Volume 15, Issue 7

The student-run publication of Stuart Hall High School | 1715 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Volume 15, Issue 7 | Friday, May 21, 2021

Community grapples with changing traditions

Story on PAGE 4 Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

SENIOR RETREAT Senior Chase Mack writes down highs and lows from each year of high school on Post-its prior to sticking them to a wall during a Senior Retreat activity.

Seniors separated into their advisories and took turns walking around the venue to put up and read each other's memories.

Shields, hoops and history Program as old as Stuart Hall has become its most competitive yet

A

Henry Murray

Sports Editor

s the starting five works through the options of an offensive set in preparation for a week packed with league games, coach Charley Johnson shakes his head in frustration.

“We are running this until it’s perfect. Back up top,” Johnson calls out.

Twenty-one years since Stuart Hall’s founding, the basketball program has established itself as the most competitive athletic program in the school, regularly winning league competition, reaching the NorCal title twice and making an appearance at the state championship.

“I have been the head coach since the school opened, so this will be my 21st season,” Johnson said. “We have been a successful

team from the beginning.”

Although the first two Stuart Hall basketball teams played at the JV level, one year later the first varsity team had a winning 14-11 record.

“I realized that we could compete against any competition in 2015 when we had a 30-4 season,” Johnson said. “We had talented guys and that team was a defining moment for the program.”

Stuart Hall basketball has produced over a dozen collegiate players and won its first ever NorCal title in 2018, advancing to the Division IV CIF State Final at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The school canceled a day of classes and bussed all grades from both high school divisions to Sacramento to support the team.

“I was a freshman at the time playing on the JV team, so it was super cool to watch the older guys compete at such a high level in a professional basketball stadium,” captain Makana Leavitt said. “It made me realize that Stuart Hall basketball is no joke, and that I was a part of the future of the program.”

Despite Stuart Hall being a relatively new school, Johnson says creating a competitive Team's continues on 7

School to implement changes next year

Students can expect new schedule, iPads

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Sartaj Rajpal

Editor-in-Chief

new class schedule and the implementation of additional digital devices are among the changes students can expect in the 2021-22 school year.

The school implemented the current schedule of two, twohour blocks per day to create small class cohorts to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission within the school. With COVID-19 cases declining nationwide and the Bay Area having one of the lowest transmission rates, Convent & Stuart Hall has more leeway to alter next year’s schedule.

“We have a committee of faculty from multiple departments and administrators who meet regularly to look at schedule options and make sense of what

might work,” Head of School Tony Farrell said. “They try to envision what the DPH guidelines might be.”

The San Francisco Department of Public Health formulates guidelines that schools must adhere to.

Farrell says next year will likely not see a return to the pre-pandemic schedule, in which students took four classes per day, and will instead combine the positive aspects of both schedules.

“There were things that were good about this schedule,” Farrell said. “A lot of students were reporting that having four classes was a grind. The pandemic and our in-person scheduling has given us ideas on what might be a better student experience.”

On-campus continues on 2

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

BROADCASTING 2

Club livestreams home games during pandemic

IDENTITY 4

Preserving the 'Knights of the Hall' identity

ATHLETICS 7

Reopened sports season yields victories

The Roundtable Stuart Hall High School Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco 2222 Broadway San Francisco, CA 94115

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News

The Roundtable | May 21, 2021

Juniors provide livestreams of home games Club gives audiences opportunity to watch games through pandemic

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Will Burns

Senior Reporter

group of juniors is livestreaming school sports games while in-person fan attendance is prohibited at indoor high school sporting events during the pandemic except for team members’ families.

The Broadcasting Club is using Zoom and YouTube Live to stream home games.

“We're broadcasting both boys and girls basketball, as well as girls volleyball,” Isaiah Ryan, one of the Broadcasting Club leaders, said.

The club has built setups consisting of an iPad, tripod and microphone on the mezzanines of both the Broadway Herbert Center and the Pine/Octavia Dungeon and divides tasks among its members to allow for multiple streams during games.

“I do all the behind-thescenes tech stuff,” junior Bo Darwin said. “I set up the camera, get the YouTube Live going, get the microphone set up, mute it, unmute it, focus the video on the court, anything tech-related.”

Club members say they are providing commentary on varsity games to improve the audience experience.

“It was pretty hard to commentate when we played against Marin Academy because I didn't know any of their players’ names,” junior Zeke Noveshen said. “In the future, we hope to get full rosters so as to make our commentating sound more

A

Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

CHEERING ON VIRTUALLY Junior Isaiah Ryan tests an iPad camera and microphone prior to a Knights basketball frosh-soph game against Urban High School in the Herbert Center on May 7, 2021. The Zoom livestream included real-time commentary.

professional.”

While there is still uncertainty regarding when fans can return to in-person events, club members say their main goal is to ensure that streams are available to everyone.

“My favorite part is letting the community get to see the games,” Noveshen said. “Nobody loves watching Stuart Hall basketball live more than me, and it’s rewarding to watch the game and support the crew while also

letting the whole school watch.”

