November 2015 Issue by The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

CHRONICLE THE HARVARD-WESTLAKE

Los Angeles • Volume XXV • Issue III • Nov. 24, 2015 • hwchronicle.com

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SABRINA DE BRITO AND SACHA LIN

Alums respond to college campus racial tensions By SAMMI HANDLER

Before Halloween, Yale’s Intercultural Affairs CommitAlex Copeland ’15, a fresh- tee sent an e-mail to students man at Yale College, said his advising them to not wear cosimmediate instinct is to say tumes that could be considthat he has not experienced ered offensive. Lecturer Erika Cristakis racism at the campus in New responded with her own e-mail Haven, Conneticut. Oct. 28 to students But then he and administrators thought for a mosaying that while she ment. praises those goals in “I really haven’t theory, she fears that experienced blatant college students have racism at all here,” he turned to censoring said. “But, for examregressive ideas and ple a couple of weeks that campuses were ago, I forgot my key becoming “places of to my residential ’ censure and prohibicollege, and when I Alex tion.” asked someone to let Copeland ’15 That day hunme in, they said they dreds of students, inweren’t supposed to let people in that don’t go to cluding Copeland, surrounded Yale. You just get used to little Yale’s ﬁrst black dean Jonathings like that, being a black than Holloway, sharing how minority students feel undermale.” Soon after Copeland’s ex- represented and sometimes perience, tensions came to a marginalized. “Dean Holloway went in the boil over issues of race and middle of campus and heard culture. NATHANSON S

criticism from students,” Co- ing underneath the gilded surpeland said. “Students poured faces of any of these colleges,” their hearts out to [him], crit- as she is in the midst of the icized him and pleaded that application process. “Although I am glad that he represent them. That was really powerful to see. But racism at these institutions before that, there were just a has come to light and is being lot of students talking openly, stopped, it still scares me to sharing stories think that this is the world and supporting that my classeach other.” It still scares Amid a semates and I me to think that this are going to be ries of racially is the world that my charged proentering next tests and epyear,” Schack classmates and I are said. “It’s 2015, isodes at colgoing to be entering for Pete’s sake.” lege campuses next year.” At the Uniacross the naversity of Mistion this fall, —Shannyn Schack ’16 souri, most noticeproably at the Unitesters said versity of Missouri and more administrators did not aderecently at Yale, Claremont quately respond to complaints McKenna and Amherst, some of racism. Members of the students at Harvard-Westlake football team, backed by their are now reconsidering which coach, tweeted they would recolleges they are applying to. fuse to play until Mizzou PresShannyn Schack ’16, a ident Tim Wolfe stepped down. activists, calling black student, said that she Student worries about “what’s happen- themselves Concerned Stu-

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dent 1950, confronted Wolfe and called for walkouts after the administration’s lack of response. One graduate student vowed to stay on a hunger strike until Wolfe left. The university president and chancellor resigned Nov. 9. Afterwards some students used the anonymous messaging app Yik Yak to threaten black students. Phaedra Robinson ’17 said problems at Mizzou were “especially disappointing” for her as a black student, and she is concerned for her brother, a freshman at Brown University. “I feel as though your home and your school are supposed to be two safe spaces for people our age, and when you’re away at college those two places become one,” Robinson said. “I feel that I have a pretty deep connection to these events, not only because I am a minority myself, but also be• Continued on page C2

College Board sends scores late, almost misses deadline INSIDE

• Continued on page C2

By JONATHAN SEYMOUR

The College Board was delayed in sending many seniors’ SAT, SAT Subject Test, and AP exam scores to colleges by Nov. 1, the early application deadline of most colleges, causing extra stress during the college application process. The situation resolved itself as almost all colleges extended their deadlines since the delay was not the students’ faults, Upper School Dean Beth Slattery said. “At this point, there is no evidence that the delay negatively affected anyone,” Slattery said. “But it is possible that there are scores missing from schools that we have not yet heard from.” Slattery said that this is the ﬁrst time in recent years

that this score delay has occurred. “My understanding is that a handful of applicants accidentally double-clicked their score submissions, perhaps at the exact same time, and this caused a chain effect through the system,” Upper School Dean Adam Howard said. “[It] sounds like a glitch that was just waiting to happen due to the huge amount of trafﬁc during this time of year.” The College Board sent an e-mail to students who had requested that their scores be sent to colleges in time for early applications notifying them of the delay. “Processing of SAT score report orders placed on or after Oct. 14 is taking longer than expected, and your score reports are among a set that

have not yet been sent to the colleges,” the College Board said in the e-mail. “This communication is most relevant for students who are using scores to meet immediate deadlines. “We are working diligently to deliver all SAT score reports to colleges as soon as possible in order to meet college application deadlines. We will keep you updated on our progress. In the meantime, we are reaching out to colleges with deadlines of Nov. 1 to make them aware of the circumstances and are encouraging them to be ﬂexible should scores arrive late.” Though this delay was would not have been a problem for most schools that Harvard-Westlake students apply to, the worry was about some schools such as the University

of Michigan that only consider applications during the Early Action period if all aspects of the application have been received by Nov. 1. “Our only concerns were schools that require all materials in house by due-date, and that’s only a select few,” Howard said. “Most schools posted on their admissions sites about the issue and that they would not hold students accountable for a CB website error.” However, even schools with more rigid policies responded to the score delay by extending their deadlines. “At ﬁrst I was worried since one of the places I applied to is very strict with deadlines,” Arjun Mahajan ’16 said. “I • Continued on page A2

A5 ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY/CHRONICLE

SEND SILENCE PACKING: Nicole Bahar ‘18 reads the story of a college student who committed suicide. A guest speaker spoke to the community to spread awareness.

A2 News

The Chronicle

College Board delayed in sending test scores to colleges

• Continued from page A1

“I think the worry was legitimate initially because it talked to my dean, and she was not immediately clear how said that after talking to the long it would take for everyrepresentative from the col- thing to get resolved,” Slattery lege, it would still be up in the said. “Ultimately, the worry air whether I would qualify was for nothing, but I underfor Early Action given that my stand why people were worscores [were] ried.” sent a day later Though the than the deadCollege Board’s As the deans line. Ultimatedelay in sendhave said all year, get ly, it turned out ing scores was I did qualify for the scores in early, and the first one in Early Action, recent memothen you don’t have to which I was ry, it was the worry about it.” happy about.” most recent Though it in a string of —Adam Howard caused much glitches that Upper School Dean have happened extra stress during an althroughout the ready stressful few months application period. of college applications, the In previous years, multiple whole situation turned out to colleges’ websites and even the be ‘much ado about nothing,’” Common Application website Howard said. have crashed for various rea-

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Sports practice schedules changed for mid-year assessments By Cole Feldman

The athletics department has decided to eliminate Wednesday as a practice day but add half an hour of playing time to all other days except Friday during the midterms testing week. The old schedule allotted an hour each day for practicing Monday through Thursday, with no practice on Friday. “From an athletic standpoint, an hour when you take into consideration for a team who has to warm up just wasn’t a lot of time to get anything productive done,” Athletic Director Matt LaCour said. “That was the first issue. Number two, I thought that we were wasting student athletes’ time on Wednesday having them drive from wherever they lived, which from our estima-

tion was approximately half an hour each way.” Although an extra 30 minutes was added to each of the other practices during the week, students will save time because of less driving, LaCour said. The coaches brought the issue to LaCour in order to present it at a staff meeting. “We want to be more efficient and make it easier on the schedules of the student athletes,” LaCour said. “Those are the two objectives, nothing else.” Only winter sports like basketball, soccer and wrestling are affected by this policy change. All other sports are mandated not to practice during the testing time. There will be no games this year during mid-year assessment testing days.

In the issue

News

Nov. 24, 2015

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I think the worry was legitimate intially because it was not immediately clear how long it would take for everything to get resolved.” —Beth Slattery Upper School Dean

sons, including an overload of applications being submitted at the same time. “Students were following the instructions given by their “It was a strange experideans based on years of expe- ence,” Mahajan said. “On one rience, so I don’t think this was hand I was irritated at [the] the students’ fault at all,” Slat- College Board for delaying, tery said. “In addition, many and even more so at the college students need to wait for Oc- for not understanding that tober scores to come it wasn’t my fault. back before determinOn the other hand ing what to send, so though, I understand suggesting they send that deadlines need them in early October to be respected and to avoid this kind of perhaps I could have mishap doesn’t seem more thoroughly reasonable.” planned.” Mahajan has To prevent this mixed feelings about problem from hap’ the whole experience, pening again in the Arjun expressing both his future, Howard sugMahajan ’16 frustration at the exgests that those who tra stress that he felt have the ability to send scores as well as his understanding earlier than a week or two bethat it was just a mistake. fore the deadline should do so, nathanson s

Monday Dec. 14

Tuesday Dec. 15

Wednesday Dec. 16

Sports Practice Sports Practice

ing abroad in Rennes, France, Danielle Kaye ’17 expresses the shock and horror in France following the attacks on Paris. A10

Thursday Dec. 17

60 minutes

Sports Practice

60 minutes

Friday Dec. 18

No Practice

New Schedule: Sports Practice Sports Practice 90 minutes

No Practice

Sports Practice

90 minutes

No Practice

90 minutes

GRAPHIC DESIGNED BY SABRINA DE BRITO AND COLE FELDMAN

Arts & Entertainment

TWO THUMBS UP: Since March 2014,

James Hansen ’16 has been writing movie reviews for most major releases and posting them on Facebook. B1

Features

UNDER PRESSURE: Strained relation-

ships between kids and their parents have caused unwanted stress for both parties. C1 SUGAR? YES, PLEASE!: Is artificial sugar good for you? Those sweet, low calories may come at a cost. C8

YOU ARE NOT ALONE: Openly gay former professional lacrosse player Andrew Goldstein spoke at an all-school assembly Nov. 16 about tolerance and being mindful of homophobic language. A4 TRAGEDY STRIKES: Currently study-

both in December and January during the regular application period, and for next year as well. “If any type of fear was prompted by this, it was for the students who waited until the last week or so to submit,” Howard said. “As the deans have said all year, get the scores in early, and then you don’t have to worry about it. This will hopefully ring louder for the Regular Decision deadlines.” “My feeling is that just like students occasionally mess up during the college process, so do colleges and testing organizations,” Slattery said. “I think everyone is doing the best they can, but mistakes happen.”

Old Schedule:

A WIDE SELECTION: Teachers will offer three new courses next year: Analysis of Interactive Media, Broadcast Journalism and AP Computer Science Principles. A3

Opinion

nathanson’s

JONAH ULLENDORFF/CHRONICLE

LOSING MY RELIGION: Atheist and agnostic students and teachers discuss how they developed their religious views and deal with the social stigma attached to doubting the existence of God. Continued on C4

The Chronicle, the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School, is published eight times per year and distributed free on both the upper and middle school campuses. There are 727 students at the Middle School and 869 students at the Upper School. Subscriptions may be purchased for $20 a year for delivery by mail. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters

Sports

THE FINISH LINE: After winning CIF

Nov. 21, the boys’ Cross Country team heads to Fresno for the California State finals on Nov. 28. D1

to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Kelly Loeb at kloeb1@hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

Nov. 24, 2015

hwchronicle.com/news

News A3

Teachers introduce new classes

By Sharon Chow

TIFFANY KIM/CHRONICLE

Students donate blood during Parents’ Association drive

NOT IN VEIN: Zoe Baxter ’16 donates one pint of her blood in the Chalmers Lounge to the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center located in Los Angeles. Students who stayed 10 to 15 minutes after donating received a free ticket to a movie of their choice.

Debate team competes in writing forum

By Sabrina

Brito

The Harvard-Westlake International Public Policy Forum Debate Team was selected from teams across the world to compete in the 15th annual International Public Policy Forum. The team members are captain Jesse Nadel ’17, Allison Gorokhovsky ’17, Dario Madyoon ’17 and Kevin Wesel ’17. The IPPF is an international essay-writing debate competition in which the top

64 teams in the world compete throughout the school year. “It was definitely a huge honor for our team,” Wesel said. “This is our first year trying to compete in the program, so it was hard to write our cases at first since we didn’t know exactly what was being looked for by the judges. We’re super excited to continue in the contest, and hope we’ll be able to compete in the final rounds of the Forum in New York next spring.” The Harvard-Westlake

team is currently competing against a high school in Arizona for a spot in the top 32. At the Damien High School Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate Tournament Nov. 14, Jaya Nayar ’20 came in first place overall, and Anusha Mather ’20 came in second place. Nayar also took first place speaker. At the Badgerland Invitational Tournament Nov. 13, Indu Pandey ’18, Jake Davidson ’19 and Matthew Gross ’19 cleared past preliminary

rounds. At the Apple Valley Minne Apple Debate Tournament Nov. 6, Cameron Cohen ’16 won top speaker overall, Nick Steele ’16 won fourth, and Connor Engel ’17 won ninth. At the Damus Hollywood Invitational and USC Round Robin Nov. 5, captain of the Harvard-Westlake World Schools Debate Team Liz Yount ’17 took top speaker overall, Aidan Luscinski ’17 took third place and Pandey received ninth place.

Community honors late science teacher

By Jesse Nadel

Members of the school community paid tribute to science teacher Jim Brink on the anniversary of his death, Nov. 12, by writing letters and messages to his family. “The unfortunate passing of Mr. Brink was a profound, shaping moment for our community,” Prefect Council said in an email to the school. “We all still feel the effects of his legacy, and no one more so than his family.” The tribute was inspired by the sticky-note memorial that students and faculty created

for Brink last year on the door of the science office. Dora Schoenberg ’16 had the idea to honor Brink on the anniversary of his passing. Both Prefect Council and Schoenberg collaborated on the stand. “We thought that we should redo the post-it idea because it was such a success last year, and it allowed everyone to share good memories about Mr. Brink,” Schoenberg said. Students said that they were happy that they were able to honor Brink in this way. “I think it’s great that the

JESSE NADEL/CHRONICLE

REMEMBRANCE: Carmen Levine ’17 writes a message to science teacher Jim Brink on the anniversary of his passing. school continues to honor his memory and show his family that he’s still so special to this

Deans ban spikeball games

By Ellis Becker

Deans recently banned students from playing spikeball in the student lounge after repeated playing of the game caused carpeting to tear. Spikeball is a game in which two pairs of players throw, or “spike” a ball against a net on the ground, the object of which is to get a member of

the opposing team to miss the net on his or her next throw. The ban was put in place in early November, and it will continue indefinitely. The student lounge was a popular place because of its spacious area for students, specifically the Spikeball Club, to play the game. But because of the nature of spikeball and the involve-

ment of stopping and sliding movements, the carpeting has begun to tear after the continual weeks of play. The ban was put in place because of the wear and tear of the carpet. “We could play on the field, but that is a little bit of a hassle during free periods. The lounge was just very easy and convenient,” said Spikeball

school and to his students,” said Naomi Barlava ’17, a former student of Brink’s.

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Three new courses will be offered next year at the Upper School: Broadcast Journalism, Analysis of Interactive Media and Advanced Placement Computer Science Principals. Because Harvard-Westlake has been live broadcasting sports games and events, yearbook teacher Max Tash has created a Broadcast Journalism class. The class will work in tandem with the Chronicle to build up production and reporting skills in a shared newsroom experience. “Working in that kind of environment is very exciting and reflective of what is happening in newsrooms throughout the world,” Tash said. Students will learn many aspects of what goes into broadcasting, including writing articles, editing audio and video and field production. Another new class that will be introduced next year is Analysis of Interactive Media, taught by Michael Grier, which will focus on video games and how they contribute to telling a narrative. “I think video games often get a bad reputation—they are treated as a valueless medium that we play as a mindless diversion,” Grier said. “However, there are a lot of games that feature rich narratives that can affect us emotionally. Games can share meaningful stories with us and we can learn from their morals and themes.” The Kutler Center course will analyze video game narratives and the themes and morals that the games present. AP Computer Science Principles will be added next year, broadening its scope to include music, art and web sites. “[Coding] will be a part of all jobs in the future,” Mathematics Department Head Paula Evans said. “We need collaborative, creative teams that bring many skills to this world: art, music, design, philosophy, as well as science, math, etc. Much of the future development in our world will be firmly grounded in the world of code.” Broadcast Journalism and AP Computer Science Principles will meet four periods each cycle and are available to all Upper School Students. Analysis of Interactive Media will meet two periods per cycle and will be available to juniors and seniors.

We could play on the field, but that is a little bit of a hassle during free periods. The lounge was just very easy and convenient.” —Brady Engel ’16

Club leader Brady Engel ’16 Spikeball was also banned from being played on the grass area near Rugby Hall due to

nathanson’s

a similar incident involving damage to the grass. The ban could hinder the club’s future plans, Engel said.

A4 News

The Chronicle

Activist promotes tolerance

Nov. 24, 2015

By Layla Moghavem and Jesse Nadel

Openly gay athlete and LGBT activist Andrew Goldstein encouraged students and faculty to be mindful of their language and to accept differences in others in his speech at an assembly Nov. 16. “Be thoughtful about the words you use, and know that something you say can have a significant impact on a person you would least suspect,” Goldstein said. “But also recognize that you have the power to create a positive environment where people feel free to be themselves.” Goldstein spoke about how hearing his friends and family using gay slurs and homophobic language heightened his fear of coming out and made him feel like being gay was wrong. He said such language, which he referred to as casual homophobia, can be hurtful, even if no harm is intended. He recalled one “moment of hope” in high school, however, when his teammates positively reacted to an article about Corey Johnson, an openly gay high school football player. “My teammates just read

TERESA SUH/CHRONICLE

LEAN ON ME: Speaker Andrew Goldstein embraces Veronica Crow ’16 on the quad following his assembly. Goldstein, an openly gay athlete and activist, spoke about acceptance and encouraged students and faculty to be conscientious of their language. the article, said ‘Oh, that’s cool’ and went along with their day, like there’s this disconnect between the words they use and how they feel when there’s a face to it,” he said. Despite his fears, Goldstein came out to his lacrosse team at Dartmouth College during his sophomore year.

After coming out, ESPN named him “the most accomplished male team-sport athlete in North America to be openly gay while competing” and ran a video feature profiling him on national television. After hearing how his story had inspired Braeden Lange, a 12-year-old openly gay la-

crosse player, Goldstein realized there was more he could do to help gay youth. He cofounded the Courage Game, an organization to empower gay youth through the game of lacrosse. A SportsCenter video featuring Lange, Goldstein and the Courage Game was shown at the assembly.

Following his speech, Goldstein answered student and faculty questions about his experiences. After the assembly, the school held a reception for him in the student lounge. In addition, Goldstein met with athletic coaches, a science class and the lacrosse team throughout the day.

Speaker discusses past legal cases with class By Maddy Daum

MADDY DAUM/CHRONICLE

THE POWER OF WORDS: Author and former refugee Le Ly Hayslip speaks to a journalism class Nov. 9 about her experiences as a refugee and shares her message of persevering through hard times.

