February 2016 Issue

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2016-2017 schedule revealed

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Students react to new seven-day cycle of 60- to 80-minute classes.

Bouncing Back

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Girls’ soccer finishes 6-1, earns second seed on the road to SPC.

What’s Inside News Features Sports Centerspread

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Culture Opinions Odds & Ends.........

Photostory

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ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER | SJSREVIEW.COM | 2401 CLAREMONT LANE · HOUSTON, TX 77019 | VOLUME 67 · ISSUE 4 · FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Universified ADJUSTING to

T

he rumor goes that college is easier than St. John’s. But like most rumors, the reality is more complex.

“The hardest challenge was coming from St. John’s and hearing a lot of folks say that college would be much, much easier than St. John’s, and finding that it was super hard,” Harvard sophomore Xavier Gonzalez said.

Engineering students like Carnegie Mellon freshman Elizabeth Elrod face significant challenges, including higher-level STEM classes and programming.

“At the time I thought St. John’s was difficult,” Elrod said. “I thought I was doing a decent amount of homework, but at Carnegie Mellon, I basically never stop doing homework, and it’s challenging academically.”

For others, the rumor rings true.

“I’ve actually found that college has been easier than St. John’s, mostly because I take classes covering information I learned in high school,” said George Davies, a sophomore at St. Andrew’s in Scotland. “St. John’s prepared me well for Latin and history, so I found that easier.”

college LIFE

article by editors photo by Jared Margolis For some, the challenge comes not from the coursework but from a new schedule.

“The biggest difference was time management because you get really used to having assignments due all the time [at St. John’s],” Barnard sophomore Sloane Gustafson said. “In college you have a few more days to complete them and it feels like you have all the time in the world, so I feel like it’s hard.”

Having fewer classes requires students to adjust to a different pace. With newfound free time and social distractions, college students can find themselves struggling with time management.

“In high school, you go to class for the whole day, you see all your friends when you’re there and you go home at 3 p.m., and you’re alone and do your work. But in college it’s a very different sort of thing,” Notre Dame sophomore Daniel Bland said. “You’re constantly surrounded by people, so you have to adjust your work schedule. It’s a different feeling having your classes be two times or three times a week as opposed to five.”

Many students agree that they felt prepared for college-level writing.

“I put way less effort into my college papers than I did for my synthesis essays and stuff like that,” Rice freshman Priyanka Jain said.

Elrod noticed that while many struggled in her firstyear writing course, she was especially prepared.

“There were some people who had just never really written essays before,” Elrod said. “It’s a competitive school, but you’d still have people who just didn’t know how to write well. If you can make it through the synthesis paper at St. John’s, you can make it through anything.”

Even for engineering students, writing can be a helpful skill.

“Writing is very important, and St. John’s prepared me well for that,” Rensselear Polytechnic Institute junior Paul Steiner said. “For software you have to do a lot of documentation, and writing is so much easier than anything else. The programming classes are also very helpful, and I feel ahead of the rest of my class.”

Continued on Page 10

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THE REVIEW I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

N Feb. 11-13

SAC ends Online flower delivery New schedule ushers in change

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News Briefs UH hosts Model UN On Jan. 28-29, the Model U.N. club, led by senior Namanh Kapur and sponsored by history teacher Wendall Zartman, competed at Houston Area Model United Nations. This year’s conference, held at the University of Houston, included over 900 delegates from over 45 Houston-area schools.

“I hope delegates refined their skills this year during our meetings: a better grasp of parliamentary procedure, resolution writing, questions and answers (points of information),” Kapur said.

Kapur hopes that new members were not as anxious to speak during their committee sessions.

In preparation for the competition, students wrote position papers detailing their views on their topics.

Together with students from other schools, the SJS delegates debated topics relevant to the function of their committees and finally passed resolutions to address problems about these topics, such as global health initiatives.

“I learned about the serious processes that go behind the scenes of the UN,” sophomore Julien Fenouil said.

Seniors Anirudh Suresh and Natasha Gonzalez garnered honorable mentions in their respective committees.

India Celebration spices up school day International Club and South Asian Affinity Group (SAAG) teamed up to celebrate India for this year’s International Day. SAAG dancers and musicians performed in the assembly on Jan. 20, while International Club set up entertainment and food in Flores Hall the next day.

“It coincided that International Day was celebrating India, and SAAG had a date for an assembly, so we joined forces,” said Aline Means, International Club sponsor.

On both days, students performed traditional dances: SAAG performed a tabla drum song and two Bollywood dances, and International Club hosted a parade of students in Indian garments.

The cafeteria served a lunch of Indian classics, including chicken tikka masala, saag paneer and chana masala. Chef Willard Ferrell worked with guest chef James Thomas to prepare the menu and buy ingredients.

For a photo gallery of international day events, visit the Review Online.

Briefs by Shomik Ghose and Alexander Kim

As of January, sophomores have restricted free periods instead of study halls. Though places like hallways and the Great Lawn are off limits, sophomores are now free to hang out in the Maverick Café and the cafeteria as well as outdoors in the Plaza.

“Traditional thinking would say that coming out of middle school, freshmen need a little more structure in their study time, and it has been believed that sophomores require structure as well,” Dean of Students Elisa Inman said. “We are hopeful that the sophomores will demonstrate the maturity to handle the responsibility.”

The administration hopes this newfound freedom will instill a sense of responsibility in the sophomore class.

“As we move towards this new schedule, there will be larger chunks of time that students will be free,” Head of Upper School Hollis Amley said. “I hope the students begin to develop the life skill of balancing their time.”

Free periods will allow sophomores to learn how to balance work and leisure.

“My hope is if we give students more free time and allow them to choose how they want to use it, then they will have more ownership over their personal schedules and are participating in a significant process of becoming a responsible adult,” Amley said.

Many students have discovered that they get similar amounts of work done during free periods – in some cases, even more than in study halls.

“The other day I was using my phone a bit more, but I still got as much work done because I didn’t have to walk all the way over to my study hall room, sign something, and then walk all the way back,” sophomore Alston Armstrong said.

Some sophomores think free periods make them more efficient.

“I still do work during free periods, and I’m ac-

tually more productive because I get to focus in the place I want,” sophomore Mei Leebron said.

Some students see a downside to free periods. Second semester sophomores no longer have an assigned, quiet room to work in.

Though the library is still available, the noise from conversations and printing can become a distraction.

“I definitely have more time to talk with my friends,” sophomore Elise Lanier said. Free-range sophomores Joe Griffin studies in the plaza during a free period.

“It’s made me a little Administrators entrusted sophomores with free periods this semester in bit less productive.” order to help students become more responsible.

The administration considers free periods have a lot more freedom.” more conducive to reducing stress. Though many Though many students are excited about having students do spend their free periods catching up more free time, the genesis of the idea came from or getting ahead on homework, they are also en- alumni who had returned to campus. couraged to kick back and relax occasionally.

“They felt like St. John’s had prepared them very “When they need to be studying, I hope they well academically, [but] one area in which they felt are doing that. If they are having a day or a week not quite as prepared was how to manage their sitting with a friend and talking for 30 minutes is unstructured time,” Amley said. needed, I hope they do that,” Inman said. “If they That freedom will soon be extended, weather need to go play Spikeball and get some energy out, permitting. Although the Plaza is open for reI actually really hope they do that. If they need a stricted free periods, not many students have tak20-minute power nap, I hope they take it. I want en advantage of the outdoor space due to colder each student to learn to figure out what they need temperatures. Once the sun starts shining again, each day when deciding how to use free time.” students can take advantage of the fresh air and Students generally agree that the new freedom open space. has given them time to de-stress and choose how best to spend their time.

Armstrong likes the free periods because “we can go to the café and stay there if we want to. I just

caroline ramirez

by Kate Habich

Open carry policy prohibits campus firearms

by Joseph Hlavinka On May 26, 1995, then-governor George W. Bush signed a law granting Texans the right to carry concealed firearms. Almost exactly 20 years later, on May 29, 2015, the Texas Legislature passed open carry of handguns into law.

As of Jan. 1, 2016, the open carry of modern handguns within the state of Texas is legal, allowing licensed gun owners to openly carry their guns on private property unless this property displays a sign prohibiting open carry. On the gates and fences surrounding campus, St. John’s bears these signs.

“There are good sides and bad sides to this law,” junior Cam Cook said. “It does, in a way, support the Second Amendment, and it provides visibility of firearms which people are carrying, but it would be a bit freaky to just see guns everywhere.”

The law has caused myriad reactions.

“If you were carrying a weapon for defensive reasons, you would want to conceal it anyway because the hypothetical mass shooter is going to go for the person with the openly visible firearm first,” sophomore Mark Laborde said. “If defense was really the first priority, there would not be a need for open carry.”

Some students oppose the law.

“There is a big social problem,” sophomore Ben Cohen said. “If I were to see a group of people walking around town all openly carrying firearms, I would feel beyond threatened. I would feel scared.”

Others see redeeming qualities in the law.

“I am not a huge fan of the idea of openly carrying firearms, but I prefer open carry to concealed carry because of the visibility,” junior Keshav Krishnan said.

“Being able to see what the person with the firearm is carrying is definitely a plus.”

Some think the law has benefits.

“Openly carrying firearms does not inherently mean that poorer decisions will be made,” senior Isabelle Draper said. “I

do not think that the law is just flatout a bad thing because what really matters, the number of bad decisions made, will stay about the same.”

To many in the SJS community, the right to open carry of a handgun is not an extension of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but a strange and scary new prospect.

“The guys who wrote the Second Amendment had no clue what guns would be like 250 years down the road,” Cohen said. “If they saw the crazy stuff we have, I do not know if they would even still be in support of the Second Amendment.”

According to Richard Still, Director of Safety Facilities and Physical Plant, people have misconceptions about open carry.

“The law is so vague,” Still said. “People are thinking of the Wild West where everyone carries a gun on each hip.”

Still, a 33-year Houston Police Department veteran, states that open carry was passed to protect concealed gun owners.

“Before, a person at Starbucks who raised his arm and accidentally revealed a weapon concealed under his jacket could be criminally charged with open carry,” Still said. “This law was passed to prevent these people from being prosecuted.”

Whether the students support this law or not, the SJS campus bears the 30.07 sign, stating that no openly carried firearms will be allowed on campus.

“Not allowing open carry on our campus is a good call because it is not the kind of thing that has a place on this campus or that a high schooler should be worrying about in the first place,” freshman Sam Faraguna said. “The only case I could see a high schooler being worried about or even needing to use firearms is for hunting.”

Many consider open carry unnecessary due to campus security.

“Allowing people to openly carry guns, especially when we already have protective officers on campus at all times, is unnecessary and going way too far,” sophomore

jared margolis

Winter SPC No school

Sophomores set free from study halls

Zach Boroughs said.

“As far as allowing high school students to openly carry guns on campus goes, I think it is better safe than sorry since high schoolers really do not have a great need for firearms and since we already have police officers on campus,” Krishnan said.

While open carry is not permitted on the SJS campus, on Aug. 1, 2016, campus carry will become legal on college campuses across Texas. Some institutions, such as Rice University, have opted out already, but time will tell how college campuses will be affected.

“College is a place where emotions are known to run high, and bad decisions are known to be made,” Draper said. “College carry will not make more bad decisions happen, but it will make the decisions that people make a lot worse now that a firearm is involved.”

According to Still, open carry has not had a significant impact on campus security.

Still said, “There really hasn’t been much change because we’re a K-12 school that already keeps people with concealed carry away.”

unfriendly fire Signs around campus lets visitors know that St. John’s prohibits open carry firearms.

NEWS

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SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Community reacts to new daily schedule

by Prithvi Krishnarao In the 70 years since St. John’s opened its doors, its schedule has remained virtually the same. But that’s all about to change.

Next year’s schedule, announced Jan. 27, will involve longer classes that meet five times over the course of a seven-day cycle.

“The primary goal of the new schedule is to provide students with an opportunity to engage in deeper learning and to enrich the academic program,” said Megan Henry, Director of K-12 Academic Programs and supervisor of the schedule change. “[The committee] really feels that is important for students to have the opportunity to collaborate more, to be interdisciplinary in the work that they are doing and to look at many of their subjects in depth, as opposed to broad memorization.”

Administrators say that the schedule change is focused on student wellness rather than decreasing academic rigor.

“We don’t want anyone to think that this is about making St. John’s easier, although it might feel easier because it won’t be as intense in any given day,” Henry said.

Some students feel that the new schedule will restrain them academically, with the new schedule allowing a maximum of six academic classes.

“I’m worried the new schedule is not going to allow me to continue with my desired course load,” junior Marisa Murillo said. “The schedule is preventing us from doing what we want to do. I might have to cut down classes and decide what classes I really want to take.”

The lunch period will be shortened to 30 minutes, but the Maverick Café and cafeteria will have extended hours to accommodate students who have free periods throughout the day. Some days, students may have a free period before or after lunch.

“I like having that long lunch period to hang out with my friends and play soccer or football in the plaza,” freshman Naveen Krishnan said.

Some students are worried about how the new schedule will impact clubs.

“I don’t think the new schedule allows enough time for clubs to meet because a lot a people will have different schedules on different days,” sophomore Andrew Wan said. “People will end up being excluded from club meetings if they aren’t able to attend.”

Other students are concerned about having classes at different times every day.

“I understand why that would appeal to some people, but that would lead to mass confusion for the first three months,” junior Aileen Zhang said.

Head of Upper School Hollis Amley says the new schedule will be less taxing on students.

“I believe the students and the faculty will really like it next year,” Amley said. “I have taught on a couple of different types of rotating schedules and find they are less exhausting for both the students and the teachers.”

While appreciative of the effort to promote student wellness, some students still have doubts.

“I don’t think they are tackling the root of the problem,” junior Sunnie Liu said. “The administration realizes that we are lacking in sleep and lacking in free time. However, that is because we are driven people, and we want to do these things, and the new schedule makes it harder for us to do them.”

However, many students and faculty appreciate the new schedule’s benefits. One of the key components of the new schedule is the introduction of more free time.

“The new schedule will bring more study halls and free periods,” freshman Alex Tinkham said.

“I didn’t have much time during the day to study or get work done this year, which has made my life a lot more stressful, so I appreciate how the new schedule is bringing in a more relaxed atmosphere to the school.”

Some faculty members also look forward to the rotating schedule.