Although the club's revival is in response to COVID-19 regulations, club leaders say they plan to continue broadcasting for the foreseeable future.

“It had already existed for boys basketball before the pandemic,” Ryan said about broadcasting in previous years. “Next year, we as a group plan on continuing it, especially because it'll be easier given the chance we wouldn’t have to deal with

COVID-19 restrictions.”

While the group currently consists completely of juniors, Ryan and Noveshen hope to bring underclassmen on board to continue their work next year.

“I am specifically interested in basketball but also broadcasting itself,“ Ryan said. “It's an interesting way of not just learning about broadcasting but actually being a part of the process, and to give sports a wider reach to our community.”

On-campus COVID-19 testing, vaccinations to continue School from 1

Students say they would like to see a change in the schedule to accommodate for a more continuous learning experience.

“I think the schedule should be changed because right now class gets tiring,” senior Aidan Villasenor said. “We’re doing the same two classes for four weeks, and then you forget the other content. It’s not conducive

to good scores on IB tests or AP tests.”

Classes will most likely run longer than four weeks to mitigate the negative effects shortterm learning has on retaining information and doing well on standardized tests.

“We’re now asking questions like, ‘What is the number of blocks we can offer?’” regis-

Community educates about genocide

trar Betsy Pfeiffer said. “We’ve gotten information back that it’ll be more similar to the year before than the schedule that we have now. We sent out a survey to students to give us feedback on what they enjoyed from this year and what they did not. We’re taking that information.”

Besides changes in the schedule, students will also receive new technology that administrators say may increase their productivity.

The school will provide iPads and digital styluses for all high school students. Two devices may be more useful for students than one, especially when one device is being used for virtual learning, according to President Ann Marie Krejcarek.

“I believe that it’s a great addition for students,” junior Daniel Hawkins-Collins said.

“We won’t really have to worry about paper and notes. On top of that, the digital pencils are going to be great because we won’t need to worry about erasers and broken pencils. It will also definitely help me with my digital art.”

The school will also continue to offer COVID-19 testing and vaccinations as well as continu-

Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

HYBRID INSTRUCTION Spanish teacher Francisco Teixeira uses a Meeting Owl camera in a class to help students engage in both in-person and virtual instruction. The cameras come with speakers and microphones so that students could see and hear one another in a hybrid learning environment.

ing to work with an infectious disease consultant to ensure the school is playing its part in helping San Francisco achieve herd immunity, according to Krejcarek.

Herd immunity occurs when the majority of a community is immune to a disease, which renders the spread of the pathogen

from person to person unlikely, according to Mayo Clinic.

School officials say the pros and cons of this past semester will inform further changes.

“We’ll be working with the best practices and the recommendations for what makes sense to have in-person school,” Farrell said.

Bailey Parent

Reporter

group of students has been serving as board members of a grassroots organization committed to growing the capacity of leaders to educate about genocide and partake in youth activism.

The Helen and Joe Farkas Center for the Study of the Holocaust in Catholic Schools “seeks to honor Holocaust survivors and bring them together with today’s students,” according to the organization.

“It is imperative that we continue to pass on the stories of Holocaust survivors and prevent the spread of hate,” senior Wolfie Tobiason, who is on the Farkas Center Board, said. “The resurgence of white supremacy and antisemitism highlights how important it is that we remain vigilant and active.”

Tobiason says being part of the organization has helped him serve his community.

“Working with the Farkas Center is a unique opportunity for me to experience how a board works together for the good of our community,” Tobiason said. “This is a transformative experience that I will always remember.”

Along with a handful of Bay Area students, educators and scholars, ethics teacher Elena LeGault is a member of the Farkas Center Board.

“I've been working with the Farkas Center for three years,” LeGault said. “I am on the planning committee for programs, and I work with students and other board members to plan events for schools.”

The center primarily focuses on teaching about the Holocaust at Bay Area Catholic schools, including Mercy Burlingame, Riordan and Convent & Stuart Hall.

“I think it’s really important,” Legault said about Holocaust education. “Catholic schools often do really have a focus on social justice and our school is definitely one of those.”

LeGault says she incorporates Holocaust education into her classes.

“One of the classes I'm teaching is Theory of Knowledge, and when we look at history as an area of knowledge, we look at the Holocaust,” LeGault said. “I also had a really great opportunity in the Gender, Power & Ethics class to have a guest speaker talk about the persecution of LGBTQ people in the Holocaust.”

Student board members say they will carry on the teachings of the Farkas Center so that they could educate the next generation and work toward stopping genocides.

“While my time at the Farkas Center is coming to a close, I will carry on the stories of survivors and hope to educate others,” Tobiason said. “I am committed to combating ignorance and Holocaust denial.”

Features

The Roundtable | May 21, 2021

Hockey duo

Upperclassmen's hockey team places at national competition

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Owen Akel Web Editor

WEEEEEEEEET! Although when the final whistle blew at the end of a back-and-forth game on April 18 the Tri-Valley Blue Devils went home defeated, junior Matthew Lim and senior Trieu Tran held their heads high knowing their hockey team had finished third in the Youth Tier II 18U 3A National Championships.

