January Special V98

The Newtonite v Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 • Volume 98

Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St., Newtonville, Mass. 02460

Slow school Wi-Fi New coach seeks improvement leads to frustration for remainder of hockey season

Maya Demissie Following several hours of a complete internet blackout last Monday, Jan. 6, students and faculty expressed frustration with the unpredictable Wi-Fi. According to administrative technology specialist Phil Golando, a problem accessing external resources caused the shutdown. Last year, a hardware failure caused an internet blackout for an entire school day.

“The school Wi-Fi can be really spotty at times,” said sophomore Natalia Sawicka. “It works in some classes and not others. Sometimes you’re in the middle of an in-class essay and it’ll just quit on you.

There’s no real rhyme or reason to it.”

According to Golando, the recent Wi-Fi troubles are partly due to the increase in classroom internet usage. “As we have more of a reliance on web-based tools and not local servers, internet access becomes more of an issue because you can not access the tools you are used to using,” he said.

Overall, however, Golando said “the Wi-Fi works, and it works well, and I have not heard of problems with the Wi-Fi recently.” According to director of information technology and library services Steven Rattendi, the inconviences students experience with the Wi-Fi stem from a variety of reasons.

“There could be a whole ton of issues from the individual device to the network. There’s lots of factors that could feed into why any one student has an issue,” he said.

He added, “I don’t know what the particular complaints are that the students have, and I don’t know if they are reporting them to the by

techs in the building.”

According to Rattendi, the network company used by the entire school district, Cisco, is meant for large corporations and “should be able to handle everything that we’ve got going on at North.”

Science teacher Arielle Miles said she still runs into problems with the erratic Wi-Fi and it can make certain lessons more difficult.

“I hand out the packets, try to access the website, and a bunch of hands go up. ‘It’s not working,’” she said. “I try to work one-on-one with the fix, go into settings, try to change something and that takes up a lot of time, wastes a lot of time, and disrupts the flow of what was planned.” She added, “It can be disappointing.”

Junior Cristian Gaines agreed, saying that the inconsistent Wi-Fi can interfere with schoolwork and make using technology in class difficult.

“I’m trying to print something out and the printer’s not connecting, I can’t get to my Google Docs, or I’m trying to show something to a teacher on my Chromebook and it ends up not working. That’s just frustrating,” Gaines said.

He added, “It doesn’t make much sense to me if we’ve invested money into other technology that we still somehow have this low-quality Wi-Fi. It’s been bad the whole time I’ve been at North. I haven’t noticed much improvement.”

North currently has 150 wireless access points, or physical sources of Wi-Fi, that were put in place last summer to prepare for the Chromebook rollout. The old access points were replaced after five to ten years of use, according to Golando.

He added that each student and

Ian Dickerman Junior Jake Urquiola carries the puck across the rink during a game against Walpole at the John A. Ryan Arena Saturday, Dec. 14. North lost 8-0. Check out page 9 for a Q&A with new head coach Daniel Doucette.

teacher in the building should be able to use three devices worth of Wi-Fi at once.

Vice principal Amy Winston said the wireless access points go through routine checkups.

“Parts get replaced all the time as things get outdated or parts get broken,” she said. She added that the biggest upgrade was made last summer to prepare for the Chromebook rollout.

Golando said issues with the Wi-Fi mainly occur when multiple students attempt to connect to the

network at once.

However, not all experiences with the Wi-Fi are negative. Spanish teacher Chris Wood said the Wi-Fi shouldn’t be taken for granted given the size of the school.

“Generally speaking, in the ten years I’ve been in this building, the Wi-Fi’s been good. I actually think it’s remarkable how good the WiFi’s been,” he said. “I can’t remember a single class in ten years in which I had to abandon the lesson.

For the most part, I’ve been able to pull it together.”

Still, freshman Emma Kellstein said she also has experienced multiple occasions where she is unable to finish online homework because of the Wi-Fi. “In French class, Schoology will cut out and the Wi-Fi won’t work,” she said. “Computers just won’t work when we’re trying to do stuff and it’s generally the Wi-Fi’s fault.”

Nevertheless, Rattendi said that students shouldn’t experience much difficulty connecting to the Wi-Fi, and if they do, they should report it to the IT department.

MLK speech contest encourages students to voice beliefs Sophie Murthy The annual Martin Luther King Jr. speech competition brings a mix of both angst and excitement as sophomores prepare to improve their public speaking skills and advocate for a topic they care about.

The finalists, sophomores Tanya-Lif Gunnarsson, Samuel Braithwaite, Oliviah Espady, Zak Glick-Macalalad, and Ethan Situ, will present their speeches b-block, Friday Jan. 17.

This year’s judges will be principal Henry Turner, counseling department chair Beth Swederskas, Riley House dean Michelle Stauss, METCO counselor Elvin Cardona, English teacher Emily Lew, and junior Elizabeth Elvin.

English department head Melissa Dilworth said the judges want to approach the competition with the same expectations. “One of the things that we hold most near and dear is that this is really to honor Dr. Martin Luther King,” she said.

She added, “We want to emphaby

Custodians Meet the people who keep North running.

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size that you have to write about something that you know, where you can use your own voice, like he did, to make a meaningful change.”

Sophomore Kira Young said that the speech unit will prepare her for the future. “It helped with having enough confidence to get up in front of people and give your speech, which a lot of people don’t have,” she said. “In the future, being able to speak in front of people is important.”

Elvin, last year’s winner, said that the speech unit was great because it pushed her and her peers to step out of their comfort zones.

“There were kids who I’d never heard answer a question go up and present something so articulately because they got their confidence and could make the speech their own,” she said.

She added that she enjoyed the speech unit last year because it has a real world application in the future. “In the real world, you have to talk to so many people you don’t

College Recruitment Student-athletes seek further competition in college.

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know,” she said.

The speech unit is also an opportunity for students to practice the skill of advocating for what is important to them. English teacher Colleen Moore said, “The sophomore curriculum is about hearing lots of different voices and experiences. The speech unit is a chance for students, instead of reading and hearing about others, to speak up.”

According to Moore, teachers split the speech unit up into three phases: brainstorming ideas, writing the speech, and practicing delivery. In the first phase, teachers use past speeches, rhetorical devices, and the three rhetorical appeals to teach how to write a speech. In the second phase, students work on organization while writing the speech. In the last phase, the focus is on enunciation, pacing, volume, emphasis, tone, and gestures to help with the delivery of the speech.

Sophomore Emma Symonds said the most helpful thing she did in class was presenting to various

Cheer Cheer team relies on close bonding during season.

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partners and hearing feedback. She added, “I also practiced my speech in front of my parents a lot outside of class.”

Students spent varying amounts of time outside of class preparing.

Young said she spent one to two hours preparing, whereas sophomore Javier Bonilla said he spent around four hours. Bonilla added that he prepared by recording and listening to himself perform his speech.

Elvin said she also recorded herself performing her speech to prepare for the finals last year. “I have like 50 videos I used to figure out how I was going to walk on stage, how I was going to talk into the microphone, or how I was going to make eye contact,” she said. Elvin added that meeting one-on-one with her English teacher during X-block was very helpful.

For some, having the speech unit be a competition added unnecessary stress. Young said, “I spoke to a lot of people who were inter-

ested in going to the finals because they wanted to make an impact.

However, a lot of people felt like they had to go to the finals because their siblings did or there was more pressure on them.”

But others, like Symonds, said the competition was a valuable opportunity to share an interest. “I wasn’t stressed out about winning.

I really just wanted to talk about my topic. You’re still talking in front of your class and the competition didn’t really make a difference.”

Although she enjoyed winning the competition, Elvin said she valued going to the finals more because her story would have a greater impact. “It’s really important because not only could I spread my message to my teachers or just the 30 kids in my class, but I could really reach so many people,” Elvin added. “I think what’s more important about the competition is that at the end of the day, there are some really important lessons that can be learned for everyone.”

Albums of the Decade A look at the sounds that defined the past ten years.

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Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

2 v The Newtonite, Newton North

Student voices must lead on Wi-Fi improvements All around the library, students have their computers open to educational websites: Schoology, Google Docs, Quizlet, JSTOR, the North homepage. However, what is just as familiar as these quintessential school-related websites is the unmistakable empty Wi-Fi signal at the top of the screen.

editorial Since the start of the distribution of Chromebooks to all juniors, sophomores, and freshmen as part of the 1:1 Technology Initiative almost one year ago, the Wi-Fi connection appears to have deteriorated significantly, leading to multiple Wi-Fi outages and daily connectivity issues. For students, the lack of reliable Wi-Fi has derailed many a productive free block into an hour of procrastination with fellow Wi-Fi-less friends.

According to the Newton Public Schools website, the Chromebook program aims to increase the use of Wi-Fi-connected devices at schools to “ensure students develop the skills necessary to be powerful and responsible users of the digital world we live in.”

The way students have experienced the Chromebook program, however, has in some ways contradicted its original purpose.

As evidenced by last Monday’s total Wi-Fi outage, our system seems insufficient for the widespread technology use that the district is urging.

According to administrative technology specialist Phil Golando, while the current internet service network at North is designed to handle up to three devices per person, problems connecting to the Wi-Fi may arise when several people try to go online at the same time. In a building of over 2,000 students and hundreds of faculty, that is almost always the case. This increasing Wi-Fi traffic means that students and faculty are often left staring at the empty WiFi symbol and playing Google’s

no connection T-Rex game.

