two films that I’ve really put forward are ‘Puget “Puget Sound” into 26 festiSound’ and ‘Old Bloo,’” Nord- vals. Ultimately, he won 15 strom said. “‘Puget Sound’ is awards. “Old Bloo” has been the one I made a year ago. It’s accepted into six festivals for

“

the upcoming festival season. Nordstrom said that one day, he hopes to win in the Sundance ﬁlm festival for a feature ﬁlm. “I see a lot of people who want to make movies and they procrastinate because they need a better camera or something like that,” Nordstrom said. Nordstrom said he believes in doing all he can to get exposure for his work ever since he read a book about getting ahead. “The number one thing [it said] was that you don’t save scripts and wait until you have a better camera or a better director because once you’re older, you’re going to look at the script and say, ‘This is so bad,’” Nordstrom said. Nordstrom said he hopes to

inspire others to start pursuing their creative ideas starting at a young age. “To anyone who wants to make a movie, do it,” Nordstrom said. “Do it as quick as you can and get started. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t wait until you get a good camera. Just go out and d o it.”

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF JACK NORDSTROM ’19

KEEP CALM, A NEW FILMAKER IS COMING: LEFT: Jack Nordstrom’19 walks down an Idaho road in a clip from his ﬁlm. CENTER: Nordstrom looks at a nostalgic photograph of his band handed to him by his brother. RIGHT: Nordstrom drives his grandfather’s Jeep Wagoner with his brother in the ending scene of the short ﬁlm.

The Language of Love

Science teacher Nate Cardin created a crossword puzzle to celebrate February and Valentine’s Day. Crossword puzzles will be featured in every issue.

CROSSWORD BY NATE CARDIN

Across 1. Muscle twitch 6. Commercials 9. Label someone on Facebook again 14. Phi Beta ___ 15. Type of talk or rally 16. Avoid capture 17. Alternatives to Slurpees 18. Southern California town by the Arizona border

whose name means “green stick” and whose name sounds like a city in Los Angeles county 20. Feature of life at Harvard-Westlake, for many 22. Technology that cops use to see how fast you’re driving 23. Paleo or Atkins 25. ___ City (society-building

computer game) 26. Move like a kangaroo 29. In complete disorder 34. ___ chi (type of martial art) 35. Fencing sword 36. Start of many Latin American place names 37. Where el sol rises 39. Mister, in Madrid 42. Gross smell

43. Houston ballplayer 45. Flightless Australian birds 47. Type of pen used during allergic reactions 48. Actor known from his roles in “Gilmore Girls,” “Heroes,” and “This is Us” 52. With 50-Down, part of a famous proverb depicted by a monkey covering its eyes 53. Self-importance 54. Voice quality 55. Encouraged strongly 57. Allotted amount 61. Things metaphorically worn when handling something or someone carefully 65. Lee Jones, Lasorda, or Hilfiger 66. Amtrak’s Boston-to-DC express train 67. “If you ask me” to someone texting 68. Deceptive tricks 69. Dutch flower 70. High tennis hit 71. When 7th period often starts Down 1. Hits the slopes 2. Diplomatic agreement 3. One who mimics (like a primate) 4. Water polo uniform 5. Gigantic 6. Instagram or Snapchat 7. First word of a letter or email, often 8. Result of a cannonball in the pool 9. Overhauls 10. At any time 11. Paving or roofing material 12. Sum up 13. “Golly!” 19. Garfield’s canine companion

21. Oozes (into) 24. Palm or pine 26. “Messiah” composer 27. Eight-armed sea creatures 28. City that is home to Bradley University in Illinois 29. Groups of ﬁrst string players 30. Famous dog of classic TV 31. Small 32. Basic belief 33. Chinese philosopher ___tzu 38. Ranch sufﬁx 40. Leave out 41. Gossip 44. What circles do in a Venn diagram 46. “My Way” singer Frank 49. Eleven’s favorite food in “Stranger Things” 50. See 52-Across 51. Hit 2017 Jordan Peele thriller 55. Citrus fruit that looks better than its name might imply 56. Audition tape 58. Pointer Sisters hit “___ Excited” 59. Bad sign 60. Wall Street init. 61. Kit ___ bar 62. Post-ER hospital area 63. Marina ___ Rey, California 64. Weep loudly

Scan for Answers!

