Tower Issue #2 2018-2019

Tower The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522

VOLUME 75, NUMBER 2

@MastersTower

Editorial It is important for students to use their voice and stand up for what they believe in through advocacy. Though we may not be of voting age, we can effect change together by speaking out against injustice.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2018

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LEFT: HISTORY TEACHER MATTHEW Browne addresses the Upper School on the Quad during at the conclusion of a series of morning events to honor the 100th anniversary of the armistice which ended World War One. Middle: History and religion teacher Brian Cheney reads the poem “In Flanders Fields.” Right: A picture of a soldier found by senior Julia Mathas in her research about WWI soldiers from local towns.

Masters commemorates WWI with school-wide event annie rubinSon Features Design Editor The 100th anniversary of the armistice that concluded World War I passed on Sunday, Nov. 12; and on the following day, various students and faculty members led the Masters community in an educational, interactive commemoration of the event. From daily history facts at Morning Meeting to yearly celebrations of Martin Luther King Day, the Masters community often celebrates important historical events; the commemoration of Armistice of Veterans Day on Monday was no exception.

The event was first announced in May by history teacher Matthew Browne, who has been responsible

for much of the coordination of the armistice commemoration. “In the past, for Veterans Day, there had always been students who felt that we didn’t do enough,” Browne said.

“There’s something powerful about major anniversaries like this. I see it as an opportunity to think more deeply about conflict, the loss of life and the world we are building going forward.”

On Nov. 12, the Upper School gathered in the Claudia Boettcher Theatre for a Musical Monday, where performers were asked to select repertoire that was relevant to World War I. The Salty Dogs performed a traditional song from World War I, as opposed to their typical 18th- and 19th-century repertoire.

After the performances and a video, the community was divided into

Children’s Village Immigrant children housed at local children’s center Morgan brettSchneider News Design Editor Children’s Village, a local organization which helps society’s most vulnerable children integrate into society, also serves as a “relatively small” detention center for 179 immigrant children who were separated from their families at the U.S./Mexican border, according to their website.

The organization, which is one of ten detention centers in New York State, was contracted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to house undocumented immigrant kids who traveled across the border alone or were separated from their parents at the border.

Since the 90s, many immigrant detention centers have existed across the United States in order to provide places for undocumented immigrant children to stay until the government decides what to do with them after crossing the border on their own. Due to the Trump administration’s creation of new rulings that force children and parents to be separated, an increased number of kids are sent to detention centers, mostly in Texas and Arizona.

The Children’s Village mission is to help children by providing them with education and helping them form lifelong relations. Through MISH, Masters has supported Children’s Village for several years with toy drives, haunted houses and volunteer opportunities. As an organization which was contracted by the federal government to house undocumented immigrants in the United States, Children’s Village is given money to provide amenities and services to the children.

“People don’t realize that places like this are right in our backyard,” said Jill Faber, a lawyer who visited the facility on a court-ordered monitoring visit in October. Faber is the wife of Upper School faculty member Eric Shapiro and mother of Sarah Faber 20’.

During the two days that Faber spent there with a group of lawyers, she noted that all the staff at Children’s Village are committed to engaging with the children. “The big takeaway from the visit is that all the faculty from Children’s Village from the top down are committed to engaging and looking out for the best interests of all the children,” she said.

After spending many hours with the children and, together with other lawyers, interviewing over a hundred of them, she said, “They have nutritious food, appropriate clothing, art materials, bedding, books, etc. They attend classes in their houses for about 4 hours a day and learn math, English, history and science. They have recreation time during the day and several times a week they go on outings outside of Children’s Village.”

Faber also added that what these kids want the most is to be reunited with their family members. However, certain Office of Refugee Resettlement regulations make it difficult for many of these children to get their wish.

Although Children’s Village is doing everything they can to help these children cope with their unfortunate circumstances, uniting kids back with their families is out of their hands as they must follow the policies and procedures dictated by the government’s Office of Refugee Resettlement.

‘break-out sessions’, which they had selected several days prior. The sessions were led by various students and faculty members. Some examples of these sessions were: ‘World War I around the World’ by International Club, ‘Women in the War’ by GALs, ‘World War I Naval Songs’ by Salty Dogs. “My favorite part by far was working with students on the committee, and seeing them take initiative,” Browne said.

Julia Mathas, senior and active member of the planning committee, reflected upon her experience preparing the celebration and on her break-out session in particular: “It’s not just about World War I,” she said. She hoped the community would “recognize how important that War was for the country as a whole and also to the world.”

Mathas’ break-out session includ-

ed various profiles on war veterans from the Dobbs Ferry and Hudson River area. “My particular breakout group recognizes the importance of an individual–the ones who didn’t win all of the awards, the ones who weren’t generals, the ones whose names no one remembers today–and celebrating them, even if just for 45 minutes,” Mathas said.

Senior Ted Horowitz, co-president of Salty Dogs, facilitated a discussion and reflection of World War I Naval songs. He, along with co-president Ian Accetta, placed an emphasis on non-partisanship in their presentation.

“It’s important that we acknowledge that the tragedy of the war wasn’t that Americans died, it was the fact that the war itself happened in the first place,” Horowitz said. He then reflected upon the impact of

his experience. “It made me a better researcher,” he said. “Researching both sides of the war is important in humanizing the soldiers who fought, and giving them personalities.”

After attending two break-out sessions, the Masters community gathered on the Dining Hall quad to participate in a moment of silence for the 17 million killed in the War. Junior Brian Margolis shared his personal response: “I felt that it was very powerful to let everyone be alone with their thoughts,” he said.

Although Margolis doesn’t personally have any relatives that fought in the war, he acknowledged that it is important to set time aside to honor those who do. “Since we don’t get the day off from school, like most do, I felt it was important for us to acknowledge this piece of history,” he said.

College office to provide test prep Sarah Faber Staff Writer Starting during the winter co-curricular season, the College Office will be offering a test prep co-curricular to juniors. Students enrolled will have the opportunity to have semi-private tutoring via video conference with professional tutors from Revolutionary Prep.

The College Counseling office hopes that the co-curricular will enable students to work proactively towards success in standardized testing while completing their co-curricular credit.

The idea for the co-curricular came about in the late summer of 2018. “We were constantly trying

to explore and navigate all the different ways in which students can get test prep. The common theme among all test prep is that in order for it to really have value, students need to invest the energy and the effort into it,” Adam Gimple, Director of College Counseling, said.

“The co curricular option came as a result of us doing lots of research with different companies and different independent schools as to how they navigated access to test prep and how to best use that time. The idea of adding it as a co-curricular option came from partnering with a company we’ve really started to utilize, Revolution Prep.”

According to Gimple, a majority of juniors will take their SATs or ACTs in the late winter or ear-

ly spring, so the dates of the winter co-curricular put students in a place to be prepared.

The co-curricular costs $499 for 24 hours of tutoring, but needbased financial aid is available. The course, which will run twice a week from Nov. 27 through Feb. 14, includes 24 hours of time with a tutor, five practice tests and a personalized improvement plan.

“One of the things we like about Revolution Prep is that their business model is great for families at Masters. They’re flexible with scheduling, their price point is good and they honor financial aid and they are proactive about making sure that all the demographics at Masters are handled in a way that’s appropriate for them,” Gimple said.

On the web: tower.mastersny.org Masters hosts Summit Right-wing leader wins Masters Students react on Social Justice Brazilian elections to California shooting YaSMine PaScal

SoPhia brouSSet

Over 100 students and faculty of different backgrounds,ethnicities, races, gender and sexualities from The Masters School, Rye Country Day and Holy Child, attended the second annual Saturday Social Justice Summit, hosted by Masters in the Middle School on Oct. 27. They participated in a variety of discussions and affinity groups.

Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing conservative of Brazil’s Social Liberal Party, won the presidency of Brazil, seemingly on trend with the global rise of right-wing parties. This growth of populism was also seen in the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and the election of a number of nationalist leaders internationally.

alexandra bentzien An ordinary night at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif. became the scene of a tragedy as a gunman fired shots into a crowd of people, murdering 12 and wounding others. The incident, which occured on Wed., Nov. 7, marked the 307th mass shooting in the United States since the beginning of 2018, according to ABC News.

Visit Tower.MastersNY.org for these web-exclusive stories, blogs, and other content!

