The ReMarker | April 2014

R THE REMARKER

Senior Andrew Gatherer on the senior prank

“After months of people telling us we were sup-

posed to be mature and exemplary, we finally got a night to relive our childhoods. With unsophisticated seniors swarming around the Quad, the St. Mark’s campus literally became a preschool for the night while monumental box forts and engrossing blanket caves sprung up from seemingly nowhere.“ See Senior Section, pages 12, 13

ST. MARK'S SCHOOL OF TEXAS DALLAS, TEXAS 75230 THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014 VOLUME 60, ISSUE 6

Artist

How the school’s graduation requirement of one year of fine arts helps to find...

the

in everyone

IN THE STUDIO Recently named Merit Award recipients, ceramicists senior Tommy Addy and junior Wesley Cha showcase their artisitic products. Addy and Cha are just two of the many students who fit the school’s mold for creative, passionate and hard-working minds. The ceramics program, led by instructor Bill Kysor, emphasizes passion among its members.

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Art .

or once, it wasn’t about the résumé.

It wasn’t about college, or the “real world” or moneymaking. It wasn’t even about AP credits, or the hard earned A. For junior Wesley Cha, it’s still hard work.

It requires hours in the ceramics studio, and many more hours of thought. But for Cha, it’s more than just black-and-white ideas, or one-dimensional figures.

For Cha, it’s all about — as in the words of Einstein — “intelligence having fun.” It’s all about creativity.

“Ceramics, and more generally, the fine arts, is fun,” Cha said. “You don’t have to do everything in life just to have some sort of gain; it’s about doing it because you love to do it.”

Cha’s love for his fine art, ceramics, is apparent in the numerous accolades he’s collected in the past months; in the Young Arts Presidential Scholar in the Arts National Competition, Cha won the Merit Award in the Visual Arts, the association’s fourth most prestigious title.

“Along with the Merit Award from Young Arts, I’ve also won an Honorable Mention Award and a ‘Bailey Pottery Equipment’ award from the National K-12 Ceramics Exhibition,” Cha said. “And, as

for the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards, I won two Gold Keys and three Silver Keys in the Region at-Large program.”

Cha attributes the school’s Fine Arts program with instigating his passion for ceramics. Not only does the course provide him with an art credit and class, but it opens up completely new creative thinking processes.

“The fact that St. Mark’s asks every student to take a year of art, or get them exposed to art, is very good,” Cha said. “Ceramics teaches me a lot about how to persevere. There are lots of times when I’m struggling after school by myself, so it’s taught me how to think creatively. It’s also taught me a lot about improvisation, when things aren’t going right. Without ceramics, I’d feel deprived of a passion.”

CONTINUED, PAGE 7

▶ by Cyrus Ganji, life editor and Shourya Kumar, deputy commentary editor, additonal reporting

by Richard Jiang, staff writer | photo by Andrew Gatherer, head photographer

Signs now grace the newly-named Perot Quadrangle and Fojtasek Lower School

By Noah Koecher staff writer he Ida M. and Cecil Green Commencement Theater location has been redefined with new signage closer to the entrance of Centennial Hall, while the new Perot Quadrangle has been named in its old location and the Fojtasek Lower School has been established as well.

“We don’t just randomly make a decision to name something,” Assistant Headmaster David Dini said. “It’s done with a lot of thought and care and intention over time, and it has to be done in concert with policies that are established by the school.”

Rather than a spur-of-the-moment decision, Dini stresses the signs denoting the Green Commencement Theater are simply being moved to new spaces provided by the demolishing of Davis Hall, previously, the iconic building on campus, after years of planning, while its old location will become the newly named Perot Quadrangle.

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INSIDE

NEWS

“The plaque you saw there, the monument with the landscaping around, was to say ‘This is where we have commencement,’” Dini said. “Well, Davis Hall used to sit right [along the Great Hall–Chapel Walkway], and then we tore Davis Hall down, so Commencement doesn’t occur there anymore, it occurs down [near Centennial]. So we’ve been talking for a number of years that we’re going to have to redefine and move the signage to reflect where Commencement now occurs.”

This new signage, made of granite with the words “Ida M. and Cecil Green Commencement Theater” etched in, has become the new centerpiece for the chapel walkway, recognizing one of the founding fathers of both Texas Instruments and the school and a family with more than 60 years of continuous involvement. But that doesn’t mean the administration has forgotten more recent families of immersion.

“That Commencement Theater is an

Tracking the newly-announced changes to the SAT p. 3

LIFE

important, permanent reminder, and that’s why we want this signage to be a real important reminder of that legacy,” Dini said.

“And in a similar way, the Perot Quadrangle, a family that’s had a more recent history, does some of the same kind of thing. It recognizes long-standing involvement from families that have been instrumental in the development and success and excellence of St. Mark’s.”

In addition to the creation of the Perot Quadrangle, the new naming of the Fojtasek Lower School serves as another example of a continuous relationship of involvement and activity between a family and the school that has flowered into the naming of a central part of campus life.

“And then, the third piece is the naming of the Lower School,” Dini said. “And again, the Lower School didn’t have a name on it, so this is a recognition of a family of engagement and involvement over time, and it’s an opportunity to recognize and highlight the

Senior Paul Herz recently sang with his choir in Carnegie Hall p. 10

COMMENTARY

It’s time to put an end to the tradition of pocket ripping p. 16

important role that the support of our community plays in ensuring that our students have the very best opportunities imaginable, and that means great facilities, great programs and great teachers.”

And though the generosity and involvement of the school community is a crucial part of its continued success, Dini believes the naming of buildings and campus locations is a testimony to the impact of a people devoted to the future of everyone touched by 10600 Preston Road — and not by accident in the slightest.

“That’s sort of the point,” Dini said.

“When we’re able to recognize families, in big or small ways, it’s not so much about the money; it’s about the fact that people believe in the mission of the school, and they want to advance the mission of the school, and they believe in the people of the school, students and the faculty and they want to make sure that they’re given the very best opportunities they can have.”

SPORTS

After suffering a torn ACL, senior Malcolm Bowman looks forward p. 21

“

Emmett Gilles has been hired as a full time instructor next year for the freshman history course, Foundations of World Societies. p. 4

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17 2014 | PAGE 2

upcoming The benchwarmer’s pride

THINGS TO DO IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

DYLAN CLARK

I can’t sum up the St. Mark’s experience. There’s no way to say “this is the right path for a Marksman,” because the Path to Manhood is different for each of us.

All I can say for certainty is that I worked hard — in class, in sports and on this newspaper — and am leaving happy. Maybe that will work for you, too.

And as I look upon the 36 days left until I walk across that stage — the one so often whispered about as the larger-than-life milestone at the finish line — I think that effort is that secret, one-size-fits-all solution for those who fear feeling unfulfilled the day graduation looms in the horizon as it does for this Class of 2014 now.

We worked our butts off. Our class has won SPC and State championships, won math competitions, survived junior year and built a box fort that may not have stood the test of time but will become legend.

When Commencement comes calling, we will get our diplomas, but we won’t get any receipt that lists all those hours we spent working on the musical or tutoring children at Jubilee or doing X or Y or Z. But we don’t need any “receipt” because all of that effort has made us who we are — 86 men on our ways across the country to learn, to serve, and to lead.

The hard work will soon pay off.

••• To those who aren’t running short on days left as Marksmen, don’t squander the chance to make something amazing out of your time here.

Outdo us.

Get involved in an extracurricular, dedicate your time to mastering a language or unveil the journalist inside yourself. Be a debater, a ceramicist or a three-sport athlete.

But also allow yourself to be bad at something. Learn about it. Strive to be better at whatever it is and I promise you’ll learn something about yourself too.

You’ll be in my place in just a few years and, if you work your hardest here, you’ll be glad you did.

Believe me, you can be the guy scoring .39 points per game and loving it.

MASON SMITH PHOTO

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STEPPING UP Director of Development David Dini addresses students, parents and faculty at last year’s annual Cum Laude Induction Ceremony.

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“Our goal is to support college readiness and success for more students and to make sure that those who are prepared take full advantage of the opportunities they’ve earned.”

Page 3

Today

This Weekend

Next Week

> Elections for Student Council executive officers will take place in Upper School assembly at 10:30 a.m. > Free the Children’s last bake sale will take place at 3:45 p.m. in the Commons. All proceeds will go to the club’s charitable operations in Africa.

>School will not meet tomorrow due to the Good Friday celebration, which is a part of Christian holy week.

> The Cum Laude Induction Ceremony will take place Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. in the chapel. The event recognizes the top academic performers of the junior and senior classes. > Course selections for the following school year are due under the course requests section of Whipple Hill next Monday.

> Classes will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday after Easter. The normal schedule for late start days will be followed.

A QUICK LOOK AT NEWS AROUND CAMPUS

• Freshman Ian Fitzgerald received second place in the Chinese Bridge Speech Contest for high school students March 8. Inspired to participate by Chinese instructor Dr. Lei Zhang, he was selected from a group of 24 finalists. He went to the University of Massachusetts at Boston, delivered a speech about poetry and held a question and answer session, both in Chinese.

“It was definitely a unique experience, and I plan on doing it again,” Fitzgerald said.

The competition was sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

• For the second year in a row, all three school publications have earned a Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). The ReMarker extended its streak to 11 consecutive Gold Crowns, while the Marksmen earned its sixth in a row and The Marque its fifth total.

The ReMarker, Marksmen and The Marque were among 66 other publications awarded a Gold Crown by the CSPA. A panel of judges evaluated 1,200 submissions nationwide for the 2012-13 school year and awarded Gold Crowns at Columbia University March 21, 2014.

Last year’s editors-in-chief were Daniel Hersh ’13 for The ReMarker, Parker Matthews ’13 for the Marksmen and co-editors Robbey Orth ’13 and Nic Lazzara ’13 for The Marque.

• The annual Spring Piano recital, held by Sandy Hall, piano studies teacher, will be held May 4.

This year, all of Hall’s students will participate in the recital.

“All of my students are participating in this, and there are just about 50 [students],” Hall said The recital gives all of her students a goal to work towards and accomplish.

“The piano recital gives my students a chance to share their best works with family and friends,” Hall said. “My students have almost half a year to prepare, and then the recital is a chance for them to finally display their work”.

Hall’s piano recital, which is held twice per year, is a requirement for all of her students.

“Although the recital is a requirement for my kids, I think that it is something they look forward to, to showcase their skills.”

• Senior Ryan O’Meara, issues editor of The ReMarker, was named the Texas High School Journalist of the Year last month after submitting a portfolio that included examples of his writing, design and work on special projects.

He travelled to San Diego earlier this month to attend a convention where he was named second place finisher the National Journalist of the Year, sponsored by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.

“I’m so proud of this award, but a lot of the credit has to go to the whole staff,” O’Meara said. “Without everyone working their hardest, I wouldn’t be able to do work like this.”

Last year’s editor-in-chief, Daniel Hersh ‘13, placed third in the previous national competition.

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

’m not very good at basketball.

This season, I played in 18 of the team’s 26 games. I scored seven points, I dished out six assists, I turned it over four times.

And I loved every minute of it.

This season was a lot of hard work — workouts with Coach Dilworth on the track, weekends gone to tournaments in Wills Point or Houston, being a little late to class after a 6 a.m. Friday practice because you’re too tired to get in the shower — and a lot of exhilarated towel waving.

For me, that’s enough. It wasn’t about playing time — I knew I would be limited in that. My goal was about challenging myself to do something hard and get better.

But when my teammates voted me “Hardest Working Player” at the end of the year, I was stunned. I, one of the senior benchwarmers who averaged .39 points per game — right on pace to be tied for 466th in the NBA with Sacramento Kings center and Senegalese superstar Hamady Ndiaye — was somehow an award-winning player on a great Division one SPC team.

It helped me solidify a suspicion I had long held about this school — that hard work is valued just as much as success. Maybe more.

Yes, I dreaded those morning practices, I complained to friends during those far-away tournaments, and I sighed with as much angst as I could muster when I saw “Dilworth,” on the daily practice plan.

But the team went through it together, got better together and became great friends. The work let the benchwarmers wave our towels with pride as we made Division One, won a triple overtime thriller against Greenhill and beat the Eagles on a night that reminded everyone how robust and vivacious the Marksman spirit is.

SKYBOUND The St. Mark’s Aeronautics and Space Administration (SMASA) club launched a qualifying rocket for the national Team America Rocketry Challenge which has secured them a spot for nationals in Virginia and a chance at internationals in Paris.

CONNOR OLSON PHOTO

NEWS AROUND CAMPUS

THE THINKER Teaching Fellow

JAMMIN’ OUT At the Austin Street Center dinner and charity event, the jazz club launches into a performance to benefit and entertain clients staying at the homeless shelter. Dozens of Marksmen attended the dinner March 27, which preceded the Street Fest several days later.

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

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ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE COLLEGE BOARD KATE LEVIN

PIECE BY PIECE In the annual cow dissection, students in fourth grade instructor Debra Materre’s class cut into a heart, identifying various sections and pieces of the organ to further their knowledge in science.

— Newsfeed stories reported by Akshay Malhotra, Matthew Placide, and PJ Voorheis

overheard

COMMENTS MADE BY FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS AROUND CAMPUS

‘They’re not hippie molecules!” - Chemistry instructor Ken Owens describing radical molecules to his tenth grade class

‘I’ll give you the sparknotes version.’ - Sophomore Arno Goetz describing his plans to take over the world to a classmate

‘It looks like something people would have made just after they learned to walk.’ - Ceramics instructor Bill Kysor to senior Ryan O’Meara

‘Mhm mhm, no, only Big Daddy touches the stapler’ English instructor David Brown to junior Nick Jelsma

‘What? It helps me focus.’ - Sophomore Chance Cooley on watching Jeopardy! while doing his homework

‘What? What kind of Communist country do you think this is?’ - sixth grade humanities instructor Kathy Schoeberlein

NEWS

5 Physics Olympiad

4 Emmett Gilles

S A T

THE REMARKER | 3 THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

6 Wordmasters

C H A N G E S

Searching for answers The SAT is transitioning from a memorization-based test toward a college-readiness and aptitude test that will emphasize mathematics and critical analysis more. Starting in 2016, students will begin taking the new exam, an exam that marks a new era for the SAT.

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ozens of textbooks devoted to SAT preparation line earned through their hard work,” Levin said. “Because a have with new material. That material is still going to be on the shelves in the study room of the College Counsel- test alone can’t change student outcomes, assessments such the same level of what would demonstrate college prepareding office. as the SAT must be integrated with rigorous classroom ness.”

Some were made by the Princeton Review, others by instruction, and through their results, propel students to Gendason also assures the classes affected by the Kaplan’s, others by Barron’s and others still by the College greater opportunities. The redesigned SAT will reward change, starting with the Class of 2017, that colleges and Board itself. productive use of classroom time and a focus on rigorous the college application process will not be altered by the Some were published just last year, and others go as far course work.” changes and that admission officers will view the scores as back as 2007. legitimate as before.

But starting spring 2016, all of those books “Colleges put a lot of trust into the College will mean little to students.

Board, that they are testing concepts that students In its most radical modification since the need to bring with them to college,” he said. “So I introduction of the essay in 2005, the SAT will do not think that the freshmen should be worried neither require the essay portion of the test nor about, ‘we’re the guinea pigs,’ or ‘how is this going to deduct points for incorrect answers, use more be interpreted by colleges?’ The SAT will still be the “relevant” vocabulary, feature science and graphSAT. The scores will still be valid in indicating some based questions in both the reading and math level of preparation for college.” sections, among other changes, according to the enior Bradley Mankoff, who has been acceptCollege Board’s website. ed into Washington University in St. Louis, The recently announced changes will be believes the test has made changes in the right implemented in the spring of 2016, meaning the direction to test kids on college readiness.

Class of 2017 will be the first to be able to expe“The SAT test was not intended to incorporate rience them, though students may still take the work ethic,” Mankoff said. “It’s not supposed to be test in its original format during the final months something you study for, it’s college readiness. I like of 2015. to think the moves they are making are the right Freshman Kaden Han received a scholarones for colleges to be able to recognize students that ship to the Duke University Talent Identification are good for their schools and for students, especially Program (TIP), a summer program for gifted those of us that are ready for college.” students, for receiving an 800 on the math section These “moves,” according to Gendason, make of a trial SAT. But with the so-called “Redesigned the test more school curriculum-based and align the SAT,” his preparation may become irrelevant.

SAT with the ACT more closely, a reaction to “the “They say they are making it more modern lower number of test takers than [the College Board] and more applicable to today’s kids,” Han said. “It have seen in the past with students focusing and RELEVENT CHANGE According to Assosciate Director of Communications for the might be. It still doesn’t test science or stuff like solely taking the ACT.” College Board Kate Levin, the changes will make the SAT a truly relevent test featuring that, so it’s not that applicable to real life still. It Because of the resemblance between the modseems like it might be a little easier because one of curriculum-based material that will better assess students’ knowledge. ified SAT and its competitor, students will no longer the hardest things for me was the vocab.”

Associate Director of College Counseling Casey Genneed to take as much additional preparation to take both, According to the Associate Director of Communicadason elaborates on the shift of preparation students will as many choose to do. tions for the College Board Kate Levin, the changes will need for the test.

“I like that the preparation for the SAT or the ACT can make the SAT more relevant to students’ academic talent “[Students] will have a chance to demonstrate their work well for the other test,” Gendason said. “I don’t think and allow it to better evaluate their college preparedness. reading skills without having to memorize lists and lists of there is a whole lot now, but I do think there is some addiHence, vocabulary words will be less obscure, readvocabulary words they would never use in casual, social tional prep that’s definitely needed if you’ve been studying ing sections will include social studies and science-based or maybe even academic conversations,” Gendason said. for the SAT and now taking the ACT. So I like the overlap.” passages, math sections will contain complex algebra and “Some of the tedious parts of the SAT are being eliminated, With this in mind, Mankoff advises students like Han data analysis problems and the essay will focus on writing so I think this is actually a win for test takers.” to focus on keeping up with class, which will help not only analysis. Moreover, because points will no longer be docked However, contrary to the general belief that the revised with the SAT, but also the path to college beyond. for wrong answers, test takers are inclined to attempt every SAT will be easier, Gendason believes the overall difficulty “It’s pointless to be nervous about the process; it’s question, allowing for better ability assessment. level of the test will not significantly change. pointless to be nervous on test day,” Mankoff said. “All you “Our goal is to support college readiness and success “I think the test is still going to be challenging,” Genda- need to do is just be confident that St. Mark’s has given you for more students and to make sure that those who are son said, “and I don’t anticipate a significant rise in perfect the tools to be college ready and get into college and just prepared take full advantage of the opportunities they’ve SAT scores because they’re replacing what they currently trust in the process.”

