The ReMarker | Oct. 2024

Five years ago, a tornado devastated campus. Trees down, buses scattered, the chapel torn apart and Hicks Gym beyond repair. Yet Marksmen remember how the community came together despite the destruction. The tornado took a toll on the campus, but the school bounced back, moved forward and is focused on the future.

Page 15 - Extracurricular activities on campus found a way to continue despite damage to facilities.

Page 16-17 - Community members recall the events that transpired on Oct. 20, 2019.

Page 18 - With damages affecting the school and surrounding area, the community rallied together to find solutions.

Page 19 - Local meteorologists remember the unprecedented weather event.

Photo Illustration by Winston Lin (Top), Photo Courtesy Development Office (Bottom Left), Photo by Joseph Sun (Bottom Right)

INSIDE

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OUTSIDE FRIENDSHIPS

Maintaining or building friendships with people outside school can be difficult. Students share their experiences with friendships beyond school.

LIBRARY TEAM STEPS UP

After the retirement of Lower School Librarian Barbara Kinkead, the library team takes turns reading to the students and fulfilling all responsibilities.

11 GRADING POLICY REVISITED

With a new English department rule that has a “cap” on the number of each letter grade, students share thoughts on the new rule.

26 DAY IN THE LIFE

Managing Editor Matthew Hofmann continues his “Day in the Life” series, working in the library for an afternoon.

LAWRENCE GARDNER Enterprise Editor

Homecoming is a special time. The excitement begins long before the Friday night game, where the stands are packed with students sporting mums and some girls proudly wearing their date’s football jerseys. Alumni return, sharing in the nostalgia, while we cheer on the Lions with everything we’ve got.

Then, it’s Saturday. While the official start of Hoco might be 8 p.m., the day really kicks off much earlier. Whether it’s an early trip to the salon, a barber session or, in my case, a morning film session with the football team, the preparations build anticipation. Picking up freshly pressed clothes from the dry cleaners, carefully getting ready at home

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DADYO RETURNS TO CAMPUS

Students apart of the Global Engagement Committee led the first Dallas Area Diversity Youth Organization event, discussing the election.

ALUM CREATES AI STARTUP

Trevor Gicheru ‘21 started Nurovant AI, an AI learning tool that analyzes audio lectures to create study aids.

PINK: AN INSPIRING COLOR

Senior Wyatt Loehr reflects on his This I Believe (TIB) talk to Upper School students about his life and family experience with breast cancer.

NEW RECRUITING RULES

With changes in sports recruiting rules, committed and prospect student athletes discuss their journeys.

and then dashing out the door to pick up your date all feel like steps in a familiar and thrilling routine.

The picture party is next. There, we capture moments that will eventually turn into memories, laughing with friends, sharing stories or finding the perfect pose. Then comes dinner, a meal shared with people who’ve become part of your journey. There’s light chatter all around and a sense of calm before the storm.

After dinner, there’s the bus ride. Everyone can feel it—the excitement barely contained as we pull up to the venue. And that’s when the festivities begin.

Reflecting on my four years of Homecoming, I’ve realized that what makes this night so unique is more than the music or the mosh pit. It’s the way it brings us all together. Hoco isn’t just a chance to jump up and down with your friends; it’s a night

that unites everyone. There’s something for everyone, from playing poker in the back or losing yourself in the middle of the dance floor.

Homecoming had an extra layer for me this year—being crowned Hoco King. It was an honor, but what stood out the most was the dance with the queen. As my friends surrounded us, singing along to “Tennessee Whiskey,” I realized it wasn’t just my moment; it was all of ours.

Homecoming, in its own way, creates a bond. Side by side, we danced, sang and celebrated together. It didn’t matter if we were close friends or simply classmates; there was unity. That’s what makes it unforgettable. We may not always remember the details, but we will all remember how we felt—together. 31

NEWS IN BRIEF

COMMUNITY SERVICE This year’s Food Drive was from Sept. 30 to Oct. 14 in support of the Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Social Service Center. Each advisory pitched in to donate organic food items to the drive. The goal of this annual event organized by the Community Service Board is to tackle the issue of food insecurity by helping provide food to those in need. Through small individual contributions, the entire Upper School made a difference.

RECYCLING UNIFORMS The Lion’s Closet, open on Wednesday mornings from 8 - 10 a.m., offers students new or gently used uniforms as well as other items, such as shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and a variety of other items. All items range from being free to $50, but the majority of items cost between $5 and $20. Additionally, students may donate clothes to the Lion’s Closet for future sales.

SUMMER TRIPS This upcoming summer, 18 students taking Chinese will embark on a 12-day trip to Taiwan, from June 9 to June 21. Students will expand their global perspectives through interactive learning, cross-cultural exchanges and visits to key institutions that shape Taiwan’s society. Additionally, students will get to meet with the Taiwanese pen-pals that they have already been in contact with via email during the school year.

HEADLINES

Reviewing this month’s news from around the world

WHAT HAPPENED: Hurricane Milton leaves path of destruction across Florida.

WHEN: Oct. 10

RELEVANCE: As the “storm of the century” devastates coasts of Florida, storms of this kind will be more common during hurricane season.

WHAT HAPPENED: Tesla releases autonomous taxis dubbed “Cybercab.”

WHEN: Oct. 11

RELEVANCE: As a fully autonomous vehicle capable of communicating with other models, Cybercabs will be a cheap transportation alternative and mitigate traffic.

FIVE MINUTES WITH

Chemistry

Instructor

Jonathan Moody

““Some of my proudest moments as a teacher come from students who go on to take AP Chemistry or go to college and send me an email or drop me a note saying ‘I just took this test, and it was easier than a test we had in your class over this section.’”

“My favorite experiences as a cross country coach are not when we win the state championship, or the metroplex middle school championship, or even when some of my athletes continue running in college. It’s the athletes that have big breakthroughs.”

“You can’t give one hundred percent to any one thing, and I would say be cautious before trying to spread yourself too thin with your interests. ”

Election fuels political awareness

With the presidential election approaching, political content has led to a concern of misleading voters.

BY KEVIN HO AND TEJAS ALLADA

Politics are only for adults.

It’s a sentiment that resonates with millions of young Americans who often feel uninterested in participating in politics, sidelined from political discussions. In fact, according to an NPR report, roughly one-third of all Gen Z voters admitted to not knowing much about the candidates of the 2022 midterm elections.

But with a polarizing presidential election mere weeks ahead, these same young voters will be crucial in determining the outcome of this election and the future of the country, serving as a pivotal force capable of turning the tide in the political landscape.

Camila Correa Bourdeau, the Executive Director of March to the Polls, an initiative that encourages voter registration, strongly advocates for young people to vote in elections and engage in politics.

Whether it is an interesting article or a humorous political meme, Bordeau believes that these mediums all accomplish the same goal: exposing young people to politics.

“I think something I learned from a person that I respect a lot in the education setting is that you have to have multiple entry points,” Bourdeau said. “And so if a simplified meme is what gives someone access to the conversation, then that person is already a step further than they were before, and then they can, you know, autonomously dig deeper and learn more and ask more questions.”

Bourdeau believes that social media political graphic art in particular, which includes political memes, serves as an accessible and digestible way for young people to introduce themselves to voting.

COMMENTARY

DOAN

NGUYEN Academics Editor

Sleep deprivation among students affects well-being

No two students have the exact same lives. No matter how similar they may seem, each has an irreplicable combination of different clubs, personalities and lifestyles.

But if there was a common denominator, it’d be an inconsistent and lacking sleep schedule.

Late nights and early mornings.

Watching the clock tick hour after hour towards sunrise.

Generally, I’ll start my home-work around 9 p.m., fresh out of the shower after a demoralizing swim set.

Four assignments.

Hopefully only three hours before I can pull the covers over my head. I’m in the zone.

It starts hitting at around 11. Same way every time. Just an offhanded yawn at first.

Then the world splits in two, and my head tilts forward.

I catch myself just before my forehead makes nice with my blank notebook.

Rub my eyes. Slap my face. Stare into an overhead light bulb because maybe it’ll knock the sleep out of my eyes. The 30 physics problems don’t help.

Then I wrestle sleep again. I don’t put up much of a fight — I’m way out of my weight class. It puts me in a headlock. I’m pinned. Knocked out for the rest of the night.

The 8:30 a.m. starter pack for the average student is an unzipped backpack, half-eaten breakfast taco and most importantly, caffeine.

I’ve seen kids chug two Celsius cans in the middle of their first-period test. It doesn’t seem to work for me, though. Caffeine or not, I can and do pass out anywhere.

I have alarms for every minute of the day. And night.

Trouble sleeping? Never heard of it. As soon as my head hits the pillow, lights out.

Staying awake is another issue.

I’ve probably fallen asleep in every place on campus: Centennial to Nearburg and everywhere in between. The harkness table in English is a personal favorite.

There are countless pictures and videos of me, mouth gaping wide and showing off my Adam’s apple.

I’m not trying to disrespect teachers, but when they see my head descend, they have a hard time believing that I care about their class.

Literary analysis doesn’t happen when you’re asleep, Doan.

Mr. Brown was always nice about it, but most do not tolerate this behavior.

Even tonight, I’ll most likely be glancing at my digital clock, each minute tempting me, whispering to me to shut both the laptop and my eyes.

And like most of my fellow students, I’ll struggle my daily struggle with exhaustion.

Sleeping at a desk more often than a bed isn’t too bad.

I love winning as much as the next guy. But I’ve long since given up on beating sleep.

With abundant information online, navigating elections can be challenging for voters. Illustration by Joshua Goforth

Friendships evolve across changing schools

As students transfer schools, develop new friendships and maintain existing bonds, social media serves as a useful tool to keep in touch; however, some choose to avoid it with little effect to their social life.

BY RONIT KONGARA AND MICHAEL CHANG

Five years ago, he scraped his knee on the turf playing soccer with his friends.

Five years ago, he limped across the field, his friends acting as makeshift crutches for his arms.

Five years ago, they were inseparable.

It’s now been five years since he’s last seen them in person.

Switching schools is never easy for students — for sophomore Rahul Subramaniam, this process meant completely starting over. When Subramaniam joined St. Mark’s in 10th grade, he had to find his place in an already tight-knit community.

“It wasn’t easy,” Subramaniam said. “I still have to introduce myself to everybody, so I’m going around, figuring out stuff like, ‘who has shared interests with me?’”

But Subramaniam didn’t abandon his old friendships. Previously attending a public school in Frisco, Centennial High School, Subramaniam’s friends all live relatively close to his house, enabling him to stay in touch with them despite the switch.

In addition, Subramaniam believes that his cell phone plays a major role in maintaining the connections with his companions. For him, social media serves as a convenient medium through which he can keep in contact virtually.

“If I didn’t have my phone, I wouldn’t have been able to keep in touch with them,” Subramaniam said. “I don’t see them at my school now, so the only ways I can talk to them are either by going to their house or texting them through Snapchat, Instagram and Messages.”

These apps can also serve as a way of communicating in newly created friendships, not just for maintaining old ones. For junior Michael Yang, meeting people through extracurricular activities has always been a way to forge new friendships.

But similar to Subramaniam, keeping these relationships alive has been difficult without regular occurrences of in-person communication, which is where social media helps ease this burden of trying to stay connected.

The benefits of social media also extend beyond out-ofschool friendships. From Yang’s experience, this medium

I SEE FRIENDSHIPS AS A SPIDER WEB. IF YOU WANT TO BUILD A STRONGER, MORE STABLE SPIDER WEB, YOU HAVE TO BRANCH OUT WITHOUT CUTTING EXISTING FIBERS.”

Michael Yang, Junior

fosters deeper connections between his friends who are invovled in the same communities.

“Social media strengthens in-school friendships by letting people connect while off campus,” Yang said. “From what I can tell, posts from larger accounts like the SuperFanMen on Instagram also help create a stronger school community, and therefore build a tighter bond between friends.”

While social media is a significant building block for many friendships both on and off campus, its usefulness is minimal for some students.

Junior Benjamin Standefer prefers to avoid social media as much as he can, but this choice hasn’t hindered his ability to make friends beyond the confines of campus.

“The main way I’ve connected with people outside of

St Mark’s is through extracurriculars and involvement,” Standefer said. “This includes community service, events and organizations outside of St Mark’s focused on community outreach. A lot of times they are collaborative efforts with Hockaday, ESD, Jesuit or other private schools in the area.”

By being involved in these communal events, Standefer believes that he does not need to rely on social media to keep those bonds. Seeing his friends on a regular basis in-person makes maintaining friendships easier for Standefer, but these connections still require dedication.

“Outside relationships sometimes require a little more effort,” Standefer said. “Again, it helps if there’s some rhythm to the relationship where I’ll see the person regularly, but sometimes on weekends, it never hurts to just go out for food with some friends or do something fun once in a while.”

FRIENDSHIP DISCONNECT

Americans report having fewer close friendships and relying less on their friends for personal support, especially as they get older. These are findings from the American Perspectives Survey in 2021 over 12 months.

9% 18-29 year olds lose touch with most of their friends

Mack shines light on admissions process

BY EMILIANO MAYO

As November approaches, so does application season for private schools. This time of the year is when the school receives and handpicks future Marksmen from hundreds of applications all over Texas, the U.S and more.

“We’re on pace to see over 800 (applicants) again this year,” Assistant Director of Admission & Financial Aid Korey Mack said, “We get a few from Tarrant County every year, and some from Denton County, those kinds of the major metropolitan area in Dallas, Fort Worth. The majority of our applications come from Dallas.”

Along with the admissions pouring into the school, the Admissions Office also works on expanding the school’s reach in a multitude of ways. The Admissions Staff sends out many emails to counties and cities that have a wide range of students with the intellectual and creative capabilities they intend to integrate. This whole process is designed with one goal in mind: find Marksmen who can carry on the school’s legacy, wherever they may be.

“In order to achieve that broadly diverse pool of appli-

cants, we’ve got to go to places that don’t currently apply to us,” Mack said.

Reaching out to new areas can present a challenge for the Admissions Office, as the school aims not only to connect with Texas, but with other states and countries. Although this is a hefty obstacle to overcome, it’s one the Admissions Office is eager to take on.

“It’s all about building relationships,” Mack said. “I think we have to be creative in our approach. It’s one thing to share all the great things that happen here on our campus, the awesome relationships and the accomplishments of our boys. It’s another thing to solicit examples of intellectual curiosity and strong character.”

To receive examples that display these attributes, the Admissions Office intends to think outside the box and explore more creative approaches. In one case, Korey Mack thought of starting a school-issued writing contest in

which people from all over the world could participate in.

“They’re not applying to St Mark’s, per se, but they are participating in our process, to a certain extent, through, you know, a creative invitation to participate in something that we offer here at St. Mark’s,” Mack said.

The final challenge is reaching out to kids from communities with less economic and educational opportunities. St. Mark’s is a school that utilizes the Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) as a way to peer into their applicant’s intellectual abilities.

Yet many communities struggle to take this test because of a fee and the lack of the necessary education. To assist these students during the application process, the school offers financial aid, which covers the fee for testing and offers a program to help students prepare for the examination.

“We don’t want a family’s inability to pay tuition to be a barrier that keeps a deserving boy who is intellectually curious and has a strong character from attending St. Mark’s,” Mack said.

Junior Nathaniel Hochman hangs out with friends during lunch in the Great Hall (Top). Hochman meets up with friends outside of school at Starbucks (Bottom).

Photos by Dilan Koganti

Korey Mack Assistant Director of Admission

Chinese program partners with Taiwanese school

Students studying Upper School Chinese now have the chance to collaborate with pen pals in Taiwan, enhancing their learning experience in the classroom.

BY ANDREW YE AND CHRISTOPHER GUFFEY

Wake up, check your email.

A new message tops your inbox. Received: 4 a.m.

It was sent just after their class ended at 5 p.m. While you were sleeping.

This message has traveled halfway around the world.

Anticipation builds as you click to open it, wondering what they wrote that would add to a conversation that is already 50 messages long.

A moment of connection with someone living thousands of miles away, speaking a different language, living a completely different life.

This will be the daily reality for students participating in the new study buddy pen pal program in the Chinese department with the Sacred Heart School in Taiwan.

During the summer of 2024, Gene and Alice Oltrogge Master Teaching Chair Janet Lin visited Taipei, Taiwan, and toured five different schools.

As she talked with the teachers and the heads of the schools, she aimed to establish a connection with their students that would follow through to the next school year for the Chinese language department.

Lin’s main focus is to engage deeply in the language that students in her class learn and master to incorporate it in the real world, beyond the classroom’s limits. After her third year of teaching here, in 2019, Lin organized her first class trip to China.

“My plan was to do a trip like this every other year with a new body of students, but then COVID hit, so everything paused,” Lin said. “So this year, it’s more like I’m resuming my plans.”

Lin proposed to have two summer trips this year to the department head: one to Taiwan and one to China.

But she’s also taking the experience from the summer trips and placing them in

the classroom for students to learn Chinese at a deeper level.

“To find the perfect school for our fullyear interaction, I took a survey of my classroom, asking them if they wanted an all-boys school, co-ed or girls school to be their study buddy,” Lin said. “So, you know, they chose an all-girls school.”

Lin already has a few activities in mind for this school year for all of her Chinese classes.

THE ENTIRE IDEA IS ‘HOW CAN I CREATE A FUN AND ENGAGING METHOD OF LEARNING CHINESE WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY?’”

Janet Lin, Gene and Alice Oltrogge Master Teaching Chair

“I wanted (my students) to send an initial email to get to know the person on the other side with me in the loop,” Lin said. “But after that, I want them to start freely talking with each other.”

After sending out the initial email and having a back-and-forth for a few weeks, the students will engage in their first “cultural exchange.” Each student will record a one-minute introduction in Chinese, and their study buddy will reply in English.

When Christmas rolls by, they’ll exchange holiday cards, each written in their native language, along with packages of their favorite snacks.

Nearing the end of the school year, both schools will create campus tour videos, giving each side a glimpse into each other’s learning environment and educational style.

“I definitely want to include more activities, but because this is our first round, I don’t want to hassle my partner in Taiwan,” Lin said. “I would need to work it into our already tight schedule. This is still a work in progress, but we are definitely going to hit it hard this year. If it’s well received, and the kids like it, we will do more.”

For senior Asher Babilla, who has been learning Chinese for nearly eight years at school, he looks forward to spending his last year at school learning Chinese in a new way for the first time.

“The main thing I look forward to in this program is that I hope to gain a window into Taiwanese and Chinese culture,” Babilla said. “This is the first time we have ever done this, and it feels like it will be fun, but it’s also honestly kind of strange.”

Because of the hands-on nature of the pen pal program, for Babilla this supplement will essentially put the characters learned in class into action.

“This summer, a few juniors will be going to Taiwan to meet their study buddies, go to class with them and hang out,” Babilla said. “I went to Taiwan last summer, and I’m sure that after this program if I ever do go back, I’ll be more prepared.”

But so far, the program has only just started, and to Babilla, the program will get bigger and bigger.

“I’ve introduced myself via email, and she replied, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten so far,” Babilla said. “We’ve only gotten our pen pals a few days ago, so there will definitely be a lot more communication with each other.”

total students, ranging from eighth to 12th grade, studying Chinese are partnered with Taiwanese study buddies

Fostering a connection to the school and sustaining it will be a separate challenge. For Lin, however, this is all worth it.

“The entire idea is how can I create a fun and engaging method of learning Chinese with people who are thousands of miles away, linked together through learning one language,” Lin said. “Think about how cool that is. They, and we, are definitely really excited about this. This is what we call connection.”

COMMENTARY

SAM MORSE Staff Writer

Bread off the table

I watched my mom go to endless doctor’s visits. I observed as her nails grew thin, her hair fell out, her brain half-asleep, limiting her capability of living.

I was aware of her anemia, but I did not know about another disease, and neither did she.

When I was in sixth grade, amidst one of the happiest years of my life, my mom told me that she was diagnosed with celiac disease.

Although I was glad to see my mom’s health slowly improve due to her gluten-free diet, I was sympathetic to my mom and the inevitable obstacles she would have to endure. I never thought that my sympathy would turn into empathy until my mom told me that celiac disease was genetic and that I should get tested.

While considering this news, I reminisced on my consistent stomach problems, my struggle to grow and gain weight and my natural aversion to bread.

After I got tested, I put these thoughts in the back of my head and continued to enjoy my sixthgrade year. Two weeks later, I received the news that would, and will, continually restrict me for the rest of my life.

While in the Braums drive-thru with a friend, my mother told me that I had celiac disease. This was not a surprise to me because I had the majority of the symptoms, so I tried to stay positive. However, through the first few years of maintaining a gluten-free diet, I’ve struggled more and more with celiac disease.

I never realized the importance of gluten in our diet until I was diagnosed. Gluten is everywhere and simply impossible to escape. Regardless of what the ingredients say, I have to stay cautious of my daily diet, including the foods in my own home.

During Christmas break in 2023, I made a bowl of supposed leftover gluten-free pasta. I continued my day, thinking nothing of it. But within an hour, I was throwing up. Ever since, it seems as if my stomach has become more and more sensitive to gluten.

Not only has celiac disease given me moments of physical pain, but it has also prevented me from feeling comfortable in social situations.

I can barely remember the last time I went out with friends without feeling like a hindrance to their enjoyment.

I often find myself having to skip meals to hang out with friends because there are little to no gluten-free food options. In combination with the skipped meals, my limited food options have made it harder to gain weight, even harder than it was before I was diagnosed.

As I meander through my sophomore year of high school, I continue to deal with these problems. I am forced to spend my days embracing caution, and even sadness, as I work towards an easier life with celiac disease.

I repeatedly question whether the sacrifice for my health is actually worth it, as it seems that my unforgettable sixth-grade year, before I was diagnosed, was the healthiest part of my life.

Senior Asher Babilla responds to his Taiwanese pen pal’s emails. As the school year progresses, more interactions and activities will occur between them.

Photo by Winston Lin

Janet Lin Chinese instructor

Parents Association serves in community

BY EMILIANO MAYO

Behind every spirit party and mixer, there is a group of parents who work behind the scenes. In the cafeteria, both dads and moms work serve hungry students. The Parents Association (PA) is certainly a vital part of the school community.

“Our mission is to create a community on campus that is between students, faculty, staff and the families that are represented by the students,” Head of the PA Katherine Steinbrueck said.

