The ReMarker | March 2020

• For the first time in more than three decades,

Lions athletics has captured three SPC titles in one season. The Lions winter teams — with title victories by the basketball, swimming and soccer teams — propelled the athletics program to reaching the record-tying feat. We talked with players and coaches on these championship teams to see how they overcame the odds. Inside Pullout

Photo Courtesy Scott Peek

SPC SPECIAL SECTION

Lions celebrating a goal in the SPC soccer championship game Feb 15

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 5 • M A R C H 6 , 2 0 2 0

M E N T A L

H E A L T H

A W A R E N E S S

OURhiddenISSUE Mental health and its importance to a balanced life.

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here’s a shadow that looms over 10600 Preston Rd. It cuts into every inch of the fresh grass on the Quad, travels the tile stairway that leads to the second floor of Centennial Hall and rests on the shoulders of the Path to Manhood statue. Some feel its strangling grip, but few are strong enough to speak out about it.

Around campus, people seem to side-step the shadow, always secretly hoping it doesn’t wrap its fingers around them. Most never truly understand the severity of the struggle felt by the people who are trapped. The shadow is just a part of a deep-rooted and hidden issue at our school.

And we need to do something about it.

See coverage, pages 14, 15 STORY Sam Ahmed, Colin Campbell, Sid Vattamreddy PHOTO ILLUSTRATION Charlie Rose

DON'T MISS

Focus magazine • Considering our quiet overconsumption, we take a look at the topic of waste in its many forms in the 28-page magazine. Inside

Spring has sprung • As we finally turn the page from the cold

weather and chilly winds, Marksmen are ready for what the new season offers. Page 11

A senior night to remember •

Senior basketball captain Andrew Laczkowski hit the 2000 point milestone in one of his final games donning the blue and gold. Page 28

OUR SUPPORT NETWORK While some students are able to find their support network on campus, not all students feel that sense of help.

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@remarkernewspaper

• Podcast: In-depth conversations concerning all sorts of topics

Inside ISSUES

Young alumni spotlight

A culture of philanthropy

What are Marksmen up to after college?

• Lowell Ku ’89 details the importance of providing financial support as he recounts the impact philanthropy has had on his father ’s life.

As a member of the Columbia University Formula Racing team, Andrew Chuka ’17, who is now a junior in college, has been a part of an engineering-based club that designs, builds and races a car every for each of the last three years.

DISCOVERIES

“Besides the fun of racing and competition, the most important part about the club and being a member of the team is how we get to learn about the engineering cycle and what goes into project management.”

Science of the future

• As a part of the new schedule, the school is expanding its computer science program into Lower and Middle School.

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ANDREW CHUKA ’17

A not-so-foreign language • How does the Foreign Language Department’s approach line up with the actual practice of speaking in the real world?

• “There are too many cracks in which you learn in class. You learn a good foundation centered around the theme of your units, but there are a bunch of holes around it.” — Ian Fitzgerald ’17

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Andrew Chuka ’17 performs a “tilt test” during a testing session. The tilt test is done to ensure there are no fluid leaks when the car goes up inclines and is a part of the technical inspection required before competition.

Quick facts

Important statistical updates around the community

CULTURE

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Entertainment streaming platforms

• Comparing the differences and similarities between the giants of the streaming service while asking what’s the best option for students who don’t want to miss out.

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Points accumulated by the varsity swim team in the SPC championship Feb. 13, defeating St. John’s (86).

Percent of all proceeds from the McDonald’s Week March 3 dinner at Shake Shack went to Austin Street. films created by Marksmen screened at theaters in New York City’s Times Square.

Number of distinguished speakers who are participating today in the STEM festival.

Increasing mental health conversations

• After realizing the extent of the school’s mental health issue, we advise the administration to start change on campus to make a difference in students’ lives.

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THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

focalpoint on iTunes/Soundcloud

OPINIONS

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BULLETIN

• Instagram:

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SPORTS

World champions

Say what?

• Owner of the Kansas City Chiefs Clark Hunt ’83 shares what it’s like to build a Super Bowl winning team.

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From assistant to head coach

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Spring sports updates

Total number of pints of blood collected during the Blood Drive sponsored by Carter BloodCare.

• An in-depth look at the spring sports teams including a preview for the season.

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In brief

• SIXTH GRADE CAMPOUT. The sixth grade campout will take place April 2-3 at Mill Creek Farm. The 81 sixth graders will be accompanied by eight to ten chaperones. The trip, which serves as a part of the Wilderness Program led by Director of Physical and Experiential Education Mark Sullivan, will prepare the students for their future Pecos trip and allow them to spend time enjoying the outdoors.

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Since 2020 began, administrators Colin Igoe, Chris Disimile and John Ashton have all delivered speeches to the Upper School in chapel. Here are some of their main points.

• UPPER SCHOOL HEAD COLIN IGOE “We will always be painting our mosaics, working to embrace our triple point, interconnected with those who came before us – with those surrounding us. So, Marksmen, in closing…

Wake up each day, put one foot in front of the other and step by step decide what to be and go be it.”

• ASSISTANT UPPER SCHOOL HEAD

• ASSOCIATE HEADMASTER

CHRIS DISIMILIE “By using your individual power of leverage to express gratitude, you will create positive externalities, which will compound over time, leading to a healthier, happier and more grateful community and a healthier, happier and more grateful you.”

JOHN ASHTON “Trust, commitment, loy alty combined with the belief we share to contribute to the well-being of our team, the St. Mark’s team, allows us to enjoy the community we experience each day. But, we also know we can’t take it for granted.”

Comments overheard from all around campus

I invented a language where every letter is a word.

— Junior Ned Tagtmeier

• Sports editors William Aniol and Jack Davis sit down with Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins ’03 and ask what it’s like being a rookie head coach in the NBA.

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Words from the wise

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What kind of person takes a job giving detentions?

— Assistant Head of Upper School Chris Disimile

The fortune cookie paper didn’t taste that bad.

— Junior Alexander Zuch

I’m happy to be a person that people come to, even though I wish I had more of an ability to actually do something about it, because there is little I can do beyond trying to drive home that there are lots of ways of being in the world, currently and in the past.

—HISTORY INSTRUCTOR JERUSHA WESTBURY

Hockaday is led by Director of the St. Mark’s Fund Christina Jarke, who also coordinates Middle School community service. Students will leave at 8 a.m. and return around noon the same day.

• MCDONALD’S WEEK. The Junior Class led McDonald’s Week made its long-awaited return this past week, March 2-5, after it was pushed back from early fall due to tornado destruction. The Preston-Royal McDonald’s • BLOOD DRIVE WRAPis still under repair as of UP. Twenty-three students date and it is still and faculty members GENERAL print uncertain as to when it donated 19 units of blood to NEWS will return to being fully the 2020 Blood Drive held functional, but the Class of Feb. 19 in Nearburg Hall.

2022 hopes the location will The Community Service be back in time for a normal Board hosted the drive event next fall. This year, McDonald’s with the help of Carter BloodCare. meals were still given to people on The donated blood went toward campus throughout the week, despite the treatment of people affected by the lack of a physical restaurant. diseases such as anemia, hemophilia, sickle cell disorder and various types • ADVISOR CONFERENCES. Upper of cancers. The event was organized and Middle School students will by junior Tamal Pilla and sophomore conference with their parents and Ashvin Nair. advisors March 10 to select courses for the upcoming 2020-2021 school • GRADE SEVEN COMMUNITY year. During the meeting, students SERVICE PROJECT. The seventh will choose courses with the help of grade will begin its first annual their advisors and in adherence to community service project at the the school’s graduation requirements.

North Texas Food Bank on March Upper and Middle School students 7, where students will pack food will not have school on that day due for families in need in the Dallas to these conferences. community. The joint project with

ON HELPING HER STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH STORY ON PAGES 14-15.

Lower School music teacher Mary • ISAS ARTS FESTIVAL. The Ann Livengood, Lower School Independent Schools Association drama teacher Shannon Schnaible of the Southwest (ISAS) annual fine and Lower School art teacher arts festival will take place April 2-4 Suzuko Davis. in Tulsa, OK at Holland Hall. The advanced and advanced honors • CHORAL EVENSONG. The March visual arts and drama groups get Choral Evensong will be held to attend the festival. The orchestra, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel. band and choir will take their ninth The concert will be performed by through 12th grade students. At the treble choristers in grades four the ISAS festival, the orchestra through eight, providing and band will perform a chance to highlight as a large ensemble and the work of Lower and in smaller ensembles, Middle School choristers. and the choir will also The Choir will feature ARTS perform. pieces from Herbert The drama group will NEWS Sumsion, Colin Mawby perform a one-act play and Richard Dering, along with scenes and with songs stretching monologues. The improv four centuries of music group with St. Mark’s and from the late Renaissance to the Hockaday students will perform modern day. The guest organist an improv set. Pianists will also will be Joshua Boyd, the organistperform. The visual arts, drawing choirmaster at St. Luke’s Episcopal and painting, ceramics, wood Church in Dallas. and metal, photography and film studies classes will be on display • SPRING DRIVE. The annual throughout the festival.

Spring Basket Drive will run from March 23 to April 6. Donations • FIRST GRADE PLAY. The first will be collected by advisory at graders will be performing the the conclusion of the drive. The musical Going Buggy for their baskets will be donated to various parents and siblings from 6:30 p.m. community centers and shelters to 8 p.m. March 12. After a month throughout Dallas, including the and a half of learning scripts and West Dallas Community Center and songs and rehearsing, the six and the Jubilee Park and Community seven-year-olds are ready to display Center, as well as many others. their talents. The students are led by

• BASKETBALL TEAM FEATURED ON TELEVISION. The varsity basketball team was featured on the WFAA television program on channel eight March 1. The team traveled to the station to film their part at 2:30 p.m. that day and the program aired at 11 p.m. the same day. The news reporters asked the team questions about their season and their SPC championship from this past season. Further coverage on the team’s championship-winning season can be found in the special addendum.

basketball player in the country in the class of 2022 and Ingram is the 13th ranked player in the country per Rivals.com.

Smith currently holds ten Division One offers, including eight from power five programs. Ingram has received 21 Division One offers.

• JV SPORTS UPDATE. JV basketball

concluded its season with a loss to Highland Park on Feb. 4.

Headed by coaches Tre Crume and Derek Cahn, the team’s season ended SPORTS with a 9-13 record. JV soccer ended its season NEWS with a tie against ESD on Feb. 7. Led by coach Joel Reemsta, the team closed out their season with a 7-2 -2 record. defensive

• FAMILY TIES WITHIN LACROSSE COACHING STAFF. Patrick Franklin, the stepson of head varsity lacrosse coach Hayward Lee, was promoted to coordinator for the Lions before the 2020 spring season. Franklin has worked with the team for several seasons as a defensive assistant, and now he works alongside his father analyzing film, creating practice plans and operating the defense.

• BASKETBALL STARS RECEIVE NATIONAL HONORS. Sophomore forward Colin Smith and junior forward Harrison Ingram picked up invites to the USA Basketball Junior National Team Mini-Camp taking place during the NCAA Final Four in April. Smith is the 57th ranked

• MS SPORTS UPDATE. The eighth grade gold basketball team finished the season with a 17-2 record and a close loss to Trinity Valley at the DFW Middle School Classic Tournament, while seventh grade gold basketball finished with a 16-2 record and a dominant win over ESD at the same tournament. Seventh grade soccer ended with just one loss and capped the season off with a 7-0 victory over Oakridge. The eighth grade soccer team did not lose a match all season and outscored their opponents 45-6 over the course of the season.

ISSUES THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

Campaigning

Grading

Careers

Marksmen working for presidential campaigns here in Texas. Page 4

How teachers grade as objectively as possible. Page 5

Is there a right time to know what to do after leaving school? Page 6

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PHILANTHROPY

Giving more than your two cents

Marksmen interested in giving back should remember that for those in need, even the smallest donation can have a real impact.

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n 1945, a three-year-old Charles Ku arrived in a strange city in an unfamiliar land — New York City.

Charles and his parents had fled from China earlier that year during the Chinese Communist Revolution with the help of Lowell Littleton, an American Baptist missionary.

The Kus left to find a better life, to live the American dream, to take advantage of a lifechanging opportunity.

Now a 78-year-old dentist living in Lewisville, Charles has never forgotten the opportunity he received as a child.

He remembers how the generosity of that Baptist missionary in China completely changed his life’s trajectory.

Ever since he set foot on American soil, Charles sought to help those around him, giving his time and energy to change lives. He sought to be the Lowell Littleton for others in need.

Charles even named his son Lowell in honor of the Baptist missionary.

Lowell Ku ’89 was born in the U.S. and attended the school here from fifth to 12th grade.

Now a member of the Alumni Board and one of about 1,000 Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologists in the world, Lowell carries on his father’s legacy by giving back to his community as a philanthropist.

He remembers hearing his father Charles’s story. He remembers the life-changing impact of Lowell Littleton’s actions.

He remembers his namesake missionary every time he gives back to his community, just as his father did.

alma mater, 10600 Preston Rd. — the same campus he came to every school day from age 11 to 18.

“I love the school very much, and without the school I wouldn’t be who I am today,” Lowell said.

“I want to give back to this school that has given so much to me. So for me and my wife’s family, we feel very proud and very privileged to be able to give back to St. Mark’s.”

Lowell’s philanthropy is not solely focused on his former school though. He also gives to organizations related to his work as a fertility doctor.

“Since I’m a fertility doctor, my wife and I value giving back to the infertility world because we were patients ourselves, and we just want to give back to the community that helps us with our family,” Lowell said.

As a ChineseAmerican, Lowell also gives back to the Chinese community in Dallas.

The inspiration behind his giving to this particular community comes from his Lowell approaches philanthropy as a way to give father, Charles. back to the communities which “My father, for his have given so much to him and entire life here in Dallas, has his family. contributed in a very big way to the He hopes to pay forward THE 15 HOUR REQUIREMENT Chinese community.” Lowell said. what he has been given.

THAT EVERYBODY HAS TO “He helps out as much as he can “My wife and I, we feel with his time, his money and his ADHERE TO — IT SHOULD very strongly that we want to services to the Chinese community NOT JUST BE A BOX THAT give back to the community.” here in Dallas. And so he’s become CHECK . IT’S HOPEFULLY almost the grandfather of the Chinese Lowell said. “The community YOU CHECK. has given so much to us, INSTILLING A SENSE OF SERVICE community, the elder member of the and we’d like to show our Chinese society here in Dallas.”

TO OTHERS.” thanks and give back to the Charles has selflessly spent his — ALEX ESHELBRENNER community. So, we give back to time and efforts helping those around organizations that are very meaningful to us. And him, a passion that drives his family and their these are organizations that provide meaningful, philanthropy. positive impacts on society and help other people as “If someone has an issue, they just call good old well.”

Dr. Charles Ku, my dad, and he’s just a little dentist One of the communities Lowell prioritizes is his from Lewisville,” Lowell said. “He never says no, and he will do anything he can to help out. And if he can’t, he’ll find somebody who can. So with me growing up, seeing how my father lived his life provided a template for me. He was a role model to me in the way that I would like to live my life.”

• Don’t be afraid to give more than just Charles passed down his philanthropic values money. There are many ways to give to Lowell, and now, Lowell wishes to do the same back to charitable organizations, includwith his fifth-grade son, Collin, a Marksman just ing donations of time or of specialized like his father. services.

“I want to show [Collin] the way I live my life, how to give back to the community,” Lowell said. “I • Pick charities that align with your inwant him to do the same, and I want him to adopt terests. If possible, visit their local offices these family traditions and family values, so that or even their ongoing projects. one day he can also become a servant leader, which is exactly what St. Mark’s instills in all its boys.”

• Search for charities with local and

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Five tips for giving

regional focuses as well as for national charities.

• Do your research. When giving monetary donations, check with sites such as Give.org and GuideStar to make sure charities are legitimate.

• Start early. Getting into the habit of giving makes it a part of your lifestyle and ensures it will remain a lifelong habit.

Director of Alumni Relations Alex Eshelbrenner believes giving to an educational institution like St. Mark’s serves as an example of the exponential potential of philanthropic giving.

“If we invest in [the students], and they leave St. Mark’s to go off and do incredible things, of course we hope they will continue to support the school, and a lot of our alums do that,” Eshelbrenner said. “But more importantly, we hope that each student will go out and change the world for the better. It’s not just about taking care of St Mark’s. Children’s health. Homelessness. Hunger.

Just go down the list of important initiatives or problems that we’re facing as a society. We hope that our students and alums will help tackle all of those.”

Philanthropy, when it addresses the root of an issue, can have an exponential impact.

It also doesn’t just have to be about giving financially; philanthropy can also involve giving time and talent.

“Giving back with my time and my skills are absolutely important too.” Lowell said. “Giving money’s helpful, of course, but sometimes you can’t buy the things that you can give back just with spending time and with offering your skills.”

Lowell supports the school with his time by serving as a member of the Alumni Board, organizing alumni activities such as alumni weekend.

He also served as chair of the St.

A TOUGH DECISION It’s often difficult to choose which causes to give to or how much to allocate to each.

Mark’s annual fund during the 2018-2019 school year. “[Serving as chair of the fund] was great, and it was challenging, but definitely worth every single minute I spent working on it because we were able to surpass our goal of four million dollars.”

Lowell said. “I was very proud of the St. Mark’s community, just so proud that they were so generous and so willing to open up their hearts and their wallets to the school.”

While alumni with a steady income are generally more financially stable than current students and thus able to be more philanthropic when it comes to finances, current Marksmen can still give back to the communities they are involved in.

Philanthropy can take the form Lowell Ku ’89 of community service. Anyone Philanthropist can contribute philanthropically, regardless of whether or not they take home a weekly paycheck. “[Philanthropic practices] really begin in the community service program here at school.”

Eshelbrenner said. “The 15 hour requirement that everybody has to adhere to — it should not just be a box that you check. It’s hopefully instilling a sense of service to others and exposing students to initiatives and perspectives outside of our immediate community, and hopefully it’s something that will spark a fire in people — help them recognize that they’re coming from a fortunate place here.”

Whether an act of giving is considered philanthropy by its technical definition or simply giving, contributing to a community makes a difference. Any amount helps, and any amount can make a difference.

For Lowell, the brotherhood statue that stands at the end of Perot Quadrangle symbolizes what giving back means to his family.

“The statue in the Quad definitely means a lot to me and my family.” Lowell said. “Because we stand on the shoulders of giants, we want to hoist people up on our shoulders as well and help other people achieve their goals.”

STORY Robert Pou, Henry McElhaney ARTWORK Jamie Mahowald

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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ISSUES

2020 U.S. census offers new electronic options

POLITICAL ACTIVISM

On the campaign front lines

T IMPACT Matt Tranchin ‘02, above, and junior Matthew Schopmeyer, left and top left, are recognized for their work in the political field.

Most Marksmen — alumni and current students — are eager to vocally support a presidential candidate, but only a few actually put their words into action.

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he 2020 presidential race has seen a surge of grassroots movements.

With Bernie Sanders’s pledging not to take money from wealthy donors to Amy Klobuchar’s refusing corporate PAC money, everyday citizens are becoming more and more important in the political process, even at the national level. As such, support from voters — both in terms of campaign donations and campaign volunteering — is becoming more commonplace.

As this election cycle’s Texas presidential primary campaigns come to a close, The ReMarker sat down with junior Matthew Schopmeyer and Matt Tranchin ‘02 to talk about their experiences working for political campaigns. Schopmeyer is a community leader for Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 campaign, and Tranchin was the Texas political director for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

The following are edited transcripts of interviews with Schopmeyer and Tranchin.

••• Henry McElhaney: How exactly are you involved in this year’s presidential primaries?

Matthew Schopmeyer: I’m a community leader for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for the East Dallas-Lakewood area.

Basically, that means I’ll host canvas events, I’ll knock on doors for her and I’ll make calls.

HM: What do you mean by Canvas events?

MS: Canvas events are when you meet up with new volunteers in a public space, and we go over how you knock on doors, how you’re supposed to introduce yourself, what the entire script is over and the literature that you’ll hand them. And then, once you’ve done that, you help them go out and talk to a few people at first, and then everyone just goes out on their own.

Axel Icazbalceta: How long have you been doing this work and what has your work schedule looked like?

MS: I’ve been doing this work for a few months now, and I do it about every weekend, sometimes during the week.

HM: Have your experiences changed the way you view these political processes and all these elections and primaries?

MS: I think that we have the privilege not to be in a situation where we’re voting for our lives –– we’re going to be okay no matter what. But getting out there and speaking to people really makes me realize that these are actual lives and that the policies that we’re fighting for are really going to make big changes to a lot of people, so it’s great to fight for them.

AI: Having done this for a couple months, can you see yourself doing this for other elections or campaigns in the future?

MS: Yeah, absolutely. After getting involved with Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, I reached out to Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez’s campaign for the nomination for the Texas Senate for the Democratic seat. And I’ve started working with them a little bit. I’ve made a few calls.

HM: Is there anything else you would like to say?

MS: It doesn’t have to be Elizabeth Warren, but just find someone you’re passionate about and really try to work to get them elected because it teaches you a lot, and it’s a healthy exercise of citizenship to get involved in our democratic processes.

••• Axel Icazbalceta: How exactly were you involved in the 2008 Obama campaign?

Matt Tranchin: I began in the campaign as a field organizer in New Hampshire in the summer of 2007. I transitioned to being a field organizer in South Carolina later that summer in Williamsburg, which was one of the poorest counties in the state, and I was stationed there for about six months as a field organizer. After South Carolina, I transitioned to being the regional field director in Selma, Alabama for Super Tuesday. After Alabama, I came to Dallas, where I served as the political director for the state of Texas through the general election.

Henry McElhaney: Once you got to Texas and became the political director, how did that role impact the campaign, specifically in the Texas primaries?

MT: Our job in the field and political department was to shore up endorsement from local elected officials and then use our ability to connect those local elected officials with our volunteers. Within most campaigns, the goal is to identify supporters, convert those supporters into volunteers, train those volunteers into becoming trained organizers and then training those organizers to recruit other volunteers.

AI: Do you think the size of Texas and the number of delegates up for grabs makes it an important stop, or does this only happen in years where the primaries are more contested, like this year or 2008?

MT: I think yes, but it had to come up in a circumstance where no candidate had already assumed the presidential nomination by the time Texas came into the play. It’s also worth noting that because Texas is such a large state and its media markets are so expensive, it’s prohibitive to a lot of campaigns to really have a presence here in Texas because it’s so expensive to hire staff and get your word out in the media market like Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. We’re now seeing a tremendous amount of

by Toby Barrett he United States Census Bureau began administrating the decennial American census in January of this year, a process in which the federal government counts and considers the population.

The vast undertaking is mandated by the United States Constitution and requires residents to cooperate accordingly.

For the first time ever, residents who choose not to fill out physical forms will be able to take the census online. Census-takers can supply any required information needed to complete the national inventory on a website created by the Census Bureau.

In light of the February incident at the Iowa Caucus in which similar electronic vote-counting failed, the census is also widely available in the mail as a physical form.

After census information is recorded on these forms, they are sent back to the Census Bureau.

U.S. history instructor Bryan Boucher believes the census is a critical enterprise the government takes on each decade.

“Today, it serves a really valuable function, which is determining not only how many people are in this country, but who they are, where they live, where they’re moving to and where they’re moving from,” Boucher said. “That has lots of implications for lots of different aspects of the government and businesses as well.”

Owing to a large amount of time needed to complete the census, Boucher does not expect to glean much information from the population count for a couple of years.

“The question people ask a lot is, ‘why do we only do this every ten years in the United States?’” Boucher said.

“Frankly, it’ll be two years before we get the real results from the census. The actual counting process will take up most of 2020.

By the time you get results from it, it’s into 2021 and 2022, and then we’re making decisions based on that.”

resources being put into the state by candidates who can afford it. But that really boxes out a lot of candidates that just now are generating momentum and are wanting to participate and have visibility in a state like Texas.

HM: How have those experiences, your time working on the campaign and since then, impacted your view on these political processes, like elections in Texas?

MT: This idea that as much as everyone gets excited around election time to do their civic duty and to go out and vote, our civic duty doesn’t begin and end at the voter polls. It should be a yearround effort of becoming meaningfully involved with what’s happening in your backyard and understanding that politics is a vehicle to accomplish transformative change. You just have to get involved and stay involved.

AI: How did you initially get involved in New Hampshire, and then how did you get to Texas from Alabama?

MT: I went to college in Chicago, and the first year that Senator Obama came into office, I got an internship with him on Capitol Hill. This was summer of 2005. As a college resident of the state of Illinois, Senator Obama was my senator. And so I applied for a Capitol Hill internship with Senator Obama, and I was part of that very first inaugural class of Senate interns for Senator Obama on Capitol Hill. I had the opportunity to develop relationships with his senior staff, and so when I graduated college and he announced his decision to run for president, I was hired to be a field organizer on his campaign.

HM: Do you have any advice for St. Mark’s students who’d like to get involved in a campaign, activism or some other type of political work?

MT: The skill set that you develop by being involved in a political campaign, whether it’s on a local level or a national level, the skill sets that you develop, organizing like-minded advocates, to champion either candidates or policy ideas, that is a skill set of local leadership that is applicable to almost anything you’ll do in life. And so I would encourage Marksmen to find a candidate, find an issue that they’re passionate about and jump in headfirst.

Especially on a local level, students will be really surprised to understand just how much access they have to their local council member because of how few people are involved on a local level.

STORY Henry McElhaney, Axel Icazbalceta PHOTOS Courtesy Matthew Schopmeyer, Matt Tranchin

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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ISSUES

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SUBJECTIVE GRADING

More than just a letter Two department chairs and a master teacher give their thoughts on how they make an effort to grade students in an unprejudiced way.

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n essay, a math test.

Both major assignments that Marksmen find themselves completing dozens of times across the course of a school year.

But while each of those assignments assess drastically different skill sets of a student, they are both graded on an A to F scale.

How can the quality of an essay be compared to the quality of a set of math problems? While the math problems can either be right or wrong, an essay seems to require much more subjectivity to grade.

But in reality, both assignments require subjective and objective grading.

••• In the Mathematics Department, Suzanne and Patrick McGee Family Master Teaching Chair Joe Milliet says that in math, partial credit is one of the few things that can be graded subjectively, and he generally prefers to assign points to certain parts of a problem, so that it becomes more objective.

“If I see a kid only makes an arithmetic mistake, but procedurally everything’s been done right, the kid is going to get huge partial credit,” Milliet said. “What’s different is, if that mistake occurs at the beginning and trivializes the problem, he can’t get as much credit.

During his time as the Mathematics Department chair, Milliet had several teachers add a subjectively determined leadership component to their gradebooks.

“What it meant was: did you come to class with your proper utensils, notebook, and pencils?” Milliet said. “Did you come to class with your homework done? Did you volunteer to put problems on the board and participate in class discussion?

All of those things make the class better, and everybody benefits from that.”

Milliet sees the only flaw in a teacherdetermined class participation grade to be how much of the grade it’s worth.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE For a lot of students, it may feel like they are given a random letter for a grade every time they hand work in. In reality, teachers put a lot of hard work into making their decisions as fair and unbiased as possible.

“It should never drop someone from an A to a C,” Milliet said. “It might drop an A-minus to a B-plus because the kid doesn’t contribute, but I would hate to see it count so much because some kids are just shy and don’t like to talk in class.”

The English Department is full of essays, annotation checks, class participation and grades that at first glance seem subjective.

But English teachers have systems in place to grade their English assessments as objectively as possible.

“We try to avoid subjective grading as much as we can,” English Department Head Michael Morris said. “From a student’s perspective, it’s frustrating, and it’s not that helpful. We acknowledge that English, by its very nature, is going to be somewhat subjective, so our challenge is to try to equate what students do with standards that are as objective as possible.”

Morris wants students to be challenged, but his intention is never to frustrate students. However, if a student disagrees with a grade he may have been given, Morris encourages that student to talk to his teacher.

“Teachers should be open to having those discussions,” Morris said. “In the end it’s ultimately the teacher’s decision, but teachers should go into it with an open mind. We may well have made a mistake.

Usually the first conversation helps. One of the real benefits of a school like St. Mark’s is we have a lot of office time to meet with you.”

While a grade should feel summative at the end of a year, Morris says throughout the course of a year a bad grade should not discourage a student.

“If you get a C on a quiz, I don’t want students to think that is a mark of what kind of student they are,” Morris said.

“Rather, it should be one bit of feedback that forms the student they can become.

It’s the growth mindset idea that you hear a lot: How can I take this experience and form something positive out of it?”

In the Science Department, a similar methodology exists to ensure fairness.

“Many St. Mark’s teachers grade with rubrics to help establish consistency,” Science Department Head Fletcher Carron said. “Rubrics don’t eliminate the need for teachers to make decisions while grading, but they establish a baseline of fairness that students can believe in.”

Science assessments require a variety of different response methods, leading to a wide array of grading strategies.

“Written, paragraph-form responses are more challenging, but metrics of successful answers can still be defined and associated with particular grades,” Carron said. “If a student falls short in one category or more, then lower grades can be assigned, depending on the number and severity.”

But the school trusts teachers — they’re here for a reason.

“There is no way to eliminate subjectivity completely, nor should there be. St. Mark’s teachers are in their positions partially because of their good judgment in assessing student success and mastery of material,” Carron said.

“However, being specific in defining metrics and questions like those above helps the teacher uphold student-tostudent consistency and provide the most specific and useful feedback to students

who want to know how to improve.”

From his perspective, sophomore Blake Molthan generally prefers being graded through a rubric rather than through a teacher’s opinion — the directions tend to be more straight-forward.

“I’ve always found it harder to work on assignments where the teacher doesn’t give you strict guidelines,” Molthan said. “When you’re working on a paper, knowing exactly what the teacher wants makes the writing process a lot easier, and you’re not just having to take wild guesses on everything.”

At 10600 Preston Rd., however, he thinks teachers do a good job of following grading guidelines, even when grading subjectively. They tend to use rubrics when marking essays so that students can get a better idea of what they did wrong.

However, he doesn’t believe it’s always perfect.

“Sometimes I find the rubrics themselves to be vague, especially on bigger projects,” Molthan said. “Usually, teachers will say, ‘Oh, it’s because we want you to be more creative about it,’ but a lot of times it just ends up confusing you more than it helps.”

Overall, however, Molthan finds the grading here fair, including class participation. For the most part, a student’s grade is in his own hands.

“I think it’s fine,” Molthan said.

“If you stay attentive in class, you’ll be okay.”

STORY Cristian Pereira, Austin Williams GRAPHIC Cooper Cole

IN THEIR OW N WORDS When grading subjectively, how do you make sure you are grading fairly?

‘

I try to make things that would be perceived as subjective become as objective as possible.

‘

I rely on my inherent wisdom.

English instructor GayMarie Vaughan

Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus M a s t e r Te a c h i ng C h a i r D r. B r u c e W e s t r a t e

‘

‘

In some cases I like to use a rubric, and in other cases I’m able to be fair through a lot of practice in noticing patterns.

I just make sure to always use a rubric.

