Voices and Visions 2022

Voices and Visions

Art and Writing from the Middle School Spring 2022

Editor: Tyler Rizzo ’26 Faculty Advisor: Marsha Kleinman Layout and Design: Diane Giangreco Visual Art Teacher and Curator: Joelle Francht 8th Grade, Class of 2026 7th Grade, Class of 2027 6th Grade, Class of 2028 5th Grade, Class of 2029 4th Grade, Class of 2030 Cover Art: Madison Lee ’28 The 2022 Voices & Visions is dedicated to:

Alan Jones & Linda Larkin whose skill, compassion, and wisdom inspired thousands of young people to find their voices and realize their visions

Eliza Bishop ’28

Adam Goodrich ’28

Voices and Visions Art and Writing from the Middle School Voices

Kiran Agarwal ’28 Katherine Altirs ’26 Saniya Bansal ’26 Abigail Bashur ’30 Adelina Carrascosa ’28 Isla Cherchio ’30 Nate Chou ’26 Malcolm Donaldson ’28 Suzanna Elkhouri ’26 Adam Goodrich ’28 Agatha Greenberg ’28 Helena Hejna ’28 Mila Huang ’26 Rachael Huang ’26 Becca Jacobson ’27 Kurt Kiang ’28 Matthew Kwon ’26 Chelsea Lee ’26 Zachary Maas ’28 Ana Mejia ’28 Madison Millon ’30 Serena Nguyen ’26 Callan Portner ’29 Shreya Ramesh ’28 Aman Raval ’28 Tyler Rizzo ’26 Elias Rosenberg ’26 William Ruberton ’26 Tala Saker ’26 Logan Snyder ’26 Corrina Spagnoletti ’30 Jazmine Taylor ’28 Elizabeth Wager ’28 Mahala Weintraub ’26 Elena Wilska ’30

Visions

Georgia Aitken ’28 Sam Akaho ’26 Saniya Bansal ’26 Abigail Bashur ’30 Eliza Bishop ’28 James Bronson ’27 Ellen Chen ’30 Eleanor Chung ’29 Lauren Chung ’26 Avalina DeLorenzo ’27 Luca DeLorenzo ’30 Julia Elmore ’29 Louise Felsenthal ’29 Evy Fernandez ’27 Elizabeth Freeman ’26 Annabella French-Brown ’29 Adam Goodrich ’28 Helena Hejna ’28 Sydney Herrick ’27 Cassius Hill ’28 Mila Huang ’26 Mia Johmann ’26 Claire Kiang ’30 Graham Killebrew ’28 Anthony Labib ’26 Logan Langer ’29 Chelsea Lee ’26 Madison Lee ’28 Siran Levy ’27 Evan Lim ’26 Andy Liu ’26 Sophia Lucas ’28 Simon Maza ’27 Biko McNeil ’28 Thomas Meeker ’26

Natalija Milic ’30 Will Morral ’26 Benjamin Nieves ’30 Claire Norris ’26 Roma Patel ’30 Damian Polanskyj ’27 Callen Portner ’29 Kiva Pur-Rashid ’30 Aiden Raper ’29 Aman Raval ’28 Stefano Rizio ’29 Myla Robertson ’27 Gabe Rosenthal ’28 Talia Rosenthal ’26 Truly Sackman ’28 Teddy Salzman ’28 Bianca Scalzo ’28 Bebe Scourzo ’27 Ahana Shah ’27 Namya Shah ’29 Iris Shen ’27 Alexander Shilkrot ’26 Joonkyu Shim ’28 Logan Snyder ’26 Juliet Southern ’29 Cecilia Spagnoletti ’29 Noa Streater ’30 Melisa Susar ’27 Nolan Treadaway ’28 Arjun Variankaval ’29 Isabella Venezia ’30 Dea Watkins ’29 Mahala Weintraub ’26 Maren Wheeler ’26

Note from the Editor: During this year at the MKA Middle School, students were able to create truly meaningful pieces in the literary and visual arts. Students analyzed the world around them, about which they were, on the literary side, able to make complex and powerful statements, and on the visual side, they were able to translate these ideas into beautiful works of art. Each piece was nothing short of astounding. Editing them was a joy for me, as I’m sure it was for their creators: the Middle School students of 2021-2022.

-Tyler Rizzo ‘26

Suzanna Elkouri ’26 Polyphemus thought he was smart – strong, too, but that came with the territory of being a cyclops. He was confident in two truths: Firstly, any mortal that dared to cross him would not get away with his life.

And secondly, that his father would avenge him if he somehow got himself killed or hurt (truthfully, he knew this would never happen).

Mulling over his thoughts as he tended to his sheep, humming a simple song beneath his breath. It would have been quite amusing, watching such a large cyclops hum a kids’ bedtime lullaby in such a rough and offpitch tone. For some odd reason, Polyphemus felt as if he could embrace the day – his mood was almost too good to be true. It was proven to be just that when he returned to his cave later in the day, herding his sheep in and yawning with sleep on his mind. He dropped his makeshift door, a large boulder that he prided himself for being able to lift, and closed the entrance way to his cave. This signaled to his fellow cyclops that he was either busy or going to sleep. He wouldn’t be bothered. He sat down and started his tasks, as he needed to finish milking his goats and making supper before he could rest.

His tired state didn’t last long, however, for a crowd of about fifteen men sat sprawled across his floors (floors that he had cleaned just the night before). They took it upon themselves to eat his food – food that he had labored for. Cheeses, of assorted kinds and sizes, surrounded them as they gluttonously fed upon them, and the thieving little things were jeering and laughing with joy. Now, Polyphemus was quite large; Cyclops tended to be. By now, the laughter had come to a stop. He relished in the terror that seemed to flit across the humans’ faces, the triumph and evidence of his complete and utter strength.

Juliet Southern ’29

As a child, the other cyclops would make fun of him. He was smaller than the rest, at least when he was younger. At times, it felt as if he would never grow. That he would stay the laughing stock of the others, the cyclops with no friends and no strength. His fears turned out to be just that; only fears and nightmares. He grew to be one of the largest on the Land of the Cyclops. Despite this, he still knew that he had to prove himself at every twist and turn. He had to prove that he was a cyclops after all, and not a puny mortal in a cyclop’s body.

So, Polyphemus towered over the mortals akin to a God. Eyes flashing like the mighty Zeus, a king amongst peasants, a giant amongst petite humans.

Godly in both stature and strength, his voice boomed and echoed in the cave, much like Zeus giving out a final order and warning. “Strangers, why are you here? What brings you here, and why are you thieving?”

“We come from Troy, after a long battle. We are guests in your home, and isn’t it divine law, decreed by Zeus, that you must show hospitality towards us?” A man answers, appearing the leader amongst his immature crew.

“You are a fool, to believe I fear the wrath from the gods. I would not spare the lives of you nor your comrades. Now tell me, where have you left your ship?”

Julia Elmore ’29

The same man fires back a quick rebuttal, so convincing that it stifles Polyphemus’ ego, “Poseidon sent an earthquake and broke our ship on the rocks at the end of your land. We are survivors, my men and I.”

No pity surges in the cyclop’s heart, not an ounce of remorse as he moved forward with swiftness unbeknownst to most cyclops. With his large hands, he grasped two of the men by their necks. Repeatedly throwing them down on the cave floor, he relished in their cries. This was what it meant to be powerful, to be unnervingly and undeniably strong. He could only greedily think of the meal that awaited him, and how the other cyclops would react to his impressive tale. They would surely be in awe of him.

The brains and blood of the men splattered on the floor, painting it a dark red, a color beautiful to Polyphemus. Dismembering them, he simply dropped them into his wide gaping mouth, chewing loudly and grinning down at the remaining men. It was one of the best meals he had ever had, sour and sweet with blood red liquid dripping down his face. With a heavy sigh, he collapsed next to his sheep, knowing the men had deserved what they had gotten. They were complete morons, stealing his food and helping themselves to his cave. It was their fault, not his.

The world, alight with color as dawn broke, came alive as Polyphemus went about his daily chores. Once finished, he took it upon himself to throw two more men into his mouth, savoring the meal with every bite. Not a single amount of remorse crawled into his unforgiving heart, wanting to hurt them for even the slightest offense. Following his meal, he herded the sheep and resealed the entrance to his cave, the mortals still trapped inside.

His mood began to soar once again as he hummed beneath his breath, forgetting why his mood had soured the day before. Later, however, he was reminded of the pesky mortals.

Aiden Raper ’29 In the evening, he shepherded his sheep back in and chomped down two more mortals. Then, Odysseus, a man that Polyphemus viewed as slimy and conniving, stood before him with an offer. “Cyclops, take some wine and wash down your scraps of men. Taste it and see the marvelous drink we carry! I mean it as an offering, if you were to be so kind as to help us home.”

Despite his doubts surrounding the man, he grasped the bowl of liquor and downed it in one mighty sip. The bowl alone wasn’t enough to satiate him, and he called for more.

Is this what it feels like to be a God? I feel as if I am soaring!

“Cyclops, you asked for my name? It is Nohbdy, everyone calls me this.”

The Cyclops paused before responding, his thoughts growing slower. “I will eat you last, Nohbdy. As a kindness for you telling me your name.”

He tumbled to the side as the words escaped his mouth, falling into a deep sleep. He felt so completely peaceful, wrapped in warmth as the fire grew, and he slipped out of consciousness.

His serene state of mind was gone all too quickly. A sharp throbbing sensation in his eye awoke him, the pain so great that he bellowed and clutched at his face in agony. He tugged the spear out of his eye with a grimace and howled to his fellow cyclops. “Help! Nohbdy has blinded me, Nohbdy has tricked me!” The cyclops only chuckled, calling him a fool and walking away.

Polyphemus’ anger only grew like the embers of a fire, and he lashed out and wrenched the boulder away from the door. He hoped to catch anyone

Annabella French-Brown ’29

that dared to bolt, to show them that the mighty cyclops was strong even without proper vision. He would prove to them all that he was not to be jeered at or underestimated.

He stood there as the new day started, tired with eyes rimmed with sleep.

He stroked the rams, milking them, and then allowed them to pass. The leader of the rams walked up to the mighty cyclops, allowing the creature to pat him. “Why are you lingering so far back? Sweet ram, could it be that you are grieving for your master’s eye? Do not worry, Nohbdy will not get out alive.” He felt touched, believing the ram truly cared for him.

He would make good on his promise; Nohbdy would not get out with his life. He sent the ram on his way, on lookout for the mortals. They would pay. They would.

It was only then when he heard the echo of Nohbdy’s voice from the shore. “Cyclops! Would you feast upon my companions? I am puny, aren’t I, in the hands of a caveman such as yourself.

Do you like the beating we gave you, you cannibal? Zeus and the gods have given you karma, for eating your own guests!”

The anger struck him hard and fast, propelling him towards the shore.

He would not be bested. He would be strong. He had to be. He heaved a hilltop towards them, mightily howling as it created a gigantic wave.

Then, Nohbdy spoke again, a taunt alive in his voice, “Cyclops, if someone ever asks how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaka!”

Eleanor Chung ’29

Polyphemus sobbed, asking, begging, Odysseus to come back. “I will pray that the god of earthquake will befriend you, and he may heal me of this black wound.” Odysseus only scoffed in response, hurling a nasty retort at the cyclops as he grieved over his eye.

As a reply, Polyphemus stretches his hands out to pray, “Hear me, father, and grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, never sees his home: Laertes’ son, I mean, who stays in Ithaka. Should destiny intend that he shall see his roof again, let him lose all companions and return under strange sail to bitter days at home.“ Sobs wracked his body as the ship sailed away, a pitiful cyclops reminded of his weakness, feeling as if he was just a child again.

The laughing stock. An overconfident brute with nothing to comfort him but a simple lullaby and a flock of rams.

Saniya Bansal ’26 Hubris is often a fatal flaw of many ancient heroes. What I didn’t know was that this man, Odysseus, would become a crucial figure to that construct.

Cecilia Spagnoletti ’29

I returned to my cave as usual with a load of dry boughs to start a fire for supper, and something was different. Not necessarily wrong, but different.

I couldn’t see what at first. Well, look at me; what are the chances I see or notice anything at first glance? I used the same stone I’ve been using for ages to seal my home and began to stoke a fire. But, I caught an odd reflection through the flames. Danger. I thought to myself, who or what are these little creatures? “Strangers, who are you? And where from? What brings you here by sea ways – a fair traffic? Or are you wandering rogues, who cast your lives like dice, and ravage other folk by sea?” One of the tiny creatures stepped forward – an odd looking thing he was, that’s for

sure. I couldn’t hear much of what he said from all the way up here.

Here’s what I knew: These were strangers. These were mortals. This was danger. Who do they think they are? They must mind the gods!

What possessed these men to enter my home? “Tell me, where was it, now, you left your ship – around the point, or down the shore, I wonder.”

Here’s where things get slightly… um… complicated? To this, one of the little men stepped forward and said: “Poseidon Lord, who set the earth a-tremble, broke it up on the rocks at your land’s end.” I heard nothing else that came out of his cocky, arrogant mouth. I stood there, and at that moment I weighed my options. I could reply, play along with his little game. Or… And just like that, their crew was down two men. What can I say? These men delayed my supper and I was hungry. I kept going, purposefully ignoring their expressions. They were terrified. Paralyzed. Vulnerable.

They looked so powerless standing there with their hands raised to Zeus, praying for this to come to an end. Oh well, that’s not my problem now is it? As I stood there, almost mindlessly consuming man after man, I realized something. Hey, I can relax! They literally can’t kill me; for if they do, they have no way of escaping. In retrospect, relaxing into that thought was a bad idea. So with that, I slept like the world’s largest baby. The following morning, seeing as these annoying pests of men were still there, I carried on with my life as usual; I built a fire, milked the ewes, and had my breakfast. (Don’t ask what – or I suppose … who my breakfast happened to be that day.) That same night, all was the same. I left and returned to the cave with rams and sheep, and went through my evening chores. I also went through two more men, but Dea Watkins ’29 that’s besides the point. As I looked down, a young man approached me holding an ivy bowl of some dark drink. “Kyklops, try some wine,” he said, “Taste it, and see the kind of drink we carried under our planks.” No harm there, I thought to myself. I swallowed down one, then three more. What a kind man! I never even asked his name… “Tell me, how are you called? I’ll make a gift that will please you.” His name was Nohbdy, or at least that’s what I had thought. Suddenly, I felt a bit dizzy; disoriented almost. I stumbled backwards not knowing what was happening to me until eventually, I just went off to sleep…

It was like being stabbed by thousands of knives with blades as sharp as could be. It was being stung by millions of merciless jellyfish. It. Was. Hell. In pain and confusion I clawed at my face until finally removing what looked like some large spike from my throbbing and now sightless eye. He fooled me… “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” He destroyed me.. The next few seconds were a blur, but in that time, “Nohbdy” and what was left of his crew had managed to escape. How do I know? Well, this man decided to push his luck. “If ever mortal man inquired how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laërtês son, whose home’s on Ithaka!” You will pay for this Odysseus. Your hubris astonishes me. Just you wait my friend, just you wait.

Logan Snyder ’26 I make my way back to my cave, boughs over my shoulder and my sheep trailing behind me. I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and was hoping for a quiet evening

Louise Felsenthal ’29

after milking my ewes. After closing the cave door, I completed my routine with my beloved sheep and began tending to the fire when I saw thirteen men watching me, holding handfuls of my cheese.

“Strangers,” I said, “who are you? And where are you from?” I listen to the tallest man explain what he wants from me and anger starts to build up in my chest like a fire when a log is thrown into it.

“Here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give,” that self-confident warrior explains to me. The hearth in my chest explodes with flying sparks and I can’t control my irritation with the men who slightly cower before me.

“You are a ninny, or else you come from the other end of nowhere, telling me, mind the Callen Portner ’29 gods!” Their entitlement to my help when they did nothing for me but break into my house and eat my cheese is what sparks a bonfire. My giant hand reaches down and scoops up two men easily and I bring them to my mouth. I start tearing off their limbs and toss them in my mouth. They got what they deserved. Kyklops do not care for hospitality like the rest of the world may. All they are to me is food for my next meals.

Now quite tired after having to speak to these idiotic humans, I lay down and go to bed. The chars and embers settle and cool down in my body. I’ll deal with the rest of them tomorrow.

Light slowly hits the trees, beginning the start of a new day. I lean against my cave’s closed stone door and watch my sheep graze the dewy grass as the men I ate for breakfast settle in my stomach. I decide to leave the humans in my cave until evening while I bring my treasured livestock to higher ground.

As the sky darkens, I return to my cave and begin my routine of milking my sheep and making a fire. I could tell the men had been doing something fishy while I was away, but I assumed their small brains would not think up any real, dangerous ideas. Chuckling to myself at their naiveté, I grab a couple more men to have for dinner. Suddenly, the confident man from the night before walked toward me and said: “Kyklops, try some wine.” I am surprised by his willingness to give me something, remembering how rude he was when I didn’t want to help him. “I meant it for an offering if you would help us home. But you are mad, unbearable, a bloody monster! After this, will any other traveler come to see you?”

His last comment angers me once more and I snatch the bowl from his hands and swallow it all immediately. He doesn’t understand that I don’t want other travelers to come to me. I have all I need, alone with my sheep. Who cares if I’m a monster? They chose to enter my house and now they’re facing the consequences. Their wine is good, though. If I act kind I can have more and still eat them all.

“Give me another, thank you kindly. Tell me, how are you called? I’ll make a gift that will please you.”

“Remember the gift you promised me, and I shall tell you,” he explains after giving me some more wine. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy.” His strange name confuses me, but the strong wine is starting to affect me. I barely get out a response before tumbling backward and sitting against the cave’s wall.

“Nohbdy’s my meat, then after I eat his friends. Others come first. There’s a noble gift now.” My eyes slowly close and drunken sleep overtakes me.

I suddenly jolt awake, feeling a searing, overwhelming pain in my eye. I can’t see anything, so I reach up to my eye and feel a long spear embedded into it, blood gushing out and covering my hands. I wail in pain and anger for the men I underestimated. I should have killed them all as soon as I found them in my home! I rip the bloody spike out of my eye and blindly grasp for the warriors who tricked me. I continue to yell as loudly as physically possible, praying that my neighboring Kyklops will hear and help as I continue to grab my prisoners.

“What ails you, Polyphêmos?” Relief washes over me when I hear a voice. Nohbdy deserves to die after what he did!

“Surely no man’s driving off your flock? No man has tricked you, ruined you?”

“Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” I scream in reply as I stumble around my cave. Suddenly being fully blind cut off my most important sense and I was quickly realizing that I did not know the layout of my cave very well.

“Ah well, if nobody has played you foul there in your lonely bed, we are no use in pain given by great Zeus.” I yell even louder in frustration at realizing how the human tricked me. The pain in my eye starts to overtake me, making me even weaker. I feel towards the opening to the cave and move the stone covering the door, hoping they’ll try to escape so I catch and punish them for what they did. Unfortunately, they didn’t take the bait, so I closed the door again and collapsed into unconsciousness, despite the pain in my eye.

After I wake again, I finally tend to my eye and take out my sheep to graze while checking to make sure the men don’t escape. One of my bigger rams lags behind the other sheep, but I think nothing of it. I stay outside with them all and feel the wind on my face, wishing to be able to see the sunrise just one more time. My eyesight is worth much more than those humans’ lives. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure they all get what they deserve.

“O Kyklops! Would you feast on my companion? Puny, am I, in a Caveman’s hands?” I hear the man who stabbed me yell by the shore. How did they get away? I explode in rage and grab a piece of a hilltop and chuck it as far as I can throw. I hear a crash in the water but no breaking wood, then hear the conniving man yell something else.

“Kyklops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laërtês’ son, whose home’s on Ithaka!”

Odysseus! That man who ruined me, his name is Odysseus! He will regret what he did to me. His hubris will come back to haunt him. “Come back, Odysseus, and I’ll treat you well, praying the god of earthquake to Arjun Variankaval ’29 befriend you – his son I am, for he by his avowal fathered me, and, if he will, he may heal me of this black wound – he and no other of all the happy

gods or mortal men.”

“If I could take your life, I would and take your time away, and hurl you down to hell! The god of earthquake could not heal you there!” Odysseus continues to enrage me more and more! I reach towards the sky and speak to Poseidon, my father. I ask him to never let Odysseus see his home again. He deserves to never see his family again, after what he did to me. As one last attempt at killing Odysseus and his men, I reach down to grab and throw another large piece of land at their ship. Hearing their ship safely sail away, I make my way back up to my cave to tend to my sheep.

Elias Rosenberg ’26 Polyphêmus walked carefully through his flocks of sheep, wary of the dangers of crushing one under his gargantuan feet. He looked out over the sea; his eyesight might have failed him, but he thought he saw something floating in a reef not far offshore.

Once the sheep had been grazing for hours, he slowly shepherded them back to his cave. He was understandably proud of it; he had carved a giant cave a hundred meters into solid rock. Polyphêmus was the only one in the entire world who could move the massive rock guarding, for surely not even the gods could move the boulder. As he brought his sheep into the deep valley that held his dwelling, Polyphêmus now definitely heard voices.

Something was off about the voices. They were speaking the same language, but Polyphêmus could barely understand it, whether you attributed it to his winning stupidity or the fact that they were two or three octaves higher than any voice he had heard in memory. He grunted as he shoved aside the entrance, and in he walked to the sight of a dozen puny humans.

The humans were in his house, eating his food, and laughing and partying in HIS cave. Anger boiled in him, and he roared at them.

A few of them scurried about, screaming and yelling, but one came up to him. Polyphêmus had to admire it; it did take courage to come up to a giant a dozen times your size.

“I am assuming you are the inhabitant of this cave, yes? We are here simply to stop and eat, and then we will be on our way,” it said.

“We are but humble sailors, and surely by Zeus’s will you would let us stay for a while.”

Polyphêmus, in all his mighty lack of intelligence, grew more angry at this human’s flowery language. “I am not afraid of Zeus. I am the strongest in the world, and I can do whatever I want. You can stay here tonight, but Zeus can challenge me if I don’t abide by some alien god’s customs.” Polyphêmus had other ideas, which sounded equally good, and tasty. He lumbered over to the cave entrance, led the sheep inside, and slid the boulder closed. Now it’s an open game, he thought to himself. He reached down and picked up the meatiest of the bunch, and promptly bit him in two, all the while the human’s screaming drowned out every other sound.

Now the humans grew even more frantic, and the same one approached him, attempting to negotiate with the rampaging and still hungry Cyclops. It offered up some liquid in a cup, which it called the liquid of the gods. Polyphêmus liked this since he was stronger than the gods, he was obviously equally deserving of this “wine.”

“Look at me now, human. What is your name? I’ll save you for last. I like your offering.”

Stefano Rizio ’29

“My name is Nohbdy, great Polyphêmus. I have heard of your unmatched strength; it is an honor to be in your presence.”

Polyphêmus liked this offering, and this one also looked quite meaty. Either way, he took the giant bowl of liquid and downed it in one gulp. Now this, he liked. “Bring me more!” The humans brought another bowl, and after drinking that in one gulp again, he began to feel tired. This was odd since Polyphêmus never grew tired that early. But he could not resist the urge, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Up he woke when he felt a searing and eye-opening pain. He couldn’t see, but he felt a boiling, and something large and sharp deep into his single eye. He screamed, an unheavenly roar that shook the very cave, a scream that a creature might utter when it loses its spot at the top. A lion, king of kings, being mutilated and at the mercy of a field mouse. The anger boils up in the lion, but it knows it cannot do anything; it is no longer the strongest, and the crushing reality that maybe it never was poured down upon the giant hairy beast.

This earth shattering scream, unheard by the mighty god who quakes the earth, was not unheard by his fellow Cyclops brothers. Above and beside him, he heard them yelling if he was fine.

“It was Nohbdy! Nohbdy did it, he maimed me!” toe.

A silence came about as Polyphêmus’s brothers ignored him, not worried that he might have stubbed his gargantuan

Polyphêmus groped around his cave, not being able to find any humans, even though he knew they were in there.

As dawn rose, he let the sheep out, but he knew the humans might escape. He covered the massive frame with his body, so no human could get through without touching Polyphêmus. Down he patted the sheep, and no human was to be found. He closed the door, and soon after, he heard yelling. He recognized this puny voice; it was Nohbdy.

“Know that it was Odysseus, son of Laertes, who did this to you! The rightful king of Ithaka! Maybe you aren’t as mighty as you might seem after all, being punished by someone a fraction of your size!”

Polyphêmus grew even angrier at this, and he felt around for boulders, which he chucked it at the voice. Giant boulders rained down, but the stupid human kept on boasting. At last, Polyphêmus knew he could not do anything.

“Father, great Poseidon, curse this Odysseus of Ithaka! He has maimed me, and he cannot get away with this. Know this, Odysseus! You are not safe; the quaker of the earth is after you!”

Tyler Rizzo ’26 “Nohbdy’s blinded me! Nohbdy’s ruined me!” I shouted out of my recently opened cave door, not realizing that I had just released my savage visitors. What an idiot I was. I met that man, Odysseus, after finally finishing my day’s work of shepherding. It was an unruly day as I had trouble with one of my sheep. In my frustration, I ate it whole. I was overwhelmed by nervousness at my boss finding out about this when I entered my cave. I had to really push myself to open my boulder door today, although I managed to do so. Not without drooling bits of that lost sheep, however. I crouch and look down, seeing this man and his many companions behind him. So he stood there, as once the great Orestes stood before Agisthus, who had invaded his home, stolen his crown, and disparaged his father’s legacy. However, like Orestes reclaiming his home, this man seemed to believe he was reclaiming my home! As if it already belonged to him? Intimidated, I inquired as to who these men were. “Who are you people? Are you pirates?” As Orestes brandished his sword, this man shouted the following words: “We are Greek soldiers, who have just returned from the war in Troy! We have been displaced by the sea! We, descendants of the great Agamemnon, we ask you to respect the tradition of hospitality among the gods! If you fail to do so, the great Zeus will look down upon you displeased!” My thoughts were jumbled and cramped. Who was this man to invoke the name of Zeus? What has he done to deserve my hospitality? “Well I don’t know how things are done in Greece, fool,” I whispered, with great frustration. “Here though, we don’t fear the gods. When a band of pirates sneaks into our homes, we are not compelled to be hospitable.” I recklessly lunged forward toward the two most appetizing looking of these men, reaching out and wrestling them into my inescapable grasp. I ate these two quickly, not fully appreciating the sensation, which I normally would. I looked to my door, keeping it closed in order to keep these men inside. I decided to save these men for another day, as if they were cattle, and I went to sleep.

I wake without the knowledge of how long I have been awake. I did not remember whether or not I even slept. What I knew was that the intimidating man from before was offering me a bowl of wine. How strange, I thought. How suspicious.

A new wave of thought consumed me at exactly the wrong time. How could these mere soldiers do anything to harm me, Polyphemos, son of the great Poseidon? The answer, in my mind, was that they couldn’t. They had no chance against me, so why shouldn’t I indulge myself in their wines, for just a minute. This would be my downfall. I drank a whole bowl of this wine, becoming so inept that I was unable to realize the mistake I made. I shouted for more wine, which they quickly delivered to me. I somehow remembered my purpose here, and asked this man for his name. “Call me Nohbdy, that is my name.” “Well Nohbdy, I have a gift for you. I will eat all of your men first, saving you for last. You will have a few extra minutes to live,” I drunkenly shouted, while spitting out some wine. The wine then proved too strong for me, and I passed out.

I woke up involuntarily screaming. I could not tell whether I was awake or dreaming. I was jolted to reality when the pain finally hit me. I felt the shuffling of the men through the vibration in the floor, but I could not hear them over my own screaming. I feel around my face, realizing that the source of the pain was a spike driven into my eye. I heave and grunt as I drag it out of my eye. I run to my door, filled with adrenaline, easily able to move it aside. I shouted to my Cyclopes brethren around the island, “Nohbdy’s blinded me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” They begrudgingly replied, “Okay? Congratulations?” I recoiled in frustration, feeling one or two men slip past me and out the door. I wouldn’t let these people leave, there was no chance of that. I guarded the door, reaching my hand to the floor only to feel my sheep escaping as well. Once I heard that arrogant man Nohbdy behind me, outside the door, I realized the mistake I made. I fumbled around while trying to chase them, to no avail. As they ran to their ship, I did my best to find nearby boulders to toss toward them, although of course my aim was horrid without my sight. I hear Nohbdy, his voice obscured by the sea, shouting: “You Cyclops, must know, that the one who conquered you unwieldy beast was none other than Odysseus, King of Ithaka!”

Now here I sit, resting for a moment, having lost my preyturned-tormentors. I shout to my father, the great lord of the sea Poseidon, “Curse that man Odysseus, who blinded me! Do your best to never allow him to reach his home of Ithaka!”

Namya Shah ’29

Mila Huang ’26

“Love and Anger” Stories tell fables Poetry does the same But Through all, Emotion tells everything Love, Is natural happiness Through the wind When your heart feels a flurry Love will grow, When nature calls and you are calm Love, Will circle back As it grows Anger, Hates hope As fire’s embers dim As lamplight dims You will feel it Growing Stronger, Anger -Abigail Bashur ’30

“I see me” A pile of rain, a pile of snow anything that’ll really go The reflection of me the words I see flow up like a beautiful fountain I can climb a mountain I can grow up tall I see me at the edge of it all.

-Madison Millon ’30

Chelsea Lee ’26

Gabe

R o s e nt h a l ’ 2 8

Damian Polanskyj ’27 Desperate, despair, depressed, drowned This is how I feel when you’re not around.

Crushed, crumbled, crooked, cracked This is how I feel when you’re not around.

Sad, sorrowing, searching, stressed This how I feel when you’re not around Not to be left.

-Corrina Spagnoletti ’30

Noa Streater ’30

The frozen lake A round icy field With shimmering snow everywhere.

The pale, twinkling light of the sun behind the clouds shroud the lake in sparkling mist The sound of blades scratching across the ice is a blanket of sounds that vanish as soon as they start The lake glows in the starlight as everything is covered by a blanket of shadows A round glittering field with silently shimmering snow -Elena Wilska ’30

Maren Wheeler ’26

Aman Raval ’28

Motivation is one of the most important things in life. For example, you need motivation to wake up in the morning; you need motivation to do almost ANYTHING in life. Usually, you think your body wakes you up in the morning. Well, you’re not wrong, but you actually need motivation to get up or else you won’t be able to move. You need motivation to help you play sports. For dance, you need motivation to warm up and do leaps and turns across the floor. Same for soccer, kickball, and even Gaga because you need motivation to kick or toss the ball. And you especially need motivation to learn something new!

A lot of other things in life require motivation - really just about everything. H ow would your parent or guardian get you to school and all of your other activities without being motivated? I don’t know either…H ey, all I know is that almost everything has a little bit of motivation in it. H ere is the last example before I tell you guys the real lesson: H ow can you LIVE without motivation? Your body NEEDS motivation in order to survive.

But no matter what, you always stay motivated for me ,okay? I know you might not feel like getting up at 7:00 in the morning for school, but hey, just get it over with! School is only six hours and what on earth would you be doing for six hours at home? Even if you want to stay home and play video games, you should stay motivated and do things like take a bike ride or a walk - something simple that won’t let your brain tell you to play things on a tablet.

See, I told you, not only is this just a school assignment, this is also a life lesson to stay motivated no matter what. Thank you for listening!

-Isla Cherchio ’30

Ahana Shah ’27

Mahala Weintraub ’26

Myla Robertson ’27 Black smoke fills the air Heavy debris is scattered about I move slowly through the wreckage Of what used to be Torn apart by the world Oh how cruel it was To see everything destroyed Right before my eyes I wash my hands in the nearly dried up river Heal my wounds with the few resources around I get ready to rebuild The ashes of the world -Callan Portner ’29

Nolan Treadaway ’28

“Books” I have been climbing my whole life, Just to get where I am.

Nestled in between two towns, Each filled with music, The beauty of it all leaks into my house.

I live with my friends Who come from all over the world.

Sometimes their stories are happy And sometimes they are sad.

Sometimes, they’re both.

But what matters is that they make someone happy.

A little girl visits us To learn our stories, Hear them again And again And again.

They make her laugh, They make her cry.

She learns things that she never would have learned elsewhere.

How to be kind, How to enjoy life, And most importantly How to be courageous.

-Ana Mejia ’28

Alexander Shilkrot ’26

Georgia Aitken ’28

Logan Langer ’29

Logan Langer ’29

“Nature’s Song” In the towering mountains Is the Ancient secret.

Quiet in the lonely night.

A melody As sacred as The moon.

Her song As warm as The Sun. She sings and Life begins, Springing into a Botanic harmony of Life and beauty.

Saniya Bansal ’26

Songs subject to the Love of animals, Sonorously sweet as The birds sing along.

The trees dripping with sap As if they were weeping.

The tides of life, Breathing In And Out. - Helena Hejna ’28

Teddy Salzman ’28

“Cycle of Nature” The beautiful forest thrives in the gentle summer wind.

Harmony lives and grows beneath this sacred sky.

But soon the leaves begin to fall silently with grace.

The air fills with a chill and the ground is left in majestic golds and reds.

After comes the cold Winter.

Frost withers the woodland.

It leaves it Lonely and cold.

But then spring blossoms.

Thick rain pours down from above.

The animals rustle.

Tr u l y Sack m an ’28

Behold the seasons.

Blanket of Eden.

Cycle of nature.

-Agatha Greenberg ’28

Avalina DeLorenzo ’27 Ahana Shah ’27

Mahala Weintraub ’26

Alexander Shilkrot, Mia Johmann, Andy Liu, and Chelsea Lee ’26

“A Pencil” A stubby little stick One who creates imagination and creativity Full of curiosity and a dream.

Creates freedom, creates agreement.

Saves countries and continents With one sign of a signature.

A life has been signed.

A love has been made.

Bik o M c Neil ’ 2 8

Always getting shorter But stronger.

Dreams are drawn Lives are changed.

The dawn is bright.

A new prophecy has been made.

- Aman Raval ’28

Natalija Milic ’30

“Rhyme Scheme” Early rise, late fall, only you can loose beams of happiness wash down from the grassy fields, on which I once ran, to the shore, where the sand is a glistening tan A lovely smile you have, and you never frown Shining on the sea, never turn away Children run around, cooling off with a splash!

They run, they talk, they play, laughter calling in the day At night you rest, and you’re gone in a flash Though all of the days run cold, you stand tall Watching everything close I never thought it was you who made the birds call They sing a song so sweet, it makes everyone feel small Though your rays beam bright, day doesn’t last, but it makes the most Most memories, glazed with bittersweetness and heart, chilled lemonade on the beach when you’re upset Friends that stay with you, despite being apart, family there with you from the start Everyone side by side, watching the sun set -Shreya Ramesh ’28

G e or

g i a A it k e n ‘ 2 8

Thomas Meeker ’26

“This is me” I am from the slaves who worked on Tennessee plantations Migrating from Tennessee to Michigan in search of a better life I am from a family whose ancestors trace back to 1848 One is Hezekiah Lacy, one of the 932 Tuskegee Airman who fought in World War 2 I am from having family reunions Each time in different places Acknowledging our freedom and praising our Lord But I am also from A country One that doesn’t snow It has 10 islands Including one that my mom is from Off the west coast of Africa There is Cape Verde I am from a family where my mom has 16 siblings My mom had to move away when she was only 5 They moved to start a better life I am from famous Cape Verdean singers One named Nelson Freitas I am from a family who fought against Portugal to gain independence I am from my grandfather who was a police officer in Cape Verde I am from a family who is all over the world This is me.

Jazmine Taylor ’28

Talia Rosenthal ’26

Mahala Weintraub ’26

Guess What It Is? Pink perfection, crisp but soft and fruity working it like a baker kneads dough sweet sensations keep the movement steady getting it to the perfect consistency.

Then, when the moment is right, I push through.

The point of no return, like a trooper jumping from a plane, I blow the air slowly, but with power.

It takes off and grows.

For a split second everything is perfect.

A balance of calm, quiet, and peace.

Then pop, it splats sticky, gooey, sweetness all over my face.

I peel it off, put it back in my mouth and start all over again.

-Adelina Carrascosa ’28

Maren Wheeler ’26

Evan Lim ’26

Roma Patel ’30

Chelsea Lee ’26

“Under the surface” I am from the 12 peaks of Sweden And the rolling hills of Germany From the blood of Queen Elizabeth I I am from the mountains of Ireland And the nonexistent coasts of Austria And from the missing head of Marie Antoinette I am from love and loss Happiness and sorrow From visits to the graveyard But being optimistic about tomorrow I am from the Catholic Church And Sunday mass I am from putting family first And making good memories last -Elizabeth Wager ’28

Avalina DeLorenzo ’27

“A Walk in the Park” What’s good, African woman?

Uhh, I’m not African.

Not Nigerian.

I’m African American.

Simon Maza ’27

No, not Hausa.

No, not Fula.

Not Ijaw.

No, I don’t wear a bucket on my head.

Yes, African American.

Oh, so that’s why you have silky skin?

Did you get it from your mom?

A Black goddess; okay sounds cool That’s why your hair is curly You know Martin Luther King?

Do you have an African friend?

Are you dating a Black guy?

Probably a god.

Yep, it was cruel what you guys did to us Way back when It would be great if you would apologize.

No, I don’t know where you can get jollof rice.

No, I don’t know where you can get banga.

No, I didn’t make this; I bought it at Lulu Lemon So, where did you come from?

Uhh, New York City.

No, where did your grandparents come from Way back when?

Oh, the United Kingdom.

Okay. POP, POP, CHEERIO. Let’s get some fish and chips!

-Malcolm Donaldson ’28

Logan Snyder ’26

“The Fruit Fly” You swat me out of the air, You try to keep me away From your precious fruit But it is no use, For I am long gone by the time you notice me But I will be back soon To steal more of your fruit.

You think you are smart Chasing me around, With your swatters and paper towels.

But you will never catch me No matter how hard you try.

Because I am A fruit fly.

-Kiran Agarwal ’28

Will Morral ’26

Bi anc a

Sc a l z o ’2 8

Ellen Chen ’30

“The life of a pencil” My friends sold in packs.

I hop in one, too.

It’s dark here. Open me. Will someone ever come?

Pop! Light travels the box of crammed friends.

A hand grabs me into the light and starts dragging me across paper.

My tip breaks and the hand brings a sharp cube and jams me in.

I spin around as if I were in a tornado. My head becoming sharper, more pointy.

I am ready again.

Being dragged across paper is so boring. I’ve had enough. I’m too tired. I am of no use anymore. I am unwanted and unappreciated.

-Kurt Kiang ’28

Benjamin Nieves ’30

“The lonely toy” I wish people would play with me Me and my black and white spots I haven’t been used since that dreadful white powder fell from the sky All of my friends are staying inside While I’m left out here to freeze They didn’t even remember to put me away I can’t wait for the ground to be green again Maybe then my friends will find me under all of this powder And maybe they will use me again Just maybe…

-Adam Goodrich ’28

S o ph ia Lu c as ’ 2 8

Anthony Labib ’26

“Wasabi Adventure” A green, sticky fire is ablaze in the forest of bamboo, and then you come across it.

It fully envelops you, embraces you with its fiery touch. Suddenly, you are transported to a land of inferno cities and homes, every element is ablaze with the fury of excitement.

And then, just as soon as it begins, you are transported back, and the green flame is gone.

-Zachary Maas ’28

Iris Shen ’27

Joonkyu Shim ’28 Air. Hot desert air collects dust from the surfaces of rocks and cactuses and throws sand around like a whip.

Rattlesnakes reside under rocks, in logs, and wait in cliff crevices. They stalk the ground, watching for prey.

Ironwood trees hang still in the air, fixated into the ground, sturdy and strong. Their branches stick out and pose.

Zinnia covers the land in beautiful vibrant color, standing out in the dusty desert atmosphere.

Oak Springs’ swamp beckons amphibians to make homes, water filling cliff ledges with beautiful views.

North Fork, the peninsula filled with sea-side towns populated by shops and people, a haven for indoors people.

Arizona. The state almost everyone has come to know and love, the desert canyon with beautiful sites, animals, towns, home of famous canyons. This is Arizona, home for many.

-Zachary Maas ’28

Abigail Bashur ’30

“Regrets I Hold”

I have to tell you this before I go It’s hard to keep my chin up for so long I hope that after all of this you know I know for sure that I am sometimes wrong.

We know the world was never black and white And faces often don’t mean what they show I hope that you can let me make things right I saw what you said when my mind was closed, Brain on defense, a quick ticking time bomb, And all of our mistakes were presupposed I lost my mind and any sense of calm Apologies, I owe you my despair.

Before our bond falls into disrepair I’m not at fault, I’m far too self-aware.

-Becca Jacobson ’27

He le n a

Cassius Hill ’28

Hej n a ’ 2 8

“I don’t care” I don’t care Most freeing thing to say Wind in my hair Feel the light of day To get out of this town out of this place To finally feel sunshine on my face I don’t care Hardest thing for me to think I’d get held whenever I’m scared If life didn’t flash every time I blink Because what if I lived in a house where there weren’t walls And wouldn’t have to stand by them wondering what is on the other side What if I didn’t have to answer any missed calls Or I wouldn’t have to worry about any time that I cried Watching my emotions dump like waterfalls Where I could keep my smile wide Keep my pride Evan Lim ’26 Confidence in every stride Maybe I would not spend HOURs on an assignment and not get a result Because school just feels like my whole intelligence is being decided on by an adult But not caring means that there would be no shattering Seeing my heart drop if I got a B B-cause it is not helping me escape the cage When can I swim to surface when When will I ever breathe again I was sitting in class and just went into space My mind was in every other place I don’t care I keep hoping that I don’t care about the way you are literally my mirror Everything you do affects me but it’s foggy and your image needs to be clearer I thought it was and I tried but you were not who first I thought you were Because mirrors have two sides so I’ll just keep on staring at your blur Standing there staring Really really caring

But I’m staring at these old memories and I cared It was nice in the meantime but soon this will be air I honestly would not think about that one time when you had the same look in your eye That same exact look of a stupid lie If I don’t care I was speaking to my therapist and she said but in a year will this cross your mind She told me if I let it pass I could just leave it behind So I looked at her and said I will try and we will see But it is harder than I thought it would be If I tried hard enough though I would only be thinking about euphoric nights in the city I would only think about those little moments I feel pretty About that summer in switzerland running in the rain About that summer rain water that washed away pain talking to that one person and my stomach hurts from laughing a ton Hugging my friends after a tournament we won That feeling of serving the volleyball and acing it Having a fear and facing it If I did not care I would still be comfortable and would not have needed braces I wouldn’t have cut my hair I wouldn’t have wasted time tryna please blank faces I wouldn’t constantly compare I wouldn’t have boundaries on what to wear I’d finally breathe some air Have that wind in my hair A weight I can bare I wouldn’t be that painted faced stranger sitting there If I just did not care -Tala Saker ’26

Bianca Scalzo ’28

Melisa Susar ’27

Andy Liu ’26

Isabella Venezia ’30

Sydney Herrick ’27

Mila Huang

February 14, 2022

WHY CLIMBING? THE EFFECTS OF CLIMBING ON MENTAL HEALTH Rock climbing, both as a competitive and recreational sport, has steadily risen in popularity in recent years.

In fact, climbing recently made its Olympic debut at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The Climbing Business Journal, which tracks gym openings nationally, reports that the commercial climbing gym industry grew at a rate of 6.9 percent in 2016, 10 percent in 2017, and 11.8 percent in 2018 (Olhorst, 2019).

Why do people climb? It is a great way to relieve stress and have fun at the gym. In addition, climbing is an inclusive, laidback community. The sport offers a variety of different routes every time you climb, which makes it entertaining and exciting while presenting new and different challenges. While the physical benefits such as strength, coordination, and balance may be obvious, there are further benefits that might be even more compelling—stronger mental health.

Stress rates of teens are high and on the rise. Only 45% of teens say they have excellent or very good mental health, which is the lowest of all age groups.

https://rb.gy/ij5pxz

Brooke Raboutou at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan

In 2018, an American College Health Association survey found that approximately 40-60% of the students reported significant episodes of anxiety or depression—a 10% increase from the same survey conducted in 2013 (Divecha, 2019). Nyasha Knigge, a high school sophomore who is also a climber, explains the feeling of being under pressure: “I think one of the most stress-inducing areas of my life currently is school. As a student who not only has high expectations for myself but also external pressures who expect just as much of me, it can be hard not to become overwhelmed.” Financial concerns, school, social and family issues, traumatic events, and significant life changes are all contributors to this stress (Smith, 2020). Within the last few years, the global pandemic has heightened these issues, sending the stress rates even higher. Gen Z has to deal with all these pressures on top of the normal stressors of growing up.

Exercise has been proven to foster better mental health. A 2012 study conducted at the University of North Carolina found that although exercise initially increases the stress reaction in the body, people actually show lower levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine after the physical activity is over (Hackney, 2012). Other studies show that by improving self-esteem and cognitive function, exercise reduces stress, depression, and negative moods (Sharma, Madaan, Petty, 2006). When exercising, three major neurotransmitters are released: noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin. These chemicals regulate your mood, enhance brain function, and can work against neurological disorders (Lin, Kuo, 2013). Some experts even believe exercise can be as beneficial as

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1

Mila Huang

February 14, 2022

combined sessions of therapy and climbing. This has been antidepressants in treating anxiety (Working Out Boosts proven, in a 2021 study, to effectively improve the patients’ Brain Health, 2020). A study done by the Harvard T.H. Chan belief in their own ability to cope with challenges (Kratzer, School of Public Health in 2019 found that 15 minutes of Luttenberger, Karg-Hefner, Weiss, Dorscht, 2021). running a day or an hour of moderate activity decreases the During the pandemic, all of these mental health risk of major depression by 26%. In addition, exercise gives benefits have come into play for climbers. Ashmont says, people a sense of accomplishment. While all these benefits “Parents would come up and express how much it’s helped of exercise tie into climbing, they also relate to other sports. their kids bounce back from COVID. Everyone was isolated So why rock climbing? What makes it more effective at for a long time and lacked that social interaction and physical reducing stress than other forms of exercise and sports? challenge, so climbing really served to give that back to the Beyond the positive impacts of exercise, rock kids in a great way.” Leaf, who is a member of his team, climbing brings additional distinctive benefits, particularly points out, “I got to see my friends and I had outside resources when athletes achieve flow state. This is a mental state in and a supportive community there which climbers are immersed in since I couldn’t be in school or “the zone” with total seeing other people.” She adds concentration. Staying on the that the climbing community is wall without falling requires particularly welcoming: “It’s complete focus which can feel very open…very accepting and like meditation in motion. diverse.” Knigge, who is also a Knigge says, “It's a sport that teammate, adds, “It’s such an requires so much focus and -Nyasha Knigge easy space to unwind and relax discipline that I don't have the in.” A strong connection with space to think about the other community can lead to a healthier mindset and reduced risk of stresses of my life.” Flow state releases dopamine, which mental illness (Connecting With Community, 2019). reduces stress and increases feelings of happiness. It also Climbing helps reduce depression, anxiety, and stress increases productivity and motivation (Murphy, 2021). High through exercise and keeping the mind in the moment. These school senior Natalia Leaf says, “Before climbing, I’m often days, with the pressures of the pandemic and growing hassles stressed. During climbing, I feel a lot more energy… of digital technology, it’s likely that the popularity of climbing working towards something. After climbing, I’m always in a will continue to rise. It’s no wonder that Knigge said, “My better mood. I feel a lot less stressed and more productive.” biggest saving grace is climbing.”

Many studies show the positive effects of climbing on mental well-being. A 2016 study conducted at Indiana University Bloomington found that climbing decreases both mental and physical symptoms of anxiety (Ewert, 2016).

Mickey Ashmont, Head Coach of the Gravity Vault Hoboken competitive climbing team, believes that this is because climbers learn how to cope with failure: “Kids can put a lot of pressure on themselves. I think climbing is a really good outlet for them to fail in a safe space. Training hard means that you’re failing a lot but you’re still seeing positive progress through your climbing, so learning that lesson through climbing can help them in school and in life.” As anxiety and depression often go hand in hand, climbing also helps reduce depression. Researchers in Germany concluded in a 2016 study that climbing is an effective intervention for people struggling with depression (Luttenberger, Stelzer, Först, Schopper, Kornhuber, Book, 2016). In fact, in recent years, there has been a new approach to treating depression—bouldering psychotherapy.

Therapists meet with patients in rock climbing gyms to lead Climber in flow state at Sportrock Gym, Alexandria, VA. 2

“My biggest saving grace is climbing.”

Siran Levy ’27

Claire Norris ’26

G ra

Avalina DeLorenzo ’27

h a m Kille bre w ’ 2 8

Children are Dying at School Who’s to Blame?

By Nate Chou ’26

The Sandy Hook Elementary School children on the morning of December 14, 2012 were optimistic kids, getting ready for the holiday season with their friends and family. These children, who had future birthdays, graduations, shared love, and everything that gives life purpose, stripped away from them, as a madman, who got his hands on a gun, would kill twenty-six people in an eleven-minute span (Sandy Hook Gun violence). This community’s overwhelming grief would be felt across the country with brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents alike. A time synonymous with optimism and cheer would be spent by parents holding on tightly to their children. The unimaginable for many was a reality.

Brothers and sisters would grow up without their siblings, subsequently leaving a hole in their hearts that could never be patched up. A heartfelt address from President Obama would encapsulate the hopelessness of the fact that we, as a country, could let twenty first graders die in their classroom.

With this came a seemingly agreed upon goal no matter where you stood politically: a promise, never again. A call for action was upon us. Change to gun regulations was surely something that would be agreed on unanimously. Right?

Fast forward from December 2012 to 2022.

Since the start of 2013 there have been 47 major school shootings, with 71 people killed and 118 wounded (Sandy Hook Promise). Since then, there has been an astounding 2,654 total mass shootings as of July 2020. This abundance of mass terror has resulted in over 2,900 deaths and just over 11,000 injured. (Vox-After Sandy Hook gun violence).

This doesn’t account for the 28% of mass shooting survivors who are permanently scarred with PTSD (APA-What happens to the survivors). The mass shootings headline the news, sparking political debate over which gun regulations need to be changed. What isn’t mainstream however, is just how common gun-related deaths are in America.

Eight children die from gun violence every single day on average in America (SH 16 Facts about gun violence). An obvious solution to the current plague would be stricter gun regulations. When polled, 61% of Americans are in favor of stricter gun control laws. So why can’t effective change be made?

The problem stems from the NRA and Republican politicians. The NRA is a gun advocacy group founded in 1871 looking to promote rifle shooting. The NRA has substantially grown since,

in popularity and influence. The NRA’s massive budget allows for them to make considerable donations to conservative politicians. In the 2016 presidential election, the NRA spent nearly 30 million dollars on behalf of former President Trump’s campaign alone (Luke Johnson-Fortune).

Trump, the other conservative congressmen, and state representatives that the NRA sponsors all have a common denominator: they choose not to pursue stricter background checks in favor of appealing to riled-up gun advocates.

Donald Trump giving a pro-gun speech with NRA leaders

Attempts at change consistently fail in Congress, leading to more questions of how the majority of Americans are against something seemingly so obvious. The answer, they’re not. In a survey conducted at Montclair Kimberley Academy, 40 8th grade students were polled about questions regarding gun violence and restrictions in America.

The results showed that 94% blamed Republican politicians for the division surrounding the lack of gun restrictions and background checks. 95% believe all states should have stricter background checks. A common counterargument from gun advocates is sourcing the Second Amendment, and claiming any attempts of stricter regulation would be infringing on their constitutional right to bear arms. The fundamental flaw in this claim is that this amendment is over 200-years-old, and in modern day, 89% of said surveyed people believe the Second Amendment should be amended to fit our current society.

The question for Republican lawmakers remains: to what extremes does gun violence have

to get to in America before they uphold their civic duties and work towards stricter gun regulations and background checks? How many children need to get shot to death before Republican lawmakers look at themselves in the mirror and decide to value human lives over votes and popularity? We, as Americans, have a history of patriotic stubbornness, unyielding to attempts at impeding our rights. In this instance, however, American pride regarding gun regulations must be sidelined. We can turn this plague around if we ignore the political boundaries that come with being a Republican politician. Bipartisanship is essential for solving any problems, especially one of this magnitude. If we can’t make change in our country, then Grace McDonnell, Noah Pozner, and all the countless children and people in our country who have continued to die from gun violence will have died in vain. Nicole Hockley was the mother of victim Dylan Hockley, one of the first graders that was shot to death in the arms of his teacher.

She wrote an emotional letter to her former self, one not corrupted by the evil in this world. She finished with a call for action for everyone, help out in any way you can for “To do nothing? That doesn’t honor the dead, and doesn’t protect the living.”

Maren Wheeler ’26

Alexander Shilkrot ’26

Chelsea Lee ’26

Logan Snyder ’26

Evan Lim ’26

Mia Johmaan ’26

Saniya Bansal ’26

Mahala Weintraub ’26

Lisztomania to One Direction Infection: How Teen Girls Affect the Music Industry (and Why They Should Be Taken Seriously) Logan Snyder ’26

passionate about a favorite music artist. Fans of Taylor Swift, BTS, or Harry Styles have reputations for being obsessive and emotional, but why? Why are teen girls, time and time again, shamed for loving artists like The Beatles or Elvis?

Maybe they should be taken more seriously, because the hysteria of those girls could actually be the fuel that propels those artists to their stardom.

Despite the fact that it comes from a word that literally means “suffering in the womb,” the term “hysterical” is very gendered.

It originates from Greek, and Policemen holding back Beatles fangirls from the band https://rb.gy/hepqbq used to be a diagnosis for women ranz Liszt is a significantly famous acting irrationally. From Frank and influential composer from the 19th Sinatra’s “bobby soxers,” to One Direction stans, century whose music is still listened to today, but or “directioners,” hysterical has been a word he rose to his place in classical music because of the describing teenage girls for countless years. adoration of his young female fans. Despite being Two popular examples of this “hysteria” a pianist performing emotional compositions, his are Elvis Presley and Beatles fans. Elvis’ fame audiences were often full of screaming and crying in the 1950s was a new concept that changed the fans. While he was also loved by men, it was way music and musicians are perceived today, mainly young women who would throw clothing and was solely because of devoted female fans. on stage, faint in his presence, and save his used Teenagers were starting to gain more money, cigarettes; he was something of a “rockstar.” It was which let them buy things that related to their a genuine phenomenon, coined “Lisztomania,” own interests. Teen girls were very willing to that was actually studied as a contagious virus. buy records and tickets to shows, which gave Though this behavior was seen as ridiculous and more artists an abundance of fame because of hysterical, it didn’t affect the way Liszt’s music how large the demographic was. In an interview was perceived and respected almost 200 years with Suzanne Ford, an actress and teenager at the later. Arguably, those “hysterical” fans were the height of Beatlemania, she remembered standing reason he became as popular as he did. Why were in large crowds of girls outside of her smalltown those young women seen as crazy for enjoying department store, waiting for new shipments Liszt’s music, and why is this stereotype often still of Beatles 45 records to be delivered so they applied to them? Young women have been and could all buy them. Girls really drove the sales still are shamed or looked down upon for being of records all around the world. Elvis also had

F

many fan-run clubs worldwide, including the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. The founders, who were big fans themselves, eventually quit their jobs because it grew so big in 1958 (Nguyen, 2021).

Young women were creating jobs for themselves because of their dedication for Elvis.

An incredibly similar thing happened with The Beatles, but on a much larger scale. The fact that The Beatles rose to their immense fame was almost solely because of teen girls in the 1960s, but it is often overlooked. More recently, male fans are commonly the face of The Beatles.

Earlier in their career, The Beatles’ music was taken as seriously as their teenage girl fans were—not seriously at all. As they developed their music style more later in the 1960s, they began to grow in popularity. Music critics, who were predominantly male, began to praise The Beatles soon after they had shamed the young girls who loved them (Wilson, 2017). The Beatles were not seen as ridiculous anymore, they were revolutionary. Writer Sarah Wilson in a 2017 article states that, “...it is not female fans but male ones by whom the seriousness and worthiness of music is measured, and The Beatles are not an exception here but a rule.” As soon as they gained more male fans, they were thought of as the greatest band of their generation.

Many fans made fan clubs for hometowns or schools, but there was also an official club like Elvis’. The Beatles’ Official Fan Club, created in the 1960s, was made for big fans of the band.

Fans could subscribe and get monthly magazines with information about the band’s whereabouts.

Freda Kelly had gone to their shows early in their career and was chosen to be their secretary by Brian Epstein, their manager. She was 19-yearsold and a fan at the time, so she understood the excitement of the other girls. She would often take requests for the band members from them.

For example, she gave the members gum to chew and return to fans, or pillowcases to sleep on. She was incredibly dedicated to her job and worked very hard at it until The Beatles’ breakup in 1970 (Menjivar,2020). Being a fangirl is more than just crying and stalking band members; real hard work goes into showing their devotion.

A One Direction fan project for an Italy show - Fans would hold a colored piece of paper to show the band a message https://rb.gy/fxbtia

A BTS fan project for a concert in Newark - “Rainbow oceans” https://rb.gy/bgtyvw

Suzanne Ford also said she recalls her high school friends reading about The Beatles staying at a hotel in New York for a performance in a fan magazine. They took a train by themselves to the hotel and watched them arrive from a large, screaming crowd. One of those girls had also started a fan club at her high school. Teenage girls in many countries were incredibly dedicated to seeing their favorite artists succeed and, with the rise of social media in the 2010s, the lengths girls would go to worldwide only grew.

Being a fan of more modern artists like Taylor Swift, BTS, or One Direction entails many more opportunities to show your love.

Anyone with access to internet could easily post about their love for a group and meet others who shared that interest. A common phenomenon for

“directioners,” fans of the group One Direction, One Direction fans used an app called was to trend hashtags on Twitter, which would Thunderclap, which would share the same message help them win voter-based awards. They ended on their accounts on sites like Twitter or Tumblr, up winning 28 out of 31 awards that they were to promote the band’s newest album in 2015. They nominated for at the Teen Choice Awards, a voter- planned the fifth-largest Thunderclap, with over based award show, because of these dedicated 34,000 participants, which was organized by fans teenage girls. Update accounts were created to in about a week. It was a project made to stream share any new information about the band. Teens a song, “No Control,” which was not an original could make accounts dedicated solely to letting single on their album. Fans decided to make it other fans know where the boys were or would a single themselves to show their appreciation be at any given moment. These accounts were to the band. They would buy the song to gift to insanely popular because any passionate fan fans who could not afford it, make hashtags to would want to be the first to hear about what their spread word of the project, and request the song favorite artists were doing. Some news outlets on the radio. “No Control” quickly grew and was started to cite and share information because played on radios worldwide, all because of teen they were faster than anyone else. Teenage girls girls that liked a band (Judd, 2016). The amount just decided to dedicate a of power that their fandom significant amount of effort “Teenage girl fans, they holds is only ever mentioned into helping other teenage as a joke, but what they do is drive it!

I think they drive girls share a love for a band genuinely impressive.

(Greenwood, 2020).

BTS fans are quite everything . . . they call the Skills like website similar to One Direction shots.

I think their power is building, Photoshop, video fans in that they are also really infinite.” editing, writing, marketing, incredibly powerful on -SUZANNE FORD social media. They don’t just and more are also used very often in “stan” culture. post updates about the band These skills are incredibly useful in many jobs or stream songs, though. In 2020, ARMYs, their but are written off when teenage girls are the fan groups’ name, raised $1 million to donate to ones with them (Blakiston, 2021). Sacha Judd, Covid-19 relief, and during large Black Lives an investor in tech companies and One Direction Matter protests against police brutality, they fan, describes younger fans as “…basically front- would flood apps used to identify protestors with end developers, social media managers, they were video edits of their favorite members, which absolutely immersed in technology, every day, crashed the app. Teenage girls have much more and [the public wasn’t] paying attention, because power than what people assume, especially in they were doing it in service of something [they] fandoms (Greenwood, 2020). When asked about don’t care about.” Lucy Blakiston, a writer, says modern fangirls’ role in the music industry, that “… I was learning valuable skills that would Suzanne Ford said that, “Teenage girl fans, they one day go on to make [her company] successful drive it! I think they drive everything … they call … never in my life did I think that these skills the shots. I think their power is really infinite.” were even remotely transferable until I started Despite this, judging young women with [her company] and realised that the reason this all interests has been a popular topic in the media came so naturally to me was because of my years for almost 50 years. Paul Johnson in 1964 wrote, of stanning.” Making and selling merch, writing “Those who flock round The Beatles, who scream fanfiction, leading update accounts, planning themselves into hysteria, whose vacant faces streaming parties, and organizing fan projects flicker over the TV screen, are the least fortunate are among many other complicated endeavors of their generation, the dull, the idle, the failures.” that young girls work hard to manage (along with A very similar statement about One Direction in school and jobs!).

2015 by Jonathan Heaf from GQ states, “By now

we all know the immense transformative power of a boy band to turn a butter-wouldn’t-melt teenage girl into a rabid, knicker-wetting banshee who will tear off her own ears in hysterical fervor when presented with the objects of her fascinations” (Blakiston, 2021). The blatant misogyny in these articles is obvious. Though males can have similar passions for other things like sports, they are rarely talked about negatively in the mainstream. Boys can scream at their TVs while watching sports but girls can’t scream in front of their favorite musician. Big sports fans even start riots, which can cause violence and millions of dollars in damage, but excited girls are the ones getting the negative coverage.

Blakiston remembers her father and brothers constantly obsessing over sports but never being judged for it. “I never once thought their interest in these sports was hysterical, or something to be ashamed of. I saw passion and dedication. My interest in One Direction, on the other hand, was seen as juvenile and embarrassing” (Blakiston, 2021). Another fan, Miselo, who grew up in Africa and became a fan through Tumblr, shares that experience. “… how easy it was to dismiss what girls liked, just because girls liked it

… It made me open to ridicule, but it also made me aware that I could be on to something that people won’t get until later on…” (Greenwood, 2020). These fans were very aware of the way they were perceived but didn’t care because they knew they loved the band.

Teenage girls are possibly more dedicated to artists than any other demographic in music and will go to great lengths to see their favorite musicians thrive and succeed. Mocking, judging, or ignoring them and their power when talking about music is incredibly ignorant. As Ford puts it, “Teenage girls love to go to extremes.” When they love something, they are completely willing to devote an unimaginable amount of time to it with no shame. They have also preemptively discovered and promoted many musicians that are now known as some of the most talented and influential artists of their time. “To … immediately discount the approval of young women, is a foolish thing to do. Don’t bite the hand that feeds” (Pollard, 2016).

Sports fans compared to ‘boy band’ fans (made by a BTS Twitter fan!) https://rb.gy/emylvs

Chelsea Lee ’26

Andy Liu ’26

UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS

HEAD AND NECK INJURIES IN THE NFL William Ruberton ’26

Is the NFL Doing Enough to Reduce the Risk?

It

was November 17th, 1991 and offensive lineman Mike Utley of the Detroit Lions was about to play his last football game.

Early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Rodney Peete looked downfield and threw the football right over Utley’s head. The defensive lineman that Utley was blocking jumped up to knock the ball down and crashed directly into Utley. The medical cart got called out onto the field and doctors determined that Utley needed to be put on a stretcher and carried off. Utley had been paralyzed.

Now, thirty years later, he is still wheelchair bound. Stories like this are, unfortunately, not very rare. Daryl Stingley of the New England Patriots and Reggie Brown of the Detroit Lions were both left paralyzed from devastating hits. Recent studies have shown that a majority of players suffer from some form of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, from repeated concussive and sub-concussive impacts to their heads. The NFL has been trying to reduce these injuries, but still not enough is being done.

In the early years of football there were no protections for players against head and neck injuries.

As in rugby, helmets weren’t worn in any form during the early stages of the game. Eventually players began wearing leather helmets, which evolved into

the plastic and composite helmets we know today.

In spite of safety advances, there has been an increased focus on the number of head injuries in football and their potential impacts on players.

Perhaps the most well known incident that focused attention on this issue was the murder/suicide case of Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez played tight end for the New England Patriots for three seasons, and had played for Urban Meyers’ legendary 13-1, 2008 and 2009 Florida Gator teams. In 2013, police found the body of Odin Lloyd and tied the murder back to Hernandez. He was convicted of the crime and punished with a life sentence. In April of 2017, four years into his sentence, Hernandez hung himself with a bedsheet in his prison cell at the age of 27.

Hernandez’s brain was sent to Boston University’s lab that specializes in repetitive brain trauma. Ann McKee called his brain “one of the most significant contributions to our work” because of the brain’s great condition (Kilgore, 2017). Hernandez was post mortally diagnosed with severe Stage Three Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which doctors had only seen in people 46 years of age or more (Kilgore, 2017).

In part due to this high-profile crime, CTE has become the focus of attention in the risks around head injuries in football. In a study done by Boston

University, 99% of ex-NFL players were diagnosed season alone, there were 224 concussions. Scientists with CTE (Moran, 2017). CTE is caused by repeated believe that the many sub-concussive hits that plague hits to the head and can affect major processes in the football players may have the most damaging effects brain. It causes damage to memory, decision making, long-term.

Traumatic concussive emergencies emotional control, and the lobes that control sight and are greatly increased by prior sub-concussive hits sound (Kilgore, 2017). In certain very serious cases (Connolly, 2019). While visible concussions are the brain can develop large holes (Kilgore, 2017). heavily monitored by the NFL, sub-concussive hits Damage caused by CTE is believed to be irreparable. that also cause lots of damage fly under the radar.

People who suffer from CTE do things that they don’t Recall that CTE is the outcome of repeated, less have control over. severe head hits which can cause long-term structural Therefore, the NFL and youth football have alterations in the brain. In a 2019 interview, Philip been increasing their research to Bayly, an engineering professor understand the source of these at Washington University in Saint injuries and implement ways to Louis who has been investigating reduce them. In the NFL, size the mechanics of brain activity and speed of the players has inside the skull, said: “The pain been steadily increasing over you experience [after a hit] is not time. Today, the average player necessarily an indicative of the weighs 216 pounds and is 6 foot damage that does to your head 2 inches tall (Fujita, 2021). These (Resnick, 2020).” Meaning that players are the best of the best -BOSTON UNIVERSITY if you get hit in the head, but it and put their all on the field every doesn’t hurt very severely, much play. Their size and speed are one of the main factors more damage is done than you think. The frequency in causing head injuries. The NFL has focused on of hits to the head is so large that in youth football, reducing the dramatic hits that cause concussions 28% of players say that they see somebody get hit in and get the most negative coverage by the press. the head every play (survey conducted by the author Recent rule changes to address these high-profile hits on 14 players). include “targeting” penalties, when a player leads a tackle with the crown of his helmet. Severe instances of targeting can lead to a player’s ejection from the game. Also, referees have been instructed to impose “roughing the passer” penalties more frequently, to try to protect the often exposed, and vitally important, quarterback.

While these changes have helped to reduce severe injury, there is limited evidence that the number of concussions is declining. For example, In the 2019 In youth football, efforts have been made to reduce the number of frequent hits to the head and their severity. The number of full contact practices has been reduced, and the use of “guardian” helmet covers has increased. These covers add an additional layer of cushioning to the helmet. The NFL should focus on changes such as these to reduce smaller but more frequent head impacts, not just the widely publicized injuries that get all the attention.

Though some progress has been made, the NFL can do more to increase safety of its players.

Recently there has been a dramatic decrease in participation in youth football (National Federation of State High School Associations, 2019) because of the highly publicized, detrimental effects of head injuries on children. If the NFL wants to stay the most watched professional sports league in the U.S.A., then it needs to maintain its popularity by increasing player safety.

“99% of ex-NFL players were diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy”

Kiva Pur-Rashid ’30

Bebe Scourzo ’27

Evy Fernandez ’27

Nola

n Tr e a d a w ay ’2 8

A new Narrative of North Korea February 15, 2022

By: Chelsea Lee ’26

Imagine crawling across the frozen Tumen River,

This isn’t the start to a fictional book. It is the story

the wind whips across your face and every

of Joy Kim. She is a North Korean defector who

snowflake feels like a piercing needle, stinging

escaped from N.K. in 2018. North Korea, a

you as they bury into your skin. You try to maintain

communist country located in east Asia with a

a sense of urgency, while knowing the thin ice

population of over 20 million, is a dictatorship

that you crawl on could

ruled by Kim Jong-Un. It is

collapse

largely opposed to western

at

any

given

moment.

Despite

the

culture,

freezing

weather,

the

propaganda to degrade

panic

America, South Korea, and

you

other capitalist countries.

overpower the feeling of

It does this by prohibiting

agonizing

Each

foreign media, such as

thundering heartbeat is like

movies, songs, games, and

the ticking of a bomb, a

even the entire internet.

constant warning that time

The regime tries its best to

adrenaline rushing

and through

pain.

and

creates

is running out. The words of warning from the

keep out foreign influence in order to maintain

broker who arranged your escape repeat inside

control. Oftentimes, when the topic of North Korea

you. Even though he paid off the guards near the

comes up in American media, the threat of Kim

river earlier, you know that it won’t be long before

Jong-Un’s nuclear arsenal is brought up. Rarely,

another guard returns. The lethal opium in the

however, are the stories of North Korean citizens

collar of your shirt is a harsh reminder of your last

ever talked about. North Korean citizens are often

resort, knowing you would rather die than get

depicted as mindless puppets that follow Kim

caught. However, the sparkling lights of China in

Jong-Un without hesitation. However, inside

the distance rekindles the spark of hope in you,

North Korea is a population flourishing with life

the future of freedom you are fighting for.

and hope.

LABOR CAMPS

life of torture for the reason that “their blood is guilty.” In North Korea, treason can result in the next three generations of your bloodline being punished. Conditions in these camps are horrifying. Prisoners are forced to sleep in cramped living conditions. Manual labor is mandatory, and beatings and torture are reoccurrences. Food is so scarce that there are witnesses that say that there are people trying to

Breaking laws in North Korea can result in severe

eat rats to survive.

consequences, a common one being getting sent to a labor camp. Treasonous acts include smuggling,

attempted

escape,

consuming

foreign media, and practicing a religion, all of which could land someone in a concentration camp. Despite the regime's constant claims that they do not exist, satellite images and countless defectors’

testimonies

prove

otherwise.

Only 30 kernels of corn are provided each day,

According to the United States government

and death from starvation was a common sight.

report, in 2013 there were an estimated 80,000-

Prisoners are malnourished and worked to the

120,000 people imprisoned among the five

bone. Additionally, women are often in danger of

existing camps (U.S. Department of State, 2021).

being sexually abused and harassed by officers

Liberty for North Korea, an organization that

during questioning. During questioning, torture is

assists North Korean defectors, states, “Some of

frequently used in an attempt to coerce a

the camps are the size of large cities and have

confession. Forms of torture includes forcing a

existed 5 times longer than Nazi Concentration

person to stand for hours on end without sleep or

Camps and 2 times longer than the Soviet Gulags”

food; water torture, also known as controlled

(Liberty of North Korea, n.d.). Many of these

drowning; and beating with a thick rubber band.

people haven’t even committed a crime, living a

Mass executions have also been reported.

PUBLIC EXECUTIONS

Trade that wasn’t approved by the government considered

was considered capitalistic and deemed illegal.

treasonous, and could result in an execution. This

However, in 1995, the regime shut off the

includes people who shared South Korean

distribution of food and resources to all of the

movies, possession of Bibles, drug dealing,

northeast

smuggling, watching movies, and spreading

prioritizing the wealthy citizens of Pyongyang, the

anti-regime propaganda. Many citizens are

country’s capital.

Any

anti-Kim

activities

are

region

of

the

country,

instead

forced to watch public executions. A survey conducted by the U.S. Department of State found that 64% of defectors had witnessed an execution. Children are said to have been forced on field trips to watch public executions (U.S. Department of State, 2021). The Kim regime restricts rights by ruling with fear. Executions serve as a public display of consequences for disobeying the regime.

ARDUOUS MARCH During the 1990s, the government wasn’t able to distribute food to the citizens with the heavy cost of the military and crash of the economy. This led to a devastating and widespread famine among the North Korean people that was later named the “Arduous March.” In the past, the citizens of North Korea depended on the government to distribute food and relied heavily on the socialist system.

This system allowed the regime to have complete authority of power through the controlled economy by choosing which districts to trade to.

iknowtoday.com/2016/06/27/worst-natural-disasters-in-the-world/7/

After this, most of the country was in ruins without the essential support of the government. Victoria Kim, a Harvard graduate and the Seoul correspondent for The New York Times, has written many articles on life in North Korea. In a recent interview, Kim stated that, “Each time [there is starvation], the North Korean regime appears to have prioritized building up its military over improving the lives of its people, including developing nuclear weapons and missiles.” Starvation was accepted as a normal condition. A North Korean defector, Mina Yoon, stated that, “Only when you lose all energy and

to clothes to try and survive. In addition, the number of smuggled goods from foreign countries increased. People began to trade across the Chinese border and receive goods from South Korea and China. These goods included makeup and USBs with content from South Korean media. The black market in North Korea still operates today and plays a crucial role end up in a sickbed do you realize that you

in spreading information about the outside world

haven’t eaten well” (The Arduous March, 2014).

to the citizens.

People

were

so

accustomed to starving that

THE POWER OF USBs

being healthy was a very

Foreign media is smuggled into

rare occurrence.

During

North Korea through USBs. Before

this time, there were an

USBs, they were smuggled in on

estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million

CDs and DVDs. On them are South

deaths, however, the North

Korean

k-dramas,

Hollywood

Korean government continues to claim that only

movies, music, interviews of escapees now living

225,000 to 235,000 died (Natosios, 2002).

in South Korea, and much more. The government

While people in his country were struggling to

tries their best to brainwash citizens into

even get a kernel of corn, Kim Jong-Il, the dictator

believing that South Korea and America are

of North Korea at the time, was in comfort,

corrupt and poor countries. In the interview with

protected by the safety of Pyongyang. This was

Victoria Kim, she stated, “Even though North

the point when many people began to lose hope

Korea isn't connected to the Internet, there is a lot

and trust in the government. But, there is a silver

more information smuggled into the country on

lining. Through these adversities rose the

USB flash drives, through which people view

Jangmaddang. Forced to find ways to make

South Korean television shows and learn that the

money, children developed an underground

outside world is a lot different from what the North

market that traded supplies. Unofficial trade

Korean government tells them.” An example is

erupted, with people selling everything from food

how a North Korean defector said that she initially

believed that South Korea was a poor country,

social control” (Saucedo, 2020). Wearing jeans is

however,

where

seen as a symbol of capitalism and lipstick is

characters lived prosperous lives, she was

considered “immodest,” making them prohibited.

convinced otherwise. These movies not only

A violation of these laws could result in

inform, but give hope to poverty stricken North

consequences such as public humiliation and

Koreans. North Korean defector, Joo Yang, stated,

forced labor.

after

watching

k-dramas

“The themes [in the movies] are different. In North Korea all movies and media are made to support

Danbi Kim, a North Korean defector, was sent to a

the Kim regime…But foreign movies are centered

concentration camp along with her family on

on people’s actual lives. I can relate it to my life”

accounts of smuggling and working to help

(Liberty in North Korea, 2018).

people escape. During her imprisonment, she was beaten and tortured, and was forced to watch her brother endure the same treatment.

Her brother sacrificed his life by taking the blame for the charges against her to ensure Danbi and her family’s escape. Now, she has escaped to South Korea, and she tells her story to inspire others to keep her brother’s legacy alive.

Spreading awareness about the stories of

Organizations like Flash Drives For Freedom send USBs into N.K.

defectors like Danbi are crucial. They shed light

across the border to combat the regime’s propaganda.

on the lies and propaganda spread by the North

www.businessinsider.com/south-korean-leaflets-north-korea-2014

LIMITED SELF-EXPRESSION Self-expression is limited in North Korea, just another constant reminder of the lack of freedom each person has. Only certain hairstyles approved by the regime are permitted. As the Human Rights Foundation states, “Simple items of clothing that are deemed a threat are banned by regimes, while others are imposed as a form of

Korean government. It’s alarming that in this modern day and age, this sort of totalitarian government still exists. How can North Korea stay in power while the basic human rights of over 25 million people are violated and ignored every day?

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

SANIYA BANSAL ’26

BEAUTIFUL OR BROKEN? Have you ever just wanted to wave a magic wand and change something about the way you look?

Have you ever felt bad about yourself because you don’t look like the images that the media promotes as beauty? It’s a known fact that the media has a strong influence on this generation just like any other: it’s altered people’s opinions on politics, society, music and most importantly, themselves. It is to the media’s benefit to mask the truth; to talk about the “glamorous” parts of things with only negative attributes, such as mental illnesses. What happens though when the media starts to gloss over the dangers within these diseases? Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate amongst mental illnesses. What information regarding EDs are we really consuming? That having one is simply a choice? That it’s a trendy diet plan? That it’s a fast way to lose some weight? Think about how much we aren’t being told, like the fact that EDs are deadly diseases that can mentally and physically consume a person until they no longer have the ability to accept themselves, no matter how much they change. It’s time we start to look beneath the dark surfaces of social media and stop glorifying this awful form of slow yet significant suicide.

https://rb.gy/gvek7k

**** Social media has set up a convoluted narrative of eating disorders, promoting and praising these mental illnesses as if living with them can somehow improve your life. There are countless posts out there leaving viewers with the impression that eating disorders are a lifestyle choice or a pathetic cry for attention; this is masking the fact that they are uncontrollable, potentially life-threatening mental diseases that can absolutely destroy a person inside and out. ****

https://rb.gy/ffsdee

When the internet finds a way to turn a life altering mental illness into something that people think that they can just “try” for a week to shed a little weight, it becomes clear that social media has completely taken control over our minds. One of the most upsetting things about this is that social media only talks about one or two different kinds of eating disorders and pinpoints them to a specific age, race and gender. Somehow it is anorexia nervosa that social media has made out to be the goal. Never the “gross” ones like bulimia or binge ED (Tyson, n.d.).

According to a survey conducted at Montclair Kimberley Academy on 56 8th grade students, 1

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

SANIYA BANSAL ’26

almost half of the participants said that they were only familiar with 1-2 different types of eating disorders, and 22 people were at some point under the impression that eating disorders are a lifestyle choice. On social media, eating disorders are still seen as the diseases of rich, white, teenage Caucasian girls who are trying to gain control over their seemingly flawless lives. This could not be more untrue. Diseases this deadly do not discriminate. Men, women, people of color, Caucasians, adults, children, teenagers. Anyone. Out of the 56 who took the survey, 48 people said that they have personally known someone who has struggled with an eating disorder. **** In the past few years, the general age of children on social media has gotten lower. About 50% of parents that have children ages 10-12, and 32% of parents that have children ages ages 7-9 reported their children to be using social media apps within the first six months of 2021 (Rogers, 2021). If kids that young are already on social media, what’s to say they won’t come across a post possibly promoting something regarding disordered eating? Their brains are still developing; they won’t understand the negative effects of what they are seeing. If we’ve already established that posts like these are poisonous to the minds of teenagers, just imagine how they could affect younger children?

https://rb.gy/vbwmb2

**** In November of 2014, Meghan Trainor did an interview with “Entertainment Tonight.” This interview sparked a ton of controversy on multiple

Survey Results:

48.2% said that they were only familiar with 1-2 different kinds of eating disorders.

39.3% said that they thought at some point that eating disorders are a choice or a lifestyle.

83.9% of people said that they personally know someone who has struggled with an eating disorder.

2

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

social media platforms, leaving many people offended, disappointed and enraged. In this interview, Trainor was talking about how she had at one point “tried” to go anorexic for three hours.

She claimed that she wasn’t strong enough and just gave up. She said how all she consumed for a short period of time was celery and water, which according to her, “doesn’t even count as anorexic” (Stern, 2014).

This offended many because Trainor, with her words, invalidated many people’s experiences and stories. The way she displayed eating disorders across the media insulted so many people, and she didn’t even realize how what she said was wrong. **** Underneath the toxic realm of #thinspo, and ED promotion posts, there is a website that was originally created to serve as a recovery-based site called Pro-Ana. Pro-Ana was originally intended as a support system for sufferers to support each other and help each other through recovery of an ED. However, since then, ProAna has taken a terrible turn for the worse, and is now a site divided into two “sections”: those who view eating disorders as serious mental illnesses, and those who view it as a choice or a trendy way to lose weight (Betts, 2020). By glorifying eating disorders as a lifestyle choice, their dangers, their severity, and the physical and mental torture that comes with them are shadowed. If you dig a little deeper, it becomes clear that Pro-Ana sites lurk beneath the surface of almost all social media platforms. More needs to be done to reroute Pro-Ana sites back to a recovery zone, not a trigger zone that causes sufferers to relapse.

There is no easy solution to this ongoing issue. But the government and organizations should be doing more to hold these social media apps accountable for how they deal with users who engage with content surrounding eating disorders. Society has shattered the bubble surrounding recovery-based sites that are intended to help people get better; now, they’re trigger zones that cause more and more people to relapse into self-destructive diseases. **** An eating disorder cannot be tried. An eating disorder just simply is. Having an ED doesn’t show any kind of strength. Strength is when you

SANIYA BANSAL ’26

are able to overcome your battles after being so exhausted and so sick for so long. Starving yourself is not a “cute diet” and making yourself sick intentionally shows no sign of strength. It is a sign of physical and mental weakness, a sign that a mental disorder has completely consumed a person to the point where they can’t even hear the rational side of their brain anymore.

There’s nothing glamorous about being hospitalized. There’s nothing cute about being ridden with constant guilt and feeling invalidated about your trauma. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate amongst mental illnesses, so maybe we should be more cautious of the way we talk when addressing EDs. Eating disorders are not a simple choice of “to eat or not to eat” that is made lightly.

It’s an endless uphill battle simultaneously affecting the body and the mind.

It's never feeling in control, never feeling good enough, never feeling like this will or can ever end for them. The worst part is that most who are struggling often don’t want it to end. They don’t want to get better. Over time, social media has blurred the line between beautiful and broken, making it so that those suffering are now scared to speak out and get help because the internet has made light of a disease that has taken over their lives.

Don’t think twice before reporting posts promoting EDs; you never know what that one post could do to someone.

https://rb.gy/mhjae0

3

Maren Wheeler, Elizabeth Freeman, and Lauren Chung ’26

Iris Shen ’27

Simon Maza ’27

Luca DeLorenzo ’30

SERENA NGUYEN ’26

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: INDIA AS GENDERED VIOLENCE REMAINS RAMPANT IN INDIA, MANY GROUPS SEEK TO CHANGE IT Of the millions of sexually violent crimes that happened to women worldwide in 2020, 38% of them were in South Asia, many of which in India.

According to the Indian National Crime Records Bureau, in 2020 there were 376,887 crimes against women: 28,153 being rapes, 63,693 being kidnappings or abductions, 7,045 being dowry deaths, 109 being acid attacks, 943 being human trafficking, and more. These statistics are likely less than the actual amount, as many cases could go unreported. Although these are horrifying atrocities that these women face, that does not mean that Indian women or the Indian government have given up, and neither should you.

-

The 2020 Crime in India Statistics, showing the number of violent crimes against women by state and territory from 2018 to 2020.

For the statistics below, it is important to know that they are class-affected, and the majority of the victims who do not get justice are a part of the Dalit community, which is the lowest caste in India. As said by Refinery 29, the Indian caste system has existed for hundreds of years. It was only removed from the government in 1950, but there is still a large socio-economic impact. As stated by the Nov. 2020 report Justice Denied: Sexual Violence & Intersectional Discrimination, at least 10 Dalit women are raped in India each day. Because of their social status, Dalit women’s rape reports are frequently discarded, poorly handled, or pressured to be withdrawn. Even if they get to trial, only 21% of accused rapists of Dalit women are convicted. As said in the report, the main cause to this lack of justice is not because of the existing laws, but because of the police, medical examinations, and society, which are interfering with rape reports so they do not even get to trial. In an interview conducted with Hetal Jhaveri, an Indian citizen, she said, “Some regions are not safe for women when they are alone and after dark or when a girl child is left alone with people other than close family members.” Poorer people, and the regions they live in, have a much higher chance of sexual violence. When reform is made regarding it, these people often do not benefit from it, even though they are the ones most affected by it. The effect sexual violence has on wealthier communities is less. Some communities don’t have any at all. Jhaveri even says that where she lives is not as violent. “Things are not that bad

SERENA NGUYEN ’26

in the whole country as portrayed. So far we feel much safer in the region where we live.” Those wealthier can also speak up about sexual violence with less fear. Sexual violence is used as a way to keep Dalits at the bottom of society, showing how it is used as a patriarchal and classist tool. It is more influenced by society rather than the government, showing the reason that sexual violence has been so prevalent in India to be that society supports a misogynistic mindset, and it exiles those whom feel its severe effects.

With all of this injustice, the government is making an effort to fix it, even if it is not happening particularly fast. Progress is trying to happen, and a clear example is the 2018 Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, stated by PRS Legislative Research. This Amendment states that the new minimum sentence for rape is ten years in prison.

Rape of a girl sixteen-years-old or younger can be sentenced with ten years in prison (twenty years if it is gang rape) to a life sentence. Additionally, convicted rape of a girl below the age of 12 can result in the maximum sentence of the death penalty. This shows how India is trying to fix the problem of sexual violence, it is just happening slowly, but change is appearing. There is still a lot of work to be done, as simply getting a rape case on trial is difficult. This bill is just one fixed part of a broken system. When asking Hetal Jhaveri about government change, she said, “Definitely yes. Apart from night policing, the government as well as few Non-Governmental Organizations have launched mobile applications to help reach out to women in need in short time, started installing CCTV cameras, making setting up Women Development Cells in Universities mandatory, laws are made more stringent, and such cases are taken to special courts where judgements are given in few weeks/ months rather than years previously.” All these relate to sexual harassment, rape, and public spaces and institutions. So, in those areas, change is occurring, a needed change that will hopefully spread to other areas of violence. Survivors themselves are also speaking out about their attacks and the treatment they got following it, particularly acid attack survivors. According to The Peril of Acid Attacks in India and Susceptibility of Women, acid attacks result

when attackers, mainly men, throw acid at women’s faces, burning and disfiguring them. This acid, most often car battery or sulphuric acid, is cheap and easily accessible. As reported by ABC News, society does not treat these women well following this, they cannot get jobs and are discriminated against due to their appearance. However, certain organizations do provide medical, legal, and housing help. Make Love Not Scars runs a shelter in New Delhi, where survivors support one another and live together. These women are the reason that they are healing, and it shows that only together could they fight through their situation. Through their constant strength and perseverance is how they live ordinary lives, and this in itself is how survivors are retaliating against a misogynistic society. Women such as Reshma Qureshi and Laxmi Agarwal have spoken up about their attack and the following mistreatment. They have brought new media scrutiny to this cruel type of violence against women. Whether they are speaking up and bringing worldwide attention to acid attacks or just trying to live a normal life and help one another, acid attack survivors have not remained passive in their lives or in their government.

In 2013, Laxmi Agarwal filed a Public Interest Litigation about the sale of acid, trying to get it banned. According to The Guardian, after the PIL, acids were legally considered a poison and were going to be regulated. Today, this law has not done

Laxmi Agarwal: acid attack survivor, motivational speaker, director of the Chhanv foundation, and recipient of the Mother Teresa Award and the International Women Empowerment Award. This is her 13 years after her attack.

much to regulate the availability of acid, and this is due to the federal and state government not working well together. The laws are not put into place on a

SERENA NGUYEN ’26

smaller level. The progress Laxmi made was enormous and could have been a large step in decreasing the number of acid attacks, but because of the corruption on smaller state levels, this change never happened. The possibility for reform is there, as progressive laws are being passed. However, it is clear that so much more needs to be done before gender-based violence, in every form, is truly eradicated in India.

Alternatively, Non-Government Organizations give help to women affected by sexual violence where the government is not. Guria India is another one of them, and it strives to educate the public about sexual violence in India while providing legal help to survivors. Its main focuses are human trafficking and prostitution, and it has saved 2,000 people from sex and labor trafficking. It also supports children susceptible to sexual violence, trafficking, and prostitution, helping to feed and educate over 350 across four schools. Another group, Chhanv Foundation, supports acid attack survivors. They have a campaign that provides shelter, jobs, and educational and medical rights to acid attack survivors. Organizations like Guria India, Make Love Not Scars, and Chhanv Foundation truly help victims.

They are preventing future violence and raising awareness while also rescuing and helping victims.

They are an example of the people of India rising up against sexual violence and showing that change is not just happening from the government, the people have been fighting against problems like this for decades.

Attorneys from Guria India settling a victim’s case, perhaps by getting protection for the victims, convicting attackers and traffickers, customs battles for a minor’s case, etc.

With all of this information being given to you, one question you must be asking yourself is: How can I help? One of the main ways to help the women of India is to donate money. In the words of Hetal Jhaveri, “People can sponsor installation of surveillance systems like CCTV cameras, special helplines for women in distress, awareness programs in schools and colleges, and the introduction of basic sex education in schools.” You can support NGOs like Guria India, Chhanv Foundation, and Make Love Not Scars by donating or promoting them. You can also sign online petitions to give aid to women or to convince the government to do more, or simply raise awareness about the issue so more people know about the injustice. Try to help women in your own community as well as supporting the ones in India. Gender-based violence is a worldwide problem, though it is worse there. Root out violence and misogynistic thinking in your community and others. Believe survivors and advocate for change in your government. Although this issue may seem far away, there is much you can do to help. To make sure that future yearly statistics on violence against women are not in the hundred thousands, we all have to fight against it, together.

Resources: Guria India: http://www.guriaindia.org/ Make Love Not Scars: https://www.makelovenotscars.org/ Chhanv Foundation: https://www.chhanv.org/

An Examination of the Middle Passage Mahala Weintraub ’26 From 1500 C.E. to 1880 C.E., around 10 to 12 million Africans were forcibly transported from Africa to the Americas

by Europeans. The voyage between Africa and the Americas is called the Middle Passage, and 15% of Africans died on the trip. The captured Africans were transported to different places which varied over time, but in total 48% of the enslaved went to the Caribbean, 41% to Brazil, and most surprisingly only 5% of the enslaved Africans went to America. Those who did not die during the Middle Passage became property. The captured Africans were bought and sold like animals as part of the chattel slavery system.1 On the Middle Passage, the captured Africans were ripped from their freedom and loved ones, starved, tortured, beaten. The Middle Passage was one of the most devastating and inhumane systems in American history.

The cycle of slavery began with people being traded from Africa to the Europeans. A common misconception about slavery is that the Europeans captured Africans from Africa and brought them to the Americas independently. Africans ranged from living in small villages to city-states to empires.

They were far too powerful for the Europeans to conquer and capture them. Shockingly, Europeans obtained many slaves by trading for them with other Africans. The Africans were traded for goods, metal tools, fine textiles, or guns. The Africans wanted these things because they were not produced in Africa.2 African children were kidnapped into slavery as well. When the adults in the community went to the fields to work, kids would group together to play games. Commonly, some children would climb to the top of a tree to keep a lookout for kidnappers that may approach them. Often, the kidnappers would seize the opportunity to take as many children as they could find.3 Freed slave, Olaudah Equiano, was just 11-years-old when he was kidnapped into slavery. Equiano describes his experience when he was taken as follows: “One day, when all our people were gone out to their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the house, two men and a woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both; and, without giving us time to cry out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood. Here they tied our hands and continued to carry us as far as they could, till night came on when we reached a small house, where the robbers halted for refreshment and spent the night. We were then unbound, but were unable to take any food; and, being quite overpowered by fatigue and grief, our only relief was some sleep, which allayed our misfortune for a short time”4 1 “The Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course World History,” video, YouTube, posted July 5, 2012, accessed 2 “The Atlantic,” video.

3 Digital History, last modified 1789, accessed December 3, 2021, https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=468.

4 Digital History.

In just one instance, an African person, including children, could be taken from their home and forced into the chattel slavery system. African slavery was wrong and cruel, but it was unmistakably different from New World slavery. Surprisingly, most Africans kept slaves of their own. Africans became slaves in many ways. Some Africans were traded for Whites, some had been sentenced to servitude for committing a crime or being deeply in debt, and others had been kidnapped from neighboring tribes. The majority of them were prisoners of war that were taken in during numerous conflicts between neighboring tribes and kingdoms.5 The slaves in Africa were able to get married, own land, have basic rights, and become heirs to their master’s property. A slave in Africa that stayed with a family for life could, and often, became an adopted member of that family, possibly even marrying one of its members.6 Once the Africans were captured, they were forced to undergo a long and difficult trip to the slave boats. Captured Africans were marched over land to the beaches of West Africa with chains that were shackled around their necks. The length and difficulty of the trip varied depending on where the Africans were captured. Sometimes the captives were forced to move hundreds of miles through different kinds of terrain and harsh weather. Whips and guns were used to keep them moving and from running away. It is estimated that two out of every five of the Africans on the trips never made it to the beaches because they died, due to the conditions, or they were killed by their captors.7 Once they arrived, the Africans who did survive were put in cages and had to wait until they were selected by the captain of the slave ship or other White middlemen to make the journey to the Americas. Once selected, the captives underwent their first forced physical examination.8 As stated in “From Africa to America: The Middle Passage” an eyewitness named John Barot, described what the examinations consisted of around the year 1700: “As the slaves come down to Fida [modern Ghana, on the Gold Coast] from the inland country, they are put into a booth or prison … near the beach, and when the Europeans are to receive them, they are brought out onto a large plain, where the ship’s surgeons examine every part of every one of them, to the smallest member, men and women being stark naked.…

Such as are allowed good and sound are set on one side … marked on the breast with a redhot iron, imprinting the mark of the French, English, or Dutch companies.… The branded slaves after this are returned to their former booths where they await shipment, sometimes 10–15 days.”9 5 “From Africa to America: The Middle Passage,” African-American History Online, https://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE01&articleId=157997.

6 “From Africa.”

7 “From Africa.”

8 “From Africa.”

9 “From Africa.”

The captured Africans were dehumanized to the fullest extent and were branded like cattle. According to Theophilus Conneau, a slave dealer, “Forced nakedness was a precaution taken to keep them free from vermin.” Yet, the humiliation of forced nakedness did nothing to reduce the filthiness of the slave ships, which were filled with lice, fleas, mice and rats. The fear that the enslaved could hide weapons in their clothes or use them to hang themselves was the main reason they were forced to remain naked.10 The ships the enslaved were about to board were where they would spend the next 80 days of their lives in complete fear and misery with no understanding of what awaited them at the end of their tortuous journey.

The ship had many features that sectioned off the enslaved, which prevented any harm they could cause to the ship and the crew. The ships had portholes that increased airflow to the lower decks and copper-shelled huts that would prevent wood rot and worms that were prominent in tropical waters. The ships were sometimes altered to increase the space between the deck, but the alterations were not very effective because it still only left the enslaved with ceilings approximately 4 and a half feet tall.11 Also included on the ship were weapons placed on deck, which were used in case of a rebellion and extra compartments to hold more human cargo. Netting was installed around the ship to catch and prevent any enslaved person who would rather attempt suicide than remain on the ship. The Africans on the ship were separated based on their gender and age.12 The men were chained in pairs, women were often left unchained in their compartment and children were able to move about the ship.13 The average slave ship had a crew of six to ten men and one hundred to two hundred slaves crammed under the boat.

The “living conditions” on the slave boats were dreadful and the mental and physical strength of the survivors was incredible and in many ways miraculous. The enslaved were not given a place to use the bathroom, so they had no choice but to relieve themselves in their compartments. This caused foul odors and awful living conditions under the ship. Dysentery, malaria, yellow fever, smallpox, measles, and influenza spread throughout the enslaved and the crew members.14 The chains the slaves were forced to wear only worsened the situation, and the pools of human droppings caused many children to fall and almost suffocate. The screaming of the women and the cries from the dying made the whole scene unfathomable.15 One of the worst experiences on the Middle Passage was when there was poor weather and the crew kept the enslaved below deck for up to a week. Floconbridge, one of the crew members on a slave ship during the Middle Passage, in “From Africa to America: 10 Tom Feelings, Middle Passage: White Ships (n.p.: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2018), np.

11 “Slave Ships and the Middle Passage,” Encyclopedia Virginia, accessed November 3, 2021, https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/ slave-ships-and-the-middle-passage/.

12 “Life Aboard a Slave Ship,” video, posted February 7, 2019, accessed November 3, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmQvofAiZGA. 13 “Life Aboard,” video.

14 “Life Aboard,” video.

15 Feelings, Middle Passage np.

The Middle Passage,” reported: Some wet and blowing weather having occasioned the port-holes to be shut and the grating [the hatch leading below decks] to be covered, fluxes [diarrhea] and fevers among the Negroes ensued. While they were in this situation, I frequently went down among them till at length their rooms [the slave holds] became so extremely hot as to be only bearable for a very short time.… The floor of their rooms was so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded [flowed] from them in consequence of the flux, that it resembled a slaughterhouse.… Numbers of the slaves having fainted they were carried upon deck where several of them died and the rest with great difficulty were restored [to a semblance of health].16 The enslaved were left in small and compact areas for extended periods of time with no room or strength to clean up after themselves and no help from the crew, which left the area where they lived filthy and unsanitary. When the enslaved were allowed on the deck of the boat, they were forced to complete a “dance” that was said to keep them in shape. But many of them were too weak to even walk to the deck, due to malnourishment, sickness, and/or dehydration, causing them to be carried by a crew member.

The men and the women were forced to jump up and down while naked. It was especially difficult for the men because they were wearing heavy shackles, the “healthy exercise” was torture.17 Many slaves tried to escape the harsh reality, mostly through suicide, starvation or drowning. Drowning was more difficult to achieve because of the netting that surrounded the ship. Those who attempted to starve themselves were flogged, their mouths were forced and kept open with a medieval tool so that the food could be shoved down their throats. When the enslaved did not “cooperate,” they were brutally whipped.18 The enslaved were tested in ways we could never imagine, in both body and mind.

After surviving the horrific experience of the Middle Passage, the enslaved had no idea that it was just the beginning of a long and dreadful life of slavery in America. Once they reached America the enslaved were put into slave markets where they were auctioned and sold off, like goods, to slave masters who were White, rich, and landowning men. After they were bought, they were commonly branded on the cheek by their slaveholders. When an enslaved person was about to be sold, they were required to look clean and “presentable.” Everyone had to wash, and men with facial hair had to shave. Men were dressed in a hat, coat, shirt, pants, and shoes, and the women were in dresses with a handkerchief on their head.19 If a slave 16 “From Africa.”

17 Feelings, Middle Passage, np.

18 “The Middle Passage, 1749,” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, accessed November 2, 2021, https://www. gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/middle-passage-1749.

19 Milton Meltzer, The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words, 1619-1983 (New York: Harper & Row, 1987), 46-47.

had scars from previous whippings or punishments, it made it harder for them to be sold, this is because they were considered rebellious or unruly spirited.20 They were greased with palm oil to improve their appearance, and their names were changed to English names.21 Men and women were separated with women on one side of the room and men on the other. They were ordered from tallest to shortest. The enslaved were treated like cattle, traded, transported, auctioned, sold, and then branded. The slaves’ lives were filled mostly with work and fear.22 When the enslaved departed the slave markets many families and friends were forced to split up. Some would end up in different countries like Jamaica, Colombia, or Panama.23 Parents would often be separated from their children, and they would have little time to say goodbye. If parents were to complain or grieve for their children, they might have been met with severe punishment for “acting out of line.”24 In The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words, 1619-1983 by Meltzer Milton, a child was bought by a different slave master than the mother, and they were soon to be separated: “She kept on begging and beseeching them, most piteously, not to separate the three. Over and over again she told them how she loved her boy. A great many times she repeated her former promises-how very faithful and obedient she would be; how hard she would labor day and night, to the last moment of her life; if he would only but them all together. But it was to no avail; the man could not afford it. The bargain was agreed upon, and Randall must go alone.”25 This was very common among families in slavery. Many had to see their loved ones torn away from them no matter how much they begged. After all the enslaved had endured they were expected to quickly adjust to life on a plantation. Some were unable to do it and repeatedly tried to escape, undergoing torture and death because of it. Others were so weak from the voyage, they felt extremely ill due to the diseases in the New World that they were not immune to. One in three slaves who arrived in the New World died in the first year of captivity.26 The Middle Passage was the beginning of the devastating and inhumane system of chattel slavery in America.

The encaptured Africans were kidnapped from their homes no matter how young, or powerful, they were. Their journey started long before they were sold in the slave markets. It started the very moment they were kidnapped and forced to march away from their freedom. Despite the pain and suffering that they went through, they still showed unimaginable perseverance, resilience, and creativity.27 The shipmates built new communities and made strong bonds replacing the ones that they lost in the nightmare of the Middle Passage. Chattel slavery in America formed and shaped its history as well as today’s society. It is 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Meltzer, The Black, 48.

“Slave Ships,” Encyclopedia Virginia.

“The Atlantic,” video.

Feelings, Middle Passage, np.

Meltzer, The Black, 49.

Meltzer, The Black, 49.

“From Africa.”

Feelings, Middle Passage, np.

crucial to know and understand that America was built on the backs of Africans, and how the racism that they fought so hard to vanquish is still affecting African-Americans today.

Bibliography “The Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course World History.”

Video. YouTube. Posted July 5, 2012. Digital History.

Last modified 1789. Accessed December 3, 2021. https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3 &psid=468. Feelings, Tom. Middle Passage: White Ships. N.p.: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2018.

“From Africa to America: The Middle Passage.” AfricanAmerican History Online. https://online.infobase.com/ Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE01&articleId =157997.

“Life Aboard a Slave Ship.” Video. Posted February 7, 2019.

Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmQvofAiZGA. Meltzer, Milton. The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words, 1619-1983. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.

“The Middle Passage, 1749.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Accessed November 2, 2021. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/ spotlight-primary-source/middle-passag e-1749.

“Slave Ships and the Middle Passage.” Encyclopedia Virginia.

Accessed November 3, 2021. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/slave-shipsand-the-middle-passage/.

James Bronson ’27

Sam Akaho, Logan Snyder, Thomas Meeker, and Evan Lim ’26

Claire Kiang ’30

The Smallpox Vaccine: The Greatest Medical Discovery of Colonial America Matthew Kwon ’26 Smallpox - one word for a lethal disease that ravaged most of the world during the 17th and 18th centuries. What is smallpox and why is it so deadly? Smallpox is a highly contagious virus that enters the body through the nose or mouth and travels to the lungs. Once inside the body, smallpox spreads rapidly causing large pustules all over a person’s body. Since punctured pustules release smallpox into the air and surfaces, anyone who comes in close contact with the contagion will become infected, causing the disease to replicate. The origin of smallpox “...is believed have appeared around 10,000 BC, at the time of the first agricultural settlements in northeastern Africa.”1 However, over time, smallpox made its appearance among the filthy domesticated farm animals that early Eurasians used for food and milk. The mutated form of smallpox then entered humans, causing an epidemic. Author T.B. Macaulay in The History of England, from the Accession of James II, Vol IV describes the devastating impact of smallpox in Europe, “The smallpox was always present, filling the churchyards with corpses, tormenting with constant fears all whom it had stricken…”2 While many Europeans died from smallpox, those who survived built immunity. Therefore, when European colonists settled into the Americas, not only did they bring their dreams and hopes for a better life, they also brought with them the deadly disease, smallpox. As a result, smallpox resulted in the death of millions of Native Americans and European colonists in the 1600s; however, the epidemic also led to the discovery of a vaccine and initiated inoculation as a common medical practice.

European colonists unknowingly introduced smallpox to the Americas through the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of animals, crops, goods, and diseases between the Old and the New World.3 The Columbian Exchange, however, was the main conduit for the origin of smallpox in the New World. Smallpox is believed to have originated in the Americas in 1520 when an infected African slave was transported on a Spanish ship from Cuba to the Americas. When the ship arrived in Mexico, the smallpox disease was unleashed throughout the continent and became an epidemic with severe repercussions.4

1

Stefan Riedal, “Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination,” NCBI, last modified January 18, 2005, accessed December 11, 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC1200696/#:~:text=The%20origin%20of%20smallpox%20 as,means%20of%20ancient%20Egyptian%20merchants.

2 Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England, from the Accession of James II (Volume 4 of 5) (Stilwell: Neeland Media, 2011), 551, accessed December 7, 2021, https://www.gutenberg.org/ cache/epub/2613/pg2613-images.html.

3 Vejas Liulevicius, “Columbian Exchange and the Ideas of the New World,” The Great Course Daily, last modified June 26, 2020, accessed December 11, 2021, https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/columbian-exchange-and-the-ideas-of-the-new-world/.

4 ​​PBS, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” PBS, last modified January 1, 2005, accessed November 27, 2021, https://www.pbs.org/ gunsgermssteel/variables/smallpox.html#:~:text=Smallpox%20is%20 believed%20to%20have,deadly%20voyage%20through%20the%20

Among those most impacted by smallpox were the Native Americans who suffered massive casualties when European colonists settled in the Americas. “The Great Dying” is the term for the fatal effect of smallpox and other diseases on the Native Americans. Before the Columbian Exchange, Native Americans were the Indigenous people of the Americas and isolated from the outside world. Prior to contact with foreigners, the population of Native Americans was estimated to have been approximately eight to thirty million. However, Native Americans had no protection against smallpox and other communicable diseases, which drastically plummeted their population by as much as ninety percent between 1492 and 1650.5 For example, Native Americans in Virginia died so rapidly that after nine decades of colonization only about eighteen hundred survived in 1700. Additionally, the Native American population of New England dropped to ten thousand in 1675 and only a few hundred remained by 1750. The once-thriving majority in North America, the Native Americans, became minorities east of the Appalachians during the late 1680s, and by the 1760s only one hundred and fifty Indigenous lived east of the Mississippi River.6 Suicide among the Native American population was another deadly outcome of smallpox. Individuals were horrified by the disfigurement of smallpox victims and believed that disfigured bodies would be reproduced in the afterlife. A Mandan chief, named Four Bears, said, “I do not fear death, my friends…but to die with my face rotten, that even the wolves will shrink at horror at seeing me…” Additionally, as closely-knit communities of tribes, Native Americans attended to the sick, further exacerbating the disease. Finally, instances of infected husbands and wives committing suicide together were common.7 By the late 1700s, Native Americans started quarantining infected individuals and cleaned or burned the contaminated homes.

The Cherokees moved infected individuals to enclosed areas on the outskirts of the village. Although quarantine mitigated the spread of smallpox, it did not prevent curious children from exploring abandoned houses and burial grounds, spreading the disease again.8 Since smallpox was unknown to the Indigenous, they suffered visible consequences during the colonial period.

Not only did Native Americans suffer, but so did continent.

5 Encyclopedia.com, “The Impact Of European Diseases On Native Americans,” Encyclopedia.com, last modified January 1, 2019, accessed November 4, 2021, https://www.encyclopedia.com/ science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/impact-european-diseases-native-americans.

6

John Duffy, “disease and epidemics, 1585–1763,” American History Online, https://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/ Details/2?articleId=208153&q=%22disease%20and%20epidemics%22%20OR%20%22%20epidemics%22%20OR%20%22%20 smallpox%22.

7 Larisa R. Schumann, “’Epidemics in Colonial North America, 1519-1787: A Genealogical Perspective,’” last modified June 1, 2021, https://www.tullyhistoricalsociety.org/tahs/medical.php.

8 Larisa R. Schumann, “’Epidemics in Colonial North America, 1519-1787: A Genealogical Perspective,’” last modified June 1, 2021, https://www.tullyhistoricalsociety.org/tahs/medical.php.

the American colonists. Although many colonists had been exposed to smallpox in Europe and developed immunity before arriving at the New World, the cramped living conditions enabled smallpox to spread rather easily and quickly among those who did not. One of the areas hit hard by smallpox was Boston, Massachusetts. Known as the Boston Outbreak of 1721, almost half of the inhabitants were infected and almost fifteen percent of those infected died. Fueled by fear, nine hundred of the approximately eleven thousand Bostonians fled to the countryside to escape smallpox, which only continued to spread the disease to other areas.9 In 1731, New York City experienced a three-month epidemic where more than half the colonists were infected and seven percent of those infected died. In addition, Charleston was struck with smallpox in 1738, infecting half of the city’s population and causing eighteen deaths.10 As a result of the epidemic, quarantine acts were enforced throughout colonial America; houses on the outside of town were designated for infected people. Colonists quarantined as a response to the epidemic, but it was more of a measure to stall the disease and not a viable solution. Clearly, smallpox was indiscriminate because it killed Native Americans and European colonists alike.

Although smallpox had a brutal influence on the Americas and its inhabitants, it did have some positive outcomes: smallpox led to inoculation as a new form of medical practice. The process of inoculation involved taking pus from an active smallpox lesion and inoculating it under the skin of a healthy patient, which was practiced in Turkey.11 The logic of this method was that by intentionally infecting a person with acute smallpox, a person would have an easier chance to survive it rather than naturally being infected with it.12 Inoculation drastically reduced the mortality rate from ten to sixty percent down to one to two percent. This led to physicians looking for ways to find a safer way to protect the public against the disease.

Two Boston doctors, Cotton Mather and Zabdiel Boylston, collected data that proved the effectiveness of inoculation.

Boylston, who had personally inoculated some three hundred people, recorded that of those inoculated only two percent died.

In comparison, the mortality rate of the naturally infected was

9

Larisa R. Schumann, “’Epidemics in Colonial North America, 1519-1787: A Genealogical Perspective,’” last modified June 1, 2021, https://www.tullyhistoricalsociety.org/tahs/medical.php.

10 John Duffy, “disease and epidemics, 1585–1763,” American History Online, https://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/ Details/2?articleId=208153&q=%22disease%20and%20epidemics%22%20OR%20%22%20epidemics%22%20OR%20%22%20 smallpox%22.

11 Harvard University, “The Fight Over Inoculation During the 1721 Boston Smallpox Epidemic,” Science in the News, last modified December 31, 2014, accessed November 27, 2021, https:// sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/special-edition-on-infectious-disease/2014/the-fight-over-inoculation-during-the-1721-boston-smallpox-epidemic/.

12 Harvard University, “The Fight Over Inoculation During the 1721 Boston Smallpox Epidemic,” Science in the News, last modified December 31, 2014, accessed November 27, 2021, https:// sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/special-edition-on-infectious-disease/2014/the-fight-over-inoculation-during-the-1721-boston-smallpox-epidemic/.

approximately fifteen percent.13 Their findings were pivotal and groundbreaking because they not only combatted the deadly disease but also helped to gain the trust of those wary of inoculation. Moreover, inoculation in the Americas was crucial to the development of the smallpox vaccine as a preventative method.

As a result of smallpox inoculation, the smallpox vaccine was discovered, and it eradicated the disease and established vaccination as a necessary means to protect people’s health. In 1798, British physician Edward Jenner realized that cowpox, a harmless relative of smallpox, offered the same protection against smallpox as inoculation but without the risks.

In 1800, Boston physician Benjamin Waterhouse introduced the cowpox vaccine to the colonies. The success of Washington’s inoculation program encouraged colonists to receive Jenner’s safer version. Jenner and Waterhouse’s contributions were so meaningful that even critics of modern medicine like Thomas Jefferson praised them for their contribution to society.14 While inoculation and vaccine were the primary methods of treatment among the European communities, Native Americans dealt with the epidemic differently. The sweat lodge was the most common treatment for smallpox. A log cabin filled with steamed willow bark acted as an analgesic and conifer oils as decongestants. However, many problems occurred. Many of the herbs were cathartics and emetics that often caused dehydration.

Additionally, after staying in a sweat lodge one usually plunged oneself into cold water, which after led to shock, cardiac arrest, “violent fevers,” and a generally lowered immune resistance to the infection.15 Native Americans’ treatment against smallpox was shown to be ineffective and ended up hurting the natives more than helping. When the popularity of inoculation and smallpox vaccinations in North America increased, Native Americans were also treated with the vaccines. Some Native American populations, such as the Sioux, embraced the vaccination programs despite their uneasiness with abandoning traditional medicinal ways. Thanks to the smallpox vaccine, both the colonists and Native Americans gradually recovered and realized vaccination as an important way to prevent future diseases.

Clearly, smallpox was a deadly enemy that neither colonists nor Native Americans were prepared to fight. The shocking data supports the enormous toll that smallpox took on these two groups. However, a positive aspect of the epidemic

13

Harvard University, “The Fight Over Inoculation During the 1721 Boston Smallpox Epidemic,” Science in the News, last modified December 31, 2014, accessed November 27, 2021, https:// sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/special-edition-on-infectious-disease/2014/the-fight-over-inoculation-during-the-1721-boston-smallpox-epidemic/.

14 Stuart Anderson, “Slavery, Ships, and Sickness,” Gresham College, last modified October 24, 2011, accessed November 23, 2021, https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/slavery-ships-and-sickness#:~:text=Many%20slaves%20suffered%20 from%20dysentery,epidemic%20in%20Grenada%20in%201830.

15

Larisa R. Schumann, “’Epidemics in Colonial North America, 1519-1787: A Genealogical Perspective,’” last modified June 1, 2021, https://www.tullyhistoricalsociety.org/tahs/medical.php.

was the use of inoculation and the discovery of the smallpox vaccine, which were effective weapons in combatting against smallpox. Since the 1700s, smallpox vaccination has been administered across the Americas and the globe. According to the World Health Organization, the last case of smallpox was in 1977; in 1980, it declared that smallpox was finally eradicated.16 The world can learn from history in order to not repeat past mistakes. Today, as the world continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic, global citizens, leaders, and the medical field have many lessons they can learn from the smallpox epidemic. Hopefully, future generations will look back at this period in time and also learn to prevent devastating conditions from ravaging the world.

Bibliography Stefan Riedel, “Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination,” NCBI, last modified January 18, 2005, accessed December 11, 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC1200696/#:~:text=The%20origin%20of%20smallpox%20 as,means%20of%20ancient%20Egyptian%20merchants.

Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England, from the Accession of James II (Volume 4 of 5) (Stilwell: Neeland Media, 2011), 551, accessed December 7, 2021, https://www. gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2613/pg2613-images.html.

Vejas Liulevicius, “Columbian Exchange and the Ideas of the New World,” The Great Course Daily, last modified June 26, 2020, accessed December 11, 2021, https://www. thegreatcoursesdaily.com/columbian-exchange-and-the-ideasof-the-new-world/.

New York State, “Smallpox,” New York State Health, last modified October 1, 2011, accessed December 7, 2021, https:// www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/smallpox/fact_ sheet.

PBS, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” PBS, last modified January 1, 2005, accessed November 27, 2021, https:// w w w. p b s . o r g / g u n s g e r m s s t e e l / v a r i a b l e s / s m a l l p o x . html#:~:text=Smallpox%20is%20believed%20to%20 have,deadly%20voyage%20through%20the%20continent.

Encyclopedia.com, “The Impact Of European Diseases On Native Americans,” Encyclopedia.com, last modified January 1, 2019, accessed November 4, 2021, https://www.encyclopedia. com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ impact-european-diseases-native-americans.

World History 1400, “The Great Dying and Its Consequences,” World History 1400, last modified January 1, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021, http://worldhistory1400-presentday.

16

NIH, “Smallpox,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, last modified December 11, 2014, accessed December 11, 2021, https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/smallpox.

w e e b l y. c o m / t h e - g r e a t - d y i n g - a n d - i t s - c o n s e q u e n c e s . html#:~:text=The%20Great%20Dying%20was%20 caused,than%201%20million%20in%201640.

John Duffy, “disease and epidemics, 1585–1763,” American History Online, https://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/ Details/2?articleId=208153&q=%22disease%20and%20 epidemics%22%20OR%20%22%20epidemics%22%20 OR%20%22%20smallpox%22.

Varsity Tutors, “Native Americans and The Smallpox Epidemic,” Varsity Tutors, last modified January 1, 2021, accessed November 27, 2021, https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyamerica/earlyamerica-review/volume-11/native-americans-smallpox.

Larisa R. Schumann, “’Epidemics in Colonial North America, 1519-1787: A Genealogical Perspective,’” last modified June 1, 2021, https://www.tullyhistoricalsociety.org/tahs/medical.php.

Harvard University, “The Fight Over Inoculation During the 1721 Boston Smallpox Epidemic,” Science in the News, last modified December 31, 2014, accessed November 27, 2021, https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/special-edition-oninfectious-disease/2014/the-fight-over-inoculation-during-the1721-boston-smallpox-epidemic/.

Dan Liebowitz, “Smallpox vaccination: an early start of modern medicine in America,” NCBI, last modified January 7, 2017, accessed November 23, 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC5463674/.

NIH, “Smallpox,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, last modified December 11, 2014, accessed December 11, 2021, https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/ smallpox.

“The last naturally occurring case of smallpox was reported in 1977. In 1980, the World Health Organization declared that smallpox had been eradicated” https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/smallpox

The Different Societal Roles of Women in Colonial Times Katherine Altirs ’26 A common misconception is that all women were treated similarly in Colonial Times. This is historically inaccurate because the people who think this fail to remember two factors: status and race. These factors played an important role in the mistreatment of women. All women were treated cruelly, however, some women faced an even larger amount of disrespect. They were treated how no human should be treated and both physically and emotionally abused by men. The status of women and their societal role greatly differed due to socioeconomic status and race during Colonial Times.

There was a standard role that White women were expected to perform. However, they were not treated very kindly and were often forced to comply to men’s will. From 1619 to 1621 the Virginia Company kidnapped 250 English women and brought them to America. Most women were sold to planters as servants and sold into marriages for 120 pounds of tobacco, which is roughly $5,000 in today’s currency.1 Men only used women to breed children and mother them. If a woman was incapable of bearing a child, she was viewed as worthless. Young White girls were trapped in this cycle of being used for children and running a household. Thus, they were expected to begin working as soon as possible.2 The daily life for a White woman was filled with cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening, dealing with domestic livestock, and caring for children. They were kept very busy and were expected to perform these tasks every day.3 Middle and lower class women were also expected to work in the fields when the season called for it.4 If a White woman was to step outside of these norms, they would be socially unaccepted. This would result in being gossiped about and shunned. According to John Winthrop, who wrote his views of White women during this time period, a woman had lost “her understanding and reason” because she had given “herself wholly to reading and writing, and written many books.” He claims that if she had “attended to household affairs, and such things as belong to women, and not gone out of her way and calling to meddle in such things as are proper for men, whose minds are stronger, etc., she had kept her wits, and might have improved them usefully and honorable in the place 1

Alex Woolf, “Daily Life: 1492–1774,” American History, http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid =WE52&articleId=163381.

2 Barbara Brenner, If You Were There in 1776 (New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1994), 44.

3 Woolf, “Daily Life.”

4 David Freeman Hawke, Everyday Life in Early America (New York, NY: Perennial, 2003), 64.

God had set her.”5 John Winthrop exemplifies the view of women from a classic, White, seventeenth-century upper classman. Due to this patriarchal society, a pressure was placed on women to judge other women the same way they were judged by men. In Nancy Shippen’s journal, she wrote: “she is just what a woman ought to be–sensible– polite–tender–& sympathizes in the distresses of her friends.”6 Men believed that women were simply inferior and not as knowledgeable. This made finding a job for a White woman much more challenging. Women looked for other jobs because when their husband was not earning enough, they were forced to step in and work. However, finding a job as a woman was very hard since there were fewer options. A common job for a White woman was to be a servant. Nevertheless, women’s wages were consistently lower than men’s.7 This illustrates the ugly painting of life as a White woman being constantly looked down upon and treated as less than by men. Despite this, not all groups of women were treated the same because of their race. There was a glaring distinction between White and Native women.

