The ReMarker | February 2019

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

remarker

VOLUME 65, NUMBER 4 FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Joe Milliet named to Master Teaching Chair

by Aaron Thorne fter 12 years as the Mathematics Department chair, Joe Milliet was appointed to the position of the Patrick and Suzanne McGee Family Master Teaching Chair in Mathematics, filling the position of J.T. Sutcliffe, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

Rather than conducting a nationwide search to hire a Master Teaching Chair replacement for Sutcliffe, Headmaster David Dini and Associate Headmaster John Ashton selected Milliet to fill the position. “[Dini and Ashton] formally called me in fall of this year when Ms. Sutcliffe made it formal and turned in a formal notice of retirement,” Milliet said. “They called a faculty meeting and announced it to the faculty in December.

Then it got released online in January. I didn’t go through a big application or anything like that.”

A

Joe Milliet

named Master Teacher

SERVE Marksmen from all walks of life are called to serve • Pages 18-19.

STORY Lyle Ochs, Sam Goldfarb, Ishan Gupta ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

When Milliet became department chair 12 years ago, he began to campaign for the addition of a Master Teaching Chair in Mathematics.

“There were master teaching chair positions in other departments dedicated to the department, but there was not a master teaching chair dedicated just to mathematics,” Milliet said. “Just a couple years into my time, the McGees, who I taught both sons who went here, donated the money and endowed the fund for the Master Teaching Chair in Mathematics. I was really happy that we finally had a Master Teaching Chair.

Milliet, who has written national math exams, done 24 years of conferences and summer institutes and worked two day institutes for AP courses all across the country, will have more time freed up to focus his efforts on 10600 Preston Rd. Milliet is excited about the switch from department chair to master teaching chair because it allows him up to do two things he really enjoys to do as a math instructor.

“One is getting to spend more time with students — that makes me really happy.

The other is to focus on the art of teaching,” Milliet said.

“Both of those things will be so pleasant to just do that and not be in a hurry to write a test and not be in a hurry to do this or that. I will have some time on my hands.”

agenda

2

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Inside 3 Issues

Evaluating Dallas’s curfew law for minors, 3 Personal projects in community service, 4 Colin Igoe taking over as head of Upper School, 5

A long forgotten curriculum choice for seniors, 7 Boy Scouts beginning to accept girls, 6 Students are taking passions to another level, 9

10 Discoveries

AI: it’s here. What does that mean for us? 10 A look at the school’s new planetarium, 11

12 10600

Long a staple on campus, a chess grandmaster, 12 A beloved teacher, mentor and friend: Ike Crews, 13 Senior Owen Ditore is prepping to take flight, 14

NEW ERA As the audience looks on, Steve Winn ’64 gives a speech at the opening of the Winn Science Center Jan. 9. The Winn Family Foundation gave $12 million to spearhead the planning and construction of the Winn Science Center.

Kamal Mamdani photo

A tradition, Lower School screen free week, 6

‘

A former student making waves with a podcast, 15 Talking with Glenn Mai ’83, a former FBI agent, 16 Turning the clock back to the days of KRSM, 17

—SENIOR JONAH SIMON, IKE CREWS’S LITTLE BUDDY STORY ON PAGE 13

What happened to a public service career?, 18-19

21 Diversions

The best move for Valentine’s Day, 21

22 Culture

An alumnus in the literary world, 22 Due Tomorrow, Do Tomorrow, 23 Movie buffs’ picks for this year’s Oscars, 24 Physics instructor Stephen Houpt’s album, 25

26 Opinions

Buzz: the best slices from around town, 26 Editorial: pool in dire need of repairs, 27

White: hiking, seven years later, 29

30

Sports

Are St. Mark’s sports worth the time? 30 Reviewing some of the classic sports games, 31 Photostory: the winter fan blizzard, 32 Fathers and sons playing Lions sports, 33 A sophomore is taking to the ice with seniors, 34 An update on the winter sports season, 35

36

Back page

Sophomore Jack Palmer’s love for the ocean, 36

At a glance: Spring play auditions What

Students will have an opportunity to read for various roles in the spring play Much Ado About Nothing.

When

Feb. 11-14 at 4 p.m.

Where

The Black Box.

In brief

Freshman Wil Shoop is training furry friends, 20

Mamdani: support after rejection, 28

The first time I met him, I mentioned offhand that I liked Indiana Jones. For Christmas, he got me an Indiana Jones LEGO set. I remember just about bursting into tears of joy. He was just always thoughtful like that.

Winter Weekend Students will have two extra days off from school during the winter weekend break Feb. 15-18.

While varsity athletes will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for winter SPC Feb. 14-16, the rest of the Upper and Middle Schools will be able to spend the four day weekend catching up on work and rest.

ARTS NEWS > SENIOR WINS POETRY OUT LOUD COMPETITION Senior Michael Lukowicz will be representing the school at the Texas Poetry Out Loud competition Feb. 23 after winning the school’s Poetry Out Loud competition hosted by senior Jonah Simon and English instructor Geoffrey Stanbury.

Lukowicz will be performing “Undivided Attention” by Taylor Mali, “The Light of Stars” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and “Snow Day”

by Billy Collins at the Austin competition, which will be hosted by PalestinianAmerican poet Naomi Shihab Nye at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. > BAND, CHOIR, ORCHESTRA MEMBERS GO TO ALL-STATE Students from choir, band and orchestra entered All-State for the Texas Private School Music Educator’s Association.

Students in choir were required to practice two songs by themselves before recording their solos and submitting them to TPSMEA. Junior Camp Collins is the currently the best in the state for choir. All-State took place Jan. 24-26. > SENIORS WIN NATIONAL ARTS COMPETITION Out of the 710 winners nationwide, six seniors were named as winners for the 2019 Young Arts competitions in late November.

Chase Honaker and Adnan Khan were merit winners for photography, and Charlie Hubbard was a merit winner for design arts. Finally, Kyle Smith was a finalist for photography along with Davis Yoo and Blake Rogers for design arts.

Along with possible cash prizes, winners gain access to a variety of educational programs related to their fields in locations such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami. > LOWER SCHOOL ARTS EVENING TO TAKE PLACE Third-graders showcase some of their artwork at their

annual Fine Arts Evening Feb. 26. The evening will consist of a musical entitled “Joust” in the Decherd Performance Hall, an art display in the Lower School and a showcase featuring hand-built ceramics pieces. > CHOIR PREPARES FOR EVENSONG THIS MONTH The next Evensong will be held March 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the chapel. The choir will be performing songs including “O Radiant Light,” “The Call” and “Magnificat.” Choirmaster Tinsley Silcox will be conducting, and junior Camp Collins will be the presentor, singing to the choir and the choir responding.

GENERAL NEWS > STUDENTS TAKE NATIONAL MATH TEST Approximately 130 students in honors mathematics courses took the American Mathematics Competition (AMC), a nationwide contest to select competitors for the Math Olympiad team for the USA, Feb. 7. If students made qualifying scores they will be eligible for a second-level test, the American International Math Exam (AIME).

If students do well on the AIME, they get to try out for the country’s math Olympiad team by taking the United States of America Math Olympiad Contest (USAMO).

Sophomores and below took the AMC 10, while juniors and seniors took the AMC 12. > EIGHTH GRADE RETURNS FROM ANNUAL CAMPOUT Eighth-graders completed their final Wilderness Program trip before Pecos.

Buses left for the eighthgrade campout Feb. 6 and returned to school Feb. 8.

The buses traveled to Cross Timbers Trail on the south shore of Lake Texoma.

Each group consisted of approximately ten students with a faculty leader and Upper School student sherpas. > COLLEGE DEANS SPEAK TO STUDENTS, PARENTS College deans from Johns Hopkins University, Georgia

Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin held a panel for sophomores and juniors Jan. 29 at 3:10 p.m.

This event, which took place in Decherd Hall, aimed to give students and parents insight into the college admissions process before they begin applications. Topics included admissions trends, strategies for applications and how to make the most of summer opportunities.

SPORTS NEWS > BASKETBALL TEAM COMPETES IN TOURNAMENT The Lions basketball team took home some hardware after placing second of 32 Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplexbased teams at the 53rd annual DISD Coca-Cola Holiday Invitational basketball tournament Dec. 27-29.

The team defeated North Dallas, Frisco Liberty, UIL 4A state runner-up Dallas Carter and the state’s 11th-ranked team in DeSoto before losing to second-ranked 5A team Lancaster in the finals.

Sophomore Harrison Ingram and junior Andrew Laczkowski were named to the alltournament team. > ALUM EARNS SPOT ON DUKE BASEBALL TEAM Jimmy Rodriguez ‘18 has taken his athletic passion to the next level after walking on to the Duke baseball team. Rodriguez, who was a three-year varsity member for the Lions, made the D1 team in only his second week at the school. Rodriguez looks forward to contributing to the 14th-ranked Duke squad this spring with their first home game being held Feb. 15 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park vs Lehigh University. > JUNIOR SCORES 1000TH POINT FOR THE SCHOOL Junior basketball player Andrew Laczkowski scored his 1000th point in his varsity career Nov. 19, 2018 against South Oak Cliff High School.

Laczkowski’s milestone was made public at halftime of the Lions’ home game against

Heritage Christian Academy Jan. 11, when Laczkowski’s teammates, coaches and family got together to present Laczkowski with the game ball.

After making the varsity squad as a freshman, Laczkowski has been a starter for the team ever since. He has also led the team in scoring the last two years. > SWIM TEAM ON HOT STREAK AFTER VICTORIES After a 137-28 beatdown of Cistercian in early December, the swim team has stayed hot, winning three of its six meets.

Though the swim team lost in a close 87-89 match against Highland Park Jan. 15, it would have won if not for Highland Park’s lone diver, who gave them six extra points, just enough to win by two. > JV SPORTS TEAMS ROLL THROUGH WINTER SEASON Though winter JV sports are beginning to wind down, players continue to gain crucial experience.

The JV soccer squad, led by head coach Joel Reemstma, has enjoyed success to start the season. The team currently sits at 2-1-1 with wins over Trinity Valley and the Home School Athletic Association, also with a tie against Cistercian. Meanwhile, the JV basketball squad, comprised mostly of sophomores and coached by Ryan Hershner, has endured a rough start to the season. The team fell short in each of its first six games to opponents including large public schools Plano East and Bryan Adams. > QUIZ BOWL PLACES FIRST AT HOME COMPETITION The lions quiz bowl team went 10-0 at the St. Mark’s Invitational Quiz Bowl Tournament, hosted here Feb. 2.

The team, made of seniors Connor Pierce and Noah Carr and Sophomores Aayush Goodapaty and Ned Tagtmeier, placed first out of 16 teams competing. This year’s tournament is a step up from last year’s St. Mark’s Invitational, in which the lions went 9-2 and placed second.

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

issues

3

JUVENILE ORDINANCE

Canceling the curfew A rarely enforced curfew in Dallas affecting anybody younger than 17 recently expired. Now, the future of the city’s youth holds uncertain.

H

e flips the hood up on his sweatshirt as he continues his walk home. Raindrops begin splashing around him as he carefully plans his next step. The Timex watch on his left wrist beeps, indicating that it’s midnight.

Suddenly, the familiar wailing of a police siren pierces the stillness of the night. He worriedly looks back to see flashing red, white and blue lights pulling up next to him.

The cop rolls down the window of his car.

Sir, if you’re under 18, you’re violating the city curfew.

••• According to Dallas City Council member Philip Kingston, who has represented District 14 in City Hall since 2013, the Dallas Juvenile Curfew Ordinance, passed in 1991, aimed to respond to the concerns shared by many about the growing youth crime rate in the city at the time.

