Octagon 2021-22 Issue 2

THE

OCTAGON

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

VOL.45 NO.2 • Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, CA •www.scdsoctagon.com • October 26, 2021

Student vaccine mandate sparks debate

BY EMILY COOK & ISHAAN SEKHON Country Day will comply with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new vaccine mandate that will require all students and faculty members in eligible age groups to be fully vaccinated. This mandate will affect both public and private schools, with medical and personal beliefs exemptions.

The mandate could take effect on Jan. 1, 2022 or July 1, 2022, based on federal vaccine approval for the age groups.

“If the state mandates that every student must be properly vaccinated to come to school, they can either come to school or they can’t. There isn’t an in-between unless there is a medical reason or a religious exemption,” said Head of School Lee Thomsen.

If students aren’t vaccinated, they’ll have to do independent study, Thomsen said.

Sophomore Aiden Cooley believes the school should provide teaching over Zoom and in-person learning.

“People pay a lot of money to come to this school, so they should do Zoom learning,” Cooley said.

Thomsen says this type of teaching would be ineffective because it divides the teacher’s attention and effort between two separate classes.

Junior Brynne Barnard-Bahn said the school has the right to not offer remote learning.

“You are free to choose not to get the vaccine, but you also choose to face the consequences,’’ she said.

“And if students don’t get vaccinated, they’ll just have to do independent study.”

The mandate will allow students and faculty members who have pre-existing medical conditions or religious beliefs to be exempt from the vaccine.

As for campus safety, biology teacher Kellie Whited trusts the vaccine will help keep people safer in and out of school.

“While no vaccine is going to be able to prevent everyone from ever getting COVID-19, the vaccine is incredibly effective at preventing hospitalization and death,” Whited said.

“We all need to do our part to protect our community.”

Wells is also confident that the vaccine will help in campus security.

“I think it’s a very important layer to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the consequences of a positive case,” Wells said.

Barnard-Bahn hopes everyone on

MANDATE page 3 >>

DINNER DISCUSSIONS Senior Tina Huang (left) and junior John Fan eat dinner at the Hayes family household. Fan has been living here for the last few months, and Huang just moved in a month before. PHOTO BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI

International students return from abroad

BY SAMHITA KUMAR

A

fter spending the 2020-21 year studying from abroad, several international Country Day students returned to Sacramento to attend in-person classes.

Two of the students, junior Minh Dang and senior Daisy Zhou took Country Day classes remotely last year, while two others, juniors John Fan and new student Ryan Paul, attended international schools.

Head of High School Brooke Wells said that five high schoolers on student visas have returned to campus, although one student who was unable to return after studying remotely last year left the school.

If Dang had one word to describe her experience as an international student last year, it would be “stressful.”

She said the experience was difficult, and she had to spend time Googling concepts to catch up in her classes. She studied asynchronously due to the 14-hour time difference between Sacramento and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she was living.

She took tests on Zoom for each class at around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Sacramento time.

This was morning in Ho Chi Minh City, so the arrangement was possible.

However, it was still a strain on Dang. She could only keep up with friends through text messages, which was complicated due to the time difference.

“When I texted, they were sleeping, and I waited until they woke up and replied,” she said. “To have a conversation sometimes took us several days.”

CAMPUSCORNER BLOOD DRIVE

HALLOWEEN

Country Day’s first blood drive of the new school year is taking place all day on Nov. 5 in the Benvenuti Gym. Anyone ages 16 and older can donate, but 16-year-old students must have parents to sign a consent form to give blood. Contact junior Jonah David if interested.

Since Halloween is around the corner, SCDS is bringing back spooky traditions to commemorate this time of the year. High schoolers have costume contests among all grades on Thursday, Oct. 28, and lower school students are trick-or-treating through the high school on the same day.

Another issue was the language barrier, which Dang compared to being in a foreign language class.

“You understand this part and you don’t understand that part,” she said. “You have to guess about the meaning sometimes.”

Although she was able to get used to it, studying in English was difficult at first.

The extra work she needed to do also affected her sleep schedule.

“Because I tried hard to study a lot, I

“

“When I texted, they were sleeping, and I waited until they woke up and replied. To have a conversation sometimes took us several days.”

MINH DANG woke up earlier,” Dang said. She also had to stay up later in order to catch up with all of her work.

Sleep loss was also a problem for Country Day senior Daisy Zhou, who spent the 2020-21 school year in her hometown of Chengdu, China.

“I stayed in my room mostly every day doing my work, but for some of my tests, I had to stay up at night,” she said.

Like Dang, Zhou kept up with her schoolwork asynchronously. She said the language barrier didn’t affect her much, as it

was comparable to being on campus.

In order to follow their classes, Zhou and Dang watched recordings of the synchronous meetings.

Head of College Counseling and English teacher Jane Bauman recorded her classes last year.

“I had one international student in my English class, and I was able to record my classes on Zoom and post those classes on my CavNET,” she said. That student, Zhou, could then download and watch the recordings as needed.

Bauman’s English class did not have major synchronous assessments, so coordinating with students abroad was not difficult, she said.

“Everybody was on Zoom, so everything was open book and open note,” she said.

“On CavNET you can set the time for a test or an assessment, and we just had to use the honor system.”

The only change she had to make was adjusting how long quizzes were left open on CavNET so that the time zones matched up.

Zhou said these asynchronous techniques for classes had some benefits.

“I could arrange my time more freely because (for) something that I didn’t need to study; I didn’t watch the recordings.”

This flexibility also let her spend time with her family, traveling with them or going on walks with her mother. In the winter, she stayed in Sanya, China, because of the warmer weather.

INSIDE the ISSUE Cancer battle inspires consultant’s career in education Consultant Kelley Brown describes her leukemia journey. (PAGE 11) PHOTO COURTESY OF KELLEY BROWN

INTERNATIONAL page 3 >>

02 NEWS

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • 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 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 Simone DeBerry Miles Morrow Arijit Trivedi Arikta Trivedi Kali Wells MULTIMEDIA STAFF Dylan Margolis, editor Arjin Claire Simone DeBerry William Holz Miles Morrow Arijit Trivedi GRAPHIC ARTISTS Brynne Barnard-Bahn Lauren Lu 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.

A SQUARE MEAL Lunch Program Coordinator Jennifer Adams helps set up pizza boxes from Pizza Guys on the hot lunch table in the middle school on Oct. 21. PHOTO BY ARIKTA TRIVEDI

Behind the scenes: A look at how the Country Day lunch program works

T

BY GARMAN XU

he clock hits 12:12 p.m. — lunchtime.

A wave of hungry students crowd in front of the library to grab their lunches delivered from local restaurants. As they walk up to the lunch tables, students of all grade levels look for their pre-ordered and individually packaged lunches tagged with their names. Afterward, some students return to their tables to eat with friends while others go out in the garden to eat in the shade. During lunch, you can hear many students talking and laughing about daily life or events at school.

Although it is easy for students to drop by and pick up their lunches every day, this is only possible due to the Country Day Lunch Program.

Since it was founded in the 1990s, the program has gone through a series of radical changes. Originally, it was started by Lunch Program Coordinator Jennifer Adams’ parents. They worked as independent contractors for the school and cooked the food for the students in the kitchen by the Multipurpose Room since the school was still relatively small. Adams joined her parents in the program in 2005.

“Everybody would come down to the MP room for snacks, and then we would actually cook all the lunches and package them,” she said. “It was just me, my mom and my aunt.”

However, the old model of the lunch program closed in 2010 as the school pivoted to independent caterers to supply lunches. When Adams returned in 2015 as a Country Day employee, the program was revamped but took a similar approach by ordering food from outside the school.