Author shares experiences, personal hardships as Vietnamese refugee By Eli Adler and Josie Abugov

Author and former Vietnamese refugee Le Ly Hayslip spoke to students Nov. 9 about her challenging upbringing and how it has shaped who she is as a person. The current San Diego resident, whose story was inspiration for the 1993 Oliver Stone film “Heaven & Earth,” shared her story with students who will take part in the upcoming HW Go! trip to Vietnam, as well as with a government class and two journalism classes. Hayslip, who grew up in a tight-knit Vietnamese village, was forced to flee her village and move to Saigon at age 14 during the Vietnam War. She endured torture and rape, moved to the United States in her early twenties and suffered

two tragic marriages, she said. Even so, she tried to stay positive. “Hardships are only temporary,” she said. “Being a good, honest citizen will get you through.” She said she never thought she would be able to return to her home country, and when she finally did, it was upsetting. “When I [went back to] Vietnam, I was shocked. The poverty, the poorness,” Hayslip said. “With the embargoes by the United States government, the U.S. [brought] Vietnam way down in the bottom.” Inspired to help, she wrote a memoir and founded two non-profit organizations dedicated to bettering the education, health care and sanitary practices for impoverished people in Asia. In the journalism classes,

Hayslip addressed the current refugee crisis and what students can do to help. Although Europe has been getting most of the news coverage about the crisis, recently President Obama agreed to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. by 2016. About 70,000 refugees are permitted to enter the country each year. Speaking from her personal experience as a refugee, she told students to “accept the refugees, open your arms and give them a lot of love” to help them integrate into society. “I feel it’s very unjust for them because they have homes just like me, we had a village, we had a house, we had a land, we had our ancestor’s graveyard and we had our churches and temples and schools and classrooms,” she said. “Overnight, we become refugees.”

some of the difficulties of the matters of consent.” The main reason why Former Attorney General of Indiana Jeff Modisett (Haden Modisett wanted to run for ’16) spoke to the Ethics in Attorney General was to file a Theory and Practice class Nov. case against the Big Tobacco industry. Once he was elected, 9 in the Kutler Center. Modisett was an Indiana he helped Indiana became the district attorney in State of In- 20th state to sue the tobacco diana v. Michael Tyson and a companies. “I thought it was going to negotiator during his time as Attorney General in the Tobac- be the civil case of our lifeco Master Settlement agree- time,” Modisett said. “I felt that the federal government ment. has shirked its responTyson was sibility to protect its charged for the rape citizens. They never let of Desiree Washingthe Food and Drug Adton and was senministration have any tenced to six years control over tobacco. in prison. As a reI was convinced that sult of this case, was the only way that Modisett was also would change things not re-elected as atwould be in the court torney general. ’ of law.” “As [the Tyson Malina Modisett chose to case] went through Mamigonian sue the attorneys of the court system the tobacco companies and to the Supreme Court, they honed in on the issue as well because the tobacco of consent, and they made it companies’ attorneys had revery clear that a woman, even ceived studies that showed a if she had given consent, can clear link between smoking withdraw that consent, and and lung cancer but sent them very few cases had made that overseas to the United Kingexplicit up until that time,” dom so they wouldn’t be seen. “I had no problem with the Modisett said. The ethics class has been lawyers zealously representstudying dilemmas such as ing Big Tobacco,” Modisett the comparison between moral said. “But once they started and legal concerns, what con- shipping incriminating docusent is and when it is morally ments overseas, that was an permissible to have sex with overt act that they committed that was a part of the overall someone. “We’re concerned about is- conspiracy to conceal from the sues of consent on campus as public the negative health imwell, and this correlates with pacts of smoking. You can arinvestigation,” Upper School gue whether it is immoral or English teacher Malina Mami- not to defend the Big Tobacco gonian said. “So we wanted companies, but it’s clearly, in [Modisett] to come talk about my opinion, unethical to cross this major case as it reveals that line.” nathanson s

Nov. 24, 2015

hwchronicle.com/news

News A5

Women’s group visits club By Noa Schwartz

ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY/CHRONICLE

INDU PANDEY/CHRONICLE

ESHANIKA CHOUDHARY/CHRONICLE

STOPPING THE SILENCE: Nicole Bahar ’18 (top left) reads the story of a teen who lost her life to suicide. After listening to the speaker,

students and faculty (bottom left) were invited to walk across Sprague Field for a presentation of backpacks representing students who took their own lives this year. Jordan Burnham (right) speaks about his personal experience with mental health issues as a teenage student.

Advocate urges more talk of mental health problems; students observe suicide display By Sammi Handler

Mental health advocate Jordan Burnham urged students to feel comfortable seeking treatment for mental health issues. He shared his story of attempted suicide during an assembly on Nov. 4 designed to help reduce the stigma surrounding and bring awareness to such issues and disorders. The presentation also included a display by the Active Minds nonprofit organization of 1,100 backpacks on the field to represent the number of college students who commit suicide every year. “In our society it’s okay if you struggle with your stress, maybe if you have anxiety, but you’re looked down upon if you talk about these issues, go to seek treatment or go to seek help,” Burnham said. “But I’m hoping that by the end of this presentation it makes it easier for anyone in here to have that conversation if they need to.” At the beginning of his senior year in high school, Burnham, who had been cop-

ing with depression for years, jumped out of his nine-story bedroom window. He first started struggling with depression during his freshman year of high school. He had changed schools for the second time, but this time he did not have his sister who was in college, to lean on, and did not want to talk to the school’s therapist. “I was going to school with a mask on my face, hiding the fact that I felt depressed, I felt lonely, and I felt that I didn’t belong,” he said. He saw a therapist for the first time during his sophomore year and was diagnosed with depression, but did not consistently take his medication and used alcohol to cope. That summer he put his father’s job at the high school in jeopardy after the police had to break up a party he threw, while his parents were out of town. A few months later, his father confronted him about the alcohol he had found in Burnham’s car. “I didn’t plan it, didn’t write a letter or a note,” he

said of his suicide attempt. stories about students who “September 28, 2007, started took their own lives. After the assembly, Chapout just like any other Friday of high school. But for some lain Jay Young sent students reason my dad dropping a an anonymous survey askduffel bag was a trigger in my ing for feedback, which was brain saying, ‘I don’t belong suggested by Active Minds, Young said. However, some here anymore.’” Now, Burnham treats his felt that the survey did not fit the assembly’s depression with theme. therapy and “It just medication, and I was going to didn’t seem he travels with school with a mask on appropriate afActive Minds, sharing his stomy face, hiding the fact ter having the presentation ry to diminish that I felt depressed, I and putting the stigma surrounding menfelt lonely, and I felt that extra emphasis on coming tal health disorI didn’t belong.” together that ders. Students ap—Jordan Burnham we would then anonymously preciated Burnand electroniham’s message. “It was nice to listen to a cally ‘turn in’ our friends rathpersonal story and not just er than going to see [Counselor read statistics,” Kayla Darini Luba] Bek in person,” Genny Thomas ’16 said. ’16 said. Bracken said she hopes Following the presentation, students had the opportunity that struggling students will to talk to counselors and to seek help from a counselor or walk along the Send Silence dean. “It is okay to struggle but Packing display, which was set up by Active Minds and in- not okay to struggle alone,” cluded backpacks which had Bracken said.

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CNN producer shares experiences in media

By Danielle Spitz

Senior Producer for CNN Politics Gabe Ramirez spoke to combined arts classes Oct. 29 about his experience with the network for 16 years, including his work in photojournalism and videography. Focusing on on-air production and CNN digital, Ramirez has reported on stories such as the combat in Iraq, the 2010 Haitian earthquake and every American presidential election since 1996. Currently, in a new digital video series called #MaeveWest, Ramirez investigates the

effects of politics in the western half of the United States. Students at San Luis High School in San Luis, Arizona joined students in Video Art I and Photography I classes through a video call to listen to the presentation. Visual Arts Teacher Joe Medina invited the Arizona students to join in on the presentation so they could apply what they learned from Ramirez to the upcoming collaboration with Photography I students called “Sense of Place.” Ramirez spoke about working for CNN’s Baghdad bureau for four years as an embedded

Frey ’18 said. journalist. “There were no restricRamirez offered advice on tions,” Ramirez said. “The re- how to visually tell a story. strictions were restrictions I “Some of the stories that I put on myself, and loved working on the that all comes with most were stories in experience of workmy community, and ing in a hostile envithere’s always a storonment.” ry wherever you go,” Students were Ramirez said. “The able to learn from community you live Ramirez’s experiencin is the community es as a producer. you care about the “It was really in’ most, and so when teresting to learn Ayanna Frey ’18 you find a really inabout about differteresting story there, ent aspects of journalism, not only the tradition- you feel a passion for telling al writing component,” Ayanna it.” nathanson s

Representatives from Linda’s Voice spoke to the La Femme club Monday during activities period. Linda’s Voice is an organization started by three sisters whose mother was murdered in a case of domestic violence. The organization’s purpose is to empower all women to work together to end domestic violence. They also strive to help women in abusive relationships find the confidence to leave their abuser and move on to a happier and safer life. La Femme faculty advisor Shauna Altieri first presented the idea to the club. “Some of our club members were interested in participating in community outreach for our club, so we brought it up to Ms. Alteri, who connected us to Linda’s Voice,” club leader Alitzel Villanueva ’17 said. “We’re looking for ways to empower as many females as possible.” According to Villanueva, La Femme also brought in Linda’s voice as part of an effort to revamp the club since this is its first year being almost entirely student led. La Femme hopes to become further involved with Linda’s Voice by collaborating on future charity events. “Linda’s Voice is not only a great cause, but it ties in with the heart of our club, feminism. We seek to not only impact the Harvard-Westlake community, but also to improve the local community here in California,” Villanueva said.

Author discusses pressure By Kitty Luo

Psychiatrist and author Michael Thompson spoke to parents about his book “The Pressured Child” in Saperstein Theatre Nov. 10. Thompson discussed the process of students going through grade school and ultimately reaching college admissions. His speech also featured examples and stories about parents pressuring their children to excel in school and to get into elite universities. “There are lots of ways to get through in life, so I think it’s profoundly important for students and parents to not become too caught up in getting into the best schools and the best colleges,” said parent John Graham (Jack ’16, Helen ’20), who attended the talk. Although Thompson’s previous book focused on the experience of growing up in modern, middle-class America as a boy, his most recent book was about students of both genders. “I thought it was very helpful, and honestly I was a little bit sad to hear about some of the examples he gave,” Graham said.

The Chronicle

A6 News

inbrief

Nov. 24, 2015

Sophomores attend class on productivity

Sophomores attended optional “Business of Studenting” seminars Oct. 20 to Oct. 23 to learn about productivity and stress relief at school. Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research Teacher Rob Levin is the head of the informational program. The first of four sessions open to sophomores, entitled “Life Beyond the Goldfish Bowl,” took place on studentelected periods throughout the week. “Mr. Levin’s seminar really helped me see why we come to school every day,” Jonathan Damico ’18 said. —Kate Schrage

Faculty to view “Star Wars” screening

Eighty-five members of the faculty and staff will attend a free screening of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Dec. 19 at the IMAX headquarters in Playa Vista. Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn (Cassidy ’06, Cody ’08), IMAX President Greg Foster (Lucas ’08, Jackson ’11, Drew ’13) and Steve Bing ’82 arranged the screening to thank the faculty and staff. Those interested entered in a lottery to win a ticket. “I’ve seen the other movies, and I thought it would be fun to see this one,” Assistant to the Head of Upper School Michelle Bracken said. —Alena Rubin

Students screen “He Named Me Malala” Human Rights Watch Student Task Force hosted a screening of “He Named Me Malala,” a movie telling the story of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, Nov. 16 in Ahmanson Lecture Hall. The documentary follows Malala, a Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban for speaking out against Taliban’s prohibition of girls receiving an education. Since her recovery, Malala’s advocacy for girls being denied a formal education has grown into an international movement. The Student Task Force spoke briefly about the club before the screening. —Nicole Kim

School records lowest number of tardies

Despite some recent traffic on Coldwater Canyon, first quarter has the lowest amount of tardies recorded for a single quarter since the attendance office has been keeping records, Attendance Coordinator Gabriel Preciado said. According to last year’s first quarter numbers alone, there was a 29 percent drop. In 2015, first quarter had 494 tardies, and 209 were from students who were late to first period. During the first quarter of last year, there were 643 total tardies, and 263 were from students who were late to first period. —Sophie Cohen

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“Mockingjay - Part 2” screening held on middle school campus

VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE: President Rick Commons (right) talks with parents during “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” screening at the Middle School. About 400 people attended the screening on Nov. 18, raising $35,000 for Financial Aid. The movie was released early to the school thanks to a Harvard-Westlake family’s work with Lionsgate Entertainment.

Class participates in negotiation project By Anthony Weinraub

Students in the AP Human Geography and International Relations course attended the International Negotiation Project (INP) conference at Whittier College on Saturday. The INP, a month-long simulation of international di-

plomacy that concluded with Saturday’s face-to-face conference, is the culmination of the class’s unit on international diplomacy, history teacher Nini Halkett said. Twenty-five students attended the conference, which focused on the spread of infectious diseases, providing

better access to education for girls, eliminating the funding of terrorist groups and stopping the trade of animal parts. After the conference, students will continue negotiation through online messages to finalize proposals. “My hope is that they will be able to reach agreements on

proposals that they have written with the other schools,” Halkett said. “I learned that face-to-face conferences are different than online ones and that although things get done in both, when you are face-to-face you can really get things done,” Hannah Tuchman ’17 said.

Students raise funds for children’s charity

By Alena Rubin

Students raised $700 for Bear Boxes, a charity that sends care packages with teddy bears to orphanages and schools in developing countries, by selling baked goods in the lounge. The bake sale took place second through eighth period on Nov. 16 in the Chalmers lounge. Students could name their own price for their purchase as long as they paid a minimum of one dollar. Caroline Philips ’18, Elly Choi ’18 and Amanda Offor ’18 started the charity last year. The bear boxes created

with Monday’s donations will be shipped to orphanages in Nigeria, Peru, Mexico and Los Angeles. “The bake sale was pretty successful,” Philips said. “We are super happy about that because it’s important that third world countries get the supplies they need that we are fortunate enough to have. This will help a lot of kids.” The charity held a bake sale last year as well. Members of the club hand-delivered the boxes created with last year’s donations, which raised over $150 for Peru and Cambodia, and they shipped other boxes to African countries such as Nigeria.

ALENA RUBIN/CHRONICLE

BAKE AND TAKE: Christine Park ’18 and Caroline Philips ’18 sell baked goods in the lounge to raise money for Bear Boxes.

Students qualify for robotics championship By Claire Keller

Team 62, a robotics team also known as the Kanagasabapathys, earned second place at the Robodox Challenge tournament at Granada Hills Charter High School Saturday out of 36 teams. The team qualified for state, national and world championships in past tournaments. Team 62 is not affiliated with the school, but many of its members are also part of the school’s robotics team, Team 1148, also known as the Wafflebots.

“While our performance Team 62 made semi-finals was not what we would have in their first tournament of liked to see, we feel that we the year, Clash in the Canyon, made the most of our at Viewpoint School robot and the most of Oct. 19. our ranking,” JonaThey placed first than Damico ’18 said in their next tournaof Team 62’s placment, Victory in the ing in the Robodox Valley, out of 40 othChallenge tournaer robotics teams at ment. “We are startReseda High School ing work tomorrow Nov. 14. ’ on our championship “We have qualiJonathan design, which will fied for state, national Damico ’18 be more efficient but and world championwill take more time to ships already through build. We are eager to test this hard work and determination new design.” and are eager to continue our nathanson s

streak of success,” Team 62 member DJ Lesh ’18 said. Team 62 participants also work with the HW Robotics Team 1148 led by Jake Zimmer ’16. Team 1148 is preparing its robots to compete in FIRST Robotics Competition March 9-12. “We are currently building strong drive bases for our robots this year and are experimenting with building different mechanisms that could be used for this year’s competition,” Damico said about Team 1148.

Nov. 24, 2015

hwchronicle.com/news

News A7

inbrief

Student holds fundraiser

Spoken Word Club to hold auditions

By Danielle Spitz

Emily Rahhal ’17 was named ABC’S “Cool Kid” of the week for hosting a nonprofit fundraiser for the National Veterans Foundation on Nov. 7 to raise funds for veterans returning home from deployment. Rahhal learned about the organization and was inspired to get involved after meeting her father’s friend Shad Meeshad, the founder and president of the National Veterans Foundation. “From that point on, I was interested and fully invested in the cause,” Rahhal said. “Shad is an incredible man and he runs an unbelievable organization.” Rahhal decided that since her birthday fell on Veteran’s Day this year, she would dedicate her birthday party to a fundraiser for the foundation

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF EMILY RAHHAL

ALL-AMERICAN GIRL: Emily Rahhal ’17 stands with Shad Meeshad, the president and founder of the National Veterans Foundation. Rahhal organized a fundraiser for the foundation Nov. 17. and accept donations in lieu of birthday presents. One of the most important ways to reach out is through raising donations, and this campaign raised over $10,000 through Gofundme.com and a silent auction, Rahhal said.

Rahhal was joined by her fellow Chamber Singers in performing the National Anthem for the U.S. war veterans in attendance. “I was able to speak directly and very intimately with many U.S. war veterans,” Rah-

hal said. “Most importantly, the veterans who attended the event felt an incredible amount of support and gratitude for their service. A night such as the fundraiser allowed the veterans to see the effects of their sacrifices.”

Student to share Alaskan geology research By Sophie Cohen

Laurel Rand-Lewis ’16 will present her summer geological research at the American Geophysical Union, a geological conference in San Francisco, Dec. 18. She worked at the Juneau Icefield Research Program this summer. Rand-Lewis spent two

months at the environmental research program with five other students building the world’s first 1-D computer model of a cross section of the Taku Glacier from its top to the terminus. They coded this model using Python and manipulated the parameters to make it specific to Taku. Rand-Lewis cross-country skied from Juneau, Alaska, to

Atlin, British Columbia, visiting campsites to collect data. “My research team had a faculty advisor, Kiya Riverman, a PhD student at Penn State University,” Rand-Lewis said. “While we were working with her, we wrote an abstract for our project, and when she left the project halfway through the summer, she submitted our abstract

to the American Geophysical Union, and it was accepted.” At the conference, RandLewis will present her computer model of the glacier in addition to her own booth and poster. The conference draws a large crowd of prominent researchers in the fields of geology and glaciology, RandLewis said.

Miles of Smiles Club to host holiday drive By Caty Szeto

JOE LEVIN/CHRONICLE

PAINT A DIFFERENCE: Andrew Berg ’17, Justin Ciccone ’17 and Michael Stokdyk ’17 paint a mural at Bethune School.

HWPA volunteers at Bethune School By Emory Kim Ellis Becker

and

Students and faculty travelled to Bethune Middle School and Math Science Magnet to carry out community service on Nov. 22. The Harvard-Westlake Parents’ Association, as well as students and faculty members, convened in Inglewood to clean and paint Bethune Middle School. Volunteers teamed up with Bethune students to sort supplies and garden. Last year, a Harvard-Westlake family volunteered at Bethune Middle School and later coordinated with the HWPA to make it a school-sponsored event. “The lasting impression for this family was that no stu-

dent should be having P.E. on a field littered with trash and broken glass, and an intensive all-hands-on deck effort could make a meaningful improvement at the school,” event coordinator Margi Graham said. The HWPA has two major goals for the weekend, one of which is to give students the opportunity to practice the “purpose beyond ourselves” aspect of the mission statement, Graham said. Another goal for the event is to encourage families to bond and socialize through community service. Along with general cleanup of the school, the middle school visual arts department has commissioned a mural to be painted on school grounds.

The Miles of Smiles Club will support the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles with a Christmas drive. Previously known as the Helping Hands Club, the Miles of Smiles Club is working in conjunction with the Holidays from the Heart program. The program serves families who have a child in the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and cannot afford to provide their families with what they need during the holidays. The program collects donations for these families based on their specific needs. Hospital staff interviews and nominates families to benefit from these services, then produces a “needs list.” This list is used as a guideline for those who sponsor these families. The Miles of Smiles Club has partnered with the organization in the hopes of helping the hospital’s financially challenged families alleviate some stress during the holiday season. The club will provide both gifts and basic necessities for the children in the hospital. The drive will start Nov. 30 and is set to end around Dec. 9 or 10.

