The ReMarker | December 2016

|THE REMARKER | St. Mark’s School of Texas | Dallas, Texas | Volume 63, Issue 3 | December 15, 2016|

It was unexpected and ill-informed — the media’s focus on connecting St. Mark’s to alt-right leader Richard Spencer, an alum of the school.

Showing unity and support for their alma mater, members of the Class of 1997 responded loudly with a fundraising effort benefiting international refugees. At the same time, this offered the school a chance to reaffirm its mission of inclusion and acceptance.

r The editorial board explores the response of the school community to alt-right leader and Class of ‘97 alum Richard Spencer. pages 4, 5.

THE REMARKER

Demystifying the Discipline Council | page 8

Trump’s new America and its leaders | page 16

The changing culture of Lion sports | page 26

|THE REMARKER |news| December 15, 2016|

2

MCDANCE-OFF

Happy Xmas (Election is over!)

Reflecting on the election through the lens of John Lennon’s classic Christmas carol.

I

t was a brutal 596 days from the first candidate’s entry into the presidential race on March 23, 2015 until its dramatic ending on Nov. 8. It’s finally over, and it’s time to reflect.

Many people were riled up, many people were offended and many, many people voted.

Barring any Electoral College madness, Donald Trump is the next president.

Hillary Clinton has conceded the election to Trump, and now it’s time for us to move on, too.

It’s December, and the Christmas season is upon us; however, the stench of that nasty election is polluting that special Christmas spirit of togetherness and generosity that makes this the most wonderful time of the year.

As John Lennon sings in his Christmas classic “Happy Xmas (War is Over!),” “Happy Christmas / for black and for white / for yellow and red ones / let’s stop all the fight!”.

And Al Gore couldn’t have expressed a better attitude in conceding the controversial 2000 election in saying, “I know that many of my supporters are disappointed. I am too. But our disappointment must be overcome by our love of country… Just as we fight hard when the stakes are high, we close ranks and come together when the contest is done.”

It’s time to accept the JOHN finality of the outcome of CRAWFORD Issues editor the election; no number of angry Facebook posts will make people un-vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

More prominently, the vitriol and fury toward Donald Trump’s supporters and toward anti-Trump protestors is entirely pointless.

Remember: it is our right to vote for the candidate we choose, and it is our right to protest our elected officials; we’ve done it for as long as we’ve been a nation.

Demanding people to recant their anti-American sentiments or demanding others to unfriend you for their vote does nothing but sow more anger and hate — weren’t we all waiting for the anger and hate from the campaign to be over?

Don’t be mistaken: I do not mean to say that we should now all support Donald Trump unflinchingly. Continue to exercise your right to voice opposition to the president-elect and continue to practice activism in support of your views.

What I do mean to convey is that the election is behind us. You may not be satisfied with the outcome, and you may be frustrated at those close to you who supported another candidate. However, it’s Christmastime. It’s a time for togetherness and a celebration of what unites us, and we need to embrace that spirit.

Our country needs good tidings of great joy now more than ever in the wake of the nasty election, and so, although emotions are still raw, we need to overcome our disagreements to heal together.

NEWS

Juniors Sam Sussman (left) and Sammy Sanchez (right) take part in the McDonald’s Week dance-off. For more McDonald’s Week photos, turn to page 22.

at a GLANCE

a peek INSIDE

A brief look at the news events on campus

Inside the news section

3

INJURED STUDENTS

4-5

RICHARD SPENCER How

7

CONNOR PIERCE Sopho-

8

The challenges that students who have missed weeks of school face the school communuty has reacted to the white nationalist alum who has made national headlines

more Connor Pierce competed on the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament in November and advanced to the next round of competition.

DISCIPLINE COUNCIL

Behind the scenes of the myserious Discipline Council

Around the CORNER • THE NUTCRACKER

where: 525 Commerce St. Fort Worth 76102 when: Dec. 13 to Dec. 24 at 7 p.m what: The Texas Ballet Theater presents “The Nutcracker,” a ballet filled with dancing snowflakes, toy soldiers, and other iconic Christmas traditions.

•

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

where : 2403 Flora St. Dallas, 75201 when: Dec. 11 to Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m what: A Dallas Theater Center’s production, this musical is a tale of rebirth and redemption.

say WHAT?

PIANO STUDENTS HAVE FIRST RECITAL Students of piano instructor Angela Hendricks performed their first recital of the year at the Presbyterian Village North Retirement Center Dec. 1. The performers, Lower, Middle and Upper School students, played together in pairs and trios rather than as soloists.

“The students have to put more effort in this particular recital because they have to count and work with another person,” Hendricks said. “I feel that as musicians, they will grow more because of this. It requires a higher level of skill than playing solo work.”

GIFT DRIVE CONCLUDES The three-week annual Student Council gift drive kicked off Nov. 28 and concluded yesterday. The Dallas Area Salvation Army Commander will accept the gifts personally on behalf of children around the city at the school wide Christmas party. The theme for the drive this year “Gift into Gear.” The goal is to raise 2,017 gifts. In addition to collecting gifts, the Student Council will also be selling buttons.

“The gift drive has a large impact on not only the hundreds of

kids we donate gifts to, but also the St. Mark’s community itself,” Student Council President Christian McClain said.

“I know that it makes the holiday season for those kids and it definitely makes mine.”

DONUTS WITH ANDRÉN AND DARVER Head of Upper School Patrick Andrén plans to have discussions on campus with parents about thoughts and concerns regarding the students’ transition to Upper School.

This idea was inspired by Interim Head of Lower School Sherri Darver’s program, called Donuts for Darver, where she is planning to have similar discussions with new Lower School parents over a box of donuts.

“It would be about coming together and sharing what’s on their minds as well as answering whatever questions they have about the high school experience,” Andrén said.

CHRISTMAS STAR PLANETARIUM SHOW On Dec. 1 and 3, Cecil H. and Ida Green Master Teaching Chair in Science Steve Balog hosted the Christmas Star Planetarium Show.

“The show is about translating the terminology used in the Bible

to try to explain who the ‘magi’ or ‘wise men’ were, what could have been the Star of Bethlehem, and why it would have been considered important,” Balog said.

To create the show, Balog studied the planets that would have been in conjunction from 6 BC to 6 AD, along with comets and supernovae.

He then recreated the events for planetarium use, created a PowerPoint presentation and chose some music.

MODEL UN CLUB BEGINS TO COMPETE The new Model UN Club had its first official competition, the Dallas Area Model United Nations (DAMUN) competition, Nov. 27 in Irving from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Junior Mohit Singhal and sophomore Joe Lofgren are the co-presidents of the club and they have taught members research and public speaking skills in meetings.

“Every member contributes to the success of the club,” Singhal said. “If our members are happy and want to go through this process again next year, we hope we can attend even more conferences around the country, such as the Yale and Harvard Model UN’s.”

— Dylan Liu, Gabe Bankston, Michael Lukowicz, Kamal Mamdani, Zoheb Khan

comments made by students, faculty and staff around campus

“

“ When I was young and I first saw Mr. Houpt, I thought he was Charles Darwin.

Avery Pearson junior

“

I guess I’m a little bit of a pyromaniac.

math instructor Clara Ann Norman on senior Ian Fitzgerald

science instructor Jon Valasek

“

My mom blocked the App Store on my computer because I was playing too much Batman.

Reece Rabin junior

Every time I see you, I can’t help but think of a leprechaun!

“

I care about memes more than the future of our country.

Ryan Norman junior

YOU DON’T KNOW THE HALF OF IT

| December 15, 2016 |news| THE REMARKER |

3

INJURED STUDENTS

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY AFTER A SURGERY IS A LONG AND TRYING ONE, BUT AN INJURED STUDENT’S STRUGGLE TO GET BACK TO NORMAL IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST MAKE UP WORK.

S

itting alone in the library, junior Calvin Hosler struggles to bring everything under control.

He watches through the window as the bulk of Middle and Upper School students, his friends, begin the walk to McDonald’s to enjoy music, food and activities organized by his classmates in the Junior Class.

Hosler, fresh off of an ACL reconstruction and MCL surgery, is in the most mentally and physically taxing situation he has ever been in, and he feels alone.

“I was coming back to school and I was already pressured to get back on track, but I knew that I just couldn’t do it,” Hosler said.” The pain wasn’t even horrible. It was more mental.”

With all of this pressure to get caught up weighing down on Hosler and his inability to participate in McDonald’s Week, he felt overwhelmed and isolated.

“I couldn’t stay and I had to call my parents to take me home against what they wanted,” Hosler said.

“I honestly think it was the stress.

I saw everyone else taking part in something and McDonald’s Week is the Junior Class thing and I couldn’t do anything. It was devastating.”

Since his surgery, Hosler has attempted to force himself to be productive, but each attempt to catch up is met with more desperation to his situation.

CALVIN HOSLER faces a seven month recovery time.

“There are definitely days where I could have done make up work but I always have a feeling of ‘I can’t do this’, ‘I wasn’t taught this’ or ‘how can I possibly do this on my own?’”, Hosler said. “The injury didn’t just affect me with missing time but it also mentally changed me. The first week I just stayed in my room all week and I was forced to come back to school and I couldn’t handle it.

It was a combination of realizing everything has moved on without me

THE COST of ACL surgery

classes missed by Calvin Hosler

4,095

total number of minutes missed from appointments and surgery.

and the actual pain.”

After two weeks of missed time, Hosler’s classes have indeed moved on to the next topic in their curriculum, leaving Hosler scrambling between old and new topics.

“Even though I only missed two weeks I feel like months behind everyone else,” Hosler said. “Having to do stuff on your own is fine for a day but if you miss an entire topic it’s really hard to catch up. When I sit down to do work I’m thinking ‘How am I going to graduate the year?’ and ‘How am I going to keep up my grades?’”

Hosler’s relief only comes when he sleeps where he can take a break from his pain and reality of his challenges.

“I’m happiest when I sleep,” Hosler said. “As soon as I wake up, I wake up to the pain and the burden to what I have to do. I haven’t been able to just be a normal kid. I can’t run and play. I just go home and survive the day.”

Despite the changes in expectations he is facing due to injury, Hosler believes the school is being extremely helpful in the process.

“My teacher, Ms. Pool, gave it as an option to move me down from honors to regular math which I am grateful for because it was honestly the right decision.” Hosler said. “I’m thankful for [Grounds Supervisor] Don Denman who gave me a ride to class every day which was very helpful.”

“I’m really happy for the people who have helped me with my backpack between classes.”

Like Hosler, junior Harris Wilson had loads of makeup work after missing school due to a head injury.

Wilson, who fractured his skull during his freshman year, credits the school with being understanding and helpful in his situation.

“I didn’t really get back to a regular school schedule for a month or two,” Wilson said.

Wilson spent those months gradually building back up to his regular school day.

“For the first couple weeks, I couldn’t do anything,” Wilson said.

“I would only come for half days.

Then, I started to go to full days of observing for two weeks, and then, I finally started taking notes and it was a limited amount of homework.”

Wilson also met with Director of Counseling Barbara Van Drie for help

with planning out all his makeup work.

“I met with Ms. Van Drie in the counseling office and sat down with my parents and me,” Wilson said, “and she got a note from all my teachers saying what they expected from me, and we just planned it out.” enior Hyer Thomas, who is no stranger to missing time from school with an injury himself, echoes Wilson’s thankfulness for the school’s help.

“St. Mark’s in general as a community is so nice, helpful and caring.” Thomas said. “People like Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Clayman reached out to me and asked if there was anything they could do to help.

All my teachers were great. They understood with me because it had happened so many times so they were used to it.”

Thomas, who missed time from school on two different occasions due to collarbone surgeries, found some catch up work tedious and difficult to bear.

“I thought that having to do all of the daily homework wasn’t fair,” Thomas said. “I had been meeting with teachers to relearn it so I thought that going with them would be enough to not have to do the homework I had missed. Doing this work and thinking ‘this assignment was when I was in surgery’ or ‘this assignment was two days before

S

going into surgery’ just brought back bad memories.”

Not only did Thomas have to overcome the pressure put on by his already daunting make up work, but as a senior he also had to meet his college application deadlines, all while taking pain medications.

“I had three college apps due in one Friday,” Thomas said. “I had to write two essays between the time I got out of surgery and that Friday.

Mr. Gendason helped me a lot with editing just because some sentences didn’t make much sense.”

HYER THOMAS has learned from his injury.

Cleared to play by his doctor, Thomas is at the end of the trial that Hosler is just beginning, and in this time has found positive lessons from his experiences.

“Just because you are injured doesn’t mean you are any less part of a team or community,” Thomas said. “I learned how to deal with expectations not coming into fruition.

I did a lot of dreaming, planning and thinking ahead all summer. It’s tough to face reality versus what you expected to happen. Not much is going to phase me because I don’t know how much of a tougher situation I could be put in.”

I’M HAPPIEST WHEN I SLEEP. AS SOON AS I WAKE UP, I WAKE UP TO THE PAIN AND THE BURDEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO DO. — CALVIN HOSLER

STORY BLAKE DAUGHERTY, LYLE OCHS ILLUSTRATION NAFTAL MAUTIA

NEWS

|THE REMARKER |news| December 15, 2016 |

4

March 2010 A LOOK AT HOW THE SPENCER SITUATION DEVELOPED

April 18, 2016

Nov. 8, 2016

Time magazine writes an article detailing Trump’s emboldening of white nationalists, such as Richard Spencer, throughout his campaign.

Richard Spencer founds an alt-right website, alternativeright.com, a couple years after coining the term “alternative right” which he proceeded to keep up to date and edit until 2012.

Donald Trump wins the 2016 Presidential election.

Trump on the campaign trail.

W

ith the social media storms that roll in from headlines and cloud over timelines so frequently in the modern age, it was unavoidable.

Posts on Facebook stretched three scrolls down while garning hundreds of shares and likes.

Articles on ABC and NBC websites — prominently displayed for days — received thousands of clicks in just hours.

And a crowdfunding page, providing money for refugee efforts, raised more than $55,000 in just three days.

It was inevitable that an alumnus like Richard Spencer ’97, a white nationalist who coined the term “alt-right,” would, at some point, provide a connection between himself and his alma mater — a school whose values and purpose over the years run directly in defiance of the extreme viewpoints Spencer developed — years after leaving 10600 Preston Road.

When The Dallas Morning News identified Spencer as a “St. Mark’s alum” in a secondary headline Nov. 17, it was inevitable that a rash of unwanted publicity would be directed at the school.

But maybe what was less expected was how the school community, led by members of Spencer’s own class of 1997, responded.

Facebook posts from classmates denounced their classmate, letters were sent to the media in support of their school, and, ultimately, a crowdfunding page was created, where the goal was to raise money to a cause in direct opposition to Spencer’s white supremacist views: financial assistance for refugees seeking to come to the United States.

What was unavoidable was the passion that emanated from the Class of ’97 throughout the tips of the branches of the St. Mark’s tree by way of the fundraiser and Facebook posts and letters to the community.

United we stand.

What was unavoidable was the love.

A love that bound together people from all over the country to serve one purpose — to help those whom Spencer seeks to force out. Through a crowdsourced fundraiser benefiting the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Class of 1997 united to combat Spencer’s beliefs.

Like his classmates, Ryan Cotton ’97, a managing director at Bain Capital, was blown away by the community support.

“If you told me four weeks ago that you’d find 750 people to give money, that I would write a letter that would get 700 likes on Facebook from people I’ve never met or heard of, I would never have believed you,” Cotton said. “Because, to me this was a nagging, personal issue and I’ve been so heartened by the universality of support that we’ve found and the amount of people that are hurting like us and wanted to have their voices to the exact resounding note that we struck.”

Despite the fact that many media outlets drew connections between traditional conservatism and the alt-right movement, Cotton emphasized the important distinction between white nationalism and the Republican Party.

“The alt-right is nothing but a branding exercise for white nationalism,” Cotton said. “Conservative Republican ideology is a fiscal policy, it is a vision of small government. It is not a vision of a government that promotes one race over others. Those are not even in the same zip code of related ideology.” osh Harkinson ’95, a senior reporter of the politically progressive news magazine Mother Jones who wrote an article on Spencer, was assigned over the summer to cover the white nationalist connections to President-elect Donald Trump.

But he had no idea this was going to be more than just a

J

A

NEWS

summer job.

Harkinson attended multiple political conventions, seminars and even an alt-right initiation party — an event where he first met Spencer.

And after listening to Hillary Clinton’s speech on the recent advancements of the alt-right movement, he knew this wasn’t going to go away.

So he reached out to him.

“The most striking thing was how ordinary he was,” Harkinson said. “He comes across in every way as no different from anybody else you meet at St. Mark’s except for the fact that he’s crazy racist.”

But there’s one thing that Harkinson isn’t surprised about.

The outpouring of response from the Class of 1997 is a reaction that Harkinson predicted when he first covered the topic of Richard Spencer.

IT’S BEEN A REMARKABLE OUTPOURING OF AFFIRMATION AND SUPPORT FOR THE SCHOOL’S VALUES AND PRINCIPLES. WE’VE HEARD FROM HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. — HEADMASTER DAVID DINI “I definitely think it was a smart move for his classmates to react that way,” Harkinson said. “It’s one thing to verbally repudiate someone, but to actually take action and do something that actually runs counter to what Richard stands for, is a more meaningful response, and I wasn’t that surprised by the reaction.”

Cotton describes the IRC as the perfect antithesis to Spencer’s ideas, and thus, the perfect recipient of their donations.

“We felt like, let’s just not go after hate groups, let’s actually do something they’ll hate,” Cotton said. “Let’s actually under-

mine their movement. So the IRC was picked because its singular focus is for the best of America, for the Statue of Liberty[’s motto]: we will take care of the tired, the poor, the huddled masses trying to be free. lthough Cotton had known about Spencer’s divisive beliefs for “the last ten to 15 years,” Spencer had not been — in Cotton’s mind — very relevant.

But after Spencer brought their classmates into media attention, that all changed.

“When in the Mother Jones article [that introduced Spencer’s beliefs to the mainstream media], he came out and said, ‘Hey, I had this friend John Lewis who slept over at my house,’ he crossed a line and brought the school and brought the members of my class into this,” Cotton said. “When he called John out, that obviously felt pretty personal to a lot of us.

So we wanted to rise to his aid and defense.”

In an open letter to Spencer, Cotton called his classmates to action to join the fundraiser.

“While I’m sad we were never friends, Richard, sad that I never had the chance to help you grow into a man, I am very lucky to know so many people who do share my values,” Cotton wrote.

“And I ask them all now, here, in this public forum to join me and my classmates in a clear, loud and powerful statement of our values, to make a contribution to the very cause you so despise.”

For Harkinson, the expression of opinions is something that needs to be prevalent throughout this time.

“I think this school has made strides to embracing diversity since I was a student here which is great,” Harkinson said. “And I think more conversations and more dialogue about this stuff would be helpful. I think more people need to feel like they should be able to express themselves.”

Veeral Rathod ’97 first heard about Spencer in the Class of

A

1997’s fifteenth year reunion at the school.

At this point, Rathod had been busy running his custom clothing company, J. Hilburn, for five years so he wasn’t aware that one of his own classmates was beginning a radical movement that would explode in a few years.

“I was shocked,” Rathod said. “I never would have guessed that this would have been his beliefs.”

But similar to Harkinson, Rathod didn’t spend much time with Spencer while he was in high school. Rathod played different sports. Spent time with different people. But for Rathod, his limited social interactions with Spencer still don’t change his initial reaction of shock that someone from his alma mater could think this way.

“I think there is a lot of disbelief that someone out of the community would even feel like that,” Rathod said. “But I think, yes, it’s disbelief from the St. Mark’s community, but I think it’s disbelief that anyone even thinks like that in general especially among the alumni because we’ve all been so diverse and worldly.”

Rathod also supports the crowdfunding efforts the Class of 1997 has started in Spencer’s name.

“I think it [the crowdfunding] really helped bring our class together,” Rathod said. “I think it’s also given our class an outlet and a way to be able to channel our conversations and our feelings and our emotions into something that’s positive and also unifying. But it’s really nice to see our class come together and it almost feels like we’re back in high school again.”

Although most of the members of Rathod’s class have been in complete disbelief the past few months, Rathod is glad to see his classmates and the school’s community respond the way they have.

Who is Richard Spencer

graduate from the class of 1997, Richard Spencer went on to receive a B.A. in English literature and music from the University of Virginia, as well as an M. A. in humanities from the University of Chicago.

Spencer continued his education as a doctoral student at Duke, studying modern European intellectual history. During his

time at Duke, Spencer was a member of the Duke Conservative Union.

After college, Spencer served as the assistant editor of the American Conservative Magazine, from where he was later fired because his views were deemed too extreme. Spencer became the executive director of Washington Summit Publisher,

and, during his time there, Spencer would go on to found the conservative Radix Journal.

The alternative right movement, a group of conservative white nationalists, was first introduced to the internet in 2010, when Spencer created the website alternativeright.com. Spencer later became president and director of a

?

white nationalist think tank, the National Policy Institute. Both the alt-right movement and the institute are typically made up of white millennial men who identify as either secular or atheist.

The mostly-online platform has recently come into the spotlight following the 2016 presidential campaigns.

