Octagon 2023-24 Issue 4

THE

OCTAGON

Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sacramento, CA Permit No. 1668 @scdsoctagon

VOL.47 NO.4 • Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, CA • www.scdsoctagon.com • January 2, 2024

CHOOSING CHARITY Sophomore Zema Nasirov hands out flyers with QR codes leading to additional information about the different charities. PHOTO BY DANIEL HOLZ

Senior class of 2024 reflects on college application process

O

BY JESSE DIZON

n Dec. 5, 2023, inside the quiet room located in the Mathews Library, five seniors met to discuss the college admissions process.

Zoe Genetos is applying for a Kinesiology or Human Biology major, Mia Crowder is applying for an Environmental Science major and Ike George is applying for a Bioengineer-

ing and Business major. Aakash Arumugam is looking to take the pre-med pathway and Eshaan Dhaliwal is applying for Biochemistry.

Q: What matters the most to you while looking for colleges?

Genetos: I’ve always loved going to school that has a lot of school spirit. I like going where people are proud of where they are.

They are proud to be there, they like to rep their school, they like to show up for games — that was a big thing. They’re mingling.

Friendships are being made and communities are being made.

Also, research is such a big thing, especially with getting into med school. You definitely need to be doing research, so how much the school is funneling into research is important to me. Some of the schools I’ve visited funnel

billions of dollars into it, some of them are just a couple million.

Those are my two main factors.

Crowder: I think that prioritizing smaller schools matters most to me, which wasn’t something I planned on doing.

After going to small schools pretty much

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS page 3 >>

Country Day students participate in charity elections, donations

BY REHAN AFZAL & REBECCA LIN

Throughout the week of Nov. 27, Sacramento Country Day high schoolers mingled in the quad, sporting vibrant red “I VOTED” stickers. The stakes of this election did not involve class representatives, however, but instead a variety of charitable organizations.

Students had the option to choose between three different charities: The Lead Exposure Elimination Project, Malaria Consortium SMC Programme and the Animal Charity Evaluators Recommended Charity Fund.

All week students were presented the opportunity to cast a vote for a donation to the charity they felt supported the best cause. For each vote, Giving What We Can (GWWC) donated $2 and Country Day matched it, making each vote worth $4.

Giving What We Can is a charitable organization that is “dedicated to making a positive impact in the world through charitable giving,” according to their website.

Junior Saheb Gulati initially brought Charity Elections to Country Day. Organized by GWWC, Charity Voting is designed to encourage critical thinking and the effective utilization of resources to make a positive impact.

CAMPUS CORNER

“The goal is to have high school students research, discuss and ultimately reflect on three different charities before they vote,” Gulati said.

From a larger perspective, Gulati wishes for the students to be able to have meaningful discussions and think in an action-oriented direction to make a difference in the world with their resources in the future.

Country Day’s involvement with Charity Elections came as a result of Gulati’s volunteering at GWWC, as well as the Student Philanthropy Ambassadors, a team that promotes philanthropy at Country Day. Gulati proposed the idea of bringing

Charity Elections to Country Day to Rachelle Doyle, the Director of Advancement, and after applying, GWWC agreed to work with Country Day. Gulati gathered a student Charity Elections team consisting of senior Liam Kaschner, junior Ceci DeBerry, sophomore Zema Nasirov and freshman Justin Lawson.

The team helped educate students on the charities with slides and discussions, and also encouraged them to vote by running election tables and through incentives like candy and snacks.

“From our perspective, it comes down to a

INSIDE the ISSUE

FINALS WEEK

DRAMA PERFORMANCE

High school students will take their first semester finals during the week of Jan. 1618. History, math, English, science, world language, double discipline and makeup finals will be spread out throughout the week. Good luck!

On Jan. 10 and 11, the high school drama group will perform the musical “Spamalot” in the MP room from 7-8:30 p.m. Friends and families are welcome to attend.

Fortnite is back!

Read about Fortnite’s return to Country Day’s campus. (PAGE 6-7) PHOTO COURTESY OF FORTNITE

CHARITY VOTING page 3 >>

02 NEWS STAFF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ava Eberhart Lauren Lu Garrett Xu COPY EDITOR Saheb Gulati NEWS EDITOR Zema Nasirov FEATURE EDITOR Eesha Dhawan SPORTS EDITOR Andrew Burr A&E/OPINION EDITOR Ishaan Sekhon PHOTO EDITOR Rehan Afzal HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY Siri Atluri PAGE EDITORS Rehan Afzal Andrew Burr Ava Eberhart Lauren Lu Anisha Mondal Anika Nadgauda Zema Nasirov Ishaan Sekhon Garrett Xu BUSINESS STAFF Saheb Gulati, manager Aaryan Gandhi, assistant Daniel Holz SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Ava Eberhart, editor Lauren Lu, editor Anika Nadgauda, assistant Anisha Mondal REPORTERS Kate Barnes Elisenda Bota Siri Atluri Jesse Dizon Aaryan Gandhi Saheb Gulati Daniel Holz Ava Levermore Rebecca Lin Luke Scripps Lillian Wang PHOTOGRAPHERS Rehan Afzal, editor Rebecca Lin Anika Nadgauda Zema Nasirov MULTIMEDIA STAFF Zema Nasirov, editor Andrew Burr Jesse Dizon Anika Nadgauda Luke Scripps GRAPHIC ARTISTS Lauren Lu, editor Claire Gemmell Rebecca Lin ADVISER Andrea Todd 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.

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

College freshman joins moot court at CSULB

S

BY EESHA DHAWAN

hakhzoda Khodjakhonova, ’23, is attending California State University, Long Beach, and is majoring in Finance.

Q: Why did you choose to attend California State University, Long Beach?

A: What I liked about CSU Long Beach was the weather and the location. I’m right next to downtown LA, so I feel like I have a lot of educational opportunities.

I also liked the CSULB moot court program Long Beach has. CSULB moot court is a program similar to mock trial. We compete between colleges. You are doing trials on an appellate level, so you are either the petitioner or the respondent. Moot court is literally like a pre-trial.

I will hopefully join it for the spring 2024 recruitment season and stay on that team until I graduate. I’ve always wanted to try out the moot court. I have heard about it and saw how different it is because I had been doing mock trial at Country Day for two years.

Q: What classes are you taking?

A: At the beginning of the year I was very determined to take between 15 and 18 units, but the more I thought about it, I was like, “I should let myself have time to adapt to the college environment because I’ve never been there.” So, I opted for 12 units just to see how I’m going to do and what I can handle.

Right now, for my first semester, I took 12 classes. My first class was English 100, the second was Philosophy 101 and the third class was Statistics 118, all introductory classes. My hardest class, but my favorite, was Intro to Business and Law 220.

Intro to Business and Law 220 is a lecture class. Each chapter we go over is a class in law school and we see how they apply in the business world, like how it would apply to a corporate company. My professor gives us four homework assignments, and the majority of our grade is tests.

Q: What is your smallest class?

A: My English 100. There are fewer than 30 people which is nice because we get to discuss and have a professor bond.

Q: What is your largest class?

A: My Philosophy class. It has, like, 136 people. I have to get there 15 minutes early before class. My classes don’t start at 8:20 in the morning anymore, so I’m just not in a rush. I’m not 30 minutes away from school. I’m five minutes away, 10 minutes max.

Oh, yeah, I come to class early now.

If anyone is reading my story, let all the teachers know, especially Dr. Whited and Mr. Hinojosa.

Q: Are you part of any clubs?

A: I’m part of the CSULB Finance Management Association club.

I’m also in the CSULB Surf Club. I met some friends a couple of weeks back. I saw them at 11 p.m. at a parking lot and I walked up to them and I was like, “Hey, could I go surfing with you guys?” I picked up surfing from there. Now, I go surfing every Friday at Bolsa Chica State Beach.

I also got into a program at the begin-

SHAK BY THE SEASHORE Shakhzoda Khodjakhonova, ’23, hangs out with new friends and visits Bolsa Chica State Beach. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KHODJAKHONOVA

ning of the year called the OURS Connect program. It’s a volunteer research program. Right now, I’m trying to start on research for my next semester.

us to the classes, but even with that, you have to walk so much. The first month was so annoying. I was so close to getting a scooter. Now I’m used to it.

