The ReMarker | December 2019

REMARKER

S T. M A R K ' S S C H O O L O F T E X A S • DA L L A S , T E X A S • V O LU M E 6 6 , N U M B E R 3 • D E C E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

L I F E ’ S

C H A L L E N G E S

bond AN UNBREAKABLE

Senior Carr Urschel started appreciating the little things more — family, friends and fortunate opportunities — after the death of his brother, Chance. See story, pages 6, 7

STILL TOGETHER Even after his brother Chance’s passing, Carr Urschel (right) still remembers Chance’s life every day.

STORY Ishan Gupta, Aaron Thorne, Sid Vattamreddy, Christopher Wang PHOTO Charlie Rose

DON'T MISS

Financial freedom • With rising tuition costs on campus and in college, students weigh the costs of ‘‘elite’’ colleges and private education. Pages 16, 17

Grandparents’ day • Before students left for Thanksgiving

break, Marksmen brought grandparents and relatives to campus Nov. 22. Page 18

Christmas fever •

Chair of the decoration committee, senior Eddie Raj explains his fascination with Christmas as the season quickly approaches. Page 32

REMARKER

S T. M A R K ' S S C H O O L O F T E X A S • DA L L A S , T E X A S • V O LU M E 6 6 , N U M B E R 3 • D E C E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

L I F E ’ S

C H A L L E N G E S

bond AN UNBREAKABLE

Senior Sahitya Senapathy grew up sitting next to his sister, Siri, in the hospital every day, learning from her invaluable lessons of empathy and compassion. See story, pages 6, 7

QUALITY TIME Since Siri (right) was born, Sahitya (left) has always taken time out of his day to spend time with his sister.

STORY Ishan Gupta, Aaron Thorne, Sid Vattamreddy, Christopher Wang PHOTO Lee Schlosser

DON'T MISS

Financial freedom • With rising tuition costs on campus and in college, students weigh the costs of ‘‘elite’’ colleges and private education. Pages 16, 17

Grandparents’ day • Before students left for Thanksgiving

break, Marksmen brought grandparents and relatives to campus Nov. 22. Page 18

Christmas fever •

Heading the decorations, senior Eddie Raj explains his fascination with Christmas as the holiday season quickly approaches. Page 32

REMARKER

S T. M A R K ' S S C H O O L O F T E X A S • DA L L A S , T E X A S • V O LU M E 6 6 , N U M B E R 3 • D E C E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

L I F E ’ S

C H A L L E N G E S

bond AN UNBREAKABLE

The responsibility that junior James Carr has to take care of his older brother, Jed, has forever shaped their relationship. See story, pages 6, 7

BROTHERS FIRST James Carr (right) and his older brother Jed (left) have learned from each other while being together.

STORY Ishan Gupta, Aaron Thorne, Sid Vattamreddy, Christopher Wang PHOTO Charlie Rose

DON'T MISS

Financial freedom • With rising tuition costs on campus and in college, students weigh the costs of ‘‘elite’’ colleges and private education. Pages 16, 17

Grandparents’ day • Before students left for Thanksgiving

break, Marksmen brought grandparents and relatives to campus Nov. 22. Page 18

Christmas fever •

Heading the decorations, senior Eddie Raj explains his fascination with Christmas as the holiday season quickly approaches. Page 32

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@remarkernewspaper

• Podcast: In-depth conversations with the students from the cover story

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Inside

Young alumni spotlight

ISSUES

What are Marksmen up to in college?

Mental health movement

• Schools across the country are catering more and more to students in regards to their mental health. What is the school’s stance?

Working with a professor and a team of other Duke University students, Shailen Parmar ’17 placed top 10 and earned a prize of $250,000 in the international XPRIZE competition, in which teams were challenged to map the ocean floor.

Gone, then back again

“Our end product was this gigantic, seven feet in diameter, 12-rotor drone that can fly. Very few things have been built of that size and it had a theoretical flight time of over two hours, which in the drone world is ludicrously long.”

• Junior Alam Alidina and sophomore Austin Williams sit down with students who returned to 10600 Preston Rd. after brief stints in locations around the world.

DISCOVERIES

SHAILEN PARMAR ’17

National recognition • Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair John Mead was awarded the Evolution Education award.

ESCAPING REALITY Shailen Parmar ’17 (right) and his team pose with the final version of their drone shortly before the competition. Parmar has had a fascination with drones and model airplanes since he was a middle schooler at 10600 Preston Rd.

10600 Family style • Sophomore Luke Martin and his father, math instructor Corey Martin, are just one example of relatives on campus.

• “I think it’s important that both of my sons have gotten to see firsthand what it is that I do and my level of preparation, professionalism and dedication.” — Math instructor Corey Martin

On deck...

Tornado report

A preview of what’s coming in our February issue

As 2019 comes to a close, the school continues repair work after the October tornado. Announced in the faculty meeting Dec. 2, these are some notable updates.

take a look at the nature of the current political climate in a special section Goldfarb.

• The special section will feature coverage

They sustained extensive roof and water damage and have repairs ongoing, with spaces scheduled to be operational by early 2020.

Spencer Gym

It was converted to varsity level competition facility with wood floor and other needed adjustments and equipment.

on topics such as partisanship, idealogical fracturing, politics in the classroom and

• When controversial news about an artist comes out, does the public have a responsibility to separate their views on the artist and the art?

the importance of political activism and

• ISSUES

Chapel

• A breakdown of what the new schedule for the 2020-2021 school year will look like.

The analysis is done on all affected areas. The tornado impacted many of the buildings on campus, repair and remediation will continue into 2020.

The building sustained brick and water damage. Roosevelt Organ was damaged severely and will be disassembled and rebuilt over next two years.

• Information provided by Headmaster David Dini.

• For official updates from the school, visit goals.smtexas.org/progress-made

• Students should be careful to not provoke any controversial responses when defending the school’s integrity. Discretion should be the goal.

Say what?

SPORTS

Comments overheard across all corners of campus

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Major changes in the NCAA

• An in-depth look at SPC standings, Marksmen stats and upcoming games.

Roof, water damage

voting.

Social media representation

In brief

Decherd, Black Box

spearheaded by senior editor-at-large Sam

Separating the art from the artist

• COLLEGE AGE ALUMNI TO RETURN. Alumni who are currently attending college will return to the school for the annual College Age Marksmen Day Dec. 19. Students from the Classes of 2016 to 2019 will be on campus to eat lunch, connect with their friends and hear from Headmaster David Dini.

Additionally, a panel of select collegeage alumni will speak to current students about their experiences in college.

It was declared a loss by the school’s insurance company. It was completely destroyed and is scheduled to be demolished over the Christmas break.

• As the 2020 election season heats up, we

CULTURE

For the sports junkie

Hicks Gym

• SPECIAL SECTION

• With bills being passed in various states across the nation, what will the future of college athletics look like?

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THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

focalpoint on iTunes/Soundcloud

OPINIONS

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BULLETIN

• Instagram:

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I thought Tom Thumb and Kroger were the same thing.

— Senior Tony D’Apice

Everyone quiet down, Mr. Stanbury has entered the room.

— English teacher Geoffrey Stanbury

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Isn’t it pronounced juxt of position?

— Sophomore Cooper Cole

I think it’s something every school needs to be thinking about. Some of the schools — DAVID DINI we’re going to visit have had very aggressive efforts on this front.

The chaperones were Sally and Edward Genecov Master Teacher Amy Pool and math instructor Corey Martin. Middle School Math Team does not have any competitions until Dec. 7, the results of which were not known at print time.

• CHRISTMAS PARTY. The annual all school Christmas Party will take place Dec. 20, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

That morning, students will gather in the Great Hall to watch seniors and their Lower School • CLASSICS CLUB. hang ornaments The advanced Latin GENERAL buddies on the Christmas tree and team placed first and the NEWS listen to a speech from intermediate team third in Headmaster David Dini.

The Latin Quiz Certamen Students will be dismissed held at Fort Worth Country at noon, marking the Day Nov. 16. The advanced beginning of Winter break. Classes team consisted of sophomores Axel will resume Jan. 6.

Icazbalceta, Spencer Burke, Jonathan Yin and Samuel Wu. Seniors Pablo • QUIZ BOWL. The Upper School Arroyo and Andres Arroyo were Academic A team, composed of substitutions in the final. senior Nicholas Cerny and juniors Ned Tagtmeier, Aayush Goodapaty • MATH TEAM COMPETITIONS. and Han Zhang, placed second out The Upper School Math Blue team of 31 teams in the varsity bracket at placed fifth overall at the TAMU a competition at the Parish Episcopal (Texas A&M High School Math School Nov. 16. The Midddle School Contest) in the week-long power Quiz Bowl E team, led by eighth round. The team consists of freshman grader Aditya Shivaswamy, placed Kevin Lu, sophomores Sam Wu and second in the junior varsity bracket.

Alex Ryan, junior Varun Trivedi and In total, three Upper School teams senior Nicholas Tsao. On Nov. 9, the and two Middle School teams entire Upper School team competed competed. in the competition with 18 students.

HEADMASTER, ON THE AFFORDABILITY OF EDUCATION STORY ON PAGES 16-17.

• GIFT DRIVE. The Gift Drive runs through Dec. 18. This year, the goal is to donate over 2,020 gifts to kids in need. Students can bring various presents, ranging from girls’ dolls to sports equipment, and can purchase beanies in front of Nearburg Hall every morning before the drive’s end.

The theme for the Gift Drive this year, as presented in the promotion video, is “Charlie Brown.”

will be bringing their talents to the stage, among many other singing, dancing and acting performances from various groups and individuals.

• LESSONS AND CAROLS. The choir will perform its annual Lessons and Carols service Dec. 17 in the chapel. It will be a traditional Anglican service that will begin with a solo portion of “Once in Royal David’s City” performed by a selected fifth grade • JUNIOR TO PERFORM member of the choir.

IN STATE BAND. Junior Afterwards, the service Max Wu was accepted into will continue with selected ARTS the TMEA (Texas Music community members reaEducators Association) NEWS ding scriptures detailing All-State Band, for which lessons of nativity, he will perform at the accompanied by choir TMEA Convention Feb. performances. Headmaster 12-15 in San Antonio. Band David Dini and Rev. Stephen Arbogast musicians go through an audition will read the final two lessons. process where they first compete against other musicians in their TMEA • FOREVER FRIENDS. Forever Region. The best students from the Friends, an advisory committee region move on to compete in their consisting of former faculty, met for TMEA Area, and the process repeats the first time Oct. 2. The committee once more to select the students who is designed to utilize the expertise comprise the TMEA All-State Band. of its members and to maintain their connection to the school after • COFFEEHOUSE GALORE. The retirement. Long-tenured faculty second Coffeehouse of the year will members Jeanie Laube, Jay Sylvester, be hosted by the Fine Arts Board in the JT Sutcliffe, Frank Jordan and Black Box Theater Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. In Barbara York currently make up the celebration of the upcoming holidays, committee, but the group may expand the theme will be “Christmas: Brought in the future to include former staff to You by Tollhouse.” Popular acts members, as well. such as SMacapella and Improv Club

• NFL DEAL. Sam Acho ’07 signed a one year contract to play outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Nov. 6. A fourth round selection of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft out of the University of Texas, Acho has appeared in 102 games in his nine season NFL career, recording 175 solo tackles, 17 sacks and three interceptions. Acho last played for the Buffalo Bills in 2019. Before his short stint in Buffalo, he played four seasons from 2015-2018 with the Chicago Bears.

being, athletes are using the Middle School locker room and the restrooms as a changing space.

• VARSITY BASKETBALL ON A NATIONAL STAGE. The varsity basketball team, led by coach Greg Guiler, senior Andrew Laczkowski and junior Harrison Ingram, lost by a score of 44-57 against Prolific Prep Nov. 30. The game was played in the American Airlines Center as a part of the Thanksgiving Hoop-fest, pinning top high school teams from Texas SPORTS against the best around the country. Prolific Prep, from • JUNIOR VARSITY NEWS California, is ranked as the SPORTS UPDATE. JV eight best team in California basketball opened its season and the 38th best team in on Nov. 15 in a loss against the nation.

Lincoln High School. On Ingram finished with a team-high Nov. 22, they lost to Little Elm. The 22 points. Afterwards, Ingram received team’s next game was played against an offer from the head coach at Sunset High School Dec. 3 in the University of Memphis. renovated Spencer Gym. The team won 55-25. JV soccer opened their season on • MS SPORTS UPDATE. The Nov. 19 against Bishop Lynch, winning wrestling team has gotten off to a 1-0. They then beat Trinity Valley by a strong start, going 2-1 at their first score of 7-1 at the Hunt Family Stadium duel Nov. 15. Middle school basketball Dec. 3. has also began the season, with both seventh grade Gold and Blue teams • LOCKER ROOM UPDATE. Followwinning their first games of the season ing the tornado, the new locker rooms both against Cistercian, the Gold team that were renovated this August in what winning by a score of 40-7. The eighth was Hicks Athletic Center have been grade blue team also began its season deemed unstable and were completely with a win against Cistercian, by the gutted. There are no concrete plans as score of 35-18. of now for its replacement. For the time

ISSUES

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

SAT vs. ACT

A different path

As the SAT and ACT compete for space on college applications, which company should we listen to? Page 4

Some students take a unique path: leaving school, then returning years later. Page 5

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HEALTH

A needed break Students in Oregon can now take days off of school for mental health reasons in an effort to combat rising teen mental health issues.

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he stress-filled life of a student can be overwhelming.

Juggling academics, sports, social life and sleep feels like a balancing act at times — one false move, and everything falls.

Students can feel like they have too much on their plate while trying to simultaneously impress teachers, colleges and friends, pursue their interests, study for tests and go to sports practices, all while trying to get enough sleep after hearing how important it is for their mental health and wellness.

••• In July, an Oregon law went into effect giving students in public schools the ability to take “mental health days” off from school, just as students would take a day off for a physical illness.

These students can take five days off for physical or mental reasons every three months, but can only exceed this limit through a written excuse from their doctor.

The bill was passed in response to high suicide rates among teens. The law is one of the first examples of states instructing schools to treat mental illness and physical illness equally.

At 10600 Preston Rd., students should feel confident about taking days off for mental health reasons at any time, according to Headmaster David Dini.

“If a student is in a compromised position or state for any reason — physical or mental — or if [he] ever felt like [he was] in some sort of jeopardy, we want [him] to immediately reach out to any appropriate resources on campus: [his] advisor, division office, the counseling office, directly to a teacher if there is a question,” Dini said. “But certainly if there are serious questions, he should reach out to somebody in a position of authority.”

Dini believes the school houses a supportive community with the resources to help any student who feels he needs outside assistance, where no student should be afraid to ask for help.

“There’s always somebody that you can turn to here,” Dini said. “There are a lot of resources around you, so sometimes it’s just a matter of making sure you avail yourself of those resources.

Even if you feel like you are afraid to ask or aren’t sure who you should ask [for help], I always encourage people: raise your hand if there’s a question.”

Students sometimes hesitate to ask for help if they feel embarrassed or guilty, or can attempt to downplay their symptoms. But, according to Director of Counseling Barbara Van Drie, students should not feel guilty about I THINK THERE’S CERTAINLY A missing school for mental GROWING AWARENESS THAT health reasons.

MENTAL HEALTH IS OF EQUAL For some people, taking IMPORTANCE TO PHYSICAL a small break HEALTH. from school is — HEADMASTER DAVID DINI crucial for their well-being.

“I just don’t think anything that’s happening at school is that important or more important than your health — physical or mental health,” Van Drie said.

The school wants to stress the importance of mental health and well-being. According to Dini, the school’s Health and Wellness Initiative encompasses many policies that affect physical and mental health in one way or another.

“The Health and Wellness Initiative encompasses mental health, as well as physical,

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that students dread rather than something that they social, emotional and relational health,” Dini said. look forward to.”

“All of those pieces are a big part of the work that While taking a day off can be a relaxing break, was identified in Goals IV (the school’s most recent it also means make-up work, which can lead to a statement about the strategic goals and framework stressful situation that could’ve been avoided by of the school’s future).” staying in school.

The school’s Medical Advisory Committee “In some ways, taking mental health days — a group made up of physicians, pediatricians, did make my life more stressful,” Holtby said. orthopedics, neurosurgeons and members of the “Catching up on work is never fun, school’s faculty — routinely meets to especially when you know that you talk about prevalent mental and physical could’ve just powered through the day health issues to better the well-being and done the work but chose not to.” of the entire campus community. The As with any privilege, there are presence of two clinical psychologists those who abuse it. There are those on the committee further emphasizes who use mental health reasons as an that mental health is just as important as excuse to miss school even though physical health.

Griffin Holtby they aren’t suffering from stress, “I think there’s certainly a growing Former Marksman anxiety or depression. awareness that mental health is of equal “I think that for every four or importance to physical health,” Dini five kids who take advantage of [mental health said, “and that mental diseases are like any other days], there are one or two kids who are struggling disease and need to be treated with a similar level through issues that often times begin to surface of seriousness.” in middle school and high school like depression, Griffin Holtby, a former Marksman, took days anxiety and problems in their home,” Holtby off regularly for mental health reasons during his said. “For those one or two kids, these mental time at the school — about one day every month or health days could be the difference between them two. Having attended the school from sixth grade graduating or dropping out.” until ninth, Holtby never received a written excuse In the end, mental health days are meant to from his doctor. He found the breaks in his normal benefit the student who does need a break from routine to be rejuvenating. school so that he can perform at his highest level.

“I did find that when I went back to school the “Teachers and students should both want next day, my mental state and mindset were often school to be a lively, positive place for everyone,” much more positive and agreeable,” Holtby said.

Holtby said, “and mental health days could be the “The stress of so many consecutive days of school solution.” in a row can turn going to school into something STORY Robert Pou, Henry McElhaney PHOTO Jerry Zhao

STRESSED OUT The pressures of school can leave students anxious, worried or depressed.

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percent

Increase of major depressive episodes among 12-17yearolds since 2005.

Source: usatoday.com

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

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ISSUES

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or the millions of high school students who apply to college each year, standardized testing is a huge component of their application process. Preparation and success on these tests can be essential to admissions.

There are two different tests that are accepted by all colleges and universities in the U.S. — the ACT and the SAT. Although similar, the two tests do have their differences. And those differences just became even more pronounced with the recent announcement that the ACT will be “superscored” starting in September of 2020.

The superscore is a new method of scoring in which the highest score from every section is reported in the test results.

Since the SAT doesn’t superscore, this new announcement warrants a discussion about the overall differences between the two tests.

What does the superscore really do to an ACT score?

Is the ACT now more advantageous to students than the SAT? These questions and more need to be answered to educate future test-takers on the test that is right for them.

••• Primarily, superscoring helps both students and colleges in producing higher metrics, according to Director of College Counseling Veronica Pulido.

“Superscoring helps the student in terms of producing the highest score and also helps the college promote the best scores in terms of attracting kids with the highest numbers,” Pulido said. “It also helps with the newest U.S. News and World Report and trustees reports and everybody that cares about metrics.”

The superscore does not cancel out other test attempts, however. All scores from all sittings are sent to schools, and Pulido is not sure whether colleges analyze lower scores that do not make up the superscore.

“The situation with superscoring is that a student has to send in all of their testing if they want the superscore, so the colleges could see potentially the other scores if they want to,” she said.

Does superscoring then make the ACT much more beneficial than the SAT? Senior Jack Trahan does not think so.

After taking both the SAT and the ACT, Trahan believes the superscore is not as big of a factor in admissions as the score of the overall test, especially because many colleges do not look at the You’ll start realizing superscore. you don’t have as many choices as “What I’ve found is you’d think. most colleges I’m applying Jack Trahan to and a lot of the colleges my classmates are applying to don’t superscore,” Trahan said. “For most schools you’re going to have to take the whole test in one sitting to be able to use that score.”

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Another difference between the tests is the subject matter covered by the two, specifically with regards to science. While the ACT has a section devoted to extensive testing on scientific content, the SAT simply contains a few science-related passages in its reading and writing sections. “[The ACT] has a science section while the SAT does not,” Pulido said. “The ACT science section does not necessarily require you to know scientific facts and equations, but you must be able to interpret scientific graphs.”

Additionally, Trahan found math testing varied between the two: the SAT tended to focus on algebra while the ACT covered more topics, like geometry and trigonometry.

“For me, I ran into trouble on ACT math,” Trahan said. “I just didn’t have enough time. I’m not amazing at math, so that was where I had an issue.”

Despite these many differences, both tests include an optional essay section. Many colleges do not require these essays, but Trahan suggests sitting for them anyway. “[The essays] are Students and optional,” Trahan said. families need to just “Since we’re in a transition say ‘This is just a piece of the puzzle.’ phase where a lot of Veronica Pulido colleges aren’t requiring them but some still are, I would recommend doing the writing anyway. A lot of times in the middle of your junior year, you won’t really know where you’re applying anyway.”

Additionally, Trahan suggests planning out

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STORY Toby Barrett, Robert Pou PHOTO Wyatt Awtrey

STANDARDIZED TESTING

SAT vs.

ACT

With the ACT allowing test-takers to superscore starting Sept. 2020, the SAT and ACT differ more now than ever before.

KEY DIFFERENCES The SAT is a three hour long test with three sections: reading, writing and math. The ACT is a two hour test with four sections: English, reading, math and science. Both have an optional essay.

multiple test dates in advance, as it will give testpotentially on test day whether the student takers more flexibility in their schedule. doesn’t feel well or wakes up late. There’s so many “You’re going to start looking at test dates variables, so that’s another and you’re going to be like, ‘Oh great. I have four reason we encourage ACT and four SAT dates. Oh wait, I have crew students to potentially sit one weekend, I have ISAS another. I have to take for both.” subject tests one of these days,’” Trahan said.

At the end of the day, “You’ll start realizing you don’t have as many however, standardized chances you as you’d think. And then it starts testing is just a part of the getting into the summer where you’re like, ‘Wait, admissions process. It is Veronica Pulido I was supposed to travel here but this is the only not the “be-all end-all.”

College Counselor time I can take standardized testing.’”

“It is a piece of the To begin preparing for the SAT early, Trahan puzzle. It is one metric recommends studying for the PSAT going into used in the process,” Pulido said. “It is an junior year. important one, too. Please don’t let college just “I started prepping for the PSAT initially, let you think it’s not important because it is. But I and prepping for the PSAT and the SAT is pretty think students and families need to just say, ‘This much the same thing,” he said. “I started at the is just a piece of the puzzle.’” beginning of June before my junior year, so I started earlier than most kids.”