“I’m excited about the change,” math teacher

Danielle Iseli said. “The last school I taught in had a rotating schedule, and it was really nice to see the kids at different times of the day.”

The new schedule will allow students taking five courses to have more than two hours of free periods several times per cycle.

“The schedule change will be really good,” junior Sarah Grace Ritter said. “It will need some adjustments because it’s so different from what we have now, but they’ve constructed it in a way that puts a lot less pressure on the students and gives us time to do what we want.”

The design of the new schedule was a process that took nearly two years.

The change was initiated by Headmaster Mark Desjardins and a committee of 15 teachers, coaches and administrators. Henry chaired the schedule change committee and led the research and design process.

To gain information about different types of schedules and their benefits, the committee originally contacted 15 independent schools around the country that have all undergone schedule changes.

Committee members visited three independent schools in Atlanta in early 2015 to examine their schedules. The Student Affairs Council (SAC) also visited The Westminster School in Atlanta in November to provide student perspectives.

“I really liked the schedule,” SAC sophomore class Vice President Samuel Ho said. “A similar schedule would be a good idea for St. John’s because students work so hard and they’re having to do so much homework for five classes a day.

They also have to get up early to start school at 7:45, and the combination of the later start and having fewer classes per day in a new schedule should lead to a more relaxed student life. It will give people more sleep and allow them to perform at a higher level.”

The school also hired a consultant from Independent School Management. The consultant, an expert on brain development, adolescent

sleep and school schedules, was a major source of information for the new schedule.

The committee then crafted a schedule they considered best suited for the needs of the school.

“The new schedule will take some time to get used to,” sophomore Zachary Boroughs said.

“It’s really hard to tell what it would be like when it starts, because it’s just so different from what we have now, but over time we may learn to accept it, and it may end up being better.”

2016-2017 SCHEDULE FAST FACTS • Start Time: 8:30 a.m.

• 7-DAY rotating cycle • 60-minute classes • ONE 80-MINUTE class EACH DAY • advisory meets 3 times per cycle • lUNCH daily from 1-1:30 • End time: 3:35 p.m.

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SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Across state lines: senior relocates midyear

by Megan Shen

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CLAUDIA

TUFTS

Alum aids political campaigns at Facebook

FAMILY TIES Maddie Tufts stands alongside her father in Houston.

Tufts’s father is battling melanoma and moved from New Orleans to Houston to receive treatment for his cancer.

Senior Maddie Tufts was buying candy canes in a New Orleans drug store when she heard that her father had suffered a seizure during his trip to Aspen.

The seizure was the first sign of the Stage IV cancer that would eventually casue her family to move from New Orleans to Houston.

“I get a call from my mom, and she’s crying in distress. She said, ‘You need to get home, we’re getting on a flight to Denver right now,’” Tufts said.

At the time, emergency health workers were flying her father from Aspen to Denver.

The news took Tufts completely by surprise.

“My friend told me my mouth dropped and my face turned white. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even cry because I was so in shock,” Tufts said.

Doctors diagnosed her father David with Stage IV melanoma, a malignant skin cancer.

“Ten years ago he also had melanoma, but it was less severe and only in the skin,” Tufts said. “This time the doctors said it was a really fast growing tumor that started only a couple of months ago, and it had already metastasized to his brain.”

Four weeks later, she found herself in Houston, where her family had decided they could find better treatment options.

“My parents were very familiar with the area and figured that MD Anderson was the best choice,” Tufts said. “My sister lives here with her husband so we’re in town a lot.”

In New Orleans, Tufts attended Trinity Episcopal School from kindergarten to eighth grade where she met current seniors Will Bickham and Prentiss Havens. She then attended Isidore Newman School for a year before moving to Metarie Park Country Day as a sophomore.

“My parents knew SJS was really good when it comes to getting kids in schools for crises. When Katrina happened a lot of people came here and the school was really accepting,” Tufts said. “We had some connections here;

JARED MARGOLIS

BEGIN AGAIN Maddie Tufts moved to Houston during the second semester of her senior year to be with her father during his MD Anderson cancer treatments. An avid volunteer, Tufts spearheads several community service efforts to support children in need.

our headmasters talked and thankfully everything worked out.”

Bickham and Havens were among the students who relocated to SJS after Katrina. They maintained connections with Tufts through mutual friends and had already introduced her to several students in the fall.

“We all went to Whataburger after [a football game] and hung out for that night, and the same thing happened a few times throughout first semester,” Bickham said. “I was very impressed with SJS for letting her come. I thought there was no way, but I was happy that everything worked out.”

Tufts says that the most difficult part of her transition has been adjusting her schedule to correlate with the courses she took in the fall.

“In between trying to figure out how to make two of my classes work and talking to teachers, the communication between here and New Orleans has been challenging,” Tufts said.

Tufts is optimistic about her father’s situation.

“It’s kind of a blessing in disguise because if he hadn’t been at such a high altitude, he probably wouldn’t have had a seizure,” Tufts said. “It probably wouldn’t have happened in New Orleans at such a low elevation, so the cancer could have gotten a lot worse without us finding out about it.”

Tufts’ father is currently receiving immunother“I get a call from my apy and directed radiation treatments.

“I’ll definitely be here for a minimum of mom, and she’s crying in three-and-a-half months, but depending on distress. She said you need how my dad’s treatment goes, I could be here Tufts said. “I’m not sure yet whether to get home, we’re getting on longer,” I’ll graduate here.”

In the meantime, Tufts hopes to continue a flight to Denver right now.” her passion for community service. Prior to her dad’s diagnosis, she had volunteered and fundraised for cancer patients for many years.

“This year, I was the co-head of a Relay for Life event in New Orleans, which benefits the American Cancer Society. We prepare for the event all year and get other teams to raise money for things like research, women’s wigs, and housing for can-

“

Maddie Tufts

”

cer patients who can’t afford it,” Tufts said.

Tufts started participating in Relay for Life in eighth grade and joined the planning committee her sophomore year. She is also a leader for Heart of Passion, an organization that raises money and awareness for children with cancer.

Heart of Passion hosts an all-expense-paid retreat for the kids in the summer, where Tufts volunteers as a counselor.

“After three weeks straight sleeping at the hospital with my dad, I know the hospital can get really depressing,” Tufts said. “It’s so heartwarming to see them get out for a while and just live life as a kid without their stress and worries, and they say it’s the best time of their lives.”

The candy canes she was buying at the time of her mother’s call were for a sale benefiting another organization, Be Real. Tufts led a committee with two friends at Country Day supporting the cause.

“Once orphans turn 18 in Louisiana, they don’t get housing or money from the government.

They’re left on their own, so we host events and raise money to help get them on their feet,” Tufts said. “Be Real is a bigger organization that checks on them later and helps them set up a life where they can be happy and successful.”

Tufts says she initially fell in love with community service after a seventh grade friend introduced her to a baseball program for kids with autism and other disabilities.

“My buddy Jacob was autistic and had social anxiety. His mom came up to me and said, ‘Talk to him as much as you want, but don’t be offended if you don’t get a response,’” Tufts said. “Our first game, after he got a home run, he looked up at me, smiled and shouted ‘Thank you!’”

Experiences like these have further inspired her to give back to others.

“I love helping kids because we could easily be in their position,” Tufts said. “Same with cancer, a lot of people in my family have had it on both sides, so it’s a cause that’s really important to me.”

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SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

backpacks we

igh

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tud

ent

s PHILIP KENSINGER

An estimated 14,000 kids are treated for backpack-related injuries annually. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, backpacks should weigh less than 15 percent of a student’s body weight.

With the average SJS backpack tipping the scales at 18 percent, some students may feel that they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.

SCHOOL-IOSIS The average SJS student’s backpack weighs 18 percent of the student’s body weight, three percent over the recommended average. Some students alleviate the strain of heavy backpacks by using rolling backpacks or athletic waist straps.

by Gracie Blue It’s no secret that school can create an immense amount of stress for students; it’s one of the most common complaints of being in high school.

The impact is not only mental, however. School is also taking a physical toll on students.

The root of the problem seems to be the backpack. Rigorous academics often call for large textbooks and loaded backpacks, not to mention an extra musical instrument, lunch box or sports equipment on top of that.

Many students experience the spinal pain induced by backpacks, including senior Kyra Link, who elected to start using a rolling backpack due to recurring pain.

“I realized around the end of junior year that I would come home and my back would just hurt like crazy,” Link said.

After many attempts at fixing her issue, including hiding her books in cubbies and keeping multiple calculus books in different locations, she finally went to a doctor, backpack in tow.

The doctor picked up Link’s backpack and could immediately tell its extreme weight was the problem.

Now, as she rolls her backpack through the halls, Link is pain-free. She observes that the pain went away mostly depending on how often she carries the backpack and how often she rolls it, and now she is able to mediate the pain.

“I don’t want to be 50 and have to carry a cane,” Link said.

Lack of storage for books and supplies presents another part of the issue.

“There’s a lot of stuff you can do, but you’re still carrying a really heavy load,” Link said.

Overstuffed backpacks also contribute to poor posture for many students.

“My books are so heavy that I start to hunch over when I’m walking, even without my backpack,” sophomore Avery Morris said. “When I get in bed at night, it actually hurts to straighten my back.”

Experts suggest students carry no more than 10 to 15 percent of their own body weight on their back.

In a random sample taken of 27 SJS students from all different grade levels, the average backpack weight was 18 percent of the student’s body weight.

Students can improve posture by using ath-

letic brand backpacks, which have a waist strap option that allows for a more secure fit and distributes the weight evenly.

Many students deliberately keep their backpacks lighter to keep from adding stress.

“I walk to and from school every day, and I never have trouble with my spine,” sophomore Pearse Higgason said. “I have to keep it light because I can never get to my locker.”

Other students do not have the luxury of lightening their load.

“Wearing heavy backpacks compresses the intervertebral discs between the vertebrate, and that can be permanent,” anatomy teacher Paula Angus said. “When the vertebrate come closer together they could pinch nerves.”

The fit and sizing of the backpack as well as the way the backpack is worn can also make a difference.

“Wearing a backpack on one shoulder, as I see some students do, can cause pinched nerves in the shoulder area and over time cause scoliosis, which is curvature of the spine,” Angus said.

Pinched nerves result from the uneven growth of muscles and can lead to stress that carries on throughout the day even when one is not wear-

ing a backpack.

“The heavy books weigh down my back even when I’m just sitting down,” freshman Sydney Davidson said. “My back is always cracking from the tension.”

Angus is optimistic that these problems could be resolved with the new schedule, which will keep students from attending every class, every day.

“Hopefully with the new schedule next year, you might be able to reduce the number of books you need to bring to school each day, so that should reduce the weight of the backpack,” Angus said.

Another way to alleviate back stress in the future will be switching to alternative digital textbooks, a change several classes have already made.

“These are conditions we don’t usually see in kids, but because of the heavy backpacks they are becoming more and more common,” Angus said. “I do hope that we can see students reduce the weight because the research and medical information shows that it’s not healthy for growing kids to carry heavy backpacks.”

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FEATURES

THE REVIEW I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

NOEL MADLAND

Team Hyperlift advances in SpaceX competition

Lift off The Hyperlift team shows their design to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.

The team was one of only three high schools among over 100 colleges to enter the SpaceX design competition.

by Ryan Chang A team of six St. John’s students went head-to-head with teams from 100 universities and 20 different countries at the SpaceX Hyperloop design competition Jan. 29-30.

Of the 30 teams selected to advance to the final construction stage of the contest, SJS is the only high school team.

In 2013, Space X CEO Elon Musk first publicized the concept of the Hyperloop, a high-speed train kept aloft in a tube by highly pressurized air. The train would move at speeds as high as 760 mph and

cut travel time from Los Angeles to San Francisco to a mere 30 minutes.

Two years later, Musk announced a competition to design and build the Hyperloop.

“I was looking for a SpaceX or Tesla internship this summer, and I stumbled across this competition,” junior Andrew Awad said. “Even though the competition was for college and graduate teams, I decided to do a great deal of research and enter anyway.”

In September, Awad formed Team Hyperlift, which includes his sister Elizabeth, sophomores Robert Gottschalk and Michael He as well as juniors Jonathan Bloom and Katie Malcolm.

“I was very interested in helping out my brother and decided to give the contest a try,” Elizabeth said.

For the construction phase of the contest, teams will be building a working one-third scale prototype of the Hyperloop pod. While MIT received full funding for winning the design competition, Team Hyperlift is being sponsored by Nickelodeon. They plan to use these funds to collaborate with other teams.

“Now that we’re moving onto the competition weekend, we plan on partnering with other college or graduate teams to build our 1/3 scale pod,” Andrew said.

For the design contest on Jan. 29-30, Team Hyperlift described their design in a 40-minute presentation at Texas A&M followed by a 10-minute question and an-

swer session.

The construction phase will shift to Hawthorne, California near SpaceX headquarters, where teams will test their prototypes on a mile-long track.

Although SJS is not officially sponsoring the team, physics teachers Nolan Harris and Franco Posa provide them with advice and suggestions.

“The team’s position in the final design contest shows the high quality of work they’ve done so far,” Posa said. “Mr. Harris and I provided some minor guidance.

The quality of the team’s work was well received by the SpaceX and Tesla judges, as well as from the members of top engineering universities from all over the world.”

Each member of the team has an individual role in the design of the pod. Andrew is in charge of electronic tests and simulating the pod’s motion.

“We’ve been designing this pod using our own innovation as well as taking inspiration from existing technologies,” Andrew said. “Elon Musk’s white paper design has been especially useful.”

Michael He is in charge of the design and assembling of the pod’s lifting systems.

“The preparation and work put into the pod has taken a lot of time outside of school,” He said. “I’ve had to design most of the mechanisms inside the pod’s tube as well as spend time with my teammates discussing safety protocols should it malfunction. It’s sapped a lot of my free time, but considering the magnitude of the contest, it’s definitely worth it. Being able to compete with students from high level colleges in the competition is really exciting, and it’s kept me motivated through all the stress.”

Katie Malcolm is in charge of battery

design as well as the team’s safety. She has devised several protocols should anything in the pod go wrong.

“The weeks leading up to the design competition were especially time-consuming,” Malcolm said. “We had to double-check every one of the pod’s mechanisms as well as our safety protocols. If the pod’s tube broke, for example, we have oxygen masks ready to deal with the huge pressurization that would ensue.”