“It was part of an intentional strategy to criminalize the behavior of minority young people,” Kingston said. “One of the ways in which this movement tried to promote the criminalization of youth is through curfew laws.”

The ordinance, which expired Jan. 18, stated minors under the age of 17 are not allowed to be outside alone from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weeknights and from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. on weekend nights unless they were running an errand for an adult.

“I don’t want youth to have interactions with police unless there’s a crime being committed. Simply being on the street after a certain hour is protected by both the Fourth and the First Amendment. There is no age limit on the First Amendment right to peaceful assembly.”

— councilman PHILIP KINGSTON

Kingston believes the law could have been be used by police officers to overstep the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures done without a warrant, and to ignore the standard of “reasonable suspicion” regarding

crimes.

The Terry v. Ohio Supreme Court case in 1968 offered an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement provided a police officer has a reasonable suspicion that a person has committed, is committing or intends to commit a crime.

“Curfew laws turn that on its head,” Kingston said. “It takes away any need for reasonable suspicion because it’s not reasonable suspicion that a crime is occurring. It’s reasonable suspicion that you’re under 18.”

Kingston believes it’s unrealistic to expect a curfew law to be enforced fairly. According to him, over 70 percent of people who receive curfew tickets are Latino, and the rest are mainly African American. He claims a higher number of curfew citations occur in West Dallas and South Dallas neighborhoods, which are predominantly made up of minorities.

“It only gets applied to people who are on the street,” Kingston said, “and typically youth who are on the street have nowhere else to go, and they’re typically black and brown. There are hardly any tickets being written to white people.”

Although junior Obaid Akbar, a resident of Northeast Dallas, has never encountered the city curfew law personally, he does recall a member of his community sharing his experience with him.

“A kid from my mosque said he was out late and got stopped for that,” Akbar said. “He said there was a curfew. I didn’t actually know until he mentioned it, so that was the first time I heard about it.”

Akbar believes there’s an advantage to the law if it’s properly enforced.

“It might be helpful in the situations where the kids don’t have anything to do outside, like they don’t have to run an errand,” Akbar said. “It just keeps the kids off the street at times they shouldn’t be there. I know some kids who go out at night and do trouble, but if they have a reason to be out there then it’s good.”

Even if the law is enforced fairly, Kingston asserts curfew laws are uncon-

Number of citations by district (2018)

zero to 20 citations 20 to 40 citations over 100 citations source: Dallas City Hall

OUT AT NIGHT According to the expired ordinance, each offense of the curfew was punishable by up to a $500 fine. Minors did not infringe curfew hours if they were with a parent or guardian, involved in an emergency or going to or returning from work.

stitutional by nature.

However, Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata believes the law helps ensure juvenile safety.

“It’s not about them being criminals,” Mata said to Philip Fox 4 News. “It’s Kingsabout them being ton Councilcrime victims. This man allows us to make the child go home to where his parents are probably asleep and don’t even know he’s out. It prevented that same kid from possibly getting shot in the street.”

The curfew law expires every three years, so when the law was set to be renewed in early 2016, Kingston began researching to try to understand why the city has a curfew law.

“I published all the studies to my colleagues, told them all about how this stuff doesn’t work,” Kingston said. “It’s been proven over and over again to be completely ineffective for protecting society or children.”

After the law expired Jan. 18, city council members, with advice from the Dallas Police Department, have been discussing a potential new law in which violators of the curfew receive a V-citation, which summons them to a community-driven civil court as opposed to a criminal one.

However, Kingston believes any curfew law promotes a cycle in which minors join the criminal system at a young age and cannot extricate themselves from it.

“This is really an assault on the rights of young people, and it teaches interactions

with authority that I think are extremely damaging,” Kingston said. “It teaches kids not to demand their rights, and it teaches cops not to respect kids’ rights.”

Kingston maintains there are better alternatives than a curfew law to reduce the rate of youth crime, including initiatives such as after-school programs for low income youth and an increase in funding for a police unit against gangs. “[Curfews] are literally useless from public safety standpoint,” Kingston said.

“If there are youths committing crimes, then there are ways to fight that, but the curfew is not one of those tools that is effective.”

Going forward, City Hall will authorize public hearings to discuss reinstating the curfew law, and Kingston plans to continue his strong advocacy against it.

“I’m bringing as many advocates as I can into those meetings to say we don’t need this,” Kingston said. “No more curfew. It’ll be an interesting dynamic to see how the council reacts.”

Kingston can also see the city potentially agreeing to the V-citation stipulation, which he believes is better than the original law, even if it’s not ideal.

Despite many being in favor of the curfew, Kingston feels strongly that there’s no need for one because he hasn’t seen any statistics supporting the law.

“I’ve been asking and asking and asking and saying, ‘Look, if you’re so sure this is a useful policing tool, prove it,’” Kingston said. “‘Show me data, show me how this reduces crime, show me how this protects children, show me that it reduces drug use, show me that it increases school attendance.’ There’s nothing, nothing, nothing there.”

STORY Sid Vattamreddy, Sai Thirunagari PHOTO Jerry Zhao

issues

4

TEACHING MOMENT Leading an interactive project, senior David Vallejo inspires fifth graders at Nathan Adams Elementary School about STEAM.

PERSONAL PROJECTS

Taking initiative Facing a community service deadline April 8, students have gotten creative about how they get their hours.

F

ifteen hours of service in 32 weeks.

From building houses in West Dallas to tutoring students at Gooch Elementary, Marksmen have a variety of ways to complete their community service requirements and pursue the National President’s Service Award.

But an increasing number of Marksmen are choosing a different path.

With a deadline facing all 392 Upper School students at the end of the school year, most students go to the service tracking platform, x2vol.com, to fulfill their annual service obligations necessary to graduate.

The community service board and faculty use the website to post opportunities and allow students to connect with institutions from their computers.

While the majority of Marksmen sign up for the opportunities posted on x2vol, some students choose to do personal projects. This option gives students a chance to serve the community in ways not posted on x2vol and still get their hours approved towards their required 15 hours or any larger goal they might have.

While posted opportunities are a guaranteed way to earn hours, personal projects require approval from the Community Service Board in order to be counted. Most personal projects end up being approved, but some are denied.

“We’re pretty relaxed with the approval stamp, but I’d be lying if I said we’ve never rejected any claims,” Community Service Board co-chair Richard Shen said. “As far as parameters go, I don’t know of any set rulebook, but maybe there should be, since personal projects are becoming more and more popular.”

A few guidelines have been put in place for personal projects.

“Students will not receive community service credit for any type of service at a private camp, church, synagogue or mosque — that type of thing,” Assistant Director of Community Service Isabel Toledo said. “The word is community service. What type of service are you providing for the community outside of your own?”

Despite having to manage certain restrictions, students can still benefit from the

STORY Henry McElhaney, Robert Pou PHOTO Courtesy David Vallejo

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

advantages of a personal project.

“The great thing about personal projects is the incredible flexibility of going beyond what St. Mark’s has to offer,” Shen said. “For example, we have orchestra guys playing music at hospitals, wood and metal guys building and donating furniture and budding scientists conducting experiments at elementary schools.”

Personal projects are not set into specific time slots like projects on x2vol, which can be beneficial for busy students.

“It really is something I can do on my own time and my own schedule,” senior David Vallejo said.

Vallejo earned 260 hours over the summer through one personal project. He’s added a majority of those hours during the school year through an organization he co-founded, STEAM Army. Through the organization, Vallejo and other Marksmen teach kids at Nathan Adams Elementary School through STEAM-related activities.

“I wanted a project that I could invest all my time into, and it would really be a big part

of my time here at St. Mark’s,” Vallejo said.

Before beginning a continuous personal project, Vallejo believes it’s best to get approval first. One-time personal projects can be approved afterwards, but for recurring projects, he recommends talking to someone on the Community Service Board.

“I say if you want to make a personal project, check with [Director of Community Service Jorge] Correa before you go out and do it,” Vallejo said. “Especially if you want it to be long-term.”

Whether they are recurring or just onetime activities, personal projects are a way for Marksmen to reach out to institutions and organizations in need that the school hasn’t yet posted opportunities for on x2vol.

“Find an area in community service that appeals to you and that works for you,” Vallejo said. “And if you feel like you could find a way to give back to your community in a better way that isn’t immediately available to you on x2vol, make a personal project and talk to Señor Correa. They’re excited about people starting their own initiatives for community service and go through with it.”

issues

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

5

ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENT

Upper School head named Recently-selected, Colin Igoe and family will join the community in the 2019-2020 school year.

W

orking for an insurance company might seem like an unlikely path leading to a key administrative post here, but that’s exactly the path taken by Colin Igoe, the newly-appointed Upper School head.

Igoe, currently the dean of faculty at Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA, was announced as the new Upper School head Jan. 14.

Igoe’s experience at the Philadelphia Insurance Company was short-lived, as he became dissatisfied with the work there and attended a hiring fair at the Westin Hotel in Boston. There, he waited for a potential opportunity with Carney Sandoe, a large independent school recruiting firm.

Receiving only one interview, Igoe realized he needed to broaden his search, so he extended his possibilities to international positions, which led him to a position in Thailand, before moving back to the states.

Back in the U.S., he quickly moved up the leadership ranks at Lawrence.

And now having held a variety of leadership opportunities in the past, Igoe will assume the head of Upper School position here next year.

••• Assuming his young age­correlates to a lack of experience in teaching and administration would be a grave misconception. At Lawrence, he instructed English, coached boys’ varsity soccer and was dean of faculty for eight years. Prior to being

hired at the school, he earned two masters degrees and earned his Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate.

“I’ve been very fortunate at the Lawrence Academy, where I work now, to have the support of our head of school and my colleagues and been given some great opportunities to grow and take on leadership there,” Igoe said. “I felt like it was a time in my journey to start looking for other opportunities.”

Before he knew he wanted to become an English instructor, Igoe pursued a different path in college.

“I thought that when I graduated high school I was going to go into broadcast journalism,” Igoe said. “My original major right out of college was communications, and I wanted to be a sports journalist and sports broadcaster.

I transferred to Wheaton College (in Illinois) for undergrad, and I just loved my English classes. That was where [my] passion was really.”

After not finding any teaching opportunities in the states, Igoe taught English as a second language at the Ayutthayanusorn School in Thailand, specifically to students

LOOSENING UP HIS TIE With just a few months until he joins the school as the new head of Upper School, Igoe opens up about the life he’s leaving behind in Massachusetts.

learning English as a second language.

“I went abroad and taught,” Igoe said, “and that proved to be actually one of the most formative experiences in my life. I wanted a job in the United States, and I didn’t get one, so now, years later, I can look back and say, ‘Well, thank goodness that part didn’t work out.’ The path that I ended up taking has been fantastic.”

With Igoe’s most recent experiences coming from the Northeast, his transition to an all-boys, non-boarding school in Texas will mark his venture into unfamiliar territory. After hearing about the opening this past summer, he began his research.

“St. Mark’s has an incredible reputation everywhere,” Igoe said. “Even though it’s far geographically, I certainly knew of St. Mark’s and knew the strength of the program and quality education that the school has to offer. From the get-go, the more that I learned about the school, the more appealing it became. Certainly, when I came to campus, all the things that I thought were true from afar were affirmed.”

“I’m excited about Texas. Everyone keeps telling me that Texas is different.

I have yet to hear exactly how, but I’ve felt really welcoming and warm people.

I’m excited for the change.”

— Newly-appointed Upper

School head Colin Igoe

Igoe and his wife, Dr. Molly Igoe, a psychologist who plans to open a practice in Dallas, have two sons (ages four and one). Igoe says having two sons didn’t necessarily affect his choice of choosing an all-boys school, but he emphasized the school’s values might have subconsciously influenced the family’s decision.

