March Special V97

The Newtonite Monday, March 12, 2018 • Volume 97

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

Students, faculty implement anti-bias curriculum Laura Schmidt-Hong Homeroom teachers as well as 32 juniors and seniors implemented new anti-bias lessons in North homerooms, as part of a schoolwide transition from the previous antibullying program.

The shift from the anti-bullying to anti-bias curricula began last year, when students and faculty compiled a list of bias-related scenarios to discuss in sophomore and senior homerooms, according to English teacher Michael Schlegelmilch. He, along with with chemistry teacher Peter Hamel and English teacher Michele Leong, organized the new curriculum and student training for all homerooms.

“There was a sense among both students and faculty that the existing curriculum was a bit out of touch with student concerns. A lot of students cared deeply about these issues of bias and discrimination, and with that student and faculty collaboration, that’s the direction it went,” Schlegelmilch said.

The faculty in the curriculum working group enlisted a group of juniors and seniors to implement a new lesson plan and facilitate discussions in freshman homerooms specifically. According to Leong, they spent two long blocks on Thursday, Jan. 25 to review the lesson and methods of facilitating discussions, then met in pairs with their homeroom teachers on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

The freshman curriculum used scenarios of bias and discrimination from student experiences at North, Schlegelmilch said.

Junior Filippo Menozzi, a student facilitator, said, “We’re using scenarios like those in the anti-bullying curriculum, but in this case we talk a lot more about what bias caused this person to act in this given way towards this other person rather than just the action itself. It’s a lot more grounded in what mental preconceptions you have towards certain people that cause you to behave in a certain way.”

A n e m p h a s i s o n d ive r s i t y a n d “ h o w p e o p l e c a n h ave biases against differences” also f e a t u r e d p r o m i n e n t ly i n t h e freshman curriculum, said senior Clare Donohoe, another student facilitator. Although called “antibias,” the curriculum recognizes that “everyone has biases” and focuses simply on “learning how to deal with those and not acting on them,” she added.

Sophomore, junior, and senior homerooms saw similar changes in their curricula, according to Leong. For sophomore homerooms, “students were invited to tell their stories about times they experienced bias or discrimination,” she said.

The junior curriculum also featured videos focused on “how we can be upstanders”—individuals who take action against bullying or biased behavior—Leong said.

Students shared stories of “times when they wish they had stood up for someone experiencing bias or times when somebody stood up for them,” she added.

Seniors “look explicitly at the world beyond Newton North: discrimination and bias that happens

at colleges and in the workplace,” Leong added.

Schlegelmilch noted that the developing nature of this curriculum is among its greatest strengths.

“From year to year it builds on itself, so it’s not a one-off thing that you do and then forget about,” he said.

“It starts off with situations that are really specific to the Newton North community, and by the end you’re having discussions about bias and discrimination in the wider world.”

Students and faculty in the working group also considered the benefits of the student-led facilitation in freshman homerooms. Not only were students involved in creating the lesson plan, Schlegelmilch said, but now they are “actually involved

Hari Narayanan Every day, students at North carry the weight of textbooks, binders, gym clothes, lunchboxes, laptops, and sports equipment on their shoulders. In a seven-period day, they carry that weight for a cumulative 30 minutes between classes, combining to a weekly two and a half hours—all in addition to the time spent carrying the backpacks to and from school.

“Backpacks at North are way too heavy,” said school nurse Maureen Pursley. “When kids come for back injuries, the first thing I ask is how heavy their backpack is because they cause back issues, aches, and pains.”

According to the Pediatric Association of Orthopedists, students should not carry more than 10 to 15 percent of their body weight in their backpacks, yet this guideline

is often broken, leading to various physiological problems.

Dr. Karson Mui, a Newtonbased chiropractor and clinical director of Mui Chiropractic, noted the prevalence of injuries related to backpacks. “It’s a big problem, and we see it quite a bit,” he said. “You have developing kids that are growing whose musculature is developing, and they start developing this very hunched position. Backpacks are where the problem starts in life.”

The effects of such heavy backpacks appear to be a new result of expanding campuses and increased extracurricular participation. Because the issue is so new, doctors lack information about the severity of backpack injuries and their longterm health effects. Vice principal Amy Winston said that during her own middle and high school years,

“I only ever carried a small folder on campus for my classes and had a binder at home.”

Sophomore Sonya Gelfand has a 25 minute walk home from school with her backpack and athletic bag.

She said, “Sometimes I have to lie down when I get home and I’m pretty sure I have posture problems because of my backpack.”

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 15,000 students are treated for backpack injuries every year, with many more going undiagnosed.

Students at North are likely unaware of the scope of backpackrelated injuries. The Student Faculty Administration (SFA) has not yet discussed the issue, according to sophomore Aneel Chittilappilly, an SFA representative. “My sense is that heavy backpacks are an issue that affects a lot of kids in the school, but one that we just accept as a fact of school life, unfortunately,” he said.

Adams House dean David Turcotte echoed those sentiments, saying that more students come to him with concussions than backpack-related problems. “It’s not something I have given all that much thought.

I’m guessing if you ask most teachers and students, this probably won’t be the first issue that comes to mind,” he said.

Although awareness of the overall issue may not be widespread, debates about causes of heavy backpacks are emerging on campus.

Textbooks, for example, have be-

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in implementing the curriculum. I think that’s really key in making this more authentic.”

Donohoe noted similarly that “having leaders of the school who truly believe in this message is great. The best form of learning and growing is leading by example.”

Menozzi said further that the upperclassmen themselves develop their own understanding of biases by implementing the curriculum. “Our job as facilitators is not to teach,” he said. “It’s to learn just as much as [the freshmen] and to maintain a conversation where people feel comfortable and, at the same time, are able to get out ideas that maybe they haven’t been able to in the past.”

This curriculum, according to

Schlegelmilch, fits into North’s current discourse as a school community grappling with bias. “ T h e s e h ave b e e n o n g o i n g , really deeply felt issues among the student body, not only when really unfortunate things like the Confederate Flag incident happened, but it’s an ongoing discussion in the student community at North in a really healthy way,” added Schlegelmilch.

“You see that in the student culture days. I see that in my English classes all the time. It’s what students notice in the texts that we read. It’s what really engages them in discussion,” he said. “This curriculum grew out of an already existing culture at North.”

Ben Archer

Senior Jonathan Champion performs with Family Singers and Orchestra at Winterfest, Jan. 25.

Heavy backpacks pose student health concerns

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Ming Tam

Students walk to their first classes from the Theater Entrance March 1.

come a central point of contention.

Winston said, “As far as I know, it is extremely rare in this building for teachers to require kids to bring textbooks to class, so my question always is ‘Why are kids always bringing their textbooks around?’”

Math teacher Amy Donovan, who says she designs her class with student backpack weight in mind, makes sure “to give notes and worksheets in class so kids can leave their heavy textbooks at home.”

However, junior William Kritzer said that a number of his teachers have asked him to bring a textbook to school every day. “I think the issue is actually quite significant, and I’d like to see a more efficient use of classroom time and technology to fix it,” he added.

Some, like Pursley, point to lockers as a potential solution. “I think some of the onus is on students.

Not that they’re lazy, but they don’t want to go to their lockers and use them,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a question of the administration not doing enough. It goes both ways.”

Winston added that locker usage should be a “student-led movement.” Yet Chittilappilly argued that lockers are not a viable solution. “It’s great that our school has such nice facilities, but one of the natural downsides is that our classes are very spread out, which makes it hard for students to go to their lockers,” he added.

Both students and administration, nonetheless, agree that inclass technology may help to re-

duce backpack loads.

School-issued student laptops, noted sophomore Brianna Spiegel, “would be a great idea. Right now, kids who have laptops have to carry not only the weight of their laptops, but also of their school books. If the school distributed laptops, then everything could be online.”

North is currently running a pilot program which issued Chromebooks or MacBook Air laptops to a freshman math class, two junior American Studies courses, and the English Language Learning program. It aims to gauge the benefits of technology in the classroom over the course of a year, according to Winston. Reducing backpack weight, she said, is an additional benefit.

History teacher Rob Greenfield teaches a U.S. history class involved in the laptop pilot program. According to Greenfield, “The kids find it convenient in terms of accessibility to Schoology and printouts.” He acknowledged, however, that “using laptops could go either way, because distractibility is an issue, and if the pilot program were to expand, it’s something that would have to be addressed.”

Some members of the administration also stressed the need for student leadership to address the issue of heavy backpacks.

“If kids don’t advocate for their needs,” Turcotte said, “we assume the situation is okay, and if it’s not okay, we would ask kids to speak up.”

opinion

2 ◆ The Newtonite, Newton North

Monday, March 12, 2018

Parkland activists model strength of student voice On Wednesday, Feb. 14, 17 individuals were killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The event has reignited the ongoing debate about gun control and inspired action from students.

editorial Parkland students have raised almost three million dollars for the victims’ families, spoken to legislators at the Florida state capitol, and organized March For Our Lives, which will take place on Saturday, March 24 all around the country.

Their response seems to have created a watershed moment for gun control. It has also shown the country what high school students are capable of. Unfortunately, this activism has also led to a harsh backlash across the nation. A handful of the students have even been accused of being “crisis actors” paid to travel with anti-gun groups in order to support their claims. To have people and publications, such as the Daily Wire, dismissing these activists as “only kids” is an attempt to delegitimize their voices.

The Parkland students, however, are not “only kids.” Like many students across the country, including students at North, they go through an intense education paired with extracurriculars that challenge them to think about the world around them. These insults trivialize the purpose of that education and therefore undermine all students, regardless of political position.

These students are taking a stand for what they believe is right and using what they have—their voices—in hopes of creating a world in their vision. Their voices should be respected, not diminished.

This Wednesday at 10 a.m.,

the #Enough National School Walkout will provide an opportunity to recognize and respect the power of student expression.

The North administration has worked openly with students planning to rally. Students will be able to participate in the walkout without the threat of punishment.

Some students, however, lack North’s advantage and risk more to exercise their voice. Most notably, Needville Independent School District of Texas released a statement saying that students participating in the walkout will be suspended, “no matter if it is one, 50, or 500 students involved.”

While some students face a possible backlash, we must all come together to ensure that student voice is not dismissed.

Regardless of any individual stance on gun control, it is imperative that students respect the walkout for the sake of defending the value of their own voices in society. If you choose to leave class, don’t choose to go to Newtonville. Don’t choose to have a 17 minute free. Choose to support the walkout. If you choose to stay in class, appreciate this opportunity for students to be heard.

Beyond the walkout, students at North have many viable avenues for the expression of their ideas. Aside from the Student Faculty Administration, the Student Council, and the Student Advisory Committee, which are featured in this issue, other extracurriculars such as debate, Model United Nations, Mock Trial, and various fine and performing arts are all designed to strengthen the voices that eventually advocate for a better America.

In short, North students have a privilege that many do not. Their voices can easily be heard. They should be used to disprove the claim that we are “only kids.”

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 — Samantha Fredberg and Sophia Zhou Managing editors — Will Kharfen Laura Schmidt-Hong, Rose Skylstad Arts editors — Isabella Lecona, Carolyn McDonald, Amy Xue News editors — Jacques AbouRizk, Sophie Murthy, Hari Narayanan, Helen Xiao Opinions editors — Skyler Bohnert, Tali Falk-Judson, Zoe Goldstein, Rebecca Kellstein, Sophie Ravina Sports editors — Jake Forbes, Nichol Weylman-Farwell Media manager — Joelle Sugianto

Graphics editors — Skyler Bohnert, Jai Khurana Photo editor — Lilah Gentry Business/advertisements & social media manager — Ophelia Baxter Advisers — Tom Fabian, Derek Knapp, Amanda Mazzola Blog staff — Derek Krantz, Michela Picariello Business staff — Isaac Tang Photo staff — Ben Archer, Molly Potter, Abby Roll, Ming Tam Graphics staff — Dea Cela, Emma Larson

The Newtonite staff does all its reporting and photography to post content daily to its website, thenewtonite.com. It makes all content choices.

Sign up for The Newtonite’s monthly email newsletter on its website. In addition to the print spring special, the Newtonite publishes a special for graduation, on the first day of school, a club special, and a midyear 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.

Letters The Newtonite serves as a designated forum for student expression. Readers are invited to submit guest articles and letters to the editor. Letters should be put in The Newtonite box in the main office or emailed to thenewtonite@gmail.com.

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

Joelle Sugianto

Physical education teacher Lauren Baugher, pictured here with juniors Juan Lopez and Laila Plaster, will represent the U.S. in field hockey at the 2018 FIH Masters World Cup.

Reject normalization of Trump presidency, take political action Zoe Goldstein In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, a depiction of a futuristic dystopia where women are stripped of their rights, two hanged and hooded men are strung up on a wall for all citizens to see. The two were hanged by the government for practicing abortions. As the protagonist, Offred, observes the corpses, she remembers a chilling statement told to her years ago: “It will become ordinary.”

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column Offred first heard these words during her time at the Red Center, a brainwashing center for women being trained to become Handmaids.

“Ordinary,” the quotation continues, “is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will.”

Ordinary. What is that to us, right now? We live in a time of perpetual advancement and change; we are forced to constantly adapt to the everflowing stream of new information, ideas, and media that surrounds us.

In a way, this act of normalization is valuable in that it helps us come up with new, creative solutions and to not be floored by disaster.

But this ability also desensitizes us and allows us to normalize things that should not be recognized or accepted as ordinary. As the constancy of change normalizes itself and we become used to almost anything, the desire to resist fades.

Donald Trump has been president for 415 days. During these days, my phone has been deluged with hourly updates about his missteps, tantrums, and childish Tweets. I have watched dozens of his blunders, faux-pas, and broken rules, whether they be the rules of grammar or the laws of our country.

This constant bombardment of toxicity makes the abnormality of this presidential administration seem normal. It becomes normal to have a president who makes blatantly sexist, racist, and xenophobic remarks, calling women “fat,” “pig,” and “slob,” and calling countries populated predominantly by black and Latino people “shithole” countries.

It becomes normal to have a president who intimidates and demonizes the free press, literally creating “Fake News Awards.” It becomes normal to have a president who undermines

truth, constantly changing his claims about Russia’s lack of involvement in the 2016 election when it has been proven that Russia did, in fact, interfere.

But Trump’s presidency is not normal.

As Arizona senator Jeff Flake said in his October retirement announcement, “We must never regard as normal the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals.” He added, “If we simply become inured to this condition, thinking that it is just politics as usual, then heaven help us.”

Over the past year, this whole process has become a vicious cycle: I am bombarded, I become desensitized, I lose my motivation to fight against these assaults on the norms and ideals of our country. It becomes normal for me to sigh and move on.

Before I was full of outrage, but now I am desensitized and dejected.

This process is one that may sound familiar to many others—it is visible on the national level as well. As Yascha Mounk wrote in a recent article for Slate, the fact that Trump paid porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 so that she would not go public about their affair would have become “the defining scandal” for any other president including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, or Jimmy Carter. Yet “the sordid story of Stormy Daniels has barely entered public consciousness” and after two days, “the conversation had already moved on to the next Trumpian controversy.” Furthermore, he notes that public protests against Trump continue to decrease in size as the months pass.

Mounks article ends with a warning: “If we are capable of living life as though everything was normal even though we know that a deeply dangerous man has his finger on the nuclear button, we will also be capable of continuing to drive our SUVs even as Miami Beach is submerged in seawater.”

And this is the problem. For change to happen, we cannot become desensitized: we have to remain angry because being angry means we will act. And if no one acts, the resistance dies.

As we shoulder into the second year of Trump-dom, my goal is to grieve and rage. My goal is to be angry. But more than that, my goal is to act. Because the only way for change to happen is to understand that there is a problem in the first place, and

then to do something about it.

It is also fair to say that those of us who are removed enough from the effects of Trump’s policies to become desensitized are generally people who have privilege. And privilege means having a platform and a voice. If all the privileged, like me, like many of us, become desensitized, then our voices can do nothing.

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Leon Wieseltier put it this way: “No cooling off, then. We must stay hot for America. The political liberty that we cherish in this precious republic is most purely and exhilaratingly experienced as the liberty to oppose.”

So, if you find yourself scrolling numbly through endless news articles, don’t just read the news, but digest it. Keep an eye on Amy Siskind’s Medium blog, which compiles a weekly list of all the abnormal things Trump has done. Feel. Be angry. Then act.

As the oppressive government of The Handmaid’s Tale slowly began to take over, many did not act.

Although signs of change began to manifest themselves, including numerous newspaper stories about murdered and mutilated women, to Offred and many other women, the stories weren’t about them.

“The newspaper stories were like dreams to us, bad dreams dreamt by others,” Offred continues. “How awful, we would say, and they were, but they were awful without being believable. They were too melodramatic, they had a dimension that was not the dimension of our lives.”

As the government takeover crept closer and closer, the women still believed that they “were the people who were not in the papers.

“We lived in the blank white stages at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom,” Offred explains.

“We lived in the gaps between the stories.”

Similarly, today, it is easy for many to see the news as stories, and ones that could never happen to us.

Although for me it is easy to let the melodrama I live in every day turn into an annoying but endurable static itching behind my ears. Those of us who oppose Trump need to march off the gaps on the page and into the White House.

As Atwood reminds us, “Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.”

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Monday, March 12, 2018

Newton North, The Newtonite ◆ 3

Auburndale anticipates impact from Starbucks

Some of the busiest of the many stores in the Square are the coffee shops. Dunkin’ Donuts is one of the most popular, a convenient stop for the influx of daily commuters.

Some mornings, the lines stretch out the door.

But by 4 p.m., these lines disappear. Once customers receive their orders, most walk straight out the door, few choosing to sit down at any of the store’s three tables. The chairs have metal backs and thin cushions, not designed for someone to sit in for a long period of time. Over the span of two hours on a December afternoon, only two people sat down. Only one of them stayed for longer than 10 minutes.

Dunkin’ Donuts, for many of its customers, serves as a grab-and-go stop rather than a place for people to gather.

bucks, a large stack of firewood beside it and a faded red awning with “KEN’S FLOWER CAFE” written on the front of it. The trailer’s owner, Kenneth Leary, has sold flowers, firewood, and seasonal decorations for 40 years.

Leary has seen the rise of Auburndale Square and the fall of one of its most successful businesses, a Mobil gas station on the lot of the new Starbucks. The station sold “more gas than any Mobil gas station in New England. They had lines back in the ‘70s, backing up the street. That Mobil station was crazy busy and brought all kinds of traffic into the square.” Roughly 15,000 cars a day passed through the Square, according to Leary, while the Mobil Station was at its peak.

However, despite the station’s success, it was shut down three years ago, bought from Exxon Mobil by Global Alliance, according to Leary. After reviewing the station, Global Alliance ultimately decided to close it, in a decision that “had nothing to do with how busy it was,” Leary explained. “They felt they could make more money by selling the lease. They sold it for $2.2 million.”

The Square has also undergone large amounts of road work in order to change its traffic patterns.

Across the street from Dunkin’ Donuts, however, a new addition to the Square community has emerged: a Starbucks on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Lexington Street. The Seattle-based company “consolidated net revenues of $22.4 billion” in their 2017 fiscal year, according to their investor relations website. With such a powerful company setting up shop in an area dominated by local businesses, what does the future hold for Auburndale Square? Will Starbucks destroy the small local businesses and community, or usher in a new wave of economic growth in Auburndale?

A white trailer sits beside Star-

In the summer of 2017, construction crews expanded the Square’s sidewalks and installed new traffic lights, narrowing the size of the turn lanes on Lexington Street and making it harder for cars to turn onto Commonwealth Avenue with longer lines at the intersection. The new traffic lights have similarly contributed to the longer lines at the intersection by reducing the length of the green lights.

The Newton city government, said Leary, “wants to drive people crazy and prevent them from driving through the Square.”

Such changes—the loss of the Mobil station and road work— have together reduced the Square’s

Nicolas Quintana Centered around the bustling intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Lexington Street, Auburndale Square has long served as the beating heart of its community, hosting unique restaurants like Tom’s Pizza and the Knotty Pine, as well as local services like the Auburndale Community Library and a post office. by

guest writer

Samantha Fredberg

A newStarbucks opened on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Lexington Street in Auburndale on Wednesday Feb. 21, 2018 next to Ken’s Flower Cafe. impact and presence in the community. Today, roughly 12,000 cars pass through the Square, according to Leary, a 20 percent drop from the daily number of cars in the 1970s.

Ultimately, while Ken’s Flower Cafe has remained open, many stores that were around in the ‘70s did not find the same success: one pharmacy, two gas stations, and three restaurants have closed over the past five decades in the Square.

In light of these recent declines and losses, many of the Square’s remaining business owners hope that the new Starbucks opening its doors will bring new customers and popularity. Starbucks “would be an anchor store,” Leary explained.

“It will bring tons of people into Auburndale Square.” Dr. Caroline Daniels, a senior entrepreneurship strategy lecturer at Babson College, similarly noted that the new Starbucks may economically improve Auburndale Square. “Starbucks has been shown to attract more traffic,” she said. “Usually other shops are very happy when a Starbucks moves in.”

Inevitably attracted to businesses in the surrounding areas, Starbucks customers become a source of commercial success. “Even if just one customer a day notices my business that has not previously noticed it,” said Leary, “that right there will be helpful.” Starbucks’s long hours, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., would additionally attract customers all day long to Auburndale Square.

business owner Kenneth Leary “Starbucks would be an anchor store. It will bring tons of people into Auburndale Square.”

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We welcome your participation!

However, there are already a lot of coffee shops in Auburndale Square. Dunkin’ Donuts joined Bruegger’s Bagels and local bakery, Breadsong, to serve the Square’s customers their early-morning caffeine. When Starbucks opens its doors, it will be the fourth business to offer coffee in Auburndale. Will other coffee shops be forced out of business when Starbucks opens?

According to Daniels, personal preferences for certain businesses may allow them to coexist. “I have friends that prefer Dunkin’, but I prefer Starbucks,” she said. “Because people want to have coffee with friends, if you have a friend that prefers the other coffee house,

both can be happy.”

Despite its potential to bring the Square commercial and communal vitality, Starbucks still faces criticism about its working conditions.

In his book, Consuming Lattes and Labor, or Working at Starbucks, Bryant Simon interviewed former Starbucks employees about their experiences. “Burns, cuts, and scrapes are extremely common,” he wrote.

“Less common, but existent, are repetitive motion injuries.” Simon’s interviewees also talked about how the randomness of a Starbucks work schedule “has scientifically been proven to increase risk of injury and decrease psychological health.”

Employees who wish to avoid inconsistent hours must specifically request different hours from their managers. If they make too many special requests, however, these employees could lose their benefits. Another one of Simon’s interviewees described the health care as “both a carrot and a stick”—reflective of Starbucks’ policy as a whole.

Nevertheless, Starbucks tries to take care of its employees and the surrounding communities. In his book, Handbook of Research on Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibilities, Daniel Palmer noted that even the “part-time workforce gets full health insurance benefits, stock awards, and free coffee.” These benefits prompted Forbes to rate Starbucks as the eighty-first best company in the world to work for as of May 2017.

Starbucks also gives back to communities in which they have a presence. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Starbucks volunteered there for “more than 54,000 hours of work, and invested more than $1 million in neighborhood projects,” according to a Harvard Business School case study. The case study also noted that Howard Schultz, the executive chairman of Starbucks, aims to “balance profit motives with social conscience.”

In the wake of its opening, Starbucks may attract a number of other stores to the Square. Moreover, as a result of Starbucks’s design, more customers may come to the Square simply to interact with their community, according to Daniels.

She noted that Starbucks’s founder was inspired by coffee shops he saw in Italy: “He noticed that people spent time in coffee shops thinking, working and conversing. He realized that we enjoy our homes, we

go to work and school, but having a place to go, to ‘hang out,’ is something we all enjoy.”

Starbucks may even improve the local real estate market. According to Spencer Rascoff, the CEO of Zillow, as quoted by Quartz, the property surrounding Starbucks is highly valuable: properties near Starbucks locations “appreciate at a faster rate than U.S. housing on the whole. Interestingly, they are also recovering much more quickly from the housing bust.”

With the new Starbucks in Auburndale Square, the surrounding houses may become valuable assets to all the area’s homeowners.

With more people driving through Auburndale Square and stopping there, more stores may be attracted to the area. It seems that the Square is likely going to have an economic upswing in the coming years.

senior lecturer Caroline Daniels “We enjoy our homes, we go to work and school, but having a place to go, to ‘hang out,’ is something we all enjoy.”

But Starbucks’s expansionary trend is not limited to the Square.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Starbucks aims to open “12,000 new locations” from 2016 to 2021.

With their rapid growth, Starbucks will provide more positive benefits, like the ones in Auburndale Square, to communities across the globe.

Even independent of the new Starbucks opening, the Square is bound to see more change in future years. Leary predicted the addition of new restaurants, saying, “It seems to me the demand is for more food, more different types of food, not just traditional American, Italian, Chinese, but more Indian, Pakistani, and Ukrainian foods, all different types of foods.” He also anticipates the closing of “mom and pop businesses” in the Square and the potential addition of electronics stores.

The Starbucks building itself is a simple, one story red brick building with a dark grey roof covered in snow. Turning back from the Starbucks to begin to walk home on a cold winter day, the shining lights illuminate the building in a brilliant glow. With a few weeks of business under its belt, perhaps the Starbucks is leading the Square to a bright new future.

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4 ◆ The Newtonite, Newton North

Monday, March 12, 2018

Ambitious piano culture inspires ‘Olympic playing’ Maia Alberts Entering the piano seminar class at New England Conservatory Prep (NEC) on Saturday afternoons, you will find 20 high school students seated facing two grand pianos, chatting, scrolling on Instagram, and, more often than not, dozing.

One student is preparing for his Curtis Institute audition, another just had her Carnegie Hall debut, another was a Steinway Competition winner, and yet another is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts.

Nevertheless, after an exhausting afternoon of workshops, lessons, and recitals, the kids can barely lift their heads at seminar teacher A. Ramon Rivera’s gruff “okay, let’s go.” by

guest writer Rivera points to a skinny kid at the front and brusquely demands, “How was the recital?” followed quickly by, “and are you ready for that audition? Okay, and what’s your weakest piece right now? Oh, you’re playing the Liszt! Okay, then let’s go.”

The skinny kid goes. Rivera calls on students to comment on his playing. Carnegie recommends bringing out the middle voice in the start of the second section. Steinway suggests rethinking the overall phrasing. Rivera asks the skinny kid to try the second section again.

Rivera has been teaching at NEC for over 41 years and graduated a number of decorated pianists from his piano seminar. In 1990, according to its website, the A. Ramon Rivera Competition was established in honor of his “extraordinary and inspirational” teaching. Similar piano competitions take place all over the world, many at which North students perform.

Participants play their chosen repertoire in front of a panel of judges and compete in front of a large audience if they pass the preliminary rounds. Depending on the size and type of competition, winners can earn money, scholarships, or tour opportunities. Students’ motivations to participate differ, from challenging themselves musically and technically, to building their confidence, to furthering their musical careers.

For many students, competitions provide opportunities to hone their technique and musicality. Marilyn Roth, teacher and head of the NEC piano department, insisted that “musically, competitions stretch you.” Rivera described how, to prepare for competitions, students “concentrate on a set of pieces and bring them to a kind of perfection they don’t usually get them to,” spending months interpreting and practicing. These crucial months of preparation involve a combination of different practice methods and musical techniques, all while calling on superhuman focus. It takes months of hard work before students can interpret what the composer intended to communicate and truly owning that piece

and presenting all its nuances to the judges.

Other students compete with the goal of building confidence. A study published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences found that musicians in competitive environments experienced higher stress levels while performing than in laidback environments. Although stage fright can initially deter students, by participating in multiple competitions they can learn how to control stress and perform under pressure. “It teaches you a life skill,” my mother, Yvonne Alberts, explained, as she has reminded me time and time again, “Kids learn things that are helpful 10 or 20 years into their careers, both musical and nonmusical.” Alberts competed in her youth herself and upheld that the confidence she built from her competition experience helps her today when speaking in front of large groups. Ultimately, students can use competitions to prepare for the pressure and anxiety they will experience later on in their careers.

Aside from building confidence, competitions impart resilience, especially when students do not achieve their goal. One student has faced many losses of her own, as she has competed twice every year since middle school. “For some competitions, where it’s like, ‘wow, I really thought I had a shot at this,’ not reaching my goal is pretty disappointing,” she admitted. “I’ll take a little time to be a little sad but then move on to the next thing, whatever that might be.” Similarlyccording to Alberts, competitions “teach you that you need to get up, get your stuff together, and keep going.” By participating in competitions, students can learn to reflect on and bounce back from loss—a crucial life skill, even outside the realm of musical competitions.

NEC student Claudia Stedt “I didn’t put pressure on myself to win.

The pressure I put on myself was to do my best.”

Many students do not even enter competitions with the goal of bringing home a medal, but rather with a personal goal, like trying to maintain tempo or playing musically through difficult passages despite being nervous. Even when students are not aiming to place, the atmosphere is no less intense. When Claudia Stedt, a pianist studying at NEC, entered her first piano competition this past November, she did not expect to win a prize.

“I didn’t put pressure on myself to win,” she recalled. “The pressure I put on myself was to do my best.”

Like Stedt, my mother adopted a positive mindset preparing for competitions in her youth. “I did

not enter to win,” she explained.

“I entered to get an experience.”

Through such experience, students with a positive mindset can achieve much more than a win.

Yet Rivera, who has guided hundreds of pianists through competitions, thinks otherwise. “That whole business of competitions being good for you and good experience and all that stuff—that’s very nice. That’s kind of humanity talking and making people feel good,” he said. Rivera’s voice suddenly hardened. “But you enter a competition to win. You don’t enter because it’s nice. You enter because you get there.” The classical music community’s structure is an echo of Rivera’s views, long depending on competitions as a means of identifying and promoting talent. As young musicians’ careers take off, competitions play an increasingly significant role in being recognized.

“Competitions are very necessary now if you’re a professional,” Roth claimed. “They didn’t used to be, but now they are.” For many serious, young pianists, this is the truth behind competitions: they can take advantage of the prizes offered in competitions—and the resulting notoriety—to gain recognition and further their careers.

According to some, now more and more young musicians do not concern themselves with their music careers, rather, they use competitions to bolster their college applications. The student who has competed twice every year since middle school is preparing for college herself, and observed, “If you look at successful pianists that get into good colleges, they have competitions on their resumes. It’s just the way it is.” Yet Rivera pointed out, “once many get into their preferred college, they never play piano again.” These students’ goal of competing has changed from moving up in the music world to simply moving up in the world. To these students, studying, practicing, and competing in music becomes more a selling point in college interviews and less an art form.

The reason for this shift, Rivera believes, may just be the changing times. “When I came to NEC,” he recalled, “I applied here and to one other place. That was it! I had no doubts about what I wanted.” The social stigma around becoming a musician and the stereotype that musicians struggle to maintain a comfortable income places pressure on young musicians and leads to heightened insecurity. Even those that know they want to spend their lives making music apply to numerous safety schools. Rivera thinks that such students should put these insecurities aside and focus on their true aspirations. “If you say you want to be a pianist,” he scoffed, “there should not be any other worries.”

Today’s music world, however, has evolved since Rivera’s youth 50 years ago. Even the student who has competed since middle school, who studies under Rivera, confessed, “I love piano and all, but at this point, I’m mainly using it—this might not sound so good—to get into a good college.” She laughed, “But, like, who isn’t?

While some students use music as a stepping stone later to be abandoned, others are determined to make music their livelihood. In order to establish themselves in the music community, these students use competitions to gain recognition and drive ahead of others. Rivera is concerned about young musicians who are caught up in their

competition wins and immediately launch themselves into unsustainable careers.

“They’re playing the same pieces and the same pieces and the same pieces, and they have no time to grow,” he said. In her American Music Teacher article “Anyone Can Win,” Eileen Cline, dean of the Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, discusses how “they simply are eager to get started, and are not so concerned about philosophy or deep study of the art.” Extensive studies on goal setting in competitive environments in the classroom, cited by James Austin in his Music Education Journal article “Competition: Is Music Education the Loser?,” found that those in competitive environments “tend to promote an egotistic type of motivation whereby children focus on social-comparison information and disregard instructional feedback addressing the actual quality of their effort or performance…

Personal perceptions of ability, personal satisfaction, and effort are typically unstable—high after winning but low after losing.” Young musicians become fixated on their competition success and enter the real world woefully unprepared.

seminar teacher A. Ramon Rivera “In the long run, it’s the people loving your playing. That’s what gives you longevity.”

In a scramble to win competitions and gain recognition from a young age, some students rush to play difficult, impressive repertoires before they are technically and musically ready. “It’s the business of the fastest and loudest,” Rivera explained. “Sometimes the real artists don’t get to the finals.” Students skim over less impressive yet fundamental pieces, like the Bach “Preludes” and “Fugues,” and head straight into dense repertoire, like Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” or Chopin’s “Ballades.” According to Cline, “entrants tend to opt for pleasing the judge rather than developing individual perspective and musical integrity.” Rivera recalled auditions with aspiring pianists and how “they play Beethoven’s “Waldstein,” and I ask, ‘What other sonatas have you done?’ and they say, ‘This is my first sonata,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, alright.’” Roth has similar worries. “If you have numerous competitions every year, we only hear your concerto and your fancyfancy piece,” she commented. “But when do you develop as an artist?

Because you really have to develop as an artist from the beginning.”

Young musicians need a strong technical and music foundation, and diving directly into such dense repertoire prematurely can hinder a young musicians’ development.

Rivera furrowed his brows.

“Playing Beethoven’s “Appassionata” without playing any of his sonatas— it’s like the first thing you read in your life is Dante’s Divine Comedy or something,” he said.

Overambitious students can hurt themselves in the long run in a rush to impress judges with flashy, well-liked pieces.

Choosing popular repertoire affects not only individual students but also the entire classical music community. While these flashy pieces are technically difficult,

they are played so frequently that a single, standard interpretation emerges, and if the piece is played any differently, judges give a lower score. Students play in a manner that starts to sound the same: “well-behaved, sedate, and sedative,” according to concert pianist Charles Rosen in his book Piano Notes: The World of the Pianist. Rivera commented on the phenomenon, “all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed, but it’s a still competition playing.” He sighed, “That doesn’t mean beautiful playing. It means ‘Olympic playing.’” ‘Olympic playing’ hurts both the individual musician—removing the creative, original beauty of the music—and the music community as a whole.

As standard playing becomes the norm, judges start to compare what they hear in competitions to the “ideal” standard, and performances of new, adventurous, unconventional interpretations are considered “wrong.”

Roth, who has judged a number of competitions, admitted that for students, “putting in new repertoire is always a risk,” as pieces that are not commonly played are looked down upon, simply because they are unconventional and unexpected. Students consequently feel pressured to present the mainstream interpretation of the mainstream pieces to judges, and performed music becomes bland and unoriginal, the discovery and creativity of the music lost.

When Rivera talks about his ideal competition, he laughs. “I’m as guilty as anybody: there’s a competition named after me.” Notably, however, Rivera refuses to involve himself with the judging of the A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition.

A few weeks ago, right before seminar, he began distributing pamphlets for the competition. Before long, his attention swung to a girl in the back row with an upcoming recital—and couldn’t she play a little something for us? His goal as a teacher reflects such moments.

“I want to see my kids become, you know, men and women who are centered and have passion and play with intelligence, and play piano as a vessel of culture and history and everything. I mean—these composers were people. They weren’t robots or computers. They were people who felt and understood things and were part of their times,” he said. “It’s not all by itself and this is perhaps what has happened to the playing: it’s gotten perfect in a vacuum.”

After all, classical music is an art for people to listen to and enjoy.

Students may compete for the experience or to further their careers, but, ultimately, they celebrate the music they are performing. “In the long run, it’s the people loving your playing,” Rivera said.

“That’s what gives you longevity.”

A musicians’ audience is never just four judges sitting behind a desk. It is the old couple sitting on the porch with the radio on, the parents listening to their child’s first recital, the eager audience in the concert hall. Competitors, judges, teachers, and audience members alike should be reminded that, at its heart, competition is about the inspired expression of humanity through music.

feature

Monday, March 12, 2018

Newton North, The Newtonite ◆ 5

Vinyl resurgence reflects shift in music industry

Past the opening hall, a labyrinth unfolds, as the main section of the store displays, to my estimates, roughly 100,000 vinyl records, organized on shelves, in crates and tattered cardboard boxes, and lying loose, strewn atop other stacks, with the crème de la crème of albums hanging on the wall for all to see. Trying to take it all in is overwhelming. A customer could browse the store for days before even cracking the second layer of records, as most boxes are stacked three deep, and some much deeper.

Aisles are no wider than a single person in most parts of the store, so browsing is a task best done alone.

along,” he explained. “Most stores like this, we were thinking it was the end back in 2005, 2006. Three thousand stores across the country closed. Secondhand record stores, chain stores—everybody was closing at that point.”

Like In Your Ear, many stores that remained made their way into basements and became museums of musical relics. Now vinyl is back, and not only have secondhand stores like In Your Ear begun to regain prominence, but larger companies are slowly but surely jumping back on the train, attempting to capitalize on the unlikely comeback. The reasons for this vinyl comeback, however, remain unclear. In an age where streaming dominates the musical landscape and the traditional album format has lost its hold, why have vinyl sales rebounded so significantly, and how long can they continue?

To understand this revival, it is important to first understand what it is about records that people are attracted to. Some see vinyl as superior to other means of listening to music because it is a personal, physical experience. One has to go through the steps of choosing a record and positioning the needle to hear the music, a more deliberate decision and process than simply pushing a button on a phone. In a fast-moving world, audiophiles enjoy being able to take time and appreciate their music as an art form rather than a distraction or background noise. For others, no music platform can replicate the exercise

Forty years ago, record stores like In Your Ear were commonplace in Boston, selling newly pressed LPs and vintage collectibles to the greater public. But the invention of the CD in 1982 changed the music industry forever as companies and listeners began to venture past vinyl. At the turn of the century, software was invented that allowed DJs to ditch heavy records and turntables in favor of digital mixing. In 2001, the iPod hit the market, and vinyl sales plummeted. Thousands of songs became readily available in consumers’ pockets, and much of the public looked to the future: cheap, lightweight music available wherever they go. No longer did listeners have to sit at home and unsheath a record; everything became available at the push of a button.

Now, vinyl records have seen an unlikely revival, becoming a niche in the mainstream music market with sales steadily rising over the past decade. Forbes reported that “vinyl records are projected to sell 40 million units in 2017, with sales nearing the $1 billion benchmark for the first time this millennium.

This impressive milestone has been untouched since the peak of the industry in the 1980s.” Reed Lappin, one of the owners of In Your Ear, described the surprise at the recent boom. “Nobody really foresaw the big explosion of vinyl coming

of flipping through records in a store, admiring the artwork, bringing their finds home, and taking a moment to truly appreciate the album in front of them. As quoted in a Forbes article, Toddrick Spalding, Director of Music at the trailer production company Mob Scene, noted, “You can go into a record store, buy the first Velvet Underground record and bring home a Warhol!”

Lappin, a man who spends his days waist-deep in these canvases, similarly enjoys the discovery of buying vinyl: “You can also learn a lot from going through the records. It’s a different kind of history.” Lappin prefers records yet acknowledges the occasional benefits of streaming services, which he does not use. He explained that streaming services are beneficial to those beginning to listen to music, but they often push the listener in undesired directions. Streaming services say, “We’re gonna tell you about all these bands that sound like the Velvet Underground, and none of them do, but that’s what we’re gonna tell you,” according to Lappin. Mike Hessler, the head of marketing at Vinyl Me Please, America’s largest subscription record-of-the-month club, sees it similarly: “Spotify and Apple Music are all algorithmic. They’re driven to give you things that are more of the same, when some of your best mu-

Jacob Kingsley Sandwiched between a Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and a Blue State Coffee Shop, down a narrow staircase, and to the left of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio, a large, colorful poster reads “Hot Singles In Your Area Are Looking For Turntables.” Below the poster is a doorway which is, as most of the store turns out to be, plastered with posters, stickers, and graffiti, most notably, a sign reading “One Ever Really Dies,” for the first word is covered by an amateur watercolor painting of Lenin, above which, also partially covered, appears to be a bumper sticker reading “1 800 GET MACE.” Moving past a cardboard cutout alien, customers enter In Your Ear Records. by

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sic experiences are something that’s totally different. It hits you from left field, and you totally fall in love with it.” Streaming services will neither predict listeners’ tastes nor introduce them to new music the way browsing a record store would.

So while it is nice for the casual listener, streaming will never be able to provide the sense of discovery that physical albums will.

Other consumers buy records just for the sound. Some say that music on vinyl truly sounds better than its digital counterpart. Albee Praeger, another owner of In Your Ear, explained, “I think the originals sound better than the new 180s taken from the digital masters.

Some people think no, the 180s with the digital masters sound better.” Despite the debate over how good records truly sound, everyone agrees that records sound different than any other music platform, “a little more exciting than just listening through your computer,” as Lappin put it.

Some vinyl critics do not like how delicate records can be, finding the upkeep too much of a hassle, but Mario Aguilar of Gizmodo sees it differently: “A scratch isn’t a negative; it adds texture and warmth. Some musicians go so far as to add it to digital recordings to give them ‘character.’ Vinyl can be fragile, yes, among other imperfections. But those end up being part of its charm. Older records warp, needles wobble on their surface and skip over scratches. This also turns records into nostalgia factories.”

Jordan Passman of Forbes similarly wrote that “vinyl records offer a nostalgic listening journey for every generation, whether it was previously a favorite pastime, or a time capsule for those discovering it for the first time.” Records are nostalgic not only for older generations, but for younger ones, who unearth a time before theirs. “I love the hand-me-down first pressing of Sticky Fingers my godfather gave me,” Aguilar noted. “What am I gonna give my kids? A flash drive? The password to my Dropbox?” Long after search histories disappear, downloads are deleted, and MP3s fade from memory, 12inch black discs will still be there as a gateway to the past. Vinyl is not simply music. It is an experience, a history, and an art form that people keep coming back to because nothing since has been able to replicate what records do for their listeners.

Despite the momentum of this vinyl upsurge, however, who is to say that the recent boom is not simply a fluke, a platform soon to be abandoned in favor of something hipper and more convenient? I have owned a turntable for two years, and, given that I can find the money, I plan to purchase records for years to come. Yet no music lover can live on just vinyl. Every employee at Vinyl Me Please uses either Spotify or Apple Music, and even Gramophone writer Greg Milner admitted, “I will go to my grave thinking that vinyl sounds better. But I’m sure that for the last years of my life I will have listened to more digital music than analogue music.” Like most Americans, I spend much of my day outside my home and, as much as I love hearing my albums fill the room, still want music in my ears on the subway ride to my favorite record stores. Because it will never be as accessible as a phone, vinyl will inevitably fail to fully re-enter the mainstream music scene or replace streaming.

Many have hoped that vinyl would be the second coming for

an international music industry on its knees, crippled by increasingly accessible music and decreasing prices, but others find the growth in sales less promising. As Vox writer Kelsey McKinney noted, some predict that vinyl will peak in the next few years before sales begin to steadily drop for good, while others, especially those who sell vinyl, foresee trends continuing into the future for years as companies continue to widen their customer base and make record owning more and more common.

business owner John Funke “You don’t need all the gangsters to buy your time, you just put it up on the internet. Music’s over. Music’s something that stopped around the mid-20th century.”

Yet McKinney suggests that the future of vinyl reflects a bigger issue in the music business: “The discussions around peak vinyl and whether or not vinyl will continue to boom often circle around a deeper, greater fear that the music industry is broken in a way that cannot be fixed.” She added, “Because the industry is still largely controlled by major labels, and there is no clear way to pay artists for work that is streamed hundreds of thousands of times, only to make them a few hundred dollars, vinyl has become a false messiah for an industry that’s forgotten how to make a profit.” Vinyl records make up such a small percentage of music consumption that their growth in sales will not be enough to save an industry that the internet changed decades ago.

Some involved in the music business, like Gramophone writer Andrew Mellor, have tried to find a middle ground, acknowledging the problems with the inaccessibility of vinyl and proposing that vinyl retailers change the package they are selling. When new records are purchased, they are often sold with codes to download the music to a computer for no extra charge; this model works for both the seller and consumer—the seller makes money, and the user receives both the record and its irreplaceable experience as well as the convenience of the digital album to listen to on the go. Mellor argues that “cross media music consumption” is the future

of music and one possible solution to problems the industry faces.

Some take more pessimistic views. John Funke, the third and final owner of In Your Ear, when asked about the future of the music industry, responded, “There is no music industry,” with which Praeger quickly agreed. “Nobody’s getting signed, nobody’s this or that, because everybody can do it by themselves,” Funke explained.

“You don’t need all the gangsters to buy your time, you just put it up on the internet. Music’s over. Music’s something that stopped around the mid-20th century.”

Funke’s pessimism presents a paradox: streaming has made music universally accessible, yet music is “dead.” Music is no longer an art form most people fully appreciate because streaming has detached the music from the history and art involved in the traditional album, something Hessler notes is more complex than it may seem: “Artists put a lot of time into making a record that is one collective thing.

They spend a lot of time figuring out the order of the tracks and how the record plays through to tell a larger story. I think singles can be great, but the record shows you more of an artist’s vision.” Carl Mello, the director of entertainment product merchandising at Newbury Comics, said the future of music is “less about do physical formats survive.

It’s more about what can you make that is compelling. It doesn’t matter if it’s physical, it doesn’t matter if it’s digital, it doesn’t matter if it’s anything. If it’s not compelling, nobody’s interested.”

Ultimately, vinyl companies are creating that “compelling” platform which draws in the listener in ways that streaming services cannot. So while vinyl may not save the music industry, it may in fact be saving the art of music, introducing the internet generation to a deeper understanding and appreciation for music through its unique platform.

And although some may see it as a bubble, vinyl does not appear to be going anywhere but up right now.

People will always want music, and although they will never replace streaming, records serve and will continue to serve a more important purpose to music listeners than just hearing songs: preserving the record album as an art form and fostering true appreciation for records into the future.

Ben Archer

Junior Kylie Smyth performs with Orchestra at Winterfest, Jan. 25.

student government

6 ◆ The Newtonite, Newton North

Monday, March 12, 2018

SFA uses diverse perspectives to solve problems Helen Xiao On North’s bustling Main Street, students gather with friends to talk and eat. Just last year, this hallway was a quieter and emptier area, lacking the energy and liveliness that it has now. The new vitality of Main Street shows students a glimpse of the work of North’s Student Faculty Administration, or SFA. SFA is a legislative body made up of students and faculty that meets every other Wednesday before school from 7:00 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. in the International Cafe. Unlike the class officers, who focus on organizing events and fundraising for their grades, SFA focuses on issues around the school and how to handle them to assist the members of their community.

After SFA agrees on a new bill to pass after much brainstorming and discussion, principal Henry Turner reviews the bill to approve and pass the new policy. It is because of this final step that SFA is able to resolve by

school-wide issues and put its ideas into action.

“The presence of the principal in SFA really affects our ability to meet and pass legislation,” said senior Sam Kesselman, an SFA co-chair.

“The purpose of the SFA is for students and teachers to discuss policy, to pass and create policies, and give advisories,” said Turner, who has been working with SFA for the past two years. These advisories are presented as written pieces of leg-

islation to appear either in principal directives or the student handbook.

