Voices and Visions - Spring 2021 by Montclair Kimberley Academy

Voices and Visions

Art and Writing from the Middle School Spring 2021

Editor: Lola Rosenblum ‘25 Faculty Advisor: Marsha Kleinman Layout and Design: Diane Giangreco Visual Art Teacher and Curator: Joelle Francht 8th Grade, Class of 2025 7th Grade, Class of 2026 6th Grade, Class of 2027 5th Grade, Class of 2028 4th Grade, Class of 2029 Cover Art: Jihoo Shim ‘25

Voices and Visions Art and Writing from the Middle School

Voices: Eniola Adebola ‘25 Ciara Branigan ‘25 James Bronson ‘27 Isabella Chen ‘27 Eleanor Chung ‘29 May Cotter ‘26 Pippa Davison ‘25 Alessandra Dueno ‘27 Evy Fernandez ‘27 Emma Flick ‘27 Lindsay Fouché ‘25 Jan Hejna ‘26 Willow Killebrew ‘25 Christie Kim ‘26 Daniel Kim ‘27 Myroslava Klopota ‘25 Gabriella Ladd ‘27 Logan Langer ‘29 Sam Lewis ‘25 Layla Lynch ‘27 Matthew Mogavero- Principe ‘25 Sasha Munroe ‘25 Callan Portner ‘29 Cameron Raper ‘29 Alia Rasheed ‘25 Ameera Razzak ‘27 Skylar Rhodes ‘27 Lola Rosenblum ‘25 Olivia Rubin ‘29 Slater Sackman ‘26 Sadie Shapiro ‘25 Oliver Siry ‘25 Timothy Slater ‘25 Logan Snyder ‘26 Antonio Sousa ‘28 Cecilia Spagnoletti ‘29 Maggie Stanford ‘25 Alexis Urquhart ‘25 Arjun Varianhkaval ‘29 Juliana Villafana ‘25 X’Avier Walker ‘25

Visions: Georgia Aitken ‘28 Saniya Bansal ‘26 Maggie Barrett ‘27 Bryony Bexon-Reid ‘26 Brandon Chen ‘25 Victoria Choi-Seem ‘29 Daniel Chung ‘27 Alexa Clayton ‘25 Pippa Davison ‘25 Stella DeSousa ‘29 Evy Fernandez ‘27 Skylar Finkle ‘27 Emma Flick ‘27 Lena Forysiak ‘25 Lindsay Fouché ‘25 Ella Freeman ‘26 Anna Gambuzza ‘25 Jillian Garrubbo ‘25 Adam Goodrich ‘28 Helena Hejna ‘28 Jan Hejna ‘26 Mila Huang ‘26 Katelyn Imbesi ‘27 Maanasa Jagan ‘26 Tré Jamison ‘25 Samantha Janus ‘28 Lola Kaplan ‘25 Stella Kilcullen ‘28 Graham Killebrew ‘28 Daniel Kim ‘27 Myroslava Klopota ‘25 Logan Langer ‘29 Chelsea Lee ‘26 Sam Lewis ‘25 Evan Lim ‘26 Andy Liu ‘26

Simon Maza ‘27 Harper McAndrew ‘28 Sasha Munroe ‘25 Serena Nguyen ‘26 Paxton Nithikasem ‘25 Caroline Piccolo ‘25 Callan Portner ‘29 Damian Polanskyj ‘27 Evan Pratt ‘27 Jordan Puryear ‘28 Tamara Regular ‘28 Alessandro Rizio ‘25 Myla Robertson ‘27 Elias Rosenberg ‘26 Gabe Rosenthal ‘28 Truly Sackman ‘28 Bebe Scuorzo ‘27 Ahana Shah ‘27 Jasmine Shah ‘25 Nikhil Shah ‘27 Sadie Shapiro ‘25 Iris Shen ‘27 Jihoo Shim ‘25 Oliver Siry ‘25 Logan Snyder ‘26 Cecilia Spagnoletti ‘29 Arda Susar ‘29 Atyana Thomas ‘27 Anjuli Trivedi ‘27 Jasmine Troutt ‘26 Caspar Turck ‘25 Nahlia Udofia ‘26 Alexis Urquhart ‘25 Mahala Weintraub ‘26 C.J. Williams ‘28 Ryan Yeu ‘26

Note from the Editor: Voices & Visions is a collection of MKA’s leading work in writing and the fine arts. When editing this publication, I read and saw so many pieces that show MKA’s true excellence in these two disciplines. Although this year was anything but ordinary, the literary and art pieces that were submitted were truly exceptional. These incredible pieces also show the faculty’s dedication to teaching, so the students could reach this level of success. Please take the opportunity to applaud your peers on the wonderful work that they created this year. I had an amazing time reading and editing all of the pieces, and I hope you all enjoy them as well! - Lola Rosenblum ‘25

Mahala Weintraub ‘26

Evan Lim ‘26 “The Shadow” There’s a shadow coming over the world Everyone is upset and depressed The shadow is taking over People stuck in their homes

“Lily” Lately I’ve learned the leading path that flew Lily to another life Lately I’ve loosened hope and love for what was gratefully mine Lately I’ve lost my existence the one that flows me to another sea Lately I’ve listened for another answer to bring her back to me -Logan Langer ‘29

Because the shadow is too dangerous to face

“Balloons”

-Eleanor Chung ‘29

Balloons, shiny and bright Their neon colors like colored windows revealing what’s behind them. Balloons, When touched by a sharp surface, pop, like disappearing into thin air, Balloons. As they pop, Oh, the pain they feel. I wonder, if the loud noise is them screaming? Balloons.

“Trouble” I freeze As I stare deep into your eyes, I see nothing but icy mounds They whisper in silence that I am a goner I begin to feel stiff, My throat gets dry and hard As I close my eyes, they water I hold back tears, I begin to cry The tasering pure words set my legs on fire, Up the stairs they carry me Into my very own room to cry, I’m in trouble

-Cameron Raper ‘29

-Cecilia Spagnoletti ‘29

“Fire and Ice” Fire Hot, Blaze Burning, Exploding, Crackling Bright, Scorch, Cold, Solid Chilling, Unforgiving, Freezing Frozen, Silent Ice -Callan Portner ‘29

Mila Huang ‘26

Jasmine Troutt ‘26

“The Tide” Inspired by Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb”

“Man in the Sky” Peter Pan, Peter Pan How you fly Up in the Deep Dark Sky Like a bird Up high But then You wave Hi Or is it Bye? Your heart is your wings Big, strong Your dreams land on your shoulder But then you “Pluck” them off Till another time Bye, bye man in the sky Can you fall into the dark?!? I lay down at night. I want to take flight.

Time to overview It’s time to view the mood And override the tide Side with a view Feed the need Of a change For our youth Don’t be Random Save the nation Change the Lane We’re in Look For Light Seems To be Deemed For us to stand For this demand of Care That is Fair We did it! We are starting to climb the hill!

-Olivia Rubin ‘29

Logan Snyder ‘26

Alessandro Rizio ‘25

“Love Has No Distance” I believe that love has no distance. Even if you move far away from those you love, you will always have a special place in their heart. I didn’t believe that until my family wrapped our arms around each other in silence, huddled together in the chilly airport. “To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there,” Barbara Bush said. I immediately connected with this quote because it reminded me of a significant time in my life—a time where everything seemed to be drifting away from me. Let me tell you the story. It was a hot and humid day. We had driven over to my grandparents’ house and had picked them up. The car ride was loud and fun, but we were all hiding our sadness. My sister and I were playing a game with my grandparents, and we tried staying positive. I saw a sign that said, “Welcome to the Newark Liberty International Airport.” That was when it got real for me. I looked over at my sister, and she must have seen it too. When we parked, my parents unloaded the trunk, and we walked into the cold airport. As soon as I walked in, goosebumps spread over my arms and legs from the air conditioning. We started checking my grandparents in for their flight, and they seemed different than they usually were. They looked sad and happy. I glanced over at my grandpa, and I saw his eyes become red. I gave him the biggest hug I could. He always smells of Vicks VapoRub and fancy cologne. Whenever I would get hurt, he would tell me, “You need VapoRub!” He would then rush over to take out a tiny bottle of VapoRub from his enormous collection and hand it to me. As soon as we finished checking in, it was time for security. We had gone down an escalator, and it was time to say goodbye. We walked to the escalator’s side and said our goodbyes, and did our last family hug before they left. Sniffles and tears generated as we huddled together. It was time for them to go, and as I glanced at my grandparents, I realized that love has no distance and that they would still love me no matter how far away they are. It has been six months since my grandparents moved away, and I can definitely say that love is with us no matter where we are. It may mean that we have to talk on Zoom, play games on Houseparty, or even send heart emojis or funny memes via WhatsApp. Love can travel any distance, and I feel their love every single day. - Layla Lynch ‘27

“War” War, I am scared in the dark as the moon lights the way.

Caspar Turck ‘25

My fear gets closer I feel blank with words, but somewhat calm Burns melting through my body like rage killing me. My heart runs faster and my body declines. The war has begun. -Arjun Varianhkaval ‘29

“Insecurities” I find myself scrolling through others’ social media I scroll and scroll through the endless beauty, no Imperfections I can trace Your teeth are perfect, your body is Ideal There are many things about you that I wish I could steal I find myself standing in the mirror, envious about how you were made Some days I make up nonexistent flaws to help my own insecure heart but trying to come up with these things in my head doesn’t win me a prize Tearing you down in my mind has only left me more insecure and empty Inside I am sorry for letting the way you were created reflect my worth I find myself forgetting my creator that has been calling me beautiful before the day I was born So Instead I will smile at your beauty without letting it affect me this time As girls we deserve more than competition- we need to know how true beauty is defined. -Gabby Ladd ‘27

Starting Kindergarten It’s a place where you can be sweet, sassy, and silly It’s okay if you’re shy, but please don’t cry, You’re going to love school, you will soon see It’s a place where you will be a scholarly star and helps you go far! You will love the playground...it has a swing and a slide, I imagine how you will run in the hot sun around and around You will love all the specials...where you can sing, smile, dance, and score! Now, you’re five going on six, I can’t wait anymore... soon you will be part of the MKA mix! -Antonio Sousa ‘28 Dedicated to my sister, Isabella Sousa ‘33

Caspar Turck ‘25

Moving On Up... You’re on your way to a new place, There will always be at least one familiar face Although this year did not end as planned… You were brave and went out with grace… And because of that, I will always be your biggest fan People cheer for you... far and near, in their car, or from 6 feet far... it’s a much-deserved congrats, as you steer to the future! Remember there’s something cool... I will be there and your cousin too, for whenever you need us and to not feel blue! You may wonder about your fate at MKA Middle School, no one knows, but I tell you this I can’t wait to see all the wonderful things you will do! So I welcome you and all the graduating third graders, have no fear, we are all here... in this together, and that will always be true! I love you forever and ever! -Antonio Sousa ‘28 Dedicated to my brother, Alessandro Sousa ‘29

“I Believe in Being Myself” Have you ever wanted to be like someone you’re not? Well, I have. It all started when I was two-years-old and began to notice that I did not have hair like everyone else. I would ask my mommy to pray for me to have hair. I would say, “Mommy, why don’t you pray for me because I have, and He still hasn’t given me my hair.” I wanted to look like everybody else. I thought it would make me fit in if I had hair, but really it was just hiding who I am. As I got older, there were periods in my life that I would cry over and over to my parents that I was different and that I wasn’t pretty. I started to wear a headband and refused to go anywhere without it. I was afraid that I would not fit in with the other kids and that they might think I’m weird. Over the years there were incidents when I would feel the most vulnerable, and different. Some people would stare and laugh while a few others would say I look good without hair but perhaps not mean it. I would just let it go. What made it worse was that kids would insist that I was sick or really a boy. Meanwhile, adults would stare, whisper, or point. Mom and I would have late night talks where I would cry, but I never really showed how I felt in public. However, at the age of eight-years-old, that all changed. That is when I started to learn that I believe in being myself. As I entered my third grade classroom, I realized, to my horror, that I forgot my headband and broke down crying. I was taken to the front desk and the woman at the desk, in a panic, tied a Christmas ribbon around my head. I could not stop crying. The counselor called my mom regarding the incident. Great! Now even the counselor thinks I need help because I’m different. My mom had to drive back to school with my baby brother to give me a headband. What was I thinking? What was I feeling? I guess at the time all of the feelings I was hiding from everyone just poured out. It’s just that I felt embarrassed since no one really ever saw me without a headband. I felt so bare and insecure. It felt like all of my deepest secrets had been exposed. Even though I felt so exposed, I was reminded time and time again that I have family and friends that will always be there to support me. Family and friends that love me for who I am. I also understand and have accepted that God has plans for me and that He made me, and all of humankind, in the image of Himself, and yet, we are uniquely made. We were made to be different even though so many struggle or desire to fit in. Most of all, I realized that I am not alone, and that I can be an inspiration to others who may feel different and may not feel valued. When I was in fourth grade, I was at the park with one of my best friends. I was climbing on a net and behind me, and I heard a man tell a young girl, “Look, she still has friends, she is still beautiful.” I continued to climb. Later that day, that same man came up to me and my mom and told me that I am so brave. He said that his daughter has alopecia and recently lost her hair. She was embarrassed and hid her condition by wearing a wig. After that incident, I realized that my existence and attitude could make a difference in someone’s life. I also realized, just one year later, that I was no longer afraid of being “exposed.” I still feel a bit different at times, but now I don’t feel like I have to hide it. I can even walk around without a headband now. Some will still stare, whisper, laugh, or point, but I get it now. Everyone is different. Some differences are visible and others are invisible, but that does not matter anymore. Being different makes you who you are. Our differences make us diverse and life more interesting and fun. I no longer feel insecure or embarrassed because today, I am stronger. I am braver. I am beautiful. I am, me. - Alessandra Dueno ‘27

Chelsea Lee ‘26

“Memory” Do you know who I am? Do you even remember me? You must. I thought I was so dear to you. Remember the time We had a tea party? Or when we danced in the rain. Or when we tried to make cookies, but I burned them. Or… Well…we haven’t done things together in a while Those memories bring waterfall tears Into my eyes.

Nikhil Shah ‘27

I miss you. But you don’t seem to miss me. You probably don’t know where I am right now. Or the condition that I’m in. As you grow up, What am I? Some old memory left behind? I sit behind the books. With my head drooped like a weeping willow. My ears hang limp. And my button eyes hang on by a thread. Where are the days when you used to come home And rush to play with me? Where is the warmth from cuddling me every night?

Maggie Barrett ‘27

Now my beautiful white fur Gray from age Is tattered Remember, you used to brush it for me. But now that I am some long, lost memory I feel as if I am Fading away. -Skylar Rhodes ‘27

Ahana Shah ‘27

“I’d Rather Read” Do you want to read? Or do you want to watch TV? Grasping for the book, Read, I reply. From a young age, I have known, What lies inside a book Is not what’s in a show. There’s some stronger magic and beauty To turning the pages. No matter where I am, I love to read In a plethora of places. The bathtub, with my aqua reader, My scoop chair, or Upside down for all I care! The magic of the book grows strong, It helps me understand the world. Makes me learn new things I never knew were true.

Damian Polanskyj ‘27

If I happen to feel blue, There’s an imaginary world inside That wondrous book. I know what it will do Cheer me up And make me read. Once I start to read There is no end I just keep Reading, Reading, and Reading. I cannot stop. I hate to put that wonderful book Down. -Skylar Rhodes ‘27

Saniya Bansal ‘26

“Immigrant’s Boat” Here You are, You Sail away. Here You leave. You Cry in dismay. Here I stop, You can get off. Here Is a new life. You Don’t look away. You Can feel the opportunities in the air. Here You will be shielded from the war. You Can see all the others new to this land, Here Is the island where you can stay. You Are nervous for the tests, You Might be detained. Here Is a safer place. You Would pick here any day. -Emma Flick ‘27

Saniya Bansal ‘26

“My Book” I held it in my hands and didn’t blink once. I couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful colors and illustrations on the front. I flipped the pages rapidly, taking in every word I could read While I smelled the smell of the pages. Put the book down and watch the movie Stop reading and come have dinner What’s so good about a book anyway? But they didn’t understand the magic you feel when you read a book, the feeling of being taken into a world of magic, adventure, action, it was a feeling like no other. I ran up the stairs and jumped on my bed. I read every word taking in all the characters, buildings, objects, Picturing myself there, imagining the characters and what was happening as if it were right in front of me. I wasn’t even on my bed anymore, I was wherever the story was, with whatever character was there, I felt like I could stay there forever. Lights out! Go to bed! Ugh, I grabbed a piece of scrap paper, shoved it into my book as a page marker, and stopped the story. I laid in bed and closed my eyes, dreaming about the story, wishing I was there.

Iris Shen ‘27

-Evy Fernandez ‘27

“No”

No, I’m not Chinese No, I don’t eat dog No, I don’t eat cat Yes, I can see Yes, I study Yes, I do martial arts No, I don’t play piano No, I don’t get perfect grades No, I don’t

Jasmine Shah ‘25

“Your Country” Why don’t you speak with an accent? I don’t have one. Why are you so weird? I have my own passion. Why don’t you act like your people? My people? Why don’t you act like your country? My country? Why don’t you wear what they wear? I do. -Ameera Razzak ‘27

-Daniel Kim ‘27

Alexa Clayton ‘25

Caroline Piccolo ‘25 “Proud of My Nationality”

“Why do you have no hair?”

Someone comes, And ask me, Are you Japanese? I stare, And answer, No, I am Chinese.

Why do you have no hair? Why do you have no hair? Why do you have no hair? It goes over and over again I don’t have cancer And I didn’t shave my head I am not sick I have alopecia It makes me have no hair I had it since I was one Yes, I lost all my hair Could it grow back? Yes, yes it could But no matter how many times I say it People still ask Why do you have no hair?

Saying words, Questions, That keep transmitting towards me. Why are your eyes like that? Aren’t people like you supposed to be smart? Ni hao (你好) Very nasally. I am happy who I am. And no one can say otherwise.

-Alessandra Dueno ‘27

-Isabella Chen ‘27

Brandon Chen ‘25

Andy Liu ‘26 Serena Nguyen ‘26

Bryony Bexon-Reid ‘26

Ella Freeman ‘26

Nahlia Udofia ‘26

Elias Rosenberg ‘26

“Hey! Bill! You forget about that money you owe me?” Laura exclaimed as he passed by on the street. “I’m pretty sure I already paid you back, Laura,” Bill replied. “What did I forget about this time?” “Last week. I bought us lunch. And dinner.” Laura crossed her arms and smiled. “I thought we agreed that we were even when I bought us ice cream.” “You really think ice cream is equal to two meals?” Laura asked. “As your older brother, I think I’ve given you enough. Think of all the times I brought you food when you were sick, or if you needed advice,” Bill snapped back. “Of course you’re pulling the older brother card,” Laura sighed. “What about the countless times I didn’t tell on you for sneaking out or breaking something?” Bill grasped for a reply while Laura moved on. “ Anyways, you owe me exactly $85.73. And you still owe me $2.37 from last week but I’ll let that slide.” “You have way too much free time,” Bill joked. “ What if I give you $50 tomorrow and then I’ll do all your laundry for a week?” “ A month,” Laura grinned. “Absolutely not. That is not happening. The longest you’ll get is a week and a half.” “Ugh, fine. You start tomorrow,” Laura turned to walk away. “Actually, can we start next week? I’m gonna be gone for a while with my friends,” Bill explained. “Now you’re just making up excuses!” Laura exclaimed. Bill sighed, disappointed at his lying skills. “I cannot believe you. Ok, you don’t have to do any of my laundry, just give me $70 right now and we can end this.” “What if I give you all of that money next week? I’m planning on buying this really cool jacket that’s pretty expensive!” “I don’t care about your stupid jacket!” Laura snapped. “I can’t believe you care about this so much. It’s just two meals!” “Two expensive meals,” Laura added. “This is getting ridiculous! We can’t decide on anything! I think we should just forget about this whole thing and move on,” Bill offered. “You’re not getting off that easy. I’ve already given you so many deals,” Laura looked around. “Okay, this is going to be my last offer. $65 and we forget this whole thing happened. I’m tired, and I wanna go home.” “That’s a deal I can agree to,” Bill smiled and quickly gave Laura the money. “That’s exactly $65 in cash.” “I’m a little smarter than that, Bill,” Laura said as she carefully counted the money. “You forgot $10.” “Really? I was so sure I had given you all the money!” “You’re not fooling anyone,” Laura laughed. Bill rummaged around in his wallet. He looked around nervously. “Do you happen to have change for a $100 bill?” “You’re ridiculous. I’ll just take the $55 so this can be over,” Laura said. “Remind me to never bring you to expensive restaurants again.” -Logan Snyder ‘26

Saniya Bansal ‘26

Alexis Urquhart ‘25

Jasmine Shah ‘25 “You Never Know”

I believe that “Things are not always as they seem, the first appearance deceives many” (Phaedrus). This is exactly what I experienced on New Year’s Eve of 2015. My parents were having a New Year’s Eve party, and many people were attending. I was six-years-old back then and not very responsible. For most kids, adult parties are not very amusing so we have to make them amusing. In my old house, the first floor had a living room and a kitchen. They were both pretty big rooms and designed in a way where there was a large loop around the floor. The kitchen always felt cold, and the living room always felt warm. Some of my cousins were there, and they were about the same age so we began to play tag around the loop. We were having so much fun. There was a long hall at the end of the loop that led onto the MARBLE FLOOR kitchen. I was wearing socks so at the end of the loop I would slide on the marble. The problem was that at the end of the long hallway was a massive twelve-foot tall window just calling my name. I would use that window to stop myself. I thought that the window was very strong, and since it worked the first couple of times it would work this time. On a lap of tag, I ran just a little bit faster, slid just a little bit harder, and stopped on the window a little bit rougher. The twelve-foot tall window shattered, and at that second I knew my belief: things that seem strong on the outside are not always strong on the inside. This belief does not always occur with windows. It can occur with anything: humans, animals, buildings, and most things on earth. You should never assume something is strong without actually learning about it or getting to know it because it can end in disaster. Something more important than a window, though, is another person. You should never think that someone is always doing well and happy because they could be faking it, so you should get to know them and help them become strong and happy. You never know what could happen; if you help them when they are not at their strongest, they could help you in return. You never know. - James Bronson ‘27

It was 12:30 at night. Nobody saw him leave, he had a way of moving without being seen. He wore all black and smelled of smoke. When he arrived at his destination, he didn’t knock. He knew he wouldn’t be seen; he had all the time in the world. He had much practice at picking locks, and it wouldn’t take long anyway. While he worked, he thought of his enemy sitting unaware inside. John hadn’t seen Alex for a few years now, but he was sure that Alex remembered him. He finished picking the lock and walked inside. Alex had stolen money from him a long time ago, and after that, everything in John’s life had gone dark. John had been planning this day for a while, and was excited that the time had finally come for revenge. Through the large windows, John could see a 77” flat screen TV and some huge pieces of artwork on the walls. He thought about the dirty shelter he’d just left and remembered the last time they’d seen each other. They were playing high stakes cards like they often did, in John’s own fancy house that hid the financial trouble he faced, talking about their lives in a way they didn’t with anyone else. That’s how Alex knew that John owed a lot of money to some really bad guys and that a big win would save him. Alex did lose big to John that night, but he left quickly without paying the money he owed, saying he didn’t have enough to pay him off just then. That’s the last time he’d seen Alex in three years. Looking around the mansion, John could now see that it was clearly a lie. Today Alex would pay for ruining his life. Alex had messed with the wrong guy. “Who is it?” yelled Alex, walking downstairs to confront the sound. He didn’t look scared at all, even though he recognized John and remembered his quick temper well. “Remember me,” John asked. “You stole money from me, and I want it back.” “Hello, John,” said Alex, who acted like he’d just seen John yesterday. He decided to keep John engaged in conversation while he thought of a plan. He could guess why John was there. He’d heard the rumors of the turn things had taken for John after that card game so many years ago. “How are you doing,” asked Alex, his blue eyes darting around the room looking for a weapon. Signed basketball? Crystal lamp? Metal sculpture? He wondered if John had a weapon on him. He had always preferred to use his fists. “How do you think I’m doing,” answered John, pacing back and forth around the room. “I would be a lot better off if you had paid me the money you owed me in the first place. They took everything because of you. And now I have to make you pay.” “I always planned to give you the money, John,” said Alex. “But, I’ve never had this much stuff in my life. It feels good. I didn’t want to give it all away. I thought you, of all people, would understand that.” As John turned away from Alex for just a second to think about this, Alex made his move. He took off his watch, and threw it at the TV, shattering it into a million pieces. While John was watching the glass fly through the air, Alex bolted out the door shouting behind him “Sorry!” John was on Alex’s tail in a matter of seconds. He ran into the garage, climbing into his neon yellow Maserati with plates that read “MONEY,” and revved the engine to warn John to move away. As he backed up at full speed, he tossed a silver metal briefcase out the window. It landed at John’s feet. “I really am sorry, John,” Alex yelled as he sped away. John walked back into Alex’s house. He opened the refrigerator like it was his own and grabbed a can of Coke. Sitting on the glass covered couch, he put the briefcase on his lap, sat back and enjoyed the view of the city, and wondered if his life was about to change again. -Slater Slackman ‘26