Students have the option of bringing in actual Christmas gifts for the children or donating money to be used towards gifts. Club members encourage students to bring in not only toys but also basic necessities. Highly-requested donations include items such as pajamas, school supplies, household cleaning supplies and toiletries. For health and safety reasons, the hospital staff requests that all donations be new and unused. Items that have been opened or worn will not be accepted. “We are so fortunate to have basic necessities and presents during the holiday season, but many of the children at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles cannot afford everyday items or even medical care to save their life,” club president Myria Chen ’18 said. “The Miles of Smiles Club aims to help these children who are less fortunate by raising awareness and holding events, like supporting a family for the Holidays from the Heart event. With the help of the HarvardWestlake community, we can make it possible for these children to have a wonderful and joyous holiday.”

Auditions for the Spoken Word Club will commence in Ahmanson Lecture Hall at 3 p.m on Dec. 1. Students will select a classic poem from a book comprised of around 100 poems to memorize and write a response to. The audition is open to all students. Students in the club have been meeting every Monday in preparation for the auditions. In previous years, around 20 students have tried out for the six allotted positions. The club size, by April, when competitions begin, will be cut down to six. —Jadene Meyer

Velvet Daisies makes cards for charity The Velvet Daisies Club will make cards for the holidays. All proceeds will benefit the Early Head Start program at the Children’s Institute, Inc. Velvet Daisies was founded in 2013 by Angela Chon ’16 and Justine Chen ’16. In additon to making holiday cards, Velvet Daisies also sells handmade jewelry on their website. The Children’s Institute, Inc. serves children and their families in challenged neighborhoods. The non-profit organization provides mental health and family and child support services. —Nicole Kim

Youth Ending Hunger feeds homeless

Members of the Youth Ending Hunger Club cooked food for the homeless at the Ocean Park Community Center Samoshel Shelter on Friday. Participating members took a bus to the Santa Monica shelter to prepare and serve dinner to shelter residents. “Helping out is nice because part of it is just with your friends in the kitchen and part of it is out interacting with the community,” Serena Davis ’17 said. Upcoming dinner dates are Jan. 22, Feb. 19, Mar. 18, Apr. 15 and May 20. —Indu Pandey

Community Council supplies food pantry Community Council hosted an event that allowed students to make sandwiches that were sent to a local food pantry in order to fulfill the mission statement, “Purpose beyond ourselves.” The event took place on Oct. 26 during break in the student lounge. Students made 100 bagged lunches, which were then sent to the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry. Students who participated in the event did not receive any community service credit. The council hopes to hold similar events every month. “The primary benefit is to make our little corner of the world a better place,” school chaplain J.Young said. —Brittany Hong

A8 News

The Chronicle

Nov. 24, 2015

Speakers urge gender equality By Connor Reese

TERESA SUH/CHRONICLE

MOMENT OF SILENCE: Chronicle staffers Gabi Berchtold ’18, Eshanika Chaudhary ’17 and Bennett Gross ’16 stand in a moment of silence out of respect for those who died during the Paris terrorist attacks at the JEA/NSPA convention in Orlando, Florida.

Publications win awards at NSPA convention By Anthony Weinraub and Maddy Daum

The Chronicle and Vox Populi won seven awards at the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association convention in Orlando, Florida on Nov. 14. Last year’s Chronicle won a Newspaper Pacemaker, an award recognizing the best in scholastic journalism, according to the NSPA. In addition, this year’s October

issue won Best of Show in the Newspaper Broadsheet category. “It felt great to receive recognition so early on. It was a really good moment for us as a team to be there together when we won,” Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Eugenia Ko ’16 said. The Chronicle’s website won sixth place in Best of Show among small schools that have an enrollment of less than 1,500 students. Additionally, Vivian Lin

’16 won first place for her “Fear Factor” newspaper illustration, and Andrew Ravan ’15 won fourth place for yearbook design of the year. Amanda Offor ’18 received an honorable mention in the news picture category for her photo of Paralympian Blake Leeper during his visit to the middle school campus last year. “After hearing that I got an honorable mention, [the award] meant a lot more to me because of the story behind

[Leeper] and all the obstacles he had to conquer,” Offor said. Additionally, Abbie Howell ’18 received an honorable mention in the middle school picture category for her photograph of Samantha Yoon ’18. The middle school news magazine The Spectrum also won second place for Best of Show in the junior high newsmagazine division. Forty-five students from Chronicle, Vox and Spectrum attended the convention.

Faculty from both campuses converged on the middle school campus for a co-education conference Nov. 11. The faculty attended sessions with speakers such as Lise Eliot, Ph.D., the author of “Pink Brain, Blue Brain,” a book that focuses on the ways to remove the boundaries that prevent boys and girls from achieving equally. Eliot is also the Associate Professor of Neuroscience at The Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science. Other panelists were Michael Thompson, Ph.D., a New York Times bestselling author and international speaker; Caitlin Flanagan (Patrick Hudnut ’16); Joanne Nichols and Linda J. Sax, Ph.D., a Professor of Higher Education at UCLA. Athletic coaches met with Sean McCann, Ph.D., a Senior Sports Psychologist for the US Olympic Committee. This meeting focused on the intricacies of coaching high school athletes. The conference also welcomed faculty from a variety of other middle and high schools.

Model UN participates at UCLA conference Journalists By Connor Reese

The Model UN club attended BruinMUN conference held at UCLA Nov. 14-15. The club represented Greece and Jordan in committees such as the General Assembly, Security Council and UN Development Program. The conference consisted of three levels: six novice committees (beginning level), 12 general assemblies

(intermediate level) and four crisis committees (advanced level). Each committee gives two to three awards of commendation for third place, two awards of outstanding for second place and one award for the best delegate. Thirteen members of the club attended the conference. One attendee, Carolyn Hong ’17, participated in one of the six novice committees.

“I really enjoyed the specific topics of my committee and I was pleased by how much I learned in terms of leadership, cooperation and just general knowledge,” Hong said. Hong and her partner, Charlie Noxon ’17, participated in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, which focuses on the regulation of robotic arms in outer space and the role of migrant workers in the transnational economic

community. Hong and Noxon were chosen as the best dual delegation team of their committee and were awarded a gavel for their efforts. Jaebok Lee ’16 and Elliot Kang ’16 also were awarded an Honorable mention. They were third in the SOCHUM council. William Klink ’16 and Diego Ayala ’16 were named an “Outstanding Delegation” in the Novice DISEC council.

Trailers to replace gym locker room

By Claire Dennis

Four trailers placed near the track will temporarily function as locker and training rooms for the rest of the year while the old facilities are renovated starting Nov 30. Field sport athletes will use two of the trailers near the field for boy and girl locker rooms, and the third trailer will be used as a training room. Students who participate in gym sports will use the trailer next to Taper, which will have an interior divider so it can be used by boys and girls. Head of Athletics Terry Barnum said the renovations are planned to be completed by the beginning of the 20162017 school year. The new locker rooms will contain new lockers, meeting spaces and audio visual technology such as a new sound system and speakers.

EMORY KIM/CHRONICLE

TRAILER PARK: Trailers were placed next to the track to substitute for the locker rooms during renovations. The locker rooms will include audio visual technology as well as meeting spaces. The project is part of the school’s Institute for Scholastic Sports Science and Medicine which studies sports issues in students’ lives and increases the research capabilities of the sports department, Barnum said in an email to students and faculty. The trailers contain chairs for athletes to rest on but no lockers. Some of the equipment formerly located in

the exercise room is going to be moved to the weight room, accessible to faculty and staff. Teachers also had access to their own locker rooms, which will also be under renovation, so they will instead use nearby buildings. Some students do not feel it will be an inconvenience having to use the trailers instead of locker rooms in the future and are excited that

they will be able to use the new and improved facilities in the future. “The trailers will be different and probably weird to get adjusted to, but I don’t think they will be too much of an inconvenience,” field hockey player Mia Reilly ’18 said. “It’s nice of the school to give us something to use at all while the locker rooms are being renovated.”

join online news group

By Kami Durairaj

Ten Chronicle journalists were selected to serve as members of the 2015-2016 ASNE Youth Journalism Student Advisory Board. Chronicle staffers Josie Abugov ’18, Ellis Becker ’18, Elly Choi ’18, Sofia Guillen ’18, Sammi Handler ’17, Brittany Hong ’18, Nicole Kim ’18, Alena Rubin ’18, Kate Schrage ’18 and Danielle Spitz ’18 will join other students around the country to discuss current events in journalism. “I thought it was a good opportunity for me to be more involved with other student journalists,” Handler said. Advisory board members are invited to a closed Facebook group moderated by professionals in media where they can receive advice and interact with their peers. They will also participate in Twitter chats and have other exclusive journalism opportunities. Past members have been able to take part in both a press call with the White House concerning the First Lady’s visit to China in 2014 and a PBS panel about ethics in journalism following a screening of the documentary “A Fragile Trust.” “I’m looking forward to being able to discuss different aspects in the world of journalism with people from all around the country,” Choi said. “I think that this experience will allow me to grow as a journalist.”

C HRONICLE the harvard-westlake

Los Angeles • Volume XXV • Issue 3 • Nov. 24, 2015 • hwchronicle.com

Editors In Chief: Eugenia Ko, Henry Vogel Managing Editors: Angela Chon, Benjamin Most, Jonathan Seymour Executive Editors: Sacha Lin, Kelly Riopelle

Opinion The Chronicle • Nov. 24, 2015

editorial

Presentations Editors: Su Jin Nam, Pim Otero Ads

and

Business Manager: Kelly Loeb

Assistant Ads and Business Manager: Oliver Richards News Managing Editor: Cole Feldman News Section Heads: Sammi Handler, Layla Moghavem, Jesse Nadel, Teresa Suh News Copy Editor: Jackson Novick News Assistants: Gabi Berchtold, Maddy Daum, Claire Dennis, Brittany Hong, Emory Kim, Indu Pandey, Noa Schwartz, Wilder Short, Danielle Spitz Opinion Managing Editor: Jonah Ullendorff Opinion Copy Editor: Lexi Bowers Opinion Section Heads: Hananh Cho, Kami Durairaj Opinion Assistants: Brittany Hong Claire Keller, Jiwon Park, Anthony Weinraub, Matthew Yam Features Managing Editor: Sharon Chow Features Section Heads: Sabrina de Brito, Jean Sanders, Liz Yount Features Assistants: Josette Abugov, Nicole Kim, Sophie Levy, Kitty Luo, Jadene Meyer, Alena Rubin, Kate Schrage, Alexa Zuriff A&E Section Heads: Lauren Kim, Tiffany Kim, Katie Plotkin A&E Assistants: Jacqueline Ayestas, Ellis Becker, Isabelle Eshraghi, Sarah Lee, Caty Szeto Health & Fitness Section Heads: Eshanika Chaudhary, Sophie Cohen, Claudia Wong Health & Fitness Assistants: Sofia Guillen, Kristen Kuwada Sports Managing Editor: Bennett Gross Sports Section Heads: Juliana Berger, Zac Harleston, Jake Liker, Dario Madyoon, Carina Marx, Rian Ratnavale Sports Assistants: Eli Adler, Oliver Akhtarzad, Andrew Ahn, Jordan Bedikian, Elly Eun Seo Choi, Ethan Knight, Sam McCabe, Aaron Park, Adam Yu Sports Photography: Cameron Stine Photohraphy: Pavan Tauh Creative Director: Vivian Lin Cartoonist: Mady Madison Chief Digital Editor: Benjamin Most Digital Editors: Ellis Becker, Sabrina de Brito, Isabelee Eshraghi, Brittany Hong, Nicole Kim, Kitty Luo, Bryant Wu Online Reader Engagement: Sammi Handler, Lauren Kim, Jake Liker, Teresa Suh Adviser: Melissa Wantz The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published eight times per year. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Kelly Loeb at kloeb1@hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

A Lot to be Thankful for

Henry M. Gunn and Palo Alto high schools in Silicon Valley are situated near train tracks. Most students, when they come to the tracks, know the drill; they wait until the train passes, and then they cross. But at Gunn, starting in 2009 and over the course of nine months, three students did not wait for the train to pass and jumped right in front instead, taking their lives. And during the 2013-2014 school year, 12 percent of Palo Alto High School students admitted to contemplating suicide, the Atlantic Monthly reports in a December article titled “The Silicon Valley Suicides.” More than 4,800 American teenagers took their lives in 2013, making suicide the second leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, after unintentional injuries, according to the Center for Disease Control. We in the Harvard-Westlake community are fortunate to not have experienced a student suicide in recent memory, but other high schools do not have such fortune. Most of the kids taking their lives at the Silicon Valley high schools were smart and athletic with a bright future ahead of them. And both schools are similar to HarvardWestlake: they attract high-scoring students and are known to place a lot of stress and pressure on students to succeed. Yet, there may be a difference: institutional proactiveness. In the past month, for example, assembly speakers have been brought to campus to help begin open discussions about sensitive topics. Suicide survivor Jordan Burnham addressed students Nov. 4 and openly gay lacrosse player Andrew Goldstein spoke to the school Nov. 16. Our administration all the way up to President Rick Commons cares about each and every student, and that is something

MADY MADISON/CHRONICLE

we should be thankful for. “What’s happening with our series of assemblies is a building of not only our community, but our sense of hope; what we are supposed to be as human beings, how we are supposed to care for each other, and what values we hold,” Commons said. “I think the focus on such was really compelling and the speakers have just done great lately.” What stands out as possibly unique and special for Harvard-Westlake is the sense of community and close bonds held between faculty and students. Regardless of how bad our days are going, we at the Chronicle will always know that our teachers are there to support us. If we have three tests on one day, we can bump one of them to a different day. Last year, in response to student feedback, midterms were moved before winter break, so we have the opportunity to relax during those two weeks off. And yes, our teachers do push us to succeed, giving us low grades on essays we toil long and hard on, or dinging us on tiny little mistakes we make on our science labs, but at the same time these teachers give us support, coming in early in the morning before school starts to meet with us and answering our emails at 2 a.m. The late President John F. Kennedy could have described the culture of HarvardWestlake when he said that we do things, “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” So when we students are sitting down at the Thanksgiving table pondering what we’re thankful for, we should say “thanks Harvard-Westlake for pushing us to do our best and mantaining deep care and respect for us.”

A10 OPINION

THE CHRONICLE

NOV. 24, 2015

The city of love, scarred by hatred By Danielle Kaye

y French host family and I began the evening of Nov. 13 by watching a soccer game in the living room. They jokingly belt out the national anthem at the start of the match, and we cheered alongside thousands of people at Le Stade de France when France made its ﬁrst goal against Germany. But then, without warning, everything turned upside down. “Attaques à Paris.” The upbeat and positive atmosphere morphed into stunned silence. “18 morts…40 morts…60 morts... .” The death toll at the bottom of the T.V. kept rising and rising by the minute. The whole situation felt surreal, almost like a dream. It was as though I was watching the tragedy unfold in slow motion before my eyes, with nothing to do but helplessly stare at the screen in front of me. Like millions across the globe, I had heard much about the Charlie Hebdo attacks of this January. But this attack struck me on a new level – and not only because of my proximity to Paris. France is now my home. My home was attacked. French people are more than shocked and saddened compared to after the Charlie Hebdo shootings. This time, they’re furious. The lives of more than 120 civilians were cut short for no reason. There’s a sense of tension and pure anger in the air; even French president François Hollande addressed the situation as an act of war. It is clear that France is on the brink of drastic change, so the coming days and weeks will surely play an important role in determining the country’s future. The European refugee crisis, a pressing issue in recent months, has now become a topic of even more importance and controversy. Hundreds of thousands of

migrants, the majority Syrian, have attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea this year hoping to ﬁnd asylum within Europe’s borders. Prior to Friday’s attacks, European nations were already divided in regard to solutions to the issue. Many Europeans had been against opening borders to Syrian refugees in fear of Islamic State terrorists entering their countries. And the terrorist attacks in Paris, committed by members of ISIS, have only heightened their fears. There are no simple solutions to the refugee crisis, but one thing must be clear: we cannot let fear take over. Millions of Syrians are faced with unimaginable violence each day as a brutal civil war has destroyed their nation and endangered their lives. For Europe to deny them aid would be morally unacceptable. Yes, terrorism is a real threat, and opening borders undeniably comes with substantial risks. However, Europe is dealing with a humanitarian crisis that will not disappear on its own. Shutting doors is not a solution. Since last Friday evening, I myself have been struggling to understand how people can be so heartless, why such horriﬁc violence exists in our world. Paris has been torn apart twice by terrorism this year alone. Why must a city of love and peace be turned into a war zone, scared by violence and death? It can be easy to lose faith in humanity during times like these. But if anything can be learned from this week’s events, it’s that we must join together to move forward. Nationality, religion, race… all of our differences must be put aside. We are human, and that’s all that matters. The attacks on Paris are not solely a French problem; from Los Angeles to Paris, we have all been attacked. And we must all react together, as one human race.

MADY MADISON/CHRONICLE

What it means to be black By Zac Harleston

Yes, technically speaking, I am of African-American descent. But I am not black. Or at least that is what I am told. It must be because I can’t dance. Or maybe because I try hard in class. Or because I speak in full sentences. You see, the stereotype of the black image resonates with some to such an extent that they are unwilling to let it go. At Harvard-Westlake, where black students account for 7.2 percent of the student population, this is a battle I ﬁght nearly every day. Due to the lack of exposure to other black people, I feel like I am prejudged by many of my peers. I am expected to talk like one of the thugs seen in movies, or to be able to play basketball like Michael Jordan. It is when I fail to meet these expectations that I am called an “Oreo” or “whitewashed.” Instead of re-evaluating their perceptions of black people, I feel like people look to me. I’m the standout. I’m not black. According to the 2010 US Census, minorities account for roughly 36 percent of the American population. However, in 2007, reports showed merely 14 percent of journalists are minorities. The disproportionate representation of minorities in the media can contribute to a

lack of perspective. As one of two black members of the Chronicle, I understand firsthand how blacks can feel underrepresented. The lack of diversity in a staff can lead to a lack of diversity in the content that is prioritized. In my time on the staffs of the Chronicle and Spectrum, the middle school publication, there has never been a black editor at any level, nor has there been a staff editorial reflecting black views. The sequence of events that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, following Michael Brown’s controversial death in a police shooting is an example of what happens when media lacks diversity. The riots following the grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer were extensively covered, as they should have been. The severe unrest was undoubtedly national news, and needed to be shown. However, the numerous peaceful protests that preceded the rioting received limited national attention. While they were important to me and to my family, the media did not prioritize them. Michael Brown’s death was known by few before the riots, but the violent aftermath was known by most. Only rioters were able to shed light on the controversy that is police treatment of

Opening our arms after attacks

minorities. The nation ignored the peaceful protests, but riots ultimately spurred a national conversation. That is the problem. African-American efforts to create change peacefully gain limited recognition, and do not help us achieve our goals. A lot of us feel that the only way we can make a true difference, is by reacting radically. Situations like this contribute to the problem that is racism. More often than not, what people see inﬂuences how they think, whether it is subconscious or intentional. As a society, we end up labeling people because of the groups that we associate them with in our minds. I live knowing that every time I walk into a room with people I am not familiar with, chances are that people will expect less from me because of how I look. I want to do something about that. It’s important to acknowledge that minorities do not control what is on the news. The media should not be the only basis for how you perceive a culture, and you should judge every person for the individual that they are, not for who you expect them to be. If you allow your prejudices to affect the way you look at people, you will sorely misjudge many of them.

In the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks, we should not alienate others based on their race.