Sports The Chronicle • Feb. 13, 2018

Girls’ Basketball

LUKE CASOLA/CHRONICLE

HARD IN THE PAINT: Forward Jayda Ruffus-Milner ’18 drives against FSHA at home in a 64-33 blowout win Jan. 25. She averages 10.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game. The team is 2-0 against FSH this season winning each by more than 30 points. Wing Melanie Hirsch ’18 finished 13 points, 10 in the first quarter.

Stars, freshmen combine to win league undefeated By Luke Casola and Keila McCabe

Coming off of a 25-5 overall and 6-2 league record last season, the girls’ basketball team ended its regular season with an undefeated league record and claimed the Mission League title. The team finished with an overall record of 22-4 before playoffs. Guard Ashlee Wong ’18 said personal connections have contributed to success. “The bonds I’ve created with my teammates have helped boost my confidence in myself and those around me, since I know all my teammates are capable of doing great things to help us win,”

Wong said. “The team has “It’s a really great feeling, benefitted from the support especially since we haven’t on the bench, encouragement won since 2011,” guard Melfrom each other and even the ani Hirsch ’18 said. “We came little things like high fives into [the game] determined after making a great play.” to win it for [Ruffus-Milner] The team had a since she couldn’t point differential of play and she’s been +244. The team also an integral piece won every game in in getting us here.” league, only three of The team also which were won by finished the season less than ten points. strong on a sevenThe squad was able game winning streak to claim the title afafter losing to Center beating Chamitennial on Jan. 15. ’ nade on Feb. 8. Head Coach With the team Melissa HearMelanie chasing a league lihy said that she Hirsch ’18 championship, has a preparation forward Jayla Ruffus-Mil- plan for the girls’ playoffs. ner ’18 had to exit ear“In preparation for playly with a shoulder injury. offs, we need to balance white s

“

We expect to see some great competition and some very talented teams. But we have worked so hard. We don’t let anyone’s record or the name on someone’s jersey define how we play.” —Kiki Iriafen ’21

practice time with rest,” Hearlihy said. “It is late in the season, and we have played a very tough schedule, with our two toughest league games being the last two games of the season.” Hearlihy leads her team into the Open Division for the second year in a row. “We will compete in the Open Division,” Hearlihy said. “Therefore, we will play three Saturdays in a row, leaving the weekdays for practices. During this time of the season, that can be a plus and a minus.” Wong added the team’s at-

white’s

titude is also very important as they head into playoffs. “The key to our success is to stay together as a team and be positive,” Wong said. “We know how good we are and the only thing that will beat us is ourselves. If we play our game and believe in each other, we can achieve our goals.” Center Kiki Iriafen ’21 said they are prepared for playoffs. “We expect to see some great competition and some very talented teams,” Iriafen said. “But we have worked so hard, we don’t let anyone’s record or the name on someone’s jersey define

Boys’ Basketball

Losses to Crespi cost league title

By Jackie Greenberg

The boys’ basketball team is looking forward to playoffs after a successful season, finishing with a league record of 9-3. After losing to Crespi on Jan. 17, the team looked for redemption by hosting the Colts at home Feb. 9. However, the team fell 72-63 to Crespi in the game that determined whether or not the squad would have played in the CIF Open Division. The team placed second in

the league and will advance to the Southern Section Division I Playoffs on Feb. 14. “We played really well together and all stuck by each other and fought with each other,” Juzang said. “I think it’s just a matter of making better decisions, playing smarter basketball and maybe picking up the defensive intensity. There’s been great chemistry and great teamwork.” With strong players in the post, the team looked to forward Mason Hooks ’20, guard • Continued on D6

NOAH AIRE/CHRONICLE

KING OF THE COURT: Forward Johnny Juzang ’20 takes a three-point shot while defended by a Loyola player Jan. 31 in a 65-48 win. Juzang is a five-star recruit according to ESPN.com.