Nov. 17, 2016

Nov. 25, 2016

Dec. 6, 2016

The Dallas Morning News publishes a front page article describing Richard Spencer’s movement and views, and in the process conects him to St. Mark’s

Dini issues letter repudiating actions and words of Class of 97 graduate Richard Spencer after a video was released of Spencer’s speech at the conference.

The letter was sent via email and is viewable on smtexas.org.

Spencer speaks at Texas A&M amid controversy despite Texas A&M Senior Vice President Amy Smith describing Spencer’s views as “in direct conflict with our core values.”

Spencer speaking at the National Policy Institute, Nov. 21 in Washington, D.C.

| December 15, 2016 |news| THE REMARKER |

5

View of Centennial Hall from the Perot Quadrangle

When connections were made in the media associating St. Mark’s with alt-right founder Richard Spencer, a member of the class of 1997, the school community came together to repudiate both the messenger and all he stands for.

“We’ve been highly supportive of St. Mark’s as an institution in that we believe in diversity and I believe overwhelmingly that it feels like the school does not condone anything that he’s doing,” Rathod said. “I’m happy that they’re staying involved, moderating the conversation and fostering open conversation within guys at the school, the alumni community and the board level.”

•••

he little red bubble kept popping up. Seemingly as soon as Headmaster David Dini cleared his inbox, another notification would hop onto his screen for hours. Hours turned into days and days into a week, and the feedback kept pouring in.

Dini received hundreds of emails and calls in a span of a week regarding the issue of Richard Spencer, the media’s coverage of it, and the St. Mark’s connection and school response.

Most were praising and some were critiquing, but he wasn’t surprised, as responding and discussing are tenets of the school community.

“We talk about important issues together, and think about solutions together,” Dini said. “...I’ve heard from graduates across the ages, back to graduates of the ‘40’s, to those in college, to those many of the guys who are currently here, I’ve talked to faculty, heard from parents, some grandparents. While it’s been unsettling to many, it’s been an opportunity for us to come together as a community and to again reaffirm and restate what we stand for and what we stand for as a school.”

Many of these calls were in response to the letters that Dini addressed the St. Mark’s community with regarding Spencer’s actions and the school connection.

Student Council President Christian McClain believes all Marksmen are bound together by

T

?

their respect for others and their values. Although seeing a fellow Marksmen go so against the school’s values pains him deeply, McClain is proud of the community’s ability to bounce-back in a positive way.

“Seeing everyone come together as a community, whether they are current students or past students, is amazing and portrays what St. Mark’s is really about,” McClain said. “It shows that the St. Mark’s brotherhood does not end once you are handed a diploma.”

And although Development Director Jim Bob Womack ’98 recognizes it’s important for the media to present Spencer’s biography, he’s not sure if the school should play such a large role in the national media’s coverage of Spencer.

“St. Mark’s is 110 years old, and over the last century, the school has done some incredible things,” Womack said. “It’s tough to see one alum shift the story that we’re trying to tell.

We’re trying to tell the story of our boys, and the amazing things they do every single day. They are serving their communities and impacting the world … It is unfortunate to see the narrative shift away from the positive work being done.”

Womack knows his team can’t make this controversy go away. But nonetheless, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations have spent hours talking through responses, interacting with alumni and listening to their concerns.

Womack believes it’s important for the community to remember the story is not about one alum, but about the school’s values as a whole.

“Marksmen try to go out and make a difference by caring for people, loving others, supporting our communities, working hard, making a difference and standing by the principles that define our school,” Womack said. “That’s the story.”

STORY CASE LOWRY, RISH BASU, GOPAL RAMAN, JOHN CRAWFORD, KOBE ROSEMAN PHOTOS COURTESY CREATIVE COMMONS SIDEBAR COPY SAHIT DENDEKURI, DUNCAN KIRSTEIN ADDITIONAL REPORTING ANDY CROWE

Headmaster David Dini’s second letter to the school community With events unfolding rapidly over the week of Thanksgiving, Headmaster David Dini felt it was time to step up the school’s response.

Here is his communication to the school community on Nov. 25.

O

n Friday, November 18, in our annual Thanksgiving message to alumni, parents, and faculty, we referenced recent news stories that connect St. Mark’s to ideas expressed by one of our graduates that conflict directly with our core values and principles. Just one day later, video footage emerged of this alumnus leading a white nationalist meeting in Washington, D.C., bringing even greater attention to these hateful, divisive, racist, and anti-Semitic views. This has been deeply troubling and terribly upsetting to our whole school community. At St. Mark’s, we reject racism and bigotry in all its forms and expressions.

Our mission, values, and programs stand in direct opposition to these vulgar ideas. In light of such comments, our mission to develop boys of strong character, compassion, empathy, and courage has increasing relevance and importance.

We are proud that many of our graduates, parents, students, and other community members are expressing their outrage and disgust toward these ideas; while at the same time, they are demonstrating support for the school they know and love. One of the great hallmarks of St. Mark’s School of Texas is that we treat one another with great care and respect, honoring our important differences while at the same time focusing on the common values and principles that bind us together.

We remain deeply committed to including and valuing all students of different backgrounds, races, religions, beliefs, and experiences, and our commitment to those ideals is paramount and immutable.

Thank you for your support.

David W. Dini

Repudiating hate

Dissecting the fundraising page started by the Class of 1997 where anyone can anonymously donate to a fund that benefits the International Rescue Committee, an organization that helps displaced refugees find a home.

BREAKING DOWN THE FUNDRAISING

$61,127

Total amount raised by the crowdfunding page

SM: St. Mark’s School of Texas, HD: The Hockaday School, GH: Greenhill School, UA: Ursuline Academy

Donations per school

197

The page received donations from nearly every major private school in Dallas. Donations were received from alums of the following schools

ALUMNI CONTRIBUTIONS FROM: St. Mark’s School of Texas, The Hockaday School, Greenhill School, Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Jesuit Dallas, St. John’s School, Richardson High School, Cistercian, St. Stephen’s School, St. Francis High School, Fort Worth Country Day School, Hillcrest School, Trinity Valley Academy, Episcopal School of Dallas

41 9 UA

12 GH

HD

SM

SOURCE: Crowdrise Website

NEWS

6

|THE REMARKER |news| December 15, 2016 |

SEARCH FOR ADMINISTRATORS

LOOKING FOR LEADERS NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, THREE NEW ADMINISTRATORS WILL BE GETTING SETTLED INTO THEIR POSITIONS. THEIR PREDECESSORS GAVE SOME ADVICE TO THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATORS. Sam Shane: What are some of the criteria for hiring Division heads? Does it differ by position?

Associate Headmaster John Ashton: Division head candidates should have extensive experience teaching in the specific division to which they are applying as well as experience in expanded leadership roles in schools.

In addition to an expertise in schools, strong applicants should demonstrate excellent communication skills, a track record for working successfully with a variety of constituents, an ability to see the big picture while not losing sight of day to day operational needs and personal attributes such as a high degree of emotional intelligence, enthusiasm and joy for working with teachers and students.

The only difference of each position is the experience applicants bring to the process should align best with the division to which an applicant is applying.

Mateo Guevara: What are some important characteristics and duties you’d like to see in your successor?

Head of Middle School Warren Foxworth ‘66: I would like to see someone who loves working with kids and faculty, I would like to see someone who is flexible.

With middle schoolers, we are often having to change where we meet, what we say, all kinds of activities like that. People who put the welfare of the boys ahead of the curriculum itself, and someone with a sense of humor that is willing to be around as much as possible and visible as much as possible.

or humanities.

Being mindful that you don’t take the same period all the time, so we kind of share the pain in order for all of us to have a gain by listening to some of the wonderful speakers we have come around.

SS: What are some important qualities you’d like to see in your successor?

SS: What are some of the important duties you’d like to see in your successor?

Former Assistant Head of Upper School John Perryman: I think that patience, compassion, flexibility and discipline are key.

Sometimes your day might take a 180 degree turn at a moment’s notice — that new direction could last for a few days.

Another thing that is important to keep in mind is that sometimes even seemingly ‘simple’ cases are not cut and dried and reveal themselves to be layered with complexity after speaking with a few people about the incident.

Perhaps most importantly, it is essential that the person in that role [assistant head of Upper School] honor the dignity of all people, realizing good people make mistakes.

The conversations must be respectful and reasonable — you have no idea all that might be going on in that student’s world at that time. You owe the student and the process patience.

JP: I think the assistant head of Upper School must be willing to have long conversations with a student and not try to wrap things up quickly.

At the same time, you do not want a student to have an issue unresolved for too long. There is a balance.

The assistant head typically has interaction with others when they are feeling frustrated, vulnerable, etc., so it is important that all conversations be respectful and considerate.

Having said that, one way of showing you care—sometimes the most difficult way of showing you care — ­ is by issuing consequences.

I think it is important for the assistant head of Upper School to speak with the student about how a certain action can not only undermine that student’s long-term best interests, but also the long-term best interests of the community and the school that helps us all to learn and grow.

MG: Are there any traits that you wouldn’t want to see in your successor?

WF: Just inflexibility. I think that one of the keys to working with middle schoolers is to be able to adapt and change on the fly, because middle schoolers don’t always know what they are doing and what they are saying and often they need some redirection and time to redirect.

Say we have a visiting scholar coming in. I would be happy to give up a whole period for a middle school assembly because I think that can be more valuable than one period of math, science

SS: In St. Mark’s history we’ve had very few female division heads, save for Mrs. York and a few others. Why is that?

JA: As I watch the candidate pools take shape, most all applicants are male candidates. Men may be more drawn to the all-boys environment for these positions than females.

From the school’s position, we seek to identify someone who is the most qualified and best suited professional for our school, regardless of gender.

STORY SAM SHANE, MATEO GUEVARA PHOTO FRANK THOMAS

Math Team places in Texas A&M Homecoming weekend tourney

T

he Math Team brought home a second place trophy after traveling to Texas A&M over Homecoming weekend. They competed against 76 other schools in Texas.

Fourteen Upper School students and four Middle School students competed in the competition.

In addition to placing second in overall school score, the team placed second in group problem-solving and sophomore Dylan Liu placed first in the precalculus exam.

The team received eight total awards.

Usually, the math team arrives to tournaments the day before and stays at a hotel. However, because this tournament was on

NEWS

Homecoming weekend, the math team was pressed for time.

“We woke up at around four in the morning on Saturday to get on the bus,” said senior Math Team captain Kevin Choi.

For Choi, who has been on the team for five years, math tournaments are not just a place to compete against other schools.

“It’s really fun getting to just hang out with the guys before and after the tournaments,” Choi said.

Club sponsors Amy Pool and Clara Ann Norman are proud of the team’s success in the tournament and the way the members conducted themselves.

“I’m proud of their

‘Marksman’ attitude,” Norman said. “They are a wonderful group of young men. They support each other and hold up St. Mark’s ideas, whether they are on campus or many miles away rolling down a highway on a bus.”

In addition to traveling to tournaments, the math team will host a tournament on campus Jan. 14.

“One of our goals is to have a really successful Metroplex contest which is a Dallas Fort Worth area event,” Pool said. “The students write all of the problems for the competition. They also proctor the tests and do a lot of the grading. It’s very much run by the math team.”

— Andy Crowe

Who is Connor Pierce

SOPHOMORE CONNOR PIERCE WAS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A PRELIMENARY ROUND OF JEOPARDY! TEEN TOURNAMENT.

GAME WINNER Sophomore Connor Pierce (above left), pictured with “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, was one of half a percent of applicants selected to participate in the “Jeopardy! Teen Tournament”. Pierce and his friends (above right) gathered for a watch-party on the night of the show’s airing, watching as Pierce won his preliminary round on a final “Jeopardy!” comeback.

S

ophomore Connor Pierce glanced at his phone.

Congratulations.

He took it as his mom congratulating him on the ‘A’ he got on his test.

Hours later, he reread the text and noticed his mom was congratulating him on something much more important. He read the three words at the bottom of the text that changed everything.

Jeopardy! Teen Tournament.

After spending countless hours playing trivia at restaurants, doing practice Jeopardy! rounds, taking an online test, competing in a live audition in New York, participating in an interview and spending innumerable days on edge waiting to find out, he finally had the results.

He got in. you don’t sense unless you were there

In April, Pierce competed in the “Jeopardy! 2016 Teen Tournament,” which aired November 9-22. Fifteen teenagers participated in the annual competition held in Washington D.C. After the live audition in New York, Pierce did not think he did well, and when he heard he got onto the show, he was very surprised.

“I wasn’t really expecting it because after my audition I hadn’t really done well,” Pierce said. “I thought I was just going to have to try again in a couple years because I was one of the youngest kids there.”

Pierce is a member of the Quiz Bowl team, and Quiz Bowl coach Paul Mlakar was also Pierce’s Jeopardy! coach.

Mlakar said Pierce’s quick wit, likability, and friendliness were three things that helped him get onto the show.

“I’m sure his personality shined through a bit and attracted the Jeopardy! producers to him,” Mlakar said. “He’s really smart and he’s really good at trivia.”

The concept of being on the show was very surreal to Pierce. His dad, Kent Pierce, understood that the opportunity was one that most kids don’t have.

“The scale of it was something

during the telecast and the taping,” Kent said. “Having gone through that for four full days, you realize what the scope of it is, especially for a teenager.”

Once Connor was in D.C. and got over the concept of being on live television, his strategy was to block out everything besides himself and the game.

“I was just trying to pretend that nobody on TV was watching,” Connor said. “I told myself that I wasn’t on TV but instead just playing a game, and I think that helped me. Doing so made me only nervous for about five seconds once

YOU HAVE TO PRETEND THAT NO ONE IS AROUND YOU, YOU HAVE TO ACT LIKE YOU’RE PLAYING THE GAME BY YOURSELF. — CONNOR PIERCE the show started.”

In third place before going into the final “Jeopardy!” round of the quarterfinals, Connor wagered all of his money, and he came out on top.

“When I realized I won the first round, I was shocked and I was thrilled,” Connor said. “I didn’t really expect it to happen.”

Mlakar knew Connor’s preparation paid off, and he was nothing but proud.

“I was really proud of him,” Mlakar said. “Getting on the show and then going to the second round, what else could you be but proud? I’m really happy for him; it’s a great accomplishment.”

Connor moved on to the semifinals, playing against winners from the other games. He started off early with negative points but slowly caught back up to the other two contestants. In the final Jeopardy! round, all three competitors missed the question, but Connor wagered too much money, putting him in second place for the round and knocking him out of the tournament.

Watching in the audience, Kent knew that just like any other kid would, Connor would have a rough time taking the loss.

“I knew he would be crestfallen based on the way that he lost,” Kent said. “What went through my mind was that it was about encouraging him to reflect on the magnitude and uniqueness of the opportunity rather than focus on the defeat.”

Like his father, Connor realized it was important to focus on how great of an opportunity it was, which is why he is proud of his accomplishments.

“I’m happy with the fact that I got there,” he said. “I’m happy with the fact that I was the youngest person to go the semifinals. I’m happy that I had the whole experience of going on Jeopardy.”

Not only were Connor and his family proud of what he did, so was the whole school community.

“The vast majority of people were very supportive of me,” Connor said.

“They are all really proud of me, even though I lost. For the most part, everyone was really appreciative and proud of what I did.”

When the preliminary round aired, many members of the community came together in Graduate Hall for a watch

| December 15, 2016 |news| THE REMARKER |

?

7

CONNOR PIERCE ON JEOPARDY

party. Connor said the party was a great example of how the school has supported him, especially when everyone in the room started chanting his name.

“Even though I knew what was going to happen, it made me want to know who would win, it really got me into the game,” Connor said. “That’s not something that would have happened if I was at home.”

Outside of school, Mlakar said Connor will have one more persona he has to live up to, which is the “Jeopardy! guy,” especially in Quiz Bowl tournaments.

“Now, Connor’s walking around with even more weight on his shoulders,” Mlakar said. “He’s the guy that won a round of Jeopardy!. People are going to be asking him about that a lot, and teenagers may not always do that in the kindest light.”

Kent said that there are opportunities to do things similar to what Connor did all the time, and it’s about making the effort.

“Connor went out on his own and took the online test,” Kent said. “It makes you realize that if you don’t take that first step and initiate that effort you’ll never know. Granted, the odds will be stacked against you, but there are always opportunities to do something.”

THE STATS

LESS THAN .5%

of applicants made the tournament

Connor’s favorite category

$10,000

Connor’s prize money awarded for placing as a semi-finalist.

STORY KAMAL MANDANI PHOTOS KYLE SMITH, COURTESY SONY PICTURES

Sophomore Mark Weisberg makes second round of Chinese competition

by Mateo Guevara ophomore Mark Weisberg made it past the first round of the Chinese Bridge language proficiency competition.

Weisberg lost in the following elemination round, which he says had little to do with Chinese proficiency.

“The first round had three parts: the test, speaking, and a performance,” Weisberg said. “The next round also had three parts, but see if you can notice the difference. It had some cart-racing and puzzle-solving, a plank-walking race and some word connection, and a free throw competition. Sadly, my game wasn’t up to par with Argentina and Peru.”

Weisberg spent roughly three weeks in China competing in Beijing and taking cultural immersion trips to KunMing located in the YunNan province.

To be able to travel to China, Weisberg had to compete and prepare for regional, state and national level Chinese proficiency competitions.

“I qualified to go to China by competing in two stages of a language proficiency competition,” Weisberg said. “Here in Dallas and qualifying to represent the

S

southern US in the third stage of the competition in China.”

Weisberg had to devote countless hours to prepare.

“It was lots of memorization,” Weisberg said. “I spent the entire last trimester and most of the summer seeing [Former Chinese Instructor Lei Zhang] about twice a week to study for the culture questions exam. I also had to memorize a speech and learn Kung Fu for my performance.”

Regardless of the results, Weisberg feels that he performed well.

“I really don’t think I could have prepared much better, “Weisberg said.” I feel like I prepared well, and I won a semester scholarship, which is nice because I don’t think I would use any more time than that anyways.”

With the competition over, Weisberg feels the best part of visiting China wasn’t China at all.

“My favorite part was getting to know all the people from different countries around the world and being able to make friends all over the globe.

“Weisberg said. “I now have friends in Portugal,

Ireland, Germany, Austria, Belarus, Romania, Russia, Australia, Croatia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, both sides of America and of course, China.”

NEWS

8

|THE REMARKER |news| December 15, 2016 |

DISCIPLINE COUNCIL

W

ill Clark ‘16 sits in science instructor Kenneth Owens’s fifth period chemistry class, but ions and stoichiometry was the last thing on his mind. He knew he messed up...big time.

A knock came from the classroom door and Upper School administrative assistant Ellen Jurgens walked up to Clark. That was when he read it. “Please see Dr. Perryman and Mr. Ferrell immediately.”

Clark was nervous but didn’t panic. He reasoned he could talk his way out of it or

DETENTIONS. SUSPENSIONS. EXPULSIONS. THESE PUNISHMENTS ARE DECIDED BY THE ADMINISTRATORS. HOWEVER, BEFORE MAKING A DECISION ON A MAJOR PUNISHMENT FOR A STUDENT, ADMINISTRATORS HEED THE ADVICE OF THE DISCIPLINE COUNCIL. THE REMARKER REVEALS THE FACTS BEHIND THIS GROUP.

NEWS

just blame someone else or maybe just deny the whole thing. He knew he could defend himself somehow. But what he didn’t know was what lay ahead, where he was going or who would be judging him in the dreaded, mysterious Discipline Council.

••• Mysterious — that’s the first word many students think of when they hear ‘Discipline Council.’

“We’re not trying to be secretive,” Paul Mlakar, who has been a member of the discipline council, said, “but we’re just trying to respect the privacy of the student. It doesn’t involve the whole student body, just that one student.”

While the details of specific cases are kept private, the council’s purpose and the way in which it is run is public to the student body. Student chair Corday Cruz wants students to better understand the council’s intent.

“The members this year know that case specifics are private,” Cruz said, “but they would like for the purpose of the council to be more well-known. Primarily, we’ve shifted to trying to help students in addition to deciding penalties.”

After a student is told he must go before the Discipline Council, he chooses a representative called a “character witness.”

They are present to support the student and attests to his character.

“As an adviser, we’re there just to emotionally support the student,” Mlakar said.

“We’re trying to get the kid back on the right track.”

Students may choose any teacher to be their character witness; however, most chose their advisor. Clark choose former chaplain Michael Dangelo.

“He was a great character witness,” Clark said. “I had him for freshman history, and we got really close, and I stayed close with him through sophomore year.”

Even though the council’s job is to assist students in not making the same mistake again, it usually is very frightening to go before the council.

“Yeah, I was scared,” Clark said. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. They have a handful of students and teachers that are sitting in the St. Mark’s Room around the Harkness table, and they look very serious.”

While the members of the Discipline Council are there to discuss the facts, they understand it can be difficult for the student.

“It can be awkward, especially when they are giving their side of the story and you have to question them,” Discipline Council member David Vallejo said. “It certainly feels like you are prying into something they don’t want to talk about.

But I think both the council members and the student in

question understand that it’s just part of the proceedings and has to be done.”

One potential issue with a student-run review system is bias. Cruz believes it is important to treat everyone equally, even if a friend is going before the Discipline Council.