“I can say this with 100 percent certainty: when I came to campus,” Igoe said, “and I met some boys and I met the faculty, it’s clearly a type of place I would like my boys to be. That’s what I want for my sons regardless of whether it’s an allboys school or the co-ed environment in Massachusetts.”

Igoe acknowledges the difference between his current position at the Lawrence Academy versus his soon-to-be administrative role at the school.

“So far [the position] has been on paper and in conversation,” Igoe said, “but STORY James Rogers PHOTO Rohit Vemuri

it’s totally different when you’re actually part of a school culture. I think the big differences will probably be trying to keep a focus on the bigger picture, on how all the pieces fit together in that ninth through 12th experience.”

As someone who still remembers many aspects of his high school experience, Igoe appreciates the role his alma mater, Weston High School, helped in developing him into the educator he is today.

“Some of the most important role models and mentors and teachers that I’ve had in my life are the reason that I think I’m in education,” Igoe said. “I think high school me would be surprised that I’m sitting here as the next head of Upper School at St Mark’s. I think that’s helped me to try and understand how important it is to get to know every learner because when I look at those people who played a really important role in my educational journey, they took the time to understand who I was and how to motivate me.”

Colin Igoe • Former soccer coach • Former English instructor

• Father of two boys • New Head of Upper School

• Currently dean of faculty at Lawrence Academy

The lightning round...

What is always on your nightstand...

A book.

My favorite place I’ve ever been to is... Nepal.

I’d like to relive... My wedding day.

Tex Mex or Clam Chowder? I’d pick...

Oh, come on! Clam chowder.

My favorite NFL team is... The Patriots.

But, I still... Like the Cowboys. That’s not me kissing up either, that’s genuine.

My favorite subject in high school was... English.

The most difficult subject I’ve taken is... Chemistry.

When I first stepped on campus, my first impression was... The people were engaged and had an appropriate level of seriousness.

issues

6

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

LOWER SCHOOL DEVICES

Tech for tots

Lower schoolers take a step back from technology in Screen Free Week.

TUNNEL VISION Lower Schoolers give up their devices for a week as part of the initiative to teach students how to enjoy time without technology.

O

nline virtual worlds for real life playgrounds. Video games for board games.

Kindles for paperbacks.

Two weeks ago, as a part of the Lower School’s annual Screen Free Week, students from grades one through four gave up their tablets, phones and computers.

“The week gives us a chance to get away from screens for a while,” third grader Rayhaan Rizvon said. “I think it’s good to take a step back sometimes, but some of my friends might think it’s boring.”

Lower School Head Sherri Darver sees wide participation as the most important aspect of the program.

“Because it’s an awareness piece, we are really just asking for trying to encourage 100 percent participation,” Darver said. “Every single boy that participates every day will receive some sort of a prize.”

Darver believes that Screen Free Week has allowed parents to interact with their kids in settings where screens can no longer be used as a crutch.

“Over the years, the feedback has been so positive because parents really love to force themselves to stop being on their own phones or their own iPads or their own computers and play a game or read together with their son,” Darver said.

As technology becomes more and more prevalent in the lives of all students, we sat down with the parents of Lower Schoolers to see how they manage their sons’ device usage.

Sid Vattamreddy: What devices does your son have and what does he mainly use them for?

Winnie Lee: He has access to a desktop at our house, and he has his iTouch, which was one of my old phones.

It does everything except make phone calls. Mainly he texts his friends. I guess there are some other boys that have a similar device, and so they sort of just text and communicate with each other. He also keeps in touch with his cousins. They have a big group text that they chat in. And of course he plays games. Some of them are educational, like Lumosity or Winnie Brainpop, and some of them Lee Parent are pure fun games. He tries to of fourth get as much time on his devices grader as he can.

SV: Do you restrict his device usage at all?

WL: Typically during the week, he does not have access to his iTouch. It’s really reserved mostly for the weekends. Through Apple, we can also manage screen time and set a bedtime for the device. Before, we used a filtering device called Circle, which had a similar function. We try to just put some parameters and guard rails around his device usage. When he uses a desktop, it’s downstairs, so there’s a lot of traffic going by. We can kind of hear and we’re conversing with him, so he would perceive that there’s some monitoring going on.

SV: What other rules concerning his device usage are in place?

WL: Nobody uses it at dinner. Most evenings we’re doing family dinner, and nobody’s using a device then. When we go on family vacations, most of the time we’re saying don’t even bring a device. Sometimes we’ll make an exception if it’s a long car ride or something, but other than that we’re trying to be present on vacations.

SV: What devices does your son have and what

does he use them for?

Ashlie McGill: We have a house computer that he does his homework on. He has his own iTouch and we have an iPad that he has access to. He also has an XBox to play games on and sometimes he’ll ask to use our phones to play games. On his iTouch, he has his games and his music. He loves to make playlists on Spotify.

SV: Do you restrict his device usage at all?

AM: An hour a day is kind of my mantra. I try to not overthink it because I think that sometimes people can overthink. They’re going to have to know how to use a tablet, and they have to know how to use a computer.

We try not to get too overwhelmed by it because the reality is that children are being raised around screens.

SV: Do you restrict his usage using the screen time Ashlie McGill function on ios12 on his Parent iTouch? of fourth grader AM: We don’t because we’re usually present with him. We also want him to learn how to interact with screens responsibly. I think that if we put too much emphasis on it too early, they could get really wrapped up in it. We try to just keep it casual because you do have to learn how to use technology responsibly.

SV: How important is Screen Free Week from a parent’s perspective?

AM: I’m really excited about it because we’re going to have the whole family participate. I think that my husband and I probably check our devices too much at night because we’re always trying to stay connected to work, so it’ll be nice to have the awareness of how much we’re using our screens.

STORY Sid Vattamreddy, Alam Alidina PHOTO Jerry Zhao

Alumni Association hosts first-ever Leadership Speaking Series livestream Jan. 16

by Ishan Gupta hree alumni kicked off the first ever online Alumni Leadership Speaking Series, hosted by the Alumni Association, Jan. 16 during the school day.

Focusing on the topics of finance and technology, the 45-minute livestream, which can be found on the school website, was moderated by Managing Director and Head of Financial Institutions at GreenPoint Financial Jeb Beckwith ’80 and featured Executive Vice President of the Financial Services Group of the New York Federal Reserve Richard Dzina ’81 and Director of Business Development at Uber Jeremy Downs ’96.

Beckwith, who also played a part in helping the Alumni Office create their regional clubs across the country, helped come up with the idea according to Director of Alumni Relations Alex Eshelbrenner ’04.

“The idea was, how can we create conversations that are meaningful between alumni from coast to coast?”

Eshelbrenner said. “Not just guys that are living in New York talking to guys that are in New York and [Los Angeles] guys doing the same thing. How can we merge the two to create something even more powerful?”

The solution was technology. Although they were able to bridge the physical gap through their livestream, Eshelbrenner and the alumni still faced coordination

T

challenges that could’ve prevented them from doing the Alumni Leadership Speaker Series, even at the last hour. “[Downs] had just landed in India 30 minutes before we started the program,” Eshelbrenner said. “He sent me an email a week before saying, ‘Hey, I don’t know if there’s anything we can do about this. But hopefully my flight’s not delayed.’ In my mind, his flight couldn’t be delayed because if it was, it’d throw the whole thing out of sync and we’d have to come up with an awesome plan B.” But luckily for Eshelbrenner and the Alumni Association, Downs landed on time and plan A was in action. The group not only gave advice based on their experiences, but they were also able to reminisce on the impact the school had on them during their time here.

“St. Mark’s was indisputably the most significant educational institution in my professional and personal development,” Dzina said during the livestream. “The older I get, the richer my appreciation for what transpires at 10600 Preston Rd.” Overall, Eshelbrenner views the Speaker Series as a success, and although

a specific date and topic haven’t been finalized yet, the Alumni Association plans to hold similar events in the future, hopefully three or four times a year.

“This first one was somewhat of a guinea pig, so it was exciting to see how well that went,” Eshelbrenner said. “Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and we absolutely want to continue to do more of these for our community.”

issues

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

7

SENIOR SPRING PROJECTS

The road less traveled Offered as an opportunity to seniors 20 years ago, the Spring Project allowed students to pursue a special interest off-campus.

Say what?

Comments from all around campus

A

t 8:45 in the morning, the chapel bells ring and students hastily pour out of their first period classes. Many students rush to different buildings across campus for their next class.

One senior, however, takes a different path.

He walks out of the Winn Science Center and makes his way past Centennial Hall.

Past Robert K. Hoffman Center.

Past the Fine Arts wing.

Past Nearburg Hall.

And makes his way to his car in the parking lot.

He’s leaving to go to work, but not at a normal job.

Rather, he’s on his way to his Senior Spring Project.

••• The Senior Spring Project was an opportunity offered by the school in the late 90s and early 2000s. If a senior was in good academic and disciplinary standing, he could send an application to the Spring Project Committee, formed by members of the faculty, to work on a Senior Spring Project during the latter half of the school year, allowing him to pursue a special interest off-campus in place of an academic, non-AP class.

Alan Cohen `01 was one of the Marksmen who opted to do a project during his senior year. Through the program, Cohen was able to look into a field had fascinated him for a long time.

“I was interested in really deep-diving into jazz theory and planned on spending significant time during my college years to focus on music,” Cohen said, “and so I spent around a semester doing a deep dive into that.”

Thanks to the opportunity to

SUITING UP During the period of time when the Spring Project was offered, seniors were able to experience a different kind of classroom setting off the school campus.

practice saxophone outside of school, Cohen was able to produce an album by the end of the school year.

“During the school day, on a pretty much daily basis, I was practicing several hours a day during that semester, so I was able to make significant amounts of growth in both my understanding jazz theory and in my playing,” Cohen said. “During that time I also put together an album with a high school band that I played with, and at the end of the year as a final, I did a concert and a CD release at St Mark’s, which was the culmination of the work.”

Although Cohen’s academic schedule was altered as a result of doing the Senior Spring Project, he was still required to meet certain standards set by the school.

“There were some classes I remember that I needed to stay enrolled in such as AP classes,” Cohen said. “ I think it was non-AP work that they allowed me to opt out of as long as I have maintained a certain grade point average, assuming that I have sort of met all of the graduating requirements—I was already accepted into college at the time.”

Looking back at his experience, Cohen appreciates the opportunity to pursue a long-time passion of his.

“It was helpful to me,” Cohen said. “I spent my college years pursuing music, and I think it’s great that students at St. Marks get opportunities to pursue their passions for a variety of aptitudes: both through traditional offerings that the school has as well as when there are opportunities to do something outside of the norm.”

While Senior Spring Projects were effective while they were offered, the program is no longer

offered due to a number of reasons, Associate Headmaster John Ashton explains.

“I think it’s really just been a matter of the fact that so few boys are able to and or are interested to pursue it,” Ashton said. “It’s probably a combination of both frankly.

I think more sometimes logistically or accessibility, being able to make it work—maybe that’s what it is, but since so few boys actually participate in the program over time, it’s just continued to diminish really.”

According to Ashton, the prominence of AP classes poses a significant hurdle to the scheme of Senior Spring Projects.

“What is a real conflict, though, is that you can’t just step out of a AP course,” Ashton said. “But I don’t see an AP course and senior project as one way of learning being more valuable than the other; I think they’re both valuable and just both different ways of learning.”

Ultimately, Ashton believes there is value in the opportunities opened up by the Senior Spring Project, and he hopes for the program to be more accessible in the future.

