Octagon 2021-22 Issue 7 by The Octagon

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VOL.45 NO.7 • Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, CA •www.scdsoctagon.com • March 29, 2022

SCDS pays $150K for stoplight, looks to expand

BY NIHAL GULATI

CUP page 3 >>

TRAFFIC JAM FOR BREAKFAST

PHOTO BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI

Country Day’s community connects with Ukrainian war BY SAMHITA KUMAR

CAMPUSCORNER PASSPORT LUNCH

SPRING SHOWCASE

After two years, Passport Lunch will be returning to the Country Day campus. On Friday, April 1, students will visit different advisories to try varying foods. Advisees will provide food or drinks for the high school to enjoy. As students go around,

On April 21, the middle school and high school will perform a concert. The high school will perform a selection from Antonio Vivaldi’s “Winter,” which will be led by soloist and principal violinist Ryan Xu, and then combine with the middle school orchestra, playing as a full ensemble.

BLOOMING HOPE After arriving in Canada, Ukrainian refugee Aryna Naboka hugs her mother. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSARIO LLORET

INSIDE the ISSUE In Retrospect... Retired Country Day teachers share stories from their new day-to-day lives and reminisce on their time at SCDS. (PAGES 10-11) PHOTO FROM SCDSOCTAGON.COM

02 NEWS

MARCH 29, 2022 • THE OCTAGON

STAFF PRINT EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Sanjana Anand Arikta Trivedi ONLINE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ethan Monasa Arijit Trivedi NEWS EDITOR Nihal Gulati FEATURE EDITOR Arjin Claire SPORTS EDITOR Miles Morrow A&E/OPINION EDITOR Dylan Margolis PHOTO EDITORS Arijit Trivedi Arikta Trivedi PAGE EDITORS Sanjana Anand Rod Azghadi Jacob Chand Arjin Claire Simone DeBerry Nihal Gulati Samhita Kumar Dylan Margolis Ethan Monasa Miles Morrow Arijit Trivedi Arikta Trivedi Garman Xu BUSINESS STAFF Arjin Claire, manager Samhita Kumar, assistant Saheb Gulati Willliam Holz SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Arikta Trivedi, editor Ava Eberhart Samhita Kumar, assistant Lauren Lu HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY Nihal Gulati REPORTERS Adam Akins Andrew Burr Emily Cook Ava Eberhart Saheb Gulati William Holz Lauren Lu Ishaan Sekhon Kali Wells Garrett Xu Ryan Xu PHOTOGRAPHERS Adam Akins Miles Morrow Arijit Trivedi Arikta Trivedi Kali Wells MULTIMEDIA STAFF Dylan Margolis, editor Arjin Claire Simone DeBerry William Holz Miles Morrow Arijit Trivedi Garman Xu GRAPHIC ARTISTS Brynne Barnard-Bahn Lilah Shorey ADVISER Bonnie Stewart The Octagon is the student-run newspaper of Sacramento Country Day high school. The print edition is published eight times a year, and the website is updated daily. The Octagon is committed to unbiased and comprehensive reporting, serving as a source of reliable information for SCDS students and the school community. The Octagon will publish all timely and relevant news deemed appropriate by the editors-in-chief and adviser. We seek to highlight high-school-related events and spotlight the voices of those with a story to share. Further policies can be found on our website or by scanning the QR code below.

PRETRIAL POISE Senior Nihal Gulati, the defense pretrial attorney, awaits the start of the Sacramento County Finals on March 7 at Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse against Elk Grove High School. PHOTO BY ADAM AKINS

BY ISHAAN SEKHON

fter a close trial on Mar. 7, the Country Day Mock Trial team won second place in the Gordon D. Schaber County Tournament. That evening, the team argued for the defense, facing Elk Grove High School in The trial, held at the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse in Sacramento, was historic, marking the third time Country Mock Trial is a competition that simulates court trials. Each trial is judged by four attorney scorers, two of which votthen compared the overall points earned throughout the trial, with Country day losing 607-605 points. Country Day’s close score impressed team coach Rick Lewkowitz. “It’s unusual to get that close, winning or losing,” Lewkowitz said. Such frustratingly close results were proof of how well the team did, he said. “They worked hard. I was very happy

because I’d felt that they had come far enough to earn that ability to challenge for the championship,” Lewkowitz said. This season’s case revolved around the death of Erik Smith, who was bitten by a snake in his mailbox. The prosecution argued that Jamie Cobey, his tenant, was responsible for the crime. The motive? Only days before Smith’s death, Smith turned off the power to Cobey’s home, leading to the death of his elderly mother, who relied on an oxygen machine. Grace Zhao and co-captains senior Sanjana Anand and junior Rod Azghadi were lead attorneys for prosecution, with Samhita Kumar as the pretrial attorney. Junior co-captain Jacob Chand was Angel Russell, who saw the moment of the uty Toni Garrett; junior Samrath Pannu was retired lawyer Terry Edwards and senior co-captain Nihal Gulati was medical examiner Dr. Charlie Dunn. Sophomore Eshaan Dhaliwal acted as the team’s clerk, keeping time for all proceedings. However, the defense argued that this was simply nature running its course and the snake entered the mailbox on its own. On the defense, Zhao and Kumar were attorneys, with Gulati arguing pretrial. The four witnesses called were Gulati as herpetologist Dr. Tyler Clay, Azghadi as neighbor Dani Emling, Chand as friend of the defendant Francis Yazzie and freshman Radha Chauhan as Cobey.

