Tower Unheard Voices Special Issue 2020-2021

TOWER The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue

Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522

VOLUME 76, SPECIAL ISSUE

JANUARY 19, 2021

Let those silenced resound

T

he late John Lewis once said, “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something. To do something.”

At Masters, we as a community have an obligation to say something when we see something unjust, something that is not right. The beauty of our community is that within it exists so many unique perspectives––people of all ethnicities, racial identities, sexual orientations, gender identities, socioeconomic statuses and backgrounds. As a result, we each “see” our own unique injustices.

We are all learning to speak up–but the

Editorial

truth of the matter is that not everyone is heard in the same way. Black students in the community weren’t truly listened to until an Instagram account demanded the attention their voices had so long deserved.

On the other hand, some voices in our community are loud and often heard. It is so easy for many of us to talk on and on into oblivion, without any real regard for those who are never given a chance to step up to the podium.

It is time for those whose voices have been amplified time and time again to sit back, and to listen–with intention.

As a community–and as a school newspaper–it is our job to step up and

do everything in our power to create opportunities for those who are seldom heard. That was the theme of this year’s MLK celebration. And it’s what this special edition is all about–and something that Tower has committed to for the future.

The theme of last year’s MLK day was “Speaking, Hearing and Opening Up Together,” and what that sentiment must further address is that some people are rarely given the opportunity to stand up, speak, and be heard. These unheard voices aren’t off lurking somewhere in mysterious shadows, they are sitting right next to you.

Ellen Cowhey/TOWER PROTESTORS AT A BLACK Lives Matter rally in Dobbs Ferry in early summer kneeled in honor of those lives lost at the hands of police. Alum Leron Dugan (pictured above) spoke about his own formative experiences growing up as a Black man in America. The @blackattms Instagram account was created as protests raged across the nation.

Uncovering overlooked history: An African Studies Course at Masters

M

any Masters students feel they have only heard the Americanized version of African history: colonization, imperialism, slavery and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The school offers electives such as European History, US History, and American Studies. So, students have asked, where is the African Studies course?

Senior Kristie Sears expressed her frustration with the

absence of a structured African history curriculum.

“It’s not in Masters’ goal. It’s not in their agenda,” she said.

Sears said an African Studies would be beneficial because most classes only address slavery and the civil rights era in America when discussing African history.

“It would tell a history that’s been forgotten,” she said.

According to an informal Tower sur-

vey, 74 percent of the 92 people who answered said they would be interested in taking an African Studies course at Masters if it was made available.

Though the school’s administration see potential challenges, including finding an experienced teacher, and a possible lack of interest in the course, which has happened in the past with Asian and Latin American history courses that were developed but didn’t run due to low interest, Associate Head of the Upper School Sara Thorn said that an African Studies course wouldn’t detract from the school’s current program of studies.

“There is definitely a place in the current curriculum for a course like that,” Thorn said.

A few teachers have already begun to integrate African history beyond the lens of the American perspective into their respective courses.

Upper School History teacher Brendon Barrios developed a unit on African narratives for his International Relations class five years ago, after one of his students, Kintashe Mainsah ‘17, mentioned that she had not once learned about Africa or its history in high school.

Barrios acknowledged Mainsah’s suggestion.

“There is a real lack of understanding and historical knowledge about Africa,” Barrios said.

Now, Barrios asks his International Relations class each year which global viewpoint they feel they

ELLIE YANG/TOWER

haven’t seen. This year’s class is looking at media literacy in relation to African history and modern-day Africa.

“I would argue that this unit is probably one of the most eye opening units, with how unfamiliar the [students] actually are with Africa outside of the context of slavery.

Most of them have no knowledge of it whatsoever,” Barrios said.

Senior Shamira Guillaume, a student in Barrios’ International Relations class, learned a lot during the African narratives unit, including reading a book based on the traditions and lifestyles of the Igbo people, a tribe located in southeastern Nigeria.

“I think [the book is] really different from what we usually learn in school about African culture,” Guillaume said.

Sears said that it is important for Masters to teach history through a global lens, rather than focusing on just a few perspectives.

“We have had students from Africa come here and what do they see? The Eurocentric, white version of [African] history,” Sears said.

Guillaume believes a full African Studies course would provide important insight that students may not get elsewhere during high school.

“It will allow Masters students to have a more well rounded point of view,” she said.

Masters alumna Nana Yaa Asante ‘19 cited initiatives like the @blackattms account as possible jumpstarters for curriculum expansion. During her time at Masters, Asante didn’t have any exposure to African history or culture. As an international student from Ghana, she just thought that was the case for all “American schools.” Currently a sopho-

more in college, she sees the importance of offering high school students an opportunity to learn about new cultures.

“A lot of people describe America as this melting pot of cultures, so it’s hard not to learn about one’s [history] without bringing in another,” Asante said.