By Indu Pandey

I breezed through airport security with only minor hitches with TSA. Once past security, I felt marginally calmer, but it wasn’t over yet. This time it wasn’t a “random” pat down and double screening at the Atlanta International Airport. This time it wasn’t agents refusing to let me through disability screening when I was on crutches after a girl of a “less threatening” color had gone through the same way. But it wasn’t much better either. This time it was like I was a grizzly bear in a pod of polar bears. It was Nov. 15, just days after the horriﬁc attacks on Beirut and Paris. I felt hundreds of eyes on me,

people shying away from my path, store clerks never meeting my eyes. This was nothing new, but so much more poignant. A few days prior when my debate teammates and I had landed in Milwaukee, I had felt at ease. Then on Sunday, amid a sea of Packers jerseys, the tension was palpable. Standing in line to board the plane, I had a solid foot radius of separation from the rest of the packed crowd. It’s amazing how attitudes toward people like me, people with brown skin, change after a terrorist attack. A dichotomy between “us” and “them” emerges, where all of us brown people are potential

terrorists, plotting out our next attack, and they are all civilized, peaceful victims. But truly, the Muslim community is the global victim of terror attacks. Their identity is arbitrarily assigned to almost anyone with brown skin or a turban and a beard. The horrible actions of a few people suddenly become the face of a billion people. The worst racism I’ve ever experienced in an airport was in Paris in 2006. My mother, brother, and I stood in line for a connecting ﬂight. When my brother and I made a particularly loud outburst of joy, a few French people noticed. They seemed horriﬁed and emphatically whispered to one

another before pointing at our family. “Musulman.” A few of the couples rushed out of line only to rejoin the same line at the back. At age ﬁve, I didn’t understand, but the sound of the word rings in my head every time I travel. I am an agnostic American girl with Indian ancestry. I am not a threat, and neither are 99 percent of Muslims. But we let fear take over. Any one of “us” could hurt a nation and twist the knife. The unintended victims of every terror attack are the billions of people who look like an ISIL or Al-Qaeda operative. We marginalize them, and we discriminate against them with our subtle body language,

passive-aggressive Facebook posts, or support of Islamophobic politicians. We tell these innocent people, “You’re not welcome here. The West doesn’t want you.” We turn away dying Syrian refugees who are ﬂeeing from daily terrorist attacks and oppressive regimes because we fear the color of their skin. After atrocities such as the terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris, we need to open our arms rather than ostracize an entire race. If there were ever a formula to create someone who hates the West, the way we push away Muslim and brown communities in these vital times is certainly suspect.

NOV. 24, 2015

HWCHRONICLE.COM/OPINION

quadtalk The Chronicle asked:

Discourse from all walks of life By Angela Chon

s I sat in my left split, stretching for our usual Monday practice, a fellow cheerleader hushed the entire team and said she wanted to tell us about her day at school. During her math class, her friends had gotten into a controversial debate about racial profiling. After hearing about her class, the beginning of our cheerleading practice turned into a political discussion about the recent terrorist attack on Paris. We wanted to know the ways in which we could help raise awareness about the situation. We discussed the effectiveness of the new Facebook trend of filtering profile pictures with the French flag. Every cheerleader had something to contribute to the greater discussion on race, immigration and terrorism. That’s when it hit me. As I continued to stretch out my wrists, I realized how politically aware our student body is and that I was grateful to be in a safe environment where I could not only speak my mind, but also learn from different opinions. Harvard-Westlake is in a pretty special position where meaningful dialogue about real-world issues goes beyond the classroom environment and diffuses into daily conversations. It’s true that not all of my teammates shared the same political opinion as I did and not everyone was aware of other tragedies occurring at similar time periods, including the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan, the crash of a Russian passenger plane and even the local tragedies of police officers being murdered. But discussion stemming from the Paris attack

is a start in the right direction to broadening dialogue to include bigger issues on humanity. I was appreciative to ﬁnd that so many students wanted to raise awareness about world issues. Whether it was through something as simple as posting on social media or speaking out about the attacks in a classroom setting, students were looking for platforms to engage in meaningful dialogue—and our school had been the safe space that fostered this environment. I think the biggest surprise for me was engaging in such a controversial topic during the most unexpected time. As a journalist, I’m always expected to know about key current events. Along with this, as a student in classes such as government, I’m always talking about political issues within a classroom environment. As my class was completing our campaign candidate project, all my peers were aware of global issues in relation to their presidential candidate. My teammates, however, were not in a setting that forced or pushed them to stay politically active. And yet they were still able to enlighten me on what was going on in the world. I realized the level of intelligence in our community and am really thankful for such an active and diverse community in terms of ideology. It’s sometimes trite to hear that Harvard-Westlake fosters a diverse and inclusive community, but I think I now understand what it means to be just that—and it starts with the politically aware students that surround me and teach me something new every day.

“What are you thankful for?” “I’m thankful for my family, my friends and how fortunate I’ve been, like I’ve been able to go to Harvard-Westlake and have a very good life.”

—Marc Novicoﬀ ’18 KAMI DURAIRAJ/CHRONICLE

“I’m really thankful for my dog K’Pua and her friendship. I’m really thankful for swimming and all the oppurtunities it has given me, and I’m thankful for all the opportunities that are available at Harvard-Westlake.” KAMI DURAIRAJ/CHRONICLE

Through thick and thin By Ellis Becker

ive. That’s the number of emotional breakdowns I’ve had so far two months into the school year. Although only three of them have been about academic stress, that’s already too many. Whenever I get back an assignment where the grade I receive is worse than what I hoped it would be, a piece of me breaks, and so far, I’ve shattered three times. This shattering mostly consists of me questioning a lot of choices I have made and my own capabilities, so it’s not exactly pleasant. I hate doing this. I hate mentally beating myself up, but there’s nothing I can do. The worst part is that whenever I have a breakdown, I always end up feeling even worse about having it in the ﬁrst place because it shouldn’t be happening. It’s a vicious cycle that I can’t escape, even if the solution is snapping out of it to look

around, because the truth is, this is happening to my classmates as well. Overstressing over grades isn’t just me, and it shouldn’t carry this much weight. I know a lot of my classmates’ grades have dropped since last year. It’s become a conversation topic, and they’re worried, too. Some aren’t taking it as seriously as I am, but for those who are, you aren’t alone. The point is, I think that many students, myself included, are taking their grades much too seriously. First quarter grades aren’t as much a measure of how well you are absorbing information, or even remotely what your ﬁnal grade will be like, as they are a measure of how you are handling the transition from the Middle School to the Upper School. This is the reason why I don’t think I should be suffering from a breakdown bi-monthly: because I don’t

OPINION A11

—Haunani Bautista ‘17

First quarter grades are not as much a measure of how well you absorb information as they are a measure of how you handle the transition from the Middle School to the Upper School.

think that any of us should be carrying this much stress over grades this early in the year. Grades should be used as a tool to figure out how you can learn and grow as a student. Imagine them like a glorified pros and cons list. “Here is what you are doing right. Great job! Now here is what you need to work on.” It should not be, “These are your grades. These aren’t good enough, so you are an awful person.” Although this seems like overdramatizing opposite ends of the spectrum, this is what it has seemed like to me during these breakdowns. This is the tipping point, the point at which it stops becoming, “I’ll do better next time,” and it starts to become, “Will I make it to next time?” Although it is only temporary, it feels like each time this happens it chips away at me. A nervous or mental breakdown can be defined as

a stressful situation in which one becomes temporarily unable to function, which occurs when life’s demands become physically or emotionally overwhelming. I have gone through this. I have felt this. I’ve had a temporary psychiatric disorder sparked by severe stress to the point where I have keeled over in the parking lot, having trouble breathing, unable to function. In this never-ending cycle of stress, I march forward, through thick, thin and some more thick. I don’t know if it will get better, but to reemphasize my point, it should get better because there is no logical reason for it to have happened in the ﬁrst place. But for now, there isn’t much I can do but to put my head down and charge through. That is what HarvardWestlake is about. It is about perseverance. It is about helping others when they are down and getting picked up

when it’s your turn to stumble. So as you continue to mull over first quarter grades, learn from them. Don’t stress over them. Making mistakes is a part of life. It doesn’t matter if those mistakes happen during the first quarter, or on the SAT. The way one handles those errors shows true character. We should learn from our mistakes and forgive ourselves for anything that may happen, especially for our first quarter grades. That is what life is about. Life is about learning, but a different type of learning. Learning that is more than sitting in a class and listening to a lecture, a learning that knocks you down. The best way to study for the exam is to pick yourself back up. If life gives you an “F” the first quarter in your “Learning 101 class,” you can get extra credit by not worrying about it.

A12

Sharks and Jets

exposure

Nov. 24, 2015

Students performed “West Side Story” in Rugby Auditorium on Nov. 6, 7 and 8, bringing the timeless story of rivaling gangs, forbidden love and the streets of 1950s New York to the Harvard-Westlake stage.

EMILY RAHHAL/CHRONICLE

TAKES TWO TO TANGO: Carlos Guanche ’16 (Bernardo) and Kayla Darini ’16 (Anita) dance in the instrumental “The Dance At The Gym.” EMILY RAHHAL/CHRONICLE

JETTING INTO ACTION: The Jets, portrayed by (left to right) Casey Giolito ’17, Henry Platt ’17, Gabe

Jenkinson ’16, Eli Timoner ’18 and Brandon Lim ’16, lampoon policeman Officer Krupke and other upholders of the law that misunderstand the gang in the rousing musical number “Gee Officer Krupke.”

EMILY RAHHAL/CHRONICLE

SOMETHING’S COMING: Adam Yaron ’16 (Tony) sings his first solo of the musical, contemplating whether or not he should leave his gang, the Jets, for a better future.

EMILY RAHHAL/CHRONICLE

MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE: Gabriel Jenkinson ’16 and Ari Yaron ’18 twirl their partners Emma Kof-

man ’16 and Jenny Lange ’17 in the lively instrumental number “The Dance At The Gym.”

EMILY RAHHAL/CHRONICLE

AT A STANDOFF: Adam Yaron ’16 (Tony) and Carlos Guanche ’16 (Bernardo) face off in a climactic scene after the former had attempted to prevent a fight between the gangs.

EMILY RAHHAL/CHRONICLE

WHEREFORE ART THOU ROMEO: Adam Yaron ’16 (Tony) serenades Elizabeth Edel ’16 (Maria) in the eponymous song “Maria.”

Arts & Entertainment The Chronicle • Nov. 24, 2015

SACHA LIN/CHRONICLE

The Facebook Movie Critic Since his first review of “Divergent,” James Hansen ’16 has found a passion for writing movie reviews and posting them on Facebook.

By Sacha Lin

n a restaurant bathroom across the street from the AMC in Lincoln Square, where he had just seen “Divergent,” James Hansen ’16 wrote his first movie review. It was a short paragraph. He commented on the lead actors, briefly mentioned the visuals, praised the story and criticized the writing. At the end he put down a rating, three out of five. Only moments before, Hansen was sitting at a table with his mother and her friend, who suggested that he write about movies. Hansen thought it was a good idea, so he excused himself to go to the bathroom, and once inside, he quickly typed up a review on his phone and put it on Facebook. Hansen has been posting reviews on Facebook ever since, writing about the majority of the movies he goes to see their opening weekend. “I realized that especially here at Harvard-Westlake, not a lot of kids were going to the movies,” Hansen said. “But to me, the movies are the greatest way you can spend your time. So I realized I was seeing a lot of movies, an ungodly amount, at least one a week, and I thought I might as well tell them whether they were worth seeing or not.” He said he had one of his proudest moments after posting a negative review for the fourth Transformers movie. “Some kid told me I saved him $20,” Hansen said. “That, to me, was the greatest praise I could receive.”

Hansen usually keeps his reviews short, limiting himself to one or two paragraphs, and he always ends with a rating. “The five-point system is my way of giving the movie a grade, whether or not to see it,” Hansen said. “Three and above is worth seeing. Anything below that, skip it.” Five-out-of-five ratings are rare from Hansen, who tries to be careful about showering praise when he might feel differently about the movie in the future. “I find that right after I see a movie, I can sometimes be really passionate,” Hansen said. “So I try to be conservative with the fives and the four and a halves, but those are the ones that, if I am still thinking about the movie two weeks after or three, those are the ones that deserve it.” Sometimes what affects his judgement is less the fact that he is watching a movie for the first time and more the environment of the theater. “A lot of times, when I go see movies with my friends especially or go see movies on opening night, the crowd and the company really hype up my feelings for a movie,” Hansen said. Whenever Hansen goes to the movies, he always buys popcorn, and he never takes notes. “Whatever sticks goes into the review,” Hansen said. But what sticks is not always the same. It is not always just the story, the writing and the acting. Monte Samuelian ’16 said that he likes how Han-

sen occasionally talks about “He basically sets up the music in his reviews along set for the day,” Hansen said. with movies. “He gets the background ac“[Hansen] is well-versed tion prepared, and then he in music, so I like hearing his helps the director with schedtake on musical scores,” Sam- ules and meetings and storyuelian said. boards, things like that. HavMost of the time, Hansen ing access to movie sets all my waits until he gets home to life, it’s been cool to see what write up a review, although he goes on, and that definitely once posted a review while the has influenced me.” credits were still rolling on the Hansen is open to watchscreen. ing all types of movies, though “It was probably a bad he particularly likes action movie because if it was good I movies. would have been sitting there “Nothing beats a fun acin awe afterward,” Hansen tion movie where you sit down said. and there’s rip-roaring action Hansen watches both good through for two hours,” Hanand bad movsen said. “Misies, sometimes sion: Imposbecause he sible – Rogue Some kid told me Nation, probawants to fairly evaluate the bly not a great I saved him $20. That, movies that movie. But you to me, was the greatest critics might sit down, and praise I could receive.” have unfairly he’s jumping panned, and off of buildings, —James Hansen ’16 sometimes bejumping onto cause he wants planes, swimto have a good time. ming for six minutes underwa“My dad and I always go ter. It was incredible.” see the ‘bad good’ movies, the For the past two years Hanones that are horribly written, sen has continued to write rehorribly acted,” Hansen said. views because students seem “For some bad movies, I’ll go to like them, he said. actually wanting to be enterOn Facebook, his posts tained, and if they can do that garner likes and comments. much, then it’s a good enough Some students, like Ryland movie. Some bad movies, I’ll Marcus ’16, just appreciate go in not expecting much and how straightforward his recome out expecting even less.” views are. Usually Hansen watches “They are real,” Marcus the major releases with his said. “[Hansen] doesn’t taint parents, who love the movies his opinions for anything. He just as much as he does. His says what he thinks, and then father works in the entertain- he gives a rating. I can agree ment industry as a first assis- with that, I can disagree with tant director. that, and I can comment.”

“

B2 A&E

The Chronicle

Nov. 24, 2015

YoungArts program recognizes 7 artists

By Jacqueline Ayestas and Tiffany Kim

YoungArts recognized Oceania Eshragi ’18, Elizabeth Gaba ’17, Samantha Ho ’16, Dylan Schifrin ’16, Arianna Shooshani ’18, Nick Steele ’16 and Adam Yaron ’16 for their contest submissions. Out of 12,000 submitted portfolios, only 819 artists were chosen from 42 states for their work and accomplishmentss in literary, visual, design and performing arts, according to the National YoungArts Foundation website. Eshragi and Shooshani both received honorable mentions in the photography category. For the competition, they had to submit five photos from a unified body of work and another five photos of their choice to demonstrate their strongest work. “My photos were of my grandparents house and most didn’t have any people in them

but the image still had a meaning, I hope. The other five were some pieces from Cuba and some other work that I did,” said Shooshani. Their portfolios consisted of pictures from the HW Go!’s Digital Storytelling Adventure trip and other events. Gaba and Yaron received honorable mentions in the voice category. Gaba submitted a video recording of her singing four songs, including “New York State of Mind.” Yaron also sumitted four songs, including “Free Falling.” “Being one of the honorable mention winners amongst many other students in the nation is a true honor,” Yaron said. Ho submitted her industrial design portfolio based on sustainability. “I’ve never been recognized in design, as I didn’t really have that much direction in that realm,” Ho said. “It was really nice to see that my de-

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ARIANNA SHOOSHANI

TWO-FACED: Max Hernand ’18 and Kate Von Mende ’18 face each other in a photograph submitted by Arianna Shooshani ’18 to the YoungArts contest. She received an honorable mention. sign work was something of worth.” Steele submitted a video recording of him playing three songs from different periods of time. He was accompanied by

Four jazz groups play for students, faculty at Vibrato Grill Jazz club By Tiffany Kim

Four jazz combos performed Nov. 15 at Vibrato Grill Jazz, a jazz club in Bel Air.The Advanced Jazz Combo and the Jazz Explorers are the most advanced jazz groups in the jazz band class. There were two combos for each band. The four groups were comprised of students in the top two jazz groups. “I was nervous,” Advanced Jazz Combo bassist Ethan

Blaser ’17 said. “We really pushed ourselves that evening. We really tried, and that’s how we get better, not by playing easy pieces.” The groups played a variety of pieces for parents, students and faculty, including “Softly” and “There will Never Be Another You.” “Just being on stage and playing with my combo was an awesome experience,” Advanced Jazz Combo guitarist Adam Rosen ’16 said. “I felt a

little bit nervous, but at the same time it was very exciting to play there. It’s really fun to play jazz, and that is a great venue to play at, especially with a lot of great people there to support us.” Students were not allowed to bring their sheet music and were required to play their pieces by memory. “The level of difficulty goes up a lot, but it helps them improve,” performing arts teacher Shawn Costantino

two other musicians. “I was really excited and happy that my hard work paid off,” Steele said. “I’m also super excited to get to play with some great jazz musicians

“

who won similar awards in the work shop next spring.” Schifrin was a finalist in the writing category. He submitted his play “The Exceptional Childhood Center.”

I still cannot believe it. Two years ago at this time I was just learning how to swing, and last week, I was able to play at a famous jazz restaurant, one of the best in Los Angeles.” —Ethan Blaser ’17 nathanson’s

said. “They always step it up in the concert. All in all, I was very pleased.” The performers have been rehearsing since the middle of September. Reservations were required for the performance, and the money raised from the event went to financial aid for

the upcoming spring jazz trip in Spain and Portugal. “I still cannot believe it,” Blaser said. “Two years ago at this time I was just learning how to swing, and last week I was able to play at a famous jazz restaurant, one of the best in Los Angeles.”

Students to perform in first concert By Elly Choi

TIFFANY KIM/CHRONICLE

WAITING GAME: Musicians in Symphony wait for upper school instrumental director Mark Hilt to start conducting their first piece. Ensembles performed pieces, including Overture to the Impresario” by Mozart and “Pavane Pour une Infante Defunte” by Ravel.

Upper school musicians play in fall instrumental concert By Caty Szeto Students in the Upper School's instrumental music program performed at the fall music concert Friday at 6 p.m. in Rugby Auditorium. Under the direction of Mark Hilt, the upper school

instrumental director, students showcased their music after months of preparation. The groups that played were Symphony, Camarata Strings and Wind Ensemble. "We practiced during class every day and after school as well,” Margaret Renton ’17

said. “In the end, I think the concert turned out really well. I feel like all ensembles really came together for the show.” Rehearsals began on the first day of school, and each class period was dedicated to learning, practicing and perfecting the

music for the concert. The ensembles performed pieces including "Orpheus" by Liszt. "It was definitely one of our best performances, and overall everyone was pretty happy with how they played,” concertmaster Tony Kukavica ’17 said.

Beginning and Concert Strings, Symphonic and Concert Band and the Middle School Symphony will perform in their Winter Instrumental Music Concert Dec. 4 in the Saperstein Theater, The concert will be the first performance of the year for both the orchestras and bands at the Middle School. “My hopes for this concert is to make Mrs. Reola proud of all the hard work we have put into making this concert fantastic,” Middle School Symphony cellist Elizabeth Yoon ’19 said. “Also, with all of the practice, time and effort we’ve put in, I have no doubt that we will have the parents and guests on the edge of their seats.” One piece that will be featured is “Capriccio Italian” by Tchaikovsky. “I hope that the students have fun and feel good about their individual and their group playing,” performing arts teacher Starr Wayne said. “I hope that they feel that their own personal contribution to the ensemble is something to be proud of.”

Nov. 24, 2015

hwchronicle.com/A&E

A&E B3

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ANNE MCGRATH

STAGE FRIGHT: Actors perform “The Exceptional Childhood Center” by Dylan Schifrin ’16 at the Blank Theater in Santa Monica. Schiffrin was chosen as a 2016 YoungArts winner for his play. He was one of 819 winners chosen out of a pool of 12,000 applicants. The play was also performed at the Playwrights Festival.

Actors perform one-act play By Josie Abugov Youth Plays published the one-act play “The Exceptional Childhood Center” by Dylan Schifrin ’16. After the Harvard-Westlake Playwrights Festival chose his work last year, the Los Angeles Blank Theatre selected it to be performed professionally. “The Exceptional Childhood Center” details the fictional lives of students enrolled in an elite preschool.

“I didn’t know this at the time, but there was a representative of Youth Plays, the publishing company, that was in the audience of the Blank Theatre show. They contacted me, and they wanted my permission for it to be published,” Schifrin said. Youth Plays released his work in August, which can be purchased for print from their website. Schifrin was also recognized as a 2016 YoungArts

“

Choir sings at vocal festival

I never would have guessed that my one little play would ever go so far. It’s extremely encouraging for me as a writer to continue to do what I love.”

By Josie Abugov

—Dylan Schifrin ’16 nathanson’s

Winner. Selected from 12,000 applications across the country, the 819 winners are awarded cash prizes up to $10,000. “I never would have

guessed that my one little play would ever go so far,” Schifrin said. “It’s extremely encouraging for me as a writer to continue to do what I love.”

Stone-Cutters magazine announces editors for new volume By Bryant Wu The first issue of the online Stone-Cutters was released Nov. 5, and new issues will be released throughout the year. The magazine announced its new editors for this year. Emma Kofman ’16 is the new literary editor, Jensen Davis ’16, Jack Li ’17 and Elizabeth Kim ’17 are the new

associate literary editors, Jenny Lange ’17 is the new social media associate editor, Sacha Lin ’16 is the digital editor and Tony Ma ’17 is the Facebook page manager. “I am really excited to start my year as an editor,” said Jack Li ’17. “I’ve always loved to write poetry, and now I have the chance to help other people publish their own works

for recognition.” Stone-Cutters is also now accepting literary works for its website and the end-of-theyear edition. The magazine has always published only one end-of-theyear issue, but now the editors are looking to add more works to all the editions and the website. “Every year, the magazine

has experienced an end-ofyear scramble to fill space,” Ma said. “This year, we are filling a weekly quota to constantly produce works for our readers online and also include more works in our end of year edition.” All students who wish to submit work should contact the editors or Visual Arts Department Head Cheri Gaulke.

Upper school choirs performed in the College of the Canyons festival Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Wolverine Chorus, Bel Canto and Chamber Singers were among 12 choirs that sang in the annual festival. The festival was located at College of the Canyons’ Performing Arts Center in Santa Clarita. “[They] all went out and sang beautifully and learned a lot from the other choirs,” choir director Rodger Guerrero said. The festival was the first formal performance for all three choirs, and Guerrero is optimistic about the success of this year’s program. “Is it the best singing [the choirs] are going to do this year?” Guerrero said. “No, but, [they] sang really well in a high pressure situation.”

JCL visits Getty Center to see exhibit of hellenistic statues By Kitty Luo The Junior Classical League toured the “Power and Pathos” exhibition during a field trip on Oct. 24. “The trip helped expand my Latin knowledge, because I learned about some aspects of Greek and Roman Culture, and looking at the art helped me understand the styles and techniques,” Tiber Seireeni ’18 said. “Power and Pathos” featured a collection of important Hellenistic bronze sculptures from the Greco-Roman period. JCL members examined the gallery’s pieces and talked about the art and mythology surrounding the bronzes. Aside from exploring the exhibition, the students also

walked around the Getty Center. While strolling through the gardens during their architecture and garden tour, students and teachers discussed the art and building designs they saw as well as J. Paul Getty and his legacy in Los Angeles. World language teachers Derek Wilairat, Moss Pike and Brad Holmes were the teacher chaperones for the trip. Pike said that he had a great time catching up with former students and talking about what they saw during the visit. “The exhibition was extraordinary, and I learned a lot about Greek and Roman culture,” Seireeni said. “The gardens were great too.”

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ELIZABETH RAO

BEAUTIFUL BRONZES: Members of the Junior Classical League observe a Hellenistic bronze statue as part of the “Power and Pathos” exhibit during their trip to the Getty Center Oct. 24.

B4 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE CHRONICLE

NOV. 24, 2015

SU JIN NAM/CHRONICLE

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Led by choir director Rodger Guerrero, members of Chamber Singers, Wolverine Chorus and Bel Canto practice “Come To Me, My Love” during the choir tour last year around California. All of the choirs came together to sing various mixed pieces and sang in womens’ and mens’ groups.

Choir teacher to leave, hopes to teach adult music education

ducting and teaching choirs at ro has affected and inspired many people, including many various schools for 30 years. “[I just want to] give back to of his students who have been Performing arts teacher Rodger Guerrero will be leav- a community that’s given me in his class for three years. “He has probably been one ing Harvard-Westlake after so much, and I feel like that 15 years to teach adults mu- kind of job, helping older stu- of the most influential people in sic education in the hopes of dents learn how to be music my high school career,” Chamgiving back to a community teachers, would be a lot more ber Singers and Jazz Singers beneficial for me per- senior Elizabeth Edel ’16 said. that has given him so sonally in the music “I have learned so much about much. community,” Guer- music in [his classes], and I “Trophies don’t can’t imagine what [Harvardrero said. matter that much, Even though he Westlake] would have been but that one does,” looks forward to the like without him. He is one of Guerrero said as he next step, Guerrero the most knowledgeable peoglanced to his left to will miss the friend- ple I know, and he is so willing see the large, red troships he has made to share his knowledge with phy standing on the and experiences all of his students. He really is file cabinet among he had at Harvard- quite incredible, and I am so ’ many others beside it grateful I got to study under Westlake. Rodger and plaques scattered “[I will miss] the him for three years.” Guerrero around the room. Guerrero feels that his time one-on-ones, the The trophy is from working at the first state championship incredible stuHarvard-Westthat Chamber Singers won dents I’ve met, lake will help during his second year at the the people I’ve him to more efmet, that I’ve Because I have school. fectively show “I turned around, the kids been allowed to been able to interact his future stuwalked out and I came out, work with each with the smartest, most dents how to bowed to the audience and and every one teach teenagsaid, ‘This is Harvard-West- of my students wonderful kids on the ers. lake Chamber Singers. We are every time we planet, [I know] what is “Because I going to sing this, this and meet, and then, possible for all students.” have spent 30 this,’ and I turned around, and I will miss the years working the kids were in perfect spac- little things like —Rodger Guerrero with 15-yearing,” Guerrero said. “They had tours and fesworked it out like only [Har- tivals and the performing arts teacher olds and interacting with vard-Westlake students] can. joking around them, [I will I went, ‘Wow,’ and I looked at and then getthem, and I said ‘I wouldn’t ting to watch all of the other teach my students that teenwant to be the choir that fol- things that [my students] do agers are] as smart as 20-yearolds are, and they don’t want lows you after what you are so well.” While he has taught at to fail. They want to please; about to do.’ ” Guerre- they want to feel good about Guerrero has been con- Harvard-Westlake,

By KATIE PLOTKIN

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PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ELIZABETH EDEL

CENTER OF ATTENTION: Seniors in Chamber Singers pose with Guerrero and accompanist Sara Shakliyan during retreat. themselves,” Guerrero said. “They shouldn’t treat them like children. Treat them like another adult with respect and with care and with dignity, and don’t speak down to them. Speak up to them.” Guerrero hopes that this knowledge, along with what he has learned working to receive his doctorate at the University of Southern California, will help him communicate with his students. “Teaching is basically about human interaction, so, because I have been able to interact with the smartest, most wonderful kids on the planet, [I know] what is possible for all students,” Guerrero said. In addition, while at Harvard-Westlake, Guerrero has signiﬁcantly changed the structure of the choral program, changing, removing and adding choral groups to create the four classes at Harvard-

Westlake today. Guerrero said he strives to make each of those classes enjoyable and light-heartedy. “I don’t go to the other classes to see what the environment is like, but I feel like we laugh a lot. I think that’s really important,” Guerrero said. Guerrero also said that he has high expectations for the future of the choral program at Harvard-Westlake and is excited about the changes that will take place after he leaves. “I hope [the program] will be the same or better. However it changes is a good thing. Change is not bad,” Guerrero said. Guerrero also hopes that the students will take on more responsibility and carry on the legacy of the program. “I have complete faith that [my students] can do it,” Guerrero said.

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Features The Chronicle • Nov. 24, 2015

No Place Like Home? For many students, the stress of school puts an intense strain on their relationships with their parents. Although well-intentioned, parents can sometimes add to the pressure students feel to perform well academically. •See page C7

ILLUSTRATION BY VIVIAN LIN/CHRONICLE

C2 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

NOV. 24, 2015

“It was hard for me to see people feel marginalized and feel like they had no support.”

—Alex Copeland ‘15

• Continued from page A1

list of 11 demands, one of lege have demanded resigna- or not I want to go to some which calls for the college tions from top administrators of these schools where this cause I have a brother in col- president to state he does not for failing to sufficiently re- is happening’ to students lege, and he’s close by a lot tolerate posters around cam- spond to racism. just sort of asking our perof these schools. Thinking pus that read “in memoriam “The fact that there is spective,” Upper School Dean about him being in any of of the true victim of the Mis- so much media attention Beth Slattery said. “The big these situations worries me.” souri Protests: Free Speech.” around this stuff is a pos- thing that I would say to stuAt Claremont McKenna The group also pushed for itive,” Upper School Dean dents is that these protests last week, demonstrators students to distance them- Celso Cardenas said. “How- have become more visible at erupted into protest selves and the ever, I think the certain campuses, about race, gender school from its idea of trying to but the truth is, the and sexuality. Dean unofficial mascot, oust presidents, to underlying issues of students Mary Lord Jeff, a Colo- me, I think, ‘what are happening everySpellman said in renial British general is that really going where, and they hapsponse she would try who endorsed giv- to get to?’ I love the pen at Yale and Mizto help students who ing small-pox in- fact that campuses zou and Occidental did not “fit the CMC fected blankets to across the nation— and Claremont McKmold,” inadvertentNative Americans. students—are beenna. If diversity and ly insulting minority Chelsea Pan ’14, coming a lot more inclusion are import’ ’ students who felt her an Asian-Amerivocal about this, ant to [students], Shannyn Michael phrasing excluded can student at and you see prothey need to wrestle Shack ’16 Swerdlow ’16 them from the comAmherst, has par- tests everywhere with those at whatmunity. Protestors ticipated in sit-ins where stu- from small schools like Smith ever campuses they’re applycalled for her resignation, dents of color shared “their to Michigan, Mizzou, et cet- ing to and think about how which soon followed. In cel- heart-wrenching narratives era. There’s something quite they can find their place.” ebration, about 500 students on their feelings of pain and powerful about students Several seniors said they marched throughout the five isolation” and has worked to uniting, but the end goal is do not feel the controversies campuses yelling “f*** white amplify voices of Asian-Amer- something that we still need are an issue for them as they supremacy” and “break the ican students. to figure out.” apply to college. mold,” said Claremont McK“Overall, I’m very proud In a Chronicle poll, nine “Honestly, it doesn’t have enna freshman Timothy Song of how the Amherst com- percent of 389 students who any effect on my college pro’15, who is Asian-American. munity—students, faculty responded to a Nov. 22 sur- cess decisions,” said Michael “Whether or not students and alumni vey, said that Swerdlow ’16, who is white. at CMC agree with the move- a l i k e — c a m e the protests “I just don’t see protests as ment, I think we all under- together as a have caused having a bearing on where I After things like stand that it is important result of this them to re- want to go to school.” this happen at these to talk about topics that m o v e m e n t , ” consider apWith regular decision apmight make us uncomfort- Pan said. plying to cer- plications due in January, colleges, it taints your able,” said Emily Segal ’14, a “Though I tain schools. deans are urging students image of the school.” white student at Claremont thought the While the to gather more information McKenna. “If anything, the initial list of —Phaedra Robinson ’17 school does before making any rash derecent events on campus demands had not have any cisions about their applicahave shown how important some unrerecent alum- tions, but some students feel it is to listen to one another alistic expectations, I sup- ni at Mizzou, the deans said that it is difficult to look past and try to understand each port its long-term goals of there are seniors applying the issues that have come to other’s point of view. I don’t creating a safer and more there, as well as to Yale, light. think that is something that inclusive environment, hir- Claremont McKenna, Am“After things like this hapshould deter anyone from ap- ing more diverse faculty and herst and Occidental College, pen at these colleges, it taints plying to any school.” administration and removing where students last week your image of the school, and At Amherst College, stu- the Lord Jeff as the unofficial were demanding greater the people admitted into it,” dent activists calling them- mascot.” funding for minorities. Robinson said. “As a minoriselves Amherst Uprising are Following Mizzou’s lead, “Some students have ty, I feel like I really have to giving administrators until students at Claremont McK- gone as far as to say ‘it’s take things like this into acWednesday to respond to a enna as well as at Ithaca Col- making me question whether count when applying so that NATHANSON S

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Racism nee ds to stop EQUA Breakthtehme old! LITY Break

mold!

NOV. 24, 2015

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FEATURES C3

“The recent events on campus have shown how important it is to listen to one another.”

—Emily Segal ’14

I never put myself in a spot test marches being held by a lot of hope for Yale and its He also added that he where there’s even a possibil- students who supported the future.” hopes to sit down with more ity of my college experience striking union workers, and He hopes students are student groups that might being affected by racism.” that was probably the biggest not put off from applying to be feeling “a sense that there The problems have been race-related conflict we saw Yale because of either the could be a greater inclusivity building for years at some during those years.” protests or racism. in the way we treat one ancollege campuses. Mizzou But it was this fall that “Although there have other.” minority students said that most current Yale students, been some disturbing events Going into the meeting, they feared for their safety not just minorities, began to here for people of color, I still BLACC leader Nina Milligan in the predominantly white see the full weight of the ten- have faith in Yale,” Copeland ‘16 said the group plans to neighborhood of Cosion. said. “I’ve only been “address the things lumbia, Mo. well “It started with here a few months, that we feel the before the threats the [Sigma Al- but I’m confident school can do to help started on Yik Yak. pha Epsilon] par- that Yale is a great people of color feel a And complaints at ty where they [al- place filled with little more comfortYale about a residenlegedly] were not people that are genable.” tial college named afletting in women uinely striving to do Some believe ter John C. Calhoun, of color, and then better and be betthe protests have who once defended there was the Hal- ter. Honestly, it’s infringed on free slavery as a “positive loween e-mail con- been a privilege to speech. ’ ’ good,” have circulattroversy, and peo- be a part of these They pointed to Nina Marc ed for decades. It was ple, at least my discussions beactivists at Smith Milligan ’16 Shkurovich ’15 only this fall that the friends and I, were cause, as you can College who barred university put totalking about it, see from all the media atten- access to journalists reportgether a committee to start but it didn’t seem that ur- tion, we really can have an ing on demonstrations Nov. the renaming process. gent,” said Marc Shkurovich impact on the world.” 18 unless they stated their Chris Aranosian, a white ’15, a white student at Yale. In response to the racial support for the movements 1981 Yale graduate and for- “Then the first big protest fervor at universities, Har- in their articles. mer Calhoun College resi- where students surrounded vard-Westlake President Rick At Wesleyan University, dent, said that undergradu- the dean happened, and then Commons planned to meet students cut funding in Ocates at the time never thought every day it seemed that the with members of the Black tober for their student newsthey would have the force situation picked up more and Leadership and Culture Club paper after it ran a column to change the name so they more gravity. M o n d a y criticizing the “Black Lives “could only laugh at the hy- Racism on to discuss Matter” movement. Although there pocrisy and illogic of having campus, al“what they Professionals in the meone of [Yale’s] 12 residential lyship and are feeling dia are concerned. have been some colleges named after such a free speech about their “Yes, universities should disturbing events here noted defender of slavery.” became the experience in work harder to be inclufor people of color, I still our commu- sive,” Nicholas Kristoff said He remembers other in- main points stances of racial conflict, of conversanity.” in a New York Times article. have faith in Yale. ” including how after the uni- tions for a “ O u r “And yes, campuses must as—Alex Copeland ’15 new mission sure free expression, which versity and the union that whole week.” represented the cafeteria C o p e s t a t e m e n t means protecting dissonant workers could not reach an land said he begins with and unwelcome voices that agreement, the workers went is glad more conversations the idea of being a diverse and sometimes leave other people on strike for months. about race issues have been inclusive community, and feeling aggrieved or wound“Most of the cafeteria taking place around campus. the various episodes at Yale ed. On both counts we fall far workers were, and probably “Initially, I was sad,” Co- and the University of Missou- short.” still are, black or Hispan- peland said. “It was just hard ri and Claremont McKenna Some students say free ic, so the fight for fair wag- for me to see people feel mar- and Amherst College all seem speech should only go so far. es and benefits was being ginalized and feel like they to me to be the results of peo“I’m all for free speech, fought by these minority had no support. But to then ple feeling like the communi- but when that speech jeoparworkers against the largely see the types of discussions, ties in those places are not dizes other students’ feelings white university,” Aranosian debates and unity that the inclusive enough,” Commons of safety, action needs to be said. “I remember some pro- protests sparked, it gave me said. taken,” Schack said. NATHANSON S

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We won’t Don’t Breakstand for it the m d is criminate! old!

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GRAPHIC BY SACHA LIN

THE CHRONICLE

C4 FEATURES

Godless Some students and faculty on campus turn to atheism despite the stigma of not believing in God.

By BENJAMIN MOST

to college,” he said. “I was kind of bored, so I took a class on ath teacher Kevin Weis the philosophy of religion, and was 12 years old when the professor of that class was he realized he didn’t believe in a Christian minister and obviously had very religious views. God. He had stopped attending Our final paper had to be on Sunday school church lessons our own views of religion, and several years before, but now I titled my paper ‘Anti-theism.’ he was ready to fully commit Not ‘Atheism,’ but ‘Anti-theto atheism. He told his parents ism.’ He took umbrage to that that he would no longer attend and ended up failing me. That was a rough time.” any church functions. However, Weis feared sharWeis said he changed his mind about religion largely being his religious views when cause of his seventh-grade sci- he started teaching at Harence class, where he learned vard-Westlake over a decade ago, he said. about evolution. “I don’t know where it “People who are afraid that teaching kids evolution will clicked that I just decided that make them atheists have a I should be able to be open about my beliefs about this, valid point,” Weis said. In the past few years, in- but one day I just did, and I creasing numbers of people haven’t looked back,” Weis have been converting to athe- said. He does not disism. like religion or othAn April report by ers’ belief in God, the Pew Research Cenbut he disapproves ter predicted the perof the religious mode centage of atheists in of thought, he said. the United States will “I’m against the increase from 16 pergeneral approach cent in 2010 to 26 perof gaining knowlcent by 2050. edge through faith,” Statistics released ’ he said. “I do not this year by Harvard Kevin Weis think faith is a viaUniversity show that ble way of gaining 23.3 percent of freshman undergraduates are ag- knowledge about the world. nostic and 16.6 percent are There are good ways of gaining atheist, while only 17 percent knowledge about the world, are Catholic and 17 percent there are better ways, and it’s a spectrum. The way religious are Protestant. In a Nov. 22 Chronicle poll, people gain knowledge about 32 percent of 370 students the world is not a viable way, said they do not believe in God, and I’m against that process.” One advantage of religion 38 percent do, and 30 percent is the community that forms are undecided. Weis, a self-described “mil- around it, Weis said, but he itant atheist,” said he tries to finds a sense of community encourage others to become in atheist organizations and atheist and is now open about frequently visits atheist blogs and websites to keep up with his beliefs. “I took a year off after high news. Robert Heckerman ’17 also school, and I took a community college class before I went identifies as an atheist.