“I think these opportunities are terrific opportunities for students to have learning experiences beyond the physical campus of the school,” Ashton said. “I imagine that when that was created, the source of the origin of the idea was to provide boys who would like to have an opportunity for learning or focusing on a very specific area that is beyond the physical campus. And if there’s student interest for this that would be good to know. I think in looking at the senior project now, there’s definitely things we’d want to rethink and revise regarding how it might be made available to more students.”

‘

Have you never heard of the competition where they try to catch a greased pig?

— Physics instructor Stephen Houpt explaining friction

‘

I massage data all the time.

— Science Department Head Fletcher Carron

‘

If everyone is a defensive driver, I can be an offensive driver.

— Junior Lincoln Dales

‘

Confession: I’ve never chewed bubble gum.

— Senior Shreyas Annaswamy

‘

The only way I can memorize stuff is by making a joke out of it.

— Junior Will Rocchio

‘

There’s a yawn in my neck, and it won’t come out.

— Sophomore Alexander Zuch

STORY Christoper Wang, Paul Sullivan PHOTO Adnan Khan

Peabody Award winner James Prosek to visit campus as visiting scholar Feb. 12 and 13

by Alam Alidina illard E. Walker Jr. ’66 Visiting Scholar James Prosek will visit campus Feb. 12 and 13 to discuss his art and writings on the natural world.

Prosek is known for his detailed studies of natural objects. His first book, published at 19, illustrated 70 different types of North American trout in watercolor.

He has also written extensively about nature, producing articles for The New York Times and National Geographic, as well as directing a Peabody award winning documentary.

Humanities Department Chair Nick Sberna, who recommended Prosek for consideration by the Visiting Scholar Ad-

W

visory Board, sees Prosek’s wide range of accomplishment as providing a unique opportunity for students.

“He has an interesting way of thinking about the natural world,” Sberna said, “by representing the range of art and literature that we try to expose the boys to.”

For Visting Scholar Program Director Marjorie Curry, Prosek’s selection represented the end of an exhaustive selection and review process.

After receiving recommendations from around campus, Curry works with the Visiting Scholar Advisory Board to gage student interest in the speakers. She then submits a shortlist for consideration

by Headmaster David Dini, who makes

the final decision.

Curry is excited about the timing of Prosek’s visit.

“He’s going to be here right after the eighth grade campout, which is great because he is not only an artist, but is a writer,” Curry said. “He’ll help the boys write about things they encounter on the trip.”

Prosek will be speaking in a Middle School assembly, where he will give a demonstration of his art and describe his way of seeing and exploring the world.

He will also discuss his work with the Upper School environmental science, 2D art, and AP biology courses.

Curry sees the Visiting Scholar Program as providing a unique opportunity

to students, one whose effects remain with them long after the scholars depart.

“The program is a two-day residency, so students can see [Prosek] in the halls, and can interact with him or ask him questions,” Curry said. “Sometimes students will refer back to a visiting scholar from last year, so I think the program gives them a broader worldview.”

More importantly, Curry hopes Prosek is able to make an impact on the way students view the world around them.

“I hope students are able to think about having perspectives they might not get if they just kind of stay in the bubble,” Curry said. “And I think that that’s something Prosek will be able to get them to do.”

issues

8 School hosts Chinese New Years Celebration

by Robert Pou he Lunar New Year celebration was held Feb. 5. The event, celebrating Chinese culture, was spearheaded by Chinese Teacher Janet Lin and was the first time the school celebrated the Lunar New Year in an organized setting.

“I really think that the whole campus needs to enjoy the same event together,” Lin said. “I want the students to experience the culture and maybe be interested in the Chinese culture.”

The event was emceed by juniors Eric Lai, Tony D’Apice and Sam Ahmed, and the latter two performed tricks with their Chinese yoyos.

Several Hockaday students also performed the traditional Chinese lion dance.

“Most of the time, we don’t really get that many opportunities to invest ourselves in different cultures,” D’Apice said.

“I think this was a really fun activity for the lower schoolers and middle schoolers, along with the upper schoolers.”

BOY SCOUTS CHANGES

On my honor

T

Although the event was not mandatory for Upper School students, Middle School students were required to attend. Also, Hockaday students in AP Chinese were invited to take part in the performance.

“We invited Hockaday because they are our sister school, and we have a good relationship with them,” Lin said.

“They heard we had this event and they wanted to participate. They’ve been practicing the lion dance for years and I think it’s a good time for them to show it.”

Lin believes the aim of the celebration is to unite students across grades, and she think it’ll even unite students across schools.

“The idea came because it’s my third year here, and every year I see different celebrations and different events,” Lin said. “Lower School does their own thing, Middle School does their own thing and Upper School does their own thing. I was thinking, ‘why can’t we all do it together?’”

This first Lunar New Year Celebration is only the beginning. Lin plans to repeat the tradition every year.

“Given the importance of Chinese New Year — more than a billion people celebrate this holiday worldwide — it’s definitely important to just have fun with it and continue this tradition in the future,” D’Apice said.

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Campouts. Kayaks. Badges. Young boys have been enjoying Boy Scouts of America programs for decades. And now girls will, too.

IN UNIFORM With the upcoming changes to the Boy Scouts programs, girls can now achieve the honor of Eagle Scout, boys and girls might find themselves lining up side-by-side.

“

Now we’re at a time where boys can do girl things and girls can do boy things.

Emily Stephens, Girl Scout

E

arn at least 21 merit badges. Demonstrate Scout Spirit and leadership within the troop. Plan, develop and lead an Eagle Project that displays a commitment to duty.

Since 1911, 2.5 million young scouts have completed the requirements for and earned the honor of Eagle Scout, all sharing one core trait – being a boy.

On Feb. 1, however, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) officially moved toward changing that by opening Boy Scouts to girls, marking a monumental change in the organization’s history.

••• BSA announced in October 2017 its plan to allow girls into its Cub Scouts program beginning in 2018 and into its Scouts BSA program – previously known as the Boys Scouts program – beginning in 2019.

At 10600 Preston Rd., the school holds the charter for Troop 730, which meets on campus Monday evenings. Assistant Scoutmaster Joe Darlak, who also coaches local troop members on track to become an Eagle Scout, explains how the changes might look in this troop.

“It doesn’t mean that you’re going to see girls joining Troop 730,” Darlak said.

“The existing troops will remain all boys, but committees that sponsor the troop can decide to create a second troop that would be run by all girls instead of being run by all boys, but it would be a totally separate troop.”

Darlak views the change as beneficial one, especially for girls in Boy Scout

families.

“There’s a lot of girls who end up going to the meetings with their brothers and just kind of being there but can’t participate, and that’s kind of a shame,” Darlak said.

Despite the positives he sees in the change, Darlak doesn’t believe Troop 730’s committee will pursue creating a separate troop for girls.

“Personally, I don’t necessarily see that this is really being something that Troop 730 or St. Mark’s would end up sponsoring,” Darlak said. “It doesn’t make a lot of practical sense to me, but maybe Hockaday will sponsor a troop.”

Although supportive of the new change, Eagle Scout Aayan Khasgiwala has expressed his qualms.

“I’m all for girls having the same stuff as Boy Scouts do, but that’s sort of the reason that the Girl Scouts was created,” Khasgiwala said. “If they want to do stuff like that, they can include Boy Scouts with it, but I think the Boy Scouts should be specifically for boys and Girl Scouts should be specifically for girls because it’s a place for guys to have a safe space and go camping together and not have any other worries other than just being with guys.”

Khasgiwala believes working with girls will improve the Scouts’ camping experience.

“Boy Scouts is all about being prepared, and so is Girl Scouts,” Khasgiwala

said. “If something bad happened and you’re out in the wilderness or something like that, it’s probably going to be with girls so it might be a little more realistic, real life scenario.”

Ten-year Girl Scout Emily Stephens, Hockaday junior, thinks the transition is a symbol of the changing times.

“I think that this kind of change was bound to happen at some point,” Stephens said. “When both programs started, we lived in a very gender-separate world.

Now we’re at a time where boys can do girl things and girls can do boy things. It’s just gives us another opportunity to do something that we couldn’t do before.”

The assimilation process may take a while, Stephens admits, but the fact that Boy Scouts has opened up is a step in the right direction.

“It’ll take some time before it’s a fully integrated program,” Stephens said. “A rapid influx of girls isn’t going to suddenly join the Boy Scouts, but that opportunity has been given to us and that’s great.”

Likewise, Darlak believes the current opportunity for girls is an important step for gender equality in the program.

“It’s a nice balance and I suspect that in the future they will try to integrate more, but for now this is a good balance,” Darlak said. “Let’s see how it works and if integration makes sense down the road, I’m sure Boy Scouts will consider that. Right now this is just a big step as they’re getting aligned with 21st century society.”

STORY Sid Vattamreddy, Paul Sullivan PHOTO Collin Katz

In my opinion ‘

Like St. Mark’s, it’s a better environment to have all boys together in order to develop character traits you want in grown men. If the Girl Scouts was a better outlet I don’t think there would be this need.

Gabe Bankston senior

Students and faculty give their take on the changes to the Boy Scouts of America. think, instead of ‘ Iallowing Boy Scouts to

let in girls, they should change Girl Scouts to make it more what they want it to be.

Mason Westkaemper sophomore

if girls want ‘ toI think be included in Boy

Scouts and Boy Scouts are willing to accept them that is well within their right.

Kathan Ramnath junior

I’m wondering what

modern vision of the ‘ the Girl Scouts is that people feel that they aren’t serving their needs and a girl wants to be a Boy Scout.

Amy Pool Math instructor

I have no prob‘ Honestly lem with it, because most

other countries have just scouts. The fact that there still is a Boy Scouts is a little confusing.

Tim Weigman sophomore

issues

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

9

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Pioneers of passion Trailblazing students are using their talents to make an impact, taking their communities by storm. how were we going to be setting it up logistics-wise, different themes we were going to have. Originally I took that and made it all my responsibility and let other people do what they wanted to do, but then I realized that when I started including others and had them be part of the decisions, I just found it a lot easier when I delegated. — Ayush Saha With such busy schedules, getting people to come out. And it’s still difficult because everyone has something to do on the weekend and the weekend’s the only time we can do it. Building a bench takes four to five hours. Then you have to get everybody to come back again to stain the bench, and then to deliver it.

Working out scheduling and timing and finding the time to work on the plan that goes into it is probably the biggest difficulty. You can build for five hours and that’s the community service hours you log. But what you don’t log – and what is really the work that’s required – is the behind-the-scenes of coordinating. — Daniel Ardila

GAME CHANGERS Junior William Holtby tucks a soccer ball under his arm, senior Ayush Saha showcases one of his works of art and junior Daniel Ardila handles a circular saw.

Three entrepreneurs – 4Kickssoccer creator and coach William Holtby, Festival of Illustrated Literature founder Ayush Saha and Wood for Good co-founder and president Daniel Ardila – talk with issues editor Ishan Gupta and staff writer Robert Pou about their experiences creating something new.

1 4

years since founding of 4Kickssoccer

2

festivals Saha has hosted so far

7

benches Wood for Good has built

INTERVIEWS Ishan Gupta, Robert Pou PHOTOS Adnan Khan, Charlie Rose

3

What difficulties did you overcome?

Some people saw me, an eighth-grade kid, and they just assumed that I was unprofessional and I couldn’t do a good job of keeping the kids in order. It hurt then, but I just had to keep going.

