The student-run publication of Stuart Hall High School | 1715 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
Volume 14, Issue 1 | Friday, August 23, 2019
Athletics Calendar Football vs Cornerstone Christian Sept. 6 4:00 p.m. 2200 Wymore Way
Cross-country vs Lowell Sept. 7 9 a.m. Hellman Hollow
Football vs Woodside Priory Sept. 13
3:30 PM Woodside Priory School
Cross-country BCL West Scrimmage Sept. 17
4 p.m. Golden Gate Park Polo Fields
Football vs South Fork High School Sept. 27 7 p.m. South Fork High School
Cross Country vs Westmoor Ram Sept. 28
9 a.m. Westmoor High School Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable
Ninth graders play a game of human knot during Freshman Success Aug. 15. Orientation took place on both campuses over a period of two days and also served as a social opportunity.
Community welcomes incoming class
Freshmen participate in 2-day orientation
personalities and talents,” Grade 9 Chair Sarah Garlinghouse said. “They have a lot of energy and a lot of spirit, and they seem fantastic.” Stuart Hall freshmen met at the Pine/Octavia Campus, received an introduction from Head of School Tony Farrell and played games like human knot and knockout with strength and conditioning coach Barclay Spring. Freshmen then gathered at St. Benedict Deaf Parish to meet their advisors. “This is a very important event
for people to get to know each other,” freshman Ansh Ghayalod said. “It’s important for people to make friends.” While the event began as a single-sex experience on Thursday, Friday was entirely coed. “The coed part of freshman success was very important because it was a good opportunity to branch out beyond the girls that I had already spent time getting to know,” freshman Callie Akel said. Freshmen started their Friday at their respective campuses and
then came together for activities such as attempting to build marshmallow and toothpick sculptures in coed groups at the Broadway Campus. The freshmen ended their day at the Presidio Bowling Alley. Although freshmen are without emails and many resources they will need this coming school year, the grade chairs told them not to worry. “No need to be perfect in the first couple of weeks,” Garlinghouse said. “We're here to help so always ask for help.”
Knights prepare for fall season
Team members from both sports say summer practices helped them bond with each other. “The team chemistry is looking great, especially since we have a lot of returning players this year,” center Michael Metz ’20 said. “Myself and the other upperclassmen hope to create strong bonds with the underclassmen to make us better as a team.” Football team members say summer workouts are beneficial to the entire team. “The summer practices I’ve been going to will definitely make me a better player out on the field,” Banks said. “Being well-conditioned is the first step to being a really good quarterback.” Team members say many
students have joined the sports teams as a way to connect with their peers. “A lot of new people joined the team this year,” Nick Kuwada ’20 said. “Joining a sports team is a great way for an incoming freshman, for example, to meet new people and get introduced to the culture of the school before the year starts.” Buckley sees two major benefits to underclassmen joining a team. “I think the first and most obvious benefit is that joining a team is a great way to make connections with others, specifically upperclassmen,” Buckley said. “Kids coming out of middle school have not been challenged in this way, and so it completely redefines what they think they can do.”
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Will Burns Staff
ncoming freshmen took part in a variety of games and activities at Freshman Success Aug. 15 and 16 as they got to know each other and become familiar with their classes, schedule and school resources. “Every new year is like a fresh start with a whole new crop of
Teams train during summer break
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Sartaj Rajpal Staff
he Knights football and cross-country teams spent their summer practicing to prepare for the 2019 fall sports season. “We had optional workouts with Barclay [Spring] at the performance lab,” quarterback Max Banks ’21 said. “The team also had a few mandatory practices closer to the end of summer where instead of lifting weights, we actually played football.” Spring is also working with team members to improve physical conditioning. “We’re constantly working on
the athlete’s athleticism,” Spring said. “In the game of football, you need to be bigger, faster, and stronger than your opponent, so we’re constantly trying to build the body.” Cross-country got together during the summer to run on city streets and worked on conditioning. “We’ve been working out three days a week from midJune up until the end of July,” head coach Michael Buckley said. “Last week of July, we had our preseason camp where we worked out every day and then starting Aug. 12 we’ve been practicing normally every day.”
New Faculty Usually found on P/O Campus
Alex Broussard
Chemistry, Biology
Anthony Clemons Math
Thomas Esponnette Math, College Counseling
Bruno Vetter
History
The Roundtable | August 23, 2019
Seniors attend annual workshop College admissions reps work with students Owen Murray Staff
Owen Murray | The Roundtable
Elena Wong, an admissions department representative from Drew University, gives senior Kyle Jasper feedback on his CommonApp essay. Ten university representatives helped seniors begin their college application process during last week’s workshop.
Owen's Opinion
process as a whole, and she gave me some really great advice on how to approach the process,” senior Antonio Woo said. “Being with someone who knows the process extremely well allowed me to learn information that’s difficult to access otherwise.” Many of the admissions professionals were from out of town, and all had experience reading applications for colleges. “It was as if she was reading it as part of my application,” Woo said. “She’s read countless essays in her career, so I appreciated her advice greatly.”
Youth need to advocate for justice By Owen Murray
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n a time when social media promotes youth participation in activism, it is puzzling that teens and young adults have stayed silent amidst the chaos surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s indictment before his suicide. Multi-millionaire and businessman Jeffrey Epstein was taken into custody in New Jersey on July 6 and subsequently charged with large scale trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. Two months later, he was found dead in his jail cell. The coroner ruled his death a suicide. Allegations of sexual misconduct are appalling, but they shouldn’t be particularly surprising. Officials knew about Epstein’s lascivious attitude towards mi-
nors and his history of misconduct for a while. Epstein was convicted over a decade ago for procuring minors for sex, yet he served only 13 months at the Palm Beach Stockade, where he was able to visit his offices for up to 12 hours a day under a work release agreement. It’s obvious that the inadequate punishment wasn’t enough to stop Epstein from continuing to perpetrate. But, social awareness may have. The Me Too movement that began in 2017 shined light on numerous cases of sexual misconduct, some of which involved public figures. The stories of those victims who came forward were retweeted, posted about and com-
Columbus Room renovations experience delay Construction expected to end in November
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Seniors attended a workshop Aug. 15 and 16 that gave them a headstart on the college application process. “The college essay workshop allowed time for me to work on my Common Application, various essays and get back into the school day routine,” senior Cole Slater said. Although the workshop focused largely on the Common Application and its main essay, students also learned about supplemental essays — addition-
al pieces of writing that may be mandatory when applying to certain schools. “I had already put a lot of work into my Common Application essay, so I did have some extra time during the workshop,” Slater said, “but I did learn about supplements, and that was very valuable.” Because students were at different places in their essay and application progress, everyone met with a college admissions professional one-on-one. “I was able to speak to the lady I met with about the application
Owen Akel Staff
espite renovations beginning last May, the soon-to-be renamed Columbus Hall is not finished in time for the start of the 2019-20 school year due to significant delays encountered at the beginning of the construction process. The installation of a fully functional commercial kitchen is expected to be completed sometime in November. “It will be completely different than what was previously experienced in that space,” Geoff DeSantis, Director of Physical Plant, said about the results of the renovations. The new kitchen, which will take the place of the bathrooms
and storage cabinets, will allow SAGE Dining Services to cook and prepare food at the Pine/Octavia Campus. “Now that the lunch program is part of everyday life, we need to provide that atmosphere, that kitchen and that full functionality for the students and faculty,” De Santis said. After the renovation is complete, new circular and rectangular tables will be set up in Columbus Hall to provide a variety of seating options for both students and faculty. “Given how limited the old space was, it was often hard to find a place to sit during lunch,” sophomore Gregory Kosmowski said about previous Columbus Room conditions. “I think that
mented on by anyone who wanted to raise awareness — including young activists. The movement received extensive media coverage, which consequently raised awareness about sexual violence. If activists discussed the lack of punishment Epstein faced back when he was originally convicted in 2008, the whole case against Epstein would have been under media scrutiny. Media attention then could have led to a harsher punishment for him. This could have saved minors from future violence and misconduct. Epstein is now dead, but that does not mean that awareness cannot be raised and that justice
cannot be realized. Teens posted about the Me Too movement a couple years ago to raise awareness for sexual violence. These teens considered themselves activists, but they remain silent while victims of Epstein fight for justice. The world knows that Epstein was involved with other New York elites like Bill Clinton and Alan Dershowitz. Epstein had a painting of Clinton in his apartment, and Dershowitz has been accused of misconduct himself. Awareness about Epstein’s crimes could pressure authorities to dig deeper into the powerful men and women connected to Epstein. But, the world is quiet, and the youth activists stay silent.
the renovations along with the schedule change will solve this problem.” The School is implementing a new lunch schedule with about half of students eating after their second period class at 11:25 a.m. and the other half eating after their third period class at 12:50 p.m. “Given the space that we had here previously, the variety and options were pretty limited,” DeSantis said. “Without a doubt, the quality and the option is going to be significantly higher than in past experience.” Food is presently cooked and prepared at the Broadway Campus’ kitchen and then transported to the Pine/Octavia Campus for lunch. “The quality and the selections are going to be exactly what you see on the Broadway Campus,” DeSantis said about lunches once the new space is complete.. SAGE Dining Services’ lunch offering at the Broadway Campus
includes a daily hot lunch option as well as a variety of cold options, including both a sandwich and salad bar. “Before, the Columbus Room did not feel like a cafeteria,” sophomore Liam Ahn said. “Although I am upset the completion is delayed, I am excited for the results. It will be a great space for the whole community to gather.” School meetings and assemblies will also take place in Columbus Hall after renovations are complete. “I would say that the vision of President Krejcarek is what brought this forth,” DeSantis said. Stuart Hall High School is nearly a 20-year-old institution, and this is the first major renovation that has taken place in the Columbus Room since the school first opened in 2001. “I can’t wait,” DeSantis said. “As it seemingly transforms daily, that’s when pride kicks in, and crews are working really hard to finish it as soon as possible.”
It is imperative that awareness is raised about Epstein’s malfeasances so that minors are less likely to be exploited by powerful individuals. Human trafficking is operating as a $32 billion business in the United States, according to the Polaris Project. Raising awareness for its pervasiveness could make unscrupulous individuals like Epstein less likely to exploit. To raise awareness, though, teens and young adults needs to speak out using the tools they are most familiar with: social media. Teens have been so successful at raising awareness in the past. They can have a large impact on awareness about exploitation of minors.
The Roundtable 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
Staff Owen Murray Sartaj Rajpal Nik Chupkin Owen Akel Will Burns Tracy Anne Sena, CJE | Adviser 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
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High School Carnival
Picture Day5
Grade 12 College Labor Day Info Night5 No School
Homecoming Dance
Homecoming Game
6-8 p.m. Courtyard
All day Courtyard
6:30-7 p.m. Syufy Theatre
7-10 p.m. Little Theater
6 p.m. Kezar