Currently, Adams is also working as the benefits coordinator and the assistant to the Human Resource and Payroll Manager Rudi Rose.

High school students order lunch from the program for different reasons. For junior Jonah Angelo David, it is to save time.

He used to bring his own lunch to school during his ninth grade year, but decided that it was more convenient to order at school.

To order, parents and students fill out a monthly form which specifies what days they intend to get lunch through the school. The meals cost $8.10 individually or $162 monthly for daily lunch.

Behind the scenes, Adams tallies the forms and makes calls every morning to ensure the timeliness of the food deliveries.

“I’m always on the phone,” she said.

“Like, come on guys; you got to show up on time!”

The selection of meals students can order rotates daily with Boudin’s Bakery on Mondays, Noodles and Co. on Tuesdays,

“

“We would like to order from other places, but a lot of them just can’t take on the amount of lunches that we would order.”

JENNIFER ADAMS Noah’s New York Bagels on Wednesdays, Domino’s and Pizza Guys on Thursdays and Chili’s on Fridays.

Like David, junior Ryan Paul gets his lunch from the school every day.

“The chipotle chicken bowls from Chili’s are my favorite. I look forward to that,” he said. “There is some rice, beans and chicken. When the bowl comes, I shake it really hard so everything mixes. If I combine everything, I think it tastes the best.”

However, Paul has some problems with some of the meals served, including the Noah’s Bagels lunches.

“Sacramento Country Day School should invest in more restaurants that are more filling. The quantity of it is not enough,” Paul said. “I like pizza day because the quantity is so much. But the bagels are not filling.”

Country Day has been working with these companies since 2014 because they are close to the school, which makes delivering the food easier.

“It’s difficult right now to get restau-

rants to work with us because they have a hard time keeping people working,” Adams said. “We would like to order from other places, but a lot of them just can’t take on the amount of lunches that we would order.”

In addition, COVID-19 precautions have added a few more challenges of availability and ability to individually package that many lunches. For instance, the shift to personal pizzas this year resulted in ordering from two companies: Pizza Guys and Domino’s Pizza.

“Last year, we obviously weren’t at full capacity, so Pizza Guys was able to make the pizzas and deliver them on time,” Adams said. “But now they’re having to make a pizza for each person. So we would order 80 pizzas, but now we’re ordering around 270. On the first day back to school, they had to do multiple deliveries, which caused everybody to have their lunch late.”

So far, the strategy has worked well in delivering the pizza on time. The restaurant the pizza comes from depends on the student’s order because Pizza Guys and Domino’s are split by pizza type.

Adams has alternatives prepared if other restaurants are not able to provide the food on time.

“Thank God that hasn’t happened yet,” she said. “But odds are if that happened, we would do pizza because I think that would be the quickest.”

VOL. 45 ISSUE 1 CORRECTIONS It is The Octagon’s policy to correct factual errors and to clarify potentially confusing statements.

Email us: octagon@scdsstudent.org

Page 6 “Who’s new in the faculty room?”: Rayen Abou Zaki was misidentified as a sixth-grader. He is a first-grader. His name was also misspelled.

Page 3 “Enrollment: SCDS retains 70% of eighth grade”: Freshman Ashley Lattyak’s name was misspelled.

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

International: Settle in for in-person learning at Country Day (continued from page 1) Still, Zhou is happy to be back in Sacramento. She had to test negative for COVID-19 before boarding her flight and self-quarantine for seven days upon arrival in August.

“My host family is really warm and they prepared everything for me,” Zhou said.

She is staying with Country Day parent Renee Stern and her family. “They changed the carpet in my room and they bought me a new duvet cover. This little stuff helped me to go back into this situation.”

Not having to go through the process of introducing herself again was also a positive.

“The teachers still remember me, and my classmates still remember me, so that’s nice,” she said.

Zhou is looking forward to applying to college this school year and eventually attending a college in the U.S. Dang, who returned from Vietnam this August, is excited to attend classes in person.

“Oh my god, I’m so happy,” she said. “I feel better when I go to school.”

While she has tentative plans to return to Vietnam for winter break, she hopes to spend time in Sacramento with friends and continue going to classes in person.

She currently stays with host family Robin and Chauncey Hayes.

Junior John Fan, who took a year off from Country Day due to the pandemic, is also looking forward to being on campus.

He was previously a junior in the 20192020 school year, but he and his parents wanted to avoid online learning.

While he was in China, he took some classes at a school in person in Shenzhen.

“It felt super different,” he said. “Brand new friends, brand new atmosphere.”

He found that there were significant differences between the curriculum in China and the U.S. “The pace that they teach us is actually super fast, so sometimes you don’t understand the materials very well,” Fan said of his school in China.

He studied microeconomics and computer science over the last year and said it was a brand new experience.

“We went to the National Economics Competition, and I won two prizes,” he said.

In China, Fan said studying economics is more common than at Country Day, where it is only offered as an Advanced Placement course.

“I like it so much because I’m fascinated with the economy,” he said.

Even though Fan wasn’t attending Country Day, he was still able to keep in touch with friends from Country Day, including senior Jesus Aispuro.

“In China, the only way that you can talk to your foreigner friends is by email, so I was emailing all my friends,” he said.

The transition back to Sacramento has been easy, Fan said. The more relaxed pace of classes at Country Day compared to his school in Shenzhen has allowed him to understand more of what’s being taught, and he’s been able to connect with his friends.

“Every time when I come back from China, I need a month to get along with English as the main language,” he said. “I have certain problems with grammar or pronunciation when I’m talking to someone, so I have to get used to it.”

Despite this issue, he’s excited to spend a year on campus in person.

“This year feels good,” he said. “I feel good to be back.”

Junior Ryan Paul, who previously attended National Prep School International in Singapore, said his transition into Country Day has been seamless.

“On the first day itself, everyone took me in like I was going to be their friend forever,” Paul said. “It’s pretty nice to see that people showed me the ropes into the school.”

He’s no stranger to moving between countries. He has previously lived in the United States, India and Singapore.

His school last year was able to operate in-person due to Singapore’s stringent COVID-19 rules, so adapting to the new campus has not been difficult, Paul said.

He is also grateful that he has not had any issues with changes in language or culture.

However, there have been some differences with courses. His school in Singapore used the International Baccalaureate system, while Country Day uses AP. “Khan Academy has really helped me with adapting to my courses,” he said. “But I feel like some of the courses continue what I learned in Singapore.”

Overall, he’s excited to stay in Sacramento and for the upcoming year.

Mandate: Parents, faculty react to new requirement (continued from page 1) campus will get the vaccine.

“If everyone gets vaccinated then campus will be safer, and if everyone in California gets vaccinated, we can prevent future variants from happening,” she said.

Tian Li, mother of junior Felix Wu, doesn’t trust the vaccine because of how quickly it was developed and the fact that it’s the same medicine for everyone.

“The vaccine is considered an experimental injection,” Li said. “And everyone has a different body. I practice traditional Chinese medicine, and I have never given different people the same medicine.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the vaccine is considered safe and effective.

It has met the Food and Drug Administration’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support approval or authorization of a vaccine, according to the CDC website.

Wells said that there isn’t a con that can outweigh the pros.

Others don’t like government mandates for vaccines.

“It’s good for everyone to be vaccinated, but I understand how people feel when the government is overstepping their bounds by making us get vaccinated,”

Cooley said. “It’s unconstitutional because the government is going against a personal right.”

According to Thomsen, pushback from parents and students won’t matter because it is a state government mandate.

Barnard-Bahn agrees, but she expects there will be disapproval.

“There will be backlash from people who don’t want the vaccine and who are against any kind of governmental control, but people reacted the same exact way to seat belts when they were first required. So this kind of thing isn’t anything new,” Barnard-Bahn said.