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theDifference

Current SAT

New SAT

ACT

Maximum Score

2400 (sum of three 800-point sections)

1600 (sum of two 800-point sections; essay graded separately)

36 (mean of three sections, four including essay)

Test Medium

Paper only

Paper and digital

Paper only (digital set for 2015)

Essay

Required

Optional

Optional

Point Deduction

-1/4 for missed, 0 for skipped, +1 for correct

0 for missed or skipped, +1 for correct

0 for missed or skipped, +1 for correct

Calculators

Allowed

Allowed for some math sections

Allowed

Duration

3 hrs 45 min

3 hrs (+50 min for essay)

2 hrs 55 min (+30 min for essay)

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS by Alex Kim, news editor, and Philip Smart, staff writer | illustration by Abhi Thummala, staff writer | photos by Shourya Kumar

Page 4

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

NEWS E M M E T T

G I L L E S

Thinker he

Along with the 86 graduating seniors of the class of 2014, teaching fellow Emmett Gilles will graduate from his place in the Arnie Holtberg Fellows Program and return next year as a full-fledged history instructor.

DEEP IN THOUGHT Teaching fellow Emmett Gilles looks out across campus from the Grandparent’s Courtyard. Gilles will assume a faculty position in the history department at the start of the next academic year and will teach the freshman course, Foundations of World Societies.

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e journeys from ancient India to Han China with his students, illuminating key details along the way.

He demonstrates proper form to novice rowers as an assistant crew coach.

He affably jokes with Marksmen in the hall outside his office, his door always open.

He’s 23 years old, but he’s still a student at heart.

Teaching Fellow Emmett Gilles will return to 10600 Preston Road next year as a faculty member, teaching four classes of the freshman history course, Foundations of World Societies.

“I wanted to continue a lifestyle that would allow me to study,” Gilles said. “I was looking for a place that would be a strong community and a good place to continue learning and growing and to build some good experience out of.”

After graduating from the University of North Carolina (UNC) in the spring of 2013 with a bachelors of arts in classics and comparative literature, Gilles set out to find a place where he could continue studying, learning and thinking.

“The more I got to know about [this community], the more I thought, ‘This could really be a great fit’,” he said.

Since joining the school as a teaching fellow at the start of this academic year, he has sat in on classes and taught one day in each department in addition to taking on a section of the freshmen history course Foundation of World Societies. With an eager enthusiasm for knowledge, Gilles sees teaching as a natural fit for him.

“The life of the mind, in general for me, is the most interesting thing about being human,” he said. “There are a lot of great things that you can do, and I think the life of the mind is pretty inclusive of that. I love sports, I like games. It’s nice to make money, it’s nice to feel like your adding value to

society, it’s good to save people’s lives. All those things are good, but for me, I think the thing that feels best and that I’m best suited for is thinking and reading and writing and helping other people do those things.”

Despite the fact that he has taught and will teach history courses here, Gilles shied away from the subject during his four years at UNC. “I think it’s kind of funny that I’m teaching history now because it was probably my least favorite subject in college,” he said.

Instead, he found a passion in literature, a pursuit still alive and embodied in the books neatly stacked on his office shelves: Homer’s Odyssey wedged between two textbooks, or a leather-bound Qu’ran standing next to a thick tome on philosophy.

“I studied the great books in college,” he said. “Formally I was classics major, so ancient Greek was my foothold in the world of philosophy and poetry and literature, but I really expanded from there. I double-majored in comparative literature as well and the two major fields I studied were ancient Greek and modern Irish poetry. Both of those I loved and felt I could spend many more years exploring. But I say ‘great books’ because my studies were not restricted to those disciplines. I tried in my four years to read as many of the canonical, influential, seminal texts of especially the Western literary tradition as I could. That set me up for having a decent sense of what I was interested in, and it was not history.” ut with this background, Gilles believes he is equipped to help provide a different perspective on history: a perspective of scale.

“Teaching history leaves a lot up to the instructor,” he said. “So my ideas about history are very much informed about what I know about where literature comes from and what it means for human beings to try

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and form successful communities. That’s the heart of philosophy and at least the context for most great writing. My students, I hope, come away with a little more of a sense for the human picture – how societies form, what leads people to structure their lives as they do.”

Gilles hopes to provide a historical perspective for his students through his own Judaism. Always seen with a small Yarmulke on his head, Gilles identifies his religion as much a part of him as his nationality or his own last name.

“I live Judaism in a particular way and thus my perspective of it is different from someone who may approach it more academically,” he said. “I hope that it encourages students to think about history or whatever I’m teaching as something that’s alive. These are ideas. Me putting a little hat on my head, that’s part of an idea but it’s still something I do every day. Ideas don’t have to be so far off from reality.”

However, even while at the front of the class teaching, Gilles feels he has already learned a lot while on campus.

“Definitely there are a lot of professional opportunities to learn and I’ve had many,” he said, “but I would say the holistic, big picture takeaway is that, first of all, since this is a boy’s school, I recognize more now than in the past how important ‘boyhood’ is for all men. I think St. Mark’s is a place where ‘boyishness’ and the best aspects of what it means to be a boy are nurtured and really nourished and brought out.”

And his goal – to contribute to the Marksman community as best he can. An academic who finds joy in writing letters or keeping a journal, Gilles isn’t quite sure what the future holds for him, whether it be eventually return to college or remain teaching.

But for now, he has a lot of time, and the perfect place, to think on it.

THE THINKER story by Vikram Pattabi, news editor | photo by Alden James, staff photographer

Student Council speeches, voting to be held next week

By Davis Marsh staff writer lections for class officers for the 20142015 Student Council will take place April 25, with speeches by the candidates taking place April 23.

Class officers, including class president, vice president, secretary and Student Council representative, are responsible for representing their class on the council.

“It’s a tradition on [Student] Council that several of the outgoing seniors will participate in the election committee,” Student Council President Charlie Golden said, “which exists to ensure that the speech and voting process runs smoothly. It’s mostly just guys being at the speeches and voting to pass out ballots and make sure that everyone has a chance to vote. For my role, the toughest thing was planning the schedule for this whole process and moving around multiple conflicts.”

Having served on the council for four years, Golden stresses the importance of

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candidates being upfront and personal in their campaigns.

“My advice for candidates in class elections would be to get personal and specific in speeches,” Golden said. “Your classmates want to get to know you, and they want to hear concrete ideas you have that are both intriguing and realistic. The other thing would be to be serious and confident.”

While Golden feels that people have been taking elections seriously in the past few years, he also reminds students the importance of who they elect.

“I think we’ve gotten much better about this in recent years, but there have been cases where a candidate has a really funny speech, and he gets voted in based purely on that, and then he’s a disaster in office,” Golden said. “I’d tell voters to go with who they respect, not just who they like or who can make them laugh. The other really important thing that people don’t always realize is that even with the less prominent positions like secretary and VP, especially as

you get to junior and senior year, those aren’t empty titles. Those are guys involved in key decisions on stuff like McDonald’s Week, the Senior Retreat, the Senior Prank and a bunch of other events that depend on strong leadership. So take it seriously.”

Lastly, Golden hopes that the elected officials will continue the Student Council’s tradition of servitude and relevance to the school community.

“I think that at the beginning of the year, we set out to drastically improve the content and the energy of our assemblies and pep rallies,” Golden said, “and we’ve done a great job at that. I can’t thank the guys on the council, as well as our sponsors, enough for the work they’ve done. But because we’ve spent so much time focusing on improving weekly events, we haven’t really had a big reform issue that we’ve been pushing, and there are a few things I know that we as a council have in mind. So next year I’d like to see the council push for some reforms that I know the student body would like to see.”

Lawson looking to build on success of Arnie Holtberg Fellows Program

By Noah Koecher staff writer he Arnie Holtberg Fellows Program, a two-year process that educates recent college graduates in the field of high school teaching, has now turned several of its participants into permanent faculty. Program Director and Director of Faculty Recruiting Byron Lawson has high hopes for a continued climb after leading the program’s successful youth.

With the success of recently inducted fellow history instructor Andrew Farrar and history teaching fellow Emmett Gilles, Lawson has seen an improving recruitment system that will allow the school to select candidates who fit the current needs and desires of the campus.

“We are trying to find people who we think can teach at St. Mark’s by year two,” Lawson said. “Even though they’re fresh out of college, we are looking for people who have very successful academic careers, typically at schools that have a particular type of rigor — every school is successful at something. So, you went to that school for that piece of rigor, and maybe that’s what we need on a given year.”

Along with evidence of a college degree and strong education, Lawson looks for applicants who have potential for well-rounded involvement in a variety of areas, such as academics, athletics and outdoors programs, all of which involve large time commitments.

“You have fifth grade, sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade [campouts] and Pecos trips,” Lawson said. “Those just aren’t school days missed; those are days out of their lives. That’s what it means to be at an independent school. Your regular school day can be teaching one class, managing a study hall, shadowing an English teacher, shadowing a science teacher and then sitting in on a fine arts class. We believe that the way the program is organized, the teachers have a full time job and a full time commitment.”

Yet, as committed and involved as a fellow is forced to become, Lawson believes every moment is well worth it for the potential impact of a well-rounded and well-informed fellow at the school.

“They see the school evolving in a way that most of us don’t, because they just see so much of it,” Lawson said.

“And they share: when you ask a fellow a question, they’re happy to tell you, ‘This is what this part was like. I didn’t like that part much. That’s not the way I was taught.

That’s not how we did it in college.’ Fellows shine a mirror back on us as a school that helps us evolve and improve.”

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THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Page 5

NEWS P H Y S I C S

O L Y M P I A D

Physics phenoms

After taking the F=MA exam in January, Raymond Guo and Victor Zhou became semifinalists in United States Physics Olympiad.

THE CRADLE OF PHYSICS Working with Newton’s Cradle, junior Raymond Guo and senior Victor Zhou observe Newton’s Third Law. This concept was one of the topics in the F=MA exam. The two were also tested on topics ranging from basic mechanics to circular motion and torques and, in the semifinalist exam, electromagnetism and fluid dynamics.

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e sat down in his seat and looked at the exam in front of him.

He needed to correctly answer just below 60 percent of the questions. But this was a task that fewer than 500 students across the country are able to do every year.

There were so many questions but so little time. There were so many participants but so few spots. There were so many hopes but so few chances.

The odds were stacked against him.

Junior Raymond Guo turned the page and read the first problem of the 2014 F=ma exam. He worked for 75 minutes and handed in the exam.

And when the results were announced, he found out that he and senior Victor Zhou had become semifinalists of the 2014 United States Physics Olympiad — a feat that only 17 other Texans and 429 other Americans were able to achieve.

When Guo took the exam for the first time last year, his score was far from the cutoff score.

He was disappointed at first but soon became motivated to do better on the exam the next year.

“Last year, I was thinking that it would be so cool to be one of [the semifinalists],” Guo said. “Only about 400 people in the nation make this level.”

As he began studying the subject in the summer between his sophomore and junior year, he slowly found out that it was very

similar to math, an area that he excels in.

“I have a passion for math,” Guo said. “I felt that physics is the most similar to math.

Physics uses the tools of math to solve new problems, and a lot of problems are real-life problems.”

Rather than taking a physics course, Guo decided to study on his own using past exams after consulting with physics instructor Stephen Houpt.

“Raymond is awfully smart,” Houpt said.

“He was more of a self-study type of guy.”

When the school year began, Guo was able to solve complicated problems from the start.

“When we were in class at the beginning of the year,” Houpt said, “he would be bringing up solutions to problems that involved knowledge that the rest of the class wouldn’t get until two months later, and he already knew it because he had been studying on his own. It got be kind of a joke because everybody realized what was going on. And that’s perfectly fine.”

As the testing date of Jan. 27 approached, Guo continued doing a few practice problems every week. He wanted to gain as much practice as he could before the exam to be able to solve problems quickly and efficiently.

On the other hand, seniors Victor Zhou and Vincent Shia, semifinalists in last year’s competition, headed the school’s Physics Team and worked to put out a series

of questions in order to train prospective Olympians.

Zhou traces his interest in physics back to his early years when his father introduced him to the science.

“My dad is a PhD in physics,” Zhou said.

“When I was little, he showed me his workplace and there were all these really cool lasers and stuff. He talked about how a lot of it worked and I didn’t get a lot of it. I just wanted to understand how things work.”

Zhou aimed to qualify again, but he ultimately just wanted to do his best.

“I just took the test because the questions are interesting,” Zhou said. he F=ma exam is a 75-minute exam with 25 multiple choice questions that focus on mechanics. Approximately 300–400 students with the highest scores are invited to the semifinal stage.

“Raymond had been preparing and studying for a long period of time,” Houpt said. “Raymond is smart, but he also works at it a lot. He did a lot of preparation for it.

So I wasn’t surprised when he did well. And Victor had made it the year before, so obviously I wasn’t surprised that he made it as well.”

The semifinal exam, which the two just took, is the USA Physics Olym-

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piad Exam, a 3-hour calculus-based free response exam with six complex problems that cover topics including mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics and fluids, relativity, nuclear and atomic physics and waves and optics.

The top 25 students from this exam advance to the US Physics Team Training Camp at the University of Maryland, College Park May 27 to June 7 and are engaged in 10 days of “intense studying, testing and problem solving.”

At the end of the camp, five students are chosen to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympiad, which is being held in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 13 to July 31 this year.

Though both Guo and Zhou doubt that they will make it that far this year, they tried their best and are now waiting for the results to be released. However, they are proud to be part of the elite group of semifinalists in a subject they enjoy.

“With physics, you get how stuff in the world happens,” Zhou said. “I just thought it was pretty cool.”

PHYSICS PHENOMS story by Akshay Malhotra, staff writer | photo by Mason Smith, staff photographer

Senior publishes iOS app, hopes to continue programming career

By Akshay Malhotra staff writer enior Victor Zhou created the iPhone app Encircle the Turtle 2, which has recently hooked many students throughout the Upper School.

The app is a puzzle game in which the player must trap a turtle inside a formation of blocks. The player places one block, then the turtle makes a move, and if the turtle reaches the edge of the screen, the player loses. If the turtle becomes trapped, the player wins.

The game has received a rating of 8.3 out of 10 from TapScape, an app reviewing organization, and has been lauded as a “quality puzzle game” and “an original and challenging puzzle game.”

Zhou’s game has been given 13 five star reviews on the App Store despite perplexing many players.

“A lot of people are telling me that the game is really hard,” Zhou said. “That’s the point. It’s supposed to be hard. But when you get three stars on a level, it feels really good and you feel like you accomplished some-

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thing.”

Zhou was inspired to create the game, which has 60 levels and numerous gameplay features, a while after he released the first edition.

“About a year ago, I released the first Encircle the Turtle,” Zhou said. “A lot of people liked it, but there were only 20 levels. It was kind of shallow. It was kind of boring in my opinion.”

Starting his game development career in seventh grade, Zhou began in the summer of 2012.

“I knew a little bit of computer science,” Zhou said. “And then I started looking up tutorials. [The games] were really bad at first, but they got better.”

He has since taken up app development as a hobby and has created eight games available on the App Store, including the original Encircle the Turtle and Flappy Falcon.

“It would be really cool to be able to go to the app store and download an app that I made,” Zhou said, “and see people around me play it too.”

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THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

NEWS W O R D M A S T E R S

A way with words

ulary to learn, students make sure to study and practice the words to be prepared for the competitions.

“At the start we would write down all the definitions in our notebooks,” fourth grader Anashay Manga said. “At the end, we have three WordMasters meets every year. That’s where we have a test with 20 questions, and it’s really fun.”

For the first test the company sent out a list of 25 words to 415 teams in October for the students study and learn for a test in November. St. Mark’s placed second in the nation in the Blue Division, with four students achieving perfect scores: fourth graders Sal Abbasi, Arjun Agarwal, Maxwell Chung and James Singhal.

“I just studied really hard and I tried my best,” Abbasi said. “I like that it’s a challenge and you don’t really get a second try at it.”

Lower School instructors Sherri Darver and Janet Wadkins led the team of 48 kids to their exceptional performance, a score of 193 out of 200.

For the second meet in February, the company sent out another 25 words for the students to learn, and the school placed

Fourth graders place second in the WordMasters Challenge as their love for words continues to grow

A

s Rev. Michael Dangelo walks down the aisle during Lower School chapel, hundreds of young ears listen carefully to his sermon.

Suddenly, in the middle of Dangelo’s sentence, after he says the word “elated,” a pack of fourth graders jab the air with their fingers in the shape of a “W.” While the confused reverend stares at the sea of W’s, the fourth graders are all beaming, proud to tell the world that they heard one of their impressive WordMasters

words.

In fourth grade, a major part of the Humanities course is studying and participating in the WordMasters Challenge, a vocabulary competition based on completing analogies that involves thousands of students from all over the country.

“We did do a little analogies test in third grade,” fourth grader Sal Abbasi said, “but otherwise we haven’t done WordMasters before.”

Even with the challenging new vocab-

second in the nation again with a score of 186 out of 200.

“The second test was so hard. We had no perfect papers,” Darver said. “But it was hard enough across the country that we were able to keep our second place standing.”

Even though the tests have been a challenge for the students, Darver has guided her team to success and fostered a love of words both in and out of her classroom and hopes to see more success for the third test this year in May. “This is one of the highest standings we’ve ever had. I’d like to see us move into first place,” Darver said, “but if we place in the top ten I’ll still be very proud.”