The inconsistent Wi-Fi causes a variety of issues for everyone in the building. It eats up valuable class time, requiring teachers to rearrange their lesson plans if their presentations don’t load or their students can’t access websites relevant to the lesson. It can also disrupt standardized testing on computers or important communication like emails between teachers.

For students, difficulty accessing the internet can force them to spend more time on work at home. Even though the Chromebook initiative ensures that all students have access to a computer at home and school, it is undermined if they cannot effectively use them during the school day.

That said, having access to North’s unreliable Wi-Fi is better than having no Wi-Fi at all.

We are privileged to attend an affluent school that is able to fund initiatives such as the Chromebook program. It is an honorable attempt to address the digital divide by equalizing the field between those in the building who can afford personal devices and those who cannot. But, the program falls short: only some students are able to circumvent the Wi-Fi issues by using data or hotspots at school.

North’s goal of adapting all students to the digital world is a vital one. But to achieve it, the administration must address this cycle of Wi-Fi service issues, whether that entails expanding the system even more or hiring a larger staff who can provide easily accessible technology assistance to students throughout the day. Currently, the district has not provided this kind of staffing for students.

The administration needs to listen to and consider the voices of the students who use the WiFi and Chromebooks on a dayto-day basis. Their experience is the best and only measure of the program’s effectiveness.

Once we solve these issues, then students can truly connect to the opportunities that the administration celebrates.

Ian Dickerman A community volunteer administers the flu vaccine to a student at North’s flu clinic on Tiger Drive Friday, Nov. 15.

Students’ refusal of flu shots endangers peers with sickness Katherine Mitchell Students waited inside Tiger Drive on a mid-November morning to receive their flu shot from volunteer physicians. Nurses flipped through flu forms as the strong smell of rubbing alcohol and the prick of a fine needle awakened students’ senses. This experience of receiving a flu shot is well worth the yellow crayon BandAid. Unfortunately, some students choose not to receive the flu shot. by

column If contracted, influenza, or the flu, can lead to complications such as heart and muscle inflammation, and even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu shot builds up a patient’s immune response, and it is the most effective way to protect against influenza.

Although the flu shot is a safe vaccine, there are some instances

The Newtonite The Newtonite, founded in 1922, is the news source of Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St., Newtonville, Mass. 02460.

Editors-in-chief — Jake Forbes and Sophia Zhou Managing editors — Jacques Abou-Rizk, Zoe Goldstein, Carolyn McDonald Arts editors — Sophia Fredberg, Arjun Shatkin, Amy Xue Features editors — James Dun Rappaport, Katherine Mitchell, Helen Xiao News editors — Dea Cela, Maya Demissie, David Feng, Sophie Murthy, David Ren, Yesha Thakkar Sports editors — Griffin Bond, Jeremy Frankel, Nichol Weylman-Farwell Graphics editor — Ruchik Trivedi

Photo manager — Ian Dickerman Business/advertisements manager— Isaac Tang Advisers — Tom Fabian, Derek Knapp, Amanda Mazzola Photo staff — Ella Bailey, Kai Kilburn, Kaela Krieger, Joel Schurgin Social media coordinator —Amy Xue Graphics staff — A.J. Chau, Jai Khurana, Kayley Somers

The Newtonite staff does all its reporting and photography to post content to its website, thenewtonite.com. Sign up for The Newtonite’s weekly email newsletter on its website. In addition to the midyear special, The Newtonite publishes a a spring special, a graduation special, a first day of school special, and a club day special.

To place an advertisement in the online or print version of The Newtonite or to contact us by phone, please call 617-559-6273. Readers can also reach us at thenewtonite@gmail.com.

The Newtonite serves as a designated forum for student expression. Readers are invited to submit guest articles and letters to the thenewtonite@gmail.com.

The Newtonite reserves the right to edit all letters, which must have the writer’s name, grade, and homeroom.

where it may result in side effects including soreness, redness, swelling, or headaches, according to the CDC. Luckily, these side effects are very rare. Speaking as a student who has received the flu shot for as long as I can remember, I have yet to suffer any side effects. Even though it is possible for patients to experience them, it is more dangerous not to receive the vaccine.

Students or parents who have doubts about the vaccine must understand that the flu shot is necessary for every student, except those who are medically excused.

It is important that the majority of students who are not medically excused do receive the vaccine to protect those who can’t receive it.

This will ensure that North remains a safe community where harmful illnesses are prevented.

The flu vaccination process, specifically the flu clinic at North, is also extremely efficient and easy, and receiving the vaccine is convenient and vital for all students.

According to nurse Maureen Pursley, students who receive the flu shot are also protecting others who are more at risk, such as elders or small children with chronic illnesses.

“We, as public health nurses, really advise people to be vaccinated with the flu shot,” Pursley said.

“Students should receive the vaccine so that they are doing as much as they can not to expose others who are at a higher risk.”

Unfortunately, students with a history of seizures or egg allergies cannot receive the vaccine. There are also students whose religious beliefs prohibit them from receiving it, but these conflicts affect only a handful of students. “If you go to public school unvaccinated and you get the flu, you are putting your friends and peers at risk, especially if they are allergic to the shot or can’t get it,” said sophomore Rachel Kimball.

Students who are fearful about the vaccine must understand that scientists are constantly working to make the flu shot safer and easier.

For example, they have implement-

ed finer needles each year. In addition, because the virus is constantly deviating, it is so closely monitored that scientists have even started building next year’s flu shot now.

There is more to fear for families who choose to avoid the flu vaccine. These families are putting their children at risk, and are also putting other students who cannot be vaccinated in danger. Receiving the flu vaccine is extremely important for students who are healthy, and the CDC as well as nurses have proven that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

Despite the numerous benefits that come with receiving the flu shot, some parents still object.

Many objections, however, are not supported by medical science.

One concern for families that do not vaccinate is the possibility of autism. The CDC, however, has proven that there is no link between autism and the flu shot, and therefore the possibility of autism is not an excuse to avoid the vaccine.

Families also commonly avoid the flu vaccine because it is thought to give patients the flu. “Some people might say that they got the flu shot and got sick with the flu,” said Pursley. “This is because they might have been protected from most of the organisms, but not all of them.”

The flu shot does not match up perfectly with the organisms in the virus, but it does its job of protecting against as many organisms as possible. The CDC has proven that contracting the flu is never because of the vaccine, since the vaccine only contains a dose of dead flu virus.

According to Pursley, anyone who becomes sick following the shot coincidentally had a different oncoming sickness before vaccination. As such, fear of contracting the flu is not a valid reason to avoid the vaccine. Therefore, all public school students should receive the vaccine for the sake of keeping themselves and others healthy.

Public school is a place where illnesses can spread easily and rapidly. Thus, North will become a safer community if all students who can receive the flu vaccine, do so.

opinion

Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Newton North, The Newtonite v 3

Use free speech to engage in new conversations Dea Cela In 2016, a group of North students drove around Tiger Drive waving a Confederate flag out of a window of their car. Holding a flag is considered “symbolic speech” and is protected under the First Amendment, according to Texas V. Johnson. While many people, like myself, believe that the Confederate flag holds a racist history unlike any ordinary flag, waving it is a right protected by the First Amendment.

by

guest writer This situation, in which several students were suspended, raises complex questions about freedom of speech and the First Amendment. Schools regulate speech in a different way than the government might. In the United States, a school may suppress a student’s speech if it is disruptive to student learning.

Administrators deemed this to be the case with this flag waving incident. Although undoubtedly offensive, waving a flag—any flag—is legal. As a student journalist and writer for The Newtonite, debating free speech is not new for me. The First Amendment makes it possible

to write opinion pieces and news stories for students and others.

But as a student journalist, I also wondered about how freedom of speech exists globally. In many countries, freedom of speech is not a right, and people can be punished for speaking their opinions. My uncle suffered this fate under an oppressive system. He was imprisoned under Albania’s Communist Regime and was sentenced to 17 years in a labor prison after speaking openly about his hatred of the communist party and the way the government was operating. By speaking freely, he lost his freedom.

Luckily, my uncle’s sentence was shortened to seven years because he was liberated after communism fell.

Others aren’t so lucky.

Thinking back on my uncle’s punishment for speaking openly feels surreal because I have the privilege to speak freely, especially as a student journalist. Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental rights people have. Expressing opinions and voicing beliefs is empowering and allows people to escape from a narrow-minded view of the world.

The fact that such a long standing right is losing favor in many

Western countries, especially among teenagers, says that people may be failing to use those rights.

According to the Washington Post, 40 percent of Americans under age 35 think the First Amendment is dangerous because you might use your freedom to “say something that hurts somebody else’s feelings.” This idea of hurting other people’s feelings with your speech has led to a backlash against the First Amendment and to the extent that it applies.

For many students at North, not hurting other people’s feelings means tolerance of everyone except those who say offensive things.

Real tolerance is being able to listen to people who say things that are offensive and trying to figure out where they are coming from. The paradox of censoring those who offend us is that such censorship is a reflection of our own intolerance.

The First Amendment grants us the freedom to openly disagree with others. When we dictate what is or is not “acceptable” speech, we give up that freedom in exchange for an image of fake tolerance.

Newton is known for being a more liberal town, and many who don’t label themselves as liberal of-

ten feel afraid to express their own beliefs. Despite the many multilingual lawn signs around the city that preach acceptance, we often disapprove of those with different perspectives.

“Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental rights people have.

Expressing opinions and voicing beliefs is empowering and allows people to escape from a narrow-minded view of the world. ” It is important to know what the First Amendment does and does not protect. The First Amendment allows people to state their opinions without the government being able to punish them, and that includes what we say in school. But it doesn’t protect us from giving away our freedoms to peers and media companies.

My uncle’s experiences show that other governments can take away rights because they are not protected like in the United States.

More cases of the government censoring speech have emerged around the world. Globally, support for free speech has declined in the past decade, and many of the world’s superpowers do not seem willing to stand up for it. “China is ruthlessly censoring dissent at home and exporting the technology to censor it abroad,” the Economist said, and the United States is slowly following its footsteps.

In the United States, we have the privilege of the First Amendment.

As former Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said, the First Amendment protects “not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.”

With this privilege we need to understand the value of free speech.

In schools, especially here in Newton, we need to be more willing to engage with opinions that are different from our own and recognize that the difference may cause discomfort. But it is vital that we listen because in the end we learn a new perspective and gain a better understanding of our own perspectives.

Lebanon serves as model for Middle East unity Jacques Abou-Rizk Outside my family’s home in Beirut, Lebanon this past November, there were rioters shouting for change and singing the Lebanese national anthem in unison. But what really stood out to me was the number of teenagers with Lebanese flags painted on their faces, smiles spread across the crowds, and the overpowering sound of drums and singing. It felt not like a riot, but rather a parade—a celebration. by

guest writer As I sat on the patio eating zaatar and pita bread, my dad argued with his sister about the future of their country. I took the opportunity to ask my 15-year-old cousin Mateo, who lives in Lebanon, what he thought of the protests. He corrected me: “Revolution. Lebanese Revolution. It’s a thawra—a revolution that will finally move the country forward.” This thawra that my cousin talks about is Lebanon’s escape from the obedient “coma”— as one protester put it to The New York Times—that has impeded the country’s development.

Since a WhatsApp tax sparked nation-wide protests against the collapsing economy in the beginning of mid-October, the situation has only grown worse.

However, for the first time in decades, Lebanon is uniting under one goal: to topple the corrupt sectarian government. The country is in worse economic shape than it has been in years, yet everywhere I went, I saw only hope in the eyes of a desperate country.

The Middle East as a whole is often categorized and forced to live under the Western perception of terrorism and radicalism, regardless of the fact that a fight for a new government is anything but radical. Yet, despite Lebanon’s history of sectarian strife, the youth are bringing together a population once deemed too fractured to function.

The New York Times columnist Roger Cohen visited Lebanon and asked soldiers what they thought of the protests. “We have rights,” is all they said. That “we,” as Cohen said in his article “The New Middle East of a Post-Sectarian Generation,” stands out. There hasn’t been a united “we” in Lebanon for decades. But now it’s clear who “we” represents. It represents the new, “post-sectarian generation.”

While in Lebanon, I felt the need to ask the rest of my family their thoughts on the protests. My aunt Zeina, who has lived in Beirut her entire life, said that Lebanon’s struggles are just beginning. She added that it will take the entire country working together—and suf-

Jacques Abou-Rizk Protesters march through Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, Lebanon as the anti-government movement strengthens Friday, Nov. 22, Lebanon’s Independence Day.

fering together—to finally “move out of the hole we are in.” My father, who grew up during the 1975 Lebanese Civil War, vented his disappointment at the fact that the protests have no leader and therefore will not go anywhere.

Unlike them, I have only experienced their country as a visiting relative (and technically a citizen), but my Western experience with various youth-led protests—ranging from climate change standouts, to protests against President Trump’s anti-DACA policy, to March For Our Lives—has allowed me to see first-hand the influence young people can have on a country. Western youth, such as gun violence activist David Hogg and climate change activist Greta Thunberg, are able to bring millions together to stand up for a single cause, just like what is happening in Lebanon.

Walking through the streets of Achrafieh, my father’s hometown, the phrase “power to the people” can be seen splashed across walls, store fronts, and banners. It is a saying suggesting the freedom and democracy that was born in 1960s America. While it may seem cliché to us, to the Lebanese, this phrase represents their attempt to recreate these values for themselves.

Just barely a few days into my trip, I already felt as though I was there for all three months of the protests. I felt like I was helping overthrow the people I’ve heard my father swear at so many times on the television.

Unfortunately, protests like these can create anarchy. In Lebanon, tire fires have closed some roads, at least seven people have been killed, and banks, along with other federal institutions, are closed for the time being. For my family, this meant my father and his sisters could not access their bank accounts. This institutional breakdown could mean two things: a revolution is truly in their midst, or an economic depression is on its way.

My father and I continued to walk through town, passing new glass skyscrapers and modern apartment buildings on every street.

“All these buildings are new,” he

Mitri Abou-Rizk Junior Jacques Abou-Rizk protests against the government in Beirut, Lebanon, holding a sign that says “The Freedom Yard,” Thursday, Nov. 21. said. “None of this was here ten years ago.” But these new buildings mean more than a developmental change in Lebanon—they represent a new generation. A new beginning for a war-torn country. And this new beginning is being ushered in by the same generation that has finally woken up from their “coma.”

For my father, the thawra represented something huge, no matter what the end result is. And so as we strolled along the streets of Achrafieh, I could tell he was getting emotional: “It’s amazing. All these religions coming together,” he said.

“I never thought I’d see the day.”

I left shortly thereafter, and I know it will be a while until I again had the opportunity to visit the country I love so much. But despite my trip being over, the era of the people—the Lebanese people—was just beginning.

The situation in Lebanon can be classified as unstable and unpredictable. But nonetheless, the country is headed for something new. Whether that be in a week, a month, or a year, Lebanon is in “a post-sectarian generation,” as Cohen puts it.

Lebanon is more similar to the United States than many realize: the youth are leading protests, frustration with the president has encouraged many to reflect on what a “democracy” really is, and taxes that benefit only the one percent are being implemented daily. If Lebanon is denied this opportunity to move itself out of its third-world status, to remove the stigmas surrounding its citizens, and to create a government that represents the opinions of its people, then it will continue to be known as just another tyrannical Arab country.

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Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Newton North, The Newtonite v 5

Seniors demonstrate language proficiency for Seal Sophie Murthy Seniors taking another language will have the opportunity to show off their expertise in a foreign language by taking the final Seal of Biliteracy exam of the school year Wednesday, Jan. 15.

This year, 108 students signed up for the exam. The first two sessions took place during the week of December 16.

The award, given by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, recognizes students who have achieved proficiency in English and a partner language by high school graduation, according to world language department head Nancy Marinucci.

“I think proficiency in the secby

ond language is critical. It’s about communication, but it’s also about understanding. It’s about understanding another way of thinking, another culture,” said Marinucci.

“This is why we do what we do in the language department.”

Senior Jake Wright said he decided to take the exam this year to measure his progress. “I wanted to see if my Spanish education had paid off. It might also help me get out of a language requirement in college,” he said.

North uses the Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) exam, which is organized by the company Avant, to assess students’ language ability in Arabic, French, Italian, Korean,

Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish. The test is untimed, but most students take around three to four hours to complete it, according to Marinucci.

Massachusetts awards the regular Seal of Biliteracy to students who achieve a minimum score of 240 on the ELA MCAS and receive the Intermediate High ranking on the STAMP exam. Students who achieve a score of 260 or above on the ELA MCAS and the Advanced Low or higher on the STAMP exam receive the Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction award. Students can also earn the Seal based on exam results from a language AP or subject test.

The exam tests students on lis-

tening, reading, writing, and speaking ability. “The STAMP is an adaptive test, which means that you have to do the listening first and it’s scored right away. That score determines the speaking prompt,” said Marinucci. “The same happens with reading, so you have to do them in a certain order.”

According to Marinucci, students who earn the Seal of Biliteracy receive a seal on their transcript, which they can show to colleges or an employer.

Junior Kate Ellison, who spent a year in France with her family, passed the exam last year in AP French and will receive the Seal in senior year. “I received a qualification in France saying that I was bi-

lingual, but I wanted to have some sort of American standard that certified that I was bilingual,” she said.

Marinucci said she feels the United States does not promote learning languages. “For some reason, we don’t value being bilingual or language diversity in the same way that other countries do.” She added that is why the North language department wants “to recognize and honor students who have achieved proficiency in more than one language.”

Wright said students on the fence about taking the exam should go for it. “It doesn’t have any consequences. It’s not as hard as you think it’s going to be.” He added, “It went better than I expected.”

School Committee negotiates new contract with NTA Yesha Thakkar After 15 months of negotiations, the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) and the School Committee came to an agreement on a new contract for the district’s faculty members Monday, Dec. 16.

The new contract includes a committee to take steps toward reconfiguring the high school schedule, full-day kindergarten, as well as details about raises, pay schedules, parental leave, and sick days for school staff.

The School Committee unanimously agreed to the contract.

Ninety-six percent of voting members in the NTA voted to ratify it.

As part of the new agreement, there will be no new high school schedule for the 2020-2021 academic year, according to NTA president Michael Zilles.

Instead, the contract includes a new High School Joint Oversight Committee, a group with members from the NTA, the School Committee, and the high school administration, to make decisions about a new high school schedule. This committee will recommend any changes to the schedule in the 2021-2022 academic year at the earliest. by

The agreement includes a oneyear deal for the current academic year and then a new three-year contract covering academic years from September 2020 to August 2023.

Under state law, the union and the School Committee cannot negotiate a contract longer than three years.

The NTA ratified the entirety of the agreement. The School Committee has only ratified the one-year deal so far, and it will host another meeting in late January to vote on the rest of the agreement.

“We’re thrilled by the contract that we’re able to present today,” said South history teacher Jamie Rinaldi, chair of the union’s bargaining team.

“We feel that this is the culmination of a hard fought campaign, and through member unity and solidarity, we were able to bring home a fantastic contract,” he added.

Science teacher Al Calderone, a union member who represented faculty members at larger negotiation meetings, said that he was pleased by the contract. “Not only are all of us being treated as professionals, but it’s also understood that we have families to care for.”

Other notable terms of the new contract include better working conditions for aides and educational support professionals. These faculty members will be paid for extra time spent at the beginning and end of the school day communicating with teachers and parents.

Faculty members working for more than 15 years will receive an 11.75 percent increase in pay over four years, and other faculty members will receive 10.25 percent. Not only will faculty members be paid more, but they will also be paid earlier in the school year, according to Zilles. The time at which faculty receive these automatic increases will be moved back gradually from March to December over the next four years.

“I can’t think of a single educator here who isn’t always putting 100 percent into giving the right education and tools to their students,” said English teacher Michael Schlegelmilch, who was part of NTA’s Contract Action Team.

“But it’s easier when our working conditions are settled.”

Following the expiration of the last three-year contract in August 2018 and months of negotiation,

the union and School Committee agreed to a one-year contract in order to continue negotiating.

Union members then launched a campaign in fall 2018 to voice their displeasure with the slow pace of discussions.

Throughout the duration of the one-year contract in the 2018-2019 academic year, union members participated in a variety of efforts, including standouts, wearing red union t-shirts, and putting up lawn signs, followed by a campaign rally at the Education Center in March 2019.

At the beginning of the 20192020 academic year, when the oneyear contract expired, the union organized at City Hall after superintendent David Fleishman cancelled his usual opening day message to faculty.

NTA members then remained silent in full faculty meetings beginning in September, voluntary committees beginning in November, and had planned to cease participating in department meetings beginning in December.

According to School Committee chair Ruth Goldman, this lengthy negotiation period was necessary

in order to determine a contract that works for everyone. “Overall, it would have been great if it could have been a little faster,” she said.

However, she added that a longer settlement period for the NTA is “reasonable because it represents so many different groups.”

She said that a new contract has not been signed on time in Newton for over a decade, adding that in 2014, faculty members worked under an expired contract for 15 months. In this current cycle, the contract was settled about two months after expiration of the one year contract. “It wasn’t ideal, but we made a great deal of progress,” Goldman said.

Nonetheless, faculty members hope to see changes in both the time frame and inclusivity of negotiation talks in the future.

“There should never be a time moving forward that educators are asked to work without a contract,” Calderone said.

“If there is agreement among the leadership that this process takes a long time, that’s simply a suggestion that we should start earlier in the negotiation process next time,” Calderone added.

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feature

6 v The Newtonite, Newton North

Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Custodians help foster supportive community Yesha Thakkar, Sophia FredZoe Goldstein Clean the rooms. Pick up the trash. Sweep. Mop. These are just some of the tasks custodian Nick Raso ’13 routinely completes. His shift begins at 2:00 p.m. and ends at 11:00 p.m.

Raso grew up in Newton and graduated from North seven years ago. As a student, he did not know that “there were custodians here 24/7. It’s not just the one or two custodians you see during the day doing all the work.”

Now, as a custodian himself, he sees the job from a different perspective.

At North, there are 14 custodians who work three different shifts.

According to head custodian Timothy Keefe, each custodian works either a day shift, middle shift, or midnight shift, cleaning the building during classes, after school, or overnight.

These custodians have a wide range of duties during the school year. Many, including Raso, are responsible for cleaning floors, classrooms, and bathrooms. According to Keefe, some have special roles that require prior experience and certification, such as handling pool chemicals.

“It’s a massive school, and it’s a lot of work to keep it clean,” Raso said, adding that custodians often work overtime shifts to cover theater productions and clean rooms rented out by universities for events.

Keefe said that even in the summer, they work at night to accommodate classes and summer school.

On top of their day-to-day tasks, custodians clean the messes made by students in the bathrooms, hallways, stairways, and classrooms.

According to Keefe, the two most prominent student-caused problems in the building are bathroom graffiti and vaping. “They’re a real pain in the neck. We’re running around the building, so it’s that much harder for us to have so many breaks in our already packed schedule,” he said.

Raso said that damage to property, such as graffiti, implicitly disby

berg, and

regards efforts to keep the building clean. “I enjoy coming to work, but I don’t enjoy walking into the bathroom and seeing that there’s an intentional mess.”

Principal Henry Turner said that the destruction of bathrooms can cause problems for students as well. He added that according to the health and wellness surveys students fill out every year, bathrooms make students uncomfortable due to vaping, graffiti, and the destruction of property. “When students destroy those spaces, they are being disrespectful of everyone in our community, including our custodians, their classmates, and other staff in the building.”

Beneath these surface-level problems, there is a noticeable disconnect between students and custodians.

“Students do an absolutely horrible job of supporting custodians,” said senior Emiliya Aleksanyan.

“In my leadership class, there’s an issue that’s been brought up about kids just trashing the bathrooms— paper towels everywhere, toilets being a mess, and writing everywhere.”

The education system and our culture also stigmatize custodial jobs, according to Raso, who received a bachelor’s degree in history from University of Vermont.

“Often, schools tell students to stay in school and get good grades, or they’ll be cleaning toilets or sweeping the floor just like I am,” he said.

“It sucks every day when you’re treated like that.”

Custodian Diane Gill said she found that underclassmen are especially unaware of the problems they create for custodians. “They are not as respectful,” she said. “They make a mess, and they disregard that this building is for everybody.”

Raso added, “I wish that students knew that we’re human beings, and we’re not invisible. I think a lot of people underestimate how much of a career this can be if you’re willing to work hard.”

Due to all the hard work custodians at North put in to keep the school running, students should

Ian Dickerman Senior Brendan Whalen helps custodian Frank Sully stack chairs after lunch in the cafeteria Thursday, Dec. 12.

Ian Dickerman Custodian Frank Sully uses a mop to wipe down tables in the cafeteria after third lunch Thursday, Dec. 12. support them by appreciating and acknowledging their hard work.

Raso noted that part of the job goes unrecognized. “It’s strange because if I go clean something, and nobody notices, it’s just a feeling of pride in the school which I think all the custodians share,” he said.

In fact, Turner said that students often blame custodians for the building’s many issues, such as recycling, “when it is really everyone else that’s the problem, in that we’re not monitoring what we’re putting in our recycling bins.”

The custodial crew is “exceptional,” according to Turner. “They are very passionate about this building and the school, and they bleed orange and black just as much as everyone else in the building does,” he added.

The custodians’ desire to support students stems from a greater sense of obligation. On top of their baseline responsibilities, Raso and other custodians go above and beyond to support the North community. “I find every single day I’m doing just a little bit more that’s not on that list of stuff to do, even if it’s building relationships with teachers, even learning what they like to have done in their classrooms,” said Raso.

For many custodians, though, the job description extends beyond maintaining the building. They are often found fostering friendly relationships with students.

During lunch, many students greet Gill and other custodians in the cafeteria. A few ask to use “pickers,” or brooms and dustpans, and Gill teaches students how to clean with them. Others crack jokes with Gill as they find their seats. One girl stops to tell her about her class that day. Gill knows many students’ name and interests. Throughout the block, the custodians converse with the students. They quip about which bathrooms are the cleanest and even joke about the food left in between lunches.

Aleksanyan recounted her positive experience with a custodian. “I once dropped something made of glass on the floor, and I was asking someone to help because I had to run to class. Eventually, a custodian came by and told me that he’ll handle it, and that I can go to class,” she said. “The interactions I’ve had with the custodians are pretty nice.”

Raso expresses worry for stu-

dents’ mental and emotional health based on his experiences and observations in the building. “The amount of hate speech that gets put up on walls might surprise you. It does seem like teachers and the administration are showing more interest in what’s been going on in the bathrooms. It’s nice that people are recognizing that we have to address the situation,” said Raso.

This issue with hate speech leads Raso to feel a sense of responsibility for promoting a productive educational environment for students.

Raso added, “I think the difference between a custodian and a janitor is doing that little bit of extra work.

It’s taking pride in your building and feeling a sense of ownership.”

Many custodians consider their responsibilities worthwhile and en-

joy a positive work environment.

“The job can be cathartic at times, the cleaning,” Raso said. “You get to see that it’s clean, and not a lot of people have a job where you get to see your results.”

The custodians’ similar responsibilities and tasks bring them closer together, according to Gill.

“All the custodians get along really well. We have to clean this whole building in the summer. We all have to work to get it done. It’s a lot of teamwork,” she said.

Raso also sees this sense of community with the other custodians as a benefit of the job. “I get to work alongside some really great guys,” he said, “so I enjoy coming to work every day, and I don’t know how many people have that.”

Ian Dickerman Custodian Diane Gill uses a T7 to mop the floors in the cafeteria Monday, Jan. 6.

features

Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Newton North, The Newtonite v 7

Delaney embraces art as creative expression Sophie Fredberg Conversations overlapped in the chaotic and welcoming ceramics room. In the center, senior Ruby Delaney, an art major, called out to her friends without looking down at her bowl. Her fingers found the natural bends, sculpting changes in what was now a vase. When the piece looked practically perfect a minute later, she folded it to create something new.

“I don’t think I would like school if I didn’t have somewhere to go,” Delaney said, barely looking up. “I think it’s important to have a place and people to go to in school. Without the art community, I don’t really know where that would put me.”

Delaney started ceramics when she was 11, but had wanted to throw since the age of eight after watching older kids at The New Art Center.

In the following years, she joined her first class and developed her passion for ceramics. Now, she makes pieces continually, which has created an

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Ian Dickerman Senior Ruby Delaney uses a sponge to smooth the top of a bowl on the pottery wheel Friday, Dec. 6.

overflow of her work.

“Most of them are at school now,” Delaney said when talking about her pottery. “I used to bring them home, but my parents don’t want them anymore. Some are lying around my house. I just plant some things in them and put them on my desk. Most just find their own home at school or with someone else,” she added.

During Delaney’s time at North, art teacher Cindy Massoff has been her mentor and has witnessed her artistic growth.

“She could make a career out of it,” said Massoff. “She is that good.”

Delaney takes a humble approach to her work, despite the praise from teachers and classmates.

“I get that a lot of people want to pursue it as a career and that’s fine,” said Delaney. “I think keeping those things to yourself is important. I don’t talk to people about my art on the side.”

With art as a large part of her life,

Delaney chooses to make boundaries between her personality and her activities.

“I don’t think art is an integral part of my personality. I love to do it, but I don’t think it defines who I am,” said Delaney.

She added, “When you start to define yourself through what you do on the side, it starts to become less about your personality and more about your actions.”

Delaney said she does not want to pursue an art career in the future because she feels it will dull her creativity and become less rewarding.

“I really enjoy art, and I have to be doing it all the time because it brings me joy,” she said. “When you go down this career, it gets more complicated, and you stop doing it for yourself, and it’s just about other people and what they want from you,” Delaney said.

“I don’t want to lose my own sense of creativity for someone else.”

Goldsmith helps students fulfill musical passions Amy Xue Sophomore Will Goldsmith grins as he reaches into his pocket, “I have some business cards in my wallet. We have a logo and everything.” The sleek black business card has a logo of a bell with a music note as the clapper. The words “Bellevue Productions” are written in bold letters underneath.

Even though he is just in high school, Goldsmith runs his own music company, “Bellevue Productions,” that helps many student artists with the production and distribution of their songs and albums.

His current clients include North musicians, juniors Lilah Gentry and Julianna Walsh and sophomores Arjun Shatkin and Naomi Wolfe (Check out thenewtonite.com for additional profiles on these artists).

The process of producing is flexible for Goldsmith. He adapts himself to each individual artist in order to fulfill their specific needs. For Shatkin’s album, Goldsmith said, “It was a cool experience because we didn’t really know what we were going to be getting. And we kind of just went with it because we were writing as we were recording.”

For Wolfe’s music, she already had her lyrics and melody down.

According to Goldsmith, the majority of production was just laying down chords for her song. Other clients, bands such as Trash Rabbit and Snoozer, come in with “their stuff all figured out” because of their frequent gigs and live shows, he added.

by

“The artist comes in with what they know and their vision,” said Goldsmith. “All I do is try to help push it to realization and help them create the product.” The process can take anywhere from a week to a few months.

According to Goldsmith, his love for producing grew from a desire to record his own music. His former music teacher, Jesse Trepiak, taught him how to produce and distribute music.

“If other people already have the ideas, and I have a good amount of musical knowledge and skill to help bring that to life, I feel like producing is something I’m more successful at,” he said.

The summer before his sophomore year, Goldsmith and Trepiak co-produced just about an album a week. “It was like a nine-to-five every day,” said Goldsmith.

However, he was not fazed by the workload. “Even though all my friends might have been out doing stuff during the day and I was just at home producing, I still love it because it’s just something I enjoy doing.”

After Trepiak moved away at the beginning of this school year, Goldsmith took over the production and distribution for all his clientele, and Bellevue Productions grew to be the business it is today.

Goldsmith’s venture into music began when his parents bought him his first guitar. He thought playing the guitar was “super cool,” but he did not like to practice for his les-

Sarah O’Reilly Sophomore Will Goldsmith plays a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar in the band room Thursday, Dec. 19. sons. His attitude towards guitar changed when he switched to All Newton Music School and met Ian Aaberg, who would be his teacher for many years. “He started teaching me songs that I loved, which really motivated me to start practicing by myself,” said Goldsmith.

Aaberg played a big role in shaping Goldsmith’s music taste. “He also introduced me to a lot of music I ended up loving,” said Goldsmith. “So Led Zeppelin and AC/ DC were two of my favorite bands for a while.” These bands and their

genres influenced the soulful guitar riffs he went on to write.

According to Goldsmith, he released his first EP, an “instrumental guitar thing called ‘Stratagem,’” in seventh grade. The album featured layered power chords, snare drums, and nostalgic-sounding rock.

Goldsmith said that the experience of recording, producing, and distributing this album helped him develop some of the skills he uses today.

After this experience, Goldsmith started taking lessons at the YMCA

with Trepiak. At the Y, he became part of a band called “Just a Phase” with Jonathan Plummer ‘19, where he gained more recording experience. However, he discovered his real passion in producing.

As for now, Goldsmith plans to continue expanding Bellevue Productions. “I definitely want music to be my job in some way. I don’t really want to do anything else for my career,” said Goldsmith. “I don’t know if Bellevue’s the thing, but I’m going to keep it going and see what happens.”

Indoor track works to defend 22 years of victory Nichol Weylman-Farwell On a November afternoon during the preseason, the boys’ indoor track team could be seen running short interval sprints around the track during an optional practice. Other members of the team stood on the sideline, beads of sweat running down their faces, as they focused on controlling their breathing before heading off to sprint again.

Even before the start of the season, the Tigers were preparing to defend their streak of 22 straight undefeated seasons. Despite some potential challenges, such as making up for the loss of last year’s seniors, the team has high hopes for this campaign, which started December 4. Last year, North placed by

second at the MIAA DI Championships and tied for third at the MIAA All-State Championship.

“We lost some key seniors last year, but I think we’re in a perfect position to fill in those shoes.”

- senior Raghav Kadambi “It was great to see everyone out there, realizing that ‘Hey, we need to practice before the season starts so we have a great season and get in shape,’” said senior Raghav

Kadambi, a captain with seniors Alex Ivanov and Otis Love, in a November interview. He added, “Everyone’s been working really hard, doing things like weightlifting.”

According to math teacher Shawn Wallace, the head coach, the team is hopeful that it can finish the year undefeated and contend for titles in the playoffs, including a MIAA Division 1 State Championship. “We’re trying to get as many of [those titles] as possible, so that’s going to take some hard work,” he said. “Everyday, kids gotta come to practice and work hard because we know we have a target on our back, and we know that people are gearing up for us.”

Last season, North lost key se-

niors, such as Theo Burba and Marco Leo. Burba, who now runs track at Duke University, was a two-time Bay State Conference MVP and held the 10th fastest all-time high school indoor 600 meter time, with 1:18.67. Leo was also a consistent performer in middle-distance events during his four years on the team and finished seventh in the 800-meter dash at the 2019 MIAA All-State Championship.

“One single person can’t fill in someone else’s shoes,” Kadambi said, adding that, “Like when we lost Andrew Mah, we realized that we needed to gain those points back. We gained those points back in sprinting, mid-distance, et cetera, and focused less on trying to replace him.”

Similarly, Wallace said that “things should take care of themselves” as long as the runners “show up and do their jobs.”

Kadambi pointed to contributions from the team’s core group of Ivanov, Love, and seniors Sean Evans, Ian Horsburgh, and Sam Strymish, as being important for the team’s continued success. He also cited the development of the contributions from the team’s underclassmen.

“Our 4x4 and a lot of our mid-distance groups on the team are coming back from last year, which is cool,” Kadambi said. “We lost some key seniors last year, but I think we’re in a perfect position to fill in those shoes.” u continued on page 9

sports

8 v The Newtonite, Newton North

Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

North athletes seek ‘integrated’ college experience Griffin Bond Tonight, Clemson and LSU will face off in one of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the year. Almost 75,000 people will pack the stands of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to watch the College Football Playoff National Championship. An additional 20 million will watch the game from the comfort of their homes.

Because all the attention focuses on these household names and future NFL stars, it is easy to forget that most college athletes are not on national television in prime time and do not sign multimillion dollar deals with NFL franchises. Instead, most North students who go on to play college sports play Division III (DIII).

The NCAA is comprised of three divisions. Out of the three divisions, Division I (DI) schools generally have the largest athletic budgets and offer athletic scholarships to 59 percent of student-athletes, according to NCAA.org.

Playing sports at a DI school is the highest level of college athletics, and according to college counselor Jillian Hall, is almost like having a job.

However, she added, “The competition can be great at all levels.”

DIII schools, with the smallest student bodies, have an “integrated environment that focuses on academic success while offering competitive athletics,” according to NCAA.org. These schools do not offer athletic scholarships.

DIII schools often appeal to students who want a college experience that balances academics with athletics.

Hall emphasized the importance of choosing a school holistically, especially because of the possible unforeseen circumstances an athlete may face. “You don’t know if you’re going to break your leg tomorrow or get a concussion tomorrow,” she said.

She added that she often finds herself “reminding student-athletes that they have to be making a choice about a college based on their overall happiness and not just based on a sport or a coach,” she added.

Athletic director Tom Giusti expressed a similar idea. “The athletic piece can be taken away in a heartbeat because of some type of nasty injury, concussions, or whatever the injury might be,” he said, adding “whereas your academics, you’re not going to have them taken away, which is the part of college that is going to carry over the rest of their life.”

When Hall herself played DIII basketball at Bowdoin College, the school restricted her team’s court time to two hours each day. On top of practice on the court, she spent roughly an hour per day fulfilling other athletic responsibilities, such as watching films of games.

“The NCAA sets different regulations depending on the division,” Hall said. By dedicating only three hours a day to her sport, Hall said she still had time to study and engage in activities on campus.

On top of a less rigorous athletic schedule, DIII schools generally have seasons that are shorter than those of their DI and DII counterparts.

Before a student can make such a choice, however, student-athletes must go through the application process. At DI schools, college coaches can often advocate for students in admissions decisions. In most cases at DIII schools, coachby

es have less of an influence. The role of college coaches varies from school to school, however.

A crucial element of the application process is recruitment, which begins in high school. The DIII recruitment process, as opposed to that of DI and DII, can involve a lot more effort on the part of the prospective student-athlete, especially since DIII schools often do not employ recruiters. Rather than a school recruiting the athlete, “it’s important for players to recruit the school as well,” said Brandeis assistant soccer coach Adam Batista.

“I put this amount of time into track, and I have to put in that much time in academics, whereas a lot of people go home and put that much time into academics and then they sleep.”

- senior Raghav Kadambi

Senior Max Johnston, who is playing soccer at Brandeis next year, described the time-consuming process: “Playing the sport itself takes a lot of time, but especially with the recruiting process, reaching out and trying to advocate for yourself while playing, and trying to do all your schoolwork, and get the grades you want to keep options open.”

He added that it was “definitely a tough balance to strike.”

According to Hall, there are three different ways a DIII program will recruit an athlete. The first is very similar to the DI process, where coaches go to see students play and actively recruit them.

“In club basketball there are a bunch of exposure tournaments,” said senior Tom Andreae, who was recruited to play basketball at Macalester College next year. He added that was how the process began for him.

The second recruitment method involves students reaching out to

coaches, either in person, over the phone, or through student-athlete prospective forms online. A coach may subsequently reach out to a player who they are interested in.

When students begin college, they can take advantage of the third recruitment method: walk-on tryouts. DIII schools can hold tryouts in order to support athletes who are not committed to the school from an athletic standpoint, but want to continue their athletic career in college. Walk-on tryouts give any student at a school the opportunity to participate in a sport in college.

Throughout the recruitment process, North’s counseling department helps students apply to colleges and eventually settle on a school that is right for them.

According to Hall, her job includes “a lot of education on how the process works and advice to [students] on how to reach out to coaches.” She added that she often helps students fill out prospective student-athlete forms online and write emails.

“It’s a lot of meeting students where they’re at and educating them on whatever point is next for them in the process,” she said.

According to senior Raghav Kadambi, who will run track at Colby College in the fall, Hall’s help has been invaluable.

“I was very thankful to have [Hall] as a college counselor at school. She really knows what she’s talking about,” he said. He added that Hall’s experience as a DIII athlete gave him a unique perspective on his recruitment process.

North’s coaches can also help to both prepare students to play sports in college and navigate the recruiting process.

“At school of course, my coaches were a great help,” Kadambi said. He added that math teacher Shawn Wallace and Lou Pearlman sent supportive statements about him to college coaches.

While athletic support is important, academics are also essential in the recruitment process. According to Batista, at many DIII schools, “Academics tend to guide the process in many ways.” He added, “In terms of the academic profile of students-athletes from high school, it has to match our profile at the end of the day. We can really only recruit players that fall into whatev-

Ian Dickerman Senior Raghav Kadambi leads the pack during a track meet against Framingham Thursday, Dec. 12. er our profile is.”

According to Giusti, North prepares students for the college experience by teaching them how to balance their academics and their athletics. “When alumni come back, especially freshmen, they say, ‘Jeez Newton North did a fabulous job of preparing us,’” he said.

However, the recruitment process can still create stress. According to Johnston, “It was tough, definitely, especially last year.”

Kadambi said that he was sometimes unable to meet up with friends during athletic seasons. He added that in order to be accepted into a strong academic school with competitive sports, he had to keep his academics at a high level like any other student, while also working hard on the track.

“I put this amount of time into track, and I have to put in that much time in academics, whereas a

Joel Schurgin Senior Tom Andreae drives down the court in a game against Walpole Friday, Dec. 13. North won 70-36.

lot of people go home and put that much time into academics and then they will go to sleep,” he said.

Finding a school that fits not just the student’s athletic goals but also their academic and social ones is the most important part of the process.

According to Batista, student-athletes choosing a college must consider what they want from their college experience, such as the goals of the sports program, the playing time they will receive, and the size of the student body.

For example, according to Kadambi, Colby was the perfect fit for him because of the great education, small school experience, and coaching staff.

Johnston chose Brandeis because, “I just felt like it was a really good fit for me. I knew the coaches really well, I trained with them before, had been talking to them for over a year, and I felt like they knew me and respected me a lot as a player. Along with that, I really liked the culture of the school.”

Unfortunately, all of this time and effort, as with any college application process, does not always yield an acceptance.

“That’s a really common thing among DIII student-athletes,” said Hall. “In terms of acceptance into colleges, nothing is ever a sure thing.”

Intramural sports are another one of the many options available to students who want to continue their athletics in college.

Hall said, “Just because you can’t play tennis or basketball in college, that doesn’t mean they don’t have an intramural league for that sport, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a club team, it doesn’t mean that you can’t find other ways to play with friends outside of school.”

Whether or not a student-athlete decides to play for a DI power house like LSU or Clemson, or a small DIII school like Bowdoin, colleges offer a variety of opportunities for students to continue their athletic careers.

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Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Newton North, The Newtonite v 9

Indoor track discovers success through discipline

Ian Dickerman Senior Otis Love and junior Alex Sherman leap over the hurdles in a meet against Framingham at the Reggie Thursday, Dec. 12. continued from page 7 Kadambi added, “I don’t think we’ll be fazed that much, because we have great freshmen coming. I u

think everyone’s starting to step up to the plate.”

Kadambi said that the rest of the conference is eager to break

North’s streak. “Our coach says, ‘Every team that goes against us, it’s their Superbowl.’ The one meet that they care about is beating us, because wouldn’t it be great to knock off a team with a 22-year streak,” Kadambi said.

He added that last year, the state traded out a few teams from Bay State, so each new team is difficult to face. “A lot of teams are going to be competitive this year, like Wellesley. They’re always a big, tough meet for us. Brookline, too, has been growing their program,” he said.

As for the mentality he wants his team to embody going into the season, Kadambi pointed to an outdoor track meet from last season against Wellesley, in which the teams tied. “Every single point mattered, and that’s something we need to understand going into the season, that there’s no time to slack off, you always have to be on top of

your game every single time, and be focused,” Kadambi said.

Wallace explained that teams tend to hit a wall around mid-January due to exhaustion and a lack of motivation. He added that keeping a competitive mindset throughout the season is crucial to a successful track team.

According to Wallace, he has not been concerned with team motivation. “The captains are doing it, so the kids are going to see that, unfortunately, there are no off days, and whenever we do take an off day, that gives other teams a chance to give us a loss,” Wallace said.

North enters its third season with Wallace as the head coach, after longtime coach Jim Blackburn’s death last spring. Kadambi said that the team has adjusted to Wallace’s coaching style well, despite some bumps early on.

“Without a doubt, their coaching styles are very different,” he

said, adding that, “I remember it was a very big switch from my freshman year to my sophomore year, but I think that comes with a new coach.”

According to Kadambi, the trust they have invested in the coach is one aspect of the mentality that has contributed to the team’s success.

“The biggest thing that people have to understand when they join the team is that if you invest yourself into the team, and say, ‘I believe in this training, and I trust this coach,’ you’re going to be the best athlete you can be,” Kadambi said.

In order for the team to keep its undefeated streak going, the individual athletes must put the goals of the team ahead of any individual goals, according to Kadambi.

“It doesn’t matter how fast or how slow you run,” said Kadambi. “As long as you’re winning the race, and doing your job to get points, that’s all that matters.”

Doucette hopes to continue hockey team improvement Jeremy Frankel Former assistant boys’ hockey coach Daniel Doucette ‘96 assumed the position of head coach at the start of the season. Doucette, who played hockey and lacrosse at North, was inducted into the Newton North Hall of Fame in 2015. We sat down with Doucette to learn more about him. by

How will you use your past experiences with hockey to help the team?

I’ve been coaching and playing for most of my life. I played for Newton Youth Hockey growing up.

I was born and raised in Newton.

I played for Newton North High School. I played a little bit in prep school before college. I have been a coach for Newton Youth Hockey and with North for the past five years as an assistant. I think understanding the game, the kids, and the players, both from the youth hockey experience and from the high school team over the past five years, has helped and is helping in terms of coaching the team.

What are you excited about as head coach of the team?

Working with the boys again.

We have an enthusiastic and dedicated group of young men that work hard and are good kids. Being part of the program over the last number of years, you get an idea of what goes into it, and working with former head coach Jamie Gresser has been a good entry into the roles, responsibilities, and duties of a coach at the high school level.

What are some team goals and personal goals that you have for the season?

We want to win as many games as we can. It hasn’t quite worked out so far, but we have a young and somewhat inexperienced team this year, and they’re working hard, they’re committed, and they have good attitudes. We’ve improved in terms of play on the ice, community involvement, and coalescing as a team. Obviously every year we want to win as many games as possible, and there’s always a goal to make deep runs in the state tournament. In the absence of those hard wins, you want to improve and be a good role model for the kids.

What are the team’s strengths?

Work ethic has certainly been a

significant positive attribute of the team. They’re all good kids. People are supportive and building each other up which has been encouraging.

game. You have to be committed to the team. You have to put the team above yourself and any individual accolades. I think the team aspect is appealing. The strength, the speed,

the quickness, the physicality of it has always been appealing as well.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

What have your captains done to help lead the team through some tough early season games?

It’s a combination of vocal and physical leadership, showing younger players and even some of the older players what to do and how to carry themselves. A lot of our seniors and captains have certainly stepped up and are setting an example for the rest of the team.

Especially with a young team, it’s important to show the things that make the team successful, on both an individual and group basis.

What is it about hockey that drew you to the sport?

I think it’s the combination of speed, required toughness, the physical nature of the game, and the fact that I consider it the ultimate team game. You can have the best player on the ice, but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to win the game. Very rarely does one kid or adult just take over the

Ian Dickerman Head coach Daniel Doucette surveys his players during the game against Walpole at the John A. Ryan Arena Saturday, Dec. 14.

New nordic ski coach promotes supportive team attitude Yesha Thakkar Head coach Jeff “Whipp” Parker joined the nordic program, taking over for administrative assistant Anna Ford, at the beginning of the season. Parker, who skied in high school and college, started coaching at Concord High School roughly six years ago. We sat down with Parker to learn more about him. by

What has your coaching experience been like?

I started skiing when I was in high school or even a little earlier.

After high school, I went to Colorado State University where I worked as the head coach for two years after I graduated. Then I went to graduate school and dropped the sport for a long time, getting back into it about six years ago when I started coaching in Concord.

How has your experience at North differed from Concord?

Newton North is completely different. I really like North because it is a really friendly place. When you walk through the doors, people are laughing, there’s a lot of noise, and it’s a really nice feeling. I don’t want

to downplay Concord, but the nordic program and team is really a lot more stressful there. It’s more like an individual scene there, whereas here, it’s like one big family. Nordic here is a great program, too. I remember being on the bus with Concord last year, and everyone was talking about how North has the best team.

Everyone here is really helpful and fun and supportive of peers

from different backgrounds. It works better than any other high school I’ve seen. They have so much fun here, and the students run the team and keep it together.

What differences have you noticed between coaching a college team and a high school team?

The big difference is that it’s much easier to coach college because everyone is an experienced

skier. There, it’s mainly a management job. In high school, you have to help varsity skiers, beginners, and people who are trying to get up to varsity. Here, we have some 40 skiers—on a college team, you might have 12 to 15. The skiers in high school have a lot to learn. That being said, coaching at high school isn’t necessarily harder, but it’s definitely more rewarding and fun.

Can you explain your decision to have seven captains lead the team?

We had seven very experienced, dedicated seniors running the team this year. During the captain voting last year, these seven women all had a lot of support. These kids are very dedicated. And I really had no problem having a lot of captains.

It’s really wild—the captains, they are so organized. I mean, some of these captains—they could run a revolution. They basically run the team.

Ella Bailey Head coach Jeff Parker watches his team practice at Weston Ski Track Monday, Jan. 6.

What do you especially like about the nordic team, and what changes do you hope to implement?

I really like that everybody on the team is very supportive, and

they’re all good friends. In terms of changes, I was planning on trying to switch up the training to pay more attention to technique. A lot of skiers focus on power, cardio, and fitness, but balance and coordination are important components of the sport. That’s something that often gets shortchanged, but people that ski really well are the ones with great balance and coordination.

There are a lot of technique-skills involved with nordic. I noticed last year North went a little low on technique, and that’s something that we can collectively work on.

What do you hope to prioritize for the team this season?

Having fun! This team is really more about spirit. You really have to think about how you measure success on a sports team. Years ago, when I was skiing for Colorado State, I had a really great season there. When I look back on it now, I don’t think at all about the success we had, but friends I made. The good times you have are so much more important.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

sports

10 v The Newtonite, Newton North

Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Recent success motivates cheer for future seasons Katherine Mitchell “Cheer is definitely a contact sport,” said senior Izzy Day, a captain with seniors Christina Giglio and Danielle Nicolazzo. “You have to throw people into the air and if the stunt goes incorrectly, you have to catch a falling body, which no other sport does. It takes endurance and strength, with having to tumble, lift people, and jump all in one routine.” This dedication exemplifies the commitment it takes North’s cheer team to compete at a high level.

With 33 girls on the team, cheer relied on its size throughout the season. Before Bay States, North went to several invitationals to practice their routines for the postseason, placing second at each of the three competitions. The team carried this momentum into the postseason, placing third at Bay States and fourth at Regionals.

The contributions of coaches Emily Bitchell and Briana Hogan ‘13 helped catapult the team to success. Before Bitchell and Hogan took over, the team struggled to find staff that fit the team’s culture.

When they began coaching North three years ago, something clicked.

Bitchell and Hogan were both cheerleaders in high school, and they have used their knowledge of the sport to the team’s advantage.

According to Bitchell, a typical practice starts with each girl running a mile. Next, the team does a Tabata workout, a type of high-intensity interval training. A dynamic warm-up follows, as well as stretching and tumbling. The team members then work on perfecting small components of their competition routines.

The team also works through a full-out, where every girl executes her individual tumbling and jumps, and the team completes its stunts and pyramid all together. Practices then move into specific workby

outs which vary depending on the team’s competitive schedule.

“The pyramid is a part of a routine where all of the stunt groups brace together to form one big stunt,” said sophomore Uche Okonkwo, a JV captain with sophomore Tanya-Lif Gunnarsson.

“There are three girls being lifted, so it looks like a pyramid. In our group, there is a flip, so the two girls on the sides flip the two in the middle.”

Despite the hard work the team members put in at every practice and competition, the cheer team does not receive the attention it deserves, according to Okonkwo.

“I don’t think the cheer team gets enough recognition because cheer is kind of a joke at our school,” said Okonkwo. “The football team didn’t do very well last season, so the cheerleading team was kind of just there at the games.”

Although cheer receives little recognition, the team still had one of its most successful seasons, and the team members are always striving to improve. According to Bitchell, the team members hold positive pep talks before competitions to motivate and excite each other. After competitions, they watch and compare their performance to other teams’ to pinpoint areas of improvement.

“We always relate back to the idea that hard work pays off. If something goes wrong, we are always focusing on how we can make it better,” said Hogan. “Sometimes we ask for suggestions from the girls.”

According to Bitchell and Hogan, the varsity captains help to keep the team focused and motivated. “We depend on them to act as a voice for us. I appreciate how much we can rely on them to be a good example for others, and how mature they are,” said Bitchell.

One of the captains’ strong suits

is their ability to connect with each teammate, according to Hogan.

“From tryouts, we make sure that everyone knows everyone, and we also get so close from working together everyday at practice, since stunting puts groups of five girls in such close vicinity all the time,” said Day. In order for everyone to feel comfortable with their teammates, the captains organize many team bonding activities, which range from from team sleepovers to coffee runs at Marylou’s.

“One of my favorites is preseason lunches. We have a tradition of playing ‘Never Have I Ever’ and it’s super fun,” added Day. While the captains know how to have fun, they are always mindful of the level of responsibility that is expected of them, according to Hogan. “They are very focused, cooperative, and organized,” she said.

According to Day, “Thirty-three girls depend on us to keep the team organized and lead the team to compete well. From driving girls everywhere, to ordering bows, and organizing events, I have become a much more responsible and accountable person.”

Organization on the part of the captains is essential in order for competitions to go smoothly. According to Day, competitions can be nerve-wracking, because everyone’s best performance is needed, so it makes a difference when the captains are prepared.

Last season, each girl received a hand-written card to read on the bus on the way to their final competition. The cards described what the captains loved most about each of their teammates. The captains also decorated the bus to surprise their teammates when they boarded.

The coaches started a JV team last season after noticing that the team was growing—it gained seven new members this past season.

Ian Dickerman Sophomore Ana Trias, supported by members of the cheer team, performs a stunt during the pep rally for the annual Thanksgiving Day football game Wednesday, Nov. 28.

“A lot of the girls who were on JV last year moved up to varsity, and are able to safely do the skills that we need them to,” said Bitchell. “It’s hard to teach someone who has never done any gymnastics or cheerleading ever the skills necessary to compete at the varsity level.”

According to Day and Okonkwo, the feeling after finishing a competition is well worth all the

hard work. Even after facing challenges, the team members agree that the best moments come when they see their hard work pay off.

“Seeing their reaction when they feel successful, nail a routine, or get a new skill they’ve been working hard on, is very special,” said Hogan. “As a coach, it’s really rewarding to see their hard work pay off over the years, especially for the older girls.”