“The sooner everybody can get the vaccine, the sooner we can prevent this virus from getting worse.”

NEWS 03

HOSTING A MEAL (From left) Juniors Jiayu Tang, Minh Dang, senior Tina Huang and junior John Fan enjoy a meal. During the pandemic, they moved back home and attended class online. PHOTO BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI

04 NEWS

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

Sustainable practices in place on campus; active student involvement could drive further changes

C

BY SAHEB GULATI

limate change is worsening, prompting conversations and student involvement in sustainability. Country Day is already engaging in some sustainable practices and climate education, including the school garden and recycling, but increased student interest could drive new change.

“Often these kinds of things are driven by student interest and energy. Sort of the classic grassroots approach to change,” said Head of School Lee Thomsen.

“Over the years we have had various levels of interest, things like student clubs which come in and out of existence.”

One of those clubs, the Environmentalists Club, was founded this year by junior Adam Akins to try to educate students about how to make decisions that benefit the environment.

“I’m trying to lead education in individual sustainability and conservation efforts,” Akins said.

Club projects may include building a hydroponic system to grow plants, petitioning the school to install solar panels and fixing issues with sustainability on campus.

One of the issues Akins is concerned about is the lunch program.

“Our lunch program creates an egregious amount of waste,” he said.

According to Thomsen, the school has tried during the pandemic to work with its lunch vendors to be sustainable. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, the lunch program has had to generate waste from individually packaged food.

Akins said the school can do better and reduce waste. He has been met with support from faculty when trying to create change.

“They have great resources,” Akins said. “I’ve never asked for something and been told no. They’ve just been very supportive.”

Akins has received assistance from the school to help combat waste.

“I’ve been offered space in the garden to use their compost-

ing barrels for composting food waste from lunch,” Akins said.

The school’s garden is a major sustainability practice at Country Day. The new Garden Supervisor Rory Tira hopes to make sure kids are comfortable being in nature.

“I like that the garden becomes an automatic part of being a student here. It’s not a special thing,” Tira said.

Students of all grade levels help grow organic food in the garden. The garden is fertilizer-free and produce goes to a food bank. The garden also serves as a classroom for younger students.

“One of the jobs out here is helping the younger grades come and learn gardening,” Tira said.

Thomsen sees opportunity for the school to be more sustainable.

“

“I’m trying to lead education in individual sustainability and conservation efforts.”

ADAM AKINS “The school could be more aggressive in terms of education, particularly for younger kids,” Thomsen said. “I think as a school you have a responsibility to try and build the habits in younger children that you’d like to send out into the world.”

Thomsen has been the Head of School for six years. He said that although the school lacks a cohesive plan with regard to sustainability, it has numerous sustainable practices with an overall goal of minimizing the school’s carbon footprint.

Thomsen said the school should be more mindful regarding the climate.

“We’re trying to put more attention to try and make the school more sustainable and be better stewards of the environment,” Thomsen said.

Middle school science teacher Cade Grunst teaches eighth-graders about Earth science with a

unit on climate change.

“I think it’s a travesty that a school that touts itself as being both academically extraordinary and a STEM hub just doesn’t teach any Earth science at all from ninth through 12th grade,” Grunst said, who has been at Country Day for 10 years.

The barriers behind offering courses like AP Environmental Science are the lack of a teacher, classroom and student demand, Grunst said.

“If enough families advocate for it, it’ll happen,” he said.

Although there is room for improvement, Thomsen said that the preservation of the environment and minimization of the school’s carbon footprint are guiding principles of Country Day. “If you look at our mission statement, Country Day inspires intellectual discovery and engages a diverse community to think critically, live critically and act passionately,” Thomsen said.

“The mission calls us to keep the preservation of the Earth as a part of what we do.”

According to Thomsen, sustainability will always be a goal, but often is in competition for resources.

The school hopes to address further climate-conscious changes through a strategic plan of action, Thomsen said.

Every five years the school completes a strategic plan of action. The current plan lacks a unified environmental directive, Thomsen said. Specific climate conscious measures and goals could be added to the next plan, which will be made in 2023.

These additions would be spurred by student involvement.

Grunst has a positive outlook on student-driven change.

“I have been communicating about climate change for the last decade and have been thrilled to see student engagement skyrocketing in recent years,” Grunst said. “There is a cultural shift underway, and we still have some time to avoid the worst of the potential damage.”

WHAT ON EARTH? (Top to bottom) Junior Adam Akins breaks open a hot lunch box to save space in the recycling bin. Posters featured on trash and recycling bins detail the correct way to dispose of waste and recycling. PHOTO BY MILES MORROW; POSTERS BY SAMHITA KUMAR; GRAPHICS

BY MADE AND LAILI HIDAYATI FROM NOUN PROJECT

FEATURE 05

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

Senior soccer captain leads in state with 32 goals scored

BY ROD AZGHADI

T

he 4:30 a.m. alarm clocks start ringing, and senior Arjin Claire and his dad, George Claire, wake up to watch the Liverpool F.C. soccer game in England — eight hours ahead of their time zone.

Arjin’s interest for the game developed early on while watching his dad play. His parents signed him up in a local recreational soccer league when he was 5. After that, Arjin always had a ball by his feet and wanted to practice whenever and wherever he could. He and his dad even set up miniature goals in their house so his father could teach him how to shoot properly.

Arjin’s work ethic and dedication made him improve faster than his recreational teammates and convinced his dad it was time for a change.

“I wouldn’t say the rec league was becoming too easy for him, but it definitely wasn’t challenging enough,” George Claire said.

That’s when the Claires reached out to San Juan Soccer Club, a competitive team in Sacramento.

To test and assess his skills, San Juan invited 7-year-old Arjin to guest play for them in a tournament in Danville.

“I got subbed in and immediately scored off a volley. That moment also happens to be my earliest memory of playing competitive soccer,” Arjin said.

He joined the team shortly thereafter and continued to play for San Juan for six years as a midfielder before transferring to East Sacramento Soccer Club, where he played four years.

“Transitioning from rec to comp, it was like graduating from little kid’s soccer to big kid’s soccer,” Arjin said.

While Arjin has been playing soccer since lower school, he improved the most as a high schooler.

He’s always been one of the smallest players on his team, but his physical growth and muscular development during his sophomore year made him feel more comfortable on the field.

“I’m still one of the smallest on the field, but I’m at an age where the size difference diminishes and is overshadowed by skill,” Arjin said.

All was going well for Arjin — he was getting stronger and faster by practicing with his East Sac team. Then the pandemic hit, and things got crazy.

His club practices transferred over to Zoom, led by the head coach: his own dad, George Claire.

Goals

Assists

32

8

#1 in State

#2 on Team

Arjin would set up his phone at an angle people who have never played soccer in and practice drills for 1 ½ hours, three days their lives. a week.

As a captain of the team with over a deHe was not a fan of Zoom soccer. cade of experience, it’s his job to mentor “The best part about soccer practice the newer players. is messing around and having fun with “I love helping out my teammates when your teammates. Not having that sense of they come up to me at the end of the game chemistry made it difficult for the team to with questions on how they can improve,” bond,” Arjin said.

Arjin said. “I feel like it’s my duty to pass After practicing over Zoom for the sum- on the knowledge I’ve learned.” mer of 2020, Arjin’s East Sacramento team Senior defender Ethan Monasa was collapsed. teammates with Arjin on the East SacraThe team consisted mostly of seniors mento team and plays with him on the high who were done with soccer and ready to go school team. to college. The lack of team spirit also disMonasa praised Arjin’s soccer IQ and vicouraged players and made them quit. sion for the game.

However, Arjin was in luck. The end of “Arjin sees the field well, and he has his club team lined perfect timing. He up perfectly with knows when and the beginning of where to play the high school soccer. ball,” Monasa said.