D2 SPORTS

THE CHRONICLE

Game to watch February 17 Girls’ Basketball vs. Serra Taper Gym The team will host Serra High School in its ﬁrst round of CIF Playoffs. Earlier in the season, the Wolverines eliminated the Cavaliers in the Redondo Union tournament 7260, and they are hoping to have the same success in the upcoming game. Going into playoffs, the squad is the undefeated league champion with an overall record of 22-4. They look to get a CIF ring this year after a loss in the ﬁnals last year.

KEY PLAYER Kiki Iriafen ’21 6’1” forward Kiki Iriafen ’21 is averaging a double-double with 17.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Iriafen led the team in both points and rebounds per game and is tied with Jayda Ruffus-Milner ’18 in blocks per game. Iriafen is also shooting 51 percent from the ﬁeld this season.

& Figures Facts

National ranking for girls’ basketball

23 Goals scored by girls’ soccer in season

14 Johnny Juzang’s average points per game

FEB. 13, 2018

Wrestling

Individual wrestlers see success

By SABA NIA

Despite finishing their Mission League season with a 1-3 record, the varsity wrestling team performed well individually and sent four players to CIF. Kanoa Young ’21 at 152 pounds, Riley Ruiz ’20 at 126 pounds, John Cahill ’20 at 138 pounds and Justin Butler ’19 at 160 pounds, who placed second, first, third and third in their weight classes, respecRYAN KIM/CHRONICLE tively, will compete at CIF. Team captain Calvin Kaleel LAUREN NEHORAI/CHRONICLE ’18 placed fourth at 132 pounds, and will be an alter- SMACKDOWN: Viswa Douglass ’21 squares off against an opponent in a Jan. 24 dual against Notre nate at CIF. Dame. Douglass said that upperclassmen on the team have been very supportive during the season. The team said they tried to push through a series of have probably learned how to Players cited Cartmill’s expanded the program during setbacks that included can- do this year is just no matter coaching, which was aided by his three years as head coach, celed matches, the disruption what obstacles are put in front assistant coaches Ben Parrish said he is excited about the risof their training schedule due of you, just get back up the and Craig Seidenglanz, as to ing wrestlers from the Middle to the fires and struggling to next day and find a way to per- why the team was able to se- School and creating a closer place as a team due to a short- severe through it.” and more experienced team, cure personal bests. age of players. Despite not gar“All the coaches work with though he will miss Kaleel’s Cartmill said that nering major wins as he pushed the var- us very well,” Young said. “They leadership. a team, wrestlers said “I love this sport,” Kaleel sity team, which was help us drill, and sometimes they accomplished comprised of eight they’ll be our drilling partners. said. “I love this team. I love their collective goal wrestlers, in addition They coach us on techniques, this school. And I love wresof strengthening their to the two JV players, and they always push us to tling here. I learned a lot about individual skills. to focus on improving our limits, which brings out myself, pushing my limits and “Life doesn’t althe best in us, which is great. really trying to be the best that individually. ways work out the “For me, it’s about And I think that’s why I think I can. This sport brings out the way you want it to coming in here every our team is getting better and best in me. I think I learned or the way it’s suphow to push myself even when day and just trying to better every day.” ’ posed to,” Wrestling The team is also preparing you feel the pain. Learning how be the best you can Riley Ruiz ’20 Program Head Patrick be so, the more times for next season, and players to get up is really important, Cartmill said. “What in a row you do that, that’s said that they hope for more and I think this sport and the matters is just getting up and an accomplishment,” Cartmill individuals to advance to CIFs coaches all teach us just how I think that what our guys said. next year. Cartmill, who has to do that.” WHITE S

Girls’ Water Polo

53 Boys’ soccer league ranking

Junior Varsity RYAN ALBERT/CHRONICLE

Boys’ Basketball Overall Record: 9-17 League Record: 1-11

Girls' Soccer

Overall Record: 5-4-3 League Record: 4-0-2

Boys' Soccer Overall Record: 8-6-1 League Record: 7-4-1

Girls’ Basketball Overall Record: 8-6-1 League Record: 7-4-1

FISH OUT OF WATER: Alex Button ’21 (left) and Namlhun Jachung ’20 (right) face off versus Notre Dame in the Mission League Championships in a Feb. 8 game. The Wolverines beat Notre Dame 12-8, winning the title for the 22nd year in a row.