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NEWS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Khashoggi murder highlights global journalism issues anniE rubinsOn Features Design Editor Freedom of the press, a First Amendment constitutional right for citizens of the United States, has allowed journalists across the country and in various places across the world to hold people accountable, regardless of controversy and without consequence. Yet, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an American organization, 1,324 journalists have been killed and 60 have gone missing worldwide in the past 26 years, demonstrating that many journalists across the globe continue to struggle with press censorship and other forms of violent journalistic repression. The most recent of these events is the disappearance, torture and murder of Saudi Arabian Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

On Oct. 2, Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to collect a marriage license for his upcoming wedding. After he did not return after several hours, his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, reported him missing.

After several weeks of investigation, it was determined that the journalist was dismembered and killed upon entering the Consulate. Saudi officials have denied most allegations regarding their involvement, and 18 suspects are currently detained for investigation within Saudi borders.

According to The Chicago Tribune, Turkish officials suspect that this premeditated attack was executed by a Saudi “hit squad” and several Turkish collaborators, under the orders of Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Other details surrounding Khashoggi’s capture continue to unfold.

The Washington Post suggests that Khashoggi’s killing was an attack on the free speech he exercised in his column containing various news reports and opinion pieces about the current state of the Middle East. The

day after Khashoggi’s disappearance, Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah received an editorial from Khashoggi entitled: “What the Arab world needs most is free expression.” In her editor’s note, Attiah writes: “This column perfectly captures his commitment and passion for freedom in the Arab world. A freedom he apparently gave his life for.”

Khashoggi’s move to the United States shortly before his death along with the longstanding economic relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia make this incident extremely troublesome for the American government. According to Politico, President Donald Trump has only condemned the Saudi Arabian government’s response to Khashoggi’s murder: “It was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was the worst in the history of cover-ups,” Trump said.

In addition, Trump shocked America with his decision to send Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to the Davos in the Desert conference in Riyadh on Oct. 23—a meeting concerning U.S. and Saudi relations held shortly after Khashoggi’s murder— despite the fact that many delegations had already withdrawn from the conference in protest due to the leaders’ referral of Khashoggi’s killing as an event that “shouldn’t derail their dealmaking.” In response, Cengiz has expressed disappointment in Trump’s failure to bring her fiancée’s murderers to justice.

However, this event has also led to harsher criticizing of Saudi involvement in the Yemeni war, causing the the United States government (along with many others) to call for a cease-fire. This could potentially be the United States’ method of taking a stance against Saudi Arabia, without compromising their trade relations.

Regardless of Trump’s response, Khashoggi’s murder has also deeply impacted the culture of the United States; it has reminded Americans of the threats posed to journalists, both in and out of the United States and abroad.

THE 2018 MIDTERM ELECTIONS revealed increasing racial and political tensions at the national level. The midterms also marked a victory for the Democratic Party which gained additional seats in the House of Represetatives. In several states, the winner of certain senate and gubernatorial elections are being confirmed. In Florida, a proposition passed which will restore voting rights ◄ to 1.6 million former felons who have served their time. democratica.com

News analysis: Midterm elections show divided America Elijah EmEry Sports Design Editor Americans went to the polls on Nov. 6, 2018 and cast their ballots to elect governors, state legislatures, a third of the Senate and the entirety of the House of Representatives.

The results, widely expected to be a referendum on the Trump Administration, told a story of increasing polarization, especially at the national level, of racial tension, and of President Donald Trump’s success in reshaping the Republican Party.

The midterm showed a gaping chasm between urban/suburbanites and rural voters, resulting in wildly different results in the House and the Senate. In the House, Democrats won at least 33 seats, decisively carrying the national popular vote by more than seven points, and guaranteeing for the first time in two years a check on the Trump presidency, and upon unfettered Republican national control, though few expect this to result in any immediate policy ramifications. At time of printing, several races are still being confirmed. Senior Elliot Feder said, “I’m extremely happy that the Democrats won the House, but I think it’ll take some time before they’re able to make actual change.”

This recapture of the House, while narrow, should not be understated: Democrats won the House by about the same margin in 2008, a presidential year with unemployment at over nine percent and an unpopular ongo-

ing war in Iraq. 2018, in contrast, is characterized by a strong and growing economy and unemployment at 3.7 percent.

The vastly different outcomes for each legislative chamber came as a result of the divergence in their battlegrounds, with the Senate map heavily favoring Republicans and the House map leaning Democratic. Few at Masters, even if enfranchised, cast ballots in any close elections; one such voter was senior Emily Auslander, who is registered to vote in Florida. “I thought it was very important to vote in Florida, because it’s a swing state.

In New York, you already know the result. In Florida, your vote makes a difference.” In Florida, three elections—Senator, governor, and agriculture commissioner—remain too close to call, though all but the last lean Republican.

This contest for the House was battled out in highly educated and diversifying suburbs; returns from blue states like New York and California and across the Midwest proved to be what pushed Democrats over the top, even as formerly blue districts won by Donald Trump in 2016 like MN-8 were carried by Republican candidates.

Romney-Clinton districts proved to be a bellwether for the Democrats. In general, the Democrats were able to carry suburbs that turned decisively away from Republicans in 2016.

The Senate is a different story: moderate “red-state” Democrats were clobbered by Republican Trumpists who succeeded via high margins in rural America: Missouri, Indiana,

Florida, and North Dakota have gone red. Nevada and Arizona were a bit of a bright spot for Democrats, who unseated Nevada Senator Dean Heller and took the open seat in Arizona. No other Republican senators lost re-election. The Senate was a win for Trump, just as the House was a loss. Trump focused on campaigning in these red states, and many Republican challengers--like Mike Braun, who ran on an anti-immigration platform--succeeded by tying themselves as closely to Trump as possible. Junior Zia Foxhall said, “I’m not surprised by the fact that this election was not as blue as some people assumed. The fact of the matter is that there are enough people that support Trump that what seems to many of us at Masters as common sense—opposing him—does not exist on a national level.”

At the same time, Democrats picked up governorships across the country, from Maine to Kansas and across much of the Midwest; in Florida, Ohio and Georgia, Republicans seem to have unexpectedly held on, in part by playing on racial tension and voter suppression. These governors will be vital in determining redistricting after the 2020 census.

In terms of ballot measures, the most important one is Florida’s proposition 4, which restores voting rights to some 1.6 million ex-felons. Among these people are 20 percent of Florida’s possible black voters.

So all in all, it seems there was no clear winner. All that we know is that America is divided. The least that we can do is vote.

News Analysis: Trump finally fires Jeff Sessions DaviD Oks Featues Design Editor With a brief announcement on President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, one of the longest-awaited moments of the current presidency arrived—the all-but-inevitable firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Trump announced the firing with two cheery tweets: “We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States.…We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well!”

Trump’s anger at Sessions had metastasized over the past year. Trump was widely reported to be furious that Sessions had recused himself from overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election shortly after taking office; the recusal had left the probe in the hands of Mueller-friendly Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. As Mueller has investigated topics of increasing concern to Trump, such as possible crimes by his son and leading members of his campaign, Sessions’ recusal loomed ever larger in his mind as the source of his Russia woes.

The happy tone of the message was a marked contrast to Trump’s words about Sessions over the past year.

Trump has attacked Sessions’ “VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes” and called him “beleaguered.”

The Washington Post reported that Trump had privately dubbed the Attorney General “Mr. Magoo,” after a famously dithering cartoon character.”

Whitaker is a stalwart Republican with a lifelong commitment to the G.O.P. After serving as the U.S. Attor-

ney for the Southern District of Iowa from 2004 to 2009, Whitaker ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate and worked as the head of a conservative nonprofit, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), from 2014 to 2017.

As executive director of FACT, Whitaker made frequent appearances on CNN, a perch he used to criticize the Mueller investigation. In one tweet, he encouraged Trump’s lawyers not to cooperate with what he dubbed the “Mueller lynch mob.”

Whitaker’s appointment has generated much controversy, both for Whitaker’s own background and for the circumstances of his appointment.

Whitaker’s statements on the Mueller investigation have triggered calls from some to bar him from interference, which House Democrats vowed to do.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee when the new Democratic majority takes over, declared that “his only qualification seems to be that he wants to be…that the president wants him to be the hatchet man to destroy the Mueller investigation.”

Likewise, Whitaker’s past involvement with an invention marketing firm, World Patent Marketing, that has been accused of bilking investors of $26 million, has drawn attention.

Even how Trump appointed Whitaker has drawn attention. In a New York Times op-ed, lawyers Neal Katyal and George Conway—the latter being the husband of White House advisor Kellyanne Conway—declared that the “installation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general…is unconstitutional. It’s illegal.”