— William Holtby Out of everyone who offered to help, I chose the people I knew that would be the most invested and would give me the least problems, so that wasn’t something I was worried about. On my end, setting up things like which charity we were going to donate to, where we were going to be having the event,

Character and Leadership website launched

by Henry McElhaney his winter, the school launched the St. Mark’s School of Texas Character and Leadership website, accessible directly from the home page of the school’s website. Analyzing the importance of lessons taught in the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, the website covers what it means to be a Marksman.

As the school’s communications team, division heads, Headmaster David Dini, Malcolm and Minda Brachman Master Teacher Martin Stegemoeller and many others developed the content that is the foundation for Character and Leadership education, they envisioned creating a platform to share their work with the broader community.

“In May of last year, we published and distributed the Handbook for Character and Leadership Education to the faculty and staff,” Associate Headmaster John Ashton said. “The website is an extension of that print material. The website allows us to publish videos and other resources we develop as a way to continue to do this important work.”

The goal of the Character and Leadership website is to share information about the St.

T

4

5

What advice do you have for anybody who wants to start a new venture?

If you’re passionate about something, there’s no reason not to pursue it. — William Holtby It’s a lot easier than you might think it is. Creating something and raising $8,000 that seems kind of ambitious, but it just kind of happened. With one Instagram post, I got everyone. People are willing to join a team and help out, so don’t worry about that at all. Just go with it. Especially at St. Mark’s, you’ll always find people that are there to support you. — Ayush Saha When we first started, we made some really bad benches and we still make mistakes, but refining that process is so key when you start something. After deeming it feasible, I would really refine your hobby and get a clear idea of where you’re headed.

— Daniel Ardila

IN THE PICTURE

Mark’s Character and Leadership Education program—to explain the history, conceptual framework, curricular goals, approach and resources the school has developed in the academic curriculum.

“The website will allow us to share content that we continue to develop,” Ashton said. “For example, we have teaching digests that we are planning to publish and share samples of via the website.”

The website will include lessons like Victor White Master Teacher David Brown’s Teaching Macbeth through Character and Leadership, and the teaching staff and administration will continue to add content in the future.

“We have draft manuscripts for The Tempest, Oedipus Rex, The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman and The Little Prince, pending,” Ashton said.

“Additionally, we will be able to add video clips from activities taking place on campus as well as share resources with schools interested in doing this work on their campuses. We envision the website being a community resource that will continue to evolve and support our community as well as communities beyond St. Mark’s.”

Adnan Khan photo

By the numbers

How did you identify a passion that can be used to benefit the community?

I lived in Mexico for two years during second and third grade. My parents wanted me to be bilingual and bi-cultural, and I lived there during the World Cup phenomenon in 2010. I got to really experience how crazy soccer was. I was engulfed in soccer.

— Junior William Holtby Most artists just stop at creating stuff within themselves and creating their own different pieces of artwork. I wanted to do something even cooler than that. And I really like literature – reading and writing and all of that stuff. So I just wanted to incorporate those two things, and with that it just kind of came to me. — Senior Ayush Saha Any passion is big enough. Wood for Good just started from me going ‘Man, I really like woodworking, community service is also pretty cool and I got to get hours somehow.’ I asked [junior] Romil [Mathur] why don’t we build something and then donate it, and he thought it sounded like a good idea. You don’t have to develop a passion around something that could become an initiative. If those two things align, which woodworking and building benches did, then your passion just becomes this unique initiative through which you can help other people. — Junior Daniel Ardila

2

What skills were required to start your passion?

Just putting yourself out there. — William Holtby When I started this adventure, everyone already knew I was a big artist, and I was really passionate about art. I just had to be convincing enough for others to join my adventure and be a part of it with me, so that was the first challenge. And surprisingly, after just one Instagram post, I had the team ready for year one.

— Ayush Saha You have to be not necessarily a leader, but just a good people-oriented person. I had to get support from my peers, just some various guys to come out and help. And that’s the coordination aspect of it that’s there as well. So there’s coordination, and there’s people skills too. Because when you can do that, then it opens up a lot of doors just because you’re able to talk to people and to personalize with them. That really gives people a sense of trust in what you’re doing and a sense of confidence in your ability to follow through. — Daniel Ardila

How do you think the lessons you learned will help you in the future?

I was able to put myself out on a line a lot more than I would have been comfortable with when I was a seventh-grader sitting on the couch doing nothing. It forced me to do things that I’m glad I did. — William Holtby The skills, the dedication, the persistence - I think I had all that beforehand, but I definitely learned how to work with others and I guess my goal for the future is just to continue that. I hope to take this with me to college. — Ayush Saha Indirectly, Wood for Good is going to help me because of the ability to follow through – that ability is so crucial. Wood for Good was really formative in making me into more of a leader, into someone that could have an idea ,process the idea, go through different versions of the idea and come out with a good idea. — Daniel Ardila

HIGH STAKES Competing against nine other middle schoolers, eighth grader Hayward Metcalf stands up and gets ready to answer a question during the Middle School Geography Bee, led by humanities instructor Rebecca Jenkins during their assembly Jan. 23 in Decherd Auditorium. Eighth grader Jacob Weinstein ended up bringing home the gold as the first place winner.

discoveries

10

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Machine learning A.I. has become more prominent in not only the tech industry but also other fields, from being used in movies to identifying people.

VOICE RECOGNITION PROGRAMS Used for a variety of different functions, Amazon’s Alexa, a voice recognition assistant has capabilities such as setting alarms to checking credit card balances, and its software is constantly updated.

O

ne sentence.

One sentence is all it takes for Assistant Head of Middle School Jason Lange to check the weather.

Read the news.

Even turn on the lights at home.

There is no need to look up simple facts manually.

To flick each individual switch. All he has to do is talk to Amazon’s voice recognition program, Alexa. From something as simple as asking Alexa trivia questions to adjusting the thermostat in his house and setting timers, Alexa has become an integral part to controlling Lange’s home appliances.

As technology advances, one particular form that is developing and increasing in prevalence is artificial intelligence (A.I.). Ranging from simple voice recognition programs such as Siri to autonomous cars, A.I. has become a big part of the growing technology field. Yet, what exactly is A.I., and what are its other applications?

••• When Lange first got an Amazon Echo in 2016, he mainly used Alexa to do simple tasks. However, after a while, Lange started linking Alexa to home devices to help regulate his lifestyle.

“Right now, I mostly use it for home automation,” Lange said. “If I’m walking in different rooms, I can tell Alexa, Jason ‘turn on the family room lights.’

Lange Assistant It’s a lot easier than going Head of Middle around and turning on three School lights individually. I’ve set up zones of lighting in my house so I can control the whole zone and individual lights. There’s also routine and schedule programs, so it just makes my life a lot easier.”

In the classroom setting, Lange proposes incorporating voice control technology; however, he believes artificial intelligence should not dominate classes, as there

are some aspects of humans that artificial intelligence can never replicate.

“If you imagine a future where there’s no longer a teacher in the classroom, and it’s replaced by artificial intelligence, I don’t think that’s a viable option,” Lange said.

“I think the human interaction, the emotional, physical connection, is an important part of human development that can never be replicated by artificial intelligence or a machine. We can ask a machine all we want, but we need that human interaction to keep us human.”

From a different classroom perspective, Founders Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel has been combining drone technology with A.I. in his information engineering classes in what has become a multiple-year-long project.

“We’re trying get the drones, or other autonomous robots to navigate by learning their surroundings and figuring out optimized solutions,” Rummel said.

Additionally, information engineering students are also using A.I. online to supplement their own coding projects based on facial recognition.

“We have to figure out,” Rummel said, “‘What are we trying to track? What code do we need to do it?’ We’re not going to write a speech recognition program ourselves, but those libraries are available in the cloud in open source software.”

In all fields of applied A.I., the transition to working mechanisms can prove more laborious that it may seem through a cursory glance at the concept.

“If that camera could update 20 frames a second the position of the nano quad,” Rummel said, “then we can give flight commands to that quad to basically get on course. So if we put a colored object down, it should go up, hover, and then we have to figure out the velocity vectors that will allow it to essentially ramp up, go, and then slow its inertia down. There’s a lot of math involved in order to get it to not overshoot or undershoot.”

Though targeted landings are nearing completion, a final goal of swarming remains a project to be improved over the years to come. Several students have programmed swarms of self-correcting units, but even with an on-screen image to mimic, the drones incite a variety of practical considerations.

“We can make autonomous agents that make decisions on their own in an environment,” Rummel said, “and they can find an optimal path through it. Right now, we’re doing software, but the goal is eventually to get them into hardware, which is tougher.”

Beyond robotic behavior, A.I. weaves its way into a myriad of life’s contexts. Rummel keeps himself up to date with the use of programmed neural networks—even in a field like entertainment. Several movie scenes have already been produced through A.I. image generation.

“So if you have things in a movie that are running in the background,” Rummel said, “they’re not always just a computer graphics (CG) person. If there’s this robot running in the backyard, or just a generic CG herd or something, that’s all done with machine learning.”

The future of road safety could lie in the ability of A.I. cooperative swarming technology utilized to maximize safety and efficiency in transportation.

“We can also have the agents keep a distance from each other,” Rummel said. “So this is the beginning of autonomous vehicles. Here’s your path you have to follow— and by the way, don’t bump in your neighbors.”

A.I. can even be used to identify people based on their characteristics, which has the potential to be applied in various different fields.

“

If you have things in a movie that are running in the background, they’re not always just a computer graphics (CG) person. If there’s this robot running in the backyard, or just a generic CG herd or something, that’s all done with machine learning.

— Doug Rummel, Founders Master Teaching Chair

“If you’re looking for a certain person,” Rummel said, “and if you have their gait on camera, that gets slightly different, so you can run through 5,000 traffic cameras and look at however many pedestrians and see whose gait it might be without even seeing the face.”

Immediately applicable to the future of practical coding, tedious coding patterns are being slowly replaced by directed learning so that a machine can learn the actual motions itself.

“Anytime you have anything moving the real world, you better have a pathing solution,” Rummel said. “The whole ‘making a smooth transition from one point to another’ is a lot of math. You can either hard code it so it does one thing at a time, literally step by step, or you can train it. So we do it in software first, then we do in hardware.”

STORY Michael Lukowicz, Matthew Zhang ILLUSTRATION Michael Lukowicz

By the numbers

46 percent

Almost half of U.S adults use voice assistants with their other smart devices.

38

percent

More the number than a of third fertile of people eggs Parker surveyed Davis think A.I.has willaccording improve customer to students. service.

77

percent

Majority of consumers own a device that is A.I. related.

SOURCE: TIME MAGAZINE SOURCE: ADOBE, PEGA, PEW RESEARCH CENTER

15

percent

Percentage of enterprises that are using A.I.

discoveries

THE REMARKER • FREBRUARY 8, 2019

11

PLANETARIUM

New and improved The new Winn Science Center features a state of the art planetarium that will be used school-wide.

T

en years of meticulous planning.

Two years of constant construction.

Two 4K resolution laser projectors.

One brand new Planetarium.

The new Planetarium is the crown jewel of the newly constructed Winn Science Center. A revolutionary room which will accommodate much more than just the needs of the science department. With room for 80 people it promises to enhance the experience of all Marksmen on campus.

••• The old Planetarium, nearing 70 years of age, was in dire need of an upgrade, which led to the creation of the new Planetarium. Cecil H. & Ida Green Master Teaching Chair in Science Dr. Stephen Balog is largely in charge of the Planetarium, having operated the old Planetarium since 1994.

“The old Planetarium was showing its age,” Balog said. “It was built in ‘61 and hadn’t had many updates. In the new Planetarium, we upgraded to two projectors that have the ability to do everything the old one could do and more.”

Like the design of the new Winn Science Center, the design of the Planetarium has been long in the works going through different iterations.