Water polo dominates league, looks to CIF By RYAN ALBERT

The girls’ water polo team is looking forward to CIF playoffs after an undefeated regular season. This year, the squad defeated teams it lost to last year, like Peninsula High School with a 13-7 win compared to last year’s 8-5 loss and beat old rivals with wider margins, like a 20-0 win against Louisville compared to last year’s 15-5 win. The Wolverines defeated Notre Dame for the second time this season in the ﬁnal game of the Mission League

playoffs, winning the ﬁnals for the 22nd time in a row. The Wolverines defeated Notre Dame for the second time this season in the ﬁnal game of the Mission League playoffs. The girls jumped out to an early lead and held off the Knights defensively. Despite maintaining their lead, Namlhun Jachung ’20 said they did not play up to their full potential. “I felt so proud to be part of the team,” Jachung said. “Our energy was a bit low during the game but we still won, which was awesome.”

The Mission League ﬁnal game was the team’s 105th Mission League game win. “Keeping the streak was really important to all of us and I think the girls on this team are closer than ever,” Jachung said. Captain and attacker Pria Pant ’18 said the squad was memorable in the way that they grew especially close this year. “The best part was deﬁnitely how close everyone was this year,” Pant said. “While we only had nine players, I think that’s what has made our team

so special.” The girls aim for success going into CIF playoffs and want to qualify for Junior Olympics this year. Before then, players hope to become more comfortable facing off against strong teams, since the squad is still young. “Our team is really young this year, so it is amazing to see how much a lot of the younger players have grown and become incredible,” Pant said. “Before CIF, I think we hope for everyone to be more conﬁdent and calm before entering big games.”

Feb. 13, 2018

hwchronicle.com/sports

Sports D3

inbrief

Girls’ Soccer

Midseason bumps prevent league title

Field hockey players receive title rings

Every member of the field hockey team received a ring for their record-breaking season during a ceremony held during the First and Third Assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 7 in Taper Gym. The team maintained an undefeated record the entire season, finishing 20-0. This feat had never before achieved by a field hockey team at the Upper School in the history of the program. “For us seniors, ending our high school careers with an undefeated season and being league champions was an absolute dream come true,” team captain Mia Reilly ’18 said. —Spencer Klink

By Asa Saperstein

form consistently at the varsity level. In particular, [Barnouw] The girls’ soccer team fin- and [Phillips] have been great ished the season with an over- for us this season. Barnouw all record of 11-4-2, putting is incredibly dangerous going them at second place in the forward, and Phillips has been Mission League behind Flin- super solid for us at the back and in the midfield.” tridge Sacred Heart. Players also mentioned Center defensive mid Kerry Neil ’19 said that the team is goalkeeper Devon Carmel ’21 disappointed that they were not as a valuable freshman. “She’s made some insane able to win the Mission League saves and plays that have alfor the first time in five years. “It was really upsetting lowed us to keep shutouts and for the team knowing that we win games,” Neil said. Smith said that the 8-0 viccouldn’t continue that legacy, but going into playoffs now tory against Alemany Wedneswe’re all really inspired to work day gave the team a lot of conhard and live up to the expecta- fidence going into the playoffs. “I have complete confidence tions of the program,” Neil said. Center mid Nikki Smith in our team going into the play’19 said that the seniors have offs, and I think we’re prepared stepped up as the leaders of the to go far this year,” Smith said. “For me, the turning point of team. “I would definitely credit the season was the 8-0 victory our two senior captains, De- over Alemany on Wednesday nise [Shkurovich ’18] and Ari- night. We lost to Alemany 2-1 ana [Miles ’18] ,” Smith said. when we played away, and it “They’ve always been positive was a frustrating game. I think and always been encouraging, the 8-0 win over them at home and they really held our team was the turning point because it reminded us what together even through kind of team we are, the tougher parts of and really brought the season.” our confidence back Smith said she apup.” plauds all the freshNeil said that men who have made a recent formation a difference on the change has improved team, specifically the team’s offensive praising center mid potential. and left forward NataW ’ “We were having a lie Barnouw ’21 and Nikki Smith ’19 lot of trouble scoring, defender Natalie Philso our coach changed our line ips ’21. Barnouw has scored mul- up from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 to tiple goals for the team and is get us more opportunities up always contributing to attacks front,” Neil said. “We’ve adapted really well and been able to in some way, she said. “I would credit all of them get a lot more goals because of for stepping up this season,” it.” Smith said that the synergy Smith said. “It’s not easy to come in as a freshman and of the team is looking better have the confidence to per- right now than it has all seahite s