“You definitely want to help out your friend, but you have to be fair,” Cruz said.

“If you let one person off the hook, you will have to do the same with others, and then you become relaxed about it. That doesn’t help anyone.”

A

fter discussing what happened with the student, the Discipline Council is left to deliberate over what their recommended punishment will be. The administration then has the option to accept the recommendation, or decide on a different punishment.

For Clark, the Discipline Council suggested a five-day suspension, and the administration accepted this recommendation.

In addition to the suspension, Clark faced some other social consequences.

“Some of my friends were supportive,” Clark said, “But there were a couple of people who understandably distanced themselves from me. I screwed up pretty bad. I had a lot of strange feelings going on.

The worst part though was there were some parents who didn’t trust me. There are still parents to this day where I’m friends with their kids, but the parents tell those kids, ‘watch out for that Will Clark kid.’ That reputation doesn’t go away, whatever you do.”

The facts

a look inside the discipline council

• 6 members of the council are students.

• Three senior members and one member from the other three grades.

• Student representatives are selected by the Upper School Administrators and the school headmaster.

• Four faculty members are on the council.

While Clark admitted that the process went “smoothly,” he did have one suggestion for the Discipline Council.

“If I could change one thing,” Clark said, “I’d probably say they could’ve made the process quicker and more transparent.

That waiting was torture and I had no idea what was going on. It’s probably not ideal for either side. It’s not an ideal situation, but holding us before a council of peers is a cool thing we do.”

Discipline Council sponsor John Perryman believes the student-run council is beneficial for both the student being punished and the students on the council.

“It is an important way for students to communicate expectations and school values,”Perryman said.

After facing his suspension, Clark saw the situation as a learning experience.

“I was kind of a little piece of crap before tenth grade,” Clark said. “I felt like the world thought of me as a ‘throwaway kid.’ I was a slightly below average kid. I didn’t have a lot of stuff going for me. After this happened, I realized I needed to get my stuff together. I also realized how great of a school St. Mark’s was and how easily I could mess it up. I felt like I needed to prove myself to my peers and teachers and everyone.”

| December 15, 2016 |news| THE REMARKER |

9

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

A GREENER FUTURE WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP CONSIDERING PULLING OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE ACCORD, VALUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ARE UNDER DEBATE. WHAT ARE OUR VALUES AS A SCHOOL ON THIS ISSUE?

I

t’s as simple as throwing your paper in that blue recycling bin or riding your bicycle to school instead of driving a car.

Environmental sustainability.

It has been a staple of education here since the first grade.

We’ve all heard about the dangers of fossil fuels, deforestation littering. We’ve all heard about how it’s the responsibility of each and every person to take care of the Earth. We’ve all heard descriptions of what can happen to Earth without an effort to promote eco-friendly practices in small communities and on a much more global scale.

Not fully explained is why we implement eco-friendly practices at 10600 Preston Road. Green Club co-president Benjamin Hurst believes that the school influences this awareness.

“We find that there are good reasons for why St. Mark’s, or any school for that matter, should implement environmentally-friendly practices,” Hurst said.

“One reason is that a school implementing these good practices demonstrates to its students the value of being environmentally-friendly.”

Furthermore, Director of Environmental Studies and Science Instructor Dan Northcut says the school must “walk the walk” to reaffirm the importance of eco-friendly practices to students.

“This is a prime example of where if you’re going to behave ethically then you need to do what you know is the

right thing to do,” Northcut said. “That means that we focus on living in a way that is sustainable.”

In addition to raising awareness in the classroom, many things have been done around campus to inI THINK crease efficiency WE’VE COME regarding the use A LONG of natural reWAY. THIRTY sources and foster YEARS eco-friendly habits AGO THERE among much of WAS NO the student body RECYLING and faculty.

PROGRAM. “St. Mark’s — DAN has done several NORTHCUT things in an effort to help and protect the environment,” Hurst said. “One major effort was the LEED certification of Centennial and Hoffman.

In order to get this certification these buildings had to add green-focused technology and recycling bins.

“There are many components to this certification such as water reduction by toilets and urinals,” Hurst said.”Another practice is the placement of recycling bins in nearly every classroom on campus. This implementation has led to a significant decrease in paper trash.”

But with the construction of the new science building on the near horizon, Northcut sees yet another unique opportunity for the school to improve its eco-friendliness. “[Eco-friendliness] goes with the new science building that’s planned for the next couple of years,” Northcut said.

“We’re shooting for Gold LEED because we want to make the statement to the community that environmental issues are important to us and we’re putting our money where our mouth is.”

Northcut believes the school has made a lot of progress in becoming a more environmentally sustainable community.

“We had some recycling start ups in the 70’s after the first energy crisis, but by the time I came back in ‘87, we didn’t have a recycling program,” Northcut said. “We were not really concerned that much with any sort of energy efficiency or water efficiency in our

buildings.”

Green Club co-president Ethan Pittson agrees the school has taken positive steps to promote eco-friendliness.

“In the implementation aspect, St. Mark’s has definitely progressed with its LEED certification in new buildings and its development of a Statement of Environmental Policy,” Pittson says.

“But in the outreach aspect, St. Mark’s has discontinued many events and basic talks that directly spread the idea of environmental-friendliness.”

While the campus has improved in its environmentally sustainability, Northcut maintains there is still much the school can do to reduce its negative impact on the environment.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Northcut said, “One thing I’d like to see St. Mark’s do is to get some renewable energy capacity on the campus.”

Some suggestions Northcut has are to add solar panels or wind turbines to further improve our green campus.

“Whether it’s solar panels on the old gym or a couple of the eggbeater style wind turbines outside of the new science building, we need something that people can see and realize that they’re talking about environmental stuff and they’re practicing positive environmental steps.”

STORY ZOHEB KHAN, ANTONIO IVARRA ILLUSTRATION NAFTAL MAUTIA

Junior Class unites to feed homeless through the Feast of Sharing event

by Zoheb Khan

T

PHOTO RILEY SANDERS

o prepare for McDonald’s Week, Junior Class members volunteered at Feast of Sharing, an all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving dinner at the Austin Street Center for the homeless.

“Feast of Sharing is just a happy community service event,” McDonald’s Week co-chair Will Wood said. “Everybody’s really happy the whole time, and there are people dancing and serving food.”

Wood believes the event helps the Junior

Class see the effects of McDonald’s Week.

“So Feast of Sharing really just sets the tone for the week,” Wood said, “and the juniors get a sense of who they’re helping and how much an impact McDonald’s Week has on the lives of others.”

In addition to helping serve food for the homeless, Wood believes that the class community service event increases junior involvement in McDonald’s Week.

“I think we had 50 or 60 juniors go to Feast of Sharing,” Wood said, “and it seemed

like all those guys had a really good time with McDonald’s Week. It led to everybody being really focused on leading a great McDonald’s Week and helping Austin Street as much as possible.”

While Feast of Sharing was on a Thursday night before the end of the trimester, with tests and quizzes in abundance the class bonded despite the stress of school.

“We were there from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m,” Wood said. “Everybody was tired, but they still had smiles on their faces. Nobody was dying

to leave. Everybody was just still serving or dancing and just hanging out with everybody.

We served a lot of food and made a lot of peoples’ day.”

Wood hopes that the Junior Class will continue to stay involved in the Austin Street Center community.

“McDonald’s Week and [Feast of Sharing] are over,” Wood said. “I’m hoping that some of the juniors who got involved will keep being involved in Austin Street and go to dinners, bingo or any other event.”

FEAST OF SHARING At the Austin Street Center, (left to right) juniors Niteesh Vemuri, Sam Clayman, Kannan Sharma, Perry Naseck, Jesse Zhong and Michael Liang serve a meal to the homeless.

NEWS

|THE REMARKER |news|December 15, 2016|

10

MALECALL

THIS ISSUE

NEW YEAR’S PLANS HOW TO WRAP A GIFT BLACK EYED PEAS

Taking you back to the basic fundamentals of all things manly

NEW YEAR’S MUSTS

NEW YEAR’S EVE IS A FANTASTIC BONANZA FULL OF TRADITION. DOING THESE THREE THINGS IS KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL CELEBRATION OF THE NEW YEAR.

Black-eyed pea recipe that will change your life

Ingredients: 1/4 pound bacon, chopped 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup chopped celery 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup diced ham, optional 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and picked through 2 quarts of room temperature water, chicken broth/stock 2 pounds smoked ham hocks 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste 2 bay leaves Additional water or chicken broth or stock, as needed

NEW YEAR’S DONE RIGHT Eat a bowl of black-eyed peas

This tradition dates back to the Civil War. When the Union soldiers raided Confederate food supplies, they took everything besides the black-eyed peas. The Confederacy survived the winter eating the leftover black-eyed peas, and they became a symbol of luck. So, get yourself a package of the weird looking beans from the grocery store and follow the recipe to your left; they might just send some luck your way.

Procedure:

See some fireworks

In a tall stockpot cook the bacon until done; add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the rendered bacon fat and cook just until tender. Add garlic and cook another minute or so.

Add ham and cook until lightly browned. Add peas, cook and stir for 2 minutes, then begin to add the water or broth slowly.

Add ham hocks, jalapenos, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and bay leaves.

Reduce to a medium simmer and partially cover, cooking for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until peas are tender and creamy.

Add additional chicken stock or water only if necessary to slightly thin out. Pull any meat off the bone and return to peas; taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

SOURCE: deepsouthdish.com

This one comes from Chinese tradition, but of course, Americans made this tradition our own. Chinese legend says the noise of the fireworks scare off evil and misfortune, so if you want a good and fortunate 2017, you’ll find a way to see some fireworks. If you can’t shoot them off yourself, (the ReMarker does not condone shooting fireworks in the city) head to the Big D NYE New Year’s celebration at Victory Park Plaza in Dallas to see a firework show at midnight.

Set New Year’s resolutions

Probably the oldest New Year’s tradition, setting resolutions dates back to Babylonian times, where they made promises to their gods at the start of the new year. Instead of promising something to the Babylonian gods, kick off the new year by setting goals for your own self improvement. Make your resolutions challenging yet attainable. They will be hard to follow, but try to keep them in mind throughout 2017 to make it a better year than 2016.

How to wrap a gift WITH THE HOLIDAY SEASON UPON US, THAT WARM AND FUZZY FEELING OF GIFT GIVING IS SOON TO FILL THE AIR... ONCE YOU CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRAP A GIFT.

1. Place that magical gift in a box (we recommend unsuspecting cardboard to ensure maximun surprise factor), and drop it on a sheet of wrapping paper as shown above.

2. Fold up the far end of the wrapping paper so it barely reaches the top of the box and tape it down.

Make sure to be careful and use strong tape, otherwise your gift might come unwrapped.

3. Roll the gift up in the wrapping paper like you’re wrapping a Chipotle burrito. Make nice creases on the side and make sure that the paper remains close to the box to make the wrapping job nearprofessional.

4. Fold down the extra paper off to the sides so it is pushed onto the front and back face of the box. Fold up to make two trianlges on the faces of the box. This is the hardest step, so be very careful to not rip the paper.

5. Crease the paper nicely and apply tape so the paper looks flush with the box. Your goal is smooth and sharp, not crinkly and warped, so make sure to perfect those folds by pulling them tight around the box.

CHALLENGE LEVEL: LOW

CHALLENGE LEVEL: LOW

CHALLENGE LEVEL: MEDIUM

CHALLENGE LEVEL: HIGH

CHALLENGE LEVEL: MEDIUM

NEWS

STORIES RETT DAUGBJERG PHOTOS FRANK THOMAS, RETT DAUGBJERG

11

|THE REMARKER |life| December 15, 2016 |

SENIOR DECORATIONS

HANGING OUT WITH

Canyon Kyle

N RILEY SA

DERS PH

OTO

Known as ‘The Mailman’ around campus, StudentCouncil secretary Canyon Kyle never fails to deliver... except on Sundays.

Senior Eddie Yang sets up lights and decorations Nov. 27 all around campus in preparation for the coming holidays.

What’s your favorite movie?

I’m gonna have to say The Last of the Mohicans or Nacho Libre, I’m really big into foreign films.

FRANK THOMAS PHOTO

What about Nacho Libre speaks to you?

It shows me what I can become and that I don’t just have to cook soup.

Would you say the Spanish language speaks to you at all?

No, I’m not very good at Spanish, but you know, Nacho Libre helps me get those good grades.

What about Norwegian?

I’m a big fan of Trolljegeren. The whole thing’s in Norwegian, but those captions speak to me.

a peek INSIDE

at a GLANCE

Life stories on the inside

A brief look at the events around campus

12

STUDENT TEACHER BONDS the relationships made both in and out of school.

13

ENGLISH 10 an evaluation of the English 10 curriculum and its impact on students.

LESSONS AND CAROLS CONTINUES FOR 65TH YEAR The 65th annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was held in the Chapel Dec. 13 as a continuation of the yearly choral tradition.

Students and faculty participated in the ceremony, with the choir performing the traditional hymns.

“The nine lessons, which are the same every year and read by members of the St. Mark’s community,” choir director Tinsley Silcox said, “are followed by anthems and carols sung by the choir, and by hymns sung by the congregation. The service always begins with the hymn “Once in Royal David’s City”, with the first verse being sung unaccompanied by a solo boy chorister.”

14

Summarize the movie in one sentence.

Old man finding trolls.

18

If you had to give yourself one superpower, what would it be?

I’m thinking invisibility, so that I can follow people home. Actually, two belly buttons.

No, super-speed.

LITERARY FESTIVAL a look into the five visiting writers’ connection with literature.

VISITING SCHOLAR A profile on Willard E. Walker ’76 visiting scholar Alex McDonald.

What is your spirit animal?

Definitely a baboon, the pink butt gets me.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday night?

Home alone, watching Friends with my parents.

What’s your favorite video game?

Probably Call of Duty Zombies. Big into shooting dead things.

Do you have any cool talents?

No. Any Icebowl predictions?

Canyon is probably gonna have a total of 400 all purpose yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. I’ll have a couple of punts, probably like 50 yards. I’m like Jabrill Peppers.

What do you have in your car?

I have a tentacle from Dave and Busters, I have a rubber hoof, I have a unicorn in a suit puppet, I have a disco ball, I have a monkey that hangs on the window and I have four pairs of glasses. I have a couple of Hoco glasses, I got some raspberry lemon chap stick and I have some window markers.

LIFE

SHARPSHOOTER A short selection out of the many photos senior Kevin Choi has in his catalog.

FOURTH-GRADERS PERFORM The fourth-grade drama production had a successful debut Nov. 15. Each homeroom class performed a Shakespearean play.

The plays were ensemble pieces, and this year the production featured Borrowing Shake-

ACTOR TIM MOONEY TO VISIT CAMPUS Professional artist Tim Mooney is visiting campus to perform the one man, one act play, Breakneck Hamlet, which he directed, produced and wrote.

He is performing for drama students, as well as the entire sophomore class, which reads Hamlet this year.

“Since all of our boys read Hamlet, I hope that they take away that the plays are still accessible,” Fine Arts Department Chair Marian Glorioso said. “I hope that all viewers can see a professional actor doing a one man show, and I hope my actors see the amount of work, time and thought that goes into being a professional artist.”

Mooney, who has been performing

the play for over 15 years, travels around the world to perform a variety of shows, including several different Shakespearean plays.

EIGHTH-GRADE HOSTS DANCE The Class of 2021 donated gifts to Children’s Medical Center while hosting the Hockaday Class of 2021 for a formal winter dance Dec. 3 in the Great Hall. Starting at 7 p.m., eighthgrade students donned coat-and-tie apparel and brought gifts to donate.

With admissions officer Korey Mack serving as DJ, the students had a night of music and fun, all for a good cause. “[The Class of 2021] has never had an event like this at school before,” eighth-grade student Daniel Sanchez said, “so it was a great time seeing everyone together having fun at school for a good reason.”

The dance was organized by the students and parents and was a success, reaching the goal of 221 gifts and providing a fun experience for Marksmen and Hockadaisies alike.

— Mark Tao, Sahit Dendekuri, Jason Peng, Davis Bailey

artists in ACTION FRANK THOMAS PHOTO

What’s your favorite sport?

I’m gonna have to say baseball because we’re SPC champs.

PHOTOS COURTESY KEVIN CHOI

Which Friends character are you?

Not Monica. Probably Joey, no, Richard. I’m more of a Richard kind of guy.

speare, Hamlet and As You Like It. Lower School drama instructor Shannon Schnaible believes the overall performance went really well.

“The boys did a fantastic job,” Schnaible said, “and the plays were a great success.”

4

hours spent taking photos per week

KEVIN CHOI

250

photos taken for class

“I happen to use ordinary objects as my subjects, so I find ways to see each and every thing that passes by in my day so that I don’t — senior Kevin Choi miss those opportunities.”

12

|THE REMARKER |life| December 15, 2016 |

STUDENT-TEACHER BONDS

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM AFTER HOURS AND HOURS SPENT BOTH IN AND OUT OF THE CLASSROOM, SOMETIMES STUDENTS AND TEACHERS CAN FORM BONDS THAT ARE LIKE NO OTHER.

It started with just a joke in Doc Nelson Master Teacher Jon Valasek’s chemistry class. Now it’s so much more.

How did you get involved in Vest Day? Jon Valasek: Every Friday at my high school all the kids would wear ties.

But, I don’t know if that stemmed anything or not but that’s, I guess, how I got involved because I related that story to this and [Sammy Sanchez] told me about Vest Day. Sammy Sanchez: Yeah we told you about Vest Day and you were on board immediately.

Describe your thoughts on your typical Vest Day when you’re wearing a vest and you see someone else wearing a vest.

VEST DAY

SLEEVELESS United by a love for vests, junior Sammy Sanchez and Master Teacher Jon Valasek sport their signature outerwear.

SS: When I see someone else wearing a vest, there’s an immediate connection. He gets it, he gets me, he wears vests.

JV: I think you know anybody that wears a vest. I think the more you know upright kinds of guys, the more you will be with the times.

So you’re pretty with the times?

JV: Absolutely. You know they feel the pulse of the campus and that they’re involved in this wonderful movement.

What’s the highlight of a typical Vest Day? SS: Spreading the good vest cheer.

JV: I would like to see it be sort of a symbol that I’m a player in the community.

I’m affecting how the students are going to act or how they behave.

It’s a lot more than wearing vests. It’s brought the community together.

Can y’all describe how you felt on Vestravaganza last year?

SS: I came out of actually Mr. V’s class eighth period and I walked out to the courtyard, and there were just vests everywhere and I was so thrilled at all the people.

JV: Yeah I was blown away by all the people.

Just blown away, couldn’t believe it. We had quite a few faculty, too, so that was good.

What’s next for Vest Day? SS: We’re gonna try and organize that and get a community service project for the future.

JV: More participation within the community for different things. I could see a lot of benefits down the road.

Sophomore Trevor Burke and science instructor Paul Hoehn have remained friends since Middle School “Make Club.”

When did you guys meet for the first time?

Paul Hoehn: We actually got together the other day and were trying to get our story straight, and we can’t actually remember.

Mr. Hoehn, what special interest or dedication has Trevor shown to learning from a lot of other students?

KINDRED INTERESTS

LIGHT Science instructor Paul Hoehn and sophomore Trevor Burke perform an experiment.

PH: Well, there’s a lot of good students here, but I would say the fact that he would come to me and ask, for instance, “What would be an interesting thing for me to read about?”

But he has a real diverse interest pathway, or a very diverse palette of

interests. We would always talk about a book that he was reading, and it would always be about something really interesting. I think that’s one reason why we kind of click. We’re both kind of all over the place. All kinds of different interests.

What about Mr. Hoehn helped bring out your love of science?

Trevor Burke: As we talked about diverse things, he knew other things that were in different areas that I haven’t thought about before, and he taught me about other aspects I wasn’t as familiar with.

I didn’t know much about fireworks, and he’s talked to me a bunch about fireworks.

PH: People like stuff that blows up.

Marcus Master Teacher Bruce Westrate asked senior Patrick Magee to teach his class. Here’s how it went down.

How did Patrick Magee end up teaching your class?

Westrate: I had seen Patrick do his senior exhibition, and it was terrific. He’s a fantastic presenter. He speaks a little too fast sometimes, though. It was an accessible approach to a subject that’s usually difficult for people: Baroque music.

It was focused on Rachmaninov. I’ve let people teach a couple of other times in my classes, so I knew he not only could do it, but I also know he’d make a terrific presentation. And from what I’ve heard, he really did.

How was the overall experience? Did you enjoy it?

SWITCHING ROLES

BATTLE Master Teacher Bruce Westrate and senior Patrick Magee wrestle over a history textbook.

Patrick Magee: It was a lot of fun. I had always considered teaching as a path I wanted to go down.

It was kind of a nice challenge to prepare a 45-minute presentation for two classes.

I was also juggling a lot of things at that time, like my Yale application. I was learning a lot of music for competition as well.

Was it hard to prepare?

PM: It wasn’t too hard. A lot of it was stuff I knew already. It was mainly just thinking about structuring the presentation for the class.

BW: It’s all connected to how you do with the subject. Patrick’s always been one of the best history students I’ve had. We also do Quizbowl together, so we’re always facing off against each other during competitions.