Q: How do you like college so far?

A: I love it. This might be a bit controversial to say, but college is so much easier than high school. I’m less stressed. I go to sleep by midnight. I get to plan out my days. I can choose whatever my classes are, which is so nice because that means I can balance my stuff out.

In high school, I barely had time to do anything else besides extracurriculars, mock trial and academics, but here, I can focus on so many more other things besides academics, and it’s amazing.

People say that college is hard, but I think those people just don’t know how to manage time. I have gotten so much better at time management and I haven’t procrastinated at all since I got here.

Q: How has your transition been from Country Day? A: It’s pretty easy. At Country Day, it’s so easy to make close relationships with teachers, where you are best friends. I don’t think I am going to make those relationships here. It would be much harder because it’s professors and they know so many students. I just got all my professors to memorize my name.

Q: How do you manage your time in college?

A: I think it is just a mindset thing.

Have a goal in your mind. For me, it is law school. I want to go to the best law school, like a Top 14 law school. Every time I feel like I’m being lazy, I remind myself what I am here for. It drives me to be like, “Okay, you should probably just get started.”

Once you get into that mindset, you’re just gonna get your stuff done. I get all my homework done by the latest Friday afternoon. If I have work to do, and it’s a weekday, I am going to do my work before I go hang out with anyone.

My biggest issue in high school was that I would work late into the night. I pulled more than 10 all-nighters junior year. I don’t do homework past 6-8 p.m. anymore.

I don’t stay up late anymore. I can’t do it.

My brain is just fried if I do it.

Q: Do you dislike anything about college?

A: Dorming and bathrooms. I love my roommate — she’s amazing and we are pretty similar people, but I love my alone time so much more. For me to recharge, I have to be in an alone setting for a prolonged period, and I can’t do that as much when I’m in college. The general idea of living with someone is not the most ideal living situation for me.

Also, the communal bathrooms. I just hate them. I have to share it with, like, 16 people.

Q: What surprised you about CSULB? A: I did not think I would be walking as much as I do. There’s a shuttle that takes

FIVE STAR OR SUBPAR? Quality of classes: School Spirit: Food: Social Scene: Clubs: Location: Student-Teacher Interactions:

Q: Has Country Day prepared you for college?

A: Yeah, I’m not struggling. I think that’s a sign of good preparation. I know how to communicate with my teachers. I think mock trial had a lot to do with it. I’m more confident in everything I do. A lot of freshmen coming into college are not as confident and I feel like I have the upper hand because I’m very confident. I am very grateful for that.

Q: Do you have any advice for the class of ’24?

A: Don’t overthink everything. Don’t think you’re going to fail because your thoughts become reality. Just be super confident. Keep your head up. I guess your college life just goes way better if you are confident or at least faking to be confident.

For the first week, I’m not going to lie, I was faking it a little bit.

NEWS 03

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

Admissions: Essays brought on biggest challenge (continued from page 1)

my whole life, I thought about going to a bigger school, but after actually visiting schools, I found that I really like small schools.

I think they have a lot more unique opportunities for more people.

George: Research opportunities are kind of a big thing, and also like Food culture: I’m wearing a University of Washington sweater right now, and I think at least half of the reason I am applying there is because Seattle allegedly has the best Japanese cuisine outside of Japan and Hawaii.

Arumugam: There’s this dual degree between a bachelor’s and BS/MD programs, so I looked for colleges that have that program, which is only a selective 20 or 25 colleges. I applied to mostly those, early.

Q: How do you balance the college application process with your academic responsibilities and other commitments?

George: I did some schoolwork, and after 11 p.m., I worked on college apps. It works out pretty well, because the more impaired I am in my head, the more beautiful I write. I wrote three different personal statements, all of them at 2 a.m., and they were beautiful.

Dhaliwal: I tried to make really good use of that week when we didn’t go to Ashland, and I tried to get as much done during then.

Otherwise, I’ll have to work during school or on weekends. I think using breaks (summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas) effectively is really important.

Crowder: I’ve never had to write so many essays, which is just like a really difficult thing to do. The types of questions that they ask require you to really reflect on who you are.

Writing about yourself is just a different type of writing, it’s really hard to do, and you kind of have to learn that. Like, you can’t do everything over the summer, so a lot of it just leads into having to balance it during school which has been difficult.

I’ve had to drop a couple of schools I was applying to because I didn’t have time to write those essays, which is okay because I had enough, but still I just wasn’t expecting it to get that jam-packed with work.

Arumugam: I think the Senior Self-evaluation really helped because they were pretty much similar to the UC questions if not identical.

I found out that as you write more and more essays, you get more and more experienced, and after you write like 10 or 15 essays, it just becomes repetitive and pretty much the same except for the “Why Us?” essay.

Q: What about the application process did you find the most challenging?

Crowder: The hardest part was writing about myself because you kind of have to do it in a way that doesn’t sound like bragging but is still talking about all the things that you do, because you do want to look good and get into a school.

You have to be honest, but also be confident enough to talk about the things that you do and present yourself as a worthy applicant, which is pretty hard to do.

Genetos: I agree with Mia. There’s a very fine line that’s hard to sit on between confidence and knowing your stuff and sounding like you’re bragging.

It’s hard to talk about yourself because, like for me, I talk about one of my biggest accomplishments and it’s like, how do I say all this without being like, “Yeah, I did this, and I am just so awesome I did this.”

Also, it’s important to find a way to keep yourself in your essay while also taking the suggestions from counselors, finding a balance between, “Yeah, my counselor may not like this part, but I really liked this part and I think this part makes it me.”

Crowder: I’d say definitely start early, which is hard to do and what everyone’s telling you to do. But just start thinking at least about what you’re passionate about, or things that you like or might want to get into and possibly write about.

Also, really use your resources. Write the things that Ms. Perla tells you to write and have meetings with her and Mr. Hinojosa. Even if it’s kind of intimidating to ask, you should definitely do it because it really helps, and it honestly takes stress off of the whole process.

Genetos: My thing is get your stuff in line — know what activities you’ve done, know which ones to talk about and start figuring out which ones are going to be your main 10 for the Common App. This is more for juniors, but you should find and figure out who you want to write your letters of recommendation. Figure out which teachers have seen you grow the most, and in what aspects. It’s teachers who you have really talked with and really grown in their class, not just picking a teacher like, “I have an A in their class.”

Dhaliwal: I think in terms of essays, doing very specific research on schools, so you can name-drop, especially for the “Why Us?” essay, as you should really be

explaining why.

Name-dropping specific offerings from schools, specific research and specific professors help show interest for those kinds of essays.

I think an even better way to do it is if you can relate it to you. That’s a really nice way to show that you’ve done your research, and you actually have a vision to continue doing something that you already invested time into.

Arumugam: This is more towards athletes, though I guess anyone could do this, but just emailing the coaches and emailing whatever programs you are interested in to show demonstrated interest.

Different colleges value demonstrated interest differently. I went to a conference at NYU, and I think they value demonstrated interest a lot.

I think that it really helps because it keeps you connected with the coaches or like whoever and they could probably even offer you a letter of support to get into college.

Crowder: If I could do it again, I would apply to harder schools to get into. I think I kind of sold myself short and I just assumed I wouldn’t get into these places, but, you really just don’t know unless you try.

Dhaliwal: My problem is that it’s so easy to just sit there with a huge pile of essays and a bunch of daunting work and not getting started.

Q: Do you have any advice for younger classmates?

Charity: Elections raised $488 for three charities

(continued from page 1)

really simple model. You spend a minute of your time voting and $4 goes to the effective charity that most people choose. It’s impactful,” Gulati said.

This event aligns with the ideas of effective altruism, which is a philosophy based on how people can use their resources to achieve the most benefit.

“It really comes down to how we can share the resources and the money that we have, to give back in the way that does the most good possible,” Gulati said. “When you are donating your money to charities, it becomes really important to think about how we can use our resources to do the most with that amount of money.”

The Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP) focuses on reducing childhood lead poisoning in low and middle-income countries.

According to LEEP co-executive director Lucia Coulter, lead exposure is a large but neglected problem and affects roughly one in three children, or 800 million children worldwide. It causes physical and behavioral problems that can reduce education attainment and cause major health issues later in life.