CHECK OUT COUNTRY DAY’S OTHER WINS

Junior Ryan Paul was the team’s bailiff. The pretrial issue this year — argued before the main trial — dealt with the Fourth Amendment. Smith had previously placed a camera in his backyard that captured footage of Cobey’s backyard; the defense argued this was an unconstitutional search and footage should be suppressed. The team also had several students earn individual awards. Co–captain senior Nihal Gulati, co–captain junior Jacob Chand and freshman Chauhan all won Best Witness awards, which is given to the 20 highest–scoring witnesses throughout the competition. Zhao and Kumar both earned Best Attorney awards, which are presented to the 20 best–scoring attorneys. Lewkowitz praised Zhao’s abilities as an attorney. “Grace is very methodical. She’s very thorough. She works hard to make sure she can anticipate everything that can reasonably be anticipated,” Lewkowitz said. Kumar was also awarded the team’s MVP and MVP in three of four prelimiand Gulati was awarded MVP in the second preliminary round. Lewkowitz commended Kumar on her consistent excellence and her ability to think on her feet. “Sam (Kumar) is always well prepared but she really has a knack for adapting to new things that arise during the trial,” Lewkowitz said. Kumar praised her teammates and coaches for their hard work. “I know everyone put in a lot of work, especially the coaches,” she said. “Everyone’s really done as much as they can.” Originally published on the online edition of The Octagon on March 27.

VOL. 45 ISSUE 6 UPDATE AND CORRECTION “Country Day Quiz Bowl Team to compete in Nationals”

It is The Octagon’s policy to correct factual errors and to clarify potentially confusing statements. Email us: octagon@scdsstudent.org

Page 2 “Mural tradition returns post-lockdown”: One of the muralists graduating in 2019 was Mathisen and their pronouns are they/them.

“Inaugural Country Day Science Bowl team ranks third in county”

Page 9 “FRESHMAN FOCUS: Ming Zhu, ’21, explores science, music program, game design at UCLA”: Quality of classes and housing were It should have been rated four stars.

NEWS 03

MARCH 29, 2022 • THE OCTAGON

Student body divided on optional masking

BY AVA EBERHART & LAUREN LU

tudents, teachers and staff at Country Day are no longer required to wear masks indoors, but the school strongly encourages them to stay masked following the March 12 change. This unmasking adheres to the California Department of Public Health’s new policy, which is based on the decrease in COVID-19 cases in the state. Those who are taking advantage of the updated rule are in the minority. So far, the trend on campus appears to be people continuing to wear masks indoors. However, the decision to mask outdoors is about half-and-half. In a March 15 Octagon poll sent to the high school students, 24 of 32 respondents answered that they would continue to wear their mask indoors, while 15 of 32 said they would wear their masks outdoors. Students continue to wear their masks for two main reasons: social discomfort and safety. Sophomore Juliette Zuñíga plans to continue wearing her mask at school, at least indoors. However, she will occasionally remove it when she deems it appropriate. For example, if she is outside during morning break or lunch, or if many people are unmasking around her in a well-ventilated location, Zuñíga will carefully take off her mask. “I don’t really care what other people decide to do, but people still need to stay safe — just because we’re unmasking doesn’t mean you can, you know, spit on people. There are still people at risk and COVID-19 is still around,” Zuñíga said.

In combination with her concern for staying protected, Zuñíga is choosing to keep on her mask for social reasons. “I know some people still aren’t fully comfortable with the change. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable,” Zuñíga said. For many students, it’s taking a lot to get used to seeing the other half of their peers’ and teachers’ faces. “I feel like socially, I’m not ready to have it off,” said freshman Anniston Miller, who continues to wear her mask both indoors and outdoors. Sophomore Rachel Pirie expressed concerns about safety and adaptation to the new protocols. She currently wears her mask both inside and outside. “I understand people not wanting to wear a mask outdoors, but inside, things are moving a little bit too fast,” Pirie said. Freshman Cara Shin, who also wears her mask both in and out of the classroom, explained that she won’t unmask for now due to safety reasons. “I think it’s just safety protocol, and it’s not bad to be too safe,” Shin said. However, numerous students who have decided to stay masked are comfortable being around those who have chosen to leave their mask off. “I think it’s their choice and I don’t distance myself from them. It’s their opinion, and it doesn’t bother me too much,” Shin said. Some students who have chosen to unmask say they don’t mind if people choose to keep their masks on. “It is nice to see more people’s faces, but it still feels normal either way. I honestly forget if I’m wearing a mask or not,” said sophomore Andrew Klieger, who is currently attending school unmasked.

When the new masking protocol was put into effect, Klieger unmasked almost immediately because he forgot to bring masks to school. It was easier for him in the morning to not need to remember to bring one in the morning. Unmasked students have also experienced awkward interactions stemming from removing their masks. Sophomore Chase Usrey is one of the students who has decided to unmask, although his initial social discomfort has gradually ebbed away. He chose to remain unmasked simply because it is more convenient, as well as easier for him to breathe. “There were some awkward

day after we were allowed to be unmasked,” he said. “I was going to get a COVID-19 test, and everyone in line was masked — I was the only one that was unmasked.” High school teachers have responded to the mask mandate evolution in different ways. French teacher Richard Day is still requiring students to wear masks during his classes due to health and safety concerns. “I’m as impatient as anyone to get to the point where we can comfortably take our masks off, but we are not out of the woods yet,” Day said. “I’m thankful that my students are understanding and continuing to wear masks in my classroom.” As of now, Day does not have any plans to remove his mask or stop requiring French students to wear masks in his classroom. On the other hand, English teacher Jason Hinojosa doesn’t mind if his students choose to leave their masks off in his classroom, as he doesn’t wear a mask

anymore himself. “I’m really grateful to see students’ faces. I feel like faces express a lot of emotion, and I feel much more connected to my students,” Hinojosa said. “I don’t want that to be misunderstood as a request for anyone to do something they feel uncomfortable doing — I respect and encourage students keeping masks

on to keep them on if that keeps them comfortable.” Despite there being varied responses to the updated mask mandate, not much change has been made to the overall environment at Country Day. “We’re all good friends here, so I don’t think the optional masking will affect the school’s social climate,” Pirie said.

SMILING FACES Seniors Max Wu and Elliot Crowder exit the Matthews Library where masks are no longer required. PHOTO BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI

CUP: (continued from page 1) possible, Thomsen said. “That audit will probably be done by the end of this spring,” he said. Meantime, enrollment is rising slowly. Before the CUP was updated, the school was limited to 544 total students and 144 high school students. Now, the limit is 596 total students and 180 high school students and enrollment

has already pushed past the old 544 cap. “We are now at 547 or 548 students,” Thomsen said. “That’s the The plan, according to Thomsen, is for the school to increase enrollment bit by bit every year until hitting the cap. Thomsen previously said it would take around seven to 10 years to hit the new cap. In addition to providing money

the school to continue working with the neighborhood on man“The neighbors are concerned that if we have 46 more kids, Thomsen said. “The school has always worked on that and we’re continuing to work on that.” prohibiting parking anywhere on Latham, staggering pickup times,

having the Parents Association organize carpools and, in the future, setting up drop-off points on Munroe Street. “According to the neighbors, who we meet with quarterly, ally doing pretty well,” Thomsen said. “I have been pleasantly surprised that as we are coming out has been minimal.” Ann Evans, who wrote the initial protest to the CUP, praised the school for keeping on top of its mitigation efforts. “The plan for having additional drop-off points that would not be on Latham sounds very, very positive. There hasn’t been the ability to go forward on that so far because of COVID-19, but in general, the school is enforcing well.” However, one big point of contention remains between the school and the neighborhood: the Sierra Homeowners Agreement, signed in 1996, that also limits the school’s enrollment. Both before and after the CUP was updated, Thomsen said the school has been trying to come to a new, negotiated agreement with the neighborhood. The neighbors, Evans said, allow newer neighbors to sign and join the agreement; second, for the school to include a new permanent enrollment cap.

“There were around 60 neighbors who had signed on in 1996,” Thomsen said. “Since that time there’s only eight or nine neighbors left who are technically remaining signatories to the original agreement.” The school agreed to allow newer residents to sign the agreedraft to the neighbors in April, 2021. But that proposed agreerollment cap. The neighbors did not respond. “As long as no permanent enrollment cap is included, a modsible,” Evans said. “Lee said that the school’s attorneys wouldn’t allow it, so there’s no reason to respond back. We said it was not even worth discussing.” The neighborhood wants some sort of permanent cap because, in Evans’ words, the school is on a for physical growth and can only deal with parking and drop-off by keeping numbers down. But without an agreement with the neighbors, the school must either constrain expansion or violate the Sierra Homeowners Agreement at risk of being sued, although Evans has said in the past that the neighbors did not wish to sue the school. For now, both sides remain locked in a stalemate.

04 FEATURE

MARCH 29, 2022 • THE OCTAGON

COLLEGE CONSULTATION Incoming Director of College Counseling Alicia Perla meets with junior Adam Akins to discuss the college application process. PHOTO BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI

Alicia Perla named new Director of College Counseling

BY SANJANA ANAND

ewly appointed Director of College Counseling Alicia Perla left her career as a corporate and securities attorney at a private Chi-

Connecticut to Chicago to southern California. -

es,” she said.

Match and helping Breakthrough students,

fresh start: college counseling.

lege application process when her niece reached out to her for advice during the

of California, Berkeley, where she earned

“I feel that understanding the process

ous levels bring a level of knowledge and experience that would be great to have. But like ours,” she said.

a realistic approach about the application start on considering colleges to apply to and what I want to get out of college,” DeBerry said.

During the 2018-19 year, Perla got inprocess by shadowing Director of College working as a Breakthrough college counselor for three application seasons. held at Country Day for underserved students to receive a higher quality of education, she increased her experience by

college counselor last year and will be stepping into the role of the Director of

dents with essays.

tual college counseling across the country,

parents, college lists and essays to read.

teacher will offer a different perspective. “Having a fresh look at who they are is a

she said. College counseling is always changing -

preconceived ideas of who the student is,” Perla said. is reading an application.”

Perla is also the parent of high school lege applications next year.

Jane Bauman leaves college advising BY SANJANA ANAND & ARIKTA TRIVEDI

international students receive visas.

After a decade as the Director of College Counseling, -

glish, and I voted for English.”

and college counseling. college tours.

“We have a very close and collaborative relationship with the student body,” she said.

it was, she always had an answer and knew the right

with Perla as he prepares to leave for college.

this role. Perla stepped into the role when previous Associate Director of College Counseling Chris Kuipers left.

aid letters and helping students under-

with the new Director of College Counseling, current

rewarding.

and see people so happy and excited,” she said.