No matter the fate of the Whitaker appointment, it is certain that this latest shakeup will reverberate loudly throughout the news cycle, and ultimately be a major episode when the history of Trump’s presidency is written.

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OpiniOn

editors-iN-Chief alexandra Bentzien eMMa luiS

EDITORIAL

We should all be advocates “C

hange will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

powered by the current state of our nation, make a difference if we aren’t even at the age to exercise the most basic civic duty?

How could we possibly make a change when we don’t have a direct impact on who will be our ormer U.S. President governors, senators, congressBarack Obama said these men, and even president? words during a 2008 campaign speech. While this country, and hough many of us among world, has changed in a myriad the student body may of ways over the past ten years not yet be able to vote, run for —from a spread of revolutions office, or even drive, there are across the Arab world to the still ways for us to be “powers planet growing 0.4 degrees C for good” in the world: by being warmer and the creation of 18 advocates. In today’s divided podifferent iPhone models—these litical climate and county, it is words continue to remain rele- now more important than ever vant today. to be an advocate for yourself, for your friends, your peers, and n a society that places an for those who do not have the emphasis on the need for opportunity to speak for themyouth votes, many high school selves. students under 18 are left feele are lucky to attend a ing helpless. How can we, as school where discussion minors, enraged or perhaps em- is encouraged and where we are

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given the space and freedom to advocate and make change.

Students advocated for the renaming of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day despite having no Native American roots. Cisgender students supported the addition of gender neutral bathrooms. Even when prejudice or discrimination does not impact you directly, it is important to realize the way detrimental speech and action hurts someone else. Be an ally to those around you by advocating for increased inclusion, even for those whose culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and socioeconomic background is different from or unfamiliar to you.

e an advocate, stick up for B what you believe in and listen, because it is the right thing to do.

Lead News editor Sophia BrouSSet News desigN editors MorGan BrettSchneider JacoB Strier Lead opiNioN editor JoSeph GoldStein opiNioN desigN editors drew Schott Michelle wei Lead features editor aMita khurana features desigN editors david okS annie ruBinSon Lead sports editor Shawn Farhadian sports desigN editors eliJah eMerY loGan Schiciano Lead web editor aNd adobe, aesthetiCs & arts editor tYler conwaY web CoNteNt MaNager Mitch Fink web desigN editor aMina choudhrY web produCtioN MaNager JacoB kriSS soCiaL Media MaNager GaBriel keller

We must unite to stop anti-Semitism Jacob Strier News Design Editor My chest tightened as I read the news late Saturday morning on Oct. 27. A Holocaust survivor. Brothers with developmental disabilities. Several dedicated, elderly congregants.

All of these people, innocent, woke up on Saturday morning to pray peacefully at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and were shot and killed by an anti-Semitic extremist.

On Oct. 27, hatred showed its ugly face once more in the United States.

It does not come as a shock. Anti-Semitism often lies dormant and re-emerges at times of stress, political tension or rising nationalism.

Yet, to many within the Jewish community, the shooting was a tragic wake-up call. Family friends of mine are taking to social media, voicing their worries about dropping off their children at Jewish day school. On Friday night at synagogue, a small tinge of worry now

weighs on my mind. More and more often, Jewish synagogues are being vandalized, community centers are receiving bomb threats and swastikas are being spray painted on walls throughout the nation.

Voices in politics and on the Internet were quick to politicize the motives of the shooter and blame the other side for inflaming anti-Jewish sentiments. Many Americans pointed to the rising visibility of the alt-right under President Donald Trump, whose vague statements of condemnation regarding events such as last year’s alt-right Charlottesville rally garnered criticism. However, it is important to remember that rising anti-Semitism is not simply a consequence of the 2016 elections. Instead, attacks, persecution, expulsion of Jews and genocide have plagued the United States, Europe and the Middle East for centuries.

Anti-Semitism, in its various forms, is prevalent on the extreme left and the extreme right of the political spectrum in the United States and in Europe. It is an an-

cient hatred of the Jewish people which has roots stretching thousands of years, and transcends political and social boundaries. Its hateful message resonates with outcasts, political extremists, those looking to scapegoat others for issues and with certain fundamentalist Christian and Islamic groups.

The shooter in Pittsburgh, while attacking peaceful people in their synagogue, screamed: “All Jews must die.” This was not a political statement: it was one filled with deep, unfounded hate. Even while being treated by Jewish doctors in Pittsburgh after sustaining injuries during his attack, he continued to decry Jews.

The attack in Pittsburgh has also spurred the debate on firearms. Trump, in a statement that sparked much controversy, noted that the attacker in Pittsburgh could have been stopped had there been more armed individuals within the congregation. In days following the shooting, heavily armed

guards stood outside several synagogues in New York City. The fact that we need to arm peaceful synagogues, or any house of worship, is upsetting.

We should strive toward a nation in which we, as Americans, no matter our religion, can pray peacefully in our houses of worship without fear of extremism. To do that, I call on every Jewish or non-Jewish member of our community to show up for one another, attend synagogue or a house of worship and be vocal about your lack of fear.

In the wake of the shooting, many Jewish leaders are calling congregations to turn out for Shabbat services, get involved with educational and advocacy efforts and turn the tides the other direction against rising anti-Semitism.

It is our duty, across the political spectrum, to show the fringe members of our nation that we are not afraid, and that the Jewish community will always remain strong.

In the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., it seemed as though an inundation of advocacy for increased gun control would become a topic of serious and continued discussion in television news, print, web and social media outlets. The movement, spearheaded by a fierce group of young activists, waned after a few months, simmering on the backburner as other issues took center stage on the morning news. After learning of the massacre which occurred on Wed., Nov. 7 in a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., I began to wonder: why has gun violence become a routine horror?

Since the beginning of 2018, there have been over 300 mass shootings in the United States. 65 of them classified as “school shootings,” and the frequency and normalcy of gun violence in this particular setting is best displayed

by the fact that “List of school shootings in the United States” is its own Wikipedia page–complete with subdivisions for each decade. The number of incidents within the past year alone are disturbing, and a close study of the dates for each shooting reveals that,

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gun violence has developed. When the news of the shooting in California appeared as a CNN banner on my smartphone, grief was not the first emotion I reached for: the word I held was another. Another shooting, another tragedy inflicted by guns, another

It’s hard not to feel helpless when it feels like our right to live feels subordinate to the right to access guns.

- ALEXANDRA BENTZIEN

on average, at least one school shooting takes place every week.

The threat to life is palpable. A student shouldn’t have to be concerned about whether or not their school will be next, and a parent shouldn’t have to wonder whether their child’s return home after school is a guarantee or not.

Even more threatening is the way in which an immunity to the shock of

incident that seemed almost expected. I was surprised to find that when I asked my peers if they felt affected by the shooting, some responded they were hearing about it for the first time from me, and not from a news outlet or publication alert. Brief remarks about a collective sadness were agreed upon, frustration with the gun lobby was mentioned and within mere minutes, conversation had diffused into an en-

staff writers Sarah FaBer Mitch Fink GaBriel keller david okS aCCuraCy & aCCouNtabiLity aNd advertiseMeNt MaNager YaSMine paScal photos & iLLustratioNs editor vincent alBan staff iLLustrator ziqi wanG CoNtributiNg writer

nora FellaS faCuLty adviser ellen cowheY oNLiNe Media

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distributioN proCess

After Thousand Oaks, the threat of gun violence needs to end alexandra bentzien Editor-in-Chief

staff MaNager Maxwell Goldrich

tirely different subject.

It’s hard not to feel helpless when it feels like our right to live feels subordinate to the right to access guns. The first time I wrote about gun control was in my application to Masters, as a sixth-grader deeply affected by the events of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Writing this piece, six years later, my opinion hasn’t changed, and unfortunately, neither has the routine of tragedy.

Until legislation is enacted, the human right to life in the United States is a subject which mandates serious reflection and attention. Now, in today’s age of digitalization and globalization, the resources necessary to be an advocate lie right at our fingertips; all of us have the power to elevate the importance of our lives above the right to bear arms. As a co-editor of Tower, I am going to make a commitment going forward to keep gun violence and gun control a subject of continuing discussion, in an effort to spread awareness, and to honor the many innocent lives lost.