“I’m still one of the smallest Country Day During games, on the field, but I’m at an practices three Monasa’s job on detimes a week and fense is easier beage where the size differArjin uses them of Arjin. ence diminishes and is over- cause as his main soccer “I know he’ll take shadowed by skill.” training and does care of offense, weight training on which relieves his own. pressure from me ARJIN CLAIRE Senior year has on defense. Not bombarded him to mention he has with work and colgreat footwork and lege applications, so practicing his skills stamina. If he’s making a through pass to has been difficult. me, I know the ball will be placed exactly Still, Arjin leads all California public and where I need it to be,” Monasa said. private high schools in scoring with 32 The Country Day soccer team is coached goals.

by Athletic Director Matt Vargo and George For Arjin, club soccer and high school Champayne. soccer are two different worlds.

The two developed Arjin from a midAll the players on his club team had to fielder to a striker, whose sole purpose is to make tryouts, meaning they are all highly score goals. skilled.

Arjin appreciates Champayne’s versatil“There is an unspoken bond between ity as a coach. my teammates. Since we’ve all played soc“He’s a fun guy at practice, but during cer for a long time, we have an automatic games he is blunt with no hidden meaning understanding of the ins and outs of the behind what he says,” Arjin said. game,” Arjin said.

Arjin sees eye-to-eye with Champayne, Country Day’s high school team has since he’s the person who keeps the team some skilled players, but there are also grounded.

“

ARJIN CLAIRE

“I don’t sugarcoat anything with him. I tell him what he needs to do better in a few words, and he immediately understands me. No explanation needed,” Champayne said.

At Country Day soccer games, you will see Arjin coached by three people: Vargo, Champayne and his dad.

During the game, George Claire is always standing because he is too antsy and involved in the game to sit down.

Before the game and during halftime, George Claire goes up to his son to tell him how he can improve.

For George Claire, the most important aspect of playing soccer is that players need to enjoy the game.

“Arjin doesn’t play just because I’ve played my whole life. He plays because he is passionate about it,” George Claire said.

Arjin appreciates having his dad mentor him because he sees the game from another angle and can offer advice that he wouldn’t have received otherwise.

“When he comes up to me during halftime, it’s like comparing answers on a homework assignment,” Arjin said.

Both are avid Liverpool F.C. fans, so they often wake up early in the mornings to watch them play, not only for entertainment, but to analyze the skills and decisions of the professional players.

“We often pause and rewind the game to discuss what’s going on on the field, and I take those aspects and apply them to my own game,” Arjin said.

He believes education can take him further in life than making it to the professional leagues, so playing soccer in college isn’t a priority.

However, soccer isn’t completely out of the picture.

“If I can talk to the college coaches, try out and make the team, that would be great,” Arjin said. “But education has always come first.”

Ten to 15 years from now, Arjin would love it if his kids decided to play soccer, if they were willing.

“I’ve taken it to heart that if my kids don’t want to be soccer players, I’m not going to force it upon them just because it’s the sport I played,” Arjin said. “They need to have a love for the game.”

HEADING TO THE TOP (Clockwise from top-left)(From left) Seniors Arijit Trivedi, Nihal Gulati, Arjin Claire, Miles Morrow and Ethan Monasa pose after the Cavs’ 6-2 Oct. 5 win against Buckingham on Senior Night; Claire waits for kickoff on the Oct. 5 win; On Senior Night, Claire heads the ball to the goal; Claire holds off a Waldorf defender during their 7-0 Sept. 10 win. PHOTOS BY ARIJIT, ARIKTA TRIVEDI AND MILES MORROW

CENTER

OCTOBER 26, 2021

STORIES BY GARRETT XU, ARIKTA TRIVEDI, ARJIN CLAIRE AND NIHAL GULATI; GRAPHICS BY GARMAN XU, JACOB CHAND AND BRYNNE BARNARD-BAHN

06

CULINARY CLUB When the Culinary Club begins to meet, food will be baking in the stoves and frying in the pans, emitting a pleasant smell from the Culinary Club’s kitchen. The sound of clanging pots and the cutting of vegetables will soon fill the room as curious students stick their heads inside the club room, attracted by the delicious foods they are desperately waiting to try.

This is the vision club founders Arikta Trivedi and Vanessa Escobar imagined when they restarted the club this year.

The history of the club goes back more than 10 years, said Head of High School Brooke Wells. It has been a long tradition since Country Day alumni, Jeffrey Caves, ’13, started the club. Since then, there have been variations of the club for almost every year.

The tradition will be continued by senior co-presidents Trivedi and Escobar, along with adviser Joanne Melinson, the librarian.

While the club hasn’t scheduled its first meeting, the leaders plan to meet in the Multipurpose Room during flex with fun weekly cooking activities.

The purpose of Country Day’s Culinary

Club is to help students learn the basics of cooking and explore diverse cultural foods.

“The idea stemmed

from the fact that we’re seniors and we’re going to college next year, and we realized a lot of people don’t really have basic cooking skills,” Trivedi said.

“It’s a very useful and important skill to

use in college and later on in life.”

The Culinary Club also plans on inviting successful chefs to come and teach.

Melinson said her husband, Sean Magee, is a sous chef at Hawks, a popular restaurant in Granite Bay, and is more than happy to come and visit.

“Ms. Melinson also knows a lot of chefs in the area and good restaurants,” Trivedi said.

“Maybe we can go to certain restaurants and try different foods,” Escobar added.

Trivedi and Escobar hope students will try new foods from different countries and cultures.

“This month, we are planning on doing Latino food because it’s Latino heritage month,” Escobar said The club is open to everyone and no cooking experience is needed to join.

“If you want to learn how to make all kinds of food and you’re interested in eating it afterward, you should definitely come and join!” Escobar said.

FBLA CLUB Founded by freshmen Garrett Xu and Aaryan Gandhi, the Future Business Leaders of America Club looks to help students further their interest in business and finance.

“It’s a career club,” Xu said. “It’s like a starting ground for people who are interested in a business major and want to gain more knowledge.”

Xu emphasized that no prior knowledge is needed to join the club, and that students will learn and implement their skills in activities such as a stock market game or preparation for the in-state FBLA competition.

The competition consists of business based events such as business ethics projects, website building projects or a project that tackles modern

business issues. The competition is held at regional, state and national level competitions, starting at regional level.

This competition is the main goal of the club, Gandhi said.

“Over the years we slowly want to gain more members and start consistently qualifying for the state competition,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi had participated in the FBLA club at Winston Churchill Middle School, and Xu had heard of it while taking a math class at Rocklin High School. Together, they decided to try and start one at Country Day. The club meets on A days during flex time, 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., in club adviser Jason Hinojosa’s room

Hmm...What Club

RP O I NT

THE OCTAGON

07

ENVIRONMENTALIST CLUB A group of high schoolers, led by junior Adam Akins, is seen nearly every flex period digging through trash cans looking for recyclable items.

The Environmentalist Club, started by Akins, aims to spread awareness on environmental issues and promote conservation on campus through project-based learning.

“Currently, we’re working on a hydroponics system,” Akins said.

“We’re growing beautiful spring flowers in a solute filled to the brim with nutrients. This doesn’t require any fertilizer which has nitrogen and other phosphates which wreak havoc on our waterways.”

The club meets every Tuesday at flex in Room 26.

Akins is spreading recycling awareness by

holding a high school-wide competition by grade level. Whichever grade recycles the most during the week will

receive a prize. Juniors won the competition.

During the week of Oct. 18, the club kept count of recycling using name tags on school lunches.

One of the ultimate goals of

the club is to push for solar panel installation on campus. For now, Akins would like to start with smaller projects to increase awareness.