“We’ve been back and forth on the design process for close to ten years.” Balog said.

In addition to a revamp of the seating and the projectors, the new Planetarium has the capability to adapt to many different subjects.

“They’ve added two new components,” Balog said, “One that does environmental science, basically science on a globe, and another that is a human anatomy module. We can go into the human body

and look at all the different systems and highlight the different components.”

The features aren’t just limited to the new projectors and seats. New LED lighting will help with viewers watching experience.

“If you are in the middle of a show and somebody says they aren’t feeling well and they need to leave,” Balog said, “I can pop this lighting on, it doesn’t hurt anybody’s night vision, and it shows them where the exits are.”

More unconventional form of study the Planetarium is capable of handling are the study of history, english, economics and foreign languages.

Language Department head Dr. Zachary Erwin is excited about the specific ways the Planetarium will enrich the language student’s learning experience.

“It will allow our students to observe and learn about Chinese constellations,” Erwin said, “which are quite different from the ones that arose in the Western tradition. We are also looking forward to exploring the planetarium’s map-viewing functions for some of our other historical and cultural lessons.”

Chinese instructor Janet Lin is always looking for inventive ways to allow her students to interact with Chinese culture. A visual experience like the new Planetarium will enhance the interactions.

“We are very excited to have opportunity of expanding our classroom,” Lin said, “especially in a brand-new planetarium with lots of features. It will hopefully allow the Chinese classes to learn more and grow with these increased interactions.”

The Planetarium will primarily be used for more traditional science oriented courses throughout

the year spanning from Lower, Middle and Upper School.

“We have the standard geology and astronomy class in the Upper School,” Balog said, “ seventh grade classes and the ninth grade biology class using the space right now.”

The goal is for the whole school to experience the Planetarium at least twice a year in class or outside of class in a non-academic setting.

“So everybody from first grade to twelfth grade should have at least two classes in here that would have something in here for them to do.” Balog said.

Eighth graders entering the Upper School will get a chance to visualize their oncoming Pecos Wilderness trip through the Planetarium and Google Earth.

“Using Google Earth we’re going to put together a show for the eighth graders before they go on the Pecos trip,” Balog said. ”Not only can you see the area from the air but on google earth we can actually walk the trails.”

The Planetarium’s operating software is the same base software which a lot of phones use to run games.

“We can program our own stuff for here because they gave us that basic foundation for creating our own material.” Balog said.

The Planetarium is a beacon not only for the new Winn Science Center but also the for school as a whole. It will allow multiple groups on campus to come together and experience a technological feat right here on 10600 Road.

“It’s for everybody,” Balog said, “ It’s still called the Planetarium, but it’s actually expanded into immersive education for everyone.”

STORY Mateo Guevarra, Cooper Ribman PHOTO Adnan Khan

STEM Conference to involve different departments

WINN SCIENCE CENTER UPDATE

Numerically speaking

18x11 feet, dimensions of the LED video wall

10 number of offices in the Winn Science Center

1 updated periodic table in the new building

by Dylan Liu he STEM festival will be held Mar. 1 and will feature four prominent scientists from various groundbreaking scientific fields.

The four visitors are Taft Armandroff, an astronomer, Kesha Harris-Henderson, a radiation oncologist, Whatt Smith, head of development of Uber Air and Gideon Powell, owner of an oil rig and founder of Autonomous Crypto Corp.

Besides bringing together a diverse array of speakers, STEM festival chair Emmett Berger has also made changes to the general structure of the festival.

From changing the goal of the school-wide panel to integrating the guests in interdisciplinary subjects, Berger has ensured that the festival would become more relevant to each and everything student.

“In terms of procedure, last year we felt the panel ran a little long,” Berger said, “so this

T

year what we’re doing is that instead of having an hour-long discussion panel like last year, each of the guests is going to have a five-minute presentation of their work, and we’ll dive into questions to get more about their background and what they’re doing.”

By doing so, Berger hopes that students will become more engaged in each scientist’s work, prompting more thoughtful questions.

In addition, rather than having the guests visit classes in the science department, Berger plans on introducing some humanities-oriented classes to these speakers as well.

“We’re trying to integrate them into some of the other classes, not just science classes, so other people who aren’t focused on STEM can listen to the guests too,” Berger said. “The guests will come to the economics or history classes since we want to expose people who aren’t dedicated to STEM to their fields.”

SPACED OUT A student enjoys a presentation in the new planetarium.

10600

12

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

CHESS CLUB

In their own words:

Mastering the pieces

Junior Tianming Xie and Babakuli Annakov describe their championship game in the 2012 World Youth Championships.

Turkmenistan’s first grandmaster, Babakuli Annakov, transformed Texas into a chess powerhouse, bringing up numerous titled students from Lower School Chess since 2005.

FORESIGHT During the Lower School Chess Club, chess coach Babakuli Annakov teaches Lower Schoolers the value of king safety in the middle game.

B

efore 13-year-old Babakuli Annakov left his hometown in the Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan, his grandmother tied “big money” to the inside of his sock.

“Don’t lose it,” she said.

Three hundred rubles — roughly $4.50 — was the most Annakov had ever seen.

It was 1985 and nearing the end of the Cold War when Annakov left his hometown to compete in a top chess competition.

Of the 40 hand-picked contestants from all over the Soviet Union, Annakov made it to the top seven, earning him a spot in the prestigious Olympic Reserve School in Moscow.

“If you made a mistake, [the Soviet Union] would kick you out of school,” Annakov said. “The government paid for everything, and they would always remind us to be a proud Soviet sportsman — you cannot mess up.”

Annakov spent the majority of his teenage years in Moscow, from 13 to 18, and graduated from the Russian State Academy before becoming the first grandmaster from Turkmenistan in 1997.

One of Annakov’s classic jokes when his students make a major mistake is, “Grandma left a million dollars.”

But it turns out — Annakov only needed four and a half dollars from grandma.

••• For the past 15 years, Annakov has led one of the more popular Lower School programs, the Lower School Chess Club and has coached numerous title players alumni, including Grandmaster Darwin Yang ’15 and National Masters Jason Altschuler ’12, Akshay Malhotra ’16. Annakov believes the discipline and life lessons he learned in the Olympic Reserve School has built a solid foundation in his career as a chess coach.

“The school where I grew up for six years — it was the best life lesson because you constantly see kids being kicked out and new ones coming in,” Annakov said. “They would kick you from school if you had bad health, bad school grades, or bad behavior.

The environment at St. Mark’s — you feel it. For example, the boys here, if I tell them one time, ‘behave yourself,’ one time is enough. It reminds me of my school.”

After becoming a grandmaster, Annakov moved to Texas, where he was the state champion from 2001 to 2003.

Shortly after coaching his first students, Annakov met the family of Michael Perkins ’15, along with former Lower School head Barbara York, who connected Annakov with the school in 2005. Annakov credits York and the Perkins family for guidance in establishing his chess coaching career here, where he gives chess lessons every Thursday morning as he has for the past 15 years.

“The parents and administration has always been helping and supporting all of my ideas,” Annakov said. “When we had a match between schools here, I had a lot of help from administration.”

“

It was a different system.

They would remind us, ‘you have to be proud Soviet sportsmen, you cannot mess up, and that’s it.’ If you make a mistake, they would kick you from school.”

— Annakov’s experience in Moscow’s Olympic Reserve School But, transitioning from a player to a coach wasn’t always easy.

Coaching, Annakov believes, requires adapting to a completely different pace.

“It’s tough because when you play in tournaments — Olympiad, World Youth Championships—the biggest challenge is in the game, people watching, you playing, and then you go to the hotel room alone,” Annakov said. “When you teach at school, it’s an absolutely different level. You have to explain checkmatein-one; you have to sometimes clean up after the kids when they mess around. But at the same time, it’s different because you are playing some role in their life.”

Annakov has played a role in a lot of students’ lives here as he is in the middle of his 15th year coaching lower schoolers.

Even on some cold and dark January mornings this year, dozens of

STORY Tianming Xie, Nathan Han PHOTO Jerry Zhao

lower schoolers showed up to learn from Annakov, and that’s considered a low turnout.

And now that his first generation of students have graduated or gone off to college, Annakov has noticed an interesting trend in his students that he used to teach at a young age but quit.

“They’re saying that they want to start studying again,” Annakov said. “I think they, like all of us, at one moment, feel like they hadn’t reached their full potential when they were young. It’s a tough feeling when you feel you could reach more, and that’s the best motivation in any age because you understand that if you would do it a little bit differently, then you’d be more successful and go further. That pushes you at any age.

Every day, I’m facing that situation too.”

It’s that same feeling that pushed Annakov to continue to expand his own chess academy and his presence in chess in Texas. The Grandmaster recently opened two academies and in the process of opening a third — all the while coaching not only at 10600 but also more recently Hockaday and All Saints Episcopal.

“In eight months, [the academies] have been very successful—lots of kids, camps, and it’s the best when you do what you like for a living,” Annakov said. “My family, my brother, they love chess, and they’re supporting these academies, and we plan to build more. Texas is for sure becoming a chess center for kids. To be part of that feels good.”

From his humble beginnings in Turkmenistan, his rigorous teenage years in Moscow, a meteoric rise to grandmaster, now, Annakov believes that he’s found his place as a coach impacting his students’ lives.

“After kids grow up, I see so much respect from them,” Annakov said. “It’s such a great relationship: it’s the best because you give them something that might help them in their life.”

By the numbers

3

Annakov’s students earned a grandmaster title

60

Students in the Lower School Chess Club

3

chess academy locations

Annakov’s chess academy For more infomation: http://www. annakov. com

Tianming Xie: It’s the World Youth Championships set in Brazil. As long as you’re above a certain rating, which was 1800 for the U10 section, you would be able to go to this tournament in Brazil. I was nine years old.

Babakuli Annakov: He was starting 108th or 109th out of 120-something players, almost dead last. The [rating] cutoff for the tournament was 1800 and Tianming was 1801.

TX: I was the very last of the American representatives heading into the tournament. So I go to the tournament, and somehow I start winning a bunch of games. Eighth round, I beat an Uzbekistan guy, which was a huge win for me. So now I’m half a point behind the Chinese representative, and I need a win to win the whole thing.

BA: It’s board one, the last game.

They’re playing for the title. The other guy is representing China. I’m preparing Tianming, and I told him to give [the Chinese kid] a token and a souvenir and invite him to America and Dallas.

TX: So I bought a postcard. I bought a souvenir. It’s a keychain of a rook with blue sparkles on it.

BA: We wanted to break his mental preparation. I was hoping that the Chinese kid would think about why Tianming is asking him these questions to break his preparation.

TX: I remember that before the game, I just couldn’t sleep. I was so nervous.

BA: Guess what? Next morning, they go to play the most important game so far in their lives for the world championship. Then the kid from China starts to ask Tianming, ‘When did you move from China? Do you speak Chinese?’ and he invited Tianming to come visit him in China.

TX: Immediately when I sit down at the table, he hands me a postcard first. So I didn’t even give him the souvenir.

BA: His coach had prepared him to do the exact same thing that I told Tianming to do.

TX: I was nine years old. I had no sleep.

And on top of that board one is broadcasted live. I was just super nervous. It just messed with my brain. After I play the opening, I’m ahead actually. But I mess up and he gains an advantage in the midgame and I accept a draw. So that’s how it ended up. He got first. I got second.

BA: I was drinking coffee at midnight staying up to watch Tianming’s game and I almost spilled the coffee all over me when he made those mistakes.

TX: If I had gotten first, I would have an opportunity to meet Garry Kasparov, who’s arguably the world’s greatest chess player ever and go to his camp, a special camp that so many great grandmasters went through.