At Masters, Asante and another international student from Africa started a club called “Students of Africa.” She remembers a student creating an entire project based on the possibility of an African Studies course. As an African and a member of the Masters community, she believes all students would be able to take something positive away from this type of course. “[There are] so many stereotypes about Africa as a continent, so by hearing about the [real history] and cultures, there’s no way you won’t learn something from this class,” she said.

SPECIAL ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS: Maia Barantsevitch Gisele Cestaro Mitch Fink Sophie Grand Andrew Mitchell Carol Queiroz Kira Ratan Hanna Schiciano Logan Schiciano Ethan Schlapp Kwynne Schlossman Kate Sibery Ella Tang Sophia Van Beek Sabrina Wolfson Ellie Yang

2

SPECIAL ISSUE

Rachel Aideyan

“

“

TOWER/JANUARY 19, 2021

What I thought would happen after the Instagram account came out is that we would have real conversations about it. I thought it wouldn't be a one time thing. I hoped it wouldn't just be Martin Luther King Day or just Saturday Summit, but it would be a continuous conversation.”

3

SPECIAL ISSUE

AJ Daniels

If someone sees these, they should get some insight, some self ref lection – whatever it’s going to take. It shouldn’t take Black students putting their pain under a magnifying glass. I was just glad that someone was going to see this and it was going to change somebody’s behavior.”

“ “ @blackattms

VINCENT ALBAN

Camille smith

RACHEL AIDEYAN

I think being Black or Brown in predominantly White, affluent schools and spaces makes you feel like what matters is what you produce and not who you are. I think it’s important for us to be able to share our voices because it reminds us that you don’t need to produce anything to be listened to or understood, you just need to speak.”

CAMILLE SMITH

Every time I saw a post I read it and I was like, ‘Wow, I can, I can resonate with that experience.’ It hurt me. It broke my heart that I knew everybody was being affected the same way I was. I knew I had to share my story. I had to explain what I went through. I just thought it should be shared. These things are important.”

six members of the community reflect on posting on

Cameron Belgrave

TULANE UNIVERSITY

Phoenix Jackson

Sachi Singh

“I feel like my voice is heard, but that people aren't listening.”

F CAMERON BELGRAVE

I believe @blackattms was made to amplify Black voices, and it does. Because of @blackattms, the larger community gets a chance to hear our personal experiences, and every individual who reads it can acknowledge what needs to be worked on both in the community and in themselves. That’s not something we often get from going to the administration with something or sharing it with friends.”

- Camille Smith ‘22

or decades, many Black students at Masters have been silenced. Some were silenced by the Confederate flags which hung on the walls of dorm rooms in the 1960s. Others are silenced when they heard a microaggression directed towards them, or when a teacher calls them by the name of another student of the same racial identity. Others are silenced when they feel there has been insufficient action from the administration as they attempt to share their stories. It wasn’t until an Instagram account, @blackattms, took center stage in the community after the killing of George Floyd in May 2020 that their voices had the platform to be heard.

It's been six months since the account, which hosts 182 experiences of Masters students (both current and former) was created. @blackattms opened the eyes of the community to the need for change and has led to a point of reckoning within the community. Just 21 days after the first post, Masters administration released ‘A Better Masters: An Action Plan for an Inclusive Community,’ which includes a plan to reevaluate pedagogy and hire more faculty of color among other steps.

Tower talked to six members of the community who shared their stories on @blackattms about the experience of speaking out. Some interviewees are current students at Masters, and others are alumni.

SOPHIE GRAND/TOWER

Sharing it was scary. When I was about to submit, I was thinking about backlash. I was thinking, ‘Are my teachers or administrators gonna read this and think differently of me?,’ and ‘Am I gonna get in trouble for this?’ I was just really worried, especially because of the power dynamic between adults and students.

My teachers are responsible for my future, the grades that I get, my reputation. I was worried that by speaking up, I could potentially lose something. I think I would have done it anyway, regardless of consequences.”

2

SPECIAL ISSUE

Rachel Aideyan

“

“

TOWER/JANUARY 19, 2021

What I thought would happen after the Instagram account came out is that we would have real conversations about it. I thought it wouldn't be a one time thing. I hoped it wouldn't just be Martin Luther King Day or just Saturday Summit, but it would be a continuous conversation.”

3

SPECIAL ISSUE

AJ Daniels

If someone sees these, they should get some insight, some self ref lection – whatever it’s going to take. It shouldn’t take Black students putting their pain under a magnifying glass. I was just glad that someone was going to see this and it was going to change somebody’s behavior.”

“ “ @blackattms

VINCENT ALBAN

Camille smith

RACHEL AIDEYAN

I think being Black or Brown in predominantly White, affluent schools and spaces makes you feel like what matters is what you produce and not who you are. I think it’s important for us to be able to share our voices because it reminds us that you don’t need to produce anything to be listened to or understood, you just need to speak.”