Members of the team have also developed their engineering skills while working on the Hyperloop. Elizabeth is responsible for the logistics of transitioning from a 1/24 scale pod to a 1/3 scale model, including potential safety hazards and the costs for each part.

“Even though I’m only a sophomore, I’ve gotten to learn about design process and construction, which are things most students learn as juniors in Physics I,” Elizabeth said. “It was also really neat to collaborate on the many different subsystems necessary for the pod to function like the compressor and air bearings.”

Jonathan Bloom designed the pod’s cooling systems.

“As one of three high schools in the original design competition, I was incredibly surprised and honored to hear that we were moving on to the Hawthorne competition,” Bloom said. “I’ve always considered becoming an engineer, and my participation in this contest has just solidified this feeling.”

Andrew takes pride in his team’s efforts beyond just their success in the contest, “It is really not about winning the competition,” Andrew said. “It is about developing this technology and this Hyperloop system as a whole.”

by Amy Liu Just one machine has allowed the EcoMarathon team to perfect its car parts, physics students to build catapults and middle school students to model famous battle scenes for their Civil War projects. With the 3D printers, students can design and create almost any object they wish.

The technology team and administration added printers to all divisions of the school in June 2014. The Upper School has one printer in the computer lab. Director of Technology Jeff Ritter considers them a “creative outlet.”

“3D printers are relatively new technology that can show the process a lot of engineers and designers go through,” Ritter said. “You get something physical that you can test, touch, manipulate and reprint to get your product right.”

For over a year, the technology team and Headmaster Mark Desjardins discussed where to put the printers and how to cover their cost.

Rather than building new curriculum around 3D printing, Ritter decided that teachers would supplement what they already teach.

“Students will be able to take what’s in their head and actually look at it in real life to see how it works. That’s a valuable skill,” Ritter said. “3D printing is also easier than woodworking and building everything by yourself. You design it and boom, it’s right there.”

Physics classrooms will soon receive their own 3D printers so that students can build prototypes, robot parts and other objects.

“We want the labs to be more inquiry-based so that students can build more instead of picking equipment off the shelf,” physics teacher Franco Posa said. “For example, Physics I students have to make boats from aluminum foil. What if we could print them?”

Geometry teachers will also use the printer to illustrate shapes such as 3D conic sections.

“One of the big things I’ve realized as a teacher

is that students can very well conceptualize anything in two dimensions, but three dimensions is much harder. Having the physical object there forces them into that situation,” Posa said.

Students also 3D print for their own uses.

“I like to see my designs come to life. It’s like making stress toys,” said sophomore Michael He, who uses the printer for EcoMarathon and the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition.

“Sometimes the parts that I want to print are too complicated for it, and the process can be tiring.

But the overall it’s a fun challenge and hobby.”

Students design their models on computer-aided design (CAD) software, save their design as a CAD file and print from a specific computer.

“You do have to know a bit about the CAD program. But there is basic and straightforward CAD software that you can just get started with, such as Google Sketchup,” Ritter said. “The only difficulties I’ve seen so far from students are faulty design concepts.”

Some students consider the process prolonged and complicated.

“The printing is done very slowly, and if I attempt to print something that is too complicated, the machine may not be accurate,” junior Jeffrey Wang said. “It works with small parts like gears, but as of now is not completely reliable.”

The printer builds by layers from bottom to top, using molten plastic streamed from a nozzle. Ritter advises students to use the printer with care.

“One morning, I saw a huge glob of plastic stuck onto the nozzle. Someone must have messed up their design and simply left it there,” Wang said. “It must have taken a long time to get it off.”

Two 3D printers have been added to Middle School and one to Lower School. The programming software is simplified and geared towards younger children so that they can focus on visualization.

nyla jennings

Creative outlet: 3D printers promote problem solving

build-A-bot The MakerBot 3D printer cools down after another job. 3D printers have been added to every division on campus as their use increases in schools nationwide.

“The students were first quite challenged because they had to think spatially on a computer.

But they don’t have any problem experimenting and jump at the opportunity,” said Kimberly Bushman, a Lower School technology specialist.

Lower School students are now printing objects that they used to only see on a math textbook page.

“They have to measure, scale and predict if the shape can stand upright,” technologist Akram Anoushehi said. “When they’re making a cube, they have to understand that all faces must be the same. It’s entirely different from looking at a store bought model.”

Lower School students meet during their weekly activity periods for 3D printing.

“One of our students made a soccer net and ball. It was so impressive that he measured each row and built the net piece by piece, making sure each was the same size. The design came out perfectly,” Anoushehi said. “Right now he’s designing a house.”

Anoushehi thinks 3D printing teaches students valuable problem-solving skills.

“Sometimes, even when I know someone’s design is wrong beforehand, I still let the student print it,” Anoushehi said. “That way, the student

can see and figure out why it’s wrong.”

After acquiring the printers, Ritter and Desjardins are considering future expansion. They plan to add a Science Technology Engineering Art Math (STEAM) lab to the South Campus for art and physics classes, among others.

“The creative process behind designing and engineering lends itself easily to drawing, painting or making a sculpture,” Ritter said.

The idea for a STEAM lab stems from the industrial arts lab that was on campus from the ‘60s to the ‘80s and mainly used for woodworking and metalworking. Ritter hopes that the STEAM lab can have large enough spaces to include welding, laser cutters and bigger functional pieces of equipment.

“This is still only a plan. We want to start small and let everything grow,” Ritter said.

The 3D printer may have a great impact on the school.

“I don’t know if I could call the printer transformative, but it has the potential to be. We’re just not there yet,” Ritter said. “In general, if these 3D printers had been readily available even ten years ago, designers and engineers would have come up with totally different products.”

FEATURES

7

SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

by Christian Maines Wendy Chang’s journey has taken her across the desk from college admissions to college counseling, from Cambridge to South Africa to Houston.

In 1993, Chang graduated from Harvard College, where she later worked as an admissions officer until 2000. Since then, she has switched to working as a college counselor, first at the Collegiate School in New York, then at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, before finally landing at St. John’s in 2015.

“When I read applications at Harvard, one of my territories was New York City, and of course, when you’re an admissions officer reading apps, you get to know the high schools that you’re working with really well,” Chang said.

One college counselor, who had worked at Collegiate for 37 years, suggested that Chang be his replacement. Chang worked at the all-boys’ school from 2004 until 2010.

“I left Collegiate and moved to South Africa, and I created the college counseling department at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls,” Chang said. “That was a brand new school. They hadn’t graduated a class.”

The move from Collegiate to the Oprah School was a dramatic cultural shift for Chang.

“Collegiate claims to be the second oldest school in the US. Collegiate was founded in 1628. It is a K to 12 all-boys’ school, right in the heart of New York City,” Chang said.

The Oprah School, an all-girls’ boarding academy in semi-rural South Africa, was a similar experience to Collegiate in some regards.

“In a funny way, what made the feeling of those two schools very similar was that the humor and the energy of the kids was almost identical, which was a total surprise to me.”

The transition did present its challenges.

“The biggest difference to me was that they were all foreign citizens, all South Africans, and most of the girls stayed in South Africa to go to university,” Chang said. “Only a tiny percentage of those students came to the US for college.”

Chang did not originally plan to go into admissions or college counseling.

“I was a biology major when I was an undergraduate and worked two jobs my senior year,” Chang said.

Chang worked as a research assistant at Harvard’s McLean Hospital until she decided that she did not enjoy it. Her second job offered a more interesting alternative.

“My other job was working in the admissions office as a tour guide three days a week,” Chang said. “I answered phones, did those information sessions and was the student greeter at those info sessions, and that was so much more interesting.”

Working in admissions allowed Chang exposure to new kinds of people with different backgrounds.

“You see kids and parents from all over the country, all over the world, you interact with people constantly. When I was in the lab, it was publish or perish,” Chang said. “When I graduated, I was getting ready to take the GRE, but I got a job offer from the admissions office.”

Originally, Chang thought she would work in admissions for a year. One year turned into seven, and Chang never went back.

“I think that’s actually a very typical trajectory, if you meet a lot of admissions people,” Chang said.

Chang enjoyed many aspects of the admissions cycle, especially traveling and meeting students from all over the country.

“I would speak to audiences in New York City; I would go to Boise, Idaho; I would go to Montana,” Chang said.

Working in admissions had its downsides as well.

“I loved most of it, but [one of ] the worst things was that we worked insane hours,” Chang said. “I would say during the season, September to March, you worked seven days a week; you basically went to bed, worked, went to bed, worked.”

Rejecting students that Chang personally met with was particularly heartbreaking.

“At a place like Harvard, you spend the major-

chang’s journey

highlights from around the world Admissions officer Harvard 1993-2000 Boston, MA

College counselor Collegiate School 2004-2010 New York, NY

College counselor Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls 2010-2014 Meyerton, South Africa

PHILIP KENSINGER

Counselor turns experience into expertise

COLLEGE WHISPERER Director of College Counseling Wendy Chang displays yearbooks from her previous schools. After working as an admissions officer at Harvard College, Chang took her skills to Collegiate, an all-boys school in New York, and then the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Meyerton, South Africa. ity of your time rejecting people,” Chang said.

“So when you put in all this blood, sweat and tears to go out on the road, craft relationships with high schools, and you were turning down 80, 90 percent of the applicants, it was just sad.”

Dealing with upset parents was also difficult.

“That was really awful, getting called names, just kind of all the anger and fear and resentment they have,” Chang said. “It was amazing how people had no qualms about calling and letting you have it.”

College counseling offered new and exciting opportunities to craft relationships with students without the downside of deciding admissions.

“I’ve been fortunate because I’ve worked in private schools,” Chang said. “You can craft these long-term relationships with these kids, and you can give them guidance.”

Chang’s contributions to College Counseling have been well received by her colleagues.

“Ms. Chang is a fireball of energy, positively contagious, hilarious and smart, all of which is needed in college counseling,” counselor Jamie Kim said.

Chang’s students have also welcomed her assistance.

“I really appreciated Ms. Chang’s encouragement and dedication to helping me during a college process that otherwise would have been very stressful,” senior Claire Gorman said.

For Chang, working with students applying to college can be an enjoyable process. She sees part of her job as finding the best place for students to flourish.

“There’s something so wonderful about getting to know a student and helping them to craft a narrative,” Chang said.

The hardest part of college counseling is shar-

ing student anxiety as they go through the process.

“You want so much to collaborate and work with them to make the best things happen,” Chang said. “But when these things don’t happen, or expectations aren’t aligned, the anxiety the process is fraught with can make it very hard.”

Having worked as a college counselor since 2004, Chang has seen a shift in the college admissions landscape.

“I think this has been an intensifying process, applications skyrocketing, acceptance rates plummeting, the Common App, the SAT, the ACT, all the frenzy,” Chang said.

According to Chang, students place too much emphasis on the most selective colleges.

“Going back to what [assembly speaker] Julie Lythcott-Haims said, many of the sentiments that she expressed are ones that I feel,” Chang said. “Can we move past the idea that happiness can only be brought by 20 schools?”

Chang acknowledges that St. John’s is not alone in its overemphasis of Ivy League colleges.

“Any private school in a community where people care deeply about education and achievement, every city has at least two or three St. John’s,” Chang said. “It’s not like St. John’s is truly unique in a, maybe, unhealthy focus on these schools.”

Chang suggests focusing on one’s passions to become a successful applicant.

“Add soul and meaning to what you do,” Chang said. “You could work at McDonald’s over the summer, and if it has meaning, and it brings meaning to you, that’s what matters.”

8

BEYOND

THE REVIEW I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Facebook analyst advises presidential campaigns According to Pew Research Center, more than 60 percent of millennials get political Daisy Wolf (‘10) never envisioned that news from Facebook. her passion for politics would lead her to a “People are more likely to turn out to vote job at Facebook, but now she advises pres- when they’re reminded on Facebook that idential campaigns on fundraising through it’s Election Day and see that their friends the social media website. have voted,” Wolf said.

“My junior year of college, I was looking On the advertising side, Facebook has for an internship in politics but decided to tools to target relevant content to specific apply to Facebook too because the oppor- groups of voters, which makes political ads tunity seemed especially interesting,” Wolf more engaging. said.

“Facebook’s advertising tools help canMuch to her surprise, Facebook’s New didates tailor messages to specific audiencYork office offered her an internship in es,” Wolf said. “For example, a candidate 2013. Wolf then spent the summer work- can show an ad about preventing climate ing on marketing strategy. When she re- change only to people who are interested in alized they had an equivalent branch in the environment.”

Washington, D.C. that focused on political These sophisticated tools are available to analysis, she reached out to Facebook and any political campaign or entity, from city found that they had a position open. council races to presidential elections.

At Facebook, she worked with the federal Wolf says that the 12 years she spent at St. government and political campaigns. Her John’s have given her countless advantages. internship experiences also inspired Wolf to “I was that kid waiting outside the teachwrite her senior thesis on how the Obama er’s room at 6:50 in the morning of a test and Romney campaigns used Facebook in with a list of questions, and they put up the 2012 presidential election. with me,” Wolf said. “At St. John’s, the “I got to meet Facebook employees who teachers were endlessly devoted to us, and had partnered with both presidential they went above and beyond to help campaigns,” Wolf said. those who want to learn.”

The summer before the Wolf actively participat2014 midterm eleced in Student Affairs tions, Wolf took a Council, dance and To interact with candidates full-time position musicals with her people used to have to go to friends. with Facebook after graduating “Receiving a a town hall or rally. Now people from Yale Univer- and candidates communicate via good education sity. gives a person Facebook every day, which gives countless advan“I love my job, and I think Face- more people a voice in the political tages in life. I book is contribloved the sense of process. uting positively to community at St. democracy,” Wolf John’s — both the said. “To interact with larger community and candidates, people used the sub-communities I was to have to go to a town hall or part of,” Wolf said. rally. Now, people and candidates comOne class that fostered Wolf ’s passion municate via Facebook every day, which for politics was her sophomore history class. gives more people a voice in the political She recalls some days where they spent process.” more class time discussing the 2008 presi-

“

”

Daisy Wolf

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAISY WOLF

by Iris Chen

SOCIAL NETWORKING Daisy Wolf (‘10), an analyst at Facebook, advises political candidates on their social media campaigns. A Yale graduate, Wolf has worked with both the federal government and several presidential campaigns.

dential election than analyzing history.