BA: But Tianming is the kid from St. Mark’s who got second in the world.

He was almost a world champion. I like telling this story because it’s really funny and it shows the mental game behind chess.

TX: I still have that rook at my house. It serves as a reminder of that game.

10600

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

13

IKE CREWS 1989-2018

Friends, colleagues remember alum, first-year teacher

On Dec. 30, 2018 our community unexpectedly lost Ike Crews ’08.

A committed educator, he was in his first year of teaching, coaching and advising here. Those who knew Crews best reflect on his indelible and gregarious personality — and his uncanny ability to bring folks from all backgrounds and interests together.

One of my favorite stories was during one day when I

was over at his house, he made me take pictures of him because he wanted to make ninja cards. He made thousands of these ninja cards that said ‘Ike Crews ninth degree black belt’ and his phone number and just gave them out to people. He didn’t stop doing that until he ran out.

It was pretty hilarious. — classmate Jorge Estrada ’08

sixth-grader named Ike Crews. And he is one of those kids that is gregarious and enthusiastic and was always laughing and was just enjoying whatever he did. To see someone grow up and go from that little impish sixth-grader to circle back into my life more than 15 years later and see how he has grown up is incredible. — Ryan Gillentine ’95, who taught and was a colleague with Crews

From him being a student there to coming back to im-

He was a staff member who came in early and left late

part knowledge and wisdom, you could see the full circle coming around. And as a friend, to see your buddy finding his way in life, you can only be really proud just how far he has come personally and professionally. He was more like a brother than just a friend. He always had my back, and I had his. — classmate Griffin Bayoud ’08

As I told the boys on the first day, I can’t be Mr. Crews. I

hope I am doing justice by carrying on his class. I go into his classroom every day and think I will take care of them for you. I’ll get them to the end of the year, and let them have the best experience they can have. We move forward together as a class with the same history and with the same future and starting from the same place. — Jason Lange, Middle School assistant head, who took over Crews’ afternoon humanities class when school resumed Jan. 9

He did a prank on me either senior or junior year, and he

got a copy of my keys. He would move my car one space to the left or one space to the right or on the other side of the car I parked next to, and he did it for the entire year. And during baseball season, I went out to look for my car, and he moved it across the parking lot. — classmate Ben Grisz ’08 In my second year of teaching film, in walks this

and was always engaged in helping others. He was fully engaged in life from the time he got up in the morning to the time he went to bed with a mission and an orientation that was directly related to helping others be successful.

He found great joy and pride in that authorship. — Pete Sessions, former U.S. Congressman in whose office Crews worked after college

During our senior year of high school, we would go to yoga like two or three days before school, and we would go to the 5:30 or 6 a.m. class and then we would go back to my place or his place to shower. Sometimes when we would go back to his place, his mom would make us ‘St. Mark’s’ pancakes and put blue and yellow food coloring in the pancakes. — classmate Bill Sessions ’08 I saw one of the students in the demonstration class and I asked him, “How do you think Mr. Crews did? How would you grade?” And he said, “an A.” And I asked him, “Why would you give him that?” And he said, “He made the learning fun, and also if you answered a question and gave the wrong answer, he wouldn’t make you feel stupid, he made you want to continue to participate because he found something in your answer that made it valuable.” — John Ashton, associate Headmaster, a mentor for Crews Teacher. Student. Coach. Player. Classmate. Teammate.

Mentor. Mentee. Staffer. Sherpa. Sheriff. Cousin. Nephew.

Uncle. Son. Brother. Ike is all of these and more. For so many around the world, wholes and parts of all of these words combine in different and unique ways to define him and to what he was most for me, and that is a friend. — classmate and colleague Nick Gruy

The day before he left, I asked him to officiate my

wedding—to be the guy to marry my fiance and me. So, I remember him on that day a lot. He would have been the perfect guy for that because he would have taken it seriously, he would have been funny, he would have thrown in some good stories, and he would have been respectful of the whole thing. You can’t replace Ike, so we’ll never forget him. — classmate Chase Serafino ’08

THE CLASS OF ’08 After Ashton’s class succeeds in their plan to attack their sixth grade humanities teacher, John Ashton, Crews and his classmates huddle together for a picture.

It was plain to see that Ike exuded a unique combination of unbridled enthusiasm coupled with genuine goodwill. He possessed a devotion to our school and our boys that was truly profound. —Dean Clayman, Middle School head who took over his morning humanities class when school resumed Jan. 9 I was really excited when I found out that he was

coming back to come teach here. You knew that he would bring this energy. What he brought as a student, and then to become a teacher, you just knew that the impact he would have on the middle schoolers would be tremendous.

— Paul Mlakar, Director of Academic Information Systems, who taught Crews

Having someone who wrestled at a time when St. Mark’s

wrestling was very strong carried a lot of weight. Especially since he understood the grinds of the sport, the rigor of the sport. The discipline, confidence and technique required in wrestling is not matched by any other sport, and he understood all that. — Jason Leneau, football and wrestling assistant coach, who coached with Crews

When you have somebody that has a personality like that and connects with the guys, it makes the sport a lot better to do. Ike would stay after and wrestle with the Upper School. I’m most proud of him for coming back to St. Mark’s. You would’ve thought that he’d been here for years. — Reyno Arredondo, head wrestling coach, who coached with Crews I remember, the first time I met him, mentioning offhand that I liked Indiana Jones — I had the LEGO Indiana Jones game on the Wii. For Christmas, he got me an Indiana Jones LEGO set. He remembered! I remember just about bursting into tears of joy. He was just always thoughtful like that. — senior Jonah Simon, who was Crews’ little buddy Crews’ senior year here.

He was a scholar and an athlete and a gregarFULL CIRCLE Texting Crews after his first day as a teacher, Associate Headmaster John Ashton reflects on how far his student has come since sixth grade.

INTERVIEWS Sam Ahmed, Tianming Xie PHOTOS Courtesy Dave Carden, John Ashton

ious prankster. He lived a full life — I’m sure of that. It’s all a father could hope for this impact he has made. He was a remarkable son and a force for good and I’m extremely proud of him. His life was just filled with humor and goodwill.— Ken Crews, Ike’s father, on the impact his son made in the world

He was not afraid to push the guys if they needed to cov-

er some ground or head up a storm or something like that, but you know he was very good at modeling the kind of positive outlook that he wanted the boys to have. He was out there having fun and that was authentic.— Nick Sberna, on why students gravitated towards Crews on the Pecos

At the Thanksgiving meal, they set out the pies on the table, and I love pumpkin pie. And there were two pumpkin pie slices in front of [Ike and me]. But I wanted both pieces of pumpkin pie, and I didn’t want him to have them, so I licked my finger and touched both pies. And I looked at him and said, “I guess they’re mine now.” And he looked at me and said, “I’ve got three sisters. Do you think that stops me?” And he took a bite of the pumpkin pie that I had just licked. He was just so full of energy and spirit and [was] always making you laugh. — Kendall Murphy, computer science instructor, on a story with Crews.

FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER Teaching a new generation of Lions, Ike Crews ’08 engaged his students in his first year as a Middle School humanities instructor and coach here.

14 FLYING HIGH

10600

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Up in the clouds Beginning last summer, senior Owen Ditore has been working toward earning his pilot’s license.

T

he small propeller plane with a 28-foot wingspan slowly pulls down the taxi lane at Addison Airport.

“You’re cleared for takeoff,” the air-traffic control officer says over the crackling radio.

After receiving clearance, senior Owen Ditore pushes the throttle up, and the 900-pound, two-seat Czech Sports Sportcruiser gradually accelerates down the runway.

Within 70 feet, the plane begins to lift. Soon, the ground is far below as Ditore begins another flight with his instructor.

••• Ditore currently works with an instructor at Thrust Flight, an Addison-based flying school offering training on a variety of different planes.

“I got into the process of learning where you can fly and what flight schools you can sign up to over the summer,” Ditore said. “I actually started training at the end of the summer [of 2018].”

Ditore’s interest in aerospace engineering spurred a curiosity in flying. Simply designing vehicles doesn’t offer the same knowledge as learning to fly and operate a plane does.

“I want to study planes, but I also wanted to understand what it’s like to fly them,” Ditore said.

“I want to try to get the perspective from both sides.

What it’s like to use them, and what it’s like to design them. That’s what first got me into it, but it’s also a very fun and freeing experience.”

Flying became more straightforward for Ditore when he learned each takeoff and landing was only a simple set of instructions.

“Flying is all checklists,” Ditore said. “We have these laminated cards that we check with. You start the plane the same way. You hit all the buttons the same way every time.”

For Ditore, obtaining a pilot’s license has presented itself as a somewhat difficult process, and Ditore still has more left to complete. After 60 hours STORY Jack Davis PHOTO Courtesy Owen Ditore

of in-the-air time, ground school and a written test, his training culminates with a solo flight.

“You start flying instantly,” Ditore said. “Once you’ve done the majority of your flying, you do a ‘solo’ where you have to fly 150 miles on your own.

You have to take off and land three times. That’s the big milestone that you do toward the end. After that, you take a written test and a test with a member of the FAA to actually get your license. It’s kind of like your driver’s license.”

Ditore loves flying because of the feeling of controlling the plane and the freedom that comes along with being able to fly alone.

“I just enjoy being in the air,” Ditore said. “Turning the plane and the way it feels as you control it is a very enjoyable experience for me. Every time you take off and land, you’re kind of like, ‘I can’t believe I just took off and landed in a plane.’”

Ground school consists of learning how many of the systems in the plane, such as the radio, or airports work.

“The first step is mainly getting up in the air and flying a lot,” Ditore said. “During that, you also get

Ground School, which is information about the radio system, the airports, how the plane works, that you learn concurrently.”

With Ditore’s experience, the flying itself is not a complicated, convoluted process. Many of the more difficult parts are in understanding the different parts of the planes and in communicating with the air-traffic control officers.

“I think the thing that’s overlooked is the actual flying aspect,” Ditore said. “Controlling the plane is a very small part of learning how to fly and getting your license. It’s learning how all the systems work, how the radio works, how to read the maps, understanding what they’re telling you over the radio that really takes time.”

Once Ditore receives his pilot’s license, he will have it for life, and it will give him the ability to fly whenever he chooses. This license will open many opportunities for him to have new experiences and joy in his life.

“Being up in the air is cool,” Ditore said. “It’s just fun, and it’s really useful. Once you get your license you have it for your entire life. I can fly wherever now.”

READY FOR TAKEOFF On a sunny day, Ditore climbs into the plane as he readies for another flight with his instructor from Addison Airport.

10600

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

15

PODCASTER

The ‘story’ of history Junior Rosser Newton’s jewelry projects

Former student Lindsay Graham has amassed millions of listeners with his podcasts, narrative-oriented projects to tell history’s more personal stories.

by Jack Davis ith no specifics in mind, junior Rosser Newton drives to JoAnne’s fabric store to buy some supplies for his next weekend project.

“Usually, I go to Jo-Anne’s and get something that I think looks nice,” Newton said. “ And then I mix and match until I find something that I think looks nice.”

Newton started making jewelry when he decided to try something new around Halloween.

“I just like making things, and I thought it would be fun,” Newton said.

“It’s fun to decorate things. It’s kind of cool to decorate people. You decorate yourself.”

His process starts in Jo-Anne’s where he looks for miscellaneous items or charms that he wants to make into earring or bracelets. Some specific parts he has to buy, while with other parts he can be more creative and can make himself.

“You buy the fish hooks, which is the part that goes in the ear. You can’t really make those,” Newton said.

Rosser “They’re Newton Junior made so they’re comfortable, so you buy those.”