This Project aims to eliminate lead paint in low and middle-income countries.

They analyze paints available on the market and share the information with health ministries to raise awareness and increase regulation.

The Malaria Consortium aims to reduce malaria risks in children in the Sahel region of Africa. The program works with local governments to provide seasonal malaria chemoprevention, or SMC, for children once per month and has since lowered malaria cases by about 75%.

With lower cases, governments can spend money on agriculture and infrastructure instead of on treating malaria, which helps raise the country’s economy.

So far, SMC programs in total have protected about 12 million children and more can be protected with sufficient funding.

The Animal Charity Evaluators are an organization that makes it easier for volunteers and donors to select an animal charity to support.

It evaluates the cause, effectiveness and quality of work of animal charities and lists the most impactful animal charities. It also advocates for lesser-known or scarcely funded charities that show significant impact or effectiveness.

Each grade was shown informational videos during weekly class meetings about the three charities, and students were encouraged to attend additional sessions at flex. There were also flyers with QR codes available for additional information.

DeBerry felt that student outreach was a particularly strong area for the team.

“I think we were really successful in rallying students to vote the day of,” DeBerry said.

122 out of 169 high school students voted in the event. In total, the Lead Exposure Elimination Project received $296 (74 votes),

the Animal Charity Evaluators received $144 (36 votes), and the Malaria Consortium received $48 (12 votes).

According to Doyle, the donations to the Malaria Consortium SMC Programme can help protect 42 children from malaria this season, and a staggering number of students responded that they “voted for a cause they believe in” in the survey following the vote.

Gulati said the charity elections team experienced several difficulties when organizing this event.

For example, they found that students do not want to attend events that are not mandatory and take up their limited free time, and this became a large obstacle in informing students about the effective charities.

“I think the trouble was where we found time for those discussions. We talked about ideas like a mandatory lunch or flex session, kind of like drug and alcohol education,” Gulati said. “We settled on a class meeting and that obviously is a tight slot. It ideally would have been like part of a class or something but it’s obviously hard to find that time.”

To emphasize the presentation and discussion side of the educated voting program, the charity election team brought cookies and baked goods to the flex sessions.

However, the majority of voters learned about the charities on the day of the election.

While Gulati believed they could have done more to ensure attendance, he was still happy that the team had the opportunity to motivate Country Day students to vote for effective charities.

04 FEATURE

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

Senior Paxton Graham guides rowing team to finish line

“L

BY ZEMA NASIROV

et’s go, ladies!”

The steady cadence of senior Paxton Graham’s calls punctuated the grunts of the rowers in the Capital Crew varsity boat as eight bodies drove oars through the frigid water.

As they pushed through the still lake, the opposing boat started inching ahead, causing Capital to lose their lead.

But Graham had coached this crew through too many comeback wins to lose hope.

“You’ve got this — power 10 now!”

Digging deeper, the rowers responded, pulling in unison.

The Capital boat shot forward, now neck-and-neck with its opponent.

“Keep charging!” Graham urged. Stroke by stroke they edged ahead, crossing the finish line first by a narrow margin.

“The adrenaline rush at the end of a close race makes it all worth it,” Graham said. “I’ll keep chasing that feeling.”

Graham started rowing in middle school when their parents encouraged them to take up a sport. After exploring options, they chose rowing, an evident selection as it is a sport that often begins at the end of middle school and the start of high school.

Graham rowed singles, a one-person boat with two oars, at West Sacramento’s River City Rowing Club for two years, beginning in eighth grade. They continued until after the COVID-19 pandemic, when Graham was able to join teammates in larger boats.

However, Graham hit an obstacle in their rowing career during varsity year when they realized they likely would not qualify for one of the top boats.

This predicament stemmed from rowing’s typical emphasis on height and strength. At 5 feet tall, Graham did not meet the stature considered optimal for rowers, putting them at a disadvantage for those elite boats. However, their small size made them a great fit for the coxswain seat, providing a rare opportunity to participate in a team sport as a shorter athlete.

Still passionate about the sport, Graham set their sights on taking over the coxswain role instead.

The coxswain sits in the sternum of the boat where they have a good view of all the rowers and oars. They are able to correct technique and keep track of elements that the coaches wouldn’t keep track of, such as switching and counting strokes.

Many coaches may describe the position of coxswain as the coach of the boat, but the role requires additional tasks off-water.

At River City, Graham would handle a lot of the work behind the scenes such as collecting erg scores for the rowers, which are results and times recorded on indoor rowing machines, known as ergometers or ergs.

Graham also serves as an advocate for their rowers.

For example, while they were at River City, the coaches were trying to cut a very important race from the program against the team’s wishes, and Graham stepped up to speak for the team.

Graham explained to the coaches that the team had put in a lot of hours preparing for this race and they deserved the chance to compete.

Although Graham had successfully convinced the coaches to keep the race in the program and stepped up in their leadership role to advocate for the team’s needs, the

transition to coxswain had not been easy.

Prior to finding their confidence to speak up, Graham struggled to gain acceptance and find their way in the new position, as they did not have any true guidance and were on their own in navigating the boat.

“I hated it. I didn’t know what was going on and I was constantly confused,” Graham said. “Everyone hated me because I was new to it and I did not know what I was doing.”

Graham struggled to balance directing rowers on the water with befriending them on land.

As coxswain, their job involved commanding respect to lead the boat, yet building camaraderie off-water was key to gaining the rowers’ trust in their guidance.

“I struggled with being that person on the water that was down to business,” Graham said.

Their shy personality at the time also made bonding with teammates nerve-wracking.

Feeling isolated from the team because of their inexperience, Graham became discouraged.

“I just kind of made a deal with myself. If I still hated it by the end of my sophomore year, I would quit.”

Then came the spring season of their sophomore year, which would put Graham’s resolve to the test. In February, their first-ever sprint race — a 2k with staggered starts — marked a turning point. Surrounded by splashing oars and boats jostling for position, Graham felt a competitive fire spark within them.

This intense race was the first time they felt truly connected with and impassioned by their role on the team.

“When you’re neck-and-neck with six other boats, it’s hard to not be excited,” Graham said.

That was the moment that Graham fell in love with the aggressiveness and competitiveness of the sport, and they decided to stick with it.

Graham remained a coxswain at River City throughout their junior year in the second-best boat, and when their senior year arrived, they transferred to Capital Crew, located at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center.

This time around, Graham made the conscious decision to be open to the rest of the team and not accept isolation just because they were new.

“Sure, these people have known each other for two, three or four years. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not going to know me,” Graham said.

As for the time commitment and competitive rowing calendar, the year consists of a fall season which spans from September to December and a spring season that starts in January and ends in May. At River City, Graham practiced 5 days a week, but when transferring to Capital Crew, they had an increase in practice.

Graham has practice six days a week at Capital Crew, from 4-6 p.m. on weekdays and 7-10 a.m. on Saturdays.

With such a substantial time investment, Graham must exert more effort to manage their academics as well as deal with the consequences of having to put off assignments.

“Everything gets done, it’s just a matter of when that happens,” Graham said.

Despite the considerable amount of practice time required by the sport, there are only a few races per season.

During the 2023 fall season, Capital only participated in one race. Last year, Graham participated in a total of six races.

While the sport involves a small number of races per season, its impact on college recruitment opportunities is substantial.

The quality of performance in these few events can significantly influence the attention of college recruiters and open doors to athletic scholarships and other opportunities for aspiring athletes.

Athletes begin the recruitment process after nationals during the summer before junior year.

While at River City last year, Graham attempted to be recruited, but because the club did not have a high national ranking, it was difficult to attract the attention of college recruiters.

However, Graham feels that they are positively received at Capital, a result of the club’s national recognition and relationships with college crew teams.

Graham was put into contact with the University of California, San Diego’s rowing coaches after submitting recruitment questionnaires and coxswain call tapes by email. Additionally, they went for an official visit to the campus.

When student-athletes inform coaches of their strong interest in joining the team, the coaches compile a recruitment list with the names of prospects. This list serves as a request for the admissions office to facilitate the evaluation process for recruited athletes.

The admissions office then reviews the prospects’ academic transcripts to ensure they meet the necessary criteria for admission before granting approval.