“Matthew scored and tied it up when we had about 15 and a half minutes left to go in the game,” head coach Mike Holmes said. “After Matthew’s goal, we seemed to be getting the better chances, and honestly I thought we were going to score another goal and win.”

Lim’s goal happened during a penalty kill, a term that refers to his team having one less player on the ice than the other team.

“We started that period down a man,” Holmes said when reflecting on the play. “It’s not typical that you score when you are down a man like this, but Trieu and Matt have done that all year.”

Lim and Tran are the team's best penalty kill duo, according to Holmes.

“As a freshman I joined Trieu’s team, and we've been linemates ever since then,” Lim said. “Our

coaches don't want to split us up.

They always keep us together for the purposes of chemistry.”

The two of them led the team in scoring in nationals, with both players accounting for 6 points and having assisted each other's goals.

“I always kept those two together because they just had this sense of where each other were, and they passed together so well,” Holmes said. “They create havoc on the other team's ability to set up on the power play. Then they score sometimes too.”

Lim and Tran had to travel out of state for all of their games due to California Amateur Hockey Association COVID-19 restrictions.

“I think it felt extra special that we were able to do so well this year,” Lim said. “The fact

that we were able to come together during COVID and be one of the best teams in the na-

Deborah Dagang | With permission

PENALTY KILLERS Junior Matt Lim and senior Trieu Tran celebrate after having just scored a goal during their semi-final game at the 2021 USA Hockey National Championships. The Tri-Valley Blue Devils team, which both student athletes play on, placed third in the Tier II 18 and Under division.

tion this year is very impressive and rewarding.”

While the national championship was held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the Blue Devils also competed in other states such as Minnesota and Texas.

“Immediately after the end of our hockey season, I felt a huge sense of gratitude for my ability to play,” Tran said reflecting on the Blue Devils schedule, “as many teams and players across the country were held back and unable to play due to COVID restrictions.”

Both players had to miss extensive amounts of school to attend these tournaments, ex-

acerbated by COVID-19 guidelines for travel and reentering California.

“Juggling both sports and academics at times was extremely hard,” Tran said. “Despite these circumstances, my teachers also had an unquestionable impact on my academics in light of understanding my extracurricular schedule and commitments.”

As hockey is a niche sport in California, both Lim and Tran said they have gotten used to a lack of acknowledgment for their achievements.

“It's pretty normal to me not to be recognized, especially playing hockey,” Lim said.

“It's not too popular h e r e .

It's just good to be recognized now that we've gotten so far and that hockey has taken me to a place where I could be proud of where I am.”

That said, Holmes said he hopes his players get the recognition they deserve.

“They get almost no recognition at high school and yet we play on a national team that's an elite team of all stars from Northern California,” Holmes said. “I can tell you they're both very modest, but I want to make sure you definitely talk up these two guys because they're both very, very good.

Completing her final draft

Journalism educator to retire after 25 years at schools

S

Nik Chupkin

Editor-in-Chief

tudents who arrived at school in the early morning could usually spot Scholastic Journalism & Media Director Tracy Sena working in the Publications Lab on the Third Floor of the Siboni Center.

Beginning next school year, however, the school community will be missing Sena, who is retiring, and remembering how her mentorship helped students improve as writers while producing high quality journalistic work that has won many local and national awards.

“I believe that I was called to be a teacher,” Sena said when reflecting on her career and pedagogical practices. “It’s a vocation.

You look at what is the best way to help teach students to understand, and by understanding, to dig deeper and take their work to a higher level.”

Sena originally ran the computer lab at Convent High School while helping start a student newspaper at the school’s request. She soon began attending national journalism conventions with her students.

“We took four students that first year, and the one thing that became obvious is these newspapers that were winning the awards were 100 times bet-

ter than we were,” Sena said.

“We continued to go to national journalism conferences, and eventually I got certified as a journalism educator and really sunk myself into the craft of high school newspapers.”

Convent Head of School Rachel Simpson started working at Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco in 1996 — ­ at the same time as Sena — and says she is grateful for Sena’s contributions to students.

“With the decades of student publications that belong in our archives and the development of students as excellent writers and thinkers to such a degree that many have gone on to pursue

professional careers in journalism, she has emboldened students to believe even more deeply in themselves and what they’re capable of,” Simpson said.

Although Sena began her journalism education career

as adviser of “The Broadview,” Convent High School’s student publication, she also took over The Roundtable in 2016.

“One of the big surprises was seeing how differently a newspaper staff of boys and a newspaper staff of girls relate to each other in a group.” Sena said. “If you look at the stories which the boys cover and the girls cover, you’re going to see their different biases simply because they’re coming from different perspectives, and that’s been really exciting.”

Owen Murray (’20), former editor-in-chief of The Roundtable, studied under Sena’s mentorship and says she helped foster his writing skills, academic interests and ability to express himself freely.

“When I heard she was retiring, the first thing I thought about was how her career at Convent & Stuart Hall touched so many students and positively influenced them at extremely formative times in their lives,” Murray said. “She always fought for the rights of students to write and investigate independently from the school administration.”