The social role that Native women played in their community was notably different than the role that White women played. Native women are at the center of tribal life alongside men as mothers, wives, educators, farmers, medicine women, and sometimes warriors. Matrilineal tribes have given women opportunities in the worlds of politics, economics, religion, and the family. Women are well respected and active participants in their communities.

Even patrilineal societies recognize women’s roles as sustainers of life because of their ability to reproduce.8 This is extremely different from the society that White women live in. Native women have the opportunity to play a multitude of roles. Native women and men had equal rights. Women could be warriors if they pleased.9 This demonstrates the level of respect that Native women are granted and how it is incredibly different from the level of respect that White women have. Despite the differences in status, the daily life of a Native woman was filled with hard work as well. Native women were responsible for agricultural production while men were responsible for hunting. Women had significant control over the village space and oversaw the distribution of 5 6

Hawke, Everyday Life, 63.

Ethel Armes, Nancy Shippen - Her Journal Book (n.p.: Bertrams Print On Demand, 2007), n.p.

7 Karin Wulf, “Women in the 18th Century,” American History, http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=358174.

8 Päivi Hoikkala, “Native Women in America,” American History, http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=404953.

9 Brenner, If You Were, 108.

food and other resources among families because men often were away for war purposes.10 Due to this, Native women had more economic control than White women had. Women also knew that bearing children gave them power that men lacked. Native women were able to use this to their advantage and boost their status up even more.

Nonetheless, the pressure and expectations of childbirth never ceased to exist.

The expectations pertaining to children were placed on all groups of women regardless of their socioeconomic status and race. Wealthier White women usually had 8 or 9 children as soon as they were married. Large families were extremely common and women began raising families right away. Some white women continued to have children as their daughters produced children as well.11 White women were used for the number of children that they could have so their daughters could continue the cycle of producing heirs. Lower class women were expected to resume their chores almost immediately after giving birth.

Wealthier women, however, hired servants to assist with the housework and child care so they could devote more time to their children. While little, White colonial boys were educated to read and write; girls were taught how to be “good wives and mothers.”12 This demonstrates how young White girls were expected to keep the cycle going and how much depended on them preserving it. Enslaved women dealt with a similar problem in regards to being used for their ability to bear children. Although pregnant enslaved women were at the same risk as White women during childbirth, they were forced to continue working right until the minute they gave birth. This is a factor, along with the harsh conditions they worked in, which contributed to the higher mortality rates between mothers and children.13 Death rates were especially high for poor and enslaved mothers since most died during childbirth due to being weakened by diseases, such as malaria.

Only half of the children would live long enough to reach maturity.14 This would be a motive to have more children because it would ensure at least one child would live a full life. Enslaved women also had many children but for different reasons. Slave owners wanted enslaved women to have more children so the slave owner would own more enslaved people. 15 This was one of the many aspects of an enslaved women’s life that was controlled by their slave owner.

10 11 12 13 14 15

Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

Woolf, “Daily Life.”

Woolf, “Daily Life.”

Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

Hawke, Everyday Life, 65.

Brenner, If You Were, 113.

Enslaved women were especially targeted by laws in most aspects of their lives. Almost every Black woman was confined to slavery. It defined their maternal conditions and constrained their family along with other relationships.16 Laws were put into place in order to tighten the control on enslaved people such as the Slave Codes. Slave Codes were laws and policies developed in order to oppress black people. New Slave Codes were passed every now and then in order to maintain the status that White people held over enslaved people.17 Enslaved women suffered greatly under these laws because slave owners were able to force reproduction which led to more slaves. Women were used for their economic gain. 18 However, racism and segregation had to be kept alive and thriving, so in 1691, Virginia put laws in place in an attempt to ban interracial relationships. These laws were aimed at White women whose children were mixed-race as opposed to the men who raped Black women. This illustrates the double standards of punishing women and not the men who raped Black women. The mixed-race children were kept as enslaved people their entire life.19 This was, once again, a benefit to slave owners as it allowed them to have more enslaved people. Enslaved women were especially targeted and oppressed by laws in all aspects of their life.

Nonetheless, White women had laws against them to reduce their rights as well.

Despite race or socioeconomic status, all women were limited by coverture laws. These laws were applied during marriage.20 Coverture laws suspended a woman’s legal existence as an individual because of “marital unity,” which was the idea that the husband and wife were considered as one.21 As a result of this, women were constrained in their everyday lives. No women of any race were permitted to appear in court, only their husbands were allowed to speak for them. Because of this, there was slim to no chance of divorce.22 So a woman had next to no power at all. It did not matter what they wanted, their husbands could legally “control” them. Furthermore, married women were forbidden from signing contracts relating to work or anything else because they were not considered “independent people under the law.” The theory was that a husband owned everything, so only he could approve of 16 17

Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

Slave Codes: Crash Course Black American History #4, narrated by Clint Smith, CrashCourse, 2021.

18 Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

19 Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

20 The Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica, ed., “Coverture,” Britannica, accessed December 8, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/ topic/coverture.

21 The Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica, “Coverture,” Britannica.

22 Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

his wife’s work.23 As a result of the amount of control that men have over women, it made it extremely easy for them to sexually assualt them. There were two factors that played a role in sexual violence cases: status and race.

Coverture law reads: “heads of households, husbands and masters claimed authority over and legitimate access to the bodies of their female dependents.”24 It was very easy for slave owners to take advantage of enslaved women because there was nothing they could do against it on the grounds of racial inequality. Husbands of White women were also able to sexually assault their wives because of their higher status and control over women due to the expectations placed by society. Regardless of socioeconomic status and race, no woman could rely on the law to protect her against sexual violence.25 Sexual violence is one of the many aspects of a women’s life that is controlled and taken over by men. This great lack of rights and laws caused women to have to defend themselves from societal expectations and White men, specifically.

The socioeconomic status and race of women impacted their societal role during Colonial Times. White women, Native women, and enslaved women all led very different lifestyles. A reason for this is because Native women did not have to follow the same laws that White women and enslaved women were obliged to follow.

Native women were able to live in their own societies where the expectations of women were very different from that of enslaved and White women. White women were oppressed by men all their lives, which was a main factor in their societal role. However, White women still led a better life than enslaved women because of their race.

Enslaved women were not only restricted because they are women, but also by their race. Despite the differences, all women faced struggles that White men did not face.

Depending on their socioeconomic status and race, women were treated incredibly harshly and were discriminated against by men in different ways.

23 24 25

Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

Wulf, “Women in the 18th.”

Bibliography Armes, Ethel. Nancy Shippen - Her Journal Book. N.p.: Bertrams Print On Demand, 2007.

Brenner, Barbara. If You Were There in 1776. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1994.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica, ed. “Coverture.”

Britannica. Accessed December 8, 2021. https:// www.britannica.com/topic/coverture.

Hawke, David Freeman. Everyday Life in Early America.

New York, NY: Perennial, 2003.

Hoikkala, Päivi. “Native Women in America.” American History. http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index? aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=404953.

Slave Codes: Crash Course Black American History #4.

Narrated by Clint Smith. CrashCourse, 2021.

Woolf, Alex. “Daily Life: 1492–1774.” American History. http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index ?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=163381.a Wulf, Karin. “Women in the 18th Century.” American History. http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index ?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=358174.

The Public Healthcare Field Evolved Throughout the Colonial Era Rachael Huang ’26 Most people in the 18th century did not rely on doctors for treating their illnesses, because not only could they not afford professional treatment, but doctors at that time also lacked proper and sufficient training. Traditional healing methods and religious superstitions were commingled to treat diseases in the early colonial era. Throughout the 18th and into the early 19th century, the modern medical field started to emerge. The entire public health system developed through scientific theories incorporated with physicians’ practical training, fundamental disease research, advanced tools and technology, institution establishment, and public health standard; this became the foundation of the modern public health system in colonial America.

Physicians’ formal training is the basis upon which the modern healthcare system is established. In the early 18th century, only four out of five American physicians received informal and limited training. American medical practices were dominated by British physicians who immigrated to the colonies, traveled back and forth to Europe for training, and gained experience by apprenticing with older practitioners in Europe. The training period usually lasted from five to seven years.1 Due to long distances and difficulties of travels, obtaining formal training was very time consuming and expensive for colonial physicians. As a result, many colonial practitioners did not obtain sufficient training. Many doctors focused on treating external injuries such as setting fractures, pulling teeth, and giving enemas but knew little about treating internal injuries such as pain associated with major illnesses, childbirth, and surgery. Oftentimes, doctors could do very little but let disease run its course. Many colonial Americans believed that illnesses were God’s punishment for their wrongdoings.2 Without formal training and scientific study, colonial physicians knew little about the causes of disease. Therefore, they could only treat symptoms but could not cure their patients completely. In addition to insufficient training, doctors had a limited mindset.

As more physicians obtained better training, they also began to develop fundamental research skills to understand diseases. Treatments were developed to address the cause rather than symptoms. The understanding of illnesses from the 18th century was first developed by a Greek physician named Galen who used four elements with individual qualities: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile to explain illness and disease. He claimed that the four elements inside the body called “humors” were properly balanced if the body was healthy. If the “humors” are imbalanced throughout the body supposedly from a certain food, bad weather, or an upsetting experience, then disease was present and the doctor would have to restore the balance

1

Elizabeth Purdy, “Public Health, Medicine, and Nutrition in the Colonial and Revolutionary Era,” in Public Health, Medicine, and Nutrition in the Colonial and Revolutionary Era (n.p.: Facts On File, 2016), [Page #], online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE40&articleId=396931.

2 Purdy, “Public Health,”

to maintain the patient’s health.3 Galen’s “Humoral Theory” from the four elements was believed by doctors for a long time throughout colonial America and eventually developed into new practices and treatments. Most treatments have goals to restore humoral balance through rebalancing the body’s temperature and moisture. A practitioner would also determine the nature of the disease. For example, fevers would be hot which will cause dry diseases and a common cold would be a cold and moist disease.

The practitioner would then treat the disease with medicines as a counterbalance, so cold diseases would be treated with hot medicines such as hot tea. Overall, to maintain good health, a person would need to avoid excessive eating and drinking, dress appropriately for the weather, and avoid emotional extremes.4 The practice of restoring humoral balance led to further examination of diseases in order to develop effective treatment methods and medicine. The mid-eighteenth century medical world was electrified when physicians discovered that muscular tissue contracted when its nerves were stimulated and that over stimulation along with deliberation caused illnesses.5 Overstimulation required bleeding and purging while debility required strengthening stimulants such as alcohol and opium.6 With practicing scientific researches on diseases and treatment, colonial physicians were also able to begin to develop new tools and technologies.

A series of great inventions in the 18th-century medical field allowed physicians to perform complicated surgical procedures, treat deadly diseases, and increase birth rate. Before anesthesia and sterile techniques became available, surgery was rarely performed because of pain and potential infections. New science allowed rapid growth in surgical technology. Europeantrained American surgeons developed new methods to treat bladder stones, cancerous tumors, and arterial aneurysms.7 By having anesthesia and sterile techniques, doctors could perform long and complicated procedures in difficult cases. New techniques also provided better precision and accuracy within procedures, especially in the areas that were difficult to treat.

A disease that had a big impact during the era was smallpox.

Doctors had tried to prevent the epidemics of the contagious disease using a treatment called inoculation, or variolation. This treatment involved the doctor injecting pus from an infected patient to a healthy one. As a result, healthy patients contracted a milder case of smallpox. Therefore, the patients had a better chance of surviving, and the survival rate increased from 20 percent to 95 percent.8 Another technique used was injecting the smallpox scabs into bodies of a healthier patient. According

3

R ​​ ebecca J. Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine in the 18th Century,” in Health and Medicine in U.S. History (n.p.: Facts On File, 2018), online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE40&articleId=358127.

4 Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine,” 5 C. Keith Wilbur, Revolutionary Medicine, 1700-1800, 2nd ed.

(Old Saybrook, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 1997) 8.

6 Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine,” 7 Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine,” 8 S​​ usan Jorgenson, “medicine,” in Revolution and New Nation, Third Edition, [Page #], https://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17980&itemid=WE52&articleId=502401.

to Benjamin Franklin, the smallpox inoculation was “a safe and beneficial practice” and he persuaded others to use “a discovery God in his mercy has been pleased to bless mankind with.”9 The development of smallpox treatments was one of the great medical achievements in the 18th century. Although the inoculation process cannot cure smallpox completely, the cases of smallpox decreased. Another great medical achievement in the 1800s was using new tools in obstetrics. European-trained American obstetricians used tools such as the obstetrical forceps, which helped doctors deliver babies who were stuck in the birth canal and the drug laudanum, to soothe the pain during the process of giving birth. Therefore, male physicians took midwives’ place for delivering infants.10 New medical tools and technologies greatly facilitated the development of modern medical science.

All of the new knowledge, research, training, and technologies were also the result of the opening of medical institutions during the Colonial era. Establishing medical institutions was another catalyst for forming public medical systems. Scientific and formal medical education was available to more and more colonial physicians through American medical schools and hospitals. Scientists including Sir Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Galileo Galilei, and William Harvey were experimenting for further research. New medical tools were also created to measure weight, measure temperature, and view microscopic particles, while existing tools were improved.

Thus, many theories were combined in different ways with other theories for more complete explanations.11 Interest within the medical world expanded as famous scientists attained more knowledge from studying different aspects of disease.

Physicians began to change their approach to illnesses as they did more experiments and observations. This led to more scientific knowledge being applied to develop a comprehensive treatment for patients. By the second half of the 18th century, medical men began to study anatomy, pathology, and physiology by using stolen corpses. To avoid the long distance travel to Europe to acquire formal medical education, the first medical school opened at the College of Philadelphia in 1766; the first medical department at King’s College (now Columbia University) was established in 1768. Soon, more medical programs opened in Harvard, Dartmouth, and Transylvania University.12 Easy access to medical education was a main driver for colonial physicians to get both academic and practical training. Hospitals were also part of the transformation in the medical world of the 18th century. The first hospital opened in 1751 in Philadelphia. Called the Pennsylvania Hospital, it was founded by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond. The second was the New York Hospital, which was opened in 1791

by Dr. Samuel Bard. Hospitals provided both medical services and researching material for physicians.13 Colonial 18th century

9

Benjamin Franklin, Preface to Dr. Heberden’s Pamphlet on Inoculation, 16 February 1759 (1759), [Page #], accessed December 15, 2021, https://founders.archives.gov/?q=smallpox%20 cure&s=1111311111&sa=&r=1&sr=.

10 Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine,” 11 Colonial Medicine (Yorktown Victory Center, n.d.), 4.

12 Jorgenson, “medicine,” 13 Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine,”

was the beginning of modern medical education and institutions in America.

With the emergence of scientific knowledge and research in early medical institutions, it was only natural that a public health standard was developed. After many deaths caused by epidemics due to the lack of a public health standard, new laws to maintain a cleaner, safer environment were enforced and physicians began examining environmental factors when they studied diseases. Colonial waters and garbage piles were filled with animal waste, rats, roaches, bacteria, etc. Diseases were widespread and physicians failed to notice that germs were connected to the spread of the diseases. As a result, birth and death rates were high. Around the time George Washington was president, the average lifespan in the U.S. was only 35 years.14 With a lack of knowledge about germs and diseases, improper sanitation from the vast population made diseases more present from all the trash and dirty waters. As a consequence, death rates were high. Epidemics were one of the major causes of death in colonial America. The virus would usually be brought by ship and spreaded through port cities first. Yellow fever, a mosquito-borne virus that attacked the digestive tract and the liver, appeared in hot and wet summers in dirty port areas such as Philadelphia and Charleston. Dysentery and typhoid were still common due to the contaminated water supply after garbage, animal manure, and street sweepings were disposed of in nearby bodies of water. 15 People began to realize that the dirty environment and water were major causes of many epidemics. After the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793, the crisis led to some of the first public health measures in most cities. This led to quarantining laws, such as waiting 20 days for a ship to unload if it had sick passengers and placing members of infected households under house arrest.16 Cities in New England and Charleston, South Carolina founded permanent public health committees that established a public hospital for the victims of the epidemic. The committee also sent workers to sweep and scrub homes with sick members and sprinkled water on roads to remove garbage and filth. Around 1794, the laws were a permanent part of the government and, soon after, the public health committee announced the building of the first water treatment plant.17 As colonists were more and more aware of the unsanitary environment that would trigger diseases and increase death rates, they formalized the public health standard and began to enforce public health laws.

The Colonial era of the late 18th through the early 19th century saw the establishment of initial U.S. public health systems. With formalizing physician training, conducting scientific research, discovering new technologies and tools, opening medical institutions, and establishing public health standards, the Colonial era was the dawn of the modern health system in the U.S. This period was the foundation of our social development in the next 300 years.

14 15 16 17

Purdy, “Public Health,” .

Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine,” Jorgenson, “medicine,” Tannenbaum, “Health and Medicine,”