As Graham awaits the admissions decision, they eagerly envision the opportunity to bring their passion and competitiveness to college rowing programs.

Wherever the currents may carry this adept navigator next, Graham will continue chasing and rising to each new challenge with blazing confidence and spirit.

The water is their home, and they’ve only just pushed off from shore.

2

READY ALL, ROW! Senior Paxton Graham competed with the River City Crew team at San Diego Crew Classic spanning from March 31-April 2, 2022.

1. Graham discusses a plan for the water with the coach of River City Crew. 2. Graham walks with the team transporting the boat into the water. 3. View of the sunset at the regatta. 4. Graham in the coxswain seat of the boat while the team makes their way to the starting line. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAXTON GRAHAM

1 3 4

FEATURE 05

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

AMAZING GRACE Grace Eberhart, ’23, discovers anteater pride and explores Korean and Japanese culture at UCI. PHOTOS COURTESY OF EBERHART

Grace Eberhart, ’23, hopes to study abroad in South Korea

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BY ANISHA MONDAL

race Eberhart, ’23, is a freshman at University of California, Irvine.

She is majoring in Global Cultures.

Q: Why did you choose to attend UC Irvine?

A: My uncle went to UC Irvine for college, so I was pretty familiar with the place, and my grandparents live near Irvine so I thought it would be perfect. I also visited the campus a long time ago when I was a little kid and I really liked it. It’s also not too far from my family, which is important to me.

Also, UC Irvine is one of the colleges that offers students the opportunity to study abroad in Korea as well as Korean language classes, which is one of the things I was really looking forward to in college.

Q: What classes are you taking?

A: For our first quarter, they wanted us to take General Education (GE) courses, so I’m taking a Humanities Core class which consists of both a lecture and a seminar.

I’m also taking an International Relations class which has both a discussion and lecture class.

Humanities Core is part of my major requirements and the International Relations is a GE course. There’s eight categories for GE courses and they have an entire list of classes under those that they want us to take.

My lecture classes are pretty big — a little more than 80 students, while my discussion classes are around 20 students.

Q: Why are you majoring in Global Cultures?

A: I grew up traveling a ton with my family and that’s something I really like doing.

I’ve been to many places, like South Korea, Germany, Iceland and Switzerland. Before COVID-19 hit, I went to France, and this past summer I went to the Grand Cayman Islands with my family.

Because we’ve traveled to all these different countries and experienced these different cultures, the Global Cultures study is all relevant to me. I get an actual understanding of these cultures and how they interact, which is pretty relevant to my own life and to the world around me.

I also enjoy learning different languages, and the Global Cultures major has a proficient-level foreign language requirement.

I took Spanish while I was in high school and I studied Korean for two years through an online course. Next quarter, I’m going to pick up Korean again at UC Irvine. I hope that in my junior year, I can go study abroad in South Korea.

Q: Have you made any plans regarding studying abroad yet?

A: We’re supposed to plan a year in advance, so if I want to go in my junior year, I have to start planning everything next year.

They have a UCI Study Abroad Center, which has held a couple of informational events on campus, so I’ve met with them a lot and have been able to ask them a couple of questions. I have a general idea of how the application process works and where I want to go.

I’ll basically be going to regular school, but in Korea. Many of the classes will be taught in English, but hopefully by then

I’ll be proficient in Korean so I can just get around the city.

This is a chance for me to reconnect with my roots, since I was adopted from Seoul, Korea.

Q: How was the transition from Country Day to college?

A: The first couple of weeks were a little weird being so far away from home, but I feel like I adjusted pretty well. I found some friends and my class load for this quarter is not too bad.

I think Country Day prepared me for college. My courses require a lot of writing, so my English classes with Ms. Bauman really helped a lot to prepare me for all kinds of writing.

Q: How is the housing situation?

A: There’s two different housing complexes: Middle Earth and Mesa Court. I’m in Mesa Court and apparently there’s 5,000 students just within Mesa Court, which is crazy.

They have separate dorm “houses” within Mesa Court, and I’m in the farthest one from campus. It’s so far from everything, and the walk to the cafeteria is 10 minutes.

I got used to it though; I mean, it’s good exercise.

My roommate and I get along well and we go out to grab food together pretty often. We also have this hour right before bed where we just scroll through Instagram and if we find something super funny, we’ll show it to each other. I even gave her a haircut at the beginning of the year.

Q: What’s your favorite part about college?

A: I joined a Japanese Karate club at my

school because I used to do karate back at home and I wanted to continue that. It’s held in the UCI Campus Recreation Center where they hold a lot of sports and clubs.

This club is how I get away from my studies and I get to meet other people outside of my normal classes. It’s just fun, and I enjoy karate a lot. It’s a great experience, and everyone is super nice and makes it fun to learn.

A lot of the stuff that the sensei teaches is in Japanese, so I’m learning both the sport and the language, which is very cool.

Q: Do you have any advice for the class of 2024?

A: Don’t be afraid to try new things. Although it might sound cliche, if you hold yourself back, you’ll only regret it later. I feel like going out of your comfort zone, even just a little bit, really helps, and you’ll learn so many new things.

Just like I joined the Japanese Karate Club — that was something I wasn’t entirely sure about at first, but I realized I needed to meet new people. Now that I’ve joined the club, I’ve connected with so many interesting people and have learned a lot from them.

FIVE STAR OR SUBPAR? Quality of classes: School Spirit: Social Scene: Clubs: Location: Student-Teacher Interactions:

06 JANUARY 2, 2024

CENTERPOINT

THE OCTAGON

07

Fortnite OG: sweats vs. OGs S

tudents at Sacramento Country Day have highly varied interests, but one common ground can be found among many: gaming.

Gaming has been prevalent on the Country Day campus for years and shows no signs of slowing down with the recent release of “Fortnite: OG.” Many games that held Country Day in a chokehold years ago continue to do the same today. In 2018, Octagon published “In the eye of the storm,” a story about the video game Fortnite. To this day, Fortnite is still an influential game on campus.

In a 2018 poll of 103 Country Day students, 24 percent reported playing Fortnite.

Over five years later, Fortnite is still among the most played games by students, with 25 percent of respondents reporting playing the game.

For some students, Fortnite is more than just a game to mindlessly pass the time — it’s an outlet for them to hang out with their friends outside of school.

Junior Dylan Sullivan is a veteran gamer, and gaming remains a significant part of his daily routine.

“I’ve been playing video games since I was about five. It’s essentially been for my entire life. All of my soccer teammates had Minecraft on their phones, so I was able to convince my parents to buy it for me so I could play with them,” Sullivan said.

Junior Cara Shin also started her gaming career with Minecraft when she was young.

“I started playing video games with my brother, Caleb, in lower school. We mainly played Minecraft, but later on, we moved on to other games. I started playing Fortnite about three months ago, and I’ve been playing ever since,” Shin said.

Fortnite has remained one of the most popular games in the world since its release due to its ability to attract new players consistently with new features and content.

The game is cooperative and exciting, which is a large part of why it is so popular.

Junior Zealand Schroeder’s favorite part of the game is the social aspect.

“It’s almost like being able to hang out without leaving your house,” Schroeder said.

The game recently experienced a resurgence in

popularity among veteran players with the release of their recent season, “Fortnite: OG” on Nov. 3.

OG stands for original, a reference to the fact that the developers of Fortnite decided to bring back the original map, weapons and items that were taken away in 2019.

According to the gaming analytics website Fortnite.GG, there were over 235 million active players last month after the new season’s release. On top of this, Fortnite reached its all-time concurrent peak for players on Dec. 2, with 11.6 million concurrent players.

The previous season’s concurrent player count peaked at 2.87 million players, according to Videogamer.com, and according to Google Trends, searches for Fortnite increased by over 400 percent following the release of “Fortnite: OG.” This season’s release has also brought some Country Day students back to the game.

Freshman Ryan Scripps is one of these returners. He has enjoyed playing Fortnite throughout the years, but took a short break once his friends stopped playing.

“All of my friends went back to playing once the OG season came back, so I just joined in with them,” Scripps said.

Players returned to the game after a long time for many reasons — some got bored with the other games they had been playing and wanted to switch it up, some were just coming off of a short gaming hiatus and some wanted to relive all of the good memories they had made from the game in the past.