Head of School Tony Farrell says Sena has been instrumental in amplifying student voices during her five years advising the Stuart Hall student newspaper,

Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

STUDENT PRESS Tracy Sena, Scholastic Journalism & Media Director, sits in front of the Publications Lab with seven years of First Amendment Press Freedom Awards behind her. Sena facilitated a journalism program in which student work has been nationally recognized for its excellence.

especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This has been such an unusual time in terms of the way that people receive news,” Farrell said. “It’s been incredibly valuable to have Ms. Sena helping our students to understand what journalism actually is, and then to facilitate our students creating a document that orients them into what journalism should be.”

Although Sena spends most of her time at school working in the Publications Lab, she says her work does not end when she leaves campus.

“I don’t ever really leave the

Pub Lab,” Sena said. “I bring it home with me. One of the things about seeing teaching as a vocation is that I’ve made sacrifices in my personal life for the good of my students.”

Sena says she will take the principles of the Sacred Heart community with her into the next chapter of her life.

“I am really proud to have been a Sacred Heart educator for 25 years,” Sena said. “Sacred Heart schools know what they are about. I’ll take those values with me in whatever I decide to do. They may actually form what I decide to do in this next chapter.”

Identity

The Roundtable | May 21, 2021

Knights of the Hall: R

2 divisions, 1 school 2 0 0 1 Stuart Hall moved to the current campus from the Star of the Sea school after construction culminated in the summer of 2001.

Convent & Stuart Hall Communications Office

Convent & Stuart Hall adopted an official logo to represent all four divisions. The logo combined the Sacred Heart "ribbon heart" with the "rampant lion" from the family crest of Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ.

Max Depatie | Roundtable archive

2 0 1 5 2 0 1 6

Convent & Stuart Hall expanded coed class offerings, which had been reserved for international languages since 2010, to all departments.

2 0 1 9 "The Legend" and "Tres Bien" published their first flip yearbook with Stuart Hall on one side and Convent on the other.

Knights tradition evolves in in

Class of 2021 reminisces about h

A

Owen Akel Web Editor

s the Class of 2021 approaches graduation, many seniors say they appreciated attending high school in an all-boys environment and say they hope that the tradition of brotherhood remains an integral part of attending Stuart Hall.

“The best part of my Stuart Hall experience is the broth-

erhood you find with all your peers,” Chase Mack said. “I love everybody in my grade, and, I think a lot of people would say the same.”

While Stuart Hall is not the single-sex school it was in 2000 when it opened its doors to its first freshman class, students say

the limited coed education Stuart Hall offers does not detract from their sense of community.

“It's actually kind of a benefit that we're more integrated with Convent because you still get that Stuart Hall brotherhood,” Mack said, “but at the same time, you're able to have the important experience of a coed education which helps prepare you for the real world.”

Many seniors say this sense of brotherhood allowed them to feel comfortable and accepted in a new community when they entered the school as freshmen.

“I am a shy person, so it was difficult for me to find my group and make friends at first,” Cole Matthes said. “At freshman orientation, one of my great friends now came up to me and took me under his wing, introducing me to all his friends. I feel like this really represents the type of person who goes to Stuart Hall and the culture of brotherhood at our school.”

Seniors say their sophomore Costa Rica service trip — a coed experience — cultivated Stuart Hall’s brotherhood.

“I was at first hesitant to

go alone witho to a different c Maruyama said. nervous, I soon was nearly every we arrived at the ed participating nervousness fade rience became o able to bond wit on a unique leve were put into a

uncomfortable s Seniors say brotherhood wi ter they gradua Knight on their s dise to emphasiz “In recent ye to move away f as a mascot,” M

Identity

The Roundtable | May 21, 2021

Reclaiming an identity

Senior Class roster

Key to Class of 2021 caricatures included in this issue 1. Anto Clarke 2. Noah Cross 3. Charlie Keldsen 4. Vincent Behnke 5. Aidan Villasenor 6. Eamonn Kenny 7. Jack Cady 8. Hayden Evans 9. Max Sanz-Pastor 10. Miles Raneri 11. Trieu Tran 12. Doug Dawkins 13. Owen O'Dell 14. Wolfie Tobiason 15. Shun Lopez 16. Alex Di Napoli 17. Monty Buesnel 18. Sam Kaplan 19. Zack Rodriguez 20. Teiva Ulufatu 21. Jackson Moore 22. Vasco Travis

29. Bryan Maruyama 30. Nik Chupkin 31. Sartaj Rajpal 32. Makana Leavitt 33. Anthony Sharp

ABOUT THE

SENIORS

Favorite tradition

history, brotherhood of Stuart Hall

situation.” they hope this ill continue afate, and put the senior merchanze that wish. ears they've tried from the Knight Mack said, refer-