Wolf has maintained ties with many classmates. In 2011, she started her freshman year along with seven other SJS students.

She roomed with Lauren Mellor-Crummey (‘10) in the freshman dorms. She is currently living with Olivia Herbert (‘10) in New York City.

“There’s always a little apprehension about leaving your home, family and lifelong friends, but it went away pretty quickly. I was ready to live in a new place, meet different kinds of people and finally experi-

ence seasons,” Wolf said. “But it was nice to have people who knew exactly where I came from and had common experiences.”

Wolf loves the excitement of a constantly changing environment. In the last month alone, she has traveled to New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas.

“One of my favorite things about my job is there is no typical day. I’m on the road a lot to meet with various political campaigns and organizations and their ad agencies and consultants,” Wolf said.

Catching up with Swimming captains

Jeffrey Fastow (‘14)

Austin Allday (‘14)

Elena Skaribas (‘15)

I’m currently a sophomore at Dartmouth studying Philosophy and Economics.

After spending the last three months in China, I’m happy to be back on the Dartmouth Ski Patrol, assisting injured skiers on emergency rescue missions at the local college mountain. In my free time I enjoy climbing and backpacking with friends around the area.

Swimming has been nearly nonexistent from my life in college — it’s far too cold in New Hampshire for that — although I do like to live vicariously through my brother [Matthew ‘17], who’s on the swim team now.

College has been great, but I miss the warm Texas weather, delicious southern food and the awesome SJS community. I’m counting down the days until I am back in Houston.

I’m currently a sophomore at the University of Texas pursuing a double major in Latin American Studies and Portuguese.

I’m a member of Beta Upsilon Chi Fraternity, and I’m a volunteer Young Life leader at Crockett High School in South Austin. Aside from those two organizations, you can often find me searching for the best breakfast taco in Austin.

This semester I am at Pontifícia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile, where I will be taking courses in international business, 20th Century Spanish Literature and foreign policy.

I swim on my own maybe two to three times a week on a good week, just for fitness’s sake.

I’m currently a freshman at Southern Methodist University pursuing a pre-medical track and majoring in biological studies with a minor in psychology. I love school here at SMU, and a major part of my experience here is being a part of the swim team.

Even though it’s rewarding, training on a Division I team has its challenges. I train for two hours twice a day for a total of 20 hours a week in addition to classes. I compete in sprint distance events and have seen my times improving over the course of the past six months.

I’m headed to the American Athletic Conference Championships in Houston (Feb. 17 to 20) to compete with my team in hopes of winning the AAC title.

OR TS P S

S

Bench players make an impact Winter SPC preview

Super Bowl LI in Houston

SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Forever 42: Winslow jersey retired Justise League Highlights

2007: Enters 6th grade at St. John’s Middle School

P12

2009: Dunks in an 8th grade game 2011: Wins first SPC Championship with his brother Josh (‘11)

P13

2012: Wins back-to-back SPC Championships 2013: Named Texas Gatorade Player of the Year

Feb. 5, 2017

PHILIP KENSINGER

Sports Shorts SWIMMING

Teams look towards strong finish at SPC

After finishing in first place in over half of their eight meets this year, the swim team is ready for SPC. At the Houston Area Private and Parochial Invitational meet on Jan. 23, the Mavericks finished first in combined (boys’ and girls’) score.

“I’m feeling pretty confident about SPC. Even if we don’t win, we’ve improved a lot,” sophomore Charlie Neuhaus said. “Aside from making me a better swimmer, it’s really made me respect the sport.”

Senior captains Lauren Jhin and Noel Higgason, who hold school records in the 200 and 400 free relays, and freshman Lexi Pickens lead the girls’ team.

The boys team is led by junior Cooper Lueck, who holds school records the 200 free, 100 fly, and 200 Individual Medley. Lueck and sophomores Samuel Ho, Paul Schwartz and Michael He also hold school records in the 400 free and 200 medley relays.

“Because of our team cooperation and sense of family, we will definitely succeed at SPC,” He said.

WRESTLING

Squad pursues third title in four years

The wrestling team took third place at the Texas Prep State Tournament Feb. 6, the highest finish of any SPC school.

Senior Yo Akiyama was selected as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

“It will be awesome to be able to compete with the best wrestlers at nationals, but right now we need to focus on winning another championship,” sophomore Peter Chen said.

The Maverick wrestling squad, which won SPC in 2013 and 2014, will try for its third title in four years.

“We hadn’t won ever before 2013, so continuing our success this year is really important to show we can continue to win,” sophomore captain Layo Laniyan said. “After missing out on it last year, a championship would be huge.”

The wrestling team finished this season with a 19-7 record and will enter the SPC tournament as one of the favorites along with St. Mark’s.

Briefs by Shomik Ghose and Henry Still

by Dani Yan The stands were packed and cameras were everywhere. It was the boys’ basketball team’s Senior Night against John Cooper, but not everyone was there to watch game, which the Mavericks won 74-47.

At halftime, the crowd erupted into a standing ovation for Justise Winslow (‘14), Mavericks basketball star, NCAA champion and the Miami Heat’s top 2015 draft pick (No. 10 overall), as he arrived at the gym.

Students and players were given black Adidas shirts with the slogan “Department of Justise,” an image of a gavel and the No. 20, Winslow’s number with the Heat. Just two years after winning his last basketball game as a Maverick, Winslow returned to SJS for the retirement of his jersey, No. 42. Sitting alongside his family in the middle of Liu Court, the scene was reminiscent of a very different time when Winslow was just a high school senior.

“The last time we were sitting on this court, it was a lot more stressful; I was picking schools,” Winslow said.

During the ceremony, Athletic Director Vince Arduini and head basketball coach Harold Baber spoke and presented framed jerseys to Winslow and his parents. Winslow then addressed the crowd, and finally, the cover over a massive No. 42 jersey above the scoreboard was pulled. Winslow’s legacy was immortalized.

“I wake up and think, ‘What will be my legacy?

How will the kids remember me?’” Winslow said.

“I’d say this is a pretty damn good start.”

Winslow thanked those who helped him along the way, putting special emphasis on the impact his friends from middle school and high school, including longtime teammate and current Mavericks assistant basketball coach, J.T. Trauber (‘14), had on him.

“It’s crazy to think back then we were just little kids, running around, travelling, air-balling shots,” Winslow said. “Just look at how far we’ve gotten.”

The retirement was a simple tribute to Winslow’s seven years at St. John’s as well as his continued basketball success.

“We want the ceremony to represent how Justise was at St. John’s, and he was always very humble. We want to recognize Justise for what he FEEL THE HEAT Justise Winslow (‘14) speaks at a press conference after his jersey retirement ceremony on Feb. 1. After leading SJS to three SPC championships and winning the NCAA title with Duke, Winslow now plays for the Miami Heat.

had done and what he continues to do,” Arduini said. “He has represented our school very well. He has St. John’s in him even as he is travelling from arena to arena in the NBA.” The event was long in the making, with a convenient overlap of schedules and even some help from John Cooper to make it happen. The Mavericks’ game was moved to Feb. 1 so Winslow could attend the ceremony before playing against the Houston Rockets the next day.

Production of the jerseys took two-and-a-half months. Mike Wollmers, an Adidas representative and father of senior Kara, worked with Baber to create four jerseys similar to those that Winslow wore as a Maverick.

“I wasn’t sure what the jerseys were going to look like because every jersey that I wore in high school, I kept,” Winslow said. “But it was amazing. You kind of know what expect, but to see it actually be real and uniform, it’s great.”

The retirement ceremony, along with the Heats game against the Rockets, was a momentous homecoming for Winslow, who answered questions from the media after the retirement ceremony.

“It was an honor to have my jersey retired, but it was really the memories that made the moment,” Winslow said. “This city means the world to me; it’s home. It literally made me who I am today: my culture, my upbringing. This will always have a special place in my heart.”

On Feb. 2, the Rockets defeated the Heats 115102, but Winslow scored 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 32 minutes of play, all significantly higher than his season averages (5.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 27.7 minutes).

“He played well on defense and has been showing improvement on offense,” sophomore Jared Wilson said of Winslow’s performance. “He proved why he is the best defensive rookie in the league.”

Winslow is not a starter for the Heat but routinely closes out games, playing the most fourth-quarter minutes of any rookie in the league. He is also the team’s top perimeter defender, often matching up with the opposing team’s most dangerous offensive threat.

“Winslow believes he’s starting to figure out the NBA game and vows to keep putting in the work,” said Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald to ESPN.com. “Besides getting up

IS

JARED MARGOL

Nov. 11, 2013: Announces commitment to attend Duke 2014: Wins final SPC Championship April 6, 2015: Wins 2015 NCAA Championship with Blue Devils June 26, 2015: Selected by Miami Heat as 10th overall pick in the NBA draft Feb. 1, 2016: Jersey retired by St. John’s School

a lot of shots, he says he analyzes film of his shot, and he already has a plan for this summer, not only to work on his distance shooting but also his ball-handling.”

Winslow displayed the same hard work and dedication during his time as a Maverick.

“He was a great leader by example. When you saw him in practice, he would never take plays off; he would never take drills off,” said Paul Labanowski, Winslow’s former teammate and current senior captain. “Just simply by being there, he brought the level of play up a ton.”

Winslow was a friendly teammate while maintaining a high level of play on the court.

“He was always really likable, he was goofy. He was just like a normal guy. He would come and mess with you and be a nice friend,” senior captain Trey Lewis said. “But when you see him in the game, he would be really stoic and do everything so well.”

Baber emphasized Winslow’s contributions outside of basketball as key factors in the decision to retire his number.

“It’s more about the total person he was, the things he did in the community. Then add the basketball on top of that, and that’s what made him such a special player and why St. John’s wants to recognize him,” Baber said.

Winslow’s influence reaches beyond the basketball court.

“It’s cool to be someone that kids can look up to, that even your peers can look up to,” Winslow said. “For me, that’s one of my biggest goals, just to be a role model and someone who has a positive impact on the community.”

10

THE REVIEW I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

beyond the

sjs bubble

written by brooke kushwaha, Cara Maines, christian maines, gabe malek, irene vazquez, Michael Vermeulen and chris zimmerman

l Transition a i c So

A

fter attending the same school for up to 13 years, making friends in college can seem daunting. College undergraduate enrollment can be as large as 50,000, making it difficult to reach out and form lasting friendships.

University of Texas sophomore Parker Donaldson (‘14) recommends getting involved to meet new people.

“It’s a super close-knit community at St. John’s.

When you get to college you definitely have to find your tribe at first,” Donaldson said. “You have to be proactive and join a club or organization when you get there and find different ways to get involved.”

Brown Univesity freshman Iris Cronin (‘15) says that making friends requires more effort in a larger environment.

“It’s a much bigger pond, and if you want to make friends in that giant pool, you have to be proactive. I find myself a lot more socially forward at Brown. If I like someone, or find them interesting, I reach out and let them know,” Cronin said.

For some, the hectic college lifestyle can make it harder to find close friends.

“You are in class maybe three or four hours a day in a much larger environment,” said Chapman University junior Andrew Chennisi (‘13).

In that kind of landscape it can be a more difficult to naturally get closer and bond with the people around you. It forces you to seek out the people you want to get to know better and changes the act of friend making into something that requires more effort on your end.”

Chennisi also stresses that good friendships

take time to form and advises college freshmen not to get discouraged early on.

“It can take a long time to start to feel comfortable in a new place and to start to really acknowledge that you are making close friends,” Chennisi said. “It probably won’t happen instantly, but if you give it time and effort the results can be pretty great.”

Above all, alums recommend that you be yourself.

“Once you leave SJS, you have to bring something to the table that’s different from everyone else,” said Berklee College of Music freshman Quincy Cotton (‘15). “You have to embrace what you used to hide away.”

coming home

W

hile colleges provide newfound comfort and excitement, for most, the adage “there’s no place like home” still rings true. Returning home allows college students to unwind and relax with their high school friends.

“My pexperience was really nice,” Harvard freshman Andrew Jing (‘15) said. “The change of scenery was much needed, and seeing my family and old friends again was a good reminder that life isn’t just contained in the bubble of college.

Vacationing back home is like a really long extended weekend.”

Traveling home helps students escape the hullabaloo of their first semester in college.

“First semester for everyone is really dynamic with going to orientation programs, living by yourself, joining extracurriculars and making new friends,” Princeton sophomore Andrew Chung (‘14) said. “But, when you come home, it’s as though you never left. I always feel as

though time compresses, and I pick up where I left off with friends and family.”

Coming home from college can feel strange.

Some college students observe a disconnect between their matured personalities and static home environments.

“I came to love and identify with college, but when I went back to my parents’ house all I could think about was going back to school,” Rice sophomore Justin Bernard (‘14) said. “My conversations with my parents were okay but a little awkward because my perspective on life had morphed significantly, and they were what I always knew.”

University of Virginia freshman Sarah Hansen (‘15) was struck by the stillness of life at home.

“College is unbelievably different from home.

You’re surrounded by people your own age, and there’s always fun stuff going on but also so much work to be done,” Hansen said. “Going home for the first time I was struck by how alone I felt, even though I was back with my family.

Everything just seemed so quiet, and the abrupt lack of any responsibility was strange.”

With the freedom provided by break, college students try to catch up with family and friends, but balancing time between the two can prove difficult.

“There’s no real satisfying way to do it,” Georgetown freshman Connor Eichenwald (‘15) said.

“With Thanksgiving you’re going to inevitably not give enough attention to one or the other.

I prioritized my friends over my family during Thanksgiving because I had seen my parents a lot since the start of school.”

As college progresses, time management becomes easier.

“You find that you really figure out who you are going to actually keep up with, and it’s not that many people,” Chung said. “I keep up with around seven people from SJS, so dividing time is pretty easy.”

Even though some college students evolve in their respective, new environments, most alumni consider the catching-up process natural.

“People definitely change, but if you know them well enough, you reconnect easily,” Wellesley freshman (‘15) Anna Cauthorn said.

Friends often bond over mutual difficulties ad-

turning over a new leaf Though Cameron Hull (’14) had little trouble coming to grips with her decision to transfer from Fordham University to Georgetown University, she still had to deal with the reality of leaving the friends she had made at college three years earlier than expected.

“It’s hard to say goodbye, especially when you’re transferring,”

justing to college.