CAMILLE SMITH

Every time I saw a post I read it and I was like, ‘Wow, I can, I can resonate with that experience.’ It hurt me. It broke my heart that I knew everybody was being affected the same way I was. I knew I had to share my story. I had to explain what I went through. I just thought it should be shared. These things are important.”

six members of the community reflect on posting on

Cameron Belgrave

TULANE UNIVERSITY

Phoenix Jackson

Sachi Singh

“I feel like my voice is heard, but that people aren't listening.”

F CAMERON BELGRAVE

I believe @blackattms was made to amplify Black voices, and it does. Because of @blackattms, the larger community gets a chance to hear our personal experiences, and every individual who reads it can acknowledge what needs to be worked on both in the community and in themselves. That’s not something we often get from going to the administration with something or sharing it with friends.”

- Camille Smith ‘22

or decades, many Black students at Masters have been silenced. Some were silenced by the Confederate flags which hung on the walls of dorm rooms in the 1960s. Others are silenced when they heard a microaggression directed towards them, or when a teacher calls them by the name of another student of the same racial identity. Others are silenced when they feel there has been insufficient action from the administration as they attempt to share their stories. It wasn’t until an Instagram account, @blackattms, took center stage in the community after the killing of George Floyd in May 2020 that their voices had the platform to be heard.

It's been six months since the account, which hosts 182 experiences of Masters students (both current and former) was created. @blackattms opened the eyes of the community to the need for change and has led to a point of reckoning within the community. Just 21 days after the first post, Masters administration released ‘A Better Masters: An Action Plan for an Inclusive Community,’ which includes a plan to reevaluate pedagogy and hire more faculty of color among other steps.

Tower talked to six members of the community who shared their stories on @blackattms about the experience of speaking out. Some interviewees are current students at Masters, and others are alumni.

SOPHIE GRAND/TOWER

Sharing it was scary. When I was about to submit, I was thinking about backlash. I was thinking, ‘Are my teachers or administrators gonna read this and think differently of me?,’ and ‘Am I gonna get in trouble for this?’ I was just really worried, especially because of the power dynamic between adults and students.

My teachers are responsible for my future, the grades that I get, my reputation. I was worried that by speaking up, I could potentially lose something. I think I would have done it anyway, regardless of consequences.”

4

SPECIAL ISSUE

T

JANUARY 19, 2021/TOWER

Local man with Down syndrome dreams big

he day he was born, Raymond Frost’s family knew he was different. But Ray will be the first person to show you – both through his kind and spontaneous nature, and the advocacy he engages in during conversations about Down syndrome – that being different is not a barrier to overcome, but a facet of oneself to embrace.

“I know [with] Down syndrome, it’s scary, but it’s also okay to admit that that’s who you are,” he told me.

“For me, having Down syndrome, I’m okay with. There’s some things I can do, and some things that I can’t do.

My grandmother told me, ‘Anything is possible.’ When you put your heart to it, and make your dreams come true, anything is possible.”

Ray has many dreams. One of the first things he’ll tell you is how much he loves to cook. Although he’s been part of the work force since high school, almost 25 years ago, Ray wants to attend culinary school.

“One day, I dream of having my own restaurant,” he said. An important note: it will be half-American, half-Italian.

Masters exists in an able-bodied bubble. By nature of the campus, sprawling across five main buildings with multiple flights of stairs, the school is not accessible. Students with visible disabilities aren’t, themselves, visible at Masters.

Because of this, I never would have met Ray without volunteering at GiGi’s Playhouse, a Down syndrome achievement center in Ardsley, where Ray was a frequent attendee. He was playing ping pong, singing along to the music playing over the speakers and undeniably the life of the party. (“My name is Raymond, but you can call me Ray!”)

T

Ray isn’t shy either, when discuss- important and valuable parts of his ing his relationship with racial identity. identity.

“I like being Black… I’m happy “Sometimes I have doubts about and proud to be an African American having Down syndrome, but then I man.” He said, adding that he believes understand, Down syndrome is not he must be comfortable with who he is a weakness. Down syndrome is not a in order to help others, especially those weakness,” Ray said. who are disabled.

“Some people will look at me.

Ray, Yaniv and Jason had the op- Wherever I go with my family, people portunity to star in the 2017 film “Far always say I look like somebody else,” From the Tree”, based on the New he said, referring to his facial differencYork Times bestselling book by An- es. “But that’s a good thing, because I drew Sullivan. The film explores the am Raymond.” relationship between parent and child, His proudest accomplishment is particularly in rebeing happy: gards to differences “I’m happy to in ability. Yaniv said Whoever has a disability or have family and it was “amazing” to friends.

I’m Down syndrome, they have the same see his face on the happy to have goals, same dreams, same future, big screen and reafbeen living on firmed the value of my own for feelings, and emotions [as everyone representation. twenty years else]. They have a right to speak.

Ray doesn’t like now. I’m hap- Raymond “Ray” Frost to see his accompy.” plishments –whethHe added, er it’s his talent at “I’m proud cooking, 25 years of experience to have Down syndrome. Because in the workforce, lifelong friendships, if I didn’t have Down syndrome, I self-reliance, or black belt in karate–as wouldn’t have met you and I wouldn’t happening in spite of his Down syn- have met all my friends. I wouldn’t be drome. They are, like his disability, me.”

“

GiGi’s Playhouse Westchester YANIV GORODISCHER, RAYMOND FROST and Jason Kingsley (left to right) are pictured on a Buddy Cruise, a nonprofit organization advocating for individuals with special needs and their families. Yaniv, Raymond and Jason have lived together for almost 19 years.

Ray has formed enduring relationships with his friends and roommates, Yaniv and Jason–Yaniv says they’re like brothers. They’ve lived in the same home together in Hartsdale for 19 years. The three are hardly ever apart.

“You have one life to live, you might as well enjoy what you have now. I’m happy I have GiGi’s Playhouse and my roommates. If us three, who have Down syndrome, can live together for 18, 19 years, through good times, bad times, anything is possible,” he said.

Ray describes himself as “easy to talk to” – he radiates positive energy and laughter. But, he’s not a stranger to challenge. He struggled to read, write, and do math in school and relied on the support of his family and special education teachers to learn.

“Now, I can do all of those things,” he said, with pride in his voice. “In my life, I’ve had my ups and downs, too.

I’m not scared.”

When I asked Ray what he wished everyone knew about disabled people, he spoke with no hesitation.

“Whoever has a disability or Down syndrome, they have the same goals, same dreams, same future, feelings, and emotions [as everyone]. They have a right to speak.”

Janitor & coach inspires students

Mitch Fink/Tower ROBER RUIZ STANDS NEXT to Reunion Field, the home of the girls’ soccer team.

Ruiz is an assistant coach of the team.

Although many may know Rober Ruiz for his numerous custodial jobs around campus and his dedication to keeping Masters clean, more recognize him for his constant smile.

Originally born in Lima, Peru, Ruiz has worked in the boys dorms for the last 14 years. He reflected on what has made his experience at Masters memorable.

“My experience is you, the students,” he said. “I like when [the

students] say in the morning, ‘Good morning! How are you,’ ‘You have [a] good day!,’ ‘Thank you, thank you!’”

In the fall, Ruiz ends his day down on Reunion field with the girls’ varsity soccer team. He has been an assistant coach for the team since the 2019 season.

To read the full profule of Ruiz,

visit tower.mastersny.org.

Unheard voices in literature: our picks

ower recognizes that it isn’t enough to seek out unheard voices one day, or one month, of the year. As a community, we must commit to actively listen to these voices throughout the course of the year. We have compiled a list of books which highlight and chronicle various unique unheard voices– one for each month of the year. To suggest another book, the editorial board can be reached at towereditors@mastersny.org The first four of our selected texts can be found here. The rest will be published on our website, tower.mastersny.org. All book cover illustrations were created by Ella Tang.

January

February Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi

T

ranscendent Kingdom follows a young scientist, Gifty, the child of immigrants from Ghana. A novel about love, grief and faith, it details Gifty’s search for meaning through the lenses of both scientific study, and her more ambiguous childhood religious tradition.

The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett

March

Good Talk, Mira Jacob

I

n a novel spanning decades and generations, Brit Bennett’s best seller The Vanishing Half describes twin African American sisters who take divergent paths in the early 1970s, one passing as a White woman, the other returning to live in her small southern community. An exciting, fast paced read, the book also asks deep questions about colorism and the meaning of success in American culture.

Bennett was born in Southern California and graduated from Stanford University with an M.F.A. She has written two books, The Vanishing Half and The Mothers. She lives in Los Angeles.

Bennett spoke virtually at Masters on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Stay tuned to Tower’s web coverage to read an exclusive interview with Bennett, which will be released shortly.

M

ira Jacob’s memoir is uniquely oriented through various conversations over the course of her life. Jacobs, a child of Indian immigrants who lived through post 9/11 New York with her mixed-race son, shares her perspective on race and ethnicity illustrated by her humorous, honest and difficult storytelling.

April

Luster, Raven Leilani

I

n Luster, a millennial woman of color in contemporary New York City wrestles with dead-end jobs, drugs and alcohol and a strange relationship with a married white man whose suburban life she envies. She develops a relationship with her lover’s wife and adopted Black daughter and tries to rediscover herself as an artist.