34. Mac Hatfield 35. Luke Moore 36. Josh Puccinelli 37. David Tobin 38. Liam Walker 39. Jake Falconer 40. D'Angelo Flores 41. Ryan Lam 42. Cyrus Ghorbani 43. Henry Murray 44. David Louie-Grover 45. Eon Kounalakis 46. Aidan Settles 47. Drew Eislund 48. Mark Smith 49. Nicholas Schiller 50. Gabe Fong 51. Jaylen Chu 52. Peter Wolfe 53. Oliver Whalen 54. Brandon Yuan 55. Elijah Yturri-Sigal Caricatures by Robin Tsai | The Roundtable

ncreasingly coed environment

out my family country,” Bryan “Although I was realized that so ybody else. Once e resort and startin activities, my ed and the expeone where I was th my classmates el because we all a vulnerable and

23. Chase Mack 24. Cole Matthes 25. Mattheus Tellini 26. Max Banks 27. Chris Davis 28. Ethan Reader

encing the school branding athletic merchandise with Convent & Stuart Hall’s four-division logo rather than the Stuart Hall Knight since 2016.

The mascot has been a point of controversy between Stuart Hall students and the administration in the past, especially after the school painted over the knight’s shield and cherry blossom murals during school renovations at the beginning of last school year.

Some students saw these actions as a referendum on Stuart Hall’s culture.

“I decided to put the Knight on the senior merchandise to highlight that it really represents Stuart Hall as a school,” Mack, who is also a senior class representative in student government, said. “The Knight represents Stuart Hall’s brotherhood and the unique culture cultivated at Stuart Hall, and I think everybody that goes here agrees.”

In medieval times, knights followed a code of chivalry that impelled them to conduct themselves in an honorable and courageous manner, according to Britannica. Such values align

with the Sacred Heart Goals Prayer principles of seeking to create “persons of courage and integrity,” and are, thus, key aspects of a Stuart Hall education.

Seniors say that despite changes to the school’s mascot, logo and campus in recent years, preserving these values is of the utmost importance.

“Being a Knight means representing all of the past classes that

Favorite subject 29% Sciences

74.5% Congé 29% Ethics & Theology 9% Spirit Week & Homecoming

5.5% Winter Formal

10% Math 18% Social Sciences

3.5% Start of Year Dance

2% Noëls

<2% each: Foreign Languages, English, Arts

5.5% Chapel & Acknowledgements

Sports played*

shaped our community’s identity,” Student Body President Mattheus Tellini said. “As Stuart Hall Knights, it is our obligation to honor their work by continuing to build a sense of brotherhood with our classmates and upholding the unity and intimacy of our community.”

15

Basketball Badminton Baseball Cross-country Fencing Football Golf Lacrosse Sailing Soccer Swimming Tennis Track & Field Wrestling

9 2

16 12

4

12

2

16

1

11

19

11 0

*Of the 53 seniors who said they played on at least one school sports team, 41 said they played two or more sports.

5

10

15

20

Source: Roundtable Google Form survey with 100% response rate from 55 seniors Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

Op-Ed

The Roundtable | May 21, 2021

Staff Editorial

Fully in-person instruction needs to resume

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Herd immunity should eliminate need for distance learning

s coronavirus vaccines become more widely available and the administration makes plans for the upcoming school year, it needs to strongly encourage all students to attend in-person classes, as various studies have shown that distance learning can impact students’ academic performance and mental health.

Enough California residents will be vaccinated against the coronavirus within the next three weeks to reach herd immunity, according to Dr. Monica Gandhi, a University of California San Francisco infectious disease specialist said on May 5.

Fifty-three percent of San Franciscans are fully vaccinated, according to DataSF. Predictions are that more than 70% of San Francisco’s vaccine-eligible population will be fully vaccinated in three weeks.

We praise Convent & Stuart Hall for coordinating the onsite distribution of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to students, parents and neighborhood residents who meet age eligibility criteria.

While making exceptions for attending online classes when students had at-risk parents or people in their households — or were even at risk themselves — was extremely important before the majority of San Franciscans were vaccinated, the school should not allow students to attend classes remotely.

Students know this as well.

Sixty-four percent of students said that they were worried about maintaining “focus and discipline” during online classes, according to a survey by Barnes

"This reminds me of our cheer, 'Hall on three, family on six,' and I see us living that out. We are pushing each other to be better and have each other's backs." ­— Max Banks, 12

Connor Zanoli & Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

& Noble Education.

Forty-five percent of the students in the same survey indicated they were concerned about their academics suffering as a result of online learning.

Besides declines in academic performance, students could suffer socially due to online school. “The physical distancing measures mandated globally to contain the spread of COVID-19 are radically reducing adolescents' opportunities to engage in face-to-face social contact outside their household,” according to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

These reduced “opportunities” are significant, as high school students are at a stage in their lives where they have a “heightened sensitivity to social stimuli,” according to the NCBI, meaning they require more social interaction than the average adult.

Students involved in the Barnes & Noble Education survey articulated this very prob-

lem, as 55% of them indicated they were concerned about the lack of social interaction in online learning because they learn better around their peers.

Perhaps more important than academic performance, however, are the mental health problems that can arise from a lack of social interaction.