Tower is hand-delivered on the day of publication to the Upper School. 650 copies are printed and one is put in each faculty member’s mailbox. In addition, a copy is sent to each of our advertisers.

sChoLastiC press affiLiatioNs, Letters aNd editoriaL poLiCy Tower is the winner of the Pacemaker Award for Overall Excellence, an award-winning member of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), Journalism Education Association (JEA) and Quill and Scroll. We encourage Letters to the Editor, which can be submitted to the following email address: TowerEditors@MastersNY.org. Published approximately five times a year, Tower, the student newspaper of The Masters School, is a public forum, with its Editorial Board making all decisions concerning content. Commentaries and opinion columns are the expressed opinion of the author and not of Tower and its Editorial Board or its advisers.

Furthermore, the opinions conveyed are not those of The Masters School, faculty, or staff. Unsigned editorials express views of the majority of the Editorial Board.

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THE INTERNATIONALIST

The United States and Britain hope for ceasefire to end Yemeni civil war Casey Li Pressured by discontent of the British public and the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, the United Kingdom (U.K) and the United States (U.S.) are beginning to push for a new United Nations resolution which would end the civil war in Yemen.

From 1990 to 2012, Ali Abdullah Saleh was President of Yemen and was replaced by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi after the Arab Spring in 2012. The civil war began in 2015 when Saleh supporters–or Shiite Muslims called Houthis– put the Sunni president Hadi out of office after he refused to step down years when his term ended. Saudi Arabia, a Sunni country, feared that Yemen would join its neighbors Iraq and Iran in becoming a Shiite nation and backed Hadi with bombs. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia began a series of air strikes on Houthis as part of their “Decisive Storm” operation. The kingdom also blockaded Yemen ports where most the country’s of food is imported and frequently bombed schools, hospitals, cultural monuments and bridges.

These actions destroyed the Yemeni economy and left 13 million Yemenis

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A DESTROYED HOUSE IN Sanaa, the capital city of Yemen currently controlled

by Houthi militants. Since 2015, civil war has raged between the Houthis and the Yemeni government, causing thousands of deaths and the involvement of nations including the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia in hostilities. facing starvation and 10,000 civilians dead. Involvement of al-Qaeda, a terrorist group located to the east of Yemen, further complicated the situation.

Although the U.S. and the U.K. have previously provided intelligence and sold weapons to Saudi Arabia in support of their fight, the two are introducing a plan to draft a resolution that would pave way for “cessation of hostilities,” peace talks and free flow of humanitarian aid that would eventually lead to a permanent ceasefire. U.S. De-

fense Secretary Jim Mattis, has urged a 30-day deadline for starting peace negotiations and Sweden has offered to host peace talks if certain terms are met.

War is never a solution to any conflict, and lucrative arms deals should never take precedence over the safety of civilians. While peace talks in the past have failed, countries must persist through this one to bring long-overdue peace to the region and end the suffering of Yemenis.

Our gratitude and thanks is owed to the Masters community DaviD OKs Features Design Editor Thanksgiving is approaching, and with our slow march toward “Turkey Day” comes the looming prospect of saying what we’re thankful for. And as Masters students prepare for their turn around the table, allow me to say: we have a lot to be grateful for.

Because so many of us have known the Masters community for so long, it is easy to forget just how different it is from the rest of the world. We don’t remember that not every school has won-

derful food, a welcoming community, incredible teachers; and because we’ve grown so used to so sterling a quality of life here, we often forget to express our thanks.

Gratitude, however, means more than “thanks.” It means acting in a way that reflects cognizance of all that we’ve been granted. It means treating custodian Doris Ruiz with the same courtesy one treats Head of School Laura Danforth; it means cleaning up in the Dining Hall and giving back in every way we can. Being grateful means treating our relationship with students, faculty, staff and the School not as one big transaction but instead as a connection

PIXABAY

WITH THANKSGIVING ON THE horizon, David Oks believes all members of the Masters community should take the time to reflect about how special Masters truly is. Additionally, he emphasizes that students shall remember to give back to the community.

that’ll shape us for the rest of our lives.

Some might object: the vicissitudes of life can be so sharp, the churns of existence so lurching and inhospitable, that gratitude seems absurd. But consider all that we have to be thankful for: that we’re alive at all, that we live in a free country, and think—do our petty quibbles (Dining Hall cookies, no Snapple in the vending machine) even rise to relative importance?

And contentedness isn’t a prerequisite for gratitude; rather, gratitude is a prerequisite for contentedness. There’s a cornucopia of research supporting that truism. The research of the psychologist Robert Emmons has found that keeping a “gratitude journal” not only increases happiness, but is also a boon to physical health—resulting in, to quote an article from the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, “fewer headaches, less stomach pain…and reduced congestion.”

Gratitude isn’t a cut-and-dry thing.

Going through the motions—keeping journals, saying “thanks”—doesn’t translate directly into real gratefulness. Instead, it’s a state of mind, a way to approach life.

So Masters students should regard every day they have at this place as a blessing. I’m not saying that lodging complaints is immoral, or that there’s no place for it here—just that, every time we raise a small cavil over some meager issue, we should remember how lucky we are to be here, and not anywhere else.

TOWER/NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Split lunch period will fix problem of crowds in DH GabrieL KeLLer Staff Writer Everyday at 12:30 p.m., the Cameron Mann Dining Hall turns into a madhouse. A student might be let out from class two minutes late, and once they reach the dining hall, they are met with a stretching line filled with students clamoring for food. As they get closer, the line stops. There are no more plates. After a few minutes of scrambling, they get a plate, but there isn’t a fork to be found. Already several minutes into the period, the student looks for a table, and all their friends are piled onto one overcrowded table.

The miniature tables lead to 15 or more chairs pulled up to them, and some empty tables, stripped of all of their chairs. Once they are able to find a fork and pull up a chair, ready to finally eat, their friends have left.

This was me, just a few days ago.

I was released from class late, and even when the line barely reached the sign, it took almost seven minutes to get my food, find silverware and sit down. Now, imagine a day where that line reached past the hardwood floor and all the way to the tile floor. This is not uncommon.

Putting 500 plus students, in addition to faculty, in one room at the same time, simply isn’t working. Many public schools seem to have already found an answer: two 45-minute periods. There would be one period where it is now and one during fourth period. One group would have two periods of class, followed by a break, then one pe-

riod, then lunch and then the final three periods. The other group would keep the same schedule that exists now.

This split would increase the time for students to enjoy themselves during lunch and cut food lines in half. Everybody would get more space and it would reduce stress levels during lunch, giving students the well-deserved break they deserve in the midst of a long school day.

Some students see the benefits of the lunch period split, but also recognize potential drawbacks.

Senior Ben Miller said, “I think that it can get crowded at times, and it can be incredibly frustrating when they run out of silverware or plates, things that are necessary for eating. Although, I can see why some people could find [the two lunch idea] limiting and could leave people out,” Junior Zia Foxhall agreed with Miller but did not see the downsides Miller noted. “I hate being in that building because it gets way too crowded and claustrophobic, so I think that it would be interesting having two lunch periods.”

Furthermore, Miller’s concerns could be alleviated by a having one lunch period for freshmen and sophomores while the other would be for juniors and seniors. No students would be separated from their friends in their grade and Miller’s suggestion–that some students would feel left out–would be solved.

These students brought up valid points and represented a push towards a two-lunch period system.

The current lunch system simply isn’t working, and having two lunch periods is the most effective way to fix it.

Almost 100 years later : the truth behind women’s suffrage NOra FeLLas Contributing Writer When we think of women’s suffrage, we conjure up images of the “Iron Jawed Angels” of the 1920s, who marched on Pennsylvania Avenue, went on hunger strikes and were violently force fed– women who demanded a seat at the table–all while wearing corsets. The success of the suffrage movement is often credited to women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, whose gravestone is plastered every election year with “I voted” stickers.

In an effort to advance her agenda, Stanton said, about Frederick Douglass, a former slave and prominent abolitionist, “well-educated, virtuous white women are more worthy of the vote.”

This is the side of the women’s suffrage movement we ignore.

In fact, Stanton, who organized the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention on voting equality included no black women

on the guest list.

Carrie Chapman Catt, founder of the League of Women’s Voters, said, “White supremacy will be strengthened, not weakened, by women’s suffrage.” This was reinforced when Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton, the first female senator, argued that farm wives were under threat of attacks from black men.

Felton said, “If it needs lynching to protect woman’s dearest possession from the ravening human beasts–then I say lynch, a thousand times a week if necessary.” These sentiments continued well into the days of Emmett Till, when, in 1955, a black teenager was falsely accused of whistling at a white woman, and then brutally beaten to death by a gang of white men.