FEATURE 05

MARCH 29, 2022 • THE OCTAGON

Senior chases track and field college scholarship BY WILLIAM HOLZ

enior Zola Grey sets up her starting blocks, suppressing the looming feeling of anxiousness. She’s been through this many times, but the adrenaline still rages through her bloodstream. “I need a good start to come out strong,” Grey whispers to herself as her ears strain for the starting pistol’s sound. BANG! The pistol goes off and Grey’s muscles explode with power. She’s nothing but a missile, The end is in sight. Fifty meters, enclosing, then 40, then 30, then 20, “Keep going Zola,” she tells herself. “Don’t give up it’ll all be worth it in the end.” As she in relief, then heads over to congratulate the other runners. A multi-sport athlete, Grey is pursuing her dream of a track and Grey began her athletic career at the age of one year when her mom signed her up for gymnastics. She competed in the four artistic gymnastics events: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and years of the sport, Grey was forced to quit due to hip and back pain. “My hips started hurting origthen the pain left and didn’t gymnastics. I wasn’t able to compete, and it got to the point that

I couldn’t do anything that hurt,” Grey said. Oddly, doctors said nothing was wrong with her hips, but she continued physical therapy. Since she couldn’t be a gymnast, Grey looked toward a sport she started in middle school: “As soon as I got hurt, my mom because I need a scholarship for college,” Grey said. “So I started getting serious about track since it was something I was good at.” ter and 200-meter dashes for the team, with her personal record minutes, four seconds, and her best 200-meter time being 27 minutes, 28 seconds. She’s also decided to experiment with longjump, an event she’s never competed in before, and her goal is to perform well at the track championships at the end of the season. started with a sprained ankle, for which she also goes to therapy. “Practices can be rough when we practice long-distance, but in the end, it’s all worth it to see me get better over time,” she said. Keeping a cool head and being relaxed is a huge part of Grey performing her best at meets. “In order to get myself calm and collected before an event, I usually listen to a variety of music and stretch for a while,” Grey said.

Zola Grey

Zola was selected as one of the team captains. “She’s a committed, mature runner with a lot of leadership,” coach Rick Fullum. “She’s a great role model for younger runners.” Even at school, Grey shows these qualities among her peers. “She’s very friendly, willing to help people out, and competitive in a good way,” said friend and senior Tina Huang. One of Grey’s favorite pastimes is art, as an avid student in both AP Studio Art and AP Art History. “I got interested in art in high school, and from there I just started liking it more and more,” Grey said. “I draw whatever I feel like because it’s a great way for me to take my mind off of injuries and stress.” Grey loves to draw people, anywhere from realistic to cartoonish, inspiring her to pursue a degree related to art in college. “I really want to get into Chaphave a great art program there, and it’s my dream school.” With Grey training hard each practice, being a captain others can look up to and staying focused, she hopes to do well at the track championships and end the season with a scholarship to pursue her artistic dreams. Originally published in the online edition of The Octagon on March 28.

TAKING IT IN STRIDE Senior Zola Grey runs during track practice at Cordova on March 23. PHOTO BY SIMONE DEBERRY

FRESHMAN FOCUS: Allie Bogetich, ’21, enjoys playing percussion, likes conductor, in Stanford wind ensemble BY AVA EBERHART Allie Bogetich, ’21, is majoring in civil engineering at Stanford University. She also plays percussion in the wind ensemble. Q: What do you like about Stanford? A: I really like the weather and the layout of the campus. It’s so nice to just be able to go for a run randomly during the day whenever I feel like it because the weather is super nice all year-round, and the campus is beautiful. There’s good hiking trails and running trails all over, and you can do homework outside. Q: How was the transition from Country Day to college? A: I’m pretty sensitive to change, so it was kind of clicked at once and it was chill. The campus is giant, so there’s stuff to do everywhere. There’s always people who want to play frisbee or go to downtown Palo out there because if not you’re just going to be living in your dorm room which is not super fun. Q: How did Country Day help you get into Stanford? A: say probably looked a lot better than a lot of other people’s because Country Day’s English program is just really good. And then offering dozens of advanced place-

units to explore with, so I’m considering doing a minor. Q: Have you been able to continue playing drums? A: I’m playing percussion in the wind ensemble. I’m not doing any drum set stuff because there’s a jazz orchestra I was going to be in, but the concerts overlap with the wind ensemble, so I had to pick one. I’ve been taking some music theory classes, but I’m thinking in the spring I might join a ensemble, it’s a lot of fun. Q: What classes are you taking? A: Right now, I’ve got a pretty light schedule because I knew we were going to be ontaking art classes, the second one of the calculus series, an introduction to environmental science and technology, a music theory composition workshop and a wellness class. I’m also in the seminar where people from different energy companies come talk about their companies, and we get to talk to them, which is pretty cool. Q: What’s it like living with a roommate in a small dorm room? A: My roommate is almost never there. And usually when she is there, I’m asleep. She lives in San Jose, so she goes home ev-

application if you have good test scores to report.

a roommate because you automatically have someone to do something with, but then it’s like, if you’re not best friends with your roommate, it doesn’t really matter. My roommate and I are friendly, but we’re not friends at all, if that makes sense.

Q: Why did you choose your major? A: I’m interested in sustainability and trying to help do my part to unruin the earth and get away from fossil fuels. I’m kind of playing with the idea of a music minor since I don’t want to double major in music because then I don’t really have any free

Q: What is something that surprised you about Stanford? A: Honestly, just the variety of classes that I’m able to take. I was expecting, as an engineering student, that my entire four years would be laid out for me, but it’s totally not like that at all. There are a very few select

classes that I have to take and then the rest these and you really get to pick and choose what you want. Q: Do you have any advice for the class of 2022? A: My advice for getting into college is: think it will make your application look good because everyone else is going to do that. If you have a cookie cutter application, they’re not going to take you. Ten of the same application could be submitted, and they’ll probably only pick one.

So, honestly, it’s a little bit of luck-of-thedraw, and it’s a little bit of just trying to be individual. Once you’re in college, I’d say take full advantage of classes outside your major make a lot of friends during fall quarter with people who are in your dorm because anytime you need something or are confused about something, you’d just be able to go knock on someone’s door across the hall. It’s so convenient. Originally posted on the online edition of The Octagon on March 24.

Stanford: Five-star or subpar? Quality of classes: Teacher interactions: Location: Social Scene:

Clubs: School Spirit: Food: Housing:

MARCH 29, 2022

CENTER

RP O I NT

THE OCTAGON

SEX TRAFFICKING: A COMMUNITY AT RISK -

STORY BY SIMONE DEBERRY; GRAPHICS BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI, GARMAN XU AND DEBERRY

“TRAFFICKING CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE — THERE IS NO COMMUNITY IMMUNITY.” — DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH & COMMUNICATION AT WEAVE BRITTANY BRAY

08 OPINION

MARCH 29, 2022 • THE OCTAGON

EDITORIAL: School lunches are unsatisfactory

“Dining Downer” by Brynne Barnard-Bahn

o incoming Country Day families, the lunch program is one of the most attractive parts of the school. After all, who doesn’t want to eat lunch catered from actual restaurants every day of the week? But this past year, the quality of food has been on a constant decline. The restaurants and the catering services have become too comfortable, and Country Day needs to keep them in check. The three main problems students have with the lunch service is the quality of food resulting from individually packaged lunches, the small and inconsistent portion sizes and the delivery time of the food. Country Day caters from Boudin SF on Mondays; Noodles and Company on Tuesdays; Noah’s Bagels on Wednesdays; Pizza Guys or Dominos on Thursday; and Chili’s on Friday . tering service by Boudin SF and Chili’s, but the other meals need to be changed or improved. When ordering from Noodles and Company students receive a bowl of pasta with a side Caesar salad. In a high school-wide March 15 Octagon poll 18 of the 19 students who rethe quality of salad. This is either because of the soggy croutons or the lack of lettuce. Sophomore Brooke Barker has been ordering school lunch since lower school, ity this year. “The salads are way too small, and there are usually bad leaves inside,” Barker said. Are a few pieces of lettuce with soggy croutons even considered a salad? Before the pandemic, the Caesar salad was tossed at the restaurant, and a facul-

ty member would serve it on campus buffet style. Croutons came in an air-sealed bag, and students would put them on their salads. This provided students with an appropriate amount of lettuce and crunchy croutons. Students were even allowed to go back for seconds! But because of the pandemic and the then-existing regulations, Country Day was forced to individually package lunches. With the recent drop of cases, that regulation has been lifted, but Country Day continues to individually package lunches because it’s still the safest option, said lunch program coordinator Jennifer Adams. Masks are now optional both inside and outside, so why is the lunch program still individually packing the salad? If it means that more students will be content with their food, Country Day should go back to having the salad tossed at Noodles and Company. Another problem with Noodles and Company is the pasta portion sizes. On March 22, The Octagon polled 38 students as they picked up their pasta. Thirty of them said they want bigger portions. Middle schoolers and high schoolers get the same portion sizes, which simply doesn’t make sense. Now for the issue with Noah’s Bagels – consistency. Cream cheese is provided in a small plastic cup, and most of the time there’s only a small glob of shmear not even enough for half a bagel. Noah’s Bagels lunches are also advertised with a fruit cup. But again, are a couple of grapes and a cube of cantaloupe considered fruit cups? That being said, the students are asking the school to regulate the restaurants’ quality control and demand more cream cheese.

pizza day. Everybody’s favorite day of the week. Or is it? High schoolers who order lunch on Thursdays receive individually packaged small pizzas from either Pizza Guys or Dominos. In the March 15 poll, all but one of the 24 students who responded said the pizza is stale. The Pizza Guys’ pizza is also cut into fourths, which makes it harder to eat. “The pizza is almost always cold and stale,” Barker said. “Also, they don’t cut the pizzas all the way through, so you can literally just pick up the whole pizza.” This is just unacceptable. The pizza places are getting too comfortable and are cutting corners to meet their delivery. The school needs to keep them in check and make sure companies are putting 100% effort into making their pizza. Another solution is to go back to the pre-pandemic pizza days where slices would be handed out buffet style. This way, the restaurants will hopefully put more effort into making a fewer number of large pizzas than mass-producing small pizzas. The food was much tastier this way. The Environmentalist Club, led by junior president Adam Akins, goes around campus daily to pick up the waste and recycle. For them, the day with the most garbage is pizza days. The cardboard pizza boxes aren’t that easy to recycle, either. For Akins and his team of four helpers, it takes them 30 minutes each Thursday to recycle the waste. So if Country Day returns to handing out fresh, quality-enforced slices of pizza, the school won’t just be doing a favor to students’ taste buds, but to nature as well. For this system to work, there would have to be a faculty member out by the lunch tables on Tuesdays and Thursdays handing out salads and slices of pizza. It could seem like a lot for a teacher to give up half of their lunch to hand out food, but please know that by doing this you would be doing a great favor to the student body. the food is delivered. Lunches are scheduled to be delivered But let’s break down the timing. By the time students are released from their last class and make their way to grab their been sitting out for 45 minutes. And with the hotter months approaching, a salad that’s been sitting in 95 degree weather for 45 minutes doesn’t sound too appetizing. If the food was delivered closer to noon, they would be fresher and more delicious. It is Country Day’s responsibility to have a leash on the restaurants to assure that students are getting the best quality of food they can get.

EDITORIAL: Communicate all COVID-19 cases Masking both indoors and outdoors at Country Day became optional on March 14. However, despite the ease in restrictions, it is still crucial to keep an eye on the virus and update the school community on positive COVID-19 cases. Having the most recent COVID-19 data helps individuals gauge their risk and make decisions based on their current circumstances. So far, the school has done a great job of weekly testing and contact tracing among the students and faculty. The addition of weekly rapid-testing has helped control potential outbreaks from sports, events and breaks. However, this is not enough. The school should be transpar-

ent in reporting self-reported cases to the community. After the school’s last detailed case update in late January, updates and information have fallen behind, as shown by the incomplete numbers still posted on the CavNet Resource Board for COVID-19 information. Previously, the CavNet chart accessed online gave a breakdown of cases by the lower, middle, high school and employee categories. However, that information has been removed from CavNet and reformat that appears to only provide a cumulative case count for all on campus testing dates.

The main issue lies within the informatent with previous updates. For instance, the old chart that was removed from CavNet for the time period between Jan. 1 through Jan. 23, 2022 logged 43 cases in total, while only 26 cases show up on the CavNet chart available on March 24. date the CavNet chart that recorded COVID-19 cases by grade level and employees. The chart should include both on-campus testing data and self-reported COVID-19 cases. This would help everyone make informed decisions about how to protect themselves from the virus.

MY ANGLE: The Country Day outdoor sports facilities have been in a sorry state for years. Covered in gopher holes, barely have grass, and the track and batting cages are in shambles. Different teams interfere with each others’ practices, and the While the Country Day track team has gotten permission to practice at Cordova High School for the 2022 season, they spend weeks practicing on campus. During this time, the track team school baseball, high school girls soccer, and co-ed middle school well. Track team members have also reported multiple twisted ankles on sively by coaches and teachers, The batting cage is overgrown with weeds and has wood and nets that are falling apart. baseball team should begin practicing at Mather Sports Complex in Rancho Cordova, which, after all, games. swimming teams successfully practice off-campus, so why not add baseball to that list? If the baseball team practiced off-campus, the facilities would improve and would open up opportunities for different uses of the CounFurthermore, it’s unreasonable to present teams such as baseball a subpar, potentially dangerous practice location. Our athletic teams should be set up to succeed, not to sprain their ankles on gopher holes. First, the school should replace The school has spent money upgrading academic facilities and the gym in recent years, but it seems as If there was no longer a need for baseball diamond could revert to grass — which would open up more space for P.E. as well as student lunch. Right now, students often eat lunch on the grass in the garden. However, if the school set up tables would open up a whole new space for students to use. Meanwhile, the dirt track should use. of athletics. There’s no excuse to let them stagnate in disrepair.

ANDREW BURR

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! Anand Family, Chand Family, Claire Family, Eberhart Family, Gulati Family, Intel Foundation, Kumar Family, Monasa Family, Trivedi Family

A&E 9

• THE OCTAGON

Dear Dylan...

Where should you go to eat? Octagon staffers review best local dining options

Dear Dylan is an advice column that responds to questions from anonymous Country Day students. To submit, write your question on a piece of paper and drop it in the newspaper-wrapped box in Room 9. Please do not include your name. Responses are not guaranteed. How do I get someone to ask me to prom?

en into the dining area and even out to the patio, a favorite spot for Country Day seniors. Thai House’s menu features options

Thai House

hether you’re staying late after school, have time to spare or are craving a luxury experience, Thai House should be at the top of your list. family aesthetic. The interior is slightly

satay to complex noodle dishes, fried rice and multicolored curries. Out of all of these options, the spicy

Thai House also offers a range of delicacies for dessert. The most interesting of these is a mixed ice cream platter, ube, guava and other southeast Asian

hints of coriander and an ensemble of

burritos to tacos to enchiladas. -

The only shortcoming of Thai House Playing hard to get may be a reasonable strategy for entrancing some possipear open, inviting and most important-

simple light savory house sauce and Thai chili. The spice is perfect; not hot

Create daily situations that reveal your positive personality traits, especially -

the meal. my food reached the table my anticand the perfect amount of cilantro and onions gracefully complemented

suitable compensation. Unfortunately, the super nachos, ance to the rich guacamole.

Taqueria Los Compadres

behave as such.

Accompanying the great food is lively music and televisions featuring live soccer matches. Additionally, the friendly, creating a sense of positivity. Taqueria Los Compadres excels,

beer-battered lemon pepper buffalo

I recently fought with my friend, and I’m pretty sure we aren’t friends anymore. How do I cope with seeing and sharing a space with them without freaking out? A:

Day campus.

there. At this point, you have recognized that their presence causes discomfort, but I

no big deal, seeing that the staff is attentive, friendly, and the venue

means that to some extent, you still care. Perhaps that means you haven’t fully let go of the idea of your friendship, or maybe it’s simply that you still care about their opinion of you. Whatever it is, you have to admit that to yourself. From

of meat lover, vegetarian, vegan and

Drake’s: The Barn

Emphasize your excitement, and if you’re ingness to accept if someone pops the question.

smooth and perfectly complement

ling in all categories. As the door closes behind you, a

A: Only three things are needed to get tion, misdirection and a little bit of magic. When your special someone is in ear-

varied handcrafted fruit lemonades, hot cider donuts and s’mores.

benches and an indoor eating area

West Sacramento, the time to go to

local bands, DJs and maybe even your

a conversation. Compliment their shoes.

cinnamon-hinted hot chocolate, in your hand. From corn hole to ultimate frisbee

can maintain your attention for at least one minute.

must-have experience.

First, distract yourself, and no, I don’t

comes to having some outdoor, dayspring and summer months approach.

If you are sitting in class and notice

be a distraction for you. those racing thoughts. To do that, I recommend that you beWhat I mean by this is that you should

Country Day, it isn’t much farther than extra time. in, and considering the size of our order, the food came out in good time. lishment may have been slightly understaffed. Upon entering, the classic tunes of our middle school days greeted our

Makisu Sushi

roll, containing imitation crab and av-

no frustration.

If you can pretend that you have abbecoming less and less attuned to their

roll. The albacore tuna as our appetizpeace. beautiful presentation.

are terrifying, but the dreary appearances are made up for by great food. sisting of an appetizer and 11 rolls; the -

a nice complement to the soft salmon, cream cheese and avocado on the inside. That and the Green Dragon roll had great tempura and sauces.

Some sauces appear on multiple rolls,

soups to vegetarian rolls to bento boxtriguing but had a completely different

sushi spot.

STORIES BY ADAM AKINS, DYLAN MARGOLIS, JACOB CHAND AND KALI WELLS; PHOTO BY KALI WELLS; PHOTOS COURTESY OF SACTHAIHOUSE.COM, INSTAGRAM. COM, DRAKESDRINKS.COM AND MAKISUSUSHI.MENU11.COM

10 FEATURE

MARCH 29, 2022 • THE OCTAGON

In Retrospect...

ver the last four years, several beloved teachers — history teacher Daniel Neukom in 2017, English teacher Patricia Fels in 2018, Latin teacher Jane Batarseh in 2019 and physics teacher Glenn Mangold in 2021 — have moved on from Country Day and left a lasting legacy in the student body. Here’s what they’re up to now.

STORIES BY ARJIN CLAIRE, ADAM AKINS AND SANJANA ANAND; PHOTOS FROM INSTAGRAM.COM AND SCDSOCTAGON.COM; PHOTOS COURTESY OF BATARSEH, FELS, NEUKOM AND MANGOLD

70s 19

Jane Batarseh Since retiring from Country Day in 2019, former Latin teacher Jane Batarseh has moved from Sacramento to San Diego with her husband, Haitham, to be closer to her family. Now, she spends her time taking care of her granddaughter, reading and learning tatreez, a form of Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery. After choosing to retire after 25 years at Country Day, Batarseh immediately decided to move in with her daughter, Amanda — who had just gotten a job teaching at University of California, San Diego — and son-in-law, Amir, to help out with their newborn child. “Moving is brutal,” Batarseh said. “It’s especially hard when you move into a totally new area and don’t know where anything is, so it’s been an adjustment for sure.”

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like both Southern California and San Diego, but she has grown to love the mountains and new environment that San Diego offers. Batarseh also enjoys the good weather in San Diego because it allows her to take her granddaughter on nearly daily walks to stay active. With her extra free time, Batarseh has started to move back into the realm of reading. “I’ve started to take recommendations from my daughter for Palestinian literature, and I’m continuing to read more Latin and English books and poems,” Batarseh said. Batarseh has also started listening to audiobooks

as she does other work, her favorite book being “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr, which details the reception of a Greek text and how it affects people’s lives. Batarseh describes it as a “dystopian page-turner that you’ll never know how it’ll turn out.” To take a break from her reading and duty as a caretaker, Batarseh explores her newfound hobby of tatreez. map of Palestine, although the design wasn’t originally mine,” she said. Since then, Batarseh has moved on to original well as clothing for her daughter and son-in-law. Although Batarseh originally started with knitting and crocheting, she quickly moved on to tatreez because she enjoyed it more. “I don’t think I’m really smart enough to do knitting or crocheting,” Batarseh said with a chuckle. “Tatreez is much more forgiving when you make mistakes, and after crocheting sweaters for my whole family I got cooled off from crochet.” Batarseh added that tatreez is much more portable because it does not require a frame or a sewing machine. She also enjoys the challenge of picking out colors, making intricate patterns and the challenge with the type of cross-stitching that she prefers that

requires 14 stitches per inch. Despite loving the new life she now lives in San Diego, Batarseh does miss her days teaching at Country Day. “I miss my students. I miss my colleagues. I miss my routine. I miss having to buy new clothes to wear to school with different colors and patterns,” Batarseh said. “I also miss what it asked of me in terms of participating in something that I never would have otherwise chosen, like being on a committee or dealing with an emotional meltdown or dealing with disciplinary action.” Batarseh said her time at Country Day deepened her as a person, but she didn’t realize it until she left. However, Batarseh was also looking for a change. “Of course, I miss the interactions I had with students and my colleagues,” she said. “But after four years all those students I got to know have left and moved on with their lives and I’m just kind of stuck teaching a new freshmen class the meaning of the same word I’ve taught to all my other classes for 25 years in a row.” Batarseh still stays in touch with some of her old colleagues and is even a part of a book club with retired English and history teachers Patricia Fels and Sue Nellis. Despite being a retired teacher, Batarseh is still continuously learning and growing in her new life in San Diego.

After serving Country Day for 14 years, classic civilizations expert and physics teacher Glenn Mangold departed from the classroom last year to return to “Before I was a teacher, I was a tutor,” Mangold said. “Except back then, in the 90’s, they were all college students.” Mangold now works around 30 hours a week serving families and high school and college students throughout the Sacramento area, including families in the Country Day community. Many students may remember the more unique accents to Mangold’s class, such as the PVC pipe he used as a didgeridoo. He still enjoys bringing his energy and creativity to tutoring to make a subjects interesting and works with as many as 30 students. Mangold usually assists students with subjects ranging from chemistry to ancient Greek, acting as a supplement to their primary schooling. He also offers original curricula with his signature twist. For two students — one in the study of Western Classics and one in Entomology — Mangold is building new lesson plans focusing on building complex games for his students. “I like inventing the games or lessons,” Mangold said. “I played an art history game that was too easy and boring. The student and I actually worked togeth-