“We plan to work with our garden to expand our composting system and reduce waste, especially with school lunches,” he said.

The club has around 20 members, including junior Samhita Kumar. Kumar believes everyone can make a difference.

“The environment is really important and taking care of it is something everyone can do even if it’s just recycling the top of your pizza box after lunch,” she said.

KOREAN CLUB Walk into math teacher Patricia Jacobsen’s classroom during flex on Fridays, and you might see Korean Culture Club president Grace Eberhart teaching Korean phrases, enjoying Korean snacks or watching K-dramas with club members.

Eberhart founded Korean Club this year to help connect students to their cultural heritage.

“I founded the Korean Culture Club because I’m adopted from Seoul, South Korea,” she said. “Since I’ve been learning about Korean culture myself, I thought it would be fun to start a club and teach people about it.”

Eberhart gave an overview of her regular meeting plan.

“We start with a mini language lesson, so I’ll teach two basic phrases like ‘hi’, ‘bye’ and ‘thank you’,” Eberhart said.

“Then we’ll watch some Korean dramas

that teach people about their culture and help them learn a little bit about their language. Then, I bring some Korean snacks, which is part of their culture as well. They’re completely different from what we have here.”

Korean Club has met once so far this year, due to scheduling conflicts.

“Everything has been kind of crazy so we’ve only had one meeting.

We had two people that time so I’m gonna try and plan it a little bit better so it fits other people’s schedules,” Eberhart said.

Eberhart plans to have future meetings during flex on Fridays.

“I think of it more as a relaxing thing and it’s like a shift towards the weekend,” she said.

“I think that’s kind of a nice time and maybe it won’t be so hectic.”

b Should I Join?

08 OPINION

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

EDITORIAL: Keep COVID-19 rules consistent!

I

t used to be impossible to imagine high school at Country Day without the traditions that define it, such as the Ancil Hoffman Park trip, where high school students play a game of capture the flag in teams of red and black.

However, everything has changed with COVID-19; it has severely limited how much the school can allow.

Following the rules of the Sacramento County Public Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control should be the first priority to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The fact the school is being cautious and placing limitations to avoid the spread of coronavirus is excellent — except some of these limitations are not being applied consistently.

Take the school’s policy on field trips, students getting to and from school and teams traveling to sporting events.

The county recommends that field trips be postponed until COVID-19 cases decrease, which is understandable.

Kellie Whited, a member of the school’s COVID-19 policy board, said that these guidelines are subject to change with case counts.

“We would like nothing more than to lighten all of the restrictions, but we’re trying to do this very thoughtfully,” she said.

But what exactly constitutes a field trip?

High school students walked to a nearby park on Oct. 5 and had picnics with their advisories. Since there was no transportation required, this did not fall under the field trip guideline, said Head of High School Brooke Wells.

This distinction about transportation is not mentioned in the 2021-22 COVID-19 Policies and Procedures document, which outlines the school’s plans for the year. No guidelines forbidding shared transportation for students exist in either the SCPH K-12 rules, the K-12 guidelines set by the California Department of Public Health or the CDC’s rules.

In fact, all three bodies advise that the

“Guideline Debate” by Lilah Shorey

use of school buses or other shuttles is not unsafe as long as the windows are kept open and occupants are masked.

The school follows those guidelines with the morning and afternoon shuttle service — which has all school sections together and operates twice daily. Carpools are permissible and even encouraged to lessen traffic congestion on Latham Drive.

High schoolers also are allowed to travel together, with masks, in vans for sporting events such as soccer games.

Putting all of these guidelines on transportation together leads to a patchy, inconsistent picture. Does the COVID-19 safety of a particular vehicle change with the purpose of the trip it’s being used for?

Even students traveling to an indoor gym, playing a team that doesn’t wear masks, has been considered safe.

The school has already started to relax the restrictions around field trips — something we applaud.

For example, students in the middle school went to the American River on Oct. 19. Instead of school transportation, parents dropped students off at the location and picked them up afterwards.

So why can’t Ancil Hoffman happen?

All pieces of it are individually allowed — transportation to sports games for several hours at a stretch and shuttles to and from school that take at least twenty minutes, outdoor and indoor sporting events and trips to the park.

Why are they suddenly unsafe when put together? It’s clear that the school, the county, the state and the federal government consider the individual parts safe; the school should be consistent with its own guidelines and allow this field trip.

EDITORIAL: Getting the vaccine is our civic duty Anti-vaxxers argue that vaccine mandates defy their rights to individual liberty, and yet, in Jacobson v. Massachusetts court case of 1905, the Supreme Court determined that vaccine mandates do, in fact, fall within the state’s power to protect the public health and safety of its citizens.

Thus, earlier this month in a much-needed step toward normalcy, Gov. Gavin Newson announced that California is mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for all K-12 students once the FDA approves the vaccine for their grade range, adding the COVID-19 vaccine to a list of eight other mandatory vaccines.

With this announcement, Gov. Newsom revived the age-old debate: are vaccine mandates ethical?

To put it simply, yes.

Rights do not exist in the absence of responsibility, and thus, personal decisions should not forgo the safety of others.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.”

In the age of COVID-19, this manifests itself as an individual responsibility to protect the health of those in our community via vaccination.

For months, local health officials strongly encouraged all students 12 and older to receive the vaccine, and despite this strong encouragement, many opted to ignore their civic duty.

Now, left with no other choice, Newsom and local officials must require vaccines to protect the overall wellbeing of all members of our community, including those with pre-existing conditions.

Throughout the pandemic, Country Day has taken a conservative approach, and still, despite the postponement of class trips and the requirement of masks at all times, COVID-19 cases infiltrated our small community.

Although the majority of high school students are vaccinated, vaccines can only do so much.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 vaccines function to prevent severe

“It’s Our Only Shot” by Brynne Barnard-Bahn disease and death; however, breakthrough infections exist.

For Country Day, this means that it is not only the unvaccinated who stand a chance of contracting COVID-19 but also those who are fully vaccinated. Thus, the best method of minimizing harm is by requiring vaccination across the board, meaning the mandate could not have arrived at a better time.

At this point, all those who

intend to receive the vaccine have, so, is it right for the health of the many to rely on the decisions of the few?

It is not.

Therefore, we encourage all eligible members of the Country Day community to do their part in preventing COVID-19.

Although the state’s estimated deadline remains July 1, 2022, there is no reason to postpone our return to normalcy; the time to be vaccinated is now.

MY ANGLE: We need a boys volleyball team Ding. A Twitter notification. Someone had tagged me at 8 p.m. It was my volleyball teammate from middle school. He had just tweeted, “Me and the boys getting some late-night VB practice.” Right below, he attached a selfie with his new high school teammates. Three of them were on my former team.

Now here I am, lazing on the couch, watching “Saturday Night Live” while munching on a bag of stale BBQ chips. No achievements, no friends around me and certainly no Twitter posting material. Great, I’m jealous. I want to play volleyball.

But the only problem is, I can’t, and neither can any boy at Country Day. There just isn’t a boys volleyball team.

Like many others, I came to Country Day excited to play at a new school on a new team, just to have my hopes shattered. The closest thing to playing volleyball at school is either during P.E. or in school events. That’s it, nothing else. Why? Why can’t boys enjoy the sport too?

The one reason that comes to mind is the lack of demand and players for the sport in past years.

That is not the case this year. The student council has and is planning to host many new school events with volleyball as an activity. Events like these, like the high school volleyball tournament, bring greater exposure to the sport.

In fact, a large number of boys signed up and competed in that tournament recently. Out of the eight teams, three were boys-only teams and two mixed teams.

Juniors Jacob Chand’s and Rod Azghadi’s all-boys team won second place in the entire tournament.

