The ReMarker | April 2015

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS DALLAS, TEXAS 75230 FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 VOLUME 61 ISSUE 6

COMMENTARY

A RIGHT TO SPEECH

NEWS

THE REMARKER UNICEF WATER WEEK

Junior leads water scarcity awareness effort for UNICEF

By Richard Jiang

I

n an effort to raise awareness of the scarcity of water in underprivileged areas of the world, junior Henry Goldberg took initiative and started the first annual Water Week, from March 23-27, an idea that came about when Goldberg met with the UNICEF North Texas Fellow Hannah Wright.

From the start, Goldberg had a clear idea of what he wanted to accomplish with this week.

“Water Week’s main purpose was to basically educate the general population of St. Mark’s, especially the Upper School, about the importance of water and the struggles to get water outside of the United States,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg believes that the week was a huge success considering that this was the UNICEF club’s first year at the school.

However, he believes that there are areas in which the club can improve.

“We focused too much on raising awareness and water rather than getting people to understand what UNICEF is, what the Tap Project is, and how the Tap Project raises money without your paying,” Goldberg said.

Although many students were aware of the Tap Project and its goals through the UNICEF basketball tournament and the true-false game, they did not understand how the Tap Project donated water.

“UNICEF USA has a sponsorship deal with several companies, most prominently Giorgio Armani,” Goldberg said. “If you go to a certain site and you put down your phone, the site measures whether or not your phone is moving around using the phone’s accelerometer and it times you.

Based off of that time, you don’t donate money, Giorgio Armani does.”

And ultimately, the club was able to raise two and a third years of water for a child in a developing nation. However, Goldberg recognizes the help and support he had from the administration that made this week possible.

“I could not have done this without Mr. Ferrell, Dr. Perryman and Mr. Gilles who were all really supportive of the ideas and really accommodating,” Goldberg said.

Inside Senior Section • See stories from the Senior Class of 2015 and an all-encompassing list of the universities they will be attending come next fall.

Special Section, Pages 1A-4A

CHAPLAIN NAMED

After 37 years, drama instructor Rod Blaydes is hanging up his hat.

Recommending a speech class to be included in English classes throughout the Upper School to improve students’ public speaking skills.

Page 10

Page 15

LIFE

Stephen Arbogast will be stepping in as Chaplain next year after an extensive search.

Page 3

BLAYDES TO RETIRE

Track and field.

Page 24

INSIDE

News Cover jump Male Call Life Vibe Commentary Sports Backpage

2 7 8 9 14 15 18 24

one CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

THE POWER OF

With Dallas mayoral and City Council elections on the horizon and voter turnout percentages at record lows, the power of a single vote in Dallas has become a gamechanger for the future of the city.

M

att Tranchin ’02 has always rooted for the underdog.

A year after graduating from Northwestern University, he latched on to an Illinois Senator with hopes of running for president in 2016 or 2020.

The next year that same senator, Barack Obama, announced he was running for president of the United States.

Tranchin served as Obama’s Field Organizer in South Carolina, traveled to Selma, AL, to speak in the same church as Martin Luther King Jr. once had, and went on to lead Obama’s North Texas Campaign.

But six years earlier, Tranchin wouldn’t have been able to name his district’s city council member — half of his graduating class couldn’t even name the mayor of the city of Dallas

Now, leading A Coalition for a New Dallas, Tranchin has realized the power of one — the difference one person can make in the future of a city.

“Honestly its nothing short of empowering,” he said. “You show up at city hall with five buddies talking about one issue and all 14 city council members and the mayor are going to listen. Because no one goes to city hall. That’s the important thing about civic engagement — that responsibility, that privilege — it doesn’t end when elections are over.”

CONTINUED, PAGE 7 The city of Dallas is struggling.

STORY VIK PATTABI, MATTHEW CONLEY | ILLUSTRATION ZUYVA SEVILLA

H

ey Cool Breeze, what’s up?”

“Cool Breeze, can you take a look at this story for me?”

“Yo, Cool Breeze, how was your weekend?”

Who exactly is Cool Breeze, this enigmatic figure who, as senior Carrington Kyle would have me believe, is supremely confident, clever and passionately devoted to the dual hobbies of yachting and lobstering?

He’s a renaissance man like no other, a paragon of class, all of those things and more.

He’s also my alter ego, at least in the publications suite and swimming conference room. In the robotics lab, he’s supplanted by Steve, and elsewhere on campus, I’m bombarded with a variety of other nicknames from the recently-born P-Dog to the unflatteringly creative Vikky P. Six years ago, as I was filling out the requisite forms for my admission to St. Mark’s, one question gave me pause — not an essay or some complicated legal jargon, but rather, “What is your preferred name?”

My debate, at the time, was whether to put Vik or my given name, Vikram.

If you take a look at the byline for this column, you’ll know what I chose, but now, the fact that such a question vexed me in any way is a phenomenon I can only describe as strange.

There’s no doubt name and identity are inextricably linked. Consequently, and at the unfortunate risk of sounding cliché (this is a senior column guys, give me a break), there’s also no doubt this place has had a tangible effect on my identity.

But my plethora of nicknames are more than inside jokes — they each represent something greater.

Would sixth-grade Vikram, shy, timid and in a largely foreign world, have spent hour after hour in the robotics lab with the same intensity Steve did throughout this year, lounging on the broken chairs and parsing through poorly-commented code?

Would he have shouted himself hoarse cheering for his team during the HP-Jesuit swim meet?

Would he have experienced New York City on the journalism trip like Cool Breeze?

Would he have written this column?

I honestly can’t provide a single concrete answer to those questions. But I doubt it.

There isn’t much of this place I can physically take with me to college, and I haven’t even begun to think of what I might pack and what will remain behind. However, I know for sure I’ll be taking my ReMarker sweatshirt, the one with Cool Breeze emblazoned across the back in bold yellow letters, even though I might not ever wear it in the balmy California weather of Palo Alto.

Although it’s certainly not a burdensome object to pack in a suitcase, it represents the magnitude of the mental and spiritual lessons I’ll be leaving here with — lessons about passion, commitment, courage, brotherhood, curiosity.

And sure, I’ll most likely come back from college with new (and perhaps even funnier) nicknames, but that doesn’t make the many I’ve accrued here any less meaningful.

In 20 or 30 years from now, if I happen to make a tremendously large sum of money and find myself lounging on a yacht off the coast of Maine with a fishing rod in one hand, I’ll think of 10600 Preston Road and ease into a grin, knowing whatever path led me there began here, on this campus, with a cool breeze blowing through the quad.

Junior Ashton Hashemipour spearheads an autism awareness campaign in the name of his brother and all others with autism. Page 6

Upcoming

NEW CHAPLAIN

CREATTIVE COMMONS

AUTISM AWARENESS

“ I hope that the community will be as accepting of me as I hope to be with them.”

— Stephen Arbogast, Page 3

Newsfeed

THINGS TO DO IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

Today

Weekend

Next week

NEWS AROUND CAMPUS

> Free the Children will

> Continuing from the

> Class officer candidates

lumni weekend will begin April 24.

The weekend provides a chance for alumni to return to campus for many festivities.

The events for the weekend will include an alumni board meeting, a spring alumni dinner and an alumni golf tournament.

The start of the weekend will feature welcoming addresses and faculty lectures on a variety of subjects. At the dinner, several faculty award finalists will be announced, and hundreds of alumni will be able to commemorate the weekend reminiscing old memories and making new friends.

Friday show, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will move to Wolfgang Rihm’s “Triple Concerto” Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.mydso. com.

hold a bake sale starting at 3:15 p.m. in the Commons.

The club will sell pizza, candy and baked goods to raise money for a village in Africa.

> The Dallas Symphony Or-

for Upper School deliver speeches April 20 at 3:15 p.m. The elections take place the following day at 10:30 a.m.

> Cum Laude will

introduce new members into the society April 22. The ceremony will occur at 3:05 p.m. in the chapel. Students in high academic standing selected by faculty and current members will join the society.

> At the

J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, the Dallas Book Festival will occur from noon to 5 p.m. More than 30 local authors will be in attendance.

chesta will open with the U.S. premiere of Mozart’s “Requiem”, and orchestral and choral class, at 7:30 p.m.

A

...

28

T

YEARS

Dale Hackbarth worked with the Dallas Police Department

MASON SMITH PHOTO

The man, the breeze, the legend

NEWS

VIK PATTABI

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION AKSHAY MALHOTRA

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Junior Akshay Malhotra has supported the education of an underpriviledged Indian child with his chess winnings. Page 4

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION ARBOGAST

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 | PAGE 2

he Robotics team took first place out of 51 middle and high school teams at the annual Botball Oklahoma Regional Tournament March 7.

Led by senior captains Aakash Pattabi, Vik Pattabi and Vignesh Babu and sporting a host of freshman and sophomore members, the team took second in the seeding round, a finalist position in the double elimination round and won the Overall Judges’ Choice award for excellence in a variety of categories, combining to give them a first-place finish overall.

Utilizing an assortment of cameras, sensors, Legos and motors across a two-month building period, competitors first construct and then program a robot capable of picking, moving and sorting a variety of game objects by using programmed input from sensors and cameras — completely without the use of controllers or other human input — to score points.

...

EMERGENCY AWARENESS In an annual speech to Upper School students, Director of Security Dale Hackbarth goes over the necessary safety measures and protocol, preparing them for the upcoming lockdown drill so that, if an active shooter ever steps on campus, community members will know how to react and find safety.

overheard COMMENTS MADE BY FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS AROUND CAMPUS

Sophomore

Frank Thomas “This summer we’re starting Habitat for Fraternity.” - on building a frat house for the tennis team

History Instructor

Bruce Westrate “Senioritis, thy name is Aakash!”

Victor F. White Master Teaching Chair

David Brown “You were the only student I could talk to about Downtown Abbey!”

Senior

Jack O’Neill “That’s why God gave us two eyes.” — on watching a history movie and March Madness at the same time.

Senior

Senior

Matthew Meadows

“I sing all things Dire Straits”

Case Brabham

“I’m gonna wear so much cardigan in Boston.”

PHOTOS BRADFORD BECK, ARNO GOETZ

O

ut of 14 Classics Club students, marksmen finished in the top three spots in 11 individual competitions at the Texas State Junior Classical League State Convention.

Among first place finishes were eighth graders David Vellejo, Max Wang, Ruoming Fan and senior DarwinYang.

On the whole, the club’s intermediate team took third place and the advanced and novice teams each took fourth place, rounding off a successful competition for the club.

...

B

lue and Gold Day, along with the late start day April 6, was removed from the school schedule due to lost time from snow days.

However, the spirit of Blue and Gold Day lives on through events such as the senior softball game.

“We wanted to capture the spirit of Blue and Gold Day, while recapturing some of the lost time,” Head of Upper School Wortie Ferrell said.

— Newsfeed stories by Matthew Placide, Noah Koecher and Bradford Beck

NEW CHAPLAIN STEPHEN ARBOGAST

NEWS

THE REMARKER APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 3 4 AKSHAY MALHOTRA 5 SCHOOL SHOOTERS 6 AUTISM AWARENESS 7 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

The search is OVER After an extensive search for a new chaplain, the administration has chosen Father Stephen Arbogast to take over the role of spiritual leader on campus next year.

A WORLD-FAMOUS WORKPLACE Donning a decorative vestment over his daily teaching garb, Arbogast currently serves as chaplain at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., where he preaches to the female-only student body in the famous Washington National Cathedral each week.

H

e reclines into the leather desk chair in his modest office, tucked down a hallway in the Religious Studies wing of the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. Fingers coming to the keyboard of his computer, the screen flickers on and he quickly enters his credentials, a cup of coffee steaming at his side.

He smiles happily as the inbox in the corner of the screen comes alive.

Filling the page come dozens of emails, from dozens of parents, alumni and faculty members. But, unusually, they aren’t the parents, alumni and faculty of his own school.

Congratulations!

We can’t wait to see you on campus.

Welcome to St. Mark’s.

Father Stephen Arbogast savors the excitement, remembering the voice on the other end of the line a matter of hours ago, telling him he had been chosen — out of an international pool of candidates — to spiritually lead the community he will soon call home.

“I have been lucky in my life to do very interesting things,” Arbogast said, “and I have been lucky enough to work with very interesting people; I was so excited about the opportunity to be able to meet a community with very wonderful and exciting people.”

After extensive interviews, research and deliberation, the Chaplain Search Committee — led by Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini, Dean of Campus and Provost Scott Gonzalez and Director of Faculty Recruiting Byron Lawson — decided that Arbogast will take up the mantle of campus chaplain for the upcoming school years.

“We had a candidate come in from the Caribbean,” Lawson said. “We had Canadian candidates. It was a broad and expansive search. Our semi finalist pool alone had two regional candidates, two national candidates and one international candidate.”

Arbogast first caught the search committee’s eye because of his previous experience with the school: he applied five years ago as well, due to a connection with previous chaplain Father Brian Fibler.

“We always hope there’s an affinity with Dallas, but we really hope there’s an affinity for St. Mark’s,” Lawson said. “Father Arbogast, he had applied to be chaplain at St. Mark’s before.

That is a clear sense of affinity.”

Arbogast recalls that Fibler came to him and encouraged him to seek out the position, and although the opening disappeared when the Rev. Richard Towers chose to remain on campus for the next school year, Arbogast has always been eager to become involved.

“When I came to St. Mark’s the first few times,” Arbogast said, “I fell in love with the community. On top of that, I have heard many recommendations from many colleagues, so I was very, very excited to be able to finally integrate with this renowned community.”

In the coming weeks, Arbogast will return for another introduction, not as a potential

candidate, but as the incoming chaplain.

During this period, the members of the Chaplain Search Committee hope to facilitate the integration of Arbogast into the community.

“This,” Lawson said, “is where the boys will play a bigger role: they will meet with Father Arbogast again, and we will talk about what it means to be a leader at St. Mark’s from a student point of view, and how the chaplain can really facilitate a place that is conducive to learning and growing.”

Likewise, Arbogast is eager to become a part of the campus, and specifically looks forward to working with a new group of people.

“I am very excited to meet a new community,” Arbogast said. “I always enjoy coming into a new place and establishing meaningful relationships. But again, I have learned that everyone has challenges, and I enjoy helping people overcome theirs and, in the process, I have learned how to overcome many of mine.”

A large focus of the committee’s search

PAINTERS AND PREACHERS In addition to its impressive architecture, the Washington National Cathedral is famous for murals such as the one Arbogast stands before.

was locating a chaplain with the “ability to navigate a non-sectarian chapel,” as Lawson puts it. To Arbogast, this means teaching the school the morals and ethics behind religion rather than religion itself, which Lawson believes will be aided by Arbogast’s teaching history.

“Father Arbogast is clearly a scholar,” Lawson said. “He is well-versed liturgically, and he is a well-regarded teacher of record — both in English and philosophy — he has taught at some of the finest schools in the United States and his education is impeccable. In so many ways, he really, to us, fit the whole program of what it means to be chaplain at St. Mark’s.” lthough the committee believes him more than capable, Arbogast faces the evident challenges of transitioning from an all-girls, Episcopalian school in Washington, D.C. to a non-sectarian, all-boys institute in Dallas. However, he feels ready to fulfill the spiritual needs of the students and faculty.

“By meeting the students, the parents, the faculty and the alums,” Arbogast said, “I can find out the kinds of things that are interesting to them and to try to construct my sermons in ways in which I can fulfill their needs, whether that’s in worship, pastoral care or in the academic program.”

Lawson believes some of Arbogast’s biggest assets during sermons will be his experiences: having served with the Peace Corps in Benin for four years and lived in the national capital for as long, Arbogast is poised to discuss prominent current events under the light of ethics and morals.

“Ethics is a big part of what we try to do here at St. Mark’s,” Lawson said, “and this is a man who’s been working in Washington, D.C., in the midst of some unfortunate human turmoil. We’ve been at war while he’s been in Washington.”

With a host of experiences at his back and an eager readiness to get involved, Arbogast is confident in his ability to connect and make a

A

lasting impression on the community.

“I hope that when I come to St. Mark’s next year, I will be able to make a very positive impression,” Arbogast said. “I hope that the community will be as accepting of me as I hope to be with them.”

Likewise, Lawson feels confident that Arbogast will bring a new perspective to chapel, and one that will serve students well, both academically and morally.

“These are experiences that I think would be valuable to students’ knowledge, but also help us through everyday questions: how do we make sense of loss of life?” he said. “Airplane pilots committing suicide with people on the plane? I wouldn’t even know where to start to talk about that. I bet he will. I hope he does.”

The history behind the Washington National Cathedral 1791 - George Washington commissions Pierre L’Efant, who first envisions the cathedral.

1896 - The first bishop of Washington, D.C., secures land for the building’s construction.

1912-1969 - As construction continues, Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Dwight D. Eisenhower each visit or speak at the cathedral.

1990 - The completion of the west towers marks the end of an 83-year construction.

1893 - The original charter for the cathedral is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.

1907 President Woodrow Wilson commemorates the beginnings of construction.

1976 - The West Rose Window is dedicated in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and President Gerald Ford.

2007 - The cathedral celebrates the completion of its first 100 years of services.

DESERTED Along with a host of other service program involvement, Arbogast (pictured in white turban) served with the U.S. Peace Corps for four years in Benin, Africa, one of 2,000 volunteers to work in the region developing education and health care support since 1968.

STORY NOAH KOECHER, JAMES HANCOCK | PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION STEPHEN ARBOGAST

Infographic data compiled from www.cathedral.org

N THE REMARKER NEWS APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 4 AKSHAY MALHOTRA

One move at a time Junior Akshay Malhotra uses chess to change lives.

White rook to D1.

Black bishop to E8.

White rook to D8.

Checkmate.

A look of defeat crosses his opponent’s face, and the 9-year-old knows he has just taken down an Expert in the biggest game of his life.

But not just his life.

J

unior Akshay Malhotra has competed in chess tournaments for as long as he can remember, entering his first at just 6 years old.

But when he found out that he could use his chess skills to do more than just win tournaments, he saw an opportunity that he could not pass up.

Visiting his grandparents in New Delhi, India, Malhotra learned of an organization called Deepalaya Foundation that helps underprivileged kids receive abetter education while staying healthy. After a two-hour tour of the school he was visiting, Malhotra’s instant bond with his tour guide, Himanshu, made his decision easy. Malhotra would use his burgeoning chess career to fund Himanshu’s growth.

But for a 9 -year-old with big dreams, this goal was more than a longshot. The journey started with the U.S. Open tournament, where players of all levels of experience compete on the same platform. After some shuffling of plane tickets and other logistics, Malhotra not only arrived in time for the tournament but also ready to compete for the $2,000 prize that would serve as seed money for the account.

Malhotra began the tournament with a loss but followed it with three straight wins, alternating wins and losses until the final match, which would propel Malhotra to first in his division with a win.

“It started off slow, but I knew I had to absolutely win that game at all costs,” Malhotra said. “Whatever I had, I focused all those resources on a kingside attack to take out his king. He defended it skillfully, but I brought everything I had and made all these weird sacrifices to break apart his position and ended up taking down the Expert. He came to my dad and talked to him about the game, and the one quote he said was ‘He was on fire today, no one could have stopped him.’”

With the victory, Malhotra won $2,000 to start a fund for Himanshu, an account that continues to this day. Every victory and accompanying prize goes into the account, and the amount needed for Himanshu is deducted every year.

“I am one of those people who can’t stand the sight of seeing poor people on the street,” Malhotra said. “In India especially, you can imagine how hard it would be because the thing is there’s no way you can help all of them at the time. It’s hard to

see that state of misery and so many unfortunate and disadvantaged people. There’s just one quote that I have always liked, ‘You can’t change the whole world, but you can change one’s world.’”

H

imanshu is not the only one that Malhotra has helped. Malhotra created a non-profit organization, Chess for Humanity, that helps veterans, underpriviliged kids and Alzheimer’s patients.

“First, when I didn’t have the capability to help out other people personally, I could financially help out through all my chess winnings,” Malhotra said. “But later on, in 2010 and 2012 when I became a little better player, I could actually use chess to make impact in lives.”

Akshay Malhotra Donated money for child’s education

Malhotra’s programs use various chess methods and challenging exercises to stimulate the mind. With senior citizens, Malhotra has seen the effect of mental stimulus on an Alzheimer’s patient.

“So Alzheimer’s is caused by an accumulation of this protein called beta amyloid, which is found in a region of the brain that’s unstimulated,” Malhotra said. “You don’t want to completely get rid of beta amyloid, but if there is too much of it, it’s going to form plaque. That’s the cause of Alzheimer’s, according to current theories. Stimulation prevents the accumulation of these mass quantities of beta amyloid, so that’s where chess comes into play.”

While he started off with a maximum prize of just $50, Malhotra quickly worked his way up to help not only Himanshu, but also victims of the Haiti earthquake, at-risk youth and even veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“You have to be the change you want to make,” Malhotra said. “Basically, although all sports are not as compatible as chess conveniently is, there is still space to make a change in whatever you can do. So try to put those together and if you think about it, some way will come out in which you can change one person’s life.”

STORY BRADFORD BECK, ABHI THUMMALA| ILLUSTRATIONS JOON PARK

Graass to head 2016 Student Council; Landry, Cruz complete executive team

‘

What is the president’s most important job?

I also need to be an amenable leader who creates an open community where students can ask the Student Council for changes they would like to see. The Student Council will be the bridge between the students and the administration. Having been elected, I have a responsibility to fulfill not only my promises but also the students’ wishes.

— Student Council President-elect JT Graass

I think that the most important job for the president is to serve, unite and entertain the school as much as possible. Everyone wants an excited and energetic year, so that’s exactly what I’ll give them.

President-elect JT Graass

’

What has you most excited about next year?

Without a doubt, carrying out some of the awesome, crazy ideas that I’ve been brainstorming. From insane themes to hilarious videos, I can’t wait to put my plans into action. I know that I will be surrounded by a great group of guys next year on the council, so I’m really looking forward to working with them and hearing their ideas.

Why did you run for Student Council?

I ran for executive office this year because I felt like my involvement with the student body and administration made me a qualified leader for our community. I have enjoyed taking part in homecomings, gift drives and discussions in the past and wanted to add exciting new ideas for next year.

Vice President-elect John Landry

What do you think is the most important role of the VP?

The Student Council members are constantly being observed so I think it’s important that I set an example around campus and really try to get everyone in the school involved. My assistance to the president, JT Graass, will also be one of my top priorities so that we, along with the rest of the council, can organize and carry out fun events throughout the year.

Why did you run for Student Council?

I decided to run for Student Council because I value serving my classmates and fellow Marksmen.

What do you hope to accomplish in the position?

Secretary-elect Corday Cruz

I hope to help the meetings run more smoothly and uphold the standard that has been set in the past two years.

• For class officer election schedule, see page 5 Responses compiled by Bradford Beck

THE REMARKER NEWS APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 5 N ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING

?

More than just a drill

The threat of an active shooter on campus has driven schools around the country to new extremes of training. But maybe it’s time to ask the question: how much will it really help?

C

olumbine. Sandy Hook. Virginia Tech. America has an epidemic. It seems our country can’t run a news cycle without seeing one more campus fall victim to the predatory instability of an active shooter.

Luckily, The Atlantic magazine estimates the chance of this campus being faced with an active shooter situation in the next ten years to be one in 2.5 million.

Yet, twice a year, the Upper School still goes through a “lockdown drill,” simulating a security response to situations including that of an active shooter on campus. But the question remains.

What good does it do if a real gunman shows up?

Director of Security Dale Hackbarth, a former Dallas SWAT officer, asserts the 10600 Preston Road community is very well-secured to begin with.

“St. Mark’s is very secure, very proactive in security measures,” Hackbarth said. “We have full-time security staff that is here 24/7. We have a uniformed Dallas Police Department officer that is here during school days from 7:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. at night. Plus additional uniformed presence on the weekends during all the special events. A deterrent is the number one defense in preventing crimes.”

Hackbarth also emphasizes that, though he takes great precautions to keep the campus secure, it is not a knee-jerk reaction to any recent events.

“St. Mark’s leads the way on that, even though it is a very large expense,” Hackbarth said. “You couple that with that we have different procedures on campus, that are out there, that probably shouldn’t all be published, but St. Mark’s doesn’t take a back seat to anybody. St. Mark’s is way ahead of the curve, way before Sandy Hook and all these major school shootings out there. We are way ahead of the curve on preventing that evil act.”

Although Hackbarth believes a security presence is the best defense against a crisis, he

advocates training and drills as a way to prepare the whole campus for fragile situations.

“We have to get past the point about talking about it,” Hackbarth said. “We have to do dynamic training, more hands-on training, more walkthroughs. And I believe you can have things written down, on the procedures, on what to do in the case of an emergency, but you have to have the drills because drills are the exercises that, when executed, get you prepared on what to do during an emergency.”

So far, the Upper School has only gone through announced drills for which it received notice and instructions ahead of time. In coordination with a growing trend nationwide, Hackbarth sees that the school must move towards having unannounced drills as well to improve.

“Right now, we have four fire drills every school year,” Hackbarth said. “Two of them are planned and two are unannounced. And I would like to get two lockdown or crisis drills, and these are not mandated by the state of Texas, but I would like the school to perform two of them. One announced and one unannounced. That’s how you see who’s really prepared, who’s ready to take action. Do it when it’s out of everyone’s comfort zone.”

Hackbarth also believes that starting with

the announced drills allows the community to learn the basics of a lockdown response and campus safety.

“You have to do the walkthroughs, and then keep progressing up to the unannounced,” Hackbarth said. “If you think about back to Feb. 10, we had an unannounced fire drill due to a mechanical failure in the church.

And, that was right around noon, and it went flawlessly. It caught everybody out of their comfort zone, the majority of people on campus were in lunch. And everybody reacted perfectly. And that really showed what the school was made of. We evacuated about 1,100 people from this campus out on to the front baseball fields perfectly. And that is because we do our training.”

One growing criticism of lockdown training, however, is that of psychological damage caused by the stressful nature of simulating an active-shooter situation. But Hackbarth believes the beneift to campus safety warrants the use of lockdown drills.

“The ultimate goal is to save as many lives as possible,” Hackbarth said. “That’s the ultimate goal. In these drills, we are just giving an overall view on options to do during a crisis.

There isn’t one perfect plan that fits every crisis. We just give an overview and hope that people react during a crisis to save as many lives as possible. Every school’s goal is to save as many lives as possible.”

O

ne of the school’s off-duty campus police officers, Gus Rodriguez, also agrees that lockdown drills are an important measure in saving potentially endangered lives.

“I think [the drills] are very effective,” Rodriguez said. “If you have an idea of what you’re doing, you are more likely to react better in a stressful situation. It’s like why we officers train, why we shoot all the time and

why we put ourselves in stressful situations and scenarios to perform better when the situation actually happens. If something happens, you’re going to be stressed: your heartbeat is going to go up, but if you’ve done it before, and you know what you are supposed to do next, you are going to be able to perform better.”

While the school’s training includes instruction on how to secure a classroom or flee campus, Hackbarth does not advocate use of violence in emergency situations.

“I am not promoting attacking an evil person,” Hackbarth said. “First and foremost, you run away from the violence. Run away from the violence, then hide, do a lockdown and the ultimate last resort when there’s no other option there, then commit to your actions. So running away from the problem is definitely the first option.”

Ultimately, Hackbarth believes the most important thing to learn from the lockdown drills is to be confident in making a decision.

“Everybody wants to resort back to what’s written in the policy or the handbook or exactly what they were taught, and that should be their foundation,” Hackbarth said, “but in the time of a crisis, it never plays out the same way that we execute the drills. Everybody should be prepared to think on their own, independently, and have confidence in their decision-making.”

Hackbarth says the combination of prevention, preparedness and proactivity on campus should be comforting to those who fear for the safety of our school.

“I think that the students, staff and parents should be comfortable on campus,” Hackbarth said. “We are leading the way in security on campus. People are calling us and asking us what we are doing. We are way ahead of the curve so everybody should be very comfortable with what St. Mark’s is doing.”

STORY DAVIS MARSH | ADDITIONAL REPORTING CRAWFORD MCCRARY | ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA

Middle school continues trial of iPad use for class

by Akshay Malhotra

T

he Humanities Department is in the middle of an iPad trial and has been utilizing iPads in three classrooms, using various technological tools to advance the learning experience of the students.

Instructors Megan Frazier, Ryan Parker and Malcolm and Minda Brachman Master Teacher Dr. Martin Stegemoeller are making use of the technology for a number of different purposes.

“There is a tremendous amount of resources out there,” Humanities Department chair Nick Sberna said, “from apps that are history-based to all the various software applications that [the teachers] are making good use of.”

Classroom uses of iPads include making Google documents as shared study guides, taking interactive quizzes that provide instant feedback and gaining insight from Civil War history database apps.

The trial began as an application of a new trend appearing in numerous educational institutions. Around the country classes are conducted with iPads at the

center of the learning environment.

“As a school, we owe it to you guys to make sure that we’re staying on top of academic trends that are going to be appearing,” Sberna said.

The technologies are being implemented to improve more benefits than a traditional classroom setting does.

“Any technology that gets incorporated in the classroom should enhance or improve what we do,” Sberna said, “as opposed to being used just because it’s there.”

The Humanities Department is currently evaluating the impacts of the technology on the students’ education and has found promising results.

“The stuff that I have seen is very encouraging,” Sberna said.

While there is no conclusion just yet, the department aims to continue developing classes around iPad use and looks forward to the possibility of full integration between technology and education.

“I don’t know that we’ll arrive at this answer this year necessarily,” Sberna said.

“But the momentum is certainly there.”

Class officer election schedule Candidate speeches

When

What

April 20 at 3:15 p.m.

Candidates for each class officer position will present a speech to their class lasting no longer than two minutes

Initial voting

April 21 at 10:30 a.m.

Students will cast their votes for the offices of Class President, Vice President, Secretary and Student Council Representative.

Runoff voting

April 21 at 3:15 p.m.

If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the two most popular candidates will engage in a runoff election.

• Student Council executive office election results, page 4 Compiled by Davis Marsh and Daniel Cope

N THE REMARKER NEWS APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 6 AUTISM AWARENESS

The missing piece LOGOS COUR

Inspired by the nationwide community raising awareness about autism spectrum disorders, junior Ashton Hashemipour is bringing the ever more common developmental disorder into the consciousness of students here.

TESY C R E AT IV E C O MMON S

T

approach. Instead of getting mad, I want to educate and eradicate the ignorance surrounding mental disabilities like autism.”

Hashemipour first aided in the fight against autism by working as a volunteer with the Special Olympics program in Frisco.

Attending each Tuesday during his freshman year, Hashemipour worked with clients to practice both bowling in the fall and basketball in the spring.

“I would be paired with a kid for bowling for the season,” Hashemipour said, “and I would basically help him with the motions or show him how to use a ramp. Then, I’d talk to his parents after to tell them about how the practice went, whether there was improvement, etc.”

During basketball season, Hashemipour was often assigned to practice with his brother, which he describes as one of the more entertaining and rewarding parts of the experience.

“With basketball, I would usually be paired with my brother because we both love to play the sport,” Hashemipour said. “We’d pass the ball back and forth; I would help him dribble and I even taught him how to shoot. That was my favorite part of volunteerROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH After activities such as ing with the Special Olympics: rock-climbing and horseback-riding, Hashemipour and watching my brother improve his brother Austin sit at the top of mountain at the over the months and over the Adventurers camp, through the National Ability Center in Utah, which pairs volunteers to children with disabilities. years.”

USED WITH PERMISSION ASHTON HASHEMIPOUR

he word hits harder than sticks and stones. It carries real weight. The weight of a disorder that takes one in every 68 births. The weight of a harsh future, of almost 85 percent unemployment, of dollars by the thousands plunged into extra education and life care.

The weight of autism.

The weight which junior Ashton Hashemipour has chosen to fight, not only for his younger brother, but for all of the 3.5 million Americans who suffer from autism spectrum disorder.

“Whenever people made fun of autism in the past, I would get very defensive,” Hashemipour said, “but I’ve started taking a more active

Then, to bring awareness to 10600 Preston Road, Hashemipour gave a presentation to the Upper School during his sophomore year, describing autism and explaining how Marksmen should react to it. Hashemipour got the idea for the presentation after working as a camp counselor for the National Ability Center (NAC) in Utah, which helps children with special needs participate in a variety of activities around the country.

“The kid I was working with that summer would tell me everything about his life, which I thought was really special and kind,” Hashemipour said. “One day, out of the blue, he told me that people at his school had made fun of him a few times. That just upset me. I knew the people making fun of him were probably not doing it out of hate, but out of ignorance.”

To combat the ignorance that he had been exposed to more than once, Hashemipour decided to begin a fundraising effort at the school, which he began with his presentation during Autism Awareness Month last year.

“I wanted to make sure that St. Mark’s guys never made that mistake of making fun of someone with autism,” Hashemipour said.

“That was my main goal. We raised a about $700 selling autism awareness pins, and I donated that money to the NAC so that they could give more scholarships to kids who could not afford to participate in its programs.”

Now, as yet another step in his support of autism awareness, Hashemipour is bringing a community service program called Best Buddies to campus. The program is an international movement with chapters in schools across the country, and focuses on pairing one

high school student to one disabled student in a different school — in this case, one St. Mark’s student with one Notre Dame School student.

“Each St. Mark’s guy who chooses to participate is partnered with a Notre Dame guy,” he said, “and they play sports together, go to movies: basically what you would do with your friends nowadays. As for location, we would go to [the] Notre Dame School or organize group activities on weekends at a park, movie theatre, sports facility, etc.”

As for his efforts to spread awareness in general, Hashemipour feels that the most rewarding part of the experience is simply opening eyes to the reality of autism.

“After giving the assembly last year,” Hashemipour said, “I had a few guys come up to me and ask more questions, which just felt great because I knew that I was helping people understand autism. So yeah, just getting the word out is the most rewarding thing.”

And while Best Buddies is currently open only to community service board members, Hashemipour is working to open it to the entire upper school through x2vol by next school year, and has great faith in the program’s potential to change the way Marksmen think about the disabilities that so prevalently affect so many lives.

“I hope that the guys who participate will be able to create friendships with the Notre Dame guys,” he said. “I also hope that in the future, when we all graduate and are in the real world, we can look and talk to someone with special needs and not focus on that person’s disability, but focus on everything that person can do.”

STORY NOAH KOECHER | PHOTO NOAH KOECHER

catering and parties Whether you’re planning a big celebration or a small get-together, let Blue Mesa Grill bring the flavors of the Southwest and seamless professional service to your event.

- Full service, set-up service or "no frills" pick up or delivery - Private and semi-private dining rooms in all locations - Order online: bluemesagrill.com

DALLAS 7700 W. NW Hwy. @ Central 214.378.8686

ADDISON 14866 Montfort Drive 972.934.0165

PLANO 8200 Dallas Parkway 214.387.4407

MENUS STARTING AT $10 FOR LUNCH ($8.50 BOX LUNCHES) AND $14 FOR DINNER

LET US CATER YOUR PROM

THE REMARKER COVER APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 7 C CIVIC ENGAGEMENT — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Education is key to involvement says Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings

‘N

And as Marksmen come of age to vote, engagement in city politics grows as well. Senior Elton McIntosh, whose mother led John McCain’s North Texas presidential campaign in 2008, sees his own role in politics as a young voter as critical for the future.

“I think it’s absolutely important that we as the next generation are aware of what is going on in the world today,” McIntosh said. “I like to use the quote. ‘my schooling is only part of my education.’ In my mind, learning about the world around us and forming our own opinions and having discussions is vital in preparing us for lives as adults. Also, from a practical standpoint, those of us that are 18 play a huge role in selecting who will represent and lead this country.”

However, while voting in statewide or national elections is also important, civic engagement at a local level

o one recognizes it because we’re such a segregated city ­— not just racially but socioeconomically,” Tranchin said. “The truth is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer but unless you actually see it, you aren’t aware of it.”

And a general awareness of any city politics is what the city is missing. With just two percent of registered Fair Park voters showing up to the most recent City Council elections, the power of one vote can be shocking.

And the next election is one of the most important in the history of the city. With a record six open City Council seats, citizens will also be called upon to vote for mayor.

“We have a historic election for the city of Dallas,” Tranchin said. “It is historic — that is not an overstatement — and we have one of the lowest turnouts in the country.

Of the 25 largest cities, Dallas is 24th in turnout for mayoral elections.”

And the first step to making a difference is getting educated, according to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.

“If I’m interested in getting involved, I need to educate myself on what big issues are in Dallas or big opportunities in Dallas,” Rawlings said. “Who’s the head of your planning commission? Who’s the police chief for your part of town?

candidate.

“Judgment, integrity and competence are the three attributes I look for in an elected official,” Tranchin said, “because oftentimes, 95 percent of the important issues they’re voting on as elected representatives aren’t issues that are even coming into play during an election. You can’t foresee an ebola outbreak, you can’t foresee a humanitarian crisis on the border.”

And the difference one vote can make on a local election is drastically higher than one cast on the national level.

“When someone is truly passionate about something and wants others to feel the same way, it can spread like wildfire,” McIntosh said. “I think we can and should use our voice as young American citizens to hold our leaders accountable and challenge one another.”

Jennifer Staubach Gates District 13 City Council member

Getting more involved How to attend a Dallas City Council meeting

should be fundamental to Marksmen’s entering adult life.

City Council member Jennifer Gates aims to encourage students in her district — District 13 — which includes the campuses of St. Mark’s, Hockaday and Ursuline, to appreciate the power of their political voice.

“You hear so much information on the national elections and the presidential elections but local elections are directly affecting lives,” Gates said. “We determine all the funding related to quality of life. The trails that they might go get on and the roads that they might be driving on. It should be on the radar to go vote in the elections.”

And while she feels there are a plethora of opportunities available, including assisting on campaigns or organizing focus groups, Gates believes voting is paramount.

“I would just encourage the involvement, encourage especially having the voice and when you have the opportunity to vote, get out there and make sure you’re registered and vote,” she said. “Council members and the mayor would welcome that activity. So don’t hesitate, pick up the phone.”

Next meeting: Wednesday, April 22.

Upcoming elections for the city of Dallas

n

‘YOU HEAR SO MUCH INFORMATION ON THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS AND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS BUT LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTING LIVES.’ DALLAS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JENNIFER GATES

mo

T

ranchin, who considered himself one of the few liberal-minded Marksmen during his time here, believes that strictly adhering to party lines, especially as a young and uninformed voter, is a serious problem.

“I remember just growing up I took the Democratic Party platform as my platform,” Tranchin said, “and I think the more simple you can make it, the more wrong you can be.

You tend to find the facts and figures that prove why you’re right instead of looking at the facts and figures to determine whether or not you’re right. In high school, I wanted to prove I was right.”

In reality, Tranchin believes that for city politics, it is not necessarily the candidate’s party or their opinion on broad national issues, but rather the characteristics of the

Lem

Before you go: Be aware of the meeting’s agenda since it is illegal to discuss topics not on the slate.

Know the city council members and, if possible, their previous stances on your issue. Be ready to stay beyond the expected schedule — sometimes meetings can last an hour or more past their projected end time.

Tollway

Knowing the people is a very important place to start to improve their neighborhoods.”

Beyond neighborhoods, Rawlings believes everyone has a way of getting involved with the improvement of the city.

“Look up Dallas problems. Google it,” Rawlings said, “and you will find 150 of them. Part of the process is not for me to lay out, ‘here are the top 25 opportunities.’ It’s to research and find out. You need an access point for opportunities for the city. There a lot of doors to go through. Go through one door and don’t overthink it.”

Meetings: The Dallas City Council regularly meets every Wednesday, beginning at 9 a.m. in Council Chambers, sixth floor, City Hall, 1500 Marilla. For exact dates, go to citysecretary.dallascityhall.com.

Preston

Mike Rawlings Mayor of Dallas

SM

Where: 1500 Marilla Street, Dallas

City Council: May 9 Mayor: May 9 Runoff: June 13 Preston Hollow area CIty Council member District: Number 13 City Council member: Jennifer Staubach Gates

366

City Council

PEW RESEARCH INSTITUTE POLL Scott Gonzalez Dean and Provost of Campus

WHERE DO YOU LAND IN THE

Political spectrum?

I

n a recent poll, the Pew Research Institute offered questions to determine where a person is classified in political typology — rather than just labelling respondents by likely political party affliliation. Here’s how some campus figures came out after taking the poll.

Christian McClain Sophomore

Where do you fit in?

Take the test at people-press.org/quiz/ political-typology/

When given the choice...

Society is better off if (1) people make marriage and having children a priority or (2) if people have priorities other than marriage and children

JT Graass Student Council President-elect

Good diplomacy

When given the choice...

Government regulation of business (1) usually does more harm than good or (2) Government regulation of business is necessary to protect the public interest.

Classification: Solid liberal

Graass chose: Option 1

When given the choice...

The best way to ensure peace is through military strength or good diplomacy.

Gonzalez replied:

Classification: Business conservative Nancy Marmion Foreign Language Department Head

When asked...

True or False? Too much power is concentrated in a few large companies Marmion answered: True Classification: Solid liberal

Andrew Whigam Sophomore

When given the choice...

(1) Government is always wasteful and inefficient or (2) Government often does a better job than people give it credit for.

McClain chose: Option 2

Whigam chose: Option 2

Classification: Young outsider

Classification: Faith and family left

What do the labels mean?

Solid liberals are generally affluent and highly educated, strongly support the social safety net and take very liberal positions on virtually all issues.

Most vote Democratic and strongly support President Obama.

The Faith and Family Left combine strong support for activist government with conservative attitudes on many social issues. They are very racially diverse and believe that government should do more to solve national problems. Most oppose same-sex marriage and legalizing marijuana.

Next Generation Left members have very liberal attitudes on many issues, including homosexuality, abortion, the environment and foreign policy and are generally young, well-educated and financialy comfortable.

Hard-Pressed Skeptics tend to be deeply financially-stressed and distrustful of government. They have reservations about both political parties, but more lean toward the Democratic Party. In general, they want government to do more to solve problems, but have doubts about its efficiency.

Young Outsiders generally express unfavorable opinions of both major parties. They are largely skeptical of activist government, as a substantial majority views government as wasteful and inefficient.

Business Conservatives generally are traditional small-government Republicans. Overwhelming percentages think that government is almost always wasteful and it does too much better left to businesses and individuals.

Steadfast Conservatives constitute an overwhelmingly Republican group holding very conservative attitudes across most issues, including social policy and the size and scope of government.

Bystanders are on the sidelines of the political process, either by choice or because they are ineligible to vote. None are currently registered to vote.

• View complete explanations at people-press.org/ quiz/political-typology/

solid liberal | faith and family left | next generation left | hard-pressed skeptics | young outsiders | business conservatives | steadfast conservatives | bystanders

M THE REMARKER MALE CALL APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 8

MALECALL

THIS ISSUE BEST GUY MOVIES TIPS TO BE CONFIDENT DR. P ON BBQ

Taking you back to the basic fundamentals of all things manly.

BEST GUY

MAN SCHOOL

L

et’s be honest, you’re probably excited for summer because you’ve got some time on your hands to sit back, watch some Netflix, and play an inordinate amount of video games (I know I am). Maybe you got a job, but you’ll still have a ton of time to do whatever you want. So, without further ado, here are four movies every guy should see.

Obviously, there are a lot of oversights here for spacial reasons, and there are many other incredible guy movies to check out. Anyway, here are some of my favorite, must-see guy films to watch with your bros once summer starts, and no one wants to go outside. (while no animated movies made the list, they’re still all awesome and very manly. Never be ashamed of loving an animated film.).

MOVIES

TIPS TO BE MORE

CONFIDENT

1 BE PREPARED Forgetting things makes you frustrated and nervous, which consequently leads you to forget more things and get more nervous and frustrated.

It’s a snowball effect that happens to the best of us and is impossible to stop. Take a lesson from the Boy Scouts and always be prepared. While the Boy Scouts take a lot of heat, they nailed it with their motto, and being prepared is a great life lesson. If you always stay focused with the tasks you need to accomplish, you can’t start the cycle in the first place.

It also cuts down on stress in general.

2 IMPROVE POSTURE I saw this TED Talk the other day (side note: TED Talks are sweet. Watch one 5-20-minute video a day, and it’ll change your life) that said your body releases hormones that cause you to be more confident after three to five minutes (the most effective is to stand Gatsby-style with your arms outstretched but sitting with good posture works too). Even if you’re not a naturally confident person, you can fake it till you make it with strong body positions.

3 LONG-TERM GOALS Accomplishing long-term projects and goals is an effective way to gain confidence through hard work and determination. Watching something you’ve spent months or even years on come to fruition is a really rewarding experience. Short term goals with quick payoffs tend to not help the goal-achiever in terms of confidence as much as accomplishing something you’ve spent a lot of time on. Delayed gratification is the most rewarding kind of happiness. Studies show that people who concentrate on long term projects are happier on average.

4 KNOW WEAKNESSES While helpful in a lot of other ways (like orchestrating a House Of Cards-esque government takeover), knowing your weaknesses is an important part of being confident. It’s pretty obvious, but understanding what you’re not good at helps you do more things that you are good at, making you more successful and more poised. In the end, it’s all in the mind, but most of the time it’s not that easy.

Tips to be more confident by Philip Montgomery

GLADIATOR

RESERVOIR DOGS

G

ladiator is in the same smash mouth vein as Braveheart. The Ridley Scott masterpiece tells the story of Maximus, Rome’s best general and next in line to the throne after the current emperor dies. However, the emperor’s son, played by Joaquin Phoenix (who is right at home playing the creepy guy like always) usurps the throne and exiles Maximus to slavery. Maximus becomes a gladiator and must fight his way back to the top. Also, for anyone interested, I own Braveheart and Gladiator on VHS without any way to watch them except for the movie player in my 2001 GMC Denali, so they’re up for grabs.

R

eservoir Dogs is just a cool movie, and in terms of manufacturing guy-flicks (the man equivalent of chick flicks), Quentin Tarantino is a god. The clever plot line is centered around the aftermath of a diamond robbery, a clever angle in a world with seven Fast and Furious movies (seven!). The eight criminals, all under super cool, color-based aliases, now try to piece together how the crime went wrong while fending for themselves against each other and the police. Each of them only knows part of the plan, so they can’t trust anyone. It’s got twisting plot lines, great quotes and a crazy ending.

MIRACLE

BRAVEHEART

I

n this 1995 man-classic, Mel Gibson portrays William Wallace, the Scottish legend who rises up to fight the tyrannical English. Loosely based (emphasis on loosely) on the true story, there are scenes through the three hour-long saga/ emotional roller coaster/cinematic masterpiece that still give me chills. It’s a great, great movie that also helped inspire a generation of young Scots to try and split from England in a recent referendum, which is pretty cool. True stories make the guy movies (as well as just movies in general), and watching Mel Gibson beat the daylights out of thousands of Englishmen is never a poor way to spend your time.

O

ne thing I haven’t done yet is define a guy movie, which is probably an important thing to do for an article about guy movies. Not just anything deserves that prestigious title. First thing, it’s a timeless classic, and a guy movie appeals to men across generations. Next it has to be about things guys tend to like more than girls (i.e. sports, gladiators and diamond robberies). Miracle fits right in and is a great movie for anyone (man or woman). It’s the story of the greatest upset in sports history (the United States, led by a bunch of teenagers, vs. the USSR, led by arguably the greatest collection of hockey players ever assembled).

Plus, it’s chock-a-block full of incredible Minnesotan and Bostonian accents.

Side Note Braveheart, Gladiator and Reservoir Dogs are rated R for various violence-related reasons, so don’t watch them without making sure it’s okay with your parents first. Unless you’re 17 and up, in which case, do whatever you want.

STORY PHILIP MONTGOMERY | ILLUSTRATION ABHI THUMMALA | PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION CREATIVE COMMONS

PRO TIPS Dr. P’s hot barbecue opinions

PIT MASTER Dr. John Perryman didn’t get his doctorate in barbecue, but he still knows his stuff.

Assistant Head of Upper School and barbecue-lover John Perryman gives you his take on the best barbecue in the Lone Star State. There are things in this world, like football, sunsets and pretty much any other thing you can think of, that are just better in Texas; barbecue is one of those things. Texas isn’t perfect, but it’s miles ahead of any other place on this planet. Let’s take some time to appreciate a summer Texas tradition and learn something from a true connoisseur of BBQ.

COOPER’S

PECAN LODGE

KREUZ

Down in Llano, Cooper’s is a classic barbecue place in the heart of Texas. The portions are hefty and the tables overflow with Wonder bread, a true man food that complements brisket perfectly.

Pecan Lodge, right down in Deep Ellum, has been named one of the top four barbecue restaurants in the world by Texas Monthly (which probably is a gross exaggeration given there are no barbecue places outside of the United States but still fairly impressive).

Kreuz is only a 30 minute drive from Austin in Lockhart (the BBQ capital of the world) and is worth the trip if you’re down south.

Dr. P “I had some barbecue out there a couple weeks ago during Spring Break. It’s tough to beat. They got some nice sides, too. You just point in the pit at what you want and they wrap it up in butcher paper for you. It’s a pretty neat experience. I highly recommend it.”

Dr. P “Pecan Lodge’s brisket and pork are excellent. I have only had the takeout because the restaurant is packed. You can’t go wrong with either [the pork or brisket].

Bring the rolaids, though.”

Dr. P “Kreuz’s recently moved into a new building (a huge barn-like structure) in Lockhart. The new digs have not detracted from the old school menu and ambiance: the brisket and links are outstanding, and they serve everything on butcher paper (with no silverware, as I recall). ”

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 | PAGE 9

TAKING THE STAGE

LIFE

“Everyone had, in every aspect of the art we brought to ISAS, something really strong and powerful to say through their medium.”

— Senior Miguel Plascencia Page 11

Upcoming THINGS TO DO IN THE WEEKS AHEAD Weekend

Next week

> Luanne Thompson, prin-

>Celebrations for Earth Day

>The Deep Ellum Urban

with Corson Purnell

Senior Corson Purnell, known for his position as Student Council vice president and, in his words, “living in a mad, spinning world,” sat down with Life Editor Avery Powell for some quality hangin’ out.

>The spring play, Shake-

speare’s The Tempest opens tonight at 7:30 in the Dallas Gordon Rupe Ampitheater or the Eamonn Lacey Black Box theater, depending on weather conditions. Tickets will be $5.00 at the door.

will be hosted Saturday at the Rory Meyers Garden at the Dallas Arboretum from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The activities will be provided by the faculty and students from the participating members of STEM.

>The 50th Academy of

Country Music awards will be hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan Sunday. The ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. at AT&T Stadium and honors country music’s best and introduces the industry’s hottest emerging talent.

Race will be open to teams of two or more who buy tickets before April 25. At the end of the race, participants are invited to celebrate their efforts with cold drinks and food. The race starts at 10 a.m. at 2803 Taylor Street.

>The Take to the Skies Air-

fest will feature stunts from impressive planes such as the MiG-17 and the T28 Trojan Warbird April 25. Tickets will be available at the gate of the Choctaw Casino parking garage in Durant, OK.

What’s it like being Student Council VP? It’s always been special working on the council every week and with the guys. It’s hard to deal with Carrington [Kyle, Student Council president] sometimes.

He’s not the best texter so he has to work on that.

Favorite TV Show?

Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones hard. Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones. Because it’s the best show ever. April 12 was the new season. Just the books are good. The show is awesome.

Favorite character is Jon Snow.

Jon Snow is the best there ever was and ever will be. My spirit animal is Jon Snow.

32

Number of new first graders entering the school next year

SOCIALIZING Two new students toss a football at the annual Lower School New Student Ice Cream Social on April 9.

ACTION RTISTS in

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

aking first place in six of the sixteen categories, photographers competed in the 33rd annual Texas High School Shootout. Several photographers won multiple words including junior Sam Eichenwald and senior Mason Smith.

Eichenwald earned two first place finishes, one second place finish and an additional honorable mention.

Smith received three honorable mentions, one second place finish and one first place finish.

Smith’s first place finish earned him a $1,500 scholarship to Texas A&M should he attend.

More than 1,500 photos were submitted from 15 high schools across Texas, and the photography group’s success shows their talent.

The statewide event is the highest level of comepetion for high school photography groups, as there are no nationally ranked and organized scholastic competitions.

•••

C

W IT H

What’s your ideal first date?

Dude for dinner, I’d probably just go to Dave and Buster’s. I want to show her that I’m really good at arcade games. And so, I take her to Dave and Buster’s, we win a lot of tickets and then I let her pick out whatever she wants at the prize store. But, she doesn’t get to keep it because... it’s mine.

he 2015 YET Rave, which will benefit The Salvation Army’s Youth Education Town, will be held at 129 Leslie April 25.

The rave will start at 8:30 p.m., a popular Dallas party venue and its proceeds will serve to educate children and provide them with a stable community that can help them grow. The schools participating in this event include Hockaday, Parish, Greenhill, ESD, Jesuit, Highland Park and Ursuline. The purpose of the rave is not only to have fun, but also to raise awareness and money for Youth Education Town, according to co-chairs Conner Mullen and Michael Fletcher. Last year, they raised more than $12,000 for YET. “The main goal is to get overall awareness for what YET really is,” Fletcher said. “Everybody just knows it as the ‘YET Rave,’ not actually the Salvation Army Youth Education Town rave. People don’t really understand what YET really is.”

T

USED

If you could have two superpowers at the same time, what’d they be?

Jedi, because I would have force pull, push, mindtricks, it’s like a package deal. Light side of the force, not the dark side dude.

Why would you want lightning when you could get everything else? So Jedi, my second superpower would be invisible. I’d probably go invisible so I could sneak around and stuff.

T

•••

PERM

IS S IO

N CRE

A T IV E

COMM

ONS

What’s your favorite movie?

Well it’s a 12 way tie between all six Star Wars, the three Batmans, and the three Godfathers.

Because they’re all awesome, and I can imagine myself in every movie as the main character.

Head Photographer Mason Smith brings the first ever Underground River Music Festival into the spotlight.

Page 13

the Inbox LIFE AROUND CAMPUS

Today cipal flute of the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, will be playing Liebermann’s Flute Concerto with guest conductor Gabriele Pezone leading the performance tonight at 8 p.m. at The Garland Symphony Hall, 300 N. Fifth Street, Garland.

HANGIN’ OUT

THAT RIVER RUNNING UNDERGROUND MASON SMITH PHOTO

and Commentary Editor William Caldwell sets the record straight on the delicious delight of milkshakes.. Page 14

USED WITH PERMISSION CREATIVE COMMONS

MORE THAN JUST A MCFLURRY

THE ARTIST

Corbin Walp

THE ART

Photography

WHAT

Portfolio of fashion portraits

WHY

These pictures were submitted for the Texas Shoot Out photography contest

HIS WORDS “I enjoy being able to capture a scene and then conveying that scene to the viewer.”

ontinuing a seven-year tradition, the Blues Club played at the Austin Street Homeless Shelter March 30.

Band members who were featured included senior saxophonist Nick Buckingham, senior percussionist Umer Nadir and junior lead singer and guitarist Will Clark. Also, sophomore bassist Chirag Gokani, senior saxophonist Christopher Carter, sophomore saxophonist Rahul Maganti and mouth harp player and backup vocalist Stephen Houpt played in the band’s show for the clients of the shelter.

The students visited for the community service sponsored event called Austin Street Dinner.

Another performance for the Blues Club, the opening ceremony for the Habitat for Humanity House, has been postponed due to the bad weather in the recent weeks.

As a result, the Blues Club will not be playing, a tradition for the past three years. ­ Inbox stories reported by Gopal — Raman, Crawford McCrary and Matthew Placide

LIFE

THE REMARKER APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 10 11 ISAS ARTS FESTIVAL 12 PIANO STORY 13 MUSIC FESTIVAL 14 MILKSHAKE REVIEWS

ROD BLAYDES

Hangingup his hat What started out as a temporary job for Drama instructor Rod Blaydes turned into a long and rewarding career. Now, with 37 years of work with the school community under his belt, Blaydes is ready to move on.

I

n the late spring of ’78, Rod Blaydes was getting ready to close down for the summer.

He ran his own theater out of the old Trinity Methodist Church in downtown Dallas, but there was no heating and no air conditioning.

The summer and winter were terrible. The fall and spring were great.

As an official Dallas Landmark, the church couldn’t be torn down, and since the congregation had dwindled and eventually vanished in recent years, Blaydes was able to rent the place for just $1 a year.

But near the end of May, his friend Sharon L’Helgoual’ch called to ask for a favor. She was a teacher here, and she needed someone to teach a summer program, Summer Stage, where students put on five shows in six weeks.

It sounded crazy to Blaydes, but when he heard he would be paid $2,000, he had to listen.

THE HAT After shaving his head last year, Blaydes started wearing his signature fedora.

“I got a call from the head of Upper School at Hockaday, and he asked if I could possibly do both schools,” Blaydes said.

“I’ve never done anything like it before. I loved doing it. People thought I was nuts when they figured out what I was doing.”

Over time, Blaydes adapted to his dual roles, but he still considers St. Mark’s his home.

“I still think of myself as a St. Mark’s teacher,” Blaydes said. “I don't want to shrug off Hockaday, it’s a great school. But this is where I started. The camaraderie, the school itself and the whole ambience that's here hasn't changed all that much.”

Yet at the end of this year, Blaydes will be hanging up his hat, leaving behind countless memories and a legacy that spans more than 125 plays and musicals.

The last segment of Blaydes’s legacy, a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, opens tonight at 7:30 in the Dallas Gordon Rupe Amphitheater. The Tempest was also Shakespeare’s last play that he produced.

“It’s just a great place to work,” Blaydes said. “That’s why not many people leave here. Unless, you know, it's time. And it's time for me.”

Fine Arts Department Chair Jacque Gavin will especially feel the impact of his retirement.

“He and I started together,” Gavin said. “We’ve had a parallel course. We started the same year, and LONE RANGER OF NASCAR As the leading campus we’re the only two people expert on the sport of NASCAR, Blaydes’s office was left from our year, so it's gocovered in small, model cars. As he’s moving out, now the only car that remains is his model of racing legend ing to be strange next year.”

Recently, Blaydes has Jeff Gordon’s car.

Just 24 years old at the time, he needed the money, so he took the job. But he never thought of himself as a teacher. He was an actor first.

So when the Fine Arts Department Chair Dick Hawley offered him a job, Blaydes initially backed away.

Hawley noticed, however, the way he worked with the kids and told Blaydes to reconsider.

You may not think you’re a teacher, but you are.

After thinking it over and considering the monetary benefits, Blaydes decided to take the job, work for a few years, save up enough money and then head to New York for the beckoning lights of Broadway.

‘That was 37 years ago,” Blaydes said. “I just found my calling.”

Shortly after his start here, Blaydes took on a similar position at Hockaday as head of the drama program at both schools, doing what many thought would an impossible job.

suffered health complications, including two strokes, one of which occurred during a car accident.

“Health wise, the last experience I had, the accident, brought a lot of stuff to light,” Blaydes said. “I can't drive anymore. I love spending time here, but I also love my family. Now I want to spend more time with my family, with my wife.” laydes’s stroke came as a big shock for his students as well, including senior Roland Bauman, who is in his drama class.

“On a very superficial level it ruined my mood for a couple days,” Bauman said. “He's a presence there everyday, and he's got big personality. We all love him to

B

Senior Roland Bauman Has been Blaydes’s student for two years

bits. So we were very worried about him. I think it's the only time we didn't cheer for missing a class.”

While the accident has forced Blaydes to reassess his life, he still wants to pursue the things he loves.

“When you have a car accident, it changes your outlook about everything,” Blaydes said. “About how short life is. I'm 68 years old and there's still some other things I want to do. Hopefully I'll do them all. Bucket list time and all that garbage. It's just time for me to do this.”

But Blaydes still enjoys working with student actors, and he believes as long as the actors put their best efforts forward, any production will be a success.

STORY WILL CLARK | PHOTOS ARNO GOETZ

“There are good things about every production because people discover themselves in these,” Blaydes said. “I’ve always tried to treat the students as artists, to have a respect for the art a student has and the talent a student has.”

The students enjoy Blaydes’s style of directing as well.

“It's a good balance between being on top of things and being relaxed about things,” Bauman said. “He forces us to find our own solution to problems and he deals with the bigger things.”

Blaydes credits his students for his success.

“I’ve been blessed here with very smart students and very smart kids that Drama Instructor Jacque Gavin Came to the school the same year as Blaydes

get it,” Blaydes said. “And it takes, believe it or not, some bit of intelligence to do this.

You’ve got to be smart. The smarter you are, the better you can understand what’s happening.”

As much as it pains him to move on, Blaydes feels this is a move he must make.

“My stay here, my years here, have changed my life and made it better,” Blaydes said. “I really hate to leave. I do. But I have to. I’ll be back. I can’t totally leave this place, but this is something I’ve got to do.”

While his life has been shaped by his time here, Blaydes does not want his life to end at 10600 Preston Road.

“I've always said I’m going to die here,” Blaydes said. “But it finally dawned on me that I don't want to die here.”

THE REMARKER LIFE APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 11

L

2015 ISAS ARTS FESTIVAL

going

South

Miguel Plascencia

How was this year’s ISAS Festival compared to the ones before?

First of all, I thought it was so much more organized than before. In terms of the talent that SM had this year, I think it was just incredible because being able to go to ISAS for three years now, I’ve been able to see the evolution of the creative and visual arts. Everyone had, in every aspect of the art we brought to ISAS, something really strong and powerful to say through their medium.

At school, we don’t always have close friends we discuss our art with. Instead, instruction is very teacher and guidance-based.

How important is the peer-topeer feedback?

Senior Miguel Plascencia Has gone to ISAS for past three years for visual arts

Every spring, dozens of fine arts students travel to the ISAS Arts Festival, which was held at Ft. Worth Country Day this year.

Here’s what local artists experienced.

art is made to reflect our ideology and our philosophy of “sometimes, there is no deeper meaning” and “what you see is what you get.” One thing that is so special about ISAS is that there is so much meaning in these kids’ art. It inspires you to find that meaning that you want to create through a canvas, a one-act or your music. It is very inspirational to see other kids doing it. You want to do it too, you want to do it better. You want to have a clear expression.

You want to hit that thing that really connects with everyone.

In the future, will it be important for St. Mark’s?

ISAS allows us to show our art to a much broader audience. You don’t usually get the chance to show your art to people, and on a bigger level, it is really just the celebration of art. ISAS is really just a three-day thing that tells you to be yourself and to enjoy the things you do.

Nathan Ondracek Describe a one-act play.

One act plays are usually shorter, and they usually don’t have that intermission, so usually they last about 45 minutes.

Ours was a little bit different though, because instead of having a continuous play, we did separate scenes, that didn’t really go together but had similar themes.

Do you think ISAS will continue to play an important role in the future of fine arts at SM? Absolutely. I know I enjoy it, and everybody I talk to enjoys it. You don’t have a lot of opportunities, especially if you don’t do plays or musicals, to perform in front of people, so being able to go to ISAS and perform in front of people you don’t know and getting a critique is a great opportunity that we could use more of.

JAMMIN’ OUT LOUD Seniors Nick Buckenham and Ben Wilner and sophomore Chirag Gokani playing with the concert band.

Wesley Cha Umer Nadir

I think it is so important because we are going to be the ones making art for our next generation. We are going to be making movements and creating things for people to look at. It is so important for us to figure out where our heads are, to figure out, as a collection, what our generation’s art means, and what it represents about the generation that is with us right now as well. Each generation’s art is a reflection of what the environment was like. It is important to have that peer-to-peer conversation.

How does ISAS’s culture contribute to your creative risks?

Since last year, I’ve been more inspired to do things that had more meaning to me. We are living in a time now when

How is this year’s different than past year’s?

This year, they actually had two different coffeehouse venues, there was an acoustic coffeehouse and also a rock coffeehouse. I think it’s really cool because you can have different styles of music playing at different times.

The feel of ISAS? There is a lot of freedom of expression, I’d say. Once you are in that culture, it’s a whole different ballgame. You can’t keep expecting a certain type of setting.

ISAS is its own culture. It is open to new things and discussing those in a very non-judgmental format. Film and photos at ISAS really spark conversation among all of the kids. At the end of all that, it is just about having a lot of fun.

Compare your two years: I would say compared to this year, the quality of last year’s work was better, mainly because I went with three other seniors, and this year we had a lot of new people.

It was still a good experience for the younger guys to see other schools’ work. Hopefully next year they can develop further in their work.

How are you inspired by other people’s work at ISAS? St. Mark’s emphasizes wheel-thrown pottery, and so we make a lot of functional pieces. That’s really uncommon with other schools, so I go to ISAS, and I see a lot of sculptural pieces, and a lot of different glazing techniques and that inspires me to do more than just St. Mark’s has taught me.

STORY GOPAL RAMAN AND JOHN CRAWFORD |PHOTOS MASON SMITH AND ARNO GOETZ

Sound

waves

With all the buzz surrounding Jay-Z’s new streaming service, Tidal, The ReMarker looks into which services make the biggest waves in the industry.

What’s your favorite What’s your favortie way way to listen to music? to discover new music?

11 percent

17 percent

iTunes 6 percent

2 percent 25 percent

27 percent

Radio 5 percent

9 percent 27 percent

33 percent

16 percent Survey and illustration Will Clark. Data collected from polling 80 students.

ONE-ACT Senior Nathan Ondracek acting during a one-act at ISAS.

2 percent

19 percent

Other

1 percent

EXHIBIT This portrait of the Virgin Mary created by Plascencia was displayed at ISAS. SMRAMICS Senior Wesley Cha’s pot was also displayed at ISAS.

L THE REMARKER LIFE APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 12 BEN NAFTALIS AND SANDY HALL

The last song

After working together for 12 years, piano instructor Sandy Hall and senior Ben Naftalis share a timeless bond.

IN TUNE During a typical lesson, Naftalis and Hall work on various pop songs Naftalis wants to learn.

Y

ou’ve had teachers for two years in a row, maybe three. Some have even had teachers for four years, but senior Ben Naftalis studied with Piano tudies instructor Sandy Hall for much, much longer.

With more than 300 lessons and 20 recitals under his belt, Naftalis has been taking piano lessons from Hall for 12 years.

From playing “Sugar Cookies”, a song consisting of simple notes, to “Stairway to Heaven”, a complex and dynamic piece, Naftalis has grown as a pianist over his 12 years with Hall.

His time as a piano student under Hall, however, will be coming to a close with one last recital April 23.

Naftalis appreciates Hall’s style of teaching because he believes it is a well-balanced mix of fun and work.

“She’s an awesome piano teacher,” Naftalis said. “She doesn’t force it on you. If you need to do theory, then you do a little bit of theory, but she wants you to enjoy piano. It’s not about mastering the piece for her, it’s about enjoying

playing the piano while you learn it.”

Echoing Naftalis, Hall believes that enjoyment is the most important part of learning piano, and in order to express oneself, one must truly love playing the instrument.

“I want playing the piano to mean a lot to these boys,” Hall said. “It’s an art form that will allow them to express themselves all of their lives. My goal isn’t to groom them to be concert pianists. These boys will be doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and leaders of our communities. [Senior] Abeer Karim wrapped up this thought quite nicely in his senior exhibition when he said his passion for playing the piano taught him how to be passionate about other activities in his life. This is why I teach.”

Hall’s influence and concern extend far beyond the keys of her piano near the orchestra room and even extends into the lives of Naftalis’s family.

“Definitely somewhere around the start of Upper School, maybe even seventh and eighth grade, it clicked,” Naftalis said. “My sister

was going off to college, my brother was going off to boarding school and I was still here. Ms. Hall would always ask me how each of them were doing because she was concerned and wondering, and she really cared about everyone. I realized how good of a person she is and how important she is to me.” all teaches what her students want to learn, rather than what she thinks they need to learn.

“My philosophy is that piano lessons are about the student, not the teacher,” Hall said.

“I have a creative approach to my students’ curriculum and pianists are very involved in making the decisions that culminate into their practice routine at home. I must admit that sometimes I feel a little out of the loop when I’m not familiar with the music the boys want to learn how to play, but I’m open minded and willing to learn what it is they find catchy about this music. I did, however, blush a little when I asked ‘what is Radiohead’ instead of ‘who is Radiohead’.”

H

STORY JOHN CRAWFORD, GOPAL RAMAN I PHOTO ARNO GOETZ

Hall enjoys teaching students for many years to get to know the student extensively but believes it’s a double-edged sword emotionally.

“One of the benefits of teaching a student for several years is that I get to know him and the world he lives in a little more extensively,” Hall said. “Of course, this is also what makes it all the more difficult to part with them when they graduate.”

As Naftalis prepares to end his high school career, he wants to continue his relationship with Hall for years to come.

“For sure, we will stay in touch,” Naftalis said. “She’s has been one of my biggest influences here and one of my favorite teachers here because she is very helpful. With most teachers, you have one maybe two, maybe three years to work with them, but I’ve had her for 12 years. There’s a relationship there where we ‘get’ each other on a different level. She’s seen me grow up, and she’s more of a friend than just a teacher.”

THE REMARKER LIFE APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 13 L

Walter Johnson, co-founder of Sally’s Fidle Boys

TO THEIR OWN

TUNES

THE BACKSTORY

MASON SMITH & ALDEN JAMES PHOTO STORY

BRINGING THE UNDERGROUND RIVER MUSIC FESTIVAL TO LIFE: A first-person account by organizer Mason Smith

‘A

s somone with abolutely no musical talent, no one would have expected me to create a concert at school that has not been done since the Cenntennial Celebration in 2006.

Even though I play no instruments and my instrumental career went down the drain when I made a futile attempt to learn violin from Dr. Fray in 4th and 5th grade, I have always loved music.

And I also knew that music had the power to bring people together. The idea all began in Student Council when members pitched the idea for a spring concert. Because the Student Council was forced to devote tons of time to Homecoming and other school events, the idea never came to fruition.

Nevertheless, after a few months, I knew that this idea was an opportunity that St. Mark’s could not miss.

With the help of George Lin and other juniors and seniors, slowly the idea materialized into something real and very possible.

Luckily, my sister Caroline, a graduate of the Hockaday Class of 2008, was great friends with Connor Youngblood ’08, and I used this connection to bring a dynamic, professional musician to play for us.

By making the specific intricate plans of organizing each part of the Underground Music Festival, I learned that I had the power to take a crazy idea and turn something intangible into reality. More importantly, I learned that if I put my heart and passion behind efforts like organizing this concert that the possibilities are endless.

When I saw the people enjoying the beautiful spring evening out on the Quad and hearing the best music from students, teachers and alumni that we have to offer, I knew that all of the time and hard work I dedicated to this risky idea was worth it.

Connor Youngblood ‘08 playing his banjo

Connor Youngblood ’08 playing guitar Travis Nadalini, co-founder of Sally’s Fiddle Boys

‘IT WAS REALLY EXCITING. IT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST NERVOUS I’VE BEEN BEFORE, ESPECIALLY SEEING OLD TEACHERS. IT WAS REALLY GREAT. ’ PERFORMER CONNOR YOUNGBLOOD ‘08

—Mason Smith

Tim Mank ‘87, frontman of Mank-ind

Tim Mank ‘87 sings Steve Miller ‘61’s ‘Fly Like An Eagle’

V THE REMARKER VIBE APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 14

THEVIBE

THIS ISSUE: MILKSHAKES SKIZZY HEADLINERS

Reviewing the very best and very worst of it all

Shakes in the sun

Spring sounds A new album by Skizzy Mars It’s springtime. Cruisin’ weather — time to roll down the windows and turn up the music, and The Red Balloon Project by Skizzy Mars is the perfect soundtrack for your warm weather spirits.

A true jam in every sense of the word, the feel-good EP’s upbeat electronic rhythms woven through smooth-groove melodies and traditional hip-hop 808 drums help this New York artist have his own, alternative take on a genre often burdened by it’s own formulas and trends.

Mars’s lyrics, while wonderfully melodic and catchy, often lean toward the superficial side. But hey, they capture the young and reckless essence of the project better than a thorough analysis on American society ever could.

While only 26 minutes long, this February release proves upcomer Skizzy Mars crafts a sound able to make even the most furious of wolverines want to roll its top down. A good omen for hip hop in 2015 if anything, The Red Balloon Project is a pleasant surprise to old cats and casual listeners alike.

With summertime rolling around and frizzy-haired Prius enthusiasts trying to shove smoothies down everyone’s mouth, The ReMarker looks into the true drink to shield one from the scorching Texas heat ­— the milkshake.

Now, if you’re one of those people who wakes up every morning craving some tangy combination of fruits, vegetables and whatever kale is, you should probably hand in your man card to Puildo right now. Otherwise, check out what Commentary Editor William Caldwell and Editor-in-Chief Matthew Conley have to say about the best milkshakes near 10600 Preston Road.

Hopdoddy’s Nutella Pretzel If you are looking for creative, unique, yet incredibly tasty milkshakes, this is the place for you. Hopdoddy does the perfect job of mixing in just the right amount of pretzel to give your tastebuds the perfect feel as you slurp down the final pieces of cold, delicious nutella, pretzel and ice cream. Another unique aspect of the Hopdoddy milkshake is the fat straw that comes with it. You don’t need to wait for the shake to thaw or worry about pretzels getting stuck in the straw owing to its width. To top it all off, a large amount of whipped cream and a spoon are also placed in the shake, giving you the perfect milkshake.

A+

Burger House’s Cherry Milkshake

A-

—Avery Powell

Liberty Burger’s Chocolate Shake

Perhaps an instant classic when they entered the field of competition a few decades ago, Burger House is home to a rare, yet delightful combo of milk and creamed ice — the cherry milkshake.

The full lineup is also strong, and the saltiness of their trademark fries mixes perfectly with the dairy delight.

B+

Twisted Root’s S’mores Milkshake

Newcomers are rarely welcome in the game, but Liberty Burger has just enough experience in the Dallas area to have gotten its feet mildly moist in the milkshake pool. A wide selection for the kids (and the parents), Liberty Burger boasts one of the smoothest flowing milkshakes to ever enter our bodies. That fat-diameter straws make the entire experience more enjoyable and less like trying to suck the venom out after a deadly snake bite.

A-

Chip’s Chocolate Milkshake

C+

Head iners Concerts Ok Go

April 18 at 7 p.m.

Granada Theater

2015 Country Megaticket

In a day of increasing creative ideas for milkshakes, Chip’s chooses to stick with the classic flavors such as chocolate, vanilla and banana. This is a dangerous idea if you are unable to pull it off, but Chip’s pulls it off masterfully. While I do admit having a creative, unique milkshake is optimal, there is nothing wrong with this class chocolate shake, for Chip’s was able to perfectly blend the amount of ice cream with the amount of flavorful chocolate and milk.

Kudos to Chip’s for offering one of the most delicious milkshakes in town.

While I give Twisted Root daps for coming up with a (theoretically) delicious idea, their execution of this idea was poor.

The marshmallows that layered the top of the shake caused it to have a certain soggy taste that only left me wanting to throw it away. Unfortunately, the milkshake’s most prominent flavor was this marshmallow that dragged the rest of the milkshake down with it.

UP NEXT

B

May 1 at 12:55 p.m.

Gexa Energy Pavillion

The Who

May 2 at 7:30 p.m.

American Airlines Center

Ed Sheeran

May 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Verizon Theatre

Albums Passion Pit Kindred April 20

Mumford and Sons Wilder Mind May 4

Snoop Dogg Bush May 11

Movies Monsters: Dark Continent April 17

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 April 17

Avengers Age of Ultron May 1

Mad Max: Fury Road May 15

REVIEWS WILLIAM CALDWELL AND MATTHEW CONLEY | PHOTO MASON SMITH

SCHOOL WI-FI SLOW, INCONVENIENT

PHOTO COURTESY CREATIVE COMMONS

With very few students attending school during the ISAS fine arts festival, we reflect upon the three person classes and free periods and ask why we don’t just skip school during these two days. Page 17

COMMENTARY

MASON SMITH PHOTO

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 | PAGE 15

With connection difficulties, too many blocked pages and other issues, we suggest fixing up the school Wi-Fi. Page 16

FREEDOM IN STUDENT LEADERSHIP

School-wide NCAA men’s basketball bracket challenge (see Target practice), Page 17

Students who have a major leadership position need to receive the same consideration as those who do not currently hold another position. Page 16

EDITORIAL

PUBLIC SPEAKING

IMPROVING OUR PUBLIC SPEAKING

While Marksmen receive an excellent education, some are lacking in the opportunity to practice one crucial life skill — public speaking.

M

arksmen receive a fantastic holistic education and are able to shape their skills in mathematics, the sciences, humanities, foreign languages and the arts.

However, many students leave the school lacking the proper development in one crucial life skill: public speaking.

Without the ability to give a strong speech or presentation, many Marksmen will and most likely have struggled to share their knowledge or stories effectively to a large group of people.

While we are privileged to receive such a strong education, we feel that it would be even more useful if paired with the ability to engage others in public speaking scenarios and to have important conversations comfortably.

For all the bright minds on campus, there are many who cannot stand up and speak in front of a large group of people without staring at their notes, talking too quickly, standing awkwardly or doing anything else that may distract the audience from their speech.

And the only ways to improve public speaking skills are through gaining confidence and practicing speech techniques, such as learning to avoid “ums” and

projecting one’s voice.

We understand that the budget and the schedules of students may not allow the school to incorporate a separate speech class, so we’d like to propose how different departments can further enhance the public speaking portion of their class’s respective curriculum.

While many teachers already do an exceptional job of incorporating public speaking into their classes (some teachers even have a separate unit for it), we encourage those who don’t as frequently to follow these suggestions: • English classes: have a specific student lead discussions based on a segment of a novel read for that given day.

• Foreign language classes: have students give more presentations in their foreign language and make it a requirement that those students speak in that language during class time.

• Science classes: require students to present their findings from laboratory experiments along with the usual written report.

• Mathematics classes: have students who understood the previous night’s homework explain their methods of solving problems to confused students

(with the teacher interjecting or taking over when necessary).

• Art classes: require students to not only explain their own pieces of work, but to also interpret the work of their peers.

While some teachers already do what we have suggested, we feel that these suggestions need to be used in all classes.

For some students, the ability to stand up and speak in front of others comes naturally, others continue to struggle to find their comfort zone in front of large crowds throughout high school and beyond.

Although many students may be opposed to the idea of giving even more presentations and taking even more active leadership roles, the overall gain will be extremely beneficial as it will provide more opportunities for those who feel uncontrollable jitters to gain confidence in themselves and their ability to speak in public.

And we feel that in order to best instill this confidence in students, teachers should take our suggestions into consideration and attempt to incorporate them (or a variation of them) in to their class’s curriculum.

Whether it’s for birthdays, the winter holidays or any other special day of the year, weird gifts from weird friends and family are the ones that leave a lasting impression on us. Here are some weird gifts members of our community have received:

what

comes to

mind?

The weirdest gift that I ever received was...

THE REMARKER

EDITOR IN CHIEF MATTHEW CONLEY MANAGING EDITOR SHOURYA KUMAR CREATIVE DIRECTOR ZUYVA SEVILLA DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR ALEX KIM HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER MASON SMITH ISSUES EDITOR VIK PATTABI SENIOR CONTENT EDITOR CYRUS GANJI COMMENTARY EDITORS CAMERON CLARK, WILLIAM CALDWELL BUSINESS MANAGER ROBY MIZE NEWS EDITORS BRADFORD BECK, NOAH KOECHER LIFE EDITORS WILL CLARK, AVERY POWELL SPORTS EDITORS ZACH NAIDU, PHILIP SMART GRAPHICS DIRECTOR ABHI THUMMALA CAMPUS COORDINATOR RICHARD JIANG PHOTO EDITOR ALDEN JAMES MALE CALL EDITOR PHILIP MONTGOMERY REVIEWS SPECIALIST JACOB CHERNICK PROJECT MANAGER DAVIS MARSH COPY EDITORS WILLIAM SYDNEY, VIGNESH BABU CARTOONIST WALTER JOHNSON STAFF ARTISTS JOON PARK, KILLIAN GREEN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS SAM EICHENWALD, ARNO GOETZ, WESLEY HIBBS, GRAHAM KIRSTEIN, CAM LAM, ADAM MERCHANT, CONNER OLSON, TIM O’MEARA, NICO SANCHEZ, FRANK THOMAS, CORBIN WALP, MATT WOODBERRY STAFF WRITERS RISH BASU, AIDEN BLINN, NICK BUCKENHAM, DANIEL COPE, JOHN CRAWFORD, CORDAY CRUZ, JAMES HANCOCK, CASE LOWRY, AIDAN MAURSTAD, CRAWFORD MCCRARY, PARKER MCWATTERS, MATTHEW PLACIDE, GOPAL RAMAN, ANVIT REDDY STAFF ASSISTANTS ANDRE ARSENAULT, DAVIS BAILEY, KAL BUSCAINO, CARSON CROCKER, RETT DAUGBJERG, BLAKE DAUGHERTY, ALEC DEWAR, WILL FORBES, ELLIOT FORD, ZACHARY GILSTRAP, JOHN GUNNIN, ALAN JIANG, ZOHEB KHAN, HENRY KISTLER, CANYON KYLE, MIKE MAHOWALD, NICK MALVEZZI, NAFTAL MAUTIA, AUSTIN MONTGOMERY, WASEEM NABULSI, SEUN OMONIJE, ETHAN PITTSON, REECE RABIN, OMAR RANA, JIMMY RODRIGUEZ, KOBE ROSEMAN, SAM SHANE, MOHIT SINGHAL, SAM SUSSMAN, ORLIN WARE, WILL WOOD ADVISER RAY WESTBROOK COVERAGE. The ReMarker covers topics, issues, events and opinions of relevance and interest to the St. Mark’s School of Texas community.

LETTERS. Send submissions to the editor at 10600 Preston Road, Dallas, 75230 or via email at remarker@smtexas.org. Letters should be brief and signed, although the writer may request anonymity. Letters may be rejected if libelous or obscene material is contained therein.

EDITORIALS. The newspaper’s opinion will be presented in each issue in the form of editorials, which are clearly labeled and appear on the Opinion pages.

COLUMNS. Personal opinion is expressed through by-lined columns, which appear throughout the publication.Advertising.

Contact the business staff at 214.346.8145. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement.

Inclusion of an advertisement in these pages is not an indication of an endorsement by The ReMarker, any of its staff members or St. Mark’s School of Texas.

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 School. More than 2,600 copies are mailed out to alumni courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

...Baby food.

...Barbells for my birthday.

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

Sophomore Andrew Whigam

Math instructor J.T Sutcliffe

ONLINE VIEWING. Each issue of The ReMarker,

...Six red sweaters from the same person.

...Underwear with the days of the week on it.

along with archival copies, can be viewed online at the school’s website, www.smtexas. org/remarker.

Sophomore Andrew Chuka

READER INVOLVEMENT. The ReMarker encourages

...A head massager.

...An inflatable fruit cake.

Eighth grader Andy Crowe

Junior Tim Skapek

Eighth grader Eric Martin ...A ‘suns out guns out’ tank top.

...A puzzle from my aunt when I was 18.

Junior Tim O’Meara

Fellow Myles Teasley

NEXT MONTH’S PROMPT

‘What was I thinking when...’

Submit your response to 16clarkc@smtexas.org for a chance to be featured in next month’s paper.

reader input through letters, guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for submissions. Suggestions will be given due consideration for future publication.

student newspaper of St. Mark’s School of Texas Dallas, TX 75230. 214.346.8000 www.smtexas.org/remarker

THE REMARKER COMMENTARY APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 16 C

EDITORIALS IMPROVING WIFI

STUDENT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

Slow and inconvienient Wi-Fi hinders the effectiveness and efficiency of students W

Students should not be excluded from positions because of other positions held

hile we understand that there is a huge amount of people who use the school’s Wi-Fi, we constantly find that the server is either down, slow or just not working.

In the technology age, Wi-Fi is a vital part of this school’s community and effectiveness, and without it, the school would not be able to function as well as it does.

We also feel that the Wi-Fi has too many restrictions and notifications, and we hope that these can be eliminated over the next couple of months.

Earlier in the year, the Wi-Fi system was changed completely, an act that only confused and frustrated students more.

This entire system change did not occur as smoothly as hoped, and we think that it only made things more complicated.

In order for the effectiveness to be greatly increased, we feel that a change is needed to the Wi-Fi system as a whole.

Whether this change is decreasing the amount of restrictions and notifications

or just enhancing the speed of the server, we feel that not only would the students become happier, but also the efficiency of the community would grow as a whole.

With this improved Wi-Fi, students would never have an excuse to not print assignments or not know what their certain homework assignments are.

Students would be held much more accountable if the Wi-Fi were improved because there would be no more excuses that could pass.

Also, much more responsibility comes from this certain accountability, something that helps enhance the student body as a whole.

Overall, if the Wi-Fi’s efficiency and effectiveness were improved greatly, then this community would also be greatly improved.

The efficiency of students would increase, which, in turn, would also increase the effectiveness of this community, something that will certainly benefit us.

I

n a time when leadership positions are rapidly being established for next school year, we believe that just because somebody holds one leadership position does not mean that he should immediately be ruled out for all other important leadership positions.

For example, if a student already holds a position as a leader on the Community Service board, then that student should not be automatically ruled out for a leadership position on Student Council.

In a community that tries extremely hard to be all inclusive and not exclude anybody, ruling one person out from a leadership position just because he is already a leader is not a good practice, since it is an exclusive practice.

We should promote the extensive amount of leadership positions this school offers and should allow absolutely anybody, no matter merit or business of other leadership positions held, to put himself out there and attempt to hold any

leadership position.

The student body should be encouraged to apply themselves in the community of the school, and if certain people are forced to hold back from a leadership position, that is not fair not only to the student, but also to the community for not having his potential leadership.

All leadership positions should be open to all students because it creates a fair environment that helps students learn to help the community.

Also, if all positions are open to everybody, then this school has the best way to choose who they want filling certain leadership positions.

In total, all positions need to be open to everybody because it would help students learn to apply themselves, and it would also help the school have its best leaders possible.

This school needs to open all leadership positions to everybody in order for all qualified students to apply.

Sorry, but I can’t really sum up this column in a headline...

W

ith 35 days left until Commencement, now is the time when seniors express their profound gratitude for the school: for its opportunities, its challenges, its faculty…its everything.

But there’s a flipside to all the flattery. Compensating for each compliment is some complaint, some regret, some gripe.

Most objections are trivial whims. Others, more serious.

“I hate how our grade’s always been split into cliques.”

“Did I really have to take three years of Spanish? I’m terrible at it.”

“Another 3:05 assembly? Seriously?”

St. Mark’s isn’t perfect. No secondary school is perfect, and relatively, St. Mark’s is as close to perfection as it gets.

But students, more oft than not, feel poised to issue their criticisms.

It’s just a trap everyone falls into, and arguably, our school is as great as it is because of students’ constructive criticism — and the administration’s willingness to listen.

Why else would The ReMarker have an editorial section?

So yes, it’s natural and healthy to point out the school’s flaws. But for seniors, there’s a new question being thrown about — one that demands a whole lot of judgment.

The first time I was asked, my family and I were at dinner with a close family friend.

Being curious what my take on the school was, considering that (at the time) graduation was three months away, she asked a very sensible question.

“How would you rate your experience at St. Mark’s?”

My mental reaction went as follows: Wow. Rate? Experience? On, like, a scale? Maybe a five-point scale, like a four. Nah, that doesn’t do it justice. An eight out of 10? Wait…that’s the same thing. Hell, I don’t know. Can you give me an hour?

I responded, “It’s been great, thanks. Actually, I have to write a column about my St. Mark’s experience, so maybe I can get back to you later? You know, once I figure it all out?”

So, recently, I’ve been trying my best to find that answer.

I almost made a pros and cons sheet about the best/worst aspects of the school, meaning that — again— I allowed myself to take three steps back and critically dissect St. Mark’s (Ex. “Well, the lunches aren’t exactly worth a couple thousand dollars per year...that’s a minus, I guess”).

Anyway, it was foolish.

CYRUS GANJI

Here’s the deal: let’s say you, as a senior, have been here since fifth grade. School’s eight hours a day, lasts for nine months and you’ve been attending for a total of eight years. Not even counting all those hours of extracurriculars and homework, that’s a total of 17,280 hours of school time…a baseline of 17,280 hours spent on the St. Mark’s campus, equivalent to two years of incessant classes.

At the most basic level, that indicates that you know the school — its buildings, its students, its teachers and its staff — by heart.

What it also means is that St. Mark’s, along with your

parents, has been the largest influence in your life for the past so-many years.

Small digression: when you critique something in its entirety, it forces you to take a retrospective view — to “zoom-out” and consider the item in question as something altogether separate from your being.

For St. Mark’s, that’s impossible. Put simply, the school is in our blood: everything we believe, think and do are derived from our experiences, successes, trials and failures that occurred during our time at 10600 Preston Road.

There’s no way for me, or for any of us seniors, to answer that question. We are incapable of separating individual and institution for the sake of an assessment — the two are wholly twisted and intertwined to the extent where neither is fully distinguishable.

However, I will say this: if you look in the mirror and are proud of the man staring back, then you must be happy with the school that — to a profound level — has helped shaped who you are.

Each and every one of our times at St. Mark’s has been singular — the permutation of activities and experiences of one student are singular to him and only him. But the host to each student’s development is the same.

So, come May 22, 2015, or whatever Commencement date-to-be is planned for the Classes of 2016, 2017, 2018 or 20-whatever, one truth will remain constant: though you may take the man out of St. Mark’s, you may never take St. Mark’s out of the man.

SPRING CLEANING | CARTOON WALTER JOHNSON

battlefield strategy So There’s no capture the flag?!?

Dr. Westrate... Blue and gold day is cancelled this year. battlefield strategy

After launching assaults on the perimeter, the enemy moves their forces outward, exposing the center...

THE REMARKER COMMENTARY ARPIL 17, 2015 PAGE 17 C

SHORT T W&E E T

Staying true to the cement path I

’m walking down the path from the Commons to the parking lot, backpacks on my back and chest, when I realize I’m floating to the left of the path — the cement edge, about eight inches wide, there just to make the path a little bit better looking.

Since then, I’ve begun to notice I do the same thing every day.

I begin in the middle of the path, and five feet later I’m back on the side. But no one else does it, so why do I? When I entered St. Mark’s in first grade, Mrs. Wardlaw had a strict set of rules — no more than a pinky’s height of ice cream, just five seconds at the water fountain, only two people under the table during reading time.

And during our daily trek across campus to the Great Hall, she had yet another rule — don’t get in anyone’s way. Stay on the side of the path.

Today, you might find me with an index finger’s worth of ice cream, guzzling water for seven whole seconds or maybe even under the table with three classmates reading Magic Tree House.

But 12 years later you’ll still find me meandering off to the side of the paths all around campus.

After 12 years, St. Mark’s has led me down dozens of other paths.

The path to manhood, the path to a good college education, the path to a successful career (hopefully).

MATTHEW CONLEY

This place has formed me, and it’s hard to drop any tradition when it’s been with you for 12 years.

And I know I’m not the only one.

This school has done the same thing for decades.

It’s led all of its students down these paths,

paths that have created political leaders, technology-driven innovators and even Oscar-winning actors.

The St. Mark’s path runs through each alumnus’s blood.

When looking for the best people to interview for this issue’s cover story, two of the men who I reached out to ended up being from St. Mark’s.

It was coincidental, but not surprising that these brilliant city leaders were alumni.

But I see no one single thing to point to when citing the reason for our school’s success.

Sure there are teachers who will do anything they can to make something click, to put a smile on a face or an end to confusion.

Sure there are coaches who stay late studying film to edge out a victory and administrators who spend their Spring Breaks in Nearburg Hall to keep the place running.

There are also times, especially during junior year, when almost every student asks himself, “What on earth am I doing here? This is way too much work. This is way too hard,” and then for some reason puts his head down and gets back to work.

What forces that gravitational pull between student and work? I’ll probably never know.

Maybe it’s an imagination rife with images of Cs and Ds and college rejection letters. Maybe it’s the thought of angry parents.

Maybe it’s a secret love for it all.

To say that St. Mark’s has injected me with a love of learning, an appreciation of education and everlasting bonds with fellow Marksmen is a gross understatement.

It has rocked me to my core.

There’s no reason for me to step away from the edge of that cement path, because I know if we stay true to the roads this school leads us down, we’re all bound for glory.

target practice

A peek at Marksmen’s tweets

@

groovykhan

@ @

Still don’t know why Iggy had to make an appearance

— Sophomore Shaheer Khan

I guess that’s why they call it March Craziness

graham_kirstein

joshbando17

@

angel_reyes44

— Junior Graham Kirstein

I am proud to say that the food I eat is the last name of such a great basketball player. #curry — Sophomore Josh Bandopadhay

iPhone charges last longer than Rose’s knees man wow

— Junior Angel Reyes

@

#WinslowTouchedIt

purnellc71

—Senior Corson Purnell

@

broom_kent

Kuchar will win the Green Jacket

—Junior Kent Broom

things that hit or miss their marks at 10600 Preston Road ISAS | why were we at school?

PHOTO COURTESY CREATIVE COMMONS

With your misplaced self-confidence, your dissolute spending habits and your feeble attempts at transcending the futility of all (but especially your own) human experience, you juniors are well on your way to becoming the hollow imitations of grandeur this community needs in order to appreciate the magnitude of its coming loss.

But seriously, be strong and keep the Marksmen traditions going when you get to throw on the blue shirts in May.

School wide bracket contest | bullseye Finally.

A March Madness bracket competition in which all Upper School students and faculty members can compete against one another.

No more having to submit eight different brackets to the eight different groups formed by students.

The schoolwide group has been a great method in testing the college basketball knowledge of every mind across the campus, and we look forward to making it an annual contest in the coming years.

Tumbleweeds rolled across the campus Thursday and Friday as seemingly more than half of the junior and senior class attended the ISAS Fine Arts Festival in Ft. Worth.

The students left behind were subjected to classes with very few in attendance as well as lunch periods stretching over three hours.

Many spent the day in classes that were not productive because only a few students showed up.

So, for those who do not attend the annual festival...

Why not just give us the day off???

MASON SMITH PHOTO

Class of 2016 | pretty far off

No more Blue and Gold Day | little off As the year winds to a close, we always look forward to our favorite half day full of relaxation before the intensity of exams rolls around.

This day is commonly known as Blue and Gold Day. We, as a staff, are devastated about the cancellation of this coveted day.

We will not, this year, be enjoying ice cold orange cream popsicles after a long day of playing with our fellow classmates out in the warm sun.

This year, however, we will be stuck inside, right before the week of exams, not getting the very important relaxation day.

Surely we could have found an alternative to cancelling this wonderful day.

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 | PAGE 18

MASON SMITH PHOTO GRAHAM KIRSTEIN PHOTO

GO BIG OR GO HOME Bob Bowlsby, commissioner of the Big 12 conference, visited the Upper School as a guest speaker of the sports club, Around the Roar. Page 21

Upcoming SPORTING EVENTS IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

ATHLETIC Tip-off STUDENTS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Today

Weekend

Next week

> Crew competes in the first

> Water polo competes in

> Baseball plays Oakridge at home on Ruff Field in the final home counter game of the regular season April 20.

day of the Texas Rowing Championships at Lady Bird Lake in Austin.

> Greenhill hosts the SPC

North Zone Track and Field Meet where the Lions will compete, starting at 4 p.m.

> Tennis visits Trinity Valley for a SPC counter match at 5 p.m.

> The rival Highland Park

the North Region Championship tournament tomorrow at Lewisville ISD Westside Aquatics Center.

>The Texas Rowing Cham-

> Lacrosse plays at 6 p.m. against Allen for the Senior Night and Alumni Weekend game April 23.

> The SPC North Zone meet

> Baseball plays its season final at 4:30 p.m. at ESD April 23.

pionships continue for the crew team in Austin at Lady Bird Lake. continues for the track and field team tomorrow at 9 a.m.

> Junior varsity water polo plays in the first day of the North Region Junior Varsity Championship on April 24.

The location is to be determined.

Scots host the lacrosse team tonight. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

25-2

FINAL SCORE IN THE VARSITY WATER POLO TEAM’S WIN AGAINST COLLEYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL MARCH 28.

S

pring season junior varsity teams started off their seasons in early March with challenging games against non-conference teams.

As of April 3, junior varsity baseball has a record of 0-3 for the start of the season.

“Our first part of the season is really our toughest part of our schedule playing teams like THESA and TCA,” outfielder Ben Budner said. “We got off to a rough start, but we are going to keep improving as the season goes on.”

...

T

he junior varsity lacrosse team has started with big wins over Jesuit College Preparatory and St. John’s.

They have an overall record of 2-3 and have big games coming up against Greenhill, Southlake, and Highland Park.

“We’ve had some really close, one-goal games that we have dropped, but we’ve had others that we really fought out like the Jesuit game,” starting attackmen Harper Sahm said. “If we play like that all season, we will prevail in the closer games.”

Sahm attributes their success to how well the team cooperated.

“The team bonded extremely well after the first couple of weeks of training,” Sahm said. “The boundary between the freshmen and sophomores seemed non-existent once the season progressed.”

...

M

WINDING UP Eyeing the goal, sophomore Rohil Rai takes a shot in the varsity water polo team’s game against Colleyville High School March 28 during the Lions’ 25-2 win.

INJURY report

iddle School spring sports have started, but the snow has shortened their seasons.

The seventh grade baseball team is 1-0 and the eighth grade team is 2-2.

The middle school blue lacrosse team is 0-2 and the gold team is 1-1. The middle school tennis team is undefeated so far standing at a 6-0 record.

“I have really enjoyed this lacrosse season even though it’s been shortened due to the snow,” seventh grader Randall Fojtasek said. “I hope we can finish off this second half of the season strongly.”

...

VARSITY RUNNER ABEER KARIM, LACROSSE PLAYER MATTHEW MEADOWS

Abeer Karim

torn hamstring

“I’m doing everything I can to be healthy by SPC at the end of the month.

Hopefully I’ll be able to compete and help bring home a championship. “

W

arren Smith ’13 received the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Academic Award.

The honor, while recognizing his outstanding achievements in water polo and academics, follows the association’s ideals of creating well-rounded individuals.

“It’s an honor to receive the All-Academic Award,” Smith said.

“I cannot express the amount of gratitude I feel towards St. Mark’s for helping me reach this goal. Without that community, it would have been much more difficult to get to where I am now.”

Matthew Meadows

torn ACL

“This is what I hope for the team: that they can make the best of this season through all the difficulties and continue to improve and win a championship.”

CHARLIE O’BRIEN PHOTO

But what if Knicks fans are smarter than us? Instead of opting for the continual heartbreak, they continue to live their own lives. Maybe they spend their Wednesday nights with their family, not with Derek Fisher and Carmelo Anthony.

In reality, only one team can win the championship every year. Those aren’t good odds. Maybe they think rooting for your team, being a real sports fan, is just this fruitless endeavor.

This spring break, when I visited Argentina, I attended a Riverplate game, a soccer club in Buenos Aires. The fans there were, simply, awesome.

They didn’t have any replays on big screens, superstar players, or even ice in their coke drinks, but they were so happy.

And loud. And singing.

But they weren’t happy and singing when the match ended. When Riverplate tied a far inferior team that day, the fans were getting loud.

They are pretty famous for rioting when things don’t go their way. You can’t sell alcohol at the stadium, and away fans can’t even get into the stadium.

It is a crazy system, and a crazier lifestyle.

I didn’t get to witness a riot, unfortunately. But I did witness what it means to be a fan.

It’s more than just showing up. It’s loving, it’s cheering, it’s crying — it’s being fanatical.

Every time the smallest play happened in favor of Riverplate, the stadium would erupt in cheers. People would stand the whole game and sing their team’s songs.

They didn’t need an announcer to start a defense chant, the fans there just kept singing their songs.

At the Knicks game, things got the loudest when the mega T-shirt cannon rolled out onto the floor and soared Knicks’ shirts into the stands.

A lot of people might think it’s stupid to love a sports team so much that you will riot over a loss, cry over a win, and riot again after a tie.

I choose stupid love.

CHARLIE O’BRIEN PHOTO

B

eing a sports fan is like being in a terrible relationship.

You give and give to your team, whip out the lucky jersey.

Spend countless hours on the weekends watching games with your team. You tell everybody how your team is the best team in the world and how lucky you are.

But no matter how many hours you put in, no matter how many times you’ve been there, no matter how many honey-barbecue wings you eat, your team ends up letting you down.

Until you find the one. The one team that can’t make a mistake. Every move they make — perfect.

And as they hoist the championship trophy, you make a vow that this one team is the only one for you. But then next year begins.

New York Knicks fans — they are terrible at being in terrible relationships.

I discovered this not-so-surprising fact during my trip to New York for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association convention. I got the chance to visit Madison Square Garden (which actually is a square, but not a garden).

The Knicks faced the Timberwolves — the two worst teams in the league at the time. We got to the arena pretty early, and my friends and I filled an empty row at the top of the stadium. A very empty stadium.

I expected some busy New Yorkers would take some time out of their day to watch the game and support their team.

But as the million dollar jumbotron hanging over the court ticked down to zero, I could probably still yell to Derek Fisher, the Knick’s coach, from the top of the stadium and catch his ear.

I understand that it’s probably hard to get excited for the Knicks, especially a game without Melo, a Wednesday night and against the Timberwolves.

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

Fanatical love

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

In the annual Bradley V. Herschel Invitational in Norma and Lamar Hunt Stadium, varsity track and field showed strength in a 201-86 win March 21.

Page 24

PHOTO COURTESY OF RICK HIBBS

PHILIP SMART

SPORTS

GAME FACE

Staring down a THESA batter, senior Carrington Kyle prepares to pitch.

The varsity baseball team lost 0-4 in the March 17 home game, but its winning counter season bodes well for the SPC tournament.

Page 23

— Tip-off stories reported by Rish Basu, James Hancock and Crawford McCrary

STORMING THE COURT

SPORTS

THE REMARKER APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 19 20 JIM WINDLINGER 21 WILL HARDAGE 23 SPC PREVIEWS 24 TRACK BACKPAGE

An

UNWRITTEN

rule It happens after every big game. The buzzer sounds, excitement runs high, and the students storm the court — but should the longstanding tradition end?

T

he gymnasium is burning hot with hundreds of spectators, split right down the middle: students wearing white on one side and students wearing navy on the other. The supporters on both sides are equally raucous, screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs as both teams trade blows and baskets.

After a neck and neck fourth quarter, the anxiety in the ESD gym is palpable as the clock shows 3.4 seconds in the fourth quarter. The ESD squad leads the Lions Varsity basketball team by one measly point.

Lions head coach Greg Guiler draws up a surefire play so that his squad could get an open look and send the fans home with a victory.

Sophomore Will Ingram takes the ball out of bounds and slaps it, signaling the beginning of the play. Pandemonium ensues as Lions rush to get open and their opponents sprint to cover them.

In the confusion, junior Parker Dixon is left uncovered. He sprints out to the three point line. Ingram delivers a pinpoint pass.

Dixon eyes the basket.

Rises.

And fires.

Swish.

The loyal Lions supporters go ballistic as they prepare to participate in a tradition that has been central to basketball as long as anyone can remember: storming the court, when the fans of a team rush onto the floor to join the players in celebrating a tremendous win or upset. “[Storming the court] definitely showed that the crowd was energetic and excited which was crucial for the players,” Dixon said. “It was also a lot of fun. The crowd was such a huge part of the game, and it kept the game close and not out of hand. Their excitement and energy was a huge part of the game against ESD.” But recently, the tradition has been questioned because of its safety risks and its potential disregarding of sportsmanship.

In college basketball, where the tradition originated and gained popularity, some schools have taken precautionary measures to prevent fans from running onto the court in celebration and disrupting the customary postgame handshake between the competing squads.

Josh Friesen Supports the school’s standards

The school, on the other hand, attempts to meet in the middle, allowing fans to storm the court only after the teams have shaken hands, hoping to uphold the spirit of the sportsmanlike behavior.

Assistant Athletic Director Josh Friesen believes that sportsmanship is a major priority in these situations.

“That (waiting for players to shake hands) is only a St. Mark’s thing,” Friesen said. “Its not a SPC thing. We have been fortunate enough to win a fair number of championships and

I think they are something to be celebrated and because we have won a lot, and we have figured out that sportsmanship goes along with winning, and it needs to be respected.”

By not shaking hands with the other team, Friesen describes the act as “unmarksmanlike” and believes that shaking hands is simply a part of the game.

“It is a necessity that it happens,” Friesen said. “If people were to rush before shaking hands, you are paying disrespect to the opponent and you are paying disrespect to your own school. We set a very high bar for ourselves. You hear courage and honor at St. Mark’s, and we have to honor our opponent and the game as well.”

Caught up in the celebration and the excitement of winning a big game, teams can forget to shake their opponents’ hands, an action that does no good for the sport and the winning team.

“The players need to finalize that sportsmanship by shaking hands with the opponents,” Friesen said. “When a crowd rushes and doesn’t allow the teams to display proper sportsmanship, it takes away from the win. It leaves a sour taste in the losing team’s mouth and unfortunately paints the winners in bad light.”

Greg Guiler Sees risks in storming the court

With the nature of the tradition, storming the court also presents an inherent safety risk to the players, coaches and the fans.

Varsity basketball coach Greg Guiler believes there are some safety risks involved with storming the court.

“Whenever there’s a time you get a bunch of people together, especially who are emotional and poor decision makers in the first place, people believe there is this chance to go crazy once and for it to be okay,” Guiler said. “I think there’s always a chance for someone to get hurt, and the administrators have to know and minimize those risks with proper protocols.

Dixon also agrees that the nature of the tradition can be harmful to those at the game “Honestly, it is decently unsafe,” Dixon said. “For example, last year after the ESD game, someone fell over and that caused everyone to fall over, and I hurt my leg during that event. If it’s controlled and not dangerous, then storming the court is fine after games.”

The fact that the tradition can be both unsportsmanlike and dangerous begs the question: why continue the tradition at all?

“There’s one benefit, and that one benefit is the spirit and excitement of supporting a team,” Friesen said. “and coming up with either a big upset or a big play that elicits excitement from the crowd that they just want to rush down and hug their classmates.”

Guiler also agrees with Friesen in that storming the court

STORY ANVIT REDDY, RISH BASU | ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA

allows students to celebrate an accomplishment in a unique manner that boosts school spirit.

“Atheltics are unquestionably a rallying point,” Guiler said.

“When the opportunity comes where an athletic achievement occurs, everyone gets to rally around that achievement, and I think it is fantastic to a certain extent.”

Storming the court clearly has its benefits and its drawbacks. It may be necessary for both the St. Mark’s and SPC administration to undertake action to fix the tradition.

“I think the safe way to do it is just to make sure the visitors clear out because I don’t think SPC will put a stop to storming the court altogether,” Friesen said. “If an incident were to occur where the team stormed [the court] and took out an old lady or got in a fight with an opposing student, then there may be a rule put in place where we wouldn’t be allowed to do it anymore.”

‘IT [SHAKING HANDS] IS A NECESSITY THAT IT HAPPENS. IF PEOPLE WERE TO RUSH BEFOREHAND, YOU ARE PAYING DISRESPECT TO THE OPPONENT AND YOU ARE PAYING DISRESPECT TO YOUR OWN SCHOOL. WE SET A VERY HIGH BAR FOR OURSELVES. ’ JOSH FRIESEN Guiler, on the other hand, thinks that the students themselves need to be more aware and avoid committing any actions that put themselves or others in harm’s way.

“Students could help make it more safe by not doing dumb things before the game to comprompise their decision making ability,” Guiler said. “Also, a lot of it has to do with education and general knowledge.”

The tradition is clearly important to school spirit, but it has its flaws. In order to ensure that students can continue the tradition, they have to be willing to control themselves and place sportsmanship and safety above all else.

“I think the teachers tell the guys up front who are usually upperclassman and superfans — I think those guys understand,” Friesen said. “It’s not that they’re upset about it, they grasp the idea of what needs to be done of policing their own student body. They also did it at SPC volleyball. Those are the last two times I remember that people stormed the court and field. I think that the students, ultimately, could overwhelm the ushers and police if they wanted. But I think they are smart enough — especially us, we understand and respect the game in the way that it needs to be respected.”

S THE REMARKER SPORTS APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 20 JIM WINDLINGER

Running FOR A REASON

AFTER BEING DIAGNOSED WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, CONTROLLER JIM WINDLINGER KNEW HE HAD TO MAKE A CHANGE. HE STARTED RUNNING — BUT IT BECAME MORE THAN JUST HIS HOBBY. IT’S HIS PASSION.

MARATHON MAN Medals on his neck, Jim Windlinger has run a marathon in 49 different states. A map (bottom right) hangs in his office that pins every city in which he’s run a marathon. On April 21, Windlinger will run the Boston Marathon, completing his goal of running a marathon in every state.

E

very day, Jim Windlinger wakes up and wonders if today is the day.

If maybe that little twitch in his muscles is something a little more serious.

Something more severe than the muscle spasms he gets from running those 57 marathons, 1,493.4 miles in 49 states.

Something stemming from the disease he carries, or runs with — multiple sclerosis (MS).

Controller Jim Windlinger faces the disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain and body, sometimes in the more intense cases rendering the patient paralyzed.

Windlinger likens the disease to the specter of a possible terrorist attack that comes with living in New York.

“In my instance,” Windlinger said. “I know the next time there’s an attack it’s gonna be on me. Because I have MS, and I don’t know what it’s gonna be. I don’t know if it’s going to be trembling, more vision. One guy had a heart attack, one guy goes blind. People go into wheelchairs — that’s the hardest part. The hardest part is not really knowing when or if anything ever is going to happen again.”

In May 2001, Windlinger’s vision in his right eye was starting to disappear — a telltale sign of MS. When the doctors con-

Do you wish to improve your Spanish speaking skills?

Planning to travel this summer to a Spanish-speaking country?

Do you want to do better on your next Spanish test?

I can help. I have eighteen years of experience teaching at ESD in both Middle and Upper school, was educated in Madrid, Spain and am fully bilingual.

Contact Joanne Donheiser at donheiserj@gmail.com.

firmed he had the disease, Windlinger knew he eventually had to start exercising. Former Director of Finance Jim Kirkpatrick and Windlinger started working out together — the first step to Windlinger’s love for marathons.

One Runner’s World magazine later, Windlinger was running races.

“I started reading through that, and then one of the articles was about a guy that was a slow marathon runner, and I thought, ‘Well maybe I can do that.’ So I bought his book, and so I started to think about it. And I told everybody I was going to run a marathon. So I started training for one in early 2002 and ran Dallas White Rock marathon in December 2003 and never looked back.”

For senior Michael Windlinger, Jim Windlinger’s son, his dad’s response to the disease has been an inspiration.

“It’s important for me now,” Michael Windlinger said. “All of my appreciation for what he’s done has come fairly recently. It’s been important for me just to see how to respond to adversity. And how you can either wallow in self pity, or you can run 50 marathons. It’s just a really good example of how to respond to the circumstances you are given.”

While Windlinger may have started running marathons because of MS, Jim Windlinger has found his stride and enjoys running the races.

“Once I got into running long distances, it was a natural thing for me and it had nothing to do with being diagnosed with MS,” Jim Windlinger said. “Now, again, I get to eat and drink what I want, I don’t have to watch what I eat — so there are benefits to running the marathons.”

Not only do the marathons provide health benefits and help battle the disease, but according to his wife, Lisa Windlinger, the exercise also helped Jim Windlinger mentally.

“When he was first diagnosed, it was really hard for both us. He was actually a little de-

‘MY FAMILY ALWAYS SUPPORTS ME, ESPECIALLY MY WIFE, SHE’S BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE. SHE’S THE ONE THAT KNOWS WHEN I GET UP VERY EARLY IN THE MORNINGS AND I END UP WAKING HER ’ CONTROLLER JIM WINDLINGER

pressed,” Lisa Windlinger said. “And then his boss at St. Mark’s had told him that they need to start exercising. So they would go to the gym, and he would start walking every day.

But then one day Jim picked up his feet and started running, and it took off from there, and his attitude changed dramatically. I would say it was life-changing for him.”

Ever since that life-style change, Jim Windlinger’s marathons have meant more than just exercise. In addition to battling the disease, he has battled for others and asked for sponsors to donate to the Massachusetts

Michael Windlinger Finds his dad to be an inspiration

Eye and Ear Infirmary.

“Almost no one has said no. Everybody that I expected to say yes has said yes and gave me money,” Jim Windlinger said. “The amount of the money has been more stunning. So I am very thankful for the place that I work, for St. Mark’s and the people that are here.”

When Jim Windlinger talks about the marathons to other people, he hardly mentions the MS. He talks about the running — because he loves it.

“He really doesn’t talk about it [MS] very much,” Lisa Windlinger said. “The only thing I am worried about is that something might be going on and he wouldn’t tell me. He doesn’t want to worry me. He doesn’t want to upset me. But honestly, we’ve been so blessed because he has been so healthy, and I attribute a lot of that to the running.”

And for Michael, Jim Windlinger not talking about the MS isn’t because he’s scared of it or because he wants to hide it. It’s because Jim doesn’t let the disease dictate who he is.

“My dad doesn’t like telling people that he has MS,” Michael Windlinger said. “I can kind of guess why. I think it’s because he doesn’t want people to see that as an excuse he can use. He doesn’t really tell people about it because he doesn’t really see it as that big a deal I think, and he doesn’t want other people to see it as a big deal. He doesn’t let it define him.”

Now, as Jim Windlinger approaches the Boston Marathon April 21, what started as just a way to exercise has become a passion for marathon running.

“But you realize that the rest of life goes on,” said Jim Windlinger. “And the boys expect me to go to the soccer games, and the mortgage expects me to pay my bills on time and the school expects me to show up and work.

And so you have to kind of decide, you know, what are you going to do? And I decided that I probably needed to do a few things that make my life a little easier.”

STORY PHILIP SMART, CASE LOWRY | PHOTOS ARNO GOETZ

THE REMARKER SPORTS APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 21 S WILL HARDAGE

Advantage, Hardage The cramp stings junior Will Hardage’s leg. He knew he had to quit his tennis match — he didn’t know he’d be in the hospital two hours later.

J

unior Will Hardage is dominating his varsity tennis match.

Winning the first set 6-3, Hardage is laser-focused. He is hell-bent on defeating friendly rival Charlie Legg, a skilled junior of the Highland Park High School first line who is also Hardage’s teammate for the Highland Park Tennis Academy club team.

Under the punishing Texas sun, his left calf begins to cramp. It’s nothing unsettling, though, to the ten year tennis player, he’s had dozens of calf cramps before.

He remains mentally tough: You’ve got to beat this guy, he says to himself.

But then, during the second set, the pain latches onto Hardage’s hamstring, then his thigh and then his entire right leg, giving him a frightening sensation he has never felt before.

Hampered, Hardage drops the second set 7-6 and is forced into a tie-breaker: first to ten.

The pain now excruciating, Hardage deliriously refuses to quit the match. But down 9-8, his will to win cannot keep him upright anymore.

Will Hardage collapses.

Overcome by violent leg spasms, all he can do is cry. Powerless, Hardage can only writhe in pain on the Hockaday tennis court as his muscle continues to break down.

Then the ambulance arrives, sparking a flurry of emotions: fear — causing him to hy-

perventilate — as he realized the magnitude of the situation, nausea from the increased pain due to his hyperventilation and relief that somebody is there to save him from a living nightmare.

Hardage is slowly helped to his feet, tears streaming down his face, but cannot take a step forward. After his teammates help him make the journey from the tennis courts to the parking lot, they delicately put him in the vehicle.

Incomprehensibly, Hardage feels even more pain — and fear — than he has in the past 20 minutes: his whole body cramps, his arms stick to his chest, he can’t open his hands.

Will Hardage doesn’t have the desire to cry anymore.

He’s about to die.

H

ardage continues to hyperventilate uncontrollably. He knows he needs to stop and calm down but can’t. The paramedics encourage him to take slow, deep breaths, aware that the excessively rapid breaths are denying oxygen to his blood which in turn exacerbates the muscle deterioration.

Internally, creatines and Myoglobin are being rapidly released into Hardage’s bloodstream because of the muscle breakdown, and his kidneys are about to shut down as a result.

When Hardage finally reaches the bed at Medical City Children’s Hospital, he is giv-

en IVs that quickly alleviate his upper body cramping. Slowly, the positive effect from regaining control of his upper body helps Hardage steady his breathing. The safety of the hospital combined with the medical attention has a calming effect on Hardage.

He dozes off.

The next morning, the doctor explains to Hardage that he was suffering from exertional rhabdomyolysis, and that he had indeed nearly died. Hardage’s heart had almost shut down because of the potassium released into the bloodstream from his muscles breaking down, which inhibits the body from conducting electricity and prevents the heart from working.

Hardage still requires two more days to regain mobility in his lower body.

Three days after his collapse, he finally regains enough strength to walk on his own.

For the majority of the next two weeks, he carries around a bottle of Pedialyte to prevent dehydration and supports the tennis team as a spectator.

In his first practice back, Hardage stumbles with his footwork, in large part due to the five percent of muscle he lost in his legs.

Slowly, however, Hardage begins to regain his stability and confidence.

M

arch 31, two full weeks after the near fatal tennis match against a friendly foe, Hardage returns to the court in a match against Cistercian. Prior to the opening serve,

Hardage isn’t sure what to expect. He’s afraid he’s going to pull a muscle yet excited by his return to competition.

Unlike during the Highland Park match, Hardage goes into the match against his Cistercian opponent conscious of his limits and ready to withdraw if needed.

His opponent serving first, Hardage anxiously await the ball. After it bounces on his side of the court, he instinctively shuffles to the ball, plants his right foot forward and rockets a swift forehand shot to the other side of the net.

After briefly rallying with his opponent, Hardage wins the opening point.

All of a sudden, Will Hardage is winning a match again.

RECOVERY Resting at Medical City Children’s Hospital, Hardage passes the time communicating with friends and teammates via cellphone.

STORY ZACH NAIDU, MATTHEW PLACIDE | PHOTOS MASON SMITH, COURTESY OF WILL HARDAGE

B

ig 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, spoke to Upper School students March 30 as a visiting guest sponsored by the sports debate and discussion club, Around the Roar.

Bowlsby, who fielded a wide variety of questions during the special assembly, had previously directed the Stanford University Athletics Department for six years.

Bowlsby also served on the United States Olympic Board of Directors from 2007 to 2014 and was President of the NCAA Division 1-A Athletics Director’s Association.

Around the Roar (ATR), led by president Zachary Naidu and history instructor Johnny Hunter, serves as a forum for students to discuss many of the issues covered in the assembly during its meetings, including the developing discussion of compensating student-athletes.

“His vast knowledge of collegiate sports and the workings of the NCAA

and the Big 12 Conference hit a lot of our interests for the club,” Hunter said, “He was extremely knowledgeable, very professional and had a good command of his occupation.”

Because of the high standing of the speaker, the assembly was mandatory for all students in the tenth, eleventh and twelth grades. Freshmen could not attend because of their ERB exams during the same time slot.

“It gave me more insight into the Big 12 and how much power a specific committee can have in controlling what goes on in a conference,” sophomore club-member Rohil Rai said, “ Mr. Bowlsby had some great answers that he shared with the high school.”

Questions asked spanned various topics, from the newly established College Football Playoff to the debate over paying student athletes.

This issue came to the forefront in 2009, when former college football players sued over the use of their like-

ness. Many students were unaware of the workings of collegiate sports, something Bowlsby helped elucidate.

“His explanations were clear and very thoughtful and well articulated and I got the feeling that whether or not you’re a sports fan,” Hunter said, “you at least learned something about how the Big 12 operates and what some of the considerations are, as far as playoffs for football and other things like that.”

Although members of ATR participated in the presentation by offering their questions, many other students also demonstrated interest, with many questions going unanswered simply because of the time constraint.

“There were a bunch of questions that were non-ATR members that were asked that I thought were really good,” Hunter said, “I think some of the guys had hit on a lot of the hot button type issues that are constantly being wrangled with the commissioner and others.”

— Abhi Thummala

MASON SMITH PHOTO

NCAA’s Big 12 Conference Commissioner speaks to Upper School

BIG ASSEMBLY Bowlsby speaks to the Upper School during the assembly March 30 answering questions regarding his job as commissioner.

S THE REMARKER SPORTS APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 22

Properties of distinction. Agents for life.

DavePerryMiller.com

5139 SENECA | $9,988,000

EVERY HOME HAS A STORY. LET US TELL YOURS.

DAVE PERRY-MILLER

CHAD SCHULIN

972.380.7723 dave@daveperrymiller.com

214.529.1758 chad@daveperrymiller.com

PRESTON CENTER | 214.369.6000

HIGHLAND PARK | 214.526.6600 INTOWN | 214.303.1133

PARK CITIES | 214.522.3838

© 2015 EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY :: AN EBBY HALLIDAY COMPANY

LAKEWOOD | 214.522.3838

THE REMARKER SPORTS APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 23 S SPC PREVIEWS

Bound for success

Spring sports look to finish strong heading into postseason action.

Water polo looks to repeat success

Varsity crew travels to championships

by Rish Basu fter only two losses during the 2013-2014 season, the varsity water polo team embraced each other after defeating Clear Creek High School in the state championship.

This year’s team, which is led by four senior captains, Timothy Simenc, Nathan Ondracek, Mason Smith and George Lin, is looking to repeat last year’s success with veteran leadership and proper preparation.

“Our leadership is strong, stronger than in years past because our captains have so much experience,” senior captain Tim Simenc said. “We have won a state championship and barely lost two. We have experienced the whole spectrum and our knowledge of situations makes us motivate our guys in certain ways according to the situation.”

With key victories over Plano West and a first place finish in the Dutton tournament, the team is heading into the regional and state finals undefeated in regional play.

Simenc believes that full contribution from the team is necessary in order to repeat a state title.

“We don't have as much flexibility in our roster,” Simenc said. “Nathan, Mason and I score the most on the team, and are sometimes the only ones who score. Last year we had people scoring from all over, but now it's going to be easier for teams to defend us because they know who our shooters are. For us to win more guys need to score.”

For Simenc, the team’s brotherhood and will to win will push them during the postseason. Simenc and the other captains are hoping that the team plays their best water polo in their last games as seniors.

“Winning is one of the most important things for this season to be successful, but I don't want to win poorly,” Simenc said. “I want the last games of our season to be the best water polo games we have ever played. We are playing well, but there is another level that we can take it to.

I have seen glimpses of it, but it hasn't fully shown itself to us. When we reach that level at state, that would be a successful season, win or lose.”

by Case Lowry utting through the morning mist, senior Luke Hudspeth pulls his boat through the inky waters of Bachman Lake and toward the finish line.

The first team quad comprised of Senior Luke Hudspeth, senior Matthew Woodberry, juniorTaylor Rohrich, and junior Alden James, hauled their way to a second place finish in the Bachman Lake Annual Spring Trials March 17.

In the junior varsity division of the regatta, the Lions’ first quad earned second, while the Lions’ third boat garnered a third place finish.

Also, the Lions’ junior varsity double boat finished second in the trials that day.

“Crew has done moderately well this season,” assistant coach Emmett Gilles said, “placing among the top rowing programs at both the Heart of Texas Regatta in Austin and at our home regatta on Bachman Lake. We have strong competition from local rival ESD and out-of-town teams like Parati.”

These regattas are extremely helpful in determining a team’s progress and standing in the middle stretch of the season, and this season challenges from in and out of state.

The regattas also serve as a great indicator and preparation for the upcoming statewide Texas Rowing Championships in Austin April 18-19.

Gilles believes the team can medal in upcoming races.

“The team continues to work hard, and we hope to medal in both the varsity quad and double,” Gilles said. “Crews that medal at states will go on to compete at centrals in Oklahoma City.”

While the championships, state and centrals, are in the sights, the goal of the team is not to only win a championship. For Gilles, the team’s sucess relies on the team’s culture and impact the team makes on the students’ lives off the water..

“In a broader sense,” said Gilles.

“The team’s goal is to continue building a culture of perseverance and discipline, the foundation for future and lasting success on and off the water.”

C

A

Alden James and Luke Hudspeth recover after a race.

Andrew Lin shoots during a game. Weston Blair follows through.

Will Hardage rallies during practice.

Max Sadlowski denies his opponent while on defense.

Angel Reyes tags out the runner at second base.

PHOTOS CHARLIE O’BRIEN, ARNO GOETZ, WESLEY HIBBS, ALDEN JAMES, COURTESY OF DONNA CLARK

Varsity baseball finishes counter season strong

Golf will challenge rival Kinkaid in SPC

Lacrosse takes third in SPC in Austin

W

F

A

ith multiple counter season wins, the Lions’ varsity baseball team looks to compete for first in SPC. “Because we missed our first few games this season, our timing isn’t completely down for offense,” senior captain Corson Purnell said. “But we are a very solid defensive team that can make plays to get crucial outs when we need them. We swing the bat well, and all of us are very aggressive on the base paths.”

As the team has progressed, the Lions recorded counter wins of 9-3 over All Saints and 7-4 over Cistercian.

“We expect to have a successful season and hopefully win most or even all of our counter games,” Purnell said. “I’m not worried about our batting. With more and more games we will hit better.”

As the team approaches SPC, the players believe youth and the team’s pitchers will propel them to a strong finish.

“After coming so close last year, we want to finish things up and win it all this year,” Purnell said. “Even if we don’t place as well as we would like, I’m excited to see how our team will progress throughout the season. We have a lot of young talent, especially with our pitching, and I believe they have considerable potential to help.”

— James Hancock

ollowing a third place finish in SPC last year, the varsity golf team is looking to compete in the tournament with leadership from every class.

Senior captain Weston Blair believes that the team is ready and prepared to win a championship.

“We're more experienced than previous teams,” Blair said. “The advantage is that we have five awesome guys with a great attitude on the golf course.”

Blair attributes Cameron Clark and coach Hayward Lee as keys to the team’s success.

“Cameron is doing an awesome job as a co-captain this year,” Blair said. “And even though golf isn’t his main sport, Coach Lee is doing a phenomenal job as a golf coach. ” After placing behind an experienced Kinkaid team the past two years, the team believes that this is the year they can win a SPC title.

“Our main goal is beating Kinkaid in the SPC championship,” Blair said. “If we putt well, we play well, so we really need to work on putting and tighten up loose ends. I fully believe that this team can win a championship.”

— Rish Basu

fter placing third in the SPC tournament last weekend, the varsity lacrosse team looks to compete in North District Conference play at Highland Park tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Senior captain Connor Mullen, who is committed to play lacrosse at Colgate University, notes that the 6-4 win over Jesuit was a turning point in the season.

“I think the biggest win this year was against Jesuit,” Mullen said. “It was our first time beating Jesuit since 2011, so that was a big win for our program. I think that was a very team-oriented wn. A lot of the younger guys got a major amount of playing time.”

Those younger guys, especially freshmen, have contributed significantly to the team’s success, according to Mullen.

“Garrett Mize and Sam Schroeder are definitely two big names you want to keep track of for the next three years,” Mullen said.

Mullen believes this team can come together for the postseason.

“I think every season has its ups and downs,” Mullen said. “But this year, I feel like we can really come together and make something special.”

—Daniel Cope

OFF THE LAKE

DREW BAXLEY PHOTO

Relaxing before their races for their regatta in Austin, (from left) freshmen Riley Sanders and Eduardo Ludwig-Bernardo, sophomore James Hancock and senior Miguel Plascencia hang out under the St. Mark’s team tent at the Heart of Texas Regatta on Lady Bird Lake March 7.

St. Mark’s School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, Texas, 75230

THE BACK SPORTS PAGE THE REMARKER FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 24

With the Bradley V. Urschel Invitational and the Texas Relays behind them, varsity track and field athletes have already set multiple personal records.

4:19

TRACK+FIELD

J.T. GRAASS’S mile time at the Texas Relays

2:01

800 meter record by senior NICK BUCKENHAM at the Eddie PayneCarter Shootout

43’ 10” JONATHON BERRY’S record shot put distance at The Bradley V. Urschel Invitational

11.88

ABEER KARIM’S 100 meter sprint time at The Bradley V. Urschel Invitational

12’2”

Pole vault height by sophomore KEITH KADESKY at the Eddie Payne-Carter Shootout

W REPORTING JAMES HANCOCK | PHOTOS GRAHAM KIRSTEIN, DREW BAXLEY | ILLUSTRATION MATTHEW CONLEY

inning the Bradley V. Urschel Invitational and placing fourth in the Bubba Joiner Invitational, the varsity track and field team is off to an exceptional start.

Although they only have a few individuals who dominate their events in meets, the point deficit is recovered through the consistency of the multiple athletes who place well.

“As far as disadvantages go, we only have a couple of guys who stand out as exceptional in their respective events,” senior captain Abeer Karim said. “With that said, we definitely have a lot

of guys with enough talent to at least place top eight in their events, which adds up.”

However, because the talent is spread throughout the entire team, the dynamic of the team has improved, and with it, the team as a whole has become even closer as well.

“Aside from the logistics of having a successful season, this year’s team is closer and more supportive of each other than I’ve ever seen,” Karim said. “Since we recognize our team’s even distribution of talent, we come to respect each other a lot more and everyone feels like a large

contributor to our collective effort.”

Looking towards the future, if the team continues to improve as much as they have in these first weeks of practice, they will perform well during the SPC championship.

“We’re trying really hard to bring home a championship and this is the best chance we’ve had to do so since 2012, but even if we don’t win, I can confidently say I expect a great season,” Karim said. “We’re more of an actual team than we have ever been and I know that will take us a long way in the end.”

a

ADDENDUM

A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION | APRIL 17, 2015

NIGHTS, NIGHTS, SPIRIT TE LA Y, R EL WORLD. G, REV TAKE ON THE S OF STUDYIN R TO EA y Y d 12 a ER re OF 2015 ARE E READY. AFT MPED. THEY’R F THE CLASS O PU S E ER ’R B EY EM TH M . ed rhood, THE 91 THEY’RE prim AND brothe TS EN EV G N SPORTI

Yes

. they are.

inside From humble beginnings

Class of 2015 chronicles

Branching off

The legends of Pecos past were the Class’s first main high school memories. Seniors Miguel Plascencia and Purujit Chatterjee share their experiences — which include, but are not limited to, a fictitious encounter with a ram and a $350 wipeout.

Pages 2A-3A

A flaming habanero pepper. 1,000 varsity basketball points. A love-hate relationship between a librarian and a student. Three seemingly random events that encapsule the ridiculousness, hilarity and devotion of an outgoing grade.

Pages 2A-3A

From first grade through twelfth, the seniors that have known and grown at the school are finalizing their college plans. Find out where they’re considering, or commited to, attending next year.

Pages 4A

A THE REMARKER ADDENDUM APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 2A, 3A

1,000careerPOINTS HEAD-BUTTEDBYAram?

SAMPLINGhabaneroPEPPERS FACEMEETSmud

Proving that he’s one of the best shooters in Lion hoop history, senior Jack Gordon capped off his athletic career by scoring his 1000th point.

1k

Yes

. that happened.

1,000 POINTS IN ALL Jack Gordon or many, reaching the 1,000 point milestone in basketball is a moment to celebrate.

However, for senior basketball icon Jack Gordon, nothing fazes his laser focus.

“I didn’t even know I was close to scoring 1,000 points at the time,” Gordon said. “So I was pretty surprised.”

During a game against Trinity Valley, Gordon noticed that during the final quarter, none of his teammates attempted a shot when he was in.

“It was me, Corson [Purnell], Landon [Montgomery], Aditya [Inaganti] and Niegel [Stevens],” Gordon said, “and all of them refused to shoot.

So after Gordon drove the ball down the court and scored a lay up, Guiler called a timeout to inform Gordon of his achievement.

However, at the time, Gordon was still in the dark as to how close he was to 1,000 points.

“Coach Guiler called a time out and I started walking over,” Gordon said, “and Niegel comes up and tries to give me a shoulder bump and I’m like ‘dude, we’re up by 30.’”

Though many athletes thrive off of these moments of glory, Gordon finds inspiration from his teammates and coaches.

“I think 1,000 points was a culmination of things,” Gordon said. “That moment was cool, but I think something that was better this year was winning the playoff game. That was the first time we’d done that in seven years. Also, the devotion from our coaches is unbelievable, especially coach Guiler. I think he has really revolutionized the way I see basketball.”

••• A HOT, FIERY SPEECH Travis Nadalini f I’m class president, I can deal with adversity.

The slogan to senior Travis Nadalini’s Senior

F

I

Class president candidacy gave the then-junior a spark of inspiration.

“As soon as I wrote that line I thought, ‘Hmm, how can I demonstrate that I can overcome adversity?’” Nadalini said. “I’d run three years in a row, and it was pretty obvious that in order to win I would have to do something above and beyond.”

Nadalini decided that the best way “to have a speech that would really stick in people’s heads” was through extreme unconventionality. He decided to find the hottest pepper in the city and – as a demonstration of overcoming adversity – ingest it during his speech.

“I was on a mission to find the hottest pepper I could find in Dallas,” Nadalini said.

“I went to Kelly Roach’s house – dad of Chris Roach [‘13] – and he had a fresh out-of-thegarden habanero and said it would just knock me out. In order to make it sound more ridiculous, I called it a Trinidad Scorpion.”

While preparing for his speech, Nadalini trained with a Serrano pepper that he thought would mimic the habanero’s kick.

“The fresh Serrano pepper, that made me cry, but I could easily get through the speech,” Nadalini said. “When I ate the habanero, I was expecting it to be a little more spicy than the Serrano, but it was at least ten times as spicy… and it’s not like you’re just eating a seed. You’re eating entire balls of seeds.”

Nadalini managed to finish his speech and return to his seat, but the pain eventually became intolerable.

“I brought four milks into the auditorium, and I drank all those hoping that I could be calm,” Nadalini said. “And that didn’t work. I tried to be respectful, but I just couldn’t help it.

I was forced to run out of the room. I threw up at least six times – everywhere.”

In the aftermath of his speech, Nadalini found his effort to have been worth the pain.

The following day, however, he found himself on Associate Upper School Head Dr. John Perryman’s disciplinary list.

“The pain went on and on and it was one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt, but it was worth it at the time to me,” Nadalini said. “I was actually on Perryman’s list the next day, and I think I got a note to go see him. So, I went to go see him that morning, and he told me I was disqualified. I was in disbelief.”

Apparently, Nadalini had been disqualified for presenting a speech that was “too funny and disruptive,” which leaves him questioning whether or not his speech – in retrospect – was worth the trouble.

“It’s worth it, because obviously it’s a funny story and I can say I did it,” Nadalini said.

“But it’s not worth it because I didn’t win – and that was the overall goal. All I wanted was my name on the ballot, but my justice was stripped away. If I were president, I would’ve eaten another pepper at graduation.”

••• HEAD TO THE WATER Miguel Plascencia t the sight of a pile of burning manure, senior Miguel Plascencia knew right from the start that Truchas Peak would have a very important place in his heart.

“When we got there, the guys before us tried to light a piece of feces on fire,” Plascencia said. “There were burn marks on the feces and burning paper next to it so I knew it was going to be a very special place.”

“When we got there, we found a big pond. We decided to see who could go out the furthest on a log since it got really muddy the closer we got to the pond,” Plascencia said.

And after being inspired by senior Wyatt Martin’s “ninja moves,” Plascencia triumphed, venturing all the way to the edge of the log.

“I was pretty confident in my balance,”

A

Plascencia said. “Then people dare you to jump, I dare you I didn’t realize it at the time b got caught on the bark of the and right when I jumped, my and holds me back.”

Before he knew it, Plasc first into the mud, frantically breath.

“My arms go in elbow d were in the mud,” Plascencia ing out because the mud was sand. I couldn’t get out and m in the mud.”

What Plascencia did no was that the video would end and a place in the annals of P ••• HORN TO THE HEAD Purujit Chatterejee he man, the myth, the leg senior Purujit Chatterjee. had the intestinal fortitude to a ram, literally, on the Pecos W leaving him with a ghastly cu sorry Purujit, we’re about to g truth must be told.

“What really happened over a log and cut my face an bump on my head,” Chatterje was going to see it so our gro make a good story out of it.”

What the group ended entire grade and school ende pletely different from what ac “We decided to tell ever of rams got mad at us and at gave me a scar,” Chatterjee s From that moment on, C group had the same reponse raised about his scarred face by a ram.”

T

STORIES CYRUS GANJI, SHOURYA KUMAR, RICHARD JIANG| ADDITIONAL REPORTING MATTHEW CONLEY | PHOTOS

THEgamesTHEYPLAYED What are some of the greatest games you have created over the years? (Games like the circle game, yetis for example.)

Walter Johnson Lately disc golf has been the most popular and each season concludes with the Byron Lawson Invitational. We didn’t invent disc golf obviously but put our own twist on it in that we play to objects as holes such as trees or poles instead of the baskets which are usually used.

Seniors Walter Johnson and Jake Holder have formed a collection of trademark Class of 2015 games from the ‘Byron Lawson Invitational Disc Gold Tournament’ to ‘Yetis to the Middle’ to ‘Rummel Ball Ball’

We started in the tenth grade inspired by the creekside course at the University of Texas after the Wolf Lewis incident. There are five courses on campus, Los Ores, The Master’s Course, the science courtyard course, the standard course and the Bill Marmion rooftop course.

Jake Holder Yetis is another favorite, originating in late seventh grade and coming to full form in eighth grade. Yetis takes place

on the Lower School playground and involves throwing newcomers down the slide and avoiding the ever stealthy John Stackhouse (JS) Meade. These rules are different from the originals which involve avoiding the wood chips and the designated “yeti.”

Who’s better?

Johnson Me. Holder Paul Gudmundsson is better than us both though.

How did y’all come up with them?

Holder Mr. Houpt, the Oracle gave us inspiration.

Why did you come up with them?

Johnson To cope with the extreme stress of CML-ey Club In what ways do you think they have changed the identity of the Senior Class?

Holder The order of senseis put in place a puppet government (student council) and runs the school from behind the scenes.

What’s your favorite game?

Johnson Rummel Ball ball, I cannot disclose the nature of the game due to patent laws.

How’d y’all become friends and decide to make these games together?

Johnson To continue the legacy of the H. Scurry Johnson­—Elly Holder ‘Around the Tree Pass’. Our parents grew up next door and were an undefeated two-on-two touch football team. (Johnson’s father and Holder’s mother).

To make his point in a Student Council election assembly, senior Travis Nadalini went to the depths of hell — or, at least, to one of the world’s hottest peppers, to prove his point.

Showing that friends can form outside classroom lines, senior Matthew Meadows and librarian Cinda Thoma established a friendship through Meadows’ Upper School years.

that’s hot.

buddies.

Seniors Purujit Chatterjee and Miguel Plascenia both had momentous adventures on the Pecos wildnerness adventure — Chatterjee supposedly with a ram, Plascencia with mud.

face time.

e started saying, ‘I to clear the mud.’ but my shoe laces e log so I jumped y foot gets caught

cencia lands face gagging for

deep and my knees said. “I was freaks kind of like quick my face was right

ot know at the time d up making $350 Pecos history.

gend. Nice guy The freshman who o butt heads with Wilderness trip, ut on his face to… graduate and the

was that I tripped nd had this giant ee said. “Everyone oup decided to

up telling the ed up being comctually happened. ryone that a group ttacked me and said.

Chatterjee’s Pecos e to questions e. “He was attacked

To Chatterjee, he doesn’t know which is worse. The fact that he cut his head and lost brain cells, or the fact that the entire grade believed he got attacked by a ram.

Because clearly, getting rammed by a 300 pound animal running at you at 20 mph will only leave you with a cut on the face.

••• LOVE, HATE AND BOOKS Matthew Meadows enior Matthew Meadows and librarian Cinda Thoma have had a relationship of many twists and turns, many ups and downs. But in the end, it’s all been for fun How did your relationship with Ms. Thoma start?

For Ms. Thoma, I remember she’d needed some sort of book display for the fifth graders, and I helped her with that – which was how our friendship first started. Then different things came about: us talking, she was always interested in how I did industrial arts – especially considering her daughter is in interior design and stuff. That really helped tie us together.

And your relation with the other librarians?

My friendship with [librarian] Ms. [Teresa] Katsoulos just stemmed from Ms. Thoma, and [librarian] Ms. [Pam] Elder was more of the disciplinarian (a kind disciplinarian).

What’s your warmest memory of Ms. Thoma?

Ms. Thoma, two summers ago, when my grandfather was first diagnosed with transverse myelitis, she actually called me – and I couldn’t pick up my phone at the time – but she left a voicemail saying how sorry she was about my grandfather and how she was here for me in case I needed someone to discuss it with. It was truly a very heartfelt, sweet message.

Do you recall an ugly encounter with her at all?

Once, she thought I was watching YouTube

S

S MASON SMITH, SHOURYA KUMAR, RICHARD JIANG

THEgames THEYMADE Circle game SM Yetis to the Middle Blow Dart game What is That / Hobbits in the Distance Rummel Ball Ball SMDGA (St. Mark’s Disc Golf Association) Muppeteer (Mantis)

Creativity runs amok in seniors Walter Johnson and Jake Holder, who created an assortment of games for classmates to enjoy through the years.

gamers.

videos with a bunch of the guys in the back of the library (which I wasn’t), so we got in a bit of a tussle – and I wasn’t having a very good day anyway – so I kind of let my temper get the better of me, was a bit disrespectful and refused to give her my computer. And this was happening in front of everyone.

That was definitely one of the bigger arguments I’d had, and I mean, she just kind of kept trying to grab the computer out of my hands, and I wouldn’t let go. I kept kind of telling her that she was wrong and that I had my rights. It was stupid in some ways, but also a part of me thought that I could mess around with her more than what I was able to. In front of a lot of other students, it looks disrespectful for me to be doing that – it undermines her authority as librarian.

What do you value most about Ms. Thoma, not only as a librarian, but also as an individual?

I’d have to say that the qualities I value most about Cinda are her wide interests in all the students’ activities, always being willing to buy new books for anybody based on their interests (a lot of schools don’t have that luxury), she’s pretty easygoing and fun talking to…I don’t know many other people on campus who I can call by their first name. I mean, I was the one that started calling her Cinda, but still… It started as a joke, and I wanted to see if I could get away with it, kind of pushing the boundaries, but because of our close relationship I could. Which is good for many reasons.

Will you miss Ms. Thoma upon college matriculation?

There are definitely a lot of teachers I will miss, and even though I haven’t gone in the library all year – I just don’t want to risk going in there – it’s definitely nice to sit around with her and talk every once in a while. I regret not asking her to write my letter of recommendation.

THE curious CASE OF HITTING THE ‘send’ BUTTON TOO SOON

a

nd I hit send.

Concerned about nothing but the fate of my TI-84 calculator, I sent a mass email to 700 students and faculty, pleading with them to keep an eye out for my lost calculator.

Even now, four years later, it’s impossible for me to get into the mind of my eighth grade self. And every time someone brings up the incident, the question inevitably arises.

What on earth was I thinking?

Honestly, I wasn’t. I just needed it back. Too bad eighth grade Shourya didn’t reread his email because the next day, he’d get the spelling lesson of his life.

Reply all: Dear Shourya, Just a friendly reminder: you misspelled across. Thank you. P.S. No sign of your calculator yet. I’ll keep you posted if anything shows up. Austin Mora.

Thanks Austin!

Reply all: Dear Shourya, Another friendly reminder: you misspelled “engraved”. And I, sadly, have not seen the calculator. I’ll keep looking. Sincerely, Jackson Stager.

That Friday’s senior theme was “Find Kumar’s Calculator Day,” and I had almost a hundred personal detectives wearing trenchcoats and Sherlock Holmes hats and carrying magnifying glasses. Mr. Baird even tracked me down to personally inform me that mass emails were simply not the best option.

Which brings us back the question: What on earth was I thinking?

A couple weeks later, I found my prized possession. All that detective work really did pay off.

Except it wasn’t even at school. It was in my dad’s car. In his trunk.

But the best part is that I don’t regret any of this. Four years later, its a great story to tell, a story that I too, can laugh at. Each and every experience I’ve had at this school since Mrs. Broom’s fourth grade classroom has shaped who I am today. here were few people I had to introduce myself to on campus anymore. I was immediately on the radar of almost 700 people, and today, I simply know that it’s all been part of the fun.

Every teacher, faculty member and student at this school has been completely committed to my success as a student. What makes St. Mark’s special is that it’s never about the academics or the athletics or the electives or the extracurricular activities. It’s about all of them, and the people.

I know I’m not going to miss the grueling cross country workouts. But I’ll definitely miss the team.

I may not miss editing 30 stories in a night to meet an editing deadline for the newspaper. But I’ll definitely miss the staff.

I may not miss sending out that email so long ago. I’ll never know what I was thinking that night either. And I’m glad I won’t.

As a runner, I’ve realized that there really is a downhill for every uphill. And as a Marksman, I know it’s all worth it.

SHOURYA KUMAR

T

A THE REMARKER ADDENDUM APRIL 17, 2015 PAGE 4A

(NH) 4 (ME) 1

(MN) 1

(IN) 1 (NY) 10 (IL) 2 (CO) 4

(MO) 4

(CA) 9

(PA) 5

(IN) 4

(VA) 1 (TN) 5

(OK) 1

(NC) 4

(NM) 1

(TX) 47

(LA) 3

(MS) (AL) 1 2

(GA) 4

(SC) 3

(NJ) 2

(MA) 4

(MD) 2 (DC) 3

Where the Class of 2015 will take their talents come fall

MOVIN’ONout Vignesh Babu Roland Baumann

RPI Case Western Rose Hulman Reed College Weston Blair SMU Case Brabham Harvard Nick Buckenham UPenn UT Business Honors Kyle Campbell UT CU, Boulder Christopher Carter Georgia Tech Connor Castilla USC UVA Wesley Cha Pepperdine SMU Purujit Chatterjee UChicago Duke Raymond Chen UPenn Jacob Chernick UT Plan II Carleton College University of Tulsa Timothy Cho Emory Matthew Co UT Plan II Matthew Conley Duke Christian Cortes UTD UT A&M Forest Cummings-Taylor Duke (Robertson) Columbia Sam Daniels Sewanee Jack Dayton Washington & Lee Rhodes Kunal Dixit Columbia Sam Dockery UT Plan II Alex Enthoven Colorado State Michael Fletcher UT Jack Fojtasek Ole Miss Cyrus Ganji McGill USC UT Oscar Garcia Universidad Autonoma Universidad Politecnica (ESP) Burke Garza Rice (Trustee) Jack Gordon Cornell Tommy Gudmundsson A&M

Conner Olson Nathan Ondracek Jack O’Neill Andrew Patison Aakash Pattabi

Vanderbilt Harvard SMU University of South Carolina Stanford UC Berkeley Stanford Vikram Pattabi Rice Rohan Pinto Emory WashU Ohio State Miguel Plascencia SMU A&M UT Corson Purnell Washington & Lee UT Eric Rawot UPenn Zuyva Sevilla Syracuse (VPA) MICA Momin Siddiqui WashU Timothy Simenc UC Berkeley Mason Smith Stanford Blake Spangler Georgetown University of South Carolina Foster Stager UTD William Su Columbia William Sydney Columbia Hilario Vargas Missouri A&M St. Mary’s University of North Texas UT Arlington Texas Tech UT Daniel Wechsler William & Mary UIndiana Tulane Kyle Weinstein NYU Stephen Tan A&M Albert Weng New Mexico David Wikman UT Business Honors Ben Wilner Michael Windlinger WashU Matt Woodberry Dartmouth Darwin Yang Harvard James Zhang Carnegie Mellon

Raymond Guo Harry Herz Preston Hext Jake Holder Luke Hudspeth Aditya Inaganti Will Jaynes Nick Jelsma Will Jelsma Richard Jiang Walter Johnson Justin Jones

Princeton UT SMU Navy Dartmouth A&M A&M Dartmouth Dartmouth NYU A&M TCU LSU Clemson Emory Karim Jooma Tulane Abeer Karim A&M UT DePaul University Alex Kim University of Denver Georgetown Rishi Kshatriya Duke Shourya Kumar Rice (Trustee) UPenn Carrington Kyle UT Business Honors George Washington Brody Ladd Princeton George Lin Ole Miss Wyatt Martin UT Andrew McClain A&M A&M Elton McIntosh UT Matthew Meadows SMU Colby College Adam Merchant Michael Milosevich UT UIndiana Landon Montgomery Vanderbilt Stuart Montgomery Tufts UIndiana Mike Mulholland SMU Colgate Connor Mullen Sewanee Travis Nadalini UTD (McDermott) Umer Nadir UC Santa Cruz Ben Naftalis CU, Boulder University of Alabama

* List is not final and subject to change • No waitlist decisions were included Key to abbreviations: NYU–New York University, MICA–Maryland Institute College of Art, SMU–Southern Methodist University, UPenn–University of Pennsylvania, USC–University of Southern California, UT–University of Texas, UTD– University of Texas at Dallas. UVA–University of Virginia, WashU–Washington University in St. Louis, RPI – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, CU Boulder – University of Colorado Boulder, TCU – Texas Christian University, LSU – Louisiana State University

THE

stats

MOST POPULAR

2015

university of texas

FOR

choice

MOST

applications submitted:

21

35.8% considering staying in Texas

FEWEST applications submitted:

1

farthest school

OSCAR GARCIA universidad autónoma de madrid