“There are commonalities between everyone’s college experiences,” Eichenwald said. “People have to deal with taking new and different classes, making friends and joining things.”

Because so much happens in a short period of time in college, some have trouble remembering what they want to tell both friends and family.

“For friends, the objective is probably to be more interesting, which can tend towards outrageous,” Jing said. “For parents, the tenor is usually more reassuring and tame. It’s hard to recall all of your stories on the spot.”

Recent college students return to SJS during breaks.

“It was really nice to see some of my old teachers, especially my advisor,” said Case Western Reserve freshman Richie Lazear (‘15). “For first-year college courses, you mostly only see your professor twice or three times a week, and sometimes those are huge lectures, so it’s hard to really get to know your professors. It’s made me appreciate the fact that at St. John’s the teachers are approachable, and you can have meaningful conversations with them about things other than strictly school work.”

While relationships with former classmates might not change, the connection with former teachers does. Jing says his interactions with former teachers reflects his maturation.

Hull said. “You take on their emotions, and you wonder whether these one-year friendships are going to last.”

Hull felt that Fordham did not suit her personality.

“There are good fits and bad fits, and I just didn’t feel right even though I made friends,” Hull said. “It was never my dream school.

I didn’t feel fulfilled academically, and I didn’t feel like anybody understood what I was going through.”

Many students experience discomfort during their freshman year, but feeling the urge to transfer is a different matter.

“You have to give it some thought if you are thinking about transferring,” said Parker Donaldson (’14), who transferred from

Purdue University to Texas. “I ma because I hadn’t put enough thou Donaldson initially applied to on Purdue, a university he did no “It was a last-minute decision,” school I applied to, and I wasn’t su I wanted to go. A lot of friends w good at math. I decided to go to never 100 percent sold on being In order to transfer, students process again.

11

SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

is college easier than sjs? how did coming home for the first time feel? how hard is it to make friends freshman year? how did you keep in touch with high school friends? how frequently do you interact with your parents?

BROOKE KUSHWAHA

Alums answer our burning questions about going off to college... And Coming Home “They’re all genuinely interested in your life and are great conversationalists who can talk about all the interesting things I like to chat about, but with a different level of sophistication and experience compared to my friends,” Jing said. “They treat you like more of an adult.”

ing friends p e e k

A

lthough an essential part of the transition to college is trading in old experiences for new ones, it can be hard to let go of friendships that date back to freshman year, sixth grade or even all the way to kindergarten.

“College, especially freshman fall, has the potential to be especially straining [on high school friendships] because you’re trying to meet new people and establish new friend groups,” Andrew Jing (‘15), a freshman at Harvard said.

ade the decision to change schools ught into it originally.”

14 schools before finally settling ot know much about. ” Donaldson said. “It was the last ure what I wanted to do or where were doing engineering, and I was Purdue for that reason, but I was an engineer.” s must complete the application

PHILIP KENSINGER

After settling into new routines, it can be hard to find time to contact friends from home.

“In high school we’re very fortunate to be constantly around our friends, so maintaining relationships is almost effortless,” SMU freshman Elena Skaribas (‘15) said. “The hard truth is once you move away, you need to put in a lot of effort to keep friendships alive.”

According to Fordham frsehman Isabel Wallace-Green (‘15), maintaining a friendship requires taking responsibility for keeping in touch.

“There will be people who still contact you, and there will be people who have moved on,” Wallace-Green said.

Many note the utility of social media in maintaining contact with high school acquaintances.

“My true friends will stay in my life, but I may lose touch with others,” Barnard freshman Marion Gibson said. “With Facebook and other forms of social media, I can still see how they are doing and what they are up to.”

The transition to college can be especially straining on intergrade friendships, since those still in high school may feel left behind.

“I remember the night Sira [Ntagha (‘14)] graduated, and I called her in tears wondering if our friendship would stay the same once she left for SMU,” Wallace-Green said. “It was hard at first being so far away from my best friend.”

Students often find the old adage, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” to be true, picking up their friendships where they left off when home on holiday breaks.

“When I was with my friends again, I realized how much I had missed their company,” Skaribas said.

Alums find that shared organizations or interests can bring people back together after they leave SJS. “Over winter break, my band got back together,” said Washington University in St. Louis sophomore Justin Vincent (‘14). “We played a benefit concert and a lot of St. John’s people were there, so I had a chance to catch up with a lot of them.”

On the whole, most college students acknowledge that LOOKING BACK high school friendships inevAs graduates itably weaken over time. move on to colleges across the country, they face challenges keeping in touch with high school friends.

“It’s a little annoying having to go through it again,” Donaldson said. “St. John’s really prepared me, though. A lot of the work is independent, and you need to get everything done.”

After being accepted, the students leave their old schools behind and begin anew at their new universities.

“During my orientation process, I was grouped with eight other transfers,” Hull said. “They had fairly similar reasons for transferring, and I felt that I was finally meeting people who understood what I had experienced.”

In some cases, entering a new environment can include reintroductions to the familiar.

“Transitions are an essential part of life,” Gibson said. “And there is an unavoidable friction or tension that accompanies a transition.”

Even after one year, strong friendships may start to fade.

“By sophomore year, I really started to only stay in touch with my closest friends,” Georgetown sophomore Jay Bhandari (‘14) said. “Once you start making more friends in college and becoming more active on campus, it is tough to keep up with everyone from back home.”

With the transition to college comes a shift in identity.

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that life moves on and people change and evolve, and I have changed since I arrived in college,” Texas A&M freshman Jerald Barbe (‘15) said. “College is like starting a new life, and while I appreciated the friends I made in high school, part of that new life is making new friendships and leaving other ones.”

At the end of the day, most find it best to take a positive outlook on their transition.

University of Texas sophomore Austin Allday said, “We enjoy and cherish our time together more now than we did before simply because there is less of it. More and more of us are taking internships away from home, and I think the likelihood that the majority of us most likely won’t come straight back to Houston, if at all, is slowly starting to set in.”

pa e h t

rent tra p

thought they would be.

“I’m more independent in that I pretty much control everything I do,” Stanford sophomore Joshua Hanson (‘14) said. “I have to do my own laundry, grocery shopping, and doctors appointments.”

Yet, Hanson keeps in touch with his parents regularly.

“My parents also visit a decent amount,” Hanson said. “So I see them in person at least once every 10 weeks.”

Stanford freshman Akshay Jaggi (‘15) tries to keep in touch with his parents as much as possible.

“I typically text them every few days and call every other week,” Jaggi said. “I talk to them less often than I would like. It’s easy to find other uses of your time, but family is crucial during college, so I try to prioritize them as much as possible.”

Jaggi keeps his family updated about many aspects of his life in college.

“I usually update them on classes, friends, activities, and the like,” Jaggi said. “I became pescatarian last fall, so I was often talking to my mother about my health and diet.”

For Jaggi, the transition towards independence started before college.

“I actually started to see how independent I would be in college during my summer before college,” Jaggi said. “Balancing working two jobs and visiting friends, I was rarely in the house, and my parents commented about how I was transitioning into being away from home.”

Notre Dame freshman Maren Flood (‘15) keeps in close touch with her parents and siblings.

“I usually text or snapchat my siblings every other day,” Flood said. “They call me if they need me and I call them if I need them.”

T

o most high school seniors, heading off to college means escaping from your parents once and for all. However, some find that they are not as distant from their parents as they

“I am living this school year with two other guys from SJS,” Donaldson said. “Connections like that really helped me.”

By the end of the process, students are usually satisfied by the way things turned out.

“I’m happy where I am,” Hull said. “I’m glad I went through the experience. It gives you gratitude and makes you appreciate the place you end up.”

12

THE REVIEW I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

THE PERKS OF BEING A

BENCHWARMER

by Claire Furse

role on the team. These players often require “Coach Quill lets us know that every player is self-confidence to continue with their sport, really valued on the team,” Gaber said. “Even especially at the varsity level where teams are if we don’t play much in a game, it’s not a bad saturated with talented players. thing and doesn’t mean that we aren’t playing “Self-belief is a really big component of the well. She believes in us and gives us all an equal game,” Gaber said. “You have to maintain your chance to play and to show what we can do with self-confidence that you’re a good player and our opportunities.” that you’re on that team for a reason.”

Non-starters may also be motivated by the Non-starters may struggle to justify continu- pride of being on a varsity team. ing a sport year after year due to the required “I love the sport, but I also get my own unitime commitment, which can be especially chal- form and get to represent one of the greatest lenging for upperclassmen. universities in the world,” Hanson said. “I al“As a coach, you want the kids that keep ways try to live up to the standards of the talcoming back even when they aren’t playing ented players that came before me so that I can because you know basketball is important to push the team to produce at its highest possible them,” boys’ basketball coach Harold Baber level.” said. “Even though others might be better, Some bench players just enjoy the fun atmothese players focus on getting the most out of sphere of a team and can create special bonds their own potential, being a positive influence, between other non-starters. and contributing to something greater “There’s a pretty core group of guys than themselves.” on the bench that haven’t played Some starters learn to apmuch, so we’re the bench preciate their time on the squad,” Bechtol said. “We bench. a great time beWe might have less have “I never started on cause we joke and mess the soccer team as playing time, but we’re still around a lot, but we’re a freshman, but I all still supportive of one family. We get just as each other and we’re played a lot sophomore and junior excited and happy when we all part of a team.” year,” junior ConBench players ultinor Watson said. score. mately learn life les“It was more worth sons from their role it because I didn’t on the team. start right at the be“A lot of the valginning. I learned a lot ues I’ve learned in life I from watching from the learned through the game bench, like how to play with of basketball, whether I was kids bigger than me when I was a playing or not playing,” Baber said. tiny freshman.”

“You can learn the importance of being on Before they become a starter, bench players a team, how to work with people around you, are usually inspired by a love of the game. and how to deal with tough situations. Whether “I stay motivated because I love basketball you have a lot of playing time or none at all, you and the team, but I’ll have a bigger role next will grow as a person if you put in the work, year, and I need to learn how to be a leader,” become the best player you can be and help the Ganim said. team be successful.”

A bench player’s motivation can also come from the encouragement of a coach.

“

Pete Bechtol

”

JARED MARGOLIS

Most people who have been on a sports team know the familiar rumble of the bus on hourlong drives to far flung schools in the middle of nowhere. They know the struggle of balancing their sports time commitment with their busy lives, as well as the thrill of stepping onto the field or court and waiting for the whistle to blow.

The balance of sacrifice and reward may be even more difficult for non-starting or bench players. These players are just as familiar with sitting on the sidelines as they are with the elation of a win or the squeak of sneakers on a shining court. However, many bench players still play a significant role, especially in practice.

“The role of a bench player is crucial to success of a program in all sports,” girls’ soccer coach Susan Quill said. “If they don’t support the team mission, your team cannot be successful. A non-starter should give 100 percent effort in practice, push and challenge the starting player, and compete for the starting position.”

Non-starters can also help with formulating in-game strategy.

“In volleyball, sadly there are more players on a team than there are positions on the floor,” sophomore Kennadie Jake-Turner said. “Bench players can help by observing the other team and by calling attention to things on the court that starters might not have noticed.”

Another important responsibility for non-starters is cheering on their teammates.

“Bench players should work even harder than the starters and get the rest of their team ready for games,” junior point guard Jid Ganim said.

“I try to always be ready, be encouraging and be prepared to go in because you never know what’s going to happen during a game. It only takes one bad attitude to affect the entire team.”

Bench players may feel that they are missing out on an opportunity to show their skills and improve in a competitive context during games.

Stanford University sophomore Joshua Hanson (‘14) did not expect to get much playing time on the basketball team as a walk-on player.

Hanson was not recruited and did not receive a

scholarship, so he is not guaranteed any playing time.

“Games are the most enjoyable part of a sport and the most important part of what you do,” Hanson said. “You can learn a lot about teamwork during games that you can’t learn otherwise because there’s a level of adversity that often arises in games that can’t be simulated in practice.”

As of Feb. 6, Hanson has played just four minutes in three games for the Cardinal.

Even though they play less than their peers, bench players may find that they are still able to take part in the excitement of a game.

“The best part about being on the basketball team is the big games on Friday nights and hanging out with the team, but non-starting players aren’t really missing out,” Ganim said.

“Everyone on the team feels the reward when we win and the disappointment when we lose.”

A supportive team atmosphere is essential to making bench players feel included during games.

“We might have less playing time, but we’re still one family. We get just as excited and happy when we score,” senior soccer player Pete Bechtol said.

Boundaries between bench player and starter can often become blurred, especially for teams with great depth.

“There aren’t really bench players on our team because everyone has a different strong skill set and something to offer,” said Lilah Gaber, a freshman varsity soccer player. “If you don’t play much in one game, then Coach Quill will make up for it and you’ll play most of the next game. Everybody is really valuable and can play every position, which is great because we can sub in whoever has fresh legs.”

Many coaches prefer not to label bench-players on their team.

“They are all starters to me and they all play their game. Of course, there are stronger and more skillful players, but everyone is on the same page and ready to play,” head boys’ soccer coach Ziad Allan said.

Still, non-starters may have doubts about their

PUT ME IN, COACH Daniel Perrier, Hunter Hasley and Christian Flowers await their chance to get into the game. Players who sit on the bench practice just as much as the starters and are usually motivated by their love of the sport or their pride in being on varsity.

SPORTS

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THE REVIEW I FEBRUARY 10, 2015

by Sadde Mohamed In last year’s SPC tournament the Mavericks were a first-seed missing three starters. They lost 2-1 to Holland Hall in their first game.

This year, now fully healthy, girls soccer hopes to move on from their past misfortunes.

“We did the best we could without those players; obviously, it was hard without three key players,” senior captain Gracie Firestone said.

“These injuries made us realize how lucky we were to be able to play and inspired us to play our best for our teammates. It reminded us not to take our playing for granted.”

The team is no stranger to injuries. Senior Leah Vogel tore her ACL last season, and Katherine Smith was benched by a season-ending injury when she suffered from compartment syndrome.

“We only hope that injuries during the season are minor, and that the player is able to return during the season,” coach Susan Quill said. “It is part of the job of the coaching staff to anticipate a loss somewhere on the field, whether it is season-ending or not, at some point through the winter season.”

Even though the team felt the loss of star players, their performance did not reflect it.

“The injuries honestly didn’t affect the play that much, if at all,” captain Leah Vogel said.