From my two years of experience playing volleyball as a starting player in middle school, the sport has taught me the importance of teamwork more than anything. It’s a skill that doesn’t just apply to sports, but also in school, clubs and eventually in the workplace.

Volleyball is also a great way for students to bond and make friends who have common interests and hobbies. In my case, I became friends with two of my former teammates, and they are still some of my closest friends.

As for the physical aspect, multiple studies show that volleyball helps train the upper and lower body as well as improving oxygen and blood circulation. It’s also definitely helped me improve my handeye coordination and reflexes.

As the girls volleyball season is coming to an end, it’s time to think about whether SCDS will participate in the upcoming boys volleyball season in the spring.

Hopefully, before I graduate, I will be able to play volleyball for Country Day.

GARRETT XU

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS FOR KEEPING US IN THE BLACK! Anand Family, Chand Family, Claire Family, Eberhart Family, Gulati Family, Intel Foundation, Kumar Family, Monasa Family, Trivedi Family

FEATURE 09

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

Students work jobs, internships; gain new experiences awarded what Gulati described as a “good friend. Former Country Day student Lily big number.”

Schroeder worked at Camp Davis and carGulati enjoyed the process, even though pooled with Genetos on the trip to Davis. he high school job is an age-old rite it was rigorous.

Genetos enjoyed the work, its flexible of passage. This first job usually isn’t “I was working a lot on stuff Trevor gave hours and the fact that she worked halfeasy or glamorous. It’s a challenge.

From child care to building neu- me on my own. The web scraper took me day shifts.

“I still had evenings and the weekends ral networks, many Country Day students like eight hours a day,” Gulati said. “That spent this summer exploring different sec- was three intense weeks of work; for the to hang out with friends,” Genetos said. “I reinforcement learning program, it was don’t feel like I really lost my summer.” tors of the workforce.

Through her mother’s family friend at UC Senior Nihal Gulati virtually interned eight hours a day for about two weeks.”

With a Davis, Genetos at the UC Davis Future Mobility Lab. Guhas also been lati spent the whole summer working more classic exvolunteering with Ph.D. student Trevor Vidano writing ample of at COVID-19 A September 28 Octagon high school a chapter on safety products in consumer the highvaccine testvehicles. poll drew 36 responses. Of those: ing sites in Vidano is a control engineer, whose work s c h o o l s u m m e r Davis to help centers around creating the underlying Zoe manage supcontrol systems in motors. Gulati spent job, plies, testing most of his time working asynchronously, G e n e t o s worked as groups and sometimes in virtual calls with Vidano. a counselor contacts.

GeGulati is the self-proclaimed “Tech Lord netos works a said they volunteered said they currently of the Octagon” and interned at the Future for Camp full shift most or had a job/internvolunteer or have a Mobility Lab to train his interest in cod- Davis, a series of halfSaturdays and ship over the summer. job/internship. ing, artificial intelligence and constructing day camps Sundays. neural networks. sponsored “I spend Gulati secured this opportunity by the most of my as a result of going to the Future City of Datime organizing Mobility Lab with his father vis. needles and testing swabs by their dates multiple times. The Gulati Genetos went to and expiration dates and tests,” Genetos family also has an existing the same camps when said. “I also manage groups of people as relationship with the head she was younger and they wait for the vaccine and are observed of the lab, Professor Franalways loved the Kids before they are able to leave. Soon, when cis Assadian. in the Kitchen cooking booster clinics start opening up, I’ll be Gulati’s first task for camps. Genetos applied busy managing them.” the chapter was to comto be a counselor there and Senior Miles Morrow worked in the world pile a comprehensive subsequently spent eight of food service this summer. catalog of existing safety weeks teaching the children Morrow has been working at the newly systems in cars. of Davis. established Slim and Husky’s in downtown Gulati was initially Before starting, Genetos needed a Sacramento since they opened nearly a planning on manually gobattery of certifications. year ago. ing through hundreds of “I needed to get CPR certified, Morrow is working on balancing the pages of automobile webfirst aid certified and then I went weight of a rigorous senior class load with sites. through some seminars to help me continuing to work, and Slim and Husky’s He recognized that identify child abuse,” she said. has been able to support his busy schedule. this would take an abThe day-to-day was simple. Ge“They’ve made me feel really welcome, surd amount of time, so he netos started each day with an hour and I really appreciate everyone I work designed a web scraper that and a half in the kitchen, guiding with,” Morrow said. “They’ve made it feel automated a system to parse and teaching how to cook meals like a family. I want to keep working here web pages for the data he was and then led games in the after- until I move for college.” seeking. noon. They focused on themes Morrow said the job has given him exTheir primary goal was to ranging from something as sim- perience in a fast-paced workplace. He teach an artificial intelligence ple as breakfast to the Olympics described himself as a jack-of-all-trades, program to handle evasive maGames. handling bussing, dishwashing and food neuvers for a car through a proGenetos worked with two age prep in cycles. cess called reinforcement learning. groups, alternating weeks with 7 As the school year has started to gear up, The learning process mirrors to 10-year-olds and 10 to 13-yearhe has been able to maintain his schedule classical conditioning. Each time olds. of two four-hour shifts on Saturdays and the program creates a Genetos was lucky Sundays. favorable outcome it is JUNIOR SIMONE DEBERRY enough to work with a Junior Ryan Paul used his summer to ex-

BY ADAM AKINS

21

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11

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ANSWERS:

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T

plore a possible career path by participating in a virtual unpaid internship with the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Paul, who just started the Economics Club, applied for the internship when he was still living in Singapore. Paul has been fascinated with economics and plans to pursue finance in his professional life.

“I looked online for internships, and I came across the Federal Department of Treasury,” Paul said. “My parents didn’t know. I went through everything by myself, and when we got here right before school, I told them. They had no clue. Of course, when I got it I told them, and they were happy.”

Paul works about an hour each day after school and during his free periods and two hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

Paul’s work right now involves an internal survey. He mainly interfaces with a representative from the Treasury to improve the working environments of Treasury employees. Paul is the youngest intern on staff in this nationwide program.

Also combining a summer job and a learning experience, junior Simone DeBerry got to explore her interest in teaching through her position as an educator and adviser for Breakthrough Sacramento.

DeBerry, the youngest educator on staff, applied for the salaried position at Breakthrough after volunteering during the 2020-21 school year as a teacher’s assistant for a Sacramento elementary school.

DeBerry worked in the science department and was responsible for curating and creating lesson plans as well as teaching.

“The directors provided us with a list of topics we needed to cover, but outside of that we created everything else from scratch.”

DeBerry appreciated getting a taste of teaching and liked the challenge of helping young learners overcome their issues in class and learning as a whole.

“I don’t think I’ll return to Breakthrough, but the opportunity let me explore academia and has supported my interest in high academia as a profession in my future,” DeBerry said.

DeBerry described the challenging experience of a first-time job and how she was able to find fulfillment in the work.

“I thoroughly enjoyed getting to work with students and getting to push myself to test my own capabilities in a setting where it wasn’t rigidly graded,” DeBerry said. “I was able to push myself just for the sake of bettering myself.”

10 A&E

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

Where’s the pumpkin aisle?

Senior tests palate with pumpkin products

A

utumn has arrived, turning both the leaves and our food red, yellow or most importantly, orange.

After searching far and wide for the most bizarre new additions to the pumpkin food scene, I assembled a set of products, including both sweet and savory options, for the palate of any consumer. But first, I sought to gain a better understanding of the true originator of the pumpkin-spice craze. A plain raw pumpkin would do the trick, putting me in the proper mindset for the taste test.