“A big part of why I started playing Fortnite again was to relive many memories that I wouldn’t normally be able to experience again,” Scripps said. “Some of my best gaming memories were from when I played Fortnite with my friends when I was younger, and the OG map returning makes me feel like I was playing with my friends back then.”

With an influx of OG players, a friendly feud has formed between newer players, who the community views as those who try super hard and be “sweaty,” and the OG players, who are just trying to have fun.

Schroeder is familiar with this trend and

Team Sweats

has been an active part of the Fortnite community since the release of the game.

“What are Sweats? Well, Sweats are the newcomers of the game. They spend a lot of time playing and believe they are extremely good at the game. Despite what their name would imply, they tend not to be that good,” Schroeder said.

“OGs are players that have been playing for a long time but just play the game for fun. Generally, they’re better than the Sweats due to their abundance of experience,” Schroeder said.

This feud between the OGs and the Sweats has become extremely popular on social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram.

Trends like this spread like wildfire among players due to comedic videos and memes on these platforms. This trend has also extended into the Country Day community.

Schroeder is aware of this trend and believes he is an OG. “If you’ve got a Sweat on your team, good luck winning. An OG, on the other hand, you already know how the game will end,” Schroeder said.

Sullivan also believes that he is an OG and that their side of the internet feud is better.

“I’m definitely an OG. I just feel like we were able to enjoy this season more because of the nostalgia

Graphics and story by: Andrew Burr

involved,” Sullivan said.

Some friendly banter has arisen between the two sides of this debate at Country Day. Shin believes that despite her lack of experience, she is still more skilled at the game than some of the school’s more adroit players.

“I only got my first Victory Royale about a month ago, but I still think that, at this point, I’m better than Dylan,” Shin said.

Senior Aiden Cooley shares a viewpoint similar to Shin’s.

Cooley has only been playing for about a year, but in that time, he has come to love the game and has become competitive with his friends.

“In Fortnite, there’s a mode called ‘Creative,’ which allows you to play with or against your friends in private lobbies. This mode allows you to settle debates with your friends about who is better at the game. I love to play this mode with Zealand and Dylan, and a lot of the time, I win,” Cooley said.

The OG season of Fortnite has brought many Country Day community members together in ways they haven’t been able to for years.

“I’ve been playing games online with my friends way more often since the release of the OG season than I have since middle school. I guess it is just fun to relive some old memories with my friends,” Sullivan said.

Video games like Fortnite also serve as a stress reliever for many students.

“Playing games just helps me de-stress and take the edge off from school,” Schroeder said.

Fortnite’s OG season ended on Dec. 2, but this isn’t deterring students from continuing to play after its end.

“I’m definitely going to keep playing now that the OG season is over. I like the game, and the fact that the nostalgia from the OG season is over won’t stop me from having fun with my friends,” Schroeder said.

Team OGs

06 JANUARY 2, 2024

CENTERPOINT

THE OCTAGON

07

Fortnite OG: sweats vs. OGs S

tudents at Sacramento Country Day have highly varied interests, but one common ground can be found among many: gaming.

Gaming has been prevalent on the Country Day campus for years and shows no signs of slowing down with the recent release of “Fortnite: OG.” Many games that held Country Day in a chokehold years ago continue to do the same today. In 2018, Octagon published “In the eye of the storm,” a story about the video game Fortnite. To this day, Fortnite is still an influential game on campus.

In a 2018 poll of 103 Country Day students, 24 percent reported playing Fortnite.

Over five years later, Fortnite is still among the most played games by students, with 25 percent of respondents reporting playing the game.

For some students, Fortnite is more than just a game to mindlessly pass the time — it’s an outlet for them to hang out with their friends outside of school.

Junior Dylan Sullivan is a veteran gamer, and gaming remains a significant part of his daily routine.

“I’ve been playing video games since I was about five. It’s essentially been for my entire life. All of my soccer teammates had Minecraft on their phones, so I was able to convince my parents to buy it for me so I could play with them,” Sullivan said.

Junior Cara Shin also started her gaming career with Minecraft when she was young.

“I started playing video games with my brother, Caleb, in lower school. We mainly played Minecraft, but later on, we moved on to other games. I started playing Fortnite about three months ago, and I’ve been playing ever since,” Shin said.

Fortnite has remained one of the most popular games in the world since its release due to its ability to attract new players consistently with new features and content.

The game is cooperative and exciting, which is a large part of why it is so popular.

Junior Zealand Schroeder’s favorite part of the game is the social aspect.

“It’s almost like being able to hang out without leaving your house,” Schroeder said.

The game recently experienced a resurgence in

popularity among veteran players with the release of their recent season, “Fortnite: OG” on Nov. 3.

OG stands for original, a reference to the fact that the developers of Fortnite decided to bring back the original map, weapons and items that were taken away in 2019.

According to the gaming analytics website Fortnite.GG, there were over 235 million active players last month after the new season’s release. On top of this, Fortnite reached its all-time concurrent peak for players on Dec. 2, with 11.6 million concurrent players.

The previous season’s concurrent player count peaked at 2.87 million players, according to Videogamer.com, and according to Google Trends, searches for Fortnite increased by over 400 percent following the release of “Fortnite: OG.” This season’s release has also brought some Country Day students back to the game.

Freshman Ryan Scripps is one of these returners. He has enjoyed playing Fortnite throughout the years, but took a short break once his friends stopped playing.

“All of my friends went back to playing once the OG season came back, so I just joined in with them,” Scripps said.

Players returned to the game after a long time for many reasons — some got bored with the other games they had been playing and wanted to switch it up, some were just coming off of a short gaming hiatus and some wanted to relive all of the good memories they had made from the game in the past.

“A big part of why I started playing Fortnite again was to relive many memories that I wouldn’t normally be able to experience again,” Scripps said. “Some of my best gaming memories were from when I played Fortnite with my friends when I was younger, and the OG map returning makes me feel like I was playing with my friends back then.”

With an influx of OG players, a friendly feud has formed between newer players, who the community views as those who try super hard and be “sweaty,” and the OG players, who are just trying to have fun.

Schroeder is familiar with this trend and

Team Sweats

has been an active part of the Fortnite community since the release of the game.

“What are Sweats? Well, Sweats are the newcomers of the game. They spend a lot of time playing and believe they are extremely good at the game. Despite what their name would imply, they tend not to be that good,” Schroeder said.

“OGs are players that have been playing for a long time but just play the game for fun. Generally, they’re better than the Sweats due to their abundance of experience,” Schroeder said.

This feud between the OGs and the Sweats has become extremely popular on social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram.

Trends like this spread like wildfire among players due to comedic videos and memes on these platforms. This trend has also extended into the Country Day community.

Schroeder is aware of this trend and believes he is an OG. “If you’ve got a Sweat on your team, good luck winning. An OG, on the other hand, you already know how the game will end,” Schroeder said.

Sullivan also believes that he is an OG and that their side of the internet feud is better.

“I’m definitely an OG. I just feel like we were able to enjoy this season more because of the nostalgia

Graphics and story by: Andrew Burr

involved,” Sullivan said.

Some friendly banter has arisen between the two sides of this debate at Country Day. Shin believes that despite her lack of experience, she is still more skilled at the game than some of the school’s more adroit players.

“I only got my first Victory Royale about a month ago, but I still think that, at this point, I’m better than Dylan,” Shin said.

Senior Aiden Cooley shares a viewpoint similar to Shin’s.

Cooley has only been playing for about a year, but in that time, he has come to love the game and has become competitive with his friends.

“In Fortnite, there’s a mode called ‘Creative,’ which allows you to play with or against your friends in private lobbies. This mode allows you to settle debates with your friends about who is better at the game. I love to play this mode with Zealand and Dylan, and a lot of the time, I win,” Cooley said.

The OG season of Fortnite has brought many Country Day community members together in ways they haven’t been able to for years.

“I’ve been playing games online with my friends way more often since the release of the OG season than I have since middle school. I guess it is just fun to relive some old memories with my friends,” Sullivan said.

Video games like Fortnite also serve as a stress reliever for many students.

“Playing games just helps me de-stress and take the edge off from school,” Schroeder said.

Fortnite’s OG season ended on Dec. 2, but this isn’t deterring students from continuing to play after its end.