Andy Liu ‘26

Ryan Yeu ‘26 Ella Freeman ‘26

Maanasa Jagan ‘26

Jan Hejna ‘26

Mila Huang ‘26 Nahlia Udofia ‘26

Gabe Rosenthal ‘28

Georgia Aitken ‘28

Harper McAndrew ‘28

Polyphemus Perspective Piece “Come on little sheep, we must go out to the fields,” I said as I opened up their cages, moved the boulder out of the cave entrance and started shepherding them out into the great fields of the island. It was a beautiful morning. The bright golden sun was just coming over the horizon, the wonderful smells of summer were in the air, and, most importantly nothing was out of the ordinary. This is how all my mornings went: wake up, tend to the sheep, go inside, repeat. Nothing interesting happened, and every day was the same. Except for that fateful day when everything changed. I first noticed something was up when I saw that puny human’s ship sailing towards my island. At best, I thought that he would be a lost sailor, ready to be lured into my cave and cooked up for dinner. Boy, oh boy was I wrong. I operated off of a simple rule of thumb: if they don’t come near me, I don’t come near you. Odysseus and his men broke that rule in minutes. Breaking into my cave, stealing my food, and setting up camp like he owned the place; it was ridiculous! As if he had not a care in the world, and he just thought that he could waltz into my home, make a mess of everything, and pretend like nothing had happened. Except there was a flaw in his plan, and I was going to burst his bubble and show him how puny and breakable he really was. From the moment he opened his tiny peanut mouth, I knew my instincts were correct: Odysseus was a fool. I guess that he could blame all of his problems on the gods where he came from, but that ain’t gonna fly in Polyphemus’ household. What a fool like Odyseuss doesn’t understand is that someone like me doesn’t fear the gods, or fear their punishment. Haa! Thinking that I was going to pamper and take care of them like children just because they say so? Well, they’ve clearly never met a Cyclops before. He went on whining and complaining, like the little swindler he is. Endlessly going on about his troubles and challenges. Ugh, gross. I wish I could have picked him up right then and there, strangled him, and thrown him across the great sea to Hades. I stood there mulling things over, keeping up the strong wise giant thing, and trying to keep a straight face. I could see right through this joke of a story! All he was trying to do was trick me into giving him what he wanted, so I did exactly what any reasonable Cyclops would do: eat one of the puny little human’s friends! Just grabbed him right up, stuffed him down the gullet and licked my lips, delicious. The look of horror on his face was incredible, and I could barely keep myself from eating him right there on the spot. No, I couldn’t do that. I had to make him feel pain. I had to pick off all his little friends first and then I would devour the little beast. I picked off five more of his men, and decided to call it a night. I calmly rolled the boulder that served as a door to my cave in place, and got into bed, knowing full well that if he tried to kill me, he’d be dead as well. He and his men might have been able to live off the sheep and cheese for a while, but there was no way a bug-sized human like him could move that boulder. Ahh how refreshing; a belly full of delicious humans, and forty other men cowering in fear behind me. What more could a Cyclops ask for? Little did I know what horrors I had in store for the next day. I woke up in the morning as if it was any morning. I started my routine and barely gave the men a glance. Just going about my business; tending to the sheep, eating humans, the works. Later that day, I made my first mistake: getting drunk. It wasn’t really my fault though. His smooth, kind offerings and gentle demeanor were rather manipulative, and it didn’t take much to make me taste the delicious wine. Then taste it again…and again, and three more bowls later, everything went downhill. The “nohbdy” shenanigan, and my biggest mistake of all: falling asleep. I should have known better since falling asleep can never lead to anything good. It was the worst, most excruciating pain I’ve ever experienced. Hot searing pain, burning flesh and dark starry vision like I’d never known. I couldn’t believe that I’d been tricked like that and hadn’t even seen it coming! It was the worst day of my life, the worst pain I’ve ever felt, and all because I was tricked by that stupid, foul human! My only comfort is that the “great” Odysseus would be forever cursed by my mighty father, and at least his friends tasted good. -Sam Lewis ‘25

Circe Perspective Piece Death is really something. I cannot die, it’s simply not how immortality works; quite convenient, to be honest. But the way that humans quiver at the thought of anything that could even possibly lead to death is so entertaining. They’re obsessed with life, despite theirs being so short. They don’t give up, even when staring directly into the eyes of death itself. But death is certainly not my job, so instead I get the lovely hobby of turning people into animals. They see it as death, somehow; so helpless and vulnerable. While a human can wield a sword or shoot a bow and arrow, a pig can only wait for the slaughter. Plus, it makes for quite a supply of bacon. I’m fascinated by humans, and if I’m being honest, I do enjoy watching them suffer. They squirm around, but they always seem to find their way. Well, not quite always. One day as I sat marinating in my own boredom, a crew of men decided to pay me a visit. Now, of course I would not leave them to their own devices, as they had…so few. They seemed, to be honest, quite pathetic. A whole group of sad, grieving men. They had been through quite a lot, and I treated them, giving them food and water. They, however, had not the slightest sense of manners. They scarfed down every last bit of the food I gave them, making a mess. I simply sat there, distressed after watching these pigs eat from their troughs. Wait, that’s it. That’s exactly it! They were pigs! I suddenly remembered the significant power I had over these men. Within mere minutes, they were all swine groveling at my feet. That’s when a man whom I could only assume to be Odysseus, one that they’d mentioned before, barged into my home. Whatever, another swine for my animal farm. He looked like swine material, to be sure. It wasn’t his looks or the way he walked, just an intuition that he’d make a great ham. I ever so kindly offered the man a generous glass of wine, one that may or may not have had a bit of an unexpected aftereffect. Odysseus confidently downed the glass (again, like swine), and while I waited far longer than I should have for the drugs to kick in, he grinned, trapping me at sword point. I wasn’t, to be honest, pleased by this. I, a goddess, trapped by a mortal, was left only to spout backhanded compliments and promises. Somehow, he decided to agree. He stayed with me, and I fed him and let him follow me around, as they all do. Odysseus, however, was not satisfied. You know, sometimes being alone with a beautiful, magical goddess just isn’t enough. When asked, he told me he wanted his crew back. I wasn’t quite sure what he meant, I mean, they’re right there. Who says you can’t train pigs to row boats? Eh, the point is, he wanted them human. So I turned them back, as I did the men immediately crowded around Odysseus, like a bunch of baby ducks following their mom. They were giving me ideas…nah, I had no use for ducklings wandering my island. Even though they were annoying, at least people could…do things. These men stayed with me for a long, obnoxious year. Once it was finally over, I gave them directions to Hades, where they’d get even more directions. They thanked me, and before I knew it, they were gone. They were a special lot, especially that Odysseus. I’d consider them my friends, but friends aren’t quite my thing. Though I do hope they get by okay. -Oliver Siry ‘25

Helena Hejna ‘28

Stella Kilcullen ‘28

Jordan Puryear ‘28

Truly Sackman ‘28

Polyphemus Perspective Piece As I guided the sheep to higher ground, I recounted the events of yesterday, savoring the thought of human blood spattering the cave walls as I tore their heads off. They had been trapped there for quite some time, those men from a ship, and they weren’t getting out any time soon. I had purposefully sealed the boulder so they wouldn’t. Those tiny little morsels of meat, stacked against each other, couldn’t even budge the stone that crossed the front of my cave. Not if they spent hours, days, months, even years heaving against it. It would only waste time; time, and precious energy. Eventually, they might die trying. The energy would be even more precious if I removed their supply of food, locked it somewhere safe. I chuckled out loud at the thought; those small little humans, starving to death in my cave with food right in front of them! But fantasy was a crime to live in. Involving myself in the unreal would only draw me from the pleasure of reality. Particularly, the rare pleasure of eating the guests that had so naively assumed that I follow classic Greek customs: that I celebrate the gods, and practice Xenia. The word itself had such negative connotations with the Kyklopes that the mere mention of the word from a smaller human could award them a few limbs torn off and even a brutal decapitation. It didn’t matter who they were or how smart or stupid. And as for me? I had been trained since I was young to have a vomit reflex to the word Xenia. Later in life, I had to train it out of me, realizing that it drew focus away from my already all-consuming desire for meat. Throwing up food meant not storing it as energy. Energy was not only important but utterly necessary; without it, I was no more than a speck in the universe searching desperately for meaning. And as for who I am? I am Polyphemus, the strongest and most horrifying of the Kyklopes. And I reign down all evils upon men who stumble upon this island. Later that fine evening, I arrived at my cave. I clumsily bashed the boulder aside that guarded the entrance and walked in with a sense of purpose and something more...hunger. Tonight I would feast again upon weak mortal flesh, relishing in every gulp and slurp of human blood. I guided my sheep and rams into the large cave, pointing them towards their nightly sanctuaries. Excited, I quickly went through the things I do at the end of the day with rhythm: I milked the ewes, put the lambs in their proper place, and readied myself for another meal. So, as prisoners might run into the daylight, screaming in elation at the end of their sentences and crying out with joy throwing themselves towards those sadly missed enjoyments with passion, wishing of nothing more than to clear their heads of now meaningless noise - free of all and any restraints that would bind them; not only physical, but mental, spiritual, and moral… So I broke free of my obligations and tasks to eat my delicious meal. The first man I ate I killed first. It took only two fingers for me to lash his neck to the side, breaking it and his life forever. Like a tiny twig, I pinched him in half with my forefinger and popped him into my mouth. The second man I wanted to truly enjoy; I slowly peeled his skin from his bones with my teeth. Blood poured from him like a fountain, but still, he lived. A fleshy doll of meat he now was, I ground him through my teeth; slowly, painfully. Appreciating the moment that I was in, blind to everything else.

Adam Goodrich ‘28

Samantha Janus ‘28

C.J. Williams ‘28

That was when one of the men, a more notable, more capable-looking man than the rest, looked towards me and offered me a bowl of wine. I accepted it; any food and drink worth my time would be swallowed in seconds and stored as energy, just like the rest. But wine was special. It wasn’t just energy; it was a heavenly gift that only arrived when I had done something incredible; something glorious. Maybe capturing the men was what I was meant to do; maybe that was what was so important...I kept saving energy, but for what? To continue living this way? Alone, sleeping, milking ewes, and sacred eating? Sure, other Kyklopes were around, but for what? What was this all about? I saw the wine as just a piece of the puzzle: These men that had come here, they were no ordinary men. They had arrived only as vehicles to deliver the utmost form of energy to me! Once it was completed - the wine drunk and the men eaten - I would have enough energy to show all in existence that I, great Polyphemus, could become the ruler of the world! Naturally, I ordered another bowl. The rest of the night was a bit of a blur: fiery wine swooping down my throat as an eagle would to capture prey, except the prey was only the feeling of nirvana, and the eagle a bowl of godly liquor. But what I do remember distinctly was asking the lead man, the one who gave me the wine, what his name was. “Everyone calls me Nobhdy.” He said more before that; either I hadn’t cared to pay attention, or I physically was not able to. I probably responded. I wouldn’t know. My body became a mere vessel as my soul floated through the clouds above. I didn’t think my ears were even connected to my head anymore as I distanced further and further from reality. The drink was the only thing that was there, inhabiting me. It bounced around in my head, making everything cloudy and strange. My ecstasy swirled over my head, and I slowly began to lose consciousness. Yet, knowing my elevated fate, I continued ordering bowls of wine. More and more I gulped down, sometimes forgetting to breathe. That’s when I felt it: pain. Stabbing, searing, bleeding. I tried to look, tried to see what was going on. But I couldn’t; and it wasn’t just the alcohol. At this point, if I could have been able to look around the room, here’s what I would have seen: men cheering and screaming, crimson splattering the walls of the cave, a dim firelight, a spike turning and twisting in an eye that belonged to a writhing creature on the floor. I would have seen him stand up, would have seen rocks shift as the men fell away, ceasing their laughter but not replacing it with fear. While their auras rang of seriousness, not a single one seemed cowardly in the least. They stood there strongly, holding their ground, looking up into my dead eye and seeing me differently. Not as the great creature that had ensnared them but as the hideous beast that quivered and screamed in horror, in agony, in fear. Because now, it was I who was weak, and they who were glorious. -Willow Killebrew ‘25

Kirke Perspective Piece For the record: I was never legitimately attracted to Odysseus. Keep in mind that I was not expecting FORTY-SIX MEN to show up on my island. Maybe that’s a normal thing with other gods, but not me. I have a life, you know. Turning men into animals isn’t the reason I wake up in the morning- although it is fun, I must admit. I had a feeling I’d be getting some new visitors, though; maybe just not quite as big of a group. It’s been a while since the last arrival - just one guy who I turned into a snake. I believe his name was Steve, or something of the like. Anyway, he was so overconfident about his height that I shrunk him to an inch tall. He didn’t get any venom from me, either. There is no purpose to a nonvenomous snake, just like there was no purpose to Steve. Wow, you’re really six-foot, three? Boy, am I amazed. I think highly of myself, yes. When I get people coming to my doorstep every week, desperate for my help and lusting over me in a way that tells me that they never read their religious texts, you develop an ego. That’s just how life works. (I have an endless amount of it. Immortality is awesome.) I’m not going to play the humble card when I know I’m the best-looking person in a two hundred mile radius. Judging me based on that comment, you’d think I’d be above helping others, but I’m not. I’ll help if they treat me with the respect I deserve. If you’re not going to be polite, forget it. Find some other goddess to go to. Knowing who you’re dealing with, you can probably guess that I was a little bit ticked off when I was described as a “young weaver” by somebody outside my door. I weave things on occasion. So what? I have other talents, you know. The guy who said it, along with an overabundance of his unattractive friends, came into my room without even knocking. I tried to sound as pleasant as possible as I welcomed them for a meal, but it wasn’t easy - I haven’t been friendly in, oh, maybe a hundred years or so. Do you realize how much food mortals can eat? Sometimes I forget that they need it to survive. Meals are a waste of time for me. However, even I know about the rules of eating at somebody else’s house. If these men had a stitch of basic human decency, they wouldn’t have devoured every single thing I put in front of them. Every so often, one of them would take half a second to breathe and speak of their leader - a man (whom I presume has the same level of moral quality) named Odysseus. They barely gave me time to decide which animal I’d turn them into. Seeing their swinish table manners, though, the answer instantly became clear. I thought I was finally free after turning them into pigs, so I returned to my everyday life. Unfortunately, another person walked in, whom I could immediately tell was the aforementioned Odysseus. While he was significantly more attractive than the others, I’d rate him a 7.5 at best. (He didn’t knock on the door either. Who raised these people?) I smiled at him and wordlessly handed him a glass of wine. How could he possibly know that it would make him one among his fellow swine friends? I expected the drugs to have an instant effect, but he drank the entire glass and…nothing. While I was waiting for the supposedly instant results, he drew his sword and put it against my neck. Not knowing how to react to this sudden development to the situation, I resorted to compliments. Although I’m immortal, the sword was a bit sharp for my taste, so I called him a hero. I exaggerated quite a bit. Not everyone who drinks the wine transforms right away. I have other strategies, but I couldn’t tell Odysseus that. I had to convince him he was special, otherwise he wouldn’t leave me alone. When compliments didn’t work, I tried empty promises. You get to stay here, I’ll sleep with you…the usual. To my absolute and utter disappointment, he agreed. The worst part? He made me promise that I wouldn’t enchant him. Not only did I have to spend a ton of time with this mediocre person, but I couldn’t even make it fun. That was the worst. It’s like he thought I was falling in love with him or something. I can only hope that future generations won’t think that poorly of me! I knew he was suspicious when he didn’t touch my artisanal baked bread (after all this time on an island by yourself, you learn a lot of new skills). If there’s one thing I know about humans, they will never, ever refuse food unless something is seriously wrong. So I asked him about it, and get this: he wanted me to undo my transformation on his friends. He wanted me to look them in the eye - the men who showed up, stared at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, and ate literally everything - and release them. I don’t know what came over me, but I did it without a word. I knew Odysseus was mortal, but if he hadn’t been, I would have thought it was some sort of spell. Usually when people blindly agree to do something they wouldn’t normally do, it’s because of love, magic, or hallucinogens. I guess he must have been their leader or something, because I swear to Dione (my personal feminist god), the second I released his men they all crowded around him like they had found their mom after getting lost in the woods. There was one moodkiller named Eurylokhos who didn’t want to trust me (who names their child Eurylokhos?), but he came around soon enough. I think it was out of peer pressure. Now’s a good time to tell you that being attractive is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I’m absolutely flawless, and everyone thinks so. On the other hand, I was so bewitching to this particular group of people that they stayed on my island for a year. A YEAR. I did not get a minute of alone time. And Odysseus? He was the worst of all. He followed me around every second of every day. Just as I thought I was about to absolutely LOSE it, he asked me for advice on how to leave my island. I tried to mask my relief with disappointment as I explained to him the only way to return was to travel through the depths of hell. I told him about his upcoming journey in detail as I watched his face go from confused to determined. This was not the reaction I expected or hoped for, but it worked. His overconfidence might be his downfall, which would more than make up for the invasion of my privacy. I thought he was going to hug me goodbye or something, but when I woke up the next morning, everybody was gone. I managed to survive that entire year without using any transformation potions, which was practically torture. I thrive on the consequences of other people’s actions. You could say it’s my immortal version of hunger. And while I hoped I would never see Odysseus or his crew again, I did appreciate the going-away gift: one of their men had fallen off the roof of my house and dramatically perished. Talk about consequences. -Sadie Shapiro ‘25

Atyana Thomas ‘27

Bebe Scuorzo ‘27

Katelyn Imbesi ‘27

Evy Fernandez ‘27

Damian Polanskyj ‘27

Daniel Kim ‘27

Myla Robertson ‘27

Emma Flick ‘27

Evan Pratt ‘27

Simon Maza ‘27

Skylar Finkle ‘27

Logan Langer ‘29

Tamara Regular ‘28

Cecilia Spagnoletti ‘29

Samantha Janus ‘28

Stella DeSousa ‘29

Arda Susar ‘29

Graham Killebrew ‘28

Paxton Nithikasem ‘25 Note to readers: These pieces, inspired by “Hairs” by Sandra Cisneros, intentionally use sentence fragments and run-ons to mimic Sandra Cisneros’ writing style. Everybody in my family has a different posture. My posture is like a sloth, not caring how or where it is positioned. Positioned in places that no proper human would find comfortable. And my sister, her posture is straight, but flexible, like a shape of a gazelle galloping through the great savanna. My dad’s posture? Very rigid and strong, imposing like a big brown bear. But my mother’s posture, oh her posture, like a tall, elegant, beautiful giraffe and composed because of her alignment with her computer and chair, all perfect because of her desire not to strain her back, like a dachshund’s desire not to strain its backbones, like the sculptures in art museums that radiate warmth and composure. The furniture, the scenery, and articulation pull together any room she steps into. - Jan Hejna ‘26 Everybody in our family has different hands. My mom’s hands are soft like a silk blouse. My dad’s hands are rough like sand because of the dishes he washes. My hands are like bruised apples, always bruised or cut from gymnastics or school. But my brother’s hands are rough and soft, he plays with swords all day, goes outside and runs his rough hands through the dirt, when he comes inside the house fills with the smell of flowers and pine leaves, when you look at him you can see the drop of sweat just running down his face, while on the outside his hand are rough, when you touch them, you instantly feel the soft silky baby skin hands they are. The laughing, the fog on the lake, and Max’s hands that bring you outside just by looking. - May Cotter ‘26 Everybody in the family has different smiles. My dad’s smile is like a breath of fresh air, soft and sweet. My smile is cheerful. It is as wide as a rainbow. Audrey’s smile is like the moon, gentle, calm, and small. But my mother’s smile is truly something, so sweet like the sun and fresh, a summer breeze, and pure joy and happiness exudes from her smile, which feels like spring and like a field of flowers blooming all at once because my mother’s smile is kind, it is sweet, it is cheerful, it is like all of our family smiles combined into one beautiful present of a smile. The kindness, cheerfulness, and the pure joy from my mom’s smile.- Christie Kim ‘26

March 5, 2021

Online Learning: Not So Good for Testing

When learning remotely, students are more likely to cheat, and the quality of their learning is worsened. By: Ciara Branigan COVID-19 has infected millions as it has swept around the globe. One symptom of the deadly virus is that it has forced millions of students to attend school from home. This necessary change to students’ learning environment has caused the lines between home and school to blur. When lines are blurry, many students will ignore them completely. If they’re able to go on their phones during class, they probably will. If they can call a classmate during a test, they probably will. They will go far beyond the line, even if it harms their learning in the long term. In a matter of months, the novel coronavirus was spread around the world, and people had to react and adjust to a “new normal” very quickly. In December 2019, the ﬁrst few cases of COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus, were reported in China. According to the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 can cause shortness of breath, loss of taste/smell, chest pain, and inability to breathe, among other symptoms. On January 21 2020, the US reported its ﬁrst case of the virus. Not soon after, it had been spread across the world. On March 11, the WHO, World Health Organization, declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Merriam-Webster

Dictionary defines a pandemic as the outbreak of a disease across a wide area, usually multiple continents. March 13 was the day former President of the United States, Donald Trump, finally declared COVID-19 a national emergency. March 13 was also the last day many students would attend in-person school for the next year. Since then, millions of students have had to attend school remotely, giving them many opportunities to do things that wouldn’t be tolerated otherwise, such as cheating on assessments. It also means that many standards that teachers, administrators, and students were held to would largely disappear, causing the quality of students’ learning to significantly decline.

Students who take online courses can expect to receive lower grades than their peers who take the same in-person courses. The Brookings Institution, a well-known think tank in Washington D.C., has studied how online classes affect students’ grades on a four-point scale, particularly in college courses. The 2017 study shows that students’ grades would, on average, drop by .44 points when taking a class online. This means that a student who took an in-person class and received a B- would have earned a C in the same online course. A student who took a class in the same subject the next semester would earn a grade .42 points lower than if they had

https://www.brookings.edu/research/promises-and-pitfalls-of-online-education/ March 5, 2021

taken the course from the previous semester inperson. The study also discovered that already lower-performing students were more likely to have their grades impacted more heavily than higher-performing students. While very high performing students, on average, had their grade decrease by about .1, which is negligible in this context, students in the lower-performing groups had their grades decrease by up to .8 on average. This means that a student who would have earned a C+ in an in-person class would have received a D+ if they had taken the class online. Having the harmful effects on students’ grades concentrated in students who already struggle academically can cause those students to become very unmotivated to complete their assignments and more likely to be academically dishonest. Since remote learning, many students have reported that the quality of their education has worsened. In a recent survey of 8th-grade students at Montclair Kimberley Academy, a PreK-12 private school in Montclair, New Jersey, over 70% of students said that their quality of learning decreased. Of those students, 92% responded that they either “agree” or “strongly agree” that there are more opportunities to

cheat during remote learning. In addition, 45% of students said that they have been tempted to cheat. According to The Hechinger Report, 200 out of 800 students in a North Carolina State Stats 311 class used Chegg on a single assessment. Chegg is a service that provides the answers to test questions from students who already took the test or another person who can quickly provide the answer. Online test proctors have also caught students cheating on eight times more assessments compared to before COVID-19. The widespread increase in academic dishonesty, especially during assessments, has been one of many negative eﬀects of online learning. Interviews with students and administrators show that there has been an evident increase in academic dishonesty, directly caused by online learning. In an interview, Ms. Gillian Branigan, Dean of Students and history teacher at the MKA Upper School, said that the number of academic dishonesty cases has “about tripled” since last year. Additionally, she presumed that there were about ⅓ more students that had been academically dishonest, but who hadn’t been caught. She also said that widely available online resources, such a Derivative Calculator and Photomath, have tempted more students to be academically dishonest. She said it’s diﬃcult to tell what’s on a student’s screen while taking an athome test, which makes it even easier for students

March 5, 2021

to use these resources when not permitted. In an interview with Natalie Ewing, an 8th-grade student at the MKA Middle School, she expressed that having these types of resources readily available while test-taking is very tempting, and has caused some of her peers to cheat on assessments. Monica Shi, another 8th-grade student, expressed a similar sentiment stating “One of my peers, who attends school fully remote, used Google Translate for a World Language writing assignment.” She said that this year at least 15-20 students have asked her for help on assignments when it wasn’t permitted. She also said she knows that about 10 of the 30 students cheated on a single World Language assessment. Having online programs that students can easily access and use during remote assessments has caused a rise in academic dishonesty. Remote learning has many downsides, but it’s necessary for the health and safety of everyone. According to the CDC, at this time, having entirely in-person learning puts everyone in the “high risk” or “highest risk” categories, depending on what mitigation measures are implemented. According to the University of Illinois Springﬁeld, on top of the lower health risk posed by virtual classes, students can take their classes from wherever they want. If there is an asynchronous class, students also have the freedom to complete their work at whatever time or pace works for them. It may also relieve some students’ anxiety about how they look or who their friends are in a particular class, since the social aspect is largely removed. However, not all students have the same access to online classes. Some students don’t have access to reliable WiFi. This puts them at an immediate disadvantage and could prevent them from participating in or attending classes altogether. This means that individuals or communities who may have a lower socioeconomic

standing, which already puts them at a disadvantage, are even more negatively impacted by online learning. Even if they have reliable Internet access, they may not be technologically literate enough to effectively participate or learn. The University of Illinois Springfield has been offering online courses for almost 20 years and is very well versed in the online education sector. Even if none of those barriers are present, online learning is still no substitute for in-person learning. It isn’t feasible to re-create the nuances of being in a classroom or to have students learn as effectively while on a Zoom or Google Meet call. COVID-19 has made a lasting impact on students, and this time will not soon be forgotten. Students have had many formative experiences taken away from them, and there has been very little they could do to stop it. They have had to miss out on school and social events that, before COVID-19, were taken for granted. Although this time has been very polarizing for our country, it’s our job to come together, in spirit, and do our part to have students return to school and, most importantly, keep everyone safe.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EU9YYicU4AA6X57.jpg 3

BLACK LIVES MATTER! Sasha Munroe SAY THEIR NAMES!

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/for-immigrants-marching-withblack-lives-matter-has-risks

The Black Lives Matter movement is one of the most impactful movements in the world. Multiple deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police have occurred because of racism, and although the killing of a black man named George Floyd spread long overdue awareness, it also caused confusion and increased sadness as well as anger. Multiple videos taken by different witnesses of George Floyd getting murdered were seen all over the world, which caused one of the most revolutionary moments in history. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was at a convenience store in Minneapolis, Minnesota buying cigarettes. When he left the store and was preparing to drive away, he was halted by now-fired police officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Kiernan Lane. The officers accused him of using a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, and he was arrested and taken out of his car. While they were trying to put George Floyd in the car, there was a struggle, and he ended up falling to the ground. During another

Trayvon Martin, 17 Rekia Boyd, 22 Darius Simmons, 13 SGT. James Brown, 26 Mohamed Bah, 28 Jordan Davis, 17 Darnesha Harris, 17 Corey Stingley, 16 Kayla Moore, 41 Kimani Gray, 16 Wayne A. Jones, 50 Gabriel Winzer, 25 Deion Fludd, 17 Jonathan Ferrell, 24 Renisha Mcbride, 19 Yvette Smith, 47 Marquise Jones, 23 Victor White III, 22 Jerry Dwight Brown, 41 Eric Garner, 43 John Crawford III, 22 Amir Brooks, 17 Ezell Ford, 25 Dante Parker, 36 Michelle Cusseaux, 50 Kajieme Powell, 25 Michael Brown, 18 Darrien Hunt, 22 Cameron Tillman, 14 Laquan Mcdonald,17 Tanisha Anderson, 37 Akai Gurley, 28 Tamir Rice, 12 Rumain Brisbon, 34 Natasha McKenna, 37 Walter Scott, 50 Norman Cooper, 33 Freddy Gray, 25 Kalief Browder, 22 Tywanza Sanders, 26 Clementa Pinckney, 41 Sharonda Singelton, 45 Depayne Doctor, 49 Cynthia Hurd, 54 Myra Thompson, 59 Ethel Lance, 70 Daniel Simmons, 74 Susie Jackson, 87 Sandra Bland, 28 Darius Stewart, 19 Samuel Dubose, 43 Corey Jones, 31

attempt to put him in the car, the final officer involved named Derek Chauvin arrived at the scene. Derek Chauvin, who is also now fired, threw Mr. Floyd to the ground, put his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck, and started suffocating him. The other three officers and Derek Chauvin appeared not to care when George Floyd yelled twenty times that he could not breathe, cried out for his mother, and begged “Please!” multiple times. The witnesses to the murder yelled and screamed to let him go. At one point, one of the witnesses yelled, “He is going to die!” George Floyd was eventually taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead one hour later. Mr. Floyd had his neck knelt on for nearly 9 minutes, and because of his death, many people are paying more attention to the Black Lives Matter movement, and wanted George Floyd to get justice.

https://www.google.com/search?q=george+floyd&sxsrf=ALeKk015Uj7veElPkFGHF8AGPapYZ-ojHQ: 1614919802909&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwpsWJrZjvAhVwZN8KHf3TAV8Q_AUoAnoECCkQBA&biw=1309&bih=717#imgrc=H9BgIBFvktD9TM

Most people are unaware of what initiated the Black Lives Matter movement to start. On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was killed by neighborhood watch group member George Zimmerman. After George Zimmerman got acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin, “#BlackLivesMatter” went viral on social media. It started as a hashtag and is now a movement that was founded by three AfricanAmerican women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. It

Quintonio Legrier, 19 Bettie Jones, 55 Antronie Scott, 36 David Joesph, 17 Jay Anderson Jr., 25 Alton Sterling, 37 Philando Castille, 32 Joesph Mann, 51 Donell Thompson Jr.,27 Jamarion Robinson, 26 Christian Taylor, 19 Terence Crutcher, 40 Alfred Olango, 38 Deborah Danner, 66 Desmond Phillips, 25 Alteria Woods, 21 Timothy Caughman, 66 Jordan Edwards, 15 Mikel Mcintyre, 32 Charleena Lyles, 30 James Lacy, 47 Damon Grimes, 15 Ronell Foster, 33 Stephon Clark, 23 Danny Ray Thomas, 34 Dorian Harris, 17 Marcus-David Peters, 24 Earl Mcneil, 40 Robert White, 41 Antwon Rose Jr., 17 Jason Washington, 45 Harith Augustus, 37 Botham Jean, 26 Charles Roundtree Jr., 18 Jenel Roberson, 26 Emantic Bradford Jr., 21 Aleah Jenkins, 24 Jassmine Mcbride, 30 Bradley Blackshire, 30 Sterling Higgins, 37 Donald Greene, 49 Pamela Turner, 44 Dominique Clayton, 32 Jaleel Medlock, 21 Elijah Mclain, 23 Bryon Williams, 50 Atatiana Jefferson, 28 Michael Dean, 28 John Neville, 56 Michiah Lee, 18 Darius Traver, 23 William Green, 43 Jaquyn O’neil Light, 20 Lionel Morris, 39 Ahamaud Arbery, 25 Manuel Ellis, 33 Barry Gedeus, 27 Breonna Taylor, 26 Daniel Prude, 30 Steven Taylor, 33 Cornelius Fredericks, 16 Maurice Gordon, 28 George Floyd, 46 (The list does not stop here) https://sayevery.name/

is surprising to many that it took eight years and just one heartbreaking video for people to understand the reality of police brutality, racism, and that there is a lot that comes with being an African-American, other than the stereotypes that are made about them. “I think America’s issue with racial policing came to the surface. The struggle has been on for some time, and the complaints have been loud for some time. However, George Floyd exposed the insidious nature of what was being complained about,” says Ms. Corlette Trim, a business executive, lawyer, and parent of two Black children. Just two days after the murder of George Floyd, protests went worldwide. It is estimated that 15 million to 26 million people protested in 550 different places across the https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F% 2Fnews.artnet.com%2Fart-world%2Fgeorge-floyd-breonnanation and the world. Places like Minnesota, New York, New taylortributes-1876281&psig=AOvVaw07FxrTCs7DgHqp8sfcbS6S Jersey, London, France, Australia, Germany, Canada, Mexico, &ust=1621886717879000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0 CAIQjRxqFwoTCMjs9P_M4PACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAH Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, Washington, DC, and more. There were protests nationwide in very unexpected places that might not normally be friendly to issues focused on the treatment of Black people. Also, due to Covid-19, there were so many people unable to protest because of concerns that they might contract the virus. “Did I want to protest? Yes, but I have a high risk of getting Covid. However, did I support the protesters? Yes,” Ms. Corlette Trim, continued. About two weeks into the protests, looting and rioting started to occur at protests. After the first night, former President Donald Trump threatened the protesters that the National Guard would intervene if protesting did not stop, and he focused on the looting and rioting. Once the protesting did not stop, he released the National Guard on people who were peacefully protesting. Donald Trump had the National Guard shoot teargas and rubber bullets at the protesters and called them thugs. He also stated that George Floyd would have deserved the death penalty if he was not murdered, which angered the protesters more. Places like Target, Walmart, and expensive jewelry stores were looted, and multiple buildings were set on fire. Newscasters and others are not sure if the words of Donald Trump angered the protesters to start looting and building fires, or if it was because they wanted to ensure that people knew that they would do anything it took to ensure that Black lives finally started to matter, or if some of the protesters (however few or many) were just using the protests as a cover to riot and loot. While Black Lives Matter supporters were fighting to get justice for George Floyd, All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter supporters tried to end the protests and the fight for justice. All Lives Matter is a counterargument to Black Lives Matter, claiming that other lives matter equally to Black Lives Matter. All Lives Matter Supporters claim that BLM (Black Lives Matter) supporters are saying that their life matters more than others. However, many BLM supporters have stated that circumstances suggest that the lives of Black people do matter less, and that all lives matter can’t matter until Black lives matter. Blue Lives Matter is another counterargument to Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter is a way of saying police lives matter, referencing the blue color of their uniforms.

Some have even argued that George Floyd deserved to die because he had a weapon on him, and that Derek Chauvin was in danger. George Floyd turned out to be unarmed. George Floyd went to the convenience store to buy cigarettes, got stopped by police officers, struggled with them, and ended up dying. Ms. Corlette Trim says, “I think it was appalling, disgusting, and showed an officer lacking humanity with flagrant disregard for human life.” However, the number of people that chose to protest for a life that was taken unnecessarily (some believe due to racism and lack of respect for others that don’t look like themselves) is a start to making the world equal, and for Black lives to finally matter.

https://www.google.com/search?q=george+ﬂoyd&sxsrf=ALeKk015Uj7veElPkFGHF8AGPapYZ-ojHQ: 1614919802909&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwpsWJrZjvAhVwZN8KHf3TAV8Q_AUoAnoECCkQBA&biw=1309&bih= 717#imgrc=AYBCjNRSvYIr3M

Its Time to Alter the Arctic Why a newer technology may help save a declining environment. By Alia Rasheed  Imagine a world where the polar bears you thought were fascinating are nonexistent, the icebergs that were once taller than the Empire State Building have been reduced to the size of mere hills and houses, and the remaining wildlife is ﬁghting for their lives as food and shelter have become increasingly scarce. This scenario could become a reality in just a few decades if we don’t try to do something about it now. Concerns about global warming and climate change are not new. However, the situation in the arctic is one of great peril. Scientists are now extremely alarmed by the rapidly increasing rate at which Arctic ice has been disappearing in recent years due to the warming of the Earth’s oceans. The ice in the Arctic has been accelerating its melting speed by six times as much since the 1990s. Undoubtedly, by the end of the century around 40 million people could be at risk of coastal ﬂooding each year if carbon emissions are not reduced. In fact, some scientists fear that if nothing is done to reverse this trend all of the ice can be gone by the year 2030.

https://www.arcticiceproject.org/

In the winter months, sea ice covers most of the Arctic Ocean, creating hunting and breeding grounds for polar bears and walruses, migration paths for other species of animals, and essential habitats for the traditional way of life for many indigenous people. Additionally, the sea glaciers cool the surrounding seas' temperatures, which is crucial because particular sea creatures, including algae, plankton, etc., cannot thrive in warmer climates. These creatures are a vital part of the food chain that the entire marine ecosystem depends upon. As the ocean warms, these creatures die off, endangering the survival of the total ecosystem. Lastly, Arctic ice can reﬂect the sun's rays, sending that solar energy back out of the atmosphere, thereby cooling the planet as a whole.

The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has been built up naturally throughout thousands of years and goes through a yearly freezing and melting cycle. Unfortunately, rising global temperatures are causing a change in the rotation. In the wintertime, while the sun's rays are low, the seas freeze so that, until recently, sea ice covers nearly all of the Arctic Ocean. Then in the summer, with more prolonged exposure to the intense summer sun, the sea ice begins to melt, and the sea loses about half its icy cover.

After the warming season, the sea ice that remains is at its most brittle state by midSeptember, making it a less tenable habitat. Then in the cooler months, refreezing occurs, and a more secure habitat reforms. Unfortunately, this cycle is becoming unbalanced as carbon emissions have damaged our ozone layer and have increased rising earth temperatures. The melting season is prolonged, and the refreezing season is shorter. Consequently, the habitat is diminishing in size, and the timing of the freezing is not in sync with the natural feeding and breeding cycles of the wildlife in the region. In addition to providing significant habitat for our planet, perhaps the most crucial role that Arctic ice plays for our world is the bright Arctic ice that reflects light energy from the sun back into space. This reflection of light is called albedo, and the high albedo of old Arctic sea ice keeps average global temperatures stable. The problem we are facing right now is that the more Arctic ice melts and the longer the melting lingers, the more brown and green land and dark blue ocean are exposed. These darker surfaces have a lower albedo which means they absorb more heat from the sun. As they absorb more heat, temperatures on the planet rise, oceans warm even further, and even more ice starts to melt. This

unrelenting cycle explains why the melting of Artic ice is accelerating so rapidly to the point that scientists fear it could be gone entirely by 2030.

“Everyone should do as much as they can.” -Ms. Fossett

https://images.app.goo.gl/ 5yN3BhbPBw9kwqX96

"Individuals can try, but until we try as a society, we aren't going to see progress.” -Ms. Fossett

Nevertheless, scientists are not the only ones worried about the Arctic. Ms. Fossett, a science teacher at Montclair Kimberley Academy in New Jersey, expresses that she fears few people know what is truly happening in the Arctic. She thinks that the Arctic is trying to “send us a message that we are in danger." Ms. Fossett states that there are many different ways you can help decrease your carbon emissions to help combat climate change. Reducing how frequently you drive is one of them. Ms. Fossett emphasizes that she considers ''the automobile and transportation as a whole to be a tremendous contributor to climate change." However, by walking or biking, you can use your energy more wisely. Besides using safer transit options, Ms. Fossett believes buying less and composting more will be profoundly impactful, if we act as a community. As large masses of old arctic ice begin to disappear, they are replaced with younger, newly formed winter season ice. Scientists worldwide are working on measures to make the young arctic ice more effective at reflecting solar energy. Older Arctic ice has a higher albedo than young ice. One of the most promising concepts in development today is a technology that mimics the natural processes by which sea ice reflects solar energy out of the atmosphere. Research conducted by the Arctic Ice Project shows that spreading a thin layer of small, hollow glass microspheres on young sea ice can improve its reflectivity by almost 15%. While this technology's design is not to restore lost habitat, by increasing the albedo of young sea ice located in strategic areas of the Arctic Sea, the 2

Arctic Ice Project hopes to slow down the rate of global warming. They believe that this would "allow the world to buy up to 15 more years to decarbonize the economy and drawdown Green House Gasses from the atmosphere.” The glass microspheres are composed of silicon dioxide (“silica”) and inert compounds made of silicon and oxygen, two of the earth’s most abundant materials. One may ﬁnd silica easily in the sand, rocks, and even the Sea. These small hollow microspheres or beads stick to ice and water on contact, and because silica is an inert compound, it is not detrimental to the environment. The beads do not attract oil-based pollutants, which would make them less stable and effective if they did. This new technology faces many hurdles that they will need to overcome. One of the most prevalent concerns is if the microspheres will be toxic for Arctic wildlife. Although it is not necessarily proven, The Arctic Ice Project believes they could be relatively benign. The micro-glass beads are too large to be inhaled, so they appear to have no negative impact on the wildlife. However, the Arctic Ice Project is only in Phase 3 of its development. More testing and research are needed until they can put the glass microspheres out into the Arctic environment. The application of these microspheres would be yearly and would cost between $1 billion and $5 billion to do it each time. This price, compared to other climate change defense concepts, is relatively low. Although some may complain about the cost

now, the price we'll pay for not taking action will be hurricanes, wildﬁres, and other disasters that can cause trillions in damage. Time has not yet run out for humans, all of us, to come together and try to save the Arctic before it's too late. What if the dirt that we walked on rapidly started to chip away, removing more and more of our livestock and land; we would do something, right? In the Arctic, this is happening, and it's occurring faster each year. Humankind would put its best efforts forward to save our own homes, so why shouldn't we try and salvage the Arctic? After all, whatever happens to it will affect us as well. Suppose all you take away from this article is that the Arctic is suffering and needs

our help; however, glass microspheres could be an optimistic option and that is enough, as long as you spread your knowledge to all. The Arctic has already lost over 95% of its most helpful reflective old ice in the last four decades, and it may never come back. These small hollow microspheres could be one of the many promising solutions that can benefit the Arctic; the question is, are we going to stand back and watch the it melt away, or are we going to help fight back against climate change?

https:// www.arcticiceproject.org/

References Arctic Ice Project. (n.d.).

https:// www.arcticiceproject.org/

Arctic ice project.

Arcticiceproject.org. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from https:// www.arcticiceproject.org/ E360 DIGEST. (2020, March 12). There's been a six-fold increase in polar ice cap melting since the 1990s. E360.yale.edu. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from https://e360.yale.edu/digest/theres-been-a-six-fold-increase-in-polarice-cap-melting-sincethe-1990s#:~:text=The%20polar%20ice%20caps%20are,(IPCC) %2C%20scientists%20say Tenenbaum, L. F. (2017, June 5). Sun and sky, snow and ice. Climate.nasa.gov. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from https://climate.nasa.gov/ blog/2594/sun-and-sky-snow-and-ice/ Zimmer, K. (2020, September 23). The daring plan to save the Arctic ice with glass. Bbc.com. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/ future/article/20200923-could-geoengineering-save-the-arctic-sea-ice

MARCH 5, 2021

ALEXIS URQUHART

BLM IMPACT

“I can’t breathe,”.

These were the final words spoken by George Floyd on May 25 of 2020, when he

was murdered by the police. The famous line flooding social media and news sites this past summer. His death caused great outrage from all around the world. It was a glaring example of the brutality that black people faced and still face in this country, to the extent that it couldn’t be ignored any longer. In the wake of his death were protests at unprecedented scales with millions of people coming together to demand justice. With numerous petitions

MARCH 5, 2021

ALEXIS URQUHART

being made urging for change, and celebrities and influencers alike encouraging others to gain awareness, it seemed like the starting point for massive change. But what is really behind the message at the core of these protests?

BLM Protests

And what impact does it have on the future of black lives in America?

The Fight Back

Imagine you are at one of these protests, look to the right, and you will see a person chanting holding a sign labeled, “BLM. Hands up, don’t shoot”. To the left, you see a person holding a microphone, leading a group of people towards a line of police, shouting “Say their names! BLM!” Everywhere you look, you saw the word BLM. It has become a mantra of the movement. So what exactly is BLM? In short, it stands for Black Lives Matter, but entirely it is an international social movement created in the United States that has been dedicated to fighting racism and anti-Black violence in America since its start in 2013 (Britannica, 2020). It originated as a co-founded online movement by Black Community organizers Patrisse-Khan Cullors, Alicia

Examples of BLM protests that have been taking place during 2020. 15 to 16 million people are saying they have been to a protest.

Garza, and Opal Tometi (Britannica, 2020). Their start 2

MARCH 5, 2021

ALEXIS URQUHART

began with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media that can still be seen today. What initiated it all was the tragic death of young Trevon Martin and his acquitted killer, George Zimmerman (Britannica, 2020). Zimmerman, a local neighborhood watch volunteer, was on duty when he saw Martin, an unarmed, Black 17-year-old, whom he claimed to be exhibiting suspicious behavior (Britannica, 2020). After calling the police, Zimmerman was told, by the police, not to do anything. But he proceeded to follow the teenager, which lead to an argument between the two and Martin being shot (Britannica, 2020). As a result, #BlackLivesMatter caused people to come together on social media and news networks, but the organization was still not widely known. The movement would gain traction in 2014 when Eric Garner and Michael Brown were killed by police even though they were both unarmed (Britannica, 2020).

The Future

Fast-forwarding to today, and the BLM movement has become so widespread that it has inspired schools to adjust curriculums, with middle schools and universities alike creating affinity groups as a safe space for POC students. According to Ms. Debbie Branker, the leader of the Black Girls Affinity group, Instructional Coach, and former English teacher at Montclair

Kimberley Academy, a private PreK-12 school in Montclair, New Jersey, she has seen many changes in the school even before the big BLM protests over the summer. She notes that, in particular, the Middle School English Department has made significant changes concerning the literature being taught with support from students at MKA’s Upper School. They came together to decide not to teach To Kill a Mockingbird, replacing it with two books: Stamped, Ibram X. Kendi & Jason Reynolds and All American Boys, Jason Raynolds & Brendan Kiely. The former is a nonfiction book about racism and antiracism, and the latter has themes about racism, including stereotyping and police brutality, American culture and values, as well as maturity and responsibility (LitCharts, 2018). It teaches some of the important lessons of 3

MARCH 5, 2021

ALEXIS URQUHART

To Kill a Mockingbird but omits the potentially harmful racial slurs. It also highlights the Black experience, and is co-written by a Black author and a white author with two parallel narratives from the perspectives of a Black teenager and a white teenager.

Recognizing Each Other's Humanity Listening to the voices of the students has helped MKA improve to become a more inclusive school, getting them closer to the end goal of all of the BLM and other equality movements. Which, as Ms. Debbie Branker describes it as, “ . . . helping everyone’s humanity to be recognized.” She says that people are similar in some ways, but they also have distinct differences. And being able to see and embrace the complexities of what people are, is how people recognize each other’s humanity. In terms of the current time of today, she says that it is necessary to have safe spaces where students can process the racial tension of today, and affinity groups are a great way to fulfill that. Affinity groups, as she puts it, “Makes it that much easier to get through a challenge,” whatever that challenge might be. However, she also states how affinity groups are not only important in times of hardships. They can also be a way for people to come together and celebrate their heritage. Racial tension in America has increased as people have seen more unjust killings of black people and inadequate punishments given to the perpetrators. BLM movements have swept the country, bringing many issues of racial injustice to light. However, the racial hurt that many people of color have is still very prevalent. That is a reason why safe spaces such as affinity groups are important, in order for people to adequately express their feelings, and share their experiences. Another reason is that a community and love are necessary components in alleviating the stress and hurt that many people have felt and are feeling due 4

MARCH 5, 2021

ALEXIS URQUHART

to racial injustice. Making changes to what students are being taught in schools is a way to prevent feelings of hurt and is an act of recognizing each other’s humanity. Using literature as a means of representation in school curricula is an active way to counteract racial injustice instead of staying stagnant. If these acts of change continue, the future for Black lives in America will only be bright.

References: Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2020, August 13). Black Lives Matter. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Lives-Matter Buchanan, L., Bui, Q., & Patel, J. (2020, July 03). Black lives matter may be the largest movement in U.S. History. Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/ interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html LitCharts. (2018, April 12). All American Boys Themes. Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.litcharts.com/lit/all-american-boys/themes Images: https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/s0s.Ge4L8ETelJtYx5jcgQ--/ YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY1OS44MDk1MjM4MDk1MjM5/https://s.yimg.com/ uu/api/res/1.2/UVP2wAGP1evCU_6N08XIKA--~B/ aD00MzM7dz02MzA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/ geekwire_312/8a49ec14d9328aa4837d456817620271 https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/BeaxZuW0EbcHth9AOGWhsA--~A/ YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw/https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/rollingstone.com/ b8dca7df0c13be3f27078b73d37dcdbc https://shygirltalking.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/see-facessay-names-poster.jpg?w=640 https://livinglifefearless.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/blm-5267765_1920.jpg https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/_Z2f3rfJIDkB_P7JZXMj4w--~B/ aD02MTk7dz0xMTAwO3NtPTE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/ att_cnn_articles_909/c13fef130273cbefdb637ab13a3ecbc2 https://s3.amazonaws.com/zweb-s3.uploads/ez2/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/painting.jpg https://www.jamesgmartin.center/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/humanity-final.jpg

March 5, 2021

Addictive and Superficial: Teen Social Media Usage By Eniola Adebola

nstagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter,

and Facebook, are just a few of the extensively influential social

https://rb.gy/1c1trw

media platforms that dominate today’s society. We are all seemingly

Social media sites encourage users to present the most positive aspects of their lives (Krämer and Winter, 2008), leading to dissatisfaction via social comparisons (Coyne et al., 2017) and “Facebook depression” (O’Ke effe and ClarkePearson, 2011).

hyperconnected through our screens and devices as many of us unconsciously lose ourselves in the online spaces of our phones. The constant scrolling, liking, texting, sharing,

we begin to gain personal satisfaction and an escape from boredom. The phenomenon that is social media has seemingly been embedded into the recurring habits and routines of today’s youth. However, with the teen population, whose minds, beliefs, and communication skills are still under construction, what negative toll does the media take on the psychological well-being and communication skills of young people? In the last decade and a half, the rapid

and commenting of

globalization of social media has undoubtedly found

highly individualistic

its position in the hearts of children and teens, as

platforms and

they seek entertainment, satisfaction, and inspiration

communities, are ones

for their forming identities. Nevertheless, a dark side

we choose to share, co-

of social media has stemmed from continuous,

create, discuss,

unprotected, and raw media exposure. It poses

participate, and modify user-generated content.

-(MCHUGH ET AL., 2018)

But it also brings a trap of addiction that unravels as

many safety risks; such as information breaches, explicit content exposure, cyberbullying, and social pressure. As well as physical risks, social platforms

March 5, 2021

have been proven to amplify

news, and questions, and provides platforms

mental aspects of depression,

for conversing and sharing. Nevertheless, at

anxiety, aggression, and social

such a naive and vulnerable period, teens are

isolation indicating that teens

being stripped of personal and direct

are especially vulnerable to

communication. Less is at stake when you

these risks as their minds are

aren’t hearing, witnessing, or receiving the

still developing (Ehmke,

effects and tone of another individual. Many

2021). Teens are also missing

teens have also resorted to “online

out on vital social skills, such

friendships,” which are considerably more

as body language, facial

impersonal and lead to an increasing sense of

expressions, and even the

isolation and loneliness (Ehmke, 2021). You

smallest kinds of vocal

also never know who could be behind the

reactions through means of

screen posing as your friend and the ill

non-confrontational and

intentions they may carry.

indirect communication. Social media has

Social media has granted anonymity https://rb.gy/07jvtn

among users, encouraging cyberbullying and

undoubtedly fulfilled its goal

imposter syndrome, a collection of feelings of

of rapid communication, but in

inadequacy that persist despite the evident

hindsight, the soul of real-time

success; and therefore beckons teens to say

communication has wavered;

crueler and less appropriate words (Ehmke,

as the speed of communication

2021). These circumstances allow people to

has increased, the quality and

bully and ridicule others behind anonymous

thought behind communication

accounts, deeply impacting and even

has been replaced by impulsive

degrading one’s mental health. A 2018 study

and downgraded replies and

on U.S teens conducted by Pew Research

messages leading to

Center found that 59% of U.S. teens have

degradation of moral values.

been bullied or harassed online by the

Although social media has

following: name-calling, spreading of false

many drawbacks, there are

rumors, receiving unsolicited explicit images,

also accompanying benefits. It

having their activities and whereabouts

serves as an educational

tracked by someone other than a parent,

medium for communicating

making physical threats, and having explicit

information about courses,

images of them shared without consent 2

March 5, 2021

(Anderson, 2018). Although texting and digital

exercised. Additionally, it is profoundly crucial to

communication intend to build and discover

strengthen your own identity by forming your own

friendships, they can lead to potentially harmful and

interests and establishing confidence in the

nonconsensual exchanges.

authenticity of your feelings and the validity of your

The photo you saw and liked on

worth. Dr. Steiner-Adair, a clinical and

Instagram that made you more self-conscious about

developmental psychologist, stated “Self-esteem

how you looked? That was most likely completely

comes from consolidating who you are.” So the next

photoshopped. This is only one example of how

time you find yourself spiraling down the abyss of

superficial and deceiving the internet is, and how

social media, randomly try a hobby like gardening:

easily absorbed you can become into a false reality

who knows, you might even have a green thumb.

without even realizing it. According to a survey conducted at Montclair Kimberley Academy, a PreK-12 private school in Montclair, New Jersey, 40.5% reported feeling lonely/left out after using social media, and 35.7% reported having a fear of being left out (trends, gossip, etc). Peer acceptance is also a large factor for teens and drives an obsession with self-image and how much they are liked by others via “likes” (McHugh et al., 2018). Dr. Donna Wick, a clinical and developmental psychologist stated that “Adolescence and the early twenties, in particular, are the years in which you are acutely aware of the contrasts between who you appear to be and who you think you are.” As teens become overloaded with superficial and fake realities, they compare their “normal” selves and often feel dissatisfied with their lives, leaving an impactful imprint in the confidence of many young people’s identities. Don’t be discouraged, however, as it is certainly not impossible to navigate through social media without encountering any unknowingly harmful or superficial content, as long as caution is 3

Maggie Stanford

March 5, 2021

YOU KEEP USING THAT WORD. IT DOES NOT MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS. Please, stop saying you’re “so OCD” when you’re not

Social Media Celebrities such as Khloé Kardashian have made jokes, generalizations, or stereotypes about obsessive-compulsive disorder in social media. However, people have often corrected them and insisted upon changes of the incorrect information (Stewart, 2018).

Myths Some myths about OCD is that it isn’t a very serious disorder, or that you should help someone with OCD with their “rituals.” In reality, OCD can be debilitating and disrupt lives. And if you have a friend or family member who is suffering with the disorder, the best thing you can do is help them to ﬁnd help from a licensed professional (Bailey, 2020).

Getting Help You can ﬁnd resources for OCD treatment, including a therapist directory and list of support groups, on the website of the International OCD Foundation. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

https://rb.gy/i5wtdd

We all have that one friend: They cringe at the sight of a messy desk, oﬀ-kilter picture frames, or milk cartons turned the wrong way, and proclaim, “This is making me so OCD.” Whether these people are trying to say that they have a mental disorder when they don’t, or are simply misunderstanding what OCD really is, they’re stereotyping a serious mental illness and trying to apply it to themselves in a self-deprecating way, which is…not okay. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a long-lasting disease. One suﬀers with obsessions, which are potentially worrisome thoughts that are uncontrollable, reocurring, and anxiety-inducing, and/or compulsions, which are behaviors designed as a coping mechanism for these obsessions. The compulsions provide temporary relief

Maggie Stanford

https://rb.gy/1dm7c8

Common Obsessions and Compulsions Obsessive-compulsive disorder comes in different forms for everyone who has it. However, there are some obsessions and compulsions that are more common than others. Some obsessions are: • Fear of germs or disease • Wanting things to be

symmetrical, or speciﬁcally arranged

• Unwanted thoughts including

harm

Some common compulsions are: • Arranging things in a speciﬁc way • Cleaning or hand washing much more than is necessary • Doubting self and checking things multiple times, especially stoves and doors • Counting Of course, these don’t occur for everyone with the disorder; someone may have only obsessions, only compulsions, or ones that are different than these (Obsessive-compulsive, 2019). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

March 5, 2021

from the obsessions, until the thoughts come back again and they have to be performed all over. These thoughts and behaviors interfere with daily life, soaking up time and patience, and serving only to increase anxiety (Obsessive-compulsive disorder, 2019). It crosses over the line from double-checking a front door, or washing your hands, to waking up multiple times in the middle of the night to make sure the door is locked, or scrubbing your clean hands until they bleed. And the coping mechanisms don’t always make sense; it could develop into being something like, “If I don’t walk through this doorframe ﬁve times, my family will die.” The disorder causes real pain and anxiety to people who have it.

In recent years, mental health has gained reputability and people have started to respect it as something that is as important as physical health. Stigma has reduced around mental disorders, which is good, but that opens up a window for people to talk about mental disorders even if they know nothing about them, which isn’t necessarily helpful. OCD was embraced a little too much by the media, and waves of misinformation radiated out from the internet. Far too many people have been led to believe that OCD is a cute little quirk that causes one to like to organize and clean things, and feel vexed when they aren’t just so. As someone with OCD, I can sort of understand what this is about, but the lack of understanding is annoying, and very wrong. The compulsions that someone with OCD has aren’t something they like to do - they’re things that are felt to expel the obsessions, and to remove the anxiety just for a little while. If someone with OCD cleans compulsively, they don’t like to clean - they do it out of misery and anxiety. Dr. Kristin McGue, PhD., said about people saying that they are OCD when they are not: “For people who actually suffer with OCD, it makes their problems seem lesser or more like a toss-away, like it doesn’t matter that they have this when people who really suffer from OCD are severely affected by it.”

“Far too many people have been led to believe that OCD is a cute little quirk

that causes one to like to organize and

clean things, and feel vexed when they aren’t just so.”

Maggie Stanford

March 5, 2021

When OCD is used as an adjective by someone who doesn’t have the disorder, they’re being insensitive by not acknowledging that this is

“I think that because people say it so often, most

among other things, the disorder was used for humor (Stanford, 2021). Obviously, it is misleading to get all of your information about mental disorders from television, and we need to take everything we see with a grain of salt; however, this form of media is certainly not helping in the way it portrays a potentially debilitating disease. What is

2021). This shows how many people have encountered misinformation about the disease, and how many people have joked about it, likely being the victims of misinformation themselves. Few people have even a basic understanding of what OCD truly is beyond stereotypes which they have heard. Another common misconception about a lot of mental disorders is that they are easily curable. One visit to a psychologist, to speak vaguely about childhood woes, seems enough to

https://rb.gy/jpo8q8

people think OCD is just being extra neat freak… I think people are more aware that it exists but they a real mental disorder that hurts people and don’t know what it is (Dr. McGue, 2021).” disrupts their lives. People don’t just use OCD as a If you don’t understand something, then casual (incorrect) descriptor; movies and television you can’t be counted upon to talk about it shows sometimes use the disorder for comedic knowledgeably, and if you can’t do that, then you eﬀect. The compulsive side is usually focused on, certainly can’t go around making jokes and rather than the stereotypes about it. Of the eighth graders obsessive thoughts and “‘I think that because people say it who answered the fears. Shows like The aforementioned Big Bang Theory and so often, most people think OCD is survey, all of them Monk use compulsions just being extra neat freak… I think said that they had for humor in the heard someone say characters of Sheldon people are more aware that it exists something along the Cooper and Adrian but they don’t know what it is.’” lines of, “Oh, I’m so Monk, and while Monk also shows a few OCD,” when they obsessions, it is wildly incorrect about the true didn’t have the disorder and were merely stating nature of the disorder, how it can be treated, and that they were bothered by something much else about one of the key points of its show disorganized. In addition, 92.6% of the respondents (Moua, 2020). Television and movies portraying said that they had OCD in such a way are detrimental to the public’s heard someone use knowledge about the disorder, telling people that it a stereotype is okay to make jokes about OCD or giving about the misinformation. Among a survey taken of 27 eighth disorder, such as graders at Montclair Kimberley Academy, 81.54% of “everyone with them had seen a show which had portrayed OCD in OCD loves to clean.” (Stanford, some way, and 54.5% of those people said that,

the true public belief about OCD? Have we been getting better at understanding the seriousness of this disorder in recent years, thanks to the rising presence of mental health awareness? Psychologist Dr. Kristin McGue, PhD., says no. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Maggie Stanford

March 5, 2021

solve all of your mind-related problems. Obviously, this is not the case. According to Dr. McGue, there are two ways currently used to treat OCD. One is cognitive behavior therapy. “Even more speciﬁc than that, it’s exposure therapy with response prevention, ERP… The medications that are usually used are called serotonin reuptake inhibitors. If you’re trying to treat OCD, the right way is pairing both of those.” (Dr. McGue, 2021). Exposure therapy with response prevention means exposing the patient to the thing that triggers their obsessive-compulsive disorder, and then preventing them from responding in the usual way they do with the compulsive behavior. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical produced by nerve cells which sends signals between the nerves. It is a

2 Percentage of the population with obsessivecompulsive disorder (Sasson et al., n.d.)

2 to 3 Number of millions of adults in the US with OCD (“Who Gets,” n.d.)

500 Number of thousands of kids and teens in the US with OCD (“Who Gets,” n.d.)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

natural mood stabilizer, and reduces and regulates depression and anxiety, among other purposes (Healthline, 2017). Low levels of serotonin are often associated with depression, and serotonin reuptake inhibitors are antidepressants thought to boost

levels of serotonin in the brain (National Health Service, 2018).

It is crucial that we educate people about the serious nature of obsessive-compulsive disorder If one is suffering from OCD, the media doesn't help them realize what may help them. This disease has been worked down to a simple, sometimes humorous level, when in reality it can be debilitating. OCD is unique among other disorders in that many people know about it - 92.6% of eighth graders surveyed had heard about it before but that public knowledge is mainly misinformation. It’s not okay or helpful for anyone that most people believe OCD just to be something they can jokingly call themselves or another perfectionist. If we are going to truly step forward in mental health as a society, we need to have a basic understanding of all mental illnesses, and be sympathetic to anyone living with one, not joke around and make them feel like they aren’t understood. If someone is made to feel embarrassed of their mental state, or isn’t being taken seriously that they aren’t feeling okay, they’re going to continue to suﬀer, and their problems will only get worse. So please, don’t say, “I’m so OCD,” if you’re not OCD. Don’t even use it sarcastically if you do have the disorder. Information, knowledge, and freedom to get help are things that people have always fought over. Don’t make this a battle. And don’t make it about yourself when it’s not.

Lola Rosenblum

March 5, 2021

BLACK MATERNAL MORTALITY Why Black women are more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women, and steps to take to ﬁx this.

https://www.heart.org/-/media/images/news/2019/february-2019/0220blackwomenmaternal_sc.png

Two women walk into an emergency room. They both are in labor. These two women have had similar pregnancy experiences, and they have carried to term. These women have lives that are nearly identical; they live in the same neighborhood, they are the same age, and they have similar salaries and jobs. When the emergency room nurse sees these two women, she automatically knows that one of them is two to three times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause than the other. The one thing that these two women don’t have in common is their race. According to the CDC, Black and Native American women are, on average, two to three times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause than white women. The CDC’s Pregnancy-Related Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS) categorizes a pregnancy-related death as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within one year of the pregnancy as a

Lola Rosenblum

March 5, 2021

result of a complication from pregnancy. The pregnancy-related mortality ratio (PRMR) is one way that the CDC measures and studies pregnancy-related deaths. This ratio measures the number of deaths per 100,000 live births. The PRMR for Black women was 40.8 and for Native American women it was 29.7. These are the highest ratios out of all of the racial/ethnic groups and was 3.2 and 2.3 times higher than the PRMR for white women, which was 12.7.

One reason why these staggering

disparities are happening is because of racism. As the reason for many of the bad things that happen in America, racism is the primary reason for this phenomena. According to Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, white men dominate the medical field, and they systematically pushed women, particularly women of color, out of the field for over a century. Midwives used to be the primary way women delivered their children until the early 20th century. By the early

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/social-media/mm6835a3_DisparitiesInMaternalMortality_06Sept19_Image_1200x675.jpg

reproductive healthcare. According to Silvia Henriquez, co-president of the abortion justice organization All Above All, there are three barriers that women, specifically women of color, face when trying to get access to reproductive healthcare. The first type of barrier are structural barriers. These include the physical barriers when accessing healthcare and cultural barriers include people not feeling comfortable talking to their providers because of cultural differences.

1900s, doctors, usually white

Henriquez also mentions that

men, tried to discredit midwifery because midwives were usually female immigrants or Black women. Doctors wrote articles that spread lies about how midwives were linked to high rates of death by the baby or

“A safe pregnancy should be a right not a privilege.” - REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY

mother. These doctors also attributed Black and immigrant midwives to disease and “general filth”, which are terrible stereotypes. Many women have reported that they had a positive experience with delivering with a midwife, as midwives have a strong commitment to women and their reproductive health. Another reason for this phenomena is the access, or rather lack of access, to quality

Medicaid, the governmentsponsored insurance for people who do not make a lot of money, covers all elective surgeries that someone may want, except an abortion. If a woman was on Medicaid and wanted to get an abortion for a reason that is not a serious health risk or the

pregnancy being a byproduct of rape or incest, she would have to pay out of pocket, and that’s very expensive. Dr. Heather Ironbunda, a board-certified OB/GYN, said in an interview on the Hysteria podcast: “If you are low-income, under-insured… it is harder for you to get into the doctor for

Lola Rosenblum

March 5, 2021

preventative care.” Dr. Irobunda then mentions that

doctor to get a prescription. Researchers and

because the people of low-income are going into

women’s health providers and activists are working

pregnancy without being checked up on regularly,

together to find the best ways to get women birth

they are more likely to have a condition that could

control in the best possible way.

have been prevented if they had access to better healthcare. Black women also have higher rates of

Even though the problems presented seem impossible to fix, there are a variety of solutions that reproductive health advocates, members of

unintended pregnancy than white women, according

Congress, and healthcare providers have come up

to Raegan McDonald-Mosley, a practicing OB/GYN

with to better the situation. In Congress, a group led

in Baltimore. She also writes that Black women who

by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) has introduced The

are at risk of having an unintended pregnancy are

Women’s Health Protection Act. The Women’s

also less likely to use any method of contraception,

Health Protection Health would put the protections of

and this has to do with the lack of information about

the Supreme Court ruling over Roe v. Wade into

family planning methods, lack of access to

federal law. This legislation would establish the right

affordable reproductive healthcare, and the implicit

for healthcare providers to give, and for people to

and explicit racism when interacting with healthcare

receive abortion care free from unnecessary

providers. She also writes that the current systems

restrictions. After the confirmation of Amy Coney

that are providing birth control are also not working

Barrett and the now 6-3 conservative majority on the

anymore; there is some good innovation happening

Supreme Court, it is as important as ever to protect

like birth control delivery apps and pharmacists

the access of abortion under law. Henriquez said

prescribing plans. The pandemic also makes getting

that the last four years under the Trump

birth control that much harder as many people do

Administration has actually made women more

not feel comfortable or cannot afford to go to the

aware that their reproductive freedoms could be taken away any day, which has furthered the fight for reproductive freedoms. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Il) has also introduced H.R. 6137, the Innovative Maternal Payment And Coverage To (IMPACT To) Save Moms Act. This bill is one of the bills included in the “Momnibus” package of legislation. The “Momnibus” legislation aims to address the Black maternal health crisis in this country. Per a statement from Congresswoman Schakowsky, the IMPACT To Save Moms Act will “create new maternity health payment models” and “ensure health insurance coverage for pregnant women”. If passed, the IMPACT To Save Moms Act will also create a new Center for Medicare & Medicaid

https://www.byrdie.com/thmb/b5985e29tFEXUIbINbGLaBFHDJo=/480x0/ﬁlters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ GettyImages-835236446-aba9c248aae34201a62827af100d3acb.jpg

Services Innovation Center demonstration project to come up with strategies to make sure women have 3

Lola Rosenblum

March 5, 2021

health insurance coverage while they are pregnant

help in empowering women to make their own

to one year post-birth.

choices about their bodies. Unfortunately, the U.S.

Activists and healthcare providers also have

healthcare system is so insufficient for Black women

thought of other ways to tighten the gaps of deaths

and women of color that cultural competency

because of pregnancy-related causes. As stated by

training, more representation, and an over-the-

the CDC, hospital systems that treat the most

counter birth control is not going to fix the ingrained

affected groups could improve their quality of care

racism that Black women deal with every day, but

and implement consistent protocols. Doctors can

they are a couple steps forward in giving the quality

also take culture competency training, as suggested

reproductive healthcare that they deserve.

by Columbia University’s School of Public Health.

Back at the emergency room, the nurse is

Culture competency training would help target the

still frozen in thought about these statistics that she

unconscious racial bias in healthcare, which is one

learned in the news. She is pained to know that

of the major contributors to this problem. Defeating

these women live nearly identical lives, but one of

the unconscious racial bias will drastically help

their children is more likely to grow up without

improve the interactions a woman has with her

remembering their mom, the woman who gave birth

doctor, nurse, or healthcare provider, which in turn

to them. That nurse and so many other people in

will make her more comfortable to come to the

this country dream of a day where the two women

doctor, says the CDC. There is also a large effort to

have the same access to healthcare, that doctors

encourage more women of color to become doctors,

take their pain seriously, that they can go through

as only 2% of doctors are Black women. Research

pregnancy and childbirth without fearing that they

shows that when there is ethnic and racial diversity

will die of likely a preventable cause. One day,

in the healthcare providers, it improves health

hopefully not too far from now, if these two women

outcomes for minority populations. People have also

walk into an emergency room, getting ready to bring

been advocating for an over-the-counter birth control

a new life into this world, the nurse will not be able to

pill at the pharmacy. Dr. McDonald-Mosely says that

tell which woman is more likely to die.

the accessibility that an over-the-counter pill has will

https://blackmaternalhealthcaucus-underwood.house.gov/sites/blackmaternalhealthcaucus.house.gov/ﬁles/styles/congress_featured_image/public/featured_image/ Black%20Maternal%20Health%20Momnibus%5B62160%5D.png?itok=iC0hRrDm

Lola Rosenblum

March 5, 2021

Sources: CDC: Racial and ethnic disparities continue in pregnancy-related deaths. (2019, Sep 05). Targeted News Service Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/newspapers/cdc-racial-ethnic-disparities-continuepregnancy/docview/2285051585/se-2?accountid=35750 Columbia university: End racial disparities in maternal health, call midwife. (2020, Feb 04). Targeted News Service Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/newspapers/columbia-university-end-racial-disparities/ docview/2350263423/se-2?accountid=35750 Rep. Frankel: Congress must act to protect abortion access following confirmation of barrett. (2020, Oct 28). Targeted News Service Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/newspapers/rep-frankel-congress-mustact-protect-abortion/docview/2454645791/se-2?accountid=35750 McDonald-Mosley, R. (2018, Mar 24). Black women need better access to reproductive healthcare. Milwaukee Courier Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/newspapers/black-women-need-better-accessreproductive/docview/2017642319/se-2?accountid=35750 Ryan, E. (Host). (2021, Feb. 25). “What’s Up Doc?” (No. 134) [Audio Podcast Episode] In Hysteria. Crooked Media https://www.crooked.com/podcast/whats-up-doc-with-dr-heather-irobunda/ Rep. Schakowsky introduces legislation to address black maternal health. (2020, Mar 11). Targeted News Service Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/newspapers/rep-schakowsky-introduces-legislationaddress/docview/2375722259/se-2?accountid=35750

The issue with modern cinema Willow Killebrew

________________________________________________________________________________________________ Laura Mulvey’s 1975 feminist film theory is still relevant today.

We’ve all seen famous films like “Halloween” (1978), “Die Hard” (1988), “Friday the 13th” (1980), “King Kong” (1976), and “Transformers” (2007). While they are mostly great movies, they do enforce certain ideas and gender stereotypes that are offensive and perpetuate false notions about differences between how we should view and treat men versus women. These stereotypes are best described by Laura Mulvey, a feminist film critic, in her 1975 essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” in which she outlines something called “the male gaze.” This is in reference to the way female characters are painted in film, and hence, how they are viewed by the audience: as objects to satisfy the gaze of the male viewer (Mulvey, 1975). But this gaze is not something that is only seen in cinema; it is the result of the continuous patriarchal objectification of women. From the time people are young, they are taught the societal differences in their genders. As they grow older, they fall into those traditional gender roles and subsequently view the other gender as they have been taught. In real life, women are objectified and over-sexualized by this gaze every day. A film is just a tool to perpetuate this gaze, as are certain elements of advertising or commercial work. Much of this happens without people even noticing, and it objectifies women and shows everyone that it is okay for them to do so as well (Mulvey, 1975). Even though this essay was written almost fifty years ago, it is still very relevant today. In her writing, Laura Mulvey describes “Vertigo” (1958) and “Rear Window” (1954) as examples of films that exhibit the male gaze. In both films, the protagonist serves as a voyeur who neglects to see women as people. The approach in “Rear Window” is direct and upfront - all

the character can do for the entire film is sit in his room and look out the window because his leg is broken. He not only serves as a character in the story but also the lens from which the audience is supposed to view the picture. Grace Kelly’s shallow role in the film also provides a noticeable example of the objectification of the film’s female characters. Throughout the film the audience witnesses life through the protagonist’s eyes, which in this case, involves simply gazing but not engaging in any activity. This is what viewers of films do while they watch: gaze but not engage (Mulvey, 1975). Therefore, the way women are shown through his eyes is the way the audience sees them. This is different from how the film treats and views men, which becomes how the audience members view and treat men. While the protagonist of “Rear Window” observes women as beautiful objects, he views men as regular people with real problems and personalities beyond their appearances. This yet again involves simply watching and objectifying female characters, seeing them not as human beings but as brainless, soulless things that exist only for the male characters and male members of the audience. A more recent film that exemplifies Laura Mulvey’s theory is “Blue is the Warmest Colour” (2013), a poignant romantic drama directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. The movie received a lot of attention for its controversial content and its winning of the Palmes D’or at Cannes. Although it is a beautiful film with a unique storyline, the male director over-sexualizes his two female leads on many occasions throughout the movie. In fact, he was so difficult during the shooting and made the two actors so uncomfortable that they said they would never work with him again (Jagernauth, 2013). 1

Many popular action flicks such as “Die Hard” (1988) and “Transformers” (2007) portray this objectification of women. For example, in “Die Hard,” the female characters play minor and banal roles. Women are partially clothed, frequently and unnecessarily, and they have no interesting backstories or personalities. For most of the film, the lead male protagonist serving as the ‘hero’ attempts and succeeds in saving irrelevant screaming women from the villainous terrorists. All of the other intriguing roles in the film are men. Any of those characters (for example, the cop and the comical chauffeur) could have been women. Sadly, as many other films do, it ignores the reality of women having the potential to be more than just pointless background characters, thus continuing a system of unwanted or needed gender bias. “Spring Breakers” (2012) is a more current and textbook example of the male gaze and what it does in cinema. Throughout the film, women are objectified in every possible way, from the first shot to the last. Women wear virtually no clothing aside from bikinis while men are much more often dressed normally. In one notable scene, one of the female characters has a bullet wound in her shoulder. Although this should be what is focused on, the camera still settles on close-ups of the character’s body that have nothing to do with the injury, thus barely following the storyline with its much more pressing issue. Laura Mulvey discusses the idea of an active male and passive female in film. This means that while the female character is forced to be viewed, the male character and director have all of the control. While the male characters actively bear the “male gaze,” women must allow this to happen (Mulvey, 1975). To prove her theory, all you have to do is think of the films that you know: Which ones have male protagonists? And out of those, which ones have predominantly shallow female characters that are only present to support the male lead? Perhaps more importantly, in which of these films does the male protagonist actively bear an objectifying gaze towards a more trivial female character who does nothing to stop it? As a 2021 survey done at Montclair Kimberley Academy

with 8th graders indicates, 83.3% of the 24 people surveyed said they have noticed that male characters tend to be interesting and complex protagonists whereas women do not tend to be this way often. This is just another way, another tool, of controlling a viewer's mind and gaze towards the world and towards women. If female characters are portrayed this way in film often, this is how we will start viewing women in real life, which is quite alarming! However, there has been, within the past few years, a rise of films (particularly directed by women) that do not portray women as objects, but instead as powerful, complex protagonists with intricate histories and emotions. A few films like this include “Little Women” (2019), “Lady Bird” (2017), “The Favorite” (2018), “Raw” (2017), and the limited series “The Queen’s Gambit” (2020). But most films aren’t as bold or risktaking with their material, and choose to use traditional conventions of film to accomplish their point without the consideration of their audience or of the fact that it is not just straight men who watch films. Over half of people who buy movie tickets are women. Yet, we are still seeing more stories from the same perspective that treat women the same way (McDougall-Jones, 2016). We’ve all seen films like “Die Hard,” “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “King Kong,” “Transformers,” and likely many more that show the objectification of women. In fact, the previously mentioned 2021 survey showed that 91.7% of the 8th graders that took it reported having seen female characters being objectified in film at some point. Out of those, 25% said that they saw a film that fit such criteria more recently. It is a singular wish: for the sake of progression, for the sake of seeing women and men as equals, simply be more aware of when the male gaze is present in a film you are watching. A problem can only be fixed when it is recognized as a problem.

You Should Be Spending More Time Playing Video Games By Matthew Mogavero-Principe

Are you a teenager, or a parent of a teen, who spends hours a day playing video games? Does a day not go by where a debate about screen time takes place? Are the words “No more electronics!’ frequently heard in your home? Well, this may all be unnecessary as research now shows that playing video games can improve your overall mental, academic, physical and social development. So, being a gamer may actually be a benefit to you after all. It should not be shocking to anyone how integrated into a teenager’s life playing video games have become, but the shift in mindset of how spending time playing games in front of a screen has changed. In a study conducted by Mills College, results confirm: “A national poll of teens finds that almost all American teenagers play either console, computer, or cell phone games.” What these teens, and their parents, do not realize is that while they are playing video games, they are also improving their ability to gain knowledge and improving comprehension when they are learning, away from the screens. In an article issued by the US Air Force, Ray Perez, a program officer discovered, “...that video game players perform 10 to 20 percent higher in terms of perceptual and cognitive ability than normal people that are non-game players.” This improvement in mental capacity, attention to detail, and reaction time tend to build the more time spent playing action and war games. For many, the decision now may be easier. The next time you are trying to decide which game to play, consider “Call of Duty” or “Resident Evil” and the result can lead to increasing your mental skills. Additionally, playing these games may have a positive impact on your performance in school. In a survey of more than 30 8th grade students at Montclair Kimberley Academy, a PreK-12 private school in Montclair, New Jersey, 64.5% of the respondents indicated that they only spend 0-5 hours a week playing video games, but a third of those surveyed stated that their parents feel like they spend too much time playing video games each week. Ironically, if both students and parents realized the academic benefits playing video games had on their school work they may choose to play more. In a study conducted by Cheryl K. Olson, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Mental Health, found that, “A game doesn't have to be labeled 'educational' to benefit children. For example, recent games such as Bakugan and the Professor Layton

series build problem-solving skills, and sneak in a fair amount of reading.” Those students spending five hours or less a week could plan to spend more time playing and may begin to see better results solving problems in math class or improved reading comprehension. In addition to improved perceptual and cognitive skills, enhanced problem solving and comprehension, new evidence and research is starting to surface showing the positive effects that longer term video game playing may have on brain development. Perez indicates, “...conventional beliefs about brain plasticity and aging are changing…[video games] allow the player to focus longer and expand the player's field of vision compared to people who don't play video games...there is empirical evidence of increased brain plasticity in video gamers...[they] have increased blood flow, and become more synchronized with other neural networks in the brain.” Teenagers spending hours of their time on what may seem like mindless entertainment are actually improving their brain development. Not so mindless after all, it appears.

skills.” This research and the research of many others is just scratching the surface of the many benefits playing video games has to offer, not only mentally and physically, but socially as well.

Parents who in the past have struggled with their children spending too much time playing video games are starting to accept the social benefits that online gaming may have on their child, especially those that may be introverted and not necessarily socially popular at school. One MKA Middle School parent stated, “I worried about my son’s social interaction at school; he was always on the periphery of activities. One Christmas, he received an Xbox and started playing Fortnite, and soon kids at school were texting him each night to play with them and they all wanted him to play on their squad”.

“...[Video games]...help me be social and play with friends, while taking a break from school work.” -An MKA Middle School student Parents and teens can all seek comfort in the research Olson conducted where she found that video games lead to “nourishing self esteem, pride and socialization

Despite the time parents think video games may take away from other activities like homework or chores, you cannot deny the fact that playing video games does have a positive impact on teens playing them. Video games provide an outlet for teens to socialize with friends in a modern way, building confidence, and supporting academic achievements. Clearly, consciously or subconsciously teens are becoming more aware of the importance gaming has on their young adult life, with benefits that will follow them into adulthood. Now it is time to convince parents that providing more screen time may actually be a good thing to give to your child.

References 1. Mills study reveals civic engagement related to teen video game play. (2008, Sep 16). Targeted News Service Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/newspapers/millsstudy-reveals-civic-engagement-related-teen/docview/468437382/se2?accountid=35750 2. RESEARCHERS EXAMINE VIDEO GAMING'S BENEFITS. (2010, Jan 27). US Fed News Service, Including US State News Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/newspapers/researchers-examine-video-gamingsbenefits/docview/472033535/se-2?accountid=35750 3. Video games offer kids developmental, social benefits study shows. (2010, Oct 19). University Wire Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/wire-feeds/video-gamesoffer-kids-developmental-social/docview/1439827028/se-2?accountid=35750 4. Image 1: Father Yelling At Child For Playing Video Games https://image1.masterfile.com/getImage/NjEwOC0wNjkwNTYyMWVuLjAwMDAwMDAw= ADjHL9/6108-06905621en_Masterfile.jpg 5. Figure 1: Survey Graph Results Question 4 6. Image 2: Level Up Your Brain https://www.gamedesigning.org/wpcontent/uploads/2018/10/video-games-that-will-make-you-smarter.jpg 7. Image 3: Video Game Benefits. Video games offer kids developmental, social benefits study shows. (2010, Oct 19).

The Acquisition of Native American Land During the Colonial Era Lindsay Fouché ‘25 The main factors that contributed to the European colonizers taking the Native American’s land consisted of: disease, wars, and laws that favored the Europeans, and these factors ultimately contributed to the current situation in the United States. Interactions between the explorers, settlers, and the Native Americans started almost immediately after the Europeans arrived. However, each individual European country arrived with different motives. The Spaniards hoped to attain riches, spread Christianity, and gain fame. The French wanted to establish a stable trading post in America and fund Europe’s constant demand for furs. And, the British were motivated by both riches and the Northwest Passage. Despite the different motives, the initial interactions with Native American were the same.1 There were early conflicts and concerns about how the colonists could pose a possible threat to the Native Americans and their land in the northeast’s first colonies. Nevertheless, the two found common ground, and the colonies began thriving with the help of the Native Americans. Establishing trade was one of the first bridges between colonists and local Native Americans. After the colonists first began to settle, they built an infrastructure and relationship with the Native Americans. The Native Americans hoped to build potential alliances with the colonists to gain power for their individual tribes. Both sides heavily benefited from the trade and bartering system that was created. The Native Americans provided skins, hides, food, knowledge, and other crucial materials and supplies as well as teaching the inexperienced colonists how to farm and live appropriately on the land. The colonizers traded bread and other types of currency (also known as “wampum”) in exchange for these goods and teachings.2 Despite the easy-going beginnings things began to get complicated, and over time their well-built relationship began to deteriorate. This was due to their contrasting beliefs and ideas. The Native Americans had a very different idea of land ownership compared to the Europeans. Native Americans practiced communal land ownership. Meaning the land upon which they lived was community-owned. There was no such thing as “private property.”3As a result when the Europeans first arrived the Native Americans were quite skeptical of their goals and perceived them as a threat, but they soon began to understand the colonizers’ motives. Be that as it may, from the European’s perspective, any empty land that is not settled and thoroughly cultivated had no use. The word “wilderness,” and “wasteland” and “desert” had been used to describe North America’s forests. Colonists couldn’t understand how the southern Native Americans used some lands. They believed they had the right to buy this property or just take the land as God commands.4 Those beliefs caused the colonists to take action and find whatever land wasn’t settled in and colonize it. Their beliefs were just 1 National Geographic Society, “Motivations for Colonization” [Motivations for Colonization], National Geographics, December 12, 2019, [Page #], accessed December 1, 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/motivations-colonization/. 2 National Geographic Society, “The New England Colonies and the Native Americans” [The New England Colonies and the Native Americans], National Geographics, last modified June 26, 2020, accessed December 14, 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/new-england-colonies-and-native-americans/. 3 West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, “Native American Clashes with European Settlers,” West Virginia Archives and History, accessed December 1, 2020, http://www.wvculture.org/ history/archives/indians/indland.html#:~:text=A%20major%20factor%20in%20the,individual%20nature%20of%20European%20ownership. 4 Timothy, “Three Worlds, Three Views: Culture and Environmental Change in the Colonial South.” [Three Worlds, Three Views: Culture and Environmental Change in the Colonial South.], National Humanities Center, accessed December 1, 2020, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntuseland/essays/threeworlds.htm.

so different they couldn’t understand where the other one was coming from. This caused tension between the two that went unsolved for far too long.5 Because of this tension some colonizers began taking advantage of some of the Native American’s weaknesses in order to gain more land and wealth for themselves. This resulted in unfair laws being passed and unfair treaties being made which eventually led to war. One of the first ways the colonizers got rid of the Native Americans was through diseases. Diseases largely contributed to the removal of Native Americans. Perhaps the single greatest impact of the European colonization on North America was the introduction of disease. Though this may not have been intentional, the Europeans brought and spread diseases to which the Native Americans had no immunity or defenses against, causing sickness and death everywhere. Along the New England coast just between the years 1616 and 1618, epidemics claimed the lives of 75 percent of the indigenous people.6 Although colonists suffered diseases on their own early on, by now the majority of them had built up an immunity to the diseases they brought over to America. However, the Native Americans suffered from smallpox, tuberculosis, measles, cholera, and the bubonic plague.7 Although it’s impossible to determine the precise population of the Americas, there is no doubt that contact with Europeans resulted in a massive collapse of the Native’s population. The population before the colonizers is estimated to be about 8 to 30 million. Between 1492 and 1650, the Native American population declined by as much as 90% as a result of the epidemic outbreaks, crop failures, and food shortages.8 Later on Native Americans most likely built up immunity to such diseases but only after they wiped out so much of their population. Subsequently, this situation did give an advantage for the colonizers, giving them more land to colonize. The wars that plagued America caused the removal of even more Native Americans. From 1689 until 1754 colonial wars troubled North America and pitted the English against the French and sometimes Spanish. Various tribes became embroiled in the conflict, fighting on behalf of one European power or another. In addition to the ongoing wars between the colonists, rivalry between Native tribes occasionally flared into open warfare, and new conflicts arose out of the indirect effects of colonization, such as trade and migration. Some tribes grew strong and some collapsed. By the early 1750s, Native Americans were pushed between the French, who were gaining control of the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys, and the British land along the Atlantic coast. In 1754 the French and Indian war occurred leaving the Native’s land a battlefield.9 The French and Indian War led to many Native Americans losing their land, This war somewhat benefited the British, but also put them in some debt. The French lost the right to many of their settlements 5 VOA Learning English, “American History: A New World Clash of Cultures” [American History: A New World Clash of Cultures], VOA, last modified October 25, 2012, accessed December 1, 2020, https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/1519967.html. 6 “Environmental and Health Effects of European Contact with the New World” [Environmental and health effects of European contact with the New World], Khan Academy, accessed December 1, 2020, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/precontact-and-early-colonial-era/old-and-new-worlds-collide/a/environmental-and-health-effects-of-contact. 7 National Geographic Society, “The New England,” National Geographics. 8 “The Impact of European Diseases on Native Americans” [The Impact of European Diseases on Native Americans], Encyclopedia.com, last modified 2020, accessed December 18, 2020, https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/impact-european-diseases-native-americans. 9 “1600-1754: Native Americans: Overview” [1600-1754: Native Americans: Overview], Encyclopedia.com, last modified October 16, 2020, accessed December 18, 2020, https://www.encyclopedia.com/ history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/1600-1754-native-americans-overview.

as a result of this war. Be that as it may, this had a long-lasting effect on the Native Americans. Losing their native land resulted in a loss of cultural identity, as most tribes relied on their homelands as the place of ancestral burial locations and sacred sites where religious ceremonies were performed. Without their lands, nations lost their identities and their purpose. However war and diseases weren’t the only things that removed the Native Americans from their land. The laws and treaties passed tended to favor the colonizers, however the Native Americans did take advantage of their resources. Nevertheless, some Europeans simply took advantage of the laws, or some just blatantly ignored the law and occupied the land. The colonizers made it appear as if the law gave the Native Americans the better half of the deal while in actuality it gave the Europeans the advantage.10 They also had the language barrier that they could easily take advantage of to make the tides turn in their favor. In 1791 the Treaty of Holston was signed, in which the Cherokee gave up all their land outside the borders previously established while in return gaining land in the west.11 While it may seem that the Native Americans are getting something in return, they are still only getting what the colonizers decide, which is control over the land distribution. The Native Americans had been slowly losing land, but what finally set it in place and permanently removed them from their homes occurred after President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, which gave plots of land west of the Mississippi River to Native American tribes in exchange for land that is taken from them. Many Native Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and forced into new, smaller homes.12 Due to these wars, diseases, and laws many Native Americans lost their homes, which is still a problem today. Today’s Americans are living on what was originally Native American soil, and the Native American tribes are living on the little land we gave them. Native

Americans were given their own reservations spread across America for them to live in and continue their traditions as well as educate themselves. Some tribes found a way to live peacefully on their land and built their own homes. Some Native Americans are trying to fight for their land and win some of it back. Just this year the Supreme Court announced half of Oklahoma as Native American land. Most Native American tribes have continued passing down their culture and beliefs even after losing almost all of their sacred land. Although today the Native Americans were given small bits of land to live on, considering the research America should be able to share more land, because this land was originally theirs.

10 “Land Transfers | Central Michigan University” [Land Transfers | Central Michigan University], Cmich.edu, accessed December 20, 2020, https://www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/ResearchResources/ Native_American_Material/Treaty_Rights/Pages/New-Section---TheLand.aspx. 11 History.com Editors, “Native American History Timeline” [Native American History Timeline], History, last modified November 27, 2018, accessed December 20, 2020, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oCDDk62QlQYJ:https:%2F%2Fwww. history.com%2Ftopics%2Fnative-american-history%2Fnative-american-timeline%20&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. 12 History.com Editors, “Native American History Timeline” [Native American History Timeline], History, last modified November 27, 2018, accessed December 20, 2020, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oCDDk62QlQYJ:https:%2F%2Fwww. history.com%2Ftopics%2Fnative-american-history%2Fnative-american-timeline%20&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.

Sadie Shapiro ‘25

Jihoo Shim ‘25

Sam Lewis ‘25

Salem Witch Trials Gender Inequality Pippa Davison ‘25 During the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693, women were manipulated and disproportionately accused of being witches because of gender roles and colonial society’s narrow view of how women should behave. In Colonial America, men had higher political and social positions, which they took advantage of during the Salem witch trials by using that status to blame women for witchcraft and to maintain power. Men made the decisions that determined court verdicts and the people who were in charge of the court. The court was predominantly male-dominated, and the accused were mainly women. This shows how in control men were of women and the biased view of the court. Men wanted political and social power, and the Salem witch trials allowed them to control the lives of women.1 These gender roles caused more women to be accused of witchcraft. Men held more power and attained higher positions in all aspects of society than women.2 Women, therefore, did not get to express their opinions in the rules or determining the characteristics and behaviors of a witch. Women were blamed for witchcraft because of their low authority in the political system and the way they were viewed in Puritan society.3 Much like their struggle for a voice in colonial America, there were also very restrained house roles they were expected to fulfill. This assigned gender role in colonial America put women at a disadvantage because men had the upper hand in court and wanted to keep their power, which led to women being more likely to be accused if they threatened a man’s political or social position. Colonial America’s outlooks on young women and girls manipulated them into feeling a need to accuse people. Children often experienced a sense of powerlessness due to living in a world run by adults, especially when they were viewed as being of the lowest stature in age.4 They felt the need to survive. So during the Salem witch trials, they put their lives above others in hopes of not getting accused themselves.5 It doesn’t help the fact that there was a celebrity status granted to the girls who accused others.6 Many girls were also manipulated by their fathers to accuse others because their fathers were having property feuds with neighbors and wanted their neighbors out of the way. Their daughters had no objections because women were controlled by men in Puritan England, and children along with servants were at the bottom of the social ladder.7 Many accusers were also vulnerable because some of the girls were refugees from the Indian war and saw their family and friends killed, so they were scared because they just escaped a situation and felt endangered again.8 Girls and women lived with obedience, fear, and occasional, or at times frequent, violence. This shows the extent of the panic they felt due to the terror of getting accused. Girls and women wouldn’t be scared of prejudice

Jess Blumberg, “A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials,” ASKSmithonian, October 23, 2007, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/. 2 Elaine G. Breslaw, Witches of the Atlantic World: A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook (New York University Press), https:// www.coursehero.com/file/p39nmug/Breslaw-Elaine-G-GenderWitches-of-the-Atlantic-World-A-Historical-Reader/. 3 Breslaw, Witches of the Atlantic 4 Bryna Stevens, Witches: Opposing Viewpoints (St. Paul, Minn.: Greenhaven Press, 1988) 5 The Conversation, “The Salem Witch Trials Targeted Women - Here’s Why,” Science 2.0, last modified October 25, 2019, https://www. science20.com/the_conversation/the_salem_witch_trials_targeted_ women_heres_why-243063. 6 “Primary Source Documents and Maps,” Salem’s Secrets, directed by Rebecca Wheatman, Smithsonian Channel, 2019. 7 Salem’s Secrets. 8 Salem’s Secrets.

towards them. Afflicted girls were living in an incredibly rigid class and gender hierarchy time, and the only way their culture expressed that tension was through witch trials. During the Salem witch trials, religion was deeply ingrained in Colonial American daily life, and many followed the Puritan religion. The Puritan religion has taught people that women are weaker than men, and people used this to their advantage and as a reason to try women for witchcraft. A lot of the morals and beliefs of the colonists were from the Puritan religion. The gendered nature of Puritan religious experiences meant that sexism and gender inequality were structurally ingrained in the Puritans’ daily lives, directly causing a natural gender divide in the Salem witch trials.9 Puritan Christians believed that women were weak vessels, implying that women were susceptible to Satan’s intrigues.10 If a religious book that the Puritans held so close to their hearts mentioned an idea they would believe it; if a woman were to be accused it would make much more sense for them to be working with the devil, due to their weaknesses, unlike men. This core belief of their society affected women who were already vulnerable. A section from Pastor Samuel Willard’s sermon is an example of how the Puritan religion associated women with the devil and proved how much this idea was emphasized in their daily practices.11 Their religion not only played a part in how men viewed women and their religious lack of strength against the devil, but it also affected their daily lives. This caused women to be more susceptible to being accused of witchcraft. In most cases, these qualities did not affect men. The ideal wife in Puritan society was a woman who obeyed her husband, had children, and behaved well according to colonial views. If a woman deviated from these qualities, it could lead to her being seen as a bad mother or wife: an outcast, or even worse, being accused of witchcraft. Witchcraft accusations had long been used to stigmatize women who deviated from the Puritan idea of a good wife, women who were quarrelsome, single, or widows who failed to remarry.12 Their society judged and criticized their lives and specific events that they could not control. There were many factors that we now know are not witchcraft, however, they could easily get a person accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch Trials. Puritans thought women should have babies, raise children, manage household life, and model Christian subservience to their husbands.13 While women were seen as objects and their job as a good wife was to have kids and maintain a household, this was not expected of men. If a woman had not conceived a child yet, it was never the husband’s fault and was always the wife’s. These biases caused a danger to women, especially single mothers or unfertile women, during the Salem witch trials. Simple factors or qualities in a woman’s life, such as not having enough money, demonstrated bad character. Having too many children could indicate a deal with a devil, and few children were suspicious as well.14 These are some factors women no control over and that men did not have to fear. The specific views society held for women were authoritarian and could motivate someone to wrongly accuse another of witchcraft. Not only were women accused based on their home life and economic stature they were also accused based on their profession. Being a healer could put a person in a vulnerable position of being accused of witchcraft because historically healers are connected to magic.15 This also plays into the fact that their roles in society were

Joseph Conforti, “Salem Witch Trials,” in Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History: A Reference Guide to the Nation’s Most Catastrophic Events, by Ballard C. Campbell (New York: Facts on File, 2009), https://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/ Details/2?articleId=197457&q=gender%20in%20salem%20witch 10 Conforti, “Salem Witch,” 11 Breslaw, Witches of the Atlantic 12 Conforti, “Salem Witch,” 13 The Conversation, “The Salem,” Science 2.0. 14 The Conversation, “The Salem,” Science 2.0. 15 Stevens, Witches: Opposing

mostly seen as nurturer, especially of the young. Therefore women had to learn to heal the sick and due to the lack of modern medicine they used herbs to cure them.Through trial and error they discovered which ones healed and which ones were deadly. Women who were especially skillful at such things come to be known as witches. They were held in great respect and sometimes fear, for if they could heal by magic, couldn’t they also use magic to cause harm.16 This target towards healers is primarily targeted to a group of females and not men because the role was seen as women’s.17 This is associated with magic and people who go to people to get healed. And if someone went to them and couldn’t become healed, it was the women’s fault. Tension in the community was created because women were expected to heal, but it often went wrong, so the association went from healing to magic. 18 Due to colonial society’s tapered standards for women, they had a higher risk of being accused than men did.The Salem witch trials are an example of an unjust act of sexism in Colonial America because only women faced the disadvantages of a witch. These did not affect men, and women had a lot less power in Colonial America. Sexism, throughout history, has been ingrained in our society whether we admit it or not. Although the sexism in society today might not go to the extremes as the colonial women faced, women still struggle to get the same opportunities as men do. Sexism, during the Salem witch trials, is just one of many sexist acts people were allowed to commit throughout our history. We have improved; however, there is always room for more improvement, and equality between the two genders is still disproportionate, but at the same time, it is the closest it’s probably ever been. We can learn and grow from the mistakes in our history and make sure history never repeats itself.

Carson O. Hudson, These Detestable Slaves of the Devil: A Concise Guide to Witchcraft in Colonial Virginia (Haverford, PA: Infinity Pub., 2001) 17 Stevens, Witches: Opposing, 18 Stevens, Witches: Opposing

Bibliography Blumberg, Jess. “A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials.” ASKSmithonian, October 23, 2007. https://www. smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salemwitch-trials-175162489/. Breslaw, Elaine G. Witches of the Atlantic World: A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook. New York University Press. https://www.coursehero.com/file/p39nmug/Breslaw-ElaineG-Gender-Witches-of-the-Atlantic-World-A-HistoricalReader/. Byers, Paula K., and Suzanne Michele Bourgoin. “Bridget Bishop.” In Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., 288-90. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2004. https://link. gale.com/apps/doc/CX3404700683/GVRL?u=tmka_ ca&sid=GVRL&xid=b4d3578f. Conforti, Joseph. “Salem Witch Trials.” In Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History: A Reference Guide to the Nation’s Most Catastrophic Events, by Ballard C. Campbell. New York: Facts on File, 2009. https://online.infobase.com/ HRC/Search/Details/2?articleId=197457&q=gender%20 in%20salem%20witch. The Conversation. “The Salem Witch Trials Targeted Women - Here’s Why.” Science 2.0. Last modified October 25, 2019. https:// www.science20.com/the_conversation/the_salem_witch_ trials_targeted_women_heres_why-243063. Hudson, Carson O. These Detestable Slaves of the Devil: A Concise Guide to Witchcraft in Colonial Virginia. Haverford, PA: Infinity Pub., 2001. “Primary Source Documents and Maps.” Salem’s Secrets. Directed by Rebecca Wheatman. Smithsonian Channel, 2019. Robinson, Martha K. “Witches.” In Three Worlds Meet, 3rd ed. Vols. Third Edition. The Encyclopaedia of American History. New York, N.Y.: Facts On File, 2017. https://online.infobase.com/ HRC/Search/Details/2?articleId=193678&q=witches. Stevens, Bryna. Witches: Opposing Viewpoints. St. Paul, Minn.: Greenhaven Press, 1988.

Jihoo Shim ‘25

Sadie Shapiro ‘25

The Religion of African Slaves Timothy Slater ‘25 In the colonial period, most African slaves were forced to be taught Christianity. Many slaves altered religion somewhat to better fit their beliefs. Enslaved Africans embraced the new religion by creating songs and music to reflect biblical teachings, most of which are still prominent in modern African-American churches and culture. Many whites did not believe slaves had a religion and tried to stop the unity that was caused when enslaved Africans practiced any religion, including Christianity. Although the Colonial Americans did not believe that enslaved Africans practiced any sort of religion at first, most Africans came from a diverse religious background that included (but were not limited to) Islam, a religion that references the Bible; Voodoo, a religion originating in West Africa; and Santeria, another African diasporic religion. Colonists and Europeans did not believe this and referred to enslaved people as “Heathens,’’ an uncivilized or non-religious person.1 Some came from religions that correspond with a written language and others did not. Many African slaves were Muslims and were already familiar with teachings related to the Bible. Of this group, some were literate in Arabic.2 This prior knowledge may have helped many enslaved Muslim-Africans to make an easier, more informed transition to a new religion when they were required to by slave owners. Voodoo, another religion widely practiced among slaves, originated in Haiti and spread to parts of America that had a dense population of slaves. Voodoo is an African-influenced religion and is probably one of the least understood among the Americas. Voodoo’s origin was in Haiti and according to historian Robert Farris Thompson, Voodoo is an “achievement of people of African descent in the western hemisphere...”3 Voodoo practitioners follow spiritual paths and worship spirits called Loa, meaning “mystery.” Loa are the equivalent of saints in Christianity. Another Voodoo belief is that each person has a soul containing two parts: a big guardian angel and a small guardian angel.4 Santeria, another widely practiced African religion, was substantially practiced among slaves. Santeria is a polytheistic religion with one primary God, known as Olorun or Olodumare. This great being represents spiritual energy in the universe and all living creatures. Olodumare is believed by followers of Santeria to communicate with humans through orishas, the equivalent of Greek gods. Orishas are contacted through hard times much like praying in other religions. In the colonial period, enslaved Africans communicated with orishas through the suffering caused by slavery.5 Islam, Voodoo, and Santeria are nowhere near covering all religions practiced by African slaves. Many of them are modified by Africans to have some similar practices. These included music with drums, dancing, respect of ancestors, spirit possession, ring shouts (a form of ritual), African-style burials, and ritual sacrifices.6 Overall, there are many African religions brought by slaves and practiced in the colonial period, even if the colonists did not believe so. Many of these religions have some related practices or beliefs that originated from tweaks Africans have made while still being diverse. In the colonial period, most African slaves were taught

Donald R. Wright, “African-American Religion in Colonial America,” in African-American Culture (n.p.: Harlan Davidson, 2016), http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE01&articleId=404704. 2 Allen Dwight Callahan, Mr., “Why Did African Slaves Adopt the Bible,” interview by Tony Cox, WNYC Radio, last modified January 24, 2007, accessed October 27, 2020, https://www.npr.org/templates/ story/story.php?storyId=6997059. 3 Juan Williams and Quinton Hosford Dixie, This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religious Experience (New York, NY: William Morrow, 2003), 18. 4 Williams and Dixie, This Far by Faith, 18. 5 Williams and Dixie, This Far by Faith, 18. 6 Williams and Dixie, This Far by Faith, 17.

Christianity. Many did not have a choice. This was, in part, a result of slaves’ lack of rights in the new world. Enslaved Africans were also thought of by the Europeans and Colonial Americans as uneducated in any organized religion. This was simply not true. Africans, enslaved or not, had many diverse branches of culture and religion. But this mindset did not stop at that. Some colonial whites believed that slavery was okay and was a part of God’s plan. They were supposedly giving the “knowledge of the True God” to people who were not, in any way, religiously connected. This was false as many Africans held a native religion.7 This resulted (after the colonial period) in Fredrick Douglass debating sending Bibles to the south because of the messages that it carried. He knew that the Bible suggested that slaves should be obedient to their masters: a blatant suggestion that slavery was morally correct and that it was God’s will. Because of this, he believed that slaves should not read it at all.8 And Fredrick Douglass’ beliefs were correct, having enslaved people following a religion that openly stated that they were to continue to suffer through this injustice was damaging. Throughout Early America, many Colonial whites used the religion of Christianity to endorse slavery and teach slaves that how they were being treated was religiously correct. When learning a new religion in Colonial America, enslaved Africans often drew connections to Christianity and their native religion and created songs to depict the stories that were being taught. This reflected the many African religions that told stories versus writing them. Many African religions at the time did use a written language so religious information was passed through generations with musical storytelling. When Africans encountered the teachings of the Bible, they created music depicting things taught in these stories. This way, they made part of a new religion their own by merging their old traditions with a new one. 9 The passing of information was not the only component of Christianity that enslaved Africans modified to fit their beliefs and culture. Baptism, the act of being adopted into Christianity, had many similarities to native African rituals. When African slaves were baptized and became Christians, the process in which they were baptized had many similarities to the worship of water spirits in West Africa. Many current African-American churches will baptize with a stream.10 This again shows how these connections were drawn and how it reflected enslaved Africans’ previous religion and culture. Culture has a big part in how someone alters their outlook on a specific religion but so do their needs. Enslaved Africans needed freedom from the injustice that was slavery. That is why they modified their Christianity to what should be right in the first place: that freedom should be granted to all people in the current world and after.11 This version was different from what was taught by churches and religious figures, but it was changed with the modifications enslaved Africans brought to their practices with Christianity. This is the same with any person or group changing to a different religion. Their culture and history tie into what they believe and what they think needs change. In the case of enslaved Africans, they used their previous religion to make adjustments to better fit their lifestyle, situations, beliefs, and culture. At the beginning of the widespread movement to teach African slaves Christianity, a modest amount of slave owners did not support teaching Africans. This lack of agreement was caused by the worry of slaves gaining strength through unity. Slave owners throughout Colonial America did not want the masses of slaves banding together in harmony to create a group to endure. Practicing the same religion can cause this. As argued by historian Sterling Stuckey, memory is what slaves used to pass down traditions, practices, and beliefs. This empowered the enslaved to resist slavery.12 Among slaves, religion

7 8 9 10 11

Wright, “African-American Religion.” Callahan, “Why Did African,” interview, WNYC Radio. Callahan, “Why Did African,” interview, WNYC Radio. Callahan, “Why Did African,” interview, WNYC Radio. Christopher Luse, “Religion in the Age of Slavery,” in Religion in the Age of Slavery (n.p.: Facts On File, 2018), http://online.infobase. com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE01&articleId=534218. 12 Williams and Dixie, This Far by Faith, 17.

was a symbol and form of resistance. By using their practices, in both Christianity and their native religion, enslaved Africans banded together in prayer. Some cried out to the West African gods to assist them in their struggle.13 Others who were taught Christianity prayed to God in an altered version of Christianity to end their suffering through the injustice that was slavery and to support their fight for liberation. This quotation, from the writing of Richard Allen and Jacob Tapsico, expresses what happened when practicing Christianity as an enslaved person or former slave: “Being now as outcasts, we had to seek for friends where we could; and the Lord put it into the hearts of Dr. Benjamin Rush, Mr. R. Ralston, and other respectable citizens, to interpose for us, both by advice and assistance, in getting our building finished: Bishop White also aided us, and ordained one from among ourselves, after the order of the English church, to be our pastor.”14 They began to create their own churches and religious groups to unite in prayer during the dreadful time of slavery. This happened throughout all of colonial America; enslaved Africans came together to form bonds and groups that created integrity and unity. Many slaves saw religion as a way to band together, but others saw it as a way to gain freedom more directly. This was achieved by converting to another religion in return for freedom. Some enslaved people in the colonial period saw the conversion to Christianity as a viable option.15 This opportunity was presented or promised to many enslaved people by multiple religious groups. During the early colonial period, the Spanish Crown stipulated freedom for enslaved Africans in exchange for conversion to Catholicism, the Crown’s main religion.16 These promises were met by slave owners as illegitimate, like many other ways for enslaved Africans to gain basic human rights. Due to their fear of losing control, some slave owners were wary of teaching Christianity to slaves. They thought that the “enlightening” of slaves would cause demands for freedom. As a result, many colonies passed laws stating that conversion to Christianity did not allow slaves to become free. These laws began spreading throughout Colonial America even into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Changing religions was thought to be an option to become liberated in the colonial period. Enslaved Africans were, by many groups, promised their freedom this way. Later, however, this was stopped by slave owners. In Colonial America, enslaved Africans were a substantial number of the overall population. Most African slaves were forced to be taught Christianity and were thought to not have any prior religious experience. Many Colonial whites tried to stop the unity that was caused when slaves practice any religion, including Christianity. Enslaved Africans altered religion somewhat to better fit their beliefs. The enslaved Africans embraced the new religion by creating songs and music to reflect Biblical teachings. This altered version of Christianity and other effects of religion in the colonial period can still be seen today, including in modern African-American churches and culture.

Bibliography Allen, Richard, and Jacob Tapisco. “The Doctrines and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.” 1817. Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Primary Source) Ashley. “Monticello Virtual Field Trip.” Lecture, Monticello Digital Learning, October 27, 2020. Callahan, Allen Dwight, Mr. “Why Did African Slaves Adopt the Bible.” Interview by Tony Cox. WNYC Radio. Last modified January 24, 2007. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www. npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6997059. Luse,

Christopher. “Religion in the Age of Slavery.” In Religion in the Age of Slavery. N.p.: Facts On File, 2018. http://online.infobase.com/Auth Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE01&articleId= 534218.

Sambol-Tosco, Kimberly. “Slavery and the Making of America: Religion.” Thirteen/WNET New York. Last modified 2004. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/religion/ history.html. Williams, Juan, and Quinton Hosford Dixie. This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religious Experience. New York, NY: William Morrow, 2003. Wright, Donald R. “African-American Religion in Colonial America.” In African-American Culture. N.p.: Harlan Davidson, 2016. http://online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE01&articleId=404 704.

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Williams and Dixie, This Far by Faith, 17. Richard Allen and Jacob Tapisco, “The Doctrines and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church,” 1817, Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 15 Kimberly Sambol-Tosco, “Slavery and the Making of America: Religion,” Thirteen/WNET New York, last modified 2004, accessed December 16, 2020, https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/religion/history.html. 16 Sambol-Tosco, “Slavery and the Making,” Thirteen/WNET New York.

Tré Jamison ‘25

The Role Race Played in Determining Opportunities for Women in Colonial America Myroslava Klopota ‘25 Depending on a woman’s race in Colonial America, her opportunities and lifestyles differed in areas such as education, family life, and role in society. In the Colonial era, white women were primarily educated on how to become perfect housewives and were responsible for raising future generations. In a typical 17th-century family, a young girl was expected to learn basic household skills, such as sewing, proper cooking, and cleaning. They were taught minimal writing and reading, which were mostly just taught for religious purposes such as practicing the Bible. Girls in lower classes sometimes were never taught to read and write or even went to school. However, girls from the higher classes had the most opportunity to learn1. Girls were sent to be married off to their future husbands at a young age. Rather than deciding their future spouses, they would be most likely “assigned” to them. The men would be a lot older, and they would have full control over them2. Since some women were not educated and were of no use to their husbands, in later life they would stay at home and turn into housewives. The duties of a housewife were to take care of the kids as well as the household. In the house, the women cleaned, cooked, sewed, and made clothes for their families. They were not seen as a source of income3. For the majority of their lives, giving birth to children was one of the most important roles. They usually bore 7 to 8 children in their lifetimes, but some bore up to 15 throughout their lifetime4. Although most women stayed at home, some actually were important to the outer world. Some women became educators, and they would teach young boys the ways of society so that they would grow up into future leaders of the United States of America. Female educators would pass on past history lessons to these boys so that they would lead the same great path in the near future. This act of teaching was called “republican motherhood.” They didn’t only want to become educators just to receive a job, but that was still one of the main factors in taking on this role. Being an educator gave some women a higher spot in society and they started to get respected more5. Although white women did not have a lot of opportunities to pursue education and jobs, they were still better off in comparison to women of color, who played a lesser role in society. Enslaved black women had less say in their job decisions, family roles, and educational chances. Between the years 1600-1776, slavery was very common amongst white settlers. Slaves were not considered citizens, therefore they did not have many rights until further years. On top of that, being an enslaved black woman meant that physical labor was most likely a requirement as a job. The role of slave women was really misunderstood when people thought that they had less work than slave men. They sometimes even had more work than men. They worked in the fields and did work that they had no experience in, which made the work sometimes even harder. They also worked all year long, even in the fall and winter, where they had different jobs assigned for every season6. However, in the North, they worked less in the fields and more in their master’s house. They cleaned, cooked, took care of the master’s kids, washed their clothes,

Carol Berkin, First Generations: Women in Colonial America (New York: Hill and Wang, 1997), [Page 3-4].

Alex Woolf, “Daily Life 1492-1774,” infobase, last modified 2011, http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=163381.

3 4 5

Woolf, “Daily Life.” Woolf, “Daily Life.”

Colonization, Revolution, and the New Republic ,Beginnings to 1860 (New York, N.Y.: Facts On File, 2020), [Page #], accessed November 19, 2020, https://online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/2?articleId=165736&lcid=0.

Donald R. Wright, “The African-American Family in Colonial America,” infobase, last modified 2016, https://online.infobase.com/HRC/ LearningCenter/Details/5?articleId=404703.

ironed them, and tended to the gardens. They were treated more as part of faithful servants instead of dirty peasants7. Due to the fact that tending to their everyday duties took most of their time, they didn’t have the possibility to experience other necessities, such as getting an education. There was no formal education provided by the European population to the enslaved African Americans. However, they did face obstacles such as learning a new language and adjusting to numerous life conditions. This informal process of education still taught black women new things but was only designed to be used in their hardworking jobs8. Since they did not dedicate their time to education, the amount of time that was not spent working for their masters was spent with family. Family life for slave women and men was often hard. Childbirth was extremely dangerous, and most of the time even deadly. While being only one to four weeks away from giving birth, African American women had to still work and work a lot. They would carry ¾ more the usual amount of cotton that was carried by a nonpregnant woman, and they had to deliver the baby under terrible circumstances. Right after birth, they had to shake the mother violently to deliver the placenta out, which sometimes resulted in death. Women also cooked for their families, which meant they had to gather the firewood and also gather water, and sometimes even find utensils to eat with. Meanwhile doing all of that, they had to take care of the young. With the time they spent with their children, they created strong bonds with their kids, unlike white women who hired nurses and nannies to take care of them for her. Most of the time men would go off to different plantations and leave their families. For that reason, women were the head of the house until the husband came back9. Some women were forced to marry men who were older than them and have kids with them10. This would also be the exact same case for white women too. The black women’s rights were mostly connected to the rights that their masters gave them, but some went out of their ways to make their life better. One example of such a woman is Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who was captured from Gambia and brought to America in 1761. Upon her arrival, she was immediately sold to the Wheatley family in Boston, Massachusetts. Her upbringing was a unique one since her masters chose to educate her 16 months after her arrival. She was taught to read the Bible, among other literature in Greek, Latin, and English. In addition to that, she was taught astronomy and geography. As soon as 14, she started to interest herself in poetry and published her first poem in 1767. She wrote poems about her African heritage and was also influenced by religion. Black slaves and whites who opposed slavery read her work with pleasure and fascination. She was evidently against slavery and often wrote letters to ministries and influential white colonists. She married a free black man named John Peters, and together they had three children, even though none of them survived. Later in life, her poetic career came to a pause as she had to work as a scrubwoman in a boarding house, thus not leaving enough time for writing. Phillis Wheatley died in 1784 during child labor. Apart from securing a place as an important figure in early American literature, she also inspired many women and people of color to believe in their abilities, especially intellectual ones11. She is a prime example of a nonwhite important figure. Native American women had more freedom and choices in their traditional societies that varied from family decisions to different labor possibilities. For the Native Americans, it was a very different culture since women could be part of the tribe’s council. Native Americans had many more chances of having an important role in the political life of their society. They were able to vote for their next chief and also decide whether they would want to vote him off. Women would be able to watch over the new chief and report their behavior. Although

7 8 9 10 11

Berkin, First Generations, [Page 124]. Berkin, First Generations, [Page 110]. Wright, “The African-American.” Berkin, First Generations, [Page 113].

Debra Michals, ed., “Phillis Wheatley,” National Women’s History Museum, last modified 2015, accessed December 28, 2020, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/phillis-wheatley.

men were still the only ones who could be head of the council, women could have a male spokesperson who would speak for them if they had something to say. Aside from the fact that women could participate in the tribe’s political decisions, they also could decide what they wanted and didn’t want to work for. Contrary to white and African American women, Native American women had more rights about what jobs they could take on. They could decide when they wanted to go to work, with whom they wanted to go to work, and how fast or slow they wanted to work. They weren’t taught basic household chores such as sewing and making clothes, but they still participated in labor work such as harvesting crops on the fields. Nobody had to look over their work either12. However, Native American women still sometimes fell under the rule of white settlers when it came to education. Since Europeans came to Native American land, they were mesmerized by the ways of the Natives and had the women taught to fit into their ideals. They were taught by Christian missionaries to convert from their natural beliefs to the beliefs of the new settlers13. On rare occasions, Native Americans and whites were able to cooperate on some matters. Another prime example of a woman leader in Colonial America was Mary Musgrove. Mary Musgrove was mixed since her mother was Native American and her father was an English trader. Her mother, who was from Coweta, Creek Nation, gave Mary the name Coosaponakeesa before it got changed. Her family was important in Coweta, Creek Nation. Her mother was related to some of the more important leaders in their community, and her brother was the chief. Mary spent most of her childhood learning the Creek language and cultural traditions of her home community. However, when she was around seven years old, her father, Edward Griffin, took her and her little brother to a small town in South Carolina called Pon Pon. That is when she changed her name. There she learned English in order to fit in. When she grew up, she got married to John Musgrove, an English trader, in 1717. Despite having three children, Mary was never able to raise any of them as they all died at a young age. After her husband died, in order to keep the property, she had to marry another man, who would then take over the property left behind. According to the laws of the state, Mary was to pass down property to her eldest son, but since all her sons died, she had to find another husband. She married her second husband, Jacob Matthews, in 1737 because she was in danger of losing all her property. Matthews was much younger than she, and he was considered her servant. One of her main jobs at the trading post that she and her husbands owned was interpretation between languages. She was responsible for fairly and peacefully bringing understanding to the Englishmen and the Creek Nation. In 1744, Mary married a Christian missionary since her second husband died in 1742. The marriage to Reverend Thomas Bosomworth came with a rise in social class. The couple faced a problem when Chief Malatchi of Lower Creek gifted them three islands. The colonists disapproved of this because they believed that land could only be given to a nation and not to an individual. Mary fought tirelessly to protect her land and went to the Georgia courts in Savannah with over 200 Creek natives to petition Georgia officials. After going to Savannah, Mary sought help in British courts in England, where unfortunately they simply referred her back to Georgia. When she came back, all her land was seized. Years later, royal governor Henry Ellis agreed to grant Mary the St. Catherines Island and pay her on top of that, in return for her to give up the other two islands. She continued working as a negotiator for the two sides until her death in 176314. Race played a huge role in the possibilities presented before women in Colonial America. Based on the color of their skin, women often had different educations, jobs, and family structures. These differences can be reflected upon today’s society as race continues to

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be a major factor in life, sometimes providing more opportunities or taking them away. This shows that societal structures can have very long lasting effects on a community, in both positive and negative ways. It is important to understand the past and learn from it in order to better the society we live in today and help move forward to equality. If women had other opportunities and responsibilities in Colonial America, today could have looked a lot different than what we now know.

Lindsay Fouché ‘25

Berkin, First Generations, [Page 62,66].

Päivi Hoikkala and Harlan Davidson, “Indian Women and Colonial America,” Facts on File, last modified 2016, accessed November 19, 2020, https:// online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/6?articleId=411358&lcid=0.

Kerri Lee Alexander, “Mary Musgrove,” National Women’s History Museum, last modified 2018, accessed December 28, 2020, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-musgrove.

Myroslava Klopota ‘25

Women in the Revolutionary Era Juliana Villafana ‘25 Women contributed to the American Revolution because they had an obligation to the men in their lives and depended on them, or because they were passionate about the politics behind it and wanted to make a difference for the colonies. Some women contributed to the American Revolution because they believed in either the patriot cause or the loyalist side. The patriots wanted to be independent of Great Britain, but the loyalists were loyal to Britain and King George and wanted to continue to be under British rule. There were many different roles that women could play, regardless of which side they were on. For example, women and kids could be camp followers and follow the American or British army. They would typically have either a husband or other family member fighting in the army, and so, instead of ending up homeless, they would trail the soldiers and do different jobs for them, like washing, nursing, and cooking. Women who were camp followers would generally be there because they had an obligation to the different men in their lives, like their husbands, or their kids’ fathers.1 Although most camp followers were very poor and didn’t have the means to write their own stories, they still were impactful and influential in the war. Campfollowers played a critical role in the American revolution. The majority of Camp followers were made up of women and their kids. Women would typically choose to accompany the soldiers because, with their husbands off fighting, the family would have no other source of income. So, this was an alternative to living on the streets.2 The women would be dressed in wretched pieces of clothing, which were barely held together by a thread. They were barefooted, and the stench of their long forsaken hygiene filled the air as they passed through towns. As they traveled, their whole lives’ belongings were on the road with them, their pots, pans, and sometimes even infants being jostled around in sacks. Because they were provided with almost no health care, numerous women even had to give birth on the road, which was incredibly dangerous. Even in the cold winter months of the East Coast the women would be dressed in short petticoats and had bare legs. As they trudged through towns people noted that they passed through with a look of defeat, but stayed courteous and taciturn. Women had many different jobs as camp followers. They could be a soldier’s lover, cooks, washerwomen, nurses. At times, they would even be soldiers or serve as spies.3 Amidst all of the camp followers, there was a legend about one in particular, Molly Pitcher, who, even in the worst situation was brave and heroic. There are many different theories as to who she actually was, but she was most likely based off of an accumulation of many different women’s stories.4 According to the story, Molly Pitcher was the wife of a soldier. During this battle, there was sweltering heat, and everyone either needed water to be hydrated or to cool their cannons down. She walked around the battlefield with a pitcher of water, and, when soldiers would need water, they would shout out, “Molly, bring the pitcher!”. As the fighting intensified, soldiers would shorten it and yell, “Molly! Pitcher!”5 Although there isn’t a specific woman or story that completely represents Molly Pitcher, there are two women in particular who played big parts in the war and contributed to the legend. Molly Hays McCauley and Mary Ludwig Hays were two women whose addition to the American Revolution was significant, and helped to inspire the Molly Pitcher legend. During the battle of Monmouth, Mary Ludwig Hays provided water for the soldiers while 1 Hope Roselle, interview, Montclair, NJ, November 12, 2020. 2 Roselle, interview. 3 Carol Berkin, Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence (New York: Vintage Books, 2006), digital file. 4 Roselle, interview. 5 Diane Silcox-Jarrett and Art Seiden, Heroines of the American Revolution: America’s Founding Mothers (New York: Scholastic, 2000), 49.

her husband William manned a nearby canon. When he was shot and injured, she took over his position and began firing at the enemy. She then met with George Washington, and he promoted her to noncommissioned officer, which is how she earned the nickname “Sergeant Molly.”6 Molly Hays Mcauley’s story is very similar. So much in fact, that it seems like pretty much the same story. She was a camp follower, like Mary, and provided the dehydrated soldiers with water. When her husband John, who was also at a cannon, was shot, she replaced him and continued firing back at the British. 7 Interestingly enough, these two stories, that came from different sources, sound like pretty much the same story. One of the sources mentions how after Mary’s husband William died, she married a man named John Mccauley, after the Revolutionary War. This means that these two women could very well be the same person, but because of how history was written, which was by men for men, this mystery might never be solved. Most women weren’t educated and were illiterate. Some learned to read the Bible, and some had special circumstances, like having open-minded parents and enough wealth that allowed them to be able to learn to read and write. Because of this, women weren’t able to record their own history, their own thoughts, and their own stories. Instead of using their education for teaching, writing books, and other things, some women choose to get involved in politics. Mercy Otis Warren came from a family that believed girls and boys should get equally educated. She and her brothers were taught by private tutors, and she excelled at history and literature. Mercy Otis Warren, Abigail Adams, and their husbands James and John would meet regularly and were great friends. When the war broke out, these four and other patriots would gather and converse. Mercy often interrupted, which was not customary, but because she was so smart and contributed a lot, the men listened to her. As the war progressed and more meetings happened, Mercy became more and more enraged with what the British were doing.8 She was such an impressive speaker that John Adams encouraged her to write plays and scripts, so she published them anonymously in the patriotic press so the public could read them. 9 Her first play was funny and easy to read and understand. It was about making fun of the British military.10 This was a different but very impactful way to influence the public about the war,\ and make contributions. This is one example about how women could be very influential politicians since the beginning of American history. Women would often spy, and get away with it, because people assumed that they were not competent enough to do something so complicated. So, women would use this to their advantage. Lydia Darragh contributed to the Patriot’s cause because she believed in it and wanted to be independent from the British, despite being a Quaker who was supposedly pacifist and neutral. She used her womanhood as a way to get information about the British to the Patriots Army. When a British general, Sir William Howe, made camp near the Darragh’s house, Lydia spied on them and gathered information. She made coded notes, which one of her kids, 14-year-old John, smuggled to her oldest son, Charles, who was a Patriot soldier.11 Similar to Lydia, another woman by the name of Patience Wright also spied for the Patriots, but she was 6 Kerri Lee Alexander, “Mary Ludwig Hays,” National Women’s History Museum, last modified 2018, accessed December 17, 2020, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ mary-ludwig-hays. 7 Silcox-Jarrett and Seiden, Heroines of the American, 49-51. 8 Silcox-Jarrett and Seiden, Heroines of the American, 70. 9 Ray Raphael, “The Righteous Revolution of Mercy Otis Warren,” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, accessed December 16, 2020, http://ap.gilderlehrman.org/essay/righteous-revolution-mercy-otis-warren 10 Silcox-Jarrett and Seiden, Heroines of the American, 72. 11 Debra Michals, “Lydia Darragh,” National Women’s History Museum, last modified 2015, accessed December 18, 2020, https:// www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/lydia-darragh.

living in London at the time. Patience Wright had to find a way to support her family after her husband died, so when her art led her to London while the Revolution broke out, she stayed loyal to her home country and gathered intelligence for the 13 colonies. Since she was already accepted into British society, when she heard about a new general going to America, she would insist that his closest relatives come to her house and have a sitting, where she would find out all sorts of information, like how many troops were going and their exact location. When it came time to get the intelligence back to the colonies, she figured out that she could hide them in her wax figures that were being sent to museums.12 Although being a spy wasn’t an uncommon thing, women could use their womanhood to trick people into thinking that they didn’t have bad intentions, because no one would suspect them. All of the women were loyal to their country, but some didn’t consider themselves to be American, and were still very loyal to England, which they considered to be their home country. Margaret ``Peggy” Shippen was a loyalist married to an officer in the Patriot Army, Benedict Arnold, but he later defected to the British side. No one really knows if she gave him the idea to commit treason, but she was certainly involved in the actual act. He was unhappy with his position and status in the Patriots Army, so the British offered him an even bigger role. Peggy also gathered intelligence for the British army and sent it in coded notes to the British Officer John Andre. 13 Another woman, named Grace, was the wife of a British officer. The Continental Army tried to seize her house, but she held her ground and refused to let them take it. She sought legal help, and even the lawyer advised her to leave, but she ignored his advice. 14 Ann Bates was another spy for the British Military. She found and reported illegal activities in the 13 colonies. She was a school teacher, and a very intelligent and resourceful person, which was very ideal for spies. Women were not thought to have made big impacts during the Revolutionary War, but they did, and they contributed for many reasons, like wanting to make a difference for either the Patriot side or the Loyalist side, or because they had an obligation to the men in their lives. History was written with a very one-sided perspective, and, if everyone was able to tell their own story, history would look very different. A woman’s struggle to be represented then is still very prominent today. They are often thrown aside and replaced by a man’s story. Although women today don’t have to be spies, or fire cannons, their accomplishments still matter, and, as the women like Lydia Darragh and Ann Bates proved, women can do anything that men do.

12 Silcox-Jarrett and Seiden, Heroines of the American, 80. 13 “Peggy Shippen,” American Battlefield Trust (blog), accessed November 19, 2020, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/ peggy-shippen. 14 Jamestown and American Revolution Settlement Museum at (blog), accessed November 19, 2020, https://www.historyisfun.org/ learn/learning-center/grace-galloway/.

Anjuli Trivedi ‘27

Daniel Chung ‘27

The Enduring Strength of Black Women from Colonial American Times to Today X’Avier Walker ‘25 The life of an enslaved woman was difficult and tiresome, but also miraculous, because despite the oppression and the lack of freedom, they survived and continued to persevere for generations. Before these women were even in America, they were already facing hardships. The majority of African women who were being forced into slavery were between the ages of 15 and 30. Most of these women were married and had children. Not only did they have partners and dependents, but they also had siblings and parents that were separated from each other and taken to different slave ships, or simply left behind.1 The agony of being torn away from their homes affected these women mentally. They were subjected to extreme distress and desperation after being stolen from their homeland, families, and friends. Often they dreamt about being back in their own countries again, only to wake up on a slave ship in the middle of the ocean, thousands of miles away from their homes without a way back.2 The impact of this was severe. The women’s mental health was remarkably unstable, and many women committed suicide so they would not have to endure life without their families and friends. Despite this, the women who survived tried to make the best lives possible for themselves and what little family they had left. The women who were born into slavery did not have much of a childhood. Most enslaved girls were introduced to work at age 6, sometimes younger. The girls whose mothers worked in the fields often started with basic tasks, such as picking cotton. When they started to settle into the routine of work, more difficult tasks were added on. By the time they were teenagers, they were assigned their adult workloads.3 Not all girls worked in the fields though. The girls who worked in the master’s houses were required to take care of the master’s children. Some of these girls were as young as four-years-old. Some children liked the responsibility. They enjoyed having something to care for and play with. Most could not handle it.4 After all, they were forced to abandon their childhood fun and take care of another child. Even with what they had to go through as children, most enslaved women survived their childhoods and grew up to become even stronger women. Once enslaved women reached maturity, their tasks became physically taxing. Each day they plowed, cut the hedges, brought in corn stalks, fixed the fences, raked manure in the yard, thrashed oats, burned blown-down logs, and picked out cotton.5 This cycle of work was endless, and there were no breaks. Not only did they have to do work for their masters, but they also had to support their families in the little free time that they had. Enslaved women regularly returned from their fieldwork to cook, knit, sew, wash, weave, and to do other tasks, sometimes for the master’s household, but mostly for their own families.6 Their work was physically strenuous and not only was it intended to make a profit, on some level it was also to break their spirits. These women were miraculous because they did not lose their positivity. In addition to enslaved women’s tasks being physically taxing, they were mentally taxing as well. These women and their daughters

were subjected to violence more often than men. They tended to be less physically fit and less likely to fight back.7 Because of this, their masters often took out rage on these women. The psychological toll of this was unbearable, and these women had no way out, but they had to stay strong for what family they had left. Enslaved women tended to be separated from their husbands and sometimes children. Many women were forced to bear illegitimate children with their masters, and so women often formed the bedrock of families.8 Even without a stable family to lean on, enslaved women did what they had to do to support themselves and their communities. Since enslaved women could not fight back directly, they fought back by disrupting the lives of their masters, and never giving up hope despite the oppression. Some women took up rebellious behavior such as poisoning livestock and infanticide. They wanted to decrease the profits of their masters, and they also did not want to bring children into the world of slavery.9 Most enslaved women fought back by being strong and keeping their ideals alive. These women persevered and kept their African culture alive for 15 generations.10 Since families were ripped apart, mothers had to teach their communities about their African culture and how to survive. The women taught their children ways to rise above hatred, and this not only allowed them to survive and prosper as individuals but also in a community. This led to the survival of African Americans as a whole. Enslaved women were extremely strong because they endured their everyday challenges, and they metaphorically held the enslaved community on their shoulders. For generations, they were responsible for the life and livelihood of both enslaved people and their masters. They stayed strong and hopeful even with all the doom and gloom they had to face in their everyday lives. Their perseverance, dedication, and fortitude in the face of adversity were both astonishing and inspirational. Without them, African Americans most likely would not have continued to survive for centuries. Even today, black women are still the pillars of families and communities. They are strong, loving, and dedicated to ensuring the success of the things they care about.

brary.

Diouf, “Remembering the Women,” New York Public Li-

Cath Senker, “Home and Daily Life: 1607–1776,” Facts on File, last modified 2011, https://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=163391. 9 Diouf, “Remembering the Women,” New York Public Library. 10 Fox-Genovese, “Between Big House.”

Sylviane Diouf, “Remembering the Women of Slavery,” New York Public Library, last modified March 27, 2015, accessed November 16, 2020, https://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/03/27/remembering-women-slavery. 2 Diouf, “Remembering the Women,” New York Public Library. 3 Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, “Between Big House and Slave Community,” African-American History Online, last modified 1988, https:// online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=460850. 4 Fox-Genovese, “Between Big House.” 5 Fox-Genovese, “Between Big House.” 6 Fox-Genovese, “Between Big House.”

Myroslava Klopota ‘25

Bibliography Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Elizabeth Freeman.” National Women’s History Museum. Last modified 2019. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/ biographies/elizabeth-freeman. Berry, Daina Ramey, and Deleso A. Alford. Enslaved Women in America: An Encyclopedia. Enhanced Credo ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2012. https://www.google. com/books/edition/Enslaved_Women_in_America/ pdH1okuXI5QC?hl=en&gbpv=0. “Colonial Women.” Encyclopedia.com. Accessed October 29, 2020. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopediasalmanacs-transcripts-and-maps/colonial-women. Diouf, Sylviane. “Remembering the Women of Slavery.” New York Public Library. Last modified March 27, 2015. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/03/27/ remembering-women-slavery. Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth. “Between Big House and Slave Community.” African-American History Online. Last modified 1988. https://online.infobase.com/ Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId= 460850.

Lola Kaplan ‘25

———. Within the Plantation Household ; Black and White Women of the Old South. Pap. ed. N.p.: Press, 1988. https://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/ Details/5?articleId=460852&q=mental%20health. Senker, Cath. “Home and Daily Life: 1828–1860.” Facts on File. Last modified 2011. https://online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52 &articleId=163391.

Lena Forysiak ‘25

Pippa Davison ‘25

Sam Lewis ‘25

The Quakers and Abolition Lola Rosenblum ‘25 Due to the fundamental Quaker belief that everyone is equal in the eyes of God, most Quakers supported the abolition of slavery in the United States during the Colonial Era. The Quaker faith has vastly different beliefs and practices than other sects of Christianity like Puritans or Anglicans. George Fox founded the Quakers in 1652 when he received a vision from God while standing on Pendle Hill in northwest England. He heard the voice of God tell him: “there is one even Jesus Christ who can speak to your condition.” This vision became the basis for the Quaker creed of the Inner Light: the spirit of God can enter any person, they do not need a priest or clergy to communicate with God.1 This led the Quakers to their most important belief, the emphasis on a direct relationship with the individual and God.2 This concept led the Quakers to believe that everyone is equal. The Quaker religion is based on this first-hand communication between the individual and God, so Friends believed that no one was to discriminate against another human being. The Quakers were persecuted and punished for their beliefs in both England and in America and were therefore empathetic to other persecuted groups, like the enslaved Africans. The Quakers were persecuted in England for not conforming to the majority Church of England almost since their inception. From 1662 with the Quaker Act to the toleration of James II in 1686, the Quakers were harassed by laws that stated they had to swear oaths to the Church of England, laws that mandated that they go to Church of England services, and for refusing to pay taxes that would fund the Church of England. As many as 15,000 Friends suffered from these laws and nearly 500 Quakers as a result of imprisonment.3 As evidenced by these laws and regulations, the English government wanted to find some way to make the Quakers join the Church of England, suffer the consequences and go to jail, or even be put to death. These experiences in England made the Quakers feel akin to other persecuted groups around the world who have faced similar treatment by their tormentors. When a small group of Quakers first moved to Puritan Massachusetts, they were met with hostility and hate. The Puritans in England and New England did not like them because the Quakers ignored the orthodox beliefs of the Puritans. The Puritans then took their distaste to serious persecution. The judges in Boston, who all happened to be Puritans, persecuted the Friends further and put four of the female Quaker preachers to death in 1659 and 1661 for preaching about Quakerism.4 The Friends could easily have felt discouraged with the world, but they strived to make it a little bit better with the guidance of God. The belief that everyone was equal was a key aspect of the Quakers’ eventual condemnation of slavery. The Inner Light requires that everything that Quakers do follow the values of peace, honesty, simplicity, and equality.5 Slavery is simply not following any of these principles that the Inner Light mandates. The enslavement of another person based on the color of their skin is not peaceful nor equal. Quakers brought a religious philosophy to America that emphasized the value of human beings and the idea that all humans were equal in the eyes of God. In theory, these beliefs would make holding slaves morally impossible for Quakers.6 Slavery is the act of physically 1 Edward L. Queen, “Quakers,” in Encyclopedia of American Religious History, Fourth Edition (n.p.: Facts On File, 2018), online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=193914 2 Richard T. Vann, “Society of Friends,” Encyclopædia Britannica, last modified June 20, 2019, accessed November 9, 2020, https:// www.britannica.com/topic/Society-of-Friends. 3 Vann, “Society of Friends,” Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 Vann, “Society of Friends,” Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 Cristine Levenduski, “Quakers,” in Contemporary American Religion, ed. Wade Clark Roof (New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA, 1999), 2:571, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401300365/ GVRL?u=tmka_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=21f5e989 . 6 Manning Marable, “DEATH of THE QUAKER SLAVE

owning another person, so that is not truly valuing every human life. If Quakers said that every human being should be treated the same, then slavery and discrimination would not be tolerated. The equal treatment of everyone, mandated by the Inner Light, and the value of human beings were key factors to the support of the abolition movement. In the 1670s, George Fox traveled to the Caribbean where he encountered something truly horrifying. Before George Fox went on his trip to the Caribbean, he did not really have an opinion on slavery. He tried to convince Quaker slaveholders to treat their slaves with charity, brotherhood, and love by reminding them about their beliefs. He justified his neutral position on slavery with an extreme interpretation of the ideal that God was higher up than individuals, but each person was equal.7 In this interpretation, the slaveholders would be in the “godlike” position and the slaves beneath them. Fox was morally opposed to slavery, but this confusing explanation made slavery tolerable. George Fox first came into direct contact with slavery when he was in Barbados. When he saw how terribly the masters treated the slaves, he said that he wished that the masters would treat the slaves with kindness, respect, and like human beings. Finally, he said after a certain number of years in bondage, the masters should let the slaves free.8 George Fox was als horrified by how the masters treated the slaves like they were not even human. Fox believed that these slaves deserved basic human rights just because they were living, breathing people. George Fox had never really come across slavery before, and when he saw it he understood how appalling it truly was. From the time his ship docked in Barbados, George Fox began his interest in the overall prosperity of the enslaved Africans. He held special meetings for the enslaved Africans and also supported the idea that the enslaved Africans be taught reading and writing. He additionally backed the idea that the enslaved people should receive compensation for all of the hard work and suffering they had to endure.9 Fox cared about the slaves because they were human, just like him. He did not see many differences besides their skin color. He advocated that they be able to lead productive lives after enslavement, and he encouraged others to join him in this cause. George Fox, the founder and a very prominent figure in the Society of Friends, had great influence in the Quaker faith, so when he explained how slavery was a terrible institution many Quakers agreed with him and followed his ideals. George Fox’s trip to the Caribbean greatly advanced the cause of antislavery within the Society of Friends because Fox witnessed the fact that slavery was an atrocious practice first-hand, which led him to start advocating for the rights of slaves. The Quakers officially condemned slavery in 1754 for moral and religious reasons. The Quakers began to shift positions on slavery throughout the course of the 1740s and 1750s. This shift occurred simultaneously with the death of some of the most prominent Quaker slaveholders and traders who slowed the talks around abolition when they were alive. This change of position was championed by a new generation of younger, pro-abolition Quakers.10 The new generation of Quakers interpreted God’s teachings differently than the older generation. The Quakers condemned slavery because they believed that it did not align with Christ’s teachings, including the idea that TRADE,” Quaker History 63, no. 1 (1974): 17, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41946727 . 7 Mark G. Malvasi and S. D. Black, “Christianity: Did Christianity Provide an Effective Defense of Slavery?,” in History in Dispute, ed. Mark G. Malvasi (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 2003), 13:31, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2877300014/GVRL?u=tmka_ ca&sid=GVRL&xid=dfae79a9. 8 George Fox, George Fox: An Autobiography (Albany, OR USA: Books For the Ages, 1997), 385. 9 Kenneth L. Carroll, “SOME THOUGHTS on GEORGE FOX’S VISIT to AMERICA in 1672,” Quaker History 61, no. 2 (1972): 87, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41946684 . 10 “Quakers: From Slave Traders to Early Abolitionists,” PBS, accessed November 16, 2020, https://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/ journey_1/p_7.html#:~:text=The%20Quakers%20were%20among%20 the,Their%20fight%20began%20in%20Pennsylvania.

every person is equal in the eyes of God.11 After the Quakers freed their slaves, they compensated their slaves with reparations. The Quakers’ religious principle of equality says that African Americans are their brothers or their equals. Since they did their brother wrong by enslaving him, they had to make amends.12 The Quakers acknowledged that holding slaves was wrong and incompatible with the important pillars of their religion. The Society of Friends was one of the first religious groups to publicly admonish slavery and played an important role in the abolition movement. Even though most of the Quakers were supportive of the abolition movement, some continued as slaveholders and traders. The Quakers were actually some of the leading slave traders in the early days of the colonies.13 This is ironic because the Quakers were also one of the first religious groups to take an official position on abolition. In Barbados and Jamaica, there were many Quakers who held slaves. Quaker merchants in Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania also became wealthy through the slave trade.14 Into the mid 18th century, slavery became less and less popular within the Society of Friends with a new generation growing up and speaking out for abolition. By 1776, those Quakers who failed to emancipate their enslaved workers were abandoned and not allowed back into the Society of Friends.15 By the late 1700s, the Quakers were committed to being in favor of abolition, with no exceptions. In less than 100 years, the Society of Friends had come a long way from harboring prominent slaveholders to being completely supportive of abolition. The most important belief that Quakers have is that everyone is equal in the eyes of God, therefore slavery was opposed with few exceptions. The Friends themselves had been persecuted, so they felt sympathy for other mistreated groups. To Quakers, the thought of owning another human being was utterly immoral, and conflicted with their beliefs in parity. As one of the first major groups of people to come out in favor of abolition, the Quakers were some of the leading abolitionists in America up to the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, which effectively ended slavery in America. Although the Civil War ended over 150 years ago, the rampant disease of racism continues today. With the strengthening of the Black Lives Matter movement and the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and dozens more, everyone should take a key lesson from the Quakers: treat your brothers as equal, as we are more alike than different.

Butler, Jon. New World Faiths: Religion in Colonial America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. https://books. google.com/books?id=dy5hCPhwnUQC&printsec=front cover&dq=religion+in+colonial+america& h l = e n & n e w b k s = 1 & n e w b k s _ redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLh9Xoqdf sAhXCslkKHQUfDWQQ6AEwAXoECA UQAg#v=onepage&q=religion%20in%20colonial%20 america&f=false.

11 “Abolition,” American History, last modified 2020, https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1187635?cid=41&sid=1187635 . 12 Winthrop D. Jordan, “The Limitations of Antislavery,” in White over Black: American Attitudes toward the Negro, 1550-1812 (n.p.: University of North Carolina Press, 2012), online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=460656. 13 “Quakers: From,” PBS. 14 Malvasi and Black, “Christianity: Did Christianity,” 13:31. 15 Susan Haskell, “Quakers,” in Dictionary of American History, 3rd ed., ed. Stanley I. Kutler (New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003), 7:1, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401803479/GVRL?u=tmka_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=6ed84dd2.

Malvasi, Mark G., and S. D. Black. “Christianity: Did Christianity Provide an Effective Defense of Slavery?” In History in Dispute, edited by Mark G. Malvasi, 26-34. Vol. 13. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 2003. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2877300014/ GVRL?u=tmka_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=dfae79a9.

Bibliography

Carroll, Kenneth L. “SOME THOUGHTS on GEORGE FOX’S VISIT to AMERICA in 1672.” Quaker History 61, no. 2 (1972): 8290. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41946684. Fox, George. George Fox: An Autobiography. Albany, OR USA: Books For the Ages, 1997. Hakim, Joy. Making Thirteen Colonies. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Haskell, Susan. “Quakers.” In Dictionary of American History, 3rd ed., edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 1-3. Vol. 7. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401803479 GVRL?u=tmka_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=6ed84dd2. Jordan, Winthrop D. “The Limitations of Antislavery.” In White over Black: American Attitudes toward the Negro, 1550-1812. N.p.: University of North Carolina Press, 2012. online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=4606 56. Journal of Colonial Williamsburg. Levenduski, Cristine. “Quakers.” In Contemporary American Religion, edited by Wade Clark Roof, 571-74. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA, 1999. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401300365/ GVRL?u=tmkaca&sid=GVRL&xid=21f5e989.

Marable, Manning. “DEATH of THE QUAKER SLAVE TRADE.” Quaker History 63, no. 1 (1974): 17-33. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/41946727. “Quakers: From Slave Traders to Early Abolitionists.” PBS. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/journey_1/p_7. html#:~:text=The%20Quakers%20were%20among%20 the,Their%20fight%20began%20in%20Pennsylvania.

“Abolition.” American History. Last modified 2020. h t t p s : / / a m e r i c a n h i s t o r y. a b c - c l i o . c o m / To p i c s / Display/1187635?cid=41&sid=1187635.

Queen, Edward L. “Quakers.” In Encyclopedia of American Religious History, Fourth Edition. N.p.: Facts On File, 2018. online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId= 193914.

“The American Identity.” In American History. Last modified 2020. https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/ Display/1183179?cid=41&sid=1183179.

Vann, Richard T. “Society of Friends.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Last modified June 20, 2019. Accessed November 9, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Society-of-Friends.

The Hysteria of the Witches Willow Killebrew ‘25 It was 1692, and fear ran wild in Colonial America. War, internal turmoil, hysteria, ideas of Satanists and troublemakers were present in the minds of every Puritan daily.1 Strict societal constructs in small Puritan societies kept everyone confined to the same beliefs, and with this going on, fact became more difficult to determine from fiction. Humanity and well being, to some extent, was disregarded entirely as people cared more about what they thought was correct than what was actually happening. The common search for truth dominated everyone’s perspectives, regardless if that truth was a reality or just a spiritual fantasy. In the 17th century Salem, spectral evidence was the governing factor of trials instead of cold facts. So, of course, this became a problem when people were being accused left and right of witchcraft and the only way out of it was to plead guilty. This led the town to calamity and despair for several months before the horror that had plagued this town left as strangely as it had arrived.2 Although short, the Salem witch trials were very important events in American History that are worth examining. The Salem witch trials occurred due to mass hysteria, which was greatly influenced by the stress and pressures at the time that were significantly affected by strict societal roles and traditions, causing the Massachusetts judicial system to prove itself massively flawed and more in favor of finding truth and eliminating spiritual concerns than the safety and wellbeing of others. To be able to understand why the Salem witch trials occurred, you first need to look at the accusers. Ann Putnam, Elizabeth Parris, and Abigail Williams suffered an intense amount of stress from their daily lives, which historians believe were symptoms of conversion disorder. This is a disorder that manifests when internal stress cannot get out into the open, so it is instead expressed by violent fits and screaming that could be mistaken at this time for witchcraft. Elizabeth’s father, a reverend, blamed the devil for the misfortune that had been a part of the town for some time now. He spoke a lot about the devil and of witchcraft, which was very impactful on the young girls who were frequently nearby.3 During one of his sermons, Reverend Parris said, “there is an Hypocrite among them, a Devil among them 70. 71. verses. Have I not chosen you 12. & one of you is a Devil. i.e. I have chose 12. of you to familiarity with me, to by my Apostles, & for all one of you is a Devil.”4 Reverend Parris explains how he believes that out of twelve people, one of them is a witch. He refers to that person as a “Devil” because of the significant role that Satan played in these visions of witchcraft. Words like these sparked fear in the hearts of many, even before the trials, when Reverend Parris said similar things about the devil causing unfortunate events to occur in the town. While religious figures and church-goers spread this information around, others whispered names to the girls of suspicious people in the town that they either did not like, were enemies with, or simply and sincerely thought they were witches. This gave the girls ideas of whom they could accuse next. Between this and the general tension of hierarchies and anxiety-inducing, strict Puritan gender roles, the only way that the girls could express their stress was through pointing fingers.5 Other accusers were also believed to have been sufferers of conversion disorder but from a completely different cause.

“Salem Witch Trials,” in West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd ed., ed. Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2005), 8:440-442, https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&u=tmka_ca&id=GALE|CX3437703889&v=2.1&it=r&sid=GVRL&asid=50471bd7. 2 Lisa Quijano Wolfinger, dir., America’s Hidden Stories: Salem’s Secrets, Lone Wolf Media For Smithsonian Networks. 3 Wolfinger, America’s Hidden. 4 Samuel Parris, “The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris: Sermon March 27, 1692,” March 27, 1692, accessed December 16, 2020, http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/sermons/parris16920327.html. 5 Wolfinger, America’s Hidden.

These people were survivors of the French and Indian War, where they had seen heaps of blood, carnage, and dead bodies that would be enough for anyone in their right mind to be driven a little crazy. They blamed witchcraft for their problems, which sadly and ironically, caused even more death.6 The general beliefs and values of the Puritans played a major role in the trials by severely interfering with their perception of reality. They developed intense group paranoia about the supernatural as a result.7 This paranoia opened up opportunities for people to commit violent or deadly acts upon other people that could be a result of a trial, or just by someone in the town who could hide behind their circumstance, their fear, and their religion to get away with it. A good example of this took place in the audience of one of the trials when John Proctor quietly uttered that if he had custody over John Indian, he would beat the Devil out of him.8 And he meant this literally. This is both important and significant when looking at the reasons why the trials occurred because it shows how people thought that committing violent acts against others could somehow banish the evil from them, even if the evidence for those evil things was only supernatural. It also shows how the Puritans were quite violent people to begin with, and it wouldn’t be too surprising for naturally more violent people to begin something such as the trials. The deeply flawed Massachusetts judicial system played a significant role in the trials as well as the reasons they occurred, continued, and spread. The justice system valued remorse and people admitting their wrongs, even if they hadn’t done anything wrong, much more than truth and honesty.9 The accused could not be protected by the law or judicial system, for at the time the leaders of these systems believed in these superstitious findings as actual evidence that could be held against someone in a trial. Anything from Satanic nightmares to flying broomsticks could count as evidence of witchcraft. The witch hunt ended when the Boston authorities got involved, for although a few common people of Salem doubted the reality of the accusation, it was not enough until a higher force of power was able to take charge and put the madness to a halt.10 The evidence that was used to convict people of witchcraft was called “spectral evidence.” This was essentially just spiritual evidence that was proven only by the behavior of the accusers, who were mostly young girls.11 If you rely too heavily on what the accusers are saying and fail to hear the stories of the accused, you may or may not be ruining a precious life just for refusing to see the whole picture. On top of that, spectral evidence was not facts; they were merely beliefs. If all of the judges in court have the same set of beliefs, the outcome will always be the same, and this same will be in favor of Puritan tradition and, naturally, disregard the wellbeing of those who believe differently. The only condition when the stories of the accused were taken into account was when they pleaded guilty. And the only way that they could be pardoned would be by deflecting the attention onto somebody else successfully by accusing them and publicly begging for forgiveness for performing witchcraft.12 This caused a

6 7

Wolfinger, America’s Hidden. “What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials - Brian A. Pavlac,” video, 5:30, YouTube, posted by TED-Ed, May 4, 2020, accessed November 17, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM&t=34s. 8 Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege (n.p.: Taylor Trade Publishing, (July 22, 2004)), [Page 71]. 9 “What really,” video. 10 “Salem Witch,” 8:[Page 440-442]. 11 Wolfinger, America’s Hidden. 12 “Salem Witch Trials and Executions,” in Witchcraft in America, ed. Peggy Saari and Elizabeth Shaw (Detroit, MI: UXL, 2001),

significant moral dilemma: would they choose to sacrifice themselves for crimes that they did not commit, or accuse others of crimes they did not commit? Either option could lead to death. Life in Colonial America was brutal and merciless, and the trials are perfect examples of this. The role women had in society is also something that should be of note when looking at the reasons the trials occurred. Women were expected to become housewives and mothers, so they were not offered the same opportunities as men to have a job and an education.13 They did not have the knowledge or ability to oppose the age-old social constructs that trapped them. Puritan womanhood was nothing but a small box to which people found themselves confined, and gender roles could not be shaken. Additionally, women were thought of by the church as being inherently evil and influenced by Satan. An interesting statement found in a famous fifteenth-century text filled with information from older sources goes as far as to say that: “When a woman thinks alone, she thinks evil.”14 People felt that if a woman became too dangerously powerful, she would be evil. They thought that women who thought by themselves were evil worshippers of Satan. This all provides reasons for why the Salem Witch Trials would occur: small little stories that people told each other, stories of witches and of satanic worshippers, built up into something much more than it is; something to believe in. And when you so honestly believe something, true or not, there is a possibility that you will take some sort of action; you will make that thing real, not just a story. For the trials, this meant accusing and hanging several women for witchcraft that they had never participated in. It would make sense then if most of the accused were women. The idea of a witch has been around ever since the dawn of man, but there was never a particular gender associated with it until witchcraft myths traveled from England to Massachusetts. In colonial America, the idea of what a witch was transitioned into something slightly different than it had been originally. Witches were mostly female, and they were very disorderly. They muttered and chanted in public, survived dangerous falls down the stairs, and were able to predict things such as the contents of an unopened letter. One woman who was hanged for witchcraft was said to be thought of as a witch because she committed the capital offense of being wittier than others around them.15 This says something not just about what society thought of witches, but of what society thought of women; they could not be witty or smart or unique. If they did not follow their traditional role, they were potential significant threats to society. But if these women were executed for witchcraft, they would no longer be an issue to be dealt with. Even though it is possible that women were accused as witches just to keep things traditional, men were also tried and convicted of witchcraft. Perhaps the underlying fear of change was a driving force in some of the accusations, regardless of whether or not people in the society thought so consciously.

Sasha Munroe ‘25

Oliver Siry ‘25

Lastly, the role social outcasts played in society and the trials was also quite important. Sarah Osborne, Martha Cory, Tituba, Bridget Bishop, and Abigail Hobbs were all witches that were accused because of being outsiders. Sarah Osborne frequently skipped church services. 1:[Page #], https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount=141&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=5&docId=GALE%7CCX3426600014&docType=Topic+overview&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=GVRL&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CCX3426600014&searchId=R1&userGroupName=tmka_ca&inPS=true 13 Alex Woolf, “Daily Life: 1492–1774,” in Infobase, A Cultural History of Women in America, https://online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=163381. 14 “The Witches of Salem,” The New Yorker, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/07/thewitches-of-salem. 15 “The Witches,”.

Alessandro Rizio ‘25

Martha Cory had given birth to a child before marriage. Abigail Hobbs was a rebellious figure who wasn’t involved at all in the church. She and Bridget Bishop, the owner of a chaotic Salem tavern, were two strong and independent women that could not be tethered down by the Puritan church. This caused them to not only be a target for charges of witchcraft, but additionally, their arrests would silence their assertive ways, and they would no longer have to be a threat to the Puritan religion. Tituba, an enslaved Indian woman from Barbados, took pride in the rumors of her witchcraft practicing and used it to her advantage to apologize and blame others, but she eventually ended up in jail.16 Tituba was the slave of the Parris house and was the first to be accused. She pleaded guilty and then proceeded to blame several others for the witchcraft in the town.17 It was very difficult for the people of Salem to ignore that witchcraft was a very possible reality when one woman not only admitted to practicing it but also accused other innocent people of practicing the same thing.18 But not everyone resorted to stating untrue facts and accusing others; Martha Cory, for example, said this during her examination: “I am an innocent person: I never had to do with Witchcraft since I was born.”19 Outsiders were convenient victims of witchcraft accusations, as they were unwanted and unwilling to participate in the antics of early Puritan society. Did one life matter, if nobody cared about what they had to say? Yes! The opinions of others who thought differently were exactly what society needed at this point. But most Puritans refused to see that.20 The people of Salem had been so involved in the hysterics of the events that they lost sight and judgment, and therefore could no longer think objectively about the occasions. There needed to be someone from the outside who could come and tell them what they saw in the town, and maybe the town could start seeing itself differently in return. People who did not think the same were suppressed at this time, for the precise religious system of Salem was delicate and fragile; one rogue brick could topple the entire tower. The women who were mentioned previously had significantly different beliefs and values than the traditional Puritan, and because of this were perceived as threats. Outsiders, as well as women, were not heard at this time. Their only voice was in court, and that was overshadowed by the panic and hysteria that had been plaguing the town for some time now, hanging over the heads of all like a storm cloud about to pour with rain, lightning, and twelve hangings of innocent people. A variety of factors contributed to the beginning and continuation of the trials, and much of it had to do with societal structures and norms. For example, the first to accuse others of witchcraft were young girls who were just starting to understand and face the fears and pressures of being confined to the small box that was classic Puritan womanhood through the rest of their lives. If the structure of society was different and the role of a woman less restricting, the trials may have never occurred. While it would have saved lives for the trials not to occur, we must look at the bright side: without them, we would not have the significant reminder of the horrors that groups or even communities of people could cause just through thinking the same way. The Salem witch trials are not as well known as the Revolutionary War or the French and Indian War, but that was because the war in Salem was not one that was loud; the war in Salem was fought from the inside, silently killing twelve people. If there is no one loud enough to have their voice heard by the public, the majority of people with the same beliefs will remain dominant and in power, so sadly, when it comes down to it, they may not have the open-mindedness to listen to others’ perspectives and can never let it into their heads that someone other than them may have a more accurate solution to the problem. Trials could eliminate threats to their society, and so they would no

16 17 18 19

“Salem Witch,” 8:[Page 440-442]. “What really,” video. Wolfinger, America’s Hidden. “SWP No. 38.2 (Examination of Martha Corey),” March 21, 1692, accessed December 15, 2020, http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n38. html. 20 “Salem Witch,” 8:[Page 440-442].

longer have to deal with potential enemies. There have always been ways for dominant groups of people to keep everyone else in order and silence voices that may be more powerful than them if they were given the chance to shout. A trial should be a safe place from all of this mayhem that is the structure of society, but, with the same people in power running the judicial system, there is barely any possibility of a fair and just trial for the accused. The judges cared much more about finding proof that these people were witches than they did about caring for their well being. The Salem witch trials serve as a message and a warning: when lives are at stake, the least you can do is look at only the facts and the case with an objective eye, no matter who the person you are trying is, and pray that no one else relies on evidence that may or may not exist. Bibliography Parris, Samuel. “The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris: Sermon March 27, 1692.” March 27, 1692. Accessed December 16, 2020. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/sermons/parris16920327. html. Roach, Marilynne K. The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege. N.p.: Taylor Trade Publishing, (July 22, 2004). “Salem Witch Trials.” In West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd ed., edited by Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman, 440-444. Vol. 8. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2005. Gale eBooks (accessed October 28, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3437703889/ GVRL?u=tmka_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=50471bd7. “Salem Witch Trials.” In West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd ed., edited by Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman, 440-44. Vol. 8. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2005. https://link. gale.com/apps/doc/CX3437703889/GVRL?u=tmka_ ca&sid=GVRL&xid=50471bd7. “Salem Witch Trials and Executions.” In Witchcraft in America, edited by Peggy Saari and Elizabeth Shaw, 45-68. Vol. 1. Detroit, MI: UXL, 2001. Gale eBooks (accessed October 28, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3426600014/ GVRL?u=tmka_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=899d3cae. Samuel Parris. 1670-1680. Illustration. https://www.masshist.org/ database/3732. “SWP No. 38.2 (Examination of Martha Corey).” March 21, 1692. Accessed December 15, 2020. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/ n38.html. “What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials - Brian A. Pavlac.” Video, 5:30. YouTube. Posted by TED-Ed, May 4, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM&t=34s. “The Witches of Salem.” The New Yorker. Accessed October 29, 2020. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/07/thewitches-of-salem. Wolfinger, Lisa Quijano, dir. America’s Hidden Stories: Salem’s Secrets. Lone Wolf Media For Smithsonian Networks. “Women and Religion.” In The Revolutionary Era, 1754-1783, 328331. Vol. 3 of American Eras. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1997. Gale eBooks (accessed October 20, 2020). https://link. gale.com/apps/doc/CX2536600635/GVRL?u=tmka_ ca&sid=GVRL&xid=24437b88. “Women and Religion.” In The Reform Era and Eastern U. S. Development, 1815-1850, 311-312. Vol. 5 of American Eras. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1997. Gale eBooks (accessed October 20, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2536601083/ GVRL?u=tmka_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=a8a4d8cb. Woolf, Alex. “Daily Life: 1492–1774.” In Infobase. A Cultural History of Women in America. https://online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=17980&ite mid=WE52&articleId=163381.

Logan Langer ‘29

Callan Portner ‘29

Victoria Choi-Seem ‘29

Women’s Impact on the American Revolution Maggie Stanford ‘25 Differences in race and social class impacted what women were able to do during the American Revolution because they had varying needs based on what they already had; the people in power allowed them to do different things; and based on their disparate life experiences, they made separate choices. The American Revolution was a time of great independence for the colonists from Britain, but not a time of great independence for women. Despite the Continental Army’s need for soldiers, women were kept from fighting and were restricted to their traditional, domestic roles. However, women were able to work within the limited number of jobs that they were allowed to do in order to rebel against the British. After the Stamp Act was passed in 1776, a heavy tax meant to pay for Britain’s expenses in the French and Indian War ended up angering the colonists, and a group called the Daughters of Liberty was formed. Women joined this group to show loyalty for the Patriot cause and stood up to the British in noticeable ways by boycotting British goods to show that the colonists could be independent from the British if they wanted to be. The Daughters of Liberty boycotted British goods publicly with spinning demonstrations. Instead of buying British fabric, they spun their own yarn in large groups with an audience.1 Even though this was a domestic task that women traditionally had to do, they transformed it into an act of rebellion. There were laws against women fighting and being soldiers in the 1700s, and even though it was illegal, some women stepped up and fought or spied anyway. There are many famous examples of this, some embellished by history and turned into legend, but there are many, many anonymous women who fought both for and against the Continental Army. Often women had to disguise themselves as men, but there were also times when women took up the position of fighting with no disguise. Both acts are courageous because there were harsh punishments if a woman was found to be in the military, whether she had registered under a false name and pretended to be a man or she had taken the position in the heat of battle. Many women who fought without disguising themselves as men were camp followers. These women joined their husband’s army camps and did chores like laundry, which they were paid for. They did this because they were generally poor, and if left at home, they might be completely broke. With the money the government gave them, they were able to survive. The work they had to do was backbreaking because there were generally very few of them per army camp, and they had to do all of the laundry, plus sewing and mending of uniforms. They were also in charge of gathering food and taking care of any livestock that the troop might have.2 Camp followers followed the army to battles, as well, and it was their job to bring water to the soldiers. Many of these women who brought water to soldiers actually ended up helping to fight. One such woman was Mary Ludwig Hays. During the Battle of Monmouth, a Patriot soldier named William Hays was wounded while fighting. His wife, Mary Ludwig Hays, took over his position and fought alongside the other soldiers. She also may have fought at the Battle of Valley Forge. Later, Hays was one of the first few women to receive a soldier’s pension from the government. Mary Ludwig Hays is often thought of as one of the real-life women behind the legend of Molly Pitcher. Even though Hays and a few other women fought this way, in just one to a few battles, many women knew that they could do more for the war than this. A popular tale is that of Deborah Sampson, a woman from Massachusetts who in 1782 enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment disguised as a man, with the nom de guerre of Robert Shurtliff. She was assigned to a light infantry regiment and led a raid of a Loyalist base, as well as scouting the neutral area around Manhattan to find out how many British soldiers and military supplies

Khan Academy, “Women in the American Revolution,” Khan Academy, accessed October 30, 2020, https://www.khanacademy.org/ humanities/us-history/road-to-revolution/the-american-revolution/a/ women-in-the-american-revolution. 2 Khan Academy, “Women in the American,” Khan Academy.

were being amassed in the city. Sampson also fought in the Battle of Yorktown, the final battle of the American Revolution before the British surrendered.3 At one point during her military career, Sampson was injured by a musket ball embedded in her leg, and rather than have it removed by a doctor and risk revealing that she was a woman, Sampson dug the bullet out herself and sewed up the wound on her own.4 Unfortunately, a year and a half after her enlistment, Sampson became sick during an epidemic, went unconscious after being taken to a Philadelphia hospital, and was discovered to be a woman. However, Sampson was the first woman to be awarded a full soldier’s pension, being a soldier before Mary Hays had, and though her life after the war was typical of many farm wives, her husband fought hard after she died to get compensation from the government for a spouse that had been a soldier.5 These women make up only a small number of the women who did fight both for and against the Americans, and a miniscule fraction of the women who wanted to fight. Women had to go around the government if they wanted to fight as soldiers, but the government was very on board with female spies. A woman named Anna Smith Strong, based in Setauket, Long Island, was one of many Long Islanders recruited to George Washington’s secret group of spies, the Culper Spy Ring. The ring was headed by Major Benjamin Tallmadge, and most of the other spies lived in New York City, a prime place to spy on British soldiers. The spies from Long Island were recruited to help smuggle information from the New York City spies to other members of the organization. The city spies took information to Strong’s neighbor, Abraham Woodhull. Strong was the one who signaled Caleb Brewster, another spy, that there was information that he needed to pick up. Anna Smith Strong invented an extraordinarily original, inventive, and perfectly rebellious code - the Clothesline Code. Different items of clothing hung on her clothesline corresponded to whether or not there was new information that day. A black petticoat would mean that there was new information to be picked up, and a specific number of handkerchiefs which hung beside it told Caleb Brewster which of the six dead-drop cove locations along the Long Island coast he could find the information in. This code wasn’t broken throughout the American Revolution, and because of this, no one in the Culper Spy Ring was caught. Anna knew her status as a woman made her less suspected by anyone to be capable of important tasks such as spying, and so she was able to use what people expected her to be doing, such as day-to-day chores, to create a code in plain sight.6 Another female spy with connections to the government was Lydia Darragh. A Quaker born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, she married in 1753, then moved to Philadelphia and had nine children, only five of whom survived past infancy. Because her family were Quakers, they were assumed to not believe in war, but during the Revolution, they secretly supported the Patriots. In 1777, Philadelphia was occupied by the British, and Sir William Howe, a British General and the commander-in-chief of the British Army, took up camp right across from the family’s house. Later in that year, the family’s house was seized for use in meetings for the British soldiers, and Darragh persuaded the British to let the family stay in the house. The soldiers underestimated Darragh, and it didn’t end well for them - Darragh spied on the meetings they held, pretending to bring the soldiers more firewood or refreshments, and her fourteen-year-old son John would bring her coded notes to her oldest son Charles, a soldier for the Patriots.7 Darragh was another spy who came up with an ingenious

Debra Michals, ed., “Deborah Sampson,” National Women’s History Museum, last modified 2015, https://www.womenshistory.org/ education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson. 4 Khan Academy, “Women in the American,” Khan Academy. 5 Michals, “Deborah Sampson,” National Women’s History Museum. 6 National Women’s History Museum, “Revolutionary Spies: Women Spies of the American Revolution,” National Women’s History Museum, last modified November 9, 2017, https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/revolutionary-spies. 7 Debra Michals, ed., “Lydia Darragh,” National Women’s

method of getting information across that took charge of traditional gender roles: she took notes on the General’s meetings in a special form of shorthand known only to the Darragh family and sewed the folded-up papers under the buttons on John’s coat for him to deliver to his brother.8 Women were not technically allowed to fight, but some of them were allowed to spy. Poor women and rich women were able to do different things for the war that had separate effects. Poor women were mostly the population that made up camp following, so they had to do chores all day to support the soldiers. However, they did receive a small amount of money that belonged exclusively to them, not to their husbands. Poor women generally had to make the choice to follow the military and work for them because of money, something that rich women would never have to think about. Martha Washington is a bit of an exception the wife of General George Washington, she was a very wealthy woman (whose only job was really to throw parties). Martha spent most of the American Revolution at Mount Vernon, but spent every winter at army camps, supporting her husband and soldiers by knitting and raising money.9 Fundraisers were something that rich women kickstarted but many people contributed to. One example is Esther DeBerdt Reed, the wife of George Washington’s former assistant, Joseph Reed. She started a fundraising campaign to make and buy uniforms for soldiers. Her relief program ended up spreading into six states, causing many other associations, including churches, to join her, and raising three hundred thousand dollars.10 Wealthy or middle-class women often took control of their husband’s farm or business while their husband was fighting (if he was; the Patriot soldiers generally came from the poorer end). This gave the women more power in business and often made them effective business managers - for many women, the war widened the scope of the work they were able and allowed to do.11 However, for poor women, this was rarely the case. Generally, their husbands were the ones fighting, but they didn’t own their own business. Many women had to make the choice between following their husband’s troop around or becoming completely penniless and possibly in danger if war broke out on their doorstep.12 So rich women used their privilege to raise money for the army from afar, but poor women were surrounded by the army, doing chores to try and support the ragged troops and sometimes fighting alongside them. For women of different races, however, their contributions to and effect on the war were even more disparate. Enslaved AfricanAmerican women had a history of more difficulty escaping from plantations than enslaved men did. This was not because of any lack of ability, but because of their duties to others - women expecting children, those who already had young children, and women who took care of elderly relatives were unable to leave their families behind to pursue freedom. Their hardships were already doubled, being both enslaved and female - they had to perform all of the difficult tasks that enslavers forced upon them, as well as the chores that women and mothers had to perform for their families on their own time.13 The governor of Virginia, the Earl of Dunmore, in November 1775, issued a proclamation stating that all indentured servants and enslaved people were invited to join History Museum, last modified 2015, https://www.womenshistory.org/ education-resources/biographies/lydia-darragh. 8 National Women’s History Museum, “Revolutionary Spies,” National Women’s History Museum. 9 Ashlee Anderson, ed., “Martha Washington,” National Women’s History Museum, last modified 2018, https://www.womenshistory. org/education-resources/biographies/martha-washington. 10 Khan Academy, “Women in the American,” Khan Academy. 11 Khan Academy, “Women in the American,” Khan Academy. 12 Library of Congress, “Revolutionary War: The Home Front,” Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/american-revolution-1763-1783/revolutionary-war-home-front/. 13 CherylAnne Amendola, “Enslaved Women: Struggle and Strength” (speech, October 26, 2020).

Alexa Clayton ‘25

Caroline Piccolo ‘25

Lindsay Fouché ‘25

the British army to fight the rebels that were threatening to attack British soldiers in Virginia.14 Many enslaved people, men, women, and children, walked miles and miles to British lines. There were very harsh punishments for this if they were caught by the Americans, which could include being sent to the sugar plantations (which treated all enslaved workers even more horribly than plantations in the colonies did) or even being executed. Even though the patriots fought for freedom and made the British out to be horrible and tyrannical, the patriots were in turn that way toward enslaved people. The Patriot idea of freedom, which was supposed to apply to all, was not freedom for the enslaved. However, things were not entirely fair on the other side of the war either: even though the British were kinder toward enslaved AfricanAmericans than the patriots were, they still did not treat them equally. They were treated poorly in the army and not given enough food. At one point in Lord Dunmore’s army, smallpox broke out, and Lord Dunmore, rather than helping, left the black soldiers in the troop behind to die on Gwynn’s Island in Chesapeake Bay.15 African-American men were treated poorly and not allowed to fight, instead being forced to do the grunt work of the army.16 However, the British did end up freeing many of the formerly enslaved people who had come to their side. A woman named Deborah Squash was enslaved by George Washington at his plantation at Mount Vernon. She and a few other enslaved people heard that a British ship was passing by through the Potomac River, and so they escaped and boarded the ship, called HMS Savage. They were granted freedom. Squash went to New York City and got married after the war. In the Treaty of Paris composed after the Americans won, the Americans said that they wanted to re-enslave all of the enslaved people that had escaped to British lines during the war.17 Guy Carleton, a British soldier, the 1st Baron of Dorchester, and the governor of Quebec both before and during the American Revolution,18 refused to let this happen. George Washington sent “agents” into New York City to reclaim the people he had enslaved, but British soldiers refused to let the people go. Deborah Squash, after this, got on a ship to Nova Scotia and lived there for the rest of her life.19 So the British, accused of “enslaving” the colonists, actually fought for the rights of those who had been enslaved by the colonists. Women’s roles in the American Revolution were restricted, especially the roles of free or enslaved African-American women. They were forced to comply with society’s views of them, and were able to help in more meaningful ways only when it was convenient for the rich white men in power. However, many women took matters into their own hands, knowing that people needed their help regardless of petty traditional gender roles. Women formed societies to raise money and awareness, boycotting British goods even when they could get in trouble for speaking out. Women followed the military, supporting the troops and their fighting relatives at their own expense. Women risked their lives trespassing both gender laws and the laws that powerful people set in place by fighting both in disguise and as themselves, and spying on the enemy, using the fact that they, as women, would be underestimated, to their advantage. Formerly enslaved women risked their lives to get themselves and their families to a place where they would be safer. No matter which side they were fighting for, women

just wanted to be able to be able to influence the world in a time when they were not allowed to, and sometimes just for straightforward human needs. Women deserve a larger part and more recognition in history as a whole, but especially in wars and the military, in which they were denied spots for years. Women fought to be able to fight, and not only physical battles: women fought with words against oppressors; they fought to be represented and to have the same rights as men; they fought to be able to perform the jobs they wanted to. Women of all races played an immense role in both sides of the war as fundraisers, soldiers, spies, and leaders of escape, and deserve many a chapter in every history book.

Anna Gambuzza ‘25

Carol Berkin, Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence (New York: Vintage Books, 2009), 123. 15 Paul Aron, “A Revolutionary Fever,” Colonialwilliamsburg. org, last modified September 18, 2020, https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/trend-tradition-magazine/autumn-2020/revolutionary-fever/. 16 “African American,” video. 17 Hope Roselle, interview, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, New Jersey, United States. 18 The Editors Of Encyclopaedia Britannica, ed., “Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester,” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, last modified November 6, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guy-Carleton-1st-Baron-Dorchester. 19 Roselle, interview.

Jillian Garrubbo ‘25