Raw Pumpkin To describe the pumpkin in one word: disappointing. Practically lacking all flavor, it was more of a texture than an actual taste. It felt stringy, like when a hair gets caught in your mouth, and you try in every possible way to get it out to, sadly, no avail.

The flavor felt bitter, making it difficult to swallow as my tongue attempted to avoid the piece that rolled around my mouth before slowing down and sliding down my throat.

If in dire need of eating plain pumpkin, I would recommend roasting it, instead of eating it raw.

Pumpkin Ice Cream The Trader hits a hole-in-one, once again, with its lusciously creamy Pumpkin Ice Cream on its second tour in stores.

When the flavors hits your tastebuds, the only thing that comes to mind is the desire for more. Without a single doubt in mind, this is the best pumpkin-flavored item to ever end up in a consumer’s hands.

On the outside of the quart of ice cream, the words “Super Premium” are written. I couldn’t have said it better myself. The consistency is spot on, and the flavors melt in your mouth. The flavors come together with ease, tingling your tastebuds for minutes after you finish. You can never go wrong with this ice cream.

Precisely executing the pumpkin spice trifecta, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, this is a must-try for absolutely everyone.

RECEIPT

TEL:1-800-PUM-PKIN -------------------------------------------------------------DATE: 10-26-2021

10:31

-------------------------------------------------------------RAW PUMPKIN

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM PUMPKIN MARSHMALLOWS

PUMPKIN ALFREDO SAUCE

PUMPKIN OAT BEVERAGE

PUMPKIN SPICE TWINKIES

-------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL PUMPKIN REVIEW

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING! STORY BY DYLAN MARGOLIS; GRAPHICS BY ROD AZGHADI AND MILES MORROW

Pumpkin Marshmallows Jetpuff decided to release pumpkin-spice-flavored marshmallows.

The undertones of the pumpkin in the marshmallow were practically unnoticeable. Every bite felt like an archeological expedition for my tongue, excavating the nonexistent remains of flavor from the marshmallows; all to say, the pumpkin-spice-flavored marshmallow was extremely unsatisfactory.

Even more unfavorable than the lack of taste was the rotten-like presentation. Appearing as if they had been sitting on the shelf since 2011, the majority of the marshmallows had converged into one brownish clump, reminding any buyer of their last bout with food poisoning.

They aren’t the worst, but it should taste like pumpkin, not like any ordinary marshmallow.

Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

Pumpkin Twinkies

This autumn, Trader Joe’s released a brand new pumpkin-inspired item, Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce, a somewhat pointless addition to Trader Joe’s otherwise phenomenal lineup of products. There is nothing inherently wrong with this sauce, but that’s the problem: it’s right down the middle, and just too bland.

Due to the lack of flavor, you have to drown the pasta in the sauce. Possibly, this could be a clever business technique, forcing consumers to use more of the sauce so they have to come back to the store and buy more, but that seems like a bit of a stretch.

Furthermore, the most prominent flavors taste more like a butternut squash sauce, a sort of nutty and sweetened flavor, than pumpkin, which is fine, except when the sauce is called Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce.

Trader Joe’s should rebrand this item.

Original Twinkies are an extremely non-recommendable and oversweet experience, but Pumpkin Spice Flavored Twinkies are a radically different story. Sweet, creamy, moist and most importantly, containing a strong pumpkin flavor, pumpkin spice Twinkies are a knock-out-of-the-park.

After tearing apart the plastic wrap surrounding each individually wrapped Twinkie, a strong aroma of nutmeg, clove and cinnamon hit the air sending flashbacks of cutting open a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

The only difference between the original and the pumpkin version is the cream in the middle of the cake, but that small replacement makes an enormous improvement.

As per usual, the cake is a thin, almost wet layer that shimmies down your throat with ease, but unfortunately not as simply through the arteries. Even though the distinct buttery flavor of the cake is clearly laboratory-made rather than churned, it still brings a satisfying depth to the light cake.

The flavor of the cream once again reflects the notes of nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Then, for the ultimate conclusion, all of these ingredients paired together create an enjoyable treat for a few brief moments.

Regrettably, the Twinkie shifts gears after its completion.

Quickly, a heavy feeling appears in your gut, followed by an overly sweet taste in your mouth. A graph of the enjoyment would most definitely depict a line with a negative slope.

These feelings soon mellow out but heavily impact both the quality of the food and my possibility of returning to try another in the same sitting.

Highly similar to a heavily corporatized version of a pumpkin pie, the Pumpkin Spice Twinkie is mostly a success.

Pumpkin Oat Beverage Everyone’s favorite trader, Joe, has released yet another brand new item, a variation of their oat milk, or as they call it, Non-Dairy Oat Beverage.

For the packaging, they have just slapped pumpkin in the middle of the title labeling it, Non-Dairy Pumpkin Oat Beverage, but the name is the least of anyone’s worries; more significantly, how does it taste?

Surprisingly exceptional.

The classic blend of fall spices, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove flawlessly combine to create a smooth, creamy liquid that desires to be drunk.

After sampling the drink at room temperature and cold, it’s safe to say that the “beverage” is better chilled, but if I had to guess, warming the milk would easily beat out the competition. Has a tall glass of warm milk ever not been phenomenal? I don’t think so.

Whenever drinking a milk substitute, negative thoughts rapidly come to my mind. Can the rich flavors of milk be accurately reproduced?

Will milk’s smooth consistency be captured? And most importantly, will there not be a foul aftertaste lingering in your mouth, reminding you of the inferiority the knockoffs have to actual milk? Fortunately, all of these questions are easily answerable by one three-letter word: yes.

A consistent problem with pumpkin spice-flavored items is the lack of pumpkin flavor; this is definitely not an issue with the prominent, rich and velvety flavors that are present in the beverage.

Unless pumpkin is not even slightly your forte, definitely give this a shot.

FEATURE 11

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

CONQUERING CANCER (Left to right) Smiling for a picture, 18-year-old Kelley Brown sits in her UCLA hospital room during leukemia treatment; Brown (fourth from right) and her donor, Joe DiNatale (second from right), pose with family at Brown’s wedding in 2014. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KELLEY BROWN

Cancer battle inspires consultant’s career in education

I

BY SIMONE DEBERRY

n 2006, it seemed leukemia destroyed Kelley Brown’s dreams of motherhood; now, Country Day’s as-needed consultant spends her time supporting struggling students and raising her two-year-old daughter.

Three weeks into her freshman year at Loyola Marymount University, Brown experienced the worst headache of her life. On a retreat in the mountains, she dismissed the headache as a symptom of altitude sickness.

“I remember going to the bathroom, and as I’m washing my hands, I saw this bruise begin to appear. Immediately, alarms went off in my head. All I had done was shut the door.”

That Sunday, a nun drove Brown back to campus, and she stopped by the health center the following day. There, staff collected blood but suggested she eat some red meat while awaiting an official diagnosis.

A devoted student, Brown insisted on attending class. Still in her pajamas, she would drag herself out of bed and shuffle across campus.

Tuesday morning, Brown received a call from the center.

Her blood counts were so low that she was immediately rushed to the UCLA Emergency Room.

“At the E.R., they told me that I was in such poor condition that had I fallen, I likely would have died from internal bleeding.”

After numerous tests and a bone marrow biopsy, Brown was officially diagnosed with biphenotypic leukemia, a rare form of cancer in which a patient has both acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

At the time of her diagnosis, Sept. 19, 2006, recovery from ALL was doable. With an 80%-90% recovery rate, treatment entailed two years of chemotherapy. On the other hand, little was known about AML, making its fatality rate significantly higher. Even less was known about treating both concurrently.

Due to the severity of her case, Brown learned that she would likely be unable to have children of her own, a revelation that confirmed her decision to pursue education.