WORDMASTERS’ FAVORITE WORDS • Anashay Monga • Hayden Stager • Owen Simon • Xander Bowles • Ryan Rahimizadeh

elated robust hardy cease hardy

A WAY WITH WORDS story by Will Clark, staff writer | logo used with permission of WordMasters.com

Randy Zisk ’77 shares his story, wisdom at annual Senior Dinner

By Abhi Thummala staff writer he annual Senior Dinner with Hockaday featured Emmy-nominated producer Randy Zisk ’77 April 7 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Great Hall.

Zisk spoke to the joint classes of the two schools. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2005 for his direction of an episode of Monk. Every year, an alumnus from either school speaks to the seniors, offering their perspective and experiences after leaving Upper School.

“I think it’s really important for the

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two classes to come together at the end of the year and hear from someone who’s established in our community,” Senior Class President Harrison Perkins said, “so we all learn what it takes to be in that situation and what it takes to be successful.”

The event is required for all seniors to attend and was planned by Head of Upper School Wortie Ferrell and Eugene McDermott Headmaster Arnie Holtberg. The location of the dinner alternates from year to year and is attended by the headmasters and heads of Upper School of both schools.

“It allows the class as a whole,” Assis-

tant Head of Upper School John Perryman said, “instead of just individual sports teams or fine art students etc., to come together and do something as a group that is meaningful and fun and they can hang out and socialize.”

Hockaday alumna Ooshma Garg ‘05, founder of Anapta, a company which matches students with employers, spoke at last year’s dinner at Hockaday.

“It’s good to have those sorts of classwide events a couple times during the year,” Perryman said, “where you can catch your breath, look around, talk to your buddies

you may not be in class with that you have been here eight, 10, 12 years with and think about yourself collectively as the Class of 2014.”

After spending years together through countless mixers, dances and parties, Perkins believes this coat-and-tie event leads the seniors of both schools into adulthood.

“Most of our get-togethers are fun, they’re eventful, but this one’s pretty serious,” Perkins said. “It kind of brings us together in a different way; it brings us all into a more mature way of life, together, instead of just having mixers.”

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THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Page 7

NEWS

State arts of the

At a school renowned for math, science and other academic pursuits, students are afforded the chance to learn about and explore a different side of themselves — the artist.

WORKING TOGETHER Students credit much of their success to the fact that the school’s Fine Arts instructors work hand in hand with them. Film Studies instructor Jennifer Gilbert helps sophomore Matthew Lawson edit a movie (left), Fine Arts Chair Jaque Gavin is innundated with volunteers in a Middle School drama class (center), and Fine Arts instructor Max Wood comments on a piece by sophomore Will Garden (right)

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n an era where there is less and less of a demand for creativity, the school still requires students to take a full year of fine arts to graduate. Many ask: what practical purpose do the fine arts have in a formal secondary education?

“It’s a really cliché answer, but [the purpose of a fine arts education is] to develop an individual who is well rounded and who knows how to look at things in a multi-dimensional way,” Cha said. “There’s a big difference between looking at something in a mathematical way and looking at something in an artistic way; it develops a different mindset to approach issues.”

Ceramics instructor Bill Kysor shares a similar sentiment. But more importantly, through his teaching philosophy, he hopes students ultimately find themselves through ceramics.

And for Kysor, Cha is one of many in the class who has attained this goal.

“They start getting satisfaction from their work,” Kysor said. “Then they start getting admiration from their peers. But something deeper than that is that they could relate to [their work].

It helped give them a voice.”

For Kysor, the trick is to stimulate their creative interest. He believes everyone has some—it’s just about “lighting the fire.”

Chair of the Fine Arts Department Jacque Gavin agrees with this idea of creativity.

“Artistic expression is an important way for an individual to know themselves,” she said, “and also to able to express themselves through some sort of median, whether it be through an instrument, a paintbrush or their voice.”

Even though the school has been widely recognized as a premier institution for the math and science programs that it offers, she believes that the school has truly made enormous strides in taking the arts scene to a new level.

“We give the same weight to athletics, to arts and to the academics.

We’ve got it covered,” she said. “And because St. Mark’s students are who they are, and the faculty are who they are, we don’t do things halfway.”

Over the past decade, the school has worked to expand its fine arts program. Film and digital photography have been added recently, and the school’s wood and metal class has

been redesigned. According to Gavin, however, the school’s success in the artistic realm stems from passionate instructors.

“I know our expansion of the arts is a combination of number one, the passion of our teachers,” she said. “Our art teachers are fabulous. People want to work with Mr. Kysor. It starts with the teacher, then the students, then the younger students. There’s a trickle down affect.”

Headmaster Arnie Holtberg considers this era to be a golden age of the arts. According to Holtberg, the 1960s were the first golden age, spearheaded by then Department Chair Tony Vintcent.

“We have added artistic disciplines,” Holtberg said. “The accomplishments of the students are fabulous.

The number of accolades afforded us is staggering to me. We have an exceptional arts faculty that not only know their disciplines, but they know their fields.”

Like Gavin, Holtberg also recognizes the necessity of having a premier faculty group at the school. But his vision for the arts extends beyond the school’s spirit within the fine arts program.

“I hope that we can encourage every boy to find his aesthetic self,” Holtberg said. “That may mean someone’s going to play viola, another gentleman’s going to throw pots, someone’s going to be on stage, acting and singing. I just hope that we all find our touch-point with the arts.”

This very artistic philosophy has produced many notable fine arts professionals: Tommy Lee Jones ’65, Rhett Miller ’89, Luke Wilson ’90 and Evan Daugherty ’00, to name a few.

But two more budding, successful artists, Taylor Hamra ’95, currently a writer and the co-executive producer for the show Dallas, and Charles Olivier ‘87, an Emmy-award winning writer, documentary filmmaker and journalist, are thriving artistically in the professional sphere.

What’s even more special is that both credit 10600 Preston Road with initiating their passion for the arts.

“I truly loved my experience as a student at St. Mark’s,” Hamra said. “I found it to be a place where a young man could make lifelong friendships, build relationships with mentors and

get exposure to a vast spectrum of subjects and disciplines. I always loved being creative. I found a passion in ceramics, and I occasionally enjoyed writing. But I also loved working with people.”

Hamra never considered entering the entertainment business as a student, despite his love for television sitcoms. However, he believes he developed the skill set of a television writer during his time in high school.

“Loving creativity, writing, and working with people are practically cornerstones in television writing,” Hamra said. “Television is very much a community experience. I feel like my experience at St. Mark’s provided me with key experiences early that helped me identify and cultivate those things.”

Similarly, Olivier agrees that his high school education exposed him to many art forms – for which he developed a deep curiosity.

However, art has provided Olivier CERAMICS INSTRUCTOR BILL KYSOR

They start getting satisfaction from their work. Then they start getting admiration from their peers. But something deeper is that they could relate to their work. with more than just a standard source of interest.

“My time at St. Mark’s grounded me on a foundation of worthiness and strength,” Olivier said. “Through trial and error I was encouraged to explore my feelings and give voice to them. I was guided toward questions, not so much answers, and I was inspired to answer them for myself. By repeatedly getting up in front of my peers to broadcast what I thought, and subsequently being praised for the effort, I developed my dignity. And that has been the key not just to success but to my worldview.”

Both artists drew inspiration from their former teachers; for Hamra, Kysor and former English instructor Dr. Henry Ploegstra had the largest impact.

Olivier was touched by the work of another English teacher, J.J. Connolly.

“When I had my meeting with

the creator of Dallas, there was some question about whether or not I would be able to write for her show, because I had never written adult drama before,” Hamra said. “But in our conversations, she asked me about my life and why I got into writing. I mentioned my 10th grade family paper on my grandfather, and she actually asked if she could read it. So I sent it to her, and to this day, she claims that reading that paper is what convinced her she should hire me.” n terms of the creative process, Olivier acknowledges both the rewards and frustrations of a career in the arts. Typically, Olivier’s most rewarding projects were the ones that were primarily subject-driven.

“So often, projects take you through all sorts of landscapes that are about as un-enjoyable as they come,” Olivier said. “ But, when I find the source of the story that I believe is the true story of the subject, I feel it. If I had to narrow it down to three I’m proudest of, I’d say Deadline (a documentary about Illinois Governor George Ryan), Magic & Bird: a Courtship of Rivals (about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird) and my current TV pilot, Yellow.”

Hamra also admits the challenges writing presents; however, his main inspiration to produce is because of its personal, not so much contextual, component.

“Honestly, I just love the process of making television with other people,” Hamra said. “The discussions with the writers, the collaboration and then working with the cast and crew to make it all come to life in production.

To me, it feels like we’re one big family.

If it was just me in my apartment, un-showered, writing in my underwear, I wouldn’t do it. No chance.”

Despite Hamra and Olivier’s past challenges, current successes and bright futures, their career paths all trace back to the same place.

“I didn’t officially pursue the arts until after I graduated from [University of Texas at Austin],” Olivier said. “But right along the way, I was preparing for it. And St. Mark’s was a huge part of that preparation. The development of curiosity, the development of compassion, the grounding in self-worth, the desire to dream. These are all roads that lead directly back to St. Mark’s.”

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STATE OF THE ARTS story by Shourya Kumar, deputy opinion editor, and Cyrus Ganji, life editor | photos by Tim O’Meara, staff photographer

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CRITICS' LAST STAND

Seniors Nabeel Muscatwalla and Cole Gerthoffer take a look back to the best entertainment from the last four years. p. 15

LIFE AROUND CAMPUS THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17TH, 2014 | PAGE 8

We have a primal instinct to clump into communities like our tribal ancestors. We don’t live here in straw huts, but we have constant figures like Joe Milliet standing outside his office to greet everyone who passes, Mr. Jordan offering his grandfatherly advice in the Lower School, Ms. Reck inviting students to talk in her room, Sra. Marmion offering us subtle wisdom in class and so many more. Their classrooms and offices might as well be residences and we their houseguests.

I don’t have much of an extended family outside this community, so my teachers became my uncles and aunts, and my classmates became my cousins and brothers. n this terrifying world of natural selection and survival of the fittest, in this society based on capitalism and self-interest, in this vulnerable civilization swept by terrifying forces like hurricanes and supernovas, in this universe that doesn’t seem to care about our fate, this community has sparked miracles of compassion towards me every day: Fellow seniors offer vital handshakes to ease the stress of college admissions.

A junior helps to clarify my calculus homework.

A sophomore photographs one of my chapel talks.

A freshman delivers that chapel talk with me.

An eighth grader agrees to present the chapel reading 15 seconds before the service began.

A seventh grader makes me laugh every time I see him.

A group of sixth graders invites me to join their game on the Quad on a frustrating day.

A fifth grader makes my day with a high-five whenever we pass.

A group of fourth and third graders on the Lower School Chapel Committee plan services with me.

The second graders allow me to juggle at their class party.

The first graders give me their attention during my senior ex in the planetarium.

And that list only skims the surface of the iceberg of the miraculous, mutual care we show for our family here, which made me feel devastated our world seemed ready to burst.

A fellow senior said he would probably tear up during our final singing of All Things Bright and Beautiful, and I told him I might tear up during that entire final week of school. Graduation marks the death of one world and the birth of another, and we dreaded the upcoming goodbyes to our family of instructors and brothers.

Then we remembered the concept that Dr. Seuss explains so simply, and we knew that only nostalgic joy awaited us beyond the Commencement stage: “Remember me and smile, for it’s better to forget than to remember me and cry.”

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sketchbook

Today

Weekend

> Go to the Dallas Arboretum tonight at 7:30 for their weekly concert while enjoying the spring weather. > Live bands will be playing at Red Bull Sound Select at the Three Links in Deep Ellum, which showcases the up and coming bands from around the Dallas area.

> New Orleans rapper Curren$y hits the Southside Music Hall this Saturday.

Check it out to see him play his hits like “Sixty Seven Turbo Jet” and “Light Snax.” > Stop by Klyde Warren Park Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the weekly Food Truck Friday, where 20 percent of all puchases are donated to help veterans and the homeless.

Next Week > Alumni Weekend begins next Friday. With events like the alumni cookout barbecue and reunions for every ‘4 and ‘9 class, it is sure to be a blast for Marksmen returning to campus. For the students, Rhett Miller ‘87 will be playing concerts for the Middle and Upper schools in Decherd after school on Friday.

A ROUNDUP OF LIFE ON CAMPUS

• Alumni Weekend will be from April 24-26. Events will include an Alumni Golf Tournament at Prestonwood Country Club April 24, Alumni classes taught by faculty April 25 and a family cookout featuring the studio band, classes for alumni and kids with athletic trainer Doc Browning and chemistry instructor Ken Owens ‘89 April 26.

Also, the Spring Alumni Dinner will honor retiring Eugene McDermott Headmaster Arnie Holtberg along with retiring faculty members and math instructor Marietta Johnston for her 40th year of service.

“Alumni Weekend has become a destination weekend for our Alumni, our guests, our faculty, and really our entire community to connect back on campus.” Jim Bob Womack, director of alumni relations said.

• Seniors Nabeel Muscatwalla and Cole Gerthoffer were nominated for Dallas Summer Musicals High School Musical Theatre Awards. Muscatwalla received a nod for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Moonface Martin in the musical Anything Goes, this year’s winter show. Gerthoffer was nominated for Best Featured Performer for his role as Sir Evelyn Oakleigh in the same show. The musical was also nominated for Best Stage Crew and Technical Execution. Nominees will attend a gala April 30.

“I think I can speak on behalf of Cole and the set crew when I say that we are excited and honored to be nominated,” Muscatwalla said. “Of course, in the end, our success is really a group effort. I’m happy to be a part of such an amazing program.”

• Senior Max Wolens was chosen to feature some of his photographic works in the April 2014 issue of Popular Photography Magazine, a monthly consumer publication with the largest circulation among imaging magazines.

“My being featured in the magazine is probably my biggest accomplishment to date,” Wolens said. “Not only did I receive the opportunity to have my work published in an acclaimed national magazine, but I also shared with the magazine staff how I got to where I am artistically today.”

• The Marque is now in its final stages of production. The staff has received all submissions including, photos, illustrations, sculptures, poems, essays and short stories.

“We’re at the final stages of production on the magazine,” Marque Editor Jonathan Ng said. “I’m really excited about unveiling the design of it and hope that everyone enjoys the artwork and writing.”

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

VISHAL GOKANI

SPRING IN THE AIR The Arboreatum will begin its annual concerts in the center of its park.

“

JUGGLING ACT Focused intently, senior Vishal Gokani and his brother freshman Chirag Gokani juggle various items during a coffee house performance March 29. The Gokanis have put on multiple juggling performances to benefit charity in the past.

ANDREW GATHERER PHOTO

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his campus has been my universe. I’ve spent years in every nook and cranny, in every library aisle and at every desk, maturing and growing in this protected cocoon.

When I first thought about graduation, I felt that my world might as well shatter.

We arrived in 2002, the year many current sixth graders were born, when the number 2014 was a sacred, distant destination that seemed impossible to reach. “Class of 2014,” our T-shirts and pencils reminded us.

Now that our time has come, I can’t fathom life beyond this community. I always treated this place as if I would live here for the rest of my days.

Along with my classmates, I poured months of my time into caring for this intellectual, spiritual paradise, this village.

PHOTO FOUND USING CREATIVE COMMONS

As one door closes...

THINGS TO DO IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

I have to say everyone should have something like this in their life... something with a sense of community.” Page 10

KIDDING AROUND The seniors took to the campus during their senior prank to send everyone back to childhood. Turning the “Path to Manhood” statue into “Childhood” was icing on the cake.

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

upcoming

SENIOR PAUL HERZ ON SINGING IN CARNEGIE HALL WITH HAZAMIR

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE Woodworking instructor John Frost works with senior Phillip Osborn to finish a project.

– Sketchbook stories by Avery Powell, Matthew Placide, Cyrus Ganji and Phillip Montgomerey.

artist IN action

SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON ONE OF ST. MARK’S MANY FINE ART STUDENTS

THE ARTIST Nico Sanchez THE ART Photography WHAT Buildings in downtown Dallas taken during Christmas break (left). The Jay Prtitzker Pavilion in Chicago, whichSanchez visited when he was on vacation during Spring Break (right).

HIS WORDS “I enjoy taking pictures of architecture because the unique shapes and curves that each building has and the different materials and textures that are presented.”

LIFE

10 Paul Herz

9 ISAS arts festival

The weekend of art

14 Critics’ last stand

I S A S

More than 100 Marksmen attended the 47th annual ISAS Arts Festival, held at St. John’s School in Houston, this year. While everyone who attends the festival loves the weekend of art and performing, many might not know the storied history behind it.

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he ISAS Arts Festival has built itself quite the legacy.

With more than 2,500 traveling students and 47 years of celebrating the arts, the festival has become some students favorite time of the year.

Beginning in 1967 at the Casady School as a joint choir program with Wichita Collegiate and Holland Hall, the festival has exploded into one of the biggest and most unique high school events in the country.

“When I first started going as a chaperone, it would start on Friday morning and go to maybe Friday at about six or seven o’clock,” Fine Arts Department Chair Jaque Gavin said. “Then there would be a big mass activity like a dance or something like that, and then we’d do a little bit on Saturday morning, then be done.”

Now the festival must span three days to fit all of the acts and exhibitions.

“It’d be like if SPC were 45 schools, and they were all doing their sports at the same time and the same place,” Gavin said. “And it’s not come and go, you’re a captive audience, so everybody is there for the whole time, it’s just running around and seeing everybody.”

When Gavin was first attending the festival, things were a bit different.

“There were only like 18 schools,” Gavin said. “I think this year there are like 40-something schools.”

This year, students participated in performances and exhibits which include a 2D art exhibit, a ceramics exhibit, an improv performance, piano solos, film showings and a photography exhibition, among others. “[The activities] have changed a lot,” Gavin said.

“When I first started going, it was still more of a focus on music, so they did like an honors choir, a mass choir and they did a mass orchestra.”

The school has hosted the ISAS Arts Festival six times, including one partial hosting when New Orleans schools could not host because of Hurricane Katrina. “[It takes] two years planning, minimum [for hosting],” Gavin said. “[Hosting schools] try to plan a lot out, but we’re getting new schools in now that haven’t been traditional hosting schools.”

Although it may take much

time and careful planning, students are appreciative of the opportunity.

“Through the years that I’ve been, it’s definitely been a very artsy tone and very laid back,” senior Jonathan Ng, who has been to the ISAS Arts Festival the past four years for orchestra, said.

“It’s always had this pervading sense of ‘we want to showcase the arts.’ That’s great.

And I think it definitely helps with promoting the arts if you have three whole days of just performances, artwork and music.”

The festival has come to mean something really special to students in the region.

“Experiencing it and really immersing yourself in ISAS is really an experience like no other,” Ng said. “You’re surrounded by so many gifted and artistically talented people. It’s a different experience.” he Festival has also made a name for itself as one of the only events of its kind.

“Nobody else to our knowledge does anything really like this,” Gavin said. “ISAS is kind of unique in that.”

The uniqueness of the festival not only makes it stand out throughout the country but also to the students that attend it every year.

“It’s very freeing,” Ng said.

“There’s a lot of activities you can do now, like I remember two years ago at Greenhill I think they had a bus you could paint. There’s a lot of things like that, different arts things. They had glass-blowing two years ago, which was cool. And also metal working.”

Ng also recognizes how the arts festival has helped him grow as an artist.

“As a musician, listening to other people and orchestras play sets of music that we might have played before and listening to them in a different light is great,” Ng said. “We get to see their dynamic and what parts they emphasize. It really helps my music in general.”

Although the ISAS Arts Festival is always growing and developing, the purpose remains the same: to promote the arts.

“I think one of the reasons it’s kept going the way it has − in such a positive way − is that there are no winners and losers,” Gavin said. “Everybody’s doing their thing to the best of their ability, and everybody’s on board with that.”

ART TO ART Senior Ben Wilson (right) dons an eye-catching morph suit to promote that night’s St. Mark’s/Hockaday improv performance. A large crowd (1) surrounds a drum line performance. Junior Stuart Montgomery and a de-masked Wilson (2) pose in their patriotic attire. Paintings by juniors Purujit Chatterjee and Miguel Plascencia (3) are highlights of the art exhibit.

Senior Jacob Wilner and junior Elton McIntosh (4) eat a box lunch before the bus ride home. Art by the ceramics (5) and woodworking (6) classes on display.

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THE WEEKEND OF ART story by Avery Powell, staff writer | photos by Cole Gerthoffer, life editor

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LIFE P A U L

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

H E R Z

Carnegie Paul Senior Paul Herz sings at one of the world’s premier music venues, Carnegie Hall, with the international jewish choir, the HaZamir group

O

NEW YORK VOICE Singing with the HaZamir group, senior Paul Herz traveled to New York City to sing at Carnegie Hall, an honorable feat for any singer.

ne by one they filed off of the buses.

The t-shirt clad group of 300 boys and girls from around the country looked like any other tourists in New York City.

But their tuxedo pants and bowties, along with their destination, set them apart.

Senior Paul Herz and the HaZamir, an international Jewish high school choir, were about to give their largest performance yet, in the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Although Herz was about to sing in front of over 2000 people, he was not nervous.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous.” Herz said. “I never really had stage fright but rather the concept of stage presence and knowing that I have to act a certain way. I picked that up from the musical, and it is actually really helpful.”

Herz attributes his ability to remain calm in an auditorium with 2,804 seats to his transformation into “performance mode”.

“I was able-and a lot of people [other singers] were able-to kind of go into performance mode, which is a mode where you don’t worry about being nervous, you don’t worry about anything, you just go up there,”

Herz said. “It’s because when you do all that stuff repetitively, it’s in your muscle memory, so when you go on stage you’re not thinking. That’s why you practice, that’s why you rehearse songs and that’s why the conductors repeat the same critique every time.”

Herz believes that each rehearsal makes the singers feel more natural when performing.

“You are watching what the conductor is saying, but you’re minimizing your thinking,” Herz said. “What little thought you’re doing is just automatic, it is muscle memory from having sung the same song fifty times.”

At the performance, HaZamir performed 12 songs. Herz considers the songs to be a mix of several genres.

“This was a pretty good mix of songs,” Herz said. “Some of the oldies, some of the better established Jewish songs that have that Jewish sound with the minor chords, and whatever else everyone attributes to Jewish music. Then, we had some different ones, some that were very bright.

“One was actually made by one of the head rabbis in Paris 200 years ago, and it actually sounded very baroque, it sounded like an opera or a war march. Some of the

stuff was pretty new, like one of the songs, HaZamir, which is named after our group, was made for us, so it’s our theme song. We sung it to open and close the concert.”

Herz and his chapter had been practicing all school year, every weekend prior to the performance.

“I only have this year’s experience to speak on because I have only been in it for one year but you practice every weekend at someone’s house,” Herz said. “The Dallas chapter is only seven people, five girls and two guys. We [the chapter] only have one guy for each musical part.” efore the performance, Herz and the Dallas chapter joined with the other chapters in January.

“There’s a thing called inter-visitation,” Herz said. “We had it in New Jersey at the end of January this year and that’s like the halfway point before the big concert. That’s the first time where everyone, well everyone who can show up, which for my chapter was just me and one of the soprano girls, gets together.”

Herz not only sees the value from the performance itself but also the value of the friendships he made.

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SENIOR PAUL HERZ

I never really had stage fright but rather the concept of stage presence and knowing that I have to act a certain way. I picked that up from the musical, and it is actually really helpful.

“It’s definitely that everyone needs to have something like this in their life,” Herz said. “I’m not going to be specific, but I have to say everyone should have something like this in their life, something creative, something really high quality in terms of what you’re doing, but also something with a sense of community because that was probably the most valuable part of HaZamir. St. Mark’s has those bonding experiences like Pecos, but I think people definitely need to go out in their high school years and look for more of them because they are just so valuable and they really shape you.”

CARNEGIE PAUL story by Bradford Beck, staff writer | photos by Arno Goetz, staff photographer

The makings of a play: how ‘A night with Ionesco’ came to be

ANDREW GATHERER PHOTOS

ACTING OUT Senior Nabeel Muscatwalla, sophomore Whitney Middllekauff and junior Monique Byars perform a scene from the one-act play The Lesson, which was written by Eugene Ionesco. Muscatwalla plays the professor, Middlekauff plays the pupil and Byars portrays the maid.

By Avery Powell staff writer ast weekend the drama program performed two oneact absurdist plays − The Bald Soprano and The Lesson.

“I had to come up with a season that was historical within the 100 years of Hockaday because this is for their 100th, and make it something very special,” Director Rod Blaydes said.

Both The Bald Soprano and The Lesson were written in the early 50’s by Eugene Ionesco, who is considered to be one of the fathers of absurdist theater.

“This is the first time in 20 years that [The Bald Soprano] has been done around here, and then I had to pick a companion,” Blaydes said. “The Lesson had never been done here. The students haven’t had this experience before. It’s something that was nonsensical and absurd but that means so much. That’s the main reason I even chose to do them.”

L

Actors for the plays are seniors Reid Stein and Nabeel Muscatwalla, junior William Sydney and sophomore Avery Powell. Actresses include Hockaday juniors Avery Baker, Sydney Thomas, Monique Byars sophomore Whitney Middlekauff and freshman Cameron Giles.

“They’re not easy,” Blaydes said. “The students who do them really get a workout.”

Blaydes is confident in the abilities of his actors and actresses.

“I have some really good people,” Blaydes said. “I’m really confident with that. The shows are totally different, and the actors in Bald Soprano are very flexible and work well together.”

The actors come in four days a week after school to practice their respective one-acts, while the other day is dedicated to the tech crew.

“They’re both comedies, believe it or not,” Blaydes said.

“One’s a comedic drama and the other is an anti-play. So that’s why I chose them and that’s how things develop, the actors in one show approach the roles differently than the actors in the other show.”

In addition to the actors, the tech crew also plays a large role in making sure everything comes together.

“Just like the shows are different, the techs are different,” Blaydes said. “In the Bald Soprano, sound is very important.

Lights, too. We had to hang and refocus all of the lights.”

Although the plays themselves are full of metaphors, the set itself also had to accomdate both plays.

“But the difference is that in The Lesson there’s a whole background that has to be lit, and that background is very symbolic and meaningful,” Blaydes said.

“There’s something hidden in there. It’s there, but you’d have to see it in the context of the play.”

A A D D E N D U M

SENIOR SECTION

A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION | ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS | DALLAS, TEXAS | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014 | PAGE 11

inside Forecasting the future

A tale of three families

College list

Over the years, students have developed close relationships with their teachers. Now that the students are leaving, these teachers have a good idea of where the students will be in 20 years.

Even if they don’t, it’s interesting to watch them try.

Next year, not only will students be leaving St. Mark’s permanently — their parents will be leaving as well. Some families have spent an extended period of time here because they have had multiple sons attend. Now, their journeys end as their youngest kids leave.

All 86 members of the Class of 2014 will leave next year for colleges around the country. Although not everyone has decided where he will attend, The ReMarker has compiled a list of the schools at which students have been- accepted.

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THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

ForecastingtheFuture

The future for these Marksmen is so bright they gotta wear shades: whether it’s dominating a small Latin American country or being a future economic and political leader despite being an immature rapscallion in high school, things are on the up and up.

LONG LIVE THE KING Although Rev. Michael Dangelo is used to leading the Upper School in worship every Wednesday, he expects people to worship senior Charlie Marshall in the near future.

Rev. Michael Dangelo on senior Charlie Marshall Charlie Marshall is going to end up being the sovereign of a small Latin American country. I don’t think he speaks Spanish, but that’s not going to be a problem for Charlie, because he’s going to be their king. He’ll be a very beneficent sovereign. (elected?) Oh no, he need not the people. He loves them. He will run it from some sort of offshore yacht of his own creation.

His family will send money when he needs it.

Master Teacher Marsha McFarland on senior Victor Calvillo Victor has frequently shared with us his unique plans for saving money, so on the light side, here's my prediction: Having followed his own money saving tips for 30 years, Victor will have amassed enough savings to retire early. His best financial advice for future Spanish literature students is: "Don't take any notes in your literature book. Then you can resell it at the end of the year in mint condition."

LOOK! BOOK! According to

McFarland, Calvillo will have

On a more serious note: Victor is a "people success in business due to his personality. person" who always has a smile on his face.

The warmth of his personality will bring him success in whatever field he chooses. He will become a loving father and positive role model for his children. Victor will also look back on his Senior year at St. Mark's and think, "Wow, I really did learn a lot about life in my Spanish Literature class!"

CLASS OF

2014 THE

Assistant Head of Upper School John Perryman on senior Luke Williams In 30 years, I say there’s a good chance he might be president of the world.

I’m sure he’ll keep a place here in town. Luke’s gonna be tremendously successful in everything he does. I’m sure it will always be civic minded and involve some variety of service to our world. I think he will be married, have a couple of kids, hopefully some Marksmen. He will be a great parent. He would be a super dad to have in a parent conference. He’s just MR. PRESIDENT A Jefferson Scholar at the one of those guys who believes University of Virginia, senior Luke Williams is a lock to be president of the United States before in the school mission and being elected president of the world. would want the best for his kids.

Master Teacher Bill Kysor on senior Michael Perkins He’s going to own his own company. He’s a high-level problem solver. He’ll probably do something that will have a positive contribution to mankind, so he won’t just go for the money, but he’ll make money anyway. I don’t necessarily think it will be in the arts. I think he sees the value of scientific contribution and also he has a lot of electronics knowledge. I think his company is going to do some kind of medical research. I hope he doesn’t stay in Dallas, that’d be so boring. We’ll put him in California. He’s going to be married and have two boys and two girls and in his spare time he’ll teach his children pottery lessons and tell them about the good old days.

BOWLS Although senior MiForeign Language Department Head Nancy chael Perkins has only been doing Ceramics for three years, he has Marmion on senior Kobi Naseck quickly progressed.

see the fact that he comes from a political family — dad was a congressman and mom a mayor that he would work on a larger scale, not a small business scale. Thirty years from now he’s a deal negotiator for a major public projects on a monumental scale in some large city and he’s working the financial end of the deal as well as the political end of the deal. I think he has both of those talents and the good mind to handle the mathematics of the finance and the skills of negotiating in clever and crafty ways. I see him also getting married and having a family with a measure of I want two kids: one boy and one girl and if it doesn’t turn out that way, what will I do? Let’s say RELATIVE MAX One of the best calculus he’s either west coast or east coast. students in the game today, Wolens will be Happy, but always in the middle of a finance guru in the near future. doing some kind of deal.

Master Teacher Steve Balog on senior Andrew Gatherer In 30 years, if NASA is still around, he’s going to be running NASA. If not, he will have found a way to have merged all of the space companies into one and he’ll be running that. He’ll have his own private island with its own spaceport. Probably in the south Pacific because he’s not too fond of cold.

He’ll be married with several children whom he has done some of his space experiments on. They’ll all be quite competent in building model rockets, but not know how to interact with other people.

NERD Senior Dylan Clark, according to David Brown, will be the editor of a newspaper. Also true but only semi-related: Dylan will own 20 cats.

Master Teacher David Brown on senior Dylan Clark I think he’ll be the editor-in-chief of The Village Voice, the most liberal rag in the United States. He is going to be a retro hippie living in Greenwich Village, editor-in-chief of the most liberal weekly in the United States. He will be too absorbed by his career and liberal causes to have relationships other than the staff of his magazine who are his surrogate family to his 20 cats.

Head of Math Department Joe Milliet on senior Max Wolens I see him using his strengths of talent in mathematics and finance because he is president of the investment club being the business arena. But I also

What watching their youngest Marksmen walk across commencement stage will mean to those who’ve seen it all before. hen 86 Marksmen walk across the stage in a few short weeks, they won’t be the only ones leaving 10600 Preston Road.

Graduation is all about the students, where they will go, what they will do, who they will become. But what is sometimes overlooked is the parent perspective of such a momentous occasion.

Come May 23, dozens of parents will say goodbye to St. Mark’s. Some have only been affiliated with the school for a few years. Others have watched their Marksmen grow for 12 years. And fewer still have sent multiple children through these halls, the youngest of whom will graduate this year. For them, possibly more so than for anyone else, graduation will mark the end of an era. *** Denise Bunkley has had a child in the school for the last sixteen years. Her older son, Tommy Perkins ’06, graduated from Amherst and is now 26. Her younger, senior Harrison Perkins, is Dartmouth-bound. Her brother, Michael, is an alumnus of the class of ’71. Bunkley is a St. Mark’s veteran. But thinking back to when she was new to the school as a parent, she remembers a strong positive first impression.

The treadmill

Memories

People in high school remember things that they find funny, interesting or meaningful. Here are some memories that seniors from St. Mark’s have: Sam Perkins “One of my favorite memories from my time as a Marksmen is from the ESD basketball game this year. After I made a three from the corner, I was running back on defense and all of a sudden I felt the ground shake under me from the entire student section stomping in unison. That moment really characterized the immense unity and support we have here, and the adrenaline rush I got from that stomp lasted through the entire game.”

Andrew Gatherer “Honestly, we just wanted to be kids again on the day of the senior prank.

After months of people telling us we were supposed to be mature and exemplary, we finally got a night to relive our childhoods. With unsophisticated seniors swarming around the Quad, the St. Mark’s campus literally became a preschool for the night while monumental box forts and engrossing blanket caves sprung up from seemingly nowhere. To cap it all off, Mr. [David] Dini joined us in the SKA Fort for 6th Period English, and we had a very childish discussion on who was the best Lord of the Rings character. It really esSKAlated quickly.”

Luke Williams “I most rememer sitting with the team on the bus rides back from late night basketball or football games, and there was always an exhausted but fun atmosphere. People listening to music, or watching movies, or some people just passed out from giving so much effort.”

Kobi’s probably going to end up doing international business somewhere. He could end up traveling back and forth between Latin America and China or something like that. He could be living in Beijing and traveling to Mexico city or vice-versa.

A tale of three families

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A FAREWELL

Riley Graham “Winning State Lacrosse in 2013.”

NO HABLO INGLES Already trilingual, senior Kobi Naseck will definitely run international business. All of it. Kobi speaks Chinese and Spanish, so at this point, he can really go to the country of his choice.

Look out, world.

“I was surprised by and appreciated the fact that there was a lot of communication with the parents and the teachers,” she said. “Socially, the teacher conferences were very beneficial. There were great relationships between teachers and the students, and as a parent I could talk to any of the teachers whenever I needed to.”

Dr. Annette Perkins, mother of Lee ’12 and seniors Sam and Michael, has a similar memory of this communication.

“I remember [Head of Lower School Barbara] York telling us that we, the parents, as well as the boys, would all need to depend on one another at times during the next 12 years and that we would become close friends,” Perkins said. “The St. Mark’s community and friendships we have made will stay with us and be a part of our lives forever.”

Lydia and Bill Addy are two more veterans of the school. Having sent four sons to the school, all twelve-year Marksmen [Fred ’10, Peter ’12, Seniors Dean and Tommy], they now know as well as anyone of all the benefits that the school has to offer.

But they themselves both had positive experiences at public schools, and it took a positive tour to convince them that St. Mark’s was where they wanted their kids to be.

“We had heard it was a really great school, but we had also heard that it was really competitive, really hard to get in,” Lydia said. “Our tour guide was going to Stanford and he said, ‘Everyone here is competitive with themselves, but not because they want to beat out their friends. I don’t really find it to be a pressure cooker at all,’ and that made us a lot more comfortable.”

Over the years for each of these families, so many memories have defined their

ROCKET MAN An engineer at heart, Gatherer will be the next Neil Armstrong when he sets foot on Mars, Venus and Uranus. For Gatherer, the future is so bright he has to wear shades. Sky is not the limit: space is.

Yima Asom “I remember a frigid winter night freshman year when we had a soccer game against Oakridge. I didn’t start the game, so I was left to freeze on the

experiences. For Bunkley, watching her son Harrison address the Senior Class for the first time as president on Blue Shirt Day will hold a special place in her heart.

“I just think about how excited I was for him to have that opportunity, how much he wanted it,” she said. “He’s a true Marksman. Just a proud moment for me that he had reached that personal goal. And that his classmates elected him and had put that trust in him made it even better.”

For Perkins, the stimulating conversations brought from the classroom to the dinner table are a staple of the St. Mark’s experience, not to mention the correction of grammar.

“I have learned so much from the boys at the dinner table when they talk about philosophical discussions with Dr. Steg, Telos and enschlossenheit, and history discussions carrying over from Dr. Westrate’s class,” she said. “The boys gently correct my Spanish, or more often just offer to communicate for me when travelling. Also a bit embarrassing, but they have learned to use grammatical tenses I didn’t know existed.”

When thinking on how the school has changed, all of these parents have noted that in the time that their children have been enrolled, the school has gotten more rigid in enforcing some rules. However, as Bunkley points out, this change is not necessarily a negative one.

“I think the things that Tommy might have gotten away with, you all might not be able to now,” she said. “The school’s gotten a little more strict, but in a good way.

You guys might not like it, but it’s necessary to prepare you for the future.”

Despite change in that area, these parents agree that there has been relative-

CLASS OF 2014 stories by Aidan Dewar, managing editor, Dylan Clark, editor-in-chief, Charlie Golden, senior content editor and Ryan O’Meara, issues editor | photos by Mason Smith, staff photographer

bench. During the first half, my toes literally froze together, so logically I took of my cleats to “defrost” them.

At halftime, when Coach [Corindo Martin]asked me to go in, I couldn’t get my cleats back on because my feet were so swollen, so I petulantly looked at him and had to tell him, ‘Coach, I can’t. My feet are too cold.’”

Charlie Golden “On the last day of sophomore year in Dr. [Henry] Ploegstra’s class, we played HAP [his initials] jeopardy.

[Senior] Nabeel [Muscatwalla] was asked to name two things that HAP had in his briefcase at that very moment. He said, ‘English papers and a toothbrush.’ We checked, and he was one for two. There were no papers.”

John Garnsey “Scoring the SPC championship goal in 2012 was something I’ll never forget. Our fans who travelled to Houston with us showed me how great the community here can be.”

Nabeel Muscatwalla “When [junior] Carrington [Kyle] suggested Republicans during an improv skit and a libertarian member of the troupe had to act it out. Meanwhile Luke Williams was the Pillsbury dough boy and Jacob Chernick was a satchel. It was a great skit.”

Oliver Ness “I’ll never forget getting to raise chickens in our AP biology class and getting to incubate them and see them grow up.”

Reid Stein “I remember fall play freshman year.

I had just been cut from volleyball and went to the play and we all sat in a circle and introduced ourselves. No one does that anymore. We were all talking about how excited we were to do the play and it really kicked off a great four years of drama.”

ly little change to the school’s culture or identity — something for which they are thankful.

“A lot of the stuff that stays the same is good,” Lydia Addy said. “The core values of the school have been constant. That same morning as the tour, [Headmaster] Arnie [Holtberg] said, ‘We’re looking for an intellectual core in our applicants, but around that, we’re very flexible in working with the boys to make this their place.’ I think that is still the case.”

As their children leave home to continue their educations at some of the best schools in the country, none of these parents plans to remain as involved in school life as they have been with their boys enrolled in the school. But they do share a common thought — gratefulness for everything the school has given them.

“It’s time to move on, not because we’re sick of it, but because it’s time to start the next chapter.” Addy said. “We’re leaving with a great feeling. David Dini provides such great continuity that the school won’t feel like it’s a foreign place. It will feel like we’re welcome there, just like we were when our kids were there.”

The school has meant everything to the growth of their young Marksmen.

“I think the school was really a partner to us in raising our kids,” Perkins said.

We brought little boys there, and have gotten men out.”

And moving forward, these parents will have nothing but good things to say about 10600 Preston Road.

“I will always tell my friends and my friends’ kids that St. Mark’s was and is a good place, and I will encourage them to explore it,” Bunkley said. “I will always be an ambassador to St. Mark’s.”

I

t’s been more than 4,300 classes, seven snow days and 21 newspapers since I made the decision to attend St. Mark’s.

What’s happened to me at 10600 Preston Road has changed my life, starting with the more than 500 total sheets of tabloid-sized plus 16 glossy magazine pages I’ve been involved with producing for this newspaper.

Four years ago, I was a totally different person, fighting through a co-ed middle school and its swirling whirlpool of social idiosyncrasies.

I suddenly felt pressure to wear pastel colored Abercrombie shirts with a hideous giant moose and putrid cargo shorts to fit in with people I’d known forever.

Four years ago, I defiantly told my parents I had no interest in applying to St. Mark’s. They still made me fill out the application and visit the school.

Four years ago, I dug my feet in and emphatically proclaimed that even though I’d gotten in, there was no way I was going to attend St. Mark’s.

I was terrified by everything and everyone I’ve come to love at 10600 Preston Road.

I was intimidated by the intellectuality of teachers like Dr. Steg. I was afraid of getting lost on campus, which I did manage to do once. For a nervous freshman on the first day of school, Centennial Hall really seems like a maze.

RYAN O’MEARA

But most of all, I dreaded the Pecos Wilderness Trip more than I’d ever dreaded anything in my life — ever. I couldn’t sleep for two weeks as the departure date loomed.

Although I’d spent many years camping as a Boy Scout, everything about that trip from the ambitious packing list to the all-night bus ride made me so uncomfortable I wished I had chosen a different school. After all, that would have been easier.

I was scared to meet an entire class of new people and anxious about being tested in the woods instead of enjoying my last few weeks of summer before I jumped into what I expected to be the most difficult experience of my life. s one teacher told me this year, coming back to St. Mark’s after a break is like being forced to jump on a full-speed treadmill on a 40 degree incline at 8 a.m. on Monday morning.

But almost immediately, I found that I loved that treadmill.

I relished the daily grind. And while sometimes it can be hard to admit, I’ve seen faculty and staff who do the same.

Looking back, I can’t help asking why.

Why did Mrs. Barta pour so much of herself into the school in order to take a personal interest in each student?

Why do Howard, Miss May and Shawn and the entire cafeteria staff come to school before the sun is up to make lunch for 1000 people?

Why do coaches study game film late into the night in order to find a small edge that could lead the Lions to victory?

There’s something indescribably unique about a full speed run on the St. Mark’s treadmill as the school pursues excellence at a breakneck pace.

As I was editing a story earlier this year, I found a strange line I immediately crossed out in red ink and showed to a couple friends who were also editing stories.

A sophomore had written: “As the school year revs up to a speed…” I laughed the first time I read that typo, but now, its simple brilliance is striking.

Next year, I know I won’t be on that treadmill, but I’m confident that it will still be running — full speed ahead and at a 40 degree angle.

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SENIORS

NH (6) OR (1) MA (5)

NY (5) IL (5) CO (1)

IN (2)

PA (5)

KA (1) MO (7)

CA (17)

VA (5)

MD (2)

NC (11)

TN (2)

OK (1)

CT (2) NJ (6)

MS (1)

SC (1) GA (3)

TX (39) LA (1)

FL (1)

Oh, the places they’ll go!

Where the Class of 2014 is taking its talents next year...

Dean Addy Tommy Addy Ali Ahmed Dylan Altschuler Yima Asom Halbert Bai Drew Balog

Kellam Hall

Villanova University Princeton University UT-Austin Princeton University Dartmouth College UPenn (Benjamin Franklin Scholar) University of Oregon SCAD (Achievement Scholarship) Cameron Baxley United States Naval Academy David Bentley Auburn University Malcolm Bowman Northwestern University Winston Brewer Trinity College Nick Brodsky USC (Trustee Scholarship) Matthew Brown TCU Aarohan Burma UT-Austin Mark Burton Baylor University John Caldwell Duke University Victor Calvillo Texas A&M University TCU Juan Chavez WashU Vincent Chen NYU Dylan Clark Harvard University Tabish Dayani University of Chicago Aidan Dewar Harvard University James Diamond UVA Teddy Edwards University of Notre Dame Richard Eiseman Wake Forest University Tony Garcia SMU University of Colorado Saint Louis University John Garnsey University of Oklahoma Andrew Gatherer Rice University Harvey-Mudd College UT-Austin (Engineering Honors) Cole Gerthoffer UT-Austin Vishal Gokani Rice University (Trustee Scholarship) UNC (Honors) Charlie Golden UPenn (Wharton) Riley Graham UNC Washington and Lee University USC Conner Gregory UNC Vanderbilt University Carnegie Mellon University

USC University of Georgia Andrew Hatfield University of Missouri Robert He Dartmouth College Paul Herz SMU (Founders Scholarship) Nikhil Jain Duke University Rice University Dartmouth College Sam Khoshbin NYU Jonathan Kim NYU USC Mac Labhart Texas A&M University Harrison Lin Rice University John Hopkins University Creed Lowry Stanford University Matt Mahowald Stanford University Jack Mallick TCU Bradley Mankoff WashU Charlie Marshall Pomona College Richard McCants University of Miami Alexander McKenna Washington College Hamilton College St. Lawrence University Danny McNamara TCU SMU Alexander Muñoz Princeton University Harvard University Luke Munson Pomona College Rice University (Vandiver Brown Scholar) College of William and Mary (Monroe Scholar) Michael Murphy SMU Nabeel Muscatwalla Northwestern University Kobi Naseck Duke University UT-Austin (Plan II, Business Honors) Pomona College Will Nelson SMU (Hilltop/New Century Scholar) University of South Carolina Oliver Ness Northeastern University Boston University Jonathan Ng Yale University Ryan O’Meara Duke University Georgetown University University of Notre Dame

Phillip Osborn Zach Papin Carson Pate Sam Perkins Harrison Perkins Josh Perkins Michael Perkins

Northwestern University Bucknell University Duke University Princeton University Dartmouth College SMU (Cox Scholar) Dartmouth College USC Vanderbilt University Jack Pigott Stanford University Clayton Roberts Vanderbilt University Blake Robins Tulane University Ford Robinson University of Georgia (Honors) Jassiel Roman SMU Baylor University Auburn University Vincent Shia Princeton University William Shin WashU Daniel Solis Baylor University Israel Soto Southwestern University Trinity University Chase Squires SMU Reid Stein University of Kansas Brandon Sung SMU Baylor University Purdue University Martin Tirmenstein USC UVA SMU Luke Williams UVA (Jefferson Scholar) Stanford University Davidson College Jacob Wilner Brown University Ben Wilson Dartmouth College Max Wolens Stanford University Jeffery Wu Duke University Victor Zhou Princeton University CalTech

* List is not final and subject to change • Only top three schools at time of publication were included for undecided students • No waitlists decisions were included.

• Key to abbreviations: CalTech–California Institute of Technology, NYU–New York University, SCAD—Savannah College of Art and Design, SMU–Southern Methodist University, TCU–Texas Christian University, UNC—University of North Carolina, UPenn–University of Pennsylvania, USC–University of Southern California, UT–University of Texas, UVA–University of Virginia, WashU–Washington University in St. Louis

Go Figure average number of

APPLICATIONS

6.6

statistics on seniors’ college conclusions

%

47.6 of seniors

are considering attending a school on the east coast.

MOST

applications submitted:

20 1 FEWEST

applications submitted:

% MAJORS 29.1

FIVE MOST popular

Of seniors are considering attending an in-state college.

1. Business/Economics 2. Engineering 3. Biology 4. Political Science/Government 5. International Relations

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Page 15

LIFE

Critics’ last stand Reviews specialist Nabeel Muscatwalla and Life Editor Cole Gerthoffer take a look back at their favorite movies, albums, and TV shows of their four years in Upper School

I

Nabeel’s Picks

’m notorious for being terribly uncultured when it comes to movies—not just as a reviews specialist, but as a regular person.

So, to make things easier before we shred everything I say, here’s a list of classic films I haven’t seen: The Godfather, Casablanca, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Forrest Gump, five out of the six Star Wars movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Caddyshack, Happy Gilmore, Scarface, The Big Lebowski, Princess Bride, and The Breakast Club.

Now that that’s over with, my favorite movies tend to be in the genre of comedic action: The Other Guys, 21 Jump Street, and of course, Django Unchained, which adds historical background and extensive amounts of blood to the classic “two guys doing action-y things in funny ways.”

Admittedly, my taste in movies is quite immature, as I tend to appreciate the spray of a shotgun blast demolishing an insignificant housemaid over some weirdo who’s in love with his cell phone (I haven’t even seen Her, I’m sure it’s fantastic). Still, Django certainly has its cinematic successes apart from the blood and action. If for no other reason, watch it to see Jamie Foxx ride off into the sunset to a Rick Ross song.

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he music industry has progressed tremendously in the past four years.

Dubstep came and went, R&B has a future, bands have found their places in the multi-faceted genre of rock, the number of people listening exclusively to trashy, pop radio hits has gone down, and rap, for once in a long time, is heading in the right direction.

With rock, the favorites that come to mind are Vampire Weekend, whose Modern Vampires of the City was my favorite of last year, Arctic Monkeys, whom I wish I had discovered sooner, and Queens of the Stone Age, who are far too underappreciated.

With rap, on the other hand, there’s not much to worry about either, since we have some young titans paving the way

for the future of the genre. For starters, it should be noted that Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city goes down as one of the greatest rap albums of the decade for its creative storytelling and odd, distinctive style. Drake’s Take Care, on the other end of the genre, revolutionized the rapper stereotype from drug abuse, money, and guns to displaying untamed, expressive emotion on a rap album.

But above all, my favorite album of the past four years goes to self-proclaimed deity Kanye West, who’s My Beautiful, Dark Twisted Fantasy reminds us yet again of how beyond us King Louis really is. Seriously, if Kanye were a philosopher, he’d be Socrates. If he were a TV show, he’d be Arrested Development. His work is so good that, if it goes unappreciated, it’s because society just isn’t on his level yet.

I

watched the first episode of USA’s Suits on a Friday and made my way into its third season by the following Sunday with the intent to start True Detective the moment I caught up.

That being said, the world still finds a way to offer me greats after greats: Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Suits, Archer, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bob’s Burgers, Parks and Recreation, Family Guy, and Community.

Community, especially, has been the defining TV show of my high school life for its lovable, witty humor and wondrous ability to take things to their ridiculous extremes.

Even with the loss of Donald Glover to the rap game and Chevy Chase to old age (he’s still alive, just super old), the show manages to be clever and fun well into its fifth season.

Although it has certainly had its down times, Community is one of my favorites TV shows while in high school.

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Cole’s Picks

hen discussing the best movies I saw in upper school, I could dive headfirst into the dramas and Oscar fare that have left their mark on me.

But, I’ll probably remember the comedies and blockbusters just as fondly and just as vividly. With that in mind, I should mention Inception, The Avengers, and both parts of the final Harry Potter movie, which I’ll be certainly showing to my kids with the same wide-eyed reverence that our dads showed Star Wars and Indiana Jones to us.

If we’re talking comedies, anyone who hasn’t seen Edgar Wright’s The World’s End and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest Hotel is doing himself a grave comedic disservice.

The three best movies I saw in upper school, The Social Network, Her and Beasts of the Southern Wild, all should’ve won Best Picture in their respective years.

But if I had to absolutely pick one, I’d stick with David Fincher’s haunting opus about Facebook’s hostile takeover. With Aaron Sorkin’s words and scored by Trent Reznor’s beats and blips, The Social Network was the most exciting, smartest and most downright memorable drama of my upper school years.

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ock isn’t dead. It’s gotten close, maybe, but the Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, Japandroids, and Queens of the Stone Age have kept it going strong since I’ve been in upper school and gave the world its fair share of five-star rock albums. (AM, Brothers, Celebration Rock and …Like Clockwork if you’re interested, and you definitely should be).

No, rock’s time certainly hasn’t past. But it’s recently yielded its prominence to the genre that took the most risks and, accordingly, had the most success: hip-hop.

The giants of hip-hops have pushed the limits of their genre more in the past four

years than ever. Listen to Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus and tell me they aren’t two of the most sonically adventurous rap albums you’ve ever heard.

For some lesser-known rap triumphs, look at Big Boi’s trippy Sir Lucious Left Foot, and if you’ve never listened to the mind blowing, angry-elephant stylings of Killer Mike, his R.A.P. Music is absolutely essential.

And you can’t discuss early-10’s hip-hop without the best rap album and flat-out best album of the past four years. Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city still sounds like just as much of a game changer as it did on day one. Rare is the album on which almost every song becomes a classic in under two years. Some tracks, like “Swimming Pools” and “Poetic Justice” had their radio success, while “m.A.A.D. city” achieved its cult status as the best freak-out song you may ever hear.

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elevision is in the middle of a new golden age, and we’ve just been lucky to bare witness. Of the best shows I watched in upper school, many of them feature incredible bald men (Community’s Dean Pelton, Breaking Bad’s Walter White) and many feature men with excellent facial hair (Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson, Louie’s Louis C.K., Homeland’s Saul Berenson and, again, Breaking Bad’s Walter White).

Kidding aside, though, those shows include more laughs, more sadness, and more genuine humanity than any television I’ve ever watched.

When it comes to the best of the best, there’s very little more I could say about Breaking Bad that hasn’t been said but it’s certainly the best show I’ve ever seen, and if you haven’t yet taken its baby-blue koolaid, Netflix is calling.

Coffeehouse boasts creative performances to a full house

By Roby Mize Staff Writer offeehouse has always been known for showcasing the talents of students all over St. Mark’s.

The two performances this year were no different.

The most recent “Squirrels and Other Woodland Critters”-themed coffeehouse featured acts like Emoetry, a sarcastic reading of dark and sad poems, by junior Stuart Montgomery, junior Justin Jones delivering an original rap, a bluegrass band fronted by sophomore Will Clark, featuring juniors Travis Nadalini and Walter Johnson on guitar and mandolin, respectively and a rotating roster of washboard players.

“All of the acts are really popular, improv is always one of the favorites,” head of fine arts board Jack Pigott said. “The SMacappella group always does really well and the random things like Harrison [Perkins] and Richard [McCants] singing are really good. Everything is well received if people put time and effort into them and that’s what really makes coffeehouse special.”

While the acts are always good, many would say that it is the atmosphere that makes the show so unique to the Fine Arts community.

“The people at coffeehouse are always enthusiastic,” sophomore Harrison Chen said. “No matter what song you play, no matter what act you do, the audience always gets into it, and they create a carefree, fun environment where people aren’t afraid to show off their talents that people may not

C

know about.”

Pigott believes one of the major improvements to this year’s coffeehouse performances is the addition of junior Umer Nadir sound mixing the event. Already known for his company, Endemic Entertainment, Nadir has made the show more professional.

“This year we brought in [junior] Umer Nadir,” Pigott said. “He sets up his DJ equipment for the show. So he’s had songs going in the background during the interlude between acts. He’s helped with some of the sound issues and made sure that everyone is in tune when they are singing.

So he’s just made the performances a lot better this year.”

ROCKING THE HOUSE Sally’s Fiddle Boys (left) perform a cover of The Soggy Bottom Boys’ “Man of Constant Sorrow” from O Brother, Where Art Thou? Junior Justin Jones (right) performs an original rap over a beat by junior Umer Nadir, who also mixed the event’s sound.

OPINION

17 Target practice

17 Short and tweet

18 Squaring off

THE REMARKER | 16 THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

EDITORIALS

P O C K E T- R I P P I N G T R A D I T I O N

Tear away from the tradition This Senior Class should be the one to put an end to pocket-ripping come May 15.

The community here will be better for it.

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n the seniors’ final day of school last year, one graduating Marksman approached a second grader on the Perot Quadrangle and ripped the boy’s front pocket off his shirt.

That senior saw the unofficial “tradition” of tearing out students’ pockets — one which is not condoned by administration or faculty — as a simple joke. After all, most students don’t seem to mind participating in the ritual.

But that warm afternoon, the senior got a very different reaction.

The lower schooler burst into tears, devastated that an upper schooler had — in the eyes of a child — attacked him. This incident shows the downsides to this sometimes nasty tradition, one which can lead students to feel that they’ve been assaulted by seniors who damage their property.

While many faculty members openly disavow this tradition, very few students complain about this form of hazing to avoid speaking out against the perceived majority, afraid of ostracism for taking issue with the inherently more powerful seniors. We feel this year’s Senior Class — as well as future classes — should be aware of the effects of ripping out pockets and put an end to the practice.

• The “tradition” is a form of assault that can cause physical, psychological and emotional harm to students. For example, the second grader felt disturbed by the senior’s

O

roughhousing last year. He came away from the experience scared, unable to trust older students and unable to understand the “joke” that he saw as an act of aggression — one he did not deserve.

No Marksman should be made to feel scared in the presence of others.

• The continuation of the tradition would seem to confirm that privileged private school boys are stereotypically insensitive and have little respect for others’ property, painting the community as a whole in a negative light. The end-of-year hazing blemishes the accepting culture of mutual trust and respect this school has created. And, which we must strive to maintain.

• Although few Marksmen complain in public, many students privately admit they dislike the tradition for myriad reasons. It is senseless destruction of property. Parents become upset and scold students for coming home with unwearable, ruined clothing that can’t be worn again or passed to younger siblings. In addition, financially pressed families have to bear the added pressure of replacing damaged clothing.

• Younger Marksmen constantly look up to seniors. They do as the senior class does.

Seeing seniors ripping property ingrains in them a notion that this is an acceptable and funny action, and they often emulate by tearing out each others’ pockets. Perhaps recent senior

classes have had this notion ingrained in their heads by classes of the past. Let’s end that cycle. embers of the staff have seen holes in shirts, buttons go flying everywhere and even shirts torn off and ripped.

All for the sake of tradition?

Every year, the Senior Class enjoys end-ofyear taraditions like the Senior Prank and Senior Skip Day. These were both well planned and executed this year.

Traditions like the Senior Prank are special because they allow all students to take part in the fun. Ripping out pockets serves as an example of fun at the expense of others, something Marksmen should avoid. We hope this year’s seniors set an example for all future senior clases by engaging in appropriate actions that don’t hurt other students.

Students rarely speak out against the majority, so current seniors must take the initiative. Seniors, end your careers by leaving exceedingly positive final impressions untainted by immature and senseless tradition.

After seniors receive their college acceptances and final transcripts, their true character can come to the surface and leave a lasting mark on the school. We urge the seniors to ensure that the community remembers them as men who left a legacy of brotherhood and trust.

M

Teachers and students can learn from each other outside of class, too

ne of the most special things about this school is the quality of the relationships among teachers and their students.

Through repeated, in-depth discussion, bonds are formed in the classroom that enhance the learning experience for Marksmen. We feel that these relationships could be developed further in another area on campus: the cafeteria.

Head of Upper School Wortie Ferrell has eaten his lunch at student tables several times this year, and students have marked the experiences positively. We encourage more teachers to follow Ferrell’s lead and do the same: to have lunch occasionally with their students. A few students could approach a teacher asking to have lunch in one of the private dining rooms that the great hall has to offer, rooms that currently are greatly underutilized.

We feel these lunches would have several positive effects.

For example, the students would learn more about their instructors as people, enhancing their relationships, thereby increasing willingness to talk in class and positively contribute to discussions.

In addition, teachers would learn about their students. While they could be purely intellectual or philosophical discussions, these lunches could also serve as an opportunity for faculty to find out more about their students non-academic interests. Getting to know the boys as people and not just as students in their classrooms would help faculty understand how their students approach life, allowing them to better plan their curricula and class discussions.

Finally, the lunches would foster

intellectual conversations. Teachers often wish that students would take interest in the material being covered beyond what is simply necessary to get the grade in the course, and these occasional lunches would be the perfect opportunity to extend the discussion beyond the classroom.

We understand that students like lunch because it is a time to be with each other only, and that the same often goes for faculty. But every once in a while, a change of pace would be something that both students and teachers would enjoy. After all, the school does boast as one of its best characteristics the relationships between teachers and students. So why not extend that relationship further? This idea seems like a very “St. Mark’s” thing to do, so we encourage students and teachers to make it happen.

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Let it burn

CHARLIE

GOLDEN

K

eep the fire burning.

More than seeing so many friends in white tuxedo jackets, more than the speech from Mayor Mike Rawlings, more than the chaotic shuffle from the Quad into Hicks Gym in the pouring rain, one thing stuck with me from 2013 Commencement.

Keep the fire burning.

The sentiment of one of my journalism buds as I shook his hand: There are only so many people who get what makes this school great, and it’s on each of them to keep this place going, and keep St. Mark’s — St. Mark’s. Keep the fire burning.

Heading into the summer and through the start of this school year, whenever I thought of graduation, I’d think of this sentence and of my relationship with St. Mark’s.

But when I think about my time at this school, the idea of keeping the fire burning doesn’t mean much to me.

I was fortunate enough to have an older brother who was a Marksman, and I listened when people spoke about all that St. Mark’s can do for you if you take full advantage of the opportunities you have. I’ve accomplished everything I ever wanted to at this school, and I have few regrets. So in a St. Mark’s context, the phrase’s significance has faded. But it has burned bright in another regard — the history of my family. And for that, I do owe St. Mark’s.

••• The family history paper is the most important project anyone

Page 17

OPINION

will ever do at this school. I’m confident in saying so because that project gives students a sense of self that they would never otherwise have.

My mother’s grandfather crossed the Atlantic Ocean by himself when he was 15 years old. My father’s great-grandfather was a soldier in WWI — for the Russians. My grandfather had to take care of his two younger sisters like a parent because his mother was dead, and his father had to travel the country as part of his business to make sure his family had enough to eat.

And here I am, with anything I want at my fingertips, my only job being not to squander what generations of my family has worked so hard to provide me with. hat paper instilled in me a responsibility — an obligation I owed to my ancestors for all of their struggles and perseverance.

It was a feeling that I couldn’t quite articulate until I received that mission from the white tuxedo jacket on Commencement night. Keep the fire burning. Right then, I realized that not just for senior year, not just for St. Mark’s, but for the rest of my education, career and life, I had to keep the fire burning for my family. For its journey. For its legacy.

••• Last spring, my grandfather died. A man who started with nothing and ended with so much.

His life story serves as a microcosm of the progress of my family

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as a whole. When I was first told the news, my heart sank. But I didn’t break down until I realized that he would never see me graduate. When we visited his house in Tyler for the first time without him, we marveled at how he always had the coolest stuff. And on that visit, I found the perfect thing to remember him by — his lighter.

It’s not what you picture when you think of a lighter. It’s polished silver, and it’s as big as your hand.

The second I saw it, I knew what I would use it for.

••• raduation is about moving on. About reflecting on what you’ve done and what you want to do with your life moving forward.

They call it Commencement because it’s the start of a new chapter in life. And for me, this new chapter will start with my family in mind. And the thing I look forward to more than anything — the speakers, the diplomas, the celebrations — will be smoking my graduation cigar and using my grandfather’s lighter.

Because come May 23, it won’t just be a lighter. And that flame won’t just be a flame. It will be a symbol of how far my family has come. Of all the sacrifices my ancestors have made. Of the amazing opportunities I have in front of me and the burden I am fortunate to carry.

So to any seniors who forget their lighters on graduation night: please, don’t hesitate to use mine.

I want to keep the fire burning.

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SHORT & TWEET

A peek at Marksmen’s tweets

@

JBONeill11

SMU beat UConn transitive property means SMU won the championship #ponyup #mathandstuff — Junior Jack O’Neill

@

I don’t think it is possible for every tv show to be the #1 show on television — Sophomore Charlie O’Brien

@

“That was the national championship in front of 17 zillion people” -John Calipari. 17 zillion is not a number Coach. I’m sorry to disappoint —Junior Corson Purnell

charlieobrien22

purnellc71

@

broom_kent

@

mexico_ck

@

Muscatwalla

There might be nothing harder to do in this world than explaining what a hashtag is to an adult #hashtag — Sophomore Kent Broom For future reference, never make a bracket based off the colors of a team #byebilliondollars —Junior Miguel Plascencia Eating a glazed donut alone in my car in a 7 eleven parking lot. Is this my life now?

—Senior Nabeel Muscatwalla

target

p r a c t i c e Fake college acceptance letters | Straight-up backfire

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G

Senior Skip Day during ISAS | Turn down for this oooooooo. Boooooo. The boo-birds are a-flyin’ for the decision to strong-arm the seniors into having Senior Skip Day during the ISAS festival. We understand that Senior Skip Day must be announced so that teachers can plan accordingly, but part of the fun of Senior Skip Day is spending a school day away from school and hanging out as a class and playing games like twister and hungry hungry hippos. Now, much of the grade was showin’ off pottery pots and film films instead of spending time playing jenga with seniors before we graduate. Booooooo.

B

ANDREW GATHERER PHOTO

USED WITH PERMISSION CREATIVE COMMONS

kay, admissions officers, we can put up with your stress-inducing deferrals and even your waitlists.

But when you email accidental acceptance letters to the waitlist due to “technical errors,” you’ve gone too far. What are you trying to do, give us heart attacks?

Get your act together, please, for the sake of our psychological well-being.

Class of 2015 | A little off ood luck following in 2014’s footsteps while you’re bogged down with final exams, stressing about grades, and putting on blue shirts for the first time (nerds). Oh, and don’t forget having to try to find a résumé-boosting job this summer.

But seriously, good luck. Keep the Marksmen spirit alive and well so when 2014 visits next Thanksgiving, the school will be better than when we left it.

Class of 2014 | Bullseye ound of applause for the senior prank. The Brobdingnagian box fort (look it up), the pleasant pillow fort, the outlandish outfits and the nostalgic childhood nostalgia all came together to make a rather ordinary Friday into an exciting day of wiffle ball, music and naps.

This class also has 86 kids attending college next year, more than any other grade currently at St. Mark’s. To the Class of 2014: Au revoir!

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THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Trying to find the secret

AIDAN DEWAR

W left.”

Page 18

OPINION

here did all the time go?

For the last year or so, my mom often stops me and says, “Honey, there’s not that much time

I always had the same response.

“We have so much time. A full year.” And then: “Six months still.” Then: “Three full months left!”

And now? 35 days.

Where did all the time go?

I came in the third grade. After 10 years of early alarms, drives up and down Preston Road and friendships, it’s all coming to an end. Ten years of chapel, cafeteria and inside jokes and it’s all done. Ten years filled with triumph, failure and everything in between. And while it’s a cliché time for reflection, it’s a good time for reflection nonetheless.

It’s hard to appreciate a place when it’s the only place I’ve ever really known. For the last ten years, I’ve been lucky enough to call myself a Marksman. And while we do our fair share of complaining, I think we all know how lucky we are to call this place home.

The old adage, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” rings true. I never really understood how special

this place was until the finish line was in sight.

Where did all the time go?

I began to really reflect after having a conversation with a friend from out of state. We were talking about how excited we were for college. We couldn’t wait for new cities, new challenges and new people. But then we started talking about school life. I said that I was looking forward to being back on campus to visit my teachers during breaks from college. He said he was never going to set foot on his campus again. I went on about how bittersweet graduation was going to be and how I was going to miss school. He expressed only frustration: No one even knows my name.

Each student knows everybody in his grade’s name here. And many know most people’s parents and siblings.

I have only 35 days left with those students.

My teachers are as eager for the bell to ring as the students.

My teachers start early and end late and encourage me to come in before and after school. I have only 35 more days with those teachers.

Our principal doesn’t care about us and is a horrible speaker.

Mr. Holtberg knows each and every one of us, and I think I learn five new vocab words every time he speaks so expeditiously. It’s his senior year too, and he really is a special leader. He has 35 days left as well.

Where did all the time go?

After years and years of St. Mark’s, I think I had come to accept the experience as normal. I thought this was how school was. ut there’s a reason we have one of the highest alumni participation rates in the country. There’s a reason our faculty and staff stay here for 20, 30 and 40 years. There’s a reason why every senior’s last newspaper column is going to sound the exact same.

If you don’t know that reason, it’s okay. I didn’t realize it until recently. It’s impossible to understand the reason until you have time to reflect. Until then, there are too many grades, sports, quizzes, parties, standardized tests and sleepless nights. But sometime, you will. Maybe you won’t realize it until you walk across a stage in May with a white tuxedo jacket.

But there’s a reason we’ll all see some 18-year-old guys crying on May 23.

I’ll let you figure it out by yourself.

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squaringoff

Trix Rabbit

nergizer bunny, freaking relax.

You’re always mad crunk poppin’ off. Stop incessantly beating that drum and take off those shades — you’re selling batteries. And while you’re at it, get a new outfit — your batteries aren’t pink. The way you act just raises the hares on my neck.

The Trix Rabbit is the best rabbit in the game today. When you wake up from your nightly snooze, do you shake a few D-batteries out of an Energizer box to eat? nah. That’s what I thought — you eat delicious Trix cereal.

Real talk — Trix aren’t only for kids, they’re for everybody. Plus, Trix comes up with actual creative names for his product. All the “Energizer Bunny” (if that’s his real name) came up with was AA battery, AAA battery, D battery, etc. This rabbit grabs life by the ears and names the flavors whatever he wants. Orangey orange?

Okay okay. Grapity Purple? Fur sure. Rasp-orangey orange swirl? Shut it down. It’s over.

Now I wasn’t going to mention it, but all’s fair in love and rabbit war. The Energizer Bunny has a thorough criminal record. He was once arrested for assault and battery (get it?). He even stole a 14-carrot ring once (go on?). Rumors were he even hijacked that Malaysian hareplane. (mmm….okay!). Alright relax.

Alright Chuck, you’re up kid. I’m all ears.

Aidan Dewar

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ANDREW GATHERER PHOTO

E

Editorial Board members Aidan Dewar and Charlie Golden square off for the last time. And in honor of Easter, they’re squaring off on the best hares in the game.

Energizer Bunny

rix, do you even know who I am, brah?

You come up in here, you insult my glasses, my drum and my stamina.

And what do you offer? Boyish enthusiasm? I say that because you have no friends your own age. Get some friends your own age.

And you know what? You can’t even outsmart them!

They can’t even read, and you’re the dumb one! They pull the same prank every time, hombre. You’re never going to get the cereal.

You know what Einstein called doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result? Freakin’ dumb. And that’s what you are.

Make fun of me all you want, broseph, but at the end of the day, I’m going to win this battle. Want to know why?

Face it homie: I’ve got the looks, the sweet music and soon enough, I’ll have Lola Bunny.

We all know that one of these days, old man Elmer Fudd is going to be tired of Bugs Bunny’s bull and decide to blow the rabbit’s brains out.

And when that happens, Lola’s gonna be out on the market again. Who’s she gonna go for? The cereal junkie with floppy ears, or the battery-peddling billionaire with a sweet drum. You may love sweets, Trix, but your luck is about to go sour. Hold me back!!!

Smell ya later, silly rabbit.

Charlie Golden

or ¿Trix Rabbit or Energizer Bunny?

REMARKER STUDENT NEWSPAPER

editor-in-chief creative director issues editor managing editor senior content editor business manager opinion editor graphics director head photographer special projects editor

Dylan Clark Sam Khoshbin Ryan O’Meara Aidan Dewar Charlie Golden John Caldwell Vishal Gokani Zuyva Sevilla Andrew Gatherer Alexander Munoz

deputy opinion editor Shourya Kumar news editors Alex Kim Vikram Pattabi life editors Cyrus Ganji Cole Gerthoffer sports editors Matthew Conley Teddy Edwards

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Graham, Alden James, Graham Kirstein, Cameron Lam, Adam Merchant, Tim O’Meara, Connor Olson, Nico Sanchez, Mason Smith, Corbin Walp staff writers Nick Buckenham, Jacob Chernick, Tabish Dayani, Will Forbes, Richard Jiang, Bradford Beck, William

Caldwell, Cameron Clark, Will Clark, Andrew Hatfield, Kevin He, Noah Koecher, Akshay Malhotra, Davis Marsh, Roby Mize, Philip Montgomery, Zachary Naidu, Matthew Placide, Avery Powell, Anvit Reddy, Philip Smart, Abhi Thummala, P.J. Voorheis staff assistants

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student newspaper of st. mark’s school of texas • dallas, texas 75230 • 214.346.8000 • www.smtexas.org/remarker Coverage. The ReMarker covers

topics, issues, events and opinions of relevance and interest to the St. Mark’s School of Texas community.

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Distribution. Press run is 3,800 copies.

Copies are provided free of charge to students, faculty and staff at various distribution sites on campus and at our sister school, The Hockaday

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ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

Sophomore attackman Graham Gillespie looks down field for an open teammate as he attempts to maneuver around his aggressive defender. p. 23

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY APRIL 17, 2014 | PAGE 19

upcoming

I

Today

Weekend

Next Week

> Varsity track and field hosts a meet at 4 p.m. at Norma and Lamar Hunt Family Stadium.

> Junior varsity water polo will compete for the North Region Junior Varsity Championship at Carroll ISD Aquatic Center on Saturday.

> Varsity golf plays at Bear Creek GC, Irving for the match versus Trinity Valley April 22.

> Varsity baseball and tennis both play at 4:30 p.m.. Baseball plays Fort Worth THESA on Arthur P. Ruff Field while tennis duels Parish at the Albert G. Hill Tennis Center.

> The Rangers wrap up their three game series against the White Sox Saturday and Sunday while the 2014 NBA Playoffs kick off on ABC and ESPN.

> Varsity water polo begins its first day of competition for the North Region Championship at Lewisville ISD Westside Aquatic Center in Flower April 26.

A ROUNDUP OF THE LATEST IN ATHLETICS ON AND OFF CAMPUS

• From March 21-30, junior Timothy Simenc traveled to the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, CO to train with the American national water polo team. Simenc, who was one of seven high school players there, was offered the opportunity when he met the head coach of the national team at an Olympic development program session back in January. But while missing school and traveling to play water polo may seem appealing, Simenc went through an intense training regimen that was beyond any training he has received at school.

“It was way beyond the St. Mark’s level,” Simenc said. “There’s a large time difference. Second of all, there’s a level difference. You are taking NCAA all-stars, putting them all into one pool and then throwing in high school kids.”

HIGH KNEES Practicing for the 800 meter run, senior Harrison Perkins sprints to the finish line.

Perkins helped the Lions track team win the “Meet on Midway” at Prince of Peace March 29 by finishing second in the 800 meter run.

• As of April 7, both junior varsity lacrosse and baseball teams are having winning seasons with baseball going 7-3 while lacrosse is 5-2.

Baseball is averaging a remarkable eight runs per game and has scored less than ten runs only three times while lacrosse has proved they are a worthy opponent despite being in their first year at the junior varsity level. Two of the team’s losses came against HSAA while the last came against Bishop Lynch. Lacrosse fell to Jesuit and ESD, two teams that also beat them at the varsity level.

• Varsity baseball assistant coach Sam Carpenter purchased new baseball nets that are used during the team’s batting practices.

The nets were bought to increase player safety. Their main purpose is to protect players who are shagging balls during batting practice from getting hit by any balls from the batter.

“The new nets are wonderful,” head coach Johnny Hunter said. “It’s allowed us to be more efficient in practice and the general safety of the players is improved as well.”

• Middle School sports teams are off to a solid spring season start. Seventh grade baseball sits at 3-3-1 with eighth grade posting a strong 6-1 record.

The tennis team is undefeated at 6-0-1 through seven matches while both track and field and water polo have had strong showings at their respective meets and weekend tournaments.

The blue and gold lacrosse teams have also performed very well so far this year, and the team feels they have improved throughout the season.

“I really like how we are progressing as a team this season,” gold team member Garrett Mize said. “We lost a couple games we could have won against ESD and Highland Park, but we have pulled out a win in every other game this season and aim to win out for the rest of the season.”

A dominate 14-0 victory over Greenhill is among the team’s impressive victories thus far.

SUPPORT TEAM Students wave a school flag during a white out and cheer on the varsity lacrosse team during the Lions 11-9 road loss April 2 to rival ESD.

— Tip-off stories reported by Richard Jiang, Andrew Hatfield, Anvit Reddy, Cameron Clark and Zach Naidu.

nicknames

CIRCLING UP Huddling around head coach Dennis Kelly, junior varsity baseball forms a game-plan during a 11-1 win against Fort Worth Country Day March 25.

A LOOK INTO THE NAMES BEHIND THE JERSEYS

Justin Jones

Nicknames:

Shoogie, Nonstop, Dr. J

Athletics:

Landon Montgomery Nicknames:

Lando Calrissian, Lando, Rizz

Athletics:

Sporting over 15 nicknames, third-baseman Justin “Shoogie” Jones stole a base and drove in a run in a 6-4 win against TCA.

Midfielder Landon “Lando Calrissian” Montgomery has netted goals including one goal against both Highland Park and ESD.

“One time Will Moor [‘13] and I were talking about Sugar Ray Leonard, after that he somehow started calling me Shoogie.”

“Back in seventh grade, Coach [Collin] Guy called me Lando Calrissian once and it stuck. I’m a Star Wars fan, so it can stay,”

Origin:

Origin:

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

I know college will be an incredible experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I cant wait to go to football games at Notre Dame, meet my roommates on move in day and live by myself for the first time in my life. I know I will make life-long friends, and I will learn more than I think possible. It will be a place where I learn how far I can push myself and how much I am capable of succeeding, but it will not be home.

Home is ridiculous nicknames between friends.

Home is snapchats that always make me smile.

Home is the greatest box fort ever assembled. won’t lie. I’m scared to death for next August and move-in day. I’m nervous I will do something wrong on my first day, or my roommate will be weird or, worse, my roommate will think I’m weird.

There is a part of me that doesn’t want to be without my parents and all the close mentors that I have found at 10600 Preston Road.

I wish that I could take everything that I have at home with me to college, but I can’t.

I know it’s natural to be nervous about college, and that everyone has to graduate from high school sometime, but that doesn’t make it any easier to leave my home.

Home is going crazy for fifth graders during a pep rally.

Home is taking first graders to the zoo.

Home is singing All Things Bright and Beautiful with the entire Upper School.

The letter still sits on my desk at home, welcome home showing between stacks of notes and tests.

It gives me pride every time I see it, and it reminds me of how exciting the next four years could be and all the opportunities that await me. But it also makes me sad.

Home is all the teachers and coaches who have helped me along the way.

Home is cheers while walking across the stage.

Home is wearing a white tuxedo among 86 brothers.

And I’m leaving home.

tip-off

“

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

TEDDY EDWARDS

COUNTER ATTACK Finding an open passing lane, senior goalie Bradley Mankoff helps the Lions defeat their arch-rival Kerns twice in Utah.

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

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elcome home.

Bright golden letters against a navy blue background and a picture of the golden dome, the letter set a tone of excellence and familiarity.

It clearly was meant to make me feel like I was going to be joining a family of students next year, and not just an average college.

It made me smile reading the letter from Notre Dame, but it was lying to me.

Home is whiffle ball, lawn chairs and badminton on the quad.

Home is white outs against rivals and storming the field after a win.

Home is back to back volleyball champions.

CONNOR OLSON PHOTO

It’s time to leave home

SPORTING EVENTS IN THE DAYS AHEAD

“We plan to win state this year by never losing focus. We know that this year, no other team can beat us but ourselves.” Page 23

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

SPORTS AROUND CAMPUS

VARSITY WATER POLO CAPTAIN JACK MALLICK

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

S

EYE ON THE PRIZE

SPORTS

21 Malcolm Bowman

22 Athletic trainers

23 SPC preview

24 Spray chart

THE REMARKER | 20 THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Breaking down a barrier

There will always be barriers — racial barriers, gender barriers, sexual barriers. And by now, with the first openly gay NFL prospect, sports teams need to decide if they will open up or not. The question is, will this generation take the barrier down?

OPEN BLEACHERS Many students believe change is on the horizon for sexual equality, and sports programs may be key in opening up the bleachers, the locker rooms and the sports fields to everyone.

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hen WFAA-TV sports anchor Dale Hansen first heard that Michael Sam — University of Missouri’s All American, SEC defensive player of the year and first openly gay NFL draft prospect — was expected only to be a third to fifth round pick in the NFL Draft, he was shocked.

“Really?” Hansen told The ReMarker in an exclusive interview March 25. “With everything going on in the world today, your biggest concern is that you just don’t think you can tolerate another man who happens to love another man? That’s your concern? Really?”

Hansen went on air the next night and spoke about Sam during his “Unplugged” segment, expressing his opinion and expecting an inbox of negative emails. But when he got to WFAA’s station the next morning, he found quite the opposite.

“I thought that I would get home and have about 40 emails, and ten of them would say, ‘way to go Dale’ and 30 of them would be blasting me for this opinion,” Hansen said. “I get home and I’ve got 100 emails. By the time I got to work that afternoon it was over 1000.”

His commentary went viral — a term Hansen didn’t even know at the time. Two days later, he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk to the lesbian television host about Sam. Hansen’s commentary on Sam has been well regarded across the world, but Sam still has no guarantees for an NFL career. Although no current student has “come out” to a sports team here, the question remains: what do the coaches and players at St. Mark’s do to ensure a strong future for any openly gay athletes?

After returning to his alma mater last year, varsity tennis head coach Scott Palmer ’01 has seen the campus change, and he has seen the Dallas community change. He has watched Hansen on TV his whole life — and he knew that if someone were to say something about Michael Sam, it would be Hansen. Palmer hopes to create an open environment on his tennis team.

“I agreed with everything he said,” Palmer said. “I think this is more of a human question more than a sports question. I think that if we can’t live in a society where we accept people for who they are, then that’s a pretty sad statement.

He obviously took it to talk specifically about sports, but I don’t see it as being any different. The way I view it, if someone is gay, or someone is not gay, they should be accepted everywhere they go.”

Palmer believes it is important to do exactly what Hansen said in his commentary “Celebrating our Differences.”

“We don’t want everyone to act the same way, to have the same opinions,” Palmer said. “But we do want to treat everyone equally regardless of whether they are gay or not gay, whether they are black or white, whether they come from a wealthy family or whether they come from a very poor family.”

Hansen believes this issue is a matter of closed-minded attitudes.

“I think this is the single biggest problem in our country today,” Hansen said. “So many people are opposed to hearing a differing point of view. I try to listen to the people and read the columns that I don’t agree with. The ones I agree with are easy.”

While everybody might not understand the homosexual lifestyle, players and coaches here are in agreement that Sam should not be viewed differently as a person or a player from prior to his announcement.

“Because of loving another man and just how it would change the locker room mentality, they’ve actually said that they’ve devalued his stock in the draft,” senior swimming and water polo captain Matt Mahowald said. “I thought he (Hansen) was completely right that it’s so wrong to value a football player’s skill by his sexual orientation.”

Senior football and basketball captain Luke Williams believes the athletic community here would handle a student coming out as gay in the proper manner.

“Well, the first thing I would do is try to make them feel comfortable about it with me,” Williams said. “And then hopefully, I would think if they could be comfortable about it with me, that they would be able to be comfortable about it with the other players.”

From a coaching standpoint, Palmer believes the approach depends on the specific reasoning for the athlete’s

“coming out” and whether he wishes to let the entire team know.

“In terms of actions I would take, I think that would obviously depend on what the player was looking for from me,” Palmer said. “But as an overall action, I would seek to be as supportive as I possibly could be of them. And I would of course be happy for them. I think that is a big step for people who are telling folks, potentially for the first time, that they are gay. I think they need to be met with support, and so I would seek to provide that.”

Varsity Baseball Head Coach Johnny Hunter agrees that a player wouldn’t be coached any differently because of his sexual orientation.

“I’d be very supportive,” Hunter said. “First and foremost, that would be his business, and I would hope that our other coaches and players wouldn’t treat him any differently because of it.” lthough many Marksmen agree full-heartedly with accepting gay athletes, the prospect of being around a gay teammate isn’t too familiar to most students here.

“It’s something that I think would take the actual occurrence of the event for me to know how I would actually react to it,” Mahowald said, “because you can’t predict how your gut, your sub-conscious will react to that sort of thing, or I can’t at least.”

In addition, Mahowald believe it would be an adjustment to have a gay teammate.

“As much as I wish I would be able to immediately embrace it,” Mahowald said, “having a homosexual teammate would be something that would take some time to be comfortable with, because like Hansen said, we don’t understand their world.”

Also, a potential change in locker room culture would need to happen in order for a homosexual athlete to feel just as welcomed and accepted as every other heterosexual one.

“People talk about distinct locker room culture,” Williams said. “And I think that it can be extremely insensitive to people who might be different, whether it be homosexuality or different in any number of ways, people tend to lose sight of that. As far as would I act differently if I had a gay teammate, I would definitely be more careful of what I said or of anything that could be taken the wrong way.”

If there were to be tension among players over a gay person being on their team, both coaches would take action in support of that player referencing the ideals of St. Mark’s.

“I would address the issue collectively first,” Hunter said.

“I would remind our team about the philosophy of the school and issue some general statements about being a good human being as far as treating others with respect and kindness and things like that.”

A

The support system here would also be a key component in diffusing locker room turmoil.

“We have terrific counselors,” Palmer said. “The nice thing about working at a place like St. Mark’s, working with the boys, is that you are never going at it alone. So if there are any issues related to a player being gay, or anything else, as a faculty member you’ve got more than enough resources to handle the situation and make everyone feel comfortable and valued and listened to.”

Hansen’s statement on Sam is one of the many things that have shed light on the gay athlete discussion. Like Williams, Mahowald agrees that as time progresses and he becomes more and more involved with different people, being around gay players will not seem as foreign of a concept as it may have appeared in the past or does right now.

“I hope that by surrounding myself with people who are different from me, I can learn and gain perspective and hopefully some of that will be about homosexuality,” Mahowald said. “Because I’ve had such a limited amount of interaction, it’s different, it’s surprising.”

And for Hansen, it’s all just a matter of time before the locker room is an open place for everyone.

“Younger generations always change America,” Hansen said. “Every generation has.”

In his own words: Hansen’s ‘Celebrating our Differences’

OPINIONATED ANCHOR Sitting at the desk on the set of WFAA Dallas, Hansen gives his weeknight sports program.

• Some choice lines from Hansen’s monologue that went viral after airing on WFAA Feb. 12: “Several NFL officials are telling Sports Illustrated it will hurt him [Sam] on draft day because a gay player wouldn’t be welcome in an NFL locker room. It would be uncomfortable, because that’s a man’s world.”

••• “You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You’re the fourth guy taken in the NFL draft.

You kill people while driving drunk? That guy’s welcome.

Players caught in hotel rooms with illegal drugs and prostitutes? We know they’re welcome.

Players accused of rape and pay the woman to go away?

You lie to police trying to cover up a murder? We’re comfortable with that.

You love another man? Well, now you’ve gone too far!”

••• “I’m not always comfortable when a man tells me he’s gay; I don’t understand his world.

But I do understand that he’s part of mine.”

OPENING THE LOCKER ROOM story by Matthew Conley, sports editor, Zach Naidu, staff writer | photo by Mason Smith, staff photographer, graphic by Zuyva Sevilla, graphics director

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

M A L C O L M

Just another scar When senior Malcolm Bowman suffered a gruesome tear of his ACL, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to play football again: let alone at the college level. Now, he knows how it made him better.

H

Page 21

SPORTS

e had never even wanted to go to the camp last summer.

It wasn’t required, just an extra opportunity to play football and show off to coaches. That’s what he’d been trying to do when he made the cut, and his knee went one way while his body went another.

He was on the ground when his dad reached him, saying things like, “We don’t know for sure,” and, “We have to wait for the doctor.”

But senior Malcolm Bowman had heard the pops and could feel the pain; he didn’t need to wait for a doctor to tell him that he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Or that he would miss his senior football season. Or that his chance to play football at Cornell was in jeopardy.

Yet despite having his offer recalled from Cornell and missing playing in an SPC championship game last fall, Bowman tried to stay positive, and he found joy in his recovery process “Physical therapy was fun,” Bowman said. “I looked forward to it ever day because it was something that I could pour my energy into and take my frustration out on. The physical therapy environment

B O W M A N

BACK IN THE GAME After having to sit on the sideline (right) and watch his fellow teammates during football season, Bowman finally got to join in during track season (left).

that I went to was very positive and everyone I was with was always very cheerful.”

After six months of physical therapy and training, Bowman is in the middle of his senior track season.

“In track its always fun to push yourself and see how far you can go,” Bowman said. “You can also track your times over the years and see how you compare to past seasons. That way, you can see if you’re at that point where you were before, so I’d be able to tell if I have the explosiveness and functionality back in my knee.”

That point is still a long way away.

“I’m not even close,” he said. “In my first meet I was way above my personal record, but that’s to be expected early on.

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how I improve in the upcoming meets.”

Fortunately, after his chance to play for Cornell disappeared with his injury, other opportunities to play in college still remained.

He’d gone on a handful of official and unofficial visits to schools like Oregon, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and others.

In talking to coaches at Northwestern, Bowman realized he had a place on the team as a walk-on.

His final track season is just icing on the cake to his story of recovery.

“My main goal this season is to be mentor for the younger guys and set a great example for them, be a good teammate to my fellow seniors so they can have the best year possible and after that, I’m just looking to get in shape and get this knee as functional as possible before I go off to college,” Bowman said.

For head track coach John Turek, its Bowman’s attitude that sets him apart from everyone else.

“Most people would have quit and just said, ‘obviously I’m not cut out for athletics,”’ Turek said about Bowman. “‘Let me take the easier path and let me just become a student.’ But he has never ever given up, and I applaud him for that.

This amazing attitude shows up again and again in Bowman, who, despite everything that has happened to him, has only one thing to say.

“If I could do it all over again, I would.”

The many visits of Malcolm

NATIONWIDE Bowman has visited many schools in his search for a school to play at. On official visits, recruits get to try on uniforms, meet coaches and learn about the program. Malcolm visited Oklahoma State University (top left), the University of Oregon (top right) and Georgia Tech (bottom) before finally deciding to play for Northwestern University.

JUST ANOTHER SCAR story by Teddy Edwards, sports editor, and William Caldwell, staff writer | photos courtesy Malcolm Bowman

International Boys School Coalition: ‘Why we play’

The conference, held here, aimed to look at ‘The changing faces of sports at boys’ schools in the 21st century.’

By Bradford Beck staff writer arlier this month, the first International Boys School Coalition (IBSC) conference for athletic directors was hosted at 10600 Preston Road.

Athletic Director Mark Sullivan began planning the conference last spring.

“It was stressful leading up to it because really the IBSC has been talking about this for about 18 months,” Sullivan said. “I haven’t been involved quite as long because they approached Mr. Holtberg first on whether or not we would host it. So really since last spring, I’ve been involved with it. There’s been a stressful part in hoping that everything goes right schedule-wise and people get something of value because people are very busy this time of year and you don’t want to bring them from all over the world to Dallas, Texas and waste their time.”

The conference had three main discussions: how independent schools deal with athlete specialization in sports, how schools handle concussion management and how to bring kids back into the classroom in the right progression.

“A man named Sam Simmons, at the Salisbury School, this was really his idea,” Sullivan said. “He and I brainstormed initially what are the big topics in athletic directors’ lives, and we just threw a bunch of ideas out there and narrowed it down to roughly two or three. That kind of directed the conference.”

To talk about concussion management, Sullivan brought in School Nurse Julie Doerge and Matt Hjertstedt, athletic trainer.

“His [Hjertstedt] role and Nurse Julie’s role here at school, in combination with Dr. Sterling and Ken Locker, the two experts we had in, were huge for the

E

conference,” Sullivan said. “Matt really directed their preparation for what he interpreted as to what we wanted from them. So he was kind of our voice to them. The voice of the IBSC through Trainer Matt.

So he really did a lot of groundwork with them to prepare them for who we were, what we wanted to hear, not that they just stood up and told us what we wanted to hear but what we wanted them to talk about and hear their perspective on.”

Sullivan believe each discussion sparked a dialogue between the athletic directors.

“It doesn’t do me any good to have you sit there and validate what I do,” he said, refering to the keynote speakers. “While I want you to share your knowledge with me, I don’t necessarily want what you share to be what I want to hear. I want to be shaken up a little because that creates dialogue between the athletic directors.”

This dialogue was key to the success of the conference.

“In this case, each speaker gave us something to talk about and then as we talked is where we really grew as a conference and made the conference worthwhile to everyone in the room,” Sullivan said.

In the conference, the schools came up with a list of best practices that shows the similarities between schools.

“The best practices list is really just what do we do that we like, what we’re proud of that works for us,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of people out there that are like us. It’s clear that there are a lot of schools out there that think like us and we’re not just this oddball school. There are a lot of schools that hold the same values and truths, and they’re producing a lot of incredible young men.”

Page 22

THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

SPORTS S T U D E N T

T R A I N E R S

Training by the dozen With 12 students signing up to be trainers in one trimester alone, the program is growing to new heights under Matt Hjerstedt

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TRAINING HARD One of the main jobs of the student trainer is to ensure that the teams stay well-hydrated and healthy. Sophomore Arno Goetz fills the cooler with ice and water as sophomore Andrew Sharng loads and unloads the coolers onto the golf cart, which he uses to deliver the much needed water bottles and coolers to the thirsty players.

or years, athletic trainer Matt Hjertstedt would be disappointed when only three or four students would sign up to take the student training course. However, this year was different. After only one student signed up for the fall trimester, 12 signed up for the winter, then seven more in the spring.

“We’ve had student trainers here since before I even got here,” Hjertstedt said. “[Athletic Trainer] Doc [Browning] has always had one or two guys a year. One of my goals is to really try and grow the program and make it more accessible. I really want to involve as many [students] as I can. This year the program has doubled.”

Hjerstedt wants to expand the program as much as possible to give every student a chance to take the course.

“The reason why I like to do it is because I got into sports medicine training through a class in high school,” Hjerstedt said. “For me, I planned on going more business route, and I had no interest in sports medicine until I took that course.

After that, I knew that that’s what I wanted to do. I just want to give students an opportunity to experience something different than the normal classroom setting.”

Sophomore athletic trainer Charlie O’Brien has taken the course for two years and is one of the most experienced

students in the program. Taking the course counts as a P.E. credit, meaning a student can come in after school and not have to take P.E during the day.

“I work three days a week and normally, I’ll go into his office right at 3:05 p.m., and on his whiteboard, it has everything that needs to be done for the day,” O’Brien said. “Depending on whether there’s a middle school or high school game, I have to take those big ten gallon Gatorades plus two water bottle cartons to the turf field, back field and front field. Once I’m done with that, I normally just clean up and I’m free to go.”

ATHLETIC TRAINER MATT HJERTSTEDT

We give them a lot of opportunities to give hands on care while being supervised.

Hjertstedt tries to give his students as many opportunities to learn about sports medicine as he can, giving them online resources and teaching them himself. “[What they do] depends. I give them the option of learning what they want. The main things they help me with is organization: restocking taping table, putting out water, making sure the radios are working,” Hjertstedt said. “All the manage-type things that take a lot

of time for me to do, but that I can delegate to them and give them something to do. Honestly, most of the things they do are pretty labor intensive, which is why it counts as a P.E. credit.

They’re lifting coolers, moving things around, cleaning the training room.”

Hjertstedt believes it is a symbiotic relationship between him and his students, where they both benefit from the opportunity.

“They’re here to do labor for me but in exchange they can ask me whatever they want, they can learn whatever they want, and we give them a lot of opportunities to give hands on care while being supervised,” Hjertstedt said. “That’s something that most high school or college students don’t get. Even most medical school students don’t get to put their hands on a patient until well after their degree.“ However, as successful as the program has been, Hjertstedt believes there is even more room for the program to grow.

“I’d really like to see the fall trimester get bigger because that’s one of our biggest needs,” Hjertstedt said. “I’m not really sure where it’s going to go.

We’ve talked about doing a sit down classroom course or an online course. We’re trying to meet the needs of the St. Mark’s students, the athletes and the program all at the same time, and this is working right now.”

TRAINING BY THE DOZEN story by Philip Montgomery, staff writer | photos by Alden James, staff photographer

Kelly brothers coach JV baseball team to winning season

By Ford Robinson campus coordinator he JV baseball team is off to a 7-3 start with wins against Cistercian and Trinity Christian Academy thanks to big scoring and coaching by the Kelly brothers.

Dennis Kelly, head coach, and Brett Kelly, assistant coach, are not only co-coaches on the field, but also brothers.

“It’s a blast coaching with my brother,” Dennis Kelly said, “Brett and I have coached a handful of summer ball games together with the Dallas Rookies and Dallas

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Mustangs. He and I now coach a 10U Dallas Rookies team together and I help him with a 14U Dallas Rookies team.”

The Kelly brothers believe that their long lasting experience coaching together gives them a huge advantaging coaching wise over their opponents.

“The biggest advantage of coaching with your brother is that we have similar expectation levels,” Dennis Kelly said. “We both played an aggressive and hard-nosed style of baseball and we expect that approach from our players.”

But, as everyone who has a brother knows, there will always be conflict both on and off the field. Working through those conflicts are what make the Kelly brothers great coaches.

“The biggest disadvantage is that there are times that I assume Brett can read my mind,” Dennis Kelly said. “If a drill or game situation needs fixing on-the-fly I assume that Brett will just step in and handle the situation exactly the way I see it, and that’s not always the case. Regardless, we get through it because he's a talented coach

that handles situations extremely well on his own.”

The Kelly brothers have been playing baseball together and coaching together for as long as they can remember.

“It struck me that Brett and I have been coaching together since we were kids in the neighborhood,” Dennis Kelly said. “We would draft teams, set up tournaments, wear jerseys, and play games in the street all summer. There are days at St. Mark's that feel like I’m back playing in the neighborhood.”

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THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

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SPORTS

Spring into action

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against Fort Worth Country Day that included a 13 run inning.

“It was the perfect storm, really,” Hunter said. “To walk away from that game with a run rule against a formidable opponent like Country Day, it reinforced the positive, good energy that we had developed after the All Saints game.”

With the SPC tournament a little more than two weeks away, the Lions stand at 8-4 (3-1), near the top of the North Zone standings. The character of Hunter’s squad will be key as the regular season nears its end.

“The thing that I really like about this team is that we’re tenacious,” he said. “We just simply won’t go away.

We keep fighting, keep scrapping.”

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By Zach Naidu staff writer own 6-0 early and staring a 0-2 start in the face, things didn’t look good for the varsity baseball team.

But they wouldn’t back down.

The Lions exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning en route to a 9-6 come back victory over All Saints, turning the page on a disappointing season opener against Greenhill when they blew a late lead.

“That was a huge game for us,” Head Coach Johnny Hunter said.

“I think the All Saints game was a turning point. Because we could have been 0-2 really quickly.”

With the ship righted, the Lions continued with an offensive barrage

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Baseball: Scrappy team fights for success in SPC play

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Lions prepare for SPC, state championship runs

Tennis: Team ‘hungry’ to end 12-year SPC title drought

By William Caldwell staff writer ast year was the year. Last year they were supposed to win it all. They were the favorites. An SPC title would be theirs. However, in the semifinals, Kinkaid ended their dreams.

A year after the varsity tennis team was the favorite to win an SPC championship, they are right back in the hunt to end their 12-year long championship drought, the longest of any team at 10600 Preston Road.

With a 3-0 counter-match record, the team is not looking to slow down with the SPC tournament looming.

Head coach Scott Palmer ’01 knows that while some teams could dwell on a tough defeat, his team is

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using it to their advantage.

“While last year’s loss in the SPC semifinals was tough, I think it has served as a motivator for the team this year,” Palmer said. “The guys on the team last year, even the ones who were not in the starting lineup, got to see the intensity of the SPC tournament, and they got to see how close the margin is between wins and losses. In many ways, it has made our job as coaches easier this year.”

Palmer believes that the players who were on the team last year will want a title even more.

“They understand what the end goal is now, and falling short last year only makes us hungrier this year,” Palmer said.

Golf: Young team ready to contend at SPC tourney

By Ryan O’Meara issues editor

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ollowing a third place finish in last year’s SPC tournament, head coach David Baker’s golf team is ready contend again this year.

With a lineup featuring three freshmen, junior captain Weston Blair believes the team can step up for SPC. Our three freshman on Varsity have played outstandingly this year,” Blair said, “and I only expect them to improve more as we near the SPC tournament.”

Last year, Kinkaid outplayed the rest of the field and ran away with the championship. The Kinkaid Falcons are primed to be a formidable competitor again this year.

“Kinkaid has a huge target on their back,” Blair said. “They demolished the SPC records last year winning by something like 30 shots, and they shot 4 under as a team. To add to that, none of them were seniors. But just as in any sport, anybody can be beaten on any day. We need to play our best team golf and not waste any strokes.”

After playing regular season tournaments that figure into seeding for the SPC tournament, Blair and the golf team are hoping for a good seeding.

“The top four teams play with each other, then the next four, etc,” Blair said. “Our goal is to play with the best teams on the first day of SPC and to be in the last group coming in on Tuesday.”

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all the guys want to do well by one another. They want to get better, they want to put their teammates in a good position to win.”

Although the team has only raced twice, the team is confident about the position going into the larger regattas.

“I think we’re in a very good place for states in a couple weeks,” Baxley said. “We had a strong showing [at the Blast Regatta]; we rowed well. I’m excited.”

Gilles believes the team has progressed well throughout the season, which is his first with the team.

“I think from top to bottom, we’ve gotten in better shape,” Gilles said. “We’ve gotten a little bit tougher physically and mentally. Those are elements of success, they’re not the whole picture, you also need a winning mindset, and experience, and luck on race day. Hopefully they’ll situate as well.”

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By Abhi Thummala staff writer training through the driving rain, senior captain Cameron Baxley led his boat through the chilly waters of Bachman Lake, maintaining their lead over the other boats in the race.

The first varsity boat, rowed by Baxley, junior Luke Hudspeth, senior Alex McKenna and senior Nick Brodsky, took home gold in the Blast Regatta April 6.

The second boat placed third in heats, while other boats also won or placed second in their heats.

The team uses regattas like these to evaluate their progress in advance of the Texas Rowing Championships in Austin April 26 and the Central District Youth Rowing Championships in Oklahoma City May 10-11.

“Our top varsity boat is looking to medal at Texas champs and hopefully at regionals as well,” assistant coach Emmett Gilles said. “I think

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Crew: Rowers prepare for state competition

IN ACTION (from top left, clockwise) Senior Josh Perkins rips a shot in warm ups, senior Jeffrey Wu launches a fastball, senior Cameron baxley prepares to drop his shell into Bachman Lake, senior Harrison Perkins works on his running techniqe, senior Creed Lowry recovers from a backhand, junior Weston Blair watches his ball land on the green, junior Landon Montgomery dodges an allen defender in their home game at Hunt Family stadium.

Track: Smaller team seeks to regain past SPC meet success at home

By Cameron Clark staff writer ith a smaller team this year, every member of Track & Field will have to make their events count at SPC, which will be held May 2-3 at Norma and Lamar Hunt Family Stadium on campus.

According to senior captain Matthew Brown, who will be running in the 3200m and 1600m events (and possibly the 800m event and 4 x 800m relay), every member is going to have to contribute greatly and stay focused throughout the event.

“Our chances to win SPC this year aren’t as good as they have been in the past few years, however even the years we have won SPC our chances weren’t necessarily the greatest,” Brown said. “I

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think the biggest challenge will be the sheer amount of events everyone will be competing in.

“Because of our smaller size this year, a lot of guys are running 3 or more events in order to help out the team,” he said. “Staying fresh, focused, and energetic will be challenging for most of the team this year at SPC.” With what Brown said has been a great season of improvement through hard work, the team will look to peak physically and mentally at SPC. “In order to get the most out of ourselves at SPC, I think we need to mentally prepare to compete and always be conscious of our competition during our races,” he said. “At this point in the season, racing is more mental than it is physical.”

Water Polo: Oprea’s squad aims to regain state title after close finishes

By Matthew Placide staff writer fter finishing third in the Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (TISCA) water polo tournament last year, head coach Mihai Oprea and the varsity water polo team look to finish this season with state championship rings on their fingers.

For Oprea, the end result of this season will depend on how badly they want this season to be a success.

“My expectations are the team’s expectations,” Oprea said. “It’s pretty much what they want, so at this point they want to get the state title back and that is what I expect from them too. But on top of that I expect them to truly have a good season and enjoy it, especially for the seniors.”

Jack Mallick, senior captain and six-year water polo veteran, also believes that the state champion-

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ship is theirs to lose.

“We plan to win state this year by never losing focus. We know that this year, no other team can beat us but ourselves,” Mallick said. “If we stay focused and disciplined, I truly believe that we can dominate all of our competition. We have the personnel and the training, it’s all just a matter of mental toughness.”

Oprea would like nothing more than for the seniors to not only leave the school with a class ring, but also a state ring. With sound team chemistry, Oprea believes that by working on smaller details in the team’s game, they have a legitimate chance to bring home the state title.

“We’re trying to work on our discipline and make sure that it is a consistent factor in the equation,” Oprea said. “But I think with discipline, passion and courage we have a very good chance to get [state] back.”

Lacrosse: Second in SPC and preparing for another run at State

By Anvit Reddy staff writer he two heavyweights traded blows. The game was nothing short of a brutal battle.

Battling until the very end, the varsity team lost a close game to ESD in the SPC Championship game by a score of 9-12.

“We came out very strong in the first half and did a solid job of playing from behind and answering whenever ESD was able to score,” senior Riley Graham said. “Unfortunately, we were not able to hold up defensively in the fourth quarter.”

Despite the loss, the team still finished second in SPC after beating St. John’s 11-5 and EHS 10-7.

“Our attack jived really well and we had an

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outstanding anchor at the goalie position in Conner Mullen,” Graham said. “We also dominated at the faceoff .”

The team now turns its focus towards preparing for the district tournament, which will take place Apr. 22. With a strong 8-3 record, and each of the losses coming by only two goals, the team has the tools to follow up last season’s State Championship with another excellent performance.

“Our team is skilled and gets a lot of contribution from young guys which shows promise for the future of the team, “ Graham said. “We perform well under pressure and have the ability to beat the top teams in the state when every member of our team is focused.”

HIGHPERFORMANCE

ZUYVA SEVILLA ILLUSTRATION

Captain golfer Weston Blair

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St. Mark’s School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, Texas, 75230

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THE BACK SPORTS PAGE THE REMARKER | THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

finding the

SWEETSPOT Junior captain and golfer WESTON BLAIR has lead the Lions’ varsity golf team to a 2-2 record in match play. He also shot an 83 to help the Lions win a stroke play tournamnent against non-SPC teams. Blair and team see action April 22 against Trinity Valley at Bear Creek Golf Club in Irving.

With counterseason in full swing, the Lions’ varsity baseball bats have been swinging down the competition. The team has produced 52 runs through their first six counter games, including dominant 14 run and 15 run games against Cistercian and Fort Worth Country Day, respectively. Here are the hits that have helped the Lions’ season.

KEY vs. Holland Hall Away 4-11 Loss vs. Trinity Valley School Home 4-1 Win vs. All Saints Home 9-6 Win vs. Greenhill Home 6-7 Loss vs. Cistercian Home 14-5 Win vs. Fort Worth Country Day Home 15-5 Win

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Dotted line denotes line drives Solid line denotes low line drives and grounders

The Specialist

FINDING THE SWEET SPOT story by Philip Smart, staff writer | illustation by Zuyva Sevilla, graphics director and Philip Smart, staff writer

While many players on the team play on both offense and defense, Senior pitcher Jeffery Wu chooses to focus on the one thing he does best: get outs as a pitcher-only player. Here is his own collection of data for the counter season.

Games Started: 3

Earned Runs: 6

Innings Pitched: 14

Walks: 3

Hits: 12

Strike Outs: 4 Statistics compiled using GameChanger