Building said community starts as soon as possible, even before the school year. Even though the start of the year can be stressful for new and returning students, the PA does everything to ensure that everyone feels welcomed through social gatherings.

“We do fun things like monotony breakers for middle school and Upper School,” Steinbrueck said. “Our goal is to do something fun through short and frequent events for the boys.”

Unlike many other schools, the St. Mark’s PA aren’t limited to a budget, nor do they have to fundraise, so most of their time goes to helping the community and strengthening the bonds of the school.

“A lot of schools don’t have the same resources that we have at St. Mark’s, and so money is something they have to pay a lot of attention to,” Steinbrueck said. “I’m grateful because at St. Mark’s the administration has basically told the parents association, ‘we don’t have to.’”

Yet with such ambitious goals such as uniting the school, there has to be many people working for the PA by both being on the board and volunteering in places such as the cafeteria and spirit parties.

“We have over 100 parents every year that are on the board, and they all are in charge of certain events,” Steinbrueck said, “In addition to them, they have volunteer sub-teams, so we’ll basically never run out of our work force.”

At school, there are many volunteer opportunities for parents. These volunteer opportunities, while they may not mean that a parent is part of the board, are a backbone of the school community.

“We have an all-school sign-up sheet for parents to just volunteer like helping out in the library or things like that. That’s just as important as being a chair,” Steinbrueck said, “A chair sees that you’re working hard, volunteering somewhere, and then they nominate you (to become a chair).”

Even after the 2019 tornado incident, members of the PA rallied the community to help the students.

“It was almost organic, actually, like, we didn’t even plan it,” Steinbrueck said. “Parents just showed up.”

The PA is what holds most of our community together. With the help of almost all parents, the community has, and continues to move forward.

“You know we, moms and dads, grandparents, love you guys, and we want you to be in a place that is good for you.” Steinbrueck said, “I think everyone feels like St. Mark’s is a great place for our boys, and that is what makes parents want to dig in and just say, ‘how can we give back?’”

Dallas enacts traffic safety measures

To address the issue of a disproportionate rate of traffic fatalities, Dallas City Council is implementing Vision Zero, a plan to increase traffic safety and reduce deaths.

BY KEVIN HO AND ANDREW YE

By the end 2023, there was not a single day that a fatal car crash didn’t occur that year in Texas.

Or in 2022.

Or in 2021.

Or in 2020.

Or in 2019.

The list goes on until Nov. 7, 2000 — the last day in Texas without a road death. Ever since, there’s been at least one deadly collision in the state that has extinguished futures. Every single day.

The statistics of traffic-related deaths that occur on a daily basis shouldn’t be ignored. The statistics demand a resolution.

By envisioning a future void of any more deaths on the road, the Dallas City Council proposed the Dallas Vision Zero plan in 2019.

“At that time, the city council passed a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities and then told the city staff to go develop a plan for how they were going to do that,” City of Dallas Chief Transportation Planner Kathryn Rush said. “Then we spent the intervening COVID years working on developing that plan and meeting internally.”

As one of the original developers of the Dallas Vision Zero plan, Rush initiated the program’s groundwork by helping to convene city departments and partner agencies, guiding crash data analysis and literature reviews in the process.

The development team has already established the plan’s fundamental goal — to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities and slice severe injury crashes in half by 2030.

“We’ve been on an upward trend over the past 10 or 15 years,” Rush said. “If we’re not aiming towards zero traffic-related deaths, what are we really even aiming at?

And so right now, in order to try to make this shift in this direction happen, we’re trying to swing the pendulum to aim towards zero fatalities at the end.”

Considering historical Dallas traffic data, the urgency of implementing the Vision Zero plan becomes clear, as the city faces a disproportionate rate of traffic

fatalities compared to other major U.S. cities.

“One of the things I think that we realized as we were still developing the plan, is just that Dallas needed this probably more than most every other city,” Rush said. “We are the ninth largest city in the U.S., but in terms of the number of traffic fatality crashes per person, we rank number one among the top 10 or the top 15 largest cities.”

To address these issues, Vision Zero initiative is implementing certain safety features to these corridors that lack adequate traffic provisions, specifically areas like highly-congested traffic corridors and intersections, as they account for a large percentage of collisions and injuries on roadways.

WE ARE THE NINTH LARGEST CITY IN THE U.S., BUT IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF TRAFFIS FATALITY CRASHES PER WEEK, WE RANK NUMBER ONE.”

to make corresponding enhancements that the studies identify, particularly surrounding pedestrian safety.

“The city actually has certain corridors which account for 62 percent of fatalities in severe crashes, and they’re only about seven percent of the total network,” Majumdar said. “Combined, these High Injury Network (HIN) corridors are identified in our original plan, but that’s not the only focus. We might also have intersections with high crash rates, so we’ll look at both. Currently we are very heavily focused on a few of the HIN corridors, including Loop 12, where we’re looking to reduce speed limits.”

Although the Dallas Vision Zero Action Plan has been launched, combined with the collaborative efforts of other transportation departments, both Rush and Majumdar anticipate looming challenges that will need to be addressed and eventually overcome.

For Rush, retrofitting the city is a challenging endeavor, as it is especially costheavy and time-consuming to complete. She also believes that conversations within the community, as well as general education on occasion, are additional requirements for the integration of new technology.

These measures include the addition of rapid flashing beacons, pedestrian hybrid beacons, crosswalk countdown timers and a variety of other traffic signals that aim to increase driver awareness and improve overall public safety.

“To date, we have achieved about over $90 million worth of grants, which we’ve used to upgrade intersections,” City of Dallas Assistant Director of Transportation Auro Majumdar said. “But even though $90 million sounds like a lot, it’s not enough to upgrade all our older signals and intersections, mainly because most of Dallas was built before Vision Zero was ever dreamt of — the city was designed to be very car-centric.”

As his team works closely alongside the Vision Zero team in Dallas, Majumdar’s contributing efforts center on conducting traffic studies and using the extracted data

Majumdar shares similar concerns, as he agrees that in addition Dallas’s aged infrastructure that requires more energy to improve, other obstacles include balancing budgets and available workforces.

And yet, Rush maintains an optimistic view on Vision Zero’s success down the road. In her eyes, the growing awareness of traffic safety will ultimately create momentum for more support.

“I think Vision Zero has started to completely shift the conversation about what our priorities are, from a traffic and transportation engineering standpoint,” Rush said. “The conversations that we have had with engineers were previously always about vehicle delay, with safety on the periphery — it wasn’t inherently about preventing fatal and severe injury crashes. Now, we’re willing to sacrifice delay if it means we’re saving lives. That should be our first priority and focus.”

Kathryn Rush, City of Dallas Chief Transportation Planner

Even at night, several cars cruise down Preston, often above the 35mph speed limit, increasing the risks of accidents occuring.

Photo by Dilan Koganti

GEC hosts first event on civil discourse

The Global Engagement Committee held its first discussion on Oct. 9, focusing on themes like political inclusivity and reducing polarization — topics especially relevant in the upcoming election.

BY WILLIAM KOZOMAN AND HOLDEN PURVIS

Shouting matches. Arguments at the Thanksgiving table. A simple handshake being a big deal.

These are just a few of the scenes that have marked modern political discourse. It’s a problem that has caused many people to sound the alarm on how we share our opinions on a day-to-day basis, but this pressing issue also has often seen little action or improvement. With modern tools like social media and AI intensifying what is already a hazy political landscape, the change has just become the new norm for some.

But with a divisive and fiercely contested election just on the horizon, the Global Engagement Committee (GEC), formerly known as SM Dallas Area Diversity Youth Organization (DADYO), decided to take this dilemma into their own hands, hosting an Oct. 9 discussion to consider how people can stand by their opinions but show civility at the same time.

For senior and GEC co-chair Rahil Panchbhaya, creating a shared environment for students to freely contribute thoughtful and constructive ideas was key to the discussion’s success and emblematic of the core idea at the center of the discussion.

“Our objectives are to have active listening with open discussion,” Panchbhaya said. “We want the conversations to flow freely, spark engaging conversations about the questions at hand, the topic and hopefully, inspire some sort of action in someone’s mind.”

The conversations highlighted the impact of elections on society and the importance of making an educated vote — a particularly pertinent skill for the many Marksmen who are entering the fray of politics and voting for the first time.

EVERYONE HAS THEIR OPPOSING IDEAS. EVERYONE HAS SOME DIFFERENT VIEWS ON VARIOUS TOPICS, AND I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO TAKE THOSE INTO CONSIDERATION AND HAVE THESE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS.”

Andrew Hofmann,

Sophomore IDLC member

Major topics of discussion centered around recognizing the inequalities in society in order to foster a more inclusive, unified society, bolstering political cooperation and reducing polarization and examining the historical events that have shaped the American identity.

Andrew Hofmann, a sophomore and member of the IDLC, the organization that manages the GEC, recognizes that political discussions can spark controversy, but he believes the most difficult conversations can often be the most impactful.

“Everyone has their opposing ideas,” Hofmann said. “Everyone has some different views on various topics, and I think it’s important to take those into consideration and have these tough conversations. The election is an important topic to cover, and without having these kinds

of conversations, you can’t understand the other American citizens around you.”

Students repeatedly stressed the importance of national inclusivity and unity, noting that despite differing opinions, mutual respect is key to working together to address the country’s challenges.

“I think a simple rule is ‘respect whoever you’re talking to,’” Hofmann said. “Understand that they’re part of the same country. They’re the same as you, Americans, and their opinions are valued as much as your own.”

The new nature of the GEC and its discussions has also led to some renewed attention. Former English teacher David Brown, who now serves as the school’s Director of Character & Leadership Education, has made an effort to explicitly include the school’s principles in GEC discussions.

“I met with (GEC sponsor) Lorre Allen to talk about how our Character & Leadership mission might support her work,” Brown said. “I listened to her provide some details and examples of her daily work with students to bring more awareness to situations that call for inclusion and diversity, like mock interviews and mentorship in IDLC meetings.”

In particular, he saw the focus of the GEC, which is

to promote well-informed civil discourse, as especially related to the school’s core values, such as leadership, excellence, integrity and diversity.

Another significant focus of the discussions was on the importance of voting, especially for eligible voters who may not realize the weight of their voice in an election. For some seniors, this election represents the first time in their lives that they will be able to participate.

“The main headline of the event is, ‘Your Vote Is Your Voice,’” Panchbhaya said. “So, we want to encourage people as much as possible who do have the opportunity to vote to get out there. Hopefully, through our discussion and showing just how important voting is, we can show them that it is their responsibility and that they can make an impact with their vote.”

Panchbhaya hopes that the discussions will not only promote voter engagement but also spark broader interest in open conversations among students, leaving a lasting change.

“The goal is to foster change for anyone who comes to St. Mark’s through open conversations with all the schools together,” Panchbhaya said. “Hopefully, at the end of the conversations, some of these discussions can be carried out outside of the room.”

Presidential election calls for young voters to stay informed

continued from page 3

But while these platforms are outlets for the youth to dive deeper into politics, she cautions that these forms of information are primarily superficial — especially on social media, the political information that permeates the digital world are largely snippets of broader, more complex ideas.

Senior Roman Childress, the president of the Political Forum club at school, views graphic art in a similar context.

However, when analyzed as an entry point into politics, Childress believes that social media can be a misguided approach to initially stepping foot into politics.

“It may be a good place to figure out what is going on because a lot of stuff gets put on social media really fast,” Childress said. “But if you are going to use it as an actual source, then a lot of people are going to be extremely misinformed.”

For legitimate political understanding, Bourdeau believes that there needs to be a path consisting of more comprehensive information that people should follow.

“I think it has to take you to another source that hopefully has a little more depth to it than what you would expect on social media,” Bourdeau said. “But then again, social media today also includes well-respected sources like The Washington Post or The New York Times. They’re all there now, and they are trying to simplify,

either through videos or some type of graphic design, the topics that are important. They’re also trying to make this information digestible to all audiences.”

In her eyes, although social media contains some false information circulating throughout its platforms, it has grown to be a dominant avenue for news, offering people an increasingly vast pool of political knowledge and perspectives.

“As I continue to get older, I realize that there are better ways to do things. Just because it’s new and maybe has imperfections doesn’t mean that it’s not helpful and that it’s not a good resource for people to use,” Bourdeau said.

Apart from simply researching candidates, most young voters fail to recognize the number of nominees on the ballot.

Many voters blindly fill in boxes without giving an effort to who they are actually voting for. Childress finds this problem especially prevalent among Gen Z voters.

“I think most young people definitely only really care about the presidential election,” Childress said. “They might care about a couple senators or representatives. Like I know who I am going to vote for as a senator but I haven’t really thought about the levels beyond that. For most people, it seems like the talk is about the presidential election and nothing else.”

But while there are a variety of ways for young people — specifically people preparing to vote for the first time — to research candidates and their corresponding

political policies or agendas, Bourdeau recommends becoming familiar with the voting process by reviewing sample ballot slips.

Prior to voting, these ballots, which are available online, provide first-time voters with a practical glimpse into eventually voting in a real ballot box.

AS I CONTINUE TO GET OLDER, I REALIZE THAT THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO DO THINGS. JUST BECAUSE IT’S NEW AND MAYBE HAS IMPERFECTIONS DOESN’T MEAN THAT IT’S NOT HELPFUL AND THAT IT’S NOT A GOOD RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE TO USE.” Camila Correa Bourdeau, March to the Polls Executive Director

“You have to spend time trying to be informed,” Bourdeau said. “The sample ballot is a great place to start. You can look at exactly what’s going to be on your ballot before you go vote. You can print it out and take it with you, and you can take notes with you so you don’t have to memorize each candidate or judge. I think that’s a good place to start, just so you at least know what names you’re going to see on your ballot, and it’s just a confidence booster in general.”

For the GEC’s first meeting discussing the election, Marksmen and students from schools across the Dallas metroplex participated in civil discourse.

Photo Courtesy Teddy Fleiss

NEWS IN BRIEF

HEART OF TEXAS DEBATE The annual Heart of Texas Invitational debate tournament will be hosted by the school from Oct. 25 to Oct. 28. The tournament involves more than 500 students and comprises teams from all over the country. Last year’s champions were California’s Quarry Lane, with St. Mark’s finishing in second place. Fall Break will coincide with the days, as the tournament will take place in many classrooms throughout the school.

AMC 10/12 The AMC 10, for 10th grade and under, and the AMC 12, for 12th grade or under, are both 25 questions long with 75 minutes of test time. Run by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), both tests are divided into two versions, the “A” and “B” competitions. The AMC 10/12 A takes place on Nov. 6 and the AMC 10/12 B takes place on Nov. 12.

THE GALLERY

WHAT INSPIRED THIS CREATION?

JB: “My class had an assignment to draw famous rappers, and Kanye West’s song ‘Famous’ inspired me to pick him as my subject. I found a reference photo that I thought showcased lighting really well. I used charcoal because I thought it would bring out the lighting as well as his facial structure really well.

EC: “Wolf Hall is a historical novel that follows Thomas Cromwell during Henry VIII’s reign. It is some of the best historical fiction I have ever read; it is completely evocative of a time and a place and it’s fascinating. It’s also the first in a trilogy, which as a whole follows Cromwell’s rise and fall.”

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024

Green librarians support the Lower School

Following the retirement of Lower School librarian Barbara Kinkead, the library faculty members have stepped up to engage young minds in her place.

BY KAYDEN ZHONG AND KIRAN PARIKH

Sixteen pairs of engaged, innocent eyes stare at the reader, completely enthralled with every syllable coming out of his mouth. Upper School librarian Tinsley Silcox, book in hand, waves his free arm in the air during the climax of the chapter and watches as the kids laugh and throw their arms up in unison. He smiled with them. He’d never known how rewarding this was.

After 35 years in the Lower School Library, Barbara Kinkead retired, leaving a large portion of the school empty. So starting last year, Silcox and the other Middle and Upper School librarians — Teresa Katsulos and Elyse Chevallier — began planning how to fill them.

Along with interim Lower School librarian Kaysie Montgomery, they’ve settled on taking time out of their own schedules to teach the Lower Schoolers.

For most of the librarians, especially Silcox, teaching Lower School students is something new. However, his experience has a little bit of a learning curve, especially because of his familiarity with Upper School students.

BEFORE I CAME TO ST. MARK’S I TAUGHT IN A SPANISH IMMERSION PRESCHOOL, AND I WAS THEIR ENGLISH TEACHER FOR 3 AND 4YEAR-OLDS. I LOVE THAT AGE. THESE KIDS ARE SO SMART, AND IT’S BEEN A JOY.”

Teresa Katsulos, Assistant Director of Green Library

“I’ve been teaching college and Upper School for over 25 years, and now suddenly I’m working with third graders again on a regular basis,” Silcox said. “But you know what? It’s a ton of fun. It’s very rewarding, and that’s what library time is all about.”

Between his Lower and Upper School classes, while the curriculum and tone might be different, Silcox sees underlying similarities. And so, despite the age gap of his students, Silcox thinks that the lessons he teaches and the meaning of his work are the same: to help them ignite and explore their passions.

“I teach a library class here called Introduction to Research Methodology 101, which is very different from sitting and reading a scary book in a funny voice which I do twice a week,” Silcox said. “But the cool thing is that the objective is the same: to inspire people to get excited about learning.”

Unlike Silcox, this year isn’t Katsulos’ first time working with Lower School students. After teaching English at younger levels, Katsulos welcomes the change with open arms.

“Before I came to St Mark’s, I taught in a preschool. I taught in a Spanish Immersion preschool, and I was their English teacher for 3 and 4-year-olds,” Katsulos said. “I love that age. These kids are so smart, and it’s been a joy.”

In the library, Katsulos and Montgomery co-teach first and second graders. Once every eight days — every rotation — they meet together to discuss what to teach. Because of the ease of using traditional systems used in the library, the curriculum is very simple, providing room to arrange for fun activities in the library.

“The whole curriculum is based on learning the Dewey Decimal System, and because it’s so organized, it’s like teaching the boys how to find things with a map.” Katsulos said. “We had a scavenger hunt a couple of weeks ago, and it was fabulous because it’s a small enough library that they don’t get overwhelmed.”

Aside from taking care of young Marksmen in the library, Katsulos works with Montgomery to teach students library etiquette, and more recently, the librarians are teaching about some of the award-winning books.

“In first grade, we concentrate on teaching them not just how to act in the library, but also the whole series of different kinds of award-winning books, like the Caldecott Medal,” Katsulos said. “We teach all the award winners, as many as we can, to the first graders for the second grade.”

In fourth grade, Chevallier is doing the same. However, with even older students, Chevallier is encouraging students to present book recommendations of their favorite books from over the summer or that they have been reading on their own.

“We’ve been introducing the (award-winning) books to the students, doing what I call book talks. It’s basically presenting a book to students, describing it and giving a little summary to pique their interest,” Chevallier said. “What we are doing now is having the boys give book talks. Each student is giving a short minute long presentation on a book they read over the summer that they’re excited about sharing with their classmates.”

After transitioning from the Student Store, Montgomery wishes to make it a magical place for all her students. For her, a library has always been a place for community and enjoying time with friends. With her kids past school age, Montgomery enjoys working with younger students again.

“I love nothing more than when I come in and see somebody on the bench in the reading room, just fully intent on a book,” Montgomery said. “You know, my kids are young adults now, and so it’s been fun relearning how to best get the younger Marksmen to focus and pay attention.”

KANYE by sophomore Jack Benavides

Librarian Elyse Chevallier recommends Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel available in the Green Library.

Director of Libraries and Information Services and Director of Upper School Choir Tinsley Silcox reads to a class of third graders.

Photo by Doan Nguyen

KAYDEN ZHONG Academics Section Editor

Take off my shoes. Carry my backpack in. Change clothes. Take out the binders, notebooks, textbooks and pencils. Sit down at my desk. Skim the schedule taped across half the wall, and glance at the Post-it notes.

On yellow, “The expectation is 100 (or better).” On blue, “Must keep time for piano–otherwise make up next day.” On green, “Work on improving comments!! Pay more attention in classes.”

None of the looping, slanting handwriting on the schedule or notes is mine, but it’s all too familiar to me. Each one was pasted there by my mother, and when a note loses its adhesion or relevance a new one takes its place.

Parenting is a difficult balancing act. There is no singular method that works perfectly for each child, and thus every learning experience is unique. What I grew up with was “tiger parenting,” a form of parenting in which the parents take executive control in the student’s life in order to ensure success.

Tiger parenting has three tenets. First, the student must excel.

Even before I attended elementary school, I had learned three things: to never cheat, because cheating could ruin your chances of attending a good school; to work hard; and to always listen to Mom and Dad. “We know the best for you,” they said.

So my parents made most of my extracurricular decisions: at 4, I was spending an hour each day in front of a math book; at 5, swimming weekly with a cap too tight and goggles too loose for me; at 6, alternating between a violin bow and a piano keyboard. Formative childhood experiences, like sleepovers at a friend’s house, were supplanted by classes and practice, all meant to improve a future application resumé. “It will be worth it,” assured my mother.

Second, the student must learn discipline. Discourage them from pursuing activities that waste time, and when the student does wrong, they must understand the gravity of their wrongs and be punished accordingly.

I loved watching video games as a young boy–so much that my mother deemed it necessary to hide the family laptop when she bought groceries on the weekends. “Focus on your piano practice,” she said. When she left, I pulled a kitchen chair to step up to the cabinet she had stowed it in, and watched YouTube until she opened the kitchen door. I did not see the laptop for the next three weeks.

Third, there’s always somebody or something to aspire to that the student hasn’t attained yet.

“Always look up,” my mother would chide. When I won an award, it was an occasion for brief celebration, with higher expectations to follow; when I failed, my mother would spend an hour talking to me about my faults, and how I had neglected my practices. There was always more for me to learn from my losses than my successes, and even more to learn from the successes of others.

So, is tiger parenting effective? Sure. I don’t resent my parents for it, because it all turned out exactly like they had hoped. Difficulties I had with socializing, anxiety about grades, low self-esteem: time fixed the problems, just like my parents said it would. And when we moved houses, the schedule, and all of its little notes, came off the wall. In the recycling bin, it was just another sheet of yellowing creased paper.

Dyslexic students learn to decipher

In an academically rigorous environment, sometimes students with dyslexia struggle to keep up with their classmates. But despite their conditions, they rise to meet the challenge.