“Of course, no one can know how we might’ve played if all players had been healthy.”

The team compensated for the loss by working harder.

“Coach Quill didn’t have to compensate for the losses much because we had so much depth on the team that other players easily stepped up to fill the spots left by the injured players,” Vogel said.

Despite the injuries, the team’s season last year was their best season in years, leading up to being South Zone champions going into SPC in 2015.

“We never gave up and never stopped believing in ourselves,” Firestone said. “Our season was amazing, and we preserved without major players because we competed and gave it all our all every game.”

This year the team has faced even more challenges.

“We already have our first injury. Ellie Faraguna fractured her wrist during the St. Mary’s

Hall tournament,” Firestone said. “We had a devastating loss during our first round of SPC last year. I know that all of the returning varsity players are determined to redeem ourselves and win the first game of the SPC tournament.”

The team has five new additions to the team — four freshmen and one sophomore.

“We have a lot of good chemistry together, and we’ve been working on our intensity and how we compete,” sophomore Lauren Cerda said. “I think we’ve improved throughout the season and we’re going to do well.”

The members of the team have taken it upon themselves to improve each other.

“Everyone is super competitive, and we are all trying our best to improve just a little bit each practice,” Firestone said. “The biggest difference this year is how hard everyone works at every practice.”

These new faces have also brought out a renewed effort to work harder.

“We’re essentially doing the same thing we did last year,” Vogel said. “Just with more energy and enthusiasm.”

Recovered players have returned to the team along with the underclassmen.

“It’s awesome to have all of our players back. I haven’t been able to play with Leah Vogel since my freshman year, and she is already back there leading the defense and playing great, and you can’t even tell that she’s been injured for the past two years,” Firestone said. “Something was definitely missing when they weren’t on the field, and I’m so happy that both of them are starting and making huge contributions on the field.”

Quill is thankful for a lot of converging factors that allowed for the success the team is achieving.

“We owe a huge thanks to the sports medicine team who has dedicated countless hours and energy to the recovery of every athlete they see through the season and year,” Quill said. “Additionally, our strength coach, Virgil Campbell, instilled the importance of strength, agility and flexibility with daily warm-ups and constant support in the weight room.”

Poised to do their best this season, girls’ soccer has poured themselves into practice.

“This year’s team has depth at every position and will maintain a high fitness level so that each player can play a full game if needed,” Quill said.

JARED MARGOLIS

Soccer players recover, team returns to winning form

AND HERE’S THE KICKER Sophomore Lauren Cerda crosses the ball into the box in a 3-0 victory over John Cooper on Feb. 2. The win helped the Mavs secure the No. 2 seed in South Zone heading into the SPC Tournament, Feb. 11-13.

winter spc preview basketball

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seed

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sydney moye

5 3 swimming spc3 2015 spc3 2015

cliff guidry

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spc 2015 PHOTOS BY JARED MARGOLIS, PHILIP KENSINGER

LTURE U C

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SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Fogler stitches characters into life Months before student actors take the stage to perform “Oklahoma” on Feb. 25, costume designer Teresa Fogler is hard at work in the corner of the VST, surrounded by pins, needles, fabrics, assistants and costume supplies, constructing individual outfits for over 60 cast members.

“I always feel at this point like I’m never going to be finished,” Fogler said.

Even once the musical has started, Fogler continues to be a perfectionist in her art.

“I’ll watch the first performance and sometimes I’ll go home and do something else,” Fogler said.

“I’ve added hats or changed accessories or added accessories. I never feel done even when it’s over.

There are always ideas left on the table.”

Fogler was not always a costume designer by trade. Taught to sew as a child by her mother, Fogler made her own costumes for her productions in high school and college. At College, she majored in mathematics and then worked as a litigation attorney before having kids.

“I found law to be very stressful,” Fogler said. “I didn’t like it very much.”

She settled down as a stay-at-home mom with her three daughters. Her second, Hannah (‘06), became involved with Johnnycake in middle school. Fogler started working as a volunteer in the costume department in 2000 and became a St. John’s employee in 2012.

“You get better at something the more you do it,” she said.

Costume assistant Annie Ren works with Fogler on productions and knows her techniques personally.

“Creating costumes means really getting to know who the character is. The clothes don’t only need to be historically accurate, they also have to reflect the character,” Ren said. “There’s only so much acting can portray if they wear a potato sack.

Clothes take everything to another level.”

Parent costume assistant Edwina Forster helps Fogler with the design, assembly and organization of the costumes.

“She really looks at each kid and makes sure the fabric suits that child, the color suits them, the style suits them, and it’s really good how she takes each kid individually no matter how small their role is,” Forster said.

Getting to know these characters can be a challenge, yet Fogler knows that every character requires special attention, especially in crunch time.

This year’s musical performances have been moved up one week.

“It’s very hard to start on these shows before the holidays, so I start in January, but now I have seven fewer days,” Fogler said.

The cast members often receive handmade costumes made of fabrics found online or purchased

Feb. 25-27

Upper School Musical: ‘Oklahoma!’

‘Daughters of Heaven’ soars

P15

Watch Emily Mann’s (‘08) series ‘Recipe for Deception’ on Bravo

Culture Briefs Musicians travel to All-State convention

Students headed for Dallas Jan. 28-30 to practice with other select performers for the Texas Private School Music Educators Association’s All-State Band and Choir.

“It’s a really fantastic opportunity to just sit and be exposed to new directors and people who are all really passionate about music,” senior Kyra Link said.

Students had the chance to reflect on their singing and playing with fellow artists, providing perspective on their own skills and a chance to improve.

“It’s pretty much rehearsal 24/7 which in a sense is fun and in another taxing, but the clinician that clinics the pieces is always a genius,” senior Yousef Gaber said. “It’s great to have a fresh perspective on music.”

Performers work to improve their craft in an amiable environment with unfamiliar directors and peers, working on challenging music in a different setting.

“You get to play with musicians who aren’t in your ensemble, which is refreshing,” junior Ethan Wang said.

iPic offers premium theater experience When walking into the new iPic theater (4444 Westheimer), you might think that you are checking into a hotel rather than seeing a movie. iPic Entertainment promises the ultimate escape for its usually high-income attendees. The prices are much higher than most cinemas, charging $16 for regular seating and $28 for the much advertised premium plus seating that takes up the majority of the theater. The Premium Plus seating includes reserved, fully reclining chairs with a pillow and blanket and popcorn.

In-cinema food and beverage service can be called at the press of a button for an additional cost.

“The seating would be more comfortable, but it wouldn’t justify having to pay that much more for a movie,” senior Omar Stocks said. “Even if I ever wanted to go there, it would definitely not be on a regular basis.”

For others, the experience’s luxurious nature makes the theater a viable option for future trips to the movies.

“Even though I’m on a teacher’s salary, I would go there,” said English teacher Kemberly Kemp, who is teaching a senior course on film studies during the spring semester. “Back in the day, we used to call it going to the picture show. It was an event, and something with this type of ambience really appeals to me.”

Briefs by Daniel Poag and Michael VerMeulen

JARED MARGOLIS

by Gracie Blue

NEEDLES AND PINS Fogler works on a girl’s corset for the upcoming production of “Oklahoma.” Fogler began working in the Fine Arts Department in 2000 as a parent volunteer. on trips.

“They have what I consider to be the best quilting fabric maker in the country in Dallas, so I went to their warehouse and bought the cottons for the skirts there,” Fogler said.

The time and effort Fogler puts into her shows do not go unnoticed by her associates.

“Someone who hasn’t made a dress before has no idea how hard her job is,” Ren said. “Most of the costumes she makes by hand, yet they’re always so beautiful. Sewing 20 dresses that have to look somewhat the same yet be unique and also fit the actors is extremely difficult. I help her for four hours a week, but she’s probably working much more than I am.”

Ren also appreciates Fogler’s sense of humor and personality.

“She’s one of the adults that really gets to know the students and actors and knows when your birthday is or cracks jokes with you,” Ren said. “I feel like I’m working with one of my friends.”

Fogler’s involvement in theater has changed the way she sees other productions.

“When I see a show with bad costumes, I can hardly stand it, no matter how good it is. There have been times I’ve seen shows on Broadway where I’ve questioned the costuming decisions, and it has affected my ability to enjoy the perfor-

mance,” Fogler said. “Sometimes it’s the quality, and sometimes they appear to be going for something accurate and it’s just not, and when they do something historically inaccurate it rubs me the wrong way.”

The most important aspect of the process to Fogler is ensuring the comfort and stage presence of the performers.

“If the costume somehow impedes them from performing, I have not done my job right,” Fogler said. “They’re not professionals, they’re students, and although some of them have done professional work and are extremely professional in their attitudes, I still feel they are students, and they need to be dressed in a way that allows them to put out their best product on stage.”

While in the process of finishing the costumes for “Oklahoma,” Fogler’s principles remain steady.

“My goal is that every student feels equipped to go out on stage and feel completely at ease in their costume,” Fogler said. “They are not worried about their costume. They are not thinking about their costume. It’s just part of their performance.

It’s not hindering them in any way, and they can just go out and do the very best performance that they can.”

Open Saturdays 8:00am – 2:30pm During the School Year

School Drop Off is available within a 5-mile radius after morning appointments!

Open Mondays 2:00pm - 5:00pm Tuesdays – Fridays 7:00am – 5:00pm

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CULTURE

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SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

‘Daughters’ tells story of unsung flight heroines

by Sophia Li On opening night last month, “Daughters of Heaven” started out with a projection of newspaper clippings. Prominent newspapers such as the New York Times featured headlines such as “Lady Lindy.” Portraits showed a young woman in pilot gear, smiling while surrounded by reporters. The center of the screen had two words: Amelia Earhart.

This was the first time that “Daughters of Heaven” had been performed in its entirety, but it was the fine arts department’s second time staging the play.

In 1984, the fine arts department put on an earlier version of the play by Texas playwright Lane Riosley.

Riosley, who attended opening night, began working on “Daughters of Heaven” in 1981 but considered it a work-in-progress.

“I was a baby playwright at the time and didn’t know anything, but one morning, I woke up and had this compulsion to write,” Riosley said.

Riosley visited the cast and crew the week before the show, giving them inside knowledge on the script and her writing process.

“It’s that one special manuscript that she’s been editing and revising over a span of 34-35 years, so from what I can tell, this play really is her baby,” director Avital Stolar (‘08) said.

After 31 years, Riosley resumed writing in 2013, inspired by an idea that she thought “just seemed to click.”

“I had always intended it to be a two-act play,” Riosley said. “I wasn’t satisfied because it was not through-composed, so I retired it in the 90s.”

The current version of “Daughters of Heaven” is split into two parts. One part covers Amelia Earhart’s life in the ‘30s after crossing the Atlantic. The other part details the first women’s cross-country air race in the ‘20s.

“Riosley cares a lot about these women and wants to share more about their experience than what people always hear about,” Stolar said.

“When it comes to female pilots, it’s always Amelia Earhart this, Amelia Earhart that, but there are a lot of other female pilots that were a large influence on Earhart’s life.”

Miranda Allegar, who played pilot Ruth Nichols, applauds the character diversity.

“There are lots of different personalities. The writing allows them to be strong and indepen-

ALL PHOTOS BY NYLA JENNINGS

UP, UP, AND AWAY! Clockwise from top left: Micajah Stude plays a fast-talking reporter, Trip George portrays his assistant. Amanda Andrade (Marvel Crosson), Emma Shea (Vera Walker) and Miranda Allegar (Ruth Nichols) embody ‘20s and ‘30s aviation pioneers. dent while retaining their own femininity,” Allegar said. “It’s a diverse world in this play, which is what makes it great.”

Student stage manager Jason Souvaliotis says the play’s newness brings out the cast’s creative side.

“Because it’s an unpublished play that’s never been performed [in its entirety] before, there was a lot more freedom for the actors to explore,” Souvaliotis said. “It’s still very up in the air and has yet to be set in stone, which is definitely a different experience than in most plays.”

Stolar thinks that advantages come with a manuscript that is still in the process of development.

“One of the real benefits is that the playwright is still living, so if you have questions or need certain edits to be done, you can just contact her,” Stolar said. “Because she’s been working on this play for over three decades, she’s always eager to edit and add lines here and there. This play remains a living, breathing manuscript.”

The cast was nervous about being the first to

perform the full version of “Daughters of Heaven.” Five minutes before showtime, Stolar gave plane stickers to cast members, who wore them secretly inside their costumes as a token of good luck.

“It’s always scary to present someone else’s creative work especially when you have your own personal interest invested into it. With plays like ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ you don’t have to worry as much because they’ve all been done 100 times before,” Allegar said. “In those plays, a character’s interpretation has already been established, and you usually adhere to it. But this play has never been performed before [in its current form], so we were the ones setting the bar.”

During opening night, Riosley sat on the left side of the Black Box theatre with several friends including Carla Webbles, the director of the original 1983 production, and Rebecca Johansson, a former Stages Repertory Theatre producer.

“I was worried when [Riosley] saw the performance that our interpretation would differ from

hers. I mean, we’ve been developing these characters for months,” Allegar said. “Then again, she’s been developing these characters for over 30 years.”

Riosley finished the first part of the play in 1982, which was performed that same year for the Texas Playwright’s Festival at Stages.

“The first time we did the play, it was in the Magnolia Brewery building on Franklin Street next to the bayou. It was raucous. It flooded.

We had rats and raccoons, and during one performance, the raccoons sat in the air ducts and watched,” Riosley said. “It was a very challenging environment. But then again, you tend to have good theater in these situations.”

Riosley attributes part of the performance’s triumph to the harsh working conditions.

“Most theater people will tell you that adversity is the mother of good theater. It is only by overcoming challenges and obstacles that you really discover your creative muscles because it forces you to push past your first, second third and fourth choices and find something new,” Riosley said.

During her research, Riosley interviewed people who experienced the female flight race in the ‘20s and ‘30s, including Earhart’s younger sister Grace Muriel Earhart Morrissey.

“I still have scribbles of my notes on pieces of paper that I grabbed while on the phone with all these different people,” Riosley said.

The actors have forged ties with the characters they played.

“Because there’s no anchor to develop these characters from, we had to develop them ourselves based on our own interpretations,” Allegar said. “We all have our own versions of these people. For my character, I’ve already envisioned what happens 20 years after this play occurs.”

Sophomore Katy Shafer, who played Amelia Earhart, thinks the play offers a different perspective on Earhart and air flight.

“I was Amelia Earhart for Lower School’s Famous Person’s Day, so she’s always been someone I’ve admired,” Shafer said. “Playing Amelia made me realize how dedicated she was to promoting feminism. All she cared about was women, freedom and flying.”

Riosley intends to work on “Daughters of Heaven” for the rest of her life.

“When I die, it will be finished,” Riosley said.

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P I N I O NS

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ON POINT Voter registration for seniors Department of Justise t-shirt giveaway Four-day Valentine’s Day weekend

OFF TARGET No more Valentine’s Day flower delivery David Bowie and Alan Rickman gone at 69 Lack of minorities at the Oscars

SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Rotating schedule sparks wellness debate My physics teacher Mr. Turk tells stories that are exactly 46 minutes long, which is extremely frustrating because right when he gets to the most interesting part, the bell rings. With 80-minutes periods in the new schedule, Mr. Turk’s inability to finish “How to Evade a Speeding Ticket 101” will no longer be an issue.

I love the proposed new schedule. For one, school starts later. If you’re like me, you wake up in the morning at 6:50 a.m. grumpy as a zombie. You stumble around your house, knocking things over, making incomprehensible noises, eating things from the pantry until you’re in a somewhat functioning state for the school day.

With school starting at 8:30 a.m., I will wake up happy and content with my life. I will have time to get Starbucks. I will have time for 15 minutes of Skyrim on my Xbox. I might actually be nice to people in the morning. Pipe dream? Maybe.

But at least I can dream longer.

Longer class periods provide more depth for both classes and clubs.

Classes will no longer be 45-minute lectures but rather interactive sessions where students can further enhance their learning with the teacher’s help. Clubs will no longer be a mad dash during lunch. Students will actually have time for a proper meeting.

Speaking of lunch, I understand the initial fears. During assembly, the screen said that lunch was going to be just 30 minutes. Many people in my section gasped in horror. I’m pretty sure the girl sitting next to me keeled over in despair.

But let’s not forget about what Ms. Henry said: 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. is the official lunch period. In reality, the cafeteria is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We actually have a four-hour rolling lunch. No long lines. We can eat multiple times. Muffins in the morning, chicken in the afternoon.

How great is that?

Rotating schedules are a fantastic innovation. This way, we only have to do homework for four out of five classes each night. There is more time for coursework since not every class

sophia li

PRO CON

is on the same day. Furthermore, a rotating schedule provides neurological stimulation. Even though Mr. Turk’s class is fun and Mr. Nathan cracks me up, having the same classes at the same time every day can be tedious.

According to Boston Children’s Hospital neurologists Frances Jensen and David Urion, people have different sleep cycles, which means everyone has different optimal times for learning. Someone may be more attentive in the morning than in the afternoon or vice versa. With a rotating schedule, students will have a chance to have each class at its most optimal time.

Experts agree that a teenager’s sleep cycle is “late is bed, late to rise.” A delayed school starting time is beneficial to teenagers, which is exactly what our new schedule aims to do.

The reason why some are complaining about the new schedule is that people hate change. Change scares us. We are comfortable with things that are familiar.

But please remember that the main reason our schedule was changed was because the administration wants healthier students. They’ve acknowledged that our current situation is not optimal, and they’ve spent countless hours visiting other schools and hiring professional consultants to find a solution. The new schedule is designed to help reI don’t really care.

(14%) lieve student stress, and it is important for us as a community to come to- I think we needed a new schedule gether and but this wasn’t it. embrace (29%) the new schedule.

christian maines

There is no question that the new schedule announced on Jan. 27 answers the calls of many members of the community, but the designers may have ignored those of a key demographic: its students.

I spent a substantial portion of the assembly trying to determine if there were any pattern to the schedule — if there were any routine to be found in its rotations or organization. What I found instead was confusion.

The new schedule appears to benefit students who do not participate in sports, fine arts, or, for the most part, extracurriculars. Consider that the school will implement a new start time of 8:30 a.m. If you live outside the Loop or participate in more than one fine art, the school day may actually increase in length by as much as an hour.

For students who find themselves wishing that lunch were half as long and that they could see their friends less frequently than during the construction years, new opportunities abound. According to the sample schedule, students will have study halls on either end of the lunch period on certain days, but they will not necessarily have more than 30 minutes for lunch or be able to see their friends.

Whether or not the rotating schedule offers any substantive ben-

The old schedule was better.

(29%)

I think it’s going to be a major improvement.

(27%)

efit is uncertain. There very well may be science behind the notion of a rotating schedule, but one has to wonder what students can really gain from an extra 15 minutes of class.

The fact of the matter is that most people despise change.

I admittedly fall into that category, especially when it comes to education. Generally, we say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but it seems that the attitude adopted in drafting the schedule was, “why not replace it with something more complicated either way, regardless of public opinion.”

I feel in a sense fortunate that next year will be my last in the Upper School — not because I dislike the community, but because it is being taken in a direction that does not fully consider its students’ opinions.

It is true that SAC was consulted as the new schedule was being developed, and they did travel to the Westminster Schools in Atlanta to view a rotating schedule in action.

Judging by my conversations with SAC members, their opinions were taken into consideration. Based on a recent poll on The Review Online, 58 percent of students find that the new schedule is either a step in the wrong direction or in fact worse than the current system. We have to question to what extent SAC members’ opinions reflect those of the student body, as should be the case in a representative system.

We need to evaluate the new schedule in terms of progress and regression. It would be a shame if, next year, we were to tout the new schedule until people became complacent and determined making any change more important than making the right change. I pose a challenge: let us hold a referendum at the end of first semester next year to decide how to change the schedule if necessary. I hope that I am wrong and that next year the new schedule turns out to be better than expected. Somehow, I doubt that this will happen.

Data taken from a poll of 85 subjects on The Review Online. Subjects were asked to rate their approval of the new schedule.

ASHWINI BANDI

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Syrian refugees deserve global acceptance, not stigmatization

I

BARBARA

n this month’s Why You Should Care, history teacher Barbara DiPaolo discusses refugee issues, both near and far.

DiPaolo Syrians forced to flee, relocate to camps or Europe THE ISSUE: Imagine you are awakened in the middle of the night by loud explosions outside your home and your parents tell you that you have 15 minutes to gather everything you need because you have to leave home and walk to another country.

That is precisely what has happened to millions of Syrian citizens over the past five years. In 2010, Syria’s population stood at 21.53 million; today it is closer to 16.6 million. The missing five million have become refugees, migrants, the “misplaced.” Most of the refugees live in camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. They are not recognized by those governments, so they are unable to get work and earn a living to support their families.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Only 10 percent of these refugees have tried to flee to Europe where they have been greeted with varying degrees of acceptance. Germany accepted

315,000 this year while other countries have been less welcoming. This influx of refugees has caused dissension in the European Union. While Europe grapples with its problem, in the United States the refugee crisis has become a topic of heated discussions.

US accepts few refugees, mandates screening THE ISSUE: Many Republican governors criticized a plan proposed by President Obama to accept 10,000 refugees by October.

Since 2012, the U.S. has accepted only 2,174 Syrian refugees, which is roughly 0.0007 percent of America’s total population.

This plan was immediately challenged in court.

As of today, the process takes an average of 18 months and requires nine steps.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Step One requires that an individual be recommended by the U.N. Refugee Agency. The applicant must go through security checks from the FBI, Homeland Security and the State Department.

Next comes a personal interview with Homeland Security and fingerprinting. The fingerprints are checked against the databases of the FBI, Homeland and Department of Defense. If they make it through all those interrogations, they get medical screening, cultural orientation and an assessment to help choose the best place for resettlement. If those hurdles are cleared, the refugees may then travel to the United States. A bill recently passed by Congress would add an

additional requirement that every Syrian and Iraqi candidate must also have personal interviews with the FBI, CIA and Defense.

which he equated Syrian refugees to rattlesnakes and asked, “Can you tell me which of these rattlers won’t bite you?”

Texas governor refuses refugees

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: The Unit-

THE ISSUE: Even after all those requirements, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (and others) sued the federal government in order to force them to stop sending Syrian refugees to Texas due to the fear that Texas would potentially see the same carnage that occurred in Paris.

A recent article in The New York Times tells the story of Kamal, a Syrian refugee who settled in Houston with his family a little over one year ago. Kamal took exception to remarks made by Texas agricultural commissioner Sid Miller in

EMMA SHEA

ed States is supposed to be the gold standard all countries try to emulate, yet politicians are using refugees as a scapegoat to alarm the populace and get votes. We all need to be more vocal about what is true and what is fiction. Even the strictest screening possible cannot guarantee that no ISIS sympathizer is allowed into the U.S.; however, we should not stop all immigration in order to avoid that possibility.

By welcoming and supporting immigrants, we remove some of their reasons for being radicalized; we show them that we do not hate Islam and we are not trying to eradicate it.

More than half the Syrian refugees are children who need a safe environment in which to grow, play and be educated.

These children deserve an opportunity to prosper; they need to feel accepted, not stigmatized.

The US should take some responsibility for creating the situation that has caused the necessity for these people to leave their homeland; so too should the US take responsibility for ensuring that these people have the opportunity to survive and thrive until it is safe for them to return home.

While you may never actually meet a Syrian refugee, that does not mean you should not care about their plight.

OPINIONS

WHITE-WASHED

How Hollywood Americanizes foreign cultures behind the Golden Gate Bridge, and North Asian countries, or 10 African countries, The first time I saw Korea’s grim political situation is nothing to or five Middle Eastern countries. There is a “Kung Fu Panda” joke about. sort of generic culture for each wide swath I loved it. Po was Who would defend these films if they of the world, tailored for the screen, with just like me. I used were set in America or even in European no distinctions between the customs and chopsticks. I ate bao countries? We consider these places differ- habits of one country or ethnic group verzi and noodles. I was ent enough that their problems don’t affect sus another for the ease of understanding of emily the Dragon Warrior. us; we can laugh at them or use them for the American audience.

As a sixth grader cheap scares.

Another problem is whitewashing, castin 2011, I loved There are other problems with cultural ing Caucasian actors as non-white charac“Kung Fu Panda 2” when I saw it. But I depiction in American media. The Russian ters (“Aloha”, “21,” “The Martian”, “The stopped loving it when I realized that ev- villain who has a nefarious plan for world Last Airbender”, “Argo”, “A Beautiful erything most people know about China domination, often specifically targeting Mind”, every Bible movie ever made) or can be summed up in the film’s having Caucasian actors portray three-word title. these characters with heavy makeScreenwriters Jonathan Aibel up (“Cloud Atlas”, “A Mighty and Glenn Berger weren’t makHeart”). These tactics have been ing a funny Chinese movie but around as long as Hollywood has rather an American movie about (Katherine Hepburn’s Jade, LauChina. Suddenly, I felt like they rence Olivier’s Othello, Elizabeth were laughing at me.

Taylor’s Cleopatra, John Wayne’s “Kung Fu Panda” isn’t the only Genghis Khan, and, famously, culprit. I have seen so many unMickey Rooney’s Mr. Yunioshi in flattering depictions of Asian or “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”). What I Asian-American culture. can’t understand is why roles are In the past year alone, there still being filled this way. have been two big-screen conWhen we fall back on stereotroversies: the portrayal of Kim typical villains, when we treat Jong-un as a bumbling Koreproblems in these countries as an dictator in “The Interview” insignificant, or, worse, as things and the tale of a woman trying ASIA-LITE “Kung Fu Panda 3” and “The Forest” were only American intervention can to save her sister in a Japanese released this January. Neither accurately depicted their solve, and when we erase the ethsuicide forest in “The Forest.” respective settings of China and Japan. nicities of characters in film, the Both were popcorn movies without any the West, has appeared in movies since the imbalance in American media is evident. deep political commentary, both were from Cold War era (see James Bond movies). These skewed cultural depictions perpetuthe American perspective (two American Then there’s the Middle Eastern character ate stereotypes and encourage detachment journalists and an American traveller, re- from a dusty, desert country obsessed with from ‘other’ societies. spectively), both treated the local culture as destroying the western world. Couple these I do plan to see “Kung Fu Panda 3” bequirky or just plain weird, and both made portrayals with the American hero complex cause I would rather see a butchered form light of and hugely disrespected real prob- so prevalent in movies about war or espio- of representation than none at all. But that lems in the world. nage, and you get a recipe for xenophobia. shouldn’t be our only choice.

The Aokigahara Forest is the site of over American media also has a habit of creat100 suicides per year, second in the world ing cookie-cutter cultures. Try naming 10

chen

Students should exercise right to vote There are lots of newfound responsibilities in the transition from naive 17-yearold child to wise brooke 18-year-old adult.

You have to update your driver’s license, begin signing your own forms, and most importantly, start voting.

The biggest misconception of democracy is that your vote doesn’t matter, so you might as well not vote. Young voters are one of the worst demographics in voter turnout, with only about 20 percent of millennials showing up to the polls in the 2014 midterm elections.

The group with the highest voter turnout? Senior citizens, at 61 percent.

Given that millennials outnumber our grandparents, mathematically, we have the power to rock the vote.

Currently, presidential candidates underestimate millennials and the issues important to them. That’s why the Clinton campaign thinks they can throw in a Beyonce reference and win our favor, while ignoring issues like student loan debt and public education.

By showing candidates that millennials actually care about their country’s future, we can steer the conversation towards what we want to hear. Until then, we might have to deal with the prospect of Marco Rubio getting a Vine account.

So, you’ve turned 18 and you’re ready to vote. That means you can show up on Super Tuesday (March 1 — remember!) and slip into a booth, right? Not so fast.

You need to register first. It seems ob-

kushwaha

17

THE REVIEW I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

vious, but sometimes registering to vote is enough of a hassle to deter young voters.

The truth is, you’re a simple Google search away from registering at the Texas Secretary of State website. You fill out a form, mail it back, and wait.

Depending on which party you vote for, your voting registration will only work at specific ballot locations. Beware on election day for last-minute location changes! This tactic is often used to discourage supporters of a certain candidate from voting once they

ILLUSTRATION BY BROOKE KUSHWAHA

arrive at the wrong place.

If timing isn’t your strong suit, try early voting the week prior to Election Day. For students going to college out of state, you fill out an absentee ballot. Just because you’re out of Texas doesn’t mean you want it to fall apart. Or, maybe you do, but don’t act on that impulse.

Another misconception is that the only elections worth voting in are the presidential elections -- midterm elections decide

our lawmakers, who decide how much money Planned Parenthood and interstate highways get. It may surprise you, but amazingly, democracy is not a dictatorship: the president can’t do everything. For everything else, there’s the midterm election.

Read up on your candidates and maybe we won’t have another government shutdown. The same goes for local and mayoral elections, especially the gubernatorial race.

Texas governors have a penchant for presidential aspirations, so casting your vote now can pay off in the future.

Of course, there’s always the chance that an inexperienced businessman with no political background may decide to run for president, just to see how far his silver spoon can reach. In that case, no amount of local voting may prepare you. All the more reason to vote in the big leagues.

I’m not trying to push an agenda here — I’m not that organized. I support any politically active teen, especially the ones I agree with. And in Texas, it can seem hard to express an opinion when your political adversary might be packing heat.

Dems, the electoral system may get you down, but the times (and demographics) are a-changin’.

If you’re a blue belle in a red state, have hope. We may swing before the millennium is over. If not, there’s finally a reason to move to Iowa.

For everyone else, my Republicans, Independents, and undecideds, get to the ballots, too. Stay informed, stay passionate, and stay involved in your country. If you ever run for president yourself, you want to make sure your first vote isn’t totally embarrassing.

Driving may not be ‘rite’ for everyone I am a 17-year-old without a driver’s license, a fact that never ceases to amaze friends and family alike. The circumstances leading to this situation are a irene combination of both serendipity and laziness.

As a freshman, one of my closest friends was a junior, who, at the ripe old age of 16, had his license and was pretty much willing to give me a ride wherever I needed to go (provided I asked nicely and occasionally provided food). I have parents who, though they both work, have schedules that are flexible enough to drive around.

I was never lacking in transportation, so I put off starting Driver’s Ed until the end of freshman year. Then my 16th birthday. Then the summer after sophomore year.

Then my 17th birthday. Now I’ll be lucky if I have my learner’s permit by senior year, and it hasn’t impeded my high school experience (aside from a couple of shady looks from TSA agents when I pull out my student ID in the airport security line).

Though I have been shamed for my incapability, I am among a growing number of teenagers waiting longer to take the wheel.

According to a study by the University of Michigan Transportation Institute, only 46 percent of 17-yearolds have their driver’s licenses, compared to 69 percent in 1983. Financial and cultural factors play a role what I consider to be a positive delay.

Driver’s Ed is costly. For the Texas requirements, a teen SafeWay driving course (the option favored by many a St. John’s student) costs at minimum $500. Wait until 18 and the same course costs $99.

Age also plays a significant role in the cost of car insurance. According to a report by InsuranceQuotes.com, adding a teen driver to a married couple’s auto insurance policy hikes up rates by an average 79 percent.

Cost aside, taking Driver’s Ed eats up time in an already packed student schedule. For me, SafeWay was essentially not an option because of my schedule. If you’re between the ages of 18 and 24 and you’re applying for a driver’s license in Texas, all you have to do is a six-hour course and pass the driver’s test. If you’re below the age of 18, it takes six hours just to get your permit.

My parents and I opted for a parent-taught Driver’s Ed class, and even that requires hours of online instruction.

When I do have free time, the last thing I want to do is stare at an animated lesson trying to teach me about the hazards of driving with a horse-drawn carriage on the road next to you (only in Texas).

The delay in getting a driver’s license also marks a generational difference in American transportation. Teens today have grown up hearing endless reports on global warming and the effects of car exhaust on the rising seas and the deaths of polar bears. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, car and truck exhaust accounts for nearly one-fifth of all U.S. emissions.

I grew up in a house where one of my mother’s favorite phrases was “shrinking our carbon footprint,” so when I turned 15, I started riding my bike when I could to the library or to friends’ houses. Houston’s a pretty spreadout city, so this option isn’t feasible for a lot of transportation necessities, but during the years when I could’ve been getting my learner’s permit, a bike was enough.

I’m the first to lament Houston’s lack of public transportation, but even that is getting better. Houston’s bus network has undergone a major overhaul, with some routes running buses every 15 minutes, seven days a week.

For me, there was never a guarantee of getting a car upon getting my license. And if you don’t have a car (and therefore don’t really have the freedom to drive yourself places), what’s the rush in learning to drive?

Many colleges don’t offer parking to freshmen, so that’s a whole year when driving isn’t required.

Upon graduation from college, I plan on moving to a city with plenty of public transportation, so will I ever really need my driver’s license?

As of the printing of this issue, I still don’t have my learner’s permit. When the first draft of this article was written, I said I was on track to have it by the end of Christmas break, but February has arrived, and I’m still there. You may not see me in Senior Lot next year. And if trends continue, there will be plenty of empty spots.

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OPINIONS

SJSREVIEW.COM I FEBRUARY 10, 2016

STAFF EDITORIAL

De-emphasizing college prestige a good first step The staff editorial differs from opinions pieces in that it is written by the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor and Senior Design Editor.

As spring approaches, many students focus not on the fair weather or the countless days off in March, but rather on the looming college decisions.

Seniors want to know where they and their classmates will be going next year, juniors feel a bit of the pressure building, and parents and underclassmen continue to be as nosy as ever.

As Decision Day approaches, we are reminded of the worrisome focus on name-brand colleges promoted by many students and parents.

At SJS there is an inherently competitive nature largely due to the student body. Everyone is smart and generally hard working, and each student wants to succeed. A lot of the competition, however, comes from the ways in which people define success, and too many equate the idea of success with the name of the college they attend.

There are numerous problems with the mindset, the first of which is that it’s simply unhealthy. Success ought to focus on a more

current version of yourself, not on some theoretical version of you 20 years down the road.

By falling victim to the mindset that going to a certain name-brand college will get you “the right” job so you can make lots of money and save the world, you ignore the most important time in your life – the present. At no point in that rabbit hole of future success is there time to stop and ask yourself, “Am I happy now?”

This question, though seemingly integral to a good life, is often forgotten by students. We get so caught up in the frenzy of success, the “checklist childhood” mentioned by guest speaker Julie Lythcott-Haims, that we forget to look internally at what we actually want.

The Editorial Board, in a vote of 4-1, commends the school’s bringing Lythcott-Haims to speak to the Upper School student body as

well as the recent emphasis on decreasing the focus on name-brand colleges in the parent community. We also recommend the school devote similar energy to changing mindsets of students.

Getting parents to shift away from the college frenzy will hopefully decrease the pressure on some and adjust the mindset of other students.

The school brought Lythcott-Haims to speak to parents as well and also hosted a Q&A session with the College Counseling department and some seniors to show underclassmen parents that worrying about college at such an early stage is ridiculous BROOKE KUSHWAHA and unhealthy, and we applaud these focused attempts to decrease the college frenzy among parents.

We recognize that while parents have a significant influence over their students, the pressure can often be self-inflicted. Sometimes we’re the

ones pushing ourselves toward our own futures.

In recognition of the student role in the college focus, we ask students to at least be more open-minded about which schools they consider elite. With judgement of colleges comes an inherent judgement of peers along with a disregard for what school fits others best, not what school looks best on a resume.

We do, however, admit that college admission can be a powerful motivator. Working towards a tangible goal can boost academic performance. Our dissenting editorial member reminds the readers that college reputation is a valid concern for many students and parents, and given both the financial and academic nature of St. John’s, not one to be taken lightly.

But we ask that students take time to consider why they do what they do. The two main reasons for going to a school like SJS ought to be to learn as much as possible and to prepare for college. Motivate yourself from a desire to learn or a desire to improve. We aren’t asking students to lose their motivation or stop doing the activities they enjoy. We just ask you do things for the right reasons.

From the editors

Dear Reader, In our centerspread, we tried to address issues that students face in their transition from high school to college. While brainstorming article ideas, we considered the many areas in which we might struggle in college. This will be our first experience with total independence, and while some of the challenges we face will be fairly straightforward — denser readings, longer papers, even laundry — others will be more complex.

With the opportunities provided by the new schedule, we encourage the school to consider adding a “skills class” for seniors. This sort of “Intro to College” should include discussions about consent and safe sex, interview skills and financial literacy. Too many college students today are confronted with issues they have no idea how to handle.

Within the past few years, many universities have had to confront issues related to sexual assault. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, roughly a quarter of college-age women say they have been raped. As colleges struggle to address these issues through

consent education and more comprehensive follow up, high schools have the opportunity to broach the topics of sexual assault, consent and alcohol. A senior skills class would help prepare prospective freshmen before they enter college.

The class could also provide a primer on financial skills.

Many students do not have experience managing their money before college and overspend when they live on their own for the first time. Initial discussion about smart shopping techniques could help prevent financial pitfalls.

At the risk of sounding like our parents, we also advocate for seniors to learn interpersonal skills that will help them throughout their lives and especially in their careers.

Interview knowledge is important not only during the college application process but also throughout the job search. In an era when most people would rather text than call, students also need to practice sustaining informed conversations with adults.

A skills class probably won’t win any popularity contests, especially at a time when most students would rather play

video games in Senior Country or bask in the Quad, we know that this type of an education can be even more valuable than what we learn in our academic classes.

Peace,

Love,

Joy,

VIEW

R

RE

JARED MARGOLIS

Reality Check

The Review · St. John’s School · 2401 Claremont, Houston, TX 77019 · review.sjs@gmail.com · 713-850-0222 x373 sjsreview.com · Facebook SJS Review · Twitter @SJS_Review · Instagram @_thereview Member Columbia Scholastic Press Assn.: Crown Finalist 2016, Gold Crown 2015, Silver Crown 2014 · National Scholastic Press Assn.: Pacemaker Award 2015; 7th Place Best of Show, All-American 2014-2015

Editors-in-Chief Cara Maines, Gabe Malek, Chris Zimmerman Managing Editor Brooke Kushwaha Senior Design Editor Matthew Neal Senior Assignment Editor Megan Shen Assignment Editors Christian Maines, Irene Vazquez Online Editor Amy Liu Design Editor Ashwini Bandi Photography Editors Philip Kensinger, Jared Margolis Copy Editors Sophia Li, Michael VerMeulen Assistant Online Editor Sadde Mohamed Business Manager Grace Amandes Video Editor Max Westmark

Staff

Roosh Bhosale, Gracie Blue, Gwendelyn Butler, Sophie Caldwell, Ryan Chang, Emily Chen, Iris Chen, Ellie Davidson, Andrew Duong, Sam Foshee, Claire Furse, Shomik Ghose, Sophie Gillard, Catherine Gorman, Margaret Gorman, Kate Habich, David Hammer, Joseph Hlavinka, Nyla Jennings, Reygan Jones, Alexander Kim, Stephen Kim, Prithvi Krishnarao, Kyra Link, Sukul Mittal, Anish Nayak, Saswat Pati, Daniel Poag, Robert Rae, Emily Ragauss, Caroline Ramirez, Emma Shea, Maddie Shen, Henry Still, Gray Watson, Dani Yan, Austin Zhang

Advisers David Nathan, Shelley Stein (‘88)

Mission Statement The Review strives to report on issues with integrity, to recognize the assiduous efforts of all, and to serve as an engine of discourse within the St. John’s community.

Publication Info The Review is published seven times a school year. We distribute 1,000 copies each issue, most of which are given for free to the Upper School community of 607 students and 80 faculty members.

Policies The Review provides a forum for student writing and opinion. The opinions and staff editorials contained herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Headmaster or the Board of Trustees of St. John’s School. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the entire

editorial board unless otherwise noted. Writers and photographers are credited with a byline.

Corrections, when necessary, can be found on the editorial pages. Running an advertisement does not imply endorsement by the school.

Submission Guidelines Letters to the editor and guest columnists are encouraged but are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, accuracy and good taste. On occasion, we will publish letters anonymously, provided the editor knows the author’s identity. The Review reserves the right not to print letters received. Either email letters and guest columns to review. sjs@gmail.com; give them to David Nathan in the Review Room (Q210); or mail letters to The Review, 2401 Claremont, Houston, TX 77019.

19

ODDS AND ENDS

Word for word

Remembering heroes, just for one day

Sixty Seconds

David Bowie Musician, oddity

with Maddi Speed

“If only life could be a little more tender and art a little more robust.”

Alan Rickman Actor (Severus Snape) “People don’t run out of dreams — people just run out of time.”

Glenn Frey Eagles Guitarist

Dept. Profile Language Dept. Head Aline Means PHILIIP KENSINGER

15 years, Spanish

NAME GRADE STATE OF MIND KNOWN FOR COLOR HATE TO LOVE LOVE TO HATE HAPPINESS MISERY OLYMPIC SPORT DREAM DATE RELATIONSHIP STATUS COMFORT FOOD PLACE TO LIVE SPIRIT ANIMAL MOVIE PHOBIA I WISH FOLLOW US?

Maddi Speed 10 Constantly on the verge of an emotional breakdown Embarrassing myself at cast parties

Maroon Trashy period dramas Dance moms No homework weekends Analytical writing Competitive sarcasm Emmett Forrest from legally blonde hmu Strawberry French toast Ireland Baby snow owl The Princess Bride The wrath of Ms. Johnson-West I could get my life together Probably not gonna happen, tbh

Veterans Jacqueline Vest 33 years, French JARED MARGOLIS

Jessica Lopesuarez 16 Years, Spanish

Key Additions Andrew Stewart JARED MARGOLIS

rookie, Spanish

Andrea Hanhausen 1 year, Spanish



Kushwahaha

By Brooke Kushwaha

GWENDELYN BUTLER

“The truth is, of course, that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.”

ALL TOGETHER NOW

2.

3.

1.

5.

4.

Students of all grade levels united for events this past month.

Actresses in “Daughters of Heaven” take off in the Black Box Theater (photo 1). Headmaster Mark Desjardins greets kindergartener William Burger at the All-School Chapel (2).

Winter sports’ captains line up for a three-legged race at

the first winter pep rally (3). Junior Aileen Zhang applies an intricate henna design for International Day, which partnered with the South Asian Affinity Group to celebrate India (4). Seniors cheer for the Mavs during the Feb. 1 boys’ basketball victory over John Cooper (5).

Photos by Nyla Jennings (1), Jared Margolis (4), and Emily Ragauss (2,3,5) | Story by Jared Margolis