The SFA’s student body consists of three voting members and one alternate from each grade. Kesselman and senior Eliza Inder are this year’s SFA co-chairs, and work alongside Special Education teacher Mark Wadness, the faculty chair.

Together they lead meeting discussions and form subcommittees. SFA also consists of nine other faculty members from various houses and departments.

The entire body of SFA meets every other Wednesday. Because their body consists of both students and faculty, SFA is able to recognize a variety of voices and perspectives to identify and tackle school-wide issues. During the Wednesdays in between, a separate student-only meeting is held.

“There are several issues that we examine at a time, so we have separate subcommittees within the body of student representatives,”

said Kesselman. “During the student-only meetings, we discuss our initiatives for these topics and how to gather information, how to reach out to people for their suggestions in passing the bill, and how to see what resources are needed.”

freshman Jocelyn Sun “Being on the SFA provides a good chance to understand student government and how our school is run. You interact with a lot of teachers and engage in the student community.”

The subcommittees work on separate cases, each taking roughly six to eight months to take a proposed idea and turn it into a reality.

“We are currently working on a couple of cases,” said freshman Jocelyn Sun, an SFA representative.

“My subcommittee is working on a case involving vaping and ‘juuling’

at school. There is another case that will allow seniors to have no homework weekends during the fall semester, and another helping advise students to talk to teachers when faced with over three tests in one day.”

According to Kesselman, SFA is also working on “opening up Main Street during all blocks not just lunch block, which should be passed by the end of the school year.”

Despite the lengthy process of creating new policy, SFA has improved many aspects of the school environment. Along with opening up Main Street during lunch block, SFA discussed and passed the policy of no homework weekends at the end of a term and open campus for second semester sophomores.

“Being on the SFA provides a good chance to understand student government and how our school is run,” said Sun. “You interact with a lot of teachers and engage in the student community.”

Student Council fundraises, organizes class events Jacques Abou-Rizk Voting for your class officers is a big event that the entire student body participates in. Even so, some may ask, what are officers in charge of after they are elected?

The elected officers brainstorm ways to fund the class and bolster school spirit with creative events and products.

“I think it’s an amazing experience but it’s definitely hard work.

You have to be there and help in the work,” said junior vice president Morgan Britt-Webb.

For juniors and seniors on the Student Council, organizing and funding prom is an important task.

“There are students who need by

help paying for their prom tickets, so we need to set aside some money for those students,” said senior vice president Amrita Iyer. “We want to make sure it costs as little as possible for students.”

According to freshman president Keshav Desibhatla, the class officers begin to save money for prom starting freshman year.

“Some of our profits will go to junior and senior prom,” he said.

“Once we have more money, the tickets will be less money for the students. The more we save now, the cheaper it is for students in the future.”

Several of the classes sell school clothing to gain profits. “Sweatpants

are tradition,” said sophomore president Vishaan Shetty. “We decided to go with that, and this year we have increased profit. We are definitely very happy about that.”

Classes have also been successful with restaurant fundraisers. The officers partner with a local restaurant so that every time a student eats there, the council earns a percentage of the profits, according to senior vice president Chloe O’Neil.

“Everyone sees the event, but not the planning of it,” Iyer said.

“They only see the final product, so they might complain about an event being late. They don’t see how much we are trying to get this event done.”

Although the class officers rarely

meet with councils from other grades, they do get together to organize school-wide events such as Spirit Week.

“We met in the cafeteria in the

morning for spirit week so that we could all communicate on how to decorate the school,” Iyer added.

“It’s a good way to get a mosh of ideas.”

Being able to handle what goes on at North is one of the best parts of the position, according to BrittWebb.

“It’s so fun being able to control these things and facilitate things for our class and meet new people and parents,” she said.

“It’s really great to be a part of student government. It’s the idea of being able to represent your peers,” O’Neil said. “I would definitely recommend it to students looking to represent their school.”

Student Advisory Committee addresses local issues Sophie Murthy Students hear complaints about start times, too much homework, or bad cafeteria food circulating around North all the time. However, most people don’t seem to know where to direct these kinds of concerns.

Although little known among the student body, North’s Student Advisory Committee aims to voice these issues and influence change.

“We are here to serve students.

If they have any problems, they should come to us,” said junior Maya Mathews, a member of the Student Advisory Committee. “We are the direct source that can cause change, and it is most likely that they are right. Students should voice their opinions. We don’t see problems until they arise.”

The Student Advisory Committee meets twice a month in the Newton Education Center at 6:30 p.m. and consists of Mathews, senior Max Teszler, sophomore Serena Jampel, and three student representatives from South. Overall, by

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one representative from the senior, junior, and sophomore classes each serve a three year term.

“We advise the School Committee on student issues and give them advice. We tell them what life in the high school is like so they can make better and more informed decisions,” said Teszler. The School Committee is a group of representatives from the nine wards in Newton who discuss and vote on various issues regarding all Newton Public Schools.

Mathews further explained that the School Committee has a great impact on the student body. “Our job is to review all of the agenda topics for each meeting and put our thoughts down on paper about how they will affect the students. We make sure students are going to get the best hand. We can picture how the different policies will play out at the different schools.”

The Student Advisory Committee’s current project is a transportation survey to evaluate the safety and ease of students’ commutes

the

to and from school. According to Teszler, there is little information on student transportation methods and why they choose them. The aim of the survey is to find out the issues and inconveniences students face in traveling to and from school so they can be fixed.

sophomore Serena Jampel “Students are not powerless, even though it seems that school is a dictatorship. We need to make our voices heard instead of complaining, and get out and start doing something to make change.”

Another topic of interest for the committee is North’s system of student government. Jampel explained that parts of student government are not as effective as they could be, and the means of communicating information is difficult and inefficient.

“We want to reform student government. We are going to other

schools to see how they operate, and report back. It will take a lot of time because everything is a set tradition,” said Teszler. “I’m a senior so I won’t see the result of it, but people like Serena Jampel, who are sophomores, will. You can start something and give it a good foundation, then watch it grow.”

“We were thinking of drafting a new system for SFA, but it’s technically not in our power. We could tell them to have something that reflects the South Senate’s structures of meetings, voting, and passing,” said Mathews. She added that South Senate’s system is more efficient and effective.

“I was on the SFA. I wanted to be involved in student government, but it wasn’t that effective, due to the format. You have to watch what you say around teachers, and it meets at seven in the morning, so everyone is really tired,” said Teszler.

Jampel’s motivation in joining the Student Advisory Committee was to make the position more

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widely known. “I thought that if I didn’t know what School Committee was, other people wouldn’t either. I wanted to open up the route to other students so they could see who is representing them,” she said.

Mathews also touched on her decision to join the Student Advisory Committee. “I love helping kids with the quality of school and making school a little more enjoyable for the next kid. Our goal is to evoke change across the board. Everyone on the advisory is really motivated to make change, which is not an easy task. Our goal is to impact schools and leave our mark,” she said.

Jampel encouraged students to take action within the community.

“Students are not powerless, even though it seems that school is a dictatorship. We need to make our voices heard instead of complaining, and get out and start doing something to make change.”

Graphics by Skyler Bohnert and Jai Khurana

feature

Monday, March 12, 2018

Newton North, The Newtonite ◆ 7

Many working hands make ‘Cinderella’ magical Carolyn McDonald As a show takes shape, each actor learns how to think, talk, and move like their character. Costume designers create clothes to dress this character. Set designers build a world for this character. Choreographers make the character move.

This process creates a genuine character, the backbone of any show.

Over the past few weeks, students of Theatre Ink have put this process to work to perform Rodgers and Hammerstein’s version of Cinderella in the auditorium March 15, 16, and 17 at 7:30 p.m., and March 18 at 2 p.m. The show is directed by Kevin Kline, who has been directing for 20 years.

Cinderella, also known as Ella, is played by junior Maddy Ranalli.

Ella wants to find love and escape from her abusive stepmother, played by senior Gaby Avelino, and her stepsisters Charlotte and Gabrielle, played by senior Sarah Vernovsky and junior Téa Baum respectively. Cinderella meets prince Topher, played by senior Samidio DePina, and finds love and hope in him. The show will feature acting, singing, dancing, complex sets, and intricate costumes. by

senior Max Huntington “The thing that makes ‘Cinderella’ unique is that there is a whole bunch of magic that happens on stage. It is not hinted at, or done offstage, it has to happen right in front of the audience.”