“I’m definitely going to keep playing now that the OG season is over. I like the game, and the fact that the nostalgia from the OG season is over won’t stop me from having fun with my friends,” Schroeder said.

Team OGs

08 OPINION

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

EDITORIAL: Country Day’s infrastructure deters education

S

“Country Day Bathrooms are Washed” by Claire Gemmell

acramento Country Day boasts an incredibly strong educational experience, giving high school, middle school and lower school students amazing opportunities for academic, athletic and artistic excellence.

However, several of Country Day’s buildings are too old and too small to help enrich student education, such as the art room, the multi-purpose room, commonly known as the MP room, the school kitchen and the high school girl’s bathroom.

To senior art student Mia Crowder, the art room, the oldest building on the campus, lacks adequate space for all students.

“I know a lot of people take art and it can get really crowded in there,” she said.

Crowder said the different-sized projects and art tools in the art room limit the availability of space in the room.

Senior Paxton Graham also said the lack of space does not encourage art students to pursue courses like AP Art and Design, not providing students enough space to work on projects.

Another issue with the art room is its outback, an outdoors extension of the art room dedicated to ceramics.

Because all ceramics-related art is done outside, the clay is exposed to environmental conditions, such as the rain, the heat and the cold, potentially damaging the art.

Additionally, the outback is considerably dusty, providing an unappealing work environment.

High school and middle school art teacher Andy Cunningham said the conditions of the outback restrict the art education of his students.

“The space is exposed to the elements of any weather, which makes it difficult to work in the winter, late spring and early fall,” Cuningham said.

The art room and ceramics outback clearly needs to be improved.

However, tearing down and redesigning a new art room will take significant amounts of time, leaving some art students without a classroom altogether for a significant period of time.

Unfortunately the quality of the art classes would temporarily decline because of the lack of a proper classroom during the new classroom construction period.

This begs the question, is it worth it to temporarily slow the education of our students to enhance their education in the following years?

To Cunningham, it’s worth it.

“That’s all you can do. You can’t drive the kids to a different space or rent a space,” he said.

The MP room also faces similar challenges as the home of the drama, band and garage band programs.

Although these programs don’t occur at the same time, they do limit how these programs use their space.

Drama teacher Jane McGinnes said her drama set pieces were designed to avoid conflict with the other programs sharing the MP room.

“If I wanted to build a big set, then it has to be moveable because the band is also working here,” she said. “There’s a lot of compromise to share this space.”

The MP room also lacks resources to support these programs.

Drama and garage band senior Harper Livesey said a bigger stage and a taller roof would transform the stage, providing room for large set pieces and large numbers of actors on the stage.

Additionally, several aspects of the room are outdated and deteriorating, such as the kitchen and the backstage drama room.

The entire MP room needs to be improved, Livesey said.

“All the facilities we have in that room are outdated. The backstage room is falling apart. The kitchen is old and has a pilot light, which is a fire hazard,” Livesey said.

“Everything is just old. Everything needs to be revamped,” she said.

The high school girls’ bathroom also lacks enough stalls to properly accommodate the female student body.

Of the two sinks and three stalls in the high school girls’ bathroom, one sink and one toilet in the bathroom are malfunctional, said Livesey.

“There’s one toilet that doesn’t flush very well.

It’s very scary. No one really uses that one. There’s zero water pressure in the sink. Water barely trickles out. There’s always one line for one sink,” she said.

This has the butterfly effect of slowing down students during passing periods, causing students to be late to class and taking precious time away from their education.

Country Day’s facilities were originally intended for a much smaller population. As the overall school population increases, it’s only natural that the facilities should grow to accommodate the new population.

According to the CavNet directory page, the class of 2024 has 39 students, the class of 2025 has 45 students, the class of 2026 has 48 students and the class of 2027 has 36 students.

In comparison, the class of 2023 had 35, the class of 2022 had 29, the class of 2021 had 39, and the classes of 2020 had 31, according to Amy Wells, director of annual giving and the alumni coordinator.

In the span of a few years, Country Day’s total

high school population has increased by 35 students.

The large population may be straining the bathroom resources, Thomsen said.

According to senior Grace Zhao, the size of the high school girls’ bathrooms is concerning.

Zhao believes Country Day’s facilities should increase to adapt to the larger student population.

Additionally, Country Day’s lunch tables are fully exposed to the weather, limiting students’ options to eat during rainy days.

Although there are spaces like the library and classrooms available to students during lunch periods on rainy days, added shelter would be appreciated.

One possibility is adding umbrellas to the lunch tables in the high school quad, similar to how the garden’s umbrellas protect the tables from the weather.

Providing designated places, like umbrellas on tables, for students to go to on rainy days would benefit all students, Zhao said.

Head of School Lee Thomsen said the school is already taking action to address some of these concerns.

Right now, Country Day is in the process of designing a new building, replacing the MP room and the L building, which encapsulate the art and middle school science rooms.

The plans for the new building would give significant space to both the drama, band and art programs, allowing each program to have its own room, Thomsen said.

He said the rooms the teachers will be able to provide input to the design process of the room to ensure the building properly meets their needs.

According to Thomsen, one of the school’s priorities in the following years is redesigning the L building and the MP room.

Additionally, the new building will have a working kitchen with a modern design. This kitchen will also serve as a cafeteria.

“The goal of the kitchen is to make a functional cooking and serving kitchen. We could have a lunch program that would serve out of there, so we could make food on campus to replace the lunch program that we already have,” he said.

According to Thomsen, these buildings will ideally be complete in the next few years and the quality of the buildings will depend on money gained from school fundraisers.

These additions are necessary to enriching Country Day education and adapt to an expanding student population.

OPINION 09

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

MY ANGLE: Holidays don’t make up for misery of winter

BY LUKE SCRIPPS

A

s the fading orange leaves of autumn settle and the cold, biting winds of December descend upon us, California’s worst season once again prepares to freeze our hands and chap our lips with the cruelty of a dozen winter storms — minus the snow.

There is no other way to put it: Winter is the most dreadful, ruthless and depressing season to experience as a Californian.

As someone who enjoys celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Day with family and friends, I can assure you that this statement does not come out of hatred for the holiday season.

Instead, it’s an observation as to how much the holidays boost its appeal. Just as a star-studded movie cast cannot save an atrocious script, we should not let Christmas and New Year’s Day hide all of winter’s glaring weaknesses in other departments.

First, let us examine the weather. With highs in the low 60s and lows around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, California’s winter temperatures barely reach freezing. Because these temperatures are much warmer than those experienced in the Northern or Eastern U.S., this places California in a meteorological limbo where it is uncomfortably cold but not cold enough for snow — the worst of both worlds.

As a result, the darkest and cloudiest days fail to yield anything more than a relentless downpour of rain that turns yards to mud and streets to water hazards for unprepared drivers.

People who play outdoor sports or enjoy many of the state’s popular recreational activities such as hiking, cycling or swimming must put their hobbies on hold as the frigid air and slick terrain make conditions miserable.

On top of this, people who enjoy winter sports such as snowboarding and skiing must travel to Tahoe or other pricey tourist destinations to gain access to the state’s scarce snowfall. For those without any interest in participating in these sports (or people without the privilege of being able to travel to attend them), the months of December, January and February put practices and games on hold for nearly a quarter of the year.

As for the average child’s experience of the season, winter receives incredible hype but fails to deliver on most of its promises. Californian children miss out on countless wintertime rites of passage including snowball fights, sledding and building snowmen, unless they can convince their parents to take them somewhere with snow.

Never experiencing the joy of a snow day, children have to attend class as normal, spending their free time in the gym, cafeteria or crowded classrooms filled with others seeking refuge from the cold. If they attend an “outdoor”

school with exposed hallways and portable classrooms (a very common style in a state built for the heat), their day is spent shuffling past empty quads and quiet walkways, dividing themselves amongst the limited indoor spaces to escape the weather.

Winter’s emotional impact is also significant, and more taxing than those of spring, summer or fall.

The ending of Daylight Savings time in November combined with the Earth’s tilted orbit leads to sunsets that end before 5 P.M. The lack of daylight after work or school can be depressing to people who do not want to spend the rest of their evenings inside their homes.

Even when taking holidays like Christmas into consideration, their added benefits still bring additional issues.