Glenn Mangold er to change the rules to make it appropriate for our class.” Many students may remember Mangold’s games from his “Civilization” project. “I started with the old board game ‘Civilization.’ To make it a lesson, I changed the rules of the game to make it more historically accurate,” Mangold said. “I changed it so you could only get Papyrus from Northern Egypt and took other efforts to make it accurate as well as changing the time frame.” Students credit this energy and understanding as crucial to how they work and think critically. “He was incredibly patient with everyone he ever taught, no matter who it was in a class,” said senior Nihal Gulati, who took Mangold’s freshman physics class and Advanced Placement Physics C and was nominated for the Rensselaer Medal by Mangold. “He had this way of explaining things that made everything really simple, and he always taught you the ‘whys’ as well.” On top of tutoring, Mangold has taken his extra free time to broaden his knowledge. Throughout his life, he has held an interest in what he calls “The History of Ideas,” which he explored by teaching his Great Books courses on the Bible and philosophy, both of which were student favorites. “That’s what my electives were built around,” Mangold said. “The core was that we were exploring texts

that created ideas that are still around today and how Mangold said history is expansive and through it, a person learns the turning points that informed thought in the era. “When I read history, I don’t get into the nitty-gritty of the battles or the strategy,” Mangold said. “I’m more interested in what the most important people wrote, and discussed opposing thoughts.” As part of his continued study, Mangold is reading a 1,200-page inclusive volume of world history up to the modern period coupled with original writings from the thought leaders of the Protestant Reformation, such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. Mangold is also trying to convert his ancient Greek — which he reads and ration for a trip to Greece. With the little free time he has left, Mangold, a lifelong marathoner, runs 40 miles a week. He competed of 4:52:53, two minutes below the average time for his age group. In short, Mangold is still learning and teaching, giving more students in the area an opportunity to experience the teachings that were formative for 14 years of Country Day students.

FEATURE 11

MARCH 29, 2022 • THE OCTAGON

78 19

Patricia Fels Former Country Day English teacher Patricia Fels, who left SCDS in 2018, describes her retirement as “relaxing.” After traveling to Europe with her husband, former Country Day history teacher Daniel Neukom, she now spends her days scrolling through Twitter, reading, watching TV, responding to emails and exercising. She enjoys the PBS series “All Creatures Great and Small” and “Call the Midwife.” “Reading lots of books was my dream,” Fels said. “When I retired, I wanted to have afternoons where I just lie down and read books for hours. I do that now, and although that seems like nothing special, it has been very nice, especially after the hectic lifestyle I used to have.” Her favorites include “These Precious Days” by Ann Patchett and “A Calling For Charlie Barnes” by Joshua Ferris. Her love for books led her to start volunteering for the Book First program sponsored by the Sacramento Public Library. She assisted kids at Cottage Elementary

1990s

School in choosing paperback books they can keep. “At least eight kids said to me, ‘This is house full of books, and the idea that this would be the closed down due to the pandemic in March 2020, so she hasn’t been able to help distribute books since, and the program stopped. As a sponsor, Fels was still involved in other events in the library during the rest of 2020. She helped stuff book bags for another program and passed out ballots for the 2020 presidential election. In addition to her position as an English teacher at Country Day, she was also a college counselor for 18 years. With her experience, she was asked to speak The College Admissions Scandal” that highlighted Rick Singer’s method of falsely altering students’ ap-

plications to increase their chances of getting admitted to highly selective schools. Although her segment in the documenfour hours about working with students who had hired Singer. “That was fun because I received so many emails from former students about seeing me in the documentary,” Fels said. Looking back at her 41-year Country Day experience, Fels enjoyed the unpredictability of her days. Fels also started The Octagon in 1997. “Every day, all kinds of things happened, I interacted with different people and I would never know what the day would hold. Her favorite moments would be when alumni came back to visit. class years later, which always made my day,” she said.

2017 2019

Glenn Mangold Daniel Neukom & Patricia Fels

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Jane Batarseh

Former Country Day history teacher Daniel Neukom retired in 2017 after working 44 years at the school, but his teaching career didn’t end there. With the extra time, his main focus became helping the community by volunteering in 2019 for the Adult Literacy Program through Sacramento Public Library. Once a week, he met with his adult learner for about an hour and a half to two hours to help him improve his English and reading skills through workbooks provided by the library. However, once the pandemic hit, his learner didn’t have the technology required to continue the program virtually, so Neukom stopped teaching him. “We continued to keep in touch as the pandemic

Daniel Neukom progressed, and after we both got the vaccines, we were excited because we thought we could get back together again,” Neukom said. “But, that’s when the summer surge happened, and I later found out that he moved to Texas.” Before quarantining, Neukom also traveled to Europe with his wife, former Country Day English teacher Patricia Fels, and a few friends. In the summer of 2019, he visited London, Paris, Rome (including Lake Como) and Switzerland. Throughout the pandemic, he and his wife have been extremely careful about meeting people and visiting places. Last year, he visited the Bay Area four times and Monterey once in November.

He now spends his time reading books — he’s read over 60 since retiring. Some of his favorites include derment” by Richard Powers. He also enjoys watching movies or eating dinner with his daughters, Francie and Kelly, ’04, catching up with former SCDS students and friends and doing errands around the house. His favorite movies are “Frida” and “Trumbo.” Neukom’s favorite feeling while teaching at Country Day was getting “actor’s high” after class. “Our students could express themselves verbally and in writing,” Neukom said. “It was always enlightening to learn about the world together.”

• THE OCTAGON

Best Book-to-Movie Adaptations Ratings:

DRAGON

How to Train Your Dragon espite sharing the same name, the “How -

MARTIAN

The Martian A -

REVIEWS BY ARJIN CLAIRE AND SAHEB GULATI; GRAPHICS BY ROD AZGHADI; PHOTOS FROM PINCLIPART, VANITY FAIR, AMAZON.COM AND WIKIPEDIA