Americans are taught to remember the year 1920 and to celebrate the passing of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution, but it wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that legal barriers against black Americans were struck down, to achieve full voting

equality.

Black men technically had the vote under the 15th Amendment, in 1870.

However, voter suppression, such as the Jim Crow laws between 1866 and 1955, meant many black men were not able to cast their ballots.

It was not until 1952 that Asian-Americans could vote, and Native Americans would have to wait until 1957 for their voting rights. Finally, in 1965, after decades of protests from Martin Luther King Jr. and his contemporaries, barriers against black and Latinx Americans were stripped away.

100 years ago, in 1918, white female New Yorkers were first allowed to vote.

And in an effort to celebrate this application of American values: democracy, free speech, peaceful protest–New York unveiled it’s Celebrating the Women’s Suffrage 100 Year Anniversary, stickers. But instead of championing the fight for civil rights–these stickers became symbols for the whitewashing of history.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

SUPPORTERS FOR WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE march down New York City’s Fifth Avenue in 1917. With the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920, the simple narrative goes, women were given the right to vote. However, it took many more years for all Americans, including all women, to actually be able to vote.

FEATURES AND ARTS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Features & arts

5

Operation Classroom enhances classroom experience Logan Schiciano Sports Design Editor

The classrooms in Masters Hall have inherited a reputation of being dull, boring and uninspiring, with beige-colored walls and pale-green carpet prominent throughout; however, with coordination from English teacher Miriam Emery, the classrooms are slowly but surely receiving makeovers, better known as a new initiative titled: Operation Classroom.

Announced at Morning Meeting in early Oct., Operation Classroom strives to beautify and personalize the classrooms (only in Masters Hall, as of now) through the addition of artwork and posters, some of which are student-created.

For Operation Classroom, the inspiration was simple: “I came to understand that no one was paying attention to how the classrooms looked, and I’d had students and parents comment about the emptiness,” Emery said.

According to Emery, teachers at tradtional schools would typically be responsible for paying for the personalization of their rooms. However, at Masters, because teachers share and change the rooms they teach in from year to year, it’s more difficult to support this. “When I taught in schools where teachers had their own classrooms, they tended to be really awesome, because the teachers had been there over time and had ownership over what they wanted to do with their room. At Masters, it’s a lot harder for a teacher to feel good about putting money into beautification of a classroom since they’re not in there all the time,” Emery said.

The parallel to Operation Classroom is a broader undertaking, titled: Operation Campus, which is led by math teacher Hank Kim. “Starting with the dining hall, this initiative is geared towards improving the conditions of our campus as a whole, im-

proving cleanliness and mindfulness of our surroundings,” Kim said. According to Kim, the operation includes the restoration of the Harkness tables and boards, which have been damaged over time by students deliberately etching engravings into the wood.

Operation Classroom launched prior to the beginning of the school year, when teachers, as explained by Emery, were assigned to classrooms and had the opportunity to select items from the Archives Room, choose student art to frame and hang and purchase additional items from poster websites for their room. Dean of Faculty Chair Erica Chapman, who has also taken a leadership goal in the operation, further explained the initiative. “They were given a budget of around $200 per room,” Chapman said.

Kristie Sears, a sophomore boarder, was alarmed to hear that funding for the project was coming from administration. “I don’t understand why they are wasting their time trying to beautify the classrooms, when boarders are overheating in the dorms because there is no air-conditioning.”

While many works have been posted on the walls since then, the project has ended according to Emery. “I was told that the project should be stopped for now, possibly to be continued in the future,” she said.

Chapman explained that the activity was the first step in an ongoing process, and thus the reason for putting the initiative on hold. “We wanted to support some beautification, but we also didn’t want it to be a burden, or an extra chore for teachers. It’s not a natural part of a teacher’s job to decorate a class, especially since they don’t have their own rooms,” Chapman said.

In the meantime, the works of art, many of which were created by former students, added to the classrooms have certainly made an impact, according to Art Deartment Chair Cheryl Hajjar.

“We always have work that is left behind or donated to us. Since so much work is stored away, this initia-

LOGAN SCHICIANO/TOWER

JUNIORS JOSH GROSSMAN (RIGHT) and Karen Li (left) engage in class discussion with newly installed artwork in the background. The piece was hung as part of Operation Classroom, Masters’ classroom beautification initiative. According to a Tower survey of 160 students, 70 percent have noticed the artwork and its contribution to the class environment. tive really puts it to good use. It’s important to feel ownership of the space, which impacts directly how we treat the classrooms.” She continued, “The more we try to creatively shape these environments in which we learn, the more that environment will serve us.”

Despite the buy-in from faculty members, there is question as to whether or not this initiative is really reaching students. In a survey sent out to the entire Upper School student body, to which 160 students respond-

ed, just over 70 percent said they had noticed the artwork and about half of those students said the artwork made no difference in “making the classroom a more pleasing, soothing and comfortable learning environment.” That said, 58.7 percent of students said that they were “proponents” of the initiative.

“I think the artwork contributes a lot to the spirit of the class. It encourages more creativity and it’s just more refreshing to look up from an intense

Harkness discussion to see a beautiful piece on the wall,” junior Olivia Sharenow said.

In terms of future plans for Operation Classroom, Chapman explained, “We might consider reevaluating classrooms over the summer.” However, she added that should not discourage anyone, faculty or students, from trying to get involved. “If anyone wants to beautify a room, all they need to do is talk to me, Dr. Willis or facilities,” Chapman said.

Dobbs church welcomes refugee family amina choudhry Web Design Editor Throughout history, many churches have provided safe spaces in their place of worship for those vulnerable under the laws and customs of the time. According to U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy, agents typically avoid arresting immigrants in “sensitive locations” like churches, schools and hospitals.

Because of this unspoken rule, hundreds of religious establishments have been providing refuge to undocumented immigrants at risk. At a time when undocumented people nationwide are living in fear under President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies, one church continues to lead the way in supporting these people in distress.

Making the turn from Ashford Avenue onto Clinton Avenue, a gothic revival church, adorned with an “Immigrants and Refugees Welcome” banner hangs with pride. This landmark, the Southern Presbyterian Church, located a mere two minutes away from The Masters School, has opened their doors to welcome refu-

gees seeking sanctuary. According to News 12 Westchester, this is the first time that a church in Westchester County is offering sanctuary to an immigrant family.

Often, people are deported when they are on the cusp of citizenship.

Seeking sanctuary for many undocumented immigrants is a strategy to buy time until the family’s case is reopened and they have found a legal way to stay in the United States.

When the family needs a lawyer, money or help navigating the legal process, a church can work to support a family. This church has assisted the family by providing assisted living and helping to subsidize legal fees, and acts of solidarity are, sometimes, enough to stop unjust deportations.

Roughly a month ago, South Presbyterian Pastor Rev. Drew Paton received a phone call that the church would need to take in a family right away. “I got a call from the Hudson Valley Community Coalition saying that there is a family that needs to go into sanctuary right away. And so I called an emergency meeting with some colleagues after worship on Sunday to prepare everything.

We didn’t realize how urgent this

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REVEREND DREW PATON STANDS beside Southern Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, New York. The church has gained attention for sheltering an undocumented family. The church’s pro-immigrant banner has been stolen thrice.

case was but the family came early the very next morning because ICE was patrolling the neighborhood and were in front of their house.”

The Guambanas family fled Ecuador in 1999 and for more than 20 years, Juan Guambana has voluntarily paid federal income taxes, started his own landscaping business and bought a house in Ossining.

“I’m almost reluctant to say that they paid taxes and owned property here because regardless of that fact, they have been stand-up members of society and deserve to be here as much as any of us do,” Paton said.

“This is their community, this is their nation now and it seems like a particular insult in this case that our government would come down on a family like this,” Rev. Drew Paton said. The situation was resolved, at least temporarily, when an immigration judge signed a stay of deportation. The family returned to their home in Ossining and is currently working with the Hudson Valley Community Coalition in order to ensure their citizenship.

South Church has a strong progressive tradition, and according to former congregant and Masters Art Department Chair, Cheryl Hajjar, social justice work lies at the very heart of their identity. The Church’s mission statement, posted on their website sums up their intentions: “God gives us the radical hospitality of Jesus. Gay, straight, kid, elder, believer, non-believer, male, female, rich, poor, strong, wounded, all colors and shapes of human, are utterly welcome in our work andworship together.”

“They don’t just go to church on Sundays and sit in pews and talk about God. They’re out on the streets protesting, doing Midnight Runs, helping with Cabrini Immigrant Services, they are teaching people how to speak English to better integrate into society,” Hajjar said.

LILY WANG/TOWER

UNLIKE MOST MIDDLE SCHOOLS, Masters divides students by gender. Head of Middle School Tasha Elsbach is committed to re-examing this later in the year.

Elsbach reconsiders gender divide Sarah Faber Staff Writer One staple of the Masters Middle School is the division of classes in grades 6-8 by gender. “Because research shows that boys and girls learn differently, Masters classes are single-gender in the formative years of sixth through eighth grade,” reads a pull-out quote on the website for the Masters Middle School.

The Masters Middle School differs from most other independent schools’ programs with respect to the division of its students – while schools tend to be coed or single-sex, Masters has a coed student body with three Middle School classes separated by gender.

This untraditional model has made the Masters Middle School unique among independent schools, but as society’s perception of the gender binary becomes more fluid, the question arises as to whether this gender division will remain viable.

Currently, the structure of the single-sex program accommodates for openly transgender students, but there is no system for students who are questioning their gender identity, or who don’t identify within the gender binary.

“We say that students can be in the section with the gender they identify with, so that helps people who identify as boy or girl,” Tasha Elsbach, Head of the Middle School said.

“If you don’t identify as that, then it gets harder, but we haven’t had that yet. Given the way the world has changed and people’s understanding of gender has changed, I would imagine it would come up, and I would like to be prepared.”

While Middle School students spend lunch, recess, all-school activities, language classes and Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll (the Middle School’s sex-education course) together, the classes have stayed separated by gender to create a “nurturing environment that takes into account the unique learning styles of each gender,” according to the official website for the Middle School.

Some research has shown the benefits of a single-sex education, namely empowerment for girls. According to BBC, girls tend to learn better in single-sex science classes.

According to Elsbach, many Middle School teachers are interested in having conversations about how the changing perception of gender would fit in with the structure of the Middle School.

The Middle School has plans to work with Alex Meyers, a consultant hired to help Masters with issues of gender diversity, later in the year. If a change in the single-sex education system were to happen, it would need approval from the Board of Trustees, explained Elsbach. “What I’m doing is trying to create bigger administrative conversations about why we do what we do,” Elsbach said.

TOWER/NOVEMBER 16, 2018

FEATURES AND ARTS

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Students examine their hesitations to seek counsel Yasmine Pascal Accountability and Accuracy Manager Masters’ Counseling Center is a resource on campus for both day and boarding students to talk about their problems and receive professional advice in a private but safe environment.

The Center is home to Director of Counseling Stefanie Carbone and the school counselor, Lydia Whitney, who are both licensed clinical social workers. According to Whitney, the Counseling Center is “a safe place where students can come to talk about anything they want, to a confidential resource”.

Over the course of last year, approximately 35 percent (177 out of just over 500) of students in the Upper School, visited the Counseling Center, with the ratio of boys to girls roughly 50:50.

More than a majority of the Upper School student body, about 65 percent of students, did not visit the Counseling Center last year, leaving questions to why these students have not utilized this resource. Whether there is a resistance to seeking help or that there just isn’t a need for counseling among students may be difficult to determine.

Freshman Mali Black believes that in the general school environment, there is a stigma around receiving mental help. “Asking for help seems like a

LILY WANG/TOWER

ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE of Masters School students last year sought out counseling at least once . This number increased steadily over a three-year period, according to Director of Counseling, Stefanie Carbone. She attributed this increase to higher stress levels amongst students as well as more openness in seeking support. Students may drop in to the Center between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weak moment for some...you see everyone getting everything correct and you’re just like ‘I suck’ and asking for help is kind of admitting that to yourself,” Black said.

Sophomore Sophie Neale believes that the reason why more people aren’t

willing to go to the Counseling Center is because of the lack of trust in the counselors. “When you have a counseling center connected to the school you cannot trust a therapist to keep it confidential..If I go there for help I don’t want my problems being advertised to

the administration,” Neale said.

However, Whitney has continuously stressed that confidentiality is very important to both Carbone and herself.

“Because of our licenses, we are held by a code of ethics and morals,” Whitney said. She further explained that any-

thing said in a session is private, except if the student is at risk of immediate danger.

Senior Wendi Liu, a Chinese boarder, discusses her problems with her dorm parents and has visted the counseling center a few times. “ I went to the Health Center and it really helped.

Going there does not make you a bad person,” Liu said. She also encourages students, especiallly international students, to visit the center, because they often put too much pressure on themselves.

In certain cultures there is a stigma around receiving any kind of mental help. Senior Rachel Aideyan, a first generation American raised by Nigerian parents in the Bronx, weighed in on the issue. “[Therapists] in the African community don’t exist. To [the community], therapists are just a way for rich people to talk about their problems. It’s hard for kids to approach their African parents and it is sometimes seen as being weak or slacking off at school,” she said.

Despite many students’ reluctance to visit the Center, Whitney encourages students to make use of the resource on campus. “As my second year here, I’m so thankful I’m here because I’m working with people that really care about students. All I can say to students is really give us a try. Come in, talk with us for one session and see if it’s helpful.” she said.

Lack of facilities for arts spurs questions on administrative priorities mitchell Fink Staff Writer

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THE FONSECA CENTER HAS attracted some negative attention from those affiliated with art programs at Masters. Some have asked whether it only benefits sports.

In its long history, Masters has been consistently known for its strong academics and arts program. Yet, since the Fonseca Center opened in 2014, questions have been raised by students about whether the arts are still the main focus of Masters as opposed to athletics.

The Fonseca Center, originally called the Masters Arts and Athletics Center, created many new opportunities for both athletics and arts at Masters. However, the ratio of sports facilities to arts facilities may not be what some people were hoping for or expecting.

Performing Arts teacher Curt Ebersole said,“If you are looking at square footage [of the FC], the athletics square footage way overshadows the square footage devoted to the art gallery, the recital hall, the ET (Experimental Theater) and the Dance Studio.”

If one were to walk through the Fonseca Center, clearly most of the space is devoted to sports. Ebersole continued, “I think I had an imagined idea of larger performing arts and dance spaces.”

While many of the performing arts programs have found a home in the FC, the music program still mostly resides in the upper part of Strayer Hall, which is one of the older buildings on campus. Ebersole feels Strayer Hall isn’t up to date.

“We’ve outgrown this space, and we’ve outlived this space,” he said.

These sentiments seem to be reflected among many students who use Strayer, including senior Leah Cunningham. “I think it’s definitely outdated. In a lot of the rooms, the paint is chipping; it’s been awhile since it’s had an update, and there are so many kids that use the facilities,” she said. Cunningham also agreed with Ebersole that the FC’s facilities were not as equal to arts and athletics as she hoped. “When we were shown the plan in Middle

School, the building was supposed to incorporate arts and sports. When the building was actually built, they had far more athletic uses for it instead of artistic,” Cunningham said.

Yet not everyone believes that the FC doesn’t have enough arts facilities. Sophomore Brooke Tatarian, and leading scorer for Varsity Girls’ Basketball, said, “In the FC there are dance studios, there’s the Experimental Theater. They [the arts program] have many nice spaces to practice in. Yes, I believe Masters is more of an arts school, but in the past the athletic teams have not been as strong… we’re trying to be seen as good all around. We’re trying to be seen as good arts, good sports and good academics.”

It is still hard to determine the exact impact the FC has had on both the arts and athletics communities at Masters. However, in the four years since the structure’s opening, many students have used the space to pursue both their artistic and athletic interests.

TOWER/NOVEMBER 16, 2018

SPORTS

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WINTER SPORTS AT MASTERS: A PREVIEW A

s fall sports come to an end, Masters’ student-athletes and coaches are ready to take on the winter sports seasons in basketball, indoor track, swimming, squash and fencing.

The season officially began on Nov. 5.

All stories on this page written by:

AmitA KhurAnA & Drew Schott Lead Features Editor, Opinion Design Editor

Indoor Track runs on The Indoor Track team is faced with a new and important change for this season. With his upcoming retirement and new career in finance, Coach Ford Palmer leaves many runners sad about the change: “It will take some getting used to, but it will be okay. We can still contact him as a friend, and a friendly coach,” junior runner Judah Francella said.

Nevertheless, Francella is more than excited to get back to sprinting and working towards the championship, which only holds individual events. The Indoor Track competes at the Armory Track in New York City.

Last year, the team was consistently placing second in the relay races. Sophomore runner Brenna Hazen hopes to continue this successful trend for indoor track, as the cross country team ran at the New England Championships on Saturday, Nov. 10, with four varsity girl runners and six varsity boy runners setting personal records. In the winter, Hazen is looking forward to building a stronger girls team for the outdoor season in the spring.

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MEMBERS OF THE GIRLS’ Varsity Basketball team attempt to rebound the ball during a game last year. The team made it to state championship game then and wants to win it this year.

Girls’ Basketball shoots for championship

The Girls’ Varsity Basketball team is ready to begin their season with both fresh and familiar faces.

Senior captain Kendra Cooper-Smith values the determination and positive attitude of her teammates: “Our team embraces conditioning. It’s part of the game, part of basketball,” she said.

Cooper-Smith and her teammates don’t let their small team discourage

gram’s upcoming season. This belief stems from how the fencing program he created has connections in both the Upper and Middle School, since Ugalde and his staff train Middle School athletes, in addition to Upper School fencers, to have them ready to compete at a high level when they reach the Upper School.

“The most important job of a coach is to think about the future. Even though this fencing program has great expectations, it is important that experienced fencers will help the younger fencers continue in their development to generate success.”

Ugalde said.

Senior and girls epee athlete Arjahn Cox believes the fencing program’s strenuous and competitive nature is contributing to increased skill and focus among the team. Ad-

After winning the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Class C Division last season, the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team is looking to continue their winning ways while also working on developing team chemistry.

Coming off a strong 2017-18 season, the team will rely on the talent and experience of veterans to help younger players improve and lead the team to victory.

According to Head Coach and Upper School Math Teacher Matthew Kammrath, the team is fortunate to have four returning athletes who played significant minutes in last year’s Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) contests, including Rashid Woods and Kachikwu Ugochukwu.

Since some of last year’s starting lineup departed due to graduation, he greatly emphasized that younger players, specifically those rising from Junior Varsity and new to high

school, should be able to step up and play a productive role on the team.

“If we define ourselves with a strong work ethic and team chemistry, we can definitely continue to better our ability to win basketball games. With this, we should try to define ourselves and be as good as we can,” Kammrath said. Focusing further on work ethic, Kammrath believes that if the team expresses this quality, it could be a major catalyst for their success in both FAA and NYSAIS competition.

Senior and returning-player Rashid Woods hopes the team can obtain accomplishments such as winning the FAA Championship.

Although, he acknowledges that the team must practice hard in workouts that focus on defense and shooting to achieve this goal.

“I’m optimistic that we have a good team. We can do good this year, but we need to work hard and start strong,” Woods said.

them: “They are very determined― all the girls. They know that since we don’t have that many people, we have to work twice as hard to get just as far,” she said.

Last year, the team lost a very close NYSAIS championship game against The Dalton School, yet that doesn’t stop Cooper-Smith. “I’m ready to get another shot at the championship,” she said.

Fencing lunges back into bouting Led by Head Coach Carlos Ugalde, a former coach of Spain’s Olympic and Argentina’s national team, Masters’ fencing squads hope to carry their success from the end of last season into this winter. After a successful showing at the Independent School Fencing League (ISFL) tournament last year, in which boys foil placed first in league play with a 14-0 record and girls epee placed second with a 13-3 record, the program hopes to maintain its competitive nature while replacing graduated seniors, including Petar Janicijevic (‘18), a top-ranked foil fencer now competing collegiately at Pennsylvania State University.

Even though some of the squads contain younger athletes and past Junior Varsity fencers, Ugalde stated how he is confident about the pro-

Boys’ Basketball curates chemistry

ditionally, she believes the epee, foil and sabre squads are bonding, in addition to their individual them, aided by mentorship from upperclassmen.

“The fencing team has become a welcoming community, especially as we practice more on skill and footwork. It’s important that we as a team are close together because we have a competitive season ahead,” she said Senior and boys epee fencer Daniel Berov, recognizing last year’s ISFL victories as pinnacle achievements for the program, believes the team must focus on winning matches to rise in standings, along with improving personally.

“It’s crucial that each member of our team has the motivation and team spirit to win. That will help us achieve in taking the ISFL,” he said.

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SOPHOMORE DEAN BEZOS SWIMS at a meet last year. The team is enthusiastic to dive back into the season and hopes to have a strong showing this year.

Swim dives into new season Heading into their fourth year at Masters, the swim team is enthusiastic for the upcoming season, as they look to have new talent from all grade levels.

Senior swimmer Marcus Diaz appreciates the environment of the team.

“Something that is pretty unique to the swim team is definitely the family aspect of it. Everyone on the team is really close and we all consider each family,” he said. “It’s great to know we have an amazing coaching staff behind us, it’s why everyone is able to swim their best.”

Assistant coach Susan Greally said she has coached and trained the other two swim coaches, which has created

a strong bond between them. “We’re close as coaches, and we try to convey that to the team. We always feel that if you’re close as a group, you’re gonna be that much better and supportive of each other,” she said.

Junior swimmer Ella Furniss highlights the inclusivity of the swim team: “There’s a lot of people who haven’t swam before. It’s good that we’re not just trying to advertise to the people who have swam before. We’re trying to get everybody involved.”

They will be competing at the Lehman School for their NYSAIS championship meet and at the Hopkins School for the FAA championship.

Boys’ Squash looks to crush competition

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TWO SABRE FENCERS BOUT at a match last year. The coaches and teams hope to follow up their impressive performance in the ISFL last year with a strong season. This year’s team is built with lots of young fencers who were active in the Middle School Program.

For Girls’ Squash, practice equals power The Girls Squash team is looking to not only be victorious in matches, but also grow in personal achievement and team spirit. Head Coach Robert Fish, in addition to wanting to see developments in his athletes “from November to the end of the year,” hopes the players will see improvements amongst themselves, which can be positively impacted by building up one’s competitiveness. Fish believes

victory is correlated with practicing, which team members have done constantly in recent months in locations such as the Fonseca Center.

Additionally, with a young team, underclassmen athletes will be relied upon to move into higher rankings on Varsity to complement team veterans.

Nouran Youssef, a member of both the girls’ and boys’ squash teams and

the third-ranked Under-19 player for girls squash in the United States, believes that team unification may help the squad be more successful in their matches.

“My goal for the girls team is to win as many matches as we can,” she said. “We can achieve this by working on fitness, practicing more, and playing games with each other to feel comfortable during matches.”

After placing second at the Division III National Championships last season, the Boys’ Squash team, strengthened by training individually and as a team, hopes to perform successfully this season in order to win Nationals. Since the team has qualified for Nationals for the past two seasons, the program has now been recognized as a highly skilled team on the national stage.

The roster, despite losing seniors after graduation, remains strong and contains many athletes such as sophomore Taha Dinana, who is currently ranked first in the United States Under-17 Division for Boys. Additionally, the team contains Nouran Youssef, the third-ranked player for Under-19 Girls Squash in the United States. Dinana mentioned that the team has been improving since the summer through training and individual participation in tournaments in order to build their individual skills before the upcoming season begins and put themselves in a position to win Nationals.

Head Coach Sahel Anwar hopes to have the team in winning form as the season begins. Carrying over some of his players from last season, Anwar is building a team of veterans while also featuring newer athletes, especially those who have worked with him either on the Junior Varsity team or during their time in the Middle School. “It is important that we have an experienced team who know the rules, is well-trained and is able to compete competitively,” he said.

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JUNIOR GARRETT WENBERG PREPARES to hit a squash ball during practice last season. The team this year is looking for further success and another great season.

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Soccer scores in rebuilding Cross Country finishes strong, loses coach Vincent AlbAn Photo & Illustrations Editor This fall season, both the Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Soccer teams developed their skills and chemistry by building their rosters with talented underclassmen players.

The Boys’ squad looked to carry on an impressive legacy left by successful classes before them, but was burdened with the loss of many of last year’s graduating members, which showed in their 4-6-4 overall regular season record. Senior captain Noel Gorodetsky said, “We did not make it to the NYSAIS playoffs this year, and we lost a lot of 1-0 and 0-0 score games that could have ended better. Although we played soccer well, we just did not get the results we wanted.”

On Tues., Nov. 6, the Boys’ team beat The King School 2-1 with the help of freshman Daniel Medina’s game winning goal with three minutes to spare in extra time. Although tougher losses against King and other schools occurred earlier on in the season, Head Coach Brendon Barrios was confident that the boys would win. “I expected this result. Earlier this season, we lost to King 1-0 and it was a close game; we outplayed King, but had one bad moment that cost us,” Barrios said.

The Girls’ team, which has not seen immense levels of success in recent years, played well against tough opponents this season and included young players who have the potential to exponentially improve. With this talent and their accomplishments, the team has become a lot closer this season than in years past.

“You start to get a good collection of them hanging out in school, after school and at lunch which brings up the team spirit and creates an environment of joyfulness and happiness,” Girls’ Varsity Coach Hernando Santamaria said.

According to junior Marina Shishkina, a member of the team for the past two years, the girls have improved a lot due to their closeness off the field and motivation from Coach Santamaria. “The team always really wants to be there every day at practice and at games since we are so connected,” Shishkina said.

Masters’ Director of Athletics, Kevin Versen, expected this to be a developing season for both teams, but acknowledges that there is a strong base for both of the programs to become powerhouses once again. “There were some real bright moments for both programs throughout their seasons which we can build on. This rebuilding of the programs this year will pay off next year,” Versen said.

tiring from professional running to give myself more time. I’m looking to start a career in finance,” Palmer said. “We’ve done very well this year compared to last year. Even The Varsity Cross Country team with the loss of Sabian, the guys finished up their 2018-19 season, and girls both prevailed.” and their last with Coach Ford Cross Country’s most successful Palmer. The runners had lots to meet was at Storm King, where celebrate this season, finishing all of the girls finished top ten and third in the Fairchester Athletic three boys took first, second, and third place. Palmer truly respected the team’s hard work. “They kept their heads down and trained through it. And we ended up having the best season that I know of at Masters.” Palmer was very impressed in the team’s performance in the FAA meet. “We were projected to come in fifth or sixth, but to come in third is a huge achievement in my book,” Palmer said.

“Coach Ford has really taken [this team] under his wing and helped us flourish,” senior captain Emma Goodman said. “He’s done a great job of building up the program as I’ve watched it go through a different number of leaders.”

It is not known who will replace PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB GILMARTIN Palmer for cross country next year, MANY RUNNERS ON THE Masters Cross Country team can be seen above at the but currently four of Palmer’s teaStorm King invitational. The team emerged as a legitimate contender in the FAA this mates from Hoka NY-NJ Track season, placing third in the league. Despite this success, the program will certainly Club are sharing coaching duties miss head coach Ford Palmer, who is leaving Masters to pursue a career in finance. for the Indoor Track team.

GAberiel Keller Staff Writter

Association (FAA) Championship meet, even with the loss of Sabian Grier, who suffered a spine injury this summer.

Palmer has worked at Masters for three years and just wrapped up his second year of coaching cross country. “I was a professional runner for five years and our group moved to Westchester, so that’s how I ended up here, but I’m re-

Girls’ Tennis focused on improving for future ShAwn FArhAdiAn Leads Sports Editor

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SENIOR CAPTAIN NOEL GORODETSKY goes up high for a header. The Boys’ Varsity Soccer team came up short in the FAA Semi-Finals, losing 2-1 against Hopkins. Gorodetsky finished the season with seven goals and six assists.

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STEPHANIE SANCHEZ, A FRESHMAN, dribbles the ball down the sideline in the Girls Varsity Soccer senior game against Hamden Hall. The team, which won three games this season, was a far more committed and closely-woven group than in past years.

After moving its season from the spring to the fall two years ago, the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team completed its season by saying goodbye to graduating seniors Katherine Accetta, Emily Auslander, Charlotte Benson and Morgan Brettschneider, while also training its younger talent. Led by Head Coaches and Upper School teachers Greg Lesser and William Roberts, in addition to captains Auslander and Accetta, the team played its final matches against strong powerhouse New York area teams Riverdale Country School, Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School and Ethical Culture Fieldston School.

Although the team finished with a 3-8 final regular season record, the squad saw its dominant wins early in the year against John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, Maria Regina High School and Long Island Lutheran High School, and has seen its underclassmen perform at some of the most successful levels in program history.

“I thought that the team had a

great sense of spirit, and we had great sportsmanship. We all cheered each other up, and I hope that continues because it made going to practice so great every day,” Benson said.

Moving forward, underclassmen Eliza Abady, Anastasiia Gorobets, Sophie Grand and Kira Ratan are among those who will look to continue the upward trend of success seen over the past few seasons, while current juniors Maelani Groff, Sofia Benson, Calliana Leff, and Jordan Troy will take on important leadership roles as seniors next year as the squad will look to compete in matches against Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) opponents.

“I’m excited to play league tournaments in the FAA next year, but I really want to be able to practice more too because we’ve had a lot of our practices canceled,” Gorobets said. “I also want to meet incoming players that can help us after our four seniors graduate.”

“I’m really gonna miss the chemistry of the team, but I really want to see how much the younger girls improve,” Auslander said. “I’m looking forward to seeing even better results than the ones that they’ve posted this season.”

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SOPHOMORE ELIZA ABADY SERVES. Abady. who played second singles this past season, is one of the many underclassman who have been integral components to the team’s success. Abady is also a lefty, which gives her a distinct advantage on the court.

Despite struggles, Field Hockey remains competitive Volleyball bumps up expectations tyler conwAy Lead Web Editor Masters Varsity Girls’ Field Hockey team has concluded their 2018 season, trying to remain positive despite the difficulties the team has faced. The squad continued to practice and play with positive mindsets during the games, keeping their young players and bright future in mind during while shouldering tough losses and close games.

The team finished their season with a record of zero wins and one tie, falling short of their previous season’s record of one win and was lead by Coach Skye McFarlane and senior captains Mollie Roth, Madison Stewart and Rebecca Wachen.

While they had moderate expectations coming into this season, they met more difficulties than they had anticipated.

“I expected this season to play out similarly to last year’s,” said Roth while reflecting on the team’s difficult season.

Junior Olivia Knowles said,

“We lost a good amount of our key seniors, although we knew that we had skilled new players who would hopefully allow us to achieve the goals we’ve set for ourselves this season.”

In their last game, the squadlost to the Storm King School with PHOTO COURTESY OF ISAAC CASS a game-winning goal with a min- SENIOR CAPTAIN MOLLIE ROTH and company chase after ute left in over- the ball in a game against Horace Mann. Despite not winning time, putting an once this season, the team fought hard each and every game, end to the season including an inspiring effort in their final contest against for Masters. How- Storm King. ever, the team believed that last trol the pace of the game, and exmatchup included their strongest ecute our plays more efficiently” performance all season, which ele- Roth said. With a team comprised vated the team’s mentality both on of young, but experienced students and off the field. and a coach with a drive to improve “In practice, we liked to enforce the team, field hockey will look forthe importance of effective passing. ward to having another shot at sucWith that, we’d be able to con- cess next season.

JAcob KriSS Web Production Manager Despite ending the 2018 season with a final record of 5-12, the Masters Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team remained motivated and optimistic throughout a crucial rebuilding year.

The season began with the team recognizing the losses of seven key seniors―who have been integral to the program’s winning ways in the past―and how to fill that gap with the talent it held this year. “It took awhile for us to start playing like a team again,” said junior player Natalie Lockhart.

Although the changes in leadership each have affected the squad in many ways, the girls have kept its overall team morale high, which has been made possible due to the constant drive and energy put in every day by current seniors Emily Brieant, Leena Khurana, Emily Madrid and Bridget Slakas. “It was tough in the beginning,” said Slakas.

“We had a lot of new players and we needed time for the team dynamic to

develop, but once we came together, we started to win close games.”

Slakas’ words showed in the final results, winning key matchups against Hamden Hall Country Day School, Riverdale Country School, Long Island Lutheran High School, Avenues: The World School, and St. Luke’s School en route to an appearance in the Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) tournament quarterfinal. Masters, the seventh seed, would fall to Hopkins School, the second seed, by a score of 3-0 in that contest.

The girls on the roster praised each other’s work ethic and drive towards reaching that pinnacle moment of the year, such as Khurana.

“I think we actually played better than last year,” she said. “We worked really hard, in addition to having a lot of spirit and energy.”

Looking ahead, the team will attempt to transfer their end-of-season success towards the beginning of next year’s, in a campaign that will continue to look to turn heads across the school, league, and other teams in the local area.