Multi-sport athletes benefit from diverse skill sets James Dun Rappaport North boasts some of the most competitive athletic teams in the state, but playing for one can prove time-consuming and physically exhausting. For students who play multiple sports, any downside is outweighed by the opportunity to stay on top of their game yearround.

For senior Caroline Alexander, playing volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse has proven beneficial. “I definitely think playing multiple sports has helped me become a better athlete and has helped me in by

each sport,” she said.

Junior Maja Duchnowska, who plays hockey and runs track, said that even though the sports do not have many similarities, playing multiple sports has helped her develop skills that enhance her performance as an overall athlete.

“There are some things, such as the right mindset and attitude, that I have obtained over time,” said Duchnowska. “This has allowed me to be a better athlete and to work harder on both teams.”

Senior Andrew Shi, a member of the volleyball and swim teams,

Ian Dickerman Senior Caroline Alexander goes up for a shot during practice in the Reggie Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 2.

said, “It’s fun to be able to work on my communication and team building skills, and it also allows me to stay fit.”

Often, the skills learned and strength gained in one sport can complement the corresponding abilities necessary for next season.

Even if sports are not alike in skill set and strategy, as in the case of Alexander and Duchnowska, they can provide athletes with different outlooks, communities, strengths, and opportunities that can transform a student into a well-rounded athlete.

“Each sport focuses on something different, so each season you end up using muscles and practicing things that might not have been a huge part of your other sport,” said Alexander.

Junior Sofia Landry, who is a member of the volleyball, basketball, and softball teams, grew up playing softball. The arm strength she built up through softball “gave me an advantage when I started playing volleyball because I was immediately able to become a strong server,” she said.

According to Shi, “Training for swim helps me with volleyball because I get stronger and get more stamina.” Playing multiple sports can also improve athletes’ recruiting prospects.

According to athletic trainer William McAndrews, colleges want students who are always playing sports. “College coaches want the overall athlete,” he said. “Obvious-

ly you have to be able to play the sport they want, but they don’t necessarily want somebody who’s been playing the same sport for eight years.”

However, the diverse skill sets required to play different sports also present problems for multisport athletes. Staying in shape for the different physical demands of the next season can create difficulties for an athlete, even during the offseason.

According to McAndrews, “Like any season, it is going to take time to get into shape for the specific sport. Going from fall to winter, they might be in great soccer shape because they’ve been doing soccer.”

He added, “Kids come down to me and say that they are in great shape, but their body is not used to their new sport yet.”

During the offseason, Shi prepares for the next season using various methods. “I try to find ways to play the sports whether it be a league outside of school or just going to the local YMCA or college to swim laps,” Shi said.

Track is a common sport among multi-sport athletes because it builds stamina.

Sophomore Max Klein said his two sports, football and track, “complement each other because I am getting faster and stronger all year.”

According to sophomore Dante Sanchez, who plays basketball and continues running in between seasons, the exercise can be gru-

eling at times but has its benefits.

“It’s worth it because playing both sports gives me more athletic ability, and one helps the other. For example, track helps with basketball because it increases work in my fast twitch muscles,” he said.

With schoolwork in general, and especially with the stress of finals in the spring, the time commitment of multiple sports creates challenges.

According to Landry, who plays club basketball as well, “Last year during softball season, it was tough having softball practice and then having basketball practice the same night.”

Duchnowska added that after a long day of sports, “I find myself staying up late finishing homework or studying for tests.”

Although playing multiple sports requires such a significant time commitment, some athletes believe it helps them learn valuable time management skills.

Duchnowska said that playing sports forces her to be more efficient with her time spent on school work and that she is “less of a procrastinator,” during the seasons when she is involved in a sport.

In the end, despite all these practical advantages, most multi-sport athletes play the sports they do because they love them.

Senior Jacob Teszler, a member of the golf and indoor track teams, said, “With golf, every single day, I look forward to practice.With track, I really enjoy it even though it’s a different scene than golf.”

arts

Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Newton North, The Newtonite v 11

Albums of the Decade

by Arjun Shatkin From the explosion of trap rap into the mainstream to the progression of rock as an ageold genre, the 2010s offered musical development and something for everyone. According to a New York Times study, people tend to form their music tastes at the ages of 13 and 14. As high schoolers, this means the sounds of this past decade could define our musical preferences for the rest of our lives. In hopes of revealing the possible long-lasting influence of this past decade’s music on our generation, we explored four iconic albums.

Rap/Hip-Hop:

To Pimp A Butterfly Kendrick Lamar

Released in 2015, To Pimp A Butterfly is one of the most cohesive, focused, and intricate concept albums that hip-hop has ever seen. The sprawling one hour and 18-minute masterpiece is Kendrick Lamar’s third album. Although To Pimp A Butterfly deals with the heavy topics of racial injustice, depression, and violence, Lamar never comes off as preachy, superior, or even simplistic with his lyrics. Instead, he explains the variety of perspectives he has on societal issues such as police brutality and oppression without necessarily trying to provide answers.

Musically, Lamar pushes the boundaries of hip-hop on To Pimp A Butterfly. He teams up with prominent contemporary jazz musicians and rappers such as Terrace Martin, Thundercat, and Rapsody. While the album is mainly inspired by jazz, it also infuses elements of funk on the song “King Kunta,” boom-bap on “The Blacker The Berry,” and soul on “i.”

Beyond composition and substance, To Pimp A Butterfly reeled in critical acclaim, won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2016, and even had notable social impact. The chorus of Lamar’s “Alright” became a rallying cry in the Black Lives Matter movement and the album was embraced universally by hip-hop fans. To Pimp A Butterfly is a lyrical and sonic benchmark for many current hip-hop artists.

R&B:

Blonde Frank Ocean Following the universal praise of his breakout album, Channel Orange, Frank Ocean released Blonde in August 2016, a heartbreaking and emotional album that clocks in at exactly one hour long. Blonde is Ocean’s first independent release and is notably different from traditional R&B music. For one, Ocean makes the bold decision to leave drum rhythms out of the album in songs such as “Self Control” and “Godspeed.” The result is a vocally-focused album with elegant and powerful bursts of emotion, giving Blonde a sense of intimacy.

Lyrically, Ocean focuses on topics such as youthfulness, relationships, and isolation. He uses strong imagery to enhance the emotional potency and relatability of the album. Ocean does a particularly great job with imagery on his song “Pink + White,” where he sings, “In the wake of a hurricane. Dark skin of a summer shade,” as he recounts escaping his hometown of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina as a teenager.

The risk-taking on Blonde adds to its profound sound. For example, on “Pretty Sweet,” Ocean uses the strings section to create a dissonant and unsettling soundscape that eventually melts into an otherworldly children’s choir. On “Seigfried,” his use of strings creates a jaw-dropping climax to the feelings of uncertainty and dismay expressed in the song.

Blonde cemented Frank Ocean’s place as one of R&B’s most influential figures from the decade. The genre-defying album sparked a change in the sound of contemporary R&B, popularizing a new atmospheric sound.

Indie:

Rock:

Immunity

A Moon Shaped Pool

Clairo

Radiohead

Clairo broke out in 2018 as a viral YouTube sensation when the homemade music videos for her songs “Flaming Hot Cheetos” and “Pretty Girl” gained millions of overnight views on the website. The Boston-area artist would go on to release her full-length album Immunity in August 2019.

The album received a warm public reception and Immunity’s lead single “Bags” is considered one of the best songs to come out of 2019. Immunity as a whole features sharper production and live instrumentals along with stunning vocal harmonies on songs such as “Softly” and “Sofia.” In her lyrics, Clairo focuses on her childhood, sexuality, and mental health with a relatable and genuine voice.

The album exudes summer vibes through and through. Compositionally, warm chords are accompanied by driving live drums in the songs “North” and “Impossible,” while a roomy, laid-back production value compliments dreamy songs such as “White Flag” and “Alewife.”

Clairo’s transformation from online sensation to a touring artist most successfully revealed a quintessential part of what made the decade unique: the fact that the internet can quickly turn ordinary people into prominent artists with devout fanbases and widespread respect.

Radiohead has been a defining voice in alternative rock music for decades. The band broke onto the scene in 1992 with their single “Creep,” a distorted guitar-rock anthem with a sound the band would later stray away from.

Radiohead went on to release several classic albums, including the likes of OK Computer, Kid A, and In Rainbows. They changed their sound many times, toggled traditional rock instrumentation, and tweaked lyrical themes before amalgamating in the blissful art-rock album that is A Moon Shaped Pool.

Released in 2016, A Moon Shaped Pool sees lead-singer, Thom Yorke, at his smoothest vocally and the band at its most lavish instrumentally. The album is full of elaborate orchestral presentations courtesy of Jonny Greenwood, a composer and guitarist for Radiohead. But even while embracing aspects of classical and ambient music, Radiohead is able to maintain its rock roots. The lead single “Burn The Witch,” for example, features a combination of pulsing, rock drum grooves along with wavy string arrangements to replace the electric guitar licks in earlier Radiohead compositions.

Thematically, the band chose a lighter tone. Songs like “Daydreaming” and “True Love Waits” are calm and introspective tracks.

These ballads set Radiohead apart from other contemporary rock groups. The album, which comes more than two decades after Radiohead’s first studio release, is a testament to the band’s ongoing legendary status in rock. It helped cement their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

2010s

2020s

12 v The Newtonite, Newton North

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Monday, Jan. 13, 2020