Foreign Language Department Chair D r. Z a c h a r y E r w i n ’ 9 6

English instructor Geoffrey Stanbury

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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ISSUES

BEYOND 10600

No way to go back

How early should students decide on their career path? Is it sensible for students to keep potential careers in mind while considering which colleges to apply to?

T

he biggest question on every high school senior’s mind is a daunting one: what next?

College? A career?

Many seniors applying for college are required to register for a specific school within a university. Thus, it stands to reason that high schoolers benefit from early career choices. With a specific occupation in mind, teenagers are able to customize their college choices.

While some might already have an idea of what career to pursue, many students find themselves unsure of what profession to follow.

How early should students know what career to follow? And how should they even know what career to pursue at all?

Senior Aaron Weiser already knows he wants to be an English teacher and is tailoring his college search accordingly.

“I love math, and I love science,” Weiser said.

“But once I got more and more into English and more and more into storytelling and teaching, it’s broadened my college view into some more liberal arts schools.”

Much of Weiser’s motivation to pursue a profession in education comes from his experience in AP United States history with instructor Bryan Boucher. Weiser was not particularly passionate about the subject, but when he took the class, Boucher opened up a new worldview for him.

“It’s probably the best class that I’ve ever taken at St. Mark’s,” Weiser said.

“And I knew I wanted to do this, help change kids’ perspectives about things that they don’t seem to like at the beginning.”

Aaron Weiser Even though Weiser Aspiring English teacher already knows what he wants to do, he realizes that most of his peers are still undecided.

“Some colleges don’t even let you pick a major until your sophomore year, which I think is actually really good, so kids don’t have a one-track mind,” Weiser said. “They can explore more things and learn about new stuff.”

David Vallejo ‘19, currently a freshman at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, knew in high school he wanted to pursue a career in business.

“Every school I applied to was with business in mind,” Vallejo said. “I didn’t apply to any liberal arts schools.”

Vallejo is currently seeking out a summer internship. As the academic year comes to a close, he has his eye on the Freshman Diversity Leadership Internship at McKinsey and Company, which he has applied to and is preparing for an interview.

“It’s not really like I’m going to be getting instruction on how to be an investment banker,”

Vallejo said. “It’s more of an introduction to investment banking and an opportunity to meet people, analysts, associates, maybe a [vice president] or two to start networking.”

As an intern networks, he accumulates job opportunities. In the business world, summer internships can especially affect the full time job one gets out of college.

“Some people are more worried about getting the junior year internship than thinking about their full-time job,” Vallejo said.

“Because typically you go to the internship, and David Vallejo’19 Business student then they give you the full-time offer. You really have to mess up your internship to not get a fulltime offer.”

While internships may have large implications for the first jobs undergraduates are able to attain out of universities, Vallejo believes it is perfectly fine if a student does not get a particular internship.

“If you don’t get a super structured internship your freshman year, it’s not the end of the world,” Vallejo said.

Although he knows he wants to pursue business in some capacity, Vallejo is still unsure exactly which role within the field to pursue.

He’s narrowed it down to most likely consulting or banking.

“I think I could see myself more as a consultant just because it’s a lifestyle I think I would be able to have when I’m young and just graduated,” Vallejo said. “Whereas in banking, typically you’re working long hours and you have little free time to yourself. I still have an open mind, and I’ll definitely recruit for it. I just think right now the way I see it, I’d rather be in consulting.”

According to Vallejo, it’s fine to not know exactly what you want to do long-term.

“You don’t have to have your life planned completely,” Vallejo said. “It’s okay to not know what lies ahead, but I would recommend starting to think about it because I remember junior year seems like yesterday, and now I’m here.”

Unlike Vallejo, Graham Radman ’05 had only a vague idea as to what profession he wanted to study after Upper School.

“I knew certain things that I didn’t want to do,” Radman said. “I didn’t want to go to medical school. I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I really had no idea what I did want to do, so I left my options open as much as I possibly could.”

Owing to his uncertainty, Radman figured he would look at colleges that maintained strong programs in all academic fields. Eventually, he chose Yale.

“I had learned in middle school to program, so the first major that I gravitated toward was computer science, but I also didn’t want to be a programmer,” Radman said. “I knew that. Not the traditional programmer long-term. So, I kind of was looking for other avenues out of that.”

In addition to computer science, Radman took classes in economics, computer science and electrical engineering, biological computing, computer science and psychology.

“Yale was very much focused on theory and not so much on practice,” Radman said. “Not to say that I didn’t learn how to think and learn how to build a work ethic and things like that, but in terms of actual practical skills, [they taught] virtually none.”

Out of college, Radman was a data analyst for Argus Information and Advisory, a consulting company working in the credit card industry. After working as an analyst for nine months, he took a Graham Radman ’05 Entrepreneur job on Wall Street for ten years, working for a hedge fund in New York and London. Now, he has come back to Dallas and is in the process of beginning his own start-up.

“People can generate returns in the markets, but computers could be doing it a lot better,” Radman said. “I set out to prove that point by using artificial intelligence technology to effectively build a stock-picker that could outperform humans.”

After a decade of navigating the professional world, Radman has advice for upperclassmen who are unsure of their career path.

“Don’t worry about getting too specialized in something,” he said. “Just dive into it, and do it.

You can always become less specialized later on.”

At the end of the day, there is no set time at which a Marksman must decide what he wants to do after he leaves 10600 Preston Rd. Weiser believes the best way to carve out a profession is to consult people who care.

“If you’re feeling like you’re stuck, you might need to just take a leap,” Weiser said. “Talk to your parents, talk to your teachers, talk to your friends, talk to your advisor and the college counselors about what you think is the best path for you. Everyone is going to be helpful. Have a conversation with yourself and with others about what you really want to do.”

AN EARLY COMMIT Many seniors feel pressure to choose a career before they leave 10600 Preston Rd.

STORY Toby Barrett, Robert Pou PHOTO Jerry Zhao

College Counseling office makes first of two new counselor hires for 2020-2021 school year

by Axel Icazbalceta hoebe Kingsak, senior assistant director of admissions in the Undergraduate Admissions Office at NYU, has been appointed to be the school’s next college counselor, replacing outgoing Assistant Head of College Counseling Casey Gendason.

The school will be adding a third college counselor before the 2021 school year begins. This decision was made to keep the College Counseling office highly accessible to Upper School students as class sizes increase.

At NYU, Kingsak’s work focused on

P

the Tandon School of Engineering, where she assisted undergraduate admissions as well as first-year and transfer students.

Kingsak also worked on the NYU Scholars Program and in the admissions office of Pace University.

The search for the new counselor was split into two parts. The first part focused on finding a counselor who could relate well to students. Kingsak spent a day at the school and garnered good feedback from juniors, seniors and faculty members.

The second part of the search involved finding someone with admissions

experience either at a high school or a university. Kingsak’s experience at NYU was highlighted in this facet of the search.

“For her to have that background,” Director of College Counseling Veronica Pulido said, “in addition to NYU being a school that travels with other institutions, she has had some first-hand experience to be able to hear about what the other colleges are doing as well.”

As for the second hire, the school is looking out to find someone who will bring a different area of expertise to the table, such as more experience with technology or experience with athletic

recruitment. This all focuses on trying to round out the team of college counselors.

Pulido wants to reassure parents and Upper School students that the College Counseling office will remain a stable part of the St. Mark’s community after Gendason’s departure.

“There is great stability in the office,” Pulido said. “We will have a wealth of knowledge and information with these two other individuals, in addition to [College Counseling Coordinator] Cijlvere Nute. A strong group of four in the College Counseling office is what we’re going for.”

DISCOVERIES THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

7

Deep Sea Robotics Robotics team builds part of deep sea robot for Victor Vescovo ’84. Page 8

OPPORTUNITY Expansions to the computer science program will help students better prepare for a technologydriven future.

COMPUTER SCIENCE

The future of computer science With the new schedule being implemented next year, the schoolwide computer science program will also see change. What will these changes look like? What changes are slated for the future? How vital is computer science?

T

he competitive, ever-changing world additional staff that will now teach all grades One important goal of the requirement is that Marksmen prepare for grows more one through four.” to ensure that students aren’t limited to a few technologically dependent with every The Middle School program will also traditional computer science classes. A broad innovation. Computers, automation, machine see improvements, with students moving range of courses within the department would learning and even more advanced emerging from behind the keyboard into the realm be offered so students would have freedom to technologies will define productivity in the of engineering, focusing on prototyping choose how to meet it. future. Basic computer applications are no and problem-solving beyond traditional “One scenario for any graduation longer a sufficient skills base — no matter a programming. requirement is, everyone takes a certain graduate’s desired major or career field.

“Every seventh course.” Ashton said. “The other way The schedule is going to With recent changes on campus, the grade computer to think about it, though, is to have open up opportunities that school can begin to implement the expanded science strand will be a list of skills we want every boy to we don’t currently have. computer science curriculum that leadership in the Maker Space graduate with in the areas of computer John Ashton envisioned.

Lab with Mr. Mayer,” science. Those skills could be satisfied ••• Ashton said. “It’s in a slate of offerings.”

Computer science has been a priority for going to be a course called ‘Make It, Break The school will continue to evaluate administrators since the latest iteration of the It, Fix It’ and it’s going to combine computer possible routes forward as the new schedule campus mission. science, programming, engineering, design, develops and becomes more familiar to “In Goals for St. Marks IV, the strategic engineering, fabrication and production.”

Marksmen, faculty and staff. Computer Science plan that was drafted a few years ago and But the changes will reach down to even Head Kurt Tholking is supportive of this approved by the board, one of the areas younger students, too. gradual expansion. is to expand computer science,” Associate “By teaching computer science at all levels, “After we implement the schedule next Headmaster John Ashton said. “It’s been on students will benefit from the cumulative effect year, we will begin to look at requirements our minds for a while.” of years of engagement. and of course changes for computer science Implementation of the new schedule was The new opportunities offered in Middle for the Upper School, so things may change a key factor, since it will open up time for more School will also effect Upper School course next year — but the course offerings will not.” course offerings that previously offerings.

Tholking said. “Right now, freshmen cannot couldn’t fit.

“As that pipeline now comes take AP computer science. So, we’re going to “That was the first domino up with boys that have even more start looking at a course that freshmen or new that needed to fall to then build exposure and more experience from students could take.” out the other things that would Middle School, we’re anticipating to He plans to help develop a program that allow us to realize our goals,” look at demand in Upper School.” would offer Upper Schoolers a structured Ashton said. “The schedule is Ashton said, “We want to equip every progression through different levels of the going to open up opportunities boy with a fluency that is helpful field. for us that we don’t currently for him whether or not he pursues “In the grand scheme, we’d have a four John Ashton Associate Headmaster have.” a STEM related field or course of year plan for computer science, something Moving into next year, the study.” that students could follow if they wanted to.” school will start a softer expansion of computer With all this infrastructure in place, the Tholking said. science curriculum, building upon structures school may eventually implement a computer Though the expansion won’t be immediate, already in place. science graduation requirement for Upper changes should start rolling out in the next few “The expansion aspects that we’re going Schoolers. years according to plans. to see into next year are really in two areas.”

“It’s sort of moving in that direction,” “Look for the year after the schedule Ashton said. “We’ve now hired a [dedicated] Ashton said. “we might get to a place where changes next year for hopefully more offerings Lower School computer science teacher — there’s a graduation requirement.” in the Upper School,” Tholking said.

“

STORY Cooper Ribman, Sam Goldfarb PHOTO Rohit Vemuri

By the numbers

45

percent of high schools teach programming

66

percent of projected new jobs in STEM involve computing

3

percent of college students graduate college with a computer science degree SOURCE: COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION WEEK

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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DISCOVERIES

Robotics team takes a deep dive

ROBOTICS

STEM Fest guest preview

Robotics team members work on a specially-commissioned project to assist ocean explorer Victor Vescovo ’84 with his research — designing an armature for a deep sea probe.

The annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Festival will take place on campus March 6-8.

Dr. Murat Çobanoglu Dr. Murat Çobanoglu works at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, developing drug-discovery engines that assist cancer research. Çobanoglu prototyped a drug discovery engine one thousand times more accurate than regular screening methods.

Dr. Jodi Cooley

A

fter the construction of the Winn Science Center was completed, Headmaster David Dini showed alumnus Victor Vescovo ’84 the new building and the new Makerspace in particular.

Makerspace Director Stewart Mayer, while in conversation with Vescovo told Vescovo if he ever needed anything designed, the Lions robotics team would be happy to help.

Three weeks later, Mayer opened his email to find a message from Vescovo.

Mayer had no idea that his casual comment would bring about a whole new project that would require a lot of deep thinking.

••• Mayer opened the email and saw the task Vescovo had for the robotics team — designing a scoop that would allow a submarine lander to take soil samples from the sea floor.

“I had never thought that he would actually take us up on the offer,” Mayer said. “He has some of the best engineers working on a 35 Stewart Mayer million dollar Makerspace Director submarine that could take you to literally anywhere you want to go in the ocean. The fact that he is asking us to build a machine that will be part of this trek to the bottom of the ocean is amazing. I think this is a great way for the robotics team to learn the engineering method and how to work within tight constraints.”

Robotics team senior captain Faraz Asim believes this is a very valuable experience for the robotics team.

“Mayer got the email right after we finished the robotics season, so we did not have much to do,” Asim said. “This project will allow us to not only practice with real materials, but also improve our skills with the 3D modeling and CAD [Computer Aided Design].”

Asim thinks this project will provide useful real-life experiences too.

“It’s nice that we are using all our tools for real projects,” Asim said. “This also is good practice learning and using the engineering process and how it works.

DEEP DOWN Vescovo’s Triton probe collects data on the ocean floor.

Vescovo will be on campus March 10 to work with the robotics team.

The bonus to all this is that all of these skills are applicable to real life. We also had to give presentations on the designs to Vescovo, which is good practice for real life as well.”

Building the soil sampler presents its own unique challenges compared to the usual builds for the robotics team.

“The coolest part of all this project is all the restrictions we have to follow,” Asim said. “In robotics all the restrictions are arbitrary, like size and material, and don’t affect anything but the actual building of the robot. In this project, we have to follow the guidelines, or the soil sampler will not work.”

In fact, there are many limiting factors in this project besides size and material.

“There is a bunch of stuff that works weirdly down there [the bottom of the ocean] with the pressure and the salt,” Asim said. “This means that electronics or hydraulics don’t work. This means that the only thing we really have to work with are springs. Almost all our mechanisms rely on a spring-loaded mechanism triggering when the lander hits the bottom of the ocean.”

After modeling and working on over ten designs, the robotics team finally decide on three designs on which to focus their time.

“All the designs are unique in their own way, except for the fact that they all use the spring mechanism,” Asim said.

“Our first one is a cloth contraption that closes shut, the second one is a plunger that goes down and then back up and the third one is a macaroni-type shape that spins around and picks up whatever it can. All of these are different approaches to the same problem.”

This project will help strengthen the robotics team for future competitions.

“We split into a bunch of teams and made sure that each one had at least one person who was good at CAD,” Asim said.

“This will allow our teams to have good designs, while also teaching the others how to design for next year.”

The current goal for the robotics team is to prepare for when Vescovo returns to the school to see the final models March 10.

“Currently we are finishing building prototypes and we will show him when he returns to the School,” Asim said.

STORY Ethan Borge, Han Zhang PHOTO Courtesy Faraz Asim

Dr. Cooley works as an associate professor of physics at SMU, currently working as principal investigator on the SuperCDMS dark mater experiment. She uses cryogenic detectors to distinguish between dark matter and background particles.

Naia Butler-Craig Naia Butler-Craig is an aerospace engineering student at Geogia Tech and an intern at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. She’s currently studying to become a mission specialist astronaut.

Dr. Alan Katz Dr. Alan Katz has worked as Chief Technology Officer of WR Hambrecht & Co and ES Xplore Inc. Katz also worked in the advanced signal processing unit at Texas Instruments Central Research lab. He’s the father of Alex Katz ’08.

10600

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

Rituals

Spring

Discovering the backstory of our faculty’s storied classroom rituals.

Page 10

Photos of Marksmen taking advantage of the changing seasons.

Page 11

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

9

Caught in two worlds

Practicing a foreign language in everyday life is different from learning it at school. Just ask Luis Garcia-Ojeda and Ian Fitzgerald ’17.

E

very day, junior Luis Garcia-Ojeda walks into his third period Spanish class.

His third period sophomore Spanish class.

Sliding into his Hoffman 215 desk, Garcia-Ojeda spends 45 minutes of his morning in another class.

Forty-five minutes in his third period sophomore Spanish class.

For almost any question in his 45 minute third period class, Garcia-Ojeda has an answer. For almost any question, his answer is right.

His answer is right in his third period sophomore Spanish class.

Eight hours later, Garcia-Ojeda pulls into his driveway, walks into his home and chats with his family.

In fluent Spanish. Without a single hesitation.

And a few hours later, Garcia-Ojeda — a junior, a fluent Spanish speaker his whole life, someone who calls Spanish his first language — starts his Spanish homework.

His sophomore Spanish class homework.

•••

After years of classroom instruction, Fitzgerald still “We were able to talk about simple topics — like When comparing the Spanish he’s learned at home to found difficulty identifying parts of his surroundings. our culinary likes and dislikes — but also complex the Spanish he’s learned on campus, Garcia-Ojeda says “It was just the sheer number of nouns,” Fitzgerald topics like politics and religion,” Erwin said. “We the biggest differences are the grammatical emphasis said. “Objects in your day-to-day life. You’re referring probably sounded overly formal at that point — and the formality of the language. to objects or concepts you don’t know the words for.” especially when we first arrived — but we were “Learning the language at home, your parents Although the classroom experience can create a definitely able to communicate with and learn from the teach you how to speak it,” Garcia-Ojeda said. “Not helpful environment to learn in, Fitzgerald says issues Spaniards we encountered.” really how to write it or all the accents. You learn in conversations with others are inevitable.

Using this experience, Erwin says his to speak more colloquially. In school, it’s a lot more “Some topics are a little higher level that you’ll ability to communicate in colloquial Spanish formal.” never talk about in day-to-day life, but there are too “grew exponentially,” enhancing his second Beyond the stylistic difference, Garcia-Ojeda says many cracks in what you learn in class,” Fitzgerald study abroad experience during his junior he finds himself relying on his own knowledge more said. “You learn foundations centered around the theme year of college. than on what he learns during class, and while he’s of your units, but there are a bunch of holes in it.”

This ability to communicate — not only technically correct, oftentimes his answers don’t meet According to Fitzgerald, speaking casually with colloquially but also formally — is something teacher expectations.

Ian Fitzgerald ’17 natural speakers requires adjustments as you encounter Erwin hopes all foreign language students “For example,” Garcia-Ojeda said, “bolígrafo. I just Studied abroad in China common speaking techniques. achieve. used to call it pluma. In my family, that’s what most “Being in China,” Fitzgerald said, “most of my “Our aim when teaching a language people call it. I got that wrong on a few tests. That time was spent filling in the holes where I like Spanish is for students to learn how to speak, happens on tests. That’s a challenge.” would talk about something I had talked understand, read and write the language in varying This reliance on instinct transcends about previously but with new words or degrees of formality,” Erwin said. “We want students vocabulary for Garcia-Ojeda. Even when words that people use in day-to-day speech to carry on an informal conversation with a friend, but Learning it comes to verb conjugations — an aspect languages instead of in a textbook.” also a more formal one with a teacher or a boss. We of the language’s grammar — he admits at home and Some languages — such as Chinese, want them to jot down a quick email or text message many of his answers are based on “how it school according to Fitzgerald — require more but also write a well-structured paragraph with natural sounds.” communication and conversation to truly be transitions and correct spelling and grammar. We want “Teachers ask, ‘Why did you choose able to converse fluently with native speakers. them to read texts ranging from menus and street signs to conjugate it this way?’” Garcia-Ojeda said. “‘What “You need person-to-person interaction,” to literature.” makes this a present, a perfect, a pluscuamperfecto?’

Fitzgerald said. “You need it for all languages, but As for teaching colloquial language, Erwin says And I’m like, ‘I don’t know. It just sounds right.’ I don’t Chinese, there’s just so few people who speak Chinese the department’s goal is to introduce a variety of really know the reasoning behind it. That’s hardest for regularly. Listening to a native person speak Chinese, it cultural styles to its students, allowing them to immerse me to learn. Learning why in a sentence, this word has sounds a lot different than it does in the classroom, at themselves in any environment and learn regionally to be this way, this tense.” least initially.” specific slang with ease.

Even with this in mind, A combination between “We try to teach our students Garcia-Ojeda still relies on conversation and classroom a broad range of vocabulary and what he learns at home more learning creates a helpful mix language structures that will allow OUR HERITAGE LEARNERS than what he learns at school in learning a foreign language. them to understand and because in the end, he thinks SHOULD VALUE AND Fitzgerald took advantage of the be understood anywhere it will help him more in the CHERISH THEIR many opportunities to gain a little the language is spoken,” real world. more knowledge and understanding EXISTING LANGUAGE AND Erwin said. “In my “It’s like learning a fifth Luis Garcia-Ojeda of a complex language. experience, once you’re CULTURE. OUR PURPOSE grade level English class at Junior “We would have multiple immersed in a nativeschool, going home and then IN LANGUAGE CLASS IS NOT language classes,” Fitzgerald said, speaker environment, you speaking fluently,” GarciaTO REPLACE WHAT THEY “and one of them was basically a pick up the slang you need Ojeda said. “Obviously, if I learn something new at D r. Z a c h E r w i n ’ 9 6 ALREADY KNOW, BUT RATHER fairly quickly, especially if small class where we have small school, I go home and I talk to my mom. She’s like, Foreign Language Department Chair groups, and we’d raise questions you already have a solid ‘Oh, yeah, you could use that word, but we usually say TO ADD TO IT. about things that we ran into in our foundation of more widelythis.’”

— FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT day-to-day life that we wanted to used vocabulary and structures.”

CHAIR DR. ZACH ERWIN ‘96 talk more about in the classroom When it comes to students who When it comes to applying foreign language learned setting. That kind of classroom already have that solid foundation in the classroom, Ian Fitzgerald ’17 was forced to do from home — students Erwin calls “heritage learners” this to the best of his ability when he decided to spend a instruction was really what let me integrate the abroad — Erwin says they tend to have better accents and year in China through the School Year Abroad program. experience.” an easier time speaking and listening, but it’s not an While learning a language in a classroom helps Like Fitzgerald, Foreign Language Department insurmountable advantage. students learn, Fitzgerald found the curriculum — Chair Dr. Zach Erwin ’96 studied abroad to enrich his “Achieving native or near-native proficiency especially its thematic routine — didn’t fully cover the classroom experience. requires more time and immersion than studying the skills for speaking to others in a real-life situation.

As a Marksman, Erwin studied Spanish for four second language an hour or two a day,” Erwin said.

“Our textbooks center around a theme, but real years before spending a month in Salamanca, Spain, “That’s why we encourage our students to use the life doesn’t center around a theme,” Fitzgerald said. “It between his junior and senior years, and he says that language outside of class and to explore study abroad centers around your daily routine, so you use different experience was “immensely valuable.” opportunities as Marksmen.” words than you learn in instruction.”

‘‘

STORY Siddhartha Sinha, Will Pechersky PHOTO Collin Katz

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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10600

RITUALS

5 Things

50 Seconds of Silence To open every class, physics instructor Stephen Houpt calls for 50 seconds of silence. Everybody in the classroom sits in their seat – some with their eyes closed – and gets in the right state of mind for class.

“

I went to this International Boys School Association Conference in London. I went to one of these workshops, and there was a headmaster there who described how he used meditation in his school. He described how, at the beginning of the day, they went into the great hall, and they had a 10-minute meditation before they all went to class.”

I’ve probably been doing this for six or seven years. I chose 50 seconds because it’s less than a minute. That way it doesn’t seem like I’m using up very much of my time.”

P

Force of habit? Or just ways to begin class? Either way, teachers around the school make use of their own rituals.

“Smartiers”

utting on your left sock before your right. Knocking on wood.

Taking exactly four dribbles before shooting a free throw. No matter where you look, rituals are everywhere. Everyone has something to put them at ease. Even teachers.

From sitting in silence for almost a minute to dishing out candy before a weekly quiz, our faculty is no exception to the rule, employing various personalized rituals to get them in the right state of mind.

“Rituals are really important to me,” Victor F. White Master Teaching Chair David Brown said. “They have a way of allowing you to settle your mind, still you in a way and help you focus on what’s important. It’s important not to dismiss something simply because you do it over and over again. To find meaning in what you repeat – whether it’s something in Chapel, in the classroom, in your daily life – is crucial to good living.”

physics instructor

A student asked if he could take two rolls because he wanted to be the ‘smartiest.’ I thought that was a clever play on words.

There have been times when I’ve run out of Smarties and given Lifesavers in lieu. Call it a vocabulary saver or grammar saver.”

At this point if I don’t do it, the students all complain about it. So I kind of have to do it because they like it. I think it really is effective at getting people settled in.”

BY HABIT Rituals and superstitions play an important part in people’s daily lives. “They have a way of allowing you to settle your mind,” Brown said, “to still you in a way and help you focus on what’s important.”

To take roll, drama instructor Jacque Gavin practices a unique exercise. Sitting in her chair facing her students, Gavin poses a category. Each student’s job is to name something in that category.

Combining improv with roll call, Gavin is able to get her students thinking drama right as class starts.

“

It may or may not have something to do with drama. I only say it once. If a student is not paying attention or is late he must figure it out for himself. No one can tell him what the topic is. Each student gets one pass before being counted absent or tardy.”

I got the idea from my playwriting teacher in college.

It has proved a good way to begin class, get focused and learn something about the students.”

Jacque Gavin Drama instructor

“

I’ve long given students treats before quizzes and assessments. It started back in Colorado when I first began teaching.

Back then, I was hooked on licorice. When I got here, and I realized how smart all of you already were, I thought it might be fun to give you ‘Smartiers.’ We’ve renamed [Smarties]. It’s just a token of my appreciation for how hard you guys work to prepare for assessments. I love the name. I love the play on the word. I love the thought that you’re getting a little treat on a Michael Morris English Department Chair quiz day.“ It’s just a light moment passing the cup of candy. It’s to make the activity special in a fun kind of way. Maybe relieve a little stress because you guys do feel stress. I know.”

Stephen Houpt

Roll Call

Every Friday, English Department Chair Michael Morris gives his AP English language and composition class a quiz. But before asking the questions, Morris passes a mug around the Harkness table. Inside the mug? Candy.

Song of the Day

Test Dances

At the start of class, Victor F. White Master Teaching Chair David Brown plays a song for his students to listen to. Oftentimes, the song relates to the topic being studied, but in the ritual’s 25-year history, Brown has played music from a variety of artists and genres.

Handing out math tests to her class, fourth grade teacher Debra Materre saw one thing in all her students. Fear. Beads of sweat dripping from her students’ foreheads, Materre changed the mood.

“

“

When I was teaching at Highland Park High School, we’d been encouraged as teachers to come up with some opening activity at the beginning of class to settle students down, help them close out what they had been thinking of and focus on the class to come. I’ve always been a huge lover of music and poetry — both of my graduate degrees were in poetry — I thought that would be a good way to start since I was always hearing students ideas about music and their tastes in music.”

David Brown

Victor F. White Master Teaching Chair

I do oldies from my time; I do opera arias. I would even at times throw in a little barbershop quartet or little Southern gospel. It doesn’t necessarily connect with what we’re doing that day. It’s just a little something that provokes them, gets them to think about something related to creativity.

Over the years, it’s just evolved into what it is now.”

I try to make sure the songs I select are ones with some significant meaning. It encourages making good choices, taking responsibility, practicing courage and honor and a number of things we repeat over and over. I try to make the song of the day as meaningful as I can.”

I decided to do something to make them laugh before they sat down. I would make up little things for them to do.

Sometimes they would just shadow me and do different things. Whatever I did, it was something that made them laugh.

After they were in complete amusement.

I’d say, ‘Sit down and do that test. Will you guys?’ It really lightened the mood in the room. It just made taking a test a little bit more comfortable.”

It was just a spur of the moment thing. They would start to laugh as they got started. Believe it or not, scores went up.

Debra Materre Fourth grade teacher

STORY Siddhartha Sinha, Luke Piazza ARTWORK Charlie Rubarth

Lower School holds community service drive benefiting local elementary school

by Toby Barrett ower schoolers held a drive Feb. 6-21 to fund the replacement of playground and sports equipment lost by Pershing Elementary in the Oct. 20 tornado.

After the drive went live on SignUpGenius.com, a website dedicated to volunteer and community work, families were able to purchase items needed by Pershing Elementary on Amazon.

The initiative to start the drive began in a Lower School Student Council meeting.

Student Council representatives, along

L

with Lower School Head Sharon Darver, were passionate about helping victims of the storm.

“We began to talk a lot about ways to help somebody that was affected by the tornado,” Darver said. “In that discussion, we found out that Pershing Elementary, our partner school, had suffered significant damage.”

Darver and the student representatives visited the school Feb. 12, bringing Valentine’s Day cards and lollipops.

“The boys presented the Valentines and talked about the drive they had started,”

Darver said. “By that point, parents had already made their purchases on Amazon, but we were just collecting this stuff, like basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, jump ropes, hula hoops, basketball nets, a soccer net, and basics for kickball.”

Upon their arrival, the Lower School representatives spoke about the drive at an all-school assembly. A moment Darver remembers was very personal for the Student Council members.

“Two of the six or 10 boys lost their homes completely,” Darver said, “So they really could speak from their heart to the

hearts of the kids there. It was a powerful presentation, and they made us a big ‘thank you’ card from all the teachers.”

Darver looks back on the willingness that her Lower Schoolers displayed to help others fondly.

“Our guys were just absolutely so onboard right from the beginning without me having to say anything,” Darver said.

“That compassion we talk about, the kindness, the empathy, all of it was right from their heart. It was really so beautiful to see kids being kids and the way Pershing kids related to our boys.”

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

PAGE

10600

11

SPRING

Season’s greetings

With the weather slowly warming up, Marksmen are taking advantage of the transition from winter to spring.

HANGING OUT Enjoying the crisp spring weather, second grader Will Barker tries his hand at the monkey bars.

GATHERING AROUND Heralding in the spring sports season, track team members (above) sophomore Bryce Nivet, senior Aaron Weiser and sophomore Zach Lightfoot talk with coach John Turek after Weiser and Lightfoot’s participation in the 800 meter event at Greenhill Feb. 29.

MONKEYIN’ AROUND From left, second graders Jack Coker, Finn Fisher, Jonah Kaufman and Gabriel Perez make use of the new lower school playground.

SPIKING IT Following through on his spike, junior Vatsal Vemuri (above, left) attempts to win a point against junior opponents Rex Corey (right) and Connor Gaffney (far right) as junior James Petrikas (middle) looks on.

SPRING CHICKEN As part of AP biology instructor Mark Adame’s curriculum, students in his class hatched chicken eggs to study embryonic development. These chicks are two weeks old.

FINESSE Leaning close to the net, junior Mustafa Latif plays a drop shot to catch his opponents off guard during sixth period lunch.

PHOTOS Jerry Zhao, Siddhartha Sinha

12

Origami

Shoes

Opera

On tour

Buzz

Fourth grader William Braskamp is folding for water.

Page 13

Senior Eric Lai and junior Jerry Zhao explore sneakers.

Page 16

Eight grader Lukas Palys performs with the Dallas Opera.

Page 17

Spencer Brown ’12 goes on tour with Avicii, making his mark.

Page 18

We look into the latest in plant based foods, from cinnamon buns to BLTs. Page 19

CULTURE THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

ENTERTAINMENT

Too many choices?

The booming streaming service industry leaves money-conscious students wondering what option is best for them.

I

t’s in every kid’s home, on every laptop, cellphone, TV and tablet.

REPLACED While television was the overall least popular medium for video consumption, its fall led to the rise of the multitude of services — Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO NOW and more — we enjoy today.

Did you watch The Mandalorian last night?

That finale for Game of Thrones was god awful.

What did you think about that Stranger Things episode?

No more scrolling ahead to 11 p.m. and pressing record to make sure you don’t miss your favorite show. No more walls of channels you never watch but have to fork out cash for anyway.

It’s the freedom of choice, freedom of payment, freedom of viewership.

But at what cost?

••• Streaming services have become the center of 21st of folks who have priced up all the services that are available century entertainment. In the early 2000s, companies like Netflix began to transition from their red envelopes and onto out there and it’s true,” Bandopadhay said. “If you get every single streaming service and high speed internet, it’s pretty the internet, hoping to create a world where every show expensive. But part of what makes the streaming model so and movie was just a few clicks away. Rishi Bandopadhay enticing is the introduction of variable choice. ’12, who currently works at Disney Streaming Services and oversaw the release of their latest streaming service, But what choices do people make? According to a poll of Disney+, has been part of that quest for content.

115 Upper Schoolers, 70.4% of Upper School students have “Users consume content in fundamentally different subscriptions to at least two streaming services, and 40.8% ways than they did even 5 years ago and especially so from have subscriptions to at least three.

15-20 years ago,” Bandopadhay said. “We’re watching One such student who uses multiple services is content everywhere — on our phones with faster and faster sophomore Henry Morgan, who uses Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ connections; on our TVs in better and better quality; across and HBO Now. Of these his favorites are Hulu and Disney+. dimensions, language, age and brand. Though we’ve traded “I would say I probably use Hulu and Disney+ most, crowding around the tube television set for watching on our mainly just because there are a lot of shows in there that I own individual iPads, we still watch content together, and really like,” Morgan said. “For Hulu, I really like it because content — whether new, old, or upcoming — continues to I can watch Family Guy and SNL, and for Disney+, I like it captivate audiences.” because I can watch a bunch of the old Disney movies.”

To capture the attention and the subscriptions of Netflix is both the most popular and the best liked viewers around the world, Disney+, like many others, utilize public opinion, readily available because of social media and service among upper schoolers, with 86.1% of students reporting they subscribe to Netflix and 61.7% citing it as other forums of discussion. their favorite. Sophomore Miki Ghosh’s family has had “While there may be elements of a given enhancement Netflix since he’s been in third grade, and he doesn’t see his or project that are sketched out at the corporate level, these are largely fleshed out by using a combination of competitive family ditching the service anytime soon.

“I don’t [see us dropping Netflix], mostly because we analysis, user research and feedback and benchmarking,” do use it a lot,” Ghosh said, “and my parents probably Bandopadhay said. “After our initial launch, many of our aren't going to get anything that will replace Netflix in the users complained actively on Twitter and to the press about future…. We have Amazon Prime Video, how jokes on The Simpsons were cut but that was kind of an afterthought off because we had presented them in because we had Amazon Prime to begin widescreen format, so we listened: we’re RIGHT OFF THE BAT THE with and got it because we could.” working to make sure our superfans MOMENT THE MANDALORIAN A slim majority of 50.4% of Upper have access to the original versions of WAS ANNOUNCED, I KNEW Schoolers reported that they use a The Simpsons.” streaming service exclusively for one I HAD TO GET DISNEY+.

However, not all feedback is on a show. Junior Aaryan Puri, an avid Star show-by-show basis. With a plethora NOV. 12 WAS MARKED ON MY Wars fan, was excited for the release of platforms available to the average CALANDER SINCE THAT WAS THE of The Mandalorian, a show exclusively consumer, using them all becomes more DAY IT BECAME OPEN TO THE on Disney+. Even after the end of the of a financial burden than an solution first season of The Mandalorian, Puri to one’s need for easily accessible PUBLIC — JUNIOR AARYAN PURI still keeps his Disney+ subscription in entertainment. Even with companies anticipation of other series he’s interested in. like Netflix losing money every year to maintain its sky high “I am still subscribed since the new season of The Clone subscription numbers, people are forced to make choices on Wars comes out on February 21st,” Puri said, “and the where their viewership and their wallets go.

“From a consumer standpoint, we’ve all read the reports new Kenobi series will be coming (hopefully) soon as well.

Additionally, the Marvel shows are also a big pull because I do enjoy the MCU as well.”

As a parent, history instructor Michele Santosuosso considers the content her kids watch as well as her own preferences. Because of the good variety of content as well as parental controls, she is a fan of Netflix.

“I feel like I can control more of what my kids see,” Santosuosso said. “Not that they're going out looking for the bad things to watch, but they have their own [profile], they click on their name on Netflix and there's settings put in that so they can't accidentally watch something that I haven't approved. So I do like that aspect of Netflix. Disney I haven't messed around with that much, but I really do like that aspect of the parental controls.”

Santosuosso describes herself as being part of an age group bubble that saw the fall of cable while simultaneously seeing the Michele Santosuosso History instructor and parent rise of streaming services. She and her husband have both cable and subscriptions to streaming services, but Santosuosso sees her family leaning more and more towards the streaming services and away from cable.

“I would be fine with not paying for cable because it's expensive,” Santosuosso said, “but that's just what he's [my husband’s] used to. There's certain shows that he watches with the boys Saturday mornings that are cable. But since I opened his eyes a little bit more to Netflix and what you can get on Amazon, I do see a small shift of him watching more Netflix and these types of streaming things. I don't know if he'll ever divorce cable, but I think we're kind of in a funky age group.”

But regardless of which service students and adults ultimately decide to use, the change from cable to online was a remarkable improvement that enabled the everyday user to experience entertainment in a way they never could before.

“I remember back when I was in second grade, waking up early or staying up late to record the Clone Wars shows on my DVR,” Puri said, “and the frustration when the DVR was full and it didn't record. Now I don't have to worry about that because it's all at my fingertips.”

‘‘

STORY Luke Piazza, Axel Icazbalceta ARTWORK James Shiao

In the audience Here’s the breakdown on where and how students entertain themselves: Lower School (n. 118)

Middle School (n. 235)

Upper School (n. 115)

Which platform do you use the most for video entertainment?

Which streaming services do you use?

86.1%

63.4% 80.0%

42.4%

72.6%

47.8%

59.8% 62.1% 34.8%

14.0% 7.6%

YouTube

Social media

30.0%

42.1% 17.4%

51.1%

48.7%

46.2% 19.5%

43.6% 31.3%

11.5%

11.1%

Streaming services

Television

0.0%

Netflix

Amazon Prime Video

Disney+

Other

67.8%

PAGE

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

CULTURE

13

ORIGAMI

More than just paper

PAPER MASTER Pointing out a fold, fourth grader William Braskamp shows a fellow folder one of his pieces at a Paper for Water event.

According to its website, Paper for Water sells pieces made at its events “to raise money to fund water wells worldwide.”

Fourth grader William Braskamp has been folding origami to combat the water supply crisis in third-world countries.

F

ourth grader William Braskamp gets home, shrugs his bag off and grabs a snack from the kitchen, just like any of his classmates.

He finishes his homework, taking just a little bit longer than he wanted to on the particularly hard math problems this evening, just like any of his classmates.

But while his friends are pulling out their game controllers or phones, he pulls out his origami paper, carefully inspecting its crisp, straight edges for any imperfections.

Maybe I’ll try Nakashima’s dragon again today.

••• Braskamp started origami at seven years old, folding a small water bomb with instructions from a kit his mother had bought for him two years ago. As he finished the final fold, blowing into the small hole he left to bring it to its full glory, Braskamp was enchanted by the world of origami.

“I’d say my biggest inspiration to start folding origami is my mom,” Braskamp said. “If she didn’t buy me the kit, I probably wouldn’t be folding right now.”

Now, after years of dedication, Braskamp’s passion for this Japanese paper art has only grown, along with the complexity of his pieces.

“I’m folding pretty much every day,” Braskamp said.

“The hardest piece I’ve ever folded is a tiger by Hideo Komatsu. It’s definitely my favorite piece, too.”

However, origami is more than just a passion for Braskamp –– it’s also a way for him to give back to the community. Earning the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award, he’s racked up countless hours volunteering with Paper for Water, an organization founded to help

underprivileged communities in Africa gain access to clean water.

“It’s a charity where people can come and fold for them each month,” Braskamp said. “We’ll usually make a modular model. People will make pieces, and then all the pieces go to Paper for Water to be assembled. They put a tassel and a string on them to make them ornaments, and then they sell them on their website.”

Regularly attending these monthly meetings, Braskamp has been able to draw upon and further develop his skill in origami, allowing him to teach newcomers and help them get comfortable with the origami ornament construction process.

“I’d say I can finish an ornament in 20 minutes now if I’m going very fast,” Braskamp said. “I can make two units a minute, but then I have to add tassels and put it all together, so that adds a bit of time. I think these are very cool ornaments.”

Founded by his sister’s friends, Katherine and Isabelle Adams, Paper for Water was founded to help

schoolgirls that had to traverse miles each day to get clean water. Through origami, Paper for Water has raised over a million dollars, funding water well-building projects across the globe. This mission struck Braskamp immediately, spurring him to get involved.

“Paper for Water helps people that need to walk a long time just to get dirty water,” Braskamp said. “I was first interested in this when I heard about Paper for Water from my sister’s friend. I felt it was really important to me, since it’s happening all over the world.”

Almost five years after picking up his first sheet of origami paper, Braskamp’s devotion to origami doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. He hopes to use his skills to further contribute to Paper for Water, spreading the message of water conservation.

“I think [water conservation] is really important because if we don’t help now, the situation is only going to get worse,” Braskamp said. “I’m going to stick with it for as long as I can. Having more people aware about it would mean more people willing to help.”

STORY Jonathan Yin, Siddhartha Sinha PHOTO Courtesy William Braskamp

How to fold a crane Fourth grader William Braskamp walks through the steps to fold a crane

1 2 3 4 5

Fold the paper half horizontally, vertically and diagonally and then unfold.

Fold two opposite corners into the center, making a smaller square.

Keeping the open side away from you, pull the two edges into the center.

Fold the opposite corner towards you, flush over the crease created by the two flaps.

After creasing hard, unfold the this back to the small square.

6 7 8 9 10

Take the top layer and pull it up and away from yourself, pushing it onto the table.

Do the same thing for the other side, so that it becomes flat.

Choose a side, taking two edges and folding them into the center on both sides.

Fold them both back up upon themselves, matching the angle.

Fold a corner down one time for the head, and pull the wings out from the center.

PAGES

STORY Sam Ahmed, Colin Campbell, Sid Vattamreddy PHOTO ILLUSTRATION Tyler Nussbaumer

14,15 From faculty and administration Speaking about their roles on campus to help students who are struggling with real issues, faculty members and administrators reflect on the larger issue of mental health.

‘

Headmaster David Dini

I think there has historically been less acceptance and awareness about the importance of mental well-being. Our goal has been to make sure that we have the resources in place to support students and adults with modest issues all the way up to potentially significant challenges and issues that they may encounter.

‘

Being vulnerable is very hard. It’s very hard because you open yourself up for all kinds of things.

All I’m saying is if you’re willing to put yourself out there and be honest and be vulnerable, people will be drawn to that. In the long run, to live your truth in that way, will be 100 times better.

Director of Counseling Barbara Van Drie

‘ History instructor Michelle Santosuosso

Here, it is much harder to open up. Boys hide their stress really well or other emotions if they’re sad or going through a lot. It takes a lot more to open up and be vulnerable, especially if they think it’s embarrassing. Bottling things up is super unhealthy.

‘

If we can...find even just one person that you can talk to and say, ‘Man, I’m just really struggling with this,’ I bet nine times out of 10 if you take the risk and you bring it up, that person’s not gonna laugh at you. Just talking about it helps because you’ve connected with someone else.

Lower & Middle School Counselor Dr. Gabby Reed

‘

Mental health educator Julie Hersh

Since 2001 when I got help, I’ve run three marathons, traveled all over the world, published a book, started a center that’s now making discoveries that may transform and save lives.

None of that would have happened if I had trusted what I believed in that garage [where I attempted suicide]. So I would just say give the future a chance.

We’re incapable of predicting what might happen.

‘

I remember how difficult high school was for me, and I think I’ve gotten a huge amount of respect for you guys. I do think it is a part of our job. I do not think that we are here just to teach you academics, but also to help you become functioning adults. I’m happy to be that person that people come to.

History instructor Dr. Jerusha Westbury

Unheard and underserved

Noah* never felt like the support system at school made a difference when it mattered the most, reflecting on his own issues.

OURhidd

MENTAL HEALTH

T

he next 24 hours of his life scared Noah was able to get the help he needed him. It was a struggle for Noah* just by seeing a therapist and taking medicato find the motivation to get out of tion, but he worries about all the students bed, but after, there was school, followed going through similar struggles unable to by the quiet drive home, until finally, he get help because of the stigma surrounding was back in bed, just to wake up without mental health. motivation the next morning.

“There are a lot of people that struggle It was at the point where getting out of with the same sort of issues, but teachers bed required a seemingly impossimight not help them with that or ble magic trick every morning. their parents might not be recepThis burnout hit Noah during tive to things like that because it is sophomore year. The piling stress such a polarizing conversation,” accumulated until, one day about Noah said. three quarters the way through Giving advice to students like percent sophomore year, Noah simply him, Noah emphasizes the imporof people tance of embracing some sort of broke down and resorted to self resort to harm. support system. cutting He began dealing with his men“The most important thing is as their tal health issues on his own, away realizing that you’re not the only method from the school because he didn’t of self-in- one that has to struggle,” Noah said. feel comfortable discussing his “This isn’t your burden to bear. Peojury SOURCE: issues with the people here. ple do actively care about you and THERECOV“The school doesn’t really have they want you to get better.”

ERYVILLAGE. COM any resources for mental health, Going forward, Noah sees the which really disappoints me,” Noah problem with the way mental health said. “I didn’t see any resources, and if is handled at 10600 Preston Rd. stems they are there, they are very minimal. It from not just the students who make jokes ended up being something I had to end about it but also the manner in which the up dealing with mostly on my own which administration seems to push issues under sucked.” the rug.

“Change needs to happen through menWhat hurt Noah even more was having tal health education,” Noah said. “The to hear his fellow classmates insensitively school needs to provide resourcjoke about and diminish the importance of es so that people are better the very issue he was struggling with day equipped to deal with in and day out. different issues “When it’s always in the frame of a joke, they enit’s very difficult to start an open conversadure.” tion about mental health,” Noah said. “It gets brought up in a way that people are desensitized to the actual impact of it.”

Though Noah never turned to the support system for help, he’s grateful for the people who noticed something and reached out to him to make sure everything was okay.

“I don’t think that there is such a support network, and that’s a big problem because the only people that actually reached out did it on their own,” Noah said.

Although IT FEELS LIKE THERE’S NO the people who INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT checked in with FOR STUDENTS LIKE ME. IF Noah had good YOU GET HELP, IT’S BECAUSE intentions, he was TEACHERS ARE CONCERNED disappointed that the only people at FOR YOU AS THEIR STUDENT. school seeming to — NOAH be there for him lacked the proper training and knowledge to handle his situation.

“I felt like I was being interrogated about my mental health when a coach talked to me,” Noah said. “That is not a healthy way to start that discussion because I’m already ashamed about the way I feel.”

45

‘‘

‘So yes, I, Sam Ahmed, have been experiencing anxiety’

T

his cover story has changed my life.

Let me explain.

At the start of 2020, I got a call. Then, I got a text and a Snapchat, and then, someone stopped me in the hall.

These were all people that needed to talk because they were going through hell. I always ended every conversation with, “If you ever need to talk, I’m always here.”

From that point on, hearing about a couple of other personal stories, I knew we had to cover this issue. And throughout the process, I started to realize that I have been going through similar things myself and have never been honest about the actual severity of my issues.

I, Sam Ahmed, have been experiencing anxiety.

It started back in junior year. Before winter break, I physically couldn’t breathe. I hugged my laptop against my chest waiting for this nightmare to be over. It wasn’t caused by homework or workload; I knew what I signed up for and was managing it. It just happened out of the blue. I couldn’t control it and didn’t know how to deal with it.

But this hasn’t just been a one-time thing, this has been the basketball team. something that I have dealt with ever since that year. At After hours of visits to the cardiologist, they first, they thought it was allergies; then, they thought it was found no issue. A sigh of relief hit me, but then, asthma related, consequently pumping my I got angry. I wasn’t any closer to body full of albuterol only to realize that the figuring out the issue than I had been medicine was making it worse. eight months earlier. They referred me It made me jumpy, unstable, erratic, a nerto a pulmonologist, but my hopes were vous wreck. I couldn’t sit still. low. April rolled around, and I had I started to get scared. Scared of what was my first appointment. After a couple happening to me. Why couldn’t I execute the tests, I finally had a diagnosis: Vocal most basic of human tasks of breathing? cord dysfunction (VCD). With VCD, Next, they thought it was a heart condition. the vocal cord muscles tighten, which Sam Ahmed Editor-in-Chief Teachers seemed concerned when I, a 17-yearmakes breathing difficult. My asthma old boy at the time, told them that I had to go and anxiety compounded together to to the cardiologist. And when they asked, “Are you okay?” cause this issue.

I genuinely didn’t know. That was the scariest part of it all.

I went back to school that day feeling happy for No one knew what it was, when it was going to stop or how once that year: happy that I was getting help, that I it was going to be fixed. I spent the next two weeks trying to knew what was wrong and that I could finally beget my mind off of it, spending it with friends and watching gin treatment. (continued, next page)

denISSUE

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

Two anonymous students share their perspectives of how they have dealt with mental issues during their time here on campus.

Saving a life

J

As junior year went on, Jake started to realize one of the main causes of his depression and anxiety: burnout.

“I hit burnout, and I would say that I’m still burnt out,” Jake said.

“But on paper, looking at me you never see that.”

One thing that Jake learned during therapy that changed his view on his life was that he only focused on pursuing meaning, which finally flipped a switch in Jake’s mind.

“Pursuing happiness is a trap that will leave you feeling like you haven’t accomplished anything,” Jake said. “I can still wake up and go to school because it gives me meaning to talk with friends and teachers to feel like I’m growing.”

Opening up to his best friends about this issue and teachers who he feels comfortable talking to, Jake credits his life to the support network that is in the community.

“This support network of people who care about me has been the single HIDING EMOTIONS While some students might seem fine on most important the outside, some are hiding their issues to themselves. thing for me,” But now as I have gone through treatment, I don’t know if things will ever get better. There is no medicine, surgery, cure, solution or quick fix. I have only been given complicated breathing techniques that only sometimes makes things better.

Throughout senior year, I started to get panic and anxiety attacks, gasping for the last breath of air in my lungs.

And more than that, during these last couple of months, I would walk into class feeling empty and purposeless.

Most times, I didn’t feel anything.

I felt like I was a stranger in my own body. Sometimes, I would drive home and just cry for no apparent reason and still feel nothing. I tried everything to feel something. On the outside, everything seemed like it was going well, but on the inside, I felt meaningless and lost.

I started getting hereditary migraines and tension headaches from the anxiety at the start of senior year. At the end of 2019, I found myself with a neurologist, poked, prodded and scanned, having to get an MRI, MRA and CT. After I was cleared of any “real” issue, I was put on a couple different medicines. Some made my whole body go numb; others changed my mood, turning me into someone I hated seeing in the mirror every day. Now, I’m

by the numbers

* Noah and Jake are pseudonyms for unnamed Marksman who prefer to remain anonymous.

wasn’t alone. He had a support network that saved his life, For Jake*, his support network of friends, fam- but most people ily, friends and teachers kept him alive and aren’t in Jake’s supported him through the pain and struggle. position.

••• ake* was shakAll Jake can remember was at ing. Standing in the start of freshman year, he cut the middle of the himself twice. He never really took hallway in Centennial, the time to figure out what was he was nervous. He going on in his life. When junior didn’t want his year came up, everything that Jake parents to find had been holding inside for the last out about the cuts couple of years finally surfaced. and scars on his One of Jake’s friends reported arms. He didn’t him to Director of Counseling know why he was Barbara Van Drie, and Jake was diresorting to this. All agnosed with anxiety and moderate he knew was that he depression. sometimes felt this “I was shocked when she told emotional chaos and me her diagnosis,” Jake said. “I turmoil of anger, sadness thought that I would never have and frustration. anxiety. I get good grades, and I He stood, waiting to start his don’t procrastinate. I have literally road to recovery. everything that I want.”

One that seemed hopeless at times, but Jake has learned to grow through it. The stress, the anxiety, the depression. All by leaning on people that surround him every day, from teachers to classmates to outside resources to parents to coaches, Jake

PERSPECTIVES

Jake said. “I attribute everything to them. I feel indebted to them. I’m perpetually grateful to them beyond words can even express.”

Jake doesn’t know how much the all-boys environment plays into the mental health problem but thinks that most students don’t feel comfortable opening up.

“We’re guys, I TOLD MYSELF, IT’S OKAY and we don’t WHETHER I FEEL SAD OR HAPtalk about sensitive stuff PY BECAUSE I KNOW I STILL so often,” Jake HAVE TO KEEP ON WORKING said. “There’s ON GROWING AS A PERSON. always that hes— JAKE itancy to talk about your feelings to someone. We need to cultivate a sense of openness because it’ll only get worse if we hide these issues.”

In Jake’s opinion, the first step in fixing the issue is educating students on what mental illnesses really exist.

“I never knew how anxiety and depression ever manifested, so educating students on mental health would be good,” Jake said. “Creating awareness about it and fostering a means of communication will change everything.”

Even though Jake believes there is a stigma that exists of going into the counseling office, students should go get help if they want it.

When I got “If you want help, you should go so overand get it,” Jake said. “There should whelmed, be nothing standing in your way.

I would get this really No one’s opinion should be influsick feeling encing your desire to feel better. in my gut. I Don’t be worried about whether or hit a wall a not someone will make fun of you few nights where I for it.” would go to bed at In order to get help, Jake doesn’t like 10 p.m. think any person can solve mental because I health problems on their own; rathphysically felt so exer, interacting with others will truly hausted.” make a change.

Jake “Having that support group is probably the most essential thing for getting help,” Jake said. “You can’t do it alone. If you think you can, you’re wrong.”

Learning from his own experiences, Jake offers advice to the student who is going through the very things he has gone through.

“He doesn’t know who I am, but if he sees me up on the quad and wants to just talk to me about anything, I’m willing,” Jake said.

“You just have to take the first really scary step to just tell them what’s been going on. Afterward, you’ll just be so thankful that you did it.

The only thing you can do is just be honest with yourself instead of trying to lie to yourself.”

‘‘

on a medication that makes me extremely tired.

But through all the pain, I have made a promise to someone. A promise to talk to people about my struggles.

Some friends know about my difficulty breathing from volleyball and some people know about my issues this year. But no one knows the full story about how I spent my whole junior year in fear of not being able to breathe.

About how I have spent senior year with anxiety and have not done anything about it.

So yes, I, Sam Ahmed, have anxiety, and you probably never would have guessed it.

What has made this process so much worse is that I have tried to keep this to myself even when people have reached out. As I wrote this cover story, I realized I want to be more open with people about this issue. Every person I have interviewed said the people they talked to changed their lives, so I want to do the same.

So far, it’s worked. I feel better with each and every person I talk to, and this sense of emptiness has started to leave me and is replaced with that same motivated Sam that I love and missed.

And I know my problems are nowhere close to the issues that other Marksmen go through on a day-to-day

“

7.1% of children (age 3-17) have been diagnosed with anxiety

3.2%

of children have been diagnosed with depression

7.4%

of children have been diagnosed with a behavior problem

59.3%

of children with anxiety received treatment

78.1%

of children with depression received treatment

53.5%

of children with behavior disorders received treatment

73.8%

of children diagnosed with depression have also been diagnosed with anxiety

32.3%

of children with anxiety have also been diagnosed depression

17.4% of U.S. children (age 2-8) had a diagnosed mental, behavior, or development disorder SOURCE: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

basis, but maybe writing this column will help others in our community talk to someone about what they are going through.

Maybe you, who is reading this column, find yourself in a similar situation and haven’t reached out to anybody.

My one piece of advice after this whole cover story and grappling with my own issues is to talk to someone. It will help; I promise. Unfortunately, it took me over a year to realize that. Throughout this whole process, I have finally begun to love myself again.

To my teachers, please don’t give me special treatment because of this. Odds are that there is probably someone else in class that is going through something worse. And to the students, faculty and staff, please don’t look at me differently and ask if I need help. Thank you, but I’ve finally got it. I just hope that with this column we can start having these sorts of conversations on campus but never desensitize people from the actual issue. It all starts with educating students on mental health and putting in the resources to deal with people who are truly struggling.

And always know that I’m here for you, whether you see me in the halls or have never talked to me before. ­­— You aren’t alone. ­—

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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16

CULTURE

1

3

Senior’s film to screen at South by Southwest

5

by Peter Orsak enior Ricky Rodriguez’s film entitled Skateboarding has been selected as one of 23 films to enter the Texas High School Shorts Competition at South by Southwest.

Rodriguez will be presenting March 14 in Austin at the Rollins Theatre at the Long Center, along with his competitors.

Only three minutes long, Rodriguez spent hours on his film.

“We’d wake up, check the group chat and decide where we were skating,” Rodriguez said. “Somebody picked us all up, we went out and I had the camera. Eight hours a day, I’d ride with this heavy camera, trying not to fall and break it.”

He compiled the film from prior shoots after realizing he wanted to do more pieces regarding skating.

“The footage is from the summers of 2016 and 2017,” Rodriguez said. “I needed to make an experimental film, so I put it together, wrote a script and had a friend do the voiceover.”

The idea for his film stems from wanting to show a skater’s perspective.

“I’d already made one skating-related film, but it was just a small portion of it,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to do something with skating that doesn’t involve a cheesy storyline. That’s when I got the idea.”

Skateboarding holds a lot of meaning in Rodriguez’s life.

“Even though it didn’t take a lot of time to put together once I had everything, all the little pieces like filming and narration took a summer,” Rodriguez said. “Most people think skaters are here to cause trouble, but it’s just like any other sport.”

Rodriguez For Rodriguez, film studies senior instructor Jennifer Gilbert, who will be joining him at SXSW, has played a crucial role in his life.

“I’ve been in her class since I could take it,” Rodriguez said. “She’s helped me a lot. If I wanted to do film, I talked to her about that.

If I wanted to talk about school or just life, she’s very open to stuff like that also. She’s showed me the path here.”

Rodriguez will continue his career at the University of Texas at Arlington, but it all started because of his passion for skating.

“I got into film because of skating,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t know how to edit until I saw one of my friends editing with iMovie. I had it all backwards, but he showed me. From there, I knew skating is fun. Film is fun. Why not do both?”

This film, since it was mostly shot years ago, helps Rodriguez reflect on his past.

“It highlights a special time period in my skateboarding career. I was going every single day,” Rodriguez said. “This film is something I can look back on. It lets me do that with the entire summer. It’s probably the biggest part of my life besides skating. Film has kept me connected to the community.”

S

6 2 4

BY DESIGN Junior Jerry Zhao (pairs 3, 4 and 6) and senior Eric Lai (pairs 1, 2 and 5) design anything from scenic landscapes to animated characters. “It adds character and unique style to the shoe,” Lai said.

SHOES

A different canvas Painting shoes? Who would think of doing that?

The answer: senior Eric Lai and junior Jerry Zhao, who give canvas shoes their personal touch.

Eric Yoo: How did you get into shoe EY: What exactly do you do? painting?

EL: I usually take cartoon characters Eric Lai: I’ve been doing art since I and use them as reference for my was in first grade. I learned how to shoe customs. Each person has a use different mediums and always different request and I try my best enjoyed drawing images. Some to execute it. I get my paints from people are extremely talented and a company called Angelus and buy can draw without reference and only other equipment from them too. need their mind.

JZ: I basically start off with talking On the other hand, I was to whoever the shoe is for and someone who couldn’t do that, so discussing ideas about what would when I drew from reference, I always go on the shoe, finding inspiration wanted my art to look exactly the online and going through the process same. I got into reselling sneakers of actually applying the paint to about two years ago, and I’m still the shoe. The hardest part for me keeping up with it. originally was the application of Naturally I became interested paint on the shoe. in custom shoe designs. I began As someone who normally works watching YouTubers who do custom straight on the canvas normally in shoe designs and grew interested. At painting, getting used to applying a first I was discouraged because I was base coat to the shoe was a habit that afraid of messing up I needed to build because and wasting whatever the material of most amount of money I shoes aren’t conducive to spent on that new pair painting. of shoes.

However, I EY: Where do you get finally got a new pair your inspirations? of white Vans as a EL: My inspirations come gift and decided to from a variety of things.

Eric Lai senior do a simple cartoon I have a list of ideas. design on them. They Most of them are cartoon turned out pretty well and I created characters many people find silly a new Instagram page and posted and childish. However, when hand them. Now I have friends and other painted onto a shoe, it adds character people interested in me making these and unique style to the shoe. designs.

JZ: Most of my inspirations for Jerry Zhao: I got into shoe painting other peoples’ shoes come from a because I enjoy art, and the aspect mashup or adaptations of images of painting shoes always interested online. However, some of my designs me. It provided a way for me to do stem from simple freehanded make money and to create more drawings. personalized, unique gifts for those around me.

EY: What do you do with your finished designs?

EL: All my designs are sold to the INTERVIEW Eric Yoo PHOTO Courtesy Eric Lai, Jerry Zhao customers that requested them. I do

Ricky

have a couple “practice” shoes; I test and try different designs and new techniques. I just keep the practice shoes in a closet.

JZ: My finished designs normally end up in other peoples’ closets either as a gift or a purchase because they were made for them.

Some shoes I do keep for myself because I had an Jerry Zhao idea I wanted to try out. My junior first test runs normally stay with me.

EY: What are some of your favorite designs?

EL: My favorite design is taken from two old popular anime. One is No Face from Spirited Away and the other is Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro. I did this design for myself and I wear them every time I go out.

JZ: My two favorite shoe designs are a sunflower landscape shoe that I did as a birthday present and a more doodle-styled inspiration I did recently on some old shoes.

EY: Do you only work with certain types of shoes?

EL: I like to work on canvas or leather shoes. The easiest shoes to work on are Vans and Air Forces. I don’t like working on mesh material–so a lot of what Adidas makes. However, I’ll still make the design despite the inconvenience.

JZ: I like working the most with canvas shoes (so, Vans) because they have the closest texture to what I normally work on with oil painting.

But, I have been trying to branch out a bit more, and I tried painting an old pair of suede Nike Air Force 1, and although I was proud of the design, the application was really tough.

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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OPERA

One stage to another After years with the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, eighth grader Lukas Palys tackles being an opera singer with the Dallas Opera.

ALL TOGETHER Lukas Palys (far left bottom) sits with the full cast of The Magic Flute after their 6th performance at the Winspear Opera House.

I

t’s just so much more.

More singers. Brighter lights.

Larger audiences.

Different techniques. Louder voices. More instruments.

Countless costumes. Tricky stage directions. Foreign languages.

And for eighth grader Lukas Palys, singing with the Dallas Opera for the past year has brought his singing talent to an even bigger stage and greater heights.

Palys began singing in the fifth grade at Greenhill as an alternative to doing orchestra, and after falling in love with the impromptu singing and relaxed class atmosphere, he joined the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas. After a few years there, the Dallas Opera opened up auditions to the group for two plays: “Carmen,” a French opera by Georges Bizet, and “La Boheme,” an Italian opera

by Giacomo Puccini and Ruggero Leoncavallo.

“We had to say weird words in French to make sure that we could make the sounds right,” Palys said, “and we had to like do different facial expressions to see how we act. We even sang ‘Happy Birthday’ because the person that was auditioning us wanted to see if we could do the octave jump. Some people don't do that, and if they didn’t, then she didn’t let them in.”

After passing the auditions, Palys had to quickly adapt to the differences between choir and opera singing. While he took advantage of local vocal instructors to help him adapt to the style, the biggest task was adjusting to the extravagant

HELPING HAND In the finale of Act I of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Lukas Palys, the second child-spirit, guides Tamino, the prince and hero of the story, to his love Pamina through the song “Zum Ziele führt dich diese Bahn” with the help of his fellow child spirits and Tamino himself.

environment that the operas occurred in.

“It was chaotic because everyone was there and the scene we were in was a whole chorus scene, so the stage was completely full,” Palys said.

“The director was trying to block us and tell us where to go, but because we're kids we didn't absorb it that well, so it was just a nightmare. We had to stop and start a trillion times.”

Singing in the opera also involves different techniques than most choir songs, such as an increased emphasis on vibrato, a rapid, slight variation in pitch that produces a richer sound.

However, the toughest part for Palys was matching the bellowing voices of the countless adults in every scene.

“You feel drowned out because all the grown-ups are more mature and louder,” Palys said. “The conductor was trying to tell us to sing louder, and we couldn't so we had to pretty much shout, so it sounded really bad. The way that you use your voice in choir is different because you breathe from the lungs instead of your diaphragm. That gets an airy tone, and airy tone isn't good in opera because you want to be louder. You have to learn how to breathe from your diaphragm and modify the vowels in the higher register.”

While the practices were hard, it was just as difficult to fit them into his schedule. Practices were held in the late afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with some even eating into school time.

“They went really late, so I didn't have a lot of time to do my homework,” Palys said. “Sometimes I

STORY Luke Piazza, Darren Xi PHOTO Courtesy Karen Almond

even had to skip school because they had to call us early at around two, so I had to skip sports.”

But in his past year of work, Palys has gone from being just a voice in a crowd to one of the three spirits in his latest performance of “Die Zauberflöte.” Memorizing an endless stream of stage directions and spending countless hours working with his fellow actors to be in perfect harmony has helped him broaden his musical horizons.

“It's a different experience, and it's taught me a different style of music,” Palys said. “Before I always laughed at opera singers. It taught me how to appreciate different things and not just judge off of how they sound.”

For those hoping to pursue opera as a career, Palys says, the biggest hurdle to conquer is one’s changing voice, which bars aspiring performers from acting until they both look and sound old enough. If that happens, Palys will continue to sing with the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas and the choir under Choirmaster Tinsley Silcox until he’s ready to return to the stage.

“I want to keep doing opera when I grow up just because it's really fun,” Palys said, “and opera is kind of dying as an art form. Musicals are almost stealing opera’s popularity because they're more exciting. But I think the problem with opera is that people don't understand it and how the culture fits into history and different music styles. They just assume that it's really weird like I did at first. If people learned more about it, it would get bigger.”

Mason Smith ‘15 A peek into Teaching fellow Teaching fellow Mason Smith ‘15’s photography account, @masonsmithphoto, where he posts work inspired by his time in the school’s photography program. In his own words:

“This was in Iceland, and it was pretty early in the fall, around mid September. We got really lucky. It was only the second day that the Northern Lights had come out for the season. My brother and I heard that they'd come out the night before, and so we planned to make a last second trip on the last night of our trip. I had my tripod with me and was able to get some cool shots of that.”

“This is probably my absolute favorite photo that I've ever taken. It’s at Snowbird Utah, which is a ski resort near Salt Lake City. My grandpa was one of the founders of the ski resort, so it's a super special place to go to a couple times a year.

At around 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve, they have the ski patrol, ski instructors and some volunteers carry flares and ski down the mountain once it's dark. I love this photo, and it means a lot. This was also six months after my grandpa passed away, so it had an extra value because of that.”

“These earlier photos were taken when I worked at Snowbird over the summer, when I was between junior and senior year. This is an aerial tram, and it’s the most iconic part of Snowbird. It can carry 120 skiers up the mountain at once, and it takes you all the way to the top of the mountain. It's the lift that Snowbird is most known for. This was a cool view down the canyon and I liked how it turned out.”

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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18

CULTURE

DJING

B

reaking into the music industry seems like such a lofty –– almost impossible –– goal that we even call it “breaking in.”

But for those who do find their way into one of the world’s most competitive markets, only self-doubt can keep one from cracking one’s way through.

Spencer Bruno ‘12 — known as Spencer Brown professionally — is a composer, producer and DJ based in San Francisco. In 2013, he toured with the late DJ and producer Avicii, signed onto a major record label, and through the remainder of the decade, Brown has toured worldwide with his set list, a portfolio of original house songs.

So by all accounts, he’s broken in.

••• Brown found himself with a natural interest in music in his early years, exploring music production and performance at an early age.

“I started playing drums when I was two or three years old,” Brown said, “but because my parents were tired of me banging on pots and pans and I was super into music, I took up guitar and bass.”

But Brown was not satisfied with the musical entertainment at his Middle School parties, so he decided to take action and make his music on his own.

“I kind of got into DJing separately, outside of writing music,” Brown said, “because I used to go to these parties in sixth, seventh grade, and I just really didn’t like a lot of the music the DJ played. I thought I could do this way better. I have way better music.”

After exploring his own ability to create better forms of entertainment, he began producing his own style of music, rapidly growing in popularity throughout the city.

“I decided to buy some [Digitalto-Analog Converters],” Brown said, “expose people to music they haven’t heard before, and business grew in Dallas via word of mouth. My writing music linked up with my DJing, and once I connected with Avicii, I realized it was only my senior year of high school at the time, and that was an odd thing to think about.”

In the lively lights

Spencer Bruno ‘12 has broken into a career in DJing and music production, touring worldwide.

How does he make it happen?

DJing became a serious career choice for Brown as he grew older, studying at Duke University, where he became familiar with the intricate, mathematical details of the production technology he’d already used so extensively, growing an understanding of the commitment needed to pursue the career any further.

“I realized at the end of my freshman year that there were so many facets to signaling processing and digital audio processing,” Brown said, “and I began to learn the really hard math of what I already knew how to do musically. It was worth it because now I have a really intuitive view of sound… But it was part time through college. Then when I graduated, it took maybe nine months or so to make it full time. But I was working seven days a week back then, and it was seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day in the studio.”

Eventually, Brown reached his lifelong goal of becoming a DJ and was widely pursued to perform in front of crowds.

“Soon after that, I chose bookings with my agent, and I had a bunch of shows coming in,” Brown said. “A couple years later, I could live full time with my music in San Francisco. It was definitely my childhood dream, and I can travel light with just a CDJ-200. I don’t have to bring anything else with me to work. Just that and a laptop.”

Now with a busy life and shows to keep up with, Brown has agents to help him keep track of everything.

However, Brown still likes to make some decisions on his own.

“I book my own travel. It saves me money and I get to really have control over what I do,” Brown said.

“Treating it like a business and cutting expenses is really how I see it. I have a team of agents who book my tours.

One in North America who does all

STORY Jamie Mahowald, Will Pechersky PHOTO Courtesy Spencer Brown

Headliners Keep an eye out for these upcoming releases, concerts and drop dates.

VIDEO GAMES

MLB The Show 20 DOOM Eternal Dreams

Release date

March 17 March 20 March 20

MOVIES

The Way Back A Quiet Place: Part II Mulan

CONCERTS

Eagles Dan + Shay Steve Aoki

Concert date

March 17 March 21 April 4

ALBUMS

Release date

March 6 March 20 March 27

After Hours, The Weeknd ALICIA, Alicia Keys Calm, 5 Seconds of Summer

Drop date

March 20 March 20 March 27

my North America business and one in Amsterdam who does all my Europe, Asia and Australia stuff. They all have a team under them. It’s a great team, and we’re always looping into calls. It’s cool to have different people working for me in a bunch of different parts of the world.”

Brown bases his lists on the energy he receives from a particular crowd, and he observes a noticeable shift in the wills of the crowds from city to city. For instance, Brown says Indian audiences prefer calmer, more melodic tracks, whereas the Netherlands and Australia prefer bass-boosted, rich, heavy and fast sets.

“Different countries prefer different kinds of music,” Brown said.

“I don’t plan any of my sets. I flow off the crowd, and that’s how I learned it back at St. Mark’s in eighth grade.

If people are really enjoying a certain vibe, I’ve always gone that way, and I still do that to this day.”

WORLDWIDE TOUR Spencer Bruno, going by his stage name Spencer Brown, plays a concert for 20,000 people at Dreamstate San Bernardino, CA, his name adorning the central arch.

Brown does not plan his set lists ahead of time, choosing instead to “flow off the crowd.”

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

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19

PLANT-BASED REVIEWS

Back to the roots Through two salads, a cinnamon roll and a completely vegan version of a BLT, we look at four foods that align with the current plant-based trend.

P

ersonally, I do not have much of a sweet tooth.

When it comes to cinnamon rolls, I typically find them to be far too sweet, the cinnamon itself and the vanilla frosting destroying my taste buds.

Cinnaholic’s 100% plantbased Classic Old Skool Roll, bread topped with cinnamon and vanilla frosting, was no exception. The vanilla frosting was the sweetest one I have ever tasted, and the sugar levels were still unbearable.

But the cinnamon on this roll wasn’t just dumped on, it was spread throughout the roll, and it was not excessively abused.

The saving grace of this cinnamon roll was the bread.

It was cooked perfectly and served warm. Every bite took no effort, and the loaf practically dissolved in my mouth. The

I

bread was plain, but at the same time, it was somehow full of flavor, and that flavor was not sugar, allowing the roll to somewhat balance out the vanilla frosting.

Cinnaholic If I was 100 S Central served a roll Expy. larger than the five-inch Classic diameter one Old Skool I ate, I would overload on Sweet with sugar and be redemption. forced to throw away the dessert Grade: Band waste some perfectly good bread.

To eat this cinnamon roll, you need to have a huge sweet tooth or ask for less vanilla frosting.

f you’re looking to get into salads, there isn’t a choice more prime than your classic Caesar.

As a little boy, I found myself completely opposed to the idea of eating a plate full of vegetables, no matter what they put on it.

When I was 11, my best friend happened to be celiac, which meant he couldn’t eat gluten, and his diet was super heavy in vegetables and meat.

Of course, eventually, I stayed for dinner at his house and his mother served me my first chicken Caesar salad, the beginning of my passion.

The chicken was the real gamechanger for me, but the salad at

I

don’t have a lot of experience with exciting salads, but Flower Child’s Mediterranean Quinoa Salad definitely has a lot to offer.

Featuring healthy ingredients like cauliflowers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives, I really wasn’t expecting to like it at all.

In reality, the flavors blend together pretty nicely.

Personally, I really hate olives, so whenever I would get that tinge of bitterness, I couldn’t

Flower Child

Grade: B+

5959 Royal Ln.

Mediterr- Good tasting anean and healthy; Quinoa massive portion sizes.

Salad

Grimaldi’s doesn’t Grimaldi’s come with chicken 8060 Park Ln. unless you ask for it, and honestly, you Classic don’t even need it.

Caesar Their salad is so good because of how One of the simple it is. best salads in Just lettuce, the Preston Parmesan cheese, Hollow area. croutons, and their signature dressing.

Grade: A It really gets good at the dressing.

It’s super rich and creamy, and the garlic flavor is rich but not overpowering. I love pairing this salad with one of their big pizzas, as it’s a good start to your meal.

The small salad is plenty for one or two people, and the large works great for two or three.

If you ever happen to be near The Shops at Park Lane, definitely stop by Grimaldi’s, because there aren’t a lot of other good restaurants in the area.

help but cringe.

The salad comes with two dressings, both of which you put on for full effect.

Firstly, it comes with a classic oregano vinaigrette that I really liked, as well as an interesting ‘harissa yogurt’ based dressing that seems to be the root of calling the salad “Mediterranean”.

It was also sprinkled with tasty feta cheese which I found broke up the greenheavy taste, and some yummy tabbouleh quinoa for extra health benefits.

Although I generally enjoyed the salad, I’m hesitant to give it a grade in the A range because they give you way too much. The salad I had was enough for almost three average eaters, which sounds good until you remember that Flower Child really pushes the

Spiral Diner

1101 Beckley Ave

V-L-T Honestly better than most real BLTs.

Grade: A+

I

f I was presented the Spiral Diner’s vegan V-L-T without any knowledge of its lack of meat, I would assume it was any normal B-L-T; the sandwich looks the same and tastes the same as one.

The bacon tastes like the meat of a pig, the same smoky and salty flavors coming out. Eaten alone, it definitely lacks

environmentally-friendly aspect of their brand you see so often.

It makes me feel really guilty throwing away twothirds of the meal because I simply can’t eat that much.

Regardless, Flower Child seems to really be making an impact in the Preston-Royal area, as there seems to be a steady flow of people coming in and out looking for healthy options. I think they do a pretty good job of delivering on their offer.

crunch, but the rest of the sandwich, namely the perfectly toasted bread, helps to cover that up at the same time.

The rest of the sandwich seems to be present simply to complement the bacon.

The tomatoes and its juices keeps the sandwich from becoming too dry.

The lettuce and its slightly sweet taste counteract the flavors of the bacon.

And as I mentioned before, the bread, crisp and crunchy on the outside yet soft on the inside, keeps the consumer from suspecting any lack of meat in the actual sandwich.

Additionally, the

sandwich contains two layers of mayo, each on a piece of bread. The mayo only makes the sandwich better, its tang and saltiness adding to the natural flavor of the bacon.

The Spiral Diner provided me with my first experience eating vegan food. and I can say for certain that the flavors are as good if not better.

When I walk into the Spiral Diner again, the V-L-T will be my pick.

REVIEWS Austin Williams, Darren Xi

Korean Best Picture winner will make you ‘rethink so many things about the world’ movie review Parasite

Grade: A+

Director Bong Joon-Ho Running time 2 hours, 12 minutes Leaving theaters soon REVIEW Cristian Pereira

R

arely does a film make me rethink so many things about the world — this Best Picture winner did just that.

Parasite was discussed in The ReMarker last cycle, when it was chosen as a favorite for Best Picture.

But it was never fully reviewed— and there’s a lot to talk about before it’s too late. Everyone who plans on watching it should try to at a theater­—it will be worth that time and money investment.

Parasite is a South Korean film directed by the legendary Bong JoonHo. If you’ve never heard his name, that’s understandable, as he’s not as well-known in the United States. But Parasite is not his first great movie — Snowpiercer was phenomenal as well. He’s a name you should become familiar with.

The film was nominated for six Oscars, ultimately taking home four of them, with Joon-Ho’s Best

Director prize among them. It’s the first foreign film to ever win the Best Picture award.

Every aspect of Parasite was crafted with passion. Everything is masterfully woven together, giving the movie a constant feeling of fluidity. The movie has no issues with pacing, which is an incredibly difficult accomplishment of filmmaking.

The production design of films can be easily overlooked, but in Parasite you can’t help but stare in awe at the perfection of the movie’s settings. The movie takes place in mainly three very different locations, and each of them gives off a completely different feeling. But one thing is the same: the meticulous detail with which they are designed.

The film took home a welldeserved cinematography Academy Award. The movie is full of longshots, stylistic pans, and some

amazing montages. It really helps create the perfect pacing the movie consistently has throughout.

Parasite is a film about class division. It tells the story of the poor Kim family and their interactions with the wealthy Park family household. But in the words of Bong Joon-Ho, “The film is best when you go into it cold.” So no further detail will be provided.

The film is unrealistic. But that doesn’t make it worse. It’s not about realism,—it’s about conveying a message to audiences. And the message is so powerful it will leave you thinking about it for days after.

If you’re a connoisseur of cinema, Parasite is a must watch.

If you don’t know what movie to rent on a Friday night, it should also definitely be at the top of your list. However, it’s probably not something you want to turn on if you’re just looking to relax with a

feel-good movie — Parasite is an intense thriller that will make you uncomfortable at times.

It’s a masterpiece. Parasite has made history at the Academy Awards, and it certainly will continue to influence cinema for decades to come. The movie is still in theaters — in fact, it’s still making millions of dollars per weekend in American cinemas.

As Joon-Ho said at his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

The movie wasn’t chosen because it was foreign. It was chosen in spite of that. No foreign film has ever won a Best Picture award, and this recognition is a historical moment not only for Korean cinema but for foreign films whose quality goes unnoticed by most.

20

Around the Quad

The coronavirus

Students react to the question of who will win March Madness.

Page 21

What the coronavirus means for the future of America and Marksmen Page 22

OPINIONS THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 6 , 2020

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 MAHOUALD

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

EDITORIALS

MENTAL HEALTH

Starting the conversations

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hen Headmaster David Dini arrived on campus as a 27-year-old in 1994, the counseling office “was down at the end of a hallway with a door closed 99 percent of the time.”

As larger efforts to spread awareness for mental health and wellness have increased over the years, a similar transformation occurred at 10600 Preston Rd. The counseling office is now centrally located in the school’s busiest building, Centennial Hall.

Health and wellness focus was a central emphasis point in Goals IV and a driving factor in the revised schedule being implemented in the 2020-2021 school year.

While we undoubtedly appreciate these expanded efforts, we also believe more can be done to bridge the gap between students struggling with emotional wellbeing and an accessible support system on campus.

A ReMarker poll presented to sophomores, juniors and seniors Feb. 24 received 129 responses. Over 50 percent of this sample responded “yes” to Are you yourself going through mental health struggles, and over 50 percent of this sample responded “no” to Do you think there are enough resources for students here who are struggling with mental health?

While certainly not a completely accurate representation of these grades and the school, these results speak to an existing disconnect between struggling students and the school’s support system.

As this is an issue with serious implications, we hope administrators, faculty and students can all work together in changing the narrative on our campus about support for mental health. The counseling office can still feel daunting, especially for young men unsure how to deal with their emotions.

Increased education about what mental health looks like, how to identify a legitimate problem and the steps to take once the problem is diagnosed would go a long way in benefiting these students.

There should not be a stigma around having mental and emotional struggles, and increasing the constructive conversation about these types of problems

would work to achieve that as well as increasing contact and relationships between counselors and students.

Additionally, students can help one another by upholding their commitment to the school as a community built on acceptance, comradery and diversity. The culture here is competitive and serious, but no Marksman should be afraid to discuss his problems with his peers. The term ‘brotherhood’ is thrown around a lot, and being cognizant of and empathetic for students struggling with mental issues is one of many ways we should foster that culture.

Furthermore, to students who feel like they may be going through something serious, we urge you to talk to a counselor. Do not feel like you have to come to a conclusion either way, that you do have mental health issues or do not. Professional help is substantially better than self-diagnosis.

Ultimately, mental health is an issue affecting many of our students, as evident by the responses to our poll.

We feel that the measures already in place are a great foundation for a support system, but, when it comes to a matter like mental health, it is better to have too much in place than too little.

No Marksman, no matter what he is going through, should ever be alone. Increased accessibility to counseling, positive conversation, instruction, communal support and de-stigmatization are all key components of making that goal a reality.

• See cover story, “Our hidden issue,” pages 1, 14, 15.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO SEEK HELP

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

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.

opinions and editorials

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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The ReMarker encourages reader input through guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for suggestions.

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Letters to the editor are welcome and encouraged. They must be typed, signed and not exceed 300 words. E-mail submissions are not accepted.

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Inclusion of an ad does not represent an endorsement by the school’s administration, faculty, or staff or ReMarker staff members.

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The ReMarker maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, New York City, NY; National Scholastic Press Association, Minneapolis, MN; and the Interscholastic League Press Conference, Austin.

Discipline Council disclosures must cease Confidential information from this all-important body is often leaked, damaging the reputations of those involved.

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t a school with a nuanced and thorough code of conduct described in Lion Tracks, the Discipline Council, comprised of six students and four faculty members, plays a central role in recommending appropriate punishments for Marksmen who fail to uphold this code.

Their conclusions, generally conceived after meetings of up to two hours, are officially passed along to the headmaster and head of Upper School, who may accept, amend or override that body’s suggestion.

Just as this work is so instrumental, so should be the secrecy of its individual cases. The matters of the Discipline Council ­— its members, meeting dates and current cases — are intended to be known only by council members and the actual subjects of the council.

This procedure, made clear to all council members at the start of the year and at each individual session, is optimal for all parties involved in these serious disciplinary matters.

We feel the community is undermining the privacy of these trials. After a flurry of cases early in the new year, many students pressured known members of the council to reveal details of the deliberations. Unfortunately, in several instances, the information was released and ultimately spread around the school into circles well beyond the ten-member council.

We urge members of our community not on the Discipline Council to suppress the urge to gossip and refrain from badgering Discipline Council members with

requests for information. We must respect the privacy of this work and allow the diligent members to come to a conclusion without the eyes of the entire community upon them.

Such an outside influence can potentially affect the council’s conclusion. These are not public events for a reason, and council members Discipline Council should not feel the pressure of outsiders when trying to do their job in the most 4 Faculty members, appropriate way. including one faculty co-chair Additionally, we believe students 3 Seniors, including on the Discipline Council must also one student co-chair better uphold their commitment to 2 Juniors confidentiality. The information only 1 Sophomore spreads after initially being leaked, and 1 Freshman it is unjust for the subjects of the council to have the whole community discussing Students are named by Upper School administheir alleged behavior after rightfully trators after applying for hoping for anonymity throughout the positions in the previous process. spring. Two alternates The Discipline Council is ultimately are also named for each a cornerstone entity on our campus.

Upper School class Its diligent work provides a fair and thoughtful framework for all Marksmen as they navigate terms written in Lion Tracks.

That said, we fear the important work of this group is being devalued by members of the community insistent on knowing the details of the council — and by council members sharing things that should be confidential.

RESPECT CONFIDENTIALITY • BE CONSIDERATE

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

PAGE

OPINIONS

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Staff Editorial

Students should evenly space community service

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ith the January due-date for community service having already passed, plenty of students were forced to scramble in order to complete their 10 hours by Jan. 24. Although Marksmen are known for procrastination, students shouldn’t wait until the last minute to complete their community service hours on time.

Students must not forget that community service is a vital and important aspect of not only the Marksman experience but also the greater Dallas community, and it should be treated as such.

Seniors in particular have been rather apathetic in getting their hours,

with many not even meeting the January deadline. Although there may be many things on the minds of seniors, including college acceptances, that doesn’t excuse them from getting their hours in by the deadline.

By only doing community service right before the due date, Marksmen forget that community service is something that is needed year-round, not just right before deadlines.

Marksmen should make sure that they evenly spread their service throughout the year, rather than at a one-time event.

Just a few hours each week should be manageable for the standard Marksman’s schedule and will add

up throughout the year to make a meaningful impact on the community.

We must recognize that, as Marksmen, we have a great privilege in attending this institution and that we should use this privilege to help others.

We urge Marksmen to go above and beyond the requirement of 15 hours, as the Dallas community could always use some more help.

Providing service to the community shouldn’t be seen as a burden, but rather a responsibility owed to one’s community. Besides, community service should be enjoyable both ways. Not only will members of the Dallas community benefit from the

work of Marksmen, but Marksmen themselves will benefit with leadership, communication and decision-making skills found nowhere else but through serving others.

We understand that some Marksmen may have limitations in their schedule preventing them from performing more service, but for the vast majority, community service should be done regularly.

Although students may think they’ve completed their service after reaching the requirement, the community’s need for help never ends, and it’s our job as Marksmen to make sure the community always has help.

Remember the days – but please don’t count them

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ne hundred twenty-five days.

That’s how many days were left until Blue Shirt Day, or at least that’s what my phone said. I was tired of the stress and the work and just wanted to be done.

I am saying this now because what I did was the biggest mistake of my life.

I spent every day or every couple of days refreshing the Safari tab on my phone and saw that number slowly starting to go down. Back then, it made me happy. Happy that I was a little closer to the finish line and could start relaxing. But as I look back on it, I realize everything that I missed.

Every week, I prayed for the weekend or the next break or the next free period. I never took the chance to appreciate what was happening in my life at the moment. I missed those small moments of Camp and Tony arguing in the journalism suite, or Mr. Houpt telling Toby and Sid to be quiet or having double Perryman for AP US History and AP English.

And when Blue Shirt Day did come, I didn’t feel any different. I didn’t feel how I thought I was going to feel. It was just another day that was slightly special, and the anticipation of that one day came STUDENTS AND FACULTY

crashing down as I finally deleted that countdown tab from my phone. I spent so much time thinking about the future that I forgot to appreciate all those individual days of the second semester of my junior year.

And as the Class of 2020 is into the final trimester, the reality has started to set in that we are going to be graduating pretty soon. The last football game or the last homecoming became reality and past memories instead of a fantasy we always dreamt of. Putting on that last volleyball jersey in front of my family and friends one more time doesn’t seem that long ago.

It’s hard to believe that something I have dreamt about for so long and wished for every day since freshman year doesn’t seem so great anymore. Sure, there are going to be things I am grateful to say goodbye to, but the perfect word to sum it up is bittersweet.

It’s going to be bittersweet when that April paper comes out. It’s going to be bittersweet when we ditch those blue shirts for white tuxes and take the places of dozens of other classes that have come before us.

As I start to think back to the rest

Around the Quad

of my life, I and so many people have these four years go by so fast. I know you started different conversations with “once are going to hear this a million times, but I do this,” or “once I get this,” or “once the goal of all of this is to think about the we are old enough” or “once we can future but never let it define who you are afford this.” and what you do every day.

All these dreams and goals for the At 10600 Preston Rd., there are some future are great, but once you start losing clear goals: get into college and graduate. your appreciation for the now, there is no And while that is partly what the school point in the future. There will is here to do, we should never be a point in your life never sacrifice the now for where you will never think fantasizing about the future about the future. and what it could have. And Well I thought that was please, never count down true until I was talking to my the days until something 90-year-old grandmother last happens. summer. I was asking her Even though those 125 about her life and what she were filled with late nights Sam Ahmed wanted to do now. And all and stress, I would give Editor-in-chief she said was that she wants anything in the world to get to take it day by day and enjoy those 125 days back. So, as I every moment. She felt grateful every finish this column, I have a word to the moment she had on this planet. seniors. Please do me a favor and don’t Throughout this year, I have remind me how many days we have left constantly reminded myself of that in these blue shirts because I don’t want conversation and kept thinking about that to know. This year, I’ve been enjoying Safari tab counting down the days, telling each and every last day with my brothers myself to truly take advantage of every and trying to make my last impacts day. on campus matter before I start to say And for the rest of you students who goodbye. By doing this, I am constantly are reading this column, I am writing this reminding myself to not count the days on behalf of all the seniors when I say that but to remember them.

ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS

Q: Who will win March Madness?

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I think Duke and Kansas will do really well, but Kansas might be upset a bit earlier. Florida State is my dark horse. I like Gonzaga too.

Tim Mahoney Debate Coach

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I think Duke will win, since their offensive scheme is better than any other team’s.

Rishab Siddamshetty Sophomore

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I think March Madness will have a ton of upsets, similar to the regular season this year. I believe, however, that Kansas will ultimately prevail and win the tournament.

Tate Laczkowski Sophomore

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I always like it when the underdogs pull off upsets, but I think Duke or Kansas will have a good chance since they have so much experience in the tournament.

Thomas Phillip Sophomore

‘ ‘

Gonzaga gets upset before the Elite Eight. Baylor wins the tournament.

Benny Wang Junior

I could see about 8-10 teams making legitimate championship runs this year. Ultimately, I think Gonzaga will shock people and win its first national championship ever.

Andrew Laczkowski Senior

CARTOON Cooper Cole

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6,PAGE 2020

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22

OPINIONS

HEADS UP • THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Coronavirus: just the facts

No regr–wait, some regrets

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The origin: • The virus, officially named “SARS–CoV–2” was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.

• Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in animals.

However, they rarely infect and spread among people.

• Imported cases of the coronavirus have been detected in the U.S. However, as of Feb. 29, the virus is not currently spreading in the U.S.

Steps for prevention:

Potential impacts:

• The symptoms of the virus are fever, cough and shortness of breath.

• More cases are likely to be identified in the U.S. later in the year.

• There is currently no vaccine to prevent the virus; however, in the event that the virus spreads in the US, then preventive measures can be taken:

•If widespread transmission of the virus occurs, large numbers of people would need medical care at the same time.

•Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

Stay home when you are sick.

• Places of mass gatherings may experience absenteeism. Public health systems may become overloaded with higher rates of hospitalization.

SOURCES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ARTWORK Jamie Mahowald

Thinking outside our borders: remembering global citizenship

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etween the election and the coronavirus outbreak, there’s little room left in mainstream media for anything else. These problems seem the most real, the most relevant, the most directly applicable to our lives as Americans—and they certainly are.

It makes sense. News outlets tell the stories they think Americans want to hear. Clearly, it’s working.

But despite the President’s best efforts to isolate this country, the United States is not alone in the world. Not yet.

The noise we’re used to hearing leaves us deaf to the problems around the world that made headlines once but have now slipped so far to the back of the collective consciousness that people hardly mention them anymore.

The United Kingdom is still grappling with Brexit—and it’s more likely than ever that the nation will leave the European Union without a deal to soften the sudden rupture. The economic ramifications for the UK— one of our closest allies—and the rest of Europe will be significant. Even though we don’t hear about it, it’s still happening.

Civil war is ongoing in Syria. Tens and even hundreds of people die in conflict there daily, and hundreds and thousands of others are displaced by the fighting. The refugee crisis is far

from over. Even though we don’t hear about it, it’s still happening.

In China, Uighurs—a Muslim minority— are still being forcibly taken Sam Goldfarb from their Senior editor-at-large homes and pressed into “reeducation” (read: concentration) camps and hard factory labor. The government there is collecting blood samples to create a genetic databank of Uighur people in the country.

These are the precursors to a modern genocide, and even though we don’t hear about it, it’s still happening.

These events made headlines a few short months ago—but most people seem to have forgotten.

We are not just American citizens.

We’re global citizens. And even though it’s easy to become wrapped up in our domestic turmoil—and there’s definitely more than enough of that to keep us busy—we can’t forget that the rest of the world exists, too.

It’s definitely challenging to try to step outside ourselves when we have so much to deal with on our own. It’s an exercise in empathy—empathy for countries we’ve never visited, people we’ve never met, cultures we’ve never encountered. Reaching for that

empathy is hard, but it’s possible— and necessary.

As an individual, I’m just one of 7.7 billion. And as a country, the U.S. is just one of 193—or 195, depending on which definition of statehood we’re following.

Imagine going through a day here where you didn’t interact with any students. No good mornings to friends on the way to first period. No study groups or class discussions. No asking about someone’s weekend, no high-fives and backslaps with teammates at practice.

Imagine going at it alone.

Maybe you’re big enough, smart enough, strong enough, clever enough. Maybe you could do it. But it would be empty. Unfulfilling.

Missing so much of what makes us, and by extension, what makes you you.

Lots of our leaders are advocating something like this. They’re advocating “America first.” They’re advocating the cessation of important trade agreements, the reduction of American presence abroad, the closing of dialogue with long-standing allies, the abandonment of multilateral organizations like NATO—which helps keep the world secure.

They think we should go at it alone.

And if we do that, we lose a huge part of what makes America America.

he choice was between Sarku Japan and Panda Express.

I stepped hastily to the right, making a split-second decision about where I wanted to grab dinner for the night. After considering all the factors (cost, customizability and wait) and feeling the pressure, I chose Panda.

As I sat down in the Northpark food court and watched as the steam rose from the chicken teriyaki and rice box my friend had ordered, I began to feel regret and wished I had chosen Sarku instead.

Halfheartedly, I expressed my thoughts to my friend who had chosen Panda with me. He gave me a look and proceeded to say how he didn’t understand the regret I felt and how he strived to live his life without regrets. I frowned.

How can you live life without regrets?

All our lives we’ve been told by movies, books and TV shows to live life without regrets, to live in the present moment and to never think twice about a past action we can no longer control. To me, that doesn’t make any sense.

Admitting a mistake inherently requires some level of regret. To “live your life with no regrets” means you go through life thinking every action you take is perfect, that there’s no room for improvement in who you are as a person.

Regret is the one thing that teaches me to be better in the future. Regret is how I learn from the decisions I have committed to in the past as I grow and develop. The feeling of regret is invaluable – it teaches me to make a different decision whenever I’m put in the same situation again.

That’s why it’s important for us to have regret in our lives. From regret, we learn how to admit mistakes and change our patterns for the next time, because Sid Vattamreddy Managing editor that’s what life is about. It’s about changing, evolving and maturing during our journey to become the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be.

At the same time, there is a balance that is important to find. Karate Kid said it best: “Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.” I’m not saying to let regret consume you, to let it rule everything you do in life, because questioning all the small decisions you make is no way to live. Once you have learned from a mistake, drop the regret and don’t think about it ever again, because the only purpose of the feeling of regret is to learn.

In this trivial example, the lesson I learned was that Sarku packs more flavor into its seven dollar boxes than Panda does into its nine dollar plates. More importantly, I learned how much I value regret in my life as I quickly jumped to defend the feeling that gets too much of a bad rep.

So no, I can’t live my life without regrets. To do so would mean believing I make no mistakes, that I would never need the ability to rethink or second guess a single decision I take. I challenge you to do the same, to live your life with some regrets, so that you can also make the right decision the next time, just as I will the next time I wait in the Northpark food court.

SPORTS THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

Taylor Jenkins

Updates

Memphis Grizzlies firstyear head coach Taylor Jenkins ’03 shares his experiences. Page 24-25

A quick preview of the upcoming spring seasons Page 26-27

23

SUPER BOWL

On top of the world

In a season filled with extraordinary ups and downs, Clark Hunt ’83 fulfilled his lifelong dream of bringing home the Lombardi Trophy.

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here are five seconds left.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes takes the snap, rolls out to his right and launches the football as high and as far as he can toward the right sideline, hoping to run out the clock.

It’s over.

Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt ’83 glances up at the scoreboard in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, reading 31-20. The moment is finally here — the one he’s dreamed about his entire life.

His Kansas City Chiefs are about to be crowned world champions.

He just won his father’s trophy, the Lamar Hunt Trophy, two weeks prior in the AFC championship game. And now, he’s won the NFL’s prized championship game, the Super Bowl, the game his father named. stressful in the third quarter,” Knobel said. “But ••• I think you always have to have faith in the team After a midseason knee injury to the 2018-19 NFL and know that it’s all in their hands and that there’s MVP and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, many nothing you can do. You could almost feel that we began to write off Kansas City as a legitimate Super were going to win the game, even when we were still Bowl contender. down by three points.”

A run of three consecutive comebacks the sport Similarly, the Chiefs faced a steep deficit in the has never seen, all for this moment.

AFC divisional round to the Houston Texans, falling Everything that had been overcome to be able to behind 24-0 in the second quarter before responding call himself a Super Bowl champion flooded Clark’s with 41 unanswered points, capping off a historic mind. comeback with a 51-31 victory.

He can feel the raw emotion, the pure joy coming Back in the AFC championship game just a year out of players as they sprint from the Chiefs’ sideline after being an offside penalty away from a Super Bowl onto the field to show respect for the San Francisco appearance, the 37-31 defeat in overtime to the New 49ers and their gutsy performance –– and then the England Patriots in 2019 was stuck in the back of the celebration begins. minds of Chiefs players and executives.

Surrounded by 40,000 Chiefs fans, Clark is now “[Chiefs vs. Patriots] was the first AFC up on the grand stage immersed in a storm of red and championship game hosted in Arrowhead yellow confetti, speaking to the world on national [Stadium] ever,” Knobel said. “Obviously, the result television. wasn’t what we wanted. But I think it played a huge And his son, junior Knobel Hunt, is right there by role in the outcome of this year’s season, having his side, just as he once was to Lamar. that chip on our shoulder, that extra motivation, He hoists the shiny, silver Lombardi Trophy, knowing what it’s like to be so close to what you’re holding it high in the air for all to see, feeling as if he’s ultimately working for. It’s definitely a driving and lifting Kansas City up as a whole, not just the Chiefs’ motivating force that I think helped give the team the organization. extra edge they needed to go out and win it this year.”

••• Growing up immersed in the NFL, Clark, who is For the Hunt family, the AFC championship victory the school’s Board of Trustees president, watched year had a deeper meaning; Clark and Knobel hoisted the after year as his family’s franchise came up short. His Lamar Hunt Trophy, the hardware given to the AFC mother, Norma Hunt, accompanied him on stage in champion named in honor of Clark’s father, Lamar. front of tens of thousands of cheering fans, and she “Winning the AFC championship trophy, the was finally able to relive the indescribable feeling of trophy that has my dad’s name on it, in Arrowhead winning a Super Bowl.

Stadium may have been one of the most meaningful “Getting to be up there, getting to hold that parts of the experience,” Clark said. trophy and getting to hand it to my mother who For Clark, the makings of the Super Bowl LIV literally has been around the Super Bowl and pro victory date all the way back early into his football her entire adult life was tenure with the Chiefs, where he began very special, and celebrating with to implement his vision for the type of the players and their families was THE CELEBRATION ON THE culture he wanted to build, although incredible,” Clark said.

STAGE POST-GAME WHERE substantial change was necessary.

Immediately following “Going back about 13, 14 years WE RECEIVED THE LOMBARDI Super Bowl LIV, Clark thought when I took over running the franchise, about the feeling that the entire TROPHY WAS SOMETHING one of my goals had been to build an Chiefs organization owed a THAT YOU DREAM organization that could consistently championship to the city and ABOUT. compete for championships,” Clark their entire fanbase: the “Chiefs — CLARK HUNT ‘83 said. “When I started out back in 2007, Kingdom.”

2008 and 2009, that seemed like [the Super Bowl] “I wasn’t so much thinking about all the hard was a really long way away because we were not a work that had gone into it,” Clark said. “I was thinking about how happy I was for our fan base, who good football team; we didn’t have very many young players on the team who you would say were stars, so for 50 years wanted to get back to that point. Many of we didn’t have a nucleus to build around.” our fans weren’t even alive when we won the Super The role of head coach Andy Reid in the Chiefs’ Bowl back in 1970. I think they had come to believe it success cannot be overlooked, as Clark quickly was never going to happen for [the Chiefs]. I felt like I realized in 2013 that Reid was the perfect man to lead was really presenting it to them and that was the best the Chiefs, marking the point where things began to part about it. I could feel the joy of the Chiefs fans in turn around for the franchise. the stadium.”

“We were looking for a mature leader, somebody Trailing 20-10 late in the fourth quarter of Super who had experienced taking a team to the Super Bowl, Bowl LIV, the Chiefs didn’t waver in the moment, which he had done with the Philadelphia Eagles,” scoring 21 unanswered points to cap off the game as Clark said. “I think he’s turned into an even better they pulled off a miraculous comeback, a recurring leader than I thought he would be, and he’s helped theme throughout the playoffs.

“As the game progressed and how the possessions us become excellent at everything we do across the organization. His coaching staff year in and year out and score progressed, it definitely became a little bit

‘‘

By the numbers

10

is one of the best in the NFL, one of the ways that you can check that is how many of his former coordinators end up as head coaches elsewhere and do well. It’s really been just an upward path towards, ultimately making it to the Super Bowl and winning it, and Andy has played a really big part in that.”

Clark hadn’t even begun thinking about the championship parade in Kansas City after Super Bowl LIV, and although he’d heard about the 1970 Super Bowl parade, the thought of putting on one just never occurred to him.

“It’s funny how you envision holding the Lamar Hunt Trophy, you envision holding the Lombardi Trophy, but I never really thought about the parade,” Clark said.

“The greatest aspect of winning the Super Bowl was getting to be part The Hunts bring the of that parade, and to celebrate hardware to with literally the entire city of the parade Kansas City. It felt like a million people there. The outpouring of joy that was directed at the team is an experience I’ll never forget. It’s something that really can’t be reproduced outside of a situation like that.”

With a generational talent in quarterback Patrick Mahomes, earning league MVP honors in his first season as a starter and a Super Bowl win in his second, a dynasty could be in the making.

“Brett Veach, our general manager now, said, ‘Look, he’s the best player I’ve ever seen,’ which I thought was a really strong statement at the time [of the draft],” Clark said. “When you have a young franchise quarterback, you can build the team around them and open a big window where you have a chance to win multiple Super Bowls. Andy [Reid] and Brett [Veach] would occasionally send me clips of things he did in practice [with the scout team his rookie year], including no look passes. The first time they sent me one of those I was like, ‘What’s a no look pass in football?’ I mean, I’ve heard of it in basketball, but nobody does that in football.”

point deficit faced in the AFC championship

21

unanswered points in Super Bowl LIV

44

point swing in the AFC Divisional Round

“

I felt like there were two Chiefs fans for every San Francisco fan no matter where you went.”

Clark Hunt ’83

IN THE STADIUM Sporting their Kansas City Chiefs apparel, Clark Hunt ’83 and junior Knobel Hunt enjoy some time down on the grass of Hard Rock Stadium before kickoff at Super Bowl LIV.

STORY William Aniol, Jack Davis, Peter Orsak PHOTOS Courtesy Knobel Hunt

PAGES

24,25 HEAD COACH

The man at the helm

ON THE SIDELINE Taylor Jenkins ’03, named Western Conference Coach of the Month for January, walks through his game plan for the Dallas Mavericks at shootaround the morning of Feb. 5. The Grizzlies would go on to defeat the Mavericks 121-107 that night.

Taylor Jenkins ’03 returns to the arena he watched countless basketball games in growing up, this time on the sideline as one of only thirty men leading an NBA squad.

T

aylor Jenkins ’03 finds himself with his head down, disappointed, with that how-did-we-letthat-slip-away feeling as he plods off the court in frustration as the top assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks after game three of the 2018-19 Eastern Conference finals.

Laser-focused, he’s already thinking about what went wrong, planning for every adjustment the team needs make heading into game four, thinking about any way to slow down Toronto Raptors Forward Kawhi Leonard, as he heads into the tunnel and into the visitor’s locker room at Scotiabank Arena, the home of the Toronto Raptors.

Looking ahead, he knows that after decisively winning games one and two, the Milwaukee Bucks are still in the driver’s seat though, up two games to one and with home court advantage.

Out of the blue, his iPhone rings. He picks up. It’s his agent.

But he wasn’t expecting a call from his agent. The Bucks are in the middle of a championship push. Why would his agent be calling?

Suddenly, he can’t focus. He just learned the Memphis Grizzlies are eying him for their open head coaching position –– one of only 30 in the National Basketball Association.

Less than one month later, after an extensive interview process, Jenkins gets the call from the Grizzlies –– the one he’d dreamed about receiving his entire life.

On that call, he would learn he’d been chosen to be the man at the helm in Memphis.

“I broke down in tears... and I was in shock,” Jenkins said.

••• Just eight months after that phone call with his agent, Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins is receiving serious Coach of the Year consideration in just his first season as an NBA head coach, catching the eye of many around the league.

He has a young but talented Memphis team in prime position to push for the playoffs in the Western Conference, a group that is considerably outperforming expectations heading into the season –– the Grizzlies are widely-considered to be the biggest surprise in the NBA. In a season which shaped up to be a rebuilding year following the trades of longtime franchise cornerstones Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, the Memphis Grizzlies, led by Rookie of the Year candidate Ja Morant and second-year forward Jaren Jackson Jr., currently hold

the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

“Our goal has always been to build something,” Jenkins said. “We don’t like the phrase rebuilding here.

The number one thing is we want to build a competitive environment. Every day when these guys come into the gym and come into these arenas, they’re playing to win. They’re playing to win the shooting game, they’re playing to win the free throw shooting game, they’re playing to win the defensive drill that we do in practice.

Our three tenets are competing, together and getting better. That was my goal year one, and that’s going to be my goal year ten.”

Jenkins endured a back and forth interview process with the Grizzlies, which included multiple sit-down meetings with the general manager as well as the presidents of the franchise in which he presented a packet he put together about himself. “[The packet] was a great exercise for me to put all my philosophies down, what my core beliefs were, what I wanted to build here in Memphis on and off the court,” Jenkins said. “Everything from how we handle practices, how we utilize analytics, how we utilize our medical team, to how we organize fun activities.”

For Jenkins, while the extensive preparation for these high-stakes, face-to-face meetings was the biggest key, for Jenkins, the importance of having confidence in what he believed in cannot be overstated.

“I always say I could talk about basketball for hours, so being able to sit in a room, trying to shake off the nerves and just go in there with confidence and talk about what I believe in and then why I think I can help the Grizzlies build something special for the future was the fun part about it,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins garnered national attention early into his tenure in Memphis for leading the Grizzlies to a championship in the NBA’s 2019 Las Vegas Summer League, helping establish a winning culture from day one.

Sixty-one games into his inaugural season as an NBA head coach, everything about the position he’s in as one of only 30 men in the world leading an NBA

squad still hasn’t sunk in for Jenkins.

“I just focus on coaching basketball trying to help these players, these coaches, everyone get better and try to build for the future and recognize this great responsibility that I have,” Jenkins said. “I definitely celebrated with my family but I was ready to roll up my sleeves and dive in, evaluating the draft, free agency, hiring a coaching staff, making sure I’m on the same page as the front office and medical staff.”

In the 2018-19 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jenkins was the right hand man for head coach Mike Budenholzer, who would go on to win the season’s Coach of the Year award. Just one season after, Jenkins, now a candidate for the award himself, credits former coaches and mentors such as Budenholzer for preparing him to handle the head coaching responsibility.

“A head coaching job is 365 [days a year], there’s always something to do, but all the experiences I had from the D-League [now the G-League] working with Coach Bud and the great staff that he’s had in Atlanta and Milwaukee has prepared me for this,” Jenkins said.

“I got to figure out what my own coaching style was and my coaching voice and hit the ground running –– and to do what I love. You just rely on the preparation and the love of the game, and that puts you in a position to handle whatever is thrown at you as a head coach.”

As a D-League assistant and head coach in San Antonio and assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, Jenkins stayed patient, believing his time would ultimately come as a head coach if he remained passionate about the game he loves.

“I never just said, ‘I’ve got to be a head coach by this time.’ Same thing applied when I was in the D-League, I was an assistant for four years, became the head coach in my fifth year [with the Austin Toros] and I said, ‘I’ll be here for ten years if it just gives me a great opportunity to learn and coach the game that I love and whatever happens, happens,’ but the fact that it happened so soon definitely put me to the test. I asked myself, ‘Am I ready for this world?’ And it was a quick ‘yes.’”

For Jenkins, going from working in the front office

Jenkins’ time at 10600 Preston Road Varsity basketball captain, 11, 12

The ReMarker sports editor, 12 Varsity baseball captain, 12 School Flag, 12 Tom Adams Athletic Plaque, 12 McDonald’s Week Chair, 11 Community Service Chair, 12

From watching in the stands to interviewing on the court: inside the NBA as a high school journalist

I

walk out of the tunnel –– take the path numerous NBA legends take onto the court –– as if I’m one of them.

After the countless games I’ve watched from the stands, I now stand midcourt at the American Airlines Center.

I’m immersed in the Memphis Grizzlies shootaround –– with the most talented basketball players in the world –– the morning of their game Feb. 5 versus the Dallas Mavericks, the team I’ve grown up loving.

Four staff members and I just finish meeting Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins ’03, who has generously provided us with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Shootaround begins to wrap up, with players heading for the tunnel. I semipanic, knowing that if I am going to fulfill my dream of interviewing an NBA player, now is the time.

I’ve grown up admiring the work of famous NBA reporters but now the floor is all mine.

But what if he blows me off because I’m in high school? What if he doesn’t have time?

What if…?

Nerves on edge, I take a leap of faith, students) make a beeline for the Grizzlies’ knowing this may be the last time I’m ever locker room. We quietly enter, not trying presented with this opportunity. to be disruptive, and I feel a firm pat on “Branden, I’m William and I go to my back.

Coach Jenkins’ high school… do you have Immediately, I take a quick glance back a minute to answer a few questions?” and it’s Coach Jenkins, and suddenly I’m There I am, face-to-face with Grizzlies starting to feel comfortable inside an NBA rookie forward Branden Clarke, who I’ve locker room. Not out of place. watched play countless times on TV at Pregame hip-hop music fills the Gonzaga. room. The lockers, the “We have to leave,” Clarke “Beale Street Blue” Nike says. jerseys, the custom kicks, I get that lump in my throat, the Gatorade refrigerator, and my heart drops. I’m the training tables, devastated. players watching film, “But walk with me.” the whiteboard with the My eyes light up, I break Grizzlies’ game plan –– I a smile –– it’s impossible witness it all.

William Aniol not to. I’m having a genuine I hear players’ unfiltered, Sports editor conversation with an NBA casual conversations, player. offering a totally different perspective Seven hours later, I’m back, this time for of what the league is truly all about. The the game. game extends so far beyond basketball, We pick up our media credentials and highlighted by the camaraderie and head down to the back tunnels of the brotherhood alive in the locker room; arena. It only takes a minute before arena something I couldn’t wrap my head employees stop us; I can feel the looks of around until experiencing it first-hand. confusion on their faces as we (high school It’s about building relationships on and

off the court and at the end of the day, just having fun.

We watch the game in the press box, alongside various Mavericks beat writers, all whom I immediately recognize.

The game gets out of hand late in favor of the Grizzlies, who win 121-107, so we head back down to the ground level.

We attend Jenkins’ postgame press conference, dead center in the typical, hectic NBA media scrum.

This time around, I approach players with an I’m-on-top-of-the-world type of confidence owing to my successes at shootaround.

And there is Tim MacMahon, the ESPN NBA reporter I’ve long looked up to, alongside me interviewing players. We’re both just doing our jobs.

As I walk out of the visitor’s locker room at the AAC, trying to soak in every last second I can, I secure a fist bump from rookie sensation Ja Morant and begin to reflect on everything –– realizing I got just a glimpse of what may be to come.

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be back in that locker room and on that court doing this again…but for a living.

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

SPORTS

IN THEIR OW N WORDS SHOOTING HOOPS Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson shoots free throws alongside teammates at the team’s shootaround in the American Airlines Center.

Grizzlies players speak to the impact head coach Taylor Jenkins ’03 has had early into his tenure in Memphis.

“

He’s like a coach and a brother to me. He’s inspiring. He’s always got our back like we got his, and he’s preaching the right things. I feel like he’s one of us and has the same mindset as us to go out and compete and be unselfish.”

point guard Ja Morant

“ POSTGAME Taylor Jenkins ’03, sporting his Lion tie, takes questions from reporters about his team’s performance.

for the Spurs organization right into coaching was “But [our players] push me just as much as definitely a risk, especially for someone who did not I push them to grow this thing,” Jenkins said. play basketball past high school, a rarity in today’s “Hopefully, five years from now we’ve still got our NBA. main tenets of how we want to play on both ends “In this business, not many people go from the so we’ve morphed and we’ve evolved as these guys front office into coaching, let alone someone like me, have evolved and new personnel comes in or new because I didn’t coach or work in college basketball,” trends in the NBA show up and at the end of day, I’m Jenkins said. “So I didn’t have those experiences. always believer in challenging the status quo.”

More people go from coaching to the front office side.

So for me, I give so much credit to the people that I Jenkins was back in his hometown arena –– the work for, because they gave me the opportunity, and American Airlines Center –– for the first time Feb. 5 the faith they had to me to give me that first look.” as an NBA head coach facing the Dallas Mavericks, While Jenkins’ route to the NBA sideline wasn’t the team he grew up watching as a boy at 10600 a typical one, he believes that his non-traditional Preston Road. route truly did prepare him to excel on the biggest He was even a Mavericks season ticket holder, stage in basketball. looking down on the court almost every home game.

“I always say my D-League experiences, really Now, he’s on that court, glancing up at where he helped prepare me for the NBA because Coach used to sit and trying to beat the rival Mavericks.

Budenholzer took me to another The Grizzlies decisively defeated level,” Jenkins said. “Whatever the Mavericks 121-107 powered by Ja responsibilities come across my WE’RE GOING TO HAVE OUR Morant’s 21-point night, as Memphis desk, I take it to the nth degree, earned an important victory that COACHING BATTLES FOR SURE, put the team over a .500 winning working hard. And then from BUT THAT RESPECT WE HAVE IS percentage. that, I’m able to communicate and teach.”

During the contest, Jenkins SPECIAL, AND IT’S A SPECIAL In Memphis, Jenkins has donned a light purple Lions tie. He BOND AS A COACH. incorporated offensive and received it as a gift that night before — TAYLOR JENKINS ’03 defensive schemes from coaches the game, and he decided to wear it he’s worked under, including to show off his pride for alma mater, those from San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg calling it his “good luck charm” postgame.

Poppovich, the longest tenured head coach in the “Coach [Scott] Jolly gave this to me right before NBA. the game,” Jenkins said. “I’ve got to rep my St. “That’s the beauty of coaching and the game Mark’s pride, I love the tie, and [St. Mark’s] is a very of basketball, especially as you’re watching so special place to me.” much film with other teams –– you’re picking up Jenkins took the special night of Feb. 5 as an what other teams are doing well,” Jenkins said. opportunity to show his appreciation for all who set “Growing up in the Spurs organization, so many him up for his career, from teachers and mentors to of their foundational tenets on the offensive end family members and those closest to him. and defensive end I carry with me, but the game “I had over 60 people here tonight that have has changed since I first started the business, the been very impactful in my life,” Jenkins said, “from personnel has changed, going to Atlanta, we took so my family and friends to members of the St. Mark’s many of those tenets with us.” community that pushed me to be the best that I can As he’s moved around to different organizations, be in my life. I always stand by the fact that it’s not Jenkins has come to realize just how different about me. It’s about the people that mean so much to personnel can be in one situation from the next. me and to be able to high-five them, hug them and He understands that as a head coach, it’s his kiss them after the game. I get to show them that they responsibility to adapt and put his players in the best made a huge difference in my life and that’s pretty positions to succeed on the court based on each one’s special.” unique skill set.

As a head coach in the NBA, Jenkins is part “[I determine] how to utilize our players to play of a truly exclusive club with only 29 other active to their strengths,” Jenkins said. “There’s a system, members. He embraces the competition against but it has to be malleable where you can change it fellow competitors and basketball legends on the based on your personnel. That’s the fun challenge as court, but is able to develop meaningful relationships a coach, you’re constantly setting your players where with coaches across the league off the court. they succeed and not losing sight of ultimately how “At the end of the day, to be able to go up and you want to play on both ends of the floor, because go toe-to-toe and still have great relationships with you’ve got to have some sense of accountability and people you’re competing against is special because responsibility.”

I know I have so many friends,” Jenkins said. “So Working with professional athletes forces many of my assistants and other coaches in the Jenkins to be his best, to be on his toes, and to change league are friends of mine. It’s a special fraternity as his strategy as his team dynamic evolves. coaches in this league.”

‘‘

STORY William Aniol, Jack Davis, Aaron Thorne PHOTOS Sam Ahmed, William Aniol

I’d say it starts with having him as my coach in the Summer League just getting that first feel with him as a coach. He’s just a really awesome player’s coach and he’s also young too so I feel that he fits our team really well.”

forward Branden Clarke

“

He frees all the players, he expands each individual role so we can be the best versions of ourselves.

That’s what I like about him, letting players be themselves. He knows the players. He’s not trying to make players do what they are not supposed to be doing.”

center Jonas Valančiūnas

“ By the numbers

30-31

the Grizzlies’ record through 61 games

8th

the Grizzlies’ current seed in the Western Conference as of March 3

25.5

Caesars Palace Sportsbook’s preseason Grizzlies over/under win total

Me and him have a different relationship.

We had so many conversations to understand each other that made me have faith and him have faith in me and we opened that connection. I can get emotional and get out of wack but he somehow finds a way to reel me back in and play basketball the right way.

guard Dillon Brooks

“

This is his first time at the job and he’s been learning and growing on the fly all year. He knows how to control the room. When he speaks, we all listen.

We follow his lead. He’s an easy coach to go out there and want to play for.”

point guard Tyus Jones

“

He’s always thinking ahead is always analyzing and reanalyzing stuff to put us in the best possible position to win each game. We hold our standards high, so when we match those standards or succeed those standards, we tend to win games.”

g u a r d D e ’A n t h o n y Melton

“

I feel like the whole organization, top to bottom, pays close attention to detail, and that’s one of the most important things. Here in Memphis as a young guy, you got all the tools you need to be successful, so Taylor has been great for me.”

forward Josh Jackson

“

We’ve got a tight relationship on and off the court. The first week after signing us, he reached out to everyone, had a meal with us, talked with us.

He rides for us every day and he’s pretty cool to be around.”

forward Kyle Anderson

HEADSHOTS COURTESY JOE MURPHY OF NBA PHOTOS & GETTY IMAGES

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

PAGE

SPORTS

26

With a strong lineup, tennis prepares for a dominant season 2019 SPC FINISH 3rd 2019 RECORD 7-1 THEY SAID IT “We want to take advantage of certain aspects of the game that we failed to last year. We have a really strong group of guys this year including a few very talented underclassmen, so I look forward to the damage we can do in SPC this year.” ­— junior Mark Motlow NOTABLE Senior Daniel Ardila committed to John Hopkins University and his brother, freshman Landon Ardila, is ranked eighth nationally according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.

WARM UPS Lions water polo players loosen up to prepare for practice in the Ralph B. Rodgers Natatorium. As a crucial part of water polo, swimming often is a large part of the team’s practices

Water polo again looks to build off of its past successes 2019 RECORD 29-1 THEY SAID IT “We have multiple players with state-wide honors, and Leo Ohanessian made the Junior National team. There’s tons of talent in the program that will earn more distinction this year.” ­— senior captain Lee Schlosser

2019 6A STATE CHAMPIONS NOTABLE The water polo team has won five out of the last six 6A state championships.

NOTABLE The team played in the Junior Olympics over the summer and placed 2nd in the Gold Division.

COMPILATIONS SeMaj Musco, Luke Nayfa PHOTOS Charlie Rose, Ekansh Tambe

READY FOR THE RETURN Freshman Landon Ardila rallies with a partner in practice.

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

PAGE

SPORTS

27

After a loss in the team’s first outing, baseball aims to hit back

Track and Field secures a strong start to the season at meet last weekend

2020 RECORD 1-2 2019 RECORD 7-9-2 2018-2019 SPC FINISH 3rd in North Zone

2019 SPC FINISH 2nd

THEY SAID IT “We’ll be heavily reliant on juniors, sophomores and freshman that may emerge this year. We only have two seniors on the team this year, Mason Rareshide and Aaron Thorne, so we’re going to have to rely heavily on their leadership.” ­ — head coach John Hunter

NOTABLE The team took first place at the Volunteer Relays at Arlington Bowie High School Feb. 29.

THEY SAID IT “The thing that motivates me the most is the individual development of mind and body of every boy. I am most happy when the boys start realizing and the lightbulb goes on through hard work, self-sacrifice, and belief in themselves. They have the ability to elevate themselves and achieve things that they thought were not possible ­ — head coach John Turek

NOTABLE Due to construction on and around the baseball field, the first home game, a non-league game, Feb. 21 was canceled.

NOTABLE The players get to decide who the team captains will be by a vote, and the top two or three votegetters receive the honor of being named a captain.

NOTABLE Senior Pablo Arroyo ran a 3200m in 9:25 at the Lovejoy Invitational and won the 1600m at Greenhill Relays later that day with a time of 4:40.

CATCH AND RELEASE On the back field, senior Mason Rareshide practices his throw with a partner.

LEAP OF FAITH Leaping over another hurdle, junior Colin Bajec earns a second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at the Greenhill track meet Feb. 29.

Lacrosse gears up for the spring season 2020 RECORD 1-1 2019 RECORD 9-5-0 2018-2019 SPC FINISH 2nd

THEY SAID IT “Every season brings new challenges, but the goal is the same: to be the best versions of ourselves. In any coaching experience, that’s what I look forward to the most, fighting and clawing and scrapping to get the best out of ourselves.”

— head coach Hayward Lee THEY SAID IT “My favorite part about playing with Coach Lee over the last couple years has been seeing how much he cares about his players. He spends hours on end trying to make our season the best it can be.” ­— senior defensemen Carr Urschel

INTO THE NET Lacrosse players run drills in anticipation of the coming season.

NOTABLE The team opened their season February 25 against Southlake, the same team that defeated them in the THSLL (Texas High School Lacrosse League) playoffs last year NOTABLE Senior midfielder Titus McGowan was named all-district as a junior in 2019.

LONG SHOT Mid-swing, senior Romil Mathur drives his opening shot down the fairway at practice.

Golf gets into the swing of things with first tournament of the season 2019 SPC FINISH 4th NOTABLE The team only lost one golfer from the “Top Seven” last year, who competed in the 2019 SPC tournament. The team has many veterans going into the season.

Second varsity crew boat secures second place finish in Austin

A HARD FINISH Gliding across the lake, sophomores John Tagtmeier, Ralph Steele, Noah Norton and Miles Thornburg finish their race at the Heart of Texas Regatta.

2018-2019 NATIONALS FINISH 16th

THEY SAID IT “We’ve got a lot of guys returning from last year’s SPC team, and some other guys that have been working on their game in the last year so I’m really excited for this year.”

— head coach Greg Guiler

THEY SAID IT “We’ve been training really hard during the preseason and we’re all really excited to compete in some upcoming regattas. We have some really good rowers on the team and I think that with our talent and heart together, we can compete with anybody.”­ — junior Will Chance NOTABLE The varsity double, pair, quad, and single boats all place third in their respective races.

NOTABLE Due to inclimate weather during the first half of the season, a few counter season matches were rescheduled.

COMPILATIONS SeMaj Musco, Rajan Joshi, Drew Woodward PHOTOS Camp Collins, Evan McGowan, Luke Nayfa, Siddhartha Sinha, Rohit Vemuri

EDITOR’S NOTE: Sports Junkie has been moved to page 4A and is covering SPC stats.

REMARKER GOOD CAUSE Junior Gabe Bines washes Suzanee and Patrick Magee Master Teacher Joe Milliet’s car Feb. 29 for McDonald’s Week. All donations from the car wash go to Austin Street Shelter.

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS 10600 PRESTON RD. DALLAS, TX 75230

PAGE PAGE

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

28

A senior night to remember

BACKPAGE

Senior Andrew Laczkowski made history Feb. 7 – on Senior Night – as he became the first player in Lions basketball history to score 2,000 points in his varsity career. The all-time scoring leader at 10600 Preston Rd. shares memories from that special night with staff member Aaron Thorne.

MAKING HISTORY Moments after scoring his 2000th point as a member of the varsity basketball team, senior Andrew Laczkowski (#14) celebrates with teammates, coaches and cheerleaders.

Aaron Thorne: You knew that you were close to getting 2000 points, so what was the mentality going into that game?

Andrew Laczkowski: My mentality was just to enjoy my senior night with my fellow senior teammates. I had a countdown in my head and I did really want to get it that night, but I would have been okay with not getting it.

It was more important to me to make it a night to remember, it being my final home game. But as the game started, I knew I could get it, and that’s when I really started to want it.

ELEVATE After reaching the historical milestone, Laczkowki successfully attempted an off-the-backboard slam dunk.

AT: Describe the moment when you scored your 2000th point.

AL: It was such a rush of emotions. To start, I was really tired, just coming off of an injury where I lost all my stamina, so playing as much as I did as hard as I did made it hard to hit shots towards the end. Once that final layup rolled in, I finally relaxed. I remember being mobbed by my teammates and just being so happy and relieved. It was about the most perfect moment that could happen on my senior night. It is one of my favorite St. Mark’s memories.

AT: What does it mean to you to be going down in the history books as a scoring champion?

AL: It means so much. Even though I came in 9th grade, St. Mark’s is a place that is so, so special to me. There have been a lot of great players that have played here over our long history, and to be on the same historical levels as those marksmen is an honor. Those alumni won us all those SPC Championships up on the banner, and being able to add one this year on top of the scoring record is truly special.

HUGS ALL AROUND After being subbed out for the final time at home, senior Andrew Laczkowski shares a final emotional hug with assistant basketball coach Ryan Hershner.

AT: Take me through your thought process throughout the infamous off-the-backboard dunk.

AL: So after scoring the 2000th point, I was thinking I

would just finish the game and enjoy my senior night.

I did want to try and get one more dunk in, but I didn’t know if I would. After a missed shot, I basically foul a guy, but they don’t call it and I pick up the ball around half court.

I thought I could get a dunk right here, but I wanted to do something more. I had always been asked to try to do an off-the-backboard dunk in a game like I do in warmups, but I never really got the chance to. I just thought, “why not do it now?” It’s a lot harder to get a good toss on the move, but I wasn’t thinking of that in the moment. The throw was a little low and hit the rubber on the bottom of the backboard, but that let the ball bounce up a little, letting me hammer it home with two hands for safety. Then I heard it was a travel, and that was just wrong. I did not travel. But oh well, I got my highlight.

AT: How will this moment in your high school career translate into what you do on the court in college?

AL: It’s not an apples to apples comparison, since the college game is so much harder than high school. Despite this, some things do carry over. One thing will definitely be just working hard every single day. Every practice, lift or game I did with 100% effort at St. Mark’s, and just taking that to Penn will get me far.

The other major thing will just be keeping a balance so I stay centered. I don’t want to get to bogged down in either aspect of college. I want to try and replicate the balance I’ve struck here. If can do these two things, I am sure I can do well at the next level.

AT: What are your ultimate basketball goals?

AL: I just want to take basketball as far as it will take me.

I would like to play professionally. Whether that be the NBA or somewhere in Europe is yet to be seen, but that is definitely a dream and a goal of mine. I also want to use the connections I’ve made from basketball to further the lives of others around me in any way I can.

INTERVIEW Aaron Thorne PHOTOS COURTESY Yang Zhong

REMARKER

S P E C I A L S E CT I O N • 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 5 • M A R C H 6 , 2 0 2 0

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C H A M P I O N S

One for the record books

I GATHERING AROUND After the Lion soccer team’s 3-1 victory against The Kinkaid School in the finals, the team and fans alike celebrate around the swimming, basketball and soccer championship trophies.

t should never have happened. A team seeded third in the North Zone taking the championship with two first-seed teams and the four-time defending champions in their path.

But that’s what Cory Martin’s Lions soccer team did. They defied the odds and secured a historic third SPC title for the school in the winter athletic season — ­ a feat that hasn’t happened since 1985. It took overtimes, penalty kicks, saves and one goal-saving red card committed by senior goalie Billy Lockhart, but the Lions fought through a string of upsets to earn their title.

Swimming began the championship run by surpassing 11 other teams competing for the title and winning its 27th title in 30 years. Beginning the meet as the fourth seed, the swimming team clinched the trophy with a five point victory over the St. John’s Mustangs, 91-86.

With a first place seed going into the SPC tournament and loaded with Division I talent, much of the student body expected the Lion’s basketball team to win SPC — and they didn’t disappoint. Following a comeback during the semifinals against the Episcopal High School Knights, the Lions capped off their season with a 28-point victory in the finals and thus secured their title.

PHOTO Courtesy Development Office

DON’T MISS

In the pool •

With head coach Mihai Oprea absent at the final meet, the Lions swimmers stepped up to outperform their opponents and secure a 5-point win. Page 2

On the court • Staring down a repeat of last year’s semifinal

elimination, key basketball players pulled through to push the team to the finals. Pages 2-3

On the pitch • After being called in during the semifinals,

sophomore goalie Stefan Moreno saved three shots to keep the team’s SPC run alive. Page 3

PAGES

2,3A

1

THURSDAY FEB 13 2:23 P.M.

Swimming revives dynasty, ‘out-touches’ second place foe

Unprece

GETTING HYPED Lions swimmers and Headmaster David Dini cheer on the athletes in the water.

N

ot first. Or second. Or third. team is always ready to go, they gear up for the The Lions swimming team, perennial meet all season, train super hard.” title contenders year after year the Smith is proud of how the team came together past decade and change, headed into the SPC as a unit to overcome the odds. championship projected to finish fourth.

“It was just an all around team performance Fighting to the end, the team defied the odds in order to win a really close meet like that,” Smith and proved they’re still a force to be reckoned with. said. “The individual events are super important, ••• but the relays are where you get a lot of the points, Some thought they had no shot at the title, but and they did great in the relays—especially the senior swimming captain Lee Schlosser knew they medley and the 200 [meter] free relay.” had just as good a chance as anyone.

Smith sees the 400 meter free relay as the race “Honestly, coming into SPC in the last week that secured the Lions’ victory. of training before the actual meet, there were a lot “It was just a really special moment at the of doubts because we weren’t projected to win,” end of the meet, the 400 Schlosser said. “We knew that St. John’s was really [meter] free relay,” Smith strong this year. We always drop time at SPC, so said. “We figured out if going into the meet, we knew it was going to be they let St. John’s beat tough, but we knew it was going to be possible. them, it was possible Even from the get-go, from the first couple races, they wouldn’t win the we were outperforming our seed times, so really as championship. It was soon as the meet started we realized that we really crazy because they were Mason Smith ’15 could win.” basically neck and neck Assistant swimming coach Schlosser believes the unwavering support the entire relay, which from the coaches helped a sense of confidence surge doesn’t happen too within the team. often—the last swimmers left the block at almost “Coach Oprea always does this thing where exactly the same time, and Leo Ohannessian was he tells us ‘Boys, you’re going to win. That’s it, you able to bring it home—he swam the fastest he’s ever have two arms and you have two legs and you are swum to win it.” going to win.’” Schlosser said. “The coaches sat The title season was a picture-perfect ending us down, and they really squashed for Schlosser and the rest of the senior It was crazy because our doubts and helped us believe swimmers. they were basically anything can happen in a meet.”

“Because last year we didn’t win, neck and neck the Unfortunately, head coach Mihai it was a tough year, so winning this entire relay, and Leo Ohannssian was able Oprea was unable to be with the team year was really important to all of us,” to bring it home, he during the time of the competition, Schlosser said. “I think it proved to us swam the fastest he’s but Schlosser asserts the strong array that our work over the last six years has ever swum to win it.

Mason Smith ’15 of mentors diminished the impact of been worth it. I think it also gave the his absence. younger kids a lot of confidence going “Thankfully, we have a huge into next year, and I think it gave a lot of coaching staff that was there for us,” Schlosser guys who are in swimming going into water polo a said. “We had coach Spencer Dornan, coach Kevin lot of confidence for the next season, so watch out Boone, coach Mrs. [Janis] Oprea and coach Mason for another state title in about three months.”

Smith,” Schlosser said. “And honestly, we know how to execute and we know what we have to do, so it wasn’t a huge deal. We would have loved to have him there, and we got to FaceTime him right after we won.”

Middle School swimming coach Mason Smith ‘15 was one of the coaches who stepped up during s e c o n d s SPC to fill the void, but he ascribes the team’s the time difference between the Lions and success to the precedents already set in place by St. John, the second place team, to win the Oprea and the team. meet in the 400m freestyle relay “Year after year, coach Oprea does such an amazing job, and the team follows suit, creating a the number of points the Lions swim culture of such good work ethic and discipline and team accumulated throughout the meet team unity, and it’s amazing to see how good of a competitive mindset they get in,” Smith said. “The

“

by the numbers

0.6

91

STORIES Luke Nayfa, Siddhartha Sinha, Aaron Thorne, Chris Wang, Trevor Crosnoe, Drew Woodward, Jack Davis PHOTOS Lee Schlosser, Courtesy Scott Peek

47 . 05 s e c o n ds

Junior Leo Ohannessian’s 100m free time at the SPC meet

2

SATURDAY FEB 15 4:17 P.M.

After a 29-3 season, basketball ta

T

“

At the end, he just made sure the engine had all the parts,, and parts let us go.

Andrew Laczkowski, Senior Captain

he buzzer sounds signaling the end of the first half.

24-26. The scoreboard in Greenhill’s Cox Gymnasium shows the Lions down by two.

Just one year ago, the Lions found themselves in the exact same position — down at halftime losing to Lions a Episcopal High School in the SPC semifinal game. compe In the huddle centered around head coach Greg the SP Guiler, the players feel that same painful feeling they experienced after having their championship aspirations stripped away last year.

This year, the Lions remember that heartbreaking defeat as if it was yesterday.

The Lions are determined to ensure a different outcome this year.

To make it to the finals.

To take the SPC title for the 2019-2020 season.

••• Junior captain Harrison Ingram, a three-year varsity starter, proved his importance to the team’s success week in and week out. But this championship win is far more important than just the trophy for him.

“This win is the result of all the hard work my teammates put in this off-season to give our team the best opportunity to win it all,” Ingram said. “This win is the result of our coaches working tirelessly everyday to put us in the best positions to win every game we played.”

Ingram acknowledged the hard work put in by his teammates everyday, but a large part of this legendary season comes as the result of the hours of behind-thescenes work put in by the coaches.

“Our coaches worked tirelessly everyday to put us in the best positions to win every game we played,” Ingram said.

Senior captain Andrew Laczkowski credited the coaching staff’s trust in the players for the team’s success in their championship run.

“Coach [Guiler] did a fantastic job of letting us feel what was happening and let us be coaches on the floor,” Laczkowski said. “He drew up perfect defensive schemes to help us shut down opposing offenses.”

Laczkowski explained how Guiler’s focus on the team’s game plan was vital to their success both during the season and in the SPC tournament.

“Coach Guiler really took Andrew Laczkowski senior basketball captain it upon himself to remind us of what got us the one seed: taking good shots, not turning the ball over, and playing together,” Laczkowski said. “That week before practice we

edented 3

akes first SPC trophy since 2007

were constantly reminded of those three things. When we stepped on the court, we executed those.”

However, Laczkowski emphasized that the foundation for athletes Guiler and the team’s success had ete for been built months before the SPC PC title tournament.

“Overall, he had done all his work with us in the dozens of practices we had that season,” Laczkowski said. “At the end, he just made sure the engine had all the parts, and let us go.”

Guiler believes his future mindset will stay the same for years to come, no matter the number of wins or losses.

“Last year, we wanted to be the best we could be,” Guiler said.

“This year, we wanted to be the best we could be. Next year, we want to be the best we can be. So no, I don’t think pressure changes based on wins and losses.”

The Lions dominated throughout the regular season; however, taking back the lead from EHS proved to be one of the turning points for the squad.

“In the 3rd quarter of the EHS game,” said Guiler, “when you are playing a team who has three D1 signees, the best of whom is going to Seton Hall, and the shots aren’t going down, it’s difficult.”

INTO THE PAINT Junior Harrison Guiler believes the team’s Ingram takes the ball to the hoop success was largely from the overall during the semifinal game where they leadership instilled by this year’s beat Episcopal High School 56-47. group of seniors.

“The seniors in particular are incredible leaders,” Guiler said. “On great teams, players hold players accountable and in terms of this weekend, the players held each other accountable.”

Ingram recognized the team’s lack of execution in the first half that eventually led to a 15-0 run by the Lions that put the game away.

“Given that we lost to them in the semifinals last year, it felt like it was about to happen all over again,” Ingram said. “I was feeling like we weren’t playing our best basketball as a team and were making silly mistakes.”

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

SPECIAL SECTION SATURDAY FEB 15 5:39 P.M.

Coming in a third seed, soccer squad fights to bring the third trophy home

H

eels on his goal line, sophomore Stefan Moreno has no idea how he ended up where he is.

Ten minutes ago, he was sitting on the bench watching extra time in a tied semifinal against Casady unfold.

Four minutes ago, Moreno was still on the bench. But Casady’s forward had the ball in the penalty box.

Three minutes ago, Moreno watched as the team’s starting goalkeeper — Senior Billy Lockhart — received a red card, disqualifying him not only for the rest of the game, but also the championship . . . if they could get there.

Two minutes ago, Moreno was scrambling to find anything. A pinnie, his jersey, something to wear as he was all of a sudden thrust onto the field.

A minute ago, Moreno thought his first action would be against a free kick — resulting from the red card — just outside the box.

Thirty seconds ago, he found out it wasn’t a free kick.

It was a penalty kick. Twelve yards from the goal.

Ten seconds ago, the referee blew his whistle, allowing Casady’s player to approach the ball.

Five seconds ago, Casady’s penalty specialist — the player who would be responsible for what seemed to be inevitable SPC heartbreak — approached the ball.

A second ago, his leg wound up.

Now, it was time for Moreno to dive.

••• When Moreno’s name was called after Lockhart’s second yellow card, Moreno wasn’t ready. He even had to scramble to get all his equipment together.

“I was thinking ‘Oh crap,’” Moreno said.

“We’re down a player. I thought it was a free kick.

I didn’t think I was actually gonna have to try to save it. I don’t have my shin guards on. I don’t JUMP FOR JOY Juniors Knobel Hunt, Eric Yoo and have my jersey on. I came in with a pinnie. So I got Henry McElhaney congratulate senior William Holtby the pinnie, I went on the field and [Sophomore Lars after his goal and backflip celebration in the final.

Ochs] comes up to me. He’s like, ‘You’ve got to stop this dude.’ And I’m like, ‘It’s a free kick.’ And four defenders and only one midfielder holding. he’s like, ‘No, it’s a penalty kick.’”

We also did that in the second half of the Episcopal Head coach Cory Martin, his voice hoarse game. This might work to diffuse Casady, who has from yelling from the sideline, turned back to the a very strong offense, and that’s what was stuck in bench to tell Moreno, who hadn’t warmed up, to my head from the counter game.“ get ready.

By the end of the tournament, Moreno and “He just has to go in there with no proper the team were glad that coach Martin made them warm up, with no time to prepare mentally,” condition in practice as much as they did.

Martin said. “Stefan had the presence of mind to “Coach Martin really got us together,” Moreno dive and push it and bend it out around the pole. said. “He had us fit, which was really important.

So the ball goes out of play. That gives us a chance At the end of the Casady game a lot of their players to reset.” were cramping up. They were having to get pulled When Moreno made the save off of the penalty out. We were still all out there.” kick in overtime, Martin’s confidence in the team The Lions were the third seed in the North. On soared. He knew the Lions would make it to the paper, Casady should have played Kinkaid for the SPC final.

SPC Championship. However, after a hard-fought “I went from thinking we had a chance to game against Casady won in penalty kicks, head knowing we’re going to win this game,” Martin coach Cory Martin really believed that his team said. “When I knew we were going to win this could win it all. And he was right. game was when Stefan made that save, the one “I felt really good about our boys going into in overtime. I didn’t know anything about their that final when we beat Casady,” Martin said. “I guys taking penalties, but I knew our guys taking was watching the Kinkaid players, and they were penalties were going to be money. All I said was tired. They were worn out. I liked our chances the ‘Stefan, if you save one, we win this game.’” next day, knowing what I know about our boys.”

Going into penalty kicks, Moreno was nervous Some regard Moreno as a legend around and not warmed up. Still, he was confident. the school for his accomplishments in the SPC “Honestly, I knew we were going to win,” tournament. But Moreno’s more proud of the team Moreno said. “I knew our shooters were going to than he is of himself. put away their shots. I knew I could get at least one “We went through the four-time reigning more save and that’s all we needed.” champions, two number one seeds,” Moreno In the regular season, the Lions played Casady said. “Honestly, I had an easy job. [The team was] in Oklahoma City and lost 3-1. Rather than being working their butts off. They’re sweating. They’re intimidated, coach Martin learned from the team’s playing. They’re tired. And they still have the heart mistakes and made adjustments in the quarterfinals to keep going. To me, that’s just incredible.” so that the team would be prepared SPC OPPONENTS to face the Cyclones in the SPC semifinal.

“What ended up happening on St. Stephen’s Episcopal School the first goal in that game is we got Round 1 Bye 3-0 caught with only three defenders very flat and they were allowed to Quarter The Kinkaid School Episcopal High School do a one on one,” Martin said. “We 75-52 3-1 made a small adjustment. Instead of having three defenders and two Semi Episcopal High School Casady School midfielders holding, we went to 56-47 3-2

basketball

Finals Houston Christian 85-57

soccer

The Kinkaid School 3-1

THE REMARKER • MARCH 6, 2020

PAGE

SPECIAL SECTION

4A

PINNED DOWN Junior Mike Mendoza competes on the mat against a wrestler from St. John’s School in Houston. Overall, Mendoza finished fourth place in the 220-pound weight class.

Wrestling team finishes third in SPC at home despite setbacks including no seniors, three injured athletes

T

he varsity wrestling team, led by head coach Reynold Arredondo and co-captains junior Jackson Fair and sophomore Elijah Ellis, placed third Feb. 15 at SPC, which was held in St. Mark’s own Spencer Gym. The team accomplished this feat, with injuries to three of the top wrestlers on the team in junior Cooper Ribman and sophomores Sal Abbasi and Jedidiah Kim. As three of the more experienced wrestlers on the team, the loss of these wrestlers had a large impact on the team.

“Those three not being in the lineup lost us a lot of team points,” Arredondo said. “As individuals, those guys are usually at the top two of the podium.

Those team points we lost were pretty big.”

The team also had the added pressure

of relying on lower-classmen to carry the weight, as the team had no seniors in addition to the injuries.

“We had no seniors,” Fair said. “Then, three of our wrestlers were hurt. But individually, especially with some of the younger guys, we did really well.”

Pressure fell on inexperienced freshmen and sophomores to carry the weight after the multiple injuries, and they pulled through with remarkable success. Notably, freshman Hayward Metcalf finished second in his weight class, a relatively rare accomplishment for a first-time SPC wrestler, and Elijah Ellis placed first overall in the championship tournament. According to Arredondo, this was a consistent theme with this year’s team.

“The team stepped up,” Arredondo said. “We had guys fill in the roster and get after it. I’m very proud of our thirdplace showing.”

Although proud of his team, Arredondo feels they could have done much better had it not been for the injuries to the roster.

“Just think if we had added the other three [wrestlers] in, how close we could have gotten to either first or second place,” Reyno said. “That says a lot for our team as a whole because even with those three replaced, we still had about nine out of our ten wrestlers place.”

For the last several years, the team has been constantly improving, finishing fifth in SPC two years ago and fourth last year. With this year’s third-place finish,

Arredondo believes the team is poised to perform better next season.

“Since we don’t have any seniors who we’ll be losing next year,” Reyno said, “and we have a crop of eighth-graders that will be filling in the ranks that will help us improve our practice room, we’re going to be pushing ourselves every day.”

Arrendondo enjoys the glory that the results that winning something like an SPC tournament can bring, but his main goals for the wrestling squad are to train the best team of wrestlers he can, no matter the obstacles.

“Of course we’re looking for championships,” Reyno said. “But that’s not it. My bottom line is for us to wrestle.

Just wrestle, as hard as we can. We’re going to step out on the mat, ready.”

STORY Ishan Gupta, SeMaj Musco PHOTO Development Office

3

SPC junkie The final results from all Lions sports in the winter season.

Penalty kicks saved by sophomore goalie Stefan Moreno in the semifinal game.

IN ACTION Junior Knobel Hunt (left) looks for the ball during the Lions’ game against St. Stephen’s.

Junior swimmer David Yang (right) swims a 100 meter breaststroke at the Lewisville Westside Aquatic Center where this year’s SPC was held.

1985

The last year Lions won three SPC championships in one season.

27

Championships swimming has won in the past 30 years.

Basketball

Soccer

Swimming

Wrestling

Top Point Scorers:

Top Goal Scorers:

Top Point Scorers:

Advanced stats:

495: Sophomore Colin Smith 457: Junior Harrison Ingram 453: Senior Andrew Laczkowski

16: Junior Henry McElhaney 11: Senior William Holtby 9: Junior Knobel Hunt

150: Junior Leo Ohannessian 138: Junior Ryan Park 131: Freshman Jerry Fox

Sophomore Elijah Ellis won first place as a heavyweight in the state tournament.

Advanced stats:

Nine out of ten wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes.

Top Assists: 179: Harrison Ingram 84: Andrew Laczkowski 75: Colin Smith

Team Records:.

Last year: 27-5 This year: 29-3

SPC Final Results 1) St. Mark’s 2) Houston Christian High School 3) Episcopal High School

Top Assists: 13: Junior Henry McElhaney 8: Junior Knobel Hunt 5: Junior Cristian Pereira, sophomore Lars Ochs

The school record for the 100 meter freestyle relay was broken three times this year by juniors Leo Ohanessian and Ryan Park and Freshman Jerry Fox.

Team Records:

Team Records:

Last year: 14-3-1 This year: 16-6

Last year: 5-2 This year: 4-1

SPC Final Results

SPC Final Results

1) St. Mark’s 2) Kinkaid School 3) Casady School / Cistercian Preparatory

1) St. Mark’s 2) St. John’s School 3) Kinkaid School

Junior Jackson Fair, sophomore Elijah Ellis and freshman Hayward Metcalf are All-SPC wrestlers.

Team Records: Last year: 6-6 This year: 9-7

SPC Final Results 1) St. John’s School 2) Episcopal High School 3) St. Mark’s

COMPILATIONS Ishan Gupta, SeMaj Musco, Luke Nayfa PHOTOS Sam Ahmed, Charlie Rose

Word from the captains

Senior soccer captain William Holtby

“Going into the tournament as the three seed made us underdogs—only the two and one seeds had ever won before.

Every team we played counted us out before the game even started— something that pushed us to win the whole thing.”

Senior basketball captain Andrew Laczkowski

“Coach Guiler took it upon himself to remind us what got us the one seed: taking good shots, not turning the ball over and playing together. We were constantly reminded of those three things. When we stepped on the court, we executed those.”

Junior wrestling captain Jackson Fair

“Although we knew it was unlikely that we would get first place because of our lack of numbers, especially compared to other, much larger teams, we gave it all. I saw everybody give it their best. And nine out of ten people still placed.”

Senior swimming captain Lee Schlosser

“Last year, we didn’t win, and it was a tough year. Winning this year was really important to all of us. It proved to us that our work over the last six years has been worth it, and it gave the younger kids a lot of confidence going into next year.”

focus | march 2020

trashed.

Waste. Are we losing the war?

inside.

at the surface

5

Drip. Drip. Splash.

Water is an essential feature of modern life — but we’re using too much.

6

Where does all our trash go?

You throw out your lunch and walk away.

What happens next?

8

Thrown away.

lost in time

14 Will zero-waste Dallas be a reality?

What is Dallas’s Zero Waste Plan, how is it implemented and is it on track for success?

the space around us

17

Making the most of classrooms.

What tools and technology may enable us to better utilize our rooms on campus?

Leftovers? Here’s what happens next.

Every single square foot matters.

What methods do we use to best serve and conserve our food while minimizing waste?

12

The power to do anything.

A look at how our electricity and energy use is managed on campus.

2,3 Waste. Are we losing the war?

A complete waste of time.

In what ways do students waste time, and what can they do to improve their habits?

23

45 minutes.

Photos of what gets left behind on the plates and tables of the Great Hall.

10

22

18

The headmaster and the campus planner explain how campus space is used efficiently.

20

Where we go, where we stay.

A poll of the Upper School shows where on campus students prefer to spend their time.

A look at how teachers may make the most of their 45-minute class periods with students.

24

Stuck in a slump.

What toll does improper time management take on busy Marksmen?

26

Professionally managed time.

Four accomplished individuals in various fields share insights on using time wisely.

About the cover Photographers Ben Hao and Jerry Zhao used fishing line to string up objects representing each of the magazine’s three sections — Japanese erasers for “at the surface,” plastic Monopoly houses for “the space around us” and alarm clocks for “lost in time.” Hao and Zhao also used the objects in the photos dividing the sections.

Photo by Kyle Fisher

EDITORS Alam Alidina Sai Thirunagari CREATIVE DIRECTOR Cristian Pereira

The fight against waste isn’t a battle. It’s a war.

Sitting in the cafeteria during fifth period

lunch, facing Sam, your best friend, who’s right across from you.

Smiling, laughing, remembering the funniest thing that happened during AP English 11.

Glancing down at your watch, noticing that there are 20 minutes left in the period, and despite knowing you can finish all your homework tonight, still wanting to get started so you can go to bed at 10:30 instead of 11 p.m.

But also wanting to spend some more time with Sam before cracking open the math textbook and graphing logarithmic functions.

Taking five more minutes with Sam, gulping three more bites of the Salisbury steak on your tray and having a sip of water before getting up, throwing away the halfeaten lunch and pouring out the nearly full cup of water.

Feeling anxious to knock out the precalculus assignment, sprinting across the Quad to grab your backpack and heading to the library, wondering if there could’ve been another basketball gym right below your feet as your shoes splash against the muddy grass.

Rushing to class, noticing that a middle schooler forgot to turn off the lamp at his library desk before leaving, but not having enough time to go back and flick the switch.

Crossing the Quad again, entering Hoffman and plopping down at your desk, ready to speak in Spanish for the next 45 minutes.

Day to day, it seems like the resources we

have at our hands are endless. Plenty of options in the cafeteria. Water fountains in every building. Lights always on. A campus big enough to satisfy our needs.

But if we take a moment to step back and realize what we’re wasting each day, what we have doesn’t seem so infinite anymore. From those few bites of pasta thrown away to the ten minutes that flew by on the phone during a free period, we often squander more than we think.

And you might think it doesn’t really make a difference in the long run whether you carefully choose how much food to put on your plate during lunch or decide to focus on making a dent in your homework during your free time. But we’re here to tell you it does matter. And even the smallest differences count.

The water that goes down the drain, trash that’s hauled off by dumpster trucks, lights that are left running when no one’s there, extra room that’s left unoccupied and minutes on the clock that tick away before you even know it all add up, even if we don’t notice the difference immediately or personally.

Each of these may have to be addressed differently. The strategies we use to minimize water use won’t be the same ones we use to conserve space. And we won’t always succeed. But it’s not about the battle. It’s about the war.

—the editors

It all adds up What we throw away doesn’t seem like much at the time.

But it’s not long before a few aluminum cans turn from a pile into a landfill.

WRITERS Sam Ahmed Toby Barrett Ethan Borge Colin Campbell Trevor Crosnoe Jack Davis Sam Goldfarb Ishan Gupta Axel Icazbalceta Jamie Mahouald Luke Nayfa Peter Orsak Will Pechersky Luke Piazza Robert Pou Cooper Ribman Siddhartha Sinha Paul Sullivan Aaron Thorne Sid Vattamreddy Christopher Wang Wallace White Austin Williams Darren Xi Jonathan Yin Eric Yoo HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Ben Hao PHOTOGRAPHERS Kyle Fisher Evan Lai Tyler Nussbaumer Ekansh Tambe Jerry Zhao GRAPHICS DIRECTOR Jamie Mahouald ARTISTS James Shiao Focus, a magazine supplement to The ReMarker covering a single topic, is a student publication of St. Mark’s School of Texas, 10600 Preston Road, Dallas, TX, 75230.

at the surface

When we think about waste, we think about food, water and electricity. That's where waste is most obvious — whether it's in the dripping of a leaky faucet, the bottom of a trash can or the monthly power bill. In this first section, experts offer strategies to curb the waste you notice first.

4 Waste. Are we losing the war?

Drip. Drip. Splash.

A shower head monotonously drips in the

locker room, completely unnoticed by the freshman who finished his shower nearly half an hour ago.

Across campus, a malfunctioning sprinkler sprays a sharp arc of water into the air, soakby the numbers ing into the grass.

Unnecessary waste happens all across campus, but there are many measures Marksmen can take to reduce this expenditure — it just takes a little extra thought. water meters While it may seem like a cheap and abunon campus dant natural resource, water is becoming more and more precious in the Dallas area, its price going up ten to 15 percent each passing year.

“The cost of water is going up every year,” Director of Physical Plant Mark Webb said. million gallons “Matter of fact, they had it on the news not of domestic water long ago. So that’s something that we watch used each year closely every year, every month.”

Despite having three LEED-certified buildings, achieved by 40 percent water use reduction, the school is looking to improve on current conservation efforts. Webb stresses the importance of efficient irrigation systems million gallons and smart landscaping. The school is always of irrigation water looking for new ways to conserve. used each year “I think one of the next steps the school should take is putting in a few of those rainwater harvesting systems,” science instructor Dan Northcut '81 said. “It would be easy to do because most of our roofs on the whole campus are flat or slanted and come to gutters that irrigation zones channel the water to pretty much anywhere on campus you want those gutters to go.”

Once these changes are implemented, harvested water would likely go towards helping irrigate campus ground cover, significantly cutting down on water waste.

“Think about all the gutters we have on this campus and all the rainfall we have,” Webb said. “We could capture all that rainwater that comes off the roof and then be able to store it and use it to irrigate our grass and trees and shrubs and groundcover.”

One way to help prevent unnecessary water waste on campus is to be on the lookout for malfunctioning equipment. Tell-tale signs of “Most people don’t realize it, but broken sprinklers are over half of Dallas’s water is just wet spots or puddles going to water lawns.” on grass. Students should report these Dan Northcut '81, director of issues to division heads environmental studies or to receptionist and facilities scheduler Sherri Sullivan at the front desk in Nearburg.

“Those kinds of things over a period of time use hundreds of gallons of water needlessly,” Webb said. “So if the student body could just be conscious of that and report those things to us, we could get those things repaired a lot quicker.” F

12

10 8

170

Slipping through our fingers Every year, millions of gallons of water are used ineffectively. Only vigilance can eliminate water waste.

by Axel Icazbalceta, Austin Williams and Jonathan Yin Photo by Evan Lai Waste. Are we losing the war? 5

Ready to eat SAGE serves each student with an appropriate portion.

Fresh batch Every morning, hot meals are prepared for the hundreds of students dining on campus for lunch.

Thrown away With wasted food, the only destination for leftovers that meets city codes is the trash can.

Destination As is the case with all of the campus’s trash, it is picked up in garbage trucks and transported to the McCommas Bluff Landfill in South Dallas.

Where does all our trash go?

by Siddhartha Sinha and Christopher Wang Graphics by James Shiao

6 Waste. Are we losing the war?

Before walking out of the Great Hall, you have to gather your leftovers, walk to the conveyor belt and leave your food.

When turning in your physics lab, you have to cut out the directions, trim the sides off the graph and dispose of the paper.

What you don’t think about is where that trash goes.

Where does that food go?

Where does that paper go?

What about that leftover sandwich?

When it comes to the food left on lunch

trays every day, Director of Environmental Studies Dan Northcut ‘81 says it goes straight to the landfill owing to health codes.

However, Northcut remembers a time when that wasn’t the case.

“In the old days,” Northcut said, “we were able to give a lot of the food waste to a couple of the farmers in the area, and they would pick it up. It would go to the pig slop and stuff like that, so it would get consumed, but there’s now city code. It’s really difficult to do that.”

Specifically, Northcut says the school’s solid waste goes to the McCommas Bluff Landfill, located only 10 miles from downtown Dallas.

“It’s a mountain of garbage,” Northcut said, “but it’s done nowadays in a much more sanitary way than in the old days where it really was just a mountain of garbage. Now it has to be sealed over. It’s something that if you drove by it, you might not notice that that’s a mountain of garbage because they’ve got grass on it. They’re putting new garbage, day after day after day.

When it gets to a certain height, they cover it up with soil and put grass on it. From the outside, it looks like a big hill. You wouldn’t notice. It’s an eye-opener.”

To minimize what the school sends to McCommas, Northcut makes a concerted effort to “cut down [the school’s] waste footprint,” focusing primarily on the community’s usage of single-use plastics.

“There are definitely things we can do as a school to cut down on our waste footprint,” Northcut said. “One of those things we should pay more attention to is single-use plastics. I would like to see us definitely get rid of any single-use plastic stuff like those water bottles. Those single-use water bottles are just the devil when it comes to wasted material because the plastics are really hard to recycle anyway.”

Although he had seen plastic usage diminish on campus, Northcut says a recent uptick in the single-use plastics he’s seen on campus is concerning. Nevertheless, Northcut thinks some of the new devices in the Winn Science Center — such as the refilling stations — will help lower the

community’s plastic usage.

From what’s left of the plastic, Northcut says the school practices the blue bins system, which has significantly decreased our waste footprint.

“All our paper, cans, glass and all that could go into the recycle bins instead of to the landfill,” Northcut said. “So that was a significant step for us to cut down on our waste footprint, and we’ve been doing that for over 25 years.”

From the recycling bins, all the campus’s recycling goes through single-stream recycling, where the recyclables are placed together.

“It all goes into one end,” Northcut said. “The paper gets separated, glass gets separated out, any of the steel is separated and then aluminum. Out of the ends come these big bales of crushed aluminum bales and paper stuff. The glass all gets broken up and put into bins so that all that broken glass can go get re-melted [and] made into new glass. People will pick up those huge bales of aluminum, and the paper people pick up that, and then they go and make new aluminum cans or new paper.”

“Your best intention is to divert or repurpose or reuse as many of the products as you possibly can.”

Richard McDonald, H-E-B corporate director of environmental affairs Through these practices, Northcut says the community’s waste footprint is comparable to the footprint of any other institution of this size.

“Our waste footprint is no more significant than anybody’s waste footprint,” Northcut said. “In terms of comparisons to other schools or anything like that, we don’t have an abnormally large waste footprint. It’s pretty comparable to any other high school.”

On a larger scale, H-E-B Corporate Director of Environmental Affairs Richard McDonald manages the disposal practices of one of the largest supermarket chains in Texas.

“As a company,” McDonald said, “our

goal is to be able to reduce our overall environmental footprint. That’s inclusive of anything you do as a company. Greenhouse gas emissions, consumption of natural resources, increasing your level of reusable items and recyclable items are all things that we have in future planning — just being as socially responsible as we possibly can and making things for all the natural resources as good as we can.”

Joining the company in 2016, McDonald says his first point of order was increasing environmental education in the industry and getting H-E-B to the forefront of environmental sustainability.

“The very first thing I saw that needed a change was an uptick in awareness for all of our partners,” McDonald said. “Quite honestly, there are peer companies in our retail sector, and they have had some fairly robust environmental or sustainability programs in place for a really long time.

Obviously, from H-E-B’s standpoint, we want to be the absolute very best at what we do, regardless of whether we’re selling groceries or we’re taking care of the environment.”

As a result of this awareness, H-E-B diverted more than 461 million pounds of waste from landfills and recycled 2 million pounds of plastic bags in 2017 according to its website, but this is just the beginning for McDonald and H-E-B. “Future education is probably going to be a big deal,” McDonald said. “So is looking for innovative ways to capture more products.

We’re looking at potentially having some reusable products or systems in stores where you may have some options to bring containers in to refill products that would traditionally be a single-use item. We have no firm programs in place right now, but those are things that as an industry, everybody is looking to.”

As for continued programs, McDonald says H-E-B will maintain its program where customers are able to return plastic bags and outer films.

“We have collection bins at each store,” McDonald said. “Most stores have two collection bins at the location to capture plastic films and specific bags that we internally run through a recycle process at H-E-B. We have a return bin center in San Antonio where all of those items are collected and sent back to. We do the sorting and collection at that processing facility and then move them on to the commodities market.”

However, the items that can’t be recycled still have to be sent to landfills, as is standard for all retail disposal.

“We have a contractual agreement with a nationally known disposal firm like most of the other retail businesses do,” McDonald said. “Obviously, if you don’t recycle your product, if you don’t repurpose it or find out a way to reuse it, landfill is the general standard practice for disposal.”

Nevertheless, McDonald says H-E-B is looking to achieve zero-waste status in the coming years.

“We’re all trying to move more towards that zero waste ultimate goal,” McDonald said. “That’s a big goal to get to, but traditional practices were — and still are to a large percent — to landfill some of the items that you have to get rid of.” F Waste. Are we losing the war? 7

“Reducing food waste is good for the planet. It helps slow down global warming — there’s an economic, environmental and social benefit to conserving food.”

Brandon Barnes, SAGE district manager

Clean up Lunch time every day sees hundreds of plates, some still stacked with food, deposited on the cleaning counter.

8 Waste. Are we losing the war?

Before walking out of the lunch room, you gather your leftovers, walk to the conveyor belt and leave your food.

Just how much do you waste?

Thrown away.

by Cooper Ribman Photos by Ben Hao

A staggering number According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, roughly a third of food produced in the world is wasted, including 1 billion food items annually from U.S. schools.

After lunch School facilities go to great lengths to reduce food waste from lunches. “We have daily food production logs at all of our schools that allow us to forecast in advance food usage and record waste,�

SAGE District Manager Brandon Barnes said.

Leftovers On lunch tables in the Great Hall, though students are encouraged to take only what they know they will eat, food is left to be picked up by cafeteria staff and thrown away.

Reducing our footprint With the appalling statistics of food waste in mind, the first-ever national food loss and waste goal in the U.S. was launched in 2015, calling for a 50 percent reduction by 2030.

Waste. Are we losing the war? 9

Leftovers?

Here’s what happens next. outside our gates Local restaurants also have their own methods to reduce waste, from composting to conservation.

“Liberty Burger proudly uses tree-free compostable napkins and packaging and reusable bags for take-out meals. We recycle all packaging and donate empty bottles to local homebrewers and artists.​” Liberty Burger, givemelibertyburger.com

“Everything [Garden Cafe] serves is made from scratch with fresh ingredients. We even source many of our herbs and vegetables from our own organic garden surrounding the beautiful patio! We serve humanely produced pasture-raised eggs, direct trade coffee, local grass-fed pastured meats.”

Garden Cafe, gardencafe.net

“[Bellagreen] fast, casual restaurants offer an outstanding dining experience while ensuring we reduce our ecological footprint through water conservation, alternative power, chemical and pollution reduction, sustainable food practices and sustainable furnishing and building materials.”

Bellagreen, bellagreen.com 10 Waste. Are we losing the war?

by Cristian Pereira, Ishan Gupta and Ethan Borge Photo by Ben Hao

What’s for lunch today?

It’s often a question Marksmen ask themselves when they enter the lunchroom, only to be met with a myriad of options.

There’s something for everybody.

Soon, your tray is full. Meats, pastas, carbs, salads and, of course, paninis fill the plates of the dining hall.

But some isn’t eaten.

Some doesn’t even leave the lunch line.

As a growing world problem, food waste affects our community — more than we sometimes like to admit. So how does SAGE Dining Services, the food provider at 10600 Preston Rd., handle food waste on a daily basis?

Campus SAGE Food Services Director

Erin Woods says one of the key strategies to save food at school is through a strategy called “batch cooking.”

“We establish how much food we think we will need for the whole day,” Woods said.

“For instance, if today it’s 200 pizzas, we build them all and then we batch cook. We will start off the day with maybe cooking 50 pizzas, and then as we go throughout service, to also give the best quality we can, we will cook more.”

This cooking strategy not only saves time but also makes it easier to handle excess food.

“If we end up with ten extra pizzas, there’s a couple things we can do,” Woods said.

“We can freeze them, we can utilize them for concessions that may be coming up if it’s in a short time frame or we also sometimes partner with a local soup kitchen and donate anything that they would have use for.”

Food that’s prepared but not served is either donated or, in some circumstances, disposed of.

“If it’s been heated, we cool it down to below 40 degrees to make sure that it’s safe for reheating,” Woods said. “Then, we

package it — 90 percent of our extra food that’s edible or repeatable is donated. And then if it’s something such as rice or just three pounds of pasta, those items do end up in the trash.”

Woods also says that another good strategy used to save food here is to order ingredients in bulk for use in multiple dishes.

“We do cross-utilization,” Woods said.

“For instance, if I had chicken fajitas, and then maybe I had something like Philly cheesesteaks, I might order onions in one time and use those for multiple dishes.”

However, SAGE doesn’t want to sacrifice quality or safety. To make sure its food is up to standard, the staff follows certain guidelines.

“We don’t reutilize,” Woods said. “One of the main reasons why we don’t do that is for freshness and quality, but also allergens.

We really focus on keeping everyone safe.

Products that have already been used in one recipe are not adaptable to new recipes.”

SAGE also makes sure to order food from the best providers it can.

“We partner with local vendors,” Woods said. “Those vendors are all interviewed

A thoughtless task It’s easy to throw out food without thinking much about the work that went into making it.

and vetted through our home office and our purchasing department to make sure that we’re getting the best quality.”

After ordering, it’s time to decide how much food to prepare. This as well is a meticulous process.

“We take a lot of information in and use our experience and planning in advance to order the appropriate amounts as fit for our menus,” Woods said. “We use ratios in the recipes and our common knowledge. We also have to account for catering and days off.”

Woods also trains her staff to learn how to

be more efficient with food.

“I take time showing them that the core of the celery is useful to make a vegetable stock,” Woods said. “Or we can cut that up and put that into the chicken salad, for example.”

Furthermore, SAGE has also partnered with Director of Environmental Studies Dan Northcut ’81 to increase its conservation efforts.

“We make bags for him to feed his worms, chickens, compost and things of that nature,” Woods said. “That way we can continue utilizing things that cannot be saved as best as we can.”

Further up the totem pole, SAGE District Manager Brandon Barnes explains that company-wide, SAGE has systems in place to save food.

“We have daily food production logs at all of our schools that allows us to forecast in advance food usage and record waste,” Barnes said. “This data is recorded daily by our chefs and is used to manage excess waste each day.”

However, the food-waste policies at schools differ. Barnes says programs are tailored to fit the school’s needs as much as possible, a responsibility that is very much handled by the director of food services at the school.

“Each campus is unique in their own way,” Barnes said. “We tailor our program requirements and policies to align with each school’s expectations and desires. Other than food safety, no specific school is structured the same exact way with respect to policies.”

Barnes says efforts to minimize food waste are not new — SAGE has always looked for ways to work on this.

“Sustainability has always been a focus,” Barnes said. “Food waste in general is typically a common topic we hear about at many schools. At St. Mark’s, the expectation’s

to have plenty of food for everyone to enjoy.”

Barnes says the food program here excels in terms of food waste. However, efforts are always being put forth to improve.

“I must say that the dining program at St. Mark’s is one of the best in the area,” Barnes said. “However there will always be the opportunity to enhance more scratch cooking as new recipes are being vetted for seasonality purposes all the time.”

Barnes says that through his experience, when observing alternate food methods, strategies vary. All communities are different and therefore require tailoring.

“Eating habits have varied from different parts of the food industry,” Barnes said.

“The vast difference of this is associated with portion sizes and moderation eating. Serving appropriate portions allows consumers to eat their entire meal and minimize waste. Our spotlight program helps promote this in our schools.”

Overall, Barnes stresses the importance of conservation.

“Reducing food waste is good for the planet,” Barnes said. “It helps slow down global warming — there’s an economic, environmental and social benefit to conserving food.” F Waste. Are we losing the war? 11

From computer operations to facility functions, campus couldn’t be the place it is without...

by Sam Goldfarb and Toby Barrett Photo by Ben Hao

12 Waste. Are we losing the war?

The power to

do anything.

Almost everything in the U.S. is on the grid.

Climate control. Lighting. Computers.

Wireless internet routers. Televisions. Each is entirely dependent upon electricity for power.

But energy is expensive — not only financially, but also environmentally. Big power draw means a big bill. Households, businesses and schools pay for energy consumption as much with carbon emissions as with dollars. With energy usage proving so impactful in the world, efficient energy management has become a key aspect in resource preservation.

On campus, energy is mainly drawn on power to facilities, according to Mark Webb, campus director of the physical plant. “[Energy] is primarily used through our central plant mechanical systems,” Webb said. “Through pumps, chillers and air handlers on the mechanical side. And of course, a large user would be the lighting.”

Webb knows the financial toll consumption can have on budgets.

“Our school uses about four and a half megawatts to five megawatts of power a year,” he said. “Over a year’s time, you’re looking at 260 to 310 thousand dollars. How we use our power and how much power we use makes a big difference in the bottom line.”

One of Webb’s main goals on campus is cutting down on electricity usage.

“It’s one of the most important mandates from a personal level that I have,” he said.

“If my department is not looking at best practices, we’re not doing our part for the school to make sure that we’re doing something sustainable. ” One important way Webb has been able to save energy is by converting fluorescent light bulbs to light-emitting diodes (LED), a cheaper and stronger light source. LED lighting cuts back on electricity use and the costs that come with it.

“A traditional light bulb will use 100 watts,” he said. “We can go to an LED bulb that uses 15 watts. If you take a look at a classroom that has 30 bulbs in there that are 100 watts apiece and you take them down to 15 watts and you’re changing over 15 classrooms, you’re going to reduce energy usage by a lot.”

Licensed campus electrician Stefen Glenn has been installing LED lighting wherever possible. He, too, believes fluorescent light

going for gold

1.

bulbs aren’t as viable for campus lighting as newer LED panels.

“That technology is old, and LED is the way to go,” Glenn said. “We went with these flat panel LEDs, and they hardly use any energy. It’s way less than what florescent uses, and it saves energy and costs to run it.

It’s kind of a no-brainer.”

Additionally, Glenn attests that the cheaper price of LED light sources provides for cheaper maintenance and installation.

“We paid $35 apiece [for LED bulbs],” he said. “That’s it. So we’re saving electricity because it’s cheaper to run it, but now we’ve also saved at least five times the money on maintenance.”

“We have to pay attention to how we oversee 360 thousand square feet based on our years of experience.”

Mark Webb, director of physical plant Efforts to save energy here go beyond modernizing campus lighting. The school has a comprehensive energy management system capable of handling a wide range of processes.

“We’re able to schedule all of our equipment in each building, our central plant and our lighting accordingly,” Webb said. “So when we know that we have periods when there’s not going to be a whole lot going on, we shut everything down early or we may not even run at all.”

Climate control adds another complexity to energy management, especially once temperatures start rising as summer months approach.

“We run an extended period to make sure that we keep the buildings cool,” Webb said, “because if we have to start up on a Monday morning, then we have to get everything pretty cool for the start of school. That can be costly.”

Warming campus up in the winter can be just as challenging.

“If we have some cold snaps and some freezing weather, then we have boilers, pumps and air handlers preheat all the buildings,” Webb said. “We have to pay attention to those two situations in how we [oversee] 360 thousand square feet, based on our years of experience and knowledge of how our campus works.”

Newer buildings here were designed with environmental consciousness in mind. Centennial Hall and the Hoffman Center are both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, and the Winn Science Center was also designed to a similar standard.

The building’s systems include some of the latest in sustainable technologies.

“There are 200-ton air chillers on top of that building, separate from our campus equipment, that are energy efficient,” Webb said. “There is a lighting control system called a wattstopper that trims back the lighting system to depending on how much daylight comes through the window.”

LEED certification goes even deeper than installed technology.

“That building has been approved as a Silver LEED building,” Webb said. “That has to do with a lot of different things — even the way the building was built and the levels of insulation installed.”

They also take into account other forms of resource consumption, including water. “[New toilets here] only use about half a gallon per flush,” Glenn said. “In Centennial, Hoffman and the new science building, we have those waterless urinals, so there’s no water used at all to flush. The less water we use, the more we’re going to save.”

Currently, the school sources its power through the TXU Energy company, with contracts in place until 2028. As the school prepares for the future, on-campus renewable energy could play a role in sourcing power — once technology catches up with the demands here. Solar panels could eventually be implemented to provide some power right from campus rooftops.

“With technology [today], we can only get so much out of them,” Glenn said. “We’d still have to have the other resources to provide power for when there are rainy days or at night. There’s a lot of stuff on this campus that takes energy, so we would have to have a huge solar panel system here.”

As the efficiency of alternative energy sources increases and costs correspondingly stabilize, 10600 Preston Rd. could rely more and more on generating its own energy.

Becoming greener environmentally saves a different sort of green — letting the school expand its opportunities in other areas by managing our energy use.

It’s about power, not just electricity. F

Three steps 10600 Preston Rd. can take to boost its sustainability, achieve LEED Gold certification and waste less electricity.

Use sustainability metrics such as Arc that track water, waste, energy, transportation and human experience.

2.

Keep up with changes to building code in order to stay current with changing environmental standards.

3.

Ensure school runs energy-efficiently and continue to monitor for inefficiencies in the system.

SOURCE: USA Today

Waste. Are we losing the war? 13

Will zero-waste Dallas be a reality?

At the start of 2013, the Dallas City Council proposed and adopted the Zero Waste Plan, completely changing the city’s waste landscape. Their goal is to reach 85 percent waste reduction by 2040. How far along are they, and what is the purpose of their work?

by Sam Ahmed, Alam Alidina and Sai Thirunagari Photo by Ben Hao and Jerry Zhao Graphics by Jamie Mahouald

In February 2013, the Dallas City Council

adopted the Zero Waste Plan, a systematic effort to ultimately reduce waste in Dallas.

The incremental goals for the initiative are to reduce waste by 40 percent by 2020, 60 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2040, but the city failed to achieve the first milestone.

Joining the Dallas City Council in 2013, when the Zero Waste Plan was first put into place, councilwoman Jennifer StaubachGates knew there was a greater need to work on recycling in the city of Dallas to account for the overflowed landfills.

“In that time, we built our own recycling plant,” Staubach-Gates said. “We outsourced it, but it’s on our property here at the landfill. It was an environmentally conscious movement with the rest of the city, state and country of getting to zero waste.”

Delving deep into the process, StaubachGates knew there would be many different difficulties ahead but was willing to press forward to address such a pressing issue as waste.

“We knew it would take long and there would need to be different policies that would be made during that point forward,” Staubach-Gates said. “We’d have to probably modify and change our timeline, but we felt it was important to go ahead and adopt the policy.”

City of Dallas Division Manager of Environmental Quality and Sustainability Danielle McClelland has reworked the goals of the Zero Waste Plan to cater to different needs as the years have gone on.

When the Zero Waste Plan was adopted, there were some specific timelines and strategies to help us accomplish our goals,” McClelland said. “When the city council realized we weren’t making significant progress for that first milestone, the city council accelerated the timeline for multifamily recycling to provide the service to more Dallas residents. The multifamily recycling ordinance went into effect Jan. 1 of this year.”

Running for election, StaubachGates started to realize the importance of the multifamily recycling plan and the movement to the Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan, an initiative by the city of Dallas to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“It is important to realize what percentage of residents live in apartment complexes.

It’s almost 50 percent,” Staubach-Gates said. “So when you are only recycling in 50 percent of our population, it is important we get on with multifamily recycling. We put both of these policies on hold while we

Short term

• Marketing & Outreach • Multifamily/Commercial • City Facility Zero Waste • Organics Diversion • Disposal Bans • Producer Responsibility

are formulating and adopting the Climate Action Plan.”

Another way the city has promoted waste diversion is social marketing and social media.

“Up until that point, it wasn’t a focus area for the city to reach out directly to residents to tell them environmental messages,” McClelland said. “There’s a lot of information and messaging that’s pushed out on the city, through our social media channel @dallaszerowaste. Our website has a lot of great information and our social media channels do, too. But in 2013, it was all a new realm for the government to operate and provide information.”

On top of the work with social media and the web, the city has been spreading their purpose by going door-to-door and organizing by the numbers workshops.

“We have a series of workshops — over the course of the last year about 70 — in partnership with the greater Dallas percent diversion rate area to spread the of waste citywide word,” McClelland said, “and we’ve literally been going door-to-door to make sure that the property owners and managers percent of population understand what the in Dallas who were unaccounted for in the ordinance requires. It 2020 report helps their residents know how to recycle and what goes into containers.”

As well as influencing change through media and percent of diversion rate as a goal for 2030 going door-to-door, both Staubach-Gates and McClelland realize that the way to give importance to recycling and waste management percent of diversion is by education, as rate as a goal for 2040 recycling often isn’t a priority for families.

“When you have families who are balancing more pressing everyday quality of life, education is really key,” McClelland, “so there is a requirement in Dallas’s ordinance that makes it easy for people to understand what can be recycled and where the containers go.”

20

50

60 85

Middle term

• Organics Collection • Universal Recycling Ordinance • Resource Recovery Park • Disposal Bans

After the city’s first analysis on the diversion rate of the city, they realized the number only captured about half of the city’s population living in homes. The first reports of this new number are due in February 2021, which will better capture the full picture of all of the city of Dallas.

“We are at about a 20 percent diversion rate city wide, but that only captures half of the city of Dallas,” McClelland said.

“We didn’t have an accurate diversion measure up to this point because we just didn’t know how much recycling was being collected from their property. Anyone who is collecting recycling in Dallas has to provide the city an annual report of how much recycling they’re picking up so we can get a better assessment of what’s being recycled in Dallas.”

By talking to other cities about their individual plans, Dallas formulated its own unique plan of action when deciding what to do with its version.

“One thing about Austin is they were one of the early adopters for mandatory programs,” Staubach-Gates said. “We’ve learned from analyzing the program and also talking to these other cities about what is working and what’s not working. All of that was incorporated into crafting Dallas’s version.”

“How do we absorb the growth and do it in a manner that we’re conscious of our environmental footprint?”

Jennifer Staubach-Gates, Dallas city councilwoman Looking to the future of waste management plans, McClelland understands how our particular system in Dallas works to create real solutions.

“The change is driven by resident interest in finance, so our public is very engaged,” McClelland said. “That’s how Dallas has been able to do the kinds of things we have.”

Staubach-Gates realizes there is a boom in population in Dallas, and to solve the city’s biggest problems, she believes there has to be a way for the city to absorb the growth in order to move forward.

“We’re seeing people and corporations relocate here, so being able to absorb that population growth and the infrastructure demands that come with it is key,” StaubachGates said. “That’s why we, as a city, are looking at adopting the Climate Action Plan.

We are planning for the future and planning how we’re going to use our resources and minimally impact the environment.” F

Long term

• Evaluate Emerging Technologies

The punch list In accordance with a thorough evaluation of Dallas’s diverse needs, the Zero Waste Plan outlines a number of specific goals that the city will implement in various phases over the next 20 years in order to accomplish zero waste.

Waste. Are we losing the war? 14,15

the space around us It might take just a second to look around and see what’s going to waste. Not the lights left on or the food still on the plate, but the space left unused or kept from full capacity. In this second section, we cover the space we use and try to point out what’s left forgotten.

16 Waste. Are we losing the war?

Making the most of classrooms.

8 a.m.

Time for class.

Fifth graders file into Humanities instructor Donna Mullett’s class, taking their seats.

As the students sit down in their desks with their feet dangling above the ground, Mullett has an interesting wish.

Better desks.

There’s nothing different about the desks. Many Marksmen have sat in those very same seats.

But Mullett knows that her class can be that much more productive.

Students, faculty and administrators here are constantly seeking ways to make the school both more efficient and more productive with the space that we have, whether it be through new tools or technology.

Mullett’s wish for better desks isn’t only for productivity but also for providing a better experience for her students in general.

“I believe in best practices for boys,” Mullett said. “This is probably not the most ideal furniture for ten-year-old boys. It’s immovable, their feet can’t touch the ground and it’s not very flexible.”

At the People of Color (POC) Conference in Nashville, Mullett found her ideal classroom environment.

“I saw counter-height tables so students could stand at work,” Mullett said. “If they chose to sit at a stool, they had regular desk seating, and then they had a lower one where you could sit on cushions on the floor. There were three different levels of height, which would give my students some choice and flexibility.”

Mullett also believes that having different shaped desks could be beneficial to the student learning experience as well.

“I’d really like to be able to have a small round table that I could sit around with four or five boys and do an editing lesson while other boys are working,” Mullett said. “It’s not really easy to set that up in my room. I would like the furniture to be lighter or have different kinds of shapes.”

Mullett believes that her students would enjoy the ability to choose seating arrangements from the many options in her ideal classroom.

“They would have the ability to choose how they’re doing their work, whether they’re standing or sitting on the floor,” Mullett said. “I think having that choice will allow them to fit to their natural way of

A field of possibilities If utilized, online classrooms can give students access to a wide variety of courses without occupying excessive space.

working. Instead of being forced to work in the seat I give them, they can make their own choice.”

Mullet has also found a way to incorporate technology into her class to make it more efficient.

“There are two things that are different when the students have computers,” Mullett said. “First of all, we get through the work faster. When they have the machines in my room, they all get [work] done, and I can see it in Google Classroom. The other thing is they edit in front of me. Before, I never said, ‘You have to edit this and turn it in by 3:05 p.m.,’ because we didn’t have access to computers, but now I can. It helps because I can get them to turn it in faster, and they also have less homework because I don’t have to ask them to word-process at home.”

However, Mullett sometimes finds difficulty using technology as well.

“Sixty to 70 percent of my students have a laptop, and then I go to the Middle

“There are so many things that would be faster to teach if I could just do them with the students.”

Donna Mullet, fifth grade humanities instructor School office and I borrow seven,” Mullett said. “That’s maybe fifty percent of my kids today. We could have an exchange through technology but because not every student has a computer, I can’t do that. I could walk around and look at everything. It’s much easier to use Google Classroom.”

Overall, Mullett believes her request for better tools and technology would allow her to use her classroom more efficiently than otherwise.

“These changes would make my classes more productive because I think the boys would enjoy the flexibility,” Mullett said.

“They would be more focused on what they were doing.”

Associate Headmaster John Ashton has seen first-hand the school’s many efforts to become more efficient, especially technologywise.

“We, over a decade ago, had a formal relationship with the Global Online Academy,”Ashton said. “That partnership

was set up to allow for boys who were interested to take more online courses. They had a lot of elective courses as a way to offer boys courses that we may not offer or that might not fit in their schedule.”

However, Ashton said, students never really took to online classes.

“The boys wanted to take the brick and mortar classes that we offer here on campus,” Ashton said. “They wanted access to the teachers. They wanted to go to class. They wanted to be in class with their peers.”

In place of online classes, Ashton believes, is the increased usage of websites like Blackbaud.

“We have migrated to using learning management systems in more expanded ways such as Blackbaud,” Ashton said.

“Some teachers use it to a much higher degree than others might, posting activities, videos or notes to try to use an online platform in a way that helps boys have access to the coursework and other learning resources that are only available when you’re at school. I think in that regard we’ve seen some expansion in the way that technology is used here on campus.”

Ashton believes the efficiency and productivity of student work depends on flexibility.

“I think there are great tools available to us now,” Ashton said. “I believe strongly that we want to maintain choice for students. We all learn differently. We all want to interact with textbooks or resources in different ways.

Some people are visual. Some folks might just want the audio. Some folks really want to sit quietly and read, make notes and write in the margins.”

Ashton has found a way to appreciate the learning differences in students and believes that the school will continue to offer flexibility in the resources that are offered to the student body.

“The greater flexibility we give boys and the greater tools available to boys to choose what ways help them learn best is a philosophy that I would use to guide us in our thinking,” Ashton said. “I’m grateful that we have so many resources available.” F

by Paul Sullivan and Darren Xi Photo illustration by Ekansh Tambe and Tyler Nussbaumer Waste. Are we losing the war? 17

Nearly 170,000 square meters, or 42

Every single square foot matters.

by Sid Vattamreddy, Trevor Crosnoe, Jack Davis and Luke Nayfa Photo by Ben Hao

As class sizes gradually increase, the impact of how we decide to use space on campus becomes more and more critical. What is the school doing to ensure Marskmen and faculty members alike feel the balance between efficiency, convenience and flexibility?

18 Waste. Are we losing the war?

acres, make up the campus at 10600 Preston Rd. With over 850 students and 175 fulltime teachers attending school each day, the efficiency of the utilization of space on campus is constantly an important issue.

For Headmaster David Dini, using space in an efficient manner connects back to the school’s very mission to educate the whole boy and prepare students for adulthood and a meaningful life.

“Efficiency hits a lot of different areas,” Dini said. “It’s a part of a lot of different aspects of the way the school operates.

We’re a school that is deliberate, intentional and thoughtful and thinks about leveraging our resources for the greatest impact in everything that we do. Our desire would be to be as efficient in our use of our resources as we possibly can be.”

However, Dini asserts short-term efficiency isn’t always the priority for the school. Rather, the school looks at ways to be efficient in the long run without compromising its core values.

“We want to give ourselves as much flexibility as possible,” Dini said. “We don’t know exactly what the needs are going to be five, ten, 25 years down the road, so it’s a balancing act of trying not to make rash decisions that might compromise future decisions. If you tighten up the efficiency model down too much, then you get to a point of tension and constriction that might inhibit our ability to achieve really important goals that we’ve set. There’s this balance, and we want to be right in the middle, not overly inefficient and not overly efficient.”

To achieve this goal of long-term efficiency, Dini and the school’s administration team work closely with the Board of Trustees as well as takes advice from professional campus planner Jeff Blanchard, who serves as the school’s campus master planner.

“I look at everything through the lens of student experience,” Blanchard said. “So when I look at space, the first thing I’m looking for is, does it satisfy the program or the coursework that it’s trying to support?”

But because of the school’s fluid nature, there’s always work to be done to improve efficiency on campus.

“Work changes, space needs change — lots of things can have an influence on that, and we are always evaluating whether the inventory of space on campus matches the portfolio of student experiences,” Blanchard said.

Though Dini admits there are more aggressive, perhaps more efficient methods of using classrooms and scheduling classes, he maintains that the flexibility the school provides to faculty members enhances students’ learning experiences.

“Increasing efficiency comes with some flexibility cost, some convenience cost,” Dini said. “We are able to give faculty more ownership of the rooms that they teach in because they tend to teach in their own room as opposed to in some schools, a teacher might teach in a different room each period. Teaching in-residence, in a particular room, gives more ownership and more

Minimizing space waste The school’s effort to equip the Winn Science Center with shared lab prep spaces allows for multiple labs to take place at the same time.

personality to classrooms and labs.”

Dini points to the newly constructed Winn Science Center as one area the school made multiple conscious decisions to balance short-run and long-run efficiency while trying to minimize the waste of space.

“When we designed the Science Center, we visited a lot of other schools and looked at a lot of other science buildings,” Dini said. “We thought a lot about things like whether it makes more sense to consolidate laboratory prep space and have a technician prep each lab beforehand or to create shared lab prep spaces adjacent to each lab like we ultimately did.”

That was a conscious decision that had space impact, square footage impact and convenience impact.

“Our decision allows us to have more flexibility to slightly tweak a lab or to have multiple labs happen at the same time,” Dini said. “We’re constantly looking to achieve that balance between flexibility, efficiency and convenience.”

As the school looks to rebuild the Hicks Athletic Center that had to be demolished due to damage caused by the tornado this past October, Dini emphasizes that the school is still keeping in mind the same balance it did when constructing the Winn

in my opinion “We already use our spaces to the most of our ability so I feel there isn’t much to change.

For the amount of students we have, we are using our space in the most efficient way.”

Science Center.

“We’re already asking those questions as we think about the future of that space,” Dini said. “How do we go about rebuilding in a thoughtful, deliberate way that not only anticipates our needs for three, five years, but hopefully for ten, 25 and 50 years down the road? A lot of what we did with the Science Building was to try to anticipate needs that we can’t even see and can’t predict. We wanted to give ourselves flexibility for the future, and that’s a constant balancing act of trying to anticipate.

That’s why we engage a lot of professional counsel.”

Blanchard also echoed the importance of actively monitoring and anticipating the school’s needs when planning future remodels or expansions.

“We’re constantly evaluating the needs of the curriculum versus the space the school has,” Blanchard said.

Looking down the road, Dini says the space in Chapel and the space in the Decherd Auditorium are places where the school might look to tweak to accommodate more students and the increased Upper School enrollment.

“At Chapel, we’re pretty close to full capacity, and at assembly, we’re right there

too,” Dini said. “Those are all things that we think about. We’re going to continue to live with that for some period of time, but at some point, we will look into expanding those spaces, but it’s always a balancing act.”

Blanchard identified the Rogers Natatorium as a location that could potentially see changes in the future.

“The pool could be deeper to better satisfy the needs of the water polo team,” Blanchard said. “It’s got a shallow end and it could also use a couple extra lanes so that we could host events better.”

Ultimately, Dini stresses being 100 percent efficient in the current moment is far less important than being efficient in the long run and giving the school the flexibility it needs to achieve its goals.

“In some ways, it may look like we can be a little more efficient in certain areas, when in reality, we’re trying to be proactive and give ourselves flexibility for the future,” Dini said. “We can’t measure efficiency in a single column — there’s too many factors.

If we looked at factors in isolation, it might lead us to make decisions that look efficient, but really cost us down the road. That’s why we’re constantly evaluating how to leverage our resources for the greatest impact.” F

Students and instructors around campus share their thoughts on the school’s overall efficiency of space utilization and give suggestions on how to improve the campus’ approach on area usage.

Bruce Westrate, Nancy and Marcus Master Teaching Chair

“I would like for us to have more free space, especially in the library, because it’s the perfect space to do homework, check out books or do anything else you need to do.”

Wes Jackson, fourth grader

“Our science building could be used more effectively. It would be nice to have more seating areas and more comfortable study areas for a wider variety of students.”

Klyde Warren, junior Waste. Are we losing the war? 19

Where we go, where we stay.

Based on a poll that garnered more than 200 responses, the Green Library, Winn Science Center and Hoffman are the most popular places for Upper Schoolers to spend their free time at school.

“Where do you do work or hang out the most at school during your free time?”

Decherd & Fine Arts suffered significant damage in the Oct. 2019 tornado, so while its renovation continues, its status as a student destination remains quiet.

“We got rid of the couches to allow more people to use the library. During lunch, we generally have 150 to 200 kids in the library, so we got the new tables to accommodate the large number of people we see here.”

Decherd & Fine Arts

Lower School

Green Library

Winn Science Center The Winn Science Center has attracted attention from students since its opening and the old building’s renovation. The science building has many different study areas with tables and cushioned chairs. There are three different areas with tables, couches and benches.

20 Waste. Are we losing the war?

percent of students in Winn Science Center

The Green Library has tables, computers, printers and different study areas for students. Assistant Director of Library and Information Services Cinda Thoma says she puts the students first when it comes to the library.

Centennial

Hoffman

Hoffman has a much smaller upstairs lounge area but still offers tables and cushioned chairs. It also has a printer that many students print to.

by Eric Yoo Graphics by James Shiao and Jamie Mahouald

Centennial offers the upstairs lounge with both tables and couches. The tables let students study and do homework. The couches and benches allow students to relax and be comfortable during their free time. Centennial is also a phone-accessible zone.

28.3 25.4 12.2 percent of students who spend their time in the library

Commons & Great Hall

Chapel

Cinda Thoma, librarian

by the numbers

Nearburg

percent of students in Hoffman

11.2

8.9

12.5

percent of students in Centennial Lounge

percent of students in the Senior Lounge

percent of students in other locations

lost in time Our most valuable resource is the least tangible — time. We don’t notice it when it ticks by, but when it’s gone, it’s gone forever. In this final section, we search for where time is lost and how it can be better utilized.

Waste. Are we losing the war? 21

A complete waste of time.

by Wallace White and Peter Orsak Photo by Jerry Zhao

The alarm goes off at 7 a.m. every morning

for Max*. Five days a week.

He takes his time getting out of bed, brushing his teeth and getting ready. He glances at his phone just to check his notifications.

After browsing his Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, it’s already 7:20 a.m, and he needs to drive his sister to school.

After dropping off his sister, he heads to school. After arriving, he opens his laptop and browses the internet.

And just like that, it’s 8:30 a.m., and he has no idea where the time went.

For Marksmen, time is a valuable commodity. It often is the determiner of your grade, your sleep and your mood.

But humans are inefficient with time, and Marksmen are no exception.

Max pays good attention in his classes, but when there’s a free period, he sometimes takes the opportunity to enjoy some free time.

Max represents the composite Upper School student. During his free periods, his time usage can depend on a variety of factors.

Maybe Max has a problem set due next period or a paper to work on.

But that doesn’t stop him from wasting time. Maybe chatting with classmates or being on his phone looking at Instagram.

According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American teenager spends much more time with leisure activities per day than the average working adult.

However, the average teen, as expected, spends countless more hours with educational activities than the average adult.

Students at 10600 Preston Road, however, spend more time on homework than the average teen. Max usually spends about three to four hours, while the national average is about 2.8 hours.

“The expectations of what you all are to know and to remember is enormous,” Coordinator of Academic Support Julie Pechersky said. “There was a time in school where you could just be present and wing it and do okay, but as you get older, it gets harder and harder, and you get to a point where you can’t just base your successes on your innate intelligence. It’s very easy to get burnt out here if you don’t find a way to balance yourself, and the only way to do that is to manage your time well.”

The school values time quite a lot, and it can be easy to take that time for granted. We do generally make our time count, but one thing is certain.

When we do waste the day, it’s always in the little things.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of time during the day on campus to waste time,” Pechersky said. “You guys are pretty busy. I would say in Middle School, the boys probably don’t make the best use of their study halls. They’re on 22 Waste. Are we losing the war?

Most of our first 18 years will be spent in school.

And we only get so much time a day at 10600 Preston Road.

Yet we still find ways to let the hours escape us. the computer listening to music rather than studying, but I’m a believer that when you get a break, you can take a break.”

According to Pechersky, students need to find a balance between enjoying their free time and studying.

“I think you need to find a balance, and it just depends on the person,” Pechersky said.

“If you have three core classes in a row, then I think you need to take a break. I think you need to get out, walk around and get some fresh air. Your brain can only handle so much information.”

Pechersky believes students mostly waste time because of their disinterest in certain subjects.

“The reason students procrastinate is their false or unrealistic sense of time.”

Julie Pechersky, coordinator of academic support “If you’re not interested in writing a research paper, it’s easy to put it off,” Pechersky said. “It goes back to just knowing yourself knowing what your obligations are, and sometimes it’s easier or better to get the harder things done first, just to get them off of your list.”

Max often waits to start his homework until midnight. Pechersky says this wasting of time is because of poor time management skills.

“They think, ‘I’ve got all the time in the world,’” Pechersky said. “Motivationally, it’s just not always easy to jump in and do things that you don’t necessarily want to do, but if you manage your time better, you will realize that it’s a lot less stressful.”

Time management is one of the main keys to success for Marksmen, according to Pechersky.

“One of the best ways to be successful here is to be able to manage your time,” Pechersky said. “It’s very easy to be like that hamster on the wheel where all you’re doing is looking at what’s due the next day — check the box, check the box, check the box — you never really get ahead. You never really get the information to resonate and actually learn it.”

Pechersky thinks that avoiding cramming is crucial to avoiding stress.

“I think once students realize that if you can find a way to break up your nightly

homework so that you’re not cramming two or three hours into one session, you end up being more efficient, you get finished faster, and it’s less stressful,” Pechersky said. “You need to learn how to break it up, and whether that means after lunch to take 30 minutes and go somewhere to study or what; I know study halls can be distracting, but finding a quiet place to work is good.”

To avoid cramming, Pechersky thinks students should find a way to plan out the week ahead.

“I think the people who are most successful find some way to organize,” Pechersky said.

“Whether they make a to-do list at night, they keep a calendar on their phone or a hard copy, students have to find out what works best for them, but some method of organization and planning. I think it’s just a critical piece of going here.”

According to Pechersky, this prioritization of time is critical to success.

“If you know you’ve got a busy night ahead of you, it’s probably in your best interest to use all of that time to study, but if you have some more flexibility, I’m a firm believer that everybody needs to take a break,” Pechersky said. F *Max is a fictitious represntation of the experiences of many combined Upper School students.

Crack open the textbooks After a long eight-hour day at school, a typical Marksmen returns home with hours of homework awaiting him.

45 minutes.

In the classroom, it can be hard to squeeze content into one period.

And that becomes even harder when it’s not all used well.

by Robert Pou and Will Pechersky Photo illustration by Ben Hao, Jerry Zhao and Tyler Nussbaumer

Every day of every week during the school

year, students spend hours either in the classroom or doing homework.

The never-ending process of learning and studying takes up a lot of a student’s life.

But is all that time spent listening to lectures and participating in class discussions beneficial? Could some of that time be used more efficiently?

The answers to these questions are extremely important. Every minute should be taken into account to ensure that time spent doing school-related activities is maximized, none of it wasted.

English Department Chair Michael Morris understands the importance of avoiding wasted time in class.

“I really try to get us started on time, and I like to leave maybe a minute or two for some banter and to let people adjust,” Morris said.

Teachers use their own specific methods depending on the class to conserve time. In English classes, Harkness tables promote discussion and ensure that class time is well spent.

“I think there’s something nice and symbolic about a Harkness table,” Morris said. “When you have it in a classroom, there aren’t a lot of alternatives. You’re basically committing symbolically to a discussion because that’s the piece of furniture you have.”

In fact, Morris even attended the Exeter Humanities Institute, a conference hosted

by Phillips Exeter Academy for English and history teachers to learn about the Harkness teaching methods.

“My primary takeaway from the Exeter Humanities Institute is that the process of learning is more important than the product of what you’ve learned,” Morris said. “It’s not so much about content as it is about the skills that you can develop in discussion.”

The beauty of the Harkness method lies in the fact that discussions are student-led and directed. That being said, the teacher guiding the discussion keeps it moving forward, maximizing every minute.

“I have students talk with each other about what they’ve read, and sometimes it gets frustrating because people are repeating what’s already been said and you feel like you need to move on,” Morris said. “The teacher’s job is to facilitate some of that progress, but the idea is that you guys working with each other to understand a text like Shakespeare’s is worth much more than all of the information I could tell in a lecture.”

Spending time in class to go over

homework can sometimes take away from the time needed to learn new material.

But sometimes Morris allows his students to chip away at their work in class if they have a longer assignment.

“I don’t like to take too much class time everyday checking homework because there’s so many other things to do,” Morris said. “If we’re in a longer book or there’s a longer piece that I think is going to take more than 30 minutes, we might well start the reading in class. I do try to make the most of class time.”

Challenge Success is an organization associated with Stanford University that collaborates with schools in improving the student academic life.

Senior School Program Director Jon Kleiman and Director of Research and Programs Sarah Miles strive to achieve this goal for students across the country.

“We work with schools for an extended period, like a year or many years, and we will help them look at different areas where they might be struggling, relative to student stress and engagement,” Kleiman said.

One of the biggest focuses on the topic of homework is the issue of quality versus quantity. Kleiman and Miles study this area as they examine how homework affects students’ lives.

“Homework should not be assigned just to assign homework,” Kleiman said. “If teachers are going to assign homework, we want them to be really intentional about why they’re doing it.”

Students tend to spend less time focusing on their homework if they find that it has no value. That’s why engaging work is essential.

“When students experience homework as not having purpose or meaning, they become less engaged in school,” Miles said. “They’re likely to be less motivated. They will do other things while they’re doing homework, like social media or watching YouTube. So that adds to the quantity because they’re not getting it done as efficiently.”

Too much homework can be detrimental

-30s -15s

Every second counts With only 45 mintues per class, budgeting time for students and teachers can be difficult.

to the productivity of students. According to Challenge Success, after about two hours of homework, a high schooler passes the point of diminishing returns.

“When there’s too much, other things don’t happen like they should,” Miles said. “Sleep doesn’t happen as much as it should. Time with friends doesn’t happen. Family time doesn’t happen. So the trade off of having too much homework is that other things that we know are really beneficial for balance and for the rest of your life, fall off the plate.”

Of course, all discussions regarding time spent completing homework can never arrive at a definite amount of time that’s considered to be too much, since everyone works at a different pace.

“There’s so much variability across students,” Miles said. “What can take you 15 minutes, can take someone else a half an hour. So, it’s hard to hone in on the perfect number.”

In the end, class time and homework time should be beneficial to students as long as they are allotted a moderate amount of time and the workload does not interfere with other equally important activities.

“One of the things that we try to help teachers understand is that you can provide a really rigorous experience, really challenge students’ thinking,” Kleiman said. “But that does not mean it needs to translate into hours and hours of homework for students,” Kleiman said. F Waste. Are we losing the war? 23

Stuck in a slump.

Jack Genender is tired.

He’s the stage manager for the fall play, this year a musical with a large cast, so he sees his management responsibilities double, triple, quadruple as the “hell week” before the show approaches.

But he’s also a junior, so every week is “hell week.” He shouldn’t have to do homework while watching over the pandemonium of the production, but part of him believes he must in order to keep up with the daily grind.

“My issue is the lack of empathy that teachers have when giving out this workload,” Genender said, “and their inability to see that students have other things they want to prioritize, but cannot.”

To Genender, it’s just frustrating.

But where does that frustration come from?

The bottom line is that 10600 Preston Rd. is an academically, athletically and extracurricularly rigorous school. Students who opt to take advantage of the multitude of opportunities on campus will find that there is little time left over to simply sit down and relax.

“If you go to school from eight to four and then you have athletic practice, eat dinner, do your homework and go to sleep,” Director of Counseling Barbara Van Drie said, “where’s the blank time? It doesn’t exist. And nobody has an appreciation for that.”

But Genender does not blame his irritation on any facet of his schedule in particular.

“The amount of work is something I cannot complain about,” Genender said.

“Every student goes through about the same workload.”

And while many students face challenges similar to Genender, whether they’re in the drama program or not, each student has to tackle the issue of time management their own way. But sometimes no amount of grit and effort can help a student make it through the year. Junior Metehan Punar, an avid swimmer both on and off campus, quit 24 Waste. Are we losing the war?

his teams sophomore year to make time for classes like honors algebra II and honors Spanish, both of which required intense preparation and study that the swimming team’s tough practices and meets didn’t allow for.

“It’s not that the topics were too difficult,” Punar said. “I just wouldn’t have enough time to study for them. Most of the meets that we had were either on Tuesdays or Thursdays, and a lot of my tests would end up on Fridays. So not having enough time to study Thursday night, having to stay up until two or three in the morning to study for a test where you really need eight hours of sleep to do well on it just, results in you continually receiving bad grades.”

After quitting swimming, Punar was not only able to raise his grades substantially but also get a steady seven hours of sleep a night — more than ever before. But Punar has swum for years, and although he is still able to swim with the club team from time to time, dropping it was a tough choice.

But this rigor, combined with quality teaching, courses and programs, is part of what makes 10600 Preston Rd. Without it, students lose part of the experience that has

prepared so many Marksmen for college and the world beyond. So as the new schedule rolls in next year aiming to lessen the burden of daily homework by having classes meet less frequently, students must change with it by improving their own time management skills as well.

The first step, and an often overlooked one, is taking advantage of the resources and advice teachers are able to provide.

When junior Rishi Mohan, a water polo player and creator of a music therapy program, found himself in a rut with anything, he turned to his advisor Geoffrey Stanbury for help, bouncing ideas off of him and asking questions about next steps to take when any problem arose.

“I don’t think if you’re truly pushing yourself you should be able to do it alone,” Mohan said. “That’s why we have an advisor system, that’s why we have a counseling office, that’s why we have all these great teachers.”

But even for a student like Mohan who has found academic, athletic and extracurricular success, it’s important to recognize one’s limits. While campus is filled with numerous opportunities that students may want to pursue, there’s only so many hours in the day, and attempting to push beyond that can have consequences.

“This year and last year math has been my hardest class,” Mohan said. “And maybe the extra time I put into that subject has cost me in other places. Last year I didn’t make the all-state orchestra because in the weeks leading up to my audition date, I was just swamped with math stuff and community service stuff.”

The choice of whether to stick with or drop an activity, however, should be determined not by whether it will look good on their résumé, but how much they enjoy it.

“Think about all the things you’re doing: Are you doing them for college, are you doing them to make your parents happy, are you doing them because you find fulfillment in them?” Mohan said. “If you’ve heard the saying, ‘If you enjoy your work, then it

Worn out With countless projects, tests, games and extracurricular activities, students feel the impact such a heavy workload every day.

doesn’t feel like work,’ maybe a lot of it feels like work because you don’t enjoy doing it, and you should really consider if you’re doing it for the right reasons.”

For the students who seek to go beyond

what is required, time management is a critical skill that next to nobody has perfectly mastered. Julie Morgenstern, a time management expert and author of six books on organization methods, sees high school as fluctuating and difficult time––yet one with great potential for growth and development.

“When you’re always late, you become stressed, a lot of cortisol shoots through your brain and we get paralyzed,” Morgenstern said. “We freeze, and we don’t know what to do first and we end up procrastinating and doing nothing at all.”

Instead, one should first recognize that time management is a mechanical skill, rather than a psychological strength or deficit.

“And when you master it, you can make clear choices,” Morgenstern said, “and you organize your day in a way that gets you to peak performance rather than goes against your energy cycle. There are so many techniques that can solve the problem. It’s a much more mechanical problem than people realize, because they think about it psychologically.”

Morgenstern encourages people to create a time map to help think about this problem as a mechanical set of skills rather than an intrinsic trait or characteristic to a person, and the basic large-scale units for our time are the 168 hours in a week.

“That’s your container,” Morgenstern said.

“I think of organizing time like a closet, it’s a limited amount of space, it’s only going to fit so many things. If you have all your stuff thrown in any which way, you have no idea what you have. You have no sense of the balance. You want to approach your time like a closet: it’s only going to fit so much.”

For most students, this closet contains classes, studying, social life, extracurriculars and time to themselves. After blocking off seven to eight hours a day for sleep, students should budget their time according to their needs and work as closely to the plan as possible without becoming robotic.

However, blocking off time to do homework or other responsibilities isn’t enough on its own. According to math instructor and Junior Class Advisor Amy

Pool, students tend to lose time simply because they aren’t focused enough on even their every day assignments. In her honors precalculus classes, Pool asked students to work for only 30 minutes on her homework, but during those 30 minutes the student must be fully concentrated on each problem.

No responding to that text message. No distracted conversations. Just 30 minutes of pencil on paper.

“When you feel like you don’t have enough time, it is very hard to be present because whatever you’re doing, your mind is focused on what you’re not doing, which compromises the quality of whatever you’re doing.”

Julie Morgenstern, time management expert “When I asked the students how many people felt like they were more focused and more efficient doing their homework, in both sections 40 to 50% of the students raised their hands,” Pool said, “which is an indication that there’s a lot of time that students are losing for things that would create more balance in their life. They’re not figuring out how to be focused and efficient while doing their homework. And I want my students to have downtime to go out and play without having to sacrifice sleep.”

The second biggest waste of time is procrastination. There is an undeniable culture of procrastination on campus, resulting in last minute, three hour frenzies to complete the paper that was assigned weeks ago. The problem, according to Pool, is because students tend to finish their work despite procrastinating, they are never punished for bad time management and never notice the burden they’ve given themselves.

“What you don’t realize is how much stress you are self-creating,” Pool said. “So even though you don’t feel like there’s a consequence, there’s a consequence. You are paying a cost for procrastination that you don’t realize. If I had a magic wand and could use it to remove procrastination as a strategy from all students in St. Mark’s for a month, I think that there would be a lot of students at the end of that month, who would go, ‘My grades were just as good,

maybe better, and I feel a whole lot better. I feel like a healthier person.’ But the problem is if you don’t know what it feels like not to procrastinate, you have no comparison.”

The challenge for each student is to find a system that allows them to pursue the maximum amount of opportunities they want to while providing a healthy working environment that mitigates the stress school brings every day. No matter which strategy a student ultimately decides upon, the last crucial piece is leaving room to just relax.

“You need to give math the same sort of focus you would want to give to a sport while in the middle of a game,” Pool said.

“That’s really hard to do for three hours straight. So, it needs to be, ‘I’m going to do 30 minutes of work, and then I’m going to walk away and take a five minute break.

Then I’m going to return to do 30 minutes of something else.’” F

by Jamie Mahouald and Luke Piazza Graphic courtesy Barbara Van Drie Photo illustration by Jerry Zhao

day in the life Here’s a breakdown of an average day for a Marksman:

2.25hr

8hr

Daily Living

4.5hr

Sleeping

3hr Homework

.5hr

In-School Classtime

2hr

3.75hr

In-School Non-Classtime

Athletics

Commute

Fully booked Despite this diagram representing an ideal scenario, not even five minutes are left to sit down and do nothing. After eight hours of school and two hours of sports, students cannot afford to take a break.

Waste. Are we losing the war? 25

Professionally When dialed down to a day, an hour, a minute, a second, it can often be so hard to cram everything we want to and have to do in such tight slots. So how can we fit everything into those hours, minutes and second? How do we manage our time?

PAUL GENENDER ’87

As a Marksman from 1979 to 1987, Paul Genender felt as swamped as his two sons, junior Jack and freshman George, do today. And now, as Alumni Board President, member of the Board of Trustees, full-time dad and D-Magazine winner for Best Business & Commercial Litigation Lawyer, Genender’s time is as valuable as ever. Having to maintain a log of everything he does as a part of his profession, Genender shares some of the challenges and secrets of balancing his crammed schedule.

FRASER MARCUS ’72

Fraser Marcus’s days are always filled up, often working from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. As the chairman of the board of an eastern European bank, manager of his own advisory practice, member of a number of consumer finance businesses, an advisory worker for multiple large family offices, Chairman of the Investment Committee at 10600 Preston Rd. and father of a Marksman, Marcus has a lot on his plate. He shares some insight into how he effectively manages his busy schedule.

“When you have extracurriculars that really

Paul Genender ’87 matter, which involve a person other than yourself, then you have to become really efficient with your time because your kids’ events are so important. They are non-negotiables. You’re going to be there if it’s humanly possible, but then you have to work everything around it. You have to be really efficient, really proactive and really smart.”

“When I first started in investment banking, my

“One of the most important things that allows me to be

efficient with my time is I do a couple little things every day to invest in myself. I do some sort of cardiovascular exercise in the morning almost every single day. It is good physically, good mentally and good to get into a groove, and it’s one thing every day that I can control. The other thing is that you’ve got to get enough sleep.”

Fraser Marcus ’72

“Detail is incredibly important in what I do. The most

important thing also is when you’re very busy, you gotta follow up with everything. You can’t leave people that you promise to do things for unfulfilled. I tend to write lists. I keep pretty active to-do lists, both electronically and manually. That repetitive review of what’s on the docket and what has to be done when — consistently doing that with myself, my partners and my colleagues — is very important.”

“I’m in a profession where there are tremendous

expectations for being responsive and responding immediately to clients. That is important, but it has to be within reason. Otherwise you don’t have any time for yourself and you’re completely at other people’s disposal all the time, as opposed to enough of the time.”

3 tips for success Our alumni offer important reflections and easy-to-replicate time management insights they’ve learned through their diverse experiences, whether juggling the agendas of several boards or feeling overwhelmed my mountains of paperwork.

senior partner at Solomon Brothers gave me the best advice I’ve ever had, and I pass it on to everybody. He said to me, ‘the difference between a good pilot and an ace is an ace knows what to ignore in a crisis.’”

1.

“There are times when it is really important to be terribly inefficient and chill and just don’t worry about it. When it seems like everything is caving in and I’m not going to get it all done, sometimes I’ll just stand up and start laughing.”

Paul Genender ’87

26 Waste. Are we losing the war?

managed time.

by Colin Campbell and Aaron Thorne Graphic by Cooper Cole

DAVID MCATEE ’87

Executive burden From bills to children’s events, staying on track as an adult entails much more than office work.

KATHY CROW

As a mother, a wife and a member of the boards of SMU, Hockaday and St. Mark’s, Kathy Crow’s time is her most valuable resource. Even if they may be unconventional, such as waking up at 3 a.m every morning, Crow has found strategies that work for her to best organize her busy days.

“I've just decided that I really wanted to put my time

into boards and do that. I love education, and it has kind of become the thing that I like to focus on. So I've been on the St. Mark's board. I'm also on the Hockaday board and on their executive committee, too. I'm also on the SMU Board. That also means you have to join two school boards, so I'm on the Cox Business School Board and the Simmons Education School Board at SMU, and then I also sit on the Teach for America board here in Dallas.”

“In order to be prepared and know what

Kathy Crow you’re doing at the meetings, there’s always a lot of reading to do. It’s kind of silly, but I get up really early in the morning. To me, it’s really quiet. It’s just me, the dogs and my coffee, and I’m just kind of blissfully happy. I don’t feel rushed. I feel really calm. It’s just a quiet time for me to get all the reading done or prepare for the day. I really need that time in the morning.”

“I do not use social media at all. One gift is I just ha-

ven’t gotten allured into that. I just try to keep things pretty simple. With that simplicity, I think it’s a little bit easier to just manage the things you have to do.”

2.

“I think it’s most important is to find something about what you have great passion and a great feel. If you’re in a situation that you’re doing because you think you have to do it, and you don’t really enjoy doing it, you’re not going to do it very well. Try and find your passion, find something you’re good at doing or you want to do and pursue it relentlessly.”

Fraser Marcus ‘72

As the general counsel of AT&T, responsible for all the legal matters at the company for the last four years, David McAtee‘s work covers a lot of waterfront in the legal and business worlds, in addition to his full-time job as a father.

McAtee offers some perspective about how he goes about managing his work when he has a lot on his plate.

“A normal day for me starts early. If you talk to just

about any successful person, nine times out of ten, he or she is going to be an early riser. For me, the day always starts at about 5:30 in the morning, and I get most of my phone calls done first thing in the morning.

By the time 10 a.m. rolls around, I’ve touched base with everyone I want to touch base with. And I leave the afternoon for working on important projects where you really need to think about things. That works for me, because after I talk to people in the morning, I know what everyone’s working on and everyone’s together — we’re working as a team to move things forward.”

“Something I picked up back in the day at Duke

University — we called it ‘units.’ You study hard for 50 minutes, you take a ten minute break.

When you had to study for finals or get a paper done, you could get seven, eight, nine units done in a day. If you really put your mind David McAtee ’87 to it, you knew that you were able to clear a bunch of stuff out by doing it that way. That’s true in professional life, too. There are times when you’ve got to buckle down, and if you can schedule your breaks and have the discipline of keeping those breaks as scheduled, you’ll crush whatever is in front of you.”

“Everyone has to account for the unexpected. When

I first started, I used to schedule all meetings back-toback-to-back-to-back. I try never to schedule meetings back-to-back anymore. I try and keep space between meetings. I tell my son, if you wait till the day of to do your studying because you figure, ‘I’m gonna study right before my class, and then I’ll take the test right away after my study hall,’ the problem is you can’t plan for the unexpected.”

3.

“Leave time to let your personality come through.

It’s the truth. If you schedule your day so much that all you’re doing is working, and all you’re doing is thinking about the next thing you’ve got to get done, people won’t get to know you as a person.

Keep time in your schedule, to spend time with your boss, peers, people that you supervise, and team members.”

David McAtee ’87 Waste. Are we losing the war? 27