While no long-term studies are available on depriving humans of social interaction, studies on animals have shown that there are “substantial and potentially long-term effects of social deprivation and isolation in adolescence on behaviours associated with mental health problems.”

Loneliness, although not proven through experimentation, is also correlated with depression, anxiety and suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Goal 4 of a Sacred Heart education emphasizes “the building of community as a Christian value,” which additionally obligates

Convent & Stuart Hall to get students fully back to in-person instruction as soon as possible and bring the community back together.

Convent & Stuart Hall should not allow students to attend online classes at the beginning of next school year or readily provide the option as it did this year, when such measures were necessary.

Although the school should require students to attend in-person attendance, they may need to make some exceptions for serious reasons such as unvaccinated and immuno-compromised family members or those who cannot get the vaccine due to health reasons.

It is ultimately best for students’ wellbeing — both academically and mentally — to attend in-person school. As a prestigious academic institution, Convent & Stuart Hall should require that most students be on campus for the 2021-2022 school year.

We can gain more than we lost Nik Chupkin & Sartaj Rajpal Editors-in-Chief

T

he pandemic has robbed high schoolers of key teenage experiences such as class retreats, school dances, graduation ceremonies and most of all, spending time with each other.

We’re all disappointed. These emotions are valid, but it’s only part of the story.

Although we have experienced much loss, our generation has also gained unique experiences we can utilize to our benefit. Let’s not focus on what we’ve lost. Instead, let’s think about what we have learned.

When the pandemic first began, we were confined to our homes and glued to our computer screens. In-person interaction with non-family members was virtually nonexistent.

With access to friends greatly diminished, we had to learn how

What does it mean to be a Knight of the Hall?

Youth have potential to utilize lessons learned from pandemic despite obstacles to rely on ourselves for support.

In the process of facing our demons by ourselves, we’ve learned how to deal with difficulty.

These experiences have magnified our coping mechanisms and have made us more resilient.

“The ability of teens to weather the pandemic is closely tied to the strength of their executive function abilities — or the mental skills we use to navigate daily life,” according to a Stanford study published in August 2020.

A year of social isolation has also taught us to build healthy routines and care for our bodies physical health.

Being confined to our homes with fitness centers closed, it was easy to lose motivation to eat healthy and exercise.

“During the initial phase of

lockdown, the participants had a negative situational perception and a lack of motivation for fitness exercise,” according to a Banaras Hindu University study published in late 2020. “However, there was a gradual increase in positive self-perception and motivation to overcome their dependence on gym and fitness equipment and to continue fitness exercises at home.”

Realizing we would remain in isolation much longer than we first thought, we had to learn to take our physical health into our own hands and establish new health routines that worked for us while allowing us to remain safe.

The many alterations to daily life during the pandemic have taught us to be grateful for what we have while making us better at accepting change.

As the country slowly reopens, teens — high school seniors, especially — have learned to be grateful and roll with the punches.

Experiencing a global pandemic has shown us the extent of many pressing issues including rapid climate change, racism and increasing economic inequality.

It has also given us a glimpse of what we are capable of.

We developed a vaccine in under a year and revolutionized our relationship with technology. We rekindled the civil rights movement and learned how to be alone. We persevered.

Now, we look to the future with optimism.

The pandemic has altered our expectations, but it has also given our generation a unique set of experiences that we can use to better the world.

"Being a Knight means caring for everyone around you and being part of a community." ­— Chris Davis, 12

"Being a Knight means being part of a brotherhood that wants to see you succeed." ­— Ethan Reader, 12

"Being a Knight just means to be the best person you can while treating those around you with respect." ­— Bryan Maruyama, 12

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Staff Sartaj Rajpal | Editor-in-Chief Nik Chupkin | Editor-in-Chief Henry Murray | Sports Editor Owen Akel | Web Editor Will Burns | Senior Reporter Robin Tsai | Cartoonist Kavi Gandhi | Cartoonist Ansh Ghayalod | Reporter Bailey Parent | Reporter Connor Zanoli | Designer Cole Charas | Designer Tracy Anne Sena, CJE | Adviser Stuart Hall High School Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco School Address 1715 Octavia St. San Francisco, CA 94109 Mailing Address 2222 Broadway San Francisco, CA 94115 Contact the Staff roundtable@sacredsf.org 415.292.3161 Unsigned pieces are the opinion of the editorial staff. Reviews and personal columns are the opinions of the individual author and are not necessarily those of Stuart Hall High School or Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco.

Corrections and letters may be addressed to the editors at roundtable@sacredsf.org.

Sports

The Roundtable | May 21, 2021

Team's history goes back 21 years

Athletics are back in full swing Knights end year-long hiatus

Peter Summersgill | With permission

Shields from 1

program took hard work and help from a great assistant coaching staff.

“Being the head coach from the start definitely helped my connection to the program and the players, but I have had great assistants from the start,” Johnson said. “The assistants have been with the program for 10 to 11 years, which is very rare to see in high school sports and speaks to our chemistry.”

Mike Pearlman is the assistant varsity coach and is also a lawyer working in San Francisco.