For example, stress over selecting the right gifts for friends and family can make holiday shopping tedious and expensive. Tense relationships with visiting relatives can be worsened as cabin fever sets in, or, conversely, feelings of loneliness can be accentuated by the thought of spending the holidays alone.

In states more accustomed to colder temperatures or exposed to higher levels of snowfall, the antics of the winter season may have a certain charm.

For inhabitants of the Golden State, the holiday season’s best present may arrive in February on Groundhog Day in the prediction of an early spring.

ADVICE: Navigating disapproval and rejection in love

BY ANONYMOUS This is an advice column that responds to questions shared

by Country Day students anonymously. To submit, send a question to the Google form sent out on Dec. 6, 2023. Responses are not guaranteed, but all submissions are welcome.

Q: What do I do if my family disapproves of my partner?

While it’s important to respect and consider your family’s opinions, it’s equally, if not more, important to recognize that you are the author of your own life story — not anyone else.

That being said, that doesn’t mean you should completely disregard your family’s opinions. Rather, you should start by acknowledging your family’s concerns. Their apprehensions may carry weight as they know you best.

Before you proceed, ask yourself the following questions: Why do your parents have a problem with your partner? Are there specific behaviors or situations that trigger their concerns? Do their concerns align with your own observations about your relationship? Finally, consider the most important question: Do you agree with them?

Asking yourself these questions is only half the battle. I urge you to take the extra step in having a sincere, private conversation with your parents.

Remember, acknowledging their concerns doesn’t mean surrendering your agency. Instead, view it as an opportunity for meaningful dialogue. I urge you to be honest and open with your family in expressing your thoughts and feelings about your partner.

By doing so, you’ll uncover the root of your family’s concern, which typically fall into one of two categories: disapproval based on misconceptions and personal biases, or disapproval rooted from genuine and valid concerns.

1

Q: How do I get a guy to admit his feelings for me when he is expecting me to make the first move, even though I’m hesitant due to a past rejection after confessing my feelings?

Rejection is scary. I understand why you wouldn’t want to experience its biting sting again — it takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable and confront the fact that your feelings are not reciprocated.

Typically, I would advise you not to say anything unless you are completely comfortable with a negative outcome.

You shouldn’t feel pressured to confess to your crush.

However, you have a high chance of success — the only challenge is making him express his feelings.

No one wants to repeatedly face rejection. It is up to you

Q: I feel like one of my friends is in a toxic relationship. It seems like her boyfriend does not treat her well and they are always fighting. What should I do?

It’s tough witnessing a friend in a toxic relationship, but your concern certainly is admirable.

Begin by creating a safe space for her to confide in you.

Let her know you’ll be there for her without judgment.

Next, share your concerns, addressing specific problematic behaviors of your friend’s partner you’ve noticed.

Finally, suggest she reflect on her own feelings and well beings, setting boundaries and communicating openly with her boyfriend.

After all, all healthy relationships involve mutual respect, and as a good friend, I’m confident her happiness matters to you.

At the end of the day, you’ve done your part as a concerned friend, but remember change takes time. Acknowledge the fact that she bears the consequences of her choices, so don’t feel guilty regardless of the outcome.

The way forward is to continue being the caring, supportive and communicative friend that you are.

Across

4

8

to weigh your fears and concerns — would you rather your situation remain the same, or would you rather take a leap of likely success and confess?

If all the clues point toward your crush reciprocating your feelings, go for it. Not only would your risk of rejection be low, but you would obtain the relationship with the person that you desire.

However, my biggest piece of advice is that you are worth more than any rejection.

While it initially feels like a direct insult of your character, remember that one person’s declination is another’s unequivocal “yes.” Even if it may not be your crush, there is someone out there who will accept you if you want it.

OCTO-BLOCK

2

3

5

First, if you believe your family’s concerns are based on unfounded biases, engage in calm and honest conversation with them in clearing their misconceptions. Emphasize your partner’s positive points, and make it clear that while you appreciate their concerns, you have considered your choices carefully and are committed to your partner.

However, in the alternate case in which their disapproval is rooted from genuine concerns, I urge you to take the time to reflect on their input. Ask yourself if there are aspects of your partner you may have overlooked. Are they treating you right? Are they a genuinely good person, and are they the right one for you?

At the end of the day, your parents love and accept you for who you are. Their concerns simply come from a genuine desire to protect and help you, rather than hurt you.

But more than that, while familial approval is important, you are the one responsible for the consequences of your decision. I urge you to trust your instincts and follow the path that you will find happiness in. If that means love with a partner your parents don’t support, so be it.

1. Archaic word for “fairy.”

5. A manual or handbook published annually, containing important dates and statistical information 6. Writing system of raised dots for the vision impaired 7. A spell or a curse

9

6

Down 7

2. One of the Seven Deadly Sins. Synonym for greed.

3. 1942 Disney movie about a fawn who explores beauty and joy in the forest.

4. The size of Sacramento Country Day’s campus is 11 ___.

8. Abbreviation for “Master of Business Administration.”

9. Contraction of the Latin word for “nothing.”

Down: 2. Avarice 3. Bambi 4. Acres 8. MBA 9. Nil

Across: 1. Fae 5. Almanac 6. Braille 7. Hex

10 SPORTS

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

N A R RCO

O C N A L DY

STORY BY EESHA DHAWAN; GRAPHICS BY ANIKA NADGAUDA; PHOTOS COURTESY OF DYLAN CORCORAN

E

very winter weekend, for hours, sophomore Dylan Corcoran shreds down mountains on challenging terrain, her adrenaline soaring and her snowboard gliding across fallen snow leaving a trail of powder behind her.

Dylan was six years old when she started skiing at Northstar Ski Resort. Drawn to snowboarding’s perceived coolness, she made the switch. Her passion for freeride snowboarding ignited in fourth grade.

“We told her once she started skiing black diamonds, she could learn to snowboard. With her competitive spirit, she quickly started skiing black diamonds and took up snowboarding, never looking back. Dylan was excited and determined from day one,” said Glenda Corcoran, Dylan’s mom.

“Freeride snowboarding is not in the Olympics. It’s all-natural features, so that means there is nothing manmade you are snowboarding on,” Dylan said.

Instead of the rails, boxes and large jumps that are often seen on television, freeride snowboarders must ride off more cliffs, go through chutes and deal with difficult terrain.

Dylan rides for Kirkwood Freeride, a snowboarding team she has been on for about six years.

There are usually eight to 15 competitions a year depending on how well the snowboarders perform.

In March 2024, Dylan will be competing in the Ski & Snowboarding Junior National Championships in Park City, Utah.

“I have never been to Utah and the terrain looks super fun and the snow looks amazing. I am hoping to place in the top three in my competition to go to Nationals,” Dylan said.

The Snowboard Freeride judges score in five categories: difficulty of line, control, technique, fluidity and style.

“The greatest impact is what you need to do before you drop in. Standing at the starting gate staring down a massive run,

you need to find to focus and find inner peace to have a great run. Blocking out everything but your board and your run,” Glenda said.

To prepare for these events, Dylan is participating in many hours of off-snow training, including trampoline work where she practices spins, flips and grabs.

“On a trampoline, you have a trampoline board which is a snowboard with sanded edges that you can just practice as if you were snowboarding,” Dylan said. “I skateboard as well. I do a lot of work in the gym to just keep my muscles strong.”

Dylan practices snowboarding every Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kirkwood Ski Resort. She does mock competitions in preparation for real competitions.

Her favorite runs at Kirkwood are Eagles Bowl and Thunder Shuttle, which are also two competition venues she has competed in. She enjoys the snow and the variety of options given on those terrains.

The best part about snowboarding for Dylan is traveling.

“I love the opportunity to travel and explore other resorts. The people I’ve met are amazing, and it’s just a really cool atmosphere to be around,” Dylan said.

She often incorporates techniques from various snowboarding styles that she learns from her fellow competitors around the world.

Two years ago, Dylan traveled to Big Sky, Montana for the Big Sky IFSA North American Junior Championship, where she finished second in her division.

“The weather conditions sucked. It was really hard to adapt to. It was -10 degrees, and it rained the night before, so it was super icy. It was very painful and pretty miserable,” Dylan said. “But I managed to get second and that was super cool.”