Because Do you prefer the SAT or the ACT? What sets one the tests differ so much, many apart from the other for you personally? students will naturally do I ended up getting I took the SAT better on one or higher on the SAT so because I didn’t want the other. Pulido my family, tutor and I to take the science maintains that test decided it was best to try section on the ACT. and raise that one. It also Science is one of my takers should take fit my style of learning. weaker subjects so I both regardless. tried to avoid the ACT senior Billy Lockhart “If the senior Andrew science section.”

Laczkowski student himself says, ‘I think I’m more geared to one versus the other,’ we’re not going to force I prefer the SAT over I find the ACT is a the ACT because I little bit easier because him to take both believe the SAT scores I prefer doing math and of them, but we on a skewed scale. It science. The science do know they’re gives two times as many section is basically a just two different points to the English and free 36 if you can read a literary sections.” graph.” exams,” Pulido said. “In addition, junior Beau Exall junior Jordan Gaines there’s so many differences

IN THEIR OW N WORDS

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THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

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CHANGING SCHOOLS

Roundtrip ticket

Senior Exhibitions to remain

Leaving school—whether to explore another country or to accommodate a parent’s new job—can be a thrilling and challenging experience. But coming back

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or junior Alexander Zuch and seniors Reid Goldsmith and Carter Langbert, 10600 Preston Rd. was more than just a school—it was a home. Circumstances forced each to leave the school for extended periods of time. Zuch spent six years in Atlanta, GA, while Goldsmith and Langbert spent a year in London and Mexico, respectively. Below, they tell us about the best and worst parts of their time away.

Alam Alidina: What circumstances led you to leave the school?

Carter Langbert: I left because I wasn’t doing as well as I could have been doing during sophomore year. So I decided it would be better for me to take a year off to get things back in order and mature more.

Alexander Zuch: I moved to Atlanta, GA, after attending St. Mark’s in first and second grade because of my dad’s job.

My parents were planning to stay for two years, but we ended up staying for six. I came back in eighth grade.

Austin Williams: Is there anything in particular you miss about where you used to live?

CL: We went on a lot of excursions. My favorite one was when we went to see the pyramids in... I’m forgetting what it’s called now, but it’s a huge set of pyramids.

They’re all enormous. There’s the sun pyramid, the moon pyramid, things like that. We also went to another place called Taxco, which is a silver mine. And it’s a huge exporter of silver around the globe.

So that was just kind of a cool thing.

Reid Goldsmith: I made a lot of good friends there. It’s been sort of difficult to keep in touch with them. And then I kind of liked having a compact city, sort of like New York, something where you could walk around instead of needing to drive everywhere.

AA: What did you like best about your old school? Did you see anything at your old school that could be useful if it was implemented into St. Mark’s?

CL: The nice thing about it is that everyone there is very welcoming. They give you placement tests and then they put you into certain levels and then there are teachers for all different levels.

AZ: I went to three different schools in Atlanta. There was a pretty big gap in the academics of the schools I went to and that of St. Mark’s, so I didn’t really see anything that would be helpful here.

My fourth grade math teacher even let

me teach a math class because she said I already knew all of the curriculum she was going to teach throughout the year. So there really isn’t much from Atlanta—at least in academics—that I’d implement here or that I’d experience again.

AW: What was the most challenging part of re-adjusting to life at SM? CL: They told me before I left that since it wasn’t a St. Mark’s program, I would have to reapply to the school after my year abroad. So I did that, and I didn’t have to do an interview. I just had to answer a few questions about my experience, things I did there, and give a transcript of the grades I got at the school.

MEMORIES FROM AFAR Clockwise from top, Carter Langbert, Alexander Zuch, and Reid Goldsmith demonstrate how changing schools can offer opportunities to pursue a different lifestyle from that found on campus.

RG: I’d say part of it was adjusting.

Academically, when I was in England, I definitely took less advanced math, for example. I also came back and had to start Spanish over after taking five years of Spanish.

JOURNEYS ABROAD Junior Alexander Zuch lived in Atlanta, GA, senior Carter Langbert lived in Cuernavacas, Mexico and senior Reid Goldsmith lived just outside of London during their time away.

STORY Alam Alidina, Austin Williams PHOTOS Courtesy Carter Langbert, Reid Goldsmith and Alexander Zuch

by Toby Barrett espite circulating rumors, senior exhibitions are not optional this year, according to Kenneth Owens, who manages the requirement, and Upper School Head Colin Igoe. The recent tornado has not caused any cancellation to the academic obligation.

Senior exhibitions are a graduation requirement, prompting students to present a skill, a leadership position or even a separate community of interest to other younger students.

Owens believes this is a good way to expose the community to those interests.

“The senior exhibition gives every senior a chance to get a segment of the community interested in something that they enjoy,” Owens said. “It’s a way for them to pitch clubs or promote activities like ​The ReMarker​, summer travel or travel abroad.”

Igoe believes the advantage of holding the senior exhibition is held in the final year of high school is the well-rounded perspective of seniors.

“At senior year, you have that ability to kind of reflect and look back on the full experience,” Igoe said. “That way, you have all the experiences to pull from, as opposed to maybe a freshman, a sophomore or a junior.”

Owens maintains that students can develop other skills in giving such presentations for future job opportunities or desired exploits.

“You can imagine how nerve-wracking that is, getting that done when you’re 17 or 18,” Owens said. “Being ready to speak to something you enjoy and to support your work is going to be good for college interviews, grad school interviews, med school interviews and speaking in public in general.”

Igoe similarly believes in the benefits of speaking on a topic of passion.

“Fundamentally, when you have a passion for something, you’re more inclined to do it well,” Igoe said.

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enior Carr Urschel’s brother, Chance, was born Dec. 21, 1995 with Holoprosencephaly, a form of cerebral palsy that restricts essentially all fine motor control. Chance couldn’t walk, talk or do anything on his own. He was classified as fully dependent. Either Carr’s family or medical staff had to be with him at all times. Chance struggled with pneumonia throughout his life, and the last time he had it was when he passed away Feb. 16, 2016 when he was 20 years old.

‘He was unbelievably happy all the time.’

For senior Carr Urschel, the memory of his brother, Chance, motivates him day in, day out.

AT: How do you feel that his life changed your life and your St. Mark’s experience, and what Aaron Thorne: What kind of relationship did you kind of time have with Chance? commitments Carr Urschel: We were extraordinarily close. When and other kind you’re growing up with someone who doesn’t know of commitments how to talk, you have a very interesting dynamic did you put in that you develop. I would like to think that I really to allow him to understood what he wanted and what he was saying be the person he just through his eyes. He could make noise, but was? it obviously wasn’t coherent, and he couldn’t put CU: I was really together words. lucky in that we were in the financial situation that we could have people help us. One thing that really changed my upbringing, when I think back to my childhood, I think about Three students share how their powerful my parents and connections with a sibling impacted them.

I think about FAMILY FIRST The Urschel family celebrates during a Halloween party. Carr (far right) is my brother, but dressed up as a Power Ranger and Chance (middle) is dressed up as Harry Potter.

I also think about He was unbelievably happy all the time. And we always spend time at Chance’s there. The ministry the people that you’re talking about someone who had countless there was a big part of his life. He loved going to essentially worked in my house, and a lot of them shots, procedures, stretches. He had a slew of medical church because everybody was super accepting there. spoke Spanish, which is how I learned Spanish. When issues that would cause him to be uncomfortable or I think he was really close to God in his own life.

I was very young, my mom was working, and my dad not feel well during a lot of different parts of the day.

Just having so much time to think and process, was working. I was home, and I spent a lot of time That really impressed me with just how joyous and I would imagine that would give him a lot of clarity with the caretakers and my brother.

That was a very excited he was all the time. My parents did a really on religion and stuff like that. In terms of his legacy, interesting bond that I had with [the caretakers]. I still good job of keeping him or giving him as close to a I think that the work that he inspired other people to talk to a lot of them to this day, and I keep up with normal life as you can have. do. There is this guy named Dr. Terry Sanger, who them, and they’re incredibly kind people.

He traveled a lot for someone who had those I think was touched by Chance a lot. And he works But the biggest thing for me was I would feel limitations. He’d been ziplining and he’d been skiing. at the University of Southern California. He did a bad a lot that I wasn’t spending time with Chance, He’d been to New York. He’d been to Florida. He’d ton of medical research on machines that ended up been to Colorado. He’d been all over the country. He’d which I think would have been a very interesting benefiting a lot of the people in the same position. I thing to see how that would have developed if he was been to Mexico. We got a wheelchair with a floating think Chance’s Pie and Coffee Shop does a lot more still alive when I went into high set of wheels so that he could be on than people think because you take these people that school. Because there’s this part of the beach and roll in the water. He did usually are cared for and have stuff done for them. becoming your own person and an unbelievable amount thanks to my BEING ABLE TO JUST SIT They can’t make money. They can’t live on their own. becoming your own student at St. parents and my grandparents. There’s DOWN AND SPEND TIME WITH Marks, but at the same time, my They can’t drive. And you give them a situation in a lot of really amazing pictures of CHANCE WAS A LUXURY which they have a purpose and they have a job. They brother, I love being with him so someone that you wouldn’t imagine have customers expecting them to do something, and THAT WE DIDN’T ALWAYS much. I felt bad a lot when I wasn’t being able to do that, and he just they have people counting on them. We help them in with him, just because he enjoyed loved every single second of it. I HAVE LATER IN HIS LIFE. subtle ways to achieve that, and it is so unbelievably [it] so much. especially remember him skiing. We THOSE WERE THE MOMENTS meaningful for them. But I think for somebody that I don’t know how my parents got this adaptive sled for him, and was in a wheelchair, in my perspective, he had a pretty he would have been on the mountain THAT I PROBABLY REMEMBER did it. They would sleep four hours incredible legacy. Not just for my family and my a night. Essentially, what most all day if you’d let him, and he had THE MOST. extended family, but I think also in the community of parents have to do in the stages of such a blast. He was essentially being — SENIOR CARR URSCHEL Dallas and the medical community as well. having an infant child of getting driven down the mountain by one of up at night to check on their son or their daughter, my our friends, who’s a ski instructor, but he just adored parents had to do for 20 years. It was incredible for it. me to see. Something that I’ve always admired about We just developed a special relationship because my mom and dad were that they were both able to he couldn’t talk, so there were a lot of times that I had do that. I think that really changed their lives for that to talk for him or that I had to just be there with him period of time, but they didn’t really seem to mind. and just learn how to communicate with him.

bond AN UNBREAKABLE

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SKI VACATION During a family ski trip to Colorado, the Urschel family celebrates making it down the mountain. During his life, Chance and his family traveled all around the country.

AT: What would you say is Chance’s legacy?

CU: When he passed away, realizing that he essentially spent his whole life in a wheelchair, only to pass away at 20 years old is kind of a grim reality for me to come to. And I just kind of changed. Once that happened, I started taking my athletics more seriously, and I started taking my studies a lot more seriously. Essentially, I would credit my desire to work really hard, because I feel like that I’m responsible for living the life of more than one person. That was a huge influence on my life, and it still is. It is a lot of the reason that I do what I do. My parents and I also helped start Chance’s Pie and Coffee Shop. It’s a part of Highland Park Methodist Church. It’s staffed only with people with needs and some supervisors, and I volunteer to be one of the supervisors. We go to church as much as we can, and

THE SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE

Holoprosencephaly: Carr’s brother, Chance, was born with holoprosencephaly (HPE). HPE is a cephalic disorder in which the prosencephalon (the forebrain of the embryo) fails to develop into two hemispheres. Serious seizure disorders, autonomic dysfunction, complicated endocrine disorders and other life-threatening conditions are associated with HPE. The incidence of HPE is about 1 in every 16,000 live births.

Intractable bifocal epilepsy: Sahitya’s sister, Siri, was diagnosed with intractable bifocal epilepsy when she was just a couple of months old. The condition caused Siri to have 300 to 400 seizures a day. The medical solution to prevent such a large number of seizures was a hemispherectomy, which removed half of Siri’s brain.

Asperger syndrome: James’ brother, Jed, was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS) when he was 12 years old. AS is a developmental disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. In 2013, AS began to be included within the autism spectrum.

SOURCE: RAREDISEASES.ORG, AUTISMSPEAKS.ORG

STORIES Ishan Gupta, Aaron Thorne, Christopher Wang, Sid Vattamreddy PHOTOS Courtesy Carr Urschel, Sahitya Senapathy, James Carr

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

ISSUES

‘Going to the hospital after school and just sitting next to my sister.’

Senior Sahitya Senapathy reflects on growing up with his sister, who was diagnosed with a condition causing seizures at a very young age.

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ometimes in life, it’s the simple things which matter the most.

Simple things like sitting outside underneath the beaming sun. Like going to a theatre and watching a movie with a box of popcorn resting on your lap. Simple things like strolling along the long, narrow passageways of a mall.

Not only are these actions simple, but they almost automatically bring about senses of enjoyment and comfort. But senior Sahitya Senapathy never knows if these basic activities give way to those same feelings of joy and comfort for his sister, Siri Senapathy, when they spend time together.

Siri, now 13, was just a couple months old when she was diagnosed with intractable bifocal epilepsy, a condition causing an individual to experience many seizures that are difficult to control. Sahitya still remembers the frequency of Siri’s seizures before she had a procedure.

“Siri underwent a lot of seizures, close to 300 or 400 a day,” Sahitya said. “It was really bad at the time, and the doctors said that she needed a hemispherectomy, which is removing half of her brain surgically to prevent so many seizures. Then she came back home and it was kind of a new life from there.”

Due to the nature of Siri’s condition, she is unable to perform certain bodily functions independently without the assistance of medical devices.

“It’s very hard because we can’t tell what she’s thinking; she can’t really speak,” Sahitya said. “She can see, but we don’t know if that’s necessarily true because we can’t communicate with her. She can probably feel because we know she can feel our touch, but that’s about our knowledge of how she views the world; it’s very mysterious.”

With regular trips to the hospital to spend time with his sister, Sahitya felt as if his childhood was one with unique experiences.

“My upbringing was probably very much different than a normal upbringing,” Sahitya said. “I kind of

grew up in the hospital every day when I was young. Going to the hospital after school and just sitting next to my sister. I grew very close to my sister over that experience. I just felt very protective, and I really wanted to be a good brother for her despite any of her conditions, and I think that was probably helpful for my parents too, who were dealing with a lot of stuff at that time.”

Sahitya didn’t truly grasp Siri’s condition and its implications on his family’s life until he was 11 or 12.

“In the beginning, it was really tough to understand because I would hear my parents whispering stuff like epilepsy or terms like hemispherectomy or surgery and stuff, but obviously I didn’t really understand that,” Sahitya said. “I started helping my parents care for my sister. I’d watched that they’d put the medicine in a syringe and then put that through the pipe that feeds her, and I’d be watching as they braided her hair. I think at that point I really understood that our family was different, but I realized that wasn’t necessarily bad.”

Sahitya believes members of his family understood Siri’s condition in different ways.

“My parents were really impacted in different ways than I was,” Sahitya said. “They took it very hard.

I wasn’t impacted by the amount of stress and sorrow that they had to endure in the beginning because they were really torn apart by the condition — in the beginning they were crying so much about the condition. My grandparents had a different take on it, and they were caring for her like another daughter. Today all of us really love Siri.”

Growing up alongside Siri and caring for her has taught Sahitya many valuable lessons “I think there’s a lot to be said about being able to care for someone and really place yourself in their shoes and appreciate the struggle that they they’ve

‘I’ve always felt responsible to help him have normal conversations.’

Although junior James Carr is younger than his brother, Jed, who has had Asperger’s for as long as James can remember, he has stepped up to care for him.

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or as long as junior James Carr can remember, his brother Jed Carr has been different.

At 12, Jed was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, which was reclassified in 2013 as part of the autism spectrum on the less severe end, characterized by a limited ability to understand social cues.

Now 18, Jed is a senior at Fairhill School, an institution for learning-different students, and he hopes to go to community college next year. When talking about his brother Jed, Asperger’s is never the first thing that comes to James’s mind.

“Different. Funny. Definitely has a big heart,” James said. “And dramatic. I’d actually put dramatic as number one.”

Jed’s so dramatic that ever since he was 10, he’s wanted to be an actor. He’s a great voice actor, and he dreams of being the lead role in Hollywood films. His love for acting and movies is obvious to anybody who meets him: it’s often the first thing Jed brings up when meeting somebody new. “[Jed] overreacts to a lot of things,” James said. “If he’s a little sick, instead of saying he’s feeling bad, he’ll play it up really bad and lay in bed. It’s really funny.”

That love of movies isn’t unique to just Jed. It runs in the family. The brothers’ uncle is a screenwriter who’s worked with actor Tommy Lee Jones ’65, among other celebrities. And James himself is an avid filmmaker, an interest he thinks might’ve been sparked by Jed. That’s why the two of them went up to their uncle’s house earlier in the year to watch Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

“When we saw the Taratino movie, [Jed] had dressed up for that,” James said. “He had a denim jacket and did his hair the way Leonardo DiCaprio would. I vlogged it, and he’s in character most of the time.”

As a brother, James sees a side of Jed that most people don’t. He sees Jed as a friend, a fanatic that would impersonate a character when going to watch a new movie. But growing up with him, James has realized newcomers aren’t likely to view Jed the same way, especially once they know about his Asperger’s.

However, since Jed is high-functioning, people don’t immediately recognize his disability, so James holds back that detail.

“It’s mainly for him,” James said. “A lot of people have a stigma if I tell them before they meet him, and they’ll treat him differently. I don’t want that to happen for him. I want him to just be as normal as he can. So I don’t say anything.”

James’s responsibility for his brother comes in many different forms. For example, when they’re out with neighborhood friends and Jed slips in an awkward comment, James will just give him a quick tap on the shoulder, let him know he said something off, and they’ll move on with their day.

“By the time I was 12, I was very aware that he was different,” James said. “I’ve always had this responsibility for him in social situations — I’ve always felt responsible to help him have normal conversations.”

gone through,” Sahitya said. “Also seeing and appreciating the hard work of others when it comes to that caring — like what’s really behind the affection — just like midnight trips to Walmart so that we can buy medicine for her, or driving to the hospital through the snow, which is something that we had to do in Michigan, or spending nights at two or three, making sure that she doesn’t fall off the bed. It’s those little things that you see over time and accumulate through your childhood that make you appreciate and want to be a good parent and a good leader in your community.”

Sahitya believes there’s something to be said for not judging people by face value before getting to truly understand them. It’s something he’s seen time and time again with Siri.

“Really looking at an individual and being empathetic towards them and not having any predispositions towards the conditions that they face, and that’s something that is not only true for special needs children,” Sahitya said. “Even seemingly normal people go through different events, and they have their own struggles that they have to face, and being compassionate and being forgiving and acknowledging that everyone has a diverse background and diverse experiences is something that I’ve learned by caring and interacting with Siri.”

Jed is a year older than James, but they both recognize how their roles have been flipped. At some point, James started maturing faster than Jed. Now, the little milestones in both of their lives serve as a reminder about their reality.

“It’s a little sad because he’s aware of it,” James said.

“He’s angry he doesn’t have his license yet and that I’m already driving. But it’s mostly just sad.”

Despite the responsibility James has picked up for his brother, their dynamic is still the same as it would be otherwise. It’s the classic bond of brotherhood, and for James, it will always be that way regardless of Jed’s Asperger Syndrome.

“It has nothing to do with autism,” James said. “I just see him as my brother. I’ll still tease him. I’ll still make fun of him like a brother would. It’s not just caring for Jed all the time — he’s still my brother.”

And as brothers, they face the same highs and lows.

Whether they’re out watching a movie or at home with their friends, even if they’re fighting like brothers do, the bond between James and Jed is deepened by how close they are.

“It’s always entertaining to have him around, even with the awkward parts,” James said. “It’s great to hear him quote movies while we’re eating dinner. He always has funny stuff to say, and his emotions are really funny — I’m just really happy he’s my brother.”

NOTHING BUT LOVE From a very young age, Sahitya remembers his family view of caring for Siri as something that brought them together and cemented their love.

To hear more stories from Carr, Sahitya and James, listen to the newest editions of FOCAL POINT PODCAST. See page 2 for more.

ALL IN THE FAMILY James (far left) and Jed (middle right) Carr take a photo with their family.

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DISCOVERIES

STEM Exploring the possibility of adding arts to STEM. Page 9

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

BIOLOGY

Mead receives national acclaim Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science John Mead’s work with Dr. Lee Berger in the anthropological field propels Mead into national spotlight.

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ne of the largest collections of early human ancestor skulls in the country.

It’s not housed at a huge university, or a massive research facility.

It’s right here on campus, and it’s the work of one man, Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science John Mead.

••• Mead’s journey to become one of the foremost teachers of evolution in the country began in 2013, with a simple Facebook message to award-winning paleoanthropoligist Lee Berger.

“I wanted to tell the discovery story of Homo Sediba, but I didn’t know it yet.” Mead said. “It was still a new species and the public story of the discovery hadn’t really come out. So I messaged him on Facebook and I asked him, ‘Hey, could you share some information with my students so that maybe they could learn the story of Sediba.”

After discussing the school with Berger and realizing that he would be in Dallas with his book tour, Mead asked Berger to visit and share his story.

Berger visited campus and spoke to the Upper School as well as groups of parents.

“He had a great time here,” Mead said.

“Afterward, he said, ‘Wow, I’m amazed that Dallas, the buckle on the Bible Belt, has received human origins so well. You really need to come down to South Africa and see the Sediba for yourself.’”

After scheduling was arranged and plans were finalized, Mead traveled to South Africa.

“I was able to get a professional development grant here for that John Mead summer,” Mead said.

Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science “That’s something that the Parents’ Association plays a big role in. That award doesn’t happen without the support of our Parents’ Association and their support of professional development.”

Mead spent two weeks in South Africa, where he worked with Berger and his team preparing fossils among other tasks. “[Berger] makes me feel like, as a Middle School teacher, I’m part of the team,” Mead said. “I’m in on all of the meetings. I get to watch fossils being prepared. It’s just an unheard-of thing.”

It was this work that put Mead in a position to be part of the project and part of evolutionary

SKULLS OUT Mead shows off part of his collection of hominid skulls.

education.

