Tower The Masters School
49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522
VOLUME 74, NUMBER 7, 2nd EDITION
Editorial Though we understand the importance of final exams, they should be phased out in favor of final projects in order to comport with our Harkness philosophy. Final projects give students the opportunity to take control of their learning and apply their knowledge to real-world problems. See page 4.
FRIDAY MAY 26, 2017
tower.mastersny.org
Feedback week gets mixed reviews
Academic Dean position to remain vacant
alexanDra Bentzien
COurtney DelOng Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
News Editor This is the first year in which finals week will not mark the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. A newly implemented exam feedback week will take place after finals, providing students the opportunity to go over their exams with teachers. Though in the past final exams have been available for students to look at the week after school ends, Head of the Upper School Matt Ives said students very rarely looked at their exams. “Historically, students take tests and never see them again. It is our belief that feedback is very important, and we want an opportunity for students to see what they’ve learned and how they’ve done,” Ives said. However, Head of the History and Religion Department Skeff Young said that he liked the way finals were handled before. “Some may feel the new system is worthwhile, but when you think about it, you only have 110 minutes to give 14 or more students individualized feedback; that’s not a lot of time,” Young said. He also expressed worry that reviewing finals so soon might be problematic, especially with all classmates in the same room. “Do I really want to be giving back exams in the same class at the same time? You can read people’s faces. I’d prefer to give my students some privacy.” The week will not only focus on reviewing finals; students will also participate in class activities.
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VINCENT ALBAN/TOWER
JUNE KITAHARA AND AHNAF TAHA have been elected as student co-chairs for the 2017-2018 school year. Their election is particularly important, since they will be the first-ever pair of non-white co-chairs.
Masters welcomes new co-chairs DaviD Oks News Editor This April, Masters elected two cochairs for the 2017-2018 school year: juniors June Kitahara and Ahnaf Taha. As co-chairs, they will be handed the following vitally important duties: leading Morning Meetings, managing Executive Committee, and serving as the faces of the Masters student body at a number of public events. This year’s results are particularly notable, since Kitahara and Taha will be the first pair of nonwhite co-chairs in the school’s history. Phoenix Jackson, another student of color, was elected as school secretary. A total of eight juniors—four boys and four girls—ran for co-chair this year. In the male race, after three rounds of voting, Taha emerged with the majority. A week later, after Executive Committee implemented ranked voting to reduce the number of rounds of voting, Kitahara was elected on the first ballot. Taha stressed the historic nature of his and Kitahara’s victories: “A part of my experience at Masters has
been seeing the school change, and I’m proud to be one of the biggest changes,” Taha said. “I ran for cochair because I know a lot of people at Masters and [I] know I’d do well in the job. I want to represent everyone at Masters, not just the people who voted for me.” Taha enrolled in Masters as a freshman and is a prominent member of Model United Nations (MUN), Masters of Business Administration and Students Against Destructive Decisions. A noted leader among the boarding student community, he served as Male Boarding Representative for the 2015-2016 academic year. Taha is passionate about business and computer science. He has developed websites for other students and has even been invited to the White House for an app he developed to highlight the issue of litter. He also speaks Bengali fluently. Kitahara, meanwhile, has been a student at Masters since the sixth grade and is active in MUN, EFFECT, Urban Connection, Diversity Ambassadors and MISH. She has served as a vice chair of the Junior Games. “The co-chairs in general have had
a huge influence on my life,” Kitahara said, referring to her predecessors. “I would look up to them as role models, as people I should be like.” Kitahara hopes that her presence on stage with Taha will be impactful. “We’re the first pair of non-white cochairs, so I hope it’s a visual effect on stage,” she said. The co-chair-elects, both of whom have attended several Executive Committee meetings, have made reforming it a top priority. “I hope to keep it very organized, because I find that a lot of Executive Committees can stray from the topic,” Kitahara said. “One of my big goals will be changing how Executive Committee is run,” Taha said. “I want to make Executive Committee faster and more efficient.” He has suggested a review system, by which proposals that belong in another channel are found before they take up valuable committee time. Kitahara has also voiced a broader vision. “I hope to better the school in any way possible. I really want people to start speaking up for what they want to make sure that Masters can be a better place,” she said.