Richard Robinson is the head JV coach and assistant varsity coach, who is also the Director of Camps, Clinics and Academy Program for Bay City Basketball.

“Having multiple coaches with different perspectives and strengths has helped my game,” senior Mac Hatfield said. “It is a privilege to have

Henry's Huddle

coaches who know the game so well.”

The JV team has not lost more than five games in the past six years and has gone undefeated in league play for the past two years.

“Naturally, a worry I have is to keep maintaining the bar we set as a program,” Johnson said.

“I look to the younger guys as the future.”

After the coronavirus put a halt to school sports, the basketball season is now beginning its truncated season with 12 games, 10 in conference and two out of conference. Their current record is 3-2.

“We have all been waiting for so long to play basketball, and it feels great to be wearing a Stuart Hall jersey again,” Leavitt said.

“As a senior I feel the need to make the most of the time we have left.”

Although league coronavi-

PLAYING DEFENSE Sophomore Drake Warren boxes out a Marin Academy player to get the rebound at the JV game on May 13, 2021. The Knights defeated Marin Academy, San Domenico and the International School in the frosh-soph, JV and varsity games to deliver three triple header wins.

rus rules allow only household members to attend games and prohibit students from attending, links to view broadcasts of all games are available to the school community.

“Some of my fondest memories at Stuart Hall are being on the home court and seeing all of the fans packed into the stands in the Dungeon,” Hatfield said.

“It is hard not to be able to see a lot of our fans in person.”

While the current season is far from normal, Johnson says that the structure and community focus the basketball program has will not change.

“Winning is obviously important for me and it’s something I love,” Johnson said.

“But Winning North Coast vsections and league championships will always fall flat in comparison to the relationships I build with the kids on and off the court.”

Vasco Travis | With permission

Elena De Santis | With permission

Amelia Abernathy | With permission

1. Senior Liam Walker plays defense against a University High School Red Devil at the lacrosse game on April 28, 2021. Stuart Hall lacrosse defeated University 16-4 and placed second in the league.

2. Juniors Aiden Guibert and AP Pang race in the 110 meter hurdles event at the BCL West #2 track meet on April 23, 2021. The Knights placed among the top 10 in each event at the meet.

NCAA must immediately lift money-earning ban on college players Henry Murray Sports Editor

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Student athletes should be able to profit off their image, likeness

CAA President Mark Emmert announced to the New York Times on May 4 that he supports allowing student athletes to profit off their fame amid some state governments passing laws in favor of the policy that are set to go into effect July 1.

Despite Emmert’s comments, the governing body has been postponing a vote on the policy since January.

Hunter Woodhall, a double amputee professional track athlete who received an NCAA Division I scholarship in 2017 to attend the University of Arkansas, anchored the 4x400m relay team in 2020 helping the Razorbacks secure the Southeast indoor championship and is favored to win the gold med-

al at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

As well as being a star athlete with commanding presence on the track, Woodhall has 3.1 million social media followers across a variety of platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

With the substantial following Woodhall has amassed in the past two years, he has also received revenue from his various social media platforms, but the revenue he receives violates NCAA policy since he is using his likeness to earn money.

The NCAA has recently been under legal pressure to allow athletes to make money independently and publicly stated in April 2020 that it would loosen its current regulations, but back-

tracked in January 2021, saying it needed more time before implementing the relaxed rules.

This inaction led to Woodhall leaving Arkansas and pursuing his professional track career while freely posting on social media.

In some states such as California and Florida, NCAA athletes can make money independently under their name and likeness, and this rule must become a national policy.

There is no reason the NCAA should be able to use images and videos of student athletes in their self-promotional ads while not letting them profit off themselves, rendering them unpaid laborers.

It is beyond absurd that student athletes need to worry

about becoming too famous on social media and earning money.

The NCAA defends its stance by claiming that if student athletes were allowed to earn money independently, only the top male athletes in football and basketball would benefit.

The reality is that out of 30 college athletes with top social media followings, over half come from non-revenue sports like track, tennis and wrestling, according to the New York Times.

Social media has become an intrinsic part of the lives of Generations Y and Z. The NCAA must accept this truth and allow student athletes to earn money independently, even if a school logo appears in something as trivial as a ten second TikTok video.

Ana Gonzalez | With permission

3. Sophomore Joseph Hubbard prepares to pitch at a baseball game against the San Domenico School on March 26, 2021. Stuart Hall baseball won nine out of 10 games during Season 2 sports.

4. Senior Eamonn Kenny prepares for a free kick at a game against Marin Academy on May 14, 2021.

Despite an unsuccessful season thus far, players said they were grateful to play during COVID-19.

Should college athletes own their images?

"If it's making people money to support their career, I don't see a problem with it."

— Victor Weiss, 9

"It doesn't make sense that they can't make money off their image. They're just like any other athlete." ­ — Evan Marriott, 9

Arts & Entertainment

The Roundtable | May 21, 2021

New exhibit combines art with technology

Display features animated projections of Van Gogh's most famous works

A

Jullian Sevillano

Reporter

s San Francisco starts allowing museums to reopen at limited capacity, a popular new exhibition that blends 19th-century post-impressionist art with modern technology is quickly becoming the hottest ticket to hold, attracting members of the school community.