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“I believe there’s no God, really no way to know, so why and there’s no spirituality in bother?” anything,” Heckerman said. However, Anderson said he “It’s just simple science.” believes in evolution and genHowever, unlike Weis, erally follows a scientific mode Heckerman was raised in a of thought. primarily nonreligious family, “There’s really no way to which influenced his religious believe in creationism if you views heavily, he said. look at the evidence and draw “It mostly comes from my a conclusion from that, versus brother (Jonstarting with a athan ’15) conclusion and and my dad,” cherry-picking The way religious evidence to suit Heckerman said. “They’re Anderson people gain knowledge it,” both super said. about the world is not atheist too.” Zach Belata viable way, and I’m H e c k eche ’16, also age r m a n ’ s nostic, believes against that process. knowledge of in evolution and —Kevin Weis the Big Bang, science reinforces his bemath teacher the prevailing lief that God scientific theory does not exof the universe’s ist, he said. origin, but he has no way of “I guess it’s just through knowing if these scientific phelearning about science and nomena were caused by God, evolution and all the stuff that he said. kind of disproves the claims of “I think it’s totally possible religion,” he said. that the Big Bang could have He feels that most people been created by some supreme are accepting of his views, being,” Belateche said. “We including his mother, who is don’t know. But I don’t believe “more of a spiritual person,” that God created the world he said. 5,000 years ago, because Heckerman said he has that’s pretty much been disno regrets about not being a proven.” member of a religious commuBelateche said his mother nity. is Christian and his father is “I don’t see the point of hav- nonreligious, so he has always ing a community around what felt free to develop his own reI think is false,” he said. ligious identity and eventually Other students identify as came to the conclusion that agnostics, people who neither no empirical evidence exists to believe nor disbelieve in God. confirm or deny the existence Paul Anderson ’16, an agnos- of God. tic, said he hasn’t taken a deHowever, Belateche tries to finitive stance on the existence avoid discussing religion with of God because he feels no ev- others when possible in order idence exists for or against it. to not offend anyone, he said. “You could say there’s really “I don’t really vocalize my no way to prove there’s a god, opinions,” he said. “If there’s but there’s no way to prove a conversation about religion, there isn’t,” Anderson said. I just say, ‘I don’t know,’ and “As time went on, I basically shut up. I personally try to be settled on the fact that there’s accepting of people’s views un-

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less they use religion to be bigoted, like to oppose gay marriage or oppose abortion. Then I have a problem with that.” Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, said that he believes far more people under the age of 20 are atheists than some might suspect, and increasing amounts of atheists are willing to admit to their often controversial religious views. Barker said that these younger atheists are often underrepresented in politics because many do not vote. “If the twenty-somethings would show up, the whole country would sit up and go, ‘Whoa,’” Barker said. The Freedom from Religion Foundation aims to create a national community for atheists by holding conventions and sponsoring essay competitions. Barker has written several books about atheism, participated in debates on the existence of God and appeared on television shows including “The Daily Show” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Now a prominent voice in the atheist community, Barker wasn’t always an atheist. For 19 years he was a Christian minister. He lived in a Christian family and wrote songs with Christian themes for which he still receives royalties. “When you’re raised like that, it kind of latches onto your brain,” Barker said. “Like, ‘the Bible is the source of all truth.’ I thought I knew the truth. Everybody does. There’s something about human nature where everybody thinks they’re right.” Barker said he began doubting Christianity when he considered the existence of

Adam and Eve. Many preachers deny that Adam and Eve were real people and consider their story only a parable, especially due to scientiﬁc knowledge that has emerged in the past few hundred years, Barker said. However, if one of the Bible’s most fundamental stories could be false, he wondered if other stories are false as well. “When you learn more about science and you learn more about evolution, you know there couldn’t have been an Adam and Eve,” Barker said. “What other characters are made up? Maybe Yahweh, maybe God is.” Barker said he did not immediately become an atheist, but over time his doubts grew, and he slowly came to the realization that he did not believe in God. “I was all by myself,” Barker said. “It was kind of scary. And I actually kind of humbled myself. After years of thinking I was right and God spoke to me and everybody else was wrong, I had to come down from that pedestal.” Barker said he also began to question the morals expressed in the Bible and the goodness of the god it portrays. “It has a lot of immorality,” Barker said. “[God] is just cruel, bloodthirsty. The only way he can be appeased is with bloodshed.” Barker connects with other atheists through the internet and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. “[Church] is kind of like a watering hole,” Barker said. “It’s a good place to ﬁnd a mate. Churches have been that way historically. Now the watering hole is the internet.” Barker also said that the atheist community treats its members with more equality

than churches, which have a lieves they should complement strict hierarchy of church offi- one another. cials and clergy members. “To me, I think there has “Most churches are top- to be a way to have science down,” Barker said. “But athe- support religion,” Lee said. “If ists are bottom-up. It’s a great you say, ‘We have to do it this community where everyone’s way,’ and science either works equal. It’s actually a better or doesn’t work, that’s somecommunity because it’s volun- thing that’s pretty dangerous, tary, whereas in a lot of Cath- but it’s like you’re rejecting olic communities you feel like fact. But if you’re able to say, you have to. There are lots of ‘Science informs my own relikids who are forced to go to gion or my own beliefs,’ that’s church and hate it.” something that can be good.” Since his transition from Jewish Student Union leadChristianity, Barker has faced er Jona Yadidi ’16 said she harsh criticisms from religious also believes that science and people familiar with his story, religion can work in unison. he said. For example, she believes that “The majority of religious God may have caused the Big people, their faith is based in Bang. a book called the Bible that For Yadidi, Judaism offers insults non-believers,” Barker not only a spiritual belief, but said. “In fact, all non-believers also a community and cultural and pagans have to be put to identity, she said. death in the Bi“I love that ble. Every Chrisevery Fritian handles day night my I don’t really that differently. family gets You’ll find some vocalize my opinions. If together and wonderful, lovhas Shabbat there’s a conversation ing Christians, dinner with about religion, I just say, each other,” and you’ll find the hateful ones, Yadidi said. ‘I don’t know,’ and shut the ugly ones, “It’s a highup.” the intolerant light of my ones.” —Zach Belateche ’16 week that I Christian always look Club member forward to.” Nathan Lee ’16 said that he For atheists like Weis, formfeels questioning religion is ing a community around relihealthy, and for people who gious views is far more diffibelieve in God, thinking ana- cult. lytically about religion reinHowever, Weis is a member forces their beliefs. of several atheist organiza“It’s healthy to be doubted,” tions, including the Brights, a Lee said. “So it’s not some- group that refers to atheists as thing like my parents say “brights” because atheism has this, my church leaders say a negative connotation. this, so it has to be true. It’s Weis said he has not denot something that’s said, it’s cided yet if he agrees with the something that I’m constantly Brights’ goal, but he is glad trying to evaluate.” to be a member of an atheist Lee said that many people community. assume science and religion “I’m not atheist,” he said. are incompatible, but he be- “I’m bright.”

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C6 FEATURES

highstakes

THE CHRONICLE

Placing their Bets

By SHARON CHOW The Brain: Although Austin* ’16 planned to apply Early Decision to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program, he decided against it because it seemed “very limiting and [he] wasn’t sure it was [his] first choice.” Austin struggled with his decision for a while but eventually decided not to waste an opportunity to apply early. “In the end, Restrictive Early Action just made the most sense,” Austin said. “By the time I decided that, it was too late to submit an art supplement to most places, so I ended up choosing Harvard because the art supplement deadline was Nov. 15.” Austin really likes Harvard, partly because he grew up nearby, and he is happy with his decision. He also applied to University of Michigan and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which both have strong engineering programs. Austin has also begun his Regular Decision applications for schools including Brown, Columbia and the Iovine-Young Academy at USC which mixes arts, technology and business. However, with the start of the soccer season, Austin is finding it harder to find time to work on applications and plans on working on them during the break. The All-Around: Virginia* ’16 was accepted to two diversity fly-ins to Dartmouth and Williams. However, she ended up applying Restrictive Early Action to Princeton and Early Action to University of Virginia. Virginia was nominated by Harvard-Westlake for UVA’s Jefferson Scholarship, which is given to a “Renaissance” person who is involved in

many programs at the school. If Virginia is selected, she will receive a full ride to the school. “Princeton has been my dream school for a long time since I was young, but I didn’t really know that much about colleges,” Virginia said. “When I started ﬁnding out more about colleges, I switched to a more liberal arts college, but I’m back on the Princeton track.” She thinks Princeton is a good balance between a liberal arts college and a research university. Because of her full schedule, Virginia has begun listening to audiobooks and physics podcasts when driving due to her long commute. “Efﬁciency is how I’m somewhat surviving right now,” she said. The Artist: Homer* ’16 is still aiming to apply to liberal arts schools but opted out of applying Early Decision to all of his top choices of Wesleyan, Kenyon, Carleton and Northwestern because he “wasn’t passionate enough to one particular school.” He did apply to Early Action to the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University. “I’ve just been doing a little bit of applications here and there to make it go down easier,” Homer said. During mid-semester break, Homer visited Massachusetts and Minnesota to visit colleges. Though he didn’t like Tufts or Boston College as much, Homer really like Williams College and has added the school to his list of colleges that he is applying to. Homer is now applying to Carleton College, as well, after his visit. Homer is also applying to a few Ivy League schools such as Brown and Columbia.

NOV. 24, 2015

With early applications submitted, the players wait for results, preparing for the second round in January.

The Athlete: Willa* ’16 has verbally committed to Emory University after finishing all of her official visits to the colleges she had reached out to over the summer. These schools, Haverford, Vassar, NYU and Emory all offer liberal arts programs, which is what Willa has wanted. As defined by Willa, a verbal commitment is when someone committed to applying to the school has the coach’s support on her application. Willa ultimately chose Emory after visiting the school and shadowing a basketball player on campus. “Especially because I’m going [to school] for basketball, I had to consider both the academic side and the athletic side,” Willa said. “I knew I wanted to do something science-related, and I know Emory has strong science programs.” Willa also enjoys the coaching style of the Emory basketball team and credits that as part of her decision to verbally com-

mit to Emory. Willa has also begun working on her Regular Decision applications to some of the liberal arts schools she was previously considering, as well as bigger state schools such as University of Michigan. *Names have been changed

ILLUSTRATION BY ANNA GONG

Nov. 24, 2015

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Features C7

ILLUSTRATION BY VIVIAN LIN

By Lauren Kim

More Strain, Less Gain

ly, neither the parent nor child lives up to each other’s expecAlone in his room, Justin* tations.” But pressure from the rigor ’16 sat at his computer, typing furiously on his keyboard, and intensity of Harvard-Westwhen his mom walked in to lake is not lost on the parents. “Kids who go to Harcheck up on him. understand “How are you doing?” she vard-Westlake asked. “Do you want some wa- that there is pressure at this ter? Do you think you can fin- school, and I believe they want ish on time? You should really to go to this school because they want to do well,” parent get some sleep.” Immediately, the angry Claudio Ayestas (Jacqueline ‘17) said. “I understand the thoughts began. Why couldn’t she just leave pressures of Harvard-Westhim alone? Justin thought to lake, but there are also preshimself. Couldn’t she see that sures in life, so you need to he was busy? Why is she so bring your best when you come to Harvard-Westlake.” nosy? Not all students think acJustin’s sudden outburst of emotion resulted from ten- ademic stress to be the cause for a strain in parension between him and tal relationships. his parents. “I think the stress Raging hormones, from [Harvard-Westneurological developlake] definitely does ment and a need to have an impact, but feel mature mix and not more so than any easily induce friction other school,” Tony between teenagers Ma ’17 said. “I think and their parents. we all conflict with In a Chronicle poll ’ our parents on matof 377 Harvard-WestMarisa Hattler ters such as sleep and lake students, 57 per’16 social networking.” cent responded that However, researchers have their relationship with their parents has become strained found that good relationships between parents and students in recent years. Fifty-nine percent attribut- are fundamental to a students’ ed the deterioration to aca- success. In general, teenagers who demic stress. “The stress at this school feel close to their parents have can ruin relationships,” Jus- higher grade-point averages, tin said. “Students translate are more likely to plan to go stress from school into anger to college and are less likely towards parents, and parents to have ever been suspendbecome stressed from their ed from school, the Council children’s failure. Consequent- of Economic Advisors, an exnathanson s

ecutive agency that offers the President economic advice based on research, reported in 2000. Marisa Hattler ’16 is one such student who said she has a positive relationship with her parents. “Because I’m close with my parents, they have a better understanding of who I am and how hard I work, which makes them trust my effort,” Hattler said. “Because they aren’t always badgering me, I don’t feel the need to rebel and not do well like some of my peers feel.” However, studies have shown that it is difficult for high school students and their parents to maintain good relationships. A study led by behavioral geneticist Dr. Matt McGue found that “on average, the perceived quality of relationships between teenagers and their parents declined over the three years of the study along several dimensions.” Especially now, during the digital age, even an age gap of a few years can hinder communication between two people. Social media and technology have isolated 21st century teenagers from anyone who cannot compose a witty comment, complete with hashtags, in 140 characters or less. In some cases, stress on students from parents wanting better grades, more extracurricular activities and higher awards have had fatal conse-

quences. Parent Cecil McCabe (AusIn a recent article “The Sil- tin ’16, Alex ’14) believes stuicon Valley Suicides,” the At- dents themselves have the lantic Monthly highlights the ability to remove pressure clusters of student suicides at from their lives. Henry M. Gunn High School in “I think [my son] can Palo Alto. change his work habits to Gunn is ranked by U.S. create a less hostile environNews & World Report as one ment,” McCabe said. of the nation’s top five STEM Others believe that schoolschools. wide communication is the H o w only solution, ever, it is saying that also known this dialogue To rid this tension as “the suiis crucial to cide school” the mental would be to rid of the to Palo Alhealth of stuacademic rigor of to’s middle dents, and institution, which serves school kids, consequentHanna Rosin ly, their reas the foundation of the writes in the lationships prestige of the school.” article. with their She cites —Justin* ‘16 parents. parental “ T h e pressures school should as one reason for the suicides be the one to tell parents that that happen there. grades do not determine a stu“The kids had internalized dents’ entire future, and that their parents’ priorities and the child’s happiness is the didn’t know how to break free,” most important thing,” Ali Iken Rosin writes. ’17 said. As for finding a way to Junior Prefect Lexi Block decrease the strain in his re- ’17 agrees that there needs to lationship with his parents, be healthier communication. Justin thinks that nothing can “Having groups like Peer ameliorate the tensions caused Support on campus provide by stress from schoolwork. a positive outlet for students “To rid this tension would and helps keep their stress be to rid the academic rigor of levels low,” she said. “In adinstitution, which serves as dition, the kindness and unthe foundation of the prestige derstanding of teachers and of the school,” Justin said. “It deans is key to creating the is simply a part of attending best learning environment for such an esteemed school, and students without it becoming we must deal with it accord- too unmanageable.” ingly. There is nothing that can fix the situation.” *Name has been changed

“

C8 FEATURES o

THE CHRONICLE

NOV. 24, 2015

Bittersweet

Artificial sweeteners sound almost too good to be true; they provide the taste benefits of sugar without the calories. However, studies are finding that the benefits may come with a high cost. against consuming artificial and cancer has ever been scisweeteners such as aspartame entifically proven. But by linking cancer to We see them at every coffee and saccharine. They increase shop, dinner table, and grocery one’s craving for sugar, result- the sweeteners, these studies aisle: brightly colored packets ing in diabetes and obesity, make it difficult to separate the two. In fact, the FDA concompeting for our attention. Wiesenthal said. “Your reception, your taste cluded that artificial sweetenSplenda, Equal, Sweet’N Low. buds, when you get glucose, ers have no causation with Yellow, blue, pink. Researchers have exam- you get satisfaction,” Wiesen- cancer, and that they are inined how these packets af- thal said. “It binds to your re- deed safe. But although sweeteners fect our health, and although ceptors. But [artificial sweetthey seem innocent, some feel eners] lead to more cravings. are FDA approved, consumers these artificial sweeteners are You don’t get satisfaction; you are still concerned with potential risks. want more.” causing serious harm. Pediatrician Young NamWiesenthal claims artificial Some groups, such as the Center for Science in the Pub- sweeteners themselves cause Choi warns her patients to lic Interest, blame the rise in neurological diseases and in- avoid artificial sweeteners, drink water instead obesity, diabetes and cancer crease susceptibility of diet soda, and eat on artificial sugar. Others, like for brain cancer. fruits, which have “It does not break the Food and Drug Adminislots of natural sugar. tration, claim artificial sweet- down in your body; “The sweeteners it does not get elimieners are safe. have been around Wiesenthal At Harvard-Westlake, 82% nated,” only for the last of students who responded to said. “It creates more two decades, and a Nov. 22 survey said that they toxins and is bad for we don’t know the have been told not to eat artifi- your brain and your long-term risks yet,” cial sugar, but are unaware of neurosystem.” Nam-Choi said. “Also Wiesenthal points what the real risks are. ’ those studies which “I feel like [artificial sweet- to several studies Elizabeth proved the sweeteneners] are the kind of thing that back up her Litchman’17 ers were safe used people tell you are bad, but claims. She cites a you don’t really know,” Hau- study reported by the Aspar- smaller amounts sweeteners tame Toxicity Information than what people are consumnani Bautista ’17 said. In a culture hyper-focused Center in 2002, which sur- ing now, and we have no data on health, where the words veyed 551 people who reported on safety of large amounts of “artificial sugar” can be syn- toxicity effects from aspartame these chemicals.” Nam-Choi agrees with Wiingestion. Consumers onymous with canreported a number of esenthal that artificial sugars cer, it can be difficult problems, including cause an increase in craving to separate the truth neurological or meta- for real sugar, often resulting from the fear-monbolic ones. The report in obesity and diabetes. Howgering. concluded that as- ever, she thinks that artificial But for Elizabeth partame often results sugars have no relation at all Litchman ’17, it is acin toxic reactions to cancer. tually quite easy. She But just because there are when ingested, and tries to avoid eating that many suffer from no scientifically proven health artificial sugars, she effects that they do harms of artificial sweetensaid. But she is un’ not realize are linked ers, consumers should not able to remember any Haunani conclude that they are safe to to aspartame. scientific data or facts Bautista ’17 The center states consume in excess, Nam-Choi that led her to make in their Report on Aspartame said. this decision. Other studies, including a “My mom always told me Toxicity Effects, “When one that it was really bad for you, considers that the damage study by Eran Elinav, head of like with cancer,” Litchman from aspartame is often silent the Weizmann Institute of Scisaid. “I don’t remember really and cumulative (much like ence, have already succeeded ever reading [that artificial chain-smoking cigarettes), one in proving that sweeteners can sugars cause cancer] any- can see that a couple of gener- cause obesity and diabetes in where. Also I feel like there are ations of aspartame use might mice, although they have not concluded that they have the so many chemicals in it and it be disastrous!” People such as Litchman, same effects in humans. is really unnatural.” Although artificial sweetUCLA biochemistry and who choose not to eat artifinutrition researcher Karina cial sugar, might be thinking eners have not been proven to Wiesenthal (Izzy ’17, Abby ’21) of studies like this when they be directly harmful yet, Litchsupports Litchman’s health claim artificial sweeteners man is still wary. “I don’t know if there are concerns regarding artificial cause brain cancer. However, these claims can harms, but it’s safer to just sweeteners. In her blog, Do Good lead to false information, as no not risk it,” Litchman said. Kitchen, she strongly advises causation between aspartame “Although I still eat candy.”

By CLAUDIA WONG

NATHANSON S

Sweet Statistics We polled 393 students to see how prevalent the consumption of artiﬁcial sweeteners is in our community.

57% Believe that artiﬁcial sugar is harmful for their health.

90% Have been told that artiﬁcial sugar is bad for them.

82% Have been told not to consume artiﬁcial sugar.

27% Never consume artiﬁcial sweeteners. SOURCE: NOV. 22 CHRONICLE POLL

GRAPHIC BY ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY/ CHRONICLE

Sports The Chronicle • Nov. 24, 2015

Boys’ Water Polo

Cross Country

Boys’ team takes home CIF title By Cameron Stine Juliana Berger

and

MATTHEW YAM/CHRONICLE

ROYAL PAIN: Head of Aquatics Brian Flacks ’06 and members of the boys’ varsity water polo team look on in the fourth quarter of the CIF finals. The Mater Dei Monarchs held on to their one goal lead and won 9-8 for their third win over the Wolverines this year.

The end of the line By Jake Liker

The boys’ water polo team lost to Mater Dei 9-8 in the championship game Nov. 21. A win by the Wolverines would have secured a third consecutive CIF-Southern Section Division I championship for HarvardWestlake. The Wolverines topped the Mater Dei Monarchs for two consecutive years in the championship game in both 2013 and 2014, but the Monarchs had won five straight titles before that. This was the Monarchs ninth consecutive appearance in the final game, and the crown has once again returned to Mater Dei high school in Santa Ana in the form of a championship plaque. The game teetered back and forth between both teams, with no one side scoring three con-

Boys’ varsity water polo loses to rival Mater Dei for the third time this season in the CIF finals

secutive goals at any point. After the Wolverines tied the game at three with 4:27 left in the second quarter, the Wolverines and Monarchs alternated goals, a pattern which resulted in an 8-7 lead for the two-time defending champions at the conclusion of three quarters. What happened next produced the one moment Alec Mendelsohn ’17 said he will remember the most from this season. “Right before the fourth quarter started we were in the pool in the huddle, and I think it’s just the highlight because Head Coach Brian Flacks ’06 said to us, ‘Win or loss, we’re still a family,’ and I think that epitomizes just how close we are as a group,” Mendelsohn said. “As he said, win or loss, we’re still family, and I’m so proud to be a part of this team and of how much we accomplished.”

Mendelsohn was a revelation for the Wolverines, scoring all three of his team’s goals in the third quarter. By the time the final horn sounded, Mendelsohn led the Wolverines in scoring, one-upping Evan Rosenfeld ’17, who contributed a pair of goals to his team’s tally. The other three Wolverine goals were divided evenly amongst Duncan Froomer ’16, Luke Henriksson ’17 and Ben Hallock ’16. Mendelsohn was the only one of the five scorers who was not a regular fixture in the regular season starting lineup. Mendelsohn was despondent and teary-eyed shortly after the game’s conclusion. He appeared to be in shock, but he was far from the only Wolverine to be visibly emotional. After the trophy ceremony, Flacks pulled his team aside. The entire team could be seen

sitting on a small flight of stairs in a back corner of the pool deck as Flacks spoke to them for about 20 minutes. At the conclusion of the speech, the group disbanded and drifted toward family members, but not before Flacks embraced each individual player. At one point, Hallock came back to return the embrace to his coach. Flacks spoke softly in Hallock’s ear and could be heard saying, “I’m so proud of you. I’m gonna start crying.” “The relationships I have with the kids, it’s a pretty special thing,” Flacks said just seconds after the exchange with Hallock. “I get to see them every day, maybe more than their families get to see them, and I’ve kind of grown up for the past ten years with these kids. Win or lose the • Continued on page D3

The boys’ cross country team won CIF-SS and qualified for California State Finals, which will take place in Fresno Nov. 28. “We are all incredibly excited about going to state,” Nate Hollander ’17 said. “We were expecting to go to state, but not as the Southern Section champions. I don’t think anybody expected us to win, but we ran well as a team and got the job done.” Last season, the boys’ team failed to qualify for state, but used their loss to motivate themselves towards their success this year. “There were very, very hard feelings there, and we talked at the time about it being okay to feel bad, but then you got to choose what you want to do from that point forward,” Head Coach Tim Sharpe said. “And obviously they made very good choices, from that point forward, about what they wanted this year to look like, and they took it all the way to the top.” From the beginning of the season, the team remained optimistic that they would be able to accomplish more than they did during the previous season. “You think, ‘Can we be in the mix?’ and you make that your focus,” Sharpe said. “And as we arrive closer and closer to the end of the season, we talked very openly about being at least able to say, ‘We could do it,’ and coming up with a plan on how we can try to do it.” Cross Country Program Head Jonas Koolsbergen was pleased with the results of the season as a whole. “This group of athletes is a very special group to coach • Continued on page D6

Girls’ Tennis

Team falls at CIF state finals By Connor Reese and Joe Levin

After a gutting loss to Peninsula in the CIF finals, the girls’ tennis team had no choice but to refocus. By making it to the semifinals, they qualified for the CIF regional tournament, but they fell on Friday to Torrey Pines in the regional tournament semifinals by a score of 4-3. “We had never made it so far in CIF, let alone make it to the CIF regionals, so we’re very proud of that,” Jenny Moustafa ’17 said. “We all tried our best out there to win, but we didn’t pull out the close matches that we needed to to make it to the finals.” It was the end of the road for a Wolverine team that exceeded all expectations. Kristie Reynolds-Gripe took over as the team’s head coach this season,

and some players believe that the change helped the team bond. “All the coaches are really motivated, and they work hard, and that’s translated to all of our attitudes about the program,” doubles player Juliana Simon ’16 said. “Everybody’s just more involved. Everybody’s cheering each other on more.” Others also noticed the increase in teamwork. “Everyone on the team is so into it, and it really comes across in all of our matches,” Moustafa said. “We are all so supportive of each other and excited to compete in each match.” The Wolverines went undefeated in Mission League play and put together a twelve game winning streak that ended with the loss to Peninsula. In the regional tournament, the Wolverines took down La

Jolla Country Day 7-0 in the first round. They defeated Northwood 5-2 the morning of their semifinal loss to Torrey Pines. Last year’s team lost in the second round of CIF playoffs and did not qualify for the regional tournament. At the beginning of the season, Simon said the team’s goal was to make it as far as they could in CIF. The team exceeded even her expectations, as they were the first Wolverine squad to make it to the regional semifinals since 2000. Now, the team is eager to get back and get even further. “Next year, we are all hoping to win the CIF title,” Moustafa said. “And hopefully the regional title too.” The team ended the year with a record of 16-3 (8-0 league).

EMILY RAHHAL/CHRONICLE

SMACK DOWN: Amanda Chan ’19 swings at the ball during a match against Notre Dame. The Wolverines won 13-5.

D2 SPORTS

THE CHRONICLE

Game to watch

NOV. 24, 2015

Field Hockey

DECEMBER 4 Boys' Basketball vs. Heritage Christian Taper Gymnasium The season opener represents the beginning of a new era for the basketball program, with David Rebibo making his head coaching debut. In addition, this will be the ﬁrst chance for many to see highly-touted prospect Cassius Stanley ’19 in a Wolverines uniform.

KEY PLAYER Cassius Stanley '19 A 6’5" freshman, Stanley is already expected to produce big numbers. Nationally heralded as one of the best players in the country, he was named MVP of the Pangos All-American Camp Top 60 game this summer. Stanley is known for his defensive prowess, ability to rebound, and his knock-down jumper.

& Figures Facts

Passing touchdowns thrown by QB Noah Rothman ’16 this season

WORKING THE FIELD: Phaedra Robinson ’17 (left) runs toward a Huntington Beach player during the ﬁeld hockey team's loss Sept.16. Mia Reilly ’18 (right) runs with the ball during the same game. The squad lost in what was one of three league losses.

Squad downed in first round of playoffs By CARINA MARX

Following last year’s trend, the field hockey team lost to Newport in overtime in the first round of playoffs Oct. 27, ending its postseason early. “Honestly, we should’ve won,” forward Emma Wasserman ’16 said. “We played really well and almost scored in the final minutes, but we couldn’t finish it.” This was the squad’s third time losing a game in overtime while carrying a lead through most of regulation. The team, made up of

primarily young players ended its season with a 5-3 league record, and a record of 7-9-1 overall. The squad progressively was able to play as a more cohesive team, helping it pull off a 10-0 win against Louisville Sept. 24, a 4-0 win against Chaminade Oct. 8 and against Glendora Oct. 24. The Glendora game sticks out in the memories of the girls the most. “I really wasn’t sure that we’d win,” Wasserman said. “I knew that we were good enough to do it but was very

Girls' Volleyball

By DARIO MADYOON AND RIAN RATNAVALE

Wins by the girls’ volleyball team

Junior Varsity Boys’ Basketball Next Game:

Dec. 4 @ Harvard-Westlake

Girls’ Basketball Next Game: Nov. 25 @ Harvard-Westlake

Boys’ Soccer Next Match: Dec. 4 @ Harvard-Westlake

Girls’ Soccer Next Match: Dec. 2 @ Harvard-Westlake

Wrestling Next Match: Dec. 9 @ Chaminade High

anxious because I knew so many people would be there.” The girls attribute their success on that day to taking energy from the crowd and letting that drive their gameplay. The team will only lose four seniors for next year, but this includes Wasserman, who was the leading scorer during her freshman and sophomore seasons and added much needed skill to the group and its plays. There will only be ﬁve seniors next year, and the team will continue to be driven by

its younger players. However, Creznic believes that since the younger members of the team got a lot of playing time this year, they will be able to perform at much higher levels when they need to. The JV team had a record of 6-3-2 overall and 4-1-1 in the league. While the varsity team has lost to Newport twice, JV tied Newport once. The success of this team bodes well for the success of the varsity team next year, when some of the better players will strengthen the squad.

Team falls in second round of CIF playoffs

Goals scored by Evan Rosenfeld ’17 in water polo's ﬁrst round victory

Opponents ﬁeld hockey held scoreless this season

CARINA MARX/CHRONICLE

DARIO MADYOON/CHRONICLE

SMACK DOWN: Bella Hedley ’18 jumps up to spike the ball in a ﬁve set CIF playoff loss against the Huntington Beach Oilers.

After beating St. Joseph in four sets in the first round of CIF-SS playoffs, the girls’ volleyball team had its season brought to an end by the Huntington Beach Oilers Nov. 13 in a five-set loss. The squad ended the season with a 5-3 record in league play and a 23-10 record overall, a large improvement from its 2-6 league record last year and its 13-17 record overall. Despite losing the final game of the year, this season marks a great improvement for the Wolverines, who were unable to make the playoffs at all last year in a new and improved Mission League that added rivals such as Marymount and Marlborough. “I’m just so proud about how we finished, because that last game was 100 percent effort, and it showcased exactly what we’d been working for all season,” Team Captain Josie Treadwell ’16 said. “That last game and our entire season was so great for HarvardWestlake volleyball as a whole, too.” The Wolverines will look to build on this season’s improvement and look past the difficult defeat they suffered in the last game. “Sometimes we make mistakes and that’s just how it is, but we always come out of games like the last one ready

to persevere and come back better than ever,” Head Coach Adam Black said. Even though the squad will lose six seniors, four of whom were starters, the squad has an exciting new crop of talent from the junior varsity squad that is looking to make an impact on the team. “Coach Black really tried to bring the entire program closer together this year instead of just varsity,” middle blocker Courtney Nunley ’17 said. “We got a lot closer with the junior varsity girls this year so I’m excited to get a chance to play with them next year because I think they’re really excited to get a chance to be on varsity and make a big impact right away.” However, the players most hungry to prove themselves next year are the juniors who were on varsity this year. They will be looking to ﬁll the void left by the seniors and take on the challenge of leading the team deeper into the playoffs than they have ever been before. “The most important thing I’ve learned from the seniors is that they give 100 percent all the time and they lead by actions instead of words, so that’s what I’m going to try to do next year when I need to be a leader for the team,” Nunley said. “Even though I know there’s going to be a big hole after they leave, I know that we can step up and play our part.”

Nov. 24, 2015

hwchronicle.com/features

Sports D3

inbrief

Basketball teams unite for HoopsFest

The girls’ and boys’ basketball teams gathered in Taper Gymnasium Nov. 7 for HoopsFest. The goal of the event was to create team unity between the squads. To start off the team bonding, the squads competed in a shootout competition. There were various team bonding and skill improvement games as well. The last game of HoopsFest involved members from two teams playing out different play calls that their coaches called out, with the winner being the one who completed the most of these play calls. The night culminated with a team dinner and a raffle for a variety of athletic gear. —Elly Choi DARIO MADYOON/CHRONICLE

DARIO MADYOON/CHRONICLE

PASSING THE TORCH: Quarterback Noah Rothman ’16 (left) rolls out of the pocket against La Serna Nov. 20. Linebacker Mike Mapes ’16 hugs wide receiver Cam Jones ’18 (right) as the clock expires. The Wolverines lost 68-42 to finish their season 8-4.

Football

Squad loses in quarterfinals, finishes 8-4

By Bennett Gross

The Wolverines’ season came to an end Friday night after a 68-42 home loss in the second round of the CIF-SS playoffs. The squad ended the year with an overall record of 8-4 and an Angelus League record of 4-1. In the team’s first league game against St. Paul, the Wolverines overcame a threetouchdown deficit with eight minutes left in the game. Harvard-Westlake rattled off four quick scores to defeat the Swordsmen 28-21 in Santa Fe Springs. Harvard-Westlake’s next Angelus League contest was highlighted by the 95-yard touchdown pass from Noah Rothman ’16 to Alex Barnum ’16 and their Hail Mary at the end of the game to put the Wolverines to 2-0 in Angelus League play. In the squad’s Homecom-

ing game against La Salle, the Wolverines handily defeated the Lancers with a 35-21 victory in Harvard-Westlake’s second consecutive Homecoming win. However, fortune could only take the team so far, as they were defeated by Cathedral 13-12 at home. But, the Wolverines’ luck was not completely out, as in their next matchup against Salesian, the squad defeated the Mustangs on the road 4844 in another thriller, which saw Rothman account for seven touchdowns. This win also signified that the Wolverines would be Angelus League co-champions with Cathedral. In the squad’s first playoff matchup, the Wolverines faced off against the second place team in the Suburban League, Mayfair. After giving up a touchdown on the first series of the game, each team turned the ball over a combined 12 times, before the Wolverines

eventually scored in the fourth quarter to even the game. On Mayfair’s next possession, they returned the favor, putting them up six with two minutes to go in the game. However, Rothman connected with star receiver Cameron Jones ’18 on a 94-yard slant to give the Wolverines the lead. The Monsoons ended up following the theme of the night, and fumbled the ball on a snap deep in Wolverines territory to relinquish the game. In the second round, the Wolverines faced the top-seeded La Serna Lancers, in what ended up being a shootout. Harvard-Westlake ended up coming up short in this Quarterfinal matchup with the 99th ranked team in California. Rothman, a first-year starting quarterback, ended the regular season with 1557 yards passing, a 47.8 percent completion rate and 16 touchdowns. The run game was evenly

split during the regular season, with Thomas Glover ’18 racking up 541 yards, and Princeton lacrosse commit, Philip Thompson ’16 carrying the ball for 396 yards on the season. Rothman’s two favorite targets, Jones and Barnum piled up 595 and 346 yards receiving respectively. On defense, Mike Mapes ’16 had 133 total tackles and 100 solo tackles during the regular season. The next leading tackler, Sultan Daniels ’19 had 56. Next season, some uncertainties will be the quarterback situation, due to the graduation of Rothman and Marshal Cohen ’16, and the departure of all but one starting offensive lineman. However, with another summer of growth from Glover and Jones, the Wolverines have a good chance of making the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Boys’ Water Polo

Team falls short of third title

• Continued from page D1

championship game, I’m more proud of the young men they’ve become and they’re growing into. The water polo is secondary to that, to just what great kids I get to coach every year.” Hallock expressed the same familiar sentiment, using words like “love” and “brothers” when talking about his teammates. “Something that I probably learned from this game, and you don’t really realize when you win the championship, is that my love and how much I care about my teammates, those kids, my best friends, my brothers, is so much bigger than winning the championship,” Hallock said. “Just coming away from that, it’s a tough pill to swallow, but I’m so proud.”

A trainer taped a large bag of ice to Hallock’s hands while the senior spoke to the Chronicle. Hallock went on to disclose that he had been playing with a torn ligament in his thumb after sustaining the injury in a match back in late October. “It’s not easy to grip the ball,” Hallock said. The ‘brothers’ have different futures ahead of them, but won’t have to disband just yet. “I’m going to continue playing with these guys after season in club,” Froomer said. “It’s one of the best parts about playing water polo with these guys — we play high school and then we go straight to club.” Hallock, like Froomer, will have to hang up his Wolverine swim caps for good, but he could soon be wearing a dif-

ferent cap. “My first step is getting my thumb healthy, but after that I have a lot of training with the [United States Men’s Water Polo National Team] this year, hopefully making the 2016 Rio team for the Olympics ... which would be incredible,” Hallock said. “But I don’t want to take away from what these kids have done tonight and what these kids have done for the past three for years.” But for now, this family gets to take some rare time off. Then, they’ll do it all over again. “We put in the work for 11 months a year,” Flacks said. “They get to take the next month or so and regroup, recover and enjoy being high schoolers and get their grades up. In January we’ll start training for next November.”

Athletes of the Month named for November The Student Athlete Advisory Council named Alex Barnum ’16, Noah Rothman ’16 and Zoe Baxter ’16 as the Athletes of the Month for November. In 11 games this year since taking over as the starting quarterback, Rothman has thrown for 20 touchdowns and 1,557 yards. Barnum was on the receiving end of a 95-yard game-winning Hail Mary catch against St. Francis Oct. 15 that made headlines nationwide. Baxter, who recently committed to Washington University at St. Louis, led the volleyball team to a 23-10 record. —Eli Adler

Baseball program cleans O’Malley Field The baseball team expressed appreciation for its facilities by doing community service around O’Malley Family Field Nov. 14. Athletes met at the field, cleaned up the streets, and swept the sidewalks that were dirty near the field. The whole squad participated to beautify where it practices in preparation for its upcoming season. “We did it to bring the team closer together as well as to show the community that we care and that we are thankful for being allowed to do all that we do at the facility,” R.J. Schreck ’18 said. —Claire Keller

Wolverine Equestrians fare well at league show

MAN UP: Evan Rosenfeld ’17 defends against a Mater Dei player at the Woolet Aquatic Center. The Wolverines finished as CIF-SS runner-ups.

Seven Wolverine equestrian riders competed in the Oct. 25 Interscholastic Equestrian League Show at the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center. Returning rider Genie Kilb ’17 won the Varsity Hunter Seat Equitation, Fences. Roxy Sorkin ’19 won both of her Freshman Hunter classes in her first race in over a year. Team Captain Gabriella Salimpour ’16, Skylar Calkins ’20 and Anneliese Ardizzone ’20 ended with top-10 finishes, and India Brittenham ’19 and Ayanna Frey ’18 had strong finishes as well. —Eli Adler

D4 Sports

The Chronicle

Season's Greetings

Nov. 2

As the winter season opens up, each team hopes to cultivate both old and new talent.

Boys’ Basketball By Bennett Gross New Head Coach David Rebibo is looking to build on last season’s fourth consecutive quarterfinal loss to Mission Prep despite losing last season’s top scorer, Alex Copeland ’15 (25.4 points per game), and top rebounder, Noah Gains ’15 (10.8 points per game). In Greg Hilliard’s final season last year, the Wolverines finished 14-14 and 4-8 in the Mission League. With the addition of freshman phenom Cassius Stanley ’19 and Wolfgang Novogratz ’16 returning from injury, the cast of characters on this year’s team will be vastly different, but has the potential to move past the third round barrier that the team has hit four years in a row. “I love Coach Rebibo’s fastpaced style of play,” Stanley said. “I think it really suits the way that I want to play, and I have great teammates surrounding me, so they have helped me adjust.” Led by seniors Henry Vogel ’16, David Seo ’16 and Novogratz, the Wolverines have been impressive in their fall league games. In those games, the team gained chemistry prior to the start of the league games. “This group has grown and developed a lot since the summertime,” Rebibo said. “The potential is there, and how far we go will be determined by how together we come in the

next few months.” Novogratz, a member of the Preseason All-Area Team, is the highest returning scorer, averaging 18.1 points per game despite only playing in nine games. For a second straight season, height will be a major weakness. Their tallest player, Stanley, is listed at 6 feet 5 inches and primarily plays guard. Ray Mueller ’17 will play defense on the opposing team’s center. Starters Carter Begel ’17 and Mueller quit football to focus on basketball since they were forced to miss all of preseason training and the beginning of the season last year. The starting lineup for the beginning of the season is projected to be comprised of Iken, Novogratz, Begel, Stanley and Mueller. “The upperclassmen have shown me how to be a Harvard-Westlake Wolverine,” Stanley said. “They have shown me what I should and shouldn’t do both on and off the court to succeed." The squad will open its season at the Calabasas Tournament. “Tournaments are a great opportunity to create an identity before Mission League play begins,” Rebibo said. “You can practice all you want, but you find out who you are in tight game situations. These tournaments will provide us with incredible opportunities to learn from each other."

COLE JACOBSON/CHRONICLE

EYES UP: Aaron Glazer ’17 looks to pass to a teammate during a game last season against Alemany.

The team will open its season in the Calabasas Tournament Nov. 24. The team finished 14-14 last year.

Girls’ Soccer

By Carina Marx and Emily Rahhal

BENNETT GROSS/CHRONICLE

BRINGING IT IN: Courtney Gazmarian '16 recieves a pass during a game against Mater Dei last year. The team aims to strenghten their dynamic and will go up against Newbury Park Dec. 2.

The girls’ soccer program is undergoing a few changes to strengthen the team’s dynamic both on and off the field. Instead of having a separate JV and varsity team, program head Richard Simms is integrating the two. “We’re really working on becoming one team,” forward Anya Andrews ’17 said. “There's a dual roster, so there are people who are playing for both JV and varsity this season.” Simms hopes to translate that strong bond onto the field to improve communication skills. Players won't know which team they'll be playing with until directly before the game, and the two teams will practice as one no matter what. The team is also starting to use the number system this year, which is calling positions by their numbers instead of by their names. This helps with ease of communication and clarity on the field. “I think we can improve

on keeping focus and not letting anything distract us when it comes to long and tough games, especially in CIF,” forward Paige Howard ’17 said. “We got caught taking mental breaks last year in important games, and I think if we can play hard for a full game, then we will be successful.” Players to watch this season are Howard, midfielder Courtney Corrin ’16 and goalie Lindsay Avant ’17. Last year, the squad had a record of 15-3-1 overall and 8-0 in the league. The team lost five seniors, four of whom were college commits. The new seniors make up for the loss, though, as they are an extremely strong group. Most of the team also plays soccer outside of school in clubs, including five freshmen and sophomores who play for Real So Cal. Last year, only two did. Real is a soccer program that focuses on the advancement of young players, and skills learned within this program will carry over into the Wolverine program. The team's first game is against Newbury Park Dec. 2.

24, 2015

hwchronicle.com/sports

Sports D5

Boys’ Soccer By Jake Liker The boys’ soccer team will feature many new faces on the pitch this upcoming season. One of the most pivotal moments of the upcoming boys' soccer season may be its annual weekend-long retreat which the team departed for on Friday afternoon. “That’s where we bond. We get together and I think that was honestly one of the key differences between our season last year and the season two years ago," starting center back Ethan Blaser ’17 said. "We got to get together as a group and were able to stay tight as a group.” Team bonding could prove to be crucial, as the team’s core last year was mostly comprised of seniors who have now graduated. The retreat could go a long way in getting the swath of new faces acclimated to varsity, as it did for Blaser. The coaches are also big believers in its significance. “[The retreat] is such an important part of our season, and I think it was a key element in our year last year,” Boys’ Soccer Program Head Lucas Bongarra said. “It is going to be challenging to replace the personnel and the level of [competitiveness] that we have, but I think that the boys are ready. They really took last year’s retreat as something that changed the dynamics of the team. We got closer as a team and everything they did with team building activities was made there.” With many senior losses to fill, Bongarra knows there’s a lot to compensate for. “What we’re trying to do is create and put a team in place that can maintain the level of

competitiveness that we had last year," Bongarra said. "So right now we’re working on different tactical schemes, and we haven’t made a decision of how we’re going to present the team on the field yet, but I guess the best way to answer the question [of how we’re going to compensate for the departure of several seniors] is with the players we have this year, which is also a very talented group. It’s a tactical adjustment we have to do based on the personnel we have.” The generic formation for last year’s team was a fluid 4-4-2 diamond that could push for goals or stay back and defend depending on the game scenario. But with new players, Bongarra is determined to shape his tactics around strengths such as flashy touches, deception on the ball and rococo dribbles. “We’re very excited to see the level of creativity that some of the kids have, especially Alec Katz ’19 and Theo Velaise ’17,” Bongarra said. "They have a box of trickery they like to pick things from and do which is always fun to see. I think creativity is one of the best things we have.” Bongarra praises the focus his team has demonstrated in early-season practices. “I think we have a great group of guys,” Bongarra said. “We are very impressed so far with the level of concentration that the boys have shown in practice.” The team has several goals for this season. “I think our goal is to win the [Mission] League,” Bongarra said. "I think it’s a good parameter to start. Our dream is to win CIF; that’s what keeps us really hungry, but I think our goal is to win the league.”

JONATHAN SEYMOUR/CHRONICLE

FIGHTING FOR CONTROL: Jon Nelson ’16 and Jeremy Yariv ’18 (above) double team a player from Alemany last season. Yariv (below) jockeys for possession in the first half of the same game.

Girls’ Basketball By Dario Madyoon and Rian Ratnavale

HENRY VOGEL/CHRONICLE

DRIVING TO THE HOOP: Sydney Tsutsui ’17 pushes her way to the basket for a layup in last season's game against Ventura. The team will play its season opener at home on Nov. 25.

After coming within eight points of a CIF finals berth, the girls’ basketball team will look towards a mix of returning talent and new energy to guide them to a successful season, hopefully ending with an Open Division berth in the CIF playoffs. Last year, the squad rebounded with an 11-game win streak at the end of its season and advanced to the semifinals of its league playoffs. In the CIF State Regionals, the team made it all the way to the semifinals, but lost to Oaks Christian. Despite losing standout point guard Teeana Cotangco ’15 to college ball at Claremont McKenna, the team has more than enough leadership with guard Lindsey Tse ’16 taking over as the leader of the backcourt. Tse and doubledouble machine Jayla RuffusMilner ’18 were both named to the LA Daily News All-Area Team. The senior guard will look to take over much of the ball-handling responsibilities after averaging eight points per game and three assists

per game in the last season. In her first year of high school basketball, Milner averaged 13 PPG and 10 rebounds per game and was a game-wrecker on defense as well, averaging over 1.5 steals and blocks per game. Under Head Coach Melissa Hearlihy, the Wolverines look to their defense to create havoc with turnovers and start fast-breaks that lead to a faster, more free-flowing game on offense. The players use a lot of off-ball movement to open up the floor for better shots. “It’s a high-tempo upbeat system of play,” Lauren Lapesarde ’17 said. “For offense, we rely on a lot of cutting and a lot of off-the-ball play. With this offense and a lot of things happening in the court away from the ball, we are able to create multiple scoring opportunities for ourselves and each other on any given possession.” The team will play Windward in Taper Gymnasium on Wednesday for its first home game and will play in the Redondo and Santa Barbara Tournaments before starting league play at Notre Dame Jan. 7.

D6 Sports

The Chronicle

Nov. 24, 2015

Girls’ Golf Cross Country Girls’ golf ends CIF run after first round wins CIF By Bryant Wu

• Continued from page D1

because they are a group of excellent young people as well as tremendous running athletes,” Koolsbergen said. “We had the largest team in school history and one of the deepest teams in terms of talent in the history of our fine program.” The girls’ team placed 12th out of the 16 teams at the CIF finals. The team qualified for CIF out of the 88 schools in its division. Koolsbergen believes that any athlete playing in a championship has a special opportunity. “The girls’ season was strong,” Koolsbergen said. “We didn’t do all the things we wanted to do, but still, to be a CIF finalist and to be in that position where it’s still a very strong team, but we didn’t achieve everything we wanted to achieve. Just to be in the finals and make that top 16 is very special.” Koolsbergen believes the team will be able to continue their success next season. “Our program has depth and excellent athletes in all grades, so a continuation of excellent results is definitely expected,” Koolsbergen said. “The change will simply come from the changes in the rosters. Seniors will move on and new athletes will join us and add their particular gifts to what we do.”

year but didn’t this year,” Baker said. “But this is just The girls’ golf team fin- another factor for us to try ished its season with a record even harder for next season, of 5-2 in both league and sea- so we don’t have to be disappointed again.” son. The team looks for a more The team lost in the CIF Divisional Championship, hopeful future next year, with Soule Park Golf Course in returning players Baker, Guo, Ojai. The team fought hard Wang, Hong and Claire Denand shot 455 in the pour- nis ’18. “I really hoped that we ing rain, where Josie Baker could make it farther ’18 shot a 78, Kariin CIFs this year, na Guo ’18 shot an given that it was 82, Lauren Song ’16 Song’s last year,” shot an 85, Chantalle Baker said. “But we Wang ’17 and Vivian didn’t make it, so all Lin ’16 both shot a 97 we can do is work on and Carolyn Hong ’17 improving ourselves shot a 103. next year. I also hope “It was a rough that we can do betround,” Hong said. ’ ter in the team sec“Obviously the rain Emma tion, because I want didn’t help, but we Kateman ’17 to have the feeling of still could have fixed accomplishment with a lot of the problems by being more attentive. Little the team, not just by myself.” The team also looks to things here and there could have been enough for us to strengthen their team with inprogress onto the next round coming Daisy Wan ’20. “I’ve played with her a of CIFs.” Baker and Guo also quali- couple of times in the past,” fied for the CIF Individual Re- Baker said. “Daisy is a great gional Playoffs. Baker shot 80 player with a lot of potential. and 77 to make it to this sec- I think she would be a great tion, and Guo fired off an 81 addition to the team and would fit in really well in our team and 77. However, in the CIF In- chemistry.” Girls’ Golf Program Head dividual Section, which was also held at Soule Park Golf Marge Chamberlain also is Course, Baker fell after shoot- hopeful for the team’s next seaing an 83, and Guo progressed son. “I know these girls, so after shooting a 77. However, Guo did not qualify for the CIF they’re not going to relax during the offseason,” Chamberlain State Championship. “We’re both pretty upset said. “By next season, Josie because we made CIF last and Karina will have practiced nathanson s

BENNETT GROSS/CHRONICLE

FOLLOWING THROUGH: Josie Baker ’18 chips the ball during the golf team’s match against Marymount Sept. 3 at Encino Golf Course. a lot and become much better than they were this year. The other girls will also get much better, so I have full hope that we can do so much better next season.” “My goal for the next season

is to qualify for CIF, in both the team and individual categories,” Baker said. “During our last season, we didn’t perform to our full potential. If we do perform at our best, I believe that we can achieve that goal.”

Wrestling

New coach, small squad, high hopes for this year

By Joe Levin and Cameron Stine

The Wolverine wrestling team has no room for bickering between teammates. If there is a problem, it can be settled on the mat, but the disagreement ends there. That’s probably a good thing considering the Wolverines only have five wrestlers this year. A combination of losing wrestlers to graduation, other sports and other schools, the stripped Wolverines have no choice but to turn to each other for strength.

“We’re extremely tightknight, and we have to be,” Russell Davis ’17 said. “We understand each other.” This year will be the first for head coach Patrick Cartmill. Coaching has always been a part of life for Cartmill, whose father coached football in Oklahoma. Cartmill coached both wrestling and football in Oklahoma City before moving to Los Angeles earlier this year. Cartmill also serves as a linebacker and running back coach for the Wolverines football team. For players, the biggest difference between Cartmill and

former coach Gary Bairos has been practices. “Practices are a lot more structured,” Davis said. “I think it’ll be good to have a structure that’s the same every day and just follow the repetition.” Ryan Ruiz ’16 will lead the team this year. Last year, Ruiz finished second in the Mission League in the 126-pound weight class and qualified for CIF Championships. Ruiz is the team’s only senior. The traditionally male squad will also feature a rare sight for a high school wrestling team: a female wres-

AUDREY WILSON/CHRONICLE

tler. Angelica Estrada ’17 will wrestle for the first time since she was in eighth grade, following in the footsteps of Lena Kadogawa ’18 and Abbie Howell ’18, who wrestled last year but will not continue this year. Given the team’s low numbers, it will be near impossible to win duals, wrestling’s equivalent of a track meet. In a dual, two schools face off in a series of matches at different weight classes. Whichever team has the most points at the end of all the matches wins. With so few men, the Wolverines won’t be able to provide a man for each weight class and will have

to forfeit. The Wolverines can’t control how many wrestlers they have, so they don’t worry about it, Davis said. They do worry about what they can control, however, and that means winning individual matches. “Our goal is to win as many matches as we can,” Davis says. “We probably won’t win any duels, but we can still win every single match we have and hopefully make it through CIF.” Even if they fall short, it won’t be for a lack of chemistry. There’s no room for that on a team of five.

AUDREY WILSON/CHRONICLE

DEADLOCK: Russell Davis ’17 grapples with an opposing wrestler during a match last year against Alemany. The team will be led by new Head Coach Patrick Cartmill, who doubles as an assistant coach on the football team. Due to graduation, transfers and quits, they will begin the year with only five wrestlers.

hWChroNiCle.CoM/SportS

Nov. 24, 2015

SportS D7

Girls’ Water Polo

MILA BARZDUKAS/CHRONICLE

REJECTED: Camille Oswald ’17 blocks a shot during a game last year against Marymount. Oswald will be out with a shoulder injury at the beginning of the season.

Team deepens bench in eﬀort to continue success By JuLiana BerGer and Bryant Wu

After going undefeated in league last season, the girls’ water polo team will deepen its bench to propel its quest to duplicate last year’s success. Despite the loss of Sophia Gonzalez ’15, who currently plays at University of California, Berkeley, and starter Camille Oswald ’17 being out with a shoulder injury, the team has high hopes and is expecting to regain Caitlin Neapole ’16, who quit in sopho-

more year to focus on school and her other sports. “I’m looking forward to when our games start,” Neapole said. “That is when our hard work pays off and we can really enjoy playing the game.” The team is hoping that these new players will give the squad an edge in the coming season but know they need to work hard to ensure everyone will perform at their best. “We have a lot of new and returning players, so I think it’s important that we learn to mesh together and really learn

K-12

and teach each other so that we can also improve a lot as a team this season,” Daily Hartmeier ’16 said. Head Coach Brian Flacks ’06 also believes that the team is much stronger than before. “A big thing this year is that we have solved our problem of numbers,” Flacks said. “Previously, we have had the problems of not having enough players on the team. I’m looking forward to adding a little more depth and play with more rotations.” The team is led this year

Math Help

by returning Varsity players season, and I really look Hannah Eliot ’16 and Hart- forward to working with her this year,” Flacks said. meier. “I also look forward to Eliot has been watching her and Eliot playing on the varbecome leaders on the sity team since her team this year.” freshman year and Flacks is optimistic was named CIF Allthat this season will be American last seasuccessful. son as a junior on “The tangible goals the squad. this year are winning “Another really mission league talented player ’ championship and who is returning Camille winning CIF Division this year is Oswald ’14 III Championship,” Hartmeier, who had an unbelievable junior Flacks said. nathanson s

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D8 SPORTS

Q&A

THE CHRONICLE

NOV. 24, 2015

ALI IKEN Boys’ Basketball By DARIO MADYOON How did you start playing basketball? I started playing basketball when I was around five or six years old. I had moved here from Morocco, so I had never really heard of it, but all my friends in pre-school were playing, and I went to the park with them after school and started playing. I was in sixth grade when I decided that I would start to take it seriously, because my coach pulled me aside and told me that I could be really good, but I had to stop playing soccer and baseball. He told me that if I wanted to be good, I had to really work on it and specialize because I’m not 7 feet tall, and I can’t jump through the roof. So I decided that I would follow his advice, because it was a sport that I really loved to play. What has been the most memorable moment during your Wolverine career? I’d have to say when we beat Chaminade at “The Cage” last year, and it was packed. Their whole entire bleachers were filled. We were supposed to lose, but we came out and played like a team, and we beat them. Or my freshman year, even though I didn’t play, we beat Maranatha in playoffs in overtime 101-100. Why did you choose to wear number 10? I’ve actually always worn number 10 ever since I was a kid, but when I was called up to varsity my freshman year, a senior already had 10, so I wore 15 that year. I was supposed to get number 10 the year after that but then Wolfgang Novogratz ’16 came, and he got to wear number 10. I didn’t mind, so I wore 15 again last year. This year, [Head Coach David Rebibo] told me I could have any number I wanted, and I told him I wanted number 10. I started wearing number 10 when I was a kid because soccer was my first sport, and in soccer, the best player always wears number 10, so I just kept the tradition going. How do you prepare before every game? Any rituals? What’s on the playlist? I actually don’t listen to music. I prefer to concentrate and clear my mind before the game. I just sit down with a basketball in my hands and look down and think about the game. I think about all the moments in the games that I’ve played before and think about what I can do in this game to make an impact and help my team win. So I just sit there in silence for five minutes. How do you train during the offseason? Usually I train by myself. I shoot four to five times a week, and I do conditioning twice a week and weightlifting three times a week, and sometimes conditioning is paired with weightlifting. But this year with Rebibo, he’s been having us practicing three or four times a week as a team at school, and after that I go home and shoot free throws, and during the weekend I go to the track or the stairs to work on my legs. What has changed since Rebibo came?

Stats 13.5 42% 1.6

PPG last season

There have been lots of changes with Rebibo. Hilliard’s been here a long time, and he had his methods, which were really successful obviously, but the system has been changed around completely. Rebibo is more of a perfectionist; if you’re one step off the midline or you’re one step over it’s not correct. He’s reasonable about it because he’ll stop and show you how to do it. He doesn’t expect you to know, but he makes you look at the details. You have to be instinctive because if you’re a step too late, the other team’s going to score. The defense has changed completely, too. Last year it was more like if you guard your own man, you’ll be ﬁne, but this year it’s a lot more of a team defense. If one man messes up, the whole defense is going be done for, but if everyone does their job correctly, there’s no way the other team is going to score. What are you going to do differently this year?

Field Goal Percentage SPG last season

Last year I wasn’t much of a leader since the team had Noah Gains ’15, Spencer Perryman ’15 and Alex Copeland ’15. But this year, I’m going to be the kid with the most experience on varsity because this will be my third year. I’m going to try to convey my experience of what it’s like to play in the Mission League and play at a Loyola game where the entire school is watching. I want to make it easier for my teammates both on and off the court. My freshman year, everyone was doing their own thing based on grade, but I want to mix it up so everyone’s involved, and it’ll be everyone’s team.

BENNETT GROSS/CHRONICLE