BY DOAN NGUYEN AND MICHAEL CHANG

The page blurs, his eyes an unfocused camera lens.

Running his finger along the sentence, the student carefully analyzes every individual letter.

Five minutes. One page of Wuthering Heights, this month’s AP English novel.

He goes to flip to the second of his twenty pages assigned for the night, then pauses halfway.

What did I just read again?

He can’t afford another abysmal reading quiz. So he brings his pointer finger to the first line and takes it from the top. He skims through it, trying to keep the jumbled mess of words from flying away this time.

No luck. So he re-reads.

Again. And again.

Junior Charles McCoin is the student that everyone goes to before quizzes and tests, asking him for his notes or for last-minute cramming. They only see the current Charles — the guy who understands every concept and consistently scores the highest. He hadn’t always been a straight-A student, though.

Diagnosed with dyslexia at 4-years-old, McCoin went through three years of specialized schooling just to get him to read faster. He was ranked the weakest reader out of his kindergarten classroom; he just couldn’t formulate the words on the page.

“I had to develop this technique when I was reading because I had read so slow,” McCoin said. “I’d skim over a sentence and just get the gist of it. I still do that now.”

Dyslexia is a phonological disorder that disrupts students’ abilities to translate between written text to spoken language. A proper diagnosis generally occurs early on when a child is first learning to read.

“Dyslexia is recognized in kindergarten, first grade and second grade, when students are starting developmentally,” Director of Academic Success Julie Pechersky said. “When people start to learn to read and they are not reading at the same rate as their same-age peers, a likely reason is dyslexia.”

After an early diagnosis, these students typically go through certain programs

is

DYSLEXIA EFFECTS

tailored to their dyslexia and reading capabilities. Specialists can then support the student in terms of his or her reading, writing and speaking skills.

“The best thing a dyslexic student can do is work with somebody who has been trained in dyslexia-based reading intervention,” Pechersky said.

At an academically rigorous school like St. Mark’s, students with dyslexia have to spend significantly more time reading and writing compared to their classmates.

“Dyslexia is a lot more than just letter reversal,” Pechersky said. “Dyslexic students aren’t able to naturally interpret and put together sounds the way a non-dyslexic brain would. They can read,

I HAD TO DEVELOP THIS TECHNIQUE WHEN I WAS READING BECAUSE I HAD READ SO SLOW. I’D SKIM OVER A SENTENCE AND JUST GET THE GIST OF IT. I STILL DO THAT NOW.

Charles McCoin, Junior

but they’re not super efficient with it.”

At a young age, where everyone is still building their reading speed and comprehension, dyslexia can be hidden and ignored by fellow classmates. But some dyslexic students mature and leave their reading skills behind, widening the gap between them and other students.

Even as a junior, Hewes Lance ‘26 recognizes his underdeveloped skills in reading and dreads being put on the spot in English classes.

“Reading out loud gets kind of embarrassing sometimes,” Lance said. “It’s hard having to differentiate between some sounds like ‘U’ or ‘UE’ or ‘OU’.”

Dyslexia even impacts students’ abilities to understand others and communicate over the phone. With new acronyms being formed every day, it’s easy to get lost in translation.

It gets pretty funny, especially for things like text messages,” McCoin said. “With texting, one letter in and out can change the meaning by a lot.”

In order to help mediate the disorder, these students are given various accommodations, ranging from extended time on tests and essays to being allowed a

computer to take notes in class.

However, these accommodations are not handed out indiscriminately.

“Students don’t qualify for classroom and testing accommodations solely based on the diagnosis,” Pechersky said. “(They qualify) based on the profile of strengths and weaknesses that we get when they have an educational evaluation.”

Unlike many schools in the U.S., St. Mark’s still enforces certain policies that challenge dyslexic learners. These policies are always made in the best interest of these students.

“We still penalize spelling errors,” Pechersky said. “We also do not exempt foreign language requirements. There are some schools that do that for students with dyslexia.”

Learning a foreign language comes awkwardly to many students with dyslexia, especially when words need to be read aloud. As a result, many dyslexic students are recommended to take Latin, where the speaking component of the language is not as significant.

“For example, in Spanish, students are reading, listening and speaking,” Pechersky said. “In Latin, students are reading and writing the language, but they’re not necessarily speaking conversationally. So while you still have to have a good foundation of grammar for Latin, some of our dyslexic students find Latin to be easier for them.”

When he was in elementary school, McCoin, disadvantaged with languages in general, was one of the few students in his grade to not learn Spanish. But dyslexia affects students in different ways. In fact, Spanish comes naturally to Hewes Lance ‘26. It’s straightforward; a phonetic language is paradise for him.

“Spanish is actually easier for me because Spanish is spelled exactly how it sounds,” Lance said. “If you can say it, you can spell it. I found that it’s easier than spelling words I don’t know in English.”

In spite of their condition, Lance and McCoin still find success at school. They just have to work twice as hard as their fellow students.

“Dyslexia just makes learning slower,” McCoin said. “It’s not impossible to do. It just takes a longer time, right?”

Students with dyslexia can take significantly longer to fully understand the complicated passages which are typically assigned as English homework.

Photo by Dilan Koganti

Gicheru ‘21 creates Nurovant AI startup

Trevor Gicheru ‘21 always wanted a better way to study. Now, with a team based across the country, he’s making that idea a reality through his new company based in artificial intelligence.

BY AKASH MANICKAM AND CHRISTOPHER HUANG

While taking a science class at SMU, Trevor Gicheru ’21 wished that he had a tool that could make learning easier.

So he made one himself.

Gicheru drew on his computer science background and work experience in various internships. In order to create this new learning product, Gicheru decided to utilize the emerging technology of artificial intelligence. Gicheru created a company based in Dallas named Nurovant AI in 2023.

“I saw the use of AI as something that could make tasks more efficient versus doing things more manually,” Gicheru said. “I saw a good opportunity to use (AI) for its efficiency in that sense.”

Gicheru’s company has seen major early success. After slowly gaining traction on campus, it got a major boost after being featured in the news, which caused the company to receive its first investments from angel investors and venture capitalists. The company now hires employees full-time from Silicon Valley.

Through the journey of growing the company, Gicheru got advice from numerous alumni. Specifically, Gicheru has found a valuable mentor in Sahitya Senapathy ‘20, another alumnus who created his own startup. Gicheru has found the school’s network to be a useful avenue for reaching out to experienced alumni. Gicheru leverages his high school and college connections to get in contact with venture capitalists to fund the company.

“There are a lot of different [St. Mark’s] alums who’ve done startups. I’ve met a few different ones who have been great mentors to me and become good friends,” Gicheru said. Gicheru credits the school with developing

a strong work ethic within him. He was deeply impacted by the lessons he learned through his athletic career and from the mentorship of Coach Dilworth.

“Playing football was big. I feel like I learned a lot, as far as building character,” Gicheru said. “Even though those weren’t classroom lessons, I’d say the school’s effort of creating the whole boy really shows impact.”

The aim of the company has changed slightly, from being a student-focused tool to trying to provide educational services to schools.

THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT ALUMS WHO’VE DONE STARTUPS. I’VE MET A FEW DIFFERENT ONES WHO HAVE BEEN GREAT MENTORS TO ME AND BECOME GOOD FRIENDS.”

Trevor Gicheru ‘21, Founder of Nurovant AI

“We’re in talks with Dallas College, Dallas ISD, Austin Community College,” Gicheru said. (We’re) helping them out with the technology that we built, and it’s changed a good bit.”

Being based in Dallas as a technology startup company is unique compared to the mostly Silicon Valley-based technology startups, and Gicheru has faced some obstacles in terms of hiring. He hires most of his engineers from California, and they work from there instead of Dallas. However, Dallas is a constantly growing and evolving city, and Gicheru has found it to be a good location for his company in terms of sales opportunities and size.

“[Dallas] has been great in a lot of ways, but if there are any challenges, I’d say that it’s still an emerging market as far as technology talent,” Gicheru said.

Gicheru is open to offering opportunities to St. Mark’s students who are interested in doing

work for the company. Senior Jack Tholking was an intern for the company over the summer and worked on software for an AI-based lockdown browser for testing.

“Back in summer, we would call almost basically, like almost every day,” Tholking said. “I was making a ton of progress. I think I got 80% of it done within three weeks. And it was great. It was just a great experience, getting to work with an alum. There were some days where our calls were just talking and catching up, chatting about all the teachers and St Mark’s experiences.”

Tholking found the opportunity by talking with Director of Alumni Relations Jack Mallick ’14. While searching for activities aligning with his interest in computer science, he found Gicheru and Nurovant AI.

“(Mallick) gave me some guys’ emails,” Tholking said. “I emailed all three of the guys, all St Mark’s alums in the technology and computer science field. I asked to meet with them and go over their jobs, get to learn more about them. Luckily, it worked really well with Trevor.”

Gicheru is open to signing on more students.

“There are definitely more opportunities, and if anyone is interested, they can just feel free to reach out to me,” Gicheru said.

While Nurovant is still in the early stages of funding, Gicheru is hoping for a few million dollars to be raised by early 2025 in a larger, more public funding round. He is also looking to get 40 to 50 schools on board with using his new product in the near future.

Gicheru says his most important tool for growing Nurovant AI has been his perseverence, especially when he does not find success at first.

“Even when I was first starting out, some of the initial investors that I pitched to said no, but I just kept going, kept updating them, and then months later, they ended up turning around and writing a check.”

Telos program provides leadership guidance for students

BY GRAYSON KIRBY

When countless aspiring St. Mark’s families walk onto the Perot Quadrangle for the first time, one of the most striking sights is the Path to Manhood Statue.

This statue represents all that is expected of a Marksman: the leadership, brotherhood and steadiness of the student body. The statue symbolizes the passing on of traditions and responsibilities from the older marksmen to their buddies.

Telos is the program that nurtures the values that this statue represents.

For over 15 years, the Telos program has created a bond between older marksmen and the younger students on campus. The program strives to teach these younger marksmen the habits and thoughts that will prepare

them for success as marksmen and in the future.

St. Mark’s continually stresses the ideals of character and leadership, but there is a vast difference from just talking about them and putting them into practice.

“We wanted to build out the character and leadership initiative,” Telos faculty sponsor Martin Stegemoeller said. “The principle that we adopted was the idea that that it takes conceptual knowledge, the head, emotional and habitual knowledge, the heart and the hands, the experience, to actually lead to real education and ethical leadership.”

As students are beginning to get into the groove of being back in school, Telos events have finally begun to kick off.

Telos members have begun to visit their advisories and discuss with them the aspects of leadership that will prepare them for being leaders in the future.

Sophomore Telos mentor Dylan Bosita first got involved with the Telos program because of his love of the mentorship that St. Mark’s provides for its students.

“I’ve always loved the mentorship at St. Mark’s. When older marksmen come to talk and hang out with younger marksmen, they create unique bonds that are impossible to replicate.”

Bosita talked to the students in Ms. Avendano’s seventh grade advisory about how to be more engaged on campus by joining clubs and other activities.

The conversations that Bosita had with these younger marksmen are essential in continuing to create these bonds for years to come.

These students will one day be in the same position as Bosita, engaging in conversations with younger marksmen and becoming leaders on campus.

Gicheru poses with a phone displaying the Nurovant AI mobile app. Gicheru says the idea behind the name “Nurovant” came from a combination of the words “neurological” and “advantage.”

Photo Courtesy Trevor Gicheru

English Department explains grading system

Through much careful deliberation, English Department Chair Michael Morris has lead the effort to create an objective grading system that avoids bias.

BY ROHAN KAKKAR AND DIEGO ARMENDARIZ

The English department faces challenges that no other department faces: subjectivity of grading. Essay grades are constantly a source of stress for Marksmen who can feel as if they’re graded unfairly. However, Department Chair Michael Morris and the rest of the English Department have worked hard to form objective systems of grading for the seemingly subjective assignments.

While math tests seemingly only have one objectively correct response, essays might seem to give a lot more room for interpretation as it is based on a non-objective measure, but Morris believes the two are actually more similar than most people think.

“I think sometimes there is the perception that in math, it’s right or it’s wrong, and there’s the perception that in English, it’s subjective,” Morris said. “But I would argue that they’re actually much more alike than that. Working through a math problem sort of seems a little bit like is similar how you move, let’s say, from the introduction of a paper through the thesis and the argument to the conclusion. It’s the same kind of process you’re going through. What I try to do is look at all of the different components of the paper (mechanics, structure, use of text for support, etc.) to get an objective sense of what the paper deserves. ”

Occasionally, students feel that they should have received a higher grade on a test, but this problem is somewhat amplified in English because there is no one response that will guarantee an ‘A’ or ‘B’.

To combat this, some teachers provide rubrics to specifically highlight the objectives of the writing assignment, but there is still room for interpretation within this.

Additionally, Morris believes that the rubrics help students learn what areas of writing they need to improve on for future assessments.

“I tend to give teachers the flexibility to use the approach that they think is most effective for their teaching,” Morris said. “My bottom line with them would be, do the students know the basis for their grades, and do they learn from them? Is there the opportunity to improve based upon the feedback given? I want to make sure that students are getting thorough feedback on their writing in such a way that as the months and years go by, they improve as writers.”

Morris believes that it is important for teachers to see the processes and techniques students are using to ‘solve the problem’ and then refine these processes for later, in a similar vein to objectives of the Math Department. And, while the seemingly subjectivity of English may bring trouble with grading, it is also one of Morris’ favorite parts of the subject. Students are able to argue a completely different yet valid point while using textual evidence that can still create a compelling argument.

By far the least understood component of an English grade is student participation. Every teacher values and

student reflects on his disappointing essay grade. In some classes, such as AP English Language and Literature, papers are graded according to a rubric.

grades it differently, yet it remains a constant part of every English class at the school. There is no officially set rubric

MY BOTTOM LINE WITH (TEACHERS) WOULD BE, DO THE STUDENTS KNOW THE BASIS FOR THEIR GRADES, AND DO THEY LEARN FROM THEM? IS THERE THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE BASED UPON THE FEEDBACK GIVEN? I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE GETTING THOROUGH FEEDBACK ON THEIR WRITING IN SUCH A WAY THAT AS THE MONTHS AND YEARS GO BY, THEY IMPROVE AS WRITERS.”

Michael Morris, English Department Chair

to earn a high level participation grade, but Morris believes that students with good participation grades often meet a few basic criteria.

Teachers often provide rubrics or tell students what they are looking for in essays or participation for that student to achieve the highest possible grade.

6

Number of new essays AP English students learn

10%

Average weight of final essay grade in English classes

“I think what teachers like, so to speak, is good, hard effort and preparation for class, nd a willingness to contribute in class. It’s about what our discipline values, not about liking a student. We care about all of our students.” Morris said.

Also, the English department has monthly meetings for teachers to discuss their grading strategies with each other and for Morris to get a sense of how the different levels of English are going.

Ultimately, for Morris, good grades are based on expectations and a student’s ability to meet or surpass expectations.

“If I’ve asked students to write a sentence that uses a new vocabulary word correctly, I might look for the correct spelling of the word, I might look for context clues that reveal an understanding of the meaning of the word, and. I might look for prepositions that reflect that the student knows how to use the word with a phrase,” Morris said. “I would have had to let students know in advance that those were the expectations, and then I would grade that sentence based on those different components.”

20%

Percent of final grade that participation makes up in English 10

6

Maximum score on AP English Prose Essay

Bonsu revamps Health and Wellness course to keep up with modern issues

BY NICHOLAS HUANG

Each student faces thousands of decisions in their Upper School career.

One missed step, and it all could come crashing down.

Health and Wellness Councilor Dr. Mary Bonsu’s goal is to guide students down the right path, and she has the monumental task of teaching every single sophomore and freshman the correct principles to live by.

She teaches students a variety of topics ranging from stress management and sleep to drugs and alcohol. But her curriculum is constantly evolving.

“Health and wellness first started out with a curriculum that was already somewhat formulated, you know, and it was around what we call social and emotional learning,” Bonsu said. “Now it’s evolved to really trying to coincide with the rhythms of what you’re experiencing in Upper School. So at the beginning of the year, we focus on

academics and academic skills.”

By going with the flow of Upper School, Bonsu tries to make her curriculum as applicable as possible. And she constantly tries to improve her curriculum by learning about new problems, new trends in the community. She learns about students’ sleeping habits, their study habits and all of these factors that play a role in the lives of students.

“I am always listening to either a podcast or getting some sort of professional development on what teens are experiencing and what’s the latest,” Bonsu said. “Like, oh, that could be a good topic for a class. So if it’s happening on Tiktok or Instagram or whatever, I’m hearing about it.”

She also learns all about what new trends are popular with peoples’ phones and with drugs.

“There are studies that come out that say, this is

what’s happening with teens, or, you know, this is what’s happening with them on their phones, or just the drugs that are being marketed to them or whatever,” Bonsu said. “I try to stay in the know, so that I continue to remain relevant to what you guys are seeing and experiencing.”

Another interesting aspect that Bonsu would like to add to her curriculum is looking from the perspective of students elsewhere. For example, at an all boys school, the perspective of women is not represented very often.

“I think it’s great that in an all boys school we can focus on how this applies to boys,” Bonsu said. “But then I think it’s also interesting to see, could there be a difference in the way these experiences occur among girls?”

Either way, Bonsu has so much material to cover, and a limited amount of time. After all, she has to teach students how to live their lives, how to navigate through every single decision they will make.

A

Photo by Dilan Koganti

Mary Bonsu Health and Wellness Counselor

Michael Morris English Department Chair

Seniors navigate college admissions

With October and November being the start of the submission of college applications, seniors and college counselors are busier than ever. For some students, uncertainty regarding their future can affect their approaches.

INTERVIEWS BY

KAYDEN ZHONG

Kayden Zhong: Do you know what you want to do in college?

Noah Roby: Nope. I’m completely unsure on everything.

Benjamin Chen: I know what I want to do, but I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. I want to work in electrical engineering—Double E—and it’s so broad that I know there’s going to be at least one thing I want to do.

KZ: What was the college application process like for both of you?

NR: It was complicated. You can figure out if certain colleges are good at certain things. So if I know that, for example, school X has a really good business school, but a poor English program, then I know that if I get into school X I’ll do business. Some colleges also have the option to double major or do a major and a minor, and scholarship money can be a big determiner on where I actually end up going.

BC: It’s been really busy, especially with the senior course load, and I’m surprised there are still so many confusing parts to learn. Personally I think the application should be pretty well developed and many parts should be more clear or better explained based on how many times I’ve seen other people search up my exact questions in the past.

KZ: Do you think there’s any sort of parental stress when it comes to the application process?

NR: My parents have been very supportive of me throughout the whole process. They trust me to do my own thing, so they don’t micromanage me, but I’ll update them about how I’m doing. I’ll show them my scholarship money, and I’ll tell them my plans. If I have any questions, I’ll talk to them. My parents are definitely some of my best friends, and they’ve taught me a lot.

BC: There’s always going to be parental pressure, it just depends on the culture and each parent on a case by case basis. I would say the vast majority of people want to try to get into a good college for not only themselves but for their parents, since they have done a lot for the kid.

KZ: Have your parents influenced your decision-making in any way?

NR: Definitely. I would say the most important thing is that they’ve encouraged me to pick a job that is most importantly going to help or impact people as well as something that I’m passionate about. When I talked to my dad, there were two things about his college experience that I especially took away. One is that college was when he really grew in his faith: he found a Christian community and started growing his relationship with God, and he said he wouldn’t trade that for anything. The second thing was that my dad sometimes wishes that he would have gotten a business degree, just because it’s so versatile, which has impacted some of my decision-making.

BC: Definitely, coming from the stereotypical Asian culture, there has been a sizable amount of pressure to do well academically, and while I wouldn’t say I have been completely

influenced and become a so-called “weird nerd,” I don’t think I would be the same without their influence, not necessarily in a good or bad way.

KZ: What advice would you give to younger students who are unsure of what they want to pursue?

DEADLINE DATES

OCTOBER 15

Preliminary round of Early Decision. Only a few schools like UT Austin and Georgia Tech are in October.

NOVEMBER 1-15

This is the Early Decision deadline for almost all schools. Give your senior friends some encouragement and support; this is a stressful time for them.

NR: For people who are uncertain, like me, the best advice I could give you is to do research on a bunch of different colleges. When you know what colleges you want to apply to, you should figure out what that college is good at. That way, for me, if I get accepted to some college that predetermines what I’m going to do. That kind of eliminates the stress of being uncertain. My other encouragement is that, in the end, it’ll all work out.

BC: You just have to explore on your own. For a lot of people, they don’t know what they want to do because they haven’t really experienced a lot, or they’ve only done a couple things outside of school. You have to look deeply into your future.

College counselors work through a full agenda

BY DOAN NGUYEN

Clock in. A student is already waiting by the door. It takes 15, maybe 30 minutes, to personally advise the senior, who might not realize that the advisor, Associate Director of College Counseling Josh Shandera, is just as stressed as he is.

After assisting with the format of his resume and narrowing the target colleges, Shandera shoots the kid a smile and watches as he exits the office.

One down, 101 more seniors to go.

From October to January, students go through the arguably most important semester of their high school career: college decisions. SAT practice problems and letters of recommendation occupy their heads day and night, inducing anxiety and distress. Students can spend dozens or even hundreds of hours over the course of four to six months just perfecting their applications.

But behind the scenes, the College Counseling faculty members are working overtime to make sure the Marksmens’ applications are as professional as possible. Their work doesn’t end until each and every student has concluded the application process. And a conference with a senior is just one of many academic burdens in the back of an advisor’s mind. Juniors just took the PSAT on Oct. 8th, and AP course registrations with CollegeBoard are due next month.

Every hour is packed with college visiting events, conversations with students and writing recommendations.

“Our students schedule meetings with us on Calendly, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, your calendar is all full,’” Shandera said. “It’s meetings. All day long. Everyone’s trying to do the exact same thing.”

The faculty members are busy enough when dealing with problems within our community. When others—

JANUARY 1-15

These two are the regular decision deadlines for the majority of schools. It feels pretty far out, but don’t procrastinate those applications.

LATE MARCH TO EARLY APRIL

Students applying under regular decision will receive their admittance results from the colleges around this time period. After this, the college process is finally over.

college and admissions representatives—visit campus, schedules get tighter and responsibilities grow.

“If students are signed up to meet with them, great,” Shandera said. “But if they’ve scheduled a meeting with us at St Mark’s, and we don’t have students sign up for them, we take ten to 15 minutes to chat with them as counselors just to get a little bit of update, put a little name to face all of that. So in addition, we are often squeezing in college representatives in between events as well.”

For students and faculty alike, this period is never easy to get through. Day in and day out, working individually yet with one another, is just another part of the high school experience.

“But it’s temporary,” Shandera said. “October: super busy. And then from there it evens out a little bit more. I know that once I make it through November, things will calm down a little. For now, it’s just meeting, meeting, meeting.”

Al G. Hill, Jr. ’63 Director of College Counseling Veronica Pulido helps a senior with a college essay.

Photo by Kayden Zhong

Benjamin Chen Senior

Noah Roby Senior

SECTION IN BRIEF

CHOIR EVENSONG The second Evensong of the school year took place on the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 13. A candlelit, contemplative chapel service held in the Chapel, this Evensong featured an organ recital from organist Malcolm Matthews, readings of multiple religious lessons and various different performances from the St. Mark’s choir. Sixteen fourth graders made their first appearance at Evensong, marking a special moment in their choir journeys. The next evensong will be held Sunday, Nov. 3 in the chapel and is open to the public.

HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS The Upper School Office has shared some guidelines for dressing on Halloween due to the presence of young Marksmen on campus: no scary costumes. Costumes may not include any kind of weapon, real or fake. Inappropriate or offensive language or visuals are unacceptable. Costume masks are permissible. Boys may not wear uniforms of another school. Costumes should have a definite theme – Halloween is not a free dress day. Costumes should not interfere with participation in any class.

HOMECOMING This year’s Homecoming promises some interesting new changes. For the first time St. Marks faces Kinkaid, the team with the best conference record in the SPC, on the eve of Homecoming night. This can be tied to a broader schedule change, as Homecoming has been moved up by two weeks. The date in years past was Oct. 21, but arrived this year on Oct. 5. Most things have stayed the same, however, such as the venue being South Side Music Hall at Gilley’s. The Homecoming king candidates include, Jacob Lobdell, Reagan Brower, Arjun Poi, Owen Park, and, the winner, Lawrence Gardner. “I

OVERHEARD

This month we listened to people around campus. Here is what they said:

KRAUS JUNIOR

“DO I REALLY NEED TO WEAR PANTS?”

“I JUST WANTED A WATER CUP!”

Device restrictions affect student life

Lion Tracks allows faculty and staff liberty when investigating potential device policy violations. Students know the rules, but they still make their choices for a reason.

BY JOSHUA GOFORTH, DIEGO ARMENDARIZ AND HOLDEN PURVIS

Midway through a game of Brawl Stars. Spike just supered on the hot zone.

The score was 94% to 96%.

Tick-Tick-Tick. It was now 97% to 96%.

Then he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

As the screen went black, he began to regret his decision.

As technology is increasingly integrated into almost every aspect of student’s lives, establishing clear acceptable use policies is essential. Lion Tracks is aimed at helping students navigate their responsibilities in an honorable manner. While the handbook covers a wide range of guidelines, the device policies have become more prevalent over recent years.

“What’s great about Lion Tracks is that it puts forth an institutional platform and set of guidelines and expectations for the day to day operation of school and the student experience as well, so that there are no surprises,” Associate Headmaster John Ashton said. “Boys should definitely be familiar with it, because that’s what we’re going to use to respond to or guide decisions around expectations for all of us.”

Ashton hopes to ensure that students are aware of the school’s guidelines. However, instilling this knowledge doesn’t just fall on the school; Attorney and St. Mark’s parent Celeste Bosco believes that parents also play a role in reinforcing the expectations of Lion Tracks.

Picking apples with Stephen Houpt

BY CHRISTIAN WARNER

Fresh out of college, Science Instructor Stephen Houpt traveled throughout the northwestern states. He was low on money and unsure of what he wanted to pursue, so he decided to travel the area, gaining lifelong memories and a little bit of money along the way. He first started by Mount Hood, Ore., an active stratovolcano in the Cascade range, located in the northwestern region of the state, picking strawberries.

But his tall stature limited his strawberry-picking talent.

So Houpt decided to, instead, pick apples. His job was to thin apples; apples sometimes grow in tight clusters of three, restricting their growth potential, so one or two had to be removed.

When he would climb up the trees, sometimes he would catch a glimpse of the massive yet majestic volcano peaking through the leaves and gaps of the trees.

Houpt later moved on from the orchard at Mount Hood and traveled to Yakima, Wash., but, along the way, he stopped at a local farm and picked Bartlett pears. When the group finished picking the orchard, the owner of the farm, an old lady, would bring out a freshly baked cake for the small community to enjoy. This thoughtful celebration has stuck with Houpt for decades.

Later that year, Houpt picked peaches in the Del Monte orchard in Yakima – a small city with vast gentle hills, sweeping fertile valleys and densely timbered terrain. These fruits were unlike any other he had previously harvested because of its ripeness depended on the color: when there’s no green left on the fruit, its shape has rounded out and, when squeezed, the flesh gives a little. But the farm he worked on didn’t provide Houpt with a place to sleep, so he camped out in the woods for a while. The cool mid 60 degree spring and dry weather didn’t bother him in his sleeping bag.

About 150 miles to the north, Houpt found a large private farm in Brewster, Wash. to work at, once again, picking apples. Here, he met Native Americans from Canada who were exceptionally talented apple-pickers. Being a private farm, there was no large corporation or agricultural entity to affect his payment, so Houpt was simply paid by the bin. One bin holds about 800 pounds of apples and each bin was worth $6-$7 (about $85 today). One day, Houpt managed to pick six bins of apples or 4,800 pounds of apples.

The process was simple but laborious. He would place his ladder, leaning on the tree. Houpt would then remove both hands from the ladder and pick the fruits off the tree and place them in the canvas bag which he wore around his neck. When either the bag was full or he could no longer reach fruit, he would dismount, empty his bag and move the ladder to a new point on the tree.

Houpt was given a place to stay, one of those log cabins with a burning stove where you can hear the coyotes howl at night, along the Columbia River, the largest river in the Pacific northwest region surrounded by tall cliffs and woods that seem to go on forever. Eventually, his time fruit picking slowed down, and he continued with his life eventually settling in Dallas where he used his degree in physics to become a teacher. But these now old memories remain in his mind –the aweing views, the green orchards and the countless nights and days spent out in nature.

ELIJAH

DUFF MCKAY JUNIOR

Stephen Houpt Science Instructor

Photo by Winston Lin

Students, from Middle School and Upper School, use the library to study, do homework and meet with tutors, using their computers as an important tool.

Device policy impacts student life

As technology is becoming more and more a staple of our everyday lives, a new emphasis is placed on the technology policies of the Lion Tracks, which many students are unfamiliar with.

continued from page 13

“I think it’s the parent’s job to raise the boys to know that there’s a handbook,” Bosco said. “You’re supposed to read it. You’re supposed to know what the policies are, and don’t be surprised if you’re expected to abide by them.”

Upper School administrators understand the importance of holding students to the highest standards, which means enforcing the acceptable use policies rules stated in Lion Tracks.

“We always ask you guys to do the little things that matter,” Ashton said. “Whether it’s faculty, administrators or adults on this campus, it’s our responsibility then to intervene when a boy makes a decision that is out of bounds with Lion Tracks or the expectation.”

While Ashton recognizes the importance of proper regulations, he hopes that students can build responsible technological habits on their own without relying on restrictive policies.

“Our position has always been about responsible use versus prohibitive use, which is more important,” Ashton said.

Ashton recognizes that a student’s maturity level affects their responsibilities. He believes Upper Schoolers have larger workloads and tend to use their devices more responsibly, therefore gaining increased device privileges across campus.

“Devices give us access to lots of information and uses,” Ashton said. “But, responsible use definitely depends on age. As boys get older, they have to be more responsible for managing responsible use, but with younger boys it’s just more difficult.”

In situations where a teacher or administrator believes that a student has broken the expectations or acceptable use policies, they are permitted to search through a student’s device.

“We want to try and build better habits and tell the truth in all situations, as our honor code says,” Assistant Head of Upper School Jason Leneau said. “Telling the truth in all situations is not hard, but many people might not want to tell the entire truth. And that’s a habit that’s formed. I would continue to encourage people to try and do the right things all the time.”

Leneau believes cultivating honesty is essential to uphold the school’s core values, raising the question of why students feel the need to lie about their device usage in the first place.

“Why jump to the fabrication of something when you could just own the fact that you were playing Brawl Stars or flipping through social media or playing some other type of game?” Leneau said. “We know that’s not the right response.”

However, some students and parents believe that searching through one’s phone crosses a boundary between monitoring proper behaviors and infringing on one’s privacy and personal life.

“Frankly, on a personal basis, I actually don’t think that’s reasonable,” Bosco said. “I don’t know why they would need to. If they are reading (my son’s) phone, they’re reading my communications with him. And that’s my business…If there’s a basis for it, if there’s an accusation that (my son) is doing something inappropriate, then by all means, but they should contact me first.”

Issues can also arise if administrators enforce

the rule on a subjective basis which can lead to uneven treatment of some students.

“Like a lot of times, not St Mark’s in particular, but a lot of times there are policies specifically in employment situations that don’t get enforced,” Bosco said. “But it’s there, but so that the employer can use it if they want to, as a basis. If they’re enforcing it in a biased way, that’s not okay.”

Bosco understands that while handbooks outline the official rules, they aren’t always the absolute authority. The interpretation of rules can differ, and sometimes in ways that students may not necessarily agree with.

“The handbook has terms in it,” Bosco said. “They were appropriate when I read it, and I had no issues with it. Then if they changed the terms and put in things that may or may not be appropriate, then an issue comes up. Just because it’s in the Lion Tracks, doesn’t mean that they have every right to do it. What if they put a term in there that’s obviously completely inappropriate?”

Beyond device policies, Leneau hopes students can make the most of their time at school, emphasizing the importance of in-person-communication and warning that excessive use of technology can hamper meaningful experiences with others.

“I look at school for students, that’s their job,” Leneau said. “Their job is to show up, participate in class, have fun, engage, but not to be on your device. Because that’s time lost to interact with someone, learn something new, either about someone or something that you may uncover as a passion or an opportunity to really dive into and throw your whole whole self into.”

Noah Cathey ‘24 receives full ride scholarship to Morehouse College

BY NICHOLAS HUANG

One in 60.

Noah Cathey ‘24, a current freshman at Morehouse College, was one of the 60 nationwide applicants to the Morgan Stanley HBCU Scholarship that received the full ride four-year scholarship.

Morgan Stanley splits these scholarships among the three different HBCUs. All in all, Cathey was one of the 19 students of Morehouse College to receive the reward, and one out of five students in his year.

“In 2021, Morgan Stanley, the financial investment company, began this partnership with three HBCUs: Morehouse College, Howard University, and Spelman College,” Cathey said. “They pledged to fully fund the education of some students at each school in the next four years. So in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. I’m in the last class.”

The scholarship aims to provide more than just a monetary benefit, but also improve the scholars’ futures. The students have the chance to visit the global headquarters of Morgan Stanley and talk to officials from the company, allowing them to make connections and judge the quality of the company.

“When Morgan Stanley pays for my education at Morehouse for the next four years, it’s not only the funding, but also an experience,” Cathey said. “Students are engaged in their HBCU Scholars Program, which gives opportunities to network with Morgan Stanley employees.”

When reviewing the application pool, Morehouse evaluates a person’s entire profile, including their test scores, GPA and essays. Importantly, Morehouse also looks at an applicant’s extracurricular activities, allowing them to match students with the proper scholarships.

“It’s a holistic review,” Cathey said. “So they look at everything I’ve done up to that point. I mean, there are a lot of scholarships at Morehouse, and they assign them based on student need and the programs will fit. So again, the program that I’m in through Morgan Stanley is a very robust program that involves not only money, but involves a lot of other activities.”

And Cathey actually received the scholarship while he was at St. Mark’s, a week after he had been admitted to Morehouse.

“I got an email saying that I had gotten a scholarship; a full ride for four years,” Cathey said. “The amount was like $51,000 a year, and I remember being in the car, and laughing out loud, like, there’s no way, kind of thing. And I called my parents, and my mom and dad were both crying in the car.”

Junior Kazim Hussain uses his phone in a designated no-phone zone.

Photo by Winston Lin

5 YEARS LATER

School community reflects on resilience and recovery

Five years after a devastating tornado ripped through the north side of campus and surrounding neighborhoods, the school built back stronger than ever.

BY LAWRENCE GARDNER AND AKASH MANICKAM

It started like any other Sunday.

Students, faculty, parents and staff enjoyed their weekend, prepared for Monday, and watched the Sunday night Cowboys game.

In less than half an hour, North Dallas changed forever. On Oct. 20, 2019, an EF3 tornado ripped through the city, tearing down businesses and homes.

“I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing,” President of the Board of Trustees Fraser Marcus said. “There was devastation everywhere. Homes were almost demolished. Families were walking around in disbelief. The smell of natural gas stained the air.”

It was like nothing Preston Hollow had ever experienced, almost like a scene out of a disaster movie.

“I thought it was a prank,” basketball coach Greg Guiler said. “The whole thing felt like somebody photoshopped some things together or was just messing around.”

Cornerstones of the community were erased in the blink of an eye.

“I remember going by the fire station and thinking, ‘Oh, my God, that fire station’s been there since I was a 5-year-old,” Marcus said. “I remember going to the dedication of the fire station when I was a child and just like that it was gone.”

Amidst the wave of destruction, the campus had been hit hard. Buildings were left overturned and familiar landmarks unrecognizable. Hicks Gym was destroyed, Decherd had no roof, and pieces of the chapel were lying in the middle of the quad.

“It was like a war zone,” Chief Financial Officer Suzanne Townsend said. “By the time we made it to campus, we had tears in our eyes because we care so much and our campus is so beautiful. It just felt like what do we do? Where do we begin?”

This uncertainty, though heavy, didn’t linger for long. With unwavering determination, Townsend quickly stepped in, pouring heart and effort into addressing the damages.

“I immediately started calling people,” Townsend

said. “By Monday there were over 100 workers here to begin the repairs. We had workers from every trade and it was amazing to see how quickly they came together to help given how widespread the damage was.”

This wouldn’t be the last time Townsend witnessed such resilience. Coming together quickly became the defining theme in the aftermath of the tornado. With the campus in no shape to host a football game and the homecoming match just a week away, the challenges ahead seemed daunting and would require the community coming together.

“Greenhill reached out to us and said, “Hey, we’ll host homecoming for you guys,” Athletic Director Sean Lissemore said. “I remember talking to their athletic director, Jared Shine. He was coordinating with myself, and Josh Freisen and they said we’ll host it for you guys. They went above and beyond, and they actually lined the field with our colors, they allowed us to bring our goalpost pads and put them on their goalposts. It really speaks volumes about the relationship between SPC schools.”

As the issues on the football field were being handled, basketball season was quickly approaching. The team, ranked No. 14 in the state and featuring two four-star recruits, a three-star, and a five-star, faced a major challenge—no gym to practice in.

“We had to pivot,” Lissemore said. “We actually reconfigured Spencer gym and put down a new hardwood floor, moved the stands, repainted everything and turned that into our primary home court gym. It really is a testament to the community. The way that we pivoted and the way that we made this happen in under a month, coming back in time for the start of counter season for basketball.”

The destruction of the gym may have taken a toll on the season itself, but the team refused to let it hold them back. Instead, it brought them closer together.

“The whole basketball team showed up and worked at somebody’s house,” Guiler said. They were getting all this debris cleared, helping all these people. The guys were just so mindful of others.”

see PROGRAMS on page 19

COMMENTARY

HILTON SAMPSON Editor-in-Chief

Through the storm: stronger together

An eerie silence hung over the neighborhood. Just moments ago the tornado sirens were blaring, the wind howling, the storm approaching. Like others the neighborhood, my parents and I gathered with our dog in the innermost closet of the house.

Minutes later, we were outside, on our powerless street, talking to our neighbors about how such a storm could have possibly left our houses unscathed. The next morning, my dad walked around the neighborhood and came home to tell us there was serious destruction just a few streets north of us. I started reaching out to classmates in the area to check in on their safety and homes, while also receiving notes from friends and family who wanted to make sure we were OK.

In the next few days, my grandparents came to stay with us, and I distinctly remember walking around the neighborhood with my grandmother, seeing the full extent of the damage for the first time. Walking further north, the lush, beautiful trees that had once stood in people’s yards had been reduced to mangled heaps of limbs. Looking to my left and right, it was as if the sky had grown in size, or at least that’s what it felt like with no towering canopy of trees over the street. Many houses were compromised beyond repair. Debris filled the street. I could even see large, disfigured sheets of copper, which I had a bad feeling originated from the school campus—we were over a mile away at the time. Power lines had been thrown about, sprawling across the ground. We made our way to Royal Lane and walked up toward Preston Road. Without a car in sight, the intersection looked like a scene out of a war zone. The tornado directly hit the southwest corner of the shopping center. Everything was in disarray. We took a left on Preston and then headed straight for the school. I immediately knew something was awry when I could see Nearburg from the northwest corner of campus. The dozens of trees that would normally obstruct my view were no longer standing.

Making our way eastbound down Orchid Lane, my grandmother and I ran into familiar faces sharing the same bewilderment that consumed the two of us. Tears were shed.

It was then that I realized what the tornado had truly done to the local community. Walking back to our house through the same tornado-stricken streets, I started to see through the destruction. I saw homeowners outside cleaning up debris. I saw high school students going from door to door offering to help in any way they could. I saw neighbors helping neighbors. I saw people coming together.

As a seventh grader, I don’t think I realized the impact the tornado would have on my St. Mark’s experience. From navigating changes on campus to athletics, parking and beyond, we are constantly reminded of the storm that tore through our community. Yet the tornado brought us closer together than ever before. The resilience and camaraderie over the last five years is a testament to the strength of our community.

New homes have been built. The Zierk Athletic Complex will open its doors in a few short months. New trees have been planted, growing taller by the day. While the tornado left its scars, we continue to move forward. Together.

Debris scattered across the tennis courts, with Hicks Gymnasium’s frame barely standing (Top). A mangled school bus lies among shattered trees (Bottom Right). Construction workers reparing the roof of the choir loft (Bottom Left).

Photos Courtesy Development Office

Reliving a night they’ll never forget

As the tornado tore through the northern half of Dallas, students, parents and faculty members sheltered from the storm as their homes, school and city suffered destruction. Yet in the aftermath, the community rallied together, demonstrating unwavering support and resilience in the face of tragedy.

The evening of Oct. 20, 2019 was shaping up to be a normal Sunday night. By 5 p.m., there was not a cloud in sight, with many people enjoying the beautiful weather before turning on the Cowboys vs. Eagles Sunday Night Football game. Everything was quiet on campus, with the night shift guard clocking in at 9 p.m. Even as the wind was picking up and clouds were gathering, most Dallasites were at ease, enjoying the peaceful last night of their weekend. No one could’ve predicted the mayhem that followed.

JAMIE ROGERS ‘85, ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

PRESIDENT AND PARENT: It was a beautiful fall day, sunny, cool temperatures, great outdoor weather. That night, I had even grilled out and I wasn’t worried about the weather at all. I was watching the game in our bedroom and my younger son came and alerted me to a tornado warning. At first, I tried to shoo him away and say, ‘Thanks, but it’s probably nothing,’ but he convinced me that it was potentially serious.

JENNIFER GORDY, LOWER SCHOOL INSTRUCTOR AND PARENT: We actually got the warning from the TV. At that point, we just grabbed

the dog and had everybody go downstairs, into the closet, and then within minutes, the neighborhood sirens were going off. It was just scary.

RISHAB SIDDAMSHETTY, ‘23: Me, my brother and my family, we were all just sitting at the dinner table. I was talking to them about some new Boy Scout stuff. Then the lights started flickering, and my ears popped like we were in an airplane. My dad just said, ‘Run.’ He took us, he dragged our hands into the bathroom. The wind was howling, and we could barely hear anything.

FRASER MARCUS, ‘72, BOARD PRESIDENT AND PARENT: My son and I were camped in the living room watching the game, and our daughter came in towards the end of the first half to say that she had been on the phone with a friend of hers who lived a little bit further to the north of us who had heard tornado sirens and suggested that we might want to consider sheltering somewhere. And I said to her, ‘Well, you know, not really. Tornadoes never really come to the more populated parts of town. We’re probably in good shape.’ And then within about a minute or so, I

looked out the window of our living room and saw that the sky was a very unusual color. So I calmly suggested that she find her mom and our dog and that we would all gather in the kitchen. The sky was a completely different color, and I could see a lot of stuff moving around. I screamed, ‘Get into the pantry!’ We all did. As I closed the door to the pantry, I could feel the change in pressure, and then I heard exploding glass all through the house.

CHARLIE GORDY ‘25: I was in my room studying and all of a sudden my mom burst in screaming, so I picked up my dog, we got my brother, and we hid in the closet. Then my dad — he was trying to save the house from falling apart. He went up to the door and tried to hold it shut. Then a tree flew through it and demolished the door. It was really quick, which is the weird part. We were in there, like five minutes, and we stepped out and there was just rubble everywhere. My dad had a big shard of glass in his forehead. It was terrifying.

ROGERS: In the immediate aftermath, not knowing what the damage was, we opened the pantry door, and there was water rushing in from the ceiling into the kitchen and glass all over the place. Of course, the power’s off. So we’ve got our phones acting like flashlights. Sort of in shock, and went back to the bedroom where I had just been a few minutes before, there was a big gaping hole in the ceiling and debris and stuff all over the bed, including bricks, because the chimney had fallen through the roof, through the ceiling onto the bed where I was, crushing the bed. If it weren’t for my son, this interview might not be happening.

NOLAN MARCUS ‘24: I went into my room, and there were leaves and branches. Wood from a window pane was scattered around the house. It was insane. All the

windows were broken. You could feel the breeze shoot in throughout the house.

Once Associate Headmaster John Ashton was certain his family was safe and their home was unharmed, he headed to campus within half an hour of the storm passing through.

The night of the tornado, Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini and Director of Experiential Education Mark Sullivan were in New Orleans on an accreditation trip at the Isidore Newman School. Texting with Ashton, Dini received word that the tornado had hit campus.

ASHTON: My headlights hit what was the gym and illuminated the fact that there were no walls on the east and west side. It was so vivid and visceral, where I knew we had a significant issue. That was the first moment of real understanding of what the impact was.

DINI: I saw the first picture of the gym. Then I knew it was really, really bad. I immediately rang up Mr. Sullivan. I had already gotten on my Southwest app and saw that there was a 6 a.m. flight back to Dallas. I called him and said, ‘change your return ticket to the flight tomorrow. Let’s meet in the lobby at 4 a.m.’

ASHTON: I put the car in park, and I called my wife, and I said, ‘I’m okay. I made it to school, but I’m going to be here a while. There are some things I want to check on.’ I wanted to find Daniel Mauch, our (night shift) security guard.

MAUCH: When the tornado hit the gym, I was in the security office (located on the north side of Hicks Gym), and I heard a jumbo-jet engine going through the building. A few minutes later, I took out a flashlight, went outside, and looked around. All the lights were out on the property.

Ashton found Mauch soon after reaching the property. The two men, along with others who made their way to campus, stayed through the night to examine the damage. Yet it wasn’t until the light of day that the full extent of the destruction was revealed.

ASHTON: We just started walking around campus, trying to inventory where the impact has been. We went into every building, found what was leaking, what was penetrated, where the roofs were gone, where the bricks had fallen off.

MAUCH: I walked out and saw all the buses stacked up on top of each other and looking at my poor little vehicle, a couple tennis courts over, flattened. I thought to

The sign of Hicks Gym lies among the ruins of the building (Top). Path to Manhood statue looking at the chapel, battered but standing (Left). The school’s sign near the front gate surrounded by torn trees and debris. (Top Right). Heavy machinery reparing the choir loft (Bottom Middle). Workers repair the roof of the chapel (Bottom Right).

Development Office

myself, ‘How do I get home now?’

ASHTON: Mark Webb, our director of the maintenance facilities, had already put a call to a company that does water remediation. They actually sent team members out that night, around midnight, and, by sunrise, we had a whole army coming to get started right away with cleanup. We were fortunate that we had Beck construction here, and they had just finished the Winn Science Center. They were still here with us, working through a punch list of items, finalizing things. They moved from a construction position to a cleanup and repair position.

DINI: We got in a car early that morning, got to the airport and took off, landed at Love Field about 7 a.m. Mrs. Sullivan picked us up, and at that point you could still get into the neighborhood early that Monday morning. There were some trees down in the backyard and, of course, no power. We came onto campus through the back. We could immediately see how bad it was. There were limbs, debris everywhere through the quad. Pretty much all the trees at the other end of the quad were gone or just mangled. All the brick from the bell tower had come down. The roofs were all torn back.

SEAN LISSEMORE, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: I parked a couple blocks away, so I walked towards campus and I saw Hicks Gym, and I saw our transportation fleet on its side all over campus. I saw the damage, and it took a while for it to sink in. It was unbelievable for a guy that grew up in New Jersey because I wasn’t exposed to tornadoes like this. It really was a concerning time, and my concern was for everyone around us in this community to make sure that they were OK.

DINI: What immediately was going through my mind was, ‘It’s going to take a long time to get back on campus.’ And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Where do we even begin?’

DAVE CARDEN, CREATIVE DIRECTOR: The first part was just straight-up communications. School is not going to happen, so we had to figure out, what we would tell people. How do we tell them? What’s the message? And then all kinds of ancillary events are affected by a school closure.

DINI: Our fire safety systems, our central fire alarm system, were all based in Hicks, so that was actually one of the final things that was going to hold us up from reopening, because you can’t open a campus if you don’t have fire safety systems. They had to cut out concrete. We were somewhat contingent upon outside vendors to come help us do some

of these things.

For the next nine days, clean up was in full swing. School staff, faculty, students, alumni, parents and other community members came together with the same goal: Reopening St. Mark’s.

MAUCH: The school was definitely in shock for a day or two, but then it came together. Things were taken care of and everything was planned out.

PAUL GENENDER ‘87, TRUSTEE AND PARENT: There were some St. Mark’s seniors, who were going around the neighborhood and passing out water to everyone, which was nice. One of George’s (‘23) classmates, Sal Hussein (‘23), was going around with his drone to check to see if people had real damage to their roofs.

NOLAN MARCUS ‘24: My friends all came over to my house to help clear up trash and clear out our fridge because it wasn’t working. There were eight or nine families at my house helping us do stuff throughout the week. I think I stayed at four or five different houses in seven days. Everywhere you looked, whether it was helping strangers, helping us, helping other families in the St. Mark’s community that were impacted, you really saw relief efforts everywhere from people of all grades.

ROGERS: This wasn’t a school-sanctioned activity, it was just a couple of St Mark’s seniors who wanted to help their neighbors, and they were going door to door, offering help, which was fantastic. It was heartwarming. All the neighbors came together, including St Mark’s, a neighbor of ours, and community members of St. Mark’s.

NOLAN MARCUS : That senior class in 2020 was an awesome class. I think it was the day after (the tornado), that Monday, they started some relief efforts for people who were impacted around the community. They were getting food and clothes out to families.

SIDDAMSHETTY: There’d be so many St. Mark’s students that I’d only met once or who had never even met, who came and started helping us out. And people from the school like Mr. Dini would come to us and tell us personally, ‘If you need anything, please let us know. We’re happy to help.’

St. Mark’s was scheduled to have its Homecoming game against Greenhill Friday, Oct. 25, but the school couldn’t host it due to the debris on the fields.

LISSEMORE: Greenhill reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, we’ll host homecoming for you guys.’ They went above and beyond,

and they actually lined the field with our colors, they allowed us to bring our goal post pads and put them on their goal posts. We can’t thank them enough.

On Oct. 30, 2019, just 10 days after the tornado hit campus, students returned to school. An all-school assembly was held in Spencer Gym. After Reverend Arbogast prayed, Dini and then-student body president Taylor Hopkin ‘20 spoke.

HOPKIN: I think the coolest part about my role during that whole thing was a lot of the stories were funneled to me for whatever reason. There were some awesome stories of people going above and beyond, helping other people out, staying up late, helping people that they’ve never met clean up their yards for hours, or driving around looking for different food items or different construction tools to help them get their stuff done. Hearing those stories for the week that we were off was one of cooler experiences in my life. It was a moment where you’re like, ‘Man, I’m happy I’m at St Mark’s.’

Eventually the chapel bricks were replaced, the Lower School roof was replaced, Spencer Gym was renovated and the landscaping took shape, filling the void of the trees lost to the storm. The school was different—it looked different and felt different. Those 10 days and the weeks that would follow made the community stronger than it had ever been.

CARDEN: The tornado was in a lot of ways preparing us for an even bigger challenge, which was Covid. In a way, we were able to kind of say, ‘Okay, we’ve done this before. Let’s go back to that same playbook,’ and it helped prepare us.

ASHTON: I look at those photos sometimes, and there’s still this sort of emotional response, a lump in my throat. But it’s not because it was a sad time. It actually, for me, is because it’s just so powerful. The sense of community that responded to it. All those photos are of people and what they did together. To be a part of a place where that’s what we do, and that’s the people around you, it fills you with intense gratitude and appreciation.

LISSEMORE: I learned that our community is resilient, that we’re tough and that we can overcome anything. And we did. I know as faculty members, administrators, coaches, we were concerned about what we needed to do to ensure that we were delivering from a program standpoint. But, I remember looking at the boys and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’ll get through, we’ll figure it out.’ That’s just a testament to the culture here.

by Hilton

RECOUNTS

Community members remember the events that transpired on Oct.20,

Interviews

Sampson, Matthew Hofmann, Will Clifford, Akash Manikam, Neil Yepuri and Kevin Ho

Daniel Mauch Security Guard

Charlie Gordy Senior

Nolan Marcus Class of 2024

Rishab Siddemshetty Class of 2023

Jamie Rogers Class of 1985

Paul Genender Class of 1987

Jennifer Gordy Lower School instructor

Fraser Marcus Class of 1972

Sean Lissemore Athletic Director

Taylor Hopkin Class of 2020

Dave Carden Creative Director

John Ashton Associate Headmaster

David Dini Headmaster

2019.

At the end of a beautiful day in North Texas on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, a storm began to form. Developing into an EF3 tornado, the storm ripped through neighborhoods west of the Dallas North Tollway just after 8:50 p.m.

After 9 p.m., the tornado reached Preston Rd. and the school campus, tearing through the north side of the school. The tornado devastatingly impacted the surrounding area, leaving a wake of destruction across the local community.

Illustration Joshua Goforth

Students support community following tornado

The tornado’s devastation wasn’t restricted to St. Mark’s campus. In fact, it tore through significant parts of the Preston-Royal shopping center, damaging stores like the familiar Central Market.

BY NEIL YEPURI

The Central Market at Preston and Royal is a Preston Hollow icon. Since 2012, it’s been serving the community as a grocery store and servery, with fresh food prepared each day.

Employees there feel a very close connection to the area - and their regular customers.

“The team that works there say that the people that shop there are really family members to them,” HEB Managing Director of Public Affairs Mabrie Jackson said. “They have deep relationships that go back many, many years with the neighbors.”

So, when the October 2019 tornado hit, Jackson and other Central Market team members sprang into action. The store was near closing time at that point, but still had some customers in the store on that fateful Sunday night.

“When it hit, I was watching TV, and I grabbed my husband and I said ‘I’m driving’,” Jackson said. “I didn’t know how we’re going to get in there, because I knew there was a ton of devastation.”

For Jackson, getting to the store and making sure people were safe were her only priorities.

“I was actually driving through people’s front yards in my car to get as close to St Mark’s as I could, because there were trees on the roads and you couldn’t get through,” Jackson said. “And so I got to St Mark’s, got out of the car and I told my husband, ‘Just go drive and somehow get to the store. I don’t care how long it takes you’.”

Despite a treacherous scene of debris, fallen power lines and police sectioning off the store, Jackson was detemined. When she arrived at the store, she saw a mess — the roof had been partially torn off of the store, there was broken glass everywhere from fallen items and the whole store was in a watery disarray.

But, in the days and weeks that followed, the Central Market and HEB team’s focus shifted. Instead of worrying only about their own store’s damage and rebuilding efforts, they decided to open the Central Market kitchen, serving first responders and neighbors in the local community who were also reeling from the disaster.

“When the neighbors were hurting, we were hurting, and it just felt like a real bonding experience for a lot of people,” Jackson said.

Central Market mobilized quickly. The HEB mobile kitchen was open on the morning of Tuesday Oct. 22, just over 24 hours after the initial hit on Sunday night.

“They were able to start breakfast, lunch and dinner for the neighborhood, all the workers and police officers and anybody who was around there that needed to eat,” Jackson said. “We had food for everybody, and we were able to load up a bunch of pickup trucks and stuff with bags of cleaning supplies and some food to take to all of the neighbors nearby.”

However, the effort to distribute both food and supplies couldn’t have been accomplished alone.

The owner of Central Market, Stephen Butt, actually reached out to the St. Mark’s Community Service department to ask for help.

Marksmen were there, ready and able to answer that call.

“(Stephen Butt) asked me if we could put together a team of students to help pass food around here,” Director of Community Service and Spanish instructor Jorge Correa said. “They had set up an emergency truck, with a whole full kitchen with stuff in it to cook.”

The HEB workers needed hands and transportation to deliver this food to the community in the surrounding area. So, Correa sent an email.

“I emailed our Community Service Board and faculty,” Correa said. “I copied faculty because I thought that we would need more adults. We were looking for anybody who could help.”

If people were going to organize and help out, it wouldn’t be on campus, meaning that Correa and the board had to improvise.

“We were not allowed to come back on campus because of the damages in the area,” Correa said. “We had to walk all the way over to that corner where we

do McDonald’s week (near Central Market). Then, we got instructions and food, and then we started start driving around and helping out.”

Many of the people who were delivered food either couldn’t access their kitchen or couldn’t make their own food, which made the work that the Community Service Board did that week all the more necessary.

“I remember walking to the apartments over there (on Royal) near where the fire station is,” Correa said. “Most of them were elderly. Those people ended up with nothing to cook and no place to find food.”

The selflessness of those involved helped ease the burden on the families and individuals whose homes were damaged in the storm. Students were at the center of that effort.

“We call St. Mark’s for assistance often, and they’ve always been so helpful,” Jackson said. “You’ve just got a great student body who understands that helping others is a cornerstone of growth as you mature. It’s really nice to see a group of students that understand the importance of coming to support the community in terms of need.”

Organ returns to full use after extensive repairs

BY NEIL YEPURI

When Glenn Stroh saw the pictures, he knew something was amiss.

Shortly after the Oct. 20 tornado hit on that Sunday night, pictures of the damaged campus started flooding in. Hicks Gym and the Chapel were hit

the hardest. The torrential rain and wind had brought in water, soaking chairs, books and the organ.

An organ requires very specific and highly-regulated temperatures to function properly. And, the instrument must stay dry, in order to keep its wood and leather pieces in the highest order.

For Stroh, the choirmaster and organist for the school, this organ was special. He’d played it since its introduction to campus in 2014, and was instrumental in its installation. According to him, the instrument could’ve lasted much longer without many changes made.

“It was, by all standards, a new instrument when the tornado hit,” Stroh said. “You typically expect an instrument like that to last 100 years.”

But then, just five years after its addition to the community in the chapel, it needed major repairs. Stroh, though grateful no one was hurt during the storm, knew the instrument had a long road ahead before it was useable again.

“We couldn’t do anything immediately, because we couldn’t get back on campus,” Stroh said. “But, when we started seeing pictures, it was just gut-wrenching.”

Once it was safe to enter campus again, efforts to rebuild the organ began. It was taken apart and shipped away, requiring a complex remodeling by its original builder, LeTourneau Organs.

But, at school, the show had to go on. One of the organ’s primary duties was to support the choir, and that presence was gone. An evensong was scheduled for just two weeks after the tornado

hit. The decision was made to hold an evensong at the chapel, even with all the logistical challenges, so the community rallied to help make it happen.

“Obviously, we didn’t have an instrument, so we arranged to have a piano there, and we had a wonderful pianist and former organist at St. Mark’s named Daniel Stipe there as well — he played the evensong,” Stroh said. “Churches in the area… opened their doors to us to rehearse because we couldn’t get students back on campus in our rehearsal spaces.”

Eventually, the chapel implemented an electronic instrument in place of the organ, but Stroh knew the organ’s absence left a significant hole in the community — one that largely wasn’t filled until its reinstallation in September 2022, nearly three years after the storm.

“In a sense, we felt that return to normal,” Stroh said. “But of course, the whole time (without the organ) before that was compounded by the pandemic, and so it was a double punch for us, especially in the choral department. That made it all the more gratifying when we had that return together. So, I think of it more like an evolution — it’s just like, ‘Oh, here’s the next chapter.’”

St. Mark’s students (mostly seniors and juniors) work to help move supplies and food in the Preston Royal shopping center for the HEB mobile kitchen.

Photo Courtesy John Ashton

The Roosevelt Family Organ’s plaque, 5 years apart. The organ was replaced, but the plaque remained.

Photo Courtesy Development Office (Left), Photo by Winston Lin (Right)

Meteorologists recount erratic EF3 tornado

Meteorologists anticipated severe storms. But when the storm suddenly formed a tornado, meteorologists Rick Mitchell and Kyle Roberts rushed to alert the public.

BY LINYANG LEE

The tornado wasn’t something they could see ahead of time.

Sure, NBC5 Chief Meteorologist Rick Mitchell remembers that he’d forecasted thunderstorms developing west of Tarrant County. But that was a Level 2 risk for severe weather. Just north of Dallas County, extending from Denton and farther north into Oklahoma and Arkansas was a level three—enhanced risk—and was where he thought the brunt of the really bad storms would be. Dallas County was just on the edge of that storm.

No sign of a tornado.

And when those storms started developing that afternoon and started becoming severe—with the potential to

But as soon as those storms crossed US75, he jumped in his car and raced down to the station.

He knew it was a pretty significant tornado—he could see that on the radar. He could see the damage occurring as it moved through North Dallas. But driving down the highway, he didn’t know what he was going to run into.

Just south of 635, crossing Royal, the highway—usually so well-lit by those high-mast lights—was pitch-black. The Home Depot storefront—obliterated. He had to slow down a bit to maneuver across the all the debris everywhere on the highway—the insulation, metal, tree branches.

But he saw no one stuck on the road or anyone hurt. So he kept driving downtown.

At the station, they began wall-to-wall coverage. No breaks. No planned programming. Just straight, non-stop

Programs find hope through solidarity

continued from page 15

In a time of despair, the community rallied to keep school athletics alive. However, another vital program at the school was also facing significant setbacks.

“There were three inches of water in the Black Box,” Head of Lower School Marion Glorioso said. At the time, Glorioso taught drama and directed student performances. “When I stepped in, everything that was on our set - all of the risers, all of the chairs, our electronic keyboard - was ruined. There was still a set on stage that was in good enough shape that, if we went ahead and got it out of there, I could salvage it, and we could move our play somewhere else.”

Glorioso would have to rely on the community to keep the play alive. Tinsley Silcox, Upper School Choir Director, stepped up in a huge way for the drama program.

“Silcox is the music director at the North Park Presbyterian Church,” Glorioso said. “That church and Mr. Silcox moved mountains and supported us in a time of need. By Thursday of that week, we assembled the entire cast and crew over at North Park Presbyterian and started rehearsing again.”

Rather than letting their circumstances undo their hard work, the drama program leaned on each other. Amid the chaos and distress, they came together as one.

“That cast of 1776 is forever bonded,” Glorioso said. “The boys and girls in that show lived together for two weeks. School was canceled, assignments were on hold, and we could

Meterologist Kyle Roberts covers a tornado warning on live television. Having covered so much severe weather, going wall to wall is a well-oiled machine for him.

Photo Courtesy Kyle Roberts, Illustration by Kiran Parikh

FROM MOMENT TO MOVEMENT

MOVEMENT

Senior Wyatt Loehr lost his mother to breast cancer when he was three. Now, he shares his experience with the student body as a part of the community’s participation in breast cancer awareness.

BY MATTHEW HOFMANN, CHRISTIAN WARNER AND SHIV BHANDARI

There’s a time in most people’s lives when a single moment — one catalytic event — permanently alters their persona. A rapid change of emotions. A monumental shift in mindset. A new appreciation for the past.

For senior Wyatt Loehr, he was only 3 years old when his moment happened.

He was in that cold, sterile, almost lifeless hospital, visiting his mother. She was infirm at that time and couldn’t even communicate with her young boy. Just a few days later, like 40,000 other women each year, his mother passed away from breast cancer.

In that moment, he lost out on support that would last a lifetime. He never had those cherished, yet often unappreciated, memories other kids have: having her console him as he wept; enjoying the car ride home from school as she constantly probed at every detail of the day; her calming presence when the family dog died; or simply her putting on a band-aid for him with the soft and unmistakable touch of a mother’s love.

Instead, Loehr had to struggle by himself, spending an hour crying in the bathroom, trying to figure out how to put on a band-aid after he ran over his finger while picking up an acorn from his scooter.

Instead, he didn’t have his mother to help his family deal with the loss. Rather, he took responsibility. He would take his little brother Oliver and older sister Teagan into the master bedroom, putting something on the TV to ignore the severity of their grief.

Moments like this defined his childhood, one far more independent than others’, and marked a turning point in his life. But the way Wyatt responded, channeling his pain into a lifetime of inspiring movement forward in his communities, exhibits a dedication to fulfilling his mother’s hopes for him.

Fast forward to 2022, his sophomore year. In his pocket, he felt the familiar buzz of a text message. The message was from a close classmate who had just lost his father.

It read: Does it ever stop hurting?

EVERY ASPECT OF ST. MARK’S IS CATERED TO CREATING A STRONG COMMUNITY....THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS SO STRONG. IT’S A WAVE THAT KEEPS RIPPLING THROUGH EVERY CLASS THAT COMES IN AND KEEPS GETTING SPREAD.”

Wyatt Loehr, Senior

“It doesn’t really stop; there’s always a hole there,” Wyatt replied.

According to Wyatt, though, this hole is hard to define with the lack of definite memories. Since she passed when he was at a young age, he never had a clear image of her

WHAT IT REALLY MEANS

A staple of campus breast cancer awarness is the pinkout football game. This year, the game occured on Oct. 18 vs SPC opponent St. John’s. Players on the team share what it means to particpate in a movement that is bigger than the game.

from his own experiences.

Everything he knows about her personality is through old stories told by her friends and family. So, as he walks by the main hallway of his house, he sees this one picture of her — his image of her. He imagines her as a guiding voice in his head, asking him to do the right thing. In chapel service, when students are told to pray for those in their hearts, he prays and thinks of his mother. Her presence in his mind pushes him to be better.

His quest for self-improvement, guided by what he knows his mother would want him to do, led Wyatt to the big stage in Decherd Auditorium.

Whenever Wyatt would listen to a great public speaker, he always imagined himself standing up behind the podium, staring out into a crowd that was listening to every word he said. He wanted to be like them — annunciating every word he spoke while conveying a powerful message to a packed audience.

Wyatt had his first big chance with his SuperFanMen role. As one of the student body hype men, he speaks in front of the Upper School each Friday during assemblies. However, his remarks are focused on athletic endeavors and accomplishments, not the robust words he had dreamt of.

During the month of October, however, the school, like many of those across the country, participates in breast cancer awareness month. Each year, the Student Council has an Upper School assembly related to cancer, and the Student Council decided to look for a student to talk to instead of an outside source like a doctor.

When Wyatt was presented with the opportunity to give a This I Believe (TIB) talk at an Upper School assembly, he immediately pursued it. After talking with fellow Student Council members, he was chosen as the speaker.

“I THINK THAT IT IS REALLY COOL THAT THE FOCUS IS PLAYING FOR CERTAIN CAUSE THAT THE WHOLE TEAM CAN REALLY RALLY AROUND. IT’S ALSO GREAT SEEING EVERYONE IN PINK COMING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY.”

“IT MEANS SO MUCH MORE TO SEE THE STUDENT BODY, ALL THE FANS AND EVEN THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WEARING PINK. IT IS GREAT TO SEE THE COMMUNITY RALLY TOGETHER.”

At first, when writing the speech, he didn’t know what he wanted to focus on. With so much to cover at a meaningful time during the school year, he knew he had to emphasize just one or two things.

After a long process of writing and refining, Wyatt felt ready and had a clear message defined. Rather than focusing on the numbers or research, he decided to focus on the abstract and unquantifiable — the importance of community in hard times.

According to Wyatt, when at St. Mark’s, where the size of the entire school is comparable to the size of a single grade in other public schools, deep connections and strong relationships can be formed among students, forming the unique culture of the institution.

“St. Mark’s is the perfect storm,” Wyatt said. “There’s enough people to find a friend group, but it’s small enough that you’re on a personally connected level with everyone. When something tragic happens, everyone in the school is there to comfort you.”

Even the campus itself is geared towards enhancing this feeling of belonging and acceptance, with interactions that facilitate having genuine conversations and seizing expansive opportunities being encouraged by 10600’s layout.

“Every aspect of St. Mark’s is catered to creating a strong community,” Wyatt said. “The way the campus is designed, there’s a central space to play games that everyone can see. I’ve had days where I don’t really know what to do, but I’ll see, for example, some underclassmen playing spike ball on the quad, and I’ll go there and make new friends. The sense of community is so strong, it’s a wave that keeps rippling through every class that comes in and keeps getting spread.”

As Wyatt said in his TIB talk, the ripple effect of his mother’s loss affected him and his family immensely.

“THE CAUSE REALLY UNITES THE TEAM. EVERYBODY PLAYS A LITTLE BIT HARDER WHEN THEY KNOW THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR A GREAT CAUSE. IT REALLY ADDS ONE MORE LAYER TO THE GAME.”

“THE FACT THAT THE COLOR HAS AN ACTUAL MEANING BEHIND IT MAKES IT SPECIAL, ESPECIALLY FOR ME BECAUSE MY MOM IS A SURVIVOR, SO IT MEANS A LOT.”

GRAHAM SMITH freshman

CALEB CATHEY sophomore

MAX BEAN junior JACK BAKER senior

Senior Wyatt Loehr speaks in front of the Upper School about his experience of losing his mother to breast cancer.

Photo by Winston Lin

But the care he received from those around him made it easier to deal with.

“When I was a child and going through it, the support was a huge thing,” Wyatt said during his TIB talk. “That’s really the point of this talk.”

For Wyatt’s sophomore brother Oliver, growing up without a mother means he never experienced that care that so many take for granted. He never experienced coming out of a gruesome battle on the wrestling mat, only to look into the stands to see his mom, beaming with pride in a way only a mother can, lightening the pain of a narrow defeat.

But what he did see in those stands, what he came home to after an exhausting day at school, what helped him through the highs of championships and the lows of season-ending injuries, was his community.

“I was in a slump during this one big wrestling tournament, and I was 0-2,” Oliver said. “I lost both of them at the last second, and I cried in the locker room. But Teddy Fleiss was there for me, and he helped me get out of my slump and keep trying. Teammates, coaches, they definitely help me when I’m low.”

But the hard part isn’t just receiving care. According to Oliver, what makes a community a community is reciprocating that care. It’s easy to be comforted by someone after a tough loss or a sudden breakup. The challenging job, the duty that everyone owes to their communities, is realizing the suffering of others and responding to it.

“I remember going to get a midnight snack and seeing my dad crying in the living room,” Oliver said. “That’s when I realized everything that was on him and how hard it was being a single father. I had to try harder. I had to do something for him.”

Wyatt and Oliver found that these struggles often were hidden behind forced smiles and passive responses that dismissed the deeper issue. The two found that talking with classmates, however, was a first step to unpacking these emotions and opening up.

“You don’t really want to talk to your own family about your challenges because, in truth, you want to seem strong,” Oliver said. “You don’t want to make it any harder on them because your parents are also going through it at the same time. That’s why friends are really nice: you can talk to them, and they can help you through issues. It’s really important to have good friends who can help you through hard times.”

Being open about feelings and exposing troubles and concerns can help not just the person going through them

but those around them struggling with similar issues. That’s the spirit of community — if one person struggles, everyone struggles. And when one person thrives, everyone thrives.

This care came full circle for the pink-out football game on Oct. 18 vs Southwest Preparatory Conference opponent St. John’s. A week after Wyatt’s TIB talk, the community rallied together to sell out the pink shirts sold in the student store. All of the proceeds were donated to Susan G. Komen, a breast cancer foundation.

On that Friday, students who purchased a shirt wore them to school, showing support for the movement and women on campus.

And under the blinding lights of the football field, the football team geared up in pink attire. Pink bicep bands, turf tape, ankle tape, wristbands, and undershirts adorned the players as they took the field.

According to Varsity Football Coach Harry Flaherty, the Pink-Out is a great opportunity to show support for those who have suffered from breast cancer.

To him, any time people can not only raise awareness but remind themselves and others that there is more to life than competition, he thinks is a good thing.

Beyond the field, the students packed the student section, making a wall of pink. With an energetic student section led by Wyatt’s fellow SuperFanMen, the appreciation for something bigger than the game could be felt.

All of these events, regardless of whether they’re under the harsh lights of the Norma and Lamar Hunt Stadium or right above the upholstered seats of the Decherd Auditorium, are shining examples of one thing — community.

And as Wyatt said in his speech, the support of those around him is what made him get through his loss. He didn’t have to face his challenges alone, a sentiment his brother echoes.

“The assembly and the pink-out football game had a very potent effect on campus,” Oliver said. “People know it’s not going to get rid of breast cancer, but it helps me and others (on campus) realize we’re not alone in this struggle. It is a struggle, but it’s a united one.”

310,720

Women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2024, with 16 percent being younger than 50 years old. An additional 56,500 will be diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, non-invasive and non-life threatening breast cancer. Breast cancer is projected to continue accounting for roughly 30 percent of all new cancer cases in women. (Statistics from Breastcancer.org)

The Spurs stand in front of the student section in their pink at tire (Top). Wyatt Loehr sits on the bench after a the defense was subbed off (Side Top). Students adorned in their pink attire cheer for the team (Side Middle). Players wear pink socks and undershirts, with some adding extra accessories to show support (Side

llustration by Matthew Hofmann

Oliver Loehr Sophomore

In loving memory of DeeDee Kiehn, a beloved mother and member of the St. Mark’s community who passed away last month.

Student interest in Halloween evolves

As kids start to grow up and out of their old Hallowen obsessions, the holiday becomes something new, but some remain hopeful that the tradition continues.

BY ERIC YI AND WYATT AUER

With the rise of social media and shift in social norms, many teens, like sophomores Rocky Lancaster and Noah Dolle have shifted their Halloween focus from trickor-treating to late-night parties, raising concerns about the loss of a childhood joy and a declining tradition.

Dolle has noticed a significant decline in the tradition of trick-or-treating over the past few years. This change has left him with mixed feelings.

“It makes me a bit sad because trickor-treating connects us with people we wouldn’t usually see,” Dolle said.

He believes that these interactions are vital, especially in a world increasingly dominated by technology and virtual connections. With the rise of social media and online communication, he worries that many are missing out on the valuable, face-to-face interactions that come with community traditions like Halloween.

“Halloween was more of a time to connect, and there’s a chance that we become more isolated,” Dolle said.

He feels that the essence of trick-ortreating has shifted in importance over time. Dolle hopes that our traditions as a society won’t change so drastically that future generations won’t be able to enjoy Halloween to the same extent that he did.

“Trick-or-treating was such a rite of passage for many of us; I hope it can continue to be for many more years,” Dolle said.

This decline in trick-or-treating is not merely a reflection of changing cultural norms; it also highlights a decrease in community connectedness and trust. As neighborhoods become less tight-knit, the once simple act of taking children doorto-door to ask for candy becomes a less appealing option.

“There are some serious concerns about safety, and as neighborhoods become

less close-knit, you don’t really know your neighbors at all,” Dolle said. “That sense of trust is gone. It’s important for us to feel safe in our neighborhoods. We should find ways to bring back that sense of community and bring back these safe interactions.”

He advocates for finding ways to revive that sense of community and foster more interpersonal interactions. In light of these safety concerns, many families have turned to alternatives for celebrating Halloween, such as staying home to watch movies or hosting house parties.

“I feel like Halloween doesn’t have to be just about trick-or-treating. It could be just like hangouts with other friends, like watching a scary movie or staying over at a friend’s house,” Dolle said.

As society evolves, so do our traditions, and Dolle acknowledges that it’s natural for priorities to shift as people grow older.

“It’s interesting how traditions evolve; maybe it’s just a natural part of growing up,” Dolle reflected.

He remains hopeful that the spirit of Halloween will endure, adapting to new times while still preserving the connections that make the holiday special.

For Rocky Lancaster, Halloween has become the embodiment of teen’s insecurity and hyper-comparative mentality. Over time, it has become less acceptable to go trick-or-treating at the earlier hours of the night with the goal of actually getting candy.

“As we get older, I think it's just a tendency to stay up later, the past couple of years I've gone out around 8:30 to 9 p.m. and there's only a few houses open at that time,” Lancaster said. “It's just socially acceptable now to only go out at a later time and nothing's open.”

Lancaster believes that because of this social construct of going out later and growing safety concerns, the holiday has transformed into a house-based holiday rather than going out.

“Halloween has turned into a party holiday as you turn older,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster has noticed that this shift in social norms is present in many holidays throughout the year, not just Halloween.

“As you get older, you're not going to be participating in the Easter egg hunts with your 2-year-old cousins,” Lancaster said.

Despite this natural social shift, Lancaster misses the trick-or-treating of

“If you want that nostalgic feeling, you've just kind of lost that to the maturity people say you need to have as you grow older” Lancaster said.

Through this growth and maturity, the goal of social events like Halloween has shifted in his eyes from having fun to climbing the social ladder of friend groups and social comparison.

“It's become political, and it's: ‘what party are you going to?’ especially in high school,” Lancaster said. “It becomes less about actually enjoying the holiday enjoying that time with your friends and

more: ‘whose house am I going to go to so I can be considered cool?’ You want to impress the next person, and it’s just that constant need for acknowledgment.”

In addition to this shift as we age, Lancaster has noticed a generational shift in social norms surrounding Halloween.

“For my Dad, It was just to hang out with your friends and maybe get some candy while you're at it” Lancaster said.

Lancaster believes that this growth and

Film teacher and wife release new horror film

BY RISHIK KAPOOR

A new horror is being designed at the school, a horror that the school has never experienced before. Film studies teacher Mark Scheibmeir and his wife, Angela Gulner-Scheibmeir, recently released their latest movie. “The Beldham” is a psychological horror about a young mother and her infant daughter as they face an evil presence living on the family farm.

The film premiered on Oct. 3 at the Sitges Film Festival in Sitges, Spain.

“Sitges is the top genre festival in the world,” Scheibmeir said. “By genre, I mean horror fantasy. Some people call it the ‘Can of Horror’. There’s only a couple other film

festivals that rival it in the horror genre space.”

Beldham, an old English word for witch, was produced by Scheibmeir and his wife’s film production company, Wicked Myth Films.

“We typically take our source material based off of myth,” Scheibmeir said. “A lot of Greek myths and other folklore myths that have a darker side to them. That's where our jumping-off point is.”

The film is specifically based off of “La Bella Dame sans Merci”, a John Keats poem written in 1819. This ballad, which translates to “The Beautiful Lady without Mercy”, tells the story of a beautiful woman who seduces a knight, only for her

to abandon and curse him.

“This one is a little more personal for (Angela Gulner-Scheibmeir). ‘La Bella Dame’ translates as beautiful women… but has designs on a child,” Scheibmeir said.

However, Scheibmeir has also had to balance his time running the production team with being the Film Studies teacher at St. Mark’s. While Scheibmeir admits that it can be challenging to have two essentially full time jobs, he also sees how each job can help him become better at the other.

“I think working on (the movie) is a benefit to all the students as well. People get to see me practice what I preach, and I learn new things every day,” Scheibmeir said. “Sometimes those things I can incor-

shift in social norms as we mature is taking away from our youthfulness, and that all this social comparison is unhealthy, especially at a young age.

“Over time, as we mature, we begin to worry less about the fun we’re having and more on how we look to other people. I think Halloween is a prime example of how we begin to shy away from who we are or who we once were” Lancaster said.

porate into lessons immediately.”

On the other side, Scheibmeir uses experience from teaching to help his production company.

“I see some things that I can take away from the classroom, like how to understand people I work with in a different way,” Scheibmeir said.

While no students were involved in making the movie, Scheibmeir did offer a test screening for film students.

“They had an opportunity to do a test screening at one point, which some of them took me up on,” Scheibmeir said. “The movie would be R-rated, so they had to have their parents’ permission.”

Young children run up to a popular trick-or-treating house (Top). Decorations from an extensively decorated house attract attention from trick-or-treaters (Bottom). A kid dressed up as a dinosaur digs into his bag of candy (Left).

Photos Courtesy Daniel Creech

Families adjust to work away from home

Students of all ages have parents who work in or travel to other cities, preventing them from seeing their mothers and fathers on a daily basis.

BY E RIC YI, DIEGO ARMENDARIZ AND HOLDEN PURVIS

Many parents find themselves balancing the valuable time spent with family and their demanding careers that require them to work away from home. Despite the distance, the bonds between parent and child remain crucial, with parents finding more ways to stay connected during the work week.

Since he was young, junior Marshall Bagley has always understood that his father’s job as a neurosurgeon came with an immense workload and responsibility, so, when his parents approached him about a new opportunity that would require his dad to move to St. Louis, Bagley wasn’t worried.

“When my parents asked me before he moved out there, I was fine because I want him to be able to have the best opportunity in his work, and I didn't see a major change in the way that we interacted caused by that,” Bagley said.

For Bagley, scheduled phone calls became the key to staying in touch during the week, and he feels that the formation of a regular routine has made it easier to stay connected.

“It's just trying to get on a phone call every night,” Bagley said. "He'll usually call right when I get home, just to check in with me and at least call my mom before we head to bed. So (we talk) through phone calls, and then he tries to be back most weekends.”

Teenagers typically take on increased independence as they mature, but Bagley’s unique situation has required him to take on more responsibilities than the normal teen – something he believes came naturally to him because of how he was raised.

“I was raised to be fairly responsible, and I think I still am pretty responsible for my age,” Bagley said. “Just having that sense of understanding responsibility and understanding people have different commitments has been really helpful.”

Bagley’s relationship with his father is still

strong and has helped him grow individually. However, this may not be the case for all families. Some children may need both parents present in order to grow and flourish, especially during stressful times.

“We know that children thrive when they have a parent that is present, involved and really just there for them to meet their basic needs,” Upper School Counselor Dr. Mary Bonsu said. “Children also need a relationship with their parents that is based on trust, and it goes both ways; that leads to good psychological functioning.”

Bonsu highlights that a parent’s role in a child’s early life is crucial, especially when it comes to fostering a healthy relationship.

“It's harder on younger children simply because they have a larger emotional need for their parents,” Bonsu said. “Before age 13, kids rely on their parents very heavily for social and emotional needs. And then once a kid is 13, 14 or 15, they're more interested in their peers, and what their peers are saying and doing.”

If a child is left without the feeling of being cared for, it can lead to hindering their long term emotional development.

“It could bring up feelings of abandonment and loss,” Bonsu said. “Those things could come up and affect the child emotionally, and that could make it so that it's hard for them to get closer to people and might affect their attachment style but usually someone's attachment style is established in early life with a primary parent.”

Taking that into account, there are many ways that a parent, whether they are living with their child or not, can build a stronger connection to their kids.

“There’s lots of different ways to connect, keeping up with what’s going on with the child's life as much as possible,” Bonsu said. “Checking in at night is probably one of the best times to do that. And then when home, trying to pick up where they left off, and going to games as much as possible, or performances or showcases. It’s really just pres-

Growing up while my dad works away

COMMENTARY

ZACH HUANG Guest Writer

Before I was born, my dad decided to become a businessman after a decade of being an engineer. This sudden change came with frequent month-long trips away from home. In his absence, my mom had to step in and take over the household.

After I was accepted into St. Mark’s in the eighth grade, my sisters were given the choice to remain at their current schools or move somewhere closer to the school to accommodate for my commute time of around 40 minutes. However, given the fact that we had moved just one year prior, they rejected the idea immediately. Due to this decision, we remained in

ence.”

Bagley’s relationship with his father shows how closely a family can be bonded together, regardless of the distance that separates them. Bagley believes his father’s trust in his ability to manage his own responsibilities has allowed him to grow, and he believes other parents can embrace a similar approach when the time is right.

“If you raise your child with that sense of responsibility, and you feel like they are at a point in their life where they can be responsible, I think you can develop more time to your work and kind of let them kind of indulge themselves in their responsibilities, let them kind of grow on their own,” Bagley said.

As a junior, Bagley is in the early stages of preparing for life’s next big change, heading off to college. He believes his experience at maintaining relationships when separated by a large distance will help him to keep in contact with his family and friends.

“I think it's the same way that my dad approaches being away for a lot of the year,” Bagley said. “Phone calls, trying to be fairly frequent, frequent checking in with people, making sure that they're doing all right, seeing if they need any help."

our house in Allen. The terrible gas prices and hour-long wait through rush-hour traffic became more prominent.

Despite the adversity, my mom and I found joy being in each other's company. Our daily routines of going back and forth on the road gave us plenty of time to talk. It was through one of these conversations that I realized how much of a burden I was. I took for granted things my mom committed hours to. This epiphany forced me to mature and assist my mom however I could. I tried to do all my homework at school; I cooked after I got home; I tutored my younger sister; and I focused more of my attention on getting good grades. Sometimes, I would stay with a friend for a few days to alleviate my mom’s workload.

Even though I feel neglected on occasion, I have never felt any resentment towards my dad. His continual efforts towards providing for our family have made it possible for me to attend St. Mark’s. Even when my dad is at home, he

stays awake far past midnight, organizing Excel spreadsheets and meeting with clients living halfway across the globe.

According to my mom, my dad was always an introvert that shied away from social interactions. However, to succeed as a businessman, he stepped out of his comfort zone and confronted his fears head-on. His discipline inspires me to pursue greatness in all aspects of life. In my first year at St. Mark’s, I was rarely vocal and made few connections. However, after learning of my dad’s situation, I felt stupid for the irrational reasons that kept me from reaching out.

Although most of my peers think of my dad’s absence as mostly negative, the daily reminder that he is on another continent doing his best provides me with the motivation to get through any obstacle.

Travel routes shown from various cities, all leading back to Dallas.

Graphic by Joshua Goforth

Junior Marshall Bagley and his father on vacation.

Photo courtesy Marshall Bagley

Synth, pop and self-love:

“Imaginal Disk”

Magdalena Bay’s newest album, “Imaginal Disk”, is many things: a potential candidate for an Album of the Year, a story of an alien’s journey toward self-discovery and perhaps at its most obvious face-value, the sophomore synth-pop brainchild of the ambitious duo of Matthew Lewin and Mica Tenenbaum. The album combines Tenenbuam’s quiet yet strong vocals with everything from cacophonic keyboards to harmonious harps over its 53 minutes with a little bit of synth-pop magic sprinkled in between the calm, soothing instrumentals and the harsh, domineering crescendos.

More than simply just another album with catchy tunes and a pretty cover, “Imaginal Disk” is an effort to break out of the norms of modern-day music, similar to the progressive pop of the ‘70s and ‘80s, which featured songs like Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky”. In combination with the duo’s surrealist music videos posted on their YouTube channel and interactive retro website, the album builds the world of True, an alien who learns to navigate the world and her confusing emotions over the course of the 15 tracks.

The opening track, “She Looked Like Me!”, is an energetic intro that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Light keys and Tenenbaum’s gentle voice gradually swell into banging drums, blaring horns and brash lyrics, which tell the story of True’s struggle with self-acceptance and love, which will both be revisited throughout the album.

Listening to “Watching T.V.” feels like exploring a strange new planet where every step forward is an exciting step into the unknown.

“Tunnel Vision” expresses True’s feeling of being uncomfortable with her own person but also her gradual realization and eventual acceptance of who she is, and the subsequent track, “Love Is Everywhere”, takes these feelings of love and liberation and runs with it, signifying True’s realization that things will be for the better if she focuses on finding love where she can.

The energy continues into the climax of the album, “Cry For Me”, where ABBA-esque tunes add another layer to the depth of the album. The penultimate track, “Angel on a Satellite”, begins and ends with an extended, mellow piano section that, in accompaniment with the unapologetic, care-free lyrics that signify True’s growth and acceptance of who she is, give the feeling of saying goodbye to a childhood friend for the last time.

And after a 49-minute rollercoaster of emotions, the final track, “The Ballad of Matt and Mica”, is a cheerful goodbye with elated lyrics reminiscent of The Jackson 5’s music but with that classic experimental twist that’s found throughout the album.

Overall, “Imaginal Disk” is a unique experience that draws the listener into its world, whether they want to be or not, with its nearly hypnotizing combination of heartfelt lyrics and unique instrumentals. It earns a 9.2 rating for its capturing story, meaningful message and astonishing tracks. It’s hard to find solo songs, nevertheless, 53-minute albums, that truly transport listeners away from the material world, and “Imaginal Disk” does just that.

And it does it well.

New Joker movie falls flat at box office in quality

“Joker: Folie á Deux”, the widely anticipated sequel to Joker (2019), released Oct. 4 andstars Joaquin Phoenix in his iconic role as well as Lady Gaga in the role of Harley Quinn.

“Joker” captivated the world. And Todd Phillips seems to detest that.

“Joker: Folie á Deux”, premiering five years after the original movie, returns Arthur Fleck’s story to the forefront, this time with a new partner in crime in Lady Gaga and a drastically increased budget.

The whole creative team from the first billion-dollar success returns, with director Todd Phillips leading the way once again.

The first movie, while successful on nearly all levels, sparked widespread fears that it was a so-called “incel rallying cry,” with the FBI even reporting credible threats of violence in theaters on opening weekend.

Phillips does not seem to have taken kindly to the mass interpretation to his film, and after a five years absence, is back with his own acidic response in the form of a sequel that is intentionally the opposite of anything that one might want.

A stripped-down legal procedural, Folie á Deux is quite dull on almost an ascetical level. Phillips attempts to differentiate this film from the first with two significant new elements: Lady Gaga as a version of Harley Quinn and a number of musical numbers meant to serve as a bridge between Arthur’s mental illness and the audience. Gaga is criminally underutilized, with one prominent dance scene used in the marketing not even appearing in the film itself.

Unfortunately, the musical numbers aren’t much better. Several of the more grounded ones come off as awkward rather than inspired, begging for a hint of life. The ones that take place entirely in Arthur’s head, however, are rare pops of color and fun in a movie that oftentimes feels intentionally painful to watch.

The film’s subtext, though, is the most frustrating part. After the first film sparked such widespread controversy and fear, Phillips takes the opportunity to completely relitigate its events and cultural impact. The only problem is nobody but Phillips really cares anymore.

In the five years since the movie came out, there has been a global pandemic, riots, two election cycles and enough general toxicity in the world that the impact of the first Joker has long faded. Phillips doesn’t seem to notice; the script feels like it was written in an echo chamber of criticisms of the first movie, intentionally designed to explain to the world exactly why it was so wrong to love the movie in the first place.

The self importance in placing himself at the forefront of the controversy, using Joker as a kind of pariah-like stand in for himself can’t be ignored. Phillips — by his own admission — is completely done with the world of the Joker, and this feels like a middle finger on his way out the door.

One does have to respect his grit. This is clearly exactly the

story he wanted to tell, and exactly the way he wanted to tell it. The movie is gorgeous, thanks to cinematographer Lawrence Sher, maybe even being the best looking film of the year so far. Hildur Guðnadóttir also turns in a more than worthy follow-up to her Oscar-winning score from the first. The fact that the craft on this film is so impressive only underlines the frustration at just how exhausting the rest of the viewing experience is. It seems to be for the best that Phillips is willing to move on.

PUMPKIN PATCH PERFECTION

With Halloween just a week away, people are racing to get some of these the finest gourds for their homes. We went to three locations in the area to see what kind of selections they had and who we would most recommend them to. BY WILLIAM KOZOMAN

DALLAS FARMERS MARKET

Overall, the church’s selection of pumpkins isn’t particularly ornate or fancy, so don’t come here expecting a “wow.”

However, in terms of proximity to campus and overall ease of getting in and out, this location is unbeatable, and some may find it nice to support their local church at the same time. This is most recommended for the layman just looking for a simple few pumpkins to decorate a porch.

About 20 minutes south of campus near downtown, the Dallas Farmers Market has put up a wide selection and display of pumpkins to supplement their massive location, which features many other unique products. The pumpkins can be found in the Shed, which is near the middle of the market by Taylor St. This would be a good spot for those who already frequent the market or live close to it.

The farthest of all the locations, the farm is just west of DFW Airport. It’s also definitely the most pumpkin-oriented of all the locations, and may provide for a fun experience, especially for kids who’ll be eager to try out the corn maze and the other fall themed-attractions. This is worth going to if you want to turn your pumpkin-buying into a larger experience.

Photo Courtesy Creative Commons SHIV

CAM HURLEY

ROYAL LN. BAPTIST CHURCH

HALL’S PUMPKIN FARM & CORN MAZE

EDITORIALS

Student newspaper of St. Mark’s School of Texas

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Editor-in-Chief Hilton Sampson

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Editor

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Winston Lin

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Will Clifford

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The ReMarker is intended for the students, faculty, staff and alumni community of St. Mark’s School of Texas. Press run is 3,800 copies, with more than 2,600 of those mailed out to alumni, courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

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Local elections matter more than ever

In our fight for change, we shouldn’t prioritize presidential elections over local ones.

As the 2024 presidential election looms, political discourse dominates our daily lives.

Everywhere you turn, there’s talk of presidential candidates, national policies and the perceived threats to our country’s future.

This constant barrage of information or even misinformation can be overwhelming, especially for young voters, leading to a growing sense of voter apathy among younger generations.

To first-time voters, politics seems merely an issue that divides friends, neighbors and families.

But this intense focus on national politics, while important, often overshadows an equally crucial aspect of our democracy: local elections.

As Americans, it’s our duty to vote — not just every four years in presidential elections or even every two for Senate races — but all the way down the ballot for our local representatives.

The president holds power at a national level, but without the voices of our local officials, change can’t be made in our communities. The outcomes of these local elections often have the most direct and immediate impact on our lives.

From governors and mayors to school board members and sheriffs, local officials create the policies that affect our communities daily. These elected representatives make decisions about education funding and curriculums, local tax rates, fixing roads and urban development, environmental regulations, public transportation, healthcare access and more.

Local officials are also more accessible than national politicians, as it’s much easier to voice your concerns to a city council member or county commissioner than to a U.S. Senator or the President.

Additionally, many elections address multi-million dollar school bond issues to improve local school districts. Even if a resident is not directly involved with their local school system, these bonds directly affect a community’s debt, as well as individual taxes and property values.

Still, local elections consistently see much lower voter turnout compared to national elections.

In 2023, only nine percent of registered voters in Dallas participated in the county's general elections. Compared to a 65 percent voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election or even a 44 percent turnout in the 2022 senate race, this highlights a dangerous disconnect between citizens and their local governance.

This disparity is a missed opportunity for citizens to make an immediate difference in their community.

There is also a common misconception that a single vote doesn't matter when it comes to local elections. But because of lower voter turnout rates, each vote carries more weight and can even shift the entire makeup of the government.

Local races are often decided by slim margins, sometimes coming down to just a handful of votes. Your participation can truly make a difference in shaping your city’s future.

is

for

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Students and young voters in particular need to vote. Those in the 18-29 age group consistently have the lowest turnout rates across all elections. In 2022, only 23 percent of youth nationally voted, with even lower numbers in Texas.

This means that the voices and interests of young people are dramatically underrepresented in our political system, while the issues decided in local elections often have the most significant long-term impact on younger generations.

If students want the opportunity to make sure that their voice is heard, they must vote.

AS AMERICANS, IT'S OUR DUTY TO VOTE NOT JUST EVERY FOUR YEARS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OR EVEN EVERY TWO FOR SENATE RACES BUT ALL THE WAY DOWN THE BALLOT FOR OUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES.

By not voting, young people are allowing older demographics to shape the future they will inherit.

While 62 percent of adults feel democracy is at risk, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the solution begins at the local level.

Strong local governments are the foundation of a healthy national democracy.

Yet, in Dallas County, turnout numbers are decreasing; in the 2018 general election, 729,749 people voted out of 1,398,469 registered voters, compared to just 625,391 out of 1,420,223 registered voters in 2022.

Our democracy is not a healthy one if Americans don’t exercise their right to vote in all elections.

Even for those not yet eligible to vote, understanding the election process and the roles of local officials is crucial. This knowledge forms the basis for informed civic engagement in the future.

Students can start by following local news and current events, participating in school government or community organizations, or even attending town hall meetings. These activities broaden students’ horizons to give them a voice in their communities now.

Local politics may not always be as exciting or headline-grabbing as national affairs, but it’s the most direct way for citizens to have an impact on their daily lives.

As we approach the 2024 elections, let's broaden our focus beyond just the presidential race. It's time to commit to learning about your local candidates and issues. Mark your calendars not just for national election days, but for all local elections as well. Encourage others to do the same.

Your vote matters. You hold the power to make change. Use it wisely, use it often, and start by using it locally. The future of your community — and indeed, of our democracy — depends on it.

A Marksman senior bears a Texas voter registration pin, exercising his civic duty to vote in the upcoming presidential election, as well as local elections (Left).

Photo by Oliver Peck

A citizen votes at

election booth

your vote

your voice

change in your community,

this starts by showing up to the polls for all elections (Below).

Photo Courtesy Creative Commons EDITORIAL

COMMENTARY

OLIVER PECK Editorial Editor

Community reborn amidst destruction

Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019 — The world outside holds its breath. In this suspended moment, we wait.

Huddled in our bathroom, bike helmets donned, my family presses close. The weatherman’s stern voice blares through the TV speakers. His words fall heavy: “Seek shelter immediately.” We cling to each other and whisper a prayer.

The TV screen flickers its last warning before darkness engulfs us. In the silence that follows, nature unleashes its fury, hurling debris against our house from every direction like a relentless attacker.

Two hours stretch into an eternity. We endure in terrified silence, frantically attempting to contact friends and neighbors. When the tornado finally passes, leaving an eerie calm in its wake, our community has been upturned.

My phone erupts with messages and photos, each one more shocking than the last.

The grand trees on Orchid Lane that witnessed generations of Marksmen grow — a cornerstone of our school’s landscape — lie uprooted. School buses rest like fallen giants in classmates’ yards, hurled hundreds of feet from their parking spots. Amidst it all, desperate cries for help come from classmates I had joked with just days ago.

I felt numb as I lay in my bed that night, thinking of the friends I had almost lost, too nervous and anxious to sleep.

I just wanted things to go back to normal.

The next day, I step onto a campus I no longer recognize. Where I expected the comfort of Mrs. Davis’ Lego city and Mr. Smith’s colorful kilt, I find devastation.

Hicks Gym, where we cheered and celebrated countless victories, now stands with a gaping hole in its side.

My absence of uniform — no white oxford shirt, grey shorts, white socks or black shoes — makes me feel incomplete.

All the devastating photos and messages couldn’t convey the significance of what happened: it had taken a toll on not just our campus, but our community.

Yet, in this moment of utter despair, I felt hope.

I watched as my fellow Marksmen, alongside students from Hockaday and Greenhill, poured onto campus to help clean up and restore.

The lines between schools, so often drawn in competition, blurred as we worked side by side.

St. Mark’s families rallied, offering aid and comfort. Students cleared debris and delivered supplies. In the face of adversity, we responded with unwavering kindness.

The tornado, following so closely on the heels of a global pandemic, could have shattered us. Instead, it revealed the true strength of our community and the bonds between us.

Today, I walk down a reborn Orchid Lane. The young trees, though small, stand tall with promise.

The tornado may have torn through our campus, but it forged our community into something stronger, more compassionate, and unbreakable. In our darkest hour, we discovered the light within each other—a light that will guide future generations of Marksmen through whatever storms may come.

In their shoes: life in the library

COMMENTARY

MATTHEW

Managing Editor

Opening the door and stepping into the Cecil & Ida Green Library is like stepping between two worlds, especially during lunchtime. Outside, students run on the quad and down the pathways by the building, noise reverberating off the brick passageways.

As my foot crossed the door threshold, I entered a space removed from the hustle and bustle of campus life. A place of serious study and focused work. A place of organization and discipline.

The library is a very special, but sometimes overlooked, gem on campus.

For students seeking a place to actually do work, a chess board for a quick match with a friend, a brand new novel that they have been dying to read or a research tool to help with a paper, the library has them covered.

But these offerings — the complex and college-level databases, the research tools, the board games, puzzles and chess sets, the quiet setting, and most importantly, the 52,851 books and resources — would not have the same positive impact if it weren’t for the behind-thescenes work the library team puts in each day.

I was fortunate to learn this firsthand when volunteering in the library one afternoon.

My first task was not really a task, but rather, a learning session. I talked with the Director of Library and Information Services Tinsley Silcox about all of the responsibilities members of the library team have. Many were obvious, but I quickly realized that there was a lot I didn’t know about running a library.

The extensive database website is handled by Assistant Director Teresa Katsulos. The entire database web -

site is created in-house and constantly updated with new books. Silcox, who creates a list of books and resources that would be great additions and useful to each department frequently, works with his team to decide which new books should be in the mix.

The whole team often goes through “weeding” processes, sorting through the library's books, organizing them, evaluating their timeliness and value to the collection, and then putting them back. This process is often visually seen, but the importance of the work may be lost.

At first glance, it may seem like Middle School Librarian Elyse Chevallier or Librarian Beth Northcut is simply retrieving a book and moving it to another spot. But the small sorting or large-scale projects the team does create the organized library that many people take for granted.

This was my main task when working in the library. After learning the basics of the reception desk computer, I went to the photo collection books, retrieved the ones that had been used or were out of place, carted them off to the reception desk, and began processing. I scanned the bar codes of each book and once finished, I sorted the books by a series of numbers and then letters.

After that was done, I returned to the front before concluding my day in the library.

To me, the most striking takeaway was the atmosphere the library has, a product of the hard work the library team puts in each day.

When standing at the reception desk or in the back library classroom doing my inventory work, I looked out and saw students from every Middle and Upper School grade, working hard but also bonding with classmates.

As I walked out of the library at 1 p.m. (the end of my shift), I can say it was with an increased appreciation for the library, its team, and all of the resources and hard work that goes into creating a positive study environment for students. Ultimately, the community the library builds is just another example of special pockets on our campus that move the entire school forward.

HOLY COW! Cartoon by Joseph Sun

HOFMANN

Hofmann checks a book out for a student at the Green Library.

Photo by Hilton Sampson

Against NFL, college football reigns supreme

Texas kicker Bert Auburn sends the ball right through the uprights. Down 27-30 with one minute and 17 seconds left on the clock, the Oklahoma Sooners, led by quarterback Dillon Gabriel, take the field in hopes of bringing the Golden Hat back to Norman, Okla. as the winners of the 2023 Red River Rivalry. An entire half of the Cotton Bowl dawning their crimson and cream shirts explodes with excitement as Gabriel throws a touchdown to wide receiver Nic Anderson, winning the game 34-30 for the Sooners.

College football vs the NFL has been a debate going on for quite some time. While NFL fans are quick to point out the skill level, playoff structure, or the “lack” of good college games, college football truly is miles ahead of the pro game.

In a game with the magnitude like the Red River Rivalry, the college football experience is truly like no other. Fans sporting burnt orange and crimson and cream are split down the 50 yard line to watch their teams play in their biggest game of the regular season. Big plays like safety Peyton Bowen’s forced fumble, or Oklahoma’s goal line stand send fans into a frenzy.

It’s games like this, a Penn State whiteout or a Saturday night in Death Valley that set the atmosphere of the college game apart. Hundreds of thousands of fans all gathering together in one stadium for some of the biggest matchups in the country provide for a viewing experience that simply can’t be replicated.

One of the main reasons that I, along with many others, prefer college is that the traditions are unparalleled. Whether it be Oklahoma’s Sooner Schooner, a wagon pulled by Boomer and Sooner before every game or Howard’s Rock at Clemson, the magical rock rubbed by every Clemson football player before each game, believed to give them mystical powers, or perhaps the most storied of them all, Texas A&M’s 12th man.

During their 1922 game against the undefeated Centre College, A&M’s roster was decimated with injury. Desperate for players, head coach Dana Bible called on E. King Gill, a former member of the football team, to suit up and play in the game. A&M would go on to win the game 22-14, cementing Gill forever in their history and dubbing him “The 12th Man,” a tradition that has lived on at the school over 100 years later.

Every Saturday, Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick

Saban, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee travel to each college campus hosting the marquee matchup of the weekend, where they host ESPN’s College GameDay. GameDay is entertainment at its finest. Watching the hosts and their special guest make their picks for the day and interact with the hundreds of fans in attendance, displaying their “creative” signs is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the atmosphere and buildup surrounding college games. Not to mention, GameDay also highlights programs that don’t get as much time in the limelight as the top tier programs.

Traveling to California Berkely for their Week 6 matchup against the undefeated Miami Hurricanes, Cal fans put on a show for three hours, before what will go down as one of the best games this season, ending with Miami scoring 21 unanswered in the fourth quarter, going on to win 29-28.

There’s something so special about the unpredictability of any given season. Teams like Iowa State, Boise State, Illinois, Army and Indiana are all in the AP Top 25 poll.

But it’s not just these teams. So many unexpected upsets have happened over the course of the season.

Fresh off of a win against Georgia, Alabama walked into Nashville expecting an easy win against unranked Vanderbilt. However, the game ended in a 40-35 Vanderbilt win, with their starting quarterback, Diego Pavia threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns against a top Alabama defense.

Opposed to the NFL rivalries, college rivalries are fueled by genuine animosity for the opponent. Games like Red River, The Iron Bowl, Army-Navy and The Game, are just some of the staple games viewers get to enjoy throughout the course of the season. Being able to watch your team take on a rival of over 100 years is perhaps one of the best forms of entertainment in sports. Seeing the fans explode after a big time touchdown, interception or a big hit is something that is seldomly seen in the NFL.

These big time matchups don’t only add to one's viewing experience but also shape what the new 12-team playoff will look like. Shifting to a 12 team playoff will only benefit the college game while also maintaining the high stakes each game holds.

Contrary to the NFL, every team with playoff hopes has to perform to their absolute best throughout the season, needing to maintain a near perfect record to secure a spot. Teams’ competing to their fullest every single game is yet another addition to the excitement of watching a college football game.

All in all, the atmosphere, century long traditions and rivalries, College GameDay, higher stakes, upsets and accessibility to every game is what thrusts college football on a pedestal, allowing it to rise above anything the NFL has to offer.

An oversimplified guide to what falls where in our hierarchy of events across campus.

Embracing the unfiltered sports magic

LONDON, March 2022 — A misty veil shrouds Emirates Stadium as a sea of red jerseys ripples beneath the night sky.

Freezing rain cascades through the open roof, relentlessly drenching spectators and players alike as the match begins. Condensation from breaths rises visibly into the air, a testament to the biting cold. But even in these dreary conditions, banners bearing the iconic Arsenal cannon fly proudly amidst the crowd. 60,000 voices unite in a thunderous chant: "ARSENALLL! ARSENALLL!"

The raw energy from the fans sends shivers down my spine. From pitch-side to the uppermost tiers, every spectator is fully engrossed in the game — all eyes fixated on the field.

Regardless of how much they paid for a ticket, each person is equally immersed in the unfolding drama. It’s a truly communal experience.

A player's slightest misstep elicits a collective groan from the passionate Arsenal supporters, while a well-timed tackle or clearance draws cheers and applause from the much smaller yet ardent Liverpool away section. The crowd's reactions paint an auditory picture of the game's intensity. Diehard fans and first-time viewers alike are connected to the players' every move. Notably absent is one thing: the distraction of a giant screen above.

European football is renowned for its electrifying atmosphere, largely due to the absence of jumbotrons and other modern distractions that dilute the pure sporting experience.

Jumbotrons, while technologically impressive, represent a harsh divide between fans and the live action. When attending a match in person, spectators seek an unmediated connection with the action-packed game in front of them — not just what they could watch at home on their TV.

The magic of live sports lies in the bond forged with complete strangers. Fans rejoice together after a crucial goal or point, their joy amplified by shared experience. Rival supporters exchange taunting chants, engaging in friendly banter. This is sport in its purest form. The game pulsates with life, blurring the line between spectator and participant. Everyone is united in focus on real-time action.

Tennis, particularly at legendary venues like Wimbledon, similarly refuse to adopt jumbotrons. Spectators track the ball with laser-like focus, attuned to the players' every movement. This level of undivided attention brings the excitement back to sports.

While some venues, like Fenway Park, famed home of the Boston Red Sox, have integrated screens judiciously, many modern stadiums overwhelm spectators with digital distractions. At Fenway, their screen was placed far enough away so as to not interfere with the rest of the park. This can enhance the fan experience, providing useful information or replays — but it isn’t jammed down your throat.

However, when jumbotrons dominate the visual landscape, as in many American football stadiums, they risk overshadowing the very event they're meant to complement.

As you step into the arena for your next sporting event, challenge yourself to fully immerse in the raw, unfiltered experience. Resist the allure of the giant screens and instead train your eyes on the field, court, or pitch where the real action unfolds. Be present in every sense. Connect with strangers. Engage with the athletes not as distant figures, but as fellow humans whose every move resonates through the crowd. And most importantly, enjoy the thrill of the game.

OLIVER PECK Editorial Editor COMMENTARY

Father/Son Chapel

COMMENTARY

MICHAEL JIMENEZ Sports Editor

SPORTS

SECTION IN BRIEF

ZIERK ATHLETIC COMPLEX The new athletic center is coming along at a rapid pace, with completion expected in early January. While the project was a convergence of many different families expressing their devotion to the school, the Zierks have been honored especially for their tremendous generosity and leadership. It has taken contributions from 115 members and 86 million dollars, but in a few months these monumental efforts will be rewarded at last.

WATER POLO WINS STATE

Following a win against the formidable Southlake Carroll Dragons 9-7, the Lions water polo team competed in their final tournament of the year: The Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (TISCA) State Championship. In their first game, against John Paul II, the Lions blew past them, out-scoring the Centurions 24-1. The Lions were sent to the finals against a team they had not faced this season—Houston Consolidated. The Lions swiftly defeated the Houston-based team 26-1, rendering them state champions.

OFF-SEASON TRAINING Basketball and soccer players of all grades are participating in off-season training. Junior Spencer Hopkins, along with others, started after school cardio on Oct. 7 to prepare for basketball season. Basketball players arrange open runs once a week from 6:30-8a.m.. Varsity basketball coach, Greg Guiler, supervises the scrimmage unless a college coach is on campus, actively scouting players. Soccer players are maintaining condition by implementing personal workout routines.

THE SCOREBOARD

St. Mark’s St. John’s VARSITY FOOTBALL, 10/18

42 62

St. Mark’s Trinity Valley VARSITY VOLLEYBALL, 10/10

2 3

St. Mark’s Houston Consolidated VARSITY WATERPOLO, 10/12

26 1

Upper Schoolers step up, inspire youth sports teams

Sophomores Blaize Schumacher, Reid Smith, Grant Kennington and Ford Robinson have taken on the role of coaching Lower School football.

BY WESTON CHANCE AND SAM MORSE

It’s the Marksmen tradition.

Standing in front of Centennial Hall, the path to manhood statue overlooks the whole campus. The young Marksman on the shoulders of an older Marksman symbolizes the brotherhood of the school, actualized through traditions like seniors carrying their own Lower School buddies through the Great Hall during the all-school Christmas party and the Telos program where Upper School students mentor their younger brothers in advisory meetings

Yet more recently, this tradition has expanded into the world of sports, as Upperclassmen coach teams of younger classmates.

The school places an emphasis on both leadership and giving back to one’s communities and through coaching Lower and Middle School athletics teams, Upper Schoolers around campus strive to deliver on these tenants.

Last year, sophomore football players Blaize Schuhmacher, Reid Smith, Grant Kennington and Ford Robinson took on the responsibility of coaching a Fourth Grade football team. Over two seasons of competition, the four coaches put together an impressive record, while experiencing unforgettable moments and bonding with the younger Marksmen in the process.

MVP SPOTLIGHT

Lawrence Gardner

SPORT: Football

GAME: St. Mark’s @ Kinkaid

DATE: October 4

SCORE: Lions 23, Falcons 34

STATS: Gardner went 19 for 35 with 277 yards and two touchdowns through the air, coupled with 34 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

“We went undefeated, and that was awesome,” Schuhmacher said. “There was one memorable game where we were losing at halftime, and some kids stepped up, and we were really proud of them. When they listen to our coaching, it’s really cool to see because it normally pays off.”

ONCE THE PARENTS START SEEING THE INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE FOR BOTH BIG AND LITTLE KIDS, THEY WILL WANT TO PIVOT AWAY FROM DADS. WHEN THE PARENTS WITNESS THE IMPROVEMENT OF UPPER SCHOOL COACHING IT MAKES ME HAPPY.”

Michele Santosuosso, history instructor

All of the coaches incite energy and excitement in each of their players, leading to countless memories and moments of entertainment. Schuhmacher and the other coaches also take pride in coaching the younger generation of athletes and recognize the importance of setting a strong example.

“Even though they’re sometimes hard to control, they definitely follow our lead and look up to us,” Schumacher said. “If we say something, they’re gonna agree with that, or if we do something, they’ll try to do it too, so we definitely have an impact on them.”

Youth athletes can be difficult to coach, but Smith finds that

balancing hard work and careful instruction with fun activities and encouragement creates an environment where young players can improve while truly enjoying the sport.

“During our second season, we started really practicing every week, and we really started bonding as a team,” Smith said. “I feel like throughout the season, we got a lot closer, and something that we implemented is always playing games with them at the end of practice.”

History instructor and Student Council Sponsor Michele Santosuosso has witnessed first hand the positive effect of the sophomores’ coaching as her fifth grade son, Kane, plays on the team. After coaching both of her son’s teams for several years, Santosuosso retired after the pandemic and decided to look in another direction.

“Andrew Laczkowski (‘20), helped coach Jacob’s (Santosuosso’s other son) basketball team, so this has been going on for a while,” Santosuosso said. “For this particular team, I thought it’d be cool to have freshmen coach Kane’s team because then they could potentially stay with them for three years. Grant is in my advisory, and I taught Blaize, Reid and Ford last year, and so that’s how that happened.”

When choosing a new coach for her son’s teams, Santosuosso favored Upper School coaches. She believes that while parent coaching is great, mentorship from Varsity players can bring about different levels of success and improvement.

“The relationship between the big boys and little boys is really special,” Santosuosso said. “I think it’s a good opportunity for the little guys to have a positive role model. In all honesty, they usually listen better because they want to impress the big guys.”

Although winning is important, Santosuosso appreciates Upper School coaching because she believes that it is essential for the younger athletes to see how the older players react both in times of victory and defeat. Santosuosso aims to have other Lower School teams coached by Upperclassmen and evolve it into a tradition like senior buddy meetings, and the Telos program. In fact, multiple parents have reached out to her looking for coaching opportunities.

“Once these parents start seeing the incredible experience for both big and little kids, they will want to pivot away from dads,” Santosuosso said. “When the parents witness the improvement of Upper School coaching, it makes me happy.”

Kane Santosuosso agrees and appreciates the efforts of the coaches to bring fun and energy to the game, taking the messages they send to heart. When the players see the coaches at school, they make sure to talk to them and hear what they have to say.

“When we went undefeated we were really happy. We went to Village Burger Bar after the game, and the coaches had awards for us,” Kane Santosuosso said. “Ever since the dads stopped coaching, we’ve been winning a lot more games.”

Photo Courtesy Reid Smith (Left and Top Right), Photo Courtesy Sharon Huang (Bottom Right)

Sophomores coach their Lower School flag football team (Left and Top Right). Senior Eduardo Mousinho coaches his Lower School soccer team (Lower Right).

Dalrymple comes back from injury

When Junior Adam Dalrymple went down with two injured shoulders, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get to retake the field. Over two years, he fought his way back.

BY WESTON CHANCE AND MICHAEL JIMENEZ

All he could think about was the news he was soon to receive. The room was ominous, the air cold. It was so quiet you could hear the clock ticking on the wall. Sitting there was junior Adam Dalrymple, all he could hope for was a chance, a chance that he would be able to make his return to the sport he loves.

As the doctor entered the room, Dalrymple, shifting to the edge of the seat, listened carefully. He was waiting for the doctor to deliver the news. The news that would completely alter the course of his high school athletic career.

During Dalrymple’s freshman season as a part of the Lions football team, an unfortunate turn of events led him suffering two subluxed shoulders as well as two torn labrums. At first, the injury was only a minor setback, sidelining Dalrymple for half the season, but quickly the situation became much worse.

“After half the season went by they put me back in, but during wrestling, both my shoulders subluxed and they took me out again,” Dalrymple said.

Upon revisiting the doctor, Dalrymple was told he wasn’t going to be allowed to play football again, forcing him to choose what to do. Ultimately, Dalrymple decided he was going to join the crew team, to compensate for being sidelined.

“I chose crew because my brother did it,” Dalrymple said. “The plan was to stick to crew

throughout high school just to have a sport , but I never enjoyed crew as much as I did football.”

After a long sophomore year of sitting in the student section, Dalrymple, more motivated than ever to make his comeback to the gridiron, decided he was going to do whatever he could to make that happen.

“I started having the idea of coming back during last year’s football season,” Dalrymple said. “It was definitely a spur of the moment thing. All it took was watching everyone else play for me to realize just how much I missed it.”

After a long, hard year, filled with countless hours of physical therapy, Dalrymple was given the green light to get back out onto the football field.

“I did 10 to 15 minutes of physical therapy per day,” Dalrymple said. “I got reevaluated in February of last year and the doctor said I was good to go for junior year.”

Although Dalrymple was given the okay to play football again, the road to once again playing underneath the Friday night lights was far from over.

“After I told the trainers I got cleared, I went into coach Flaherty’s office and met with him about goals for the upcoming season,” Dalrymple said.

Throughout the offseason Dalrymple trained harder than ever, determined to earn himself a starting spot on the football team.

“I had to complete a lot of lifts during the offseason along with eating more so I could put on

some weight,” Dalrymple said.

Finally, after an entire year away from the game he loved, Dalrymple was able to take the field for the Lions in their first game of the season against Fort Worth Country Day.

“It felt nice to step back onto the field, but I definitely felt a little nervous about the situation because it felt relatively new after taking last year off,” Dalrymple said.

The countless hours of grueling offseason training and physical therapy had finally come to fruition when Dalrymple earned himself a starting position on the team.

“I’m a starting defensive tackle along with Wyatt Loehr and I’m on kickoff, extra point and punt coverage,” Dalrymple said. “I felt accomplished because I worked hard throughout training camp to be the best player I could be.”

Although his debut ended in a 34-35 loss, Dalrymple looks to build on the recent success that the Lions have seen.

“We started out with a game that was a little rough, but I think it was for the better, it taught us to block out all the narratives as coach Flaherty has said before,” Dalrymple said.

As the season goes on and the biggest games remain to be played, the hope for not only Dalrymple, but the Lions as a team is the build off of the positives they’ve seen throughout the past five games.

“We’ve been consistent with competing with other teams, no matter how good people think they are,” Dalrymple said.

WHOOP bands help students track health metrics

BY RISHIK KAPOOR

How much REM sleep did I get last night?

How much has my heart rate varied today? How hydrated am I?

These are questions that most people do not think about on a daily basis. Yet, their answers reveal important details about how well the body is recovering, one of the most important aspects of ensuring highlevel performance on the field.

One of the most popular ways athletes are tracking their recovery is the WHOOP health monitor. The monitor, which acts like a band and wraps around the user’s

wrist, tracks a variety of metrics in the associated WHOOP app, and WHOOP wearers use these statistics to best aid their recovery.

Senior Nicholas Dickason is one of the quickly growing population of WHOOP users at St. Mark’s. “WHOOP tracks how much exercise I’ve done, how many calories I’ve burned, and a lot of other important information,” Dickason said.

The WHOOP band tracks a plethora of different metrics, such as heart rate and calories burned. What sets it apart from other watches, such as the Apple Watch or Fitbit, however, is the WHOOP specific statistics.

“The WHOOP tracks my strain, which is how much work my body has done and how

tired it is,” Dickason said. “It also tracks my Heart Rate Variability, which indicates how ready my body is for exercise.”

Dickason’s favorite feature, however, is the sleep tracking feature. WHOOP’s sleep tracking technology not only tracks sleep duration and circadian rhythym, but also the duration of different stages of sleep, such as REM or deep sleep.

“This feature really separated WHOOP from other fitness watches,” Dickason said. Other watches only track how much time I’ve spent sleeping. WHOOP tracks how much time I’ve been in each stage, which is really cool.”

Because WHOOP’s sole purpose is to aid in physical activities and recovery, it eliminates the limitations and distractions

that come with more general watches.

“The WHOOP has no screen, so it doesn’t ever distract me with games, apps, or notifications,” Dickason said. Also, the WHOOP has a portable charger, so it can charge while I wear it. This allows me to charge it while I sleep, which other watches can’t do.”

Although Dickason has only had his WHOOP band for a few months, he has already noticed a stark contrast between his performance before and after buying it.

“I’ve recovered a lot better since getting the WHOOP band,” Dickason said. “It has definitely helped me physically in all my activities.”

This year, Dalrymple was able to retake the field after one and a half seasons on the sideline.

Photo by Winston Lin

Bridging the gap in sports attendance

Despite having dominant seasons year-in and year-out, the Lions Volleyball and Water Polo teams often struggle to have the necessary attendance to make games feel like true home games.

BY ROHAN KAKKAR AND EMILIANO MAYO

It’s Friday night. Four hundred Upper School students pack out the student section as the Lions football team runs onto the field. For more three hours, students yell and cheer on their classmates, hoping to get the win.

Ten miles away, the Lions volleyball team plays. It’s silent. Despite a dominant season, almost no fans are in attendance.

For almost all sports, attendance at events can improve. Lots of sports at the school have consistently dominant seasons yet attendance does not change much year after year.

For SuperFanMan and volleyball captain Owen Ackerman, trying to bring attention to underappreciated sports has been a big area of emphasis for his time in the spirt group.

“Since my sophomore year, I’ve made an effort to be friends with (Hockaday volleyball players) and have them come to our games,” Ackerman said. “We’ll go to their games, and we know fans can help give us confidence and energy in these games. And, it’s good team bonding as well for both of us.

In addition to going to Hockaday games, Ackerman helped Assistant Athletic Director Joshua Friesen get SPC Championship for volleyball at the school this year, hoping for a good attendance.

“Last spring, I went into (Friesen’s) office and I said ‘I know you probably don’t have much say in this, but if there’s any way we could host SPC that would mean so much to this team and to the program,’” Ackerman said. “He told me there’s

really no chance because we have to host cross country. But then at this meeting, he somehow worked some magic, and he pulled me to his office one day in late May, and he was like, ‘Hey, by the way, we’re hosting SPC.’”

However, Ackerman understands that football does generate a lot of hype and buzz for the sports scene on campus and that attendance for them is always higher.

“It’s hard in the fall to compete with football,” Ackerman said. “I mean, everyone loves football, I love football and football is very entertaining to watch. And for girls too, like, girls want to dress up for these themes. We kind of get a mix of both worlds, because in some past years, we’ve had times where volleyball is the only sport on a Friday sometimes, and those games usually attend really well.”

For Ackerman, games with lots of fans in attendance like his Casady games both sophomore and junior year have been some of his most memorable, along with the SPC championship games.

For junior water polo player Oliver Geheb, attendance can also be a little lacking for his games. The water polo team has dominated competition and has won TISCA (Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association) for the past two years.

“It’s different,“ Geheb said. “Most people like running and jumping and stuff like that, but water polo (doesn’t have that), and a lot of people kind of shy away from different things. We also don’t have any actual home games.”

In combination with more growth through clips online, a new athletic complex looks to give

water polo a home. Football has always had their stadium, basketball has always had their courts and track and field their track.

“The pool can (give a reason) to watch a game,” Junior Kevin Hong said, “(It can bring) the pre-game before the game.”

Additionally, Geheb hopes that more people will attend with the help of the current SuperFanMen such as senior Wyatt Loehr.

Loehr played water polo in the 2023-2024 season and has proven a useful way for there to be hype around water polo. Yet there is only so much one person can do for a whole program. For there to truly be growth, interest around the sport itself needs to be cultivated.

“Something that could help would be to get more quality clips from some of the players from our team so people can see that water polo is a fun sport to watch,” Geheb said, “They are cool goals that happen, if people see cool things happen at the game then more people are going to want to come.”

Recently, the water polo team conquered the state championship once again with a dominant showing. Throughout the whole TISCA tournament the Lions faced no challenge, but once again there was barely any sort of student support. This has been the third time the team has conquered the state of Texas, and the third time their stands remain vacant while doing so.

Flaherty outlines selective search for assistant football coaches

BY MARSHALL SUDBURY

Private wealth managers. Personal trainers.

Sales and marketing employees.

The makeup of the school football team’s coaching staff has it all.

For head football coach and history instructor Harry Flaherty, the search for great assistant coaches is a top priority. St. Mark’s football team currently has six assistant coaches that help train and develop players into both great football players and young men of character.

“We want coaches that take this seriously and are competitive,” Flaherty said. “But at the same time understand that we’re primarily trying to use football as a developmental tool and try to build character through the sport and a sense of team.”

Flaherty, a former Princeton football player, admits

that there are challenges in finding and recruiting coaches to help St. Marks, but also many benefits of coaching at a private school.

Harry Flaherty

“You don’t have this natural pipeline of teacher-coaches that just work within the system,” Flaherty said. “The positive, though, is that you are free to go out and look for the best people in society, working nine-to-five jobs that have a great background in football.”

Flaherty balances finding coaches with the right skills and knowledge that also will fit best within the program.

“It’s more important to find the right fit,” Flaherty said. “Somebody that can appreciate St. Marks and be excited about coaching a bunch of well-rounded student-athletes that care about football, but are also great in the classroom.”

Flaherty has used multiple avenues to find coaches. He has used family members, teammates, St. Mark’s alumni, and other connections to find coaches for his staff.

“For example, our quarterbacks’ coach Dalyn Love,” Flaherty said. “He played at Dartmouth, and through the connections that I’ve built with some of the Dartmouth coaching staff, I asked if they had any former players living in the Dallas area that might be a good fit to coach. They said that ‘actually, our all-time leading passer lives there and would be a great fit’.”

Once Flaherty identifies coaches he wants in the program, he also has to sell coaches on why they should choose St. Mark’s over other opportunities.

“Just because they are interested doesn’t mean they are going to sign on,” Flaherty said. “Selling them on, these are what our kids are like. These are our facilities. This is our history here. These are the other coaches we have on staff… what makes St. Mark’s special.”

Head Football Coach

Oliver Geheb Junior

Fans pack the student section for the Lions first home football game.

Photo by Bryan Li

Motivated by dad, freshman Hunter Dorrill competes in triathalons

BY SAM MORSE

Feet resting at the edge of the brick, freshman Hunter Dorrill peers down into the clear, transparent pool water. Dorrill freezes as other kids surround him, terrified of the challenge ahead of him. Goggles foggy, Dorrill takes his leap of faith and jumps into the pool, beginning his first of many triathlons.

Dorrill competed in his first multi-sport event at around 5 years old and his passion has not wavered since. For Dorrill, triathlons are about so much more than the numbers and statistics, making the sport more variable and unpredictable. In his triathlon career, Dorrill has mastered the ins and outs of the sport.

“There is so much strategy when considering how to spend your energy,” Dorrill said.

“Especially on the transition, I’ve won quite a few races even though people have beaten me a little bit on the swim, a little bit on the bike, and a little on the road because I’ve still outpaced them on the transition, so it’s a very important part.”

Through many challenges and tribulations, Dorrill has realized how uncontrolable the sport is and has focused on harnessing the aspects he can control. With each triathlon he competes in, he learns something new and improves from his mistakes.

“In every single triathlon I’ve done, something has gone wrong,” Dorrill said. “Sometimes I forget a little bit of nutrition, but, at other times, my whole bike breaks.”

Dorrill has used water polo and running as his way of training, providing him with elite conditioning. His work ethic and strategy have lifted his performance to new heights, enabling him to travel to the USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships in Omaha, Nebraska over the summer of 2024.

“It was really cool to see races with people from all around the United States,” Dorrill said. “It was crazy to see a lesser known sport on the ‘world’ stage.”

As a competitor in triathlons as well, Dorrill’s dad, Jeffrey, inspired him to pursue the sport and has fostered his passion and performance.

“I’ve gained a lot of trust in him,” Dorrill said. “Going to triathlons, there are so many things that can go wrong… and he figures out most of those things and does most of the planning.”

Dorrill will be competing in the Triathlon World Championships at Pontevedra, Spain in the summer of 2025 and is excited to embrace the experience.

Rule changes affect recruits

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) introduced new legislature for many sports that will extend more scholarship opportunities to recruits but limit overall roster spots. This change will have an immediate impact on high school athletes around the country who dream of playing at the next level.

BY NEIL YEPURI AND TEJAS ALLADA

Being recruited to play collegiate sports isn’t easy.

Although much of recruiting sports media is focused on the high school phenoms, who receive massive amounts of hype and attention from the time they turn 16, most kids are fighting for one or two college coaches to recognize their work ethic and give them an opportunity.

That opportunity, though, doesn’t always come in the form of a scholarship.

The system of “walk-ons”, a term to describe unofficial roster players who aren’t on scholarship but still play for and practice with a team, has been around since the 1960s. It’s designed to give low-level opportunities to kids who are interested in playing collegiate sports at the highest level - and some of those players may end up on scholarships.

Recently, the NCAA announced new rules for the college recruiting process. Among them is an increase in scholarships across the board, adding up to 800 for all sports. But that number, and the optimistic attitude around the increase, does not tell the whole story.

“There’s about to be new legislation that’s going into effect for next season where they’re putting these roster limits on everyone,” Mississippi State assistant basketball coach Ernie Zeigler said. “You’re only going to be able to have a 15-man roster (in basketball), but all 15 guys will be on scholarships.”

While that number is up from the current amount of scholarships, it will also remove the ability for teams to carry walk-ons with them, which limits opportunities at the end of a bench for guys to play in college.

“Right now, there’s only 13 scholarships per program in mens basketball, and everyone has anywhere from two to six walk ons,” Zeigler said. “The tough part

is, it’s going to eliminate some of these walk-on opportunities that some of these kids have been able to have for different reasons.”

This change isn’t just affecting opportunities in basketball, though. Football’s “official” scholarship limit is increasing from 85 to 105, with all 105 being scholarship-eligible. But, the current system allows for situations where teams can have up to 50 walk-ons, in addition to the 85-man roster.

THE TOUGH PART IS, IT’S GOING TO ELIMINATE SOME OF THESE WALKON OPPORTUNITIES THAT SOME KIDS BEEN ABLE TO HAVE FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. YOU’RE ONLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A 15-MAN ROSTER (IN BASKETBALL), BUT ALL 15 GUYS WILL BE ON SCHOLARSHIPS.”

Collegiate Coach, Ernie Zeigler

Unfortunately, this means that the already tight scope of recruiting will tighten further. Players could be scrutinized more thoroughly, and ultimately, those all-important spots on the end of the bench, especially important to players who want to prove themselves, will lessen in number (and in some cases, disappear.)

“You’re really gonna have to be much more selective (when choosing players),” Zeigler said. “Maybe they’re legacy, or they’re a really good player, or you know their high school coach, but you’re not going to be as lenient in helping people have opportunities.”

In fact, this change is already starting to affect potential recruits here. Duff McKay, the No. 70 ranked high school golfer in the country, has already been feeling the ramifications of the new ruling.

“With the new rules, some schools are not even taking any 2026 players because they are already over their roster limits and have to cut down,” McKay said. “In addition, in the world of NIL and the transfer portal, many players are looking to relocate schools, created even more competition for the incoming recruiting class.”

Although McKay’s golf game has steadily improved over the years to one of the best on the Lions’ golf team and in SPC, he’s found it harder to attract the interest of coaches. This comes even after men’s golf scholarships were doubled from 4.5 to nine.

Another wrinkle within this new regulation is its effect on NIL allocation. Now, coaching staffs must face the possibility of having more scholarships to pay for and pay out NIL money to, without the promise of extra funding.

“I don’t know the ins and outs of the new rule, but I do know that more and more coaches are contemplating reducing the number of scholarships (they give out) so that they can concentrate NIL money to the scholarship,” head basketball coach Greg Guiler said. “If you’re gonna have 15 scholarship players on your basketball team, you have to feed all those mouths when it comes to NIL fundraising. If you only had nine scholarship players, those are the guys you’re concentrating your NIL money towards, therefore you can create packages for them.”

Despite these new setbacks in the process, McKay is confident in his ability to find a college golf opportunity that gives him what he wants most - a chance to play.

“I have always wanted to compete collegiately at a university that offers rich academics and amazing resources that will enable me to take my game to the highest level of golf,” McKay said.

Commited Senior athletes Henry Estes, Mateu Parker and Luke Laczkowski (left to right) lock arms in their future college’s gear.

Photo by Neil Yepuri

Hunter Dorrill Freshman

Students enjoy Homecoming festivities

On the week of September 30th, marksmen enjoyed a variety of Homecoming activities. Students participated in themed dress days, a pep rally, and the dance all while reconnecting with alumni returning to campus.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Photos 1, 2, 3 by Dave Carden, Photo 4 Courtesy Rahil Panchbhaya, Photo 5 Courtesy Owen Park, Photos 6, 7 by Bryan Li

|1| Senior Mateu Parker celebrates the walk across the gym with high fives after his name was

celebration. |2| St. Mark’s’ cheer squad completes a complicated Kingsman-themed routine during the pep rally. |3| Senior Lawrence Gardner stands after being recognized as a King nominee before walking across the gym. |4| Seniors Lucas Petrikas, Rahil Panchbhaya, Chris Han and Matthew Jordan pose at the dance for a friends photo. |5| The five senior Homecoming King nominees pose for a photo together after the dance: Reagan Brower, Arjun Poi, Lawrence Gardner, Owen Park, Jacob Lobdell. |6| Students dance in the moshpit at Gilley’s under colorful lasers. |7| Student Council President Matthew Hofmann stands on stage at Gilley’s while annoucing the Homecoming King and Queen, Lawrence Gardner and Anjy Fadairo respectively.