The entire cast rehearses most days after school, and the leads put in additional time for more focused practice. Kline is in charge of managing all the students and helping them grow during the rehearsal process.

“A show like this requires a lot of rehearsals. It’s a three month rehearsal process,” Kline said. Cinderella “is filled with little moments

of magic, which has made the show challenging, but rewarding,” he said.

The rehearsals teach students how to effectively tell the story of the show. According to Ranalli, the cast will “do a rough outline of the staging and run it as many times as we can, stopping and restarting many times to change little things.”

Ranalli added that her unique character makes rehearsals interesting. “For Ella specifically, she’s a really energetic and empowered character, but also an awkward and sad one at some points in the show.

So, a lot of the work is dedicated to how she feels about all that goes on around her,” she said.

In rehearsal, students also work with the music director Chris Roppola to fine-tune their singing techniques. Junior Ben Gobler, an ensemble member in the show, has worked with Roppola on numerous Theatre Ink shows in the past. He said, “rehearsals with Chris usually begin with a few rounds of ‘Name That Tune.’” Roppola will play a few seconds of a song, and the cast will guess what it is. “After that, we stand for some fun vocal warm-ups, including the alphabet scales with a twist. Then, we continue our rehearsal music.”

Gobler added that Ropola’s teaching style is enjoyable for the cast and provides them with the right amount of challenge to help them grow as singers. “Chris teaches the sections quickly, but he always aims for perfection in our sound as an ensemble. He’s encouraging about everyone’s voices and their ability to break old habits like sliding between notes,” said Gobler.

The show is choreographed by Elena Maimonis, who is new to the Theatre Ink team.

Sophomore Thao-Vy Le said that “dance is an important role in Cinderella because it’s an important part in the storytelling aspect of the show.” She added that the dances should “capture the attention of

Molly Potter

Junior Maimouna Sarr and freshman Jacy Alpert work on costumes for the upcoming Theater Ink production of ‘Cinderella,’ showing March 15 through 18 in the auditorium. the audience and make the overall show more memorable.”

According to junior Renée Dwyer, the show’s choreography challenges the dancers. “The featured dancers are in the waltz portion of the ball scene, which includes partnering and lifts that require more dance experience to execute well.

We still dance with the rest of the ensemble throughout the show, but we’re given more opportunities to show off our dance skills.”

Dwyer added that part of what makes the dance process great is Maimonis. “She always brings so much energy and positivity to rehearsals.”

Another vital aspect of the show is the costume design process. According to Ruth Talvacchia, the head of costumes for Theatre

Ink, “we select who we think best matches upcoming season shows according to levels and grades. I like to match students with where their interests are.” This year, seniors Juliette Spitaels, Sophie Ferreira, and Abby Strayer are designing the costumes.

“The design team has decided to set the show in a magical world that pulls from multiple different time periods like Victorian England,” Talvacchia said. The costumes utilize different color palettes that help transform the appearance of the show. “Just by using the intensity of color, magic is created,” Talvacchia added.

The stage crew ties the show together by designing the interaction of sets, lights, and sounds. Seniors Max Huntington and Maggie Quig-

ley are student technical directors, and are aided by theater teacher Michael Barrington-Haber and Jay Zawacki, the show’s lighting director.

“The thing that makes Cinderella unique is that there is a whole bunch of magic that happens on stage. It is not hinted at, or done offstage, it has to happen right in front of the audience,” Huntington said.

“That has been one of the biggest challenges in designing the sets, lighting, and sound for this show.”

Nonetheless, Huntington said that he appreciates the opportunity to participate in such a show. “The set, lights, costumes, sound, hair, makeup, and the acting all coming together to make a complete show is one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.”

Girls’ gymnastics finds success, wins BSC title Jake Forbes Heading into the season, the girls’ gymnastics team had the odds stacked against them. Amy Shen ’17, a nationally ranked gymnast and 2017 Bay State Senior Gymnast of the Year, had graduated, and the team included only ten gymnasts, one of the smallest teams in the league. However, despite these challenges, the team went undefeated in the regular season and won the Bay State Conference Championship.

Throughout the season, four gymnasts were sidelined due to injuries. The team lost sophomore Heidi Matt several days before the Bay State Conference Championship due to an ankle injury, senior Sonya Feng, a captain with senior Shannon Murphy, for part of the season because of an elbow injury, and junior Morgan Britt-Webb for the entire season after an ankle injury during the first week of practice.

Sophomore Sara Kolaczyk also suffered two fractures in her metatarsals that sidelined her for two weeks in the middle of the season.

While Kolaczyk’s injury put her in a boot, she understood the importance of her return to the team.

“Our team was so small to begin with, and we lost a lot of people who had injuries that they couldn’t compete with,” Kolaczyk said. “I knew I could still compete with my injury, even though it hurt, because I wanted to help the team win.” by

Despite these setbacks, members of the team also improved over the course of the year and broke several personal records. Mooradian broke her personal record at the Bay State Conference Championship after sticking her tsuk, a roundoff onto the vault table then a back tuck, and receiving a 9.0.

The team’s background in club gymnastics also played a central role in enabling it to overcome these obstacles. Club gymnastics is a more intensive program for gymnasts at a higher level of competition.

“With all the injuries we’ve had,” said Murphy, “we’ve still been able to be successful and unde-

feated because of everyone’s background. Everyone has done club gymnastics, so we are all able to do all four events.”

All North gymnasts were qualified to compete in the all-around, the sum of the four events: vault, uneven bars, beam, and floor. This unique team line-up allowed the coaches to find the best combination of gymnasts for each event.

According to Day Middle School science teacher Jim Chin, the team’s head coach, the gymnasts who only competed in two events similarly influenced the team’s scores.

Kolaczyk is among those nonall-around gymnasts who under-

Abby Roll

Freshman Nina Varady completes a back layout off the beam during a meet against Weymouth in the SOA Tuesday, Jan. 30.

stands the importance of her role on the team. “There are still some spots open, so we need a couple of people to step up and compete on those events to contribute to the score and help the team in general,” she said.

The additions of freshmen Liz Elvin and Nina Varady likewise factored into the team’s success.

Both competed in the all-around at the Bay State Conference Championship, with Varady placing second with a 36.25 and Elvin third with a 35.7. Varady also became the cochampion on vault and Elvin the champion on uneven bars.

“Even though Nina and Liz were at a club, they decided to join us, which was extremely beneficial to the team,” said Chin. “They have been doing what we have expected of them the whole season.”

Varady credited Murphy and Feng for helping her and Elvin to find their place on the team. The captains’ attitudes, Varady said, “showed us how to come together as a team and win, even when our best gymnasts aren’t always there.”

Murphy and Feng also encouraged the team as a whole, according to Kolaczyk. They were “good motivators whose enthusiasm made everyone want to win,” she said.

The captains regularly gave the team pep talks before meets, telling them that they “put in the work at practice and deserve to win,” Kolaczyk said.

After sophomore Izzy Day, who played a key role in the first half of the season, left for an exchange trip, the weight of the team fell even more heavily on the freshmen’s shoulders. Still, although “it’s been really difficult to step into the spotlight we have settled in pretty well,” said Varady.

With Day and junior Lexie Chu away on trips, however, the team struggled more at Sectionals despite their success at the Bay State Championship. Only eight gymnasts competed at Sectionals, and the team ultimately came in 12th place.

senior captain Sonya Feng “Even though we had a lot of injuries and tough judges, the team succeeded because those obstacles only made our team bond more over everything.”

Despite this disappointing Sectionals finish, Feng viewed the season as a success. “Even though we had a lot of injuries and tough judges, the team succeeded because those obstacles only made our team bond more over everything.”

Murphy noted that the team as a whole played a role in motivating them to succeed. “Everyone has been much more determined this year than in past years, and it shows in our record.”

8â—† The Newtonite, Newton North

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Monday, March 12, 2018