“It includes us biology teachers from all over the “Because so few people teach human evolution, I U.S., but a smattering of international folks as well,” wound up being the one the person he knew but also Mead said. “And it’s folks anywhere from middle the person who was interested,” Mead said. “When school all the way through university level.” the homo naledi stuff started to happen, I’m out there Mead recognizes the unique opportunity that the doing the Twitter play-by-play and making videos of conference provides for teachers worldwide. the daily occurrences and sharing those. Then in 2015 “You wind up getting really great perspectives I went back for another week and did interviews that you wouldn’t otherwise get,” Mead said. “The with all the major players on the team. Those were challenge of being a classroom teacher at a school like things that I had an opportunity to do that no other St. Mark’s is that there are basically three of us who teachers were either doing or had the opportunity to are primarily biology people. The idea that you can do.” have 1500 other biology teachers to relate to really His teaching of his unique experiences earned lets you expand your horizons and pick up on things him national recognition. that are useful to you that you “That led to me being asked don’t necessarily get every day at to be on the Education Board of whatever school you’re at.”

I’VE GOTTEN EXPOSED TO A the American Society of Physical Anthropologists, which is a ••• WHOLE RANGE OF PEOPLE THAT university-level group,” Mead OVER THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF said, “and I’m the only K-12 person Mead’s work in the MY CAREER, I DIDN’T. LOOKING anthropological field has allowed there.”

Mead attributes many of the BACK, I MISSED OPPORTUNITIES him to amass a huge collection of opportunities he’s had to these hominid fossils.

WITH SOME BIG-NAME FOLKS relationships that he has formed “I have what we think is BECAUSE I WASN’T AWARE OF probably the largest collection of with other scientists in his field.

NETWORKING. “One thing we don’t teach hominid skulls, for certainly any — JOHN MEAD teachers how to do across education pre-university-level institution in is network,” Mead said. “If you’re in the United States,” Mead said. “I any other business, you learn to network and get to have 30 of them now. We’ve gotten them here a range know people. Teachers traditionally are never taught of ways. Some we’ve purchased, some were gifts that, and our teachers were never taught that so it’s from scientists like Richard Leakey or Dr. Berger.” not modeled for us in a significant way. I realized Mead is currently working on a project to share I’m one of the few teachers that actually goes out the skulls with schools and teachers nationwide. and networks, beyond the classroom beyond my “Because I have those skulls here, they’re school or beyond my district, and that’s made a huge not available widely to people, or they’re very difference that way.” expensive and most schools and most teachers don’t have the opportunity to do that,” Mead said. “I’m ••• working with Molly Silva [a graduate student at the University of Florida], and she’s a pioneer in taking Mead was awarded the Evolution Education 3-D scans, turning them into printable files, and Award at the National Association of Biology actually printing out 3-D fossils. She takes them and Teachers (NABT) conference on Nov. 16. delivers them to people throughout Florida, so that “It’s given to one person every year so I was teachers can actually use them.” really surprised when the word came out,” Mead With the 3-D printers available on campus, Mead said. “It’s not the sort of thing that private school is working to begin a similar program here at school. teachers and certainly Middle School teachers get “What we’re working on doing is printing up a recognized for a lot, but that has to do a lot with couple sets of these that then would be available for the work that we’ve done with Homo naledi and Dr. me to deliver and share with schools locally,” Mead Berger and how that has expanded out over the said. “That way they could actually get into the years.” classroom and get people talking and working with The NABT conference includes teachers from all them in ways that you just can’t do if you don’t have over the world and from all levels of education. them.”

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STORY Cooper Ribman PHOTO Courtesy John Mead

by the numbers

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Total skulls in Mead’s collection

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17

distinct species of hominid collected

•

2

3-D printed skulls made

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

PAGE

DISCOVERIES

9

Seeds recovered and planted from trees destroyed by tornado

by Han Zhang fter the destruction left in the wake of the tornado, Director of Environmental Studies Dan Northcut saw an opportunity for a learning experience. Although the tornado had blown away or completely destroyed many trees in the area, the high-speed winds also caused some trees to drop significantly more acorns than they would have normally.

“I came up [to school]... and the football field was just littered with these big bur oak acorns that had been blown off of the trees,” Northcut said. “Normally those big acorns only come down a few at a time, so I never really had the opportunity to get a class set.”

Northcut plans on using the acorns he collected for projects in his AP Environmental Science class and his first grade science classes, both of which will be able to monitor the development of the acorns as they grow into trees.

“Hopefully, when those start growing in the spring, the students can take them home and use them in their own yards if they lost trees,” Northcut said. “If they weren’t affected or don’t have space for a tree, then we can either use them here on campus or in places that need reforestation.”

Although the project has already begun, Northcut stresses that it will take a long time before the trees lost from the storm can be replaced, and that this should serve as a reminder of the importance of nature.

“A lot of those [trees] that were along the northern part of the campus… were planted back in the 50s,” Northcut said.

“For a lot of those bigger trees, it’ll take a good fifty years before that area looks like it used to before the tornado. The difference between having big trees and not having them is stark. When you see that out there, it’s shocking.”

Northcut hopes this experience can emphasize the seriousness of maintaining Texas biodiversity. With such a major upheaval in local wildlife, Northcut wants to make it clear that it will take a lot of work to restore the area to normal.

“We really need to make a better effort to plant native Texan trees because those are the ones that will harbor our native birds and insects,” Northcut said. “The biodiversity here is valuable, and the more we can help keep native biodiversity in the area, the better.”

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PIECE OF THE PUZZLE The STEM versus STEAM debate begs the question: does art fit into the longstanding label for science, technology, engineering and math?

STEM

STEM or STEAM? Schools and universities across the country consider adding arts to science, technology, engineering and math. Here’s some varied viewpoints on the issue.

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cience, technology, engineering, and math are some of the fastest growing fields in the country.

But now, schools and universities across the U.S. are considering a change.

Adding arts to STEM. ••• Fine Arts Department Chair Marion Glorioso-Kirby is in favor of the change.

“I think it’s a great idea to add it,” Glorioso said. “I think there are so many connections made between Arts and Science and Arts and Technology especially”.

Glorioso maintains the connection between the sciences and arts is longstanding.

“It’s always been that way,” Glorioso said. “When you think back to early science and the drawing of anatomy and the dissecting of the human body and being able to draw those things out so that they could have records, those two things have always gone hand in hand. I think if you want to brand it that it’s happening that way, then great, but it’s already been happening for so long.

Changing the title may give more recognition to the fact that one doesn’t

really happen without the other.” because we’ve had really strong math Collaboration between science and art and science programs,” Carron said. “In occurs here on campus. a way it was STEM that got St. Mark’s “Recently we had our fifth and sixth on the map in 1961 with the McDermottgrade world theatre class do a unit on Green Math and Science Quadrangle. integration shadow puppets, which are We want our programs to be world-class the stick and wood puppets that you and excellent, as good as or better than use to create a story by casting a light any school that might even specialize in and shadow,” Glorioso said. “They STEM, but we’re not going to do that at went over to the Makerspace and all the the expense of other subjects.” fifth and sixth graders had the shadow Junior Jerry Zhao, one of the student puppets laser cut, so they designed leaders of this year’s STEM festival, them and worked on them there. I think believes that including arts in STEM that anytime you’re collaborating, it’s would be a positive change. exciting.”

“I think this is a good idea because Glorioso hopes that sciences and arts the introduction of art into the curriculum can continue to be linked. has a number of benefits,” Zhao said.

“I would love for people’s perceptions “It prepares students not particularly of art to always be a part of an academic interested in the STEM fields for an study,” Glorioso said. “To separate those, increasingly STEM-influenced world and you’re doing education a disservice.” the possibility of fostering an interest in Science Department Chair Carron those fields through the inclusion of art.”

Fletcher believes art is Zhao recognizes that the already an integral part of inclusion of arts could allow science. students another path into “If you’re talking about STEM subjects.

STEM, you are already “Because people learn talking about creativity,” in different ways, STEAM is Carron said. “There’s a lot another way of progressing of it in engineering, there in the STEM field because of are a lot of math and science the introduction of a whole Marion Glorioso-Kirby applications to art whether new creative viewpoint.” Zhao it’s STEM or STEAM, said. “The inclusion of arts Tony Vintcent Fine Arts Department Chair because if you’re doing into the STEM means STEAMengineering, you’re using all of your based education will build more potential creative muscle to do what you’re doing.” pathways for students to take as well According to Carron, the transition as enhance the dimension of thought or could have some impact on how classes problem-solving skills they attain.” are taught.

Zhao believes including arts in a “If you want to drill down to get scientific curriculum will improve both more specific and say these universities fields by encouraging students to work or colleges have had engineering-based together to solve difficult problems.

STEM classes, and now they’re going to “I think that the introduction of arts add artistic modules to those classes, then into the curriculum will be beneficial you’re talking about a specific transition overall and will influence certain from a STEM to STEAM approach for factors on a national level by promoting those courses,” Carron said. collaboration between students by Carron hopes the school is seen as a introducing a multifaceted level of supporter of the arts, not just as a science thinking.” Zhao said. “Because of our and math institution. already high level of STEM at St. Mark’s, “There are those out there who I think I believe that the introduction of art will mis characterize us as a STEM school propel the school to an even higher level.”

STORY Cooper Ribman, Han Zhang, Ethan Borge ARTWORK James Shiao

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Parent Teachers

Entrepreneur

Literary Festival Global Man

Holidays

Exploring the dynamics of having a parent on campus as a teacher Page 11

An alum’s journey from Minor League to real estate Page 12

Previewing the visiting authors and a reveal of the contest winners Page 13

What the season’s celebrations mean to Lower Schoolers Page 15

History Department Chair David Fisher’s travels around the world Page 14

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THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

HERITAGE

Fit for a king

With family roots embedded in Togo’s royalty, senior Odran Fitzgerald embraces his ancestral legacy and national identity.

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six-year-old Odran Fitzgerald stands in line with hundreds of other people, waiting to cross the Togo-Ghana border.

Political instability, territorial disputes and waves of refugees have damaged relations between these two countries, with these struggles starting just after the surrender of Germany in 1918. Border guards shake down unsuspecting travelers for cash, and those who fail to pay the toll find themselves either stuck unable to cross or, even worse, imprisoned.

Fitzgerald’s mother hands border security her passport. He examines it and glances at the name.

Oh, ‘Elhor!’ I know your father. Just let them through.

Now, as senior Odran Fitzgerald sits on a stool in ceramics class molding clay, he thinks back to his visit to a town in his mother’s native country of Togo. He pictures Togolese artisans crafting beautiful, ornate pots, using their hands to spin the pottery wheels.

He looks around the classroom, realizing how different his life could’ve been.

Instead of being a Marksman in the Class of ’20, maybe he’d be sitting on a throne as the king of Adiakpo.

If his mother hadn’t moved to America in 1999.

If a period of political turmoil and chaos hadn’t broken out in Togo in the 1990s.

If his grandfather, Koffi Agbe Leopold Elhor, hadn’t left his home village and chosen not to take the throne.

SUCCESSION Had Fitzgerald’s grandfather stayed in Adiakpo, Fitzgerald would be in line for the Togolese throne.

•••

Fitzgerald’s grandfather, Koffi Agbe Leopold official, like I need to get papers or things like that, Elhor, was the only child born to Amewokounou then people see my name, and they make a big deal.”

Elhor, the king of Adiakpo, a small village located in But Elhor didn’t want his children to grow up the city of Tsevie. Although he was meant to inherit spoiled by their royal heritage and sent them away the throne of Adiakpo from his father, Elhor instead to a school outside of their city where their name decided to study and work abroad in various African wasn’t as known. countries, leaving Togo as a young man with his “He did not want us to have privileges just wife. because we were his children,” Elhor-Fitzgerald said.

After his father died in 1972, Elhor returned “Once he became mayor, he would come home once to Togo but declined to take over the kingship of a week in the capital to see us, but he made sure we Adiakpo. Rather, his cousin become the king, and did not go to school in the city where he was mayor Elhor pursued a career as an industrial architect. because he didn’t want us to get a big head. It wasn’t In the late 80s, after being a councilman on the important for us. We were taught that it wasn’t city council of Tsevie, Elhor was important, that we were people elected mayor of the city. like everybody else and that we “He became mayor at a time should work hard.” when Togo was about to change,” THE REASON WHY MY MOM Once the political turmoil Fitzgerald’s mother, Sylvie Elhorbecame even worse in 1993, Elhor WENT TO ITALY FROM TOGO IS Fitzgerald said. “Up until 1990, it sent his seven children, who were BECAUSE MY GRANDFATHER, was a military regime where we adults by then, to various other SEEING ALL THE CIVIL UNREST countries, ranging from France had a dictator. Each county and each city were independent. They AND BEING INVOLVED IN IT, and Senegal to Germany, so they had their own elections. They had DIDN’T WANT HER TO GET could pursue their studies and a mayor.” careers. Elhor-Fitzgerald went to DRAGGED INTO IT. HE SENT In Togo, only people from Italy, where she completed her HER AWAY TO ITALY SO THAT graduate degree. She met her families with village kingship were allowed to run for mayor of husband, Barnaby Fitzgerald, there SHE WOULDN’T GET a city.

HURT LIKE A LOT OF HER in 1995 and married him in 1999, “The thinking was that if you moving to America and having her were wealthy enough — you were FRIENDS. son, Odran, in 2002 and daughter, — SENIOR ODRAN FITZGERALD Moira, in 2005. from a family like that — you wouldn’t steal money from the city,” Elhor-Fitzgerald said.

For Fitzgerald, Togo is a home away from home.

During Elhor’s time as mayor, protests for His closest cousin lives in democracy broke out in Togo, with primarily young Houston, and the next closest in Togolese people taking part in the revolution.

Germany, but the rest are in Togo According to Syvlie, these people, may of them 18 itself. However, he has remained and 19 years old, began protesting violently and in touch over the years through causing destruction in cities. Her father chose to the family’s reunions, held every intervene in Tsevie by getting in his car, driving into few years. the middle of the chaos and urging the people to “I talk to my relatives all the protest peacefully. time,” Fitzgerald said. “And we “He basically saved the city from a lot of all try to find a way where we damage by doing that consistently every time can go back to Togo together and there was a protest and people were starting to get stuff like that. It’s pretty integral angry,” Elhor-Fitzgerald said. “He would show up part of who I am as a person and in the middle of it, risking his life, making sure they has shaped how I look at the preserve the city and telling them, ‘Go ahead and world.” protest, but there’s no reason why you should be Despite living over 6000 breaking stuff.’” miles away from Togo, the His influence and history with Togo gained the culture stays with him. From Elhor name fame and renown even to this day. the Togolese clothes his aunt “When I go to my village, we have to hide sends him every two months because everyone wants to talk to you, wants to to the Fufu and Akume, both touch you,” Elhor-Fitzgerald said. “If I do something traditional Togolese dishes, that

‘‘

his mother cooks for him, his time and family in Togo has always had an impact on his life and even on his work on campus.

In Togo, Fitzgerald visited a town in which the Togolese use large kilns to make pottery that’s shipped to the rest of the country, inspiring him to do ceramics in high school.

“I saw people just building these pots on wheels that they turn with their hands,” Fitzgerald said.

“I was thinking about what I would like to do and thinking back to what I saw in Togo and how these people worked and the beautiful stuff that was coming out of their kilns, and that’s basically how I decided to do pottery. I haven’t really incorporated into my actual work, but in the third trimester I’m hoping to do something with the voodoo figurines that you find just in random places all over the country.”

After seeing the kilns and the people of Togo, Fitzgerald learned to not take smaller things for granted as much anymore. His experiences in his Togo have influenced his perspective.

“When you go and live in a country for a year and a half where you don’t have hot running water, and you come back home and you boil water every day to pour on yourself during your shower, and you come back home and just turn on the spout and you have a hot water, it’s a little bit of a miracle,” Fitzgerald said. “One thing that experience has done for me is allowed me to be more thankful for stuff that I usually wouldn’t be thankful for and also put myself in other people’s shoes. Going to Togo and other countries has opened up my worldview a lot.”

STORY Sai Thirunagari, Luke Piazza PHOTOS Kyle Fisher, Courtesy Sylvie Elhor-Fitzgerald

ALL TOGETHER Every two to three years, Fitzgerald and his family visit Togo to see his grandfather and relatives.

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PARENT TEACHERS

Family business

MEET THE FAMILIES (From bottom left counterclockwise) For first grade teacher Teri Broom and her son Blake, math instructor Corey Martin and his son Luke, humanities instructor Tim Mank ‘87 and his son Carter and History and Social Sciences Department Chair David Fisher and his son Nat, school is just another place where they can interact with their family.

Some students here have their parents as teachers or have to see them everyday walking through the halls, bringing both pros and cons.

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or most students, school is an escape from home. But for a select few, it’s an extension of their family. Walking through the halls, they are greeted by their teacher – but it’s not just their teacher. It’s their parent. For eighth-grader Carter Mank, freshman Nat Fisher, sophomore Luke Martin and junior Blake Broom, there is little difference between school and home. They’re still accompanied by their loving parents, humanities instructor Tim Mank ‘87, History and Social Sciences Department Chair David Fisher, math instructor Corey Martin and first grade teacher Teri Broom respectively, but, ultimately, this is something they have all learned to deal with.

1

When they see him around, they’ll say, ‘Hey Nat, it’s your dad.’

My friends never really make jokes about my dad working here. Some of my classmates made jokes about me only getting in because of my dad, but nothing too bad.

There’s a lot of added pressure because he teaches history, so if I don’t do well in history they’ll say, ‘Well, your dad’s a history teacher. Why aren’t you doing well?’

He doesn’t really spy on me, but occasionally he’ll ask my teachers how I’m doing in class, or my teacher will go up to him and tell him how I’ve been doing. If I do anything good or anything bad, it usually gets to him somehow.

– Nat Fisher

2

I just like to help, whether my sons use it or not.

I’m just a resource to help them get that.

I think I’ve learned over the years, all students are different. They learn at different rates of speed, so what comes naturally for one is not always the same for others. I know all parents help their kids all the time, so it’s no different.

– Tim Mank ‘87 With my classmates, it could get annoying because one classmate tells me, ‘Hey, your dad made a joke about this.’ And then three more classmates are like, ‘Hey, dude, did you hear about that?’ I just hear it over and over.

I’d come home and hear my dad joking around about how one of my friends did something in class today. It almost made me feel like I was in that class a little bit.

– Carter Mank

3

If there’s any question if it’s easy to be the son of a faculty member, I think it’s the reverse.

I think it’s actually harder. There are expectations placed upon him, both by the community and his own parents, that are higher than the expectations that are placed on other kids. I’m not saying those expectations are fair, but they’re there.

That’s pretty hard to deal with on a daily basis, but Nat’s been dealing with this his whole life.

– David Fisher Sometimes at home, I’ll go to him and ask for help on history. He doesn’t really help me study. I usually study by myself.

It can be helpful having him here occasionally, but I don’t think it should be looked at any differently than the average student. It’s not as if I get any more benefits than any other student. It’s not every day that I go and ask him for help on homework or history. It’s just like being a normal kid.

– Nat Fisher

4

It’s been a gift being here because I’ve been able to see all his shows.

If he was at a different school, I might not be able to get time off from work to go see him, especially when he was young. It’s nice walking across campus and seeing him with his friends, and it’s really nice for me to be near him, even though I’m not with him throughout the day.

– Teri Broom I think it would be the same as any average parent.

There might have been a little more push to do well on things, especially because my mom was friends with some of my teachers. When I had Mr. [math instructor Jeffrey Hale] Hale, who’s friends with my mom, I would feel more pushed inside myself to do well on things because I want to make her feel proud.

– Blake Broom

5

One of the highlights of my career is the opportunity to have taught both of my boys.

Gabriel [Martin ‘18], my oldest son, was in my AP calculus class. A lot of people will say for a myriad of reasons and good ones, ‘Is that really a good idea? Is there a conflict of interest?’ I will have taught both of my sons twice. I don’t know too many other places where I would get that kind of opportunity.

For me, it’s great because I live with him, and I get to see the insight from a student’s perspective. Also, he and Gabriel have very different personalities. It’s been great for me and kind of eye-opening to be able to see that firsthand. The other thing is that I think it’s important that both of my sons have gotten to see firsthand what it is that I do and my level of preparation, professionalism and dedication. I think it’s important for them to witness that firsthand and not just hear about it, but actually see it and experience it.

– Corey Martin It’s not really annoying. I’m kind of used to it. At first, when I had him in eighth grade, it was kind of weird because people would be complaining about an assignment and it’s like, ‘Oh, my dad assigned that.’ But it can also be weird or annoying because people will ask me, ‘Does your dad bump your grades?’

– Luke Martin

STORY Will Pechersky, Peter Orsak PHOTO ILLUSTRATION Tyler Nussbaumer

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PITCHER Cassavechia and his son Jackson take a look at his old Baylor University baseball jersey, hanging on the wall in the hallway beside the Michel L. Mullen ’68 Weight Room.

AT THE OFFICE Cassavechia works at his desk at the new real-estate company he founded, Old House Capital.

ENTREPRENEUR

Home plate to real estate After playing Minor League baseball and then working for real estate firms, Nick Cassavechia ’04 has started his own business, Old House Capital.

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s a senior, Nick Cassavechia ’04 had no idea where his sports career would lead him.

The head of the Spurs, sports editor for The ReMarker and a varsity and basketball player, he had no idea he’d pitch for the Baylor Bears in college and go on to the minor league.

No idea he’d find himself working in the real estate business.

But throughout his journey, he had always wanted to start something from scratch — something uniquely his own. And now, he has accomplished that goal by founding his own company: Old House Capital.

••• Cassavechia attended Baylor University and played baseball there throughout his undergraduate studies, earning a business management degree.

When he graduated in 2008, he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers and played Minor League Baseball until 2010.

“Once my baseball career was coming to an end, I was trying to figure out what to do professionally and limited my options to either financial planning or real estate, mainly because a lot of people advised me that that’s where a lot of athletes chose to go,” Cassavechia said. “I ended up networking with a lot of people in Dallas and showbiz real estate.”

Cassavechia acquired a job and spent a few years at commercial real estate company HFF. He then decided he wanted to own and sell buildings, so he joined Quadrant Investment Properties and worked there for three years.

After buying multiple Dallas office buildings, Cassavechia left Quadrant Investment Properties and ran an investment firm called Frontier Equity.

“A month and a half ago I decided that I want to

go do it off on my own, so that’s when I started Old House Capital,” Cassavechia said.

When Cassavechia felt he had the ability to take on this challenge by himself as he always wanted to, he didn’t hesitate to begin.

“I’ve always wanted to build something from the ground up in the type of way I wanted and the type of culture that I wanted to do it,” Cassavechia said. “With my experience at Quadrant and Frontier, I had the experience, great mentors and relationships to go do it on my own.”

Fear naturally came along with the decision to start his own company, but Cassavechia felt he had the proper tools and experience to do so.