SAAC awards Athlete of the Month honors PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

FRESHMAN AGGRESSION: Natalie Phillips ’21 dribbles the ball upfield during a 2-0 victory over Taft (Woodland Hills) Jan. 5. son. “We struggled a bit in the middle of the season, but we overcame that adversity and I think it’s brought us together as a team,” Smith said. “Our chemistry going into playoffs is great, and we’ve found a system and a style that really plays to our strengths.” Some team members attribute the lull in the middle of the season to the loss of a few valuable teammates to U.S. Soccer Development Academy Club. These included Whitney Elson ’19 and Chloe Beardmore ’19. “Going in we knew things were going to be different hav-

ing lost key players to Academy,” Neil said. “We started off the season really strong but unfortunately had a bit of a hiccup and lost the Mission League for the first time in about 5 years.” Multiple players said the highlight of the season was a blowout victory over Alemany on Senior Night. “It was so incredible to not only win 8-0 but have both of our seniors score amazing goals,” Neil said. “Alemany was the first team we lost to during the league and being able to crush them at home was the best kind of revenge for everyone.”

Boys’ Soccer

Strong finish secures second in league By Asa Saperstein

The boys’ soccer team finished second in the Mission League with a record of 9-8-2 Friday. Head Coach Kris Ward said that, given the age of the team, second place is a great way to finish. “Before the start of the season, we weren’t sure what the other teams were going to look like,” Ward said. “A lot of

these other schools are going out with squads that are completely upperclassmen.” Center back Nick Barnouw ’19 said the team finished out the season strong, only losing one of their last seven games. The one loss was against Loyola, a team that was 11-1 at the time. Barnouw said the key to success was the team’s commitment to stay positive, including a new tradition of

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

BREAKING ANKLES: William Roskin ’18 jukes out opponent during Senior Night against Crespi. The team won the game 5-0.

playing music in the locker ing a lot of good goals and givroom before every home game. ing the team a versatile player “We get more confident at midfield. He also said that once we get up in games, once Greenlee has been a big conwe’ve scored, then we’re going tributor since he was a freshto be able to play a bit more man. loosely,” Barnouw said. Team members also said The team that Langston is having more Holly ’20 has fun, players been working A lot of these said, which hard and fightother schools are translates to ing for his time. playing more Holly scored going out with squads loosely on the two goals in that are completely field. It ala 5-0 victory lows them to against Crespi upperclassmen.” play with each Thursday night other, instead —Kris Ward at home. of individuProgram Head blewTheout team ally looking to St. score goals. Francis 6-0 on The team Jan. 19, yet had to rely on a lot of fresh tal- Barnouw said that the team’s ent. best game of the year came in Barnouw specifically point- the second game of the seaed out that center midfielder son, which was against Notre Connor Colao ’21 has played Dame. The Wolverines lost 2-1, well and shown a lot of poten- but Barnouw said the game tial. played well together as a team. Barnouw also called Pablo Ward and Barnouw said they Greenlee ’20 “amazing” and a should have won the game. “future D1 player.” He cited The team will begin play Greenlee’s first touch and his in CIF playoff games starting ability to weave in and out of Feb. 16, and is yet to find out players. what team they are playing Ward said that Colao had and whether it will be at home, a great stretch of games, scor- as of press time.