“I always wanted to be a mom,” Brown said. “With that supposedly off the table, I decided that becoming a teacher would fulfill my calling to be around kids.”

As Brown came to terms with her new reality, her treatment team sought

out a bone marrow donor.

After a match with Brown’s 15-yearold brother came back negative, her treatment team turned to Be The Match, a nonprofit that provides life-saving transplants, primarily bone marrow.

Luckily for Brown, a perfect match was identified in just 78 days, making the period between her diagnosis and her transplant the fastest in UCLA history at that time.

“I feel incredibly sad thinking about the system and all the people that died before anything could occur,” Brown said. “For them, I try to truly appreciate the gift of life.”

Brown returned to Sacramento in April of 2007 and LMU the following fall, where she graduated in 2011 as valedictorian of her class.

At LMU, Brown suffered from a condition widely referred to as “chemo brain.” Chemo brain refers to the thinking and memory problems that occur during and after chemotherapy.

If a page had previously required one read, she found herself reading it 10 times.

“I learned what it felt like to really struggle, something I think helps me as a learning specialist,” she said. “It is important to empathize with students and understand their needs, and there is no better way to do that than by experiencing their struggle.”

In the spirit of connection, Brown reached out to her donor a year after her transplant, and the two met at Disneyland shortly thereafter.

Brown’s donor, Joe DiNatale, is an ex-Air Force fighter pilot with two daughters. He is now 48 years old, and in the years following their first encounter, he has witnessed many monumental moments in Brown’s life.

When Brown married her husband, she and DiNatale shared a first dance, a moment that brought tears to the eyes of every guest in attendance.

“He’s my perfect match,” she said, “and I am incredibly lucky to call him family.”

When Brown gave birth to her first daughter two and a half years ago after years of fertility treatment, she knew that DiNatale would be an important figure for her daughter to meet.

This year, Brown, her husband, and her daughter traveled to see DiNatale and his family. Entirely on her own, Brown’s daughter began to refer to DiNatale as “Uncle Joe,” an indication of the familial bond.

At the end of the day, DiNatale feels grateful to be a part of her story.

“Leukemia was a chapter in her life, and any point of this story would bring tears to my eyes,” he said. “She has grown to be such a strong woman, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

High school English teacher Jason Hinojosa feels equally thankful to call Brown his friend.

The two met in his first year at Country Day when she invited him to her “Friday the 13th” Halloween party.

Immediately, he and his wife knew this would be the start of a genuine friendship.

In fact, when Hinojosa and his wife found themselves in dire need of support, Brown jumped at the opportunity to help a friend.

“When my wife went into labor with our second child at two in the morning, it was actually Kelley who looked after our two-year-old daughter,” Hinojosa said.

After numerous calls to his wife’s parents and failed attempts to contact a neighbor, the couple turned to Brown.

In her typical fashion, she picked up in just one ring. Immediately, she agreed to come over.

“That’s Kelley,” Hinojosa said, “She goes above and beyond every opportunity she gets.”

High school biology teacher Kellie Whited reinforces this narrative of Brown as a conscientious and dedicated person.

The two sit on the TLC (Teaching and Learning Committee) Committee, and once a year, Brown speaks to Whited’s class about her battle with leukemia.

“If I had to pick one word to describe her it would be ‘grace’,” Whited said.

“She exemplifies every sense of the word.”

In her years at Country Day, Brown has always been a welcoming and giving presence. As she takes some time away to look after herself and her family, her legacy lives on throughout the campus.

“Every time I leave a conversation with her, I find myself in a better mood than before,” Whited said, “and that is a phenomenon that extends beyond just me. She truly is a person like no other.”

How can you help?

Consultant Kelley Brown battled leukemia her freshman year of college. An incredibly giving and passionate person, her impact is unique, but her story is shared by many across the nation.

The Leukemia Research Foundation reports that over 382,000 people are currently living with or in remission from leukemia; approximately 67 people succumb to the disease daily.

The Institute for Justice reveals that of the total annual fatalities, at least 3,000 occur because a patient cannot find his or her match. This is not a statistic to be accepted.

The Be The Match Registry actively seeks donors nationwide.

According to Be The Match, younger donors provide a better chance of a successful transplant. Thus, the ideal new member falls between 18 and 35 years of age, although about 25% are older.

Age is not the only relevant factor; ethnic background also plays a large role because the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) that the registry attempts to match is inherited.

With the majority of donors being white, it is increasingly necessary for POC to join the registry, a relatively easy process.

To join, you must answer a few questions online and order a swab kit. Once it arrives, swab your cheeks and send it to the nearest lab.

Joe DiNatale, Brown’s donor, joined the registry while donating blood at work.

“Since it was only a swab, it was an easy ‘yes,’” he said.

If you are identified as a patient’s match, doctors collect stem cells from your bloodstream or from the back of your pelvic bone.

Either way, soreness dissipates within days; its impact is lifelong.

“Saving a life is an experience like no other,” DiNatale said, “and I encourage anyone who is eligible to join the registry.”

Total Number of Volunteer Marrow Donors: 7,056,000

Volunteer Marrow Donors on Registry by Race as of September 30, 2020 (Health Resources & Service Administration) (GRAPHIC BY SIMONE DEBERRY)

12 ENDPOINT

OCTOBER 26, 2021 • THE OCTAGON

costume couture T

he idea of celebrating Halloween is all fun and games — until it’s days away and you still don’t have a costume. Here are some simple and cheap ideas to put together a last-minute costume.

STORY BY LAUREN LU; GRAPHICS BY SAMHITA KUMAR

Rosie the Riveter is one of the more common Halloween costumes for those who don’t want to splurge on an expensive costume only to wear it for a single night.

She is the allegorical female character of World War II. Rosie represents the women who took on traditionally masculine occupations like factory work because so many men were away at war.

All you need to recreate her outfit is a red bandanna or handkerchief used as a headband and lots of denim.

Rosie sports a denim jumpsuit, but overalls or a denim button-up and jeans would do the trick.

ROSIE THE RIVETER

For those seeking a fun costume idea for a group of friends, look no further! Dress up as the Men in Black — it’s easy to execute and iconic.

The costume is easily recognizable, and anyone looking at your group will immediately know the look you’re trying to emulate.

A black suit, tie and sunglasses are the only things required for this costume. However, if you don’t have a suit, a dark-colored blazer, black tie and black pants could easily pass.

Conveniently, these clothing items are often worn outside of Halloween, so most people already own them.

MEN IN BLACK

Dressing up as a Ty Beanie Baby is an easy last-minute Halloween costume idea.

Beanie Babies are a brand of stuffed animals who are recognizable by their big, sparkly, expressive eyes.

For the main part of the outfit, you can wear any animal onesie, something a lot of people already own. Onesies can be purchased at most department stores, such as Target or Walmart.

The most complicated part of this costume will require a little DIY skill, creating the heart-shaped tag. You can fashion it out of red construction paper, cardstock, or cardboard recycled from an old box and painted red.

Afterward, you can use a white marker, pen or pencil to write the letters “TY” on the front to match the actual tag. If you don’t own one, simply use white glue to write out the letters.

The last step is to poke a hole in the top corner of the tag and string thread or twine through it, forming a cord for the tag to hang from!

If you like memes, I recommend dressing up as Dwayne Johnson’s iconic fanny pack photo. Most of the clothes required are probably already in your wardrobe — a black turtleneck, blue jeans, a dark belt and assorted silver jewelry.

All of the clothes needed for the costume are casual and in-style, so the purchase costing a couple of extra dollars is more reasonable due to the outfit’s wearability outside of Halloween.

It’s also a sneaky way to find out who’s cultured and understands the meme reference.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACEK RUZYCZKA

beanie baby

DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON