January Issue 3 2018

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THE REVIEW

ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL 2401 CLAREMONT LANE HOUSTON, TX 77019

SJSREVIEW.COM JANUARY 16, 2018 VOL. 69. ISSUE 3

LOCKDOWN READY: THE CHANGING FACE OF SCHOOL SECURITY

INSIDE

Oh captain,

my captain,

my captain

NEWS 2 FEATURES 4 SPORTS 7 CENTERSPREAD 8-9 CULTURE 12 OPINIONS 13 GRACE SANDERS

GRACE SANDERS

PHILIP KENSINGER

CAROLINE RAMIREZ

Alex Lewis leads volleyball, basketball and lacrosse teams as junior captain (P7)

Seniors lead team to new heights at GoFly

By Izzy Andrews

HyperLift competitors Robert Gottschalk and Michael He (both ’18) are at it again, competing for a grand engineering prize. This year’s goal: build a jetpack for Boeing’s GoFly challenge.

According to its website, GoFly is “pushing the boundaries of innovation, engineering and transportation to create a personal flying device for anyone, anywhere.” Prizes range from $20,000 for the initial checkpoint to $1 million for the 2019 final fly-off.

Because the final checkpoint is in two years, the team will consist of current sophomores, freshmen, eighth and seventh graders. To pique the interest of the younger students, project leaders spoke with Middle School Technology Specialist Cullan Hemenway about reaching out to Middle School students.

According to He, their previous Hyperloop experience prepared them to form a team of their own to compete in another technological competition.

“Through Hyperloop, Robert and I got a sense of real world engineering,” He said. “We learned a lot about team structures and how to compete. We’re taking that knowledge and hoping to improve based on what we’ve experienced.”

Senior John Boom and junior Kristin Ankoma-Sey are managers for the project. They supervise progress and keep team leaders on task. The rest of the 41-person team is divided into smaller groups overseen by upperclassman “leads” who are in charge of various major components.

According to team member and lead Will Marx (’18), engineering teacher Franco Posa and physics teacher Nolan Harris are available as mentors and mediators, but the process is mostly student-driven.

“If students aren’t excited about it, it becomes just something to do, just something to put on a resume for college, and that takes you nowhere. It really does not lead to success,” Posa said. “If they have the passion for it, they will put the work in.”

The first project deadline is April 18, when competitors

Warm welcome: SAC serves cocoa Students typically arrive on campus the first morning of spring semester rubbing sleep from their eyes. This year, they hopped out of cars to be greeted by the rich smell of hot chocolate.

The SAC Hot Cocoa bar, set up in the Plaza, the Great Hall and in Senior Country, happened courtesy of Student Affairs Council.

SAC originally scheduled the event for the week before winter break, but decided to move the event to January 2018 to ring in the new year.

“We thought it’d be a good idea to do something nice for everyone coming back from break,” Prefect Kevin Jung said. “It was easy to set up, and I don’t know many people who don’t like hot chocolate.”

Representatives and prefects arrived at 7:30 a.m. to set up stations at the Plaza, the Great Hall and Senior Country, while Catering Manager Tim Rowley mixed the drinks in Cambro drink dispensers.

SAC members operated the stations throughout the day, pouring the drink and adding condiments like whipped cream and marshmallows. SAC sponsor Marci Bahr used SAC funds to provide the ingredients.

“It was fun serving my classmates and my teachers,” sophomore president Mark Trautner said. “I felt like I was making the first Monday back a little bit more tolerable.”

The hot cocoa bar is an example of SAC's efforts to redirect resources and attention due to the absence of Field Day this year.

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are required to submit a proposal for their model, a full safety report and schematics.

“We won’t submit the final object, but we want to show commitment by actually doing experimentations and prototyping, proof of concept ideas,” Posa said.

“I don’t want to turn in just a piece of paper. I want to turn in visuals and products that really say, ‘Hey, we’re CAROLINE RAMIREZ trying this, we Will Marx constructs a schematic for a jetpack. Marx is a member of the team want to do this.’” that is competing in Boeing's GoFly challenge for a grand prize of $1 million.

According to said, is not only to win the grand prize, but also to inspire team members, the project is still in the brainstorming young people to become interested in math, science and phase. Because they are competing against university teams engineering. They also hope that team members will forge and even professional engineers with more resources and lasting relationships through the stress and excitement of experience, their ideas must distinguish them from the rest competition. of the field.

For many participants, the contest acts as more than a “What we do have is a solid team and good ideas, so we’re resume-builder. sticking to the thought that we need to keep a simple work“One thing that captivated me from the beginning is that ing system,” Marx said. “In order to set us apart, we need it’s not just a competition, it’s truly a solution to a lot of to have these moonshot ideas that are truly going to change transportation problems that we have in the world,” Marx the way that people view personal flying devices and make said. “There’s been, for a very long time, this innate human them practical.” need to fly, so [the competition] really captures the human The main purpose of the competition, both Posa and He spirit.”

SAC revives house system, sparks competition

By Sophia Kontos

Leaning forward in his chair, junior Jackson Edwards trembled with anticipation.

With just one more correct answer, he would win a Taylor Swift “Reputation” poster and 23 points for Chidsey house.

Edwards was competing in a Kahoot of Taylor Swift trivia organized by SAC’s Fun Committee (FunC). This year, prefects instituted new committees like the Homecoming Committee, FunC, Social Media Committee and Suggestions Committee. Each committee member has specific tasks to complete for every SAC meeting, increasing efficiency by distributing the work more evenly.

“SAC is almost a different thing entirely,” sophomore class president Mark Trautner said. “The meetings are much more focused due to the committee system, and SAC members are doing much more outside of committees because there are now assignments to complete each week.”

Prefects Frank Willey and Grace Melcher manage FunC and hope to reconnect SAC with the student body by reviving the house system through activities like a foosball tournament, Taylor Swift trivia and social media contests. Students can earn points for their house by winning the competitions. “[The house system] is supposed to promote cross-grade friendships,” junior representative and FunC member Wesley Gow said. “The way to do that is to appeal to people’s competitive spirit.”

The new house competitions have enjoyed varied degrees of success. According to FunC members, the biggest challenge is scheduling.

“A tournament that we thought would take a week to complete took a month,” Melcher said about the foosball tournament. “That’s what's sad about the new schedule — there’s less time when everybody is free.”

Another obstacle to widespread participation in these activities is apathy towards the House system.

“A lot of students aren’t fond of the house

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system, and we’re not blind to that fact,” This year’s prefects have worked to accomMelcher said. plish their goals for the year in ways untestUpon receiving suggestions to replace ed by previous prefects. items in disrepair, including the foosball “This group of prefects has been amazing,” and ping-pong tables, Willey, Melcher and SAC sponsor and physics teacher Nolan the other prefects built the equipment them- Harris said. “They’ve really pushed and done selves. The committee is working to replace a lot of things that require thinking outside the broken Spikeball nets by Jan. 17 to host of the box and stretching themselves and their Spikeball king of the hill competition. have been more willing to do things for stuWilley says that SAC hopes to host other dents and to make lasting changes.” events like a scavenger hunt, a spelling bee SAC members hope these changes will imand a “Spring Fling” dance. prove students’ perception of SAC. The Suggestion Committee has also revital“At the end of the day, the effectiveness ized suggestion boxes, both in physical form of SAC depends on each individual member and as an online system. Trautner, a member of SAC,” Melcher said. “That comes down of the committee, contacted Chief Informa- to who you vote for. Vote for reps who are tion Officer Jeff Ritter to fix the online sys- going to do things.” tem and implemented a rotation system in which SAC members take turns carrying the suggestion box to their classes. SAC also sends out randomized polls to gauge the student body’s interests and opinions on different topics.

“My goal as a SAC representative [is] to allow students to communicate more with SAC,” Trautner said. “The biggest change is that it’s no longer just SAC members’ ideas being tossed around.

The students have a much bigger role in what the SAC members are telling the administration.”

According to Willey, SAC’s primary role is to communicate with the administration. The prefects submit requests for new equipment and games to Dean of Students Bailey Duncan, and Head Prefect Dani Yan creates and transmits the weekly infographic. “[The infographic] is really where Dani and the other prefects have been great.

We’ll shoot him information, and he finds a way to make it visually appealing and include a human interest element,” DANI YAN Duncan said. “Our goal [with the infoEmily Ellison and Iris Chen enjoy a cup graphic] was to improve communicaof hot cocoa served by Mark Trautner. tion, which was a SAC goal for the year.”

NEWS

JANUARY 16, 2017

The road to Rhodes: alum joins elite ranks

KRIS SNIBBE

Xavier Gonzalez (’14) recently earned the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, guaranteeing him two to three years of study abroad at Oxford University.

Gonzalez became the fourth alum to obtain this fellowship. While in high school, Gonzalez captained the tennis team and excelled in mathematics.

By Iris Chen and Shani Israel The list of Rhodes Scholars includes George Stephanopoulos and Rachel Maddow, Bobby Jindal and Cory Booker, illustrious scientists and former presidents. Xavier Gonzalez (’14), a math major at Harvard, has now joined those ranks.

One of the world’s most prestigious collegiate awards, the Rhodes scholarship is given annually to 32 American college seniors and pays for any full-time postgraduate course at Oxford University in England.

Gonzalez’s math journey began in third grade when he read Hans Magnus Enzenberger’s “The Number Devil,” a novel about a young boy who is taught mathematical concepts over the course of 12 dreams.

When Gonzalez came to St. John’s in sixth grade, he joined the Mathcounts team. Although he was the only sixth grade student on the team, he recorded the highest score and later qualified for the state competition.

In Upper School, Gonzalez took advanced math courses, including Differential Equations and Multivariable Calculus with Dwight Raulston, and Linear Algebra and Partial Differential Equations with Dan Friedman.

“Xavier is not someone you can picture just lying around, playing video games or watching movies and eating potato chips,” Raulston said. “He’s obviously really bright, but he was also a phenomenally focused student and a very hard worker.”

Gonzalez arrived at Harvard with the intention of majoring in Applied Mathematics with a focus in Economics.

“I liked using math to understand social phenomena,” he said, “but over the course of my freshman year, I was drawn to the innate beauty and power of mathematics.”

He decided to pursue a doctorate and become a research mathematician.

According to Gonzalez, one of the best parts of winning the Rhodes Scholarship is the opportunity to study under Oxford mathematics professor Marcus Du Sautoy.

As a freshman at St. John’s, Gonzalez read Du Sautoy’s book, “The Music of the Primes,” which explores the history of prime number theory. Gonzalez admires Du Sautoy for his work in incorporating mathematics into popular culture and said he hopes to inspire others in a similar way.

More than 2,500 students sought an endorsement from their colleges for the Rhodes Scholarship. Gonzalez was one of four Rhodes Scholars from Harvard. Since the scholarship’s inception in 1902, more than 350 Harvard students have been recipients.

Gonzalez is one of only four St. John’s alumni to have received Rhodes Scholarships. He joins Josh Chafetz (’97), Allen Elster (’72) and William Risser (’60).

The Rhodes Trust chooses college seniors on the basis of their academic achievement, personal integrity and leadership potential.

In addition to maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average, Gonzalez volunteers at a Cambridge homeless shelter, serves as a peer adviser and plays tennis for the Crimson.

Gonzalez said his St. John’s experience was key to developing both a sense of integrity and academic interests.

“The vast majority of students had taken the Golden Rule to heart,” Gonzalez said.

“The habit of manners and the spirit that I learned from my fellow students and teachers at St. John’s was incredibly helpful.”

Gonzalez also values the support from his family.

“Yao Ming once said: ‘How can a single blade of grass give thanks to the sun?’ I am so grateful for how my parents have nurtured and raised me,” he said. “They, without a

doubt, are the reason for all my successes.”

On Dec. 21, Gonzalez returned to campus for a reception held in his honor, where Headmaster Mark Desjardins announced that the school will create a permanent display in the hallway leading from Flores Hall to the Plaza featuring plaques for each Rhodes Scholar.

Gonzalez thanked Raulston and faculty emeritus Ruth Bellows for their mentorship, as well as Andrew Jing (’15), who helped prepare Gonzalez for the interview process.

Gonzalez’s teachers and coaches said that he represents everything St. John’s aims to instill in its students: a lifelong passion for academics and moral rectitude.

“He’s one of those people who’s not only brilliant but also a genuinely cool human being,” Raulston said. “I’m so glad to have had a chance to have him as an advisee and to watch him grow.”

Gonzalez’s greatest experience in high school was taking Linear Algebra and he advises students to take it as soon as possible.

“Linear Algebra will open your mind. You see the world in a different light,” Gonzalez said. “And then it starts popping up in physics, in calculus. It opens up all of mathematics and statistics.”

His biggest regret was a lack of sleep.

In his final semester, he forced himself to sleep eight hours a night, and while his grade point average slipped slightly (1.5 points), he said it was worth it.

“If you think about it, 1.5 points versus the incredible development of your brain over four years, it’s not even close to being more valuable down the line,” he said. “Be attentive to health, and in particular, sleep, with the goal of building a long-term foundation for success.”

Gonzalez family tennis dynasty continues Xavier Gonzalez (’14) has always felt at home on the tennis court.

Gonzalez and his sister Natasha (’16) were first introduced to tennis when they served as ball kids at their parents’ matches. Eventually, they joined their parents on the court.

“Whenever [the siblings] were at the same tournament, they were always rooting for each other,” former tennis coach Sandy McLanahan said. “They fed off of each other.”

While in high school, Xavier was named MVP, all-SPC and all-South Zone every year. He also captained the team his junior and senior years.

Today, the siblings both play for the Harvard tennis team. Balancing an Ivy League course load and a Division I practice schedule is nothing new for the Gonzalez family.

Xavier’s mother, Natalya Smith Gonzalez, led Yale’s tennis team to the Ivy League title twice during her tenure as captain, while his father, Javier Gonzalez-Sfeir, captained the Harvard freshman tennis team.

Xavier said that trying to balance academics with tennis has been a perpetual challenge. The NCAA only allows 20 hours of tennis a week, but with the addition of travel time and taking care of injuries, the time adds up. Xavier says that tennis has given him an opportunity to travel and meet new people, making the effort worthwhile.

“I would not have had the same college experience if I had not gotten to be on the team,” he said.

As Xavier prepares to study at Oxford through his Rhodes Scholarship, he plans to bring his racket with him and play on their tennis team.

By Iris Chen and Shani Israel

SIENA ZERR AND AMÈLIE PERRIER

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JANUARY 16, 2017

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School introduces new technology policy

By Eli Maierson

The school’s laptop policy is about to get an upgrade.

Starting next school year, students will be required to bring their own laptop, according to an email sent out by Upper School Head Hollis Amley and Chief Information Officer Jeff Ritter on Dec. 18.

Across the academic departments, there are more collaborative classroom projects that rely on Google Docs or other applications. Having a Bring Your Own Device policy “is a natural next step for the Upper School,” according to the email.

Ritter said that laptops are essential because most core subjects incorporate them into the curriculum.

“It is very hard to get through every course we offer and not have at least half your teachers do stuff in class that you need a laptop for,” Ritter said. “All our departments do a really good job of using technology.”

The business office will address individual students’ needs if purchasing a laptop presents a financial hardship.

Senior Pearse Higgason considers his lack of a laptop to be a “huge disadvantage,” especially when writing in-class essays.

“The older school computers are just slower, and sometimes it causes problems that could take away a few minutes of time,” Higgason said. “Every minute counts in a 45 to 60 minute essay.”

According to Ritter, high schools have a variety of methods to handle student devices. Some schools, such as Episcopal, require students to purchase a laptop through the school. Others lend out computers to all students or allow students to bring any device. Some prohibit personal devices altogether.

Despite the new policy, some students are adamant in their position on laptops. Senior Joseph Hlavinka does not bring a laptop to school, and he doesn’t mind that 93 percent of his classmates do.

Hlavinka prefers taking notes by hand, citing studies that show writing is more effective than typing.

“Not having a laptop is, if anything, a benefit, because I won’t be tempted to mess around doing other things during class,” he said. “If I really need to look something up, I use my phone. Worst case scenario, I have to grab a laptop from somewhere else on campus, but I rarely need to.”

Hlavinka relies on school laptops, which can be checked out from the library.

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REYGAN JONES

Sareena Marshall untangles computer chargers on one of the school’s laptop carts. The school announced a Bring Your Own Device policy for the Upper School. While the majority of students already bring a personal device to campus, the new policy will make it a requirement.

“The perk of the library computers is the availability of software that would otherwise cost us thousands of dollars,” Hlavinka said.

Hlavinka acknowledges that not bringing a laptop to school has some disadvantages. Occasionally, he forgets to bring a laptop to English on days with an in-class essay, but he has “never lost anything tangible.”

Hlavinka does not consider having a laptop to be necessary for most of his schoolwork.

According to Hlavinka, researching and studying through textbooks and teachers is more time-consuming, but “leads to greater understanding” than using an internet database

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like Wikipedia.

Ritter said that the new policy will largely benefit the school, especially teachers who use technology in their classrooms.

“It was finally the right time to recognize that the faculty had made so much change to their curriculum that they were using the equipment more, that we really needed to make it easier on them by saying that every kid in your class will have a device if you want to do something,” he said. “It was really a recognition of the fact that we’ve come so far.”

JANUARY 16, 2017

Groundskeeper reveals recipe for success

By Ryan Chang and Iris Chen

Football season always begins with groundskeeper Bruce Warren’s barbecue.

Parents feast on his famous baked beans and ribs as they listen to the coaches talk about player safety and the year’s schedule.

“It’s part of football to have Bruce barbecue for the kids and parents,” football coach Steve Gleaves said. “It goes hand-in-hand with the start of the season. It’s just expected now.”

Warren doesn’t own a barbecue business, but he caters about 15 events each year, the biggest of which is the Mavs preseason parents meeting. According to Warren, the secret to preparing a meal for so many people is to cook without extensive planning or research.

“When you first start out, you’re going to mess up a lot,” Warren said, “but through the years, you get better and better. A lot of people ask me ‘what’s the recipe for this’ or ‘what’s the recipe for that.’ My answer is, ‘a little of this, a little that.’ There is no recipe.”

Before coming to St. John’s, Warren worked in landscaping. In 1989, Doug Osburn, who was the football Defensive Coordinator as well as one of Warren’s clients, told Warren about an open groundskeeping job at St. John’s.

“Every week he just kept bugging me and bugging me,” Warren said. “Finally I got tired of it, and I came up here and filled out an application. Almost 20 years down the road, I’m still here.”

In addition to maintaining school

Veteran Washington insider speaks to SPEC The day before President Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor to be the first female Supreme Court Justice in 1981, Peter Roussel (’61) was chosen by the Chief of Staff to handle media relations in Phoenix for the historic announcement.

The challenge Roussel faced was to keep the secret from the “tough and thorough” White House reporters.

At a Dec. 1 meeting of SPEC, Roussel spoke about working in the federal government.

Roussel began his career in Washington as press secretary to then-congressman George H. W. Bush, and then as a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Roussel later served as Staff Assistant to President Ford, and then as Special Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary to President Reagan.

According to Roussel, press secretaries must be “responsive to two entities: the president and about 150 reporters. You’re right in the middle of a taffy pull, and you have to satisfy both sides.”

A typical day as Press Secretary began with senior staff meetings that often ended with the suggestion, “don’t tell the press anything today.” Roussel would then attend a briefing with the White House Press Corps, who demanded that he reveal everything.

“You’re uttering words on behalf of the most powerful person in the world,” he said. “You choose your words carefully.”

Roussel was in the first St. John’s kindergarten class, and remembers “beating Kinkaid regularly in all sports” in high school.

By Gracie Blue

grounds, Warren still has about 20 landscaping clients and drives students to away games on the bus. According to basketball coach Harold Baber, Warren does “a little of everything”: he can often be found gardening, fertilizing, keeping the Maverick stars on Skip Lee and Caven fields freshly painted and cheering on the sidelines.

“I see kids coming and going; I’ve seen many graduating classes,” Warren said. “I get to know the kids very well.

They’re the best part of working here.”

Many students can attest to Warren’s friendly personality. Warren forges meaningful connections by doing little things like supporting students at games and talking with every football player at the preseason barbecue.

ERIC HANG “Bruce always greets me in the hallBruce Warren is a jack-of-all-trades: as the school’s groundskeeper, he barways and gives me a pat on the back as becues, landscapes, drives athletes to games, paints and fertilizes the fields. we get on the bus,” quarterback Wesley Warren has worked at St. John’s for nearly 20 years.

Gow said. me, and I respect them,” Warren said.

Both coaches and students appreciate Warren also provides moral support Warren prioritizes the safety of students. what Warren has done for the school. after difficult losses.

“He’s always talking about how the safety “He’s such an easygoing guy and very per“When you’ve been somewhere for so long, you have credibility with the kids,” of the kids is in his hands and how it’s his sonable,” Gleaves said. “What makes Bruce Baber said. “After a tough loss, when kids job to get them to where they need to be,” stand out is that he’ll help anyone. It doesn’t matter if it’s related to work or not, if you come out of the locker room maybe a lit- Baber said.

When he’s not catering, landscaping off ask Bruce for help, he’ll always help you or tle tired of hearing from the coaches, Bruce campus or working at SJS, Warren likes to point you in the right direction.” just gives them some encouraging words.”

Warren attributes his strong relationship take road trips and ride his Harley Davidwith students to mutual trust and consid- son. He is part of a monthly motorcycle club. In October, the club participated in eration.

“I’ve never had a problem with kids get- a charity ride from Houston to Kemah that ting out of control because they do respect raised money for breast cancer research.

Visit from mayor caps off busy semester for non-partisan political organization

By Mia Fares Amid the divisive political climate of the last election, then-sophomores Jackson Edwards and Jack Trent thought that it was time to create a non-partisan club focused on the dispersal of political information and fact. Now juniors, the duo is running the growing Student Political Educational Club.

In the midst of scheduling conflicts due to limited club time, the club has managed to gather considerable audiences with their captivating meetings and speakers.

“People in the club have really strong political disagreements. You have people on both sides of the spectrum that are very extreme, so we try to practice civil discourse,” Edwards said. “We wanted to create an atmosphere where people could come from whatever political ideology they have and they can learn about different ideologies or share their own.”

Speakers have covered topics including healthcare, the press and the presidency, Confederate statues and kneeling during the national anthem. Edwards and Trent are planning to host speakers on gun control and climate change next, and emphasize the importance of hearing speakers from both sides of the political spectrum when discussing these controversial issues.

The duo worked tirelessly over the summer to network and recover the emails and numbers of various people with interesting political viewpoints and experiences.

SPEC speakers during the first semester included Mayor Sylvester Turner, former history teacher Jermaine Thibodeaux, Republican Congressional candidate David Balat, Democratic Congressional candidate James Cargas and President Ronald Reagan’s Deputy Press Secretary and President Gerald Ford’s Staff assistant Peter Roussel (’61).

“We made a lot of calls, sent a lot of emails and filled out a lot of forms until others said yes,” Trent said. “We have a spreadsheet of about 50 people with their emails and phone

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JEFF SYPTAK

Jackson Edwards and Jack Trent thank Mayor Sylvester Turner for speaking to the school as a part of Student Political Educational Club (SPEC), a non-partisan group seeking to disperse political information. numbers and topics they would talk about, dents to learn more about the world around and about eight have actually said yes.” them,” Cannon said. “Those two things are Freshman Piper Edwards, Jackson’s sister, why the club has been so successful.” is the club’s press secretary and is in charge Acting as a liaison between SPEC and the of communicating news about speakers and administration alongside the sponsors, jumeetings through social media. nior SAC representative Sam Faraguna was “The fact is that we are going to be voting, brought on towards the end of the creation some of us in the next election. It is nev- process of the club. Faraguna attends meeter too soon to start learning about what is ings with Edwards, Trent and the adminiswrong with our country,” Piper said. “Get- tration to facilitate communication between ting people to listen to both sides of the ar- both sides. gument is the hardest part.”

“The administration has been very helpful History teachers Wendell Zartman and El- and has done a lot to work with us. They’ve eanor Cannon sponsor the club. Both Zart- made sure we are staying in line and not doman and Cannon saw SPEC’s uniqueness ing anything crazy,” Faraguna said. from other political clubs in the high school In the future, Edwards and Trent hope to and the need for a non-partisan, informa- have more student engagement through fotion-based club during such a politically di- rums and discussions, along with consistentvided time. ly having two speakers from opposing sides The sponsors have been especially im- discussing a common topic each month. pressed by the curiosity and interest of the They also plan on releasing a podcast soon student body on pressing national issues, ev- that feature interviews with speakers. ident in their thoughtful questions and their “The end goal is to get a president to come consistent attendance. speak,” Trent said.

“The energy and commitment of the leadership and the general desire of St. John’s stu-

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JANUARY 16, 2017

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JANUARY 16, 2017

Triple-threat junior captains all seasons

By Sophia Lima

Alex Lewis has scored a lot of points playing volleyball, basketball and lacrosse. This year, however, she pulled off the rare hattrick of captaining each of these sports — as a junior.

Lewis’ passion for sports began when she started playing basketball in third grade, lacrosse in sixth and volleyball in seventh.

Following in the footsteps of her brother Trey (’16), who was also a basketball captain his junior year, Alexandra admits it is difficult being a younger captain because her teammates might not always take her seriously as a leader.

“My first instinct is to mess around with my friends and to not tell them to pay attention, but I have to do it to make us better,” Lewis said. “I have to do it for the good of the team.”

Lewis played club volleyball for Texas Alliance, but she left because she found the time commitment for club play too demanding, and she did not want to play in college. College athletes specialize in one sport and play in a club to get recruited, but Lewis could not bring herself to leave two sports.

“It was difficult to come to the decision because sports are such a big part of my life,” she said. “I am confident in my teammates’ and my own ability in every sport, so I hope to lead the rest of my teammates and help them out.”

According to volleyball teammate Caitlin Ellithorpe, Lewis’ passion for volleyball pushes the team to work harder. “[Lewis] was very demanding,” Ellithorpe said. “[As] a setter, she touches the ball every play and has a greater responsibility on the team. Her position made her able to demand more from other players.”

Lewis also serves as the mediator between players, coaches and referees for all her teams.

“She is always willing to talk to coaches

and refs if she disagrees with a call,” basketball teammate Eliza Holt said.

Lewis’ sports seasons overlap, but her coaches are supportive of the situation by allowing her to miss preseason.

Girls’ lacrosse coach Angie Kensinger sees how Lewis’ work ethic and motivation raises her skills to new heights.

“I love that she plays three sports and excels at each one,” Kensinger said. “Playing multiple sports has definitely helped her become the versatile athlete she is.”

Lewis does not allow her hectic schedule and age to affect her spirit as a captain. Kensinger says she takes all her responsibilities and duties happily.

“Alex is always upbeat and ready to work hard, leading by example,” Kensinger said.

“She has a great sense of humor and gets along well with teammates and coaches alike. She loves to compete in practice and gets after it every day, making practices more fun in the process.”

The dynamic on each of Lewis’ teams varies greatly. Volleyball and basketball are smaller teams that are composed of mostly underclassmen, allowing them to bond throughout the season. The lacrosse team is much larger and contains many seniors.

Despite each team’s differences, the transi-

By Henry Still and Eli Desjardins Matthew Symmes has never been the best football player, but he has always found a way to stay involved in the game. Although he rarely got playing time, Symmes (’09) served as the Mavs’ statistician.

Symmes is in his second year as an offensive graduate assistant coach at the University of South Carolina. He previously coached as a graduate assistant at the University of Indiana, the University of Florida and Duke, his alma mater.

Throughout his career, Symmes followed his mentor, Quarterbacks Coach Kurt Roper.

At South Carolina, Symmes’ responsibilities include breaking down film of upcoming opponents, running the scout team defense in practice and communicating with the quarterback during games.

Symmes attributes his progress as a coach to the lessons he learned in high school.

“I liked knowing what was going on and keeping track of things with the St. John’s football team,” Symmes said. “That’s where I first got interested in coaching and started learning about the game in more detail.”

The Maverick football staff facilitated Symmes’ interest in coaching. Statistics teacher Doug Sharp, his advisor and former offensive line coach, gave Symmes blocking sheets to review before each game.

“The things that I do well come from being at St. John’s,” Symmes said. “It is tough sometimes, but it teaches you a lot of good habits.”

The Mavs still use the statistics program that Symmes implemented, and the Houston Chronicle used the stats Symmes compiled from the St. John’s sideline.

“We were fortunate to have some of the

best stat information because of him,” head football coach Steve Gleaves said. “Other coaches asked us about our stats because they were so good.”

The coaching staff recognized Symmes’ passion for football.

“Matthew loved football and being around football,” KRISTIN SHEETZ Gleaves said. “He was always willing Graduate Assistant Coach Matthew Symmes discusses a to help out in any gameplan with Gamecocks’ quarterback Jake Bentley. way he could.”

Symmes hopes to become an offensive Gamecocks posted a 52.8 offensive efficiencoordinator, but he understands that reach- cy rating, which ranked 42nd in the couning his goals will not be easy. It often takes try, a vast improvement from 2016, when coaches more than ten years to become a the Gamecocks posted a 33.2 and were position coach at a major college program. ranked 79th (ESPN).

On New Year’s Day, South Carolina travElite Southeastern Conference (SEC) proeled to Tampa, Florida to play the Univergrams such as South Carolina often hire sity of Michigan in the Outback Bowl. The coordinators with more than 30 years of Gamecocks defeated the Wolverines in a football experience. The field is competitive, thrilling 26-19 victory, overcoming a 19-3 but Symmes hopes his knowledge and work deficit late in the second half. South Carethic will stand out. olina was the only team in the country to “Every guy who’s in a role like mine wants beat a Big 10 team during Bowl season and to be hired as a coach who is truly part of the helped to further establish SEC dominance. staff,” Symmes said. “I just have to do this With returning starters at many key poreally well, then see where things go from sitions including quarterback Jake Bentley, there.”

Symmes helped the Gamecocks post a 9-4 the Gamecocks are poised to contend for record, more than doubling their win total an SEC East title next season. For Symmes, from 2016. In the second year under Head that means another chance to establish himCoach Will Muschamp and Roper, the self in the college football landscape.

Boys’ and girls’ teams accommodate larger numbers, set new precedents

PHOTO BY GRACE SANDERS GRAPHIC BY CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH

tion from team to team is easy, according to Lewis.

“On each team I get a feel of how the different players respond best to certain things that captains say or do, so I try my best to get used to that team atmosphere. It’s not too hard of a transition from season to season,” Lewis said.

Lewis hopes to captain for all three seasons again next year as a senior.

SPC to SEC: alum pursues coaching dream

SJSREVIEW.COM

Soccer shifts

SPORTS

JANUARY 16, 2017

For the first time, the boys’ soccer program is large enough to make three teams.

Instead of cutting potential players from varsity, Head Coach Ziad Allan divided the 59 boys into Varsity Red, Varsity Black and JV. Allan coaches the Varsity Red Team, which is captained by seniors Lars Fyhr, Lucas Tyler and Luc Ware and junior William Wallace.

As of Jan. 16, Varsity Red has a record of 8-1-2. Badr Anebari coaches the Varsity Black team, which has a record of 4-4-1, and Ahmed Tibary coaches the JV team, which has a record of 0-8.

Varsity Red will be the only boys’ team to compete in SPC from Feb. 15 to Feb. 17 in Houston.

“It can be hectic to have three separate teams, but the split creates a more successful dynamic.” Fyhr said. “A second varsity team gives some players far more time on the field than they would get on a single varsity team.”

According to Fyhr, the concept of Varsity Black is beneficial for players who need more experience playing against other varsity teams before making Varsity Red, offering more time to improve instead of sitting on the bench.

A shift in numbers also affected the girls’ soccer teams. The program is five players short of last year, but due to a higher concentration of new talent, the varsity team has been expanded to 23 players.

“We have so many freshmen at a highly competitive level,” Senior Captain Grace Melcher said.

“We’re a great team on paper, but our success this season will depend on our ability to translate that onto the field.”

New juniors Shelby Desroches and Madeline Cuozzo have also proved key additions to Head Coach Susan Quill’s enlarged team. Along with Melcher, seniors Claire Crane and Gabby Heal are captains this season. The girls have a record of 7-1-1.

Quill, along with assistant coaches Megan McAlpine and Nicole Morris, has also created a new formation for the first time in three years.

Due to the larger varsity team, only 13 girls play for the JV team, which has a 2-1 record under the leadership of Head Coach Lindsay Hammer and assistant coach Haley Barrett.

Varsity Red and girls’ varsity both traveled to Austin on Jan. 12 to face St. Stephen’s. Fyhr scored to secure a 1-0 victory for the boys, and the girls defeated Spartans 2-1 in their first counter game of the season.

By Ryan Chang and Lily McCullough

7

L cked d wn: campus secu Practicing Safety

Prepping Younger Students

Students huddled together and crouched under lab tables while teachers shut off lights and locked doors.

The first lockdown drill of the school year had just begun. When the announcement went off at 9:45 a.m., Headmaster Mark Desjardins, Head of Security Richard Still and on-campus Houston Police Department officers knew it was coming — the rest of school did not.

Faculty and students are not notified of the date of the drill in order to make the simulation more realistic.

When planning the lockdown, Still first emails the Deans asking them to send several reasonable dates for a drill. He then privately selects a date to keep it a surprise.

According to Still, the lockdown drill was executed well, but some students failed to follow procedure.

“Our drill went as well as it could have gone,” he said, “but because it was a drill, some people were just moseying along to get into the lockdown situation. And that’s not realistic because I know that same person would not be moseying along if it were a real lockdown situation.”

When determining if situations require lockdown, Still is the primary decision-maker.

“I judge it; I call it,” he said. “It’s not an administrative judgment whether or not to have a lockdown.”

Desjardins emphasizes the importance of serious drilling to prepare for potential campus threats.

“When I was a basketball coach, I would spend the last 15 minutes of every practice nailing down late-game situations. You practice over and over so that when you get in a real game situation, your execution is really a habit,” Desjardins said. “This is why it is important to practice. If there ever is a lockdown situation, we want to make sure we are drilled and ready.”

Increased focus on security began in 2014 when Still was hired. Security cameras were installed in classrooms and automatic locks were placed on entrances into school buildings.

“Some people didn’t like the cameras; they didn’t like the locks, but it’s all for total protection,” Still said. “We have other things that people don’t even know about to protect them once they come inside our school.”

Still takes pride in the security system and considers the presence of HPD officers to be the most important measure that SJS has taken to ensure campus safety.

“SJS is just way ahead of the game as far as having officers here and planning how to neutralize situations quickly,” Still said.

Although Still is also in charge of the school’s Physical Plant and Facilities, he views student safety as his top priority.

“It’s our responsibility to do what’s necessary [to] protect,” he said.

“That’s my number one goal — to make sure that when you come here in the morning and you walk through our gates, you know that you are able to go home and leave here safe.”

When the Columbine shooting occurred in 1999, Desjardins was a rookie Head of School at The Episcopal School of Texas in San Antonio.

Since then, there have been over 50 American school shootings with 141 fatalities.

“I never once thought when I began teaching in 1988 that I would ever have to practice and prepare for a school shooting. Never,” Desjardins said. “Unfortunately, we have to prepare for the world we live in rather than the world that we hope to live in. I never want to deliver a message to any parent saying that we could have saved your child’s life if we only had been better prepared.”

When the lockdown drill began on Nov. 28, fifth grade student Emmie Kuhl knew to sit quietly until the lights came back on.

That night at the dinner table, Assistant Academic Dean Jennifer Kuhl discussed the lockdown with her daughters.

“They were not scared because they knew it was a drill,” she said. “As a parent, I want to hear that it’s like any other natural, normal process they practice to get better at and feel comfortable with should they actually need to do it in a real situation.”

When third grade student Elisabeth Gorman came home, she insisted that her family “play lockdown.”

Student preparedness is a key component in running a smooth drill and ultimately keeping kids safe, Head of Lower School Chris Curran said.

“We really don’t try to mask what’s happening because in the event of a real emergency, we want students to have practiced and developed a reflex for the right thing to do,” she said.

Being honest with students is important for safety, Curran added.

“Many years ago we had the question about whether or not we would use a different term than ‘lockdown’ for Lower School students because it sounded like such a scary word,” she said. “But when we talk to children about issues, even ones as serious as death or other crises, it is important to be honest, to answer questions at an age-appropriate level and not more, and above all to provide reassurance.”

Lower School teachers are clear about the expectations of the drill.

“We don’t want students to be confused and to have misconceptions, but to feel secure, and to know that their teachers will take good care of them,” Curran said.

In the Middle School, many students were alarmed when the announcement came, but they were not completely caught off guard since many had already practiced similar emergency procedures.

“The element of surprise is good because you wouldn’t be expecting anything in the case of a real lockdown,” sixth grade student Isabella Gidi said.

Parents from all divisions received an email after the drill to notify them that it had taken place and to reiterate that the “safety and security of students remain [the school’s] highest priority.”

Even though teachers and administrators emphasize the importance of preparing students for a crisis like a school shooting, they hope that they never encounter a situation in which students will have to remember the training they have learned. Curran said she hopes her experiences from the drills will arm her with the knowledge to make the right decisions in the event of an armed intruder entering the campus.

“It is an enormous responsibility being the person in charge of the safety of 400 people,” she said. “At the end of the day, while there are protocols, we rely most heavily on staff having good judgment.”

School Safety Across

What aspect of school security makes you feel the safest?

GRAPHIC BY AMÉLIE PERRIER AND SIENA ZERR

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JANUARY 16, 2017

urity changes prove vital Living Free of Fear

Veteran teachers remember a school without locked gates, security cameras, visitor tags and police officers.

“We were a very open campus. You could move freely anywhere,” said 27-year veteran math teacher Kimm Shafer. “When things like Columbine started happening, we started seeing not only an increase in security, but also an increase in what we did as a school and what we talked about as a faculty.”

As mass shootings have increased in severity, school administrators across the nation have planned lockdown drills to ensure preparedness.

“I’d never had [a lockdown drill] in school,” English teacher Kimberly Olan (’89) said. “The safety that we feel blinds us from the things that happen outside. We have to do the lockdown drills because one day we might have sirens going off or the announcement and it’s not a drill.”

On Nov. 14, a GRAPHIC BY AMÉLIE PERRIER AND SIENA ZERR gunman on a shooting spree attempted to break in to Rancho Tehama Elementary School in Northern California, but the swift decision to put the school on lockdown saved the lives of more than 100 students and faculty.

Across the street from St. John’s, Lamar High School went into lockdown on Oct. 24 when police chased car theft suspects into the school parking lot and the suspects fled on foot.

“Because we see these events on the news so often now, [the threat] is more real to us,” biology teacher Paula Angus said. “We all understand why these lockdown practice drills are necessary.”

The last time an unscheduled lockdown occurred at SJS was in December 2010, when a 20-year-old man stabbed his mother to death in their River Oaks area home, just half a mile from campus.

“It was a long couple of hours,” science teacher Doug Elliott said.

“The scariest part for me was that my youngest son was still at St. John’s.

I didn’t know where my son was. I was down in the basement with no cell reception, and I was getting freaked out. You need to practice things like that. I was afraid just because that’s my nature, but the students were actually very calm.”

Lockdown drills are part of a greater trend of growing security and awareness. Many schools have required crisis response planning and training in addition to increased campus security measures.

When the Columbine shooting occurred, Upper School counselor Shawn Fleck was still in training. These days, Fleck said, “more school psychologists and counselors are trained [in crisis response], and schools are required to have crisis plans. That wasn’t necessarily the case when I was starting out.

You have to change with the times.”

Certain measures like cameras in classrooms and armed security guards stationed around campus have raised privacy concerns, but Shafer and

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others say safety comes at a cost.

“I don’t want to live my life afraid to do fun things. I don’t want to be afraid to travel, and I don’t want to be afraid to come to work,” Shafer said. “If we need to implement new procedures to help to catch someone or make me safer, I’m all for that.”

Elliott remembers an incident at his high school in 1977 when a student was dragged out of the building after a gun was found in his locker.

One major change Elliott had to make after the installation of security cameras in the classrooms was that he could no longer make any wardrobe changes: “It’s the price we pay for living in the 21st century.”

In Olan’s day, she said, student knowledge of tragedies like mass shootings came only from watching the 6 o’clock news with their parents or listening to National Public Radio on the way to school.

“We were definitely in a bubble back then,” Olan said. “You weren’t bringing all the world’s baggage into the school.”

Lockdowns and other safety measures go a long way to ensuring security.

“I feel very safe here,” Shafer said. “The school has done an excellent job in making sure that we are a secure campus, being so exposed because we’ve got Westheimer running through the middle. We didn’t really think about it 20 years ago, but we’re much more aware of it now.”

Stories by Dani Yan, Emily Chen, and Sophie Gillard

Design and Graphics by Ashwini Bandi, Prithvi Krishnarao, Amélie Perrier, and Siena Zerr

“

Because we see these events on the news so often now, [the threat] is more real to us. We all understand why these lockdown practice drills are necessary.”

-Paula Angus

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Smooth sailing: juniors know the ropes

ROSIE CHAPMAN

Bryan Trammell competes at the US National Championships. Trammell has been sailing for 10 years. A Texas Sailing Association champion, he mans a one-person dinghy called the Laser Radial and races internationally.

By Stephen Kim Every Saturday and Sunday, junior Bryan Trammell wakes up before seven and drives for over an hour to Kemah to practice sailing on the Galveston waters.

Trammell sailed only as a summer hobby until the age of 11, when he began taking the sport more seriously. He joined Lakewood Yacht Club in Galveston and began practicing year-round, before transferring into the Gulf Coast Youth Sailing Association at the end of his freshman year.

Now, Trammell regularly returns to the Sailing School Day Camp as a teacher during his summers.

“Galveston waters aren’t the prettiest, but having the opportunity to train with friends and people from around the country makes it worth it,” he said.

Trammell competes both out of state and internationally. Over the past three years, Trammell earned the title of state champion of the Texas Sailing Association, placed 6th for Canadian Nationals and won 6th in the Cork International Regatta.

“Even when you’re sailing individually, it’s a lot of fun to travel with the team. Keeping calm on competition day is incredibly important to judgment calls on the race course,” Trammell said. “Every small decision counts, especially in a volatile environment on the water.”

“

Trammell works out consistently at the gym to stay in shape and practices with GCYSA to maintain his performance at sea.

“Being adaptable and prepared is a crucial component of sailing. On the ocean, everything around you is constantly changing. You could be first place at the midpoint of the race and then end up as last just because the wind changes direction slightly,” Trammell says. “You’re at odds with nature more than you are with your competitors.”

Trammell began sailing in the summer of 2008 at Northeast Harbor, a small boating town renowned for its harbors and summertime scenery.

“At the time, my parents just wanted to find something for me to do during the day,” Trammell said. “They learned about a day camp at the Northeast Harbor Sailing School nearby and sent me so I wouldn’t be bored.”

Junior Arabel McFarland, another student sailing aficionado, admires Trammel’s dedication to the sport.

“I understand that he’s incredibly devoted to sailing, and takes it very seriously,” McFarland said. “I’m impressed with how much he puts into the sport.”

Every small decision counts, especially in a volatile environment on the water.

-Bryan Trammell

SJSREVIEW.COM

SPORTS

Like Trammel, McFarland started sailing when she was young, as a six-year-old on the East Coast. Until last year, McFarland spent eight weeks of every summer sailing off the coast of New York’s Shelter Island, giving her an opportunity to meet friends and learn the sport.

While Trammel competes in a one-person sailing dinghy called the Laser Radial, McFarland has competed in regattas with 420-class dinghies, which are double-handed boats, meaning that they hold two people: the skipper, who steers the boat, and the crew, who deals with rigging, sails and other tasks.

“Regattas are really fun sometimes, but can also be terrifying. If it’s super windy, you can easily capsize because 420s aren’t the heaviest boats,” McFarland said. “It’s really nerve wracking, and my sailing partner was tiny, so flipping the boat back over after capsizing was a pain. If you capsize in a race, you’re probably going to be dead last.”

McFarland said that sailing has improved her ability to communicate and remain calm during stressful situations.

“It really helps when building connections with other people. I’ve learned to take a breath and take my time,because sometimes it’s really difficult to sail with another person when they do things you don’t agree on,” McFarland said. “Sometimes you just want to scream at them and push them out of the boat, but you can’t, so I’ve learned to be patient.”

JANUARY 16, 2017

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Musicians perform with All-State, Regional orchestra Senior cellist Kevin Jung and sophomore violinist Calista Smith will practice and perform under the nation’s foremost musicians at the Texas Music Educators Association’s All-State Orchestra in San Antonio next month.

At All-State, from Feb. 14-17, string players will play alongside brass, wind and percussion sections and a professional conductor.

“You have to do a lot of work to prepare,” Smith said, “but it has shaped me into a better violinist, and it’s such a great experience.”

This year, String Ensemble students have the option of auditioning for a second All-State level string orchestra through the Texas Private School Music Educators Association. Historically, choir and band have participated in TPSMEA, but this is the orchestra’s first year competing.

“Since our TMEA Region is so competitive, I’m hoping that TPSMEA will provide an opportunity for more orchestra students to participate in select orchestras,” Orchestra Director Penny Meitz said.

Both Jung and Smith also qualified to participate in the private school orchestra. Other students on the roster include violinists Sanna Symer and Connie Yu, cellist Hanson Yu and bassist Aiden Aguilar.

Participants agree that the select orchestra clinics are irreplaceable experiences.

“Playing in TMEA is really gratifying,” Jung said. “Everyone knows what they’re doing, and it’s one of those things you will never forget.”

StuCho, 2017: a dance against time Student choreographers took to the stage on Friday, Dec. 1 for the Student Choreography Showcase, known as StuCho. The students had less time this year to put together the showcase because of Hurricane Harvey.

Despite the lack of preparation time, Terpsichore, comprised of the most advanced dancers, performed five dances compared to last year’s three. Terpsichore dancers had difficulty finding times for all ten dancers to meet and prepare.

“It’s a tedious process trying to get moves that fit with the music, making sure they look good on a big group of people and also just finding the time to choreograph,” Smith said.

Senior dancers included Katie Smith, Wallis Turley, Elise Lanier, Caroline Kernell, Bethany Ritter, Lindsey Ho and Grace Vincent.

Junior Lena McZeal, sophomores Yukiko Chevray, Mira Thakur, Allison Biegel and Athena Adrogue, and freshman Karli Fisher also participated.

By Tyler King and Mira Thakur

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Noteworthy junior strikes new chord

By Laney Chang

Like many of her peers, junior Sabrina Hu practices and tunes her instrument daily and performs in concerts and recitals.

But rather than piano, violin or guitar, Hu plays the guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument.

The guzheng is a 2500-yearold instrument with 21 strings and a wooden frame. Strings can produce different sounds depending on how they are plucked with the musician’s tortoise shell finger picks.

Hu is part of the North American Youth Chinese Orchestra, which is composed of students who play traditional Chinese instruments.

The orchestra performs a wide variety of music at libraries, nursing homes and hospitals around Houston.

“I wasn’t as nervous when I played in a group,” Hu said.

“There was more camaraderie, and I felt more supported.”

English teacher Michael Seckman, who taught Hu in eighth grade, has been a longtime fan of guzheng music.

“My wife is Chinese, and when I first started dating her, she was taking guzheng lessons,” Seckman said. “The music has a different sound to it than the western instruments, so it sounded unique.”

After watching one of Hu’s performances with the orchestra when she was a freshman, Seckman and his wife invited Hu to play at their wedding.

“Because I’m a teacher, we thought it would be special to involve a student in our celebration,” Seckman said. “We were trying to do little things in our wedding to bridge our cultures, and Sabrina fit that bill perfectly.”

Hu started learning the guzheng at her mother’s request in sixth grade, switching over from piano. She has been taking regular lessons ever since.

Hu says the guzheng is harder to play than the GRACE SANDERS piano because of the unconventional technique Sabrina Hu plays the guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical required to master the in- instrument. She began playing in the sixth grade. strument.

The couple paid Hu another Since enrolling at St. John’s in people from around the world who had come to Houston’s visit at her guzheng in the lobby the Middle School, Hu has permedical center. later that day. formed on campus four times.

Hu considers playing the gu“Th ey came to say hi and tell “Playing for people that you zheng at MD Anderson to be me how my distinctly Asian know creates a different kind of one of the best experiences of music made them feel more at pressure,” Hu said. her life. home here when they were halfLast year, the East Asian Affin“One guy told me he was way across the world,” Hu said. ity Group hosted an assembly in the trombonist for the Chicago “I felt really good to help them which Hu provided the special Symphony, and he stopped to in such a big way and be a part music on the guzheng. Histolook at my sheet music to see of their experience in Houston,” ry teacher Joseph Soliman, the Hu will be volunteering and faculty sponsor for EAAG, was how it differed from his,” Hu said. playing guzheng again at MD awed by Hu’s performance.

Hu also met a man from PaAnderson this summer.

“Anyone who commits that kistan and a couple from ShangShe also plans to continue her much energy and time to mashai.

While working on the Dilessons with the hope of eventutering an instrument, given the agnostic Floor of MD Anderson, ally reaching Level 10, the highacademic workload at St. John’s, the couple asked Hu for direcest achievement for a guzheng is very impressive,” Soliman said. tions and help with translating. player in the guzheng testing “She performed beautifully.”

Hu had taken AP Chinese as system.

While volunteering this past summer at MD Anderson, Hu a sophomore, so she was able played the guzheng in the lobby. to show the couple to their apHu met and became friends with pointment.

Operatic freshman hits the highest notes

By Abigail Poag

While other third-graders were belting out pop songs and humming along to the radio, freshman Jenny Green was singing opera arias.

Green’s early start with opera has given her more time to train her voice and to develop a greater understanding of operatic works.

In her voice lessons, Green focuses on arias, emotionally expressive solos.

“Every aria is part of a greater story, so you have to get into the mood of the character who’s singing it,” Green said. “You know you’re doing it right when you feel the things you’re trying to portray.”

As well as weekly opera lessons, Green participates in Les Chanteuses and will perform in The Music Man, the spring musical. Green enjoys singing different genres of music but prefers the dedication required to sing opera.

“It’s more challenging, so I’d rather spend my free time working on that instead of just going through choral music,” Green said.

Although she does not often sing opera in front of her peers, Green’s friends have persuaded her to perform for them in the VST after school. Green’s soprano voice has caught the attention of SJS faculty members, who sometimes overhear her impromptu performances.

When Middle School Theater Director Alex Arizpe was in the VST one day, he noticed a voice coming from Lowe Theater.

Arizpe was impressed with the strength and maturity of Green’s voice.

“I was blown away because I didn’t know that was her singing,” Arizpe said. “That kind of talent is priceless.”

Green has been singing since kindergarten when she first joined the children’s choir at

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her synagogue at the time, Temple Emanu El. After she developed a minor breathing issue, Green’s parents took her to voice teacher Elena Nikulshina-Fray, who introduced her to opera to correct her technique.

“I was sucked in,” said Green, who has been studying under Nikulshina-Fray ever since.

Vocal instructors generally discourage children from beginning opera training until their voices have developed, but Nikulshina-Fray urges singers to learn opera at an early age, accepting Green as a student before she had turned nine.

“What I do cannot be called ‘teaching opera,’” Nikulshina-Fray said. “I work first on proper voice development, and only after a while [do] we begin working on the repertoire.”

Green’s path to operatic prowess has not always been easy. When she was 11, Green grew tired of opera and took a break. After a year off, she decided to give it another chance.

“I started taking [opera] more seriously, which has given me a lot more of an appreciation for it,” Green said.

Singing opera requires years of technical training, but Green says she enjoys the complexity of the music.

“The music that I’ve gotten to sing has become more and more interesting,” Green said. “It really is cool music to try to sing; it makes me happy.”

Her background in languages has proved useful in singing opera. Green, who simultaneously learned Russian and English growing up, can also hold a basic conversation in French, German and Hebrew. She is taking

CULTURE

JANUARY 16, 2017

Chinese and Latin at SJS. “Knowing what the arias mean right off the bat is helpful,” Green said. “In Russian, it’s annoying if you have to keep going back to a transcription and sing from that because the script is Cyrillic.”

It’s not just Green’s voice that dazzles audiences — her friends say her love of opera brings the songs to life.

“It’s magical because she goes somewhere else,” freshman Lauren Aguilar said. “You watch her sing, and you’re somewhere else.

You forget what’s happening.”

GRACE SANDERS

Freshman Jenny Green sings arias in many languages. She has taken opera lessons since she was eight.

Gun safety begins with change in mindset

By Natasha Faruqui

On the morning of Nov. 5, Devin Patrick Kelley strolled into a small church in the rural south Texas town of Sutherland Springs armed with an AR-15-style semi-automatic assault rifle. Kelley sprayed the congregation with at least 450 bullets, slaughtering 26 innocent people and critically injuring at least 20 others.

The Sutherland Springs attack came just a few weeks after Stephen Paddock shot 546 people in Las Vegas, killing 58.

The Vegas attack was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, surpassing the Pulse nightclub shooting last year and the Sandy Hook shooting four years earlier.

This is our unique, American problem. No other country in the developed world suffers from mass shootings as frequent, deadly and avoidable as ours. News headlines are becoming less and less surprising: “Two Journalists Killed during Live Broadcast in Virginia,” “3 Shot near UC Santa Barbara,” and most recently “Mass shootings in a Texas Church.” Yet Americans still tout their right to bear arms and insist on the necessity of gun ownership.

What we need to understand is that the Second Amendment is outdated. When the Founding Fathers first drafted the Constitution, the Second Amendment made sense. In 1789, militias were necessary to protect American citizens from the looming threat of the British even after the American Revolution.

The Founding Fathers didn’t have to weigh the risks of one man killing 49 and injuring 53 all by himself. We do.

Yet people still argue that their right to bear arms is of utmost importance and that restricting this would be a violation of their basic liberties.

But liberty is not a one-way street. It also includes the liberty to enjoy a night out with friends, dancing in a club that provides a refuge from hate and fear. It includes the liberty to send your kids to elementary school so that they can develop a love of learning. It includes the liberty to attend a movie, house of worship, college, work, abortion clinic, hair salon, community center, supermarket — or anywhere — and feel that you are free to do so without having to weigh the risk of being gunned down.

Last semester, students in all three divisions sat through a lockdown drill, huddled against the wall in silence to avoid detection by an intruder. Lockdowns often feel staged, almost like a game. What we often don’t realize is that sometimes they aren’t just drills. On Nov. 14, a gunman

on a shooting spree attempted to break into Rancho Tehama Elementary School in Northern California. Quick-thinking faculty managed to place the campus on lockdown and prevent any fatalities.

Even closer to home, Lamar High School held a lockdown on Oct. 24 as police chased down a cartheft suspect. Gun violence occurs a lot closer than we think, and it could happen anywhere.

America needs to catch up with the rest of the world and pass stricter gun legislation. For instance, the process to apply for a gun license in Japan requires an all-day class, a written test that is held only once a month, a shooting range class, a mental health test, a drug test and finally a rigorous background check. But it doesn’t stop there: Japanese law requires gun owners to provide police with documentation on the specific location of the ammo and gun, which must be locked and stored separately, and the police conduct annual inspections on guns, requiring gun owners to retake the class and exam every three years.

The result is a country with a grand total of six gun deaths in 2014. In comparison, 33,594 gun deaths were recorded in America the same year. By making the process extremely rigorous and supervised, few manage to fall through the cracks.

The change doesn’t have to be immediate; progress begins with a mindset adjustment. If you pick up a 1983 St. John’s yearbook, you will see how integral firearms were to the school environment. The kindergarteners were referred to as “infantry,” the middle schoolers as “cavalry,” the Rebel Mascot carried a musket and more than a few boys were

ILLUSTRATION BY NOËL MADLAND

holding rifles in their senior pictures. As a school, we are realizing that gun culture shouldn’t be so pervasive.

For Devin Kelley, gun ownership was not about hunting culture or sportsmanship. Kelley beat his first wife. While in the military, he assaulted his infant stepson so badly that he fractured the boy’s skull, having hit the child with what the Court Marshall deemed “a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.” His punishment? 12 months in a military prison.

When he fractured his stepson’s skull in 2012, he should have been legally prohibited from purchasing a firearm, but the Air Force neglected to file the federal paperwork that would have flagged him in the system, which ultimately allowed him to buy the assault rifle and ammunition used in his rampage.

Devin Kelley shot and killed children, a pregnant woman and senior citizens. It seemed perfectly clear that he had absolutely no respect for human life when he strapped on black tactical gear, loaded up rounds of ammunition and rained down horror on the close-knit congregation of the church that he himself frequented on Sunday mornings.

So why was he able to own a gun?

STAFF EDITORIAL

Students do not want, but need, midterms Many of us shuffle through the holiday season muting Christmas songs in order to memorize math theorems or hastily lighting Hanukkah candles to return to chemistry flashcards. In high school, the weeks that follow Thanksgiving are no longer filled with anticipation for the holidays.

That fluttering in our stomachs comes not from the smell of candy canes and sugar plums but from nerve-wracking anxiety over midterms.

When we returned from the week of school cancelled because of Hurricane Harvey, most of us were elated to hear that we would not have to take midterm exams. Obviously, we would have rather had midterms than Harvey, but we saw the news as a flickering light at the end of a devastating first semester.

We spent the holidays doing something uncharacteristic of St. John’s students: not studying for midterms.

Ideally, that means you enjoyed December, regardless of your religious affiliation. You might have watched multiple Christmas movies with your family or actually helped your dad string festive lights from the windows. Maybe you got your holiday shopping done early and wrapped each gift without sweating over a synthesis paper.

The absence of midterms first semester was a welcome surprise. There is a valid argument to be made that some departments could always do without exams, and many dislike them because they tend to feel like a reflection of cramming abilities rather than how much information was learned over the semester.

But, in some form or another, exams are necessary to a college preparatory curriculum. We will have midterms in college, so we need to prepare by taking them now. We must learn to endure things that are hard, like exams, to experience challenge, gain persistence and assess learning and teaching, among other qualities.

This year might only be a once-in-a-lifetime experience at St. John’s, but it taught a lesson that we can hold onto every year. We finally had the chance to embrace the holiday spirit, to stroll the streets of our neighborhoods looking at

twinkling lights, to bake cookies with our friends and to engage in the holiday traditions of our childhood without the looming stress of exams.

Learn from 2017: sometimes, it’s okay to look up from a textbook and enjoy festive decorations, or indulge in a few Christmas jingles to keep things in perspective. Study for your midterms, but realize that there is time to enjoy the season. Next year, don’t forget to sit down with your family and friends and just be together. Put down the phone.

For once, we had time for holiday cheer, new beginnings and making new memories.

Don’t miss out.

Make time for a little of that magic every year.

We looked people in the eyes and actually had conversations without fighting the urge to rush back to studying textbooks and Po w e r Po i n t s .

We took time to experience our surroundings, to stop and smell the fruitcake.

Hopefully you sat down at the kitchen table and learned how to play dreidel again or danced

SJSREVIEW.COM

OPINIONS

around the living room to Michael Bublé’s Christmas album.

Maybe there will come a time when the school will tinker with the format of exams or adjust policies for different departments. There must be some middle ground between those who favor exams or don’t, but most likely, they will always be a presence in some capacity at St. John’s. Regardless, keep pursuing the laughter and excitement you found in a season without midterms and remember to still look around and enjoy when we have them again.

JANUARY 16, 2017

ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHEN KIM

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Letter from the editors

Letter to the Editor

From the Office of the Headmaster

By Mark Desjardins

CAROLINE RAMIREZ

Welcoming the new year with respectful discourse As fireworks exploded around the world to ring in the new year, latenight revelers bid farewell to 2017 and made resolutions for 2018.

At The Review, we’ve done the same, celebrating fresh possibilities and resolving to be healthier, kinder and more productive. Reflecting on 2017, an unpredictable year, we’ve also taken time to consider that we’re living in a truly historic time for journalism.

Our president’s fervent opposition to the media has shaken many journalists, as well as Americans, who value the press’s role in keeping politicians accountable and corruption in check.

Last week at the Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey emphasized the importance of a free press, particularly in the current #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, declaring that “speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”

Distrust of journalists halts the spread of diverse opinions and ideas.

Without freedom of the press, our country becomes weaker and our democracy more fragmented.

If you need convincing, check out Steven Spielberg’s latest film “The Post,” which chronicles the newspa-

per industry’s game-changing battle to publish the Pentagon Papers and hold the government accountable for lying to the American public.

When leaders support journalism, we can accomplish incredible things, which is why Headmaster Mark Desjardins’ thoughtful letter (see right) is so encouraging. We hope to live up to the accolades in the new year, and we still strive to share thought-provoking coverage of our community.

This year, we urge you to engage in respectful debate. Stand up for yourself, but don’t be too quick to reject other voices. Each of us must gather information, listen to others and absorb ideas. We are the authors of our own narratives, and the subject matter should come from many sources.

Don’t shy away from opposition, and be confrontational, not combative.

In November, Review editors attended the National Scholastic Press Association Journalism Convention in Dallas. It was an exciting time of camaraderie with thousands of journalists from across the country, each with different perspectives and varying methods of coverage. The four of us sat down in between sessions to read copies of other student newspa-

THE REVIEW

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Video Editors Jack Shea, Alex Tinkham Staff Izzy Andrews, Manar Ansari, Mehak Batra, Hrishabh Bhosale, Clara Brotzen-Smith, Laney Chang, Katina Christensen, Eli Desjardins, Fareen Dhuka, Sara Doyle, Mia Fares, Jordan Fullen, Joe Griffin, Mia Guien, Eric Hang, Eliza Holt, Jackson Humphries, Thomas Hunt, Noura Jabir, Reygan Jones, Tyler King, Sarah Jane Lasley, Noël Madland, Lily McCullough, Camille McFarland, Will McKone, Sinclair Mott, Neel Pai, Amélie Perrier, Abigail Poag, Lucas Pope, Leila Pulaski, Henry Still, James Sy, Mira Thakur, Sacha Waters, Shelby Wilson, Siena Zerr Advisers David Nathan, Shelley Stein (‘88), Chuy Benitez

THE REVIEW

With love, Ashwini Bandi

Gracie Blue

With admiration and appreciation, --Mr D.

Claire Furse

Dani Yan

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, please email review. sjs@gmail.com or hand-deliver to an editor or adviser in the Review room (Q210). Please see full submission guidelines in the staff box below.

Member Columbia Scholastic Press Assn.: Gold Crown 2015, Silver Crown 2014 & 2016-17 | National Scholastic Press Assn.: Pacemaker 2015, 1st Place Best of Show (Special Edition) 2017

St. Johns School | 2401 Claremont Lane, Houston, TX 77019 sjsreview.com | Facebook SJS Review | Twitter @SJS_Review Instagram @_thereview | Snapchat sjsreview Publisher Gracie Blue Executive Editors Assignments Dani Yan Design Ashwini Bandi Writing Claire Furse Assignments Editors Sophie Caldwell, Iris Chen, Alexander Kim Design Editors Stephen Kim, Prithvi Krishnarao Copy Editors Maggie Ballard, Natasha Faruqui, Sophie Gillard, Eli Maierson Photography Editor (Print) Caroline Ramirez Photography Editor (Online) Grace Sanders Business Editor Sukul Mittal Asst. Business Editor Andrew Duong Online Editor-in-Chief Emily Chen Asst. Online Editor Ryan Chang Online Section Editors Shani Israel, Sophia Kontos, Sophia Lima Social Media Editor Lilah Gaber

pers and spoke to other editors to find inspiration and learn about the issues that matter to our peers.

At the awards ceremony, we were excited to celebrate our victory when we won first place in Best of Show: Special Edition for the September issue covering the effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Even in these complicated political times, we saw that many students still value and are enthusiastic about journalism, which gives us hope for the press in the new year and beyond.

I was fortunate to grow up as a “faculty brat” on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. This, of course, meant routine trips to Gregory Gym, The Student Union and The Drag, but one of my favorite benefits was my dad bringing home a copy of the Daily Texan.

Inspired by reading this publication, in time, I would pen my own weekly opinion column for my college newspaper.

Throughout my educational career I have developed a deep appreciation for student journalism. When I arrived on campus eight years ago, I met with Review adviser Mr. Nathan and encouraged us to push ourselves to be on par with Harvard-Westlake, Hockaday School and St. Mark’s School of Texas. There was little doubt that we had the talent, resources and ability to produce one of the top student newspapers in the country.

So, my full congratulations to the staff, editors and faculty advisers of The Review. The recent awards that our publication garnered in late November, coupled with the numerous accolades we have received over the past several years, serve as a reminder that we are now consistently viewed as one of the top student high school newspapers in the nation. Mission accomplished!

I look forward to reading each edition of The Review and believe that the reporting and Editorial Board have provided relevant and insightful feedback about the St. John’s School experience. Your collective efforts have made us better, and I applaud the energy and dedication you have displayed to set an even higher bar.

Cue the lights and the scene: standing ovation coming from my office!

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 six times during the school year. We distribute at least 1,000 copies of each issue, most of which are given for free to the Upper School community of 662 students and 98 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

OPINIONS

JANUARY 16, 2017

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 columns are encouraged but are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, accuracy and taste. On occasion, we will publish letters anonymously. The Review reserves the right not to print letters received. Letters and guest columns can be emailed to review.sjs@ gmail.com or hand-delivered to an editor or adviser in the Review room (Q210).

60 seconds with: Mycah Clay

Rhett Robins

ERIC HANG

Nickname Mouse, Mrs. Few, Michael Next Netflix Binge Narcos Comfort Food French fries Dream Job Oprah Favorite Spot on Campus The Great Hall Weird Hobby Impersonations Quirk I am scared of the rain Favorite Word Illiterate Spirit Animal Betty White Song to Describe Your Life All I Want for Christmas Is You Love to Hate Early mornings

Hate to Love Reality TV Relationship Status Married Celebrity You’d Want to Meet Beyoncé Olympic Sport Speed walking Dream Date Rockets game Phobia Rodents Doppelganger Mira Thakur Known For Being the best dancer ever Book The phone book Movie Remember the Titans Follow Us? Of course

Word for Word

“ “ “

ERIC HANG

Nickname Jeff Next Netflix Binge Black Mirror Comfort Food Coleslaw Dream Job Baseball General Manager Favorite Spot on Campus Weight room Weird Hobby Competitive Hip-Hop Dance Quirk Double-jointed thumbs and elbows Favorite Word Victory Spirit Animal Pizza Song to Describe Your Life Watch Me (Whip/Nae-Nae) Love to Hate The Scarlet Letter

Hate to Love American history Relationship Status Taken Celebrity You’d Want to Meet Justin Verlander Olympic Sport Ping pong Dream Date December 25th Phobia Flying insects that sting Doppelganger Dwight Schrute Known For My go-getting attitude Book Moneyball Movie Any Harry Potter movie Follow Us? Yes

Stephen’s Universe By Stephen Kim TAXONOMY OF SJS

I said Dani Yan’s name thrice and he just appeared.

-Senior Cameryn Burnette

I was kind of a mean lad.

-Senior Henry Philpott on his younger self

Isn’t a subwoofer a dog underwater?

-Junior Andrew Barber

SJSREVIEW.COM

ODDS AND ENDS

JANUARY 16, 2017

15

Fleeting Winter Wonderland on Claremont Lane 1

2

3

5

4

By Sophie Caldwell

On Dec. 8, students arrived at school to find tables and trees blanketed with snow after Houston’s first snowfall in nearly a decade. Students took advantage of the school’s icy landscape by building snowmen and engaging in snowball warfare. Afterwards, they warmed up by the fireplace in Flores Hall or drank toasty hot chocolate from the café. Though most of the sleet and slush didn’t last past lunch, the tables on the Quad remained snowcapped until late in the afternoon.

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THE REVIEW

Sophomores Clara Moore, Brianna Baskin and Aleksa Banki build mini snowmen on the Plaza benches (1).

Seniors Katherine Yao and Emily Ragauss savor the snowy Great Lawn (2). Snow covers trees, houses and lawns in the St. John’s area and beyond the morning after the snowfall (3, 4). Kindergarten student Grant Summers makes a snowball on the Great Lawn (5).

Photos by Chuy Benitez (1), Emily Ragauss (2), Rebecca Leakey (3), Caroline Kernell (4) and Matthew Summers (5).

PHOTOSTOSTORY

JANUARY 16, 2017