“Immersive Van Gogh” features massive projections of Dutch-painter Vincent Van Gogh on the expansive walls and floor of a former car dealership complete with harmonizing background music.

“Art has always been a huge part of San Francisco's culture,” senior Eon Kounalakis, who went to the exhibit, said. “To see things like this pop up again really makes me hopeful for the future of this city, especially with the lifting of COVID-19 measures.”

The exhibit features 300,000 cubic feet of projection, 60,600 frames of video and 90 mil-

lion pixels, according to Van Gogh SF. “It was a unique experience, as it connected sounds and animated images to create an immersive environment that put together a collage of Van Gogh’s art,” Kounalakis said. “I learned more about the life of Vincent Van Gogh and about new techniques in digital art that allowed the exhibit to be so unique.”

Some art department faculty have gone to the exhibit as well.

“I went to the Van Gogh exhibit last night,” art teacher Julie Martin said on May 7. “It’s pretty affordable, and it does give you an opportunity to see the whole range of his work from every phase of his life.”

Martin says utilizing technology in art displays is beneficial to its accessibility.

“It allows you to see a lot of work at once,” Martin said about the digital aspect of the exhibit. “It opens up the availability of seeing Van Gogh’s work, and it's cool when modern technology is used to create that

Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

ART & TECHNOLOGY Visitors to the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit watch as the animated projections on the walls and floor prepare to transition to Vincent Van Gogh's famous piece "Starry Night Over the Rhône." The display featured approximately half an hour of the post-impressionist artist's works.

accessibility.”

The venue has implemented a variety of coronavirus safety measures that include temperature checks upon arrival, required face coverings and social distancing circles projected on the floor of the venue.

“We’re proud to be operating an experience where it is safe to GOGH,” reads a message on

the exhibit’s website. “To ensure your safety, and based on guidance from the CDC and other government agencies, our walkin exhibition will operate with enhanced safety measures.”

Tickets are available online only at $40 off-peak and $50 on-peak, but guests 6-16 years of age may purchase basic admission tickets discounted at

$25. The show is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days, and runs through Sept. 6 at 10 Van Ness St., San Francisco.

“This exhibit is an awesome addition to the city's artscape,” Kounalakis said. “It ties together modern and classic art in a way that I have never seen before. I encourage other people to try and check it out.”

Burnout

Sneakers are a form of artistic self-expression Will Burns

Senior Reporter

S

Shoe designs can portray personalities, support causes, make statements

hoes are tangible representations of the personalities of their wearer, and whether one enjoys standing out, holding back or simply not caring what they put on their feet, their shoes can tell a story.

Although everyday white sneakers are designed not to stand out and still look good when dirty, they can actively make a statement about their wearer by customization.

Personalized sneakers can serve as statement pieces that help a wearer express their support for a cause, stand out from their friends or become part of a greater community.

Nike’s annual program with the Oregon Health and Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital since 2003 has

Do you have a dream pair of shoes?

raised over $30 million by having children design shoes for a limited collection.

The children, who are current patients of the hospital, design shoes that incorporate various aspects of their personal lives and interests, creating unique colorways that are true expressions of themselves. This year the program auctioned off the sneakers on eBay and donated all proceeds to the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, according to the OHSU. While not everyone has the chance to design a colorway — a term for the color scheme of a given shoe — of their favorite shoe with a brand, it’s still possible to customize shoes and use them as canvases to pieces of art.

Los Angeles-based artist Dominic Ciambrone creates custom shoes nearly from scratch, taking the sole of an existing shoe and working with clients to create a bespoke shoe.

Although most people are not likely creating their own shoes from scratch, there are plenty of simple methods of customization they can try such as drawing, painting, stenciling on designs with a marker or even sewing onto the uppers.

When people sport a variety of shoe styles and designs, they create a miniature art gallery consisting of all the feet that walk the streets on a daily basis.

Looking down and exploring the various “shoe galleries”

around town can help reveal an often unseen aspect of local culture.

More people should start seeing shoes not as a common everyday object but as a simple and effective method of self-expression that everyone can access, and take the opportunity to customize their sneakers.

Shoes aren’t just clothes, and they aren’t simply vessels for our feet to traverse the world in.

They provide everyone with an unmatched opportunity to express themselves on a daily basis, and while there will never be a requirement to make a statement with one's footwear, people should feel confident that they will always have the freedom to do so.

Jordan Max 200 Olympic

Jordan 4 Retro Pure Money

Nike SB Shane O'Neil Summit White

Common Projects Achiles Low

Worn by Eric Lee

Worn by Woods Boudreau

Worn by Asher Thompson

Worn by Aidan Zanoli

"My dream pair is Air Mags because they're expensive and I can sell them."

— Will Ferguson, 11

"Off White Ten collection blazers. It's the most well done, taken apart and put back together shoe."­ — Lev Cohen, 10