I know that he’s an exceptional student. I had no misgivings at all. I didn’t tell him to do it, I asked him.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing it was much easier than you thought it would be.

PM: Yes, for sure. I was very excited for the opportunity.

BEING ABLE TO GET TO KNOW [MAGEE] AND THE BOYS BETTER IS ALWAYS GREAT. — MARCUS MASTER TEACHER BRUCE WESTRATE

INTERVIEWS DAVIS BAILEY, REECE RABIN, ZACH GILSTRAP PHOTOS FRANK THOMAS

LIFE

Local lectures on SMU campus available to students

by Albert Luo The Rev. Stephen Arbogast sits among a crowd of thousands of people inside the massive McFarlin Auditorium on the Southern Methodist University (SMU) campus.

Former astronaut Scott Kelly would be giving an hourlong lecture on his year-long voyage in space for the The Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture Series.

The lecture series, currently in its 35th season, invites “thought-provoking and entertaining icons” to Dallas to speak about various topics of interest.

“Most of them are about

people who write books,” Arbogast said. “They’re public intellectuals. They discuss politics and art.”

Arbogast recounts Kelly’s lecture as one of his most memorable visits to the program.

“It was so interesting to hear his personal experience and how he got to do it and what it was like to be in space all that time and what it was like to come back.” Arbogast said.

According to Arbogast, this opportunity gives people a chance to learn something other than one’s specialty.

“It keeps you fresh,” Arbogast said. “It makes you

think about things you’ve never thought about, you see connections you wouldn’t have imagined.”

In the lecture, Arbogast had the chance to learn more about a subject he enjoys greatly.

“I adore space,” Arbogast said. “I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid so I loved to get a chance to connect with it in a way that I haven’t been able to do before.”

According to Leadership and Ethics Council sponsor John Perryman, anyone can sign up for a lecture online and he encourages students to take advantage of this opportunity.

“I would definitely recom-

mend these events to students, encouraging them to sign up when announcements for such events are made during assembly and advisory,” Perryman said.

Arbogast believes in the

importance of the lecture series and learning new things.

“In an hour you learn all this cool stuff and you aren’t being tested on it in any way so I definitely think it’s worthwhile in every possible way.”

| December 15, 2016 |life| THE REMARKER |

13

ENGLISH 10

A NEW CURRICULUM THE ETHICS-BASED ENGLISH 10 CURRICULUM HAS TRIED TO CHANGE THE WAY SOPHOMORES THINK ABOUT THEIR LIVES. BUT DID IT WORK?

S

eventeen months ago, the Philosophy Club presented an idea to Headmaster David Dini.

It was an idea to change the way sophomores learned from English 10 by introducing leadership and ethics to the core curriculum. And it worked. Dini approved it, and this ethics-based theme became a core part of the curriculum.

But did it work for the students? Did they even care?

••• The idea to change the English 10 curriculum originally stemmed from the collective efforts of both students and faculty around campus who agreed on the necessity of a leadership and ethics-based curriculum.

“It was actually Philosophy Club and the guys in there,” Philosophy Club sponsor Martin Stegemoeller said, “who came together and made a proposal to Mr. Dini. Mr. IT’S AN Dini was all about ADDITIONAL it, and [English WAY TO TRY Department chair TO TEACH Michael] Morris CHARACTER was all for it too EDUCATION and became a huge AT A SCHOOL LIKE advocate for it as it got going.”

ST. MARK’S. Former — ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Philosophy Club president Jackson CHAIR Cole ‘16 believed MICHAEL the introduction of MORRIS this ethics-based

curriculum would spark the interest of students across campus.

“Philosophy Club is at a difficult time,” Cole said. “Not everyone can come to it, and not everyone has the time to come to the leadership institutes during the summers, so if we can make this something everyone is exposed to in class, then hopefully we’ll get more people excited.”

Morris saw the change to the curriculum as an opportunity to reemphasize the standards of ethics and leadership the school demands.

“We felt in the English Department that we had an opportunity with tenth grade to give the leadership and ethic and character ideas what we call a curricular home,” Morris said, “a place in the main curriculum where we can really embrace the teaching of a lot of those ways of thinking and do so deliberately, purposefully and with great orchestration.”

But how good of a job has this change to the English curriculum done to instill an ethical impact on the students?

Sophomore Joshua Kang believes the ethical focus of the class has enabled him to grasp a better understanding of ethics-based vocabulary.

“With what Dr. Steg taught us,” Kang said, “it’s inherent in everything I do now. I see the underlying subconscious tendencies that everybody has.

Leadership and telos and all those terms before this year were pretty vague to me, but Dr. Steg gave us a working definition

and I think that’s really clarified a lot of stuff.”

Junior Harris Wilson believes the ethics-based curriculum helped his class grow together.

“It didn’t change my life,” Wilson said, “but it was a helpful reminder of the things we learned on Pecos and helped set a trajectory for our high school careers and how we want to orient our lives in the future.”

By contrast, junior Riley Sanders feels as if the ethics-based curriculum felt forced and deceitful.

RILEY SANDERS believes the curriculum did not impact him

“Every day, the curriculum would be so overly emphasized that it just felt wrong,” Sanders said. “It felt like my teacher was telling me a lie and that if she repeated it enough that I would believe it, and I was not buying it.”

A

lthough the opinions and thoughts on the ethics-based curriculum vary greatly across the student body, Stegemoeller ultimately believes that the students’ approval of the curriculum is an important aspect of the course.

“To me,” Stegemoeller said, “if the students don’t ultimately affirm it, then it’s not going to work anyway. I know some of [the juniors] who I had taught in eighth grade really liked the class last year, and they liked the idea, and I’ve

heard that positive feedback from them and how it has changed the Junior Class because they all went through that.”

Additionally, Morris hopes the ethics-based English curriculum shows its impact and importance long after students have taken English 10.

“What we hope is that when students leave English 10,” Morris said, “they are thinking about themselves in terms of how the decisions they’re making and the actions they’re undertaking can enable them to truly thrive in their lives. We want them to leave with a clear sense that their words and actions really matter in terms of how they can feel about themselves and their effect on other people.”

Stegemoeller also believes the effects of the ethics-based curriculum will show much later on into adulthood.

“The hope is that when you are building your careers and building your families that you remember [English 10],” Stegemoeller said, “and that you can get on the proactive, happy side of throwing yourself into caring for your world.”

Overall, the collective goal of the ethics-based curriculum is to give boys a conscious sense of purpose in life.

“In some ways,” Morris said, “you can think of it as a consciousness of your purpose and potential in the life that you lead beyond English 10. We want boys to really relish the opportunity to work at being the best people they can be.”

STORY MARK TAO PHOTO FRANK THOMAS

LIFE

|THE REMARKER |life| December 15, 2016 |

14

LITERARY FESTIVAL

Between the lines THE TENTH ANNUAL LITERARY FESTIVAL JAN. 6 WILL BRING FIVE PROMINENT WRITERS — INCLUDING THE FOUNDER OF THE FESTIVAL — TO CAMPUS TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES.

What kind of reader were you as a child?

What genres of poems do you like to read?

I would say confessional. I like a poem to confess something to me, and although it’s not a genre of poetry, I like somebody who doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Not necessarily humor, but I appreciate poetry where if you look hard enough, you can see the author winking back at you.

TAYLOR MALI

Slam poet

TOBIAS WOLFF Novelist

How has teaching affected your poetry?

The influence of teaching on my work is monumental. And the funny thing is I went to graduate school in Kansas to become a better poet, but on the other side I found what I loved almost as much as poetry was teaching.

So I finished graduate school very quickly, and thereafter, I got a job teaching middle school, and I started writing poems about my students. I don’t use their names, but I write a lot of poems on the way students speak, and I write a lot of poems about watching the light bulb go on over a student’s head when he or she finally understands something. I love that moment.

What kind of writer were you when you were young?

I was not a very good writer as a kid, obviously, since learning to write is like learning a musical instrument. There is no God-given talent early on. Nobody is very good at it when they start off.

But the more you practice, the better you get, and you get a little bit of mastery over certain things. It really is something that happens over time and through practice. And I wrote constantly every day, so I got better and better as time went on. It’s obvious that all of us, when we begin, don’t do it well.

JAKE MCAULEY ’08

ELIZA GRISWOLD Journalist, poet

Journalist

Which writers do you admire most?

Probably George Orwell as a writer and Svetlana Alexievich as reporter, and I would say as a poet, Wallace Stevens.

What genres of stories do you like to read?

Really everything. These days I like to escape into fiction, but I feel the obligation to read long form non-fiction that delves into some of the issues of our time.

What first got you into journalism?

I don’t think it’s something you choose to do. I think it’s something that you either are or you are not.

It’s more of a sensibility than a job, I think. You observe things your whole life and you find yourself kind of watching what’s going on around you and having this kind of need to interpret and process what you’re seeing, and I think that journalism is not the only way of doing that, but for many people and certainly for me that’s the way it has been. It’s not just a single experience.

How different was working for your school newspaper to working as a professional reporter?

What moves you most in a work of literature?

The ability to render the quiet suffering of the life of another human being.

You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, would you invite?

Well the truth is I don’t really like to talk much about writing. I prefer to just do it, and I’m not a big fan of writers who talk about writing themselves. So just for the fun of it, I think it would be fun to have Svetlana Alexievich, Martha Gellhorn and Ida Tarbell at a dinner and see what happened.

LOIS RED-ELK Author, poet

I read a lot. I grew up with a single mother, so I was alone a lot when I was growing up, and it was my good luck that we did not have a television. I read a lot from quite an early age. It was my refuge, and it was my pleasure to read, but it’s much harder for kids growing up today to read because there are so many distractions like social media and other devices.

It’s hard for young people to summon the concentration now to summon the time to read, which is unfortunate. And it’s an important capacity to develop because these other things tend to be more passive, but reading is more active for the mind.

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

My mother and my grandmother were storytellers, and in my culture, story telling was a practice every day. I enjoyed watching my grandmother because she was so expressive. Her whole body moved to tell the story.

I’d always read child stories to my younger siblings and cousin and I’d try to imitate my grandmother’s actions. I loved her for her ability to put light into her work.

I’ve developed my own way of telling stories, but I always use my elders as inspiration. .

How did you decide that you wanted to write?

It was probably my first poem, when I was 12 years old, it was one of my older cousins, I needed to support her because she was in a very difficult situation, and

Actually not that different to be honest.

In terms of the workload and that it happens every day, and the work we did and how we edited, it’s very similar.

A lot of people have worked on their college newspaper as well, so you see the same structure. The one thing that is different is that I don’t have an office, and so that’s something I missed. On the college newspaper I lived in that building, that’s basically where I had my college education, and so that’s something that has changed.

she kept returning to me and talking about it.

I was very supportive of her because she had found herself with a child. She didn’t want to tell anybody about it, and she didn’t know what to do. I don’t know where I got the maturity or the knowledge or the word power, but I just cared so much, so I wrote her a poem to keep the child and talk to her about some of those traditions about how children are so precious and sacred.

I saw how effective it was and how it brought out in me another way of communicating, so after that I just started writing letters to everybody. I saw how they affected other people, so I just continued to write in that style of a letter poem. I would hand them out to anybody, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

What I love most about my stories is the way language is put together, especially in Native American stories. I also have a lot of respect for the English language.

STORY MATTHEW ZHANG, JASON PENG, DAVIS BAILEY ILLUSTRATIONS MATTHEW COLEMAN

LIFE

| December 15, 2016 |life| THE REMARKER |

15

ADNAN KHAN EVENT PLANNER

HIGH-KEY PLANNER SOPHOMORE ADNAN KHAN LEARNS AND GROWS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR THROUGH HIS COMPANY, HIGH KEY EVENTS.

I

t’s almost picture-perfect.

Smoke machines in place. Lasers shooting across the room. DJ on stage.

EDM blasting from the stereo speakers.

But the room feels empty, there’s barely anyone in the dance hall.

Sophomore Adnan Khan, the mastermind behind it all, feels discouraged as he stares into the underwhelming crowd.

DJs switch on the hour. Set after set is played.

By the third set, it’s 11 p.m., and a swarm of high school students has started to pour into the hall, ready to party.

At 3 a.m., Khan, exhausted from his first event, realizes it was all worth it in the end.

••• Adnan Khan never would have imagined he, along with his best friend, Hadley Cornish, would be running a business less than two years into high school. “[Cornish] just found a really hard time getting shows, [but] he’s actually pretty good,” Khan said. “So he was like ‘you know what, why don’t we just make our own show?’”

Once they started their company, High Key Events, they began to coordinate with DJs and pool as much money as possible.

The goal was to create events that allowed DJs to come showcase their talents and also provide unforgettable EDM experiences to the people of Dallas.

“If you want to party and have fun with your friends and basically listen to great music and just sort of let loose for a night, then this is for you,” Khan said.

It may seem like all fun and games, but a large amount of time and effort go into coordinating an event. Khan often spends time during busy school nights planning upcoming events with Cornish.

“The hardest part would probably have to be [getting] everything to come together,” Khan said. “You have to book a venue months in advance to get a good day, you have to find good DJ’s, and I think one of the hardest parts is maybe the budget and finding THERE CAN the right amount of BE A LIGHT money.”

AT THE END Since he’s not OF THE a DJ, during the TUNNEL IF event, Khan makes YOU JUST sure that everything STICK WITH is running smoothly.

IT. YOU’VE “Sort of deGOT TO pending on what’s FOLLOW going on, I try to THROUGH. control what’s going — ADNAN on in the bottom, KHAN what’s going on at the door, [and] where they’re getting tickets,” Khan said.

Throughout this process, Khan has learned valuable lessons about entrepreneurship and what it takes to run a business.

“I learned a lot about legal actions you have to take,” Khan said, “Insurance I had no idea about, specific entrepreneurial related stuff about promoting and how to get out there.”

Additionally, Khan has already begun to share the hands-on experience he’s gained running his event company with the school. Along with sophomore

IN THE ZONE Khan coordinates with business partner Hadley Cornish in preparation for his next event.

Sahit Dendekuri and junior Chris McElhaney, Khan founded the entrepreneurship club this year.

They aim to teach students about entrepreneurship through guest speakers, collaborative discussions, activities and contests.

“I feel like the only way to make big money in the future is kind of through entrepeneurship,” Khan said. “We started the club to kind of spread it. I don’t think [entrepreneurship] at St. Mark’s is that strong.”

The sponsor of the entrepreneurship club, Alex Eshelbrenner ‘04 believes that the club fulfills a need in the school community.

“Marksmen have been entrepreneurial minded for generations,” Eshelbrenner said. “Giving students a platform to share ideas, constructively dissect them, and then enhance those ideas can be powerful.”

Khan’s next event, Cold Front, will take place Dec. 17, and they’ve been preparing for the past six months.

“We’re going to start promoting [the event] right now,” Khan said. “We have fliers, we’re going to [post] it on facebook, and get an event group going.

Start direct messaging people about it.

Just finding that certain crowd of people that like this stuff.”

Looking back, Khan thinks the experience was very rewarding, and he hopes to continue working on his company throughout Upper School and perhaps beyond.

“Now that we’ve actually followed through and it’s become a thing,” Khan said, “I can’t imagine not having this in my life right now.”

STORY NAFTAL MAUTIA, SAHIT DENDEKURI, ALBERT LUO PHOTO KYLE SMITH

THE EVENTS

PAST SUCCESS Khan’s first event, Young Summer, started out rocky but ended on a strong note.

UPCOMING STORM Kicking off Christmas break, High Key Events is hosting another event with a number of talented DJs.

LIFE

LIVING IN TRUMPWORLD

After one of the most divisive elections in U.S. history, the country is waking up to the prospects of President Trump

A

nxiously watching election coverage on his television Nov. 8, junior Mateo Díaz grew increasingly worried as he saw the states turn from blue to red.

First North Carolina, then Florida, followed by Ohio — all swinging in Trump’s favor.

As the hours wore on, Díaz became more and more hopeless, knowing well that the race was over. Finally around 3 a.m., the news was announced.

Donald J. Trump would become the 45th president of the United States.

“I felt awful when I saw he started winning, feeling worse as each swing state swung his way,” Díaz said. “I felt almost betrayed by this country, seeing how someone could be elected president off of rhetoric which involved calling people of color and particularly Mexicans rapists and thugs.”

Díaz and his family immigrated to the United States from Mexico 10 years ago when his dad was relocated for work. To Díaz, Trump’s harsh comments not only lacked political correctness but also represented a bigoted, retrogressive side to America.

“In the worst case, I see America pushed backwards 50 years in terms of policy,” Díaz said, “especially with gay and women’s rights being attacked, protectionist trade policies damaging the economies standing in the world and diplomatic relations potentially deteriorating between the U.S. and its allies.”

For junior Daniel Garcia, his family’s journey to America was a little more complicated. In 1993, his uncle decided to uproot his life and move to America.

“They [my family] crossed the border with the help of a coyote, which is what they called the people that would help others come over illegally,” Garcia said.

“My uncle came to America. He was the first one. Then he went to school, found a property to live on and then my aunt and mother came over. Slowly we brought the rest of the family

over, and eventually we became citizens.”

But with Trump’s plans to increase border patrol and build a huge wall, many people seeking such opportunities may not be able to take advantage of all that America has to offer.

“The wall is a very controversial thing,” Garcia said. “It’s quite a radical idea, especially considering how much money they would have to spend and how he said that we [Mexicans] would have to build it and stay on one side of it. I just don’t think it would help anyone.”

Garcia believes a wall would ruin America’s identity as a cultural melting pot, instead replacing it with a more “white” country.

“He’s trying to make America more ‘Americanized’ by getting rid of the diversity that is here,” Garcia said. “In the past, he’s generalized races by some of the not-so-great things that they have done, which is a shame.”

In contrast to Diaz’s initial dread, Garcia was more perplexed, “nervously laughing for a bit” upon hearing of Trump’s victory.

“My initial reaction was a strange one,” Garcia said. “I stayed up until four [a.m.] just following the thing. It was very nerve-racking since it was close, then not close, then close again.

I was honestly just phased, but there was nothing I could do, so I just decided to take it all in.”

Garcia is unsure where America will be in four years, but

COURTESY ANDRES ARROYO

WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE ANDRES ARROYO SR. Father of freshmen Pablo and Andres Arroyo Occupation: Architect Believes Trump’s tax reforms and immigration plans won’t affect the future of his family

ROBIN JONES COURTESY ROBIN JONES

|THE REMARKER |perspectives| December 15, 2016 |

16 17

Father of sophomore Myles Jones

he believes Trump will attempt to reassert America’s dominance.

“Considering the reforms and other policies that he wishes to enforce,” Garcia said, “I could see America as more independent, especially with how he wants to lead the country. From somewhat trying to negotiate with Russia, to closing off immigration from certain countries, it’s definitely going to be a bit militaristic, especially given that he wants to go on the offensive to find and eradicate ISIS.” One of Garcia’s greatest takeaways from this election cycle was Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” To Garcia, this slogan had a divisive, negative connotation that insulted the nation as a whole.

“Back then, Obama’s slogan was, ‘Change we can believe in,’ but this one [Trump’s] was more aggressive,” Garcia said, “implying that we weren’t great before, especially compared to earlier elections that were more about people joining together for the greater good of America.”

IT WAS THE AMERICAN DREAM...

WE COULD START FROM NOTHING AND END UP WITH SOMETHING. MY UNCLE SAID ‘WE’RE GOING TO GO AND MAKE SOMETHING POSSIBLE.’ — DANIEL GARCIA

Members of the school’s community assess how Trump’s policies, plans and reforms will affect the f

How will Trump affect your daily life?

Andres Arroyo: More than Trump’s being the president, what is scary is the kind of people that were supporting him, because of the way he was gaining voters. I’m being kind of redundant, but to vote for him, that socially – he was instigating the Trump type of masses.

I’m not saying everyone, but certain groups of people throughout the United States feel empowered by his hatred towards other people.

How will Trump’s stance on social issues affect your family?

Robin Jones: I do have concerns about some of

Occupation: Senior sales the things he was saying and the way he was executive at Fedex Worries about Trump’s social policies but believes people should respect the election process

ALEX LOFTUS Member of the Freshman Class Sees multiple benefits and drawbacks from a Trump presidency

PERSPECTIVES

You don’t have to be Mexican, you don’t have to be Muslim, but towards other people, even though he is trying to tell people that that is wrong, that he won’t accept that, he did a lot for some people. I’m probably talking about five percent of his voters, they voted for him because of hatred.

Probably five percent of his votes were based on that. I didn’t vote for him nor for Hillary, but I don’t think that either of them were the way – Trump has some very good ideas, but I think he got a lot of voters through hatred, and I don’t

the way I care about myself behind him. I know that Muslims aren’t bad people. We should not look at people as a whole for their religion or as a race.

talking about racial issues, especially about Muslims – there was one guy who made a big impact on my life. He was an Iranian immigrant, Masu Pervesian, and he’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and I actually model a lot of

How will Trump’s reforms of Obamacare affect your family?

What is your take on Trump’s proposed economic reforms?

and less expensive.

Also, he’s trying to help the lower class, but as most of the students here being part of the upper class, I do believe that they will be paying more.

Alex Loftus: Because with the coming of Obamcare, a lot of the other health care plans have become more expensive and worse, so we’ve had to switch around a few times to find one that actually works, but if Donald Trump is able to reform it, it might make other private health care better

RJ: I have a steady job, and right now, my family has been covered the whole time. I don’t know

Where do you see America going in four years?

AL: If Trump is able to do everything that he has

think that’s very American.

Where do you see America going in four y

AA: I hope to see less increasing poverty, a I hope that for America, poverty will have d creased to a very low point.

The people spoke, and that’s America. W have the liberty of voting for who we thing best for our country, so let it be and let’s h the best.

if it will directly affect my family, but it mig affect my friends. Even friends who have h care and who are normally covered.

There are people in my family who have conditions, so I would love for them to still covered. I do see where he has now said th will keep parts of Obamacare. The whole t the repeal of Obamacare was part of the the campaigning, to get everyone rallied u support.

proposed during the campaigning process past year, his policies for infrastructure sh good without any serious detriments to so but his policies on safety like building the just hope that he’s not going to do anythin drastic.

And he might just try to improve the wa points that are already there instead of bu a massive wall.

STORY ANDRE ARSENAULT, RISH BASU, KOBE ROSEMAN PHOTOS FRANK THOMAS, R

Meanwhile, back at home School leaders concerned about leadership potential after presidential vote

F

rom the school’s mission to the guiding foundations behind its curricula, leadership is a cornerstone of education here.

Both around the Harkness table with classes like leadership and involvement-focused English 10 and on sports fields with 15 varsity teams, Marksmen learn principles of ethical and effective leadership in theory and in practice.

The Leadership and Ethics Council, led by co-chairs Andrew Lin and Gopal Raman and sponsors John Perryman and Amy Stanbury, works directly with the larger Leadership and Ethics Program create new opportunities for interested students.

As the divisive, polarizing election season came to a close, leaders from both the Council and the larger community reflect on the leadership the presidential candidates showed in their campaigns.

THE JOURNEY Junior Mateo Díaz (above) and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 2006, while junior Daniel Garcia’s (below) family immigrated in 1993.

HOW THEY LEAD

COURTESY JOSEPH BOSSSALINI

and de-

e l be hat he thing – politics, up for

s this hould be ociety, wall, I ng too

atchuilding

The leaderhip roles of Gonzalez, Lin and Stegemoeller

THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

years?

ght health-

we’re going to fight. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is a trench warrior. She’s been in that business for so long and it’s just insane.”

For Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Lin believes her experience as a career politician helped her greatly as a potential leader of the nation.

“I think her experience is one of the greatest things as a leader,” Lin said. “This is one of the most important qualities of a leader. This is my second year as swim captain, and only one year later, I feel like I already know how it works so much better. Her experience in office is a huge boost for her.”

Lin notices the different leadership qualities the two presidential candidates exhibited throughout the past year.

For President-elect Trump, Lin highlights Trump’s straightforward approach to politics.

“I think the president-elect Donald Trump does have a real feel about him,” he said. “When you hear what he’s saying, you think, ‘this is genuine, this is from his heart.’ He’s not going to disguise things from the public, for better or for worse… I think one thing that’s strong about him is how genuine he is.”

Nevertheless, Stegemoeller views effective leadership as an initiative that takes everyone into consideration, not just a certain group.

“I think our best presidents have a quality that they are for everyone,” Stegemoeller said. “They are not beholden to any vested set of interest groups, and I think unfortunately, both of these candidates are beholden to interest groups.”

Gonzalez (far left): Interim assistant head of Upper School; English instructor; Dean of campus; provost Lin (center): Yearbook editor; Student Council vice president Stegemoeller (left) Telos 4 sponsor; curriculum coordinator of character education; English instructor

future

We g is hope for

Although Gonzalez says both candidates want to improve jobs, pay and the economy, he believes they both fall short of good leadership.

“Both individuals ended up lowering themselves to the lowest common denominator by saying awful one-liner bits about each other,” Gonzalez said. “Even in that last debate they had they almost had a hard time finding a way to compliment each other. I think both of them lowered themselves to that standard which — in my idea — is not how a real leader should act.”

Because of this, Gonzalez took to the chapel altar to reaffirm his idea of good leadership.

“I just wanted to let you guys know especially because you are the future of our country, that there’s some great things going on and you can contribute a lot still,” Gonzalez said. It’s not all set in stone and we are done. It was more positive than some of the negative stuff we kept hearing over and over and over.”

For Martin Stegemoeller, the election cycle was anything but an easy choice.

“Because both candidates were viewed as dishonest, I viewed it as a lesser of two evils kind of vote,” Stegemoeller said. “And if you think about what we’re trying to teach kids about leadership, the leadership that actually works in the world, the candidates don’t have those virtues.”

Stegemoeller recognizes the different ideologies that both candidates exhibited as leaders.

“If you just look at Trump’s biography, he was taught to be about yourself,” Stegemoeller said. “To him, you should be about yourself, and I’m going to be about myself, and

THE BOSSALINIS Senior Cameron Bossalini, parents Caroline and Joseph Bossalini

What was your initial reaction to Trump’s election?

Cameron Bossalini: This can’t be happening. There’s got to be some kind of way around this. It was mostly disbelief. Now it all depends on how the United States responds to his presidency.

How will this affect you economically?

Joseph Bossalini: Well, I think from what I’ve read in the caveat with all of his policies is that they’re very vague, and it’s hard to tell what he’s really going to implement, but what he’s expressed so far is that the tax policies are going to allegedly affect a large number of people. Where our family is, as far as lowering taxes, I think is going to have a minimal impact on us, so I don’t see a lot of change for us individually.

What about on our society?

Caroline Bossalini: I personally am very concerned about all of the progress we had made as far as going towards more equal rights. I felt like we were making more progress towards being a country that’s accepting of all people, and I truly am nervous what is going to happen. Knowing that there’s been a lot of racial tension, I’m nervous. The optimistic side of me says everything will work out fine, but I don’t even know if I agree with that.

RISH BASU ADDITIONAL REPORTING MARK TAO, MICHAEL LUKOWICZ

A look into how the election of 2016 played out

306 232

48.2% 46.3%

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 1.9 percent — 2,646,688 votes

of

Trump is projected to win the Electoral College, which convenes Dec. 19, with 306 votes

Seats held by Republicans in the U.S. Senate

MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES TO VOTERS 1) Economy

28%

2) Health care

20%

3) Social issues

16%

4) Energy

15%

$ 52.2% out of

TOTAL NUMBER OF TEXAS COUNTIES WON BY PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP Source: CNN, The New York Times

percent of the popular vote that Trump won in Texas

6.8%

decrease in Democratic margin of defeat in Texas since 2012

18

|THE REMARKER |life| December 15, 2016 |

WILLARD E. WALKER ‘77 VISTING SCHOLAR

Seeing it through his eyes

THE GRAND STAGE Willard E. Walker ‘76 Visiting Scholar Alex McDonald performs one of his recital pieces.

WILLARD E. WALKER ‘76 VISITING SCHOLAR ALEX MCDONALD DETAILS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIS LIFE AND HIS FIRST LOVE — MUSIC.

A

s a fifth-grader performing alongside an orchestra of college-age musicians, he knew that this moment was one of a kind, one to cherish

forever.

He had just won a competition to get to this point.

His recital piece was ingrained in his brain after having practiced it extensively, and his hands were ready to play every ebony and ivory key at just the right moment.

Now was the time to let it all flow out, note by note, movement by movement.

And as the harmonic wavelengths of his final chords spread through SMU’s Caruth Auditorium, Willard E. Walker ‘76 Visiting Scholar Alex McDonald realized he loved piano.

“Even more than roller-coasters,” he said.

••• A native Texan, McDonald’s early years consisted of a hodgepodge of different types of education, switching from public school, to junior college and finally to home-school. And those few years in homeschool were crucial to his development as a pianist.

“I was pretty set on becoming a pianist at that point,” McDonald said, “so I basically spent my last few years in home-school practicing piano eight hours a day and filling in the holes in my curriculum that I needed to matriculate.”

Having played piano for a total of 29 years, McDonald describes the process of becoming a musician as a “long-term journey.” He believes that during this journey, hard work and continued commitment can lead you along the path to mastering your craft.

“I have a perspective of music that runs counter to popular culture,” McDonald said. “I don’t think music is something people do because they have this inspiration that inspires frenzied, joyous work and becomes, drum-roll please, Beethoven’s 5th. I think a more typical path is that you start working on the music, but you also enjoy the process and keep practicing it, and keep getting better.”

Throughout the span of his career as a pianist, one of McDonald’s accomplishments that stands out is his competing in the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

However, despite the stature of his accomplishments, McDonald is wary of the trappings of success.

“Accomplishment is a double-edged sword,” McDonald said. “You’re obviously very happy and thankful you’ve accomplished something you set out to do. But what does that accomplishment mean to you as a person? If it’s tremendously self-validating, it’s like a drug, and you’ll want more and more of it. And sooner or later, it’s going to run out.”

McDonald experienced this feeling first-hand during the beginning of his time studying at The Juilliard School, during which he recalls the reality of accomplishment setting in rather quickly.

“When I was at Juilliard,” McDonald said, “everyone was in this happy glow for the first month or so, thinking ‘I’m at Juilliard.’ But, with great power comes great responsibility, right, Spiderman? The work load started to YOU CAN’T set in, the expectations set in, and JUST WAKE we realized that we weren’t all UP ONE DAY that special, and there were other AND THINK, ‘I people there who were also really WANT TO BE good.”

A PIANIST.’ Despite the results of any YOU HAVE competition, McDonald stands TO WORK behind the notion that the most AT IT. — important thing is the ability to WILLARD maintain a unique sense of indiE. WALKER viduality throughout the process.

‘76 VISITING “I remember when I got SCHOLAR eliminated [from the Van Cliburn ALEX competition],” McDonald said, MCDONALD “there was a mixture of sadness and relief, but also a feeling of being spent. I had done everything I possibly could to get to that point. That was what the journey decided, and it was over. So, it’s a very mixed process. You have to get through the other side of it, winning or losing, and ask yourself, ‘Do I still feel like me?’”

McDonald describes himself as a “practicing musician who also teaches.” Along with other students in the area, McDonald teaches many students from St. Mark’s, including sophomore Dylan Liu and seniors

Zachary Cole and Patrick Magee.

According to Magee, in particular, being under the tutelage of McDonald allowed his piano skills to flourish like never before.

“If I could attribute my success to anything,” Magee said, “it would be switching to having [McDonald] as my teacher. He told me that he won all of his competitions because he worked harder than everyone else, sometimes practicing eight hours a day. He helped me realize that you can’t expect to be the best if you don’t put in the extra work for it.” nother aspect of McDonald’s teaching style highlighted by Magee is how he bridges different art forms and includes subjects such as philosophy into his instruction, something McDonald feels is essential to communicating the language of music.

“If music is a language,” McDonald said, “we have to ask what we’re communicating, and why we’re communicating what we are. I think philosophy and even theology are more applicable in place of the hard sciences. In my opinion, a true empiricist’s point of view completely undermines the necessity of the existence of music. But, if we view music as something that taunts us with intimations of immortality, then we have to think about meaning, purpose, value, goodness and will. And we also have to think about evil, despair and injustice.”

Looking forward to his time here Feb. 1-2, McDonald has many goals in mind for what he plans to share with students and faculty.

But, the main thing he wants to pass on is the transcendental qualities of music, and how those qualities have the power to do anything, like inspire a fifth-grader to embark on the path to becoming a world-renowned pianist.

“I hope to pass on that music is great,” McDonald said, “and that sometimes enjoyment of music is on the far side of discipline and work. The journey takes practice, self-discipline and even some self-isolation to perfect one’s craft. If the work is the party, the success in music is the afterparty. I want people to walk away thinking that music is still so much more. Almost all music has a sort of intrinsic meaning, a higher meaning behind it all.”

A

STORY ZACH GILSTRAP, ANDRE ARSENAULT PHOTOS COURTESY DR. ALEX MCDONALD

HOW IT ALL WORKS Life Editor Zach Gilstrap sits down with Marjorie Curry, director of the visiting scholar programs, to learn about the selection process.

PHOTO RYAN NORMAN

Zach Gilstrap: What can you tell me about the Visiting Scholars Program?

LIFE

Marjorie Curry: There’s the Dennard Visiting Scholar program, and the Walker Visiting Scholar program. The Walker program is in honor of Willard E. Walker ‘76. His favorite subjects were music, science and language.

Every year the particular subject the visiting scholar will represent changes, and this year is music, which is why Dr. McDonald is coming. He was recommended by Dr. Fray.

ZG: How do you go about selecting a

visiting scholar?

MC: In general, I get recommendations throughout the year from the whole community, including parents and students. I also have to keep in mind if the visitor is able to appeal and engage a variety of age groups in addition to the Upper School. I also get feedback from the faculty and my Student Advisory Board. [Headmaster] Dini, however, makes the ultimate decision.

ZG: What will McDonald be doing while he is here?

MC: He will have a session with the

Upper School orchestra, a session with Lower School, Middle School assembly, Upper School assembly, and he may even do a masterclass and work hands on with the students to help develop their skills.

ZG: Did the fact that [McDonald] teaches students here have any influence on your selection?

MC: It was just the icing on top of the cake. We knew he was the one when we got the recommendation from Dr. Fray and when the piano teachers were really excited about it.

CONTINUING A LEGACY REPLACING ONE OF THE LEGENDS IN THE SCHOOL’S HISTORY, NEW CERAMICS INSTRUCTOR SCOTT ZIEGLER HAS LARGE SHOES TO FILL IN ORDER TO KEEP THE CERAMICS PROGRAM THRIVING.

F

or the first time in 47 years, the school was in need of a new ceramics instructor owing to the retirement of Bill Kysor last year.

After a long and extensive search during the summer, the school hired Scott Ziegler to replace one of the most prominent faces of the school’s long history.

Although he is currently a ceramics instructor, Ziegler would never have imagined himself working in the arts during high school or even the first few years of college.

“My first two years of college I went to DePaul University,” Ziegler said, “but I transferred to Loyola University my junior year because I was a pre-med student, and they had what I felt was a better biology program. I took a ceramics class the fall of my junior year there.

Then, I took a second ceramics class the spring of my junior year, and then made that interesting phone call home that I was no longer pre-med but that I was going to be a ceramics major.”

After that, Ziegler then took up a job as a designer, testing his sculpting skills on toys and slot machines.

“Before I started teaching, I was a toy designer, so I designed everything from McDonald’s Happy Meal toys to theme slot machines,” Ziegler said.

“That’s why my approach is more on the sculpting side of things.”

Ziegler then decided to become a teacher and taught high school ceramics for eight years and college ceramics for six years prior to coming here.

Because he enjoyed teaching both high school and college, he was faced with a dilemma.

“The question in the back of my mind is, do I want to be teaching college or high school?” Ziegler said. “Which one do I prefer?”

Although Ziegler was content with his job teaching at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, the emphasis on leadership and delayed gratification at St. Mark’s made the offer irresistible for Ziegler.

“I think a lot of what St. Mark’s is about kind of struck me for my values and what I think is important,” Ziegler said, “things like understatement of purpose, this whole idea of leadership, assuming responsibility, this idea of earning hard-won satisfaction and instilling the discipline of postponing immediate gratification.”

In addition to the school’s leadership appeal, Ziegler eventually chose to teach at a high school rather than a college because he wanted to make a greater impact on his students.

“Mr. Ziegler has steered the class towards finding importance in every detail of pottery,” Prasad said. “I have also learned how to incorporate three dimensional sculpture into my wheelthrown pieces, which has given my carved pieces a more life-like, nature feel. Along with improving my carving, Mr. Ziegler has taught me how to throw large sectional pieces. Even with just a few months under his guidance, I have thrown a multitude of pieces, ranging from ten inches all the way to twenty six inches.” long with improvements in his pieces, Prasad feels Ziegler brings elements to the ceramics classroom that are important to the community.

“No matter the challenge, Mr. Ziegler seamlessly brings a positive attitude everyday, often lightening up the mood,” Prasad said. “The transition in the ceramics program has gone so smoothly because Mr. Ziegler truly cares about his students, just like Mr. Kysor.

I often find myself talking to him about many things outside of ceramics.”

A

DHRUV PRASAD believes Ziegler has improved his ceramics skills

MAKING A MASTERPIECE Sitting in his classroom, ceramics instructor Scott Ziegler works with junior Matt Freeman in order to help him complete his project.

“I’ve realized that at the high school level, there’s more potential for making a difference, having that light bulb turn on for students and getting to develop a passion for the material and the craft,” Ziegler said. “I was able to see that light bulb turn on more often than in college, and that’s what brought me back to wanting to teach high school again.”

Now that Ziegler is at the school as a ceramics instructor, his primary goal for the ceramics program is to get his students to see the unlimited potential of clay.

“I think for students to dive in and

take that chance of material that they may have never worked with before is incredible,” Ziegler said. “I want to help them to see all of the possibilities of clay.

For the students to be able to see some of these possibilities from clay while they’re here at St. Mark’s is my ultimate goal. Hopefully, I can help the students who have that passion and see them succeed to the best of their ability.”

One of these students, senior Dhruv Prasad, believes Ziegler has helped patch up the missing pieces of his work and that he is now a much more complete ceramicist.

Prasad is not the only one impressed with Ziegler’s progress. Fine Arts Department Chair Marion Glorioso was more than happy with the addition of Ziegler to the department’s staff and feels he fits in perfectly.

“He has added to our team of talented artists,” Glorioso said. “He has a high bar for himself and his students. He has the heart and soul of an artist.”

Though Ziegler’s style of making pottery is different from Kysor’s, he still feels a bond with the former ceramics instructor.

By integrating both Kysor’s teaching style and his own, Ziegler feels that he will be able to continue the school’s ceramics program from where Kysor left off.

“I found that our philosophies in teaching are almost the same,” Ziegler said. “The things that he instilled in his students are kind of the same philosophies that I follow. I think the difference between us is that Kysor is very much a potter, creating most of his work on the wheel, and I come from a sculpting background. But getting into the idea of ceramics is just as important as sculpture, and what I hope to do for students is to explore both sides of ceramics and let them decide what they hope to do or what their passions are.”

STORY SAM SUSSMAN, DYLAN LIU PHOTO OWEN BERGER

Five students recognized for YoungArts awards

by Waseem Nabulsi

S

eniors Christian McClain, Hyer Thomas, Brian Buckenham, Andrew Chuka and Adam Subel were recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation Nov. 17 for their work in visual and design arts.

The seniors were among 686 other students of nearly 12,000 applicants nationwide to have their work recognized by the YoungArts Foundation.

McClain and Thomas, who were recognized as finalists in the competition, will have the opportunity to take part in the foundation’s 36th annual National YoungArts Week program Jan. 8-15 in Miami.

SHARE A CHAIR Christian McClain

FEARMONGER Andrew Chuka

HOLIDAY CARD CONCEPT Adam Subel

PIANO CHAIR Christian McClain

WHOOPIE CUSHION Brian Buckenham

LIFE

| December 15, 2016 |life| THE REMARKER |

19

SCOTT ZIEGLER

|THE REMARKER |life| December 15, 2016 |

20

MCHOGWARTS

WHEN MAGIC COMES TO TOWN

W

ith events throughout the week of Nov. 14-17 at McDonald’s, the school community came together for the annual McDonald’s Week by purchasing raffle tickets, t-shirts and wristbands, along with community service events and dinner nights.

Each student could declare allegiance to one of the four Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Juniors tallied and publicized all the purchases made by students in each house, sparking a campus race, both to win the “House Cup” and to raise the most money for the homeless at Austin Street Shelter.

All proceeds from the event went towards Austin Street Shelter, with McDonald’s donating meals and an honorarium of $2000 to the cause.

OFF TO THE RACES Headmaster David Dini, Head of Upper School Patrick Andrén, Suzanne & Patrick McGee Master Teacher J.T. Sutcliffe and head varsity basketball Coach Greg Guiler try their best to win the Triwizard Cup.

WATCH ME WHIP Breaking out some moves in the dance battle Nov. 17, juniors Avery Pearson and Seun Omonije showcase their talents.

MASTERS OF POTIONS Sophomore Rhys Arana and junior Josh Hudecek watch their concoctions work some magic during the Chemistry Club’s Potions Show Nov. 15.

THE BOY WHO LIVED Posing in character, junior William Hall enjoys the playground at McDonald’s.

QUIDDITCH During the Quidditch match Nov. 16, Slytherin Seeker Abdullah Akbar attempts to catch the Golden Snitch Mike Mahowald.

EN GARDE Head of Upper School Patrick Andrén and Headmaster David Dini battle it out during the Triwizard Cup Nov. 14.

PHOTOS CHRIS MCELHANEY, RILEY SANDERS, FRANK THOMAS

LIFE

‘TIS THE SEASON TO BINGE-WATCH MOVIES. ARE YOU TIRED OF THE TRADITIONAL OPTIONS FOR CHRISTMAS FLICKS? HERE ARE A FEW FILMS THAT WILL MAKE THIS TIME OF YEAR A BIT MORE JOLLY.

W

Arthur Christmas

hile old favorites such as The Polar Express and A Charlie Brown Christmas have long dominated the realm of animated Christmas films, they now have a worthy challenger in the criminally underrated 2011 film Arthur Christmas.

Set on Christmas Eve, the film at last reveals the answer to every child’s question: “How does Santa Claus deliver all those presents in one night?”

It is thanks to Santa’s futuristic operation hidden beneath the North Pole, where legions of elves work tirelessly to prepare for next year’s Christmas. It also turns out that Santa Claus is a title, passed from father to son.

Except this time, there are two sons who are prospective Santa’s: clumsy but good-hearted Arthur, and his ruthlessly efficient brother Steve.

Unfortunately, after the current Santa completes what is scheduled to be his final Christmas, one present is not delivered before sunrise. Now, it’s up to Arthur, against his brother’s wishes, to deliver the gift himself. Funny, genuine and occasionally profound, Arthur Christmas is a fine addition to anyone’s Christmas playlist.

The Hogfather

he most quintessential romantic comedies also manages to be one of the most influential Christmas movies in the mosaic tale of over a dozen peoples’ lives in the weeks before Christmas.

Just about every actor in the film went on to achieve greatness, featuring future hobbits and zombie-slayers, pirates and mutants, wizards and CGI lions. Alongside all this, the movie is actually good. It doesn’t just rely on its cast to sell itself, with a legitimately good story and well-developed characters. The film is bursting with memorable moments, with the often-copied signs-to-profess-love scene perhaps being a particular standout, as well as some of the most heart-warming scenes in film.

Yes, the movie is littered with certain cliches, but for a fun, stress-free time, Love Actually presents an extremely bright, cheery (though not totally unrealistic) take on Christmas.

O

Die Hard

ne of the best Christmas films also happens to be among the greatest action movies of all time. The story of everyman John McClane (played magnificently by Bruce Willis) stands the test of time as the retired cop faces off against a platoon of terrorists headed by Hans Gruber (the late Alan Rickman).

It’s everything one could possibly want in an action movie. It has charm in spades through McClane’s relationship with cop Al Powell, menace in the slimy brilliance of the ever-elusive Hans Gruber, true threat in the form of Karl, Gruber’s relentless henchman, and humor in the exasperation of a hero.

Add to all of that perhaps the most iconic action movie catchphrase of all time, Yippee Ki Yay Mr. Falcon, and you’ve got a masterpiece. Though the movie may not completely revolve around the Christmas spirit, it never leaves the film, with casual mentions reminding the viewer just how desperate McClane truly is. There isn’t a better movie, in any genre, to watch on Christmas day.

| December 15, 2016 |life| THE REMARKER |

Feliz Movie-dad

T

21

Love Actually

A

dapted from Terry Pratchett’s satirical fantasy, Discworld, The Hogfather tells the tale of Hogswatch night (a thinly veiled Christmas parallel), a yearly celebration in which the titular character grants the wishes of children. Unfortunately, the Hogfather is being pursued by interdimensional asssassins known as ‘Auditors,’ who have decided his holiday is no longer necessary, and he is forced to go underground.

With the holiday rapidly approaching and its patron on the run, all seems lost. Lost, that is, until the world finds an unlikely substitute to save the day—the anthropomorphic personification of Death himself. Death, portrayed by Ian Richardson, dons a costume and agrees to do the job, while his granddaughter Lucy goes on her own quest to stop the Auditors and find the real Hogfather. What follows is a gleefully insane, cleverly written and downright bizarre take on the Christmas mythos that’s bound to both thrill and confuse (in the best possible way) in equal measure.

REVIEWS PARKER MCWATTERS, AUSTIN MONTGOMERY

BUZZ THIS ISSUE CHRISTMAS MOVIES

HAMILTON MIXTAPE REVIEW

ALBUM REVIEW

Freedom rings in Miranda’s Hamilton mixtape

by Austin Montgomery t’s been almost a year since Lin Manuel-Miranda made Alexander Hamilton the world’s favorite founding father. What many may not realize, however, is that Miranda originally conceptualized the musical as an album—an album that we finally get to listen to.

Bringing together an eclectic group of rap legends (Common, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Wiz Khalifa), R&B superstars (Alicia Keys, John Legend, Usher), pop idols and a whole host of other artists from other genres, Miranda lays out a melting pot of an album that features covers of the original soundtrack, remixes of fan-favorite tracks, deleted songs from the musical and a few brand new creations.

Miranda’s legion knocks it out of the park, and one could rave for hours about each individual song, but alas, there can only be so many words in this review.

So I’ll skip to the highlights—Busta and Nas imbue the lyrics of “My Shot” and “Wrote My Way Out” with a new life, while Wiz Khalifa absolutely slaughters “Wash-

I

ington’s By Your Side.”

On the smoother side of things, Regina Spektor and Chance the Rapper take different, but equally powerful shots at “Dear Theodosia.” and John Legend gracefully glides through “History Has Its Eyes On You.” The biggest surprise, however, did not come from one of the big names—“Immigrants,” a fiery power ballad fittingly headlined by four immigrants (Nigerian K’Naan, Mexicans Residente and Snow and Pakistani Riz MC), represents the crystallization of Hamilton’s core themes and the high point of the album.

The only area Miranda’s new project really falters in is its direct covers—while Andra Day turns in an electrifying performance of “Burn,” and Sia and Queen Latifah join forces to kill “Satisfied,” the others, while by no means bad, simply can’t match up to the original soundtrack. Usher’s cover of “Wait for It” feels like karaoke, especially by comparison to Leslie Odom Jr.’s tour de force (good karaoke, but still karaoke), and Alicia Keys turns in a solid, but unre-

markable performance on “That Would Be Enough”.

When it first blew up, Hamilton immediately resonated as the peak of patriotic culture in the Obama era. POTUS’ vision was so present he should’ve been listed as a co-producer. Now, it comes with a sense of embattled resilience. “Every city, every hood, we need to rise up/All my soldiers, what’s good? We need to rise up,” Busta Rhymes tells us during his amped version of “My Shot,” the show’s signature anthem.

In other words: Let freedom ring.

TO THE TOP Due to its worldwide popularity, the Hamilton Mixtape is set to sell from 190,000 to 210,000 copies in its first week.

LIFE

|THE REMARKER |commentary| December 15, 2016 |

22

THE REMARKER

EDITORIAL

EDITOR IN CHIEF CASE LOWRY

MANAGING EDITOR RISH BASU CREATIVE DIRECTOR GOPAL RAMAN ISSUES EDITOR JOHN CRAWFORD SENIOR CONTENT EDITOR CORDAY CRUZ MAGAZINE EDITORS CRAWFORD MCCRARY, KOBE ROSEMAN DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR RETT DAUGBJERG GRAPHICS DIRECTOR NAFTAL MAUTIA RESEARCH DIRECTORS WASEEM NABULSI, REECE RABIN HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER FRANK THOMAS PHOTO EDITOR OWEN BERGER COMMENTARY EDITORS NICK MALVEZZI, JIMMY RODRIGUEZ NEWS EDITORS BLAKE DAUGHERTY, ALEC DEWAR NEWS WRITERS ANDY CROWE, MATEO GUEVARA, ANTONIO IVARRA, ZOHEB KHAN, DUNCAN KIRSTEIN, MICHAEL LUKOWICZ, KAMAL MAMDANI, NAFTAL MAUTIA, LYLE OCHS, JAMES ROGERS, MOHIT SINGHAL LIFE EDITORS DAVIS BAILEY, ZACH GILSTRAP LIFE WRITERS SAHIT DENDEKURI, JOHN GUNNIN, ERIC HIRSCHBRICH, DUNCAN KIRSTEIN, DYLAN LIU, ALBERT LUO, JASON PENG, MARK TAO, MATTHEW ZHANG SPORTS EDITORS WILL FORBES, MIKE MAHOWALD SPORTS WRITERS C.J. CRAWFORD, JOSH DANIELS, PARKER DAVIS, NATHAN HAN, ZACH LANDRY, JAHAZIEL LOPEZ, CONNOR PIERCE, NICK WALSH CAMPUS COORDINATOR SAM SUSSMAN REVIEWS SPECIALISTS PARKER MCWATTERS, AUSTIN MONTGOMERY BUSINESS MANAGER CARSON CROCKER COPY EDITORS ANDRE ARSENAULT, SAM SHANE CARTOONIST CHRISTIAN MCCLAIN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS MATEO DIAZ, GRAYSON FEICK, WESLEY HIBBS, JAYAN JOSHI, ADNAN KHAN, RYAN MCCORD, CHRIS MCELHANEY, RYAN NORMAN, TUCKER RIBMAN, CHARLIE RUBARTH, RILEY SANDERS, KYLE SMITH, KABEER SINGH, MO SINGHAL, JAKE YARCKIN STAFF ARTISTS JOON PARK, MATTHEW COLEMAN ADVISER RAY WESTBROOK ONLINE VIEWING. Each issue of The ReMarker, along with archival copies, can be viewed on the school’s website, www.smtexas. org/remarker.

READER INVOLVEMENT. The ReMarker encourages reader input through letters, guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for submissions.

Suggestions will be given due consideration for future publication.

ADVERTISING. Contact the business staff at 214.346.8145. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Inclusion of an ad in the newspaper’s pages is not an indication of an endorsement by The ReMarker, any of its staff members or faculty or staff members of St. Mark’s School of Texas.

DISTRIBUTION. Press run is 3,800 copies. Copies are provided free of charge to students, faculty and staff at various distribution sites on campus.

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

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

He is not who we are

I

n its Nov. 17 edition, The Dallas Morning News published a front page article about alt-right founder and white nationalist leader Richard Spencer, an alum of this school. In its print edition, the newspaper referenced three times — in the secondary headline, in the story’s opening and in a caption for the main visual — that Spencer was a graduate of this school.

Interestingly, in the online story, additional information was added, quoting Spencer as having formed his radical viewpoints much later in life and not during his years in Dallas.

When we read the story in the print edition, we were disappointed — primarily in the connection of the school with Spencer’s viewpoints. The Dallas Morning News’s attempts to relate Spencer’s extremist ideas to the school seems ethically dubious at best. Spencer’s views stand directly opposite to St. Mark’s mission of tolerance and acceptance. The fact that 46 percent of students here identify as "students of color" stands to punctuate this point.

After reading the online version of the story, we can’t imagine any reason why references to St. Mark’s needed to be included at all, since Spencer distances himself and his ideas from the school. While we realize a local peg is necessary for The News to connect Spencer to Dallas, we feel that 'North Dallas' or 'Preston Hollow' native could have introduced him much more accurately.

Clearly, Spencer himself suggests his viewpoints were not formed in his years here. However, when seeing “St. Mark’s” so prominently featured in the story itself, it is no small stretch to think readers could easily associate the school with his viewpoints. We have to wonder: why was the school displayed so prominently in the visual presentation of the story package?

We hope the newspaper intended to show no bias, but clearly three references to the school seem a bit excessive.

We wonder, too, why the article offers no comments from the school and why St. Mark’s is not quoted in either the print or online stories.

Obviously, the school does not agree with or stand for any of Spencer’s alt-right or white nationalist ideals. All one has to do is visit the campus or read Headmaster David Dini’s letter to the school community to realize this (see page 5).

As journalists we have learned that we are supposed to enter a story with objectivity. But in this case, it appears The Dallas Morning News did anything but.

If there is some good to come out of the Spencer situation, it has been the school community’s response. We commend the alumni, current students and faculty for the support they have shown for the school and for publicly reaffirming those solid values this school was built on.

League Press Conference, Austin.

Traditions shouldn't really change, no matter how liked or disliked they may be.

Word on the

John David McClain freshman

I would like more interactions rather than just listening for an hour.

I would like to make it shorter because the speeches are kind of long and we're siting on the ground for an hour.

Sam Schroeder junior

Billy Stalder sophomore

I would change it so that both buddies get to walk with their senior rather than just one on top.

Grant Brooks senior

STREET Even though it has been a tradition at the school for so long, what would you change about the annual Christmas party?

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

“

COMMENTARY

Maybe if your senior buddy has two kids and only one gets to ride on their back in the Great Hall, it's kind of unfair.

Adithya Munshi fourth grader

Make sure the parents understand that the school has made an arrangement to make pictures so that they don't crowd the Lower and Middle school and try to take their own pictures.

Joe Milliet Thomas B. Walker III '73 Mathematics Dept. Chairman

I like the Christmas party. It's festive, solemn and uproarious. It's a good finale and a great holiday sendoff for everyone.

Curtis Smith English instructor

A not-so-political take on Trump’s America

I

took a deep sigh of relief on the morning of Nov. 9.

After all, I was starting to get tired of it.

The vehement debates on national television.

The continuous name-calling and accusations. And I would be remiss if I forgot to include the backand-forth banter on Twitter.

The presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump truly was political theater.

And I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Anyone who knows me is RISH BASU aware that I’m not the kind of Managing editor guy to engage in those neck-toneck, political conversations.

So when this year’s election cycle came around and brought with it two of the most conflicting candidates in American history, I was that guy sitting in the corner and nodding my head in agreement while everybody else argued about the candidates’ immigration policies and tax plans.

But when a video of Donald Trump objectifying women surfaced on the Internet just weeks before the election, I got worried. Worried that if Trump won, I might hear those same derogatory comments in the community around me. At the end of the day,

if our president — the most qualified leader our country has to offer — got away with it, why can’t we?

These were the kinds of thoughts that were running through my head before election night.

Looking back, I had absolutely zero faith in a country run by Donald Trump, so I denied the possibility of “Trump’s America” ever happening.

So on the morning of Nov. 9 — yeah, I was relieved. But I was also scared. I forced myself out of bed with a reluctant groan and headed to school expecting to hear jokes about the mile-high wall that will tower over the Mexican countryside or the deportation of every immigrant across the country — jokes that I thought were going to become frequent in a country led by Donald Trump.

But what I failed to realize is that there is something special about the St. Mark’s community. Walking around campus on Nov. 9, I didn’t come across any extended arguments or impassioned discussions I had been so used to hearing in the previous months. I felt something that I hadn’t experienced in a while during this election cycle: unity.

To be perfectly honest, I thought the result of this election was going to divide our community and change it for the worse. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. It didn’t matter if Trump or Clinton

was going to win on Nov. 8 — this community would have moved forward with a clear-cut vision of this country’s future.

Of course, there were a lot of people on campus who were disappointed with the outcome of the election, but the message remained the same: we will move forward.

So, I owe all of you guys a hearty thank you for not allowing the aggressive, violent and sexist comments that were prevalent throughout this election get to us.

But I also owe an apology that has been way late.

I arrived at school a day after the election expecting to hear insults regarding my heritage or prideful boasting. Where I thought the St. Mark’s community would take a step back after a Donald Trump victory, we only became more united and aware of what is right and wrong. And there is absolutely no reason why I lost faith in the first place.

Throughout the next four years, you probably won’t hear me discussing the nitty-gritty details of the new policies and plans implemented by President-elect Donald Trump. But what I will be doing is trying to maintain the mutual respect and unity this community has built for each other.

I owe all of you that.

THE SIGNAL

EDITORIAL

More consistency needed for online grading book policy

T

his school has undoubtedly one of the most qualified and intelligent groups of faculty and staff members of any school in the country. Each teacher has his or her own ways of getting the best out of students. They aren’t bound by one set of specific teaching methods or techniques; rather they can use what’s best for their students.

However, there is one common issue on which we feel like the faculty as a whole can come together and be consistent: the online grade book, a feature of the school website that allows for students to see their exact grade.

While the grade book has been a controversial topic over recent years, it is truly best the faculty come together and use it.

The online grade book is great for students because it gives them a standing as to where they are at all times in the class, without having to guess their average based on a certain teacher’s grading system, alerting students if they need to go see their teacher. Additionally, the grade book can also alert students of any missing assignments they might have.

While it may be easy for an instructor to give his students more realistic updates on their averages with regular quizzes and tests, the grade book is hugely beneficial for classes where assignments, quizzes and tests don’t come on a regularly-scheduled basis. This gives the students a better forecast on their standing in their class without having to guess without any major assignments in the recent period.

We applaud many of the newer faculty members who have taken to the system like History Department Chair David Fisher and Associate Headmaster John Ashton, and the longer-serving faculty members like Spanish instructor Marsha McFarland who have also adopted the new system. We feel that consistency, with every teacher using the online grade book, will be a huge benefit to the students.

Full bars

No signal

Calls dropping

Gift Drive buttons

Locker rooms

No Chick-Fil-A

The Gift Drive buttons with faces of the faculty members are hilarious, giving everyone a laugh as they pass by buttons on campus. Hats off to the student council.

The Hicks Gymnasium locker room has become a mess over the past couple of weeks. Let’s pick up after ourselves.

From full bars to no signal, the Chick-Fil-A cookout needs to return. The delicious sandwich is a great cookout option.

SHORT &TWEET @ A view of the student body in 140 characters or less

@

seunomonije

owen_berger22

“Grateful and blessed to be included in the top 50 WR’s in the state (#49) @SMTXfootball” Junior Seun Omonije

“@samsussman2 @NissanUSA @CollegeGameDay your vote means nothing.”

Junior Owen Berger

The food lover’s guide to the galaxy I

shoulder the heavy glass door open as I burrow my hands into my pockets to grab my keys. A wall of crisp, November air washes over me as I stroll out of the new Shake Shack downtown.

I stop in the little park outside the shack and stretch upwards while grabbing some of the nighttime breeze.

The lights CASE LOWRY and colors of Editor in chief the city all seem watery, bright, and a little bleary around the edges, my shake-saturated body is warm and my stomach is comfortably full.

I’m happy.

To most people this is just walking

out of a restaurant, to me, this is euphoric.

If you know me, you know I’m opinionated and love music, clothes and food.

And since I’ve already written two columns about the first two, I figured I would give the last one a go as well.

With the contagion-like spread of “foodstas” (instagram accounts purely for pictures of food) across the teenage girl community that have lit up social media in the past couple years, it has gotten harder and harder to tell where the good food is and where food is just created to look good on the surface purely for the picture.

I’ve seen pictures of a whole slice of Funfetti cake perched on top of a milkshake doused in rainbow sprinkes, but I’ll try not to focus too much on that because I know that Ms. Weber’s class is already covering the limits of what man

can create versus what it should create through the lens of Frankenstein.

What I crave are the real culinary masterpieces, not just dishes plated for likes and comments with too many exclamation points at the end.

Plates like Saint Rocco’s Sicilian lasagna, which I have to eat every time I watch the Godfather or Goodfellas or the whole meaty, Italian, culinary impact of those two revered cinematic classics is lost on me.

Or Sal’s famous Veal Saltimbocca, a menu item so savory, our managing editor Rish Basu ordered it once at dinner, and then had it delivered to his house again roughly four hours later because he simply couldn’t get enough. If you go with me or are near me at Sal’s, there is a higher chance of me recommending/ forcing you to order this than there is of it snowing in Colorado this year.

There are a lot of hidden gems and fully exposed, out-in the-open gems in Dallas, if you just venture beyond the laminated, grimy and novel-like menus of chain restaurants that I avoid like the plague.

Don’t choose Cheesecake Factory or (insert here) Bar and Grill when there is always a better option.

Choosing a restaurant isn’t only about the food as well. The atmosphere is what turns a place from a “Wow that was good, maybe we will go back sometime,” to a “I want to go here so often they seriously consider naming a menu item after me.” Which, by the way, is one of my more lofty goals in life.

I guess what I’m saying is that while a lot of inspirational quote websites will tell you a secret to success is never eating alone, my mantra, as my mom would probably tell you, would be to never eat in.

COMMENTARY

| December 15, 2016 |commentary| THE REMARKER |

23

|THE REMARKER |commentary| December 15, 2016 |

24

The most wonderful time of the year

I

’ve always said that the October-November-December trifecta is the best part of the year.

Halloween, my birthday, Thanksgiving and the holiday of all holidays, Christmas.

I can remember being at my grandmother’s quaint house on Christmas Eve, playing with my cousins while Kirk Franklin blasts in the background.

I can remember smelling the redolent aroma of sweet potato pie and feeling the ZACH scorching steam from the GILSTRAP six-cheese macaroni hitting Life editor my face as it came out of the oven.

I can remember seeing almost everyone in my family, all congregated in my grandmother’s cozy den, sharing jovial laughs and recalling family stories for the umpteenth time.

But on Christmas Eve two years ago, something was different. Something was wrong.

••• Early in the day, my mother began to complete the meal prep she started the night before. The voices of the anchors from the Channel 5 news blasted through the hallways, highlighting different festivities happening around town.

As usual, I had my headphones in, blasting

music into my ears while lying on my bed, passing the time in anticipation of my grandmother’s annual Christmas Eve party.

I got up out of my bed to get some water, but at the bottom of the stairs was a sight I never thought I’d see. Especially on Christmas Eve. My second oldest sister, Jasmine, sat at the foot of the stairs, crying her eyes out, repeating a name over and over in between sobs.

I ran down the stairs and asked her what was wrong. She hesitated to answer. Removing her hands from her face, makeup streaming from her eyes, she finally spoke.

“Kevin. He’s dead.”

My stomach felt as if it was yanked down to the floor. Responses floated around in my head, but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to say.

“He died in a car accident.”

My heart was beating like a jackhammer. Feelings of sorrow and grief flooded my mind, clouding my thoughts. However, one emotion hit the hardest: guilt.

He was my sister’s half-brother. I didn’t know the last time I saw him. I didn’t keep in contact with him.

He was just one of those family members I only saw on major holidays.

I didn’t get to say my last goodbye.

The rest of the day felt like a blur. The hopeful images of sparkling Christmas lights and familial celebration faded to a dull, gray nothingness.

My Christmas spirit was gone, replaced by the pains of loss.

••• It was time for the party.

I didn’t want to go. I don’t think anybody else wanted to either. The usual exuberance surrounding Christmas was sucked out of our household.

Still, we got in our different cars and drove down the street to my grandmother’s house. Once we arrived, I experienced something that lifted my spirits in a way I didn’t know was possible.

Walking up to her house, I saw the sparkling Christmas lights through the window. I heard Kirk Franklin’s “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” creeping through the cracks of the door.

When I walked in, I saw my whole family, comforting each other with stories and age-old jokes.

I saw and heard love.

The thought of Kevin’s death still loomed over me, but the love and happiness shared and experienced by my family inspired me to hug everyone harder, to talk to everyone longer, to say ‘I love you’ as many times as humanly possible, because those moments were not promised.

This experience taught me that in the end, family is all we have and will have, and cherishing the moments shared with them is what makes life great.

And that’s enough for me.

It’ll all be alright, I thought, as I took my first bite into a slice of sweet potato pie.

THE

GRID

Our opinions on what’s going on around campus, all in one place.

NOTICED Christmas decorations

After school P.E. delay

Wifi signal The wifi signal has still caused problems with many students around campus, although it has gotten better since the beginning of the year.

McDonald’s Week The Junior Class did an excellent job with McDonald’s Week, with a theme of McHogwarts. From the video to the events in the morning, the committees, behind co-chairs Davis Bailey and Will Wood, exceeded expectations.

Scattering of newspapers

Stale crackers in cafeteria

The containers around campus are meant for your convenience to find a copy of The ReMarker. When you are done reading your issue, we would appreciate it if you dispose of them properly in an appropriate waste bin.

The crackers in the cafeteria have started to show a trend of being very stale, even though they are in packages.

Thanksgiving menu on Grandparent’s Day The lunch on grandparent’s day continued its tradition of excellence this year, with a great Thanksgiving meal consisting of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cake and lemonade served to everyone on campus.

No Homework Weekend Hats off to the faculty for abiding by the No Homework Weekend policy. Only one teacher assigned an essay due Tuesday which is a vast imporvement.

Keep up the good work.

UNEXPECTED TRAFFIC | CARTOON CHRISTIAN MCCLAIN, KOBE ROSEMAN

90

F

COMMENTARY

DR. DAVID FRAY

ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR

W

OVERLOOKED

THE NORTH POLE DECEMBER 24TH

Unsung hero

BRILLIANT

BAFFLING

The move to prohibit students who are in After School P.E. from working out until 3:45 is disatrous.

With 90+ guys in the class, the weight room has become packed and much harder to get in a good workout. Students should be allowed to start their workouts right at 3:10.

Thanks to many of the seniors, the campus has been illuminated with festive Christmas decorations, brightening everyone’s day.

hether it’s leading the orchestra throughout the year in their numerous performances, guiding his students AllState and All-Region honors or conducting the orchestra to brilliant pieces in the chapel, Director David Fray often doesn’t receive the recognition that he deserves.

We at The ReMarker applaud you for your continuously outstanding passion for great performances and loyalty to the foundations of what it means to be the St. Mark’s orchestra.

Making a loop with the BFG Sports editor Mike Mahowald talks about keeping things simple in the world of sports.

H

OWEN BERGER PHOTO

is wrinkled, calloused hands and striking resemblance to Disney’s portrayal of the BFG caught my attention from the get-go. He was leaning nonchalantly on the short brick wall surrounding the putting green, nibbling on a PB&J—no crust, of course.

I walk over and introduce myself. Now, imagine the thickest, most outlandish Scottish accent you can. Triple it. “Doug,” he responded, “the pleasure is mine.”

For more than 50 years, Doug’s been hauling golf bags and making loops around the rolling green hills of the Crail Golfing MIKE MAHOWALD Society just Sports editor outside Wormiston, Scotland.

He even grew up just down the road.

74 years old, and he was my caddy for the next four and a half hours.

Our journey together was full of ups and downs, an eagle and some bogeys. We had a certain chemistry I’ve never experienced on a golf course. Problem was, it was literally impossible to understand what the man was saying.

Everything was Scottish jargon and ancient golf colloquialisms.

Fast forward to the second hole—long par five.

I gave my three wood a smooth swing and sent my ProV1X towering over the brilliant Scottish landscape. The right to left ball left flight seemed like it would be perfect. Then I heard a yell.

Thirty yards right of me, my 74 year old caddy was in an all-out gallop.

He stared at me with that ‘what were you thinking’ face.

Finally, through the salty ocean wind, I could understand what he’d been screaming about.

“Neeeuuuu!”

He shrieked.

“That’s the THIRTY YARDS wrong hole, RIGHT OF ME, laddy!”

MY 74 YEAR OLD CADDY I glanced back at my ball, WAS IN AN ALL 50 yards left of OUT GALLOP. where it needed to be. Doug stopped right next to me and muttered one thing I could actually make out, “Kiss,” he said. “Keep it simple, stupid.”

His advice resonated. Golf is a complex beast. Dumb it down a little, make Doug’s life a little easier.

That might have been the most impactful lesson I’ve ever learned. Things move really fast around here. Tests in the morning, clubs in the afternoon, games at night. We’re all racing toward that ever elusive diploma while trying to ace everything along the way.

Chill out.

Forget the expensive suits, triple comma checks and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. workdays. A round of golf, some good haggis and a pint of Guinness. That’s the way Doug likes it, and that’s fine by me.

Senior Eli Ware shakes hand with his opponent from Oakridge during a wrestling tournament Dec. 10.

a peek INSIDE

at a GLANCE

Inside the sports section

A brief look at sporting events on campus

26

CULTURE CHANGE A look at what motivates our athletes

28

NOT JUST A BUS DRIVER Volleyball driver Chereyl Aguebor is part of the team

30

THE SUPERFAN Sitting down with Joe Milliet, teacher and superfan

32

RACKING UP THE MILES Talking with Mujin Kwun about his first marathon

for the RECORD A status update on Lions sports teams

Varsity basketball

9 wins

5 losses Varsity soccer

3 wins

2

losses JV basketball

6

wins

3

losses

JV SQUADS OFF TO QUICK START Both the junior varsity basketball and soccer teams are looking to continue their early success this season. After a few weeks of play, the soccer team’s record sits at 1-0-1, and the Blue and Gold basketball teams at 3-1 and 6-3, respectively.

Junior varsity soccer captain Shane Ndeda said the team members’ goals are not necessarily related to their record, but to developing skills as a team that will carry them into the next couple years as leaders of the soccer program.

“This year, the two main things we want to do are build positive chemistry between the newly arrived freshman and the returning sophomores and improve our foot skills in order to make a difference on the varsity team next year,” Ndeda said.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAMS BEGIN SEASON Off to a hot start, the eighth-grade gold and seventh-grade gold basketball teams defeated Greenhill on the road 38-22 and

35-14, respectively, Nov. 17.

“We were a bit nervous on the way there, but when we started playing our game, we felt confident which led us to a win,” eighth-grade forward Daniel Sanchez said.

With a narrow 34-33 win against a tough Prestonwood Christian team, the seventh grade blue team won their first game Nov. 18.

The eighth grade soccer team won their opening game as well, beating Prestonwood Christian Academy in a nail-biting 3-2 victory Nov. 17.

Schools from around Dallas also competed in the Metroplex Invitational Dec. 7 in the Ralph B. Rogers Natatorium, with St. Mark’s coming out with numerous high finishers.

GUNNIN TO PLAY LACROSSE AT COLGATE Junior goalie John Gunnin has committed to play lacrosse at Colgate.

“I started talking with the Colgate coaches in July, and then visited twice, and after those visits I knew it was the

school for me,” Gunnin said.

Colgate has a lot to offer Gunnin beyond the lacrosse field, making it stand out among other potential schools.

“I really love the combination of academics and sports that Colgate has to offer,” Gunnin said.

TIM SIMENC ‘15 WINS NCAA WATER POLO FINALS In his second year at UC Berkeley, Tim Simenc ‘15 and his teammates won the 2016 NCAA Water Polo Championship.

In a thrilling 11-8 match that ended in double overtime, the Golden Bears beat #1 ranked University of Southern California en route to their 14th national championship.

Simenc joins Riley Graham ‘14, Michael Shashoua ‘08 and Jake Vandermeer ‘08 as Marksmen who have been members of NCAA winning teams in recent years.

Graham recently won the NCAA lacrosse championship with North Carolina, and Shashoua was a four-time NCAA Champion in 200811 with USC Trojans water polo team.

—Parker Davis, Zach Landry, Josh Daniels, Nathan Han

in the SPOTLIGHT FRESHMAN ANDREW LACZKOWSKI

21

points against All Saints in a 64-50 victory Nov. 22 freshman Andrew Laczkowski

5 11.2

25

| December 15, 2016 |sports| THE REMARKER |

MAKING PLAYS

three-pointers in his 21-point game against All Saints Laczkowski’s points per game through 11 games

SPORTS

|THE REMARKER |sports| December 15, 2016 |

26

THE CHANGING CULTURE

CHAMPIONS. Banners in Hicks Gym show athletic success through the years.

worth it for sophomore wrestler Colin Neuhoff, and he was eager for an opportunity to try to repeat this season.

But when Neuhoff arrived for the first wrestling practice this season, he was frustrated to learn that a majority of the members of last year’s team had quit wrestling.

Only seven wrestlers are left on the roster, not enough for the team to compete in team tournaments, including the SPC championship.

The grind Neuhoff thought was worth it drove them away from WITH MORE STUDENTS SPECIALIZING IN SPORTS IN the sport, and now those who stayed can’t to be HOPES OF PLAYING IN COLLEGE, PARTICIPATION IN champions.

TRADITIONALLY POPULAR SPORTS IS DOWN – SO MUCH ••• SO THAT WRESTLING DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH TEAM he lack of wrestlers MEMBERS TO COMPETE FOR THE SPC CHAMPIONSHIP. this year is the most extreme example of a recent trend among athletes on campus.

Students are gravitathose who stay will be champions. ing away from more Anyone who went in the wrestling room physical sports like wrestling and football, and more during Rick Ortega’s tenure as the head wresstudents are focusing on sports like cross country, tling coach is familiar with these words, the mantra swimming and rowing. that Ortega used to motivate his teams.

This fall, for example, there were over 50 students Those who stay will be champions. trained in offseason crew, an unprecedented number Any Marksman who was tough enough to survive for the program. the grueling wrestling season would surely be rewardAccording to longtime athletic trainer Robert ed for his efforts with SPC and state championships.

“Doc” Browning, this trend away from traditional For years, this mantra was fulfilled, with the team sports emerged about five years ago. winning 36 of 37 SPC team championships between “[The school] was first or second in nine of the 12 1973 and 2012, in addition to 13 state championships. sports,” Browning said. “The three sports we weren’t Ortega retired after that 2012 championship with wres- first or second in–football, basketball and baseball–are tling as arguably the most decorated athletic program the traditional big three sports. You could sort of see in school history. the handwriting on the wall.”

The program was not expected to drop off when The decline in both the participation and the Ortega retired, and last year the team won its first success of sports like football and wrestling reached team SPC championship under head coach Justin an all-time low this year. Team sizes are down in both Turner, a win that should’ve signified that St. Mark’s sports, and football finished last in the conference with wrestling would remain a powerhouse for years to a 1-7 record this fall. come.

With only eight varsity wrestlers, none of whom That championship made the grind of wrestling are freshmen, and only a single eighth-grade wrestler season, full of grueling workouts and cutting weight, on the Middle School team, the future of the wrestling

THOSE WHO STAY CAN’T BE CHAMPIONS

T

T

MOVING IN Eyeing his opponent from Rockwall High School, Neuhoff shoots in to attempt a take down. Neuhoff finished second in his weight class.

program is certainly in jeopardy.

“Historically, from the beginning of Texas wrestling to where we were 10 years ago, I think St. Mark’s could have certainly made an argument towards being the best wrestling program Texas has had in 35 years,” Browning said. “Clearly, wrestling is down this year.”

Despite the obvious factors of anxiety about concussions, blood-borne pathogens and other concerns surrounding football and wrestling, Browning thinks that the culture change may go beyond the issues plaguing football and wrestling participation across the country.

Rather, Browning believes the decline can be credited to the mindset of students at the school.

“The culture is changing,” Browning said.

“I think kids just aren’t as invested in something like football with all the other things we ask of them here at St. Mark’s. It’s easy to say, ‘I want to be the sports editor, photographer, debater, ceramics guy.’ There’s a gazillion things. There’s just so many things now for kids to choose from. It’s very easy for football to sort of be passed over.”

As for football, Browning believes there is I THINK THE one problem that extends beyond the playing field.

FUTURE OF “I think part of what SPORTS has hurt our football HERE IS program, quite frankly, is BRIGHT IN that we haven’t kept up THE SENSE THAT WE’RE with what other schools are doing,” Browning ALWAYS said. “Not that kids are GOING so different or whatever, TO HAVE ATHLETICS. it’s just that other schools, like Episcopal Houston or — DOC BROWNING All Saints, or others put so much emphasis on football. We’re never going to be able to do that here. We’re never going to be able to place that emphasis and recruit kids for football.”

The school’s high admission standards and focus on academics means the admissions office will not admit prospective students who would help sports teams, but not fit academically.

“To our credit, St. Mark’s is never going to bring in a kid that can’t succeed here,” Browning said. “You’re not going to bring in a kid that’s going to help our football program and wind up with a 1.2 GPA. That’s never going to happen here. That hurts our program a little

LEADING THE WAY Bursting out of the tunnel, Wood (right) leads the varsity football team onto the field before the homecoming game against St. John’s Oct. 21 at Hunt Family Stadium.

STORY WILL FORBES, NATHAN HAN, ZACH LANDRY PHOTOS RILEY SANDERS, MATEO DIAZ, KYLE SMITH, CHRIS MCELHANEY, RYAN NORMAN

SPORTS

bit because [other schools] are able to take steps forward in their football program that we’re just not able to because they can bring in the kinds of kids they can.”

On the other hand, as more students are gravitating towards and specializing in sports like crew, these less traditional sports have seen more success than ever.

CLARKE WOOD values the experiences of both losing and winning seasons

“Another thing you need to take into consideration is that the balance of power in our sports is changing,” Browning said. “We’ve gone from where we have very strong football and wrestling programs, track programs, whatever. Some of those things have changed, so we’re now very strong in water polo, very strong in fencing and lacrosse. These are not the more traditional sports that we’ve thought of through the years, but we’ve been successful in them.”

And while the school may emphasize developing well-rounded athletes, Browning believes private coaches and college aspirations are a large contributor to the shrinking numbers in some sports and the record number of tutorials and participants in after-school PE. “You have a lot more private coaches now that are telling kids, ‘In my sport, I can promise you a college scholarship in tennis, in golf, in soccer, but you can’t play anything else,’” Browning said. “Well, if that’s their message, then they are keeping kids out of sports they could be playing. I’m not sure a kid specializing in one sport really does him justice or does him a good service.”

••• unior Eduardo Ludwig-Bernardo is one of the athletes who decided to focus on a single sport to be able to compete in college.

A three sport athlete until this year, Ludwig-Bernardo made the decision to quit both soccer and football to focus on earning the opportunity to row in college, and many of his teammates have followed suit, dedicating their whole year to crew.

With a record number of rowers in both offseason crew and signed up for the regular season, crew coaches will be forced to cut athletes for the first time in the team’s history.

“People are seeing the potential of rowing

J

in college and the positive effect of exercise in crew,” Ludwig-Bernardo said. “The crew team has been in the shadows, and it’s becoming a stronger sport every year.”

Ludwig-Bernardo believes this specialization can be helpful for athletes coming out of an academically-focused school like St. Mark’s, as focusing on one sport rather than rotating between two or three gives them an opportunity to play college sports they would not otherwise have.

“I think [specialization] is healthy because a lot of kids want to do a sport in college and a lot of kids aren’t athletic enough to do two or three sports at once,” Ludwig-Bernardo said. “Just specializing in one sport gives opportunities for kids for college.”

While he considers it beneficial for athletes, Ludwig-Bernardo acknowledges the negative effects specialization can have on some of the school’s teams.

“The problem with individual sports like wrestling is that it’s really tough,” Ludwig-Bernardo said, “and there aren’t a lot of people willing to put the time into it. For team sports like soccer and football it’s not helping at all, and it’s probably going to continue. A lot of talented athletes might just end up doing one sport, and if we lose good players in other sports that might strengthen that one kid’s chance but might not help the school.”

Neuhoff agrees with Ludwig-Bernardo’s thoughts on wrestling and why there are so few wrestlers.

“The short answer for wrestling is that it’s not fun,” Neuhoff said. “Practice isn’t fun. It’s a tough sport. You got to really love it, and you got to love winning, and you got to want to get better.”

Where Neuhoff and senior football captain Clarke Wood differ from Ludwig-Bernardo is in their view that high school sports aren’t just a way to get into college. Rather, camaraderie and lessons learned outweigh actual athletic success.

“Being a leader on the football team is really special to me,” Wood said. “Even though we didn’t have that great of a season, I felt like I was getting closer with the guys on the team. It didn’t really matter if we lost. At the end of the season, you don’t really remember the wins and losses–you remember the bonds you created with new friends.”

Neuhoff agrees the bonds he has created with his teammates by surviving grueling two-a-days and wrestling practices are worth more than any win or loss.

So he will stick with wrestling this year. He will endure the workouts and weight cutting and tournaments, and even though he can’t be a champion, it doesn’t matter. The only things that matter are his teammates.

Even if there are only six.

OFF THE WALL Pushing off the wall, senior swim captain Andrew Lin moves ahead for the Lions in a Dec. 6 meet at Ralph B. Rogers Natatorium. The Lions defeated Cistercian 121-49.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF THE SCHOOL’S SPORTS

CLARKE WOOD — Senior football captain. “ Being a leader on the football team is really special to me. Even though we didn’t have that great of a season, I felt like I was getting closer with the guys on the team. It didn’t really matter if we lost.

I mean I cared about the winning and losing obviously, but at the end of the season, you don’t really remember the wins and losses, you remember the bonds you created with friends.”

EDUARDO LUDWIG-BERNARDO — junior rower. “I really like soccer, but I want to continue doing sports in college and crew is definitely one where there’s a lot of opportunity to row in college so I pursued that.”

COLIN NEUHOFF — sophomore football player and wrestler. “A lot of people look at football and say, ‘Why even play? We’re not going to be that good.” But personally I just love football that much. And I still love playing as a team, I still love everyone on the team, I love all the teammates. We didn’t have a successful season, but we still all had fun out there, and football is a fun sport and it is really like a team-bonding sport more than most others I’ve played. Wrestling, there’s nothing really appealing about it, except the feeling of winning. So that’s the only reason I keep wrestling, like once you win your first match, you love that feeling of winning. It’s all personal for wrestling “

DOC BROWNING — athletic trainer. “If we had every kid in the school that could or should be playing football actually playing football, kids who aren’t specializing or don’t want to get hurt. If we had all of those kids actually out for football every year, I believe we could compete for the SPC championship every year. They just don’t want to come back for two-a-days, they don’t want to be out at practice, they don’t want to be out in the heat, they don’t want to commit that kind of time, they don’t like contact, whatever.”

HARD IN THE PAINT Junior Garrett Mize drives past defenders during the Dec. 10 basketball game against Shelton. The Lions won handily 76-27.

SPORTS

| December 15, 2016 |sports| THE REMARKER |

27

VOLLEYBALL BUS DRIVER

AFTER TWO LONG ROAD TRIPS TO HOUSTON, VOLLEYBALL TEAM MEMBERS AND BUS DRIVER CHEREYL AGUEBOR HAVE DEVELOPED A SUPPORTIVE, PRANKFILLED AND MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP.

‘

Teamwork dream work MAKES THE

‘

|THE REMARKER |sports| December 15, 2016 |

28

H

er favorite phrase epitomizes her personality. What she believes in. How she lives her life. It’s always team first.

She’s a reckless train of hype and a loving mother to three daughters. A record setting high school track star and a highly experienced truck driver.

Chereyl Aguebor is our volleyball team’s bus driver and their number one fan. Before her first trip to Houston with the team, she asked the boys one question. “Are you guys good?”

“The answer was vague,” Aguebor said. “So I started preaching to them ‘yeah, you’re good. No one’s better than you.’ I told them they needed to go harder. ‘You’ve go to go harder. If you lose you’re going to go back home.’”

Her enthusiasm and passion for the team was unlike anything junior Clay Morris and the rest of the volleyball team had ever seen before. The very first time she was on campus, before the bus departed to Houston, she bought a shirt to wear while cheering on the Lions.

Their first trip came with some problems though. Pouring rain, a flat tire, a missed trip to Buc-ee’s. The team barely made it on time for their first game at St. John’s.

“It was faith. At the end of the trip, they were running late, and I think we bonded that way. I think that adversity bonded us.”

The adversity, along with her rowdy cheers and happy-go-lucky attitude. It wasn’t long until the team

fell in love.

“She’s basically our cheerleader,” Morris said. “Her parents have shown up to a game. She’ll get us hype, and she is always yelling. You can’t not hear her. She is always saying stuff that just makes us laugh and have a good time.”

Having a long history in trucking, Aguebor only recently became involved as a bus driver for Wynne Mo-

FAMILY FIRST Raised as the only daughter in a family with six brothers, Aguebor has always been surrounded by sports. It’s only fitting now she drives the volleyball team.

torcoaches, and driving the volleyball team has transformed her willingness to be a fan.

“I haven’t been passionate for the other teams I’ve driven for,” Aguebor said. “I even told St. Mark’s that I don’t want to do any other team. They need to call me because they’re my team. I don’t want to yell the same for Greenhill. ‘You’re my team.’ That’s what I told the coach.”

FOR MILES AND MILES Sporting her favorite St. Mark’s shirt, Aguebor poses in front of the bus she used to transport the varsity volleyball team to Houston and back.

STORY MIKE MAHOWALD, CJ CRAWFORD PHOTOS RYAN NORMAN

SPORTS

As the only girl in a family with six brothers, Aguebor has always been engulfed in the world of athletics. She did everything—basketball, volleyball, and track, where she really excelled. Her 4 x 400 relay time from 1976 still stands at Mart High School.

“Coming from the neighborhood that I came from, sports was kind of a way to get out of the neighborhood,” Aguebor said. “You know like some football players even today. Some come from the ghetto and become professional athletes to help their family.”

Aguebor had the talent and potential to go really far in the track world, but her dedication to the sport was never really there. It’s her biggest regret.

Now, working in an athletic field, the memories of her athletic career come rushing back to her. She’s able to experience what she experienced all those years ago back in high school.

“I wish I would have had more passion for the sport,” Aguebor said.

“I was a team player, but if could do it again, I would have more passion. So I feel like I’m living vicariously through these boys. Their energy and passion for the sport really inspires me and brings back all the good memories.”

Hola, America HIS MARK AS A MIDFIELDER ON THIS SEASON’S VARSITY SOCCER SQUAD—SEEKING TO WIN AN SPC CHAMPIONSHIP.

AN EXPERIENCED FÚTBOL STAR FROM THE CANARY ISLANDS, JUNIOR EXCHANGE STUDENT JUAN MONTABES PREPARES TO MAKE

T

hen freshman Juan Montabes is standing on a soccer pitch in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

It’s the semifinals of the league playoffs, and his team is down 3-0 in the 70th minute.

The match has been tough, one of the most challenging that season. It looks like their season may end in a shutout.

Something, however, clicks for the team. They turn the game around, scoring one, two, three, four goals in quick succession, setting the score at 4-3 with only a few minutes left to play.

As the final whistle sounds, Juan falls to his knees in complete awe. He’s never felt better on the soccer pitch.

Though it never crosses his mind in the heat of the moment, two years later, he’ll be playing his favorite sport on a foreign field more than 4,500 miles from home.

••• Montabes, now a junior exchange student, knew he would continue playing soccer when he arrived here. However, he was unsure about how he would fit into a completely new team.

“I think it’s gone pretty well,” Montabes said.

“I sometimes feel like the exchange student, if that makes sense. But I am also just a student, just one more player on the team.”

Montabes also said the style of the sport here has added a little difficulty to his transition, though he adapted quickly in the season’s first few practices.

“Soccer in Europe is kind of slow and a lot about technique and less physical or fast or strong soccer,” he said, referring to the more physical style of play at this age in the U.S. Varsity soccer head coach Corindo Martin is very pleased with the way Montabes has adapted to the new style and how he has meshed with the team.

“So far, Juan’s been great,” he said. “Certainly, when you watch him play, he has a style that’s very much his own. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity for him to play with us.”

Martin has had the opportunity to coach multiple exchange students in recent years, and he feels

allowing the students to participate in sports only enriches their experiences.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Martin said, “regardless of the ability and quality of the player, we always want him to participate in athletics. I think that’s an important part of his school life,” Athletic Director Mark Sullivan agrees with Martin, and he also feels having them play helps them to become even more ingrained in the community.

“The commonality with all of it is that they’re a member of a team,” Sullivan said, “and as a member of a team, those kids have bonded in a team that they might not have elsewhere.”

Martin said one of the things he notices with players from other countries on his team is how easily they fit in, no matter the skill level.

“Our boys tend to be very protective of our

exchange students, kind of take them under their wings and make sure that they’re enjoying themselves,” he said, “but on top of that is their personality and how well they fit. Some of them are a little bit quieter, but some of the boys are rather outgoing and very open.”

Sullivan doesn’t see any disadvantage to having exchange students play, in part to the approach coaches take when crafting teams.

“We [coaches] want to include them if they want to play,” Sullivan said, “but we don’t necessarily want that kid to take the place of another kid who might have played on our teams for several years. So we, if you will, add an extra spot for that kid, rather than keeping our roster the same size, which would then eliminate another kid.”

Sullivan has seen players of all different calibers come to the school and participate in various sports, but he is pleased that the program has been able to accommodate them and simply make their time here more fun.

“Athletically speaking, we’ve had kids that come in, are quite good and are major contributors to success in terms of wins and losses,” Sullivan said. “We’ve also had kids that come in and just fit in and are just a guy on a team. Then we’ve also had guys who are trying something for the very first time, and it’s a great experience.”

Montabes is already enjoying the young season, not only because of the intrinsic nature of soccer as a sport, but also because of how quickly and easily the team has come together.

“Soccer is a very easy game to have fun with, so we’re just having fun playing soccer,” Montabes said. “For example, the pre-preseason. We all met without the coaches, and I think that made a lot of bonds because we were able to play together a lot.”

As for his goals for the season, Montabes just hopes to contribute positively to the team and help them to a strong finish at SPC in February.

“I would like to score one or two goals, have good, solid games,” Montabes said. “That’s about it.”

SEA TO SEA The soccer team gathers around Juan and his Spanish flag. Team members include William Haga, Owen Berger, Cal Rushton, Gordon Gunn, Scott Smythe, Teddy Koudelka, Grant Brooks, Corday Cruz, Juan Montabes, Jake Vaughn, Nolan Jenevein, Hyer Thomas, Kabeer Singh, Arjun Singh, Matt Power, Seth Weprin, Leo Weiser, Jeremy Kerber.

STORY PARKER DAVIS, JAHAZIEL LOPEZ PHOTOS KABEER SINGH

Math instructor Davis runs New York City Marathon Valerie Davis: I took up running about four years ago and started getting into half marathons and did my first full marathon in 2014, but New York is New York. It’s the biggest marathon around, there’s 50,000 people that run it.

I have a little sister who got me into running, and she was running in it this year for her 14th time. It’s a little tricky to get into, so I got chosen to be in it through a lottery. So, I did it to see if I could do it and to experience New York.

CP: How many marathons have you run in?

VD: This marathon was my fifth this year. It was my eighth total, either a marathon or longer. This summer I did a 50K. It was in Fort Worth, and it was miserable. It

started at midnight.

CP: How did you train for the New York Marathon?

VD: I followed an actual training program that was online that each day told me what I needed to do. It was the first time I’ve actually followed one pretty close, and it would tell me, for example, to run four miles today.

On the weekends, I’d always run a longer run, so it started out with 12 miles on Saturday, and then slowly built up with a couple of 20 miles.

CP: What were your goals going into the marathon?

VD: My whole goal was just to have fun. I’m not fast. I would love to be faster. I have goals in the future to do that, but this one was just to have fun and not worry about anything but just enjoying it. I didn’t want to

have to keep my head down and ignore everything. I just wanted to run with my sister.

CP: What was the experience of running in the marathon like?

VD: It was fantastic. This one was the best one I’ve ever had, not time wise, but it was the best.

When you hit 20 miles, typically the wheels come off and you just don’t want to be here anymore.

This time I didn’t have that. I was just like ‘Okay, it’s 20, I feel great’. We had friends along the course. That was what made New York so much different [because] not only were there 50,000 runners, but there were thousands and thousands of people on the side of the road.

There was rarely a time when you were not surrounded by people with signs cheering you on.

This [marathon] felt great.

CP: Do you think you will try to

run in the New York Marathon again?

VD: I would love to, but I will probably hold off because there are so many other ones that I would love to do. Chicago is supposed to be a really good one to do, and it’s around that same time. There’s a lot I would love to do before I do New York again.

CP: What are some of your future goals in running?

VD: I would love to get faster.

Oddly enough, the more marathons I’ve done, the slower I’ve gotten, which seems weird. I used to be able to do my half marathons a lot faster, and I haven’t because I’ve been doing so much more long running and I’m tired.

I’m doing the Houston Marathon in January and I’m hoping in that one I can get a little faster. It’s supposed to be a good course to get a little faster with.

PHOTO COURTESY VALERIE DAVIS

Connor Pierce: What inspired you to run in the New York Marathon?

26.2 Jogging through the streets of New York City, math instructor Valerie Davis completes her fifth marathon of the year.

SPORTS

| December 15, 2016 |sports| THE REMARKER |

29

JUAN MONTABES SOCCER

|THE REMARKER |sports| December 15, 2016 |

30

Guiler to take over as golf head coach

by Nick Walsh ead basketball coach Greg Guiler has been named the golf coach for the upcoming season, taking over for Director of Admission & Financial Aid David Baker.

While Guiler understands the adjustments that come with coaching a new sport are difficult, he is thankful to have Baker as a resource throughout the process.

“Mr. Baker has been awesome and really helped me with the transition,” Guiler said. “I’m super grateful for his contributions and excited for the season.”

Guiler is especially excited to experience the contrast between golf

H

and basketball.

“They are two very different sports,” Guiler said, “so I think it will be a nice change for me. I’ve coached baseball all these years and I’ve liked that change of pace, so I think that’s one of the things that excites me about transitioning over to golf. Yes, it’s a team sport in terms of scoring, but you don’t learn as much chemistry and cohesion and camaraderie because of the way you play doesn’t affect the way somebody else plays like it would in basketball.”

Guiler thinks that basketball and golf require similar mentalities and believes some of his basketball teachings can translate to golf.

“I tell my basketball players all the time that great shooters are able to put the last shot behind them,” Guiler said, “and I feel the same way with golf. You’ve got to stay in the moment and you have to think that all you have is the next shot. What a great illustration for life golf is, in that you have to get past that last mistake, or that last success, and move on to the next repetition and do it to the best of your ability.”

Along with his philosophies, Guiler’s approach to the golf team will be similar to that of the basketball team.

“My goals for the golf team are the same as for basketball,” Guiler

said, “make boys into men. I think the platform is a different one because the way you play doesn’t affect the way somebody else plays like it would in basketball, but in golf there’s still a responsibility for each person to put full effort, make themselves better and ultimately help the team grow.”

While taking over as the coach for a new sport is intimidating, Guiler feels he is ready to take on the new challenges that he will face.

“I’m certainly no golf expert,” Guiler said. “I’ve got a lot to learn, but I really enjoy the game. This is a terrific team that I get to inherit, so I’m excited to coach those guys and I think we’ll have a lot of fun this year.”

JOE MILLIET SUPERFAN

from

desk to bleachers

HE DOESN’T COACH ANY SPORT HERE, BUT THAT DOESN’T STOP MATH DEPARTMENT CHAIR JOE MILLIET FROM ATTENDING MORE SPORTING EVENTS THAN NEARLY ANYONE ELSE ON CAMPUS — BOTH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.

READY TO CHEER Milliet stands in his classroom decked out in school attire, ready to go cheer on a team in their match.

Connor Pierce and Josh Daniels: How long have you been going to school sporting events, concerts and other events that take place here?

Joe Milliet: Since my first year at St. Mark’s, which was 2000-2001. So, since this is my 17th year here, that’s how many years I’ve been doing it.

CP: Why did you decide to start going to so many events?

JM: I wanted to have a relationship with my students outside of the classroom.

I find that if I go to support them when they do the things they love like athletics, plays or other events then they also have a greater interest in what’s going on in the classroom as I teach them something I love, and I hope they come to enjoy it.

JD: On average, how many events a week to you go to?

JM: Depends, normally around three to four. It depends on the trimester. In the fall we only have three sports. Winter has four sports, so it’s more likely to have multiple games during the week.

In the spring there’s around six to seven sports and there’s lots of events, so it just depends on the trimester.

CP: What are some of your favorite events to attend?

JM: Well, I always like the championships.

SPORTS

I drove down to Austin for fall SPC this year. I always go down to Houston for winter SPC. Spring SPC tends to be up here in the Dallas Fort Worth area, so I definitely enjoy those. I really don’t have a favorite sport. People are always asking me that, but I like all the sports, so it’s not that I favor one over the other. I enjoy all the sports that we play here.

CP: Do you have any particularly memorable experiences from your time supporting St. Mark’s?

JM: In particular, there are certain championships that I think have just been absolutely fantastic. For example, in the spring of 2009, I thought it was memorable when we won the SPC baseball championship with Tom Adams last year here as coach. It had rained on Friday, so they had to play all three games on Saturday.

We won the first one handily, but in the second two we were down by eight to 10 runs in both games and came back and won them both and won the championship. People were going crazy because it was Tom Adams’s last year, so as the day went on the alumni started passing the word. So all the St. Mark’s alumni in Dallas were taking off and coming [to the game] and just going nuts for Tom to win the championship in his final year after 43 years coaching at this school.

JD: What would you say has been the most unexpected moment you’ve wit-

nessed at a school event, especially a game?

JM: It might have been Danny Koudelka ‘13’s kick from beyond midfield. He just launched a shot at the goal. He put a lot of arc on it, and the goalkeeper thought he could wait for it to bounce, but he was too far out and it bounced over his head and went right in the goal.

It was a great goal. I remember how excited Danny was. Those kinds of things are fun because they are totally unexpected.

CP: What do the athletes and performers think of you attending so many of their events?

JM: They are always very grateful. When they see me in the hall, they say thanks for coming to the game. And I do appreciate that. I notice sometimes they’ll look up in the stands, see me and say hey, which is fun. I am glad that they notice I am there.

I do it because I enjoy it. It’s not a sacrifice. I love two things. I love to go to sporting events, and I love to drive. So, it doesn’t matter to me that a game is way over in Fort Worth or way down in Austin, but I do think they notice when I’m there and I am grateful for that.

JD: Is there anything else you want to say?

STORY JOSH DANIELS, CONNOR PIERCE PHOTO MATEO DIAZ

JM: Only that I feel like I’m the one who gets the greatest benefit. I do think it’s important to say that I always get to be proud because our students are such good sports on the field, on the court or wherever it is.

They are good sports, and our fans are good fans, so I don’t have to ever feel embarrassed by my students because they are going to be great sports and the fans are going to be great. So, I am lucky to teach at St. Mark’s because [being great sports and fans] is important.

THE NUMBERS

17

how many years Milliet has been a faculty member

the number of miles on MillIiet’s Jeep

75%

of those miles put on the car traveling to St. Mark’s sporting events in Texas and Oklahoma

Getting into

gear

Swimming looks to win nine in row

WINTER SPORTS ARE NOW IN FULL SWING, WITH ALL TEAMS LOOKING TO GAIN A STRONG POSITION IN SPC STANDINGS BEFORE THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETITIONS IN FEBRUARY.

soccer

THEY SAID IT Senior captain Easton Honaker: “Our expectation is to make the best of every opportunity we get, whether that be pushing yourself on that last 25 yards or working out on your own. We want to push ourselves to break our personal records and win. To be successful, the team will have to push itself to the limit. Every set in every practice counts and adds toward the goal.”

RECORD: 4-3-0 SPC RECORD: FIRST GAME JAN. 6 THEY SAID IT Head coach Corindo Martin: “I think we have some good chemistry, we have some boys who, on their own initiative, will work during the summer and the fall here, where they will just get together and play pickup games. I think that’s wonderful initiative. So my question is can we channel that positive energy into working as a team.”

INTERESTING FACT St. Mark’s is looking to win its ninth straight SPC title this season.

TEAM GOAL Give younger swimmers the opportunity to make a big contribution to the team in each meet.

Soccer off to a quick start

QUICK FEET Junior Cal Rushton passes the ball to junior Arjun Singh during a game against ESD Dec. 1.

INTERESTING FACT The team this year will have 13 seniors, the highest number in Martin’s time here. The team will also be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in the conference.

swimming

wrestling BUTTERFLY Junior Alan Jiang nears a turn while competing in a butterfly event at a meet on Dec. 1 in the Ralph B. Rogers Natatorium.

basketball

Basketball off to strong start after top three finish last year

TAKEDOWN Staring down his opponent, sophomore Colin Neuhoff takes second place in his weight class.

Wrestling excels in first tournament BEST FINISHES Will Wood—2nd, Eli Ware—4th, Colin Neuhoff—2nd, Tucker Ribman—2nd THEY SAID IT Junior Will Wood: “Although we have a smaller team, we have used our size to our advantage, getting the most out of each other in practice.”

NOTABLE The wrestling team is competing with only seven wrestlers on their varsity roster, the lowest number in years.

RECORD: 8-5 SPC RECORD: FIRST GAME JAN. 6 THEY SAID IT Head coach Greg Guiler: “From a basketball standpoint, yes we would love to win an SPC championship. Yes we’d love to win a lot of games, but I don’t want us to just focus on the prize. I want us to love that process. The process is the prize.”

NOTABLE Instead of having a freshman, JV and varsity team, there will now be a JV blue, JV gold and varsity team, allowing for easier movement of players between the three. This provides underclassmen with the opportunity to stand out and make a difference.

NOTABLE Freshman Andrew Laczkowski is the only freshman currently on the varsity team.

FINISHING THEIR CAREER James Hancock, Will Ingram, Fabian Reyher, Michael Wang

CHARGING IN Junior Garrett Mize drives to the basket in the first half of a Dec. 9 game against Shelton.

COMPILATIONS CONNOR PIERCE, NICK WALSH, PARKER DAVIS, MIKE MAHOWALD

SPORTS

| December 15, 2016 |sports| THE REMARKER |

31

WINTER SPORTS UPDATES

READY TO RACE Led by senior captain Easton Honaker, swim team members catapult themselves in to the water for their first meet of the Winter season on Dec. 1 in the Ralph B. Rogers Natatorium.

“After eight in a row, it would mean a lot to bring another SPC trophy home for coach [Mihai] Oprea,” senior Easton Honaker said.

SPC will be held the weekend of Feb. 11.

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS

10600 PRESTON ROAD DALLAS, TX. 75230

THE REMARKER THE BACK SPORTS PAGE THE REMARKER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016 PAGE 32

Running down a DREAM

WATER BOTTLE Hydration is key. period.

To running. To life. To everything. With the superior squirtability of his signature turquoise water bottle, we don’t doubt Mujin excelled.

AFTER MONTHS OF PREPARATION AND GRUELING 20 MILE RUNS, SOPHOMORE MUJIN KWUN ACHIEVED HIS DREAM OF RUNNING A MARATHON LAST SUNDAY.

RUNNING SHOES Nike’s motto is ‘Just Do it.’

And rest assured, with these babies on, Mujin can indeed ‘do it.’

Rett Daugbjerg: How did you get into running, and when did you decide you wanted to run a marathon?

DEODORANT The legendary fragrance of Dove’s Dove Men + Care cool fresh scent is irresistible. Its 48 hour sweat free guarantee leaves Mujin enough time for eight marathons.

Mujin Kwun: I started running because my dad runs a lot, and he’s going to run this marathon with me and he persuaded me to run with him.

RD: How did you decide to run the marathon?

MK: I just thought it’d be fun to run with him.

I’d never run in one before because it was pretty hard.

RD: What is your training regiment like?

MK: I didn’t have very much time because of school, so I ran with the cross country team.

But when cross country ended I started running with my dad. He has a training group he runs with to get ready for it.

NYLON SHIRT Nylon’s sweat wicking capablities are unprecedented. This key innovation in textile manufacturing has led to a near zero percent chafing rate.

RD: How far do you run, on average, a day?

MK: Now that cross country has ended I haven’t been running as much, but on Tuesdays I run ten or 11 miles and on Saturdays we do long runs, which are anywhere between 18 to 20 miles.

RD: How much have you improved since you started training?

name of race

BMW Dallas Marathon

MK: I ran a half marathon in March and another one a few weeks ago, and my timing improved by around 30 minutes.

date

Dec. 11 2016 number of miles in a marathon

RD: Why do you like to run?

26.2

MK: I originally liked running because I got to spend time with my dad even though it’s kinda hard. Now I think running gives me the opportunity to relax and just kinda think.

Kwun’s finishing time

04:11:32

RD: What are you most excited about for the marathon?

average dallas marathon finishing time

04:38:03

MK: Running in it is going to be pretty difficult, but after it I bet I’ll be pretty happy with being able to tell people I ran a marathon.

SPORTS

number of finishers

2,747

STORY RETT DAUGBJERG PHOTOS OWEN BERGER