Her favorite memory was celebrating with her team when she finished. Dylan found herself surrounded by support from her teammates and coach, who were praising her hard work.

“Freeriding snowboarding would be super different without the supporting community,” Dylan said.

“As parents, we think what that competition meant for her was that she knew after that she could be competitive with anyone and under any circumstances and that she is an elite snowboarder,” Glenda said.

This year, Dylan is planning to go to the Nendaz Freeride World Tour Junior 3* and is hoping to take part in the competition for the next two years.

Balancing academic responsibilities while also having a large commitment to snowboarding is difficult to manage for Dylan.

“There have been instances where I need to take a break from snowboarding to focus on stuff that I’ve missed. Breaks only last a week or two at most, and I use that time to check in with my teachers,” Dylan said.

Dylan is joining the Ski & Snowboard-

ing team at Country Day this year, where she will participate in racing.

“I haven’t had a lot of racing experience but it sounds really fun. I hope to do well and get better at it,” Dylan said.

She hopes to continue snowboarding after high school.

“I’ve researched colleges that offer teams for the type of snowboarding that I do, so I’m hoping to go to the University of Colorado, Boulder, and continue to do that in college,” Dylan said.

The University of Colorado, Boulder has a nationally recognized snowboarding team, with 11 athletes ranked Top 100 in North America. Dylan is planning on visiting the campus this winter.

“It is always great watching Dylan focus, prioritize time and communicate with her teachers and coaches. All great lessons for life. Dylan has to be incredibly organized, thinking ahead and finding time to study on the road, on airplanes and at the resorts,” Glenda said.

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! Eberhart Family, Gulati Family, Intel Foundation, Lu Family, Monasa Family, Nadgauda Family and Xu Family

Yum or

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

Yuck

A&E 11

Apple Pie & American Cheese

P

icture a classic apple pie, warm and golden, with a crispy flaky crust. Inside, the juiciness of the apples mingles with a hint of cinnamon, creating a taste that’s like winter encapsulated in a mouthful. With each bite, the flavors transport you to a cozy, seasonal haven to be desired.

Here comes the culinary twist: American cheese. Yeah, I know it sounds wild, but trust me, it works. The cheese brings a creamy, melty vibe that’s like a flavor sidekick.

The apples are sweet and soft but the cheese adds an element of saltiness which elevates the level of the apples by bringing in the sweetness even more.

With the warm crispiness of the crust, the melted cheese fits in perfectly and develops an amazing sensation in your mouth.

The best way to prepare this dish is to first warm up a slice of apple pie for around 30 seconds, After you heat it, place two slices of American cheese on top of the pie and reheat it.

I recommend using a pie that has a lattice top so the cheese can really melt into the pie.

The benefit of microwaving it allows the cheese to seep through each of the crevices of the apples and absorb into the crust. That way, every bite that you take will have the perfect ratio of pie to cheese.

While this combination might seem odd, random and unconventional, the combination of sweet and salty flavors together in one dish is a surprising culinary phenomenon.

Think of it as a warm, chewy chocolate chip cookie that is sweet and rich with some sea salt sprinkled on top. Somehow, the salt on top brings out the sweetness and balances all the flavors at once.

That’s what the cheese does in this case.

Yes, I admit it does not look the most appetizing with the bright yellow cheese and the brown pie, but if you can get past the odd color combination, you will have a bite of the most delicious food combination of the winter.

Candy Cane & Peanut Butter I anticipated a swift creation of a creamy, crunchy, sweet delight that anyone could easily whip up. However, the reality was quite the opposite — the combination resulted in overpoweringly intense flavors, with both flavors of candy cane and peanut butter being too strong for my taste.

The peanut butter added bitterness when it was eaten alongside the candy cane, and the flavors completely clashed.

In terms of actually eating the snack, the texture in my mouth was very unpleasant, especially due to the thick peanut butter on top of the candy cane. I was unable to eat the candy cane normally.

The flavorless candy cane left a lot to be desired. To fix that I put a spoonful of peanut butter into a bowl and put some crushed-up candy canes in there.

That was a huge mistake. Peanut butter got stuck all over the roof of my mouth and the candy cane pieces were lodged up in my teeth.

The disgusting combination worsened with every bite. The heaviness of the peanut butter was nauseating to eat in full bites.

Keep in mind I am usually someone who enjoys weird food combinations. I mean, who else eats apple pie with American cheese?

It says a lot when even I thought this was too much, being a major flop of a combination. I am not going to stop you from trying to make this combination yourself but please take this as a warning and spare your taste buds.

The yummy taste of cheese and apple pie was ruined by disgustingly thick peanut butter and awful hints of mint. Both of these flavors were so strong that there was no chance for the two of them to work together at all.

Mint Oreos & Ranch Dressing After the peanut butter and candy cane incident, I was not too keen on trying yet again another mint combination.

However, this snack surprised me in a good way. Ranch dressing has always tasted good with sweet things, especially fruit, so I went into trying this combination with a decent amount of hope.

I experimented by dipping my Oreo into the ranch dressing, and surprisingly, it looked strangely appetizing, almost akin to the Ranch serving as a white chocolate coating for the Oreo.

Even though the cookie aspect of the Oreo did get a little soggy since I left it in the dressing for a bit too long, the combination tasted amazing altogether.

However, the herbs and seasonings of the Ranch did clash a little bit with the mint; nevertheless, the creaminess of the dip paired perfectly with the frosting in the cookie.

The saltiness from the Ranch is probably the flavor that pairs best with the Oreos in the way similar to the apple pie and cheese.

I do wish that the flavors combined better because it almost tasted like the flavors from the Ranch were only prominent at first but later on I could really only taste the cookie.

Oreos and Ranch dressing together has definitely been one of the more fun food combinations to try since it could have gone either very well or very poorly.

A good lesson learned from this is that mint tastes better with salty dips than sweet dips.

Since the ranch was so light it is easy to eat a few of them without feeling gross inside.

This is not a snack that I would look forward to having after school or on a cold winter night, but rather something I would make when I am hungry in the ungodly hours of the night, or when having a sleepover with my friends.

STORY BY ANIKA NADGAUDA; GRAPHICS BY ANISHA MONDAL AND LAUREN LU

12 ENDPOINT

JANUARY 2, 2024 • THE OCTAGON

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS N ew Year’s Resolutions are something everyone seems to welcome the year with.

We asked Sacramento Country Day students what they are resolving to do in 2024. INTERVIEWS BY AVA LEVERMORE; GRAPHICS BY REHAN AFZAL

KEVIN LIU

MATTHEW INMAN

“Change my mindset, challenge myself to newer things. I plan to work out consistently and accept any requests that may come my way.

For example, I have an upcoming Model United Nations event that normally I would have avoided, but I wanted to start challenging myself, so I accepted the invite.

In the future, I just hope that I can continue keeping this mindset and going into the New Year with soaring ambition.”

“To exercise more. I usually try to stay to my resolutions, though they sometimes can be very difficult to handle due to time and schedule restraints. I like to set up alarms or reminders to do what I need to do on my phone.

I would not set an extreme bar; last year I set my goal to exercise two hours a day, which I missed and gave up after having too much schoolwork. I am looking forward to this new year’s resolution.”

~ Maggie NuNez Maggie NuNez-Aguilera Aguiera

Ella Martinelli & Ava Dunham

“To use less plastic. There is so much destruction to our Earth.

I feel like we should make these damages less severe. Ways we can implement using less plastic is using paper bags, cutting down on single-use plastic and no plastic straws.”

“Enjoying nature. We miss the joy of hanging outside with friends and feel as though we can have more fun enjoying the outdoors together.”

Claire Gemmell

Ash Laplaca

“Try new hobbies and be better at the ones I’m already doing. I have a lot of different interests and I’d like to explore even more. I am thinking of listening to new music, creating an art portfolio, and trying ceramics. I usually don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but this year I decided I would. I am planning on dedicating at least 30 minutes a day to practicing these new hobbies.”

“Create better study habits and become a more exemplary student. I want to end my high school life with the best grades that I possibly can and feel as though I accomplished as much as I can. I’m looking forward to hopefully fulfilling my goal.”

Paxton Graham “Better time management and to be more social.”