“

Girls’ water polo team captain Pria Pant ’18 and wrestler Riley Ruiz ’20 won the Athlete of the Month awards for January. Ruiz is the Mission League champion at the 128-pound weight class. “Winning Athlete of the Month was a huge honor,” Ruiz said. “It feels great to put in hard work and get recognized by the whole school.” Pant, the only senior on the girls’ water polo team, has led the team to an undefeated league record this season. “As my last season playing at Harvard-Westlake, it feels great to have all the time, dedication and work I have put into the program recognized,” Pant said. —Marcelo Rodriguez

Lineman Douglass named to first team USC commit Liam Douglass ’18 has been named to the CalHi Sports All-State Football First Team for offense. Douglass, who received offers from 12 Division I NCAA schools, including four Pac-12 universities, according to espn. com, has provided protection for quarterback Jameson Wang ’20 for the past two years. The 6-foot 5-inch, 270 pound offensive tackle has been ranked as high as the 15th best offensive lineman in his class due to his quickness and strength, according to CBS Sports. —Marcelo Rodriguez

Construction continues on storage container A new storage container is being installed by the track around Ted Slavin Field, which will store cross country and track cross-training equipment. When complete, there will be lighting and power in the container, and the front end will be fitted with a roller door for easy access to the track. Cross country team captain Lila Cardillo ’18 said that the storage facility could allow more injured runners to stay in shape. Athletics Director Darlene Bible says the construction will likely be complete in a couple of weeks. —Ryan Albert

D4 SPORTS

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 1

Signing Day Scra

13, 2018

HWCHRONICLE.COM/SPORTS

apbook

SPORTS D5

D1 Athletes sign or commit to schools Feb. 7 as a part of National Signing Day.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SPENCER KLINK AND RYAN ALBERT

D6 Sports

The Chronicle

Feb. 13, 2018

Equestrian

Riders see strong solo victories By Keila McCabe

Although the equestrian team has struggled to be competitive in team standings due to its small size, individual equestrian riders have been working hard and placing well. The Wolverines placed sixth in the varsity division after the third show with a combined high score for its top two riders of 334 points. The team is made up of six members from seventh to tenth grade, but division is based on skill level. Rider Allegra Drago ’23 said that placing is difficult but the team remains optimistic regarding individual standings. “We don’t have many riders on the team, so it’s less likely that we’ll score higher,” Drago said. “Some other schools have 15 to 20 girls on their team and we only have six people. But since we have really strong riders we are better to place individually.” After competing in three shows this year, team captain Skyler Calkins ’20 was first overall in the freshman rider standings with 144 total points. She scored 44 points in hunter, 43 points in equitation, 27 points in jumper and 32 points in dressage. The results of shows are

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF SOPHIA EKSTRAND ’20

WATCH ME WHIP, NOW WATCH ME NEIGH NEIGH: Sophia Ekstrand ’20 and her horse Esteban pose together. With Esteban, she competes at the varsity level and placed third overall in the team’s third competition. She finished with 96 points. based off a cumulative number of points in different events added after each show. Rider Sophie Bekins ’21 placed ninth overall in the novice division at the most recent show Jan. 14, and with her cumulative score, she is thirteenth overall. Rider Sophia Ekstrand ’20 competes at the varsity level in dressage. In the third show, Jan. 14, she placed first in dressage and third overall in the varsity category with 96 points. Ekstrand said she loves the incredibly unique sport. “I really enjoy working with my horse,” Ekstrand said. “It changes day-to-day, as when the horse is feeling different,

you’re going to have to do different things, but that’s what makes it so interesting and fun.” The team has participated in three out of the four shows in the Interscholastic Equestrian League. Prior to each show, riders are given a course of jumps to memorize. There is a certain time allowed to complete each course, and the goal of their show is to complete the course without mistakes in the shortest amount of time possible. Riders are categorized into novice, freshman, junior varsity or varsity based on skill level. Most of the riders on the team are strong competitors in

the freshman division. Rider Katherine Kihiczack ’21 said that building a good connection with the horse is very important to succeed. “The most important part of equestrian is developing the relationship with the horse and confidence in your riding,” Kihiczack said. “The more you are riding a specific horse, the more you are able to anticipate how the horse might respond to certain situations or parts of the arena.” Riders have the option of going to practice however many times they would like during the week. The riders almost all have their horses in different barns, so it is difficult for them

to have a team practice. Since the riders don’t get together as a team, there are few opportunities for them to bond, so riders have said there is a big difference between equestrian and other sports. “In equestrian, you’re more focused on your own performance and not as much on everyone else,” Ekstrand said. “In a sport like volleyball when the whole team has to win, everyone has to be more involved with winning together. But I still feel like there’s a sense of supporting each other in equestrian.” The team’s next show is April 15 at Hansen Dam Equestrian Center.

Loving sportsball By Lucas Gelfond

RYAN ALBERT/CHRONICLE

SLIDE TO THE LEFT: Point guard Spencer Hubbard ’20 drives past Loyola guard Mason Butler in a game Jan. 31 in Taper Gym. Hubbard has averaged eight points per game this season.

Team finishes second in league • Continued from D1

post, the team looked to forward Mason Hooks ’20, guard Johnny Juzang ’20 and guard Brase Dottin ’20 for defensive help against Crespi. “We want to do a good job of keeping Brandon Williams off the free-throw line and out of the paint,” Program Head David Rebibo said. Though the team gained Dottin, who came back from a concussion, it lost Truman Gettings ’21 to a concussion. Hooks had to stop playing after the first quarter due to his sinus infection, meaning the Wolverines were missing two key players. The team grew tired as the Celts pulled away due to the squad’s loss of players and how tired the rest of

the team was. The game deter- Crespi and Alemany. Although mined the team’s seed going they defeated Alemany at home into the CIF Division I Playoffs. once, the team fell to the War“I want us to win as many riors on Jan. 19 by two points games as we with Juzang out possibly can,” sick. The WolJuzang said. verines dropped [I want to] both games I really want to improve myagainst Crespi self and my due to lack of learn as much as I can teammates as players. and improve myself as much as I can With key and come out players gone much as I possibly can.” with a couple from last year’s of rings, CIF many — Johnny Juzang ’20 team, and state. I doubted the abilreally want to ity of this year’s learn as much lineup. However, as I can and improve myself as the team managed to finish the much as I possibly can.” season strongly. Having lost many players to “We’re a family and we play Sierra Canyon, the Wolverines well together,” guard Simon have a very young team yet Pompan ’18 said. “When we have still defeated most of their share the ball, we play our competition, only losing to best.”

“

One year ago I was your average sport-hater. I had never watched a full football game other than the Super Bowl. I regularly declined invites to basketball and baseball games. I had never made a fantasy account and never planned to. My only personal sports experience consisted of an undefeated run as left fielder on my fourth grade little league team and three days of cross country in seventh grade before I dropped out. It goes without saying that I never used to read Big Red or the Sports section of the Chronicle. Everything changed after I covered the varsity field hockey team this fall. I was looking to move away from being a reporter on the Chronicle to focusing more on digital content when one of our current Sports Editors and Big Red Managing Editor Matthew Yam ’18 approached me about joining sports. He said that Sports was short on juniors and that I’d have lots of responsibilities in the section. After some deliberation, I signed on and was assigned a fall sport beat along with all other juniors in the section. Beat coverage is a simple but rigorous task: cover everything that a team does. Cover every single game that they play, take photos, interview players and, most importantly, write articles based on how the team is doing. Along the way, get to know the team and try and get the most interesting perspectives you can out of the players. As an amateur journalist and a sports writer with no previous experience, the task was extremely daunting. Little did I know how much I would enjoy it. Covering field hockey was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The team went undefeated for the first time, finishing with a 20-0 record and ending the season by winning the LAFHA title. After every game, I’d text the players

to get their postgame reactions. While I can’t say I knew exactly what it was like to be on the team, I could feel the joy and passion that all of the players put into the game. I could see the bonds, camaraderie and friendships that formed and all of the hard work that they put in. I’d hear about their intense practicing and lifting schedule one day and hear about their shut out win the next. Players would tell me about the group bonding over lunch and then tell me that those tight bonds helped them read each other and dominate games. One year later, I can say definitively that I have a different opinion about sports. Sports is not about throwing a ball around. Sports is not about strength or endurance. Technique is of course important, but the best part of sports is the emotion. Sports is about relationships with your teammates and bonds that will last for a lifetime. Sports is about determination and hard work that pays off in an undefeated season. Sports is about coming together as a team to support the player out with an injury. Sports is about the impulse for every single player to run into a huddle after the time ran out in the 20th game of the field hockey season that marked the team’s title win. While I still can’t say that I keep up with basketball, play fantasy or watch a football game from start to finish, I can say that I see sports in a completely new way. I have a new respect. Sports teaches some things that we scarcely find elsewhere: the payoff of hard work, teamwork, discipline and so much more. For all of you who are like me — please learn from my mistakes and maybe take your friend up on that invite to the football game sometime. Sports really are worth your time.

Feb. 13, 2018

hwchronicle.com/sports

Sports D7

D8 SPORTS

Q&A

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 13, 2018

Jayda & Jayla Ruffus-Milner Girls’ Basketball

By JACKIE GREENBERG When and how did you start playing basketball? Jayda: We started playing when we were about 11 years old, between fifth and sixth grade. We ended up meeting our coach and other players and it led us to our journey at this school. Jayla: We started playing for fun. Our mom kind of threw us in a rec league, but then it became something we really enjoyed and something that became a tool to get an education. How has being a varsity player and team leader impacted you as a player? What has it taught you? Jayla: Being a varsity basketball player at this campus you need to have a very strong mindset and you need to be very organized and have good time-management. You have to think about what your goals are because you need to balance basketball and education. Being on a varsity sport, you have to put that above certain social occasions outside of school, but it makes you very dedicated on the court and at school and traveling with the team. Being a captain means that you need to set a good example for everyone around you and make sure that you’re the leader of those who are younger than you. You also need to showcase 100 percent of your ability and be the best that you can be at any given moment so that no one sees you falling down or getting down on yourself. How have you evolved as a player over the course of your high school career? Jayda: Throughout our high school career we have become more versatile. Between ninth grade and junior year we played the big forward role because we were always the biggest and tallest players on the team and this year we have been able to take roles of many other positions on the floor. We’re able to bring up the ball and share the ball, drive and kick out, allow other scorers to score and our shooters to shoot. This has happened because our coach has given us the opportunity to be more versatile players and now we have another big [player], Kiki [Iriaken ’21]. This allows us to play more outside of the paint while she does the dirty work in the post. How much time do you spend training, both in season and offseason? Jayla: I don’t know the exact time and place that we figured out that we were passionate about basketball. It’s more of a feeling that comes gradually. I think you especially realize it in high school because you notice how it affects your life. We realized the impact that basketball can have on your future in terms of where it can take you in your education and how it can impact your confidence and ability to overcome obstacles. It has turned us into more mature and responsible people. What has been your most memorable on-court moment? Jayda: Our most memorable on-court moment to this date would be our last home game, senior night against Alemany. That went into double overtime and it was a fight to the finish. Throughout that game it was very intense and it was neck and neck. Jayla got hurt in the third quarter and as a team we had to stay together and not give up. We exhibited that as a team and we didn’t give up and showed perseverance. I knew that I had to show the extra presence that Jayla had on the court so it pushed me to perform even better. Our team definitely followed through by winning even when the odds were stacked against us. How would you characterize your team’s season so far? Jayla: I basically characterize our season as being very unselfish. We’re doing whatever we need to do to win. We’re not selfish with the ball. Any score has to do with the team, not any individual’s score total. We pass and we share the ball and cheer for everyone. There is no negative energy on the team at all because any negative energy will hinder the team. We try to stay together by being fun and loving.

Stats 10.7 PPG (Jayda #11) 7.6 RPG

13.2 50%

PPG (Jayla #14) Shooting Percentage PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE