The ReMarker | December 2018 by St. Mark's School of Texas

the ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS DALLAS, TEXAS

remarker

VOLUME 65, NUMBER 3 DECEMBER 14, 2018

IN EXACTLY 26 DAYS, ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS ADDITIONS TO THE SCHOOL’S ALREADY IMPRESSIVE CENTERS FOR LEARNING — THE WINN SCIENCE CENTER — WILL OPEN ITS DOORS TO STUDENTS. WITH FIFTY THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OF FLOOR SPACE AND STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITIES, THE WORLD OF SCIENCE HERE WILL BE FOREVER CHANGED.

the next chapter

For complete coverage of the new Winn Science Center, see discoveries addendum.

Three long-serving faculty members announce retirement at end of school year by Colin Campbell, Lyle Ochs hen students and faculty come back to campus to begin the 2019-2020 school year, they will be without three teachers with 100 years of combined teaching experience. Third grade instructor Frank Jordan, known by almost all as “Mr. J;” Suzanne and Patrick McGee Family Master Teaching Chair in Mathematics JT Sutcliffe and art instructor Max Wood announced they will retire at the end of the school year. Jordan, who joined the faculty in 1968, feels as though his transition into retired life won’t be seamless. “I think my body is going to still be

conditioned for writing comments in the spring and getting ready for school in August,” Jordan said. “It’ll take me some time, and honestly, I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but I want to keep my body and my mind active.” Jordan has led a wilderness trip for fourth graders for over a decade, but his post-retirement wish list includes a trip of his own, one that he did the summer before beginning his time at 10600 Preston Rd. “If there’s a place I want to visit, it’s a place called Waterton up in Alberta, Canada,” Jordan said. “There’s a small national park called Glacier Waterton National Park.

It has a 12-14-mile trail I did 50 years ago that I’d like to do again.” Similarly, Sutcliffe, who has operated in various roles during her 35-year tenure, is looking forward to traveling. “I’m looking forward to being able to get out and do things at times of the year that I can’t because school is on,” Sutcliffe said. “I’m excited to take trips to catch up with friends I haven’t seen for a while or going to the east coast and seeing the leaves changing.” Sutcliffe believes leaving her students will be the most difficult part of the change. “It’s fun to come to school and to figure

out how to help [students] find interesting things about mathematics and getting to know [them],” Sutcliffe said. “Because we’re family, we come and we have fun with our family, and then, you go home, and you miss your family already. So I’m going to miss [my students].” Wood has taught several art classes on campus, but like Sutcliffe, she believes life without students will be difficult. “Boys here bring me a smile, so I’m going to miss them tremendously, both Middle and Upper School,” Wood said. “I’m going to be actually crying. That’s what I’ll miss the most.”

agenda

In brief

Inside 3

Issues

What is happening to birthright citizens? 3 A new club on campus istackling gender issues, 4 Studying in the technology era, 5 Studying new schedule possibilities, 6 The struggles of the commuter, 7

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Hamburgers for Henry, 8 Alum leads new wave of trades on Wall Street, 9 Janet Lin’s journalistic career, 10 Farming for Christmas trees, 11 A peek into McDonald’s Week, 12 Senior Jonah Simon uses phonetic alphabet to prepare for a role, 13 Legacy and affirmative action, 14,15

Diversions

Christmas traditions and activities, 16

All-School Christmas Party The school will hold its annual All-School Christmas Party at 11 a.m. Dec. 21. During the party, seniors will continue the tradition of carrying their Lower School buddies on their shoulders into the Great Hall. Once the Christmas Party has ended, students will be dismissed for the holiday break. Classes will resume Jan. 9.

Culture

Kurt Eichenwald ’79 publishes new book, 19

Opinions

Buzz: movies and TV shows that are better the second time around, 20 Editorial: no homework weekends, 21 Ahmed: Meeting a North Korean, 22 Kirstein: Ball’s hamburgers, 23

24 Sports The meaning behind a jersey number, 24

Volleyball wins SPC championship, 25

Spurs reborn during ESD football game, 26

28 Back page

Purposeful Acts of Kindness Club, 28

1A Discoveries

Looking back at the past, and then our future, 2A The Winn family, 3A The first floor: floorplan and photostory, 4A,5A The second floor: floorplan and photostory, 6A,7A Student and faculty perspectives, 8A

> QUIZBOWL ATTENDS HOUSTON TOURNAMENT. The lions second academic team placed fifth in the TQBA Houston Holiday Hoedown XI at Seven Lakes High School in Houston Dec 8. Four lions teams competed with the second team achieving a record of 5-3. Other schools competing included Kinkaid, Seven Lakes, Carnegie Vanguard and three teams from The Village School. > LOWER SCHOOL BANNER CHAPEL TODAY. The Lower School has their annual banner chapel Dec. 14. Every Christmas season, the lower

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Fine arts: the “dangerous” majors, 17 Hanging with the Improv Troupe, 18

GENERAL NEWS > GIFT DRIVE BEGINS. The Student Council will host the annual Gift Drive through Dec. 19. Dressed in Christmas attire and blasting festive music, Student Council and Community Service Board members will urge students to bring 2,019 gifts, anything from dolls to sports equipment, to donate to the Salvation Army for Dallas children in need. > MCDONALD’S WEEK RAISES THOUSANDS. McDonald’s Week has raised over $200,000 in the 20 year partnership with Austin Street Center. This past year, McDonald’s Week continued the tradition during the week of Nov. 12 to Nov. 16 and had a theme of McIncredibles. This year’s donations are estimated to be above $10,000, and the final total will be released sometime in January, according to junior class sponsor Dr. Stephen Balog and McDonald’s Week co-chairs Jackson Singhal, Thomas Loose and Christian Duessel.

STARE DOWN Sophomore Harrison Ingram sizes up his opponent during the basketball game against Highland Park High School Nov. 30. Ingram finished with a season-high 26 points, and the Lions defeated the Scots, 72-62, for the first time under head coach Greg Guiler’s reign.

schoolers create banners to express their faith and will have the opportunity to hang the banners in the Chapel today. The ceremony will be held from 12:45 to 1:15 p.m., which is during sixth period for Middle and Upper School. > INTERNATIONAL WEEK STUDENT COMMITTEE. For the first time, International Week Committee contained students. In order to have activities the student body enjoys, a committee was formed by Nancy Marmion, head of International Week. This year they worked with the gift drive and they experimented with the Elevated Cooking Club. They also had Christmas music in the mornings, martial arts, the traditional button making contest and many more activities. > JOHN MEAD RECEIVES BIOLOGY AWARD. Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science John Mead became the 2018 recipient of the Texas Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (OBTA) from the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). Mead competed for the award, which recognizes the best in teaching ability and experience, cooperativeness in the school and community and lastly inventiveness and student-teacher relationships, alongside other Texas biology and life science instructors in grades seven through 12. ARTS NEWS > COFFEEHOUSE MAKING CHANGES. This year, the St. Mark’s and Hockaday Fine Arts Boards have worked to change certain parts of Coffeehouse, such as increasing audience participation and improving communication about the event between the schools. The first Coffeehouse of the year, themed “Hippiehouse”,

We believe that every life, no matter how long or how short, has purpose, and Henry has a lot of purpose. He’s helped a lot of people.

— SEVENTH GRADE HUMANITIES INSTRUCTOR GREG CROOK ON HIS DECEASED SON. STORY ON PAGE 8.

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

was hosted at Hockaday in Sept. The most recent coffeehouse was hosted here with a holiday related theme on Dec. 8 at 7 pm. Coffee and hot chocolate was offered to all attendees. The Fine Arts Board stresses that Coffeehouse is not just for upperclassmen. All students are encouraged to attend, or if interested, participate. > ORCHESTRA CONCERT STRINGS INTO CHRISTMAS SEASON. The Orchestra concert took place Dec. 7 in Decherd Hall. Both Middle School and Upper School Orchestras performed in Interim Orchestra Director Sarah Choi’s first concert in this position. The orchestra performed Antonio Vivaldi’s G Minor Concerto, Ernest Bloch’s Concerto Grosso, Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite and a medley of six songs from Pixar blockbusters such as Ratatouille, Toy Story and Finding Nemo. The next Orchestra concert will take place April 23 at 7 p.m. in Decherd Auditorium. > WINTER BAND CONCERT TONIGHT. The Winter Band concert will perform tonight at 7 p.m. in Decherd Hall. Both the band and the jazz band will perform. The Concert Band will play a compilation of classic Christmas music such as Sleigh Ride. “The concert is for the enjoyment of both Middle and Upper School, and is free of charge,” percussionist David Li said. SPORTS NEWS > IBIFIRI VIDEOS FOOTBALL GAME. Texas high school football videographer Ibifiri Jamabo was on campus Nov. 2 for footage of the varsity football game versus ESD. Ibifiri published a six-minute clip featuring highlights from the game along with the scenery of campus, also

utilizing special effects. He has been filming Texas high school football’s brightest stars since 2013, and he has surpassed 159,000 views on a single highlight reel. The Lions showdown with the Eagles received the most votes on Ibifiri’s Twitter poll, which sprung Ibifiri’s decision to film the game. The school community rallied together to rack up votes, as it took a valiant effort to beat out large public schools. The highlight video is accessible via YouTube or his Twitter page (@hiIBIFIRI). > JV SPORTS KICK OFF. Winter JV sports are just beginning as teams are improving with each game played. The JV soccer squad, led by head coach Joel Reemstma, has enjoyed success to start the season. The team currently sits at 2-1-1 with wins over Trinity Valley and the Home School Athletic Association, also with a tie against Cistercian. The team’s only loss of the season came in a second match against Cistercian. Meanwhile, the JV basketball squad, comprised mostly of sophomores and coached by Ryan Hershner, has endured a rough start to the season. The team has fell short in each of their first five games to tough opponents including large public schools Plano East and Bryan Adams. > MS SPORTS BEGIN WITH WINS. The eighth grade soccer team started with a record of 1-0 by beating Prestonwood Christian, while the eighth grade basketball gold team also started with a win in a close game at Greenhill. Swimming has done the intersquad time trials, and have a pretty good idea of the team’s potential. Middle School Wrestling had their first meet at home, but didn’t win their dual team match.

At a glance: Lessons & Carols What

The choir will recognize the holiday season with nine lessons followed by carols and anthems.

When

Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

Where

The chapel.

issues

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

The American identity

From the amendment

“

With talks of altering or repealing the 14th Amendment, millions of unborn children are at risk of losing their citizenship.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

single suitcase. Ready to flee at a moment’s notice. They’ve lived in America their entire life. And they’re ready to leave everything behind. In the current political climate, illegal immigrants just miles from campus are faced with the reality of immediate deportation every day. And if President Donald Trump’s talks of changing the 14th Amendment – which gives citizenship to anybody born in America – becomes reality, the children of immigrant parents might have to pack their suitcases too. ••• The 14th Amendment was passed in 1868 after the conclusion of the Civil War. History instructor Bryan Boucher explains that the government enacted the Amendment to ensure all African Americans would gain citizenship and retain their rights as freed slaves. “Since that time, it’s been expanded upon to really be referenced to all persons born in the United States,” Boucher said. An 1898 Supreme Court case did just that. The case involved an individual whose parents were Chinese Bryan immigrants. Boucher The man was History instructor born in San Francisco, left to go to China and then came back to America. Upon re-entering the country, he was not allowed back in. “He said, ‘Well, I’m a citizen. I was born here and I have documentation that proves that I was born here,’” Boucher said. “And so the [immigration] official said, ‘Well, that doesn’t apply to you; that was in reference to slaves.’” The issue was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the justices decided that the 14th Amendment applies to all persons born in the United States, making it a country with jus soli (right of the soil) citizenship. President Trump has recently talked about removing birthright citizenship or revising the Amendment via an executive order. According to Boucher, this plan is not realistic. “For the President to ponder or question the removal of it doesn’t show a great understanding of how that would go about,” Boucher said. “It’s not really a presidential decree.” The only ways to change birthright citizenship would be to pass a new amendment that redefines what citizenship looks like in the United States or for the Supreme Court to redefine what is meant by the 14th Amendment. “The passing of a new amendment is a two-step process that generally is going to start in Congress and then go to the states,” Boucher said. “So the president is not really involved at all.” If a case was brought to the Supreme Court challenging the interpretation of the 14th Amendment, the Court could theoretically determine that their interpretation of the 14th Amendment is different than what

—the 14th Amendment

STRIPPED AWAY If President Trump’s suggested changes to the 14th amendment are made, children born in the country may no longer have citizenship.

the historical interpretation has been, which happens occasionally. “The Supreme Court does change what they deem to be constitutional,” Boucher said. “If we’re speaking theoretically about changing what the 14th Amendment is talking about, it would completely revise what citizenship looks like in this country, and I don’t know what that would look like.” Spanish instructor Jorge Correa’s children were all born outside of the United States and came here when they were young. “When they started growing up, they realized that even though they look like their friends, and they do the same things as their friends, they’re not citizens,” Correa said. “There will be things that they’re not allowed to do.” Life for people in America without citizenship is very different. According to Correa, there are multiple rights that come with citizenship, many of which adult non-citizens can’t take part in. “There are practical advantages,” Correa said. “Voting is one. You can’t serve on a jury, which some people might consider an advantage, but it’s part of being a citizen.”

more than a year to get a response that says you can come and take the test.” But Correa was still able to get through the process, and on Dec. 7, he swore loyalty to the United States and received his certificate of naturalization. Junior Jason Yoo’s parents have also been through the process of obtaining their citizenship, but they didn’t have it before he was born. As a birthright citizen, Yoo believes his identity as an American wouldn’t be affected by his citizenship status. “As long as I get to live here, I don’t think that it would affect my conscience that much,” Yoo said. However, Yoo does believe there are disadvantages to changing the amendment that gave him his citizenship. “If the 14th amendment is reformed, I think that America will be a different society,” Yoo said. “It’d be objectively and subjective worse in the sense that the diversity that America holds as one of its defining factors disappears automatically.” According to Yoo, not only would future children of immigrant parents be affected by the change, but society as a whole would be different. “Birthright citizens are a big chunk of the population and there has been much done by people to categorize them,” Yoo said. “There has been much done by birthright citizens that has affected America in a very positive way, and I think that really overwhelms any concerns.”

Obtain a green card. The first step to naturalization is to obtain a green card to attain permanent residency and be a resident in the country for five years.

Maintain a physical presence. You must be physically present in the country for 30 months of the five years needed to apply for citizenship. You also must live within the state or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) district with jurisdiction over your place of residence for at least three months before applying.

Complete the USCIS form N-400. You fill out their background information on the form, which gives them the opportunity to do things like have a legal name change. Completing the form costs $595 and an additional $85 biometrics fee.

100

possible civic questions

total tests

interview

Source: Teenagers are affected by a lack uscis.gov of citizenship as well. People like Correa’s children or students here at school, if they had never received their citizenship, have a much harder time taking the next step in life: college. “College is very important,” Correa said. “If you’re not a citizen, you don’t have the right to go to any college or even to apply to scholarships. You’re actually considered an international student. And as an international student, if you pay $100 in community college as a citizen, you pay $10,000. The prices go up.” For those wanting to obtain their citizenship, the requirements have gotten significantly harder. Between the time Correa’s children got citizenship several years ago and today, when he has gotten his own citizenship, Correa has noticed how difficult the process has become, costing him more than $700. “Now, it takes 14 months instead of just the three or four it used to FINAL STRETCH After spending more than a year take,” Correa said. “You have to wait working towards his citizenship, Spanish instructor Jorge

STORY Ishan Gupta, Henry McElhaney ARTWORK Matthew Coleman PHOTO Courtesy Associate Headmaster John Ashton

The path to citizenship

Correa finally completed the process Dec. 7 and took the oath at US Citizen and Immigration Services.

Be fingerprinted. Once you are accepted, a date will be set for fingerprinting and biometrics at a local office. These will be used to perform a background check by the FBI.

Pass the interview and naturalization test. A USCIS officer will interview you, review the N-400 form and answer any questions you may have. The examination requires those who wish to become citizens to have an understanding of English as well as civics, including U.S. history and government. Participants are given two chances to the pass the test.

Attend the oath ceremony. You may be approved for citizenship at your interview or shortly afterward. A public ceremony will eventually follow where those who are becoming naturalized will swear an oath of loyalty to the United States. You will be granted a certificate of naturalization as proof of citizenship.

Source: Newsmax

Five things to know about the Naturalization Test • To become a U.S. citizen, you must pass the naturalization test • You must be at least 18 years old • You must be a permanent resident for at least five years • You must be able to read, write and speak basic English • You must take an oath of allegiance to the United States Source: uscis.gov

issues

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

GENGAP CLUB

Bridging the gap

REVELATION When confonted with gender issues, it's up to Marksmen to help take action.

A student-founded club has hosted a multitude of events for local and international women's issues.

omen’s issues. It’s a topic that Marksmen have decided to address. They have banded together, formed a club. And they're doing more than just talking. They’re taking action. ••• When sophomore Rahul Banerjee went to India with his family, he didn’t think it’d be different from any other time he had gone. “I had been there a lot of times,” Banerjee said. “It’s a great country, but there’s so much poverty there.” He had never really focused on what was happening in India, but this specific visit was eye-opening for him. “I saw people on the street,” Banerjee said. “Not just girls, but people in general, suffering.” Banerjee had a revelation of sorts. He realized not only how important education was but also how impactful it is to live without one. “[Education] is the defining factor that separated class in India,” Banerjee said. “And I didn’t realize that until that trip.” After better understanding the situation, Banerjee knew he had to do something. He just didn’t know what. Then, through his mom, he discov-

ered GenGap. At first, he didn’t think it was connected to the issue he saw in India, but he realized how many women face problems just because of their gender. “My mom got into this nonprofit,” Banerjee said. “I found out how beneficial it is for the world, and I joined.” Banerjee went from being reluctant to join his mom’s organization to taking action. Soon, he started a club and brought in vice president junior Lee Schlosser. “Our goal is twofold,” Schlosser said. “We’re raising funds to donate to GenGap, to women in third-world countries, and then we’ll try to do more local stuff.” Banerjee explained that protecting women in third-world countries is an extremely necessary action. Some don’t have food. Some don't have shelter. Some don't have education. And some are daily victims of domestic violence. “The really beneficial part of this club is that we have such a strong nonprofit that’s worldwide-known helping us,” Banerjee said. “The primary goal is to help third-world countries.” The club recently attended a lunch to help raise funds for their cause. “We helped kids go set up a presentation there and get ready for that lunch,”

STORY Cristian Pereira, Trevor Crosnoe ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

Schlosser said. Any additional funds will go to benefiting the Dallas area, with a strong emphasis on education when deciding who to give the funds to. “We’re looking at an all-girls charter school right now,” Banerjee said. “The primary goal is third-world countries, so if the parent nonprofit wants to give the money to third-world countries, then we will give the money to third-world countries.” But even if most of the money goes to third-world countries, the club will still organize events to help locally. For example, they donated ten boxes of books from the Cecil and Ida Green Library. “We got the library to give us all their old books,” Schlosser said. “We sorted them, went through them, saw they were still current, and now we’re sending them to a couple schools throughout Dallas.” Schlosser and Banerjee are also planning on getting a donation box at a local restaurant. “We’re working on presenting our cause to Shake Shack or Fat Straws,” Banerjee said. Banerjee is excited about the potential of the club. “This club has only been around for three months,” Banerjee said. “I can’t wait to see where it goes in the next few years.”

By the numbers

percent

the percentage of women worldwide who have been subjected to physical or sexual violence

total community service hours attained by members of the club through the two events held so far

1.65 Billion the number of women and girls living daily with only $2 around the world Source: unesco.org

At a glance: GenGap Club When Where

Wednesday 9th Period Room C141

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

issues

ONLINE STUDYING

Learning made simple

ISAS committee visits school

With more high-tech studying methods becoming available, students and teachers alike are able to pick and choose their favorite options.

eyboards instead of pencils. Screens in place of paper. Videos replacing lectures. As our society becomes increasingly engaged with technology, certain online learning tools have slowly crept into certain class’s curriculum and students’ study habits. Recently, Google invested over $20 million into a program called YouTube Learning, which will “support education-focused creators and expert organizations that create and curate high-quality learning content on the video site.” With the outbreak of new resources that could potentially benefit students, are teachers at the school currently utilizing the maximum capabilities that online tools offer? ••• As a defining feature of his classes, History and Social Sciences Department Chair David Fisher uses YouTube videos on some days in lieu of lectures. “ACDC economics is one I direct students to a lot,” Fisher said. “I also like MCM Foodie, which has the virtue of being very simple.” Beyond the videos, he encourages his students to listen to online podcasts that are more up to date with current economic scenarios and issues. “The other thing that I like to occasionally make use of is I want [my students] to listen to podcasts that keep us informed about what’s actually happening with economics in the real world,” Fisher said. “So I’m experimenting this year with NPR Marketplace.” To keep students engaged, Fisher believes that he can diversify his teaching approach by mixing videos into his classes’ curriculum. “My basic philosophy of education is variety,” Fisher said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong in listening to and trying out these other various educational technologies or methodologies.” Despite the advantages of online tools, there are some drawbacks if they’re used too often. “I think the danger is in becoming a one trick pony,” Fisher said. “I don’t think it’s wrong to lecture, but it might be wrong to lecture all the time. I don’t think it’s wrong to have a flipped classroom, but it wouldn’t work for me to have a flipped classroom all the time. I don’t think it’s wrong to use videos in glass. But if that’s

PLUGGED IN Despite the multiple print choices students have the opportunity to utilize, many like junior, Toby Nwafor, still prefer to use online resources.

all I ever did, I don’t think that would be right.” Even though he is the chair of the History Department, Fisher hesitates to require his teachers to use videos and other online resources. “I do not have the authority to tell people how to teach,” Fisher said. “And I don’t really think I should have, especially at a private school. I’d like to think that at St. Mark’s, our teachers are self-aware enough to know that if they’re going down a particular road, and it’s not producing results, it’s time to back up and try something else.” Besides the usefulness of online teaching methods in the classroom, students, such as junior Toby Nwafor, are able to take advantage of SAT and ACT materials online as opposed to on paper. “You can study for a regular and consistent amount of time every single day and then you’ll be prepared for your test,” Nwafor said. One major advantage to using Khan Academy, which Nwafor uses, is it’s ease of access and free cost. “I didn’t think you need to spend a bunch of money when there are a bunch of resources online,” Nwafor said. “Also, you can practice on your own time, whenever you’re free. You can take it wherever you want.” Even though this method is unconventional compared to typical, in-person tutoring, Nwafor believes it can work for

most people. “I think it’s honestly for everybody,” Nwafor said. “Because the College Board gives the practices, they’re all SAT problems that have appeared on past tests. So, there’s really nothing else that’s going to be more like [the SAT]. It’s just the easiest way to go, and I think it’s the most beneficial way to study. More and more people are realizing that there’s literally nothing better than free SAT practice preparation made by the actual company.” Nwafor has already seen the results from his preparation and seems satisfied with his scores. “My score increased 140 points,” Nwafor said. “And now I’ve stopped taking the test.” Students and teachers alike enjoy the usefulness from online tools in helping them study or teach a class, respectively. Fisher David even admits that Fisher he can learn new History Department tips and tricks head from videos so that he can teach his classes more effectively. “I appreciate that YouTube spends a lot of money and effort and Mr. Khan has his academies where he can offer videos,” Fisher said. “I think it’s wonderful. Sometimes [a video] is covering a topic and I’ll think, ‘Oh, I haven’t thought of presenting it that way.’”

STORY James Rogers PHOTO Rohit Vemuri

Student store raises money for cancer awareness and research by Michael Lukowicz he student store raised over $300 throughout the month of October for breast cancer research at Susan G. Komen. What started out as a surplus of pink items turned into a month-long event, drawing heavy participation from students across the grades. Director of Student Store and Textbooks Nancy Goldberg says the event started rather spontaneously, as the extra various pink items turned out surprisingly timely. “When we got everything organized for back to school,” Goldberg said, “we noticed we had a lot of items in pink that weren’t selling on their own. Since October is breast cancer awareness month, we decided to have a special section dedicated to the pink items.” The exchange was entirely donation-based, depending on the commu-

nity’s generosity and support to sustain the cause. “[The items] ranged from erasers to binders to spirals and pens,” Goldberg said, “and we put them right next to the door to the quad. Anyone who made a donation of any amount, from a penny up, could take as many of the pink items as they wanted.” Goldberg and the student store volunteers made sure their contributors knew about the underlying cause as they made exchanges. “We talked a lot about what the money was going to, which is breast cancer research,” Goldberg said, “and the boys were happy to support the cause and get the nice pink items from the great selection.” Benevolence and generosity among all kinds of students impressed Goldberg most. “We’re so pleased that the boys

supported the cause—and it really was just the boys,” Goldberg said. “Some parents did, but it was mostly the boys who donated, which was great. We had so many people partake that we had to restock.” Beyond the impact of donations, the fundraiser will live on through use of the pink items in the store. “I think students will be reminded of [the cause that the money went to] when they use their pink notebooks or erasers,” Goldberg said. Goldberg plans to organize similar events in the future, likely bringing back the breast cancer awareness donations next year. “This year, it was just a student store thing that we organized,” Goldberg said. “But who knows what we’ll do next year? This was just our first try at that, and I think it was a great success.”

by Paul Sullivan he ISAS Visiting Committee came to observe the school community Oct. 22-24 for accreditation, a process that happens every ten years. Associate Headmaster John Ashton believes the process went smoothly. “The process has three parts: one is the part of the year that we conduct a self-study, in which every department reviews itself from a strategic level to assessing their strengths, areas they want to improve and then developing plans to work on in the future,” Ashton said. “That year of study and of reflection went very well. The scheduling, logistics and finalizing all those things went really well, which is great.” The visit consisted of a team of committee members who came to campus and reviewed the campus’s programs and faculty. “Sixteen people came to campus, spent three days on campus, conducted their conversations and interviews and observations and then shared with us their summary recommendations,” Ashton said. “It went well for a variety of reasons. They didn’t identify anything that we are not currently aware of.” Ashton believes the community is always striving to succeed, and the ISAS committee affirmed the areas the community has looked at for improvement. “The areas that we’re looking at: a schedule review, continued consistency across teachers around curriculum as well as instruction. Those are the types of concepts we’re always thinking about,” Ashton said. The exact list of suggestions the committee gave will be passed out soon. “They gave us a list of commendations and a list of recommendations,” Ashton said. “We’re waiting for them to produce the final draft, and then we’re going to decide on how we share that.” In past accreditations, however, ISAS has found very little wrong with how the school community operates. “This is my third selfstudy at St. Mark’s,” Ashton said. “We are in a very fortunate position that the school operates at a very high level from facilities to program to students to teaching and so it’s never a question of will we be accredited.”

By the numbers

million dollars invested in YouTube learning.

thousand subscribers channels need for funding

featured youtubers in the program Source: YouTube

issues

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

SCHEDULE REVISIONS

WINDING THE CLOCK After 38 years of the same schedule, the school may find itself changing the daily routine of students, faculty and staff.

Finding the time School considering revision of schedule; Independent School Management offers possibilities.

or 38 years, the daily routine followed by all students and faculty at 10600 Preston Rd. has been exactly the same. Throughout nine 45-minute periods, students attend the same classes every day. Most don’t question it – the schedule works. But the question proposed by the administration is: could it be even better? That’s why Independent School Management (ISM) President and Senior Consultant Roxanne Higgins is back. ••• The possibility of a new schedule change has long been a topic of discussion for the administration and Headmaster David Dini. “We’ve been talking about [improving the schedule] for a while, on and off for quite a few years,” Dini said, “and it was a mandate that we put into Goals IV for St. Mark’s.” Dini sees many benefits in the current schedule. “Performance is high; [the current schedule] is clear and easy to understand,” Dini said. “It’s predictable, and the rotation works well. We meet daily, so the frequency works well.” While acknowledging the school’s traditional schedule, Dini sees potential in improvements based on an outside professional opinion. Higgins has provided suggestions based on her knowledge and extensive research, which might suggest alternative scheduling options. “Part of the goal of engaging a professional like that who does this for a living is it gives us independence,” Dini said. “It gives us objectivity, and they can shine a lens on what we’re doing, hold up a mirror and maybe comment and reflect on things in a way that we might not see.” Dini and other faculty members involved in scheduling have met intermittently throughout the past year, discussing the main changes a new schedule would offer. “We have a schedule review committee that

includes all the department chairs and division heads, [Director of Academic Information Systems] Mr. [Paul] Mlakar, [Assistant Headmaster] Mr. [John] Ashton and me,” Dini said. “We met over the course of the last year to discuss the things we wanted to accomplish, big picture.” Two overarching trends will hold true with any major changes in schedule. “We still wanted to maintain similar excellence and performance,” Dini said. “We also want to focus on student health and wellness.” More specifically, an altered schedule would strive to provide common meeting times between Upper School, Middle School and Lower School students, while leaving each division the ability to rearrange activities as unexpected situations inevitably arise. “Two other goals,” Dini said, “which had “If we’re going to improve the experience been goals from the befor every Marksman, it ginning, are improved requires everybody to alignment and collabthink about things with oration opportunities an open mind.” across the campus as — Headmaster well as increased flexiDAVID DINI bility.” After speaking with members of the school’s community, from administrators and instructors to parents and students, Higgins concluded her visit with a presentation to the entire faculty and staff Nov. 30. By policy, ISM does not release its specific findings until school administrators reach a decision on any potential changes. “[Higgins] presented a series of potential alternatives in terms of how to think about structuring a schedule with lots of different moving parts and variables,” Dini said, “and they weren’t fixed, but there were three broad framework structures [in place].”

STORY Michael Lukowicz, Eric Yoo ARTWORK Michael Lukowicz

Say what?

‘

I can bear crawl like a crustacean.

Comments from all around campus

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My English book smells like Chick-fil-a sauce.

—History and English instructor Dr. John Perryman

‘

How does England not float away?

— Junior Christian Duessel

‘

— Sophomore Leo Ohannessian

‘

Do they celebrate Thanksgiving in Japan? — Senior Daniel Mirochna

Wait, what’s a fajita? — Sophomore Harrison Ingram

‘

I like the smell of paper. It’s like cucumbers. — Junior Aaron Weiser

Higgins has met with members of the school community twice over this past year. She previously visited Jan. 3 to both gain a basic understanding of the schedule here and conduct a workshop with the best schedule designs and related research. “We did a workshop identifying certain boys at various levels, and given that boy, ‘What would the ideal schedule look like?’” Higgins said. “That was designed to help open their minds.” ISM approaches all its cases with the students’ best interest in mind. “I am constantly looking at, ‘Is the school following those practices based on research that we know on how people learn?’” Higgins said. Higgins considers research on reasonable amounts of homework, sleep loads for the students and ideal school culture to reach a conclusion on potential schedule options. Beyond the ramifications of teaching only boys, Higgins says the mindset of the school sets itself apart from the mindsets at many other private institutions. “There is a really strong ethos here,” Higgins said. “[The students] are not afraid of work; they want to work. They don’t want to do busy work. It was a slightly different response from what I normally get. I think there is a hard work ethic here.” A common mentality expressed toward Higgins is, ‘If it’s not broken, why fix it?’ But Higgins seeks to build off the strong starting point that the current schedule affords. “I’m hoping to convince people that there is another way,” Higgins said. “The school can still be very successful and academically challenging with a different kind of schedule.”

Major suggestions made by ISM that could affect the school’s schedule. By company policy, the reccomendations are not yet public.

issues

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

LENGTHY COMMUTES

A long way from home For the students on campus who have to travel more than 45 minutes to get to school everyday, the drive here and back is no small ordeal.

MULTITASKING It takes junior Taylor Hopkin more than half an hour to get to school, and he gets creative with how he spends the time.

Senior Gabe Bankston and junior Taylor Hopkin talk to issues editors about their long commute and how it affects their days and nights. Sid Vattamreddy: Where did you live before moving and how far was the commute everyday? Senior Gabe Bankston: Until I was 14, I lived on our family farm, which is about 45 miles east of Dallas. With traffic, the drive would take about an hour and a half. We would have to leave at 6 a.m. every morning.

GB: We still go to the farm every weekend, but sometimes it feels foreign. At first, I was shocked and upset, but it really opened up a whole new world. It’s a very different lifestyle here. For the first 14 years of my life, I grew up in the country around a completely different type of people, and then I was just thrust into the north Dallas area, which is very different in almost every aspect. It’s really cool to be able to relate to so many different kinds of people and to be comfortable around so many different things.

SV: What do you miss about living on the farm? GB: I definitely miss the quiet because I used to be able to not hear anything except for nature. I miss not being able to see my neighbors and 2018-2018 current students residential map (all 878 current students live within the map area) being a little disconnected from schoolwork. There’s a sense of privacy at the farm. SV: How was adjusting to the move and the new environment?

MAPPED OUT While most students live near the school’s campus, a select few live over 20 miles away, completing a long commute everyday.

SV: What are some pros and cons of living so close to school? GB: It made being involved in school activities much easier, but funny enough, I don’t manage my time as well. It might be because I feel like I have so much of it, and then I end up procrastinating my work. Another part of it is that there are so many readily available distractions, and I don’t feel the same time crunch as I did when I would have to commute back and forth.

one to five students

six to ten students

11 to 20 students

over 21 students

SV: What is a cool experience you had on your way to school when you used to commute? GB: From sixth to eighth grade, I rode to school everyday with my older sister and I got to get really close with her on the way to school. Sometimes, when she had a paper due, I would sit in the front seat and type out what she said. That was really cool.

Ishan Gupta: Where do you live and how far away is the drive everyday? Junior Taylor Hopkin: I live in Flower Mound, which is about 45 minutes with no traffic. Usually when I drive after sports at six, it takes about one hour with traffic. The longest was about two hours. IG: What’s the latest you have been to school? TH: Last year, I showed up to school 25 minutes late for first period. On that day, I woke up late and left my house at seven. Usually, I leave at six or 6:15 to miss the traffic, but that day I left late and traffic built up. IG: What’s the worst part about living far away from school? TH: Probably the lack of sleep, because I have just as much work as everyone else but significantly less time between sports and the drive. IG: Have you ever thought about moving or wondered what it would be like if you lived closer? TH: Yes, very often. Especially when it’s a super busy night. By the time I get home, shower and eat food, it’s already eight. Then, I have to start my homework. IG: What would you say is the best part about living far away? TH: Because I’m alone for so long, it gives me time to think about how my day was and how things are going overall. It kind of allows me to get closer with myself. I can think about stuff I could have done better and things I enjoyed from the day, so I’ve come to appreciate certain things that happened more than I would have otherwise. To me, that’s what makes the drive worth it. I get to be more confident in myself because I know more about who I am. I don’t think I would give that up for a closer drive.

INTERVIEWS Ishan Gupta, Sid Vattamreddy PHOTOS Kyle Smith ILLUSTRATION Courtesy Office of Admission

Debate team places at national tournament by Eric Yoo he school’s debate team has been named as one of the top 64 teams for the 20182019 International Public Policy Forum (IPPF). This marks the fourth straight year the team has participated in this competition. The team is composed of seniors Max Wang, Samir Ratakonda and Richard Shen, junior Sahitya Senapathy and sophomore David Yang. They are coached by Director of Admission and Financial Aid David Baker. However, they use the skills taught by debate coach Tim Mahoney. This competition is different from traditional debate tournaments the team competes in because up until the quarterfinals, it only takes place through email. This year’s topic is whether United States leadership and presence in the world is good or bad. “Whichever side of the debate that they’re given, they send in a paper saying, ‘this is our position on this particular issue,’” Mahoney said. “Then they exchange papers. Once the papers are exchanged, they write a response to each other’s paper. They then send that in, and then, the judges read the four different papers that they have.”

The team has to make it through three rounds against different teams in order to make the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals are held in New York City, and five members of the team will compete there. The school’s debate team is one of seven teams from the Dallas area competing, and the reward for winning this competition is money for both the team and the individual participants. “The way they do it is the debate team gets a check for X amount, maybe $5,000,” Mahoney said. “The kids get scholarship money like $1,000 apiece.” The debate team has not won since 2015, but this year they have a good chance, according to Mahoney. The debate team is currently in the round of 64 and will know Jan. 2 if they advance. “The competition is really tough,” Mahoney said. “One thing that’s kind of cool about the IPPF versus the regular kind of debate that we do is that it’s international now, and so there’s people from all over the world that send in these papers. While there’s a tiny bit of international competition in what we do, it is not nearly as much as IPPF, so when they won it, it was a big deal.”

10600 THE FAMILY Before their daughters eat and play with their friends, the Crook family takes a second to capture their excitement during Hamburgers for Henry. Pictured are Greg, Anna, Abigail (Henry’s twin sister), and Nancy.

Crook family doing it all for Henry

SAY SPIRIT Senior citizens gather around the dinner table with positive messages in hand.

Nine years after Henry Jackson Crook passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the entire Crook family turned the tragic event around, bringing out goodness from something sad.

amily, friends, classmates, community members. All gathered together eating burgers, drinking milkshakes and engaging in conversation. All wearing bright shirts and smiling from ear-to-ear. Hamburgers for Henry signs decorate the restaurant. Over 700 people arrive at Village Burger Bar during June to celebrate. Celebrate a life that had so much purpose, meaning and joy to seventh grade humanities instructor Greg Crook; his wife, Nancy Crook; their two daughters, Abigail and Anna and the thousands of people supporting them. A life that has lived on in the memory of thousands and has led to a scholarship fund that’s raised close to $400,000 to help students pursue their education. ••• In December 2009, Crook’s son, Henry, passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when he was only 12 weeks old. SIDS is the sudden unexplained death of children, usually in the first year of their lives. In 2016, SIDS claimed the lives of about 1,500 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control. “He never had any health issues,” Nancy said. “One morning, Henry woke up, and he stopped breathing. It was quite a shock to us. The grief was profound, but we had two other children who we had to take care of, including an infant, and that made our situation very unique in some ways.” Following their loss, Greg and Nancy made a point to celebrate Henry’s life by asking the people attending his service to wear bright colors to celebrate the joy Henry brought to the world. “When I say ‘happy,’ we don’t mean that there’s no sadness there.” Nancy said. “It’s bittersweet, but it’s a time for everybody to get together and support each other and to rejoice. At this service, we were blessed with this wonderful baby boy, who was with us for two and a half months. It was beyond sad, but we still have to rejoice in the time that he was there.” As well as asking the guests to wear bright colors, the Crook family started the Henry Jackson Crook Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to economically-deserving

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

Scholarship Recipient Thoughts from one scholarship recipient, now in college, on how the scholarship has impacted her.

Connie Lee

SUPPORT FROM ALL From young students to senior citizens, the whole community comes to enjoy some burgers, embodying the spirit of the Henry Jackson Crook Memorial.

Attended the Episcopal School of Dallas throughout high school and is now at Boston College.

How did you hear about the scholarship? I got an email about a scholarship opportunity, which was the Henry Jackson

Crook Memorial Fund. I

decided to apply. I knew it

students for an independent school education. Because both Greg and Nancy work in education, the couple wanted to help talented students looking to attend a private school. “We felt very strongly that we needed to keep his memory alive and that it was a way to help all of us with our grief in terms of turning something so tragic into something positive,” Nancy said. “We had a lot of people who were reaching out to ask how they could help. That was one thing they could do that was tangible.” The fund provided an outlet for Greg and Nancy to do something positive in the midst of the overwhelming sorrow. Although it was tough to get the scholarship fund off the ground, they had hundreds of friends and family members backing them up. “We were very fortunate in that we knew people who knew people at Communities Foundation of Texas, so they were ready to welcome us with open arms as soon as we were ready,” Nancy said. “We were very fortunate in that we had a huge community supporting us. We had all these people just waiting to do something.” Hamburgers for Henry, a major fundraiser for the scholarship fund that has been going on six years keeps Henry’s memory alive. The fund receives a portion of the profits Greg Crook that Village Burger seventh grade Bar makes from humanthat night, and most ities instructor of the scholarship money comes from the guests who make additional donations at Hamburgers for Henry. “We feel like [Hamburgers for Henry is] a way for everybody to get together, and we’re keeping Henry’s memory alive in a tangible place where we go every single year,” Nancy said. “The people who work it every single year say this is the happiest, most generous group of people we’ve ever been with. The line will be out the door and around the corner at some points and nobody is complaining.” Not only did working to start the scholarship fund help combat his grief, but continuing to teach also supported Greg during the short time after Henry’s death. “Being in the classroom, being around

STORY Sam Ahmed, Tianming Xie, Sai Thirunagari PHOTO Courtesy Crook Family

students was an escape from the difficult circumstances we were in,” Greg said. For the Crooks, the most important advice they received in this time of distress was to be open and talk about the situation and any other form of grief in their lives.

would help my family out.

“

Did you give anything to the Crook Family after you graduated?

I thought the story behind how the scholarship fund

got started was really something special. I applied, and

I ended up being supported by it all four years.

We believe that every life, no matter how long or how short, has purpose, and Henry has a lot of purpose. He’s helped a lot of people.” — Greg Crook

“A pediatric cardiologist came to talk to us,” Nancy said. “He talked to us about how important it was for us to talk about Henry to each other. It makes you stronger as well. A lot of positive things come out of it. Your perspective on your whole life changes when something like that happens.” Even Nancy and Greg’s daughters, Anna and Abigail, openly talk about their brother’s death with their family, friends and teachers. “We believe in a heaven, and we believe that we’ll see him again,” Nancy said. “Henry’s in God’s space, and we’re here. [Anna] would look up and say, ‘I wonder what Henry is doing right now?’ It’s very concrete, very believing, and in some ways, it’s very reassuring. Every so often they talk about him very matter-of-factly, which I think is a really healthy thing. It’s a part of their life. They love their brother. They see these wonderful things –– how goodness has come from something so sad.” While every recipient must sustain their academic performance for the scholarship to be renewed each year, the Crook family cherishes seeing donated money used to contribute to the community while also remembering and celebrating Henry’s life. “When we have the opportunity to look at those students’ essays to make the decision for a renewal, and the students have all done well academically, but to me, what’s more important is the community involvement—how they’re giving to their communities,” Greg said. “They’re honoring Henry just by doing that. To see that is just fabulous.”

I remember in the end when I was sending a thank-you

letter to the [Crook] family for how much they helped

my family, I saw this [as an]

idea of helping someone you

had never even met, through something like supporting

them for their education. The scholarship itself was like a form of service done by the Crook family.

What does the scholarship mean to you? The scholarship has really

WHERE TO DONATE Go to portal. cftexas.org/ henryjacksoncrookmemorialscholarshipdonation to help students afford an independent school education in the Dallas area.

helped my family out. I

never really got to know [the Crook family] very well, but I think it’s made my time at ESD so much more special to have their support. I

really can’t thank the family enough.

By the numbers

$65,000 The money awarded to students by the Henry Jackson Crook Memorial Scholarship Fund.

4 The number of scholarship recipients. Two have graduated from high school, one is a senior in high school and one is a seventh grader.

$400,000 Approximately how much money the scholarship fund has raised.

10600

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

WALL STREET

New Leadership leads Habitat for Humanity by Luke Piazza ew leadership is taking over the school’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity. Junior Toby Nwafor and sophomore Gabe Bines are coordinating with the company as co-chairs, and senior Michael Lukowicz and junior Carr Urschel are working hard in the shop as the school’s first Core Volunteers for the program. After overseeing the student volunteers and working with Habitat for Humanity representatives, the new co-chairs work on a multitude of new responsibilities. “We make sure we have refreshments for the builders, make sure we get them the full amount of time, make sure that everything goes smoothly,” Nwafor said. “And we just are sort of like emissaries between St. Mark’s and the actual coordinators of the organization Habitat for Humanity.” However, on the more technical side of this community service opportunity, the new Core Volunteers will work across Dallas on multiple projects throughout the year, helping to assemble materials as well as guide new participants. “On build days, Core Volunteers will lead all the other volunteers and teach them whatever they need to know to get the day’s job done,” Lukowicz said. Along with their work on the school and Hockaday’s collaborative build, Core Volunteers travel around the poorer regions of Dallas and help at Habitat for Humanity work sites other students may not know about. “Core Volunteers also work at more builds because we have a schedule we can check that has build opportunities at several different houses, not just one. Some Core Volunteers work on a house every week, and others go once a month or so.”

Despite the program’s hands-on nature, both the co-chairs and Core Volunteers have gained more than just craftsman’s skills from experiencing these events, such as Lukowicz’s newfound improvement in proper scheduling and coordinating. “Time management is always tough at a high school age, and signing up for Saturday build days makes you commit to something you have to add to your agenda,” Lukowicz said. “If you’re already completely booked, don’t try to add something you can’t handle, but if it would be manageable, I’d definitely suggest trying out Habitat for Humanity.” On the other end, Nwafor enjoys the satisfaction of seeing the different levels of benefit that Habitat of Humanity directly provides to people in need. “With Habitat you’re building a home, a place that you go through every single day that these people don’t have, and this is beyond life changing for them,” Nwafor said. “And so rather than just like taking care of somebody for a few hours, you’re doing this that will literally change their life forever.”

Reshaping the game Following the surging ETF market, William Wolcott ’02 has taken the reigns at Goldman Sachs, leading his company into the spotlight.

UPS AND DOWNS As ETF profits increase and costs decrease, new oppurtunities arrise for investors young and old.

rom zero dollars to $40 billion in two years. That is the amount of bond trades Goldman Sachs has conjured from the Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) business. With technology reshaping the credit market, a $500 million trade of nearly 50 different bonds within an ETF can exchange hands with low transaction costs in just a few hours. Goldman Sachs trader William Wolcott ’02 has spearheaded this way of trading larger portfolios of bonds and is responsible for bringing Goldman Sachs’s ETF game up the ranks in just two years. ••• To understand how Wolcott has made his mark in the business world, it is necessary to define what his job is and why it is so profitable. Wolcott is known as an “Authorized Participant,” William meaning he Wolcott has special Vice Prespermission ident at Goldman from the ETF Sachs companies to trade and control the bonds within the ETF bundles even though he purchases them through shares, enabling him to quickly buy and sell large quantities of bonds for cheaper prices than their competitors due to lower transaction costs. “Essentially, the idea is bringing liquidity and scale of the ETF market and to the bond market, and allowing investors to transact in broad baskets of bonds via a portfolio trade,” Wolcott said. “That business has done

about $40 billion in volume this year, and that’s up from like $7 billion last year and zero in 2016.” After graduating from the Class of 2002, a former McDonald’s Week and senior auction chairman, Wolcott went to Duke University and work as a trading analyst for Goldman Sachs in 2006. The lessons that he learned in Upper School here, he believes, are what led him to success. “The experiences that I learned at St. Mark’s, especially some of the things that are harder to quantify beyond the classroom like leadership training and ethics—those are very important in business, and I think that was the cornerstone of the St. Mark’s education,” Wolcott said. Wolcott says that his advisor, current Headmaster David Dini, played a pivotal role in his success and taught him the truly valuable lessons in life. “It’s not just about academic, not just about a career,” Wolcott said. “It’s about, what David would say, the ‘whole boy’ or the ‘total boy’— it’s character, it’s leadership, it’s for the newspaper, the debate team. All of those things are important, and those are parts of life and parts of the package of having a social life and then having that balance with healthy things.” Additionally, Wolcott says that he still uses the things he learned in the classroom of J.T. Sutcliffe, his AB calculus teacher, in Wall Street to this day. A four-year varsity lacrosse athlete, Wolcott built a solid foundation thanks to his relationship with head varsity lacrosse coach Hayward Lee. “He had a lot on his plate,” Sutcliffe said. “He played sports, and he was involved in a lot of student activities. At that point, I’m not sure that calculus was high on his priority list because there were so many other important things going on in his life. The thing I remember most about him was what a good classmate, what a good, supportive friend, he was for so many kids. When you needed help, he was always willing

to be there, and that, of course, I valued a lot.” During the financial crisis of 2008, Wolcott moved to Greenwich, Conn. to work with Verition Fund Management, LLC and hedge funds there. Then after marrying his wife in 2014, Wolcott returned to Goldman Sachs to, once again, adapt to the ever changing market. “The participants in the market were getting larger and more competitive,” Wolcott said. “I sensed that, and I said, ‘Okay, I need to make a change.’ That’s when I went back to Goldman, and Goldman was thinking the same thing. They said, ‘okay, these fixed income ETF’s are starting to get as big as the equity ETF’s in terms of their size and their importance. We need to invest in fixed income ETF trading, and then we’re going to hire William Wolcott to build that business.’” Although working in Goldman Sachs is extremely taxing, he makes time for his personal life with his family and balances his working hours with his outside life. “Nothing’s more important than your health and your family,” Wolcott said. “For me, it’s trying not to work on the weekend, to spend it with my wife and focus on my health and recreational activities. I try to get to work around 6:30 [a.m.], 6:45 in the morning and try to get home in time for dinner every night and try to shut off my phone and just focus on my life and my family. Having that balance is very important, and St. Mark’s does a good job of it.” As a part of this community’s network, Wolcott lends his advice for what kind of future we should strive for. “I talked to a lot of young St. Mark’s graduates in their second or third year of college and applying for internships,” Wolcott said. “I always encourage them to try to find something where they’re going to learn a broad and diverse skill set and also have interactions with a lot of high quality people.”

STORY Tianming Xie, Luke Piazza ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

WOLCOTT’S ACHIEVEMENTS ON CAMPUS • McDonald’s Week chairman • Senior auction chairman • Marksmen section editor • Youth Advisory Council

10600

OFF THE RECORD

Behind the Iron Curtain

Gonzalez knits kindness across Dallas by Sai Thirunagari

hristine Nicolette-Gonzalez, English instructor Scott Gonzalez’s wife, never expected simply giving away the five extra scarves in her car one cold winter day in 2012 would eventually lead to her creating a nonprofit called Spreading the Warmth. “Something, I believe God, told me to stop at a bus stop because I didn’t know what to do with [the scarves],” NicoletteGonzalez said. “We saw this 19-20 year-old young man freezing his butt off. I didn’t know what I was going to say, but the words that came out of my mouth were ‘I made this for you.’ That’s what started it, and that’s what our tagline became.” Nicolette-Gonzalez founded Spreading the Warmth in 2014, and the organization has grown much more than she had predicted. Members of the nonprofit create and distribute handmade scarves as acts of kindness to anyone in the Dallas community.

photo courtesy Christine Nicolette-Gonzalez

In addition to their work in Dallas, the organization has spread to Colorado, where Nicolette-Gonzalez and her husband take scarves to every summer. “I never expected it to be an organization when I gave those five [scarves] out,” Nicolette-Gonzalez said. “When I filled out the paperwork in June of 2014, it [was approved] on my 57th birthday. We have [an] organization in Colorado now. Three agencies are helped. It’s become organically something much bigger than I ever even dreamed it would be.” Multiple members of the school community have volunteered at Spreading the Warmth, including Toussaint Pegues ’18, Lower School art teacher Suzuko Davis, technical services librarian Teresa Katsulos and Karen Rummel, wife of Founders Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel. “If anyone is interested in coordinating efforts to help us give out scarves in the community, that’s something that I’ve been trying,” Nicolette-Gonzalez said. “I know you guys need community service hours, and this is one of the very best ways in my mind to get them.” Since it started, the organization has distributed more than 3,000 scarves. Members gather on ‘knit nights’ every second Saturday each month to crochet the scarves. People of all ages attend these events and knit scarves by themselves throughout the year to support the organization. “This is therapy for all the people involved,” Nicolette-Gonzalez said. “That’s exactly what we do: random acts of kindness. It’s randomly finding people of all different classes, not just cold ones on the street. Many of them just are made warmer in their hearts and their lives by an act of kindness.”

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

Under fire from her friends, family, and employers, Janet Lin paid a high price to relentlessly pursue her passion for journalism.

IN THE MOMENT Janet Lin’s journalism career has given her a unique skill in interviewing and conversation

hy? Why? Why? Janet Lin delivers those questions with a well-practiced, pointed staccato. And it should be well-practiced. She’s asked them since she was 12 years-old. Her constant pursuit of truth has propelled her from her native Taiwan, through the Iron Curtain and across the Mexican Border, interviewing some of the most influential businessmen in East Asia in her work as an anchorwoman and reporter. The Chinese instructor’s most vivid memory is the time she reported on women’s rights and businesses in the then Soviet Union. Unable to enter the country as a conventional reporter, she went incognito. “My parents did not think of journalism as a real job.” — Chinese instructor JANET LIN

A GROUP EFFORT Christine NicoletteGonzalez (top right) fundraises for her nonprofit, Spreading the Warmth, with Lower School art instructor Suzuko Davis (bottom).

“I joined a group of about 20 businesses that wanted to sell computers to Russia, and I became one of the saleswomen,” Lin said. Every time the show started I snuck out because I really wanted to cover the stories I had been assigned.” Lin’s frequent outings, which she explained to her colleagues and interpreters as ‘sightseeing,’ soon came under scrutiny from her Soviet minders. “One day I was eating dinner with the [computer] group, and I’m surrounded by tall guys who were speaking Russian,” Lin said. “My translator explained that they were asking what I had done all day.” That day she had interviewed the dissident editor of a women’s magazine, but she gave the officials an excuse and finished her meal undaunted. “The next day I wasn’t too afraid – I still tried to get my piece out,” Lin said. “But when I was standing in line that day, they told me the fax machine was broken.” That happened the next day, and the day after that, at which point Lin became a little scared. “I called my paper and asked them to hold on to my pieces,”

Lin said. “I told them I would find another way to get the pieces home.” While that episode may have been a high in Lin’s long career as a journalist, it certainly wasn’t the first time she had been under pressure to give up her job. Had her parents had their way, she never would have become a journalist in the first place. After enrolling in the Universal Journalism College in Taiwan, Lin faced pressure from her family for pursuing what she loved. “Since I was 12, I’ve wanted to tell the truth,” Lin said. “I was the oldest one in the family and I had to fight hard to do things the way I wanted.” Lin felt her family’s discouragement was driven by cultural norms across Taiwan. “My parents are a military family and very conservative, so they did not think of journalism as a real job,” Lin said. “They asked me how I would find a husband and support myself.” Her parents’ distrust and anger drove Lin to work harder. “When I told Dad I was applying to [journalism] college, he was so mad,” Lin said. “And so I told him I had to try and had to work at what I was passionate about. The first year we spent almost every dinner fighting.” But Lin remained unfazed by her parent’s discouragement.

After college, she delved into journalism, finding a high-paying job at the second-biggest paper in Taiwan. But as a young, inexperienced reporter, the job didn’t allow her to perform. “My editor wouldn’t help me correct the pieces I turned in every month,” Lin said. “He would reject my work and tell me I wasn’t good enough.” She soon left the prestige and high-pay of that paper for a job at a small, growing magazine called Business Weekly. It was a risky step so early in her career. “The pace was a big step up,” she said. “For the first time, I had to help put out a weekly publication.” That meant pitching a story on Monday, interviewing on Wednesday, and writing for production on Friday, working some nights as late as nine or ten. The brutal schedule would continue throughout her tenure as a journalist. “I would always have to put in many hours, working as a woman and as a journalist at tough, competitive papers,” Lin said. “The greater my responsibilities, the longer my hours.” For Lin, however, it was all worth it to do what she loved. “Journalism gave me a new perspective,” Lin said, “a perspective which has translated into my teaching and into my daily life.”

STORY Alam Alidina PHOTO Adnan Khan, Lee Schlosser

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

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HOLIDAY TRADITION

Family tree roots

Literary festival guests named

History Instructor Bruce Westrate’s father started a Christmas tree farm in the late 1940s where they produced 15,000 trees annually.

ut of those who celebrate Christmas, there are those who set up a real Christmas tree and those who set up a fake Christmas tree. Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Master Teaching Chair Bruce Westrate, however, is in a third group of people. He’s the one who has been growing these Christmas trees. Westrate’s Christmas tree farm was founded by his father in the late 1940s. Growing up with two brothers, Westrate and his siblings helped their father expand the small-scale farm into a much larger operation during their high school and college years. At one point, their farm produced nearly 15,000 trees in a year. “During all my summers growing up with those trees I had to shear them and shape them Bruce Westrate with a machete,” Nancy and Jeffrey Westrate said. Marcus Master “That’s what I Teaching would be doing Chair all through August.” As a child and a teenager, the work and life experience Westrate gained on the farm was invaluable. “My father would get us up to go out in the field to make sure we were going to start work at about 4:30 in the morning,” Westrate said. “He’d leave us out there all day as we worked. Then he’d pick us up at night. There was a lot of quality time with

my father and my brothers. I can’t say I enjoyed working at a young age, but at the same time, it gave me a sense that I was contributing and a valuable sense of responsibility.” Initially, Westrate and his family produced pine trees since they were cheap and easy to grow. However, the quality of these trees was not always the best. “We actually had to spray them green because in the fall they become sort of yellow,” Westrate said. “That was kind of a messy job, kind of stupid too, but that’s what the market called for.” By the 1980s, the market began demanding fir trees, and so they began substituting Scotch pine with Fraser fir. “They tend to be much straighter than pine and hold up better,” Westrate said.

by Han Zhang he 2019 Literary Festival will be hosted Jan. 11, with notable authors from across the country coming to campus for one week. They will be discussing their work with students on a panel that day in after-school assembly. “I think we have a really good lineup this year,” junior Jack Trahan, this year’s Literary Festival Chair, said. “Especially because we have Karl Marlantes, which I’d say is about as big as Tobias Wolff coming, just in terms of the importance of their books on freshman and juniors respectively.” Karl Marlantes, this year’s main visiting author, is also a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran and has written books What it is Like to Go to War and Matterhorn, the second being a required reading book for rising juniors. “I would also say that we’re doing a lot more to make the panel discussion more engaging for all the students,” Trahan said. “Other than that, we really promoted the writing contest this year, and we got a lot more submissions, which allows the Upper School to just be more engaged in ‘LitFest’ in general.” Other authors coming to campus include Kimberly Willis Holt, a children’s author from Fort Worth; Joaquin Zihuatanejo, an award-winning slam poet; Montgomery Sutton ‘05, an actor, director and playwright and Amanda Petrusich, an American music journalist and author of three books. “We want people to understand how much you could really get out of ‘LitFest’,” Trahan said, “because having the chance to interact with these authors is something that I didn’t have the chance to do before coming to St. Mark’s, and I really think that it would be a valuable experience for other students.” Trahan and Vice Chair sophomore Max Palys are hoping for a successful Literary Festival that will be able to more fully integrate students and have their voices be heard during the event. They hope that this annual event will continue to bring different literary opinions to campus. “We hope to be able to bring the expertise and perspective of each of our guest writers to St. Mark’s students,” Palys said. “It’s great that everyone will be able to get to know all of these great authors so well.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Tending to a young tree in 1990, Westrate’s father, William Westrate, works on their family tree farm.

“You don’t need to spray them, they’re just beautiful trees.” Whether it was Scotch pine or Fraser fir, the harvesting process was still a tough task. “We’d cut them in the snow and then we’d have to bale them up with twine in order to pack them up,” Westrate said. “It was cold and icy and there were really nasty conditions, but you had to do it. A lot of my friends worked with me, though. My dad would hire them, and they would come in, so I have a lot of memories of my friends working with me.” Westrate originally planned on continuing the tree farm for future generations, but circumstances pushed him to change his decision. “When my dad died, that’s when I looked elsewhere,” Westrate said. “The purpose did go out of it for me. My dad was what kept me around doing it for as long as I did.” Along with the death of one brother and the personal problems of the other brother, he and his family decided to close down the tree farm since it simply wasn’t being kept up. “It lasted as long as the family, but when the family kind of breaks up, then the real nostalgia around the enterprise fails,” Westrate said. “Things change. People go off and do other things. Just nobody was planting any more trees at the farm. It was time to sell it.” Even though his family’s Christmas tree farm no longer exists, “Work has benefits Westrate still beyond merely keeping body and soul together. harbors fond It provides discipline. It memories of provides an example for his former your children.” farm. And — Bruce Westrate because of this, he favors real trees to artificial trees. “I’ll always favor real trees,” Westrate said. “We have a little fake tree here in Dallas that my wife puts up but that’s because it’s impractical. It’s just the two of us and we’re not even there for Christmas so it doesn’t really make much sense. We do put up a real tree when we get to our farmhouse in Michigan.” STORY Dylan Liu, Nick Walsh PHOTO Courtesy Bruce Westrate

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SERVE, RETURN Junior Sid Vattemreddy prepares to return a powerful serve as he braves the cold outside McDonald’s.

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

RAISING THE BAR

McDonald’s mania McDonald’s Week, organized by the Junior Class, heated up in participation from the scavenger hunt to the morning activities despite the cold weather, raising funds for Austin Street Shelter. PHOTOS Collin Katz, Adnan Khan, Tianming Xie, courtesy Steve Balog, Dave Carden

SETTING THE THEME Junior Eric Lai puts the finishing touches on the artwork prepared by the decoration committee on the front window of McDonald’s.

SCORING BIG In the morning of “all-day day,” Junior Alex Piccagli, drenched from head to toe, defeats his brother, freshman Henry Piccagli, snagging an apple first during the apple-bobbing competition.

At a glance: McDonald’s Week Co-chairs

Christian Duessel, Thomas Loose, Jackson Singhal

Sponsors

Nothing Bundt Cakes, Fish City Grill, Cantina Laredo, Sports Clips, Arepa TX, The Toy Maven, Interabang Books, I Heart Yogurt, McDonald’s

Morning Activities

Monday- Character Games Tuesday- Chemistry Show Wednesday- Quiz Bowl Thursday- Dance Battle

FRIENDLY COMPETITION English-History instructor John Perryman and current Assistant Head of Upper School Chris Disimile battle on the ping-pong table while lower schoolers pick sides.

SQUEAKY CLEAN With wet rags and shampoo in hand, the Junior Class scrubs and polishes cars of community members Nov. 25.

DANCE OFF Senior CJ Crawford and junior Lincoln Dales face off with their dance moves in the cold.

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THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

ABNORMAL ALPHABET

Language without barriers

Senior Jonah Simon taught himself how to read The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) in order to play a role in a production. Mateo Guevara: How did you first learn of the international phonetic language? Jonah Simon: I actually first learned about the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) trying to learn how to do a Transatlantic accent for a character in the play. It’s super helpful for that sort of thing because words are spelled exactly according to pronunciation. The same word in English might be spelled differently in IPA depending on whether it’s being pronounced like an American or a Canadian or an Australian. MG: Why did you want to learn it? JS: It’s really useful for understanding not only how different dialects and languages pronounce different things, but also how sounds can change and evolve over time. If you want to learn to speak Spanish like a native speaker (or any language for that matter), IPA definitely helps. MG: What do you hope to gain from learning it? JS: I want to be able to have a deeper understanding of English, and part of that comes with knowing how the sounds that make up our language interact. Also, I want to make my Spanish accent as far away from “gringo” as I can get it. MG: What do you think is the hardest part to learn about it? JS: Honestly, there are just a lot of overly fancy words associated with different sounds. For example, the “sh” sound in English is written as /ʃ/ in IPA, and it’s called the “voiceless palato-alveolar fricative.” Sometimes those things are hard to remember.

MG: How are you learning it? JS: There are tons of online resources. I’m using Memrise, Quizlet and YouTube videos, slowly learning as many sounds and characters as I can. MG: Is this something you think everyone should learn or at least give a try? JS: It’s not something that’s essential, but it makes learning languages and accents much easier. It’s also cool that when you start to transcribe your own words in IPA, you realize that you have an accent (in my case, one that’s specific to North Texas.) For example, I say the words “pen” and “pin” pretty much the same way, both sounding somewhere in between an E and an I, like /pɪn/. It’s just something sort of cool to think about. MG: Is there a specific word or phrase that you think is interesting? JS: “St. Mark’s School of Texas,” in IPA, is /seɪnt mɑrks skul ʌv ˈtɛksəs/. Also, in IPA, my name is / ˈʤoʊnə/, which is kinda bizarre, since it looks nothing like my English name. MG: What is this skill normally used for? JS: You can pronounce any word, and it’s useful for learning accents and languages. It’s how Shakespeare actors learn to speak Middle English, and it’s also how some foreign singers learn to perform in English even if they don’t speak it. All you have to do is read

STORY Mateo Guevara, Han Zhang ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

the symbols and make the sounds. MG: Could you describe your routine for learning a new word or phrase in IPA? JS: IPA words are just words in a language written in a different way (to reflect their pronunciation), so it’s just a matter of carefully listening to the sounds in a word and assigning the corresponding IPA symbols to them. It can be a lot of trial and error, but in the end, you can get a pretty accurate written representation of exactly how a word sounds.

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE Pronouncing St. Mark’s in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), senior Jonah Simon has practiced IPA in his free time.

perspe

14, 15

OUT OF OUR

hands Admission

policies like affirmative action and legacy preference all affect the college admission game. How you navigate this complicated system could land you in the admit pile– or make you lose out on a seat.

STORY Sahit Dendekuri, Sam Goldfarb ADDITIONAL REPORTING Lyle Ochs ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

Affirming a committment to diversity on campus

Ever since frustrated parents of Asian-American Harvard applicants accused the university of discrimination, the fairness of affirmative action in college admissions has been called into question. Director of College Counseling Veronica Pulido reflects on the accusations leveled at Harvard and the merits and drawbacks of affirmative action. Sam Goldfarb: What is affirmative action and how do colleges use it in the admisison process? Veronica Pulido: In terms of how colleges use the word or how they are going to use affirmative action is they are affirming that they are representing the world population. Colleges in general are going to want students from different walks of life, whether it's socioeconomic, whether it's ethnic diversity, whether it's religious preferences, the whole nine yards. The most selective colleges are still trying to be representative of the world and not necessarily have just one particular point of view. The common theme in terms of how colleges use affirmative action is that they are affirming that they're continuing to be inclusive of populations. SG: Recently, affirmative action has come under fire with the Harvard case. What is your perspective on that case? VP: The case with Harvard is is something that definitely has been in the news as a possibility where folks have found it to be discriminatory. In terms of that argument, having worked on the college admission side myself at Duke, at Notre Dame, having traveled with Duke, Harvard, Penn, Georgetown, I know their their process pretty intimately as well. And I can tell you that if any, any college is going to be looked at, it's not going to be Harvard. Because Harvard does always such a nice job of being inclusive, even in their application process, with offering students a chance to put in a résumé, to put extra letters, to put in extra supplements. It's not just a one-read or two-read process. Harvard in particular has multiple committees. They committee, committee and committee. They want to make sure that they get the full understanding of a young person before they make a final decision. So I think from the personal perspective, I can speak to Harvard. It does not discriminate, and they really are in. It's not just lip service. I think again, it has come under fire, obviously, because Harvard is a highly selective college, so everyone is looking for holes to see ‘Am I being discriminated against in the application process?’ So I understand it.

SG: What do you think the importance of diversity is on a college campus, and how does that contribute to a student's learning and their college experience? VP: I think it goes back to the being representative of society, because ultimately students go to college, but then they're going into the workforce and going into continuing education. It's a better representation as to how we're going to live and grow together as individuals. I think that having that voice and not necessarily that checkbox, that I'm of this Hispanic culture, but I don't speak Spanish, and I'm not going to add anything that's going to be different. Personally, I do think, and having worked with Hispanic students at Duke University, and at Notre Dame, I was the main representative for those two populations. And I really wanted to make sure that it wasn't just a student just clicking a box, but what they are going to bring to the table if they are coming from this background. I think that's an important piece to understand that it's not just you're clicking off X, Y and Z, it’s what you're actually adding. SG: Some applicants greatly exaggerate claims of ethnicity. Do they get away with that during the admission process? VP: I think the admission officers are savvy enough to understand what's happening in the process. And again, it goes back to how, if that is who they are, in terms of their identity, how is that relevant? Or how is that going to be different to bring to the table? And so they definitely do not. And again, because spaces are so few and far between in highly selective admissions, the admission officers need to know that students are trying to do the best that they can, and potentially some students are grasping at straws. But for the most part, they really are trying to get a sense of how is this individual going to be different on our campus. Sahit Dendekuri: Considering the practices being called into question with the Harvard case, are there any modifications to affirmative action to make sure it’s more fair, or is it good as-is? VP: I do think affirmative action started in terms of there being some potential discrepancies of some populations getting an advantage over others. I think that though the colleges in particular are trying to put the people on the same playing field, there are always going to be students that have

an advantage just regardless of where they are, where they come from, their resources or fluency.. From standardized testing to going to good schools, there's always going to be an advantage. I think ultimately, if a college wants to make sure that they are being inclusive, and I think that definitely is the trend nowadays. If you sit in college admission sessions, that's one thing that colleges are always talking about– being inclusive about first generation college students, about socioeconomics. I think the colleges are wanting to see more of that on college campuses. So if you want that, then affirmative action in my opinion does need to be something that’s, again, not clicking off a box and not having a quota. But saying ‘if we want to mirror society then this needs to be something that is at least considered in the application process,’ it does not make sense to admit a student that's coming from a certain X, Y and Z background who's not qualified. Because then they won't make it. Then they will drop out, you know, and it becomes a revolving cycle. That's not what you want. So the students still needs to be competitive academically to be at any institution. This is just an added dynamic that's talked about, hopefully at the committee table. SD: We’ve talked a lot about admissions at highly selective colleges. How is affirmative action implemented in less-selective environments? VP: I still think in college admissions, it does need to be something that's considered in the process, even if they're not as selective just in terms of being that mirror of society. Because regardless of where a student goes to college, they're still going to enter into the workforce with different individuals, and being able to collaborate and to understand each other, that does make a difference once they are into the real world. SD: Would socioeconomic status be a better indication as to a student’s circumstances or do you think affirmative action as-is should both be considered? VP: I think socioeconomic diversity can be different from ethnic diversity, because socioeconomics can cut in lots of different ways. It does not need to be a student that’s from an underrepresented background, but from backgrounds that are economically diverse. I think that's why both of them do need to be looked at at the same time. — Director of College Counceling Veronica Pulido

Harvard admissions lawsuit timeline The issues raised in the Harvard lawsuit have been public concerns for years. Here's how the case has developed over time, from its start until today.

2013 Fisher v. University of Texas Supreme Court case deferred

A website seeking Asian-American testimony regarding Harvard's unfair policies appears

2014

2014 Current lawsuit against Harvard is officially filed

Supreme Court rules in favor of affirmative action in Fisher case

2016

Harvard discrimination lawsuit comes to Boston district court

2018

2019 District court will be required to present official ruling

ectives

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

From generation to generation: legacy in admissions Legacy consideration has long been a part of the college admisisons process. Students can benefit from the extra boost on their applications, but the policy is also essential to a university's economic and financial security.

t’s not written in a will. Not handed down as a gift, not held in a safe deposit box or trust fund. It’s a family heirloom of a different sort, but it could be just as valuable as a grandfather’s gold pocket watch, a grandmother’s diamond wedding ring, the family’s classic F-150. It's another kind of legacy – the difference between rejection and landing in the admit pile of a highly selective college. ••• “Colleges define legacy as an applicant who has a parent who attended the university,” Associate Director of College Counseling Casey Gendason said. “Some colleges have expanded the definition to include when a sibling has attended the university and will give the student legacy status.” According to Gendason, legacy consideration is in alignment with the long-term, strategic mission of any university, extending beyond a student’s time on campus. “The goal of a university is to create happy families that want to support the university, that have close memories and ties to institution,” Gendason said. Considering legacy applicants helps schools achieve that goal. By keeping families involved across multiple generations, colleges and universities build lasting relationships that can yield important benefits. “That turns into the alumni talking so positively about their university experience,” Gendason said. “It can turn into giving monetarily and in terms of service to the university, and so colleges want to honor their alums. One of the ways to honor their alumni is to encourage their children to consider the university and in return, the college is going to give that applicant who is a legacy some additional consideration.” However, universities do face a trade-off: If a legacy applicant isn’t the right fit for that school, then they may have to reject an alumnus’s son or daughter. A situation like this has the opposite effect— discouraging giving and potentially harming the relationship between alumnus and alma mater. “Not all legacies are going to be admitted,” Gendason said. “And the more selective

the college, the harder it will be to admit all legacies. There is going to be disappointment if you offer some kind of extra consideration to legacy and it does not work out.” Legacy doesn’t play enough of a role in the admission decision-making process to guarantee acceptance. Applicants must already be competitive in their own right before legacy boosts their chances of acceptance. “It's safe to say that in highly and most selective admissions, the applicant has to be has to be about 80 to 85 percent of the way on his own in terms of having a profile that aligns with what the college typically accepts,” Gendason said. “And then the final ten to 20 percent of being a legacy could be that final push that the person needed to make it into the admit pile. So it probably helps between five and 20 percent varying from from school to school. But it's rarely a make-or-break sort of thing.” Cal Rushton ’18 has parents who attended Vanderbilt University. Despite that legacy, he chose to study elsewhere and is currently a freshman at University of Virginia. “I have no strong feelings about legacy,” Rushton said. “It’s just a part of the world we live in. It’s the same when you get older in the job search. Nepotism will always exist in some form or another.” Rushton acknowledges the importance of legacy consideration from a school’s financial perspective. “At the end of the day, colleges are business and they want alumni donations,” Rushton said, “and helping a kid get into a college for sure boosts donations.” Jimmy Rodriguez ’18 is currently a freshman at Duke University, where his mother went to school. In his experience, legacy wasn’t an important part of his decision. “For me, I wanted to feel like I went to a place I earned,” Rodriguez said. “I felt I worked hard enough at St. Mark’s that I could go to a pretty good college. If I used legacy, I would never know if I got accepted or if my parents got me accepted.” However, he understands the value and importance of legacy as a piece of the complex

admission process. “I’m not trying to put down anyone who uses legacy,” Rodriguez said. “If you have legacy at a college and you want to go there, use it every time. It just wasn’t for me.” Rodriguez’s own experiences, not those of his parents, were the deciding factor for him. “I applied to the schools where my parents went, and my mom actually did go to Duke, so I've been a Duke fan since I was a baby,” Rodriguez said. “But it honestly didn't really affect where I decided to go, and I don't really think it affected my chances of getting accepted.” Rushton faced a similar situation. His parents supported his own feelings and intuition over their student experiences. “My mom even told me, ‘Please do not think that just because I went there I want you to go there more than other schools. Just go where you want to go,’” he said. “She didn't put any pressure on me at all, and neither did my dad. He told me ‘Just go somewhere where you think you'll be the happiest, and we'll be happy wherever you end up.’” With many years of experience working in college admissions before coming here, Gendason can attest to just how challenging getting accepted to selective schools is. “The college admission process is far from fair,” Gendason said. “You can do everything correctly: you can work diligently, form great relationships with teachers, study for standardized tests, get involved at your school, be a leader, show initiative, take advantage of what's offered to you, and it may not turn out the way you would like it to. That is a reality of highly selective admissions, so the process is not fair.” But with that understanding, legacy consideration hardly changes the rules of the game enough to be unfair, according to Gendason. “Is legacy admission fair? I would argue yes,” Gendason said. “Because if you've done your time at a university and formed a relationship with the university, why shouldn't your children be given some extra consideration when they apply?”

Legacy Family Tree

Pulido's five tips for college

Some students come from a long line of prestigious college graduates. That family legacy might be the tipping point between acceptance and rejection.

How to make your college application stand out Veronica Pulido

Director of College Counseling

Don’t worry too much about seeking out an academic passion or interest. You’ll find one– or it’ll find you.

“If you start to develop a certain interest then definitely let's see how you can continue to have that flourish, whether it's writing, whether it's math, with whatever the subject is.”

For students applying to college soon, use summers as an opportunity to explore the passion you found or anything else that interests you.

“If you have decided on a particular career interest, take advantage of the summer to combine that — whether it’s research, interning at a business or being a curator at a museum — to see if that’s potentially what you want to do.” Find the balance between time to relax and taking advantage of powerful opportunities over the summer.

“Students shouldn’t have their lives programmed 24/7, but it is very helpful for them to be active and to use their resources wisely.”

Explore unique interests beyond academics, interests that can make you who you are.

“Students are studying all the time, so do something different. If you always wanted to take a painting class or learn how to juggle or do an online coding class — start and then build on it.” Find what you want to do. The rest will take care of itself.

“Every individual who graduates and walks across that stage will have an amazing academic foundation [from attending school here.] What are you going to do beyond?”

‘

The college admission process is far from fair. You can do everything correctly, and it may not turn out the way you’d like it to. — ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING CASEY GENDASON ON LEGACY ADMISSIONS

diversions

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

CHRISTMAS PARTY

A time of tradition

All of the usual holiday trappings can be found on campus. However, this season is more than lights and carols for the school.

he trees are wrapped tightly with sparkling lights. Bright red bows dot the columns outside of the Hoffman Center and wreaths hang inside buildings. When students return from Christmas break, however, the decorations are taken down and the campus is back to normal. But there is one element that remains year-round. Walk down the candy cane lined walkway towards the “XIX” lights on the Centennial balcony and you’ll eventually be in front of the Path to Manhood statue, depicting an upperclassman carrying the weight of a younger student on his shoulders.

This iconic statue will literally come to life at the All-School Christmas Party. The party will be held Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. in W. W. Browning, Jr., Great Hall. Within the short hour of celebration, one of the most memorable and important events that define a Marksman’s journey takes place. Senior Charlie Hubbard’s experience as a first grade student is still important to him 12 years later. “When I was in first grade and was carried on my buddy’s shoulders, I was scared of falling,” Hubbard said. “I put my hands over his eyes on accident while trying to hold on.” The last time Hubbard was part of the walk was in third grade, but this year he’ll be part of it again one last time. “I’m a little sad. It’s another big milestone moving towards the end of senior year,” Hubbard said. “At the same time, I’m excited to carry my little buddy because I remember how much fun it was as a lower school student, and I think it will be cool to be on the other side of things after all these years of getting to see other seniors walk in.”

For seniors, one thing is clear: their last Christmas Party will be an important moment. “It’s been a long time coming,” Student Council President Landon Wood said. “It may not be the same sense of accomplishment as winning a football game or acing a test, but it’s going to make me feel like I have legitimately contributed to and changed this community for the better. That’s really special.” Seniors aren’t the only students looking forward to the event. First grader Mill Richards is just as eager to that day. “I’m excited about the Christmas Party because I get to sit on my senior buddy’s shoulders,” Richards said. The tradition is also special for teachers who have seen their students go in on their buddies’ shoulders, and then, many years later, walk in with a little buddy of their own. “I love seeing it,” third grade instructor Frank Jordan said. “It’s wonderful watching the seniors go by and I’ll think, ‘He was a Lower School kid at one time and I had to tell him to tie his shoes and tuck his shirt in. Look how far he’s come.’”

Suzanne and Patrick McGee Family Master Teacher J.T. Sutcliffe sees an important meaning behind the school’s tradition. “When you’ve been around here a long time, it’s more than just seeing little guys on big guys shoulders,” Sutcliffe said. “It reminds you of all the things we value so much which are the relationships that get built and the care that seniors take of the little guys.” The lower schoolers might be too young to fully understand the importance of the event, but they know full well once its their turn to carry in their buddy. “The little guys don’t really understand the significance of the moment because they’re young, but they’ll come to appreciate it by the time they have to carry their little buddies,” Wood said. “It’s a moment enshrined forever in the Path to Manhood statue, so obviously it’s really important to us as a school. The image depicted in that statue and at the Christmas Party of older Marksmen carrying younger Marksmen is symbolic of how we uplift others through our leadership.”

“

Seeing the Lower School kids riding on the shoulders is so symbolic of what all of us need to be doing all the time. The modeling of just caring about those that are younger than you and the idea that it’s not about you, that whole picture comes through loud and clear in that tradition and I absolutely love it.” — Major Barbara Rich, Salvation Army Area Commander

•Gifts go to The Salvation Army, •2018 Goal: 2019 gifts West Dallas Community Center •Began Dec. 3 and Jubilee Park Community •Ends Dec. 11 Center

STORY Andy Crowe PHOTOS Andy Crowe, ReMarker Archives, Courtesy Barbara Rich

The Ice Bowl

Orchestra early morning Lower School performance What Upper School orchestra performance at the Lower School entrance

“

When Dec. 17-20 from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. Where Norma and Lamar Hunt Family Stadium.

THE GAME Sam Sussman ’18 goes up for a catch through a pack of Marksmen defenders during the 2017 Ice Bowl.

It’s an amazing experience seeing the kids really enjoy our performance and get into the holiday spirit as we play classic Christmas pieces. From requesting songs they want to sing while we play, this is an interactive performance, something different from other performances where the audience doesn’t have a role in the performance, which is why I think this makes it really special.” — senior ALEX CHING

The grid

What Exhibition football game between the Marksmen and The ReMarker.

The holidays are approaching and Diversions has you covered for fun activites you can do over the break. Enchant

What

Price

World’s largest Christmas light maze, ice skating trail and Christmas market, all on an MLB field $33

A Christmas Carol

Baketball Game

Classic holiday play, but with a re-imagined take and incredible special effects

Home game against Allen

Prices may vary

Free

Sweet Tooth “1955”

Northstar Carriage

Carriage rides may begin New exhibit with at an On the Border park“experimental art” and ing lot, but they quickly retail pop up space in five become magical as you interactive spaces tour lights $20

$175 (fits six passengers) Highland Park

Location

Globe Life Park in Arlington

Wyly Theatre

When

Nov. 23 - Dec. 30 .

Nov. 21 - Dec. 30

Who to bring

The whole family

Appropriate for all ages, but not for the easily spooked

Hick’s Gym

Dec. 14 7:30 p.m.

Lions fans only

Where Norma and Lamar Hunt Family Stadium. When Dec. 21 at 1 p.m.

Victory Park

Nov. 1 - Dec. 31

Artsy and hipster friends

Dec. 1 - 31

The whole family

“The Ice Bowl is easily the best part of publications. It’s a greatway to kick off Christmas break and bond with all the photographers and journalism guys. We’re not really expecting much of a game this year, but hopefully newspaper can put up some points and keep it interesting.” — Marksmen Editor JACK MCCABE

“The Ice Bowl is hands down the most important day of the year. It’s a great way to bond with all the publications guys outside of the journalism suite and it’s not even funny how badly the newspaper is going to demoralize yearbook.” — The ReMarker Editor KAMAL MAMDANI

culture

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

CAREER CHOICES

Stifling the stigma Patrick Magee ’17, Glenn Stroh and Marcello Ortega ’04 all had that passion in fine arts growing up. Their next steps? As different as could be.

ohann Sebastian Bach died with much of his work unrecognized and with little to no money left. Johannes Vermeer was unable to pay back a loan and left his family in debt. Edgar Allan Poe was only paid $9 for his publication of The Raven. Stories of influential musicians, artists and writers have created a stigma that all artists are “starving artists”. And with its growing prevalence, more people are straying away from their passions in the arts to pursue a “safer” career to guarantee their financial stability. Stuck at a day-long job that pays the bills but never satisfies that urge to create. Marcello Ortega ’04 was tired of that stigma, quitting his nine-to-five job to pursue his passion of ceramics. ••• Ortega was working long days at his corporate job, and after entering a competitive analyst program, his life seemed set, but ceramics was still in the back of his mind. “I would choose to do [ceramics],” Ortega said. “That’s how I’d spend free time. That’s what I gravitated towards.” While it was a nice hobby, Ortega never thought of himself as an artist. After an introduction to ceramics through former ceramics instructor Bill Kysor as a junior, Ortega thought the wheel was an afterthought, but after working for two years with Haggar, a local clothing company, he found a void in his life in need of filling. He found that missing puzzle piece in ceramics. “The moment I decided was when I applied for a corporate installation,” Ortega said. “It was going to take two months to complete for this company in Irving where every month, they pay an artist to install permanently on the walls and the offices. They had never done a ceramic installation, so I applied to that thinking, ‘I’m not going to get this. Why not?’ And then I got it.” For Patrick Magee ’17, he wrestled with the idea of pursuing piano as a career, but decided to study philosophy and physics at Harvard University instead. Magee never really appreciated piano when he was younger, but as he got older, his love of the instrument increased. The reality of the risk Marcello associated with a job in piano Ortega ’04 began to set in. He realized the high-riskhigh-reward situation was too uncertain for him, and while the ideal reward of touring the world was appealing, Magee found the likely reality to be anything but that. “My piano teacher always told me to not go into music unless you have to — unless you can’t imagine yourself doing anything else,” Magee said. “It’s just so competitive, and nine out of 10 times, you’re probably going to end up somewhere teaching piano. You aren’t going to end up touring the world or doing some super glamorous profession.” With college fast approaching, Magee figured

“A few family members and friends joked or cautioned along the way that I would be waiting tables my whole life,” Stroh said. “I’m fortunate that my family wanted me to be happy and let me make my own decisions about my study and career path.” Similar to Stroh, Ortega’s family, while still guarded, was open to his new adventure. “My dynamic with my parents was that I’ve always sustained myself,” Ortega said. “I paid for my own college. I’ve always had a job, so I didn’t need their approval. They were concerned, and they wanted to know my plan. My mom was very cautious.” Nevertheless, Ortega was open to this caution from those around him, and he was able to set a plan with his family about his future. “I think that’s a really healthy fear,” Ortega said. “They scrutinized it, which I think is really good. To have friends and family that you can trust is always healthy. I think they thought about my résumé and my investment credentials, so I think they thought I had stuff to fall back on in case I failed.” To Stroh, those who pursue fine arts today must be highly skilled in “written and verbal communication, entrepreneurship, marketing and interpersonal relationships,” and while it may seem like a long list of requirements, Ortega has managed to master it all in his winding path to ceramics.

PICKING A PATH When choosing what major to pursue, many are stuck between following their passion and choosing a safe career path.

the time invested into the hobby he wouldn’t pursue wasn’t worth it. “I was preparing a lot for auditions going into senior year, and I was practicing five hours a day pretty much through December,” Magee said, “and then, I just burnt out. I couldn’t enjoy practicing anymore. I wanted to take it to the highest level, and I realized that there wasn’t any sense dividing my time to that extent if I wasn’t going to pursue this as a profession.” Still, Magee’s parents left the door open for him to pursue music, but he closed it himself, understanding the requisite good fortune and desire needed to succeed. “My parents never told me if I did music then I wouldn’t make any money, or that I needed to be a doctor or lawyer to make a lot of money,” Magee said. “No matter how good you are, it takes so much luck to succeed. I didn’t love it to the extent someone would need to love it to be willing to risk everything to succeed.” On the other hand, Director of Treble Choristers and organist Glenn Stroh knew from a very young age he would pursue music from weekly childhood trips to his family’s church. “Music has always been a part of my life,” Stroh said, “so the decision to pursue it in college and eventually as a career happened rather naturally. Growing up, I would come home from school and go directly to our piano and just play. Even though I had other interests, it’s always been a huge part of my life.” Although Stroh was met with some skepticism regarding his desired future, family members around him were very supportive of his pursuits.

“

I think there’s a happy medium there where I can have an authentic style, and I’m also creating something that’s sustaining for me”— Marcello Ortega ’04

“I always felt I was at a disadvantage because I didn’t do the fine art bachelors or masters,” Ortega said. “Really, it’s kind of been an advantage to have the business side of it. I think there’s a lot of opportunity to make a living being creative. It’s about connecting the buyers to the sellers.” Now, Ortega, having used the community as a springboard for his business, has scaled these smaller projects into a larger ones, working on restaurant orders with more than 900 pieces. Ultimately, Ortega found others following similar paths, and looking back at his own story, he realizes ceramics was the future staring him in the face all along, which constantly reassures him of his decision. “It’s kind of obvious now. [Ceramics] was always a constant,” Ortega said, “but at the time it was like, ‘Oh yeah. I’m going to go put my life on hold to do this firing for like five days and be in front of a fire for two straight days no sleep.’ I’ve connected with people who are doing some version of what I want to do. It’s not really what you do. It’s having that openness and willingness to see something interesting and check it out.”

STORY Siddhartha Sinha, Sam Ahmed ARTWORK Michael Lukowicz

Safe vs. art majors

Here’s a look at the average yearly salaries of “safe” majors and popular art majors.

98k

73k

Sources: kiplinger.com, bestcollegereviews.com, payscale.com

117k

90k

93k

79k 64k

42k

37k

36k

Electrical Engineering

Photography

Chemical Engineering

Art History

Pharmacology

Art Director

Nursing

Music

Aeronautics Technology

Animator

Computer Information

MOST POPULAR COLLEGE MAJORS 1 Humanities 2 Business, Management 3 Nursing 25 Visual Arts 31 Film, Video, and Photography 43 Music Source: Niche.com

culture

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

MEET IMPROV

On the fly Senior Will Hunt and Hockaday junior Lily Forbes set the record straight on their run as Improv Troupe captains. IMPROV MEMBERS •CJ Crawford • Duncan Kirstein • Dawn Ford •Meredith Jones •Brett Marsh • Thomas Loose • Ivy Becker •Louisa Lindsley •Kemper Lowry • Leah Seagull • Owen Simon •Eleanor Lockhart

IN ACTION Hockaday junior Lily Forbes clings to senior Will Hunt in an improvised comedic scene.

CJ Crawford: What’s one of the surprisingly hard things about being a troupe captain? Lily Forbes: When you lead the troupe, it is really about putting yourself aside and making decisions about what’s best for the team as a whole. Whenever we choose what different games to put people in for performances like coffeehouse, we have to leave our own preferences behind and play to everyone’s strengths. Will Hunt: Well, having to juggle being funny and having a good time and goofing off, but also actually getting work done. Since improv is about being funny sometimes it’s hard to make that humor constructive instead of just goofy.

CC: What’re some of the lessons you’ve learned from your predecessors that you implement today? LF: I’ve learned that it’s okay when sometimes you have an off day. Improv is so different every time and not every skit will be a success, but it’s okay to just goof around sometimes! It’s important not to take yourself to seriously. WH: Sammy Sanchez [‘18] was my captain for two years and he showed me the importance of bonding with your teammates. If you don’t like someone or don’t know them, you won’t be funny together on stage. You can’t just let go and riff with them. CC: What’s something you hope to leave behind after your time leading the troupe? LF: I hope I can help the younger members of the troupe grow into the leaders. They’re all so amazing, and I know they will do great things once we leave. WH: I always want improv to be a place of friendship and acceptance. Comedy and life are tough, but having other people you care with you makes them more manageable. CC: What’s a misconception about improv in general and what’s your rebuttal? WH: Some people say that improv is a friend group that you have to try out for, but we are just good friends as well as a group. It’s not like we’re only friends with each other. It’s just nice to also be friends with the people you perform with. CC: How would you describe the current troupe members compared to previous years’? LF: This is my third year on the team and I can

definitely say that every year the vibe of the troupe changes completely. This year we have a really mixed group of people from across all four grades which is really exciting! WH: We have a lot more younger blood than we have in the past. This year we have two very promising freshman when last year we didn’t have any. Plus also some good sophomores. CC: How do you employ your skills developed in improv in everyday life? LF: Improv is so helpful for things like job interviews and other situations when you need to engage in small talk. I guess you could also say that improv also makes you more adaptable so you can deal with different situations being thrown at you. WH: You know, I actually wrote my Common Application about this. Improv is all about finding yourself in challenging situations and having to get out of them. It’s problem solving with a comedic twist. CC: How have you managed leading such a group of diverse comedic styles and personalities? LF: We don’t really have any two people with the same personality or comedic style which makes it really fun to place people in different roles within the improv games that we play. WH: Well it’s not really been a challenge because even though we all have different comedic tastes, we all respect each other. We learn from each other and laugh at things we never would have thought about. It’s definitely made me a funnier person just by being exposed to so much stuff. STORY CJ Crawford PHOTO CJ Crawford

culture

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

My Instagram

OVERCOMING THE STRUGGLE

Conquering epilepsy

A look into “chemical engineering student with a clay obsession” Zachary Houillion ‘16’s Instagram account, in which he posts his ceramics and mindblowing throwing videos. In his own words: Interview Jamie Mahowald

Fighting through epilepsy and its effects every day for the past 39 years, Kurt Eichenwald unraveles the truth of epilepsy in his book, A Mind Unraveled.

ou have epilepsy. For a second, Kurt Eichenwald ’79 was happy. It meant there wasn’t a tumor in his brain. But then his doctor said Eichenwald would have to quit his goal of becoming a lawyer due to the stress. He said Eichenwald should drop out of school. He said Eichenwald couldn’t tell anyone because he would lose friends, a job and an education. The only thing Eichenwald learned from the doctor that day was that he should be terrified. ••• Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by unpredictable seizures, and Eichenwald has fought it for years. Today, 39 years after his diagnosis, he is doing better than his doctor would ever have imagined. Recently, Eichenwald published his memoir, A Mind Unraveled, based on his experiences with the disorder to critical acclaim. “I wrote a book, and the purpose of it was to show people with epilepsy that they can succeed, that they can live the lives they want,” Eichenwald said. The lack of societal awareness of epilepsy often makes the lives of people who suffer with it much harder. Eichenwald continues to fight the social stigma every day. “The ignorance has to stop,” Eichenwald said. “I lost friends, I got thrown out of school [Swarthmore] in 1981 because of my seizures. They consider us a liability. If everyone in the world knew how to deal with epilepsy, then the lives of people with epilepsy would be infinitely easier.” Eichenwald has wrestled with his condition since 1979, but most people don’t understand the risk epilepsy poses to those who have it. As a result, the plight of people with the disorder often goes unheard. “Epilepsy kills,” Eichenwald said. “I was three times on the verge of death. I went into a nonstop seizure, and if they hadn’t been able to infuse drugs through IV, I would have died. I got buried in snow and barely managed to survive that. I’ve dodged many bullets.” After receiving the doctor’s diagnosis, Eichenwald took a while to come to terms with his condition. “When I was in my 20s, I was firmly aware that I might die that day,” Eichenwald said. “You have two choices: you can curl up in a ball and cry, or you can say if I die, I die, but I’m going to live the best day possible today.”

Writing down his own personal experiences with epilepsy proved difficult for Eichenwald. He had kept audio-diaries to document the times when he was really sick. “There were horrible things that I had to listen to,” Eichenwald said. “Writing it was a brutal experience. There were days when I would call my wife and I’d say ‘I need you to come home.’” Eichenwald strongly supports increased awareness and acceptance of those with epilepsy to better improve their lives. “Be good, be kind and don’t be scared,” Eichenwald said. “We’re not going to hurt you. We are the ones who are living this life. All everyone else has to do is be nice to us.” Because of the lack of public knowledge about epilepsy, there are many misconceptions Eichenwald would like everyone to be aware of such as holding a victim down while his seizure occurs. “What that actually does is it breaks people’s arms and intensifies the seizure,” Eichenwald said. Another is that people should place items in the mouth of someone who is having a seizure to prevent them from biting their tongue. “Nobody appreciates life more than someone who’s always on the verge of losing it.” — KURT EICHENWALD ’79

“When someone’s having convulsions, their mouth clenches tighter than you could imagine, and if you have something like a spoon in your mouth, you could break your teeth,” Eichenwald said. Although he has had to deal with epilepsy for more than half his life, seizures are in reality a small part of Eichenwald’s life, as he is unconscious for all of them. “I live my life without ever see-

That video got a million views—it was in a Facebook video first, then it got front page on Reddit, so it actually kind of blew up everywhere. How I did it was I had a pot, and then I took a wire while it was spinning and sort of pushed it down, then took it apart, and that video was basically me reversing that whole thing. It’s me destroying a pot in reverse. That’s how that worked, and I guess it was kind of funny to me because it seemed so simple. Just looking at the chains of Reddit comments—it was kind of hilarious.

‘

BEHIND THE BOOK At his book signing in Interabang Books Nov. 10, Eichenwald gave a speech before writing a personlized note in each attendee’s copy.

ing myself have a seizure,” Eichenwald said. “It’s not really part of my day-to-day. I have some sort of small seizure probably every day.” Epilepsy can be a hard condition to live with, but Eichenwald also thinks that he treasures Kurt Eichenwald life more ’79 because of it. “That’s the blessing of being seriously ill,” Eichenwald said. “I had to accept that I could die at any minute, and that that was okay. No amount of kicking, screaming and crying could stop it.” Having epilepsy changed Eichenwald’s outlook on life. “When I got really sick, I began to contemplate things, values, myself,” Eichenwald said. “Being sick made everything seem so clear. It brushed away the cobwebs of life, and just made everything much simpler to understand.” Nowadays, Eichenwald contemplates what his life would have been like without epilepsy. “I often wonder, if I had never had seizures, if I had never been forced to confront my own mortality at a very young age, would I appreciate life as much as I do now?” Eichenwald said. “I don’t think I would.”

My recent stuff that I’ve done—I did a piece that was a Celtic symbol, a Celtic knot that’s symbolic of the pagan Christianity. I love the way the glazes turned out on that one. On pieces like that with those symbols, I start with a main symbol, then everything else is just built around that. I really like how Celtic symbols are intertwined; it mimics the concept of infinity. I picked a random simple symbol on Google images, and the rest of the piece is abstraction from that image.

‘

I had one throwing video that got around two thousand views. It doesn’t have sound on it, and it’s the one with the small neck, but with wideness toward the base. For this [kind of] throwing, it’s just such a classic form, but it’s also a good challenge with the small neck, which is the most challenging part of the vase and requires a decent amount of skill. This is one of my favorite forms to throw.

‘

STORY Paul Sullivan ILLUSTRATION Michael Lukowicz

Headliners Keep an eye out for these upcoming release, concert and drop dates.

CONCERTS

VIDEO GAMES

Release date

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Jan. 11

Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown Jan. 18 Resident Evil 2 Jan. 25

Elton John Playboi Carti Gnash

ALBUMS

MOVIES

Concert date

Dec. 15 Dec. 21 Jan. 12

Mary Poppins Returns Aquaman Bumblebee

Release date

Dec. 19 Dec. 21 Dec. 21

Dying to Live, Kodak Black Icarus Fallas, ZAYN DNA, Backstreet Boys

Drop date

Dec. 14 Dec. 14 Jan. 25

buzz

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

BINGE-WATCHING

Should I watch it again?

With a longer Christmas break — 19 days — here are some view-worthy Netflix series worth a second look

• A different kind of princess: Moana

•

Walter White: Teacher, father and drug-lord After finishing Breaking Bad, I’m sure the majority of viewers were left speechless, much like myself. Walter White was far from the mild-mannered teacher audiences were presented with Jan. 20, 2008. He had done terrible things, been in terrible situations and torn his family apart lie by lie. I thought that to rewatch Breaking bad would be boring. How could the action of the first couple seasons live up to the pure carnage and chaos that is the final moments of Breaking Bad? With incredible writing and Breaking Bad plenty of drama from the Originally aired get go. AMC Years: I had honestly forgot2008-2013 ten how quickly Walter Stars: begins his transition to Bryan Cran drug lord, and I was deston, Aaron Paul lighted to see Breaking Rotten Bad lives up to its title Tomatoes: as one of the greatest 96 TV shows ever with each spectacularly planned out moment. Walter’s brain is unmatched, and it is thrilling to slowly grow to hate him for his actions, no matter how genius and thought out those actions may be. Furthermore, if you think you caught every detail along your first viewing of the show, you are wrong. Once you get going, I guarantee you won’t be able to stop. Even after Red Dead Redemption 2 came out, I couldn’t tear my focus away from Jesse and Walter. As time goes on, this show will stay at the top.

• Borrowing from Britain: America’s best show 3

Things to look for in considering re-watching a show or movie: 1) Do you remember the story-lines? 2) Do you recall the characters? 3) Do you remember caring about the main characters?

The Office will go down in history as one of the best of the best. If you want to laugh: watch The Office. If you want to cry: watch The Office. If you want to finally understand what everybody is and will be referencing for years to The Office (US) come: watch Release: The Office. 2005 Despite Stars: Steve Carell, being one of John Krasinski, the greatest Jenna Fischer shows of all Rotten time, I would Tomatoes: 89 be lying if I said it didn’t start off slow. During your second run-through, you might cringe quite a bit as the actors attempt to make their characters

their own. This means Michael, Steve Carell, doesn’t hit the mark every time for a little while. You will struggle through Pam’s rebuff of Jim’s advances. You may even feel terrible watching Andy go through his various difficulties with Angela, Erin, Dwight and the rest of the office; however, you know that everything turns out ok, and that makes the show a true masterpiece. Even if you know the ending, and even if you know everything will be fine, you still care for, worry for and root for every single member of the Dunder Mifflin staff—even Dwight.

When I was a kid, I thought it was so cool to skip that year’s Disney release. Instead, I would go to any PG-13, Michael Bay mess that was offered. Now, I know better. Coco, The Incredibles II and Moana are the kinds of movies I love, and few films can compare to the joy of re-watching the hilarity and infectious joy that is Disney’s Moana Moana. Release: 2016 With the Stars: charisma Dwayne Johnbrought ot son, Auli’i the table Cravalho Rotten by Dwayne Tomatoes: “The Rock” 95 Johnson, and the undeniable talent of Auli’i Cravalho, Moana is quite simply a good time. Sing along with various hits from the movie as

you watch Moana journey across the ocean, into other worlds and come into her own as a strong female lead. Even after watching the movie once, the jokes and remarks still get laughs from me and whoever else is watching because Disney knows what they’re doing. While I’m talking about Moana here, honestly any of Netflix’s animated lineup is worth watching. No matter how many times I watch Coco, I will still cry when Coco sings, and that’s because animated movies like that are great. Age is not a factor here. Young, old, going through a midlife crisis and everything in between, I can almost guarentee you’ll be singing along with Moana.

• Childhood fantasy for adults: Stranger Things

• Government bureaucracy: Parks ‘n Rec ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

Netflix • Founded in 1997. • Enroll at Netflix.com • Offers popular television shows, movies, documentaries, seasonal features • Fee per month: $7.99$13.99 • Other popular titles in December include: House of Cards Big Mouth Black Mirror Fuller House American Vandal Orange is the New Black

“Parks and Recreation or The Office?” You’ve probably lost count of how many times you’ve been asked that question – I have. And most of the time, I say Parks and Recreation. Not because The Office is a bad show – it truly is the greatest modern television show. But it’s too perfect. The Disney’s Moana cookie cutter Release: characters of 2009 Jim and Pam Stars: Amy Poehler. and Dwight Nick Offerman are done so Rotten well, but I Tomatoes: know exactly 92 the kind of people they are. On the other hand, I can think I know exactly the kind of person Leslie is – quirky, hard-working, and a goody-two-shoes –

STORIES Duncan Kirstien, Cristian Pereira PHOTOS Courtesy Creative Commons

and then she accepts a gift over $25 (this is considered bribery in government) and uses it to impress some guy-friends she’d been hanging out with. This is why Parks and Recreation is so rewatchable, and this is why The Office takes a close second. If you haven’t seen it, what have you been doing this whole time? Indulge in the masterpiece that is this show! And if you have, maybe choose to re-watch it over your seventh rewatch of The Office (no, I’m not kidding, I know people who’ve seen this seven times). Admire its jokes, admire its characters,admire its imperfections. And although Ron Swanson will try to convince you otherwise, admire the city of Pawnee.

Stranger Things is a fantastic sci-fi adventure set in the 80s. Extremely quickly, the show took off as 2016’s “Netflix show to watch this summer,” as the impressive child acting and overall creative story drew large crowds. The series was nominated for five Emmy awards, and overnight its stars became famous and The Office (US) adored by Release: all. 2016 Season Stars: Millie Bobby two received Brown, Winona critical praise Ryder as well – the Rotten Tomatoes: writing, plot 95 direction, and character arcs retained close to the same magic as the preceding season’s. But it still didn’t live up. The plot wasn’t as good

and felt kind of forced, almost as if the Duffer brothers, who created the show, didn’t have plans for a second season and wrote in a second story after the first one received so much attention. Season one is full of twists and turns and ups and downs. It’s magical. It’s scary. And it always keeps you on your toes. Even though I’d already seen it, I was always asking myself, “When is it gonna happen?” before every memorable moment. So, instead of meeting up with Dutch in Red Dead Redemption 2 or playing 30 games of Blackout on Call of Duty: Black Ops IV, grab some popcorn, get in bed, and watch some Stranger Things (season 1) – you’ll enjoy it.

editorials

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

remarker

Teachers must keep improving adherence to school’s no-homework-weekend policy

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

Despite recent improvements, certain lapses continue and must end.

editor in chief KAMAL MAMDANI

managing editors

PARKER DAVIS SAHIT DENDEKURI LYLE OCHS

a break for students, but also a logistical decision that is meant to help not only students but also teachers spend more time finalizing grades and writing comments. Despite this progress, many students were still assigned homework by a select few teachers during the most recent no-homework weekend, which occurred Nov. 9-11. As we have stated before, this practice is unacceptable and sends a contradictory message to students. Administrators recently issued a notice to faculty that they were to not, under any circumstances, issue homework over the no-homework weekend to any students. However, a small number of teachers ignored this and issued homework anyway, disregarding the requests of administrators. The most effective option for solving this persistent issue is holding these teachers accountable. Students should, in a respectful manner, emphasize the no-homework policy to teachers if they are assigned homework. If this approach fails, then administrators should step in. We propose these solutions to solve this issue prevent work

t the end of each trimester, students look forward to an administration-mandated weekend of no homework after their hard work during the previous trimester. However, many teachers have historically ignored the policy and assigned work for that following trimester. This can come in the form of long assignments due Tuesday or simply an assignment due Monday. By and large, after three editorials from The ReMarker and notices from administrators, teachers have begun to follow this policy much more closely. We appreciate the genuine progress that has been made in this area. We commend the fact that many teachers have prioritized theirs students and followed the policy better than in previous years, giving students the well-deserved rest they have earned. Some of this improvement can be attributed to a vigilant student body that has gotten fed up with losing out on a no-homework weekend. Additionally, the notice from the administration helped drive home that this weekend is not simply

head photographer KYLE SMITH

assignments editor JAMES ROGERS

creative directors JAHAZIEL LOPEZ MICHAEL LUKOWICZ

communications director C J CRAWFORD

opinions editors CONNOR PIERCE WALLACE WHITE

opinions specialist DUNCAN KIRSTEIN

10600, culture editors SAM AHMED TIANMING XIE

discoveries editor MATTHEW ZHANG

focus editors

NATHAN HAN CHRISTOPHER WANG

issues editors

ISHAN GUPTA SID VATTAMREDDY

sports editors COLIN CAMPBELL AARON THORNE

perspectives editor SAM GOLDFARB

diversions editor ANDY CROWE

graphics director MATTHEW COLEMAN

copy editors

ERIC HIRSCHBRICH DYLAN LIU

research director NICK WALSH

business manager PAXTON SCOTT

staff writers

ALAM ALIDINA, WILLIAM ANIOL, TREVOR CROSNOE, JACK DAVIS, MATEO GUEVARA, RAJAN JOSHI, JAMIE MAHOWALD, HENRY MCELHANEY, LUKE NAYFA, CRISTIAN PEREIRA, LUKE PIAZZA, ROBERT POU, COOPER RIBMAN, SIDDHARTHA SINHA, PAUL SULLIVAN, SAI THIRUNAGARI, ERIC YOO, HAN ZHANG

over the break and safeguard students if they do receive homework.

Administrators should continue with emails to faculty informing them of the no-homework weekend and of the consequences if violated.

Students should report all teachers who assign homework over the no-homework weekend to the Upper School office. The only way we can rectify this completely is to identify and correct each and every violator of the policy.

As a last resort, we suggest nullifying all homework grades due on the Monday following the intended no-homework weekend. This should only be a last resort if the abuse becomes too rampant. We urge administrators to continue their work to end this practice and for teachers to follow their guidelines. Improvement has been made, but, no matter the circumstances, students should never be cheated out of their vital and rare opportunity to have a homework-free weekend.

artists

CHAD KIM COLE ARNETT

adviser

RAY WESTBROOK

headmaster DAVID W. DINI

opinions and editorials

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Students must take advantage of buddy program Senior-freshmen buddy program should be taken seriously for the benefit of all involved.

his year, the Senior Class has made an effort to rejuvenate the senior-freshmen buddy program. The program’s goal is to facilitate advising between seniors and freshmen by pairing up each senior with one or two freshmen “buddies” and hosting taco and donut breakfasts and other events over the course of the year to allow seniors and freshmen to spend time with each other and develop close relationships. While the program worked well when it began a few years ago, senior classes over the past couple of years have failed to take charge and hold meet-ups throughout the year. Seniors and freshmen have not been given the opportunities to build these helpful relationships, meaning that this important form of advising to help with the transition from middle to upper school has not existed for recent freshmen classes. We commend the Class of 2019 for taking the initiative to attempt to revitalize this vital form of mentoring. That being said, we believe the leaders of the program must ensure

that the program is better maintained than in previous years. Previously, even when seniors have attempted to conduct the senior-freshmen buddy program, meetup have not been held consistently, and even when they have been held, seniors and freshmen alike have not taken advantage of them to their full potential.

BLAKE BROOM PHOTO

photographers

BLAKE BROOM, COLLIN KATZ, ADNAN KHAN, RYAN MCCORD, TYLER NUSSBAUMER, KATHAN RAMNATH, WILL ROCCHIO, CHARLIE ROSE, CHARLIE RUBARTH, DANIEL SANCHEZ, LEE SCHLOSSER, ROHIT VEMURI

BREAKFAST BUDDIES Senior Chad Kim gets to know his buddy, freshman Blake Molthan, as they meet over donuts during the first senior-freshman buddy program breakfast event Nov. 8.

Senior Class officials must work together to ensure that senior-freshmen meet-ups are held consistently throughout the year. Whether those are breakfasts as have been held

in the past, or new, creative types of meet-ups, it is important these events are held consistently so that seniors and their freshmen buddies can develop the close relationships that are necessary for seniors to mentor freshmen in the best manner possible. Granted, we understand that school life for students here is incredibly busy and that there simply is not always enough time in the schedule to hold events. That being said, the program can still be successful if seniors and freshmen commit to take better advantage of the meetings when they are held and focus on using their time together to genuinely get to know each other so that they take full advantage of the senior-freshmen buddy program both during the meet-ups and throughout school. If everyone works together to ensure events are held consistently and students take full advantage of them, we believe the senior-freshmen buddy program can return to serving as a productive and fun way for seniors to help freshmen with their transition to Upper School.

editorials/opinions

THE REMARKER •DECEMBER 14, 2018

STAFF EDITORIAL

you search for an example of a life well-lived, you need look no further than former President George H.W. Bush, who passed away Nov. 30 at the age of 94. A man who devoted 76 years of his life to meritorious public service in the military and in government, his departure from public life represented the end of an era marked by civility and friendship in politics. No matter one’s stance on his policies, Bush’s laudable grace in the increasingly tense political climate of Washington, D.C. is in stark contrast to the divisiveness that has continued to spread to the country’s politicians and citizens. We hope his death will serve as a reminder of not only a man who embodied these characteristics, but will also be serve to remind all of his exemplary culture and spirit. Throughout his life, Bush fulfilled the truest

Stocks to

Watch The bulls and bears of the stocks around campus

definition of what it means to be a patriot. While many in Washington today would like to see a return to putting country over party and self, Bush did just that — not just in speech, but also in action and in deed. A man who devoted his entire life to public service, he gave up the opportunity to go to college at age 18, choosing instead to join the Navy, where he became a decorated fighter pilot. His eagerness to serve his nation helps illustrate his passion and drive for service that St. Mark’s works to instill in each and every one of its students. As students near that turning point in their lives, we hope they will look to Bush as a man of character who exemplifies the values of integrity, judgment, spirituality and confidence that are emblazoned on the Path to Manhood statue — a man who we can look up to no matter one’s personal political viewpoints.

CREATIVE COMMONS PHOTO

George Herbert Walker Bush’s life is an example of a life well-lived, devoted to faith, family and public service.

An icon for all The nation’s 41st president, George Herbert Walker Bush, will be remembered as a man who always put country above party. The man who claimed Texas as home passed away Nov. 30 at age 94.

Amount of community service opportunities: Spike The amount of opportunities for community service has been numerous and fufilling. Students are experienceing new ways to get their hours and serve their community.

A life of service • Born in Massachusetts in 1924; father was a U.S. senator from Connecticut • Enlisted in Navy on 18th birthday. • Enrolled in Yale University after the war, earns a degree in economics. • Moved family to West Texas to begin career in oil industry. • Elected to U.S. House of Representatives from Houston in 1966. • Served as Ambassador to the U.N., 1971- 73. • Served as envoy to China, 1974-75. • Served as director of the CIA, 1976-77. • Elected vice president of the United States, 1980; served two terms. • Elected President of the United States, 1988; served one term. • Nov. 30, died in Houston at the age of 94 years.

International week: Increase

Increased options in SAGE: Increase The amount of alternatives for students who want to eat something other than the main course has generally increased.

Sweatpants at school: Decline

More activities and events during International Week has been a welcome variety in the community.

Assemblies: Increase

Although we understand why student wear sweats on the way to school, the dress code does not permit them; they should be removed when on campus.

Assemblies have picked up in quality and turned into a great escape from school stress, a time to convey announcements and have fun.

Hoffman toilets: Crash

Some of the toilets in Hoffman have been reported to have major stopages and malfuncitons. Whether the reason is misuse or maintanence issues is uncertain.

Around the

Quad Students and faculty share their opinions on issues in the news and around campus.

should be ‘ Religion discussed at home rather

than at school. However, religion has many valuable lessons that can and have been incorporated into our curriculum and campus life. Aaysuh Goodapatty sophomore

No, school shouldn’t be ‘ associated with religion, because they’re not related. We get enough moral education that we shouldn’t need religion in school. Daniel Mirochna senior

important for peo‘ It’s ple to be educated about how others are raised and what they do and don’t believe as to not unknowingly offend someone. Wiliam Fitzpatrick freshman

should have ‘ Religion a bigger impact on

the classroom, but it shouldn’t be forced on others or used to promote close-minded beliefs. Rahul Banerjee sophomore

Learning to attack the hills

Q Do you believe that religion and

discussions surrounding religion should play a bigger role in campus life and within classrooms here? that many of ‘ Iusthink are uninformed

about the major world religions. If we learned more about them we would have more tolerance. Marsha McFarland Cecil H. and Ida Green Master teacher

an increasingly diverse ‘ With student population, St. Mark’s is losing its image as an Episcopal prep school. It would be harmful to the community if religion was forced upon people. Rishi Mohan sophomore

think learning about other ‘ Ireligions in other settings besides chapel would be beneficial in terms of our understanding of diverse viewpoints and cultures. Samir Ratakonda senior

don’t think it ‘ Ishould be forced

upon students, but I think an element of spirituality on campus is beneficial. Alex Tate senior

ngage yourself. Short and seemingly obvious, that piece of advice was an overarching theme this cross country season. We reinforced it among ourselves throughout the season, sometimes through of arsenal of inside jokes based on it. At first, the message sounded pretty obvious. I mean, of course I have to engage myself in running. In what task would I not want to be engaged? There’s always some value to knowing how something must be done, of course, even saying it out loud before starting a task. But not until they’re applied profoundly, ingrained subconsciously and absolutely, will words of wisdom yield results. During this year’s SPC race, I set a new personal record—with a huge hill right in the middle of the course. Beyond the many little things we do before SPC (tapered workouts, ice baths and carbo-loading the night before), my steadfast mindset never slipped away throughout that entire race. When I first started to falter, struggling up what seemed like a mountain at the first mile marker, the people lined up on each side, surrounding me with their screamed motivation, reinforced my responsibility

to raise my mental bar to the standard of my physical limit. They kept me engaged. I can read jokes about how “my sport is your sport’s punishment” and laugh with pride, knowing the rarity of that sustained attitude of endurance in non-distance runners. I won’t say running doesn’t hurt; it does. It can seem thankless, menacing and without Michael Lukowicz Creative Director

respite. Alacrity and stamina prevail over dexterity and finesse, rendering it an ultimate test of tenacious willpower. Need advice before a race? Run fast. I don’t expect many people to fully understand me when I say I’ve learned to find enjoyment in running, but everyone has latent passions somewhere. Though in sharp contrast to the act of running, my performance of “Undivided Attention” in Poetry Out Loud this year demanded of me a most similar mindset. During my search for a poem, I stumbled upon the only competition-ap-

proved one by Taylor Mali, an author with whom I’d spoken at a literary festival in the past. Every time I recite, casting my arms to one side as I commence with ten lines of detailed imagery, I find myself enthralled by the poem’s artistry and the thrill of performance. The imagined portrayal of the “piano being pushed out of a window and lowered down on to a flatbed truck” captivates me—and, hopefully, my audience—every time, yet even that effect yields to the poem’s final message, disclosing reason behind its title. But more than just deliberating the subject of attention, the poem addresses a mindset I’ve learned to apply to my life on all sides, one I can express to others through my performance. “Undivided Attention” itself teaches that to truly absorb something — to conquer it — to fully engage in its potential for brilliance, one must perceive many things like “the first snow, falling,” something especially rare and intriguing in Dallas. So “getting through” practice will never give rise to significant improvement. Authenticity in any field requires sustained thought—so stay engaged. As Coach Turek says, “don’t be a dilettante.”

opinions

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

Christmas, the cold, and the elf on the shelf: finding warmth at heart

t’s funny—I feel a pang of regret whenever I watch The Polar Express each Christmas time. The movie’s McGuffin of Santa’s sleigh bell is a symbol of belief in that jolly menace, and I cringe every time that bell rings to believers and is silent to the nonbelievers. It’s a dark truth I come face-to-face with once the temperature drops. Not even the hot chocolate in my cupped palm can warm the cold reality: I don’t believe in Christmas anymore. I’m an infidel. Shame. That’s not to say there’s no color in my wonderful world during this season. Having felt the magic of an adorned pine tree and a fireplace burning oak, I admire

the Christmas spirit for what it means to children, and I’d dread to be the cursed soul telling a kid Santa isn’t real. And there’s the real challenge—preserving that mythos for the CJ Crawford hopeful majorCommunications Editor ity of wonder-filled eyes. For example, my 12 year old sister—Kyra —has an elf on the shelf. An elf… on a shelf. Each year since ninth grade I’ve watched my mother come up with ways to place that stuffed, inanimate creep in every nook and cranny of our

The report card Thoughts on happenings around campus Fall sports student support The volleyball team attributed a large part of its exciting comeback wins to the best student sections it had seen in years. The last few games of football season saw great support from the stands, as well.

McDonald’s Week attendance Due to poor weather, McDonald’s Week attendance was lower overall, but brave students and teacher perservered to make a great week of fund-raising.

Upstairs library re-opened to underclassmen Freshmen and sophomores had previously been crammed into the first floor of the library. We thank the library faculty for opening this much-needed space to underclassmen.

Student attendence of Senior Exhibitions Students have been hampered from attending classmates senior exhibitions during chapel or assembly. Senior exhibitions are almost exclusively at those times, and it cuts off seniors from experiencing other classmates presentations.

A+ B+

B C-

house. Above the fridge, on the coffee maker, in the toaster oven. She’s honestly gotten really creative. Every year, my sister marvels at our elf, so aptly named Elvis, and his ability to maneuver with such “stealth.” I’d be lying if I told you the thought hasn’t crossed my mind that my sister is lying to herself, that she’s trying to preserve her wonder before it’s gone for good. I could be wrong though—her eyes fill with that same spark from her first Christmas. So, as annoying it can be to observe her oblivion, it’s comforting to know she still has time to live as a child. Who am I to shift her toward the commer-

cialized, demystified dark side? Sometimes, we all want that child-like obliviousness back. After all, ignorance in bliss. Watching her excitement when the temperature drops helps me appreciate my hot chocolate more, watching Polar Express. Sure, I don’t believe. But putting on a benign facade, even if it’s just for a month, only amplifies her joy, and there’s nothing quite like a little sister, bright-eyed beaming at the lights cascading our house. At that moment, I hope her wonder stays alive for years to come. Wow. I guess there’s magic in not believing.

Seeking adulthood in a Ball’s hamburger

he silver Mercedes pulled into the sports-themed-venue as sweat made my blue Lamplighter Lightning jersey stick to my back. Only half an hour had passed since my baseball team had clenched a legendary YMCA victory, 1-0, against the Falcons. Epic. Afterwards, Coach Brett Kirstein, my father, made the decision that such a win merited a trip to the greatest burger restaurant in the world—Ball’s Hamburgers. I threw open the double doors with purpose, and I took several 8-year-oldsized strides to the front counter. There was an air of anticipation about me because for the first time ever, I was done with the kids meal. No more chicken rings for this guy. No more kidsized stuff. I was finally grown up. I raised my fist with confidence, and I slammed it down on the table with a single demand following: “I want one regular burger. Make it medium.” Coach K stood behind me with a surprised look: “Are you sure you can handle that, bud? That’s gonna be a pretty big sandwich.” I looked at my six-foot tall father who towered before me, and I shot him my we’re-all-adults-here look. It was the kind of look that screamed “I know what a 401k is,” and I did not use it lightly. “If you are sure you can finish it, you can get the normal burger.” No one was a match for my debate skills.

With my head held high, I walked over to the small side-arcade. I was feeling very grown up, and I was loving every second of it. Sauntering over to the arcade machines, I spotted an old favorite of mine from when I was a kid in the 80s—Pac-Man. I grabbed two quarters I had recently won at the stock’s market (like an adult would), and I jammed them into the coin-slot. A familiar eight-bit theme song rang in my ears, and I began playing. Several minutes later, I sat in a red plastic chair as my full-sized burger was placed in front of me by my father. I had never seen it so close. The hunk of beef had to be at Duncan Kirstein least ten pounds. Maybe Opinions more. Specialist Naturally, I panicked. I had promised my dad that I would finish the behemoth before me, but it was clear now that was not an option. I realized what I was thinking, and I shook the negativity out of my head. I was going to finish that burger, no matter the cost. I would have no doubts in my head. I picked up the slab of meat, cheese and bread, and I took a bite. It was delicious. A delightful aroma coupled with the most savory taste I had ever tasted. With such flavor to look forward to, finishing the burger began to seem like a possibility. I mustered up more strength and heaved the burger to my mouth again. I bit into the bun, and a terrible truth dawned on me. I was full.

From a North Korean Diplomat’s son: Don’t believe everything you see in the media

aige, a Caucasian girl with short blonde hair cut in a bob—America. Gary, a tall, skinny-as-a-pencil man with a pointy nose and glasses—France. Basic first day introductions, talk about our countries, followed by explaining our lives. I look at the red digital clock next to the chalkboard—8:23 a.m. Three hours and 37 minutes left. I look back at my textbook, ready for these four weeks to be over. James Kim*, a six-foot tall man who looks like he goes to the gym 24/7—North Korea. The whole class looks up. Every single person in that room at Beijing Culture and Language University stops for a moment. I find him outside, smoking his cigarette in the polluted air. How many times will I have a chance to have a conversation with someone from North Korea? A country that is so isolated it seems like a different planet. I start a normal conversation, trying to break the ice. “Did she assign us page 23 or 24,” I ask. “Page 24,” James responds. Then, I go for it. “Hey, I’m on my school newspaper, and I was wondering if I could interview you about your life,” I barely spit it out. He takes a quick puff of his cigarette, looks to the side and responds, “Sure.” I smile and say, “Thank you so much,” trying not to let him know my heart was pounding 100 beats per second. Then walk away feeling on top of the world.

It’s 6:18 p.m. at hot pot. My iPhone X vibrates on the glass table top. Snapchat from Christopher Wang. And that’s when I see I’ve missed a text from James — a text he sent two hours earlier. I slide the screen to the right and see, “Hey man, sorry about this but I think I’ll pass on the interview…” My heart drops. I walk back to my dorm room with a missed-the-game-winning-shot feeling. The next day I get to class early — determined. I have to convince James to talk to me. 7:58 a.m. He still isn’t here. A million thoughts race through my head and then James’s jet black hair flies in as he runs into class right before the red digital clock hits 8 a.m. My teacher tells me to take my seat, but I have to talk to James. “Hey man I saw your text but I don’t have to use your name...” I quickly blurt out. James nonchalantly responds, “Okay, I can do it then.” It’s set. Thursday during lunch. The next couple of days I spend every second of every day researching and thinking about questions. There is no way he can talk about North Korea positively. I wonder how he will respond about Otto Warmbier? Otto was the American college student who was arrested in North Korea and after 17 months in captivity he was released back to America only to die six

days later. After days of research, I’m starting to believe almost everything I’m seeing on the media. The government propaganda and lies from the North Korean media. Labor camps. Poverty and starvation across the nation. Thursday comes out of nowhere, and after we both get our ten-Yuan pork dumplings, we sit across from each other at an empty lunch table. Sixteen minutes and 12 seconds later it’s over. It’s all over. Can you Sam just tell me Ahmed 10600/ about yourCulture self and your Editor family? He’s a 19-year-old college student who left North Korea when he was two years old and grew up in Singapore. His dad was “one of the lucky few” able to leave because he’s a diplomat for Singapore. A lot of people who defect from North Korea are negative about it, why are you so positive about it? Dodging the question, he responds by saying he doesn’t respect the North Koreans who defect from the suburbs because when they leave, they’re putting their family in “great danger.” Can you explain the time you went back and why?

At age 13, he along with tens of sons and daughters of other diplomats living in other countries are required to go back to North Korea to complete a compulsory three-year course. The course teaches North Korea’s history and instills a strong sense of nationalism. What do you hope for the future of North Korea and relations with the USA? Taking his time to choose his words as if he is reading a script, he says he hopes for peace between North Korea and America, and talks about going back to North Korea to work for the government. Did you know about Otto Warmbier’s situ-? He cuts me off saying, “I don’t think I can talk about that.” After the 16 minutes and 12 seconds, I stand up, thank him, and walk away with three of my dumplings left. As I turn to leave with my friends, James taps my shoulder and whispers, “Don’t believe everything you see in the media.” Was everything he said just propaganda? Don’t believe everything you see in the media? Was he actually telling the truth? Don’t believe everything… As I finish my three pork dumplings, his last comment plays again and again and again in my head. And still, that Thursday replays in my mind today. *James Kim is a pseudonym

sports

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

JERSEY NUMBERS

More than just a number For many Lions athletes, the numbers they wear on the back of their jerseys can mean even more than the name on the front.

Baseball

Cole Arnett

WHY? Started wearing nine at seven years old inspired by the baseball movie The Natural in which Roy Hobbs, the hero of the movie, wears nine.

“ PLAYING FOR HIM Junior Carr Urschel, defensive end for the Lions football team, wears number 20 in memorial of his brother Chance, who passed away at the age of 20 due to a rare form of cerebral palsy.

t’s the fourth three and out of the game. Blood pumping, sweat pouring, tears running, junior defensive end Carr Urschel—number 20—wearily jogs off the field, nursing a sore ankle suffered two plays earlier. He bends down, rubbing his injured ankle, then begs for help from the loved one whom he has an unbreakable bond with, and he knows no pain he faces on the field compares to what they went through. It’s like he’s there, on the field, standing right next to Carr, consoling him through all his struggles, reminding him to give it all he’s got. “I would say the way that it helps me the most is that I almost have this conversation with him inside my head when I'm on the field where I just ask him for help,” Urschel said. “Whenever I play football, I play really physically, and sometimes if I get hit hard or if I'm hurting, it always helps remind me and puts in perspective that no matter what I'm going through, my brother would have killed to be able to be on the field.” But he’s not. ••• Chance Carter Urschel was only supposed to live to the age of eight. Fighting a rare type of cerebral palsy called holoprosencephaly which affects the frontal lobe of the brain, he was cared for by his parents –– and brother –– daily. He couldn’t talk or walk. He would’ve killed to be on the football field, just like his brother. However, he continued to defy the odds even as they were stacked against him. As a result, Carr’s life was changed forever. As an eighth grader, he would never see his brother again.

But that wasn’t the end of the brothers’ relationship. The two still share a special bond on the football field. ••• Carr wears number 20 on the football field in remembrance of his brother who on Feb. 29, 2016, passed at the age of 20 after a long fight with cerebral palsy. Carr gives everything every time he steps foot on the field just for Chance.

“

I just feel like I’m putting on a protective suit of armor when I put number 20 on.” — Junior Carr Urschel “Ever since he passed away, I always felt like I kind of had a responsibility to not only play for myself, but play for him as if he could have played,” Carr said. “When my parents talk to me about it, they say that I seem my most natural on the football field because you don't really have to worry about any problems or anything like that. I think one of those reasons is because I know that he's just right there with me.” Carr made the switch to 20 when he moved from JV to varsity, as he realized varsity football means significantly more to him. “When somebody in your family passes away, you never really stop remembering them,” Carr said. “Football was always my brother's favorite sport to come watch me play.” The two brothers had always shared a passion of football; Chance

STORY William Aniol, Luke Nayfa PHOTO Charlie Rose

loved watching his brother play. The last football game Chance attended was Carr’s eighth grade game against the Episcopal School of Dallas, a game in which the Lions were victorious. Chance struggled to make it to 20. He was fully dependent on his family. In addition to cerebal palsy, he suffered from pneumonia around five times before his passing. Carr believes his number visibly affects his play also. Ever since he started wearing 20, he’s possessed a newfound desire to win. “One thing you notice about me is that every time we lose I'm usually in tears because I just care so much about wanting to win and wanting to play just as hard as I possibly can,” Carr said. “I feel like anything short of that would be wasting an opportunity that I've been given, and the reason I think that way is because of my brother.” Meanwhile on the lacrosse field, Carr has his brother’s name written on his helmet. However, he currently wears 34, the number his cousin wore as a college lacrosse player. However, he is strongly considering making the switch over to 20 in lacrosse as well. Carr feels through wearing 20, he has gained a deeper appreciation for the blessings and opportunities he’s been given in life. “Twenty just helps remind me and others that it's such a blessing just to be able to step on the field, even if you're riding the bench the whole game, you're playing a little bit or you literally never come out and you're exhausted and cramping by the end of the game,” Carr said. “It helps remind me that every single second you spend on the football or lacrosse field is one of the biggest gifts you have.”

After a few seasons, I stopped associating the number with Hobbs and saw it more as my own personal identity. At some point, nine stopped being just a number and became my number. I have always felt that I play best when I feel comfortable while competing, and I feel most comfortable with the same number on my back that I’ve Cole Arnett had my whole life. I play best with a nine on my back.” — senior COLE ARNETT

Water Polo

Jack Palmer

WHY? Wears number seven primarily in honor of his father, who wore the number in the Australian Men’s Football League.

“

Seven was my dad’s number when he played professional Australian Men’s Football. My dad is basically the biggest inspiration in my life, and he is the hardest worker I know. This number was also my coach’s, who gave me the number to wear. Both of these Jack men are so incrediPalmer bly inspirational and great role models for me to have in my life.” — sophomore JACK PALMER

Volleyball

Lincoln Dales

WHY? Wears number 18 because this year (2018), before the season, he predicted the volleyball team would win the SPC championship, which ended up happening exactly as Dales believed.

“

Being a Junior on the volleyball team brings out more of a leadership role that was more necessary than in years past. I have always wanted Lincoln to win an SPC Dales championship, and I knew this year, 2018, was the year to do it.” — junior LINCOLN DALES

sports

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

25 Gameday on the Air: Luke Evangelist on College Gameday

by Luke Nayfa unior Luke Evangelist checked off a lifelong dream from his bucket list this year. For as long as he could remember, Evangelist has been a proud supporter of college football, and more specifically, a huge fan of the nationally televised show, College Gameday. The show is known for its great food, games, enthusiastic fans and, most importantly, the gameday signs the fans create. This year, Evangelist had the opportunity to be one of those passionate fans and ended up making it on TV. The process was long and tiring for Evangelist, requiring loads of work and preparation in order to make the sign before the game. “I had to wake up around 4:30 a.m. for both of the games and spent about two days prior planning ideas and themes for the signs I wanted to make,” Evangelist said. “Both times I kind of rushed and put them together in the morning.”

CHAMPS The student section and the volleyball team hoist up the championship trophy after defeating Trinity Valley in four sets.

BANNER YEAR

Volleyball wins SPC Lions break four year streak of no titles in varsity volleyball.

he score is 23-19. Trinity Valley leads the game 1-1, but they have the Lions on their heels. Trinity Valley hits the ball out of bounds, giving the Lions the point. 23-20. The Lions crowd goes wild. It seems like a comeback is starting, but suddenly, the score changes. 23-19. And again. 24-19. From complete euphoria, the Lions crowd devolves into boos and frustration. The crowd looks for an explanation for the score change. Sophomore Tristan Doan had signaled that he touched the ball. Trinity Valley point. The Trinity Valley fanbase cheers “Scoreboard” ecstatically. 24-19. One more point and the set is over. Doan spikes it down for a Lions point. 24-20. Senior Captain Albert Lou goes to serve. Lion point. And another. And another. All of a sudden the score is tied, 24-24. The Lions get another point, making it 25-24. One more point. The gym goes silent. Lions fans each hold up one finger in the air.

Luo serves the ball again, for the sixth straight play. The Lions score! The entire gym roars with excitement. The momentum of the game has shifted since Trinity Valley took a 1-0 lead at the beginning. As the fourth set goes on, Trinity Valley fans slowly start to trickle out of the gym, as the Lions have dominant control of the entire set. As the Trojan fans leave, Lion fans only get more rowdy. Coach Darren Teicher’s squad is nearing closer to the 25th point. That point that will give them immortality in Lion sports history. Now, Lions are at 24 points. The gym, once again, goes eerily silent. Fans yet again each hold up one finger in the air. The ball is served. Trinity Valley hits it back. Junior Toby Nwafor, falling back, sets the ball up near the back of the court. It is set back to near the net. Doan goes up for the spike. He hits a powerful spike down. A Trinity Valley player blocks the set. It’s out of bounds! And, with that, the game is over. Volleyball claims its first SPC championship in nearly a year and a

STORY Rajan Joshi, Cooper Ribman PHOTO Courtesy Albert Luo

half. “The biggest thing is the fight,” Teicher said. “These guys had the most fight out of any team I have ever coached. We hadn’t beaten Trinity Valley all year long and hadn’t even come close, so we didn’t know what we were going to get from the guys. We knew we had the potential but we just weren’t sure what was going to show up at SPC. The guys showed up.” Sophomore starter Daniel Sanchez credits much of the team’s success to its leadership. “The leadership all around, especially from the captains Albert Luo, Billy Stalder, and Parker Davis, really contributed to our victory,” Sanchez said, “With their leadership, we all played as one team instead of as individuals.” The massive number of students, teachers and parents in the gym supporting the team for all of their games also helped immensely in the team’s success. “The crowd was a game changer for us,” Sanchez said, “It really amplified the home-field advantage. We haven’t seen that much support for volleyball since Parker Dixon was playing.”

THE SIGN Evangelist holds his sign up at Fair Park for his second College Gameday appearance.

THE PATH Volleyball team members defeated three squads en route to the SPC title: def. Kinkaid 3 sets to 1; def. St. Stephens 3 sets to 2 and in the finals def. Trinity Valley 3 sets to 1.

When Evangelist arrived at the stadium, usually around 5:30 a.m., he looked for the closest spot to the cameras with the best angles and most exposure to the audience at home. “We waited for about two and a half hours before the show actually started and positioned ourselves perfectly in order to not only be seen by the cameramen but also to just have a good time with the fans around us,” Evangelist said. Evangelist’s inspiration for this newfound hobby began several years ago when he first began watching the show and seeing the entertainment that came with it. “It was always a bucket list thing, just seeing those fans on TV having the times of their lives,” Evangelist said. “For the past couple years, the University of Texas hasn’t been the team that they should have been, so when Gameday came back for the notorious Cotton Bowl at the State Fair, I knew that was a great opportunity for me.” Although at times Evangelist’s strategy for success on the show doesn’t always go as planned, he never lets that stop him from continuing this thrilling hobby. “Any time this show is ever in the vicinity of Dallas, whether it is at TCU or maybe even in Austin, I definitely plan on attending and participating with even more creative and humorous signs,” Evangelist said.

sports

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Return of the Spurs

Lions receiving national recruiting attention

THE LINEUP Juniors Will Mallick, Andrew Laczkowski, Henry Exall, Christian Duessel and Charlie Rose carry their flags down the field in preparation for the Lions’ game vs. the ESD Eagles. The Lions would go on to lose the game 12-14.

own 14-6, the Lions need some momentum. Something to turn the tide. But then it happens. Senior Jonathon Taylor scampers into the endzone for a touchdown. All of the post-score celebrations ensue. The band plays and the crowd cheers. But something else happens too. For the first time in well over a year, six marksmen donned in jeans and a cowboy hats glide across the track with flags spelling L-I-O-N-S. The spurs are back. For junior Will Mallick, the Spurs have been a part of his life at Lions football “Ever since my first St. Mark’s football game, I’ve games since admired the Spurs. I was devastated when I heard he was they weren’t coming a first back.” grader. — junior WILL “Ever MALLICK since my first St. Mark’s football game, I’ve admired the Spurs. I was devastated when I heard they weren’t coming back about two years ago, so I started talking to teachers to try and get it started up again.” Mallick asked tenth grade spon-

sor Casey Gendason in late August if he could revive the Spurs for the 2018 football season. Gendason recommended that Mallick wait for the opportunity to arise by itself, or talk to Lynne Steckler, former Spurs sponsor. However, the parents of senior football players were thinking along the same lines as Mallick. “Luckily, the senior parents, along with Mrs. Urschel, reached out to my mom about getting a group of guys together to run at the ESD game. A week later, Andrew Laczkowski, Lincoln Dales, Charlie Rose, William Holtby, Henry Exall and I are running the game.” Mallick feels the Spurs provide a spark to the fan section and the team on the field. “Seeing the flags waving down the track really gets the people going,” Mallick said. “I know it means a lot to the players too; many of them came up to us after the game thankful that we were willing to do it for their last game.” Mallick’s not certain as to whether or not the Spurs are coming back — that’s a question for the administration to answer. However, he definitely hopes for their return

and thinks it’s a possibility for the 2019 season. “The ESD game was honestly the most fun I’ve ever had at a football game,” Mallick said. “All I know is that the class of 2020 definitely has more than enough people who want to participate, so if the team and administration wants us, we will show up.” Senior football captain Landon Wood believes the Spurs play a special role in energizing the student section. “That’s what makes you feel like it’s worth it, just having that sense of school spirit and school pride,” Wood said. “You’re on the football field, knowing that people are supporting you and giving up their time to do that, so you know that they care.” Based on the energy they brought for the final game of the 2018 season, Wood would like to see the Spurs make appearances for years to come. “Every game that [the spurs] could come to, I think the guys would really appreciate it next year,” Wood said. “It was really cool to have them for the rivalry game, but I think it would be even better if they were consistently a thing for each home game.”

STORY Aaron Thorne, Robert Pou PHOTO Will Rocchio

November 2, 2018 by Colin Campbell ’ve seen it happen quite a few times over the years. Seemingly out-of-place kickers thrust into the spotlight at the end of games, their teams down by one, two or three. Teams trusting its fate in the hands, or rather the foot, of a skinny kicker. And they miss. The coach throws his clipboard. The quarterback collapses to his knees in anger. Fans cry and boo. That kicker misses his opportunity to be the hero and instead becomes the scapegoat for the loss. Hate mail and death threats ensue. He gets cut or replaced by the next fresh-faced ex-soccer player with a Howitzer for a leg. Up until Nov. 2, 2018, I had avoided one of these situations. Fifteen games into my varsity football career, and not one decided by an errant kick of mine. I liked it that way, too.

As a kicker, I’d be lying if I said the thought doesn’t creep into my head every now and then. I have confidence in my abilities, but that doesn’t stop the question from popping up into my head: What happens if I miss? On Nov. 2, 2018, I found out.

Colin Campbell Sports Editor

Hundreds of fans in Norma and Lamar Hunt Family Stadium watched as my 44-yard attempt sailed wide right with 6:13 left on the clock. We were down 14-12. We lost 14-12. As surprised as I was about the miss, I was even more surprised about what happened after. I had seen this show before, after all. I

knew what came next, or at least I thought I did. But there was no coach throwing his clipboard. No quarterback wanting nothing more than to rip my head off. Instead, there was head coach Bart Epperson, telling me that we would get the ball back and that I’d make a game winner. Instead, senior captain and quarterback Colin Neuhoff was there patting me on the back and telling me that my successful 33 and 31 yard field goals earlier in the game were the only reasons why we even had a chance to win. And the support didn’t stop there. Coaches, players, parents and fans alike. Not one blaming me for the loss. Not one pandering for me to be cut or replaced. After that game finished, people emerged from all corners of the school community, attempting to cheer me

up and ensure me the loss wasn’t my fault. What I learned on Nov. 2, 2018 is that my community has the ability to transcend trends common to other places. This is not a perennial 6A public school powerhouse. This is not a Division-1 football powerhouse. This is not an NFL organization. This is St. Mark’s, where a kicker can miss a potential game-winner and not feel an ounce of hate or blame. A place where I could never feel alone. A place full of people who recognized my pain and put whatever personal feelings they had aside and made me their priority. And because of that, I am so very thankful. And because of that, I owe it to this community to be the best football player I can be, no matter how skinny and out-of-place I may look on Friday Nights.

by Luke Nayfa or almost 13 years that head basketball oach Greg Guiler has been leading the school’s basketball program, the team has never received as much exposure from college recruiters and coaches as they have this year. With talent spread throughout all grades in the Upper School, the team is no longer competing just against private schools but also have proven successful against larger 6A public schools, such as DeSoto School, which has several thousand more students than our student body does. The team’s success has helped bring individual college recognition to freshman Noah Shelby, freshman Colin Smith, sophomore Harrison Ingram and junior Andrew Laczkowski. A significant part of the recruiting process is something Guiler describes as a snowball effect. “Once one coaching staff hears that a college made an offer to one of our players, a lot of times that will the pique the interests of many more colleges and coaching staffs,” Guiler said. Ingram, a five-star recruit, has been looked at by college level coaches and recruiters for nearly a year now, but when he officially received his first offer from Texas A&M University in early April, it was a change of mindset for him. “When I got my first scholarship, it was like ‘I made it,’”Ingram said. “Right then, all of the hard work I have put into this sport finally paid off.” Ingram has yet to decide where he plans on committing, which is normal for college potential athletes of his age, but he has piled up plenty of colleges to look at already. “A lot of coaches have come to visit either some of our practices or games from schools like Mississippi State, Purdue, Texas A&M, Kansas, TCU, Texas, Georgetown and more,” Ingram said. Ingram recognized that his work hasn’t gone unnoticed, but he understands the negative consequences that can come from not putting in all his effort from this point on. “I am very blessed to have such an opportunity where I can go to school for free and play the game I love because of how hard I work on a day to day basis, but I have no room to slack,” Ingram said. “As a matter of fact, I am at the point where I need to work harder than I ever have in order to compete with everyone else.”

After a two year absence, Lions football team revives spirit group.

sports Soccer kicks off season

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

2018 RECORD 3-2 2017 SPC FINISH 4th NOTABLE The team won its first two matches against Bishop Dunne and Prestonwood Christian by a combined score of 10-0. THEY SAID IT “After doing well last year and coming in with lots of confidence, we started off strong against two non-SPC teams. However, when we played opponents we will meet later in the season, we didn’t do as well and found space to improve. I think by coming to practice focused and staying positive throughout the season we will do very well.”— junior William Holtby

Wrestling off and running

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM Minutes before kickoff of the Lions’ Nov. 30 match against Casady, junior defender Colin Campbell and sophomore midfielder Henry McElhaney converse.

2018 BEST FINISH 2nd at the St. Mark’s opening team duals. 2018 NORTH ZONE FINISH 1st 2017 SPC FINISH 4th NOTABLE Freshman Maddox Epperson participated in the team’s first meet despite only having 15 minutes of training.

Led by young core, basketball team is challenged by public schools 2018 RECORD 8-3

Swim team begins road to victory

2017 RECORD 24-6

2017 SPC FINISH 3rd NOTABLE The starting lineup is comprised of one senior (Austin Nadalini), one junior (Andrew Laczkowski), one sophomore (Harrison Ingram) and two freshmen (Colin Smith and Noah Shelby). THEY SAID IT

“We’re off to a good start this season. We are preparing every day for the more difficult games to come, notably Allen and the DISD [Dallas Independent School District] Coca-Cola Tournament. We’re starting to become a better team, playing together and moving the ball well. Ultimately, our goal is to win the SPC championship. We’re in the longest championship drought in St. Mark’s basketball history, something we’re trying to change.”— junior captain Andrew Laczkowski

TAKEDOWN CITY In the midst of a tough practice, senior Chad Kim gains the advantage against sophomore Cooper Ribman.

HEAT CHECK Surrounded by several Bryan Adams defenders, junior Andrew Laczkowski pulls up for a difficult mid-range fadeaway. The Lions won the Dec. 7 matchup by a score of 70-57.

THEY SAID IT “The team this year has got a lot of promise, especialy because we have a lot more people than last year. It’s our first year in a while that we’ve had a full lineup for duel meets and we have a lot of good players and it’s been going great so far.” — sophomore Aaryan Puri

2018 BEST FINISH 1st at St. Mark’s invitational 2018 NORTH ZONE FINISH 1st 2017 SPC FINISH 2nd NOTABLE Due to limited pool space and a high amount of participants, the swim team almost made cuts for the first time. THEY SAID IT “The swim season is off to a great start. Even though we lost a lot of seniors last year, everyone has stepped up.” — senior Robert Newman

MID-STROKE Piercing the water with a breaststroke, sophomore James Carr gets important practice in the pool before the team competes in meets.

COMPILATIONS Aaron Thorne, Cooper Ribman PHOTOS Rohit Vemuri, Collin Katz, Daniel Sanchez, Charlie Rose

For the sports junkie A deeper dive into Lions sports for the winter season. Statistics and records reflect games through Dec. 8. SPC soccer

SPC basketball

Results: vs. PCA @ Bishop Dunne vs. Kinkaid vs. Casady @ Trinity Valley

4-0 6-0 0-3 0-1 5-1

The next three vs. Greenhil @ TCA vs. Home School

12/14 12/19 12/20

vs. Allen 12/14 vs. Gateway Charter 12/21 Alumni Game 12/22

Advanced stats:

Goal scoring leaders:

PICK YOUR POISON Freshmen Colin Smith and Noah Shelby have proved to be major threats for opposing defenses.

6-0 3-1 8-3 8-3 4-2

The next three

Advanced stats:

Seth Weprin Eric Yoo William Holtby Colin Campbell Romil Mathur Reid Goldsmith Mateo Guevara Christian Duessel Lars Ochs

North Zone: Cistercian FWCD Greenhill St. Mark’s ESD

4 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

Notable single-game performances: Freshman Noah Shelby had 9 threes vs. Newman Smith High School Sophomore Harrison Ingram had 6 blocks against Bryan Adams. Junior Andrew Laczkowski is averaging 18.5 points per game with a single-game high of 28

SPC swimming The next three

SPC wrestling

1/10 @ Southlake Carroll

Tri-State Tournament 12/15

1/11 vs. Bishop Lynch

Lonestar 50th anniversary Christmas Open 12/21

1/15 @ Highland Park

Advanced stats: The closer a swimmer gets to a stroke’s record, the more points out of 20 they get. Here are the top five point-getters so far: 1. Robert Newman: 95 points 2. David Li: 94 points T3. Mark Weisberg: 93 points T3. Nicolas Gomez: 93 points 5. Sean Zhao: 86 points

The next three

Prep Slams in Georgia 1/3

Advanced stats: Colin Neuhoff this season: 7-3 record 4 pins: 1:34 seconds 0:34 seconds 1:20 seconds 1 tech fall (when the referees call a match when one wrestler is up by 15 points)

LEADERSHIP LOOP Seniors Sahit Dendekuri and Alex Baker present on the topic of Reciprocal Care during Middle School Assembly Nov. 28. The presentation was a part of the Middle School’s third Leadership Loop of the year.

remarker

the

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS 10600 PRESTON RD. DALLAS, TX 75230

backpage

THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018

PAK CLUB

Small heroes, big deeds As a part of the Purposeful Acts of Kindness club, some members of the the first grade class go around campus, typically unnoticed, cleaning desks and filling campus with selfless acts.

SQUAD UP Club members (left to right) James Richards, Gabriel Perez, Harrison Whitaker, D. R. Avila, John Griggs IV and Mason Coyle prepare to clean up the Lower School Library.

‘

Helping people and being kind to them, that is what I enjoy the most about being part of the club. It makes me happy because I am helping other people feel happy.” — first grader Mason Coyle

‘

I love helping people not get sick. I just hope that the people we help are happy. I also enjoy going around campus and doing good things.” — first grader Gabriel Perez

‘

I have cleaned the tables and I have fun doing it because it makes other people feel good.” — first grader James Richards

‘

I really enjoy helping people feel good and better because it also makes me feel good.” — first grader Miller Richards

‘

I really like cleaning the tables, but it is also really good helping other people stay healthy. I feel good helping other people feel good.” — first grader Bowman Ellis

‘

The most fun thing I have done is helping other people, and it makes you feel good being kind to others. Going to Centennial Hall and polishing all the classroom desks was my favorite activity.” — first grader Marcus Lichliter

‘

I enjoy being kind. We wipe tables so people don’t get germs. We also wipe the rails along the stairs, so when people go up the stairs they don’t get germs. I just hope that the people we help feel good.” — first grader Hernan Saenz IV

SILENT NINJAS Making sure they do not disturb other students, first grade members of the PAK Club wipe down tables in the Lower School Library before the school day starts.

chool at 8 a.m. Home by 4 p.m. Other than walking to lunch and PE, Lower School students solemn venture out on campus. But some members of the Class of 2030 have a different plan. With the help of first grade instructor Terri Broom, the first graders created the Purposeful Acts of Kindness (PAK) Club to go around campus and help out in every way they can, from wiping down the tables in Centennial Hall to making blankets for faculty members, making their own impact on the campus to improve the lives of every person that comes to 10600 Preston Rd. every day. ••• The club started this year as the Random Acts of Kindness Club, but after thinking more about their actions, Broom decided to change the name to the Purposeful Acts of Kindness Club.` “We decided that actually the actions that we were trying to teach, and the actions that we were trying to make more prevalent were purposeful,” Broom said. “So we changed the name of it. We do little things like, we’d go to the Green Library and Centennial Hall, and we clean off the desk and leave a little calling card that says, ‘Clean desk courtesy of the PAK Club.’” Broom wants to make sure the recipients and the Class of 2030 understand the boys aren’t doing this to get noticed. “We tell them in advance that we’re not doing this to get any attention from anybody,” Broom said. “We just want to leave a little nice surprise that when they walk

in their room they’ll be like, ‘Oh, how nice. That was really nice of someone to do.’” The PAK club allows the first graders to go to different parts of campus and help out different faculty and staff members. In the past, the Class of 2030 has made blankets for faculty members who have gotten sick. “One time Rebecca Jenkins shattered her kneecap, and we made a blanket for her,” Broom said. “We made one for a staff member in development who was ill, just trying to spread a little love around campus. And more importantly to teach the boys how good it feels for them, how much they benefit from doing good deeds for others.” Broom believes teaching the boys what it really means to give back to the community and how good it makes someone feel is the most important part of the club. “I think knowing what it feels like to do good for other people without expecting anything in return is incredible,” Broom said. “They’ll carry that with them beyond our club into other parts of their lives.” For the future of PAK club, Broom wants to continue to spread kindness across campus and get more people involved. “I talked to a parent, and she’s interested in helping us come up with even more things that we could do, as a whole grade level,” Broom said. “We’ll see what we come up with. The goal, really, is to spread kindness in a surprising way to people.”

STORY Jahaziel Lopez PHOTOS Rohit Vemuri

discoveries

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS DALLAS, TEXAS

ADDENDUM | A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION DECEMBER 14, 2018

WITHIN ITS TWO FLOORS AND 50,000 SQUARE FEET ARE HOUSED AN EXPANDED SECTIONED GREENHOUSE, 17 CLASSROOMS AND LABS, A 235-SEAT LECTURE HALL AND A PLANETARIUM. THESE FACILITIES WILL BOTH ENHANCE COURSES IN EACH DISCIPLINE AND CATER TO INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES.

the next chapter A preview of the new Winn Science Center, opening Jan. 9, 2019.

Inside Looking back.

When the McDermott-Green Science Building opened in 1961, it was lauded by no less than Time magazine as “the best science facility in the nation.” Take a look back at the history of this building, the proud forerunner of the new Winn Science Center. Page 2.

The benefactors..

The Winn family has a longstanding connection with the school dating back to the early 1960s. Meet the two generations of Winns whose Foundation’s initial gift started the campaign and for whom the building is named. Page 3.

Where to go?

Want to know where to find your science class when the doors to the Winn Science Center open Jan. 9? Here are floor plans, photos and room explanations of where you’ll go and what you’ll see. Pages 4-7.

Chatter.

The campus has been looking forward to the unveiling of the Winn Science Center. See what faculty and students alike are saying in advance of the highly-anticipated opening. Page 8.

discoveries

ADDENDUM | A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION • DECEMBER 14, 2018

OLD AND NEW

57 years later, new beginnings The McDermott-Green Math Science Quadrangle, which opened in 1961, put St. Mark’s on the map. Today, nearly six decades after that revolutionary opening which was featured in Time magazine, the Winn Science Center will pick up where it left off.

hey knew they’d broken ground in 1961. But they didn’t know the ground had broken beneath them. In the thick of the Space Race, the country was hankering for new science facilities and innovation wherever they could be found. But compared to the well-established institutions of the Northeast, a small private school in the middle of the Texas plains seemed lackluster to everyone, except, perhaps, a snowballing industrial group like Texas Instruments. ••• The new-fangled McDermott-Green Math Science Quadrangle was the brainchild of a Cold War paradigm and a rapidly growing school in a rapidly growing city. Time magazine called us the “best equipped day school in the country,” and many recognize this building as what put us on the map. “There was a New York Times article in 1962,” science instructor Ken Owens ’89 said, “that reviewed five new science education facilities across the country. There were four in New England. And there was us.” But a creek ran underneath the north end of the building, and throughout the latter part of the century, the covert leaks washed away the foundation. For Owens, who was a student here from 1982 to 1989 and who has taught chemistry since 1997, this development prompted the construction of the McDermott-Green Science Building that has been in use since 1988, where Owens holds his fondest memories. But even this building is beginning to show its wear. “The McDermott-Green Building was a classic space,” Owens said, “but it was chopped up in design, and modernizing that space became more and more difficult. Having to put computer equipment in, and internet hookups, and projector screens and all that; it took a whole lot of work, and you can’t hide that. It had cables everywhere, and upgrading it after you put it in was really difficult. That’s not going to be a problem anymore [with the new building.]” In fact, “futureproof” is a word closely associated with the Winn Science “Our idea is to give you guys the tools and the time, and then turn you loose, within parameters, to do stuff that nobody else can do. It should be fun, and you guys will have a great time.” — Founders’ Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel

Center. Despite the charm and characteristics it carries over from the old building, its design works to ensure that future developments flow smoothly. “Some of the rooms [in the old building] were designed very specifically to the teachers who were teaching there,” Owens said. “Then they left. So there are definitely spaces in [t]here where it was hard to teach. You didn’t know what had been taught and how it had been taught before. That’s not going to be true so much in the new building.” Looking ahead to the new renovations, Founders’ Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel shares this sentiment on the future of the new building itself, the first part of which will open when students return in January. “The bottom line is that we’re going to make them a bit more uniform,” Rummel said. “All the four labs are going to have essentially the same sort of lab benches for a general science layout with

OLD AND NEW Two students (top) walk toward the newly constructed McDermott Green Math Science Quadrangle in the 60s. The Winn Science Center (above) nears the final stages of construction in anticipation of a soft opening in January 2019.

son high schools like the [Tokyo Tech High School of Science and Technology], the Thomas Jefferson [High School for Science and Technology] of Virginia and the Bronx [High School of Science.] For

Winn Science Center

McDermottGreen

50,000

25,000

floor space

13 140 approx.

classrooms and labs

lecture hall capacity

235 approx.

cost

$40 million

square feet

10 full size, three half size

$1.5 million

water and other features, a small demo table, and an interactive whiteboard with storage behind. Each lab has bigger prep rooms. The second floor is going to be kind of the same way. They look definitely futuristic. You’ll know you’re in a new space. It’s university grade.” According to Rummel, this new space, with clearly defined lab areas, classrooms and halls, will grant each discipline more legroom while also catering to interdisciplinary sciences. And the very newness of the new building carries the same excitement as the old one had in its heyday. “I’ve seen comparable [facilities] in Japan and other places,” Rummel said, “but these are four to five thousand-per-

16 full size, one half size

our size, that’s crazy, but you guys sure have the chops to do it.” According to Rummel, the collegiate-like equipment and facilities of the new building rival those at universities. “For us,” Rummel said, “it’s like every university that’s got a football team and has come up with a really nice, high-performance practice fields for athletes. For us, we’ve got a nice weight room, and we’ve got some really nice stuff, but we now have a science weight room and a science playing field. We’re able to play on that level.” Rummel also posits the enthusiasm of the freedom the new building will give students. “If you want to do a research proj-

STORY Jack Davis, Jamie Mahowald PHOTOS Parker Davis, Courtesy Development Office/Archives

ect,” Rummel said, “set it up and run it. We can grow things and have our own cell lines. We’re just gonna have volunteers come in, and anybody that wants to learn, can learn. We’ll get it all characterized and set up, and you guys can start playing. The goal is to give you guys as much room to run if you’re passionate about it.” As does Owens. “A greater focus on elementary education for the Lower School and on engineering and engineering applications fits very well with what people are looking for these days,” Owens said. “But the base, the base core set of disciplines will still be taught as well as they always were. Whether there will be a New York Times article, there are a lot of schools paying more attention to STEM these days. So it wouldn’t be just us, but definitely in this area we’ll have.” But the crux of the matter is that if the [19]61 building put the school on the map, the [20]19 one is sure to keep it there. Whereas both Rummel and Owens have in common a certain nostalgia for the McDermott-Green, the Winn Science Center will offer plenty of incentive for the new. “This chemistry space is the house that George Hague built,” Owens said. “George Hague was the first chemistry master teacher, and he came in the fall of 1984. And when they decided to build this new building, he had a strong hand designing the space, and it’s been a really good space. The parts of the space that have worked well for us I tried to carry over to the new building, to continue that. But working in this space with him when he was still alive, because he was my teacher, and I came back and taught with him, and then afterwards, has been really good in here. And I look forward to keeping the good parts of that going.”

ADDENDUM | A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION • DECEMBER 14, 2018

discoveries

WINN FAMILY

A legacy set in stone With over two decades of combined time spent here, the Winn family’s gift to the school will create a new focal point at 10600 Preston Rd.

he first impression Steve Winn ’64 had of St. Mark’s was from a car on Preston Rd. Facing to the west was a large cylindrical brick tower topped with a pristine, white dome. Inside, a state-of-the-art planetarium and observatory, the newest feature of the nationally-renowned McDermott-Green Math Science Quadrangle. That building, he would learn after he joined the student body in 1962, represented the essence of the school, a desire to push the bounds of pre-collegiate education. Eugene McDermott passed away in 1973, Cecil Green in 2003. But their legacy lives on at 10600 Preston Rd. And come next month, another name will join theirs, cementing its place in a short list of those who will make an unforgettable impact on every Marksmen for years to come. That name: Winn. Spearheaded by a $10 million gift from the Winn Family Foundation, followed by an additional $2 million gift by the Foundation as the scope of the project grew, the Winn Science Center is scheduled to open for classes Jan. 9, 2019. Steve, a former member of the Board of Trustees, attended the school for 11th and 12th grade. However, as soon as his son, Chris Winn ’99, was old enough to attend first grade, he applied. After 12 years here, Chris attended the University of Texas and worked as a legal assistant in Manhattan. But as soon as he returned, he again grew close to the community of current and former Marksmen. “I moved off to New York for a couple of years,” Winn said, “so my engagement level dipped in my mid-20s. But it kind of regained some steam in my later 20s just as I got more engaged with some of my high school buddies and wanted to give back to the school in some way.” “While [our family has] had periods where we’ve been more engaged and periods when we’ve been less engaged, we’ve always been engaged and it’s always been top of the mind for us.” — CHRIS WINN ’99

When the school approached the Winn family in the early 2010s about contributing to a project that would refurbish the planetarium, a hallmark of the school’s Preston Rd.-facing facade since 1961, they countered with another offer. “My dad really felt that wasn’t enough, that it was a great opportunity to dream bigger,” Chris said. “So that’s what the school did. They dreamt bigger, and we thought, ‘What if you just tore down the entire older half of the

THE BENEFACTORS Steve Winn ’64 and his wife Melinda stand in the Winn Science Center during early stages of its construction.

HIS MARK Joining the 90 members of Class of 2018, Chris Winn ’99 affixes the final signature to the last steel beam to be added to the Winn Science center during the topping off ceremony in January.

science and mathematics quadrangle and gave that a completely new structure?’ So that’s what we did.” The Winn family wanted to see that there were no hurdles in terms of the resources in the new building, which they were hoping would allow the building to make as much of an impact on students as the new facility did in the 1960s. During the development phase of the process, a group including Chris, Steve, Headmaster David Dini, Senior Director of Leadership Gifts Scott Jolly, science instructor Doug Rummel, Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron and several Trustees had the opportunity to tour the science facilities of multiple top schools in the northeast. There they had the opportunity to pick what features of the buildings they wanted to see in the Winn Science Center. “I stepped in as the point person for the family to communicate what we wanted to see as the structure,” Chris said. “And really it was just a matter of, ‘What does St. Mark’s need? Where is the future of science? And what are St. Mark’s’s views and position in the future of science? How do you incorporate things like a DNA lab, a heavier focus on computer science, robotics, and a real purposefully-designed makerspace?’” One of the most important features of the Winn Science Center, Chris believes, is not the building itself, but instead the teachers who will be able to work with and educate students in ways the older building did not allow. “The faculty at St. Mark’s is so great,” Chris said. “They do such a good job of instructing and inspiring, so they’re going to capture young minds no matter what. But if we can make that job a little bit easier, if we can make that a little bit more impact-

STORY Parker Davis PHOTOS Courtesy Development Office

ful by providing a good space that just the space itself is inspiring, then that hopefully will, in the long term, accomplish the mission of getting young men into some field in science.” The part of the half-decade-long process that Chris has found most exciting is observing the response of the school community, particularly the science department faculty, to the new building and all the pieces of it. “Really getting to work with Doug Rummel and Fletch Carron about, ‘We have the utmost faith in your abilities to teach. We want to give you better tools with which to teach,’” Chris said. “And to see the excitement on their faces with the, ‘Oh my gosh, if I had this…’ and to see their minds project forward with how they could use these great new resources to inspire and to instruct. That’s been definitely for me the most appealing part of it.” Chris said he’s excited to see the affect the building will have on not just those who hope to pursue computer science or DNA science, but those who decide to go in another direction after their time at 10600 Preston Rd. “It generated a lot of conversation and interest in the sciences, and I hope that bears fruit in the form of more students wanting to be engaged in science and math,” Chris said. “If, at a minimum, even for the student who is going to go on to become a liberal arts major, for them to be more well-versed in the sciences and more aware of how technology is going to impact their day-to-day experience and their careers and their personal lives.” He also hopes the space will allow for more exploration beyond the foundational sciences, even to how to expand beyond the sciences themselves. “One of the things the school

is going to do is figure out ways to cross-pollinate those ideas from one discipline to another and try to find that common ground,” Chris said. “Maybe it’s science and politics. There’s any number of combinations. We just wanted to have a really great place for that to happen.” Even as the first part of the project nears its completion, there is still a lot he is looking forward to, not only in the renovations of the remaining portion of the building, but also in the impact of the Winn Science Center, an impact that may be felt for decades. “It will be cool to see the McDermott-Green [Math Science Quadrangle] get its refresh and see the whole building come together,” Chris said. “But, really now it’s just the process of seeing what the graduates from this point on, from St. Mark’s, what they do with it. That will be really satisfying, and it’s a great legacy for my dad to have left.”

By the numbers

30 percent

of the total cost of the Winn Science Center given by the Winn Family Foundation

members of the Winn family attended the school

combined years on the Alumni Board and Board of Trustees

discoveries

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The first floor MAKER LAB S141

LOWER SCHOOL LAB S150 LOUNGE S152

LS OFFICE S150A

LOWER SCHOOL PREP S146

SHOP S137 TELESCOPE STORAGE S140

VALVE ROOM S142

STORAGE S134 COMMONS S130

LECTURE HALL S135

STUDY S162

BIOLOGY LAB S124

DNA PREP S125A

BIO. OFFICE S129

BIO. OFFICE S122

BIO. OFFICE S127

BIOLOGY PREP S120A

CIRCULATION S128

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PREP S123

DNA LAB S125

BIOLOGY LAB S120

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE LAB S121

HEAD HOUSE

RESEARCH GREENHOUSE S170

TROPICAL GREENHOUSE S171

MEDITERRANEAN GREENHOUSE S172

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ADDENDUM | A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION • DECEMBER 14, 2018

LOOKBOOK

The final stages A look around the still under construction Winn Science Center's second floor, from the classrooms students will take classes in beginning Jan. 9 to the prep rooms, lecture hall, offices and research areas.

S120: BIOLOGY PREP “The prep room will be nice too. We will have a microwave, an ice machine, a refrigerator, a freezer—all the standard stuff that we have. We’ll have these display cabinets and map drawers. There are drying racks. Biology has these really cool ventilation cabinets for dissection specimens.” —AP Biology instructor Mark Adame

S141: MAKER LAB “[The] makerspace is primarily designed for additive manufacturing, or you’re just adding stuff together, and the shop is going to be subtractive, you pull stuff out, you pull materials out in order to make what you want.” —Robotics sponsor Douglas Rummel

S135: SCIENCE LECTURE HALL “The new lecture hall seats more students—an increase from roughly 140 to 235 seats. It will have highend audio/visual capabilities that allow for presentations and recordings of the presentations. It won’t have the large rows of tables, but rather flip-up writing surfaces at each seat. It also won’t be full of old robotics junk and science relics!” —Science department Head Fletcher Carron

S125: DNA LAB “The goal is to actually have a working DNA lab as opposed to just a teaching lab classroom. It’s a place to teach and learn how all these techniques work but also is a good place for students to come in and do work. Because in DNA science you just can’t come in one class period a day and run an experiment and that’s it. You have to start something and come back and check it later on, it’s an ongoing process and I think a lot of people don’t realize that. ” —AP Biology instructor Mark Adame

S152: LOUNGE “As you enter the lounge, you will immediately see on your right the makerspace and on your left the Lower School lab, which will be two places to see a lot of science in action. The lounge ceiling is two stories high, and above there are big glass panels into the second-floor technology labs, which will host engineering activities and computer science classes. ” —Science department Head Fletcher Carron

S124: BIOLOGY LAB “The bio rooms are going to be awesome. There’s going to be a dedicated lab area like the old building. Every lab bench, all five of them, have vacuum, air, gas, and a sink. What’s cool is that from above are these snorkels. In a sense they are giant vacuum cleaner things. When we are doing a dissection or something that’s smelly, we just pull them down, turn them on, and they suck all the fumes out.” —AP Biology instructor Mark Adame

PHOTOS Kamal Mamdani, Parker Davis INTERVIEWS Matthew Zhang

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The second floor TECHNOLOGY LAB 1 S241

ROBOTICS LAB S237

TECHNOLOGY LAB 2 S250

DEPT. CHAIR OFFICE S238

CLUB S239

LIGHT LOCK S233

OFFICE S240 STOR- STORAGE AGE S242 S245

PLANETARIUM S235

LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM S246

ELECTRICAL S236

IDF S234

STUDY S262

CORRIDOR S264

PRE-FUNCTION S230

STUDY S260

LIGHT LOCK S231 AV/RECORDING STUDIO S235A

BALANCE S225A

UPPER SCHOOL CHEMISTRY S224

STORAGE S229A OFFICE S229 CHEMISTRY OFFICE S227

CHEMISTRY OFFICE S222

BALANCE S220A

CIRCULATION S228

AP CHEMISTRY S225

CHEMISTRY PREP S221

CHEMICAL STORAGE S223

CHEMISTRY LAB S220

ADDENDUM | A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION • DECEMBER 14, 2018

discoveries

LOOKBOOK

7A 4

S130: COMMONS “The new commons is the heart of the building, and it can be used for informal student gatherings, special events, and even science demonstrations. On one end, there will be a large video wall that will have a range of uses, from displaying science content to serving as a canvas for Information Engineering projects.” —Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron

S235: PLANETARIUM “The layered Earth feature, I think that’s going to be the most exciting and most used piece because it’s not only geology and weather related. Any kind of graphical information that can be displayed on a map, we can do it in 3-D on the dome. We can do a lot of stuff with history in terms of mapping boundary lines and watching how boundary lines move over centuries.” —Cecil H. and Ida Green Master Teaching Chair Stephen Balog

S220: CHEMISTRY LAB “There are going to be two full size regular chemistry labs, so that will be for chemistry and applied chemistry. And we will be able to do something we haven’t been able to do recently, which is run two first year chemistry labs at the same time. We will have enough gear for that, we will have enough space for that.” —AP chemistry instructor Kenneth Owens

S221: CHEMISTRY PREP “The prep space for chemistry is much bigger than what we have now. Between two of the three Upper School chemistry labs there is a large teacher preparation area, and a small stock room for chemicals. There is also more in-room storage because we are increasing from two classrooms to three.” —Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron

S225: AP CHEMISTRY “There is an instrument room attached to the AP chem lab which holds more accurate balances, just for AP use, and some instruments we don’t use with the sophomore chemistry students. We have these little fume hoods here, like the draft hood here, we have much better versions of that for every lab station [in the new building]. So you don’t have to go to the fumehood to do exhaust work, you can pull it right down to the tabletop and do your work there. The ventilation and air handling will be better. ” —AP chemistry instructor Kenneth Owens

PHOTOS Kamal Mamdani, Parker Davis INTERVIEWS Matthew Zhang

discoveries

ADDENDUM | A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION • DECEMBER 14, 2018

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Discovering new horizons From the breathtaking planetarium to the massive bear skeleton to the DNA scicence lab, the new Winn Science Center offers a plethora of exciting facilities and opportunities for students, faculty, alums, and parents to appreciate and enjoy. Here are a few things to look forward to... COMPILED BY Sahit Dendekuri, Robert Pou PHOTO Parker Davis

‘

I think the new science building is going to be an incredible opportunity for the St. Mark’s science program to be on the cutting edge. The labs and robotics room will be a great space for the boys to do tremendous work. I also hope the building allows for more collaboration between the science and math departments.” — Math instructor Lynne Steckler The engineering spaces are near and dear to my heart, but I’m really excited to see the laser set on the planetarium working. Toys tend to bring people in, and especially because it is on display, it should be fairly robust—figuring how to manage that, figuring how to get everybody in and get everybody cycling through and become excited about it.” — Founders’ Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel We will have updated, modern, computer infrastructure. In here [Science building] there was no internet when this building was built. So everything has been added to the building since it was built. So the projectors, the smart boards, the wireless and all that will be up to date and future proofed because they’ve built in the ability to improve the infrastructure as technology improves.” — Chemistry instructor Kenneth Owens ’89

‘

I’m very excited for the new science building and all the new aspects it will bring to St. Mark’s. I heard there’s a new greenhouse. That’ll be pretty cool. The new planetarium. That’ll be one of my favorite places on campus. Even the classrooms. I hope they’ll let us do some cool new labs.” — sophomore Benny Wang

‘

I think that the construction of the new building was certainly a factor in everyday life during my final year at St. Marks. Although we (seniors) weren’t around to get to experience it, which is unfortunate, I’m happy that I can see the finished product when I come back to visit campus. I think it’s great that future Marksmen will get to have the building.” — Christopher McElhaney ‘18

‘

It will offer the Middle School more options. It will make science more relevant to careers they’ll pursue, a greater variety of classes will give the other disciplines like math and humanities more opportunities to connect with those classes, for example, classes on genetics could bring up ethical questions which might tie into character and leadership issues.” — sophomore Kit Colson

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I’m excited about the new technology and more “hands on” spaces that will be available not only to Upper School students but also for the Middle and Lower School.” — Head Athletic Trainer Matt Hjerstedt

‘

I am most excited about the science building for the labs. I think with the new resources and technology we will have, we will have more unique opportunities in terms of what we can do in the classroom.” — senior Shreyas Annaswamy

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I’m excited that St. Mark’s will be a leader in the 21st century with the addition of the Winn Science Center. St. Mark’s continues to invest and re-invest in its assets, and our boys will have the resources to learn and lead in the scientific community.” — parent Jamie Rogers ‘85

‘

St. Mark’s has a strong reputation in Mathematics and Science and the addition of the new Winn Family Science Center will only add to that legacy. We are excited to have the opportunity to showcase the new facility to interested parents.” — Director of Admission and Financial Aid David Baker

‘

I’m really looking forward to really two things. First of all, the technology that’s everywhere, including the planetarium, all the lab spaces and the greenhouse. The second thing is the aesthetic value. We’re going to have a bunch of spaces that we can be in. I think it’s going to be the new hub of St. Mark’s life.” — sophomore Sam Morgan

‘

Being able to switch from the lecture tables to the five lab stations for biology is going to be awesome. And having a Vent-A-Hood, or snorkel, that sucks all the stinky air out when we do demos or we do dissections — that’ll be nice, too. We don’t have to stink the rest of the building out, which is what happened before.” — Biology instructor Mark Adame

‘

I remember exploring the old science building during a parent preview day 12 years ago. I was impressed by the technology and innovation at the time, and I’m so excited to see what improvements the new building has. I’m sure the building will be a cornerstone of St. Mark’s for many years to come.” — parent Dr. Jane Sung

WRITTEN IN STONE The inscription on the west side of the Winn Science Center is an affirmation of the school’s continued commitment to the sciences. With the new facilities available, Marksmen will benefit from the new building for years to come.

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I love the way our new science center looks from Preston Road. It shows we are serious about our science. The new Lower School space in the Winn Science Center is going to allow us to expand and broaden our Lower School science curriculum.” — Lower School administrative assistant Kathy Mallick

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I am excited to see the bear skeleton in front of the biology section of the building and all the other new and awesome opportunities that the science building will provide.” — freshman Sahil Dodda

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I’m just really excited that the robotics team portable isn’t going to be half of a portable [building] now, although I am grateful for that.” — junior Faraz Asim

‘

It’ll work great for the students to have more places where they can study and to socialize. And in a beautiful space, it’s likely to enhance both the socializing and the studying. It’s a great symbol of the investment that the school is placing in the future of students. Education regarding the math and sciences is gonna be a great opportunity for students to learn all kinds of new and exciting things in the years ahead.” — Chaplain Stephen Arbogast

‘

I’m really excited about the future of robotics because of the remarkable facilities and resources we have at our disposable.” — senior William Haga

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I’m excited for the new lounges coming. I think they’ll add a lot of productivity to students.” — freshman Daniel Unglunts

‘

What I’m excited for with the new building changes almost daily depending on what I’m thinking about. The fact that we’ll have a new greenhouse that will allow us to do a whole range of stuff that was never possible in the old greenhouse is amazing. I’m also looking forward to having a biotech lab that will let us do a whole lot of stuff with younger students, and we’ve never had anything like that before. The fact that the planetarium is going to be useful for things that aren’t just astronomy related, we’ll be able to put all types of stuff on the dome there, and that’s going to open things up as well. Also, for me personally, that idea of having a host of 3D printers gives us a chance to maybe 3D print a whole lot of fossils.” — Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science John Mead

Focus magazine | A ReMarker publication | December 2018

FOCUS T

Jonathan Taylor photo

Focus Magazine | Staff Focus, a twice-yearly magazine supplement to The ReMarker focusing on a single topic, is a student publication of St. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of Texas, 10600 Preston Road, Dallas, TX, 75230.

Editors Nathan Han Christopher Wang Photographers Adnan Khan Kyle Smith Jonathan Taylor Seth Weprin Meyer Zinn

Writers Sam Ahmed CJ Crawford Jack Davis Parker Davis Sahit Dendekuri Ishan Gupta Jahaziel Lopez Kamal Mamdani

Lyle Ochs Cristian Pereira Robert Pou James Rogers Siddhartha Sinha Paul Sullivan Sai Thirunagari Sid Vattamreddy Tianming Xie

I BELIEVE In South Dallas, a homeless man in a wheelchair sits under a mural that reads “I believe.”

A Look Inside

Table of contents: A look inside 4 Letter from the editors Why should Marksmen care about homelessness? 6 The leading causes Examining what leads to homelessness. 8 A dire situation Dallas’s homeless population has jumped 32 percent since 2015. What’s next? 12 Felicia and Verde The personal stories of two homeless women staying at Austin Street Center.

14 In My Shoes A behind the scenes look at an organization providing shelter to homeless pregnant women.

22 Education Looking at the relationship between homeless youth and school and Dallas’s plan to tackle it.

20 What we do and why it matters How has our community service program tackled the issue thus far?

23 Solutions in other cities What can Dallas learn from other cities that have managed to curb their own homeless population?

21 Food pantries St. Philip’s Food Pantry has filled crucial gaps in the South Dallas food desert. Now, they’re partnering with the North Texas Food Bank to open more pantries.

26 Our duty: a personal column Focus co-editor Christopher Wang writes about the duty the community has in aiding the homeless population of our city.

SHOPPING CART The number of unsheltered homeless people in Dallas jumped from 1,087 to 1,341 in the last year alone.

FROM THE EDITORS:

Why should we care?

e see them everyday when driving by Royal and 75, Preston and 635 or whichever intersection it may be. The rotten cardboard signs. The anything-helps styrofoam coin cup. The dirty, stained, sleepless faces. The homeless. Homelessness is all around us. It’s there every single day. Every single night. At any given hour. And it’s grown at a 32 percent rate since 2015. But why does it matter? Why do we care? Why should we care? Everyday after work, school or whatever it may be, we make our way home, anticipating the rush of air conditioning as we walk in, the hot meal waiting for us on the kitchen table and the warm water of the shower refreshing our bodies after a long day. Over four thousand people in the Dallas area, however, don’t get to experience having a home the same way we do. They don’t get to feel the cold air of the A.C. in the scorching summer and the comforting warmth of the heater in the freezing winter. They don’t get to eat a hot meal for dinner. They don’t get to take a warm shower and clean themselves everyday.

It can be hard to realize how much impact having a roof over your head has until it’s taken away. There is a gigantic pile of issues Dallas has to tackle. Homelessness is a symptom of a multitude of them. But everyone in our city should have a place to call home—it’s a basic human necessity that so many people in our city don’t have access to. More importantly, it’s our city. And as close or as far away we might be removed from people without homes, they’re our neighbors and share the same city as us. They live on our streets, under highway overpasses and bridges and in many shelters scattered around Dallas. They’re a growing part of our city that can’t and shouldn’t be ignored. That’s why we wrote about this—to tell the stories of some of the thousands of people that live in our city. To tell the stories of people that have fallen on hard times yet still have so much to contribute to making Dallas the best it can be. So we ask you not to pity the thousands without homes, but rather to ask yourself what you can do—what we can do as a community to provide a solution for the homeless in our community.

How they got there Every homeless man, woman or child has a different story. But a large percentage become homeless after going down one of three very distinct paths.

2. Natural disasters

1. Veteran homelessness

3. Mental illness

hances are you have a strong social network. Your network probably consists of family, friends, maybe a church or synagogue that you can go to when you need help. But when your social network collapses, you lose everything. You lose your connections. You lose your life. You lose your home. ••• Most people are able to avoid homelessness because they have built up a strong social network which they can rely on in times of crisis. If their income falls through, they have family and friends they can rely on for support until they regain their footing. But those without a social network typically end up homeless. Leading the development of the homeless response system that will make homelessness in the Dallas and Collin County rare, brief and non-recurring is the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA). “There’s this idea in recent social sciences literature called collective impact,” said David Gruber, development and communications director for the MDHA. “Real change comes from lots of different non-profits working together to facilitate a set of common goals rather than one great idea that one non-profit comes up with.” Gruber and the MDHA as a whole understand how crucial social networks are to staying afloat. “A person becomes homeless when that network of social connections has frayed or was non-existent to start with,” Gruber said. “And so they can’t rely on this, and they end up becoming homeless.” Although the number of homeless in Dallas is only about one percent of the 420,000 people who live below the poverty line, it is becoming increasingly a more prominent local issue. According to the Texas Homeless Network, every major city in Texas had seen an increase in homelessness in 2018. More interestingly, almost all of the homeless fall into three groups: veterans, victims of natural disasters or the mentally ill. One-fifth of the homeless population is composed of veterans, suggests We’ve Got Your Six (WGYS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless veterans rebuild their lives and redevelop their self-confidence. WGYS says that on any given night, 144,000 veterans will be homeless. Seventy-six percent of them live in a metropolitan area like Dallas. Being away from society for an extended period of time can cause someone to lose basic social skills and their social network. “Your social network might not be that great if you’ve been overseas or in the service,” Gruber said. While being a veteran will likely not be a main driving force of homelessness, it is a contributing factor that can easily send someone tumbling down a slippery slope. In many cases, it can be the root of mental or physical disabilities. Fortunately, the homeless veteran population has dropped 50 percent since 2010 thanks in part to efforts from organizations like the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. However, veterans still remain a prominent issue in the field of homelessness. Story Jack Davis, Cristian Pereira Photos Seth Weprin, Jonathan Taylor

Natural disasters make 14 million people around the world homeless each year. Locally, victims to Hurricane Harvey have added to that population. Harvey was a devastating hurricane that cost the gulf area and the east around $125 billion. Natural disasters cause quick relocation of a large number of people. The first response is to immediately open shelters for those who are being relocated. Locally, the Dallas Foundation, with the help of MDHA, has been helping with the aid of these victims who are relocating. The organization was able to provide a large portion of these relocated victims places to stay until they had determined their next steps of returning home and possibly receiving aid from other local or national organizations. Many of them, unfortunately, weren’t as lucky. “You have a few hundred families where their situation was so tenuous back in Houston that the dislocation in their life due to Hurricane Harvey meant that they had nothing to return to,” Gruber said. “Those families stay at the help centers because they’ve got nothing to go back to.” Hurricane Harvey created so many of these long-term issues in Houston that at one point 18 percent of Houston’s unsheltered homeless population identified Harvey as the cause of their homelessness. Twelve percent of Harvey victims are still part of an original eviction prevention program. Unfortunately, however, too many people are left homeless by natural disasters, and more aid is needed to bring this form of homelessness to an end. Although many people are immediately displaced or homeless, natural disasters provide the affected communities with chances to rebuild into better conditions than they were in previous to the disaster. Sadly, such events also require the sacrifice of many homes and too often leave many homeless and in need of aid. Around 25 percent of chronically homeless Americans, those who have been homeless for over a year and have a documented disability, have some form of severe mental illness, suggests the National Coalition for the Homeless. This is a substantially greater percentage than the percentage of the overall mentally disabled American population, which is six percent. Even worse, mentally ill people have a 15 percent chance of going homeless at least once per year according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Knowing that there are places where mentally ill people can get housing, Gruber believes the best thing organizations can do to solve this issue is simple: guide people to where they can get housing. “It’s not that a mental illness will prevent you from being housed, it should not,” Gruber said. “Most people are being housed despite their mental illness. It’s just they might need a little bit more support.”

How they can get out With countless non-profit organizations dedicated to helping homeless people transition back to stable housing and jobs, there is still no one formula—no one correct answer.

o life, no home. If someone is homeless, trying to get out of a situation like this seems impossible. Nobody cares, you think. It’s hopeless. But people do care. It’s just hard for victims of homelessness to figure out who does. Especially when the system seems rigged against them. ••• While escaping homelessness can easily become a daunting task, there are incredibly useful measures someone can take to start the process. Gruber suggests one important step any homeless person should start with. “Get shelter,’” Gruber said. “Go to Austin Street Center. Say, ‘Hey I need your help. Not just for the night; I don’t want to be homeless anymore.’” Going to a shelter like Austin Street will provide more than just a roof for the night– shelters will also talk to a case manager and try and get you into housing. “It’s really about working with people one-on-one,” Gruber said. Sometimes, getting housing for someone is as easy as making a phone call to a family

member. “Sometimes when you get hooked up at a shelter they’ll ask, ‘Do you have any family members?’” Gruber said, “And sometimes you’ll say, ‘Yeah, my mom lives in Irving.’ And we’ll say, ‘If you tell Mom you’ve been evicted what will she say?’ And you’ll say, ‘Oh, she’d probably tell me to come over to her house.’ So many times it’s like, ‘Hey, we don’t even need to find you a shelter.’” The actual process of finding someone housing seems relatively simple at first glance– find a shelter and they’ll help you get in contact with a case manager or a family member. But at a closer look, glaring issues present themselves. For starters, homeless people don’t feel relaxed in an environment like a shelter. “We need to make sure that people are comfortable and welcome to come into the shelters and ask for help,” Gruber said. “And not only that; instead of waiting for them to come in, we go out and say, ‘Hey, would you like to come into service?’ And if they say, ‘No,’ and then have that discussion, and ask, ‘Can we somehow get you into shelter and then into housing?’” Furthermore, many times shelters can’t find enough housing for every homeless person in the metroplex they want to help. “It’s really about going out and working with people and making sure we have enough housing,” Gruber said. “If you just go and promise people something and don’t deliver, that’s another problem.” Gruber also explained problems within the system. “[The system is] designed for there to be have and have-nots,” Gruber said. “Part of it has to do with family background, part of it has to do with race; there are lots of different reasons. At the bottom rung of the have-nots are

A FACE IN THE CROWD One of thousands of homeless adults and children in Dallas, Blue has struggled with mental illness for much of his life.

the homeless.” Only one in four people who are eligible get subsidized housing, said Gruber. He pointed out that although people go hungry in this country, they rarely starve to death. He believes housing should be viewed the same way—people may have poor living conditions, but they shouldn’t go homeless. “That’s just a decision we’ve made as

“

That’s just a decision we’ve made as a nation– not to invest enough money in it. We need to change how the system works in the United States.

— David Gruber, Development and Communications Director, Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance

a nation, not to invest enough money in it,” Gruber said. “We need to change how the system works in the United States.” Gruber knows organizations like MDHA help, but he also knows they don’t have the power to destroy the roots of the problem. “We can try to end homelessness, we can try to help all the individuals and house them, but imagine a bathtub that’s full but the tap is open,” Gruber said. “What our organization is doing is we’re slowly taking out water with a small measuring cup. But we need to turn off the tap!”

ON THE STREETS Millions of Americans spend any given night without a permanent place to stay. Hundreds of thousands of them are mentally ill, have previously served in the military or have been displaced by a natural disaster.

Dallas’s dire 64 situation

Racial inequality. Rising home prices. An increasing divide between the city’s rich and poor. All have led to a 23 percent increase in Dallas’s unsheltered homeless population—which led to the opening of St. Jude Center, a new $6 million housing facility. Story Sam Ahmed, Ishan Gupta Photo Seth Weprin

vette Miller could never get away from the noise. Screaming. Yelling. Fighting. Death. Sitting in her apartment complex off of 635 and Skillman, she was always uneasy—feeling scared in the place she stayed in for seven years, living with paranoia every single day in that apartment complex. She lived there, but it wasn’t her home. Staying sober for 14 years was a challenge in itself, but the real challenge was never feeling safe enough to walk to her own mailbox. Never getting a full night’s sleep because of the gunshots. Never getting away from the noise.

••• unsafe situations, reducing the number Homelessness is nothing new to of homeless people in Dallas and finding Dallas, and according to the Metro Dalpermanent supportive housing for las Homeless Alliance’s annual homeless seniors. census released March 21, it’s on the rise. Due to the work of shelters like St. The number of homeless people in Jude, the number of chronic homeless Dallas and Collin County increased by people has been declining for the past nine percent in the past year, reflecting three years. St. Jude currently houses 80 the nine percent national increase since individuals over the age of 55 and has a 2016 reported by the Department of capacity of 104 residents. Housing and Urban Development. Many people believe that poverty With the shortage of affordable is the sole cause of the homeless increase housing continuing today, more people over the past few years, but according remain homeless longer—a problem in to St. Jude Property Manager Cindy Dallas as well as across America. In 2017, Montgomery, there are multiple different eight of the ten states with the highest factors at play contributing to the issue. rate of homelessness were also among “When the market was good for the ten most expensive states by median houses, some people got loans who price of housing according to Zillow. shouldn’t have gotten loans,” MontRacial inequality is another factor gomery said. “Some of these people that is directly affecting the homeless have been homeless for 15 or 20 years, population. A disproportionate amount and some just for five years. So you get of the homeless in Dallas are Afriinto a situation where you can’t afford can-American—about 60 percent—and a it and you are one paycheck away from vast majority are men—nearly 80 percent. being homeless. I think it’s also partly But what stands out even more is education. I wish I truly had the answer the 32 percent increase in the unshelof why it grew so much because it really tered. These are the people who have bothers me.” given up on seeking housing and instead One of the residents, Yvette Miller, have decided to live out on the street. considers St. Jude a safe haven that A $6 million housing facility provides her the opportunity to go back created by Catholic Charities Dallas, the to Brookhaven College and continue her Catholic Housing Initiative and Mayor education. From the very first day Miller Mike Rawlings, St. Jude Center opened walked into her apartment at St. Jude in in early 2018 with the goals of providing August, she was overwhelmed with the a home to the unsheltered and people in

percent of Dallas residents said homelessness was a major problem, making it the city’s most pressing issue.

percent jump in the number of people living on the streets in Dallas and Collin County in 2018.

4,140 homeless people counted in Dallas and Collin County.

the average age of a homeless person in Dallas or Collin County.

percent jump in the homeless population from 2015.

million dollars: the cost of newly-opened housing facility St. Jude Center.

Source: Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, City of Dallas Community Survey

A ONE WAY STREET Many of the unsheltered homeless haven’t obtained an identification card, causing organizations to deny their access to shelters. This creates a loop of homelessness that presents a real challenge for a city seeking to find a solution.

peace and quiet she had longed for over the past seven years. “The first day I walked into my apartment, I cried,” Miller said. “I cried because I felt the peace and the serenity. It took me about a couple weeks to get adjusted and adapt to being here because it was so quiet.” St. Jude has not only given her the peace to sleep soundly at night, but it has also been a supportive environment that provides many opportunities and makes sure that each and every resident can rest easy at night. “They took me, and they allowed me to come here,” Miller said. “[Montgomery] is very hands-on. I don’t know how she does it, but she makes sure that everyone’s needs are met. She takes care of us, and that’s one of the many things that I’m grateful for—her and the staff, because they all want us to do our best.” Similarly, military veteran Percy Taylor faced social and environmental challenges in his old apartment complex, frustrating him every minute he was there. He was always looking for

a more stable, peaceful environment to spread his passion of spoken word poetry.

hen he made the decision to come to St. Jude a couple weeks ago, Taylor was lucky and grateful for the opportunity. “It’s so peaceful,” Taylor said. “When you see it from the outside, it’s got such a neutral presentation that you really don’t know what to expect. Coming into the room, it was such a blessing to already have a TV in there, and the apartment is lovely and clean.” As well as providing a stable place for Taylor, the staff at St. Jude has encouraged and supported him during the few weeks he has been a resident here. “As soon as I got here, I felt the welcomeness,” Taylor said. “They go out of their way. It’s always nice to have a positive reception when you’re coming in and going out. They encourage us to interact and mingle, and they’ve got a lot of different projects and activities just for that.”

Although Taylor notes that St. Jude has a community presentation, he stresses the importance of the staff encouraging the residents to be independent, specifically with Taylor’s passion of poetry. “When we have activities, they ask me if I would like to do it,” Taylor said. “That’s really encouraging to me because it’s not just a hobby. It’s really something inside of me that wants to come out, and it’s such a good environment to have right here where I live. It feels good that you can also see people caring rather than just hearing that.” Taylor emphasizes that drug use and other commonly blamed issues aren’t always directly correlated to homelessness. “It’s not always drug issues,” Taylor said. “You have tried your best to still be who you are and operate where you are. Sometimes you just have challenges. You don’t want to lose yourself in the midst of your struggle. It’s good when we find places like this that support and encourage us.” In the future of providing places where people like Taylor

and Miller can continue their dreams, Montgomery sees Catholic Charities and other investors doing the same thing across Dallas in the coming months, but she also believes the youth will have a big role to play. “I encourage young people to just embrace it and figure out how they can help in the future,” Montgomery said. “This is going to be on your backs, and you’re going to have to figure out what your place in this is. Young people are going to be the answer to a lot of things.” Although Montgomery doesn’t believe that we can prevent homelessness, he thinks there are lots of ways that we can help to combat the issue, and that starts with how people view the homeless. “We have to figure out how we’re going to help a homeless person become the human being that they need to be,” Montgomery said. “People give up on the homeless, and they don’t think that there’s a way for them to change. There is a way to change. You just have to have more people be involved and not be afraid.”

Seth Weprin photo

“

I’m not in this situation because I’m stupid or dumb. I’m from New Jersey, and I’ve got a few bad criminal charges. I can’t get no job, I can’t get no housing, I can’t get no-nothing. I’m just cursed. I’m just cursed—I have to stay in the institution with the rest of the outcasts of society like me. It’s real damn sad. I was a good kid—I went to Catholic school, I’ve worked all my life, I got married when I was 24 and I had a girl. She’s 26 now and she has four grandkids and she lives in Florida. That’s the only thing that keeps me alive. If anything else, I’d probably have committed suicide. When you don’t have anything, what is there to life? What is the point? You’re supposed to worship God right? Hope he gives you a better life. I don’t see that.

No one cares.” - James

“

You know what? I can’t run to Daddy. I can’t run to Momma. I can’t run to a husband. I can’t run to a son. I’m a big girl.” — Verde, homeless woman

erde clutched the three crumpled-up dollar bills. After a 30-day program to get clean, she had nowhere to go. She didn’t know anyone. So they dropped her off at Austin Street Center. Walking into the shelter, she had her bag in one hand and $3 in the other. There were no familiar faces. Just an intimidating blur of strange people, most of them talking to themselves. Her entire life, Verde lived in her secure world. She was born and raised in Florida with a loving mother and father. Homelessness was never in the picture. Eighteen years ago, she moved to Austin with her husband and their newborn son Justin, who has Down Syndrome. Soon after, they went through a divorce. Verde medicated herself with alcohol and relied on it to cope. “I could have killed myself,” Verde said. “I could have killed somebody else. I could have killed my son, who I cherish. I woke up one morning and said ‘I ain’t gonna do this no more. Justin deserves better. I deserve better.’” So she came to Dallas. Her case manager advised her to complete the Nexus Recovery program, and she spent 30 days clearing her head and making plans for the future. She was released during the heart of Hurricane Harvey so it seemed like every shelter was full. Her ex-husband had remarried and Justin was living with them. Verde was on her own. Grasping the three crumpled-up dollar bills, Verde put her past behind her and moved in to Austin Street Center. ••• When she arrived, Verde was closed-minded, not realizing everything it would take to turn her life around. “I felt like I was looking at my life through a peephole,” Verde said. “And when the door opened, I was like, ‘Wow.’ There’s so much I can do, there’s so much I can take advantage of — I can do anything I want to do. I’m here, and I’m just that determined because this place has really pulled stuff out of me that I didn’t know I had in me, because I never thought I’d have

to use those tools to survive. And it’s hard, it’s difficult.” Verde has used these tools to thrive. “I look at where I am now and where I was the first day I walked into Austin Street,” Verde said. “I think about how far I’ve come. How powerful I am as a human being. I survived this, and I’m still surviving it. I’m learnin’. I had something in me that I was born with. To give. To treasure life. This whole year, I think about how much I’ve grown, the friends that I’ve made, learned about myself. Turning a bad situation into a good thing and still getting something out of it.” While Verde is appreciative of the beauties of life, it’s Justin who drives her. Once homeless, Verde’s biggest challenge was coming to terms with the fact that she couldn’t provide for her son. “Had I been the person I was before,” Verde said, “I would have been selfish enough to think that ‘Justin, you need to be with me. Because we’re divorced and you’re mine.’ I learned as I got myself situated that he needs to be with his dad. I can’t provide for him right now. Right now, it’s about me. I just knew, and still know, that this is where I need to be. I don’t want to be here, but it’s a situation of being here and taking advantage of it.” While independence is important to her, Verde also believes it is much easier to get back up on her feet with people around her pushing her forward. “It’s so much easier to do it when you’re not alone,” Verde said. “When I think about my parents, they didn’t force us to do things, but they were teaching us all along to stick together. If I do something for somebody, I’m not looking for anything back because that’s me, and I’m not tryna make anybody see what I’m saying. It’s just who I am.” After years in the shelter, Verde has found a job and is in the market for permanent housing. “This is not the end of my journey,” Verde said. “I’m still healing, and that’s a good thing. You know scripture says to not grow wise in your own eyes. Just because I’ve accomplished this of getting there — ‘Oh it’s all over!’ — You can’t say that. I never thought I was going to be there. Because we all deserve better, and we all can do better, so that’s what keeps me moving. I deserve it, I want it, and I’m going for it, because this is not the end.”

‘

I am not a victim. I am a survivor.’

Medicating herself with alcohol after a divorce, Verde chose to leave everything behind and get clean. Now at Austin Street Center, she’s focused on putting herself in a position where she can provide for her son again. story CJ Crawford, Kamal Mamdani photo Kamal Mamdani

‘

Here I am. One of those people.’ Felicia Tribble left an abusive relationship with nowhere to go. Rather than living without shelter, Tribble chose to stay at Austin Street Center.

story CJ Crawford, Kamal Mamdani photo Kamal Mamdani

n between a rock and hard place sat Felicia Tribble. She could either choose homelessness or prison. She had no idea she’d end up at this crossroad. She used to be a livein caretaker, caring for elderly people that couldn’t do for themselves. She used to pass by S Malcolm X Boulevard everyday, near Austin Street Center. There she saw the homeless sitting at the bus stop. She used to think to herself, You know, I’m just a paycheck away from being right there at that bus stop with them. Tribble never looked down on them, never talked about them. And she really was a paycheck away. Just like that. Here she is, one of those people. She had no idea. ••• Tribble was going to get married, until she moved in with her ex-fiancee, 72 year old Henry*. Until she found out he was racist. Until he started throwing food at her, verbally abusing her, raising his cane to hit her. Day in, day out, the cycle was the same. “You’s a diabetic, you old, you on all kinda medication,” Tribble would say to him. “Day in and day out, it never stopped.” And a month into her stay, Tribble even found herself at odds with the law on her first assault charge. Henry accused her of things he was trying to provoke her to do, to no avail. “He would call [the police] and say that I was doing stuff to him,” Tribble said. “‘She’s pushing me and she’s throwing this at me,’ which none of it was true, but they would take his side. I’m staying in his house, which I know. He tells me it’s his house, it’s his body, he can do whatever he want. True that, but you also have to respect me as your partner.” After losing her job and apartment, he offered her security. Food. A house. Why not? They’d been dating since 2015, and Tribble moved in with him in 2017. She was scared to leave, so she put up with him one more, long year. A year that brought three more assault charges along with it. Given her situation, all charges were finally dropped, but her representatives gave her limited options afterwards. “You never know a person until you stay with him,” Tribble said. “He [wasn’t] gonna stop until something seriously bad happened to me or him. Me either hurtin’ him or he end up hurtin’ me or otherwise I end up in a penitentiary. I have three kids, seven grandkids. I’m not penitentiary material.” Tribble had to make up her mind. She could either endure Henry’s actions,

receiving her fifth charge and going to jail for real time, or come to Austin Street Center. She chose the shelter. “The first week of me getting here was really hard,” Tribble said, “because I didn’t know what to expect. I’d never been homeless before. I’m in this room with all these people. It kinda freaked me out.” Tribble came on a Monday, filled in the paperwork on a Tuesday, and in one week she moved across the street into the Sisterhood Program, a program designed to aid women who’ve experienced trauma and build healthy relationships. “I’m smiling,” Tribble said. “I’m moving forward. So far, since I’ve been homeless, I went to school for food-service and hospitality. I graduated, got my food serving license, got my bartending license and I also graduated. Now, I’m working on getting on housing, and I’m looking for a part-time job.” Austin Street gives her, along with the other women in the program, the tools she needs to move forward, and she’s set on taking full advantage of them. However, she wishes others would consider their opportunities more seriously. “They come into class all uninterested,” Tribble said, “‘I don’t wanna be here, blahblah’ — that irritates me. It probably doesn’t mean much to them as it does to me or Ms. Verde. These young girls are out here, you know half of ‘em are pregnant, going through whatever, going back to baby-daddy, still wanting to do whatever they were doing before. You’re not going anywhere with that. You need to sit down and learn, because if you don’t sit down and look back at where you come from and why you’re here, you will stay here. You will never get out. It will be just a circle.” Despite these observations though, Tribble’s focusing on herself, looking for stable income with her new licenses and degree. This process includes acknowledging her past, and her past never fails to resurface. Henry — after Tribble moved to Austin Street — is going to a nursing home. He still calls her once a month. “[Henry] wants me to come see him and bring him something to eat and this and that,” Tribble said. “I had to tell him ‘when I was there, you didn’t appreciate me. All you wanted to do was do what you wanted to do and cuss me out and throw food at me.’ I’m out here trying to find me somewhere to stay. I gotta do me now.” She’s refused to feel sorry for him. He didn’t feel sorry for her. Even if she’s sorry he’s where he is, Henry had no sympathy for Tribble. But whatever happened has happened, and she’s only getting better, only moving forward. Smiling the whole way.

*Because of the subject matter, Henry will not be named.

“

You need to sit down and learn, because if you don’t look back at where you come from and why you’re here, you will stay here, you will never get out. It will be just a circle.” —Felicia Tribble, homeless woman

NO PLACE

t age 26, after leaving a toxic relationship and landing a new security job, Kate* felt she was finally back on track. I don’t have to go back. She couldn’t even make it through her first day after throwing up in front of everyone on the train. That day, she tested positive for pregnancy, and her life was turned upside-down. Not much later, on Dec 5, 2016, she lost the most important person in her life, her mother. Losing a mother and becoming a mother. Two of the most crucial and transforming stages of a woman’s life. Having issues with family. Finding out that she was homeless. Again. Nearly putting a knife to herself. Twice.

Homeless. Pregnant. Trapped. Maria Eichhold, executive director of In My Shoes, an organization dedicated to providing shelter for homeless pregnant women, hopes to help women who have lost their way get back on track. Story Tianming Xie, Christopher Wang Photos Seth Weprin, Nathan Han, Courtesy Maria Eichold

This is the story of just one of the 21 women that In My Shoes, a non-profit organization in Dallas providing community living within a safe environment focused on assisting women who are pregnant and homeless or at risk of homelessness, supports. The only community living program in Dallas that provides support specifically toward pregnant, homeless women, In my Shoes was co-founded by executive director Maria Eichhold just 14 months ago. In My Shoes supports these women through offering opportunities to learn and put into habit valuable life skills, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for oneself, while also ensuring that every expectant or new mother has the necessary parenting skills and resources available to care

for her child. Moms and their babies are able to stay in an In My Shoes home while they learn necessary skills and receive job training to assist with finding employment. “My educational background is in social work, and after I graduated with my master’s degree, I decided to do a year of service out in Phoenix, AZ, where I lived with pregnant women who are homeless,” Eichhold said. “I was able to use my skills, not only as a social worker, but I’ve always been passionate about helping pregnant women, being able to support them during their pregnancy and beyond.” After coming back to Dallas, Eichhold tried to work with a few other groups that were in the city, seeing if she could partner with them or if she could work under their already established 501c3, designating the organization as a non-profit. Through that process, however, none of them worked out. “When it came down to the point where we decided it was best for us to be own entity—to go on our own—creativity-wise, we didn’t know what we wanted to call ourselves because we’ve been calling ourselves different names for the past four years,” Eichhold said. “We had a marketing group called Triad work with us. They helped us break down why we are doing what we’re doing.” The organization decided upon a name that would embody their motto: to heal what’s been broken, to be the hands and feet of Christ, to show these women what a real relationship or what real love is. Thus, the organization decided upon the name, In My Shoes. “When you say, ‘put yourself in someone else’s shoes,’ it’s about empathy, and that’s what we want to have here,” Eichhold said. “Empathy is not sympathy, it’s not pity, but it’s like ‘this can be a really difficult situation for you.’ I always think of shoes as setting a firm foundation as well, like, ‘you have a better foundation we have shoes on.’” The unique quality about the In My Shoes model from other “maternity” homes is the empha-

sis on community—a live-in staff members acting as supportive role models and the tools to teach the women job searching, parenting, budgeting, and other skills using evidence-based practice. “We assume that the women come with just themselves when they get here, so they often don’t have anything for the baby,” Eichhold said. “We provide for them all of their basic needs and all the baby’s basic needs and beyond basic needs. So, we have clothes for the mom, clothes for the babies, we have toiletries, diapers, wipes, bottles, toys.” All of these necessities and services—therapy, work and school support, parenting and life skills curriculum among others—have either been donated or privately fundraised through events. “We’re not getting any type of government funding right now,” Eichhold said. “So far, it’s been 90 percent individual, private donors who have blessed us with the money that we needed to renovate and to sustain us. We do trivia night, which is Feb. 2, coming up in 2019. That’s one of our big fundraisers. We get a lot of support coming in there, people having a good time. We have gotten a grant purple corporate donations too.” When she just started, Eichhold thought that if she could just house one woman for one night, it means she’s done something right. Now her organization has housed at least three women every night for the last 14 months. “This isn’t just a job for me,” Eichhold said. “This is truly passion to be able to see these women and to be able to know that these women have a safe place to live. It means so much just to know where we’ve come from, where we’ve been, what we’re doing, and there’s a lot more that I know we’re capable of doing, and as we grow and get more resources we’ll be able to provide even more support for these women. It’s hard sometimes for me to disconnect myself from the mission, from the organization, because in so many ways, it’s a part of me, but at the same time, I know that it’s also not all of me. We rely a lot on God too, and we wouldn’t be here without him.”

*Because of the subject matter, ‘Kate’ will not be identified

NO PLACE LIKE HOME For many of the women who no longer have a home, In My Shoes serves as a safe haven and a temporary shelter. NO PLACE LIKE HOME For many of the women who no longer have a home, In My Shoes serves as a safe haven and a temporary shelter.

“

Sometimes women are just doing a Google search—those are always the ones that are surprising to me just because you know there’s a need when somebody googles ‘pregnant homeless shelter in Dallas.” –Maria Eichhold, Executive Director of In My Shoes

Seth Weprin photo

“

Every church is coming to feed us, and you call it donation. Behind the donation, the government is giving you tax breaks. It’s a billion dollar business. The rich people are making money from us. The church, the rich people, the goverment, the donations give them tax breaks. What do we get? Socks? A t-shirt? And you’re driving a Jaguar? A Mercedes? What do we get?

Nothing.”

- Syed Gilani

What we do

Through initiatives like Feast of Sharing and McDonald’s Week, Marksmen help combat the issue of homelessness in Dallas. Story Paul Sullivan Photos Meyer Zinn Interviews Lyle Ochs, Siddhartha Sinha

OUT IN THE COLD Students watch a chemistry during McDonald’s Week.

wo-hundred-fifty thousand dollars. A quarter of a million dollars. That’s the amount of money the annual McDonald’s Week fundraiser has raised for Austin Street Center in the 20 years it has been active. In that time, McDonald’s Week has become a staple of the lion community as a whole, bringing together young and old Marksmen alike to both have fun and help those who are less fortunate. Junior Jackson Singhal, McDonald’s Week co-chair, believes that McDonald’s Week’s success lies in the Junior Class. “Every year the juniors come together in a big way to make sure McDonald’s is a success and to support Austin Street Shelter,” Singhal said. “This year, the juniors really all got together on this one and put in a ton of work and effort to ensure that this year was a success, and I thank everyone for that.” According to Singhal, the abundance of participation from the juniors and everyboy else on campus really helped. “We had people signing up for shifts to cover selling raffle tickets and making sure that everything ran like clockwork,” Singhal

said. “In a less organized or less involved Junior Class, we wouldn’t have gotten everything filled, but people really stood up and helped out as much as they could.” While students think of McDonald’s Week as the chance to go have fun before school or the possibility to go eat a Big Mac instead of going to class, they may often overlook the impact their contributions actually have on the people at Austin Street Shelter. “McDonald’s Week has a lot of impact on Austin Street, not just because of the money that we raised through McDonald’s Week but because we, as part of McDonald’s Week, are able to serve 500 meals,” Singhal said. “This is a welcoming surprise for them and I think it’s just important to make sure that we treat people that are homeless with humanity.” Singhal enjoys seeing the entire school come together to support one cause. “Everyone’s having a lot of fun, but at the same time, they’re really cognizant of how much of a difference they’re making when they donate money and take an active role in supporting Austin Street Shelter,” Singhal said.

The impact we make In order to see the of impact we make, we talked to people who provide and receive aid in our community. > “McDonald’s Week. In the past, we’ve been involved with Casa, which is an organization that helps with teenage homelessness: Young people who run away who have a difficult situation at home. We’ve done that, but we don’t have something permanent throughout the year. There’s another organization, Interfaith Housing Coalition, which helps when the entire family becomes homeless. They have apartments, so they welcome them there, and we bring toys and gifts. Also, with the Salvation Army when we work at Carr P. Collins to serve lunch there, it’s a shelter for veterans and people who have been out of prison. The way I understand it, the Salvation Army offers the prison system a place to hold these people not just so they can stay but also so they can get some spiritual guidance, and we work there.” —Director of Community Service Jorge Correa

are having a different life than the rest of the people, but that doesn’t make them inferior. They’re just living a different life.” — Director of Community Service Jorge Correa > “It might not even be something that they remember even a week after it happens, much less a month or a year, however, far down the road. But being there in that moment with them, and them just lighting up and feeling so amazed that someone is taking the time for them, and whatever capacity you’re taking the time, it really is unique. These people are so down to earth and so gracious. Most of the time, there’s just something that’s gone wrong, and the fact that there are people out there trying to help them in any way they can, it means a lot to them. Even if you don’t see it.” — Community Service Board Chief Operations Officer Jack Katz

> “There’s Austin Street Club. We go to Austin Street a few times a year and serve food or make cookies or do whatever with them, just to kind of spend time with the homeless there because usually they’re pretty bored there, so we give them something to do. We usually talk to them and get to know them.” — Community Service Board x2Vol Manager Davis Yoo

> “There’s only so much we can do as students in high school, but in terms of the homeless people, we bring excitement in their lives and just make their days better.” — Community Service Board x2Vol Manager Davis Yoo

> “If I saw [homeless people] in the street, I would talk to them. Or if they came to the car, I would talk to them, see what’s going on. I never felt special or different or far from them. I always felt like those are people who

> “I’ve been here at least four or five times, and my experience with volunteers has been great, especially teenage volunteers. I think they’re very enthusiastic. They have a lot of

impact on my life. One hundred percent.” — Feast of Sharing attendee James Joyce > “I’m 76 years old. I was born in Dallas. I went to Lincoln High School, and everyone here is just awesome. Y’all just out here taking care of business.” — Feast of Sharing attendee Anthony Lowry > “Every time it was a wonderful experience and every time we loved it. The food was good, and the volunteers were always very helpful, engaged and happy to be there and help us. They made us enjoy our time and made us want to be a part of something bigger.” — Feast of Sharing attendees The Laing family

FEAST OF SHARING Junior Lucho Hadjigenov sets a table for Dallasites enjoying a Thanksgiving meal at Fair Park.

supports Austin Street Shelter.

Food for thought

St. Philip’s food pantry opened in 2014 to address the gap that food deserts have left in South Dallas. Now, after success at St. Philip’s, North Texas Food Bank is trying to expand and bring help to other areas.

Story Ishan Gupta, Robert Pou Photos Courtesy Anyika McMillian-Herod

ids run down the aisles as their parents pick up canned soup and fresh foods from the top shelf and place it in their cart. It’s almost closing time, and all the customers start to rush to the checkout lanes. One by one, the employees bag all the food and send the customers on their way. Some of the employees even help customers to their cars. But something’s different at this store. Whether it’s a family of five or a single adult, one thing holds true. Nobody’s paying a single cent. ••• The St. Philip’s food pantry serves roughly 1500 families in the South Dallas food desert, where there are nowhere near as many grocery stores as there are in North Dallas. Although the site is run by only two employees with the help of a few volunteers, organizers of the larger St. Philip’s School and Community Center like Chief Philanthropy Officer Anyika McMillian-Herod make big contributions to ensuring the success of the pantry. “We really are working to provide a service in this food desert community,” McMillian-Herod said. “The community where we are located is considered a food desert, so we’re really trying to address the hunger needs of our neighbors through our community pantry.” The food pantry is a collaboration between organizations like the St. Philip’s School and Community Center, In the City for Good, the City of Dallas, Kroger, Dallas County, The Real Estate Council and Trammell Crow Company. But the biggest contributor to the pantry besides St. Philip’s itself is North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). “Our community pantry is the first time they have operated a pantry, a client choice pantry,” McMillian-Herod said. “We started this collaboration with them about four years ago, and it has been so successful that now the North Texas Food Bank is opening other pantries in other communities in the DFW area that are also designated food deserts.” St. Philip’s will completely take over the day-to-day operations of the food pantry once NTFB moves on to start pantries elsewhere. Since St. Philip’s can only cover a small amount

of the area that needs a community pantry, McMillian-Herod believes that NTFB’s expansion will be beneficial for the people that St. Philip’s can’t help. “That’s their plan now,” McMillian-Herod said. “Go to other communities, open these pantries, operate them for a while and hand it over to the organizations to manage. And open more and more and more.” In 2017, 70,000 pounds of food were distributed by the pantry. Not only does St. Philip’s regularly harvest fresh food from its community aquaponics garden, but it also collects food from donations through food drives held in churches and contributions made by other organizations. “We accept donations of canned foods and fresh foods from other organizations as well for this pantry,” McMillian-Herod said, “but I would say about 50 percent of the food in the pantry is secured through the North Texas Food Bank.” The biggest problem the pantry faces is their lack of assistance.There are a few volunteers who consistently help out at the pantry when they’re available. But there aren’t always enough to make the process go by smoothly and timely. “We really only have two people staffed to operate the pantry,” McMillian-Herod said. “And on days that we are serving clients, we need seven to ten volunteers to facilitate an effective process of coming in, shopping, checking in, checking out and helping them to their car.” When St. Philip’s first started its pantry, there was no physical space. It started as an effort to bag up food and hand it out to the people who would line up every week no matter what because they had no other options. Over time, the food pantry has developed into a successful organization that will continue to feed the people of South Dallas. “The pantry is more sophisticated,” McMillian-Herod said. “It’s more dignified. It really is set up like a grocery store. To see that we’ve been able to grow and secure better resources to meet this need of food as a community has been really exciting and rewarding.”

TRIP TO THE STORE At the St. Philip’s food pantry, customers shop like they would in a normal market, but all the fresh produce is free.

LOADING UP THE VAN After making a trip to Walmart, a St. Philip’s employee helps bring the food back to the food pantry for later.

300+ 32 meals are distributed daily through the pantry’s Meals on Wheels program.

percent of the pantry’s elderly neighbors benefit from the Meals on Wheels depot.

670

700

different families served by the St. Philip’s Community Pantry.

thousand pounds of food distributed by the pantry at any moment.

Source: St. Philip’s Community Pantry

Models of success

Cities around the nation have taken initiatives to combat chronic homelessness by providing housing and a sense of community to those who need it most. Story Sid Vattamreddy Photos Creative Commons

HELPING HANDS Members of Seattle’s city council come together to serve food to the homeless as a part of the city’s revamped inititative.

SALT LAKE CITY Relocating homeless to secure accomodations

n 2005, Salt Lake City set forth a goal to fully eradicate chronic homelessness. Over a decade later, the state is well on its way to do so. Chronic homelessness is a subset of homelessness that describes the people who have been on the streets for over a year or four times in the past three years and have a disabling condition, such as a serious mental illness, an addiction or a serious physical condition. The chronic homeless population represents about 20 percent of the total homeless population, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Chronically homeless people cost the government somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000 annually through services like emergency room visits and jail time. Salt Lake City’s solution, a model known as Housing First, has reduced the number of chronically homeless people by

91 percent, from almost 2,000 to less than 150 now, according to Lloyd Pendleton, director of Utah’s homeless task force. Pendleton state the principle behind Housing First is that stable housing comes first and then other services follow. The model relocates people living on the streets or in shelters and immediately places them in secure accommodations, as opposed to other models that move individuals through different levels of housing where each level is closer to independent housing. Housing First focuses on the idea that a homeless person’s most important need is to obtain stable housing and that the other challenges, such as addiction or mental illness, are secondary concerns that will be addressed afterwards. Individuals adopted into this program do need to pay some rent – either $50 a month or 30 percent of income, whichever is higher.

SEATTLE

Increasing services to help the homeless

he Seattle city government is changing the way it tackles its homelessness problem. The city has established goals to increase access to housing and diversion, shift to a person-centered service model and improve government accountability. The three primary investment areas for the city’s homeless services system are prevention, emergency, and housing. The results of this focused investment are apparent in the city’s infrastructure. There are increased services that help people to remain in their homes,

provide safe spaces for people to stay and focus on permanent housing solutions. Although Seattle certainly has a ways to go, its approach to homelessness is proving to be successful. When compared with numbers from 2017, the city has seen a 10 percent increase in the rate of households paying their rent and a 19 percent increase in the rate of people moving into permanent housing. Additionally, the city has enhanced 67 percent of the 1773 homeless shelters with extended hours and supportive services.

HOME SWEET HOME Residents of Community First! Village, located on the outskirts of Austin, live together in RVs and tiny homes such as this one.

AUSTIN

Village created to offer shelter, community

ommunity First! Village, located just outside of Austin is a 27-acre vibrant and enriching community offering a bold new idea for the homeless. The concept of the Community First! Village, pioneered by real estate developer Alan Graham, is a variation of the Housing First model, in which the goal of the program is to not only provide housing, but also establish a welcoming community. Graham, whose involvement with the homeless community began 20 years ago when he and some friends started providing fresh food and clean clothes out of their trucks, came upon this idea by interacting with the homeless. When he asked the people he was forging relationships with what they desired the most, the idea of a community emerged. Originally, Graham wished to create the Village within Austin, and in 2008, the City Council granted a long term land lease. However, Graham was met with major pushback from the citizens of the city and decided to purchase land outside the city limits. He began moving homeless people into small houses and

RVs in 2014. Today, over 200 people who in the past were chronically homeless now live in Community First! Village. Many of the Village’s residents are employed on site, and all are required to pay rent, ranging from $225 to $430 per month. The Village offers addiction help through a free clinic operated by Austin Recovery, and some residents have even taken initiative to better their lives by attending college. Community First! Village is the largest community of its kind anywhere in the world, and it is only increasing in size. In October, the Village broke ground on 24 acre expansion that will add 110 RV sites, 200 small homes and a 20,000 square foot health facility. This expansion will bring the Village’s total population to around 480 people – about 40 percent of the chronically homeless people in Austin. The idea of making community, along with necessary housing, a main priority in the solution for homelessness is certainly a revolutionary one, and communities such as Community First! Village are proving that it can work.

No home for homework The homeless youth population is often lost in the shuffle. When they struggle with economic and residential instability, their education is the first to suffer. Story Sai Thirunagari, Nathan Han Photos Nathan Han

UNDER CONSTRUCTION Fannie C. Harris Youth Center is still being renovated to function as an emergency shelter for homeless high school students.

reasy hair. Mismatched clothes. No heater at home. All things that could make her stand out. But she keeps to herself. She’s quiet. She tries to blend into the background. She doesn’t want the other eighth graders to know her family is close to being homeless. But one of her classmates finds out that she doesn’t have running water. That she lives in a shack. That she only washes her hair at school. Parents and students gather to help. They pay for her water. Install a hot-water heater. Bring her groceries every few weeks. And everything changes for her. •••

A public-school teacher at the time, eighth grade humanities instructor Danielle Clayton noticed the striking transformation. “She came back just happy,” Clayton said. “She had this sense of self and purpose and personality. All of a sudden, she was engaged in class and learned so much more. The kids that helped her also became friends with her. That I think was the key difference.” But for the more-than 1.3 million homeless students in U.S. public schools, such a change doesn’t always occur. According to Dallas ISD’s count, over 3,500 students lack a permanent nighttime residence and at least 112 sleep without shelter. Economic instability in general leads to problems such as employment and residential insecurity, harming children while they are still learning and developing. “Employment instability –– what studies have shown how it affects kids –– creates a stressful home environment, which can affect

MURAL MAGIC Artist Rolando Diaz painted this mural that rests inside Fannie C. Harris with the help of students from Booker T. Washington High School.

social and emotional instability and also academic growth,” Clayton said. But for those students that do sleep unsheltered, a new drop-in center for Dallas’s homeless youth opened in November. Fannie C. Harris Youth Center, just outside of Fair Park, was previously a shuttered DISD elementary school. Now, the building currently serves as one of many drop-in centers in the area. After8toEducate, a coalition between local nonprofits CitySquare and Promise House and the city of Dallas, runs the center and its renovation.

“

If you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, you don’t care about this higher-level education. — Danielle Clayton, eighth grade humanities instructor

After8 plans to open Fannie C. Harris Youth Center as an emergency shelter for homeless high school students in the spring of 2019. Plans include 35 beds in a dormitory-style wing. The rate of both homelessness and child poverty in Dallas are among the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which ranked Dallas with the third-worst child poverty rate among major U.S. cities in 2017. Many of the city’s homeless youth identify as LGBT, with estimates from social workers going up to 40 percent. One year ago, city officials set reducing homelessness among LGBT youth as a goal by 2020. For programs like After8 and Promise House, an organization that runs shelters specifically designed to end homeless youth, part of the issue is that they don’t want to be found. “The issue is that a lot of homeless kids are

invisible,” Evans said. “They’ll avoid adults because they don’t want to be forced into foster care or emergency shelter.” That residential instability leads to issues in the classroom, especially for those of a younger age. Human neuroplasticity, the ability for the brain to change throughout an individual’s life, decreases during adulthood. Thus, unstable environments at a young age may impair children’s development of social-emotional security and regulation. “How [children] learn to regulate emotion is through mimicry,” Clayton said. “When they don’t have a strong person or environment to mimic, they lose that capacity. Their ability to grasp knowledge and grasp situational behaviors is severely limited at a very early age.” When Clayton instructed in public education, she taught about 166 students each day and encountered many kids who experienced insecure living conditions. Some of her students changed homes every six months and occasionally lived with strangers. “Perhaps they don’t know how to punctuate a paragraph or sentence,” Clayton said. “It’s the unique perspective or the connections they’re able to make if they care enough to make them. But if you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, you don’t care about this higher-level education.” While long-term solutions must still be developed, Clayton sees everyday ways people can address the issues facing students who are close to or at homelessness. “If we can create a sense of community, like that girl when she was involved in a community and had people looking out for her and her family, she was a totally different person,” Clayton said. “It’s really important that we acknowledge the outliers of our society and bring them in a little bit in easy ways.”

Adnan Khan photo

“

I tried to get in [to The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center], and they wouldn’t let me in. So, I’ve been right here on the street. They let me out of the hospital the day before Thanksgiving. I don’t have a way of calling anybody, I don’t have a way of doing anything. I’m stuck with women’s clothes. I don’t have an ID. I don’t have anything. I’ve been on the street. I’m in really bad shape cause I just got out of the hospital. I’ve got COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease),

I can’t breathe.” - Rusty

Inspire a change It’s our responsbility to better the lives of those who share the city with us.

Jonathan Taylor Photo

Seth Weprin Photo

POWER STANCE Many of the homeless rely on contributions from the local community to stay afloat and pave a new path in their lives.

o something. Such a vague, broad yet commanding pair of words. In our community, it’s our responsibility to do something. Take action. Speak up. We are all in such a fortunate situation to be a part of such a wonderful institution, community and city that can serve as a platform for us to do almost anything, and it’d be a true shame and failure on our part if we didn’t use this platform that has been provided to us to the best of our abilities and to the utmost benefit of others. In this sense, we all have a duty to fulfill—a duty centered around supporting those who are less fortunate than we are, particularly those who don’t even have a place they can call home to go to every night. There are so many ways each of us can make a difference: joining a community service program; going out and establishing relationships with some Christopher of the homeless to Wang build their trust; Focus starting your own editor foundation to raise awareness to the ever-growing issue of homelessness in our city. The possibilities are truly endless, so there’s no reason why we can’t take a step toward the goal of raising people out of homelessness. It’s undeniable: homelessness is a daunting, nearly-insurmountable task that appears impossible to solve through each of our own actions. We’ve all thought about it: what difference is the three hours I spend stocking up my local food pantry going to make in helping get over 4000 people off the streets? Our actions seem to be meaningless given the tiny magnitude of them. It’s important, however, to remember that these little actions we so-often dismiss will eventually pile up and gain ground. Imagine thousands, millions of hands working together in unison toward one common goal but each in our own, distinct way. Imagine the impact—the change we can make. Just remember, we each have the duty to inspire a change in the lives of others; the lives of those who are homeless. We each have the duty to do something.

READY FOR A CHANGE Linda, 69, was raised in Richardson and worked alongside various organizations for over 20 years before being displacedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ready for the opportunity to start a new chapter in her life.