“The hardest part about doing it is probably just the fear factor of actually going off and seeing what you can make on your own without someone else, a salary and some level of comfort,” Cassavechia said. “The relationships in the market, both from the brokers community [and] the people who are sourcing a lot of the investment opportunities, the relationships from the lending sources and the equity are the big components.”

Cassavechia looked to his mentors to prepare for the challenges of starting his own business.

“The best part about being in the professional world is there’s no plagiarism,” Cassavechia said.

“You could go to the people who’ve done extremely well, who started their own companies and are successful and learn from their roadmap of how they did it.”

Two things in particular helped Cassavechia prepare for the challenges of going out on his own.

“One was just a good network of mentors who had done it before and understanding what worked

and what did not work,” Cassavechia said. “Number two, probably just becoming financially stable and understanding all those implications.”

Cassavechia officially started his own company Oct. 1, focusing on office and industrial properties.

“I got my first deal — my first investment under contract that’s scheduled to close Dec. 17,” Cassavechia said. “It’s a seven-million-dollar industrial property in Dallas.”

Setting goals for the future, Cassavechia hopes to expand the company into a variety of investment areas The relationships at as he continues to succeed St. Mark’s, either my with his business. friends’ parents or “The long term plan is the administration, to have a bunch of different really provided a lot of support and a good investment verticals and not network for when just real estate,” Cassavechia I did come back to said, “So real estate, oil and Dallas after playing gas, private equity, hedge baseball. I was able to tap into that alumni fund, stocks and bonds network. long term. Within the real Nick Cassavechia ’04 estate, it’s just continuing to find good investment opportunities, good value, and add investment opportunities in the real estate arena.”

Through his journey after his school career, Cassavechia carries on important lessons learned from his time at 10600 Preston Rd, and values them greatly.

“I think the integrity side, always doing the right thing absolutely no matter what was one thing,” Cassavechia said. “I think through the professors and mentors within St. Mark’s that it’s just really not [a] compromise of always doing the right thing and doing it to the best of your ability.”

REUNION On April 27 this year, Cassavechia and his wife, Kristen, hosted the Class of ’04’s 15th reunion dinner at their house.

“

STORY Sai Thirunagari, Will Pechersky PHOTOS Courtesy Nick Cassavechia ’04

Annual McDonald’s Week postponed, official dates remain unknown

by Trevor Crosnoe cDonald’s Week has been postponed until further notice.

The event was supposed to take place from Nov. 18 – 21, but due to the tornado it has been delayed.

Junior Co-Chair Gabe Bines specified that while the event has been postponed, it will still occur.

“It’s been delayed until a later unknown

M

date, but it will happen,” Bines said.

“And we are very excited for when it does eventually happen.”

Although the impact of the tornado on McDonald’s Week was difficult for Bines, after he overcame the initial shock of the incident, he immediately regrouped and thought about possibilities for the future.

“I was very upset,” Bines said, “but I knew that we were going to have

McDonald’s Week in some form, so I was thinking about how to address the issue.”

According to Bines, the new event date will depend on safety concerns and the reconstruction of the general area McDonald’s is located in, which was heavily affected by the tornado.

“We’re waiting for everything to open back up in the southeast corner of the Preston Royal shopping center, so it’s safe

for students to walk to McDonald’s,” Bines said. “But as of now we don’t know when that’s going to happen.

While Bines does recognize the setback caused by the tornado, he is still optimistic about the future of McDonald’s Week.

“Now we have plenty of time to improve on our ideas and design,” Bines said. “So, when it does eventually happen, it’s going to be great.”

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LITERARY FESTIVAL

Something to write home about With the annual Literary Festival approaching, we look ahead to the visiting writers and reveal the contest winners.

T

he Literary Festival, the annual celebration of the literary arts, has been set for Jan. 16 and 17. Each year, four or five guest speakers come to school to talk with students about the literary arts and their careers.

Four guest writers will present to the school and visit with individual classes: award-winning children’s author Sandra Cisneros, poet Frederick Turner, nonfiction writer Dawn Davies and The New Yorker magazine editor Sharan Shetty ’09, who served as a ReMarker writer for two years.

Cisneros is well-known for her book The House on Mango Street and is a pioneering writer for the MexicanAmerican, or Chicano, community.

Frederick Turner is a several-time Nobel Prize nominee and author of more than 30 books, including epic poems, translations and science fiction. He is currently a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Dawn Davies’s memoir Mothers of Sparta has won several indie book awards.

This collection of essays offers a series of clear, poignant windows into the trials of

her life.

Sharan Shetty ’09 is an associate editor of The New Yorker. He’s written on topics from politics to media to medicine.

Junior Max Palys is student chair for the event. He is assisted by co-chairs Ekansh Tambe, Alex Geng and Henry Schecter, all sophomores.

Thursday will focus on freshmen and sophomores and Friday will focus on juniors and seniors.

On Thursday, there will be an evening writers forum for the adult community of the school.

Students also had the opportunity to submit pieces of writing for a school competition. There is one winner from each category: fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Instead of cash prizes, winners will have the chance to meet personally with the guest who selected his work and escort the writer throughout the festival.

Additionally, the winners will dine with all guest writers and Headmaster David Dini, Head of Upper School Colin Igoe, festival sponsor David Brown and festival student leadership.

THE ROSTER (Clockwise, above, from top left) writers Sandra Cisneros, Frederick Turner, Sharan Shetty ’09 and Dawn Davies will speak to the Upper School Jan. 16 and 17.

Sandra Cisneros

Novelist, Short Story Writer, Poet, Essayist, Performer and Artist

Frederick Turner Poet and Professor

Sharan Shetty ’09 Journalist

Dawn Davies

And the winner is...

The following pieces and writers were selected over Thanksgiving break as Literary Festival competition winners.

Fiction

“The Question of the Lotus”

by Nick Kowalske Nonfiction “A Pocket Full of Mumbles”

by Jamie Mahowald Poetry “Sensation”

by Nick Kowalske

Memoirist

STORY Will Pechersky PHOTOS Courtesy Max Palys, Creative Commons

Campus construction: buildings, roofs to be restored to original state, water damage still being assessed

by Axel Icazbalceta earburg Hall and the Chapel will be restored to their pre-tornado condition, while a renovation of Decherd Performance Hall is still under discussion, according to Associate Headmaster John Ashton.

“The Chapel and Nearburg will look the same; both buildings will have new copper roofs put on them,” Ashton said.

“As for Hicks Athletic Center and the damaged buildings in Fine Arts, we have been in initial conversations to revisit our campus Master Plan to begin to think about how those spaces might change in the future to meet program needs.”

Long term plans, such as a possible reconstruction of the Fine Arts area, are uncertain at the moment. This decision will take into account the differences between the construction times between the distinctive parts of the Fine Arts area.

The western portion, including Decherd and the Black Box, was constructed in the 1970s, while the eastern part, including the band and orchestra rooms, was constructed in the 1980s. Nonetheless, any renovation plans have to be approved by the Board of Trustees.

“Decherd currently is maxing out of capacity with Upper School,” Ashton said. “So we might imagine a larger building or something like that. Even if we go in that direction, that decision has yet to be made because that’s a decision that also has to be made at the governance level, at the trustee level and with additional school leadership.”

The near future of Decherd, however, is focused on safety and functionality, specifically on the roofing of the building.

“The goal is to get Decherd and the Black Box Theatre safe and functional while we decide the future possibilities for those buildings,” Ashton said.

N

“We’re in a period right now where the priority is to be operational. Right now, it has a temporary roof on it with tarps and some decking, but we’re making decisions now about installing more permanent solutions and determining what that material might consist of.”

While plans for the future of Decherd are still being made, Ashton hopes for the building to be ready for classes and activities to resume sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.

However, the timetable is still fluid.

“So if we were to say ‘go’ right away and knew the material we wanted to use,” Ashton said, “there could be a two to three week time lapse necessary to order material and determine the work schedule. Our hope is that a more permanent roof will be on the building before Christmas, but there’s no guarantee that that’s going to happen.”

Apart from obvious destruction to roofs, such as those of the Chapel and Decherd, other roofs suffered damage which cannot be seen with the naked eye from the ground.

According to American Dream Restoration, when wind lifts up the shingles of a roof during a storm, this loosens the nails and could break the sealant between different levels of shingling, leading to an increased probability of a leak. As a result, there has been water damage to roofs and walls, currently being assessed, including possible damage to the organ.

“Part of the west-facing side of the [Cecil and Ida Green] Library, that roof actually lifted, and then set back down,” Ashton said. “So there’s damage along that side and there’s a lot of pencil-hole penetrations in some of the roofs as well.

There are literally two men walking every roof and doing pull-up tests and penetration tests and other types of testing just to assess each roof on campus.”

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GLOBAL HUMAN

Around the world

Instructor awarded for service after hurricane

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Before beginning his work here, History and Social Sciences Department Chair David Fisher caught the travel bug.

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orty years ago he was sitting at a desk in the Philippines next to kids from over 65 countries.

Thirty years ago he was on the other side of the room, teaching his old classes in his old classrooms with his old instructors.

Twenty years ago he had just left Argentina and began to jump from school to school across the world from the Philippines to Bangladesh to Oman.

Ten years ago he was starting a family in Malaysia, growing as a teacher and officially finishing his teacher training.

But today he is teaching history and economics in room C227, bringing years of experience and culture into the classroom.

•••

Born in 1965 to an American father and Spanish mother, History and Social Sciences Department Chair David Fisher grew up in Manila, the capital of the Philippines and a city filled with intrigue: Hurricanes and typhoons and earthquakes every other year. A redlight district around the corner from his school. Political instability and mandated party songs praising the country’s dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

After bouncing back and forth between the International School of Manila and the Philippines’ school system, Fisher realized that, with the rest of his siblings having graduated and moved out, he didn’t want the full focus of his parents on him during high school.

The solution? Boarding school in the United States.

A few years later, Fisher and his senior friends had a plan. They decided to tell the monks at Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island that they were heading to the “bookstore” in Providence. In reality, they were going out to see U2 perform at Brown University, not exactly a Roman Catholic-approved band.

After a long night, they returned and were met with a few choice words from the monks.

How was the rock concert?

“But that was exactly the sort of freedom I wanted,” Fisher said. “I loved the idea of nobody really being on my back. I could simply take off and be gone for a day.”

Although he never found out exactly how the monks knew, he soon learned out that he had been accepted to Harvard where he received his B.A. in History and even greater freedom.

After four years at Harvard, however, Fisher returned to the Philippines to teach at the very same International School of Manila(ISM) where he spent much of his childhood.

Teaching alongside the same teachers who once taught him, Fisher finished his first year with a tumultuous close as he realized he’d made a critical mistake.

The first few days are quiet. Too quiet. The normally bustling streets lie empty, and the murmurs of car engines are slowly replaced with the roar of machine gun fire and the sudden boom from rebel explosives. It’s 1989.

A coup has broken out. Two sides take to the stage: the remaining army loyal to President Corazon Aquino attempt to break the perimeter established by the rebelling soldiers, led by Colonel

by Will Pechersky rnold E. Holtberg Master Teacher Scott Hunt won the Texas Humanitarian Service Medal for his service in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

This award is given to a service member who has supported an area that has been affected by some sort of adversity.

His second time receiving the award, it was a surprise to Hunt, who expected something much less significant for his service.

“I didn’t know until I got to Fort Hood,” Hunt said, “and the OCS commander – who’s a St. Mark’s alumnus – was like, ‘By the way, we have something for you.’ I figured it was a baseball cap or a t-shirt, but they called the formation and presented the commendation.”

Hunt initially reacted to receiving the award with amusement at the amount of time since he had actually completed this service.

“I kind of laughed because it’s funny that it took two years for that to come around,” Hunt said, “but at the same time, I was also grateful that even though I’m not currently serving, the state and the organization sought to make sure that my contributions were acknowledged.”

Deployed for two weeks, Hunt spent a significant amount of time away from home while he was serving in the aftermath of the hurricane. Hunt wasn’t given much time to relax until after he had worked for two weeks straight.

“I was deployed for 14 or 15 days, and then I was on standby for another two weeks after that,” Hunt said.

“At the end of two weeks, I was given 48 hours leave, and then they were going to redeploy me. At that point though, things started settling down a little bit, so I returned to Dallas, but I was technically activated for a month.”

Hunt began serving later in his life than most.

“I joined very late in life,” Hunt said, “but it was one of those things where I got into my early 40s, and I was like, ‘Okay, what haven’t I done that I wish I had done.’

Serving was one of those things.”

When Hunt began to pursue the commitment, he wasn’t expecting to serve for as long as he did. Serving ended up becoming a major part of Hunt’s life.

“I started trying to find a way to serve and imagined that I would do it for four years and see what I thought,” Hunt said. “I ended up doing it for eight years and really enjoyed it.”

A CHANGE OF SCENERY Fisher was able go from scaling the Jebel Shams mountains to scuba diving in the Gulf of Oman in the same day during his time at the American British Academy in Muscat, Oman.

Gregorio Honasan, former General Jose he studied politics at the Institute of Zumel and General Edgardo Abenina.

Political Studies in Paris to pass the time But also inside the perimeter is before returning to the United States to Fisher, tucked away in his apartment study journalism at Berkeley and then after having decided not to evacuate moving overseas again with his nowfor what was the third coup in wife to teach abroad. recent years.

First was the Lincoln Standing atop his roof, American-International One has to realize that students, Fisher looks down on the School in Argentina before educational systems, chaos, watching and waiting leaving to get a degree in teaching technology as tensions between the education. Then back to are always changing. two factions heightened ISM and on to the American One has to evolve with every bullet. But this British Academy in Oman, with them and adapt to new is Philippine politics, where the American International circumstances. showmanship is key. At School Dhaka in Bangladesh David Fisher that moment, however, and the International he realizes that while the School of Kuala Lumpur in two sides aren’t out for blood, a man Malaysia. standing atop a high vantage point in the For many, traveling for work is a middle of a coup looks a bit suspicious, chore, but for Fisher, being able to scuba and he quickly retreats back downstairs dive in the morning, mountain climb a to the safety of his apartment, knowing few hours later and meet students from that one discerning eye could have been all over the world in Oman was a plus. the end of him.

After a few years in Malaysia, Fisher A few days later there is a new noise. decided it was time to move back to American F-4 Phantom IIs screech across the United States. Joining the faculty in the sky. No bombs. No fighting. Within 2016, Fisher may not be traveling now, a few hours the coup collapses, letting but continues to pursue his passions for Fisher walk free after a week of chaos. politics and foreign relations on campus “It was the most amazing sound and refine his instruction day to day.

I had ever heard,” Fisher said. “We’re “I [will] stay because I enjoy what talking about jets flying just a couple I do and continue to experience new hundred feet above your head, and that things and learn and improve as an was a very exciting moment.” educator,” Fisher said.

But it was time to move on. After two years of teaching Fisher met his future wife and returned to her home STORY Luke Piazza, Darren Xi PHOTOS Courtesy David Fisher in France. Without much else to do,

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3

Languages spoken

7

Schools

2

Degrees

THE TRAIL LESS TRAVELED When not teaching at the International School of Kuala Lumpur, Fisher enjoyed the simplicity of Malaysia’s geography and lifestyle.

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

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15

HOLIDAYS

‘Tis the season

Holiday celebrations come in all shapes and sizes. Fourth graders Jack Wilson, Ferris Gottlich, Tripp Brady, Paxton Allen and Wes Jackson share some of the fun times experienced with their families.

Cristian Pereira: What are your Christmas Eve traditions?

Jack Wilson: We call it early Christmas. So basically we go to my grandma's house and we do gingerbread houses. We open a few presents early, because my cousins go to Corpus Christi every year to see their meemaw.

Ferris Gottlich: I celebrate White Christmas. We go on an hour drive to go to someone's house to be able to do it. It's really fun, but it's tough. So you get all of these presents and whenever it's your turn, you can either keep your things or you can take someone else's. And it keeps on going, so you could get a really good thing, but they could take it and then you don't have a good thing anymore. But you can take it back.

Tripp Brady: So I go to church every Christmas Eve, and then I go out to dinner with my grandmother and my mom and my dad.

Paxton Allen: Most of the time, except for when I was a baby, I go home and I relax for like 15 to 30 minutes, and then I just play video games.

And then on Christmas Eve and the day before Christmas Eve, we usually have some people over, our cousins spend the night and then the next morning we wake up at six and go get presents for our parents. They’re always too lazy to get up. We just start yelling and then they wake up.

Wes Jackson: We always go to our cousin's house or we all stay at our house. We have our family and friends over to have a feast before Christmas.

CP: What do the holidays mean to you?

JW: The holidays to me are spending time with family and opening presents and drinking eggnog and making cookies and making churro puffs and early Christmas and games and TV and Christmas movies like Elf and The Santa Clause and Die Hard.

PA: Presents, spending time with family and watching TV. I like to play video games and, the day before and the day of Christmas, we always play. We just play the whole day.

FG: Christmas to me is spending time with my family because we do it every year. We go over to my grandma's house and she's already wrapped all the presents and put them upstairs. We all have to bring all the presents down and put them under the Christmas tree. It’s really fun because I get to spend time with all my cousins.

SINGING CAROLS After finishing their lunch, Paxton Allen (left) and Ferris Gottlich (right) discuss their favorite holiday songs.

CP: For those of you who celebrate holidays other than Christmas such as Hanukkah, what do you do to celebrate?

SG: It's a huge family tradition but my family doesn’t do it. I go and say prayers for myself and I sometimes do imaginary candles.

WJ: We have seven days of celebrating and it's just like Christmas, but every day is one day and you celebrate with your family. There’s seven days for Kwanzaa, and on Kwanzaa you just go to someone’s house and eat.

STORY Luke Piazza, Cristian Pereira PHOTO Jerry Zhao

IN THE SPIRIT From left to right, fourth graders Wes Jackson, Tripp Brady, Paxton Allen, David Waterman, Ferris Gottlich, Jack Wilson, Sawyer Goldstein and Charlie Tholking (left to right) gather in the Grandparents’ Courtyard.

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EDUCATION FINANCES

Financial freedom

Many seniors face the challenges of financing their college experience in the 21st century, and on campus, administrators look to improve access and affordability.

by the numbers

1.56 trillion dollars of total student loan debt in US

$28,650 Class of 2017 average debt burden

44.7 million U.S. borrowers with student loan debt

119.31 billion dollars of total outstanding private student loan debt

85.4 billion dollars of total outstanding student loan debt in Texas

2.9 million borrowers with student loan debt in Texas SOURCE: FORBES, NERDWALLET

ll he could manage to say that night was that he got in. After the extra hours spent studying for a physics test, the dozens of standardized tests he had taken, Shane Ndeda ‘19 had gotten into his dream school: University of Southern California (USC).

But after that night, after the euphoria had died down, Ndeda had a choice.

A choice that would alter his whole life, and his family’s life. $77,459 per year in college tuition stared Ndeda in the face, and as he looked at the price tag again and again, USC felt farther and farther away.

Flying under the radar was the fact that Ndeda had also gotten into UT Austin, but it wasn’t his first choice.

Shane faced a decision that many seniors must grapple with when they prepare to go off to college. The decision is different for everyone, but one thing is the same.

It’s always a hard, one-way decision.

Shane Ndeda ’19

L

Turned down dream school for full ride at UT Austin

ike many students in his class, Ndeda had a lot of choices to make regarding college. From what degree to pursue to the prospects of graduate school, the factors to decide where to go were more than GPA. For Ndeda, his eight-year-old brother Tyler’s college aspirations are also on his mind.

“I didn’t want to be selfish as the firstborn and consume all the money for college,” Ndeda said.

“I want to be able to put my brother in an equal or even better educational Shane Ndeda ’19 position.”

Los Angeles seemed like the perfect spot for Ndeda.

Warm beaches, lots of new people to talk to and learn from and great programs to boot.

However, he made the decision to instead enroll at UT Austin. Ndeda says even though he missed out on some programs at USC, his education experience has not been affected.

“No matter where you go you have to put in the work,” Ndeda said. “If you think you’re set up for life just because of the name on your degree, there’s gonna be people behind looking for that exact same position.”

Ndeda believes students at 10600 Preston Road should not take their relative wealth for granted and deeply consider how their college affects the finances of their families.

“Just because you go to St. Mark’s and you’re well-optimized for college does not mean you should take your wealth for granted,” Ndeda said. “Always choose the program over the school because employers care more about the program.”

Abdullah Akbar ’18

F

National merit scholarship to UTD

or Abdullah Akbar ‘18, who’s currently on a National Merit Scholarship at the University of Texas at Dallas, finances were always “in the back of [his] mind,” but the pull of big name schools Akbar had been accepted to — namely Georgia Tech for computer science — kept him in two minds.

“To be honest, I made the decision to go to UTD on the last possible day,” Akbar said.

“May 1, I decided to go to UTD instead of UT or Georgia Tech.

I’d known about the scholarship for a few months, so that was playing a big role in my mind.”

Abdullah Akbar ’18 After planning a future including graduate school, Akbar’s decision was clear.

“If I take a full-ride for an undergraduate

program right now,” Akbar said, “I can save my money from undergrad and pay — or help pay — for grad school. That definitely played a factor in choosing a financially viable option.”

Additionally, Akbar chose to keep his parents’ money out of the equation, and although he was never barred from using his parents’ funds, Akbar wanted to avoid that.

“My parents said they would support me financially if I decided to go to UT or Georgia Tech,” Akbar said, “but in the end, I thought it would make sense to not put a financial strain on them right now.”

Ultimately, Akbar doesn’t regret turning down prestigious universities.

“I applied to Carnegie Mellon and MIT,” Akbar said. “If I had gotten into those places — even without a scholarship — I would have seriously considered it just because we grow up with these ideas that ‘You have to go to these top universities.’ Looking back on it, it’s definitely the right option. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to go to an Ivy League school or even going to an Ivy League school, but sometimes you have to look into financial options.”

Director of College Counseling Veronica Pulido: Financial consideration for students Wallace White: How do you advise students on financial matters in the application process?

Veronica Pulido: The financial piece is definitely a part of the admission cycle. So on the front end, there are a lot of costs associated with the college process, such as application fees and test scores. We want to make sure just to be financially responsible on the front end.

And then on the back end in terms of looking at college costs, they are quite extensive for any family, regardless of resources. And so I think it is a family decision when it comes down to the very end with saying, “Okay these are my choices and options.” It really becomes a family decision as it’s going to be something that our family can do to send me as a student to a college.

WW: What is FAFSA in your own words?

VP: If a student wants to be considered for

need-based financial aid, the student would then submit financial documents. The first one is the FAFSA, and it’s called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. That will qualify students for all federal funding through a college or university. Some colleges will also ask for the CSS Profile, which is another document through college board. Once the college has the forms, then they will designate how much money they can offer a family. It could include work studies and grant money from the university which is the free money that the student doesn’t repay.

WW: Can you explain how scholarships work for students?

VP: Individual scholarships, whether it’s through a college or university, is going to be the first and foremost way in terms of being able for students to get the most opportunity for a scholarship.

So for instance if it is a school-sponsored

scholarship, they tend to give a little more money than potentially an outside scholarship that the student would apply for separately. However, we do encourage students to look at each individual college and figure out what is potentially available for that school. We do have students that will apply to schools’ specific scholarships, through their college or university, but also if they want to take Veronica Pulido College Counselor advantage of scholarship websites that is another avenue. Outside scholarships, potentially can be smaller, but they do have the option of being larger. So it is definitely something that we help the students with on an individual basis to make sure that there are looking at all their financial needs and resources and do the best we can to pay for college.

full-ride scholarships Morehead-Cain University of North Carolina Jefferson University of Virginia Forty Acres Scholars UT Austin McDermott Scholarship UT Dallas President’s Scholars Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mork Family University of Southern California (USC) Robertson Scholars Duke and University of North Carolina

The co an edu

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

PERSPECTIVES

Jackson Morris

W

Plans to pay half of college tuition

hen senior Jackson Morris sat down “That’s a huge advantage,” Morris with his parents to make his first said. “Obviously, college prices have college list at the end of his junior year, skyrocketed in recent years, and that’s the most important factor in his decision a big problem for the generation above making process was money. us and our generation. To me, I would “Finances were a pretty definitely take advantage of big part of my decision opportunities like that.” because I’m paying for half With rising expectations of my college. My parents from parents hoping for their are paying for the other children to go the top ranked half,” Morris said. “For me, schools at no expense, Morris the benefit of the schools credits his parents for being like reputation wasn’t as supportive throughout the Jackson Morris senior important to me as the whole process. financial aspect and getting a “A lot of people’s parents good deal.” are really encouraging them to go for Looking to get a scholarship at schools with really good reputation,” either UT Austin or UT Dallas, Morris Morris said, “but I would really credit my understands the advantage a debt-free parents for my support. They were really undergraduate experience. looking with me to help me decide what kind of experience I wanted.

That really helped reduce the pressure.”

Since both of his parents paid for their college experiences and saw this as an opportunity that prepared them for the real world, Morris feels comfortable with paying for half.

“I think my parents saw people who went to college on their parents’ money and were not taking it seriously,” Morris said. “My parents want to contribute and help me, but they also want me to feel that responsibility. If you go live on your own and you have had everything paid for, I don’t think you’re getting as much as you could.”

Now finishing the college process, Morris advises others to not get wrapped up in rankings.

“It’s important to do your due diligence on what degree programs and what schools are best for what you want to do,” Morris said. “It’s easy to get caught up in this sort of stigma surrounding going to a good college at this school specifically. It’s obviously really impressive to go to an Ivy League school, but it’s not seen as an impressive achievement to get a full ride at a less prestigious university.”

Garrett Davis

Access and affordability at 10600 Preston Rd.

With access and affordability being an important topic in the college search, there has been an increased emphasis on the issue here on campus. eadmaster David Dini has started to revamp the school’s approach to financial aid, focusing on what the school can do to make sure it is receiving the best students from across the Dallas area and beyond.

“It’s been a huge priority for the school for a long time, but I think it has been increasing focus in the past few years and we’re devoting a lot more time, energy and attention to it and now,” Dini said.

Scheduled to meet with Roxbury Latin and Groton School before the tornado hit campus, Dini as well as other administrators have rescheduled their meeting for the beginning of the year to learn about the successes of access and affordability programs at other top schools across the country.

“We want to talk to schools and evaluate opportunities that maybe David Dini haven’t been considered before Eugene McDermott Headmaster and think about how to address affordability access, expanding the pipeline of potential students who could come to St. Mark’s,” Dini said. “Our goal is to go look at and talk about those kinds of experience in other schools and think about the implication for that here.”

Giving each applicant the most equal opportunity when it comes to finances, Dini wants to have every boy who is well qualified to become part of the school community no matter the socioeconomic background.

“Our goal from an enrollment standpoint is obviously to identify boys who we believe will thrive, contribute and would take the The more resources and the experience to make a people we positive difference in the world,” Dini said. can attract, “Right now, there are financial barriers to who are that, and we want to do everything we can to contributsignificantly improve our emphasis on access ing members of this and affordability.” commuAccording to Chief Financial Officer nity, the Suzanne Townsend, there are more financial better.” burdens for Marksmen and their families than Suzanne Townsend just tuition.

Chief “We’d love to cast a broader net in the Financial larger Dallas community,” Townsend said.

Officer “But in order to do that, we have to be able to support families and their students when they come here.”

Plans to attend medical school s a freshman taking biology instructor Scholarship Corporation. Davis was one Mark Adame’s class, senior Garrett of 26 seniors recognized as a National Davis developed a goal transcending his Merit semifinalist for his performance on time at 10600 Preston Rd. the exam. Beyond the mere distinction, To eventually attend medical school the achievement provides great financial and — like both of his parents — become opportunity for Davis. a doctor.

“Well the biggest Years later, Davis’ aspirations thing is getting National remain. But as he applies to different Merit, a lot of the state undergraduate schools, his plans for schools will give you great medical school could have a tremendous scholarships for that, and impact on his decision. The possibility of then there are also schools ost of eight years at full tuition weighs on his that have scholarships for ucation mind, pushing him to pursue different National Merit but with Garrett Davis scholarship options. more application processes,” senior “I know I want to go to medical Davis said. “Most of the school, at least that’s the plan right schools were good about now,” Davis said. “That’s going to be reaching out, and other than that I found another four years of tuition, and medical them on my own.” schools don’t look at prestige as much as Davis advises his fellow Marksmen interviewers will for jobs if I was going to consider the importance of fit and straight out of undergraduate. So if I opportunity rather than simply prestige. already know I’m paying for eight years “If your plan is to go to graduate of tuition, taking four of those years at a school, then you should base your lesser cost or free — when it’s still a good undergraduate decision less of prestige education — will be fine for med school because graduate schools don’t care as admissions and much better for me.” much for admissions processes,” Davis Every year, sophomores and said. “It’s more about the experience and juniors take the PSAT, a standardized what you’re willing to pay than how much test cosponsored by the National Merit prestige gets you.”

A

H

“

Dini understands that the more access the school can give to families in need, then the stronger group of young men will make up a class at 10600 Preston Rd. “Schools have used those programs very successfully to strengthen the college because they’re getting stronger students, and it increases the overall quality and strength of the institution as a whole,”Dini said.

There is an occasional stigma surrounding the school’s affordability. Townsend believes that notion is steadily diminishing.

“I think a lot of times there’s a perception that even if their son was admitted to St. Mark’s, they might not be able to afford tuition here,” Townsend said. “When we grow our endowment, we will be able to broadcast the message even further into the community that we can help.”

At the end of the day, Dini is continuing to find ways to increase the school’s access and affordability to allow every student the opportunity to enroll here without worrying about finances.

“An education is the one thing in life that nobody can never take away from you,” Dini said. “I think something that schools, colleges, universities, need to be really mindful of is the cost. You haven’t necessarily seen this same pressure on schools that you’ve seen on colleges, although I think that’s something that’s coming, and there’s a limited number of families that can afford to pay really significant tuition.”

STORY Sam Ahmed, Colin Campbell, Siddhartha Sinha, Wallace White GRAPHIC Charlie Rubarth

Financial statistics at two schools administrators scheduled to visit

Grotton School

42

percent of students on financial aid

46

thousand dollars of average grant

58

thousands of dollars of tuition (boarding)

45

thousands of dollars of tuition (day)

7.2

millions of dollars financial aid budget

Roxbury Latin School

35

thousands of dollars of tuition

60

percent of total education cost is tuition

68

percent of other Boston-area schools’ tuitions

5

case studies on their website to show exactly how much a family would be expected to pay.

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18

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

10600

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY

A day in the life of a grandson

UMBRELLAS NECESSARY With campus peppered by rain, guests were forced to resort to covered walkways and indoor alternatives.

Grandparents and special guests made their way on campus Nov. 22, engaging in both classes and a series of activities.

BACK IN CLASS Leading a class discussion, English instructor Geoffrey Stanbury engages grandparents and grandchildren alike in his seventh period senior AP English language and literature

WARM WELCOME Greeted in Nearburg Hall, special guests received a campus map and their student’s schedules before an address from Headmaster David Dini in the Great Hall.

ALL SMILES Sitting in math instructor Paul Mlakar’s algebra class, sophomore Max Chuang and his grandparents collaborate on a classroom activity.

MORNING ROUTINE Freshman Roome Becker guides his grandfather from the parking lot past Nearburg Hall to his first period class early in the morning.

FEASTING Plates cleared, freshman Shreyan Daulat and his grandfather finish up their Thanksgiving-style lunch in the Great Hall.

PHOTOS Evan Lai, Charlie Rose

CULTURE THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

Musician

Chorister

Bugs

Junior Vatsal Vemuri and his various accomplishments in piano.

Senior All-State Tenor Camp Collins reflects on his historic career.

Creative Director Cristian Pereira reviews a smattering of foods featuring edible insects.

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19

#METOO

The artists and their work

him to be probably the most distasteful of them all, because he was able to ruin the careers of several people when they wouldn’t give in.”

Large film As resistance to sexual assault becomes increasingcompanies like ly visible in entertainment and the arts, what do we Miramax, which the do with a good artist who makes bad choices?

Weinstein brothers founded in 1979, often ut his music’s still good. operate by buying films from film festivals and Every conversation on this issue releasing them under the Miramax or Weinstein seems to roll with a continual stream of company label, so many of those films initially negatives: had no connection to the Weinstein and his But he’s a sleazy guy. brother’s several companies.

But he’s a genius.

“Every time Miramax or the Weinstein But he’s ruined lives.

Company comes up, and I see it,” Gilbert said, But he’s not the only one. “it does make me pause and think, ‘Do I really A complete severance of the art from the want to watch this film again?’ But at the same artist’s personality is, of course, impossible. But time, for the filmmakers who actually made no man’s work is ever entirely his doing, either. that film, it’s not their fault that the head of the In the wake of the #MeToo movement, can company that is exhibiting it turned out to be we let anything slide? an accused rapist.”

••• Film studies instructor Jennifer Gilbert As for the artists themselves, Gilbert says remembers a series of rumors surrounding film no amount of skill or credibility can negate mogul and convicted sexual assaulter Harvey an disreputable background. For example, in Weinstein in her time in Los Angeles from 2000 1978, director Roman Polanski was convicted to 2003, not necessarily on the subject of sexual on several charges of statutory rape, but he fled assault, but rather that he was an unsavory the same year and has lived across Europe in figure to work with in general. countries without extradition treaties with the “Because [Weinstein] had so much power United States. in the industry,” Gilbert said, “I actually find “I think if you’re committing crimes, and

B

GRAY AREA Can an artist with unsettling intentions or traits still be praised for producing high-quality work?

you’re a sexual predator,” Gilbert said, “you need to be in jail. You don’t need to be making art anymore. It doesn’t matter how much of a genius you are, and Roman Polanski is a great example of that. He was convicted, but then he escaped to Europe. And he’s been making films ever since.”

But with an art form like film, according to Gilbert, hundreds of moving parts contribute to the project’s eventual success.

“It’s not just one person’s vision,” Gilbert said, “even though somebody like Roman Polanski might be at the helm — there are hundreds of other people who work on it. So do you ignore those films after they’ve come out because new allegations have come out on one person?”

Gilbert has noticed an increasing trend toward the accountability of offenders in the last five years especially, citing the example of director Bryan Singer, a recent target of allegations.

“There are definitely people in Hollywood who say, ‘I’m not working with this person anymore,’” Gilbert said. “And I think that’s been a big change in the industry in the last five years. Because before people would say, ‘Yes, he’s a slimeball, but he makes a lot of money, so we’re going to keep hiring that person.’ But because there’s such a backlash against that, because audiences will boycott films by certain people or with certain people, that’s changing.”

••• Anthony Vintcent Fine Arts Department Chair Marion Glorioso likewise pays careful attention to her choosing what art she

appreciates and what she ignores.

“You’ve got to think of every person who ever laid down a beat, played the piano or guitar or saxophone, held the camera,” Glorioso said. “All the professionals who went into making that album are also a part of that collaborative and creative process and are still reaping the benefits of those royalties from those purchases.”

But the distinction between a good artist and a bad person is still an area of conflict, especially when the work is noteworthy.

“For me personally, I really struggle with, for example, someone like Kevin Spacey,” Glorioso said. “Some of the acting work he’s done and some of the films he’s been in are exceptional. He is a good actor. But I am now unable to watch him without thinking about what he has done.”

Glorioso recalls circumstances in which she needed to navigate the waters of the entertainment industry with caution, especially with people in positions of power.

“I have been in situations where directors used their power and authority to manipulate the audition process and built personal relationships with actors in order to muddy the waters of what was professionally appropriate,” Glorioso said. “I’m not going to say it’s a common practice, but I do think that when you work as closely as people work in the arts, you spend so much time together that the lines of appropriateness can get murky for people.”

But when deciding to support art made by a disagreeable figure, Glorioso considers both the person at the helm as well as all those working under him.

“Now, I would not be able to work with someone who I knew had done something illegal or brought physical or Marion Glorioso emotional harm to someone,” Anthony Vintcent Fine Arts Glorioso said. “Now that I have Department Chair more life experience those lines are very clear for me. I can see how they are blurry for others, though, who may continue to work for someone who has been accused of a crime. This is where I will exercise my purchasing power going forward.“ If someone is compromising the trust between himself and the others on any project, Glorioso believes that person cannot make art in a collaborative creative process.

“You can’t work safely if you don’t trust people around you,” Glorioso said. “And once that trust is broken, you cannot get it back.”

And to Gilbert, the movement to battle against the quiet of sexual assault provides victims with previously unknown methods of communication.

“The #MeToo movement is important,” Gilbert said, “and I’m glad that it’s come out, because it’s given a voice to those people who have been victims of people like Harvey Weinstein. Because a lot of times in Hollywood, it goes unsaid. When I was in Los Angeles, everybody knew about Harvey Weinstein — there were rumors forever. And now he’s finally getting his comeuppance.”

STORY Jamie Mahowald, Siddhartha Sinha PHOTO ILLUSTRATION Evan McGowan, Jamie Mahowald

Additional Voices Students and faculty share their thoughts.

How comfortable do you feel watching the movies or listening to the music of people like Kevin Spacey, R. Kelly, or Harvey Weinstein?

Sarbik Saha Junior

Listening to or watching their

work is definitely weird. Even if

the song is good, it’s tough to listen to that song again. Getting myself

to watch a movie that was made by them also takes some convincing.

Nancy Marmion

J.J. Connolly Master Teaching Chair

Owen Simon Sophomore

D r. J e r u s h a W e s t b u r y History instructor

Will Mallick Senior

I have mixed feelings because at

Every situation is different, and

I feel extremely uncomfortable

It puts me kind of on edge, just

on its own for what it is, but I

each individual case. With that

money for someone who’s

stuff they’ve done. It’s like when

when we’re a long way away from

the person and their craft.

some point, the art should stand

you have to assess the facts of

think that’s much easier to do

said, I think it is okay to separate

what happened.

watching material that’s making committed crimes, and that

would be true whether or not he committed a non-sexual crime.

because I know of the messed up

you walk into a room and it kind

of gives you an unsettling feeling.

It just doesn’t feel entirely right.

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

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20

CULTURE

MUSICIAN

Playing in the big leagues

ON THE KEYS Following along with his sheet music, junior Vatsal Vemuri accompanies the Upper School orchestra during the soundtrack of Aladdin at the orchestra concert Dec. 6.

Junior Vatsal Vemuri won the Grand Prize at the 2018 Juanita Miller Concerto Competition and played with the Marshall Symphony Orchestra at a recent concert.

H

e goes into every competition with the “In my freshman year, Dr. [David] Fray, who 2018 Juanita Miller Concerto Competition, the same mindset. was the previous orchestra instructor, asked me to victory that led to him playing with the Marshall Okay. Made it past the first round. play piano with the orchestra as an accompanist Symphony Orchestra. Vemuri didn’t feel confident Junior Vatsal Vemuri has done this more or facilitator, that kind of role,” Vemuri said, going into the competition, however, because of times than he can remember... I made it past the “and I played last year with [orchestra instructor] a substandard performance at a competition the second round?

Dr. [Sarah] Choi and this year, so that ensemble week before.

He hammers down the last notes of Franz experience is extremely important to the entire “That evening, they picked a first place Liszt’s Piano Concerto no. 2 in A Major, his musical experience because it’s taught me how winner for the three categories — strings, piano forehead and palms gleaming with sweat, his to listen and communicate with others... I’m very and winds — and to my surprise, I was the first fingers aching from the force. He’d gone to another grateful for the musical program at St. Mark’s.” place winner for piano,” Vemuri said. “That competition a week before and hadn’t done as well really motivated me in that final round, the final as he wanted to, so his mind was not full of high Vemuri’s long-time piano instructor, edition where the three winners play. hopes.

Dr. Bret Serrin, chair of the piano I really just played my heart out and But now he’s done, and he awaits the results. department at the Suzuki Music Institute that earned me the grand prize as a ••• of Dallas, said Vemuri’s experience with freshman, and I’m extremely blessed Vemuri started learning how to play the the school’s orchestra had helped his for the opportunity and glad that I piano at a very young age and found a natural development as a pianist. won, and it’s led to opportunities like affinity for the instrument.

“He has also learned a great deal the Marshall Symphony Orchestra.”

“I started the piano when I was three and a of collaborative skills, which only Vemuri’s performance with the D r. B r e t S e r r i n half, so pretty young,” Vemuri said. “My parents manifest in these types of settings,” Dr. Marshall Symphony Orchestra occurred Piano Department Chair, tried violin lessons as well as piano lessons, and I Serrin said. “It has also helped his music Nov. 2, and his first rehearsal with the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas just kind of took to the piano, and it just went up reading immensely, as it is necessary to orchestra was the evening before the from there.” learn a large amount of repertoire in a short period concert. This was Vemuri’s second time playing Vemuri gives a lot of credit to the support he of time.” with a professional orchestra, and, after a rehearsal received from his family, notably his parents, for Dr. Serrin noted that, apart from being a the afternoon of the concert, Vemuri and Marshall his early piano success. quick learner with a keen mind, Vemuri’s constant Symphony Orchestra played that evening.

“My dad really drove me at an early age and strive for self-improvement is a factor that has “I thought the concert went really well,” made me practice until I gained [my] own want to contributed to his success.

Vemuri said. “I was a bit nervous to start the piece, improve and get better,” Vemuri said, “so “We have numerous discussions but after that I got in my element. I thought I he was a big influence, and my mom, of about how to prepare and perform played really well, and I was really happy with my course. Earlier in my life when I used to I went through those better than the previous performance,” performance. The audience was also happy that I go to concerts and competitions, both of early pieces pretty Dr. Serrin said. “This includes was able to make the trip down there, and I had a quickly because I kind them were always there. The rest of my preparation at home, how he can lot of good luck wishes and stuff like that.” of had a natural musical family has always been supportive and incorporate more details and nuance Looking to the future, Vemuri hopes to have inclination or talent.

Vatsal Vemuri congratulating. I’ve definitely had a lot of into each step of his practice and more opportunities with other orchestras in the outside influence to my piano success.” how mindset affects a performance. state.

Vemuri has been a student at the school since Vatsal plays at an extraordinarily high level, “I hope to have some more opportunities the second grade and played the violin for the but there is always room for improvement in a with regional orchestras in Texas,” Vemuri said, school from fourth to sixth grade. After a hiatus to musician’s journey. Self-awareness is one of the “and I hope to go back to Marshall. I’m in contact explore other opportunities the school had to offer, most important qualities a musician can have, and with their orchestra director and hopefully some Vemuri was asked to join as an accompanist his Vatsal strives to improve that every day.” other orchestras around the area, so that’s my goal freshman year.

Vemuri was the Grand Prize winner of the for the future.”

“

STORY Axel Icazbalceta, Jamie Mahowald PHOTO Courtesy Vatsal Vemuri

A peek into senior Benjamin Hao’s photography account, @bhaophoto, where he compiles his work from years in the photography program. In his own words:

Benjamin Hao Senior

‘This is the first photo I made with experimenting with mixing collage and photography. I took pictures from photo books in Mr. Hunt’s bookshelf and cut out the ones that looked interesting. I arranged them to make this… thing. I’m not too sure what to call it.

When I make photos with this method, I don’t really think about what it’s going to turn out like. I kind of just wiggle the pictures until something cool happens and I run with it.

To lighten the photo, I just used a desk lamp I’ve had for a while.

‘This was a photo from freshman year, at the very start of my @bhaophoto journey. It looks nice because of the lighting from the nearby window. The light is soft. But at the end of the day it’s just a flower. On Instagram, it’s hard to come up with captions that fit the photos and are ‘intellectually appealing.’ I got lazy when posting this photo and just called it “Flower.”

All my photos basically have a one-word title now, with a couple two-worders here and there. The titles are easy to come up with, and they keep the focus on the picture.

‘It was this photo that made me realize that cutting up people to use in pictures is kind of creepy. Anyway, the collage process produces some interesting images to say the least.

I had an idea of putting a 2-D photo in a 3-D space, so I took a box and leaned a guy against it. I thought it looked like a bathtub, so I filled it with scraps from a different photo which happened to be parts of a face. It looked cool, so I rolled with it.

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

PAGE

CULTURE

21

CHORISTER

Ending on a high note After years of singing success — and three recognitions as the best tenor in the state— senior Camp Collins looks back on how he went from his church choir to a four-time all-state member.

Siddhartha Sinha: How did you find out about choir?

Camp Collins: I started singing in my church choir when I was really little. And then throughout Lower School, I was doing that. And then music teacher in Lower School here had me try out for the Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas in fourth grade. So I got into that and then school choir in fourth grade as well.

Then I started voice lessons in sixth grade with the choir director of my Children's Choir at church. She does private voice lessons, which I've done with her for six, seven years now. In eighth grade, I tried out to be in a Dallas opera, and I was a soloist in the beginning of the third act of Tosca.

That was the sixth biggest part.

SS: Did you know from fourth grade that you're just gonna stick with choir?

CC: Yeah, I actually didn't know what to do. I really liked [Lower School Music Instructor] Mrs. Livengood. In Lower School, it was music class.

And I wanted to do like creative music. And she said, “No, you're going to be in choir.” It's like she knew that I should be in it. And then I think it really settled in for my parents and me.

The Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas was for fourth through eighth-graders. There are four levels. As a fourth-grader, I was one of the younger ones to be put in the first level. I was expected to be put in first year. Then I came back and tried it out again for fifth grade, and they put me in the highest level. I think I was the only fifth grader in the highest level that year. My parents were like, “Oh, nice. He's good.” So that's when I knew I was actually good and it wasn't just my voice teachers or by like music teachers telling me, “Oh yeah you have a good voice.”

SS: Have you ever had a tough time in choir or in Children's Chorus or does everything just come easily?

CC: My voice changed at the end of eighth grade, and I was a little late for my voice change, probably half of the kids in choir had their voices drop in eighth grade. So in the spring of eighth grade, I'm doing a voice recital for my voice teacher, which we do around three of those a year.

And the week before, I was losing some high notes and I thought to myself, “Okay, maybe I'm just a little under the weather or something.” But it wasn't really that big of a deal. Then I got to the voice recital.

When it was my turn, I went up and started singing my song. And then about halfway through just nothing came out of my mouth. I couldn't sing it and then I just dropped down the octave and sang the rest of it down and then she like, stopped the whole recital after I finished and she was like, “You guys just witnessed a young boy's voice changing.” It's kind of crazy, but that STORY Siddhartha Sinha PHOTO Courtesy Camp Collins

was probably the only setback I had.

SS: What was it like to be named the top Tenor I in the state as a freshman?

CC: . I worked so hard on my all-region music and all-state and sent in the recordings and the all-region results come out, and I was first in my region. After all-region are allstate results.

I got first in the region for tenor ones and I thought to myself, “Okay,” and then I got the all-state results back and I was first in the state as a freshman, and Mr. Silcox has never had a four year all-state member, so that was a really big deal. And then sophomore year, I changed voice parts to tenor two, just because my voice settled in the middle of my freshman year, and I was a little lower, so I wanted to do tenor two. And then I got first in the region, third in all-state. And then junior and senior year, I also did tenor two first in the region, first in the state.

SS: What happens during your all-region and all-state performances?

CC: All-region is the second weekend in January.

Friday night we rehearse in voice part sections.

So the tenors will be in one room and the base in another room and sopranos and altos in another.

We get there like 9 a.m., and we're there practicing all day, the whole choir. They bring in a guest conductor called a clinician, and they work us from 9 a.m. till lunch. We go to lunch and then we come back.

We work for a couple more hours and then we have our concert that night. So that’s all-region, and all-state is the end of the last weekend in January. I don't remember the hotels, but it's a really cool hotel with an atrium. We stay in the hotel, and we practice in the hotel Thursday

AT THE TOP The choir and senior Camp Collins (top) qualified for allregion last school year, singing at Trinity Christian Academy in January.

night and all of Friday for around ten hours. For all-state, it's all the choir people and all the band people and all the other orchestra people are in the hotel. Then the concert is on Saturday night; it's concert band, jazz band, orchestra and choir.

SS: What does it mean to you to be top three all four years of high school?

CC: I think it's really rewarding for me not just because I want to be number one or seen as number one. I think it's rewarding because it shows my hard work paid off. I worked so hard at this so that I can enjoy all-state because those three days are some of them most fun experiences I’ve had in singing because it's just some of the most talented people.

St. Mark’s Choir is a great experience, and I love singing with them, but all-state choir is a whole other thing: It's the best singers in the state.

You meet all these people from all over Texas, and you're all music nerds and enjoy working on your voice and hearing what the clinician has to say. Every year they bring in a different clinician.

They each have their own little tricks that they teach that are sometimes very mind blowing or very revolutionary for me as a singer. I feel that my development as a singer sometimes plateaus a little bit, and some of the techniques that they introduce are interesting to implement when I'm not there.

Headliners Keep an eye out for these upcoming concerts, album drops and movie releases.

CONCERTS

Concert date

DaBaby Dec. 21 Chance the Rapper Jan. 25 Celine Dion Feb. 3

ALBUMS

Fine Line, Harry Styles High Road, Kesha Maniac, Halsey

MOVIES

Drop date

Dec. 13 Jan. 10 Jan. 17

Release date

Jumanji: The Next Level Dec. 13 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Dec. 20 Dolittle

Jan. 17

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

PAGE

BUZZ

22

INSECT CONSUMPTION

Bug in the system From plain old worms to grasshopper-filled tacos, Creative Director Cristian Pereira went far and wide to bring a collection of edible insect reviews to this month’s ReMarker.

Creative Director’s Note: For this cycle I changed my grading scale from unmanageable to manageable, since all foods reviewed would receive D’s or F’s on a normal scale based on taste.

Grasshopper Tacos

El Come Taco

2513 N. Fitzhugh Ave Hours: 11 a.m.

- 2 a.m.

(214) 821-3738

Who knew grasshoppers would taste bad?

Grade: C

G

rasshoppers — “chapulines” in Spanish — are a relatively common food item in Mexico. El Come decided to put them on a taco. I decided to try them.

They’re fairly simple. Corn tortilla, guacamole, and a batch of freshly grilled grasshoppers. Big, fat, grasshoppers—legs and all.

These were the first insects that I consumed, so I didn’t really know what I was in for. However, I did not expect at all to taste what I did.

I expected a crispy shell with a weird texture and little flavor. My assumptions were wrong— Grasshoppers have a distinct taste. And by Jove is it awful.

It’s indescribable. It’s such a poignant flavor that it makes all the other flavors around it irrelevant. You’d think the guacamole would help a little — somehow it makes it worse.

I could barely swallow one bite, let alone a whole taco.

I do not recommend. Not even as a dare.

This traumatic experience marked the beginning of my journey to consume as many insects as I could.

I was ready for the big leagues now.

I

n Plano, there’s a little shop called Meat Maniac that specializes in all kinds of meat—beef, elk, bison and, of course, insects. But Meat Maniac doesn’t play around with their insects — these are the real deal.

Tarantula Grade: D+ Before you get all rattled up that I did The rawest indeed consume a tarantula, don’t worry. form of insect Meat Maniac “lightly salted” it for me, so it’s consumption all good.

I began with the legs, which ended up being my favorite part of the tarantula. It Meat Maniac wasn’t great — really dry and bland, as if I were eating weirdly textured cardboard.

1881 N. Plano Rd., The abdomen was a bit worse, with a weirder flavor encapsulating my mouth. Overall, Richardson however, the tarantula was pretty manageable.

Hours: 11 a.m. - 6 Water Bug p.m.

You know those things that crawl around your house that you think are (214) 328-6328 cockroaches but actually aren’t? Yeah, I ate one of those.

The first thing I noticed was the putrid stench that came out as I opened the bag.

I grabbed one—its slimy body almost slipped out of my hands—and popped it into my mouth. It’s so terrible—it’s so sour, and the slimy texture makes it so much worse.

Obviously, humans were not meant to consume these things.

Locusts The worst part about the locusts are the smell. As soon as the bag opens you’re hit with it. It’s a dry, musty smell, as if I just walked into Tutankhamen’s tomb.

While not as bad as the water bug, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. The locusts are a bit larger than the grasshoppers, so their disgusting texture was more present than in any other bug I tasted. Not to mention the dry taste it left in my mouth — I immediately chugged an entire bottle of water afterwards.

Tarantula, Water Bug, Locusts

Snack Bar: various items taken from local candy shops and science instructor Dan Northcut’s bug stash Worm Bites: Grade: B-

The classic meal worms — and apparently top food source if we ever enter a global food crisis.

Let’s just say I’m praying that we never enter a global food crisis after this.

Some people actually enjoy meal worms. More power to them. But I couldn’t put more than three in my mouth.

Their texture is pretty enjoyable: not slimy at all and crispy.

There’s not enough bug there to taste any of the insides, either. On paper, they’re a great snack.

But the taste just isn’t there. They sort of taste like my trash smells like, and I’d prefer garbage stay in the garbage.

Scorpion Lollipop: Grade: A

The lollipop was surprisingly my favorite of all the snacks I tried.

The actual blueberry flavor was honestly terrible, but I hate lollipops in general — those things are sweeter than a Starbucks frappuccino.

The scorpion was the best part.

It was crunchy, and a pleasant break from the sweetness of the lollipop.

If I find a different brand, I might genuinely try another bug lollipop one and hope that the actual candy isn’t as bad as this one’s.

It’s kind of ironic to me that the bug was actually the best part of this snack.

The candy-making skills need help.

REVIEWS Cristian Pereira PHOTOS Daniel Sanchez ARTWORK Jamie Mahowald

Buffalo Worms: Grade: A-

This was my second favorite item apart from the lollipop.

There’s a kick to these worms that really helps mass the garbage-like flavor from the plain old meal worms. If it was my last resort, I’d definitely snack on these again.

Meal worms really aren’t that bad.

And so with this added flavor, they’re almost enjoyable. Almost.

I’m not about to ask Mr. Northcut for his entire stash because I’d much rather stick to a more conventional snack. But if the world was in crisis, I wouldn’t be too upset if these were my only food source.

Lemon Hoppers: Grade: C+

When Northcut said these were his least favorite bugs, I decided to see for myself.

He was right.

They’re not even that bad — they’re just so dry and unpleasant.

There’s absolutely no lemon flavor whatsoever. Whoever named the flavor needs to rethink their life choices. On the bag it also says that they were seasoned with pepper, but I couldn’t taste that either.

Overall, I’d have another one if I had to. But I certainly wouldn’t enjoy it.

OPINIONS THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

REMARKER STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS. 10600 PRESTON ROAD DALLAS, TEXAS 75230 214.346.8000

EDITORIAL BOARD editor in chief SAM AHMED

assignments editor AARON THORNE

head photographer CHARLIE ROSE

deputy managing editor CHRISTOPHER WANG

managing editors COLIN CAMPBELL SID VATTAMREDDY

opinions editor PAUL SULLIVAN

perspectives editor WALLACE WHITE

senior content editor ISHAN GUPTA

senior editor-at-large SAM GOLDFARB

SECTION EDITORS 10600, culture

LUKE PIAZZA SIDDHARTHA SINHA ERIC YOO

discoveries

COOPER RIBMAN

focus magazine ALAM ALIDINA SAI THIRUNAGARI

issues

HENRY MCELHANEY ROBERT POU

sports

WILLIAM ANIOL JACK DAVIS

C R E AT I V E creative director

CRISTIAN PEREIRA

graphics director JAMIE MAHOWALD

Around the Quad

The history of impeachment

Students give their take on which streaming platform will dominate Page 24

While proceedings of impeachment are going on, we look at the history of impeachment Page 25

EDITORIALS

Students should be cautious with social media representation

I

n the middle of a heated counter game versus a rival school, it’s easy to get caught up in the intensity of the moment. Students may find themselves in situations where they feel they have to defend their school, so trash talk is often started.

But even after the last goal is scored and everybody goes home, that dialogue doesn’t always stop like it should.

Although most students are respectful online, a loud minority carries the conversation onto different social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. These comments might be intended to protect the school’s reputation and praise the student body, but the effects are often the opposite, as conversations are often needlessly carried out—which hurts instead of helps us.

The nature of social media gives users the opportunity to make unnecessarily bold claims from the safety behind a screen. That means students can make jabs towards other schools that they would never make face-to-face.

Also, because of this lack of face-to-face interaction, the meaning of statements said online is often misinterpreted, only adding to the risk of posting on social media.

We’ve already seen comments get out of hand. It becomes obvious when there are long threads of students from multiple schools replying back-and-forth to previous comments, bringing up both academic and athletic statistics.

Although it’s tempting to defend the school,

we urge the student body to be more careful online.

Consider the impact your words have in a bigger context, not just the minuscule argument at hand.

The administration will likely never see your comments. In terms of institutional discipline, you may not receive even the smallest punishment—for a hugely outrageous comment. But every argument you have online is viewed not only by your peers here, but also by everyone on the internet who may see your words in their original context—or in shared screenshots and reposts on other platforms.

Students must remain aware of how easy it is for comments to blow up online, and we ask them to conduct themselves with discretion and treat others with respect. It’s up to students to control their own behavior.

Social media shouldn’t change how students interact with each other. Although the world is changing, and the nature of fast-paced, impersonal, online communication is becoming more and more popular, that doesn’t mean that the school can’t evolve too.

We just have to make sure that our community values and presence aren’t harmed in the process.

Social media offers a protective screen for people communicating online. But imagine you’re just talking to someone face-to-face. Would you still say that comment in person?

If not, then there’s no reason to say it online. The best way to protect our school’s reputation is not with harsh words, but with dignity, respect—and discretion.

BE WARY • ACT WITH DISCRETION

artists

COOPER COLE CHARLIE RUBARTH JAMES SHIAO

ADVERTISING business manager PAXTON SCOTT

assistant business manager IAN MIZE

WRITERS

TOBY BARRETT, ETHAN BORGE, TREVOR CROSNOE, AXEL ICAZBALCETA, RAJAN JOSHI, SEMAJ MUSCO, LUKE NAYFA, PETER ORSAK, WILL PECHERSKY, AUSTIN WILLIAMS, DREW WOODWARD, DARREN XI, JONATHAN YIN, HAN ZHANG

PHOTOGRAPHERS

WYATT AWTREY, BLAKE BROOM, KYLE FISHER, BEN HAO, COLLIN KATZ, EVAN LAI, RYAN MCCORD, EVAN MCGOWAN, TYLER NUSSBAUMER, WILL ROCCHIO, DANIEL SANCHEZ, LEE SCHLOSSER, OWEN SIMON, EKANSH TAMBE, JERRY ZHAO

Teachers misusing lab periods

ADVISER

RAY WESTBROOK

HEADMASTER DAVID W. DINI

audience

The ReMarker is intended for the students, faculty, staff and alumni community of St. Mark’s School of Texas. Press run is 4,000 copies, with more than 2,600 of those mailed out to alumni around the world, courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

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Editorials represent the viewpoints of the newspaper’s Editorial Board and are not necessarily those of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff. All personal opinion columns, bylined with the writer’s name and photo, represent the views of that writer only and not necessarily those of The ReMarker, Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff.

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www.smtexas. org/remarker.

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T

Instructors must carefully plan their weekly lab periods rather than abusing them for the sake of new material or unplanned work.

he Marksman lab day.

A cornerstone of a 10600 education.

For many students, lab day represents a time when they can take the abstract concepts they learn in science class and—once a week for 45 minutes, apply them hands-on to real-life work.

Countless Marksmen looking to go into STEM-related fields have undoubtedly enjoyed the experience of this hands-on learning in a laboratory environment. Students should be appreciative that the school is able to allocate a time in the schedule for students to be able to experience such a thing.

Labs are an integral part of the curriculum However, there is often the occasional lab period where a teacher either decides to teach new material, using the period as an extra science class in place of a lab, or doesn’t have a lab planned at all and instead makes up a not particularly well-thought out lab on the spot to fill the lab period.

Both of these are examples of misuses of the weekly lab period, and we urge both the administration and the science department to

stop them. It is not the purpose of the lab day to serve as an extra regular science period. Using the lab day as an extra science period gives students an unfair amount of material to study compared to other classes.

In the event when a teacher has nothing else planned for the period, students should get the opportunity to catch up on the other homework and studying they have to do.

Come prepared for lab period Wasting a period is both unproductive and disrespectful of a Marksman’s time. Marksmen always have things to do and teachers must be aware and respectful of this. Making up a lab at the last minute is something that most likely won’t benefit Marksmen, but rather contribute to the stress that they have.

We recommend that science teachers always come prepared with a well-thought out lab period and teach material in science class, not the lab period.

Lab day gives students the chance to do and experience things they normally wouldn’t get the chance to do during science, so why deprive them of a crucial part of their education?

BE RESPECTFUL • DON’T WASTE TIME

23

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

PAGE

24

OPINIONS

You can just rewrite the alphabet song

T

he alphabet song is arguably one of the most important pieces of music in the English language.

It is instantly recognizable and used universally for those who speak English. It is one of the first songs every child learns, and it builds a foundation for their entire education and ability to communicate effectively.

Each one of us learned the song at a young age and can (hopefully) recite it without hesitation.

Simply put, the alphabet song is the basis for life as we know it.

But now, it’s being changed.

Growing up, I always thought that “LMNOP” was one letter.

I’m not proud, but I feel like my mistake is explainable and understandable. In the alphabet song, every other letter is separated appropriately, making it easy to tell apart ‘A’ from ‘B,’ ‘C’ from ‘D,’ and so on and so forth.

“LMNOP,” however, always seemed to run together for me, and as a confused kindergarten student, I stumbled over the five letters in the middle of the song.

I would always do a wonderful job with the beginning of the song, but my genius was interrupted by a messy

“Elemenopee,” that I just never seemed to be able to get right.

Apparently, other young students have shared my issues with the song, because a new change to the alphabet song is going viral.

The new song addresses the same problem I had with the old version, separating the five letters into a more decipherable cadence. Basically, it says “L-M-N-O-P,” rather than “Elemenopee.”

However, when the song change was brought to social media, it received an overwhelming amount of backlash.

Twitter users believed the change to be “appalling,” and Aaron Thorne Assignments editor “disgusting.” Most people who think negatively of the remix just refuse to change something that has worked for them since their early childhood.

When my classmates heard the news, they cringed at the unnatural tune of the new song. They seemed to have just as much of a defiance for the modification as

the Twitter users. They said things like “You can’t just rewrite the alphabet song!” or “I’m just going to teach my kids the same song I learned as a kid.”

I, on the other hand, am quite pleased; not because I still have trouble with the alphabet song, (I recently mastered the tune) but because I think it is a change that will benefit the young children that share my confusion. The song change will clear up the muddle of those five letters for any students who have English as a second language or speech impediments. And, of course, for those kids, who, like me, have neither of those things, but just get confused.

The alphabet song has sufficed for generations and generations teaching kids a foundation for the English language, but even though it’s mostly worked in the past, our world is constantly changing, and we are always seeking changes to improve society. The alphabet song is just an example of an upgrade we make to prepare our world for future generations of success.

As for me, despite my struggle with the alphabet song at an early age, I have gotten through a relatively successful 18 years of life.

Hopefully it doesn’t take me too long to learn this.

All the things I think I have

I

got a few of the melodies right the first time, I swear.

I’m five years old, and I haven’t had any training yet, but I hammer on our piano the loose gist of the song from the Plants vs. Zombies roof battle. And I’m nearing the end of the song, the cado (I don’t know it’s called a cado, but that’s what it is), and I scale a minor chord for the first time (dang that sounded really cool, too bad I’m five so I can’t remember what the notes are), and I scale back down on an augmented chord for some reason, and here’s my big finish!–– “Move, Jamie, I need to practice.”

I move to the other side of the piano bench with disgruntled reverence before she methodically glides through a piece Chopin shudders to––“Secrets” by One Republic. At once I bear spiritual admiration at her inhuman ability to play the same couple notes twice how do you even remember that all? and sore chagrin at her pushing me aside.

She’s good, and she knows it.

I now recognize that “Secrets” is a corrupt disqualification to the art of songwriting, but all I wanted then was the uncanny ability to place my fingers on a set of notes, push them in the right order, and be able to come back the next day and do it again. That week I had my parents sign me up

STUDENTS AND FACULTY

Around the Quad

with the same teacher Molly had, and I could play “Secrets” a couple months later, and we’re both adamant musicians to this day. Hurray!!!

Except not hurray, because as you can see there are still 380 words left in this column. Until she stopped piano and took up guitar and singing, every time I looked in the mirror, I’d see myself wearing an invisible hat that said in bold letters “I am not as good at piano as my sister.” “I don’t have as much money as my cousin.” “I am not as tall as my brother.”

And then, as if trying to a deliver a flawless selfesteem shoulder block, my older brother suddenly started to get good at a bunch of things, and worst of all, he and my sister were now talking about all the things they were good at. All the time.

Maybe that’s a function of being the youngest: I have no idea how to compete.

••• I didn’t study the French language because I wanted to speak French –– Molly spoke it, and I knew if I didn’t learn it, I was otherwise doomed to ride forever on a train where the two people across from me are dissing me in a language I can’t understand.

I didn’t pick up music because I had an innate, burning desire to be a musician when I was five––my sister and my dad seemed so blithe and buoyant and

distant on their instruments that I thought I’d be a familial leper if I didn’t creep my way into the fray.

And, in fact, I didn’t join journalism on my own fruition––two of my cousins were editors in this very publications suite. I’d be otherwise ousted from the Mahowald surname and forced to live an Oscar-Wilde-like orphan existence on the streets of 19th-century London.

This is dramatization, of course.

But the ugliest conflict bubbles up in my deep, profound enjoyment in all these Jamie Mahowald things, when I tell myself Graphics director they can never really be mine. I thrive on the easy finality of my central tenet, “I’m not good enough,” a mantra implanted so comfortably it dictates and propels my productivity and my achievements, both over- and under-, like a mustachioed robber baron in a three-piece suit made of money. The First Bank of Jamie, housing the worth of everything I have done and will do, can only ever take loans.

And then I start to ask if even my ability is my own. That’s the cado.

ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS

Q: What streaming platform do you think will prevail in the streaming wars?

‘ ‘ ‘

I’ll stay with Netflix, but the fact that a lot of shows are leaving Netflix — it might make it a weaker option.

Andres Arroyo Senior

Disney+ is going to win. They’re going to buy out the competition, so there won’t be enough material..

Ian Dalyrnple Freshman

Netflix and Disney+ because that’s all I watch, and I love the Mandalorian.

Eddie Raj Senior

‘ ‘ ‘

Netflix, because they already have such a huge following, and every other streaming service will have to keep up with them.

Miki Ghosh Sophomore

Netflix because it has more variety and longevity.

Plus, I just like the shows.

Tim Weigman Junior

I use Netflix and Disney+ because I love Star Wars and Netflix has everything I need.

Odran Fitzgerald Senior

CARTOON James Shiao

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019 PAGE

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OPINIONS

25

Breaking bread with family you love

S

itting around a table and eating dinner together a meal together every night. wasn’t really ever a tradition in my family—unless I may be contradicting myself a bit here, but hear me you call that a tradition in itself, which I suppose out. I also believe in the power of breaking bread together. you could.

I don’t hesitate to say that one of the many highlights My parents always preferred eating earlier; my of my school day is when I walk into the Great Hall for brother usually had basketball or lacrosse practice at lunch. It never gets old. It never will. I notice that I never school from four to six and I had fencing practice that sit around the same people everyday—to my left, to my took up 5:30 to 8:30. Our schedules never right, across from me, diagonally across, and lined up to allow for a nightly family dinner. of course the occasional end-of-the-table But that’s never been an issue, and I player—and I’m sure I can speak for a good think that’s what makes family—not just amount of people as well. I might not sit next mine, but any family—so special. We work to those with the same classes as me or enjoy around the lack of a shared meal because the same hobbies as I do, but I’m always there are so many other things that bring us sitting around family. And when forks, together. knives and family are combined, something Chris Wang We’re unified through our work ethic; magical—sometimes in the form of hysterical deputy managing editor through our unspoken yet unbreakable laughter and sometimes heated arguments— love for one another, through our sacrifices, always happens. through our early mornings and late nights, through our I think lunch plays a big factor in making friends: faith, through the leftovers placed in the fridge for the Students and faculty alike feel like family for anyone next hungry family member to discover. fortunate enough to take a seat in the wooden chairs that All of these attributes and more help define my line our school’s dining hall. family, and maybe they describe some part of yours as I’ve realized that it’s not the meal that makes family well. I’ve began to think that maybe not eating family special, but rather the family that makes the meal special. dinners together has proved to show the strength and But of course, it never hurts when you love the meal as closeness of my family even more than if we were to have much as those you are sharing it with.

HEADS UP • THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Presidential impeachment: history and how it works

2* 66 4 00

Presidents impeached in U.S. history

In 243 years, three presidents have faced impeachment: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998 and now Donald Trump. Only 21 years separate Trump and Clinton, in contrast to 130 between Clinton and Johnson.

* Since the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has drafted articles of impeachment against President Trump, and since the Democratic Party is the majority party in the House, it is likely that when a vote comes, the vote will be for impeachment. Should this happen, Trump would become the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.

Now that the House of Representatives has officially requested articles of impeachment, Trump’s case will be brought before the Senate. A two-thirds super-majority will be necessary to indict the President on the charges.

Senate votes needed to indict on charges Dollars of military aid withheld from Ukraine

million

Trump’s impeachment is based on controversy surrounding the withholding of military aid to the Ukraine in return for a Ukranian investigation of Trump’s political rivals––a prohibited quid-pro-quo agreement.

Report card Musings on happenings around campus Tornado Relief

In such an unprecedented event in the school’s history, both the school administration and students should be commended for their efforts to get school back on track and help the Preston-Royal community. Everyone was willing to volunteer their time to clean up debris strewn about.

School Spirit

The events after the tornado have certainly united not only the people in the school closer than ever before, but also the surrounding community, with schools such as Hockaday, Greenhill and ESD. This level of school spirit and community should hopefully go even higher for the rest of the school year.

Sports

With one of the best basketball teams the school has ever had, students should show be able to show up to games knowing we will win.

Also, soccer, wrestling and swimming will all be competitive as well. However, more people need to come out to other sports other than just basketball.

A+ A C+

Sage

Sage has some good days and some mediocre as some dishes are great and some are just okay. But overall we’re happy. Plus the increase of special dessert days has been a welcome addition from the student body. The increased variety at the drink area in addition to the ample lemonade and water has made a great meal better. On the whole, Sage has certainly been getting better and better, and were excited to see what the future holds.

B+

A multiChristmas Eve

D

ec. 24 is a unique day for me. For the past couple of years, it has always started the same way. I wake up around 10 a.m., walk past the Christmas tree packed with presents underneath, eat some breakfast and start the Netflix binge session. It’s all pretty routine and normal.

But at 6 p.m., right on the dot, when my whole extended family piles into my mom’s SUV, our Christmas Eve tradition truly starts and that night becomes something special. All cramped together sitting on the gray leather seats, we drive the 15 minutes to the same hole-in-thewall Pakistani restaurant to devour channa chaat, biryani and samosas and then proceed to Mass an hour later at Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration.

I know that sounds odd, but let me backtrack to give some context. My roots go back very far in two different directions.

One white family, immigrants from Sweden at the turn of the 20th century who farmed in Nebraska, who are moderately Episcopalian, and one Pakistani/ Bangladeshi family, who immigrated in 1973, who have a Muslim background.

My mom’s family grew up with very strong holiday traditions. They were the type of family who went to church every week. My mom sang in the choir, and my grandmother played the piano for the choir.

My dad’s family, on the other hand, never had consistent holiday traditions. Almost every three years my dad would move to a different continent, and that affected his family’s ability to establish family traditions.

When my sister and I were born, my parents made the decision to combine both their heritages on Christmas Eve. In one night, I appreciate the food and religion of two different Sam Ahmed cultures around the Editor-in-chief world.

I have begun to understand that it is so easy to celebrate both. With grandparents from both sides of the family there that one night, every person would experience another culture than the one they grew up with. That night, my midwestern grandparents enjoy the food of my dad’s side of the family, eating channa chaat, biryani and samosas, and my paternal grandmother, my Daddi Umma, sings along to hymns about Jesus’s birth a couple hours later.

It took a little bit of convincing at first. My grandpa wasn’t jumping out of his chair at the excitement of eating spicy Pakistani food, and my Daddi Umma wasn’t psyched about listening to a sermon from our pastor for the first time. But they made it work for their kids and their grandkids.

••• Dec. 24 has shown me there is no reason to stick to just one religion or culture. The beauty to embrace other cultures has transformed my view on the divisiveness in this country, and it has made me realize that if two cultures from opposite sides of the world can come together, so can any other person in the country or world. In one night, my whole family appreciates the food and religion of two different cultures around the world.

That night has shown me that to make change in another person’s life, it really can be simple. Something as simple as food can help unite people from different backgrounds together, just like it has done for my family on Dec. 24.

The holidays aren’t just about having time to celebrate the food and traditions of a particular religion or culture; they are opportunities to reach out to others with differing beliefs.

To continue to learn and appreciate other religions, cultures and ethnicities is to gain a better of understanding of the perspectives shared across the world.

26

David Christoff

Cross Country

Noah Norton

Updates

How an alumnus earned his way into a unique role with the Oakland Raiders.

Page 27

The cross country team brings home the SPC trophy.

Page 28

A sophomore utilizes his tutorial to play a sport not offered on campus: boxing.

Page 29

A quick look at the beginning of the winter seasons.

Pages 30, 31

SPORTS THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Fair pay to play After years of backlash, the NCAA has embraced change, planning to implement new rules allowing student athletes to profit off their name, likeness and image by 2021.

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t’s 5:30 a.m, his alarm clock sounds deserve,” Acho said. “Being –– it’s that same ring tone he’s become a student athlete is a full time extremely accustomed to hearing, and job and some, so I think this it means the same thing every time: team is a first step. There’s still workouts. As much as he may want to take a lot that needs to happen, the easy way out by hitting snooze, which still a lot that needs to occur. the average student might have the luxury I’ve been an advocate since of doing, he simply knows he can’t.

2013 –– a huge advocate –– He can’t waste the opportunity he’s just because I was a student been given as an All-American defensive athlete at a place where I lineman at the University of Texas, even would have earned a lot of with the extensive grind and full-time job money, and as a result I’m just that it is, as he embraces competing against like, ‘It’s time for us athletes the top college football talent in America. to be paid.’ Honestly, it’s long In the national spotlight of Big 12 overdue.”

“It’s a crucial part because some crazy Conference Football, he knows there is a As a part of the low percentage of people go professionally certain expectation that if he doesn’t bring incoming 2024 recruiting class, senior to play any sport from college,” Laczkowski the same level of intensity to every lift and Andrew Laczkowski plans on profiting said. “You need that foundation, that rock practice, giving it all he’s got every time off his likeness if presented with the right of education and that’s the reason you go to out, he risks losing his starting position –– opportunity as a basketball player at the college –– to get an education. I didn’t go to but he also has grades to worry about at the University of Pennsylvania.

UPenn thinking I was going to improve my same time.

“In college, it’s difficult to find money NBA stock: I went because it’s one of the It’s 10 a.m. –– his day is just getting and if there’s ways to profit off yourself better schools in the world and I wanted to started as he still has to go to class. But and what you do, I think I’m definitely up further myself that way.” while his classmates are arriving to class for that and it’s something I’d definitely The shift in the NCAA’s fresh out of bed, fully energized and try to do,” Laczkowski said. decision to implement this ready to devote themselves to their course “Especially in Philadelphia, with change dates back to Sept. 30 loads, he has already put himself through how big college basketball is up with California’s passing of a gauntlet in the weight room to further there, if I’m doing well and a top Athletes will the Fair Pay to Play Act, which himself as an athlete. player on one of the better teams soon profit off would ultimately ban California In addition, he also has to ensure that in the city and my name could their likeness universities from denying their he doesn’t lose focus in the classroom. be used in advertisements, then student athletes the right to earn And for all of his sacrifice, hard work I’d definitely want to be able compensation for the use of their and dedication to being an athlete and a to make sure I have some extra names, images and likenesses. Furthermore, student, Emmanuel Acho ’08, currently spending money.” this created a complex issue for the NCAA an ESPN college football analyst, doesn’t The NCAA, realizing change must to solve, as California athletes would be receive any form of compensation in be embraced, had recently succumbed to violating the Association’s amateurism rules. addition to his athletic scholarship for extreme scrutiny from student athletes Subsequently, following in California’s his contributions to the University of alongside analysts and fans, much of which footsteps, nine other states expressed their Texas from 2008 to 2011, not even for the ultimately led to this vote. plans to implement a similar bill, and ridiculous amount of revenue he’s helped momentum was at an all-time high and the bring in for one of the sport’s wealthiest Many, including Laczkowski and Acho, possibility of a change occurring seemed and most storied programs. criticized the Association for refusing to more realistic than ever before.

And now, after years of backlash, the compensate those at Power Five football “I don’t think it’s the NCAA athletes NCAA has finally yet unexpectedly decided and basketball conference programs it’s time to embrace change. especially, as these players are used to bring that led to as much change as it was people in voices of prominence –– Twitter reaction, Only if this modernization had taken in revenues of much greater value than Twitter outcry that led the government to place a decade ago, as many believe it their scholarships. act –– I really think that’s what did it,” Acho should have, Forbes says Acho would’ve “I’d always been on the side that said. “Student athletes only have so much made at least $500,000 as a Longhorn student athletes should make money and power, so I really think it was the national Football player. at least something off what they do because outcry that led to change. But it’s not about “It would have changed everything,” while you’re getting paid in the scholarship the athletes, it’s really that finally analysts Acho said, “just because I could have lived essentially, the revenue you bring in is so banded together, the public banded together a more free, monetary flowing life.” much more valuable than a scholarship, and said something has to change.”

••• that I feel like there needs to be some Ingram and Acho also feel this The NCAA Board of Governors compensation for that,” Laczkowski said. development could benefit the student voted unanimously Junior Harrison athlete who either might not make it at Oct. 29 to allow student Ingram, a five-star college the next level or who plays a non-major athletes to profit off basketball prospect who I KNEW TEXAS WAS GOING their name, likeness and currently holds offers from professional sport.

TO USE ME FOR ALL I WAS “A lot of the kids that are coming right image, a development 21 Division I programs, out of athletics don’t have time to work, so that will seemingly WORTH AS AN ATHLETE, SO I complements the school you’re coming out with a flat zero line: no change the landscape of NEEDED TO USE THEM FOR and its level of intensity money,” Ingram said. “Most other kids can collegiate athletics for in developing his intense ALL THEY WERE WORTH get a job in college and have some money the foreseeable future, work ethic. Additionally, FROM AN EDUCATIONAL when they start.” considering college he emphasized the As far as how the NCAA’s decision will athletes have previously STANDPOINT, A RESOURCE dedication it has taken impact the balance of power in collegiate been unable to receive to excel around campus STANDPOINT AND A athletics, Acho believes everything will compensation for their academically while CONNECTION STANDPOINT. keeping at the same level largely remain the same, owing to the fact contributions to their — EMMANUEL ACHO ‘08 that the landscape of college athletics has respective universities’ of play as his peers on the already changed recently with the influx of athletic programs. court. money at major Division I programs.

In regard to when the change will “There’s no time I’ll go sit down and “I think that people act like, ‘Oh, well take place, the NCAA stated its plans to watch Netflix,” Ingram said. “I’m going now that athletes can make money off their initiate the new rules by no later than Jan. to go to the gym, then I’m going to do likeness and image, the big time players 2021. According to Acho, the organization homework, some extra studying, then I are going to go to the big time programs certainly has much to sort through in go to the gym again –– then I go to sleep. because they’ll have the most money,’ well determining the framework of how There’s no procrastinating at all –– it the big time players already go to the big student athletes can be compensated for wouldn’t work.” time programs because they have the nicest their athletic ability while maintaining full Likewise, while Laczkowski believes facilities and everything else,” Acho said. amateurism, which the organization holds college athletes should be able to earn “Think about how crazy the facilities are, in the highest regard. money for their abilities, he ensures not to think about how much money coaches are “I think it’s the first step in a long forget the importance of being an athlete making now, it’s ludicrous.” road to athletes finally getting what they and a student.

new NCAA guidelines released by the NCAA Board of Governors

• Assure student-athletes are treated similarly to nonathlete students unless a compelling reason exists to differentiate.

• Maintain the priorities of education and the collegiate experience to provide opportunities for studentathlete success.

• Ensure rules are transparent, focused and enforceable and facilitate fair and balanced competition.

• Make clear the distinction between collegiate and professional opportunities.

• Make clear that compensation for athletics performance or participation is impermissible.

• Reaffirm that student-athletes are students first and not employees of the university.

• Enhance principles of diversity, inclusion and gender equity.

‘‘

STORY William Aniol, Jack Davis ARTWORK Cooper Cole

2

percent of high school athletes go Division I

24

sports offered by the NCAA

2.9

billion in athletic scholarships given between all Division I and II schools SOURCE: NCAA

William Aniol photo

• Protect the recruiting environment and prohibit inducements to select, remain at, or transfer to a specific institution.

By the numbers

SIGNATURE Student athletes will now be able to make money off their name through the sales of their jersey and autographs.

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

PAGE

SPORTS

27

FOOTBALL ANALYTICS

Living a football life

In a sports era becoming progressively more focused on the reliance of analytics, David Christoff ’10 has earned himself a unique role with the Oakland Raiders.

William Aniol: How would you describe your unique role with the Oakland Raiders along with what you do on a daily basis for the team?

Oakland Raiders Director of Football Analytics David Christoff: My role with the team is pretty wide ranging in both football and numbers, and more or less told under my purview, I deal with everything from the salary cap to on-field coaching to the draft. As far as the day-to-day goes, it really depends on what time of year we’re in. We generally try to stay ahead of the curve a little bit, so whatever time of year it is, we’re working on whatever’s happening two to three months from then. In terms of the rise of analytics in the NFL, I think it’s gained more national attention in recent years, but people have been doing stuff along the lines of what you’re seeing now, dating back to the ’70s and ’80s.

While the staff sizes are certainly growing and teams are paying more attention, none of this stuff is necessarily new. I will also do some analysis on say the numbers, the measurables that go into what players are likely to project to succeed in the league and what players are likely to fail. Draft day trades as well––I’m pretty heavily involved in that regard during the draft.

WA: How did you get into the NFL? Walk me through your life after your time here and how you ended up with the Raiders.

DC: I went to MIT out of St. Mark’s, studied mechanical engineering, but I knew by the middle of my sophomore year I didn’t want to be a mechanical engineer. So I focused more on the applied math side of things, fluid dynamics, that sort of stuff, not really knowing exactly what I was going to wind up doing with it. After I got out of school, I didn’t apply for any jobs out of college.

I just moved back home to Dallas, at which point I began doing my own research. I was actually coaching eighth grade football at St. Mark’s at the time with [head varsity football and lacrosse coach] Hayward Lee and while that was going on, I was doing a nine month project on NFL pass protection.

Are you familiar with the NFL’s Next Gen Stats program?

WA: Yeah, for sure, I’m also a numbers guy.

DC: Well, the NFL basically puts radio beacons in every player’s shoulder pads and from that, they can use a sensor array around the stadium to triangulate every player’s position. They get that at ten times a second –– it’s been going on since 2014 in small scale and finally got released to teams in full in 2018. Around this time when this is happening in Aug. 2014, the NFL announced that they’re going to pilot this program and test it out in Thursday Night Football games.

I saw it and thought there was opportunity there because the technology already had a pretty big impact on the NBA. You saw the three point revolution kind of starting to happen around that time and that was really driven by insights that were provided by the same type of player tracking technology. So I figured that NFL teams paying

attention would be looking for somebody who knew how to deal with that type of data and was able to prove that they could do something with it.

Looking at offensive lines I figured might be a decent idea, so I more or less created a prototype version of the same technology. They obviously weren’t releasing the data to the public at that time, so you didn’t have access to any of it. I pretty much wound up ripping a bunch of game film off of NFL Game Pass and then developed a system to extract the player locations off of that film for the offensive linemen.

It was a pretty labor intensive process, I wound up actually hiring ten guys from Bangladesh to basically click on a computer screen and track these guys’ locations on four times a second over the course of a pass play.

But by doing that, I was able to develop some new metrics for pass protection that yield you some pretty good insights. Fast forward through seven months of labor on that front, and I was able to put it in front of teams –– got a couple looks from one or two that were lower level positions, part time positions, nothing solid. And then finally, the Raiders stepped in and made me a full time offer and I’ve been with them ever since.

WA: What do you enjoy most about going to work everyday and being able to live a football life?

DC: The number aspect of things –– I touch a lot of different areas and it’s all interesting in some different regard. I know more about NFL contracts now than I ever thought I ever would. It’s a whole world itself that no matter what you’re working on, whether it’s the draft and the player projection side of things, on-field coaching side of things, just the opportunity to get to work with football every day is what’s really rewarding about the position.

WA: Is there any one specific moment along your journey that stands out to you still to this day that you look back on and attribute as to why you are living your dream of working in the NFL? DC: It’s hard to pinpoint any one specific moment, a lot of it is just the accumulation of a lot of hard work. And that project that I engaged in that got me the job was fraught with failure. I messed up on that thing more times than I can count, but I managed to push through and eventually produce something that was impressive enough to get me in front of these guys, and that was the real battle.

WA: How has your time at 10600 Preston Road helped shape your career?

LOOKING ON Before the Raiders’ game against the Tennesse Titans Dec. 8, David Christoff takes in the atmosphere at Oakland Coliseum.

DC: Without a doubt the work ethic I developed definitely was important, but I’d say more than that with the time management especially now that I have a four man team underneath me. Staying organized and managing time well is a really essential skill. I really got my start with that at St. Mark’s managing the course load, managing all the classwork, being a two-sport athlete on top of that, I’m sure you know there’s a lot going on.

WA: What was the hardest part of your journey in making it to the league?

DC: The breaking-in aspect of things is always the toughest part –– getting your name in front of a team and then getting that team to actually pay attention to you for half a second. These guys have people beating down their door constantly looking for jobs. And for that matter, there’s only a handful of jobs that are open in any given year. So the actual breaking into the industry element is definitely the hardest part. Along those lines, what I recommend to people who are looking to get in is don’t just look at teams. If you’re trying to work in the NFL, there’s more than one way to go about it other than just applying for a job at a team.

Nobody enters into the league at a high level –– you have to prove yourself every step of the way.

I was originally hired to work primarily on salary cap and player contracts and people discovered my skills were useful outside of those venues and my responsibilities grew accordingly.

WA: How much is still yet to be accomplished in the football analytics field?

DC: It’s just a very interesting time to be in the league. Football, from an analytics standpoint, is really one of the last frontiers. There’s so much work left to be done in the NFL in terms of things you can analyze, how you use the data and the insights you can actually go and gather. There’s years and years of just work and insights to be found. Really we’re just getting started, we’re really just scratching the surface of what can be done.

INTERVIEW William Aniol PHOTO Courtesy David Christoff

Lions Basketball squad finds new home court in lieu of Hicks Gym’s destruction

by Rajan Joshi n the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Hicks Gym, the Athletic Department has chosen to make Spencer Gym the new home court for the basketball team this winter.

Though Spencer is large enough to have a full court, it originally had an 80-foot court, which is 14-feet shy of the proper 94-foot court needed for high school basketball games. Because of this, coupled with the rubber floor

I

of the gym, renovations were needed in order for the gym to become the Lions’ new home court.

“Because we lost Hicks Gym for most likely at least two years,” Assistant Athletic Director Josh Friesen said, “we needed to do a quick renovation to Spencer Gym to make it up to par as our only gymnasium, so we improved the floor by making it wood, we painted it, we reoriented the gym so that we could have a 94-foot competition court.

There are side courts for volleyball as well as basketball, as this is the primary volleyball facility until Hicks Gym is replaced. We also have a new sound system coming in and added temporary bleachers.”

While the renovations were going on, the basketball teams were forced to practice elsewhere. Without the school’s two gyms available, Friesen ended up finding two places for the teams to practice. Middle School teams practiced at The Sportsplex,

while the high school teams practiced at Highland Park High School for preseason practices.

After just one practice in the renovated Spencer Gym, the varsity basketball team competed against Sunset High School, winning 97-43.

“It feels crazy to be in a gym that a few weeks ago was rubber and almost impossible to find traction in,” junior Harrison Ingram said. “I’m just excited to play in a nice gym that resembles Hicks.”

By the numbers

10

picks for the Raiders in the 2020 NFL Draft

6-7

the Oakland Radiers’ record this year

188

million is the 2019-2020 NFL salary cap SOURCE: NFL

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 13, 2019

PAGE

28

SPORTS

CROSS COUNTRY

Volleyball finishes as runner-up at SPC

On the mountaintop

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Determined and ready to compete after last year’s second place SPC finish, the Lions cross country team brought home the team’s first SPC trophy since 2013.

AT THE TOP After the 2019 SPC championship meet, the cross country squad stands on the podium hoisting their championship trophy.

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on’t stop! Keep pushing! These short yet impactful remarks from head coach John Turek rattled throughout the mind of senior captain Pablo Arroyo. He was tired, sweaty and mentally drained, but he was doing what he loved most one last time. As he made the last turn onto the final stretch of the 2019 SPC cross country championship, only a few hundred meters away from completing his career as a Lion, he had only one thing on his mind: winning the championship.

The Lion’s cross country squad had gone six years since winning their last championship, finishing as the runner-up multiple times in that drought, but this year’s meet went differently.

••• Pablo was the first Lion to cross the finish line, 15 minutes and 49 seconds after the starting gunshot.

His twin brother Andres followed in his footsteps and finished just three seconds later. Within the next minute, five of the Lion’s eight varsity members finished the race, all finishing in the top 12.

The squad rallied together after the final runner stepped across the finish line and awaited the results. Andres and his brother were cautiously optimistic while waiting for the results.

“When Pablo and I finished, we didn’t know we had won, but we knew he had a great chance,” Andres said. “We were so happy when we saw the other Lions run across the finish line.”

Junior Julian Ivarra, who finished 12th out of 146 runners, knew him and his team gave Pablo Arroyo everything Senior cross country captain they had during the race, meaning no matter the outcome, he was proud of the team’s performance.

“We were confident in our performance after seeing many of our teammates finish towards the front of

Norbuck — had paid off, and it was just a surge of a ton of emotions.”

The accolades didn’t stop with the SPC championship either.

Measured by each runner’s time, this year’s team was determined to be the best cross country team in school history. Five members of the team the runners.” Ivarra said. “Regardless (the Arroyos, Ivarra, of if we won or not, I was proud to be sophomore Sahil Dodda, and senior a part of such an amazing team.”

Tyler Nussbaumer) earned all-SPC Throughout the race, assistant honors, and the team finished the coach Ryan Hershner tried to watch season first in the state among all the competitors at every mile-marker, private school teams and fiftymotivating them to keep pushing. By fourth among all high school teams, the two mile mark, he started to get according to head coach John Turek. the feeling they would be champions.

“How we came to those “I didn’t want to jinx anything, conclusions is that San Antonio but when we had five [runners] in Antonian won the TAPPS 6A state the top 14 at two miles, with all the championship going away, and we training these guys did, I knew they had beat them three weeks earlier at weren’t gonna fall the St. John’s Invitational,” off,” Hershner said.

Turek said. “Decatur All the early summer “So I just kept my won the 4A UIL state mornings... the late fingers crossed and nights... had paid off. championship. We beat Julian Ivarra hoped it would pan them during the season. out the way it panned Numbers don’t lie. Cross out.” country is very objective.

Everyone on the team last year Your numbers are your numbers.” had finished disappointed in their Turek said, despite the team’s second place finish, and they used relatively small size — 24 members that as fuel to keep going as they this year as opposed to 34 last year — continued to train for this season. the team came into the season with “A year earlier, we had lost high expectations for themselves and on our home field, and we all felt met them one after another, putting really bad not being able to get that in hard work every day at practice. championship, being on our home “It’s part of a culture,” Turek turf,” Ivarra said. “It felt like, right said. “You have to buy into it. The when that ended, next year would harder you train, the greater the be the year we proved as a team that potential. Player attitude carries a we could do it, and to hear them lot. When you have a group of guys announce us as champions, it really where everybody buys validated all of our hard work -- all in, then everybody the early summer mornings, all starts to reap the the late nights coming home from rewards.”

“

STORY Luke Nayfa, Rajan Joshi, Drew Woodward PHOTO Tyler Nussbaumer

S P C C R O S S C O U N T RY R E S U LT S T I M E L I N E 2016-2017 The Lions finished in second place in 2016, being bested

by St. John’s.

2017-2018 The Lions finished fourth in 2017, finishing behind St. Andrews, St. Johns and St. Stephens.

2018-2019 The Lions finished in second place last year after falling short to St. Stephens by a 22 second average.

2019-2020 The Lions won SPC, beating the second place St. John’s by 32 points.

by Luke Nayfa ollowing a year with many injuries and setbacks, the Lions volleyball squad finished runner-up to the Trinity Valley Trojans Nov. 9 in the SPC championship at Awty International School in Houston.

The team started the year slowly according to senior captain Lincoln Dales, but with cooperation and teamwork from the younger players, they rallied during the final stretch of the season, gaining the second seed in the North.

“A lot of the young guys stepped up and filled the roles of some of the graduated seniors and injured players,” Dales said.

Dales also recognized the new perspective the school in general has on volleyball and the energy the Super Fan Men brought to the team this year.

“Volleyball is a sport where momentum is really important,” Dales said.

“Having the Lincoln Dales school rally Senior volleyball captain behind us and having students drive to our SPC tournament in Houston was really amazing.”

Junior Daniel Sanchez was named as one of the Lions’ two all-conference players and gives credit to his teammates who put him in optimal situations throughout the season.

“I wouldn’t have been able to be named all-conference without the help from my teammates,” Sanchez said. “Every day they came to practice and made me a lot better as a player, and although we fell short, we really came together as a team this year.”

Sanchez looks forward to the prominent leadership role he will fill next year with the loss of many seniors and plans to use this year’s shortcomings as motivation for next year.

“I’m really hoping that the dynamic we had as a team this year carries on into next season with the rising sophomores and juniors,” Sanchez said. “I remember what it was like to be a sophomore on varsity, but I think everyone on the team next season can use this loss as something we can work even harder for.”

After winning the championship last year, teams throughout SPC tried to beat the Lions, according to Sanchez.

“Last year, we came into the tournament as the underdogs; however, because of how we finished last year, we went into every game with a target on our back,” Sanchez said.

There were a lot of positive things the volleyball team took from this season, and despite not bringing home a second straight championship, Dales will never forget this season.

“We have great leaders established for next year, and I am really proud of every member of the team,” Dales said. “We have a name now in SPC, and I look forward to coming back next year and seeing how we have grown.”

SPC team results 1st St. Mark’s 2nd St. John’s 3rd St. Stephens 4th FWCD 5th Casady

Top five runners 1st Pablo Arroyo 2nd Andres

Arroyo 3rd Sahil Dodda 4th Tyler Nussbaumer 5th Julian Ivarra

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Seniors place eighth in national regatta

BOXING

by SeMaj Musco eniors Christian Duessel and Billy Lockhart placed eighth in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts Oct. 20. The regatta is one of the largest two-day regattas in the world with over 11,000 athletes competing in 61 events throughout the weekend. This was Lockhart’s second time competing in the regatta, while it was Duessel’s first.

“It’s humbling,” Duessel said. “Around here we think we’re the big dogs on campus, but going to Boston and competing against these really high-level guys, it makes you realize that we have to work hard to be the best.”

Although they placed eighth out of 47, Duessel and Lockhart were a little disheartened at the final results.

“We were a little disappointed because there were things we obviously could have done better in the race,” Duessel said. “At the end another team wouldn’t yield to us as we were passing them. They pushed us into another boat, and we had to stop. That probably added on about five seconds. If that didn’t happen, we could have probably medaled.”

Despite this, by placing in the top half of all participants, Duessel and Lockhart secured a spot for current sophomores and juniors to compete in the Head of the Charles next year.

“One of the things Christian and I wanted to do was place well enough this year so that St. Mark’s can have the spot to race again next year,” Lockhart said.

Duessel expressed a similar sentiment, saying that maintaining this opportunity was significant for them.

“St. Mark’s getting a spot for next year was the meaningful part of this experience,” Duessel said.

“The two best guys from the team next year will get to go to Boston. Then if they go and place in the top half again that becomes a recurring thing, and it was super gratifying when we heard that.”

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Going for the knockout Although a gym isn’t available on campus, freshman Noah Norton boxes with a trainer at a local gym and plans to apply his skills in tournaments early next year.

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he eighty-pound bag hangs in front said. of freshman Noah Norton as he Norton has many combinations of takes swings. workouts that he does weekly. The first A loud thud echoes around the gym few workouts aim to master different with each blow. moves and techniques by working with The heavyweight punching bag is a weighted bag rather than simulating a just the first part of his grueling hourfull-on fight with another person. and-a-half workout.

“There are different ones we Next, he’ll put on his mitts and do,”Norton said. “The basic one is just work directly with his trainer, practicing heavy bag drills with just the traditional and mastering different combinations. hitting the bag. Then we’ll do practice These techniques will become vital for combinations, and I’ll go one on one sparring matches, where his goal is to use with the trainer with mitts. I like that the these combinations in action against his most.” opponent.

Once Norton has most of the This has become his routine for technique down, he’ll move onto the past year and a half: practicing and sparring with his trainer. These sparring training until he’s tournament-ready. matches focus mainly on technique He’ll keep working, keep sparring, keep as well as creating an all-out fight improving himself as he looks forward to experience. In the beginning, he’ll be his first competition. honing his skills, and then he’ll move to a ••• more fight-simulating experience.

Before Norton began boxing, his “Depending on the session, on off father encouraged him to days we’ll do sparring, take up karate. and there are two types In learning-sparring, “When my dad was you’re just working of sparring,” Norton said. younger he was really into your combinations, “There’s what I like to think just basically trying boxing, and he’s always of as learning-sparring, and to get a sense of a wanted me to do selfthen like fight-sparring. In real fight, and the defense,” Norton said. “So fight sparring you’re learning-sparring, you’re just when I was younger, I did trying to hit him, working your combinations, a lot of karate and stuff like trying to win. just basically trying to get a Noah Norton that.” sense of a real fight, and the Norton eventually fight sparring, you’re trying stopped taking karate. But the summer to hit him, trying to win.” before his eighth grade, he found a class at a club near his house. After the class, Since Norton was on the junior varsity he fell in love with boxing, and he began volleyball team during the fall, he only working with a trainer. went to the gym two or three times a “There was this local club at the week. During the winter season, he youth center next to our house that is currently doing a tutorial. With the offered a boxing club, and [my dad] said additional two free hours, he has more I should do it. I was interested in it, so I time to go to the gym and train outside did it, and I got really hooked,” Norton of school. said.

After this season, he plans to join the Because the class has since stopped, crew team in spring. However, Norton Norton moved to a new club, Mezger also hopes to continue boxing throughout Martial Arts. Since the transition, Norton his time on campus and continue at has begun working with a new trainer at college. the club.

“I’m doing around two to three “I’m mainly boxing at my new workouts a week right now, but I’m boxing club and with my dad,” Norton

“

REPS WITH THE BAG At his new club, sophomore Noah Norton takes his warm-up reps with a punching bag. He’s currently training for upcoming spring tournaments.

doing a tutorial in the winter where I’ll be training five to six times a week,” Norton said.

Norton is yet to compete in any boxing tournaments to date, but he plans to begin competitions early next year. For many of his tournaments, Norton will have to travel to Austin to box. Norton plans to be a part of the lightweight class. To be a part of this class, he’ll need to gain some weight leading up to the tournaments.

“A lot of boxing tournaments happen in the spring, so I haven’t competed in any actual tournaments yet, but hopefully I’ll start this spring,” Norton said. “I’m in lightweight category, which is around 145-155 lbs., and I’m around 137 right now.”

Boxing has served Norton in many ways. Rather than being a simple activity to meet an athletic requirement, it creates an enjoyable way for him to stay in shape throughout the year.

“Boxing has given me more confidence, an outlet for my emotions and a simple way to keep in shape,” Norton said.

Additionally, it has helped Norton hone his work ethic. Norton explained that one thing is of paramount importance: effort. He firmly believes that the effort that one puts into his or her work will determine the result of that work.

“Your effort is what decides who you are,” Norton said. “Honestly, nothing else matters.”

Over the past year and a half, boxing has become a big part of his life. Norton recommends it to anyone who’s looking for a way to stay in shape or simply to try something new.

“Boxing has become one of the most fun and invigorating pastimes of my life,” Norton said. “If others tried, I think that it could become theirs too.”

155 maximum pounds for his weight class

6

practices per week

17

months since he began

STORY Jack Davis, Drew Woodward PHOTO Blake Broom

It’s not just about the game: it’s about the memories from practice, sidelines or the dugout

by Jack Davis he score: 12-15. We were so close, and I hate to admit it.

Three points. The difference in first and second place.

We lost the boys SPC volleyball championship game to Trinity Valley — our rival — someone who we’ve beaten and lost to before.

I focused on how we lost that game. That one game. We got second place, but we almost had first.

But I forgot how much I loved the season and all the games where we won, where I played and where I screamed until I could barely speak.

I have some great memories from when I played, but none of those compared to

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the memories I had from practice and the bench screaming during our opponent’s sidelines. In practice, we’d usually end serves to cause them to mess up. The entire with our side-out plus two drill, a six-onbench would yell “top” or “float” — the six where if our starters won a normal thing to do when point, then they would get two people serve — or maybe bark easy tosses to practice different and yell about a dog or some plays. cheese on the floor, too.

I was always playing But this isn’t just true for against the starters, so my volleyball. All my favorite side had to bounce back from memories are from the dugout, attacks from some of our best sidelines and practices. hitters. These were my favorite From cracking jokes about Jack Davis Sports editor plays. I didn’t have to worry being a ball magnet from first about winning or losing a base or in the baseball dugout counter match. I could relax and just enjoy to talking with my friends after playing my time on the court. basketball or capture the flag at summer Another part of our team I won’t forget camp, I remember being with my team is our “bench points.” Points scored by the more than playing the game.

I remember the trash talk between our two teams before the game of summer camp basketball even started.

That’s what I hate about this season ending. I’m not as sad that I won’t be playing because I’m going to practice and play some during the offseason. It’s that the team is done playing, and the team isn’t going to come back together next year.

But I can’t wait until practices start again next year. I can’t wait for another season of cracking jokes and screaming at the top of my lungs alongside my friends. I can’t wait to wear the Lion’s volleyball jersey for one last season.

That’s why I love playing team sports.

Not the sport itself.

The team. My brothers.

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SPORTS

MANO A MANO Sophomore Jedidiah Kim and junior Cooper Ribman go headto-head at practice. The two wrestlers competed at the opening team duals.

Wrestling team tackles the competition in an early win after hosting the first duals of the season 2018-2019 SPC FINISH 4th 2019-2020 TOP PLACEMENT 1st at St. Mark’s season opening team duals THEY SAID IT “If the wrestlers are doing the best they can every time they get on the mat, that means we’re winning in life and we’re winning in the mentality of what wrestling is all about.” ­— head coach Reynold Arredondo

THEY SAID IT “We have a lot of young talent on this team and we’re still growing, but I think in the coming two years, we’re gonna see the best of St. Mark’s wrestling.” ­— junior captain Jackson Fair

NOTABLE Both team captains, Cooper Ribman and Jackson Fair, are juniors.

Additionally, more than half of the wrestlers who competed at the first dual were underclassmen.

NOTABLE The Lions went undefeated at their first dual Nov. 16. The wrestlers defeated McKinney Christian, Frisco Independence, Oakridge and All Saints.

FIRST TO THE BALL Junior Robert Pou (right), trailed by Luis Garcia-Ojeda (left), chases after the ball, blocking off the Casady forward. While hosting the Casady Cyclones, the Lions lost 3-2 Dec. 7.

Soccer opens title chase with 2-1 start to season 2018-2019 SPC FINISH 5th 2018-2019 RECORD 14-3 2020 RECORD 2-2 THEY SAID IT “Our main focus is to go undefeated in the counter season and be 1st seed in the tournament, and our overarching goal is to win the SPC title, but we want to improve upon last season and make it to the semifinal match” ­ — junior Knobel Hunt

NOTABLE The team’s first loss this season was 3-0 against Bishop Lynch. The Lions’ were playing without some of their top players.

THEY SAID IT “Being able to play for the team this year is really awesome for me, and I hope to contribute to the team in a big way.” ­ — junior Christian Shadle

Swimming looks to best their third place finish at SPC last season 2018-2019 SPC FINISH 3rd

THEY SAID IT “The team has a good percentage represented from each class. We also have good leadership. There are around 12 seniors on the team, and around 11 freshmen so it’s kind of balanced.” ­ — head coach Mihai Oprea NOTABLE Junior Andrew Nuth timed 1:09.73 for the 100m Backstroke as well as 27.89 in the 50m Fly during the Lions’ time trials. These time trials were the first this year.

NOTABLE Senior captain Lee Schlosser raced 55.41 in the 100m Freestyle stroke and 32.57 50m Freestyle during the Lions’ time trials held on campus Dec. 3.

COMPILATIONS Jack Davis, Rajan Joshi, SeMaj Musco, Drew Woodward PHOTO Charlie Rose, Daniel Sanchez

PEP TALK Before practice, head swim coach Mihai Oprea and assistant coach Kevin Boone prepare the team for another practice at the beginning of their season.

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IN THE PAINT Under the basket, senior Camp Collins comes to a jump stop as two Sunset High School defenders fly past him before he goes for a two-point layup on the way to a 97-43 win.

With a strong start, basketball team proves it can compete against nationally ranked teams 2018 RECORD 27-5

2018 SPC FINISH 3rd

THEY SAID IT “The season is going really well. Although we lost a tough game to Allen, the team is looking forward for what the season has ahead for us.”

— junior small forward Harrison Ingram

NOTABLE At the beginning of the season, the Lions were ranked as the number six team in Texas. The rankings included both public and private schools around the state.

2019 RECORD 8-2

NOTABLE The Lions played Prolific Prep (from Napa, CA), Nov. 30 at the American Airlines Center as a part of Thanksgiving Hoopfest. The Lions came up short 57-44 with junior Harrison Ingram scoring 22 of the Lions’ 44 points.

NOTABLE The Lions have scored over 600 points throughout the beginning of the season. Their highest scoring game so far has been 97-43 against Sunset High School Dec. 3. This was the team’s first game in the newly renovated gym.

Sports junkie A deeper dive into Lions sports for the winter season.

Statistics and records reflect games through Dec. 9.

17 POINTS FOR TAYLOR HOPKIN VS. SUNSET HIGH SCHOOL

READY TO SHOOT Senior forwards Alex Picagli (left) and William Holtby (right) run back to the Lion’s sidelines to celebrate with their team after a goal vs Casady Dec. 7. Senior power forward Taylor Hopkin takes warm up shots in preparation for the first game at the newly renovated Spencer Gym vs. Sunset High School.

72.4 Offensive PPG through 10 games

5

Number of sophomores on the varsity basketball squad Basketball

Soccer

Swimming

Advanced stats:

Advanced stats:

Advanced stats:

Five star forward Harrison Ingram came in as the #1 ranked junior in the state of Texas.

The Lions begin counter-play Jan. 10 vs.

FWCD.

The Lions finished in first place at the St. Mark’s Invitational Dec. 3

Senior Andrew Laczkowski committed to the University of Pennsylvania in October.

Preseason State Rankings 1) Duncanville 2) Cornerstone Chris- tian 3) Lancaster 4) Beaumont United 5) Allen 6) St. Mark’s

Defensive statistics:

The final day before break ends, the Lions will participate in their annual scrimmage vs. the Alumni Squad.

SPC 2018 Finishes 1) EHS 2) John Cooper 3) Kinkaid 4) Greenhill 5) St. Mark’s

Next up: Tonight @ Greenhill 12/16 vs. Home school

Opponent’s PPG: 56.2

1/7 vs. Parish

Next up:

1/10 vs FWCD

Desoto HS tonight (12/13)

Coach Mihai Oprea was named “Coach of the Year” for North Texas in ‘01, ‘02, ‘03 and ‘04.

Next up: 1/9 @ Southlake Carrol 1/14 @ Highland Park 1/16 vs. Greenhill 1/23 vs. Cistercian

Top three 50m Invitational freestyle times: Leo Ohannesian: 23.40 Jerry Fox: 23.50 Odran Fitzgerald: 23.80

Wrestling Advanced stats: The Lions won their last SPC Championship in 2015.

Coach Reyno Arredondo begins his third year as a fulltime coach.

Next up: 12/14 Tri-State Tournament @ Bishop Lynch 12/20-21 St Mark’s Lonestar 51st Christmas Open 1/3-4 Prep Slams @ Atlanta, Georgia 1/10-11 DISD Open @ Conrad High School

Word from the captains

Senior soccer captain William Holtby

“So far we haven’t been at full health, but I think that building off of last year we have lots of talent. It just depends on if we can keep practicing and putting in hard work, and hopefully all that hard work leads up to the counter season.”

Junior basketball captain Harrison Ingram

“We started the season off with a loss to Allen and we just wanted to bounce back and win the rest of the games. Lost a tough one on Saturday to Prolific Prep at the American Airlines Center. Now we want to focus on winning every game coming up going into our SPC season.”

Junior wrestling captain Jackson Fair

“The team is doing well. We did really well in our first tournament at Frisco independence, winning all four duels. We’re starting off this year with these hard tournaments to improve for the championship part of the season.”

Junior swimming captain Aayan Khasgiwala

“I think that as a team we are better now than we were near the end of last year. Besides winning SPC, I hope each athlete finds his own personal role and importance to the team.”

‘Sports junkie’ compiled by Luke Nayfa

REMARKER TAKE FLIGHT Sophomore Caleb Vanzant takes the ball to the hoop in a matchup against Sunset High School.

The Lions would go on to win their first home game in the newlyrenovated Spencer Gym by a final score of 97-43.

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS 10600 PRESTON RD. DALLAS, TX 75230

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HOLIDAY SPIRIT

A decorator unlike any other With a love of Christmas dating back to his childhood, senior Eddie Raj has been waiting his entire Marksman career to fill the campus with holiday cheer.

Cristian Pereira: What was it like being Decorating Committee chair this year?

Eddie Raj: We started a month and a half ago. We had to take inventory of everything St. Mark’s already had.

Then we pulled the whole senior class for ideas. We looked at the budget and made spreadsheets. We drew a blueprint of the campus to see where we wanted to put stuff and then divided up into man-hours and made shifts the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

We wrapped every single pillar in garland. I hope the campus looks good.

CP: What was actually decorating the campus like?

ER: I brought this giant lantern-looking speaker and someone else brought another Bluetooth speaker, and we basically shuffled the Spotify Christmas playlist all day.

Different people came at different times for their shift, and we just got to it. When people were standing around I would tell them to do another tree — it eventually got done.

CP: What does Christmas mean to you?

ER: Everyone’s in a better mood. It gives you a reason to be really nice to each other without a reason. I think everyone wants to do that all year, but because it’s Christmas we all have a reason now. It’s also a celebration of the year since it’s near New Years.

CP: When did you start loving Christmas?

ER: I always have. I’ve always been a big Christmas guy.

I’ll start listening to Christmas music way in advance — when I probably starting earning a reputation for it was in 9th grade when I started blasting Christmas music in October in the science lounge. If you start decorating and listening to Christmas music after Thanksgiving, you’re essentially celebrating Christmas for 24 days. I celebrate for a good three months — I leave my decorations up until February. If it’s cold outside you’re in Christmas season.

CP: What are some of your favorite ways to spread Christmas cheer?

ER: I try to wear Christmas clothing. I also try to give everyone something every year — at least my close friends and family. Decorating this year was a way I spread the cheer around campus.

DEDICATED Decorating the Perot Quadrangle sign, senior Eddie Raj’s love for Christmas goes far beyond the average Marksman.

TIS THE SEASON Responsible for campus decoration this year, senior Eddie Raj carefully places ornaments on the Great Hall’s Christmas tree.

STORY Cristian Pereira PHOTO Evan Lai