Instead of trying to find a replacement for long-term community member and current Academic Dean Chris Goulian, Masters has decided to spread the responsibilities of the office across the school and the administration, then hire someone next November or December for the 2018-19 school year to fill a similar but different role than Goulian. “If you look at the list of things Mr. Goulian does you’d have to hire three people to do all of them,” Head of the Upper School Matthew Ives said about filling the Academic Dean position, “It wasn’t as simple as hiring somebody to just step in and do [Goulian’s Job]…We wanted to wait until next year to do any hiring because it’s late in the game and people already have jobs for next year.” Emily Zocchi, the current Associate Academic Dean and Registrar, will become the Upper School Academic Coordinator and Registrar. She will be in charge of course selection, mid-year course changes, and transcripts. Ives specified that she would be receiving, “more clerical support”. A new Director of Learning Services will work with students grades 5-12 with learning disabilities and take over what Goulian’s office did with academic progress. If a student is doing poorly in multiple subjects the Director will be expected to take note and call appropriate meetings with the student’s parents and advisors.
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Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, to speak at graduation Mark tseytin Sports Editor The commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2017 will be the daughter of civil rights leader Malcolm X and well-known author Ilyasah Shabazz. Shabazz is known best for her memoir, Growing Up X. She attended Masters in her freshman and sophomore years before transfering to Hackley in 1977. Shabazz was part of the Masters graduating class of ‘79, and still remains proud of her connection to the school. Although she transferred, she still spent the early years of her high school education learning and growing at Masters. Malcom X, also known as Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, was a prominent civil rights activist and a legendary figure in black history. Born Malcolm Little to a homemaker and a Baptist minister, Little changed his surname to “X” to shed himself of what he thought of as a slave name. X later used his education and prominence within the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black nationalist group, to give voice to his controversial views and promote a radical vision of black progress. Yet after becoming disillusioned with the
group, X disavowed NOI and traveled the Middle East and Africa for several years. In 1965, while giving a speech in New York, he was assassinated by several members of NOI. It is not only unique that Masters will be hosting Shabazz as its graduation speaker, but also a rare opportunity to learn from Shabazz about her life experiences as the daughter of such an important figure. Shabazz travels the country delivering motivational speeches, one of which was attended by senior Nina Hylton, the president of Onyx. While attending an international conference called “Black Girls Lead,” Hylton watched Shabazz, a speaker on the panel, talk about her past and what it’s like being a black woman in our society. Hylton said, “From watching her speak at the conference to viewing her work elsewhere, I knew right away that she is an incredibly captivating speaker, so I spoke with her at the event and we exchanged information.” The tradition of selecting a graduation speaker at Masters centers around choosing someone with a personal connection to the school. Masters has been developing its graduation program each year. Two years ago, in the graduation of the
class of 2015, Ray Suarez, the host of Al Jazeera America’s Inside Story, gave the speech. Suarez’s speech began with some comedy: “Congratulations, you guys know what you did and what you didn’t do.” The lightheartedness in his speech, and the subsequent speech in 2016 by CNBC host Ron Insana, have set a trend to follow. Masters has had the occasional celebrity graduation speaker such as actor Alec Baldwin and thenVice President George H.W. Bush. The main purpose behind the selection process of the speaker is ensuring a close connection to the graduating class. Shabazz has a connection to Hylton, who even refers to herself as Shabazz’s niece when contacting Shabazz’s secretary. Though Hylton is not really Shabazz’s niece, they have the kind of relationship wherein Shabazz encourages Hylton to refer to herself as her niece. Associate Head of School Tim Kane said, “Out of the other candidates, the students selected Shabazz. I think it’s great that the process of picking the speaker is so open to our students and that they decide, through voting, who it is that will represent their class and hopefully that person has a connection to the school and Shabazz does.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE WEBSITE OF ILYASAH SHABAZZ
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER ILYASAH SHABAZZ, daughter of civil rights activist Malcolm X, was voted to be the commencement speaker for the Class of 2017’s graduation.