Newton’s hobby allows him to create something new whenever he wants. No two of the handmade items will be the same.

Since this hobby is relatively new to Newton, he still tinkers and learns new things as he makes new items.

“I’ll see what I need and get stuff for it,” Newton said. “Then I’ll mix and match and play around with it. Later if I want to make something more specific I will. Most of the time it’s learning how to make the stuff.”

Since Newton typically gives the jewelry as gifts, Newton also designs some pieces as gifts.

“If I think of somebody, I’ll make a pair of earrings that have a charm where it’s something that they really like,” Newton said.

W

IN THE MOMENT Lindsay Graham records an episode of American Scandal in his interim recording studio.

T

hermonuclear weapons tear through the grounds of vast deserts.

A menacing figure clad in black knocks on the door, ready to interrogate.

An earthquake ravages your city. The water supply is broken, and you cannot find the daughter.

And then.

“Hi, I’m Lindsay Graham.

This program is brought to you by Casper Mattresses.”

••• Graham’s podcast American History Tellers (AHT), debuting at number one on the Apple Podcasts app, began as a contrivance between a Southern Methodist University (SMU) graduate and behemoth network seeking to capitalize on the rapidly expanding world of podcasting.

Graham has enjoyed his spot on the top, his knack getting people fascinated by history without them even realizing. Before AHT, though, Graham had Terms.

“I was trying to start up an audio company that included podcasts,” Graham said. “So one of the first podcasts we did was actually an audio drama called Terms, a political thriller. We were shopping around in 2016, just ahead of the election, and no one wanted it. Everyone was tired of politics. And then Trump won.”

Wondery, a network backed by 20th Century Fox, known for blockbuster podcasts such as Dirty John and Dr. Death, called back the next day.

Terms, with its cable political drama intrigue and House of Cardsesque storytelling, ended its time in office in early 2017. But Wondery wasn’t finished with Graham. “[Wondery] had some success with different podcasts that told the behind-the-scenes stories of some movies like Psycho or The Exorcist,” Graham said. “Every once in a while they would drop into these real time moments and try to reenact the scene. So the formula was already being created. And when they approached me to host

the show, we kicked around a lot of ideas and came up what we have now. They had an idea for a show and it included these reenacted moments.”

AHT prides itself on delivering an experience not given by the thousands of lecture-style podcasts flooding the internet throughout the past few years.

The operative word in their title, Graham says, is Tellers: “You won’t be heard if you don’t tell a good story.”

“My degrees are in business,” Graham said. “And I don’t think I took an English class in college.

But I have been intensely interested in storytelling, in particular audio storytelling, for so long, and I’ve been engaged, or at least involved, in the theater and film community here in Dallas.”

Graham would have matriculated in 1992.

“I actually didn’t graduate [from St. Mark’s],” Graham said. “I went all the way to tenth grade, so I never got to wear the blue shirt, which is something I regret.”

His fascination with the subject of history was dug up as a middle school student in his humanities classes. The juxtaposition of great storytelling, seen in books like The Hobbit, and education in history formed an unbreakable connection between the two.

“It was just a fabulous mosaic of learning,” Graham said. “And history is stories. They can be told well, or poorly. And there’s just some fascinating stuff that people have done throughout history. I don’t know any place that would have fostered me better than then St. Mark’s,” Graham said. “I was doomed to procrastinate and fail myself. But at least I did it in the best place possible because those opportunities were fantastic.”

Instead, Graham’s tenure here was marked by an inactivity only broken when he began working in college and professionally.

Interested in history from a young age, yet without a clear vessel for telling that history, he entered the

STORY Jamie Mahowald, Eric Yoo PHOTOS Collin Katz, Creative Commons

fields of business and politics.

“Politics and history are often the same thing. The political decisions we are making today is certainly making history. But I also think that history is not however the top portion of the pyramid of politics. It can be boring if you focus just on the decision makers at the top. There is a whole swell of people making their own decisions and changing history in their own way.”

Graham’s decision to tell American history, made abundantly clear in his pilot episode, in which he states, “I’m Lindsay Graham… and I’m an American,” gives him enough room to discuss both how history affects his audience, i.e.

Americans, and to touch on subjects he himself had been previously unexposed to.

“Politics and history are often the same thing. The political decisions we are making today is certainly making history.”

— LINDSAY GRAHAM “When this [podcast] was presented to me, American history is what they [Wondery] wanted, and it may have been a market decision,” Graham said. “But I’m actually happy to be in American history, because I get to revisit areas I chose not to learn about, so oftentimes I’m learning a whole bunch about the subjects that we’re producing a podcast on.”

Still, each word in the title American History Tellers deserves their own merits. American is Graham’s identity, as well as his audience’s identity: why is this important to us, as Americans?

AHT answers that question.

Knowing one’s history, Graham says, is imperative to knowing one’s identity. And AHT, telling that history in a way people will want to hear.

“You won’t be listened to if you don’t tell a good story,” Graham said. “And if you’re not listening, you’re not learning.”

THE CATALOG Graham’s three podcasts: Terms (2016-2017), American Scandal (2018-) and American History Tellers (2018-)

The designing and purchasing aspect of Newton’s jewelry-making takes up most of the time.

After the design is created, it doesn’t take long to assemble the pieces of the earrings or bracelets.

“Once I decide the design and how I want it to look, it takes about 15 minutes for the bracelets,” Newton said.

“For the earrings, it’s really simple. It takes like three minutes for the earrings. A lot of it is designing, and then the actual putting it together is pretty simple.”

Typically, the process doesn’t take too long, so if Newton has time over a weekend, he undertakes another project.

“Usually, it’s a weekend project, so I’ll decide I want to make earrings,” Newton said. “I’ll go to Jo-Anne’s, and I’ll see what I need and get stuff for it.”

As of now, Newton is making bracelets and earrings but soon hopes to try more items of jewelry.

“Right now I’m looking into making my own charms, and then in going to look into necklaces, but I think making them be really similar to bracelets,” Newton said.

10600

16

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

INTELLIGENCE ANALYST

Protecting and serving America

Students leading Habitat for Humanity

D

Retired Federal Bureau of Investigations agent Glenn Mai ’83 reflects on his experiences with 20 years of service.

OFF THE STREETS Mai (far right) and teammates present 100 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated street value of $250,000.

3

months worked 12-hour shifts

6

12

years an an analyst

months on a homicide

“I was sort of a science and engineer type person, and my dad was an engineer in Dallas, so I focused on the sciences. I got into Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, [Pennsylvania]. I worked two summers at Honeywell as a junior engineer and found I wasn’t very interested in it. But at Carnegie Mellon, they had a program called Engineering and Public Policy, which combined policy and writing.”

“When I was at St. Mark’s, my other big activity was also high school debate, and that was my big extracurricular if you will. I went into public policy and became a graduate fellow at the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], so I was getting my masters in Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon and working the summers at the CIA. When I graduated with my masters degree, I actually worked as an intelligence analyst for the CIA for about six and a half years.”

“For me, as an intelligence analyst, a lot of my job was behind a desk, and the Bureau offered a lot more field work. The Bureau actually had a hiring freeze during this time frame when I was interested, so I had to wait two years for the hiring freeze to end. That’s basically how I ended up at the Bureau.”

20

years Mai spent working as a narcotics agent in the FBI.

“A lot of my work is pretty public because I ended up doing a lot of court filing. I was a narcotics and gang agent my entire 20 years at the bureau. After the first five years, you actually reach the top of the ladder if you’re not going into management, but I liked where the rubber met the road.”

“The best part about being an FBI agent was you could see the results of your work. You worked the case, took it to prosecutors, worked it with them, got the warrants, went out and arrested people, put them in jail and saw the process through. You’re basically there. You’re one of the primary drivers of the case, and the results are absolute.”

“Also, the job is different any given day. Some day, I would be out on surveillance, and the next day, I’m in court. On rare, crazy occasions, I would leave for a normal day and find myself in another state doing surveillance, which is terrible when it’s actually happening because you’re tired and hungry, but after the fact, it’s actually this really cool thing you get to do. I was in D.C. during 9/11. They put us on 12-hour shifts, so I worked those shifts from 9/11 to mid-December, but the thing about being a government agent was I could do something about a national tragedy when there’s a lot of people who don’t have the ability to help.

Government jobs give you the ability to help.”

“There are a few misconceptions about the job too. There’s a very old Will Smith movie with Gene Hackman. In the midst of this movie, they’re doing surveillance, and Gene Hackman just gets on his laptop and types in the person’s name. The next thing you know, all this data and surveillance footage pops up on the screen, and my partner and I were watching the movie with his girlfriend, and he just turned around and said, ‘See that? What he did just there. That’s two years of work.’ There’s a lot of work that goes into it. That would be a misconception. How easy it is to get information about people.

There’s a lot of ground and leg work required.”

“One of the bigger cases my partner and I worked was about a double homicide in Virginia at a Vietnamese nightclub. We worked this case backwards. There were these people who were doing break-in robberies in the Vietnamese communities, so we started there. We arrested a bunch of them, and when they started talking to us, it turned out they had actually helped the guy who committed the double homicide escape the D.C. area.”

“It took us roughly a year, but we were able to track this guy

INTERVIEW Sahit Dendekuri PHOTO Courtesy Glenn Mai

by Trevor Crosnoe allas Area Habitat for Humanity’s 2019 house build began Jan. 26.

The organization helps construct homes for underprivileged families living under unfortunate circumstances.

Community Service Director Jorge Correa has been to countless builds and appreciates the ground up nature of the labor.

“We start with a concrete slab,” Correa said. “Then our students, parents and faculty begin to work.”

The build occurs over a series of six Saturdays, each week bringing a different set of tasks.

“There’s a new thing to do every time we work,” Correa said. “The first day is putting up the walls, then we do something else the next week until we eventually have a house.”

The house is being built for husband and wife Terefe Bezabeh and Tequadesh Eshibelachew. Bezabeh came to America as a political refugee from Yemen, while Tequadesh won a diversity visa lottery. They have now lived in the U.S. for more than eight years and have been married for three.

down in Seattle. We brought him in, and when he started talking, he helped us catch two more guys who committed other murders with this individual. That’s one of the bigger cases we’ve worked, and really, the satisfaction also comes from the families. Talking to the murder victims’ families and having them see the sentencing. You get to see the families, and that’s really the satisfaction you end up getting from being an agent.”

“There is a certain level of stress that is involved. There is also stress on the family. Between my squad and other squads we are helping, on average once every two to three weeks we would have a search warrant or an arrest warrant that we would serve on the house. My wife and I would have a routine that as soon as everything is cleared, I would send her a text message or call her to let her know everything was all good. There are little stressors like that that you do not realize until after the fact.”

“Since retiring, I have actually taken up wildlife photography, which is why I am going to Yellowstone [National Park] to take winter wildlife pictures for the next week and a half. The odd thing is that I found wildlife photography kind of like surveillance. You sit for hours, waiting for something to happen, and when it happens you are like looking at your watch or your smartphone or something, and you miss it all. But right now I am actually three years retired.”

“There is a difference between what people would call a career and a job. A job is something you do to make money, a career is something you are passionate about. Your goal in getting a career is to take a job and figure out what you like about that job and what you dont like about that job. In your next job, you should find a job that has more of the stuff you like and less of the stuff you do not like until you hit that sweet spot.”

When the couple’s current apartment became too small for their needs and rent kept getting higher, they knew that they needed another option. So, in December 2017, they enlisted the help of the Dallas Habitat program. In less than two months, they will have their very own home.

Another aspect of Habitat for Humanity is that the recipients of the house build it with everyone else. So, for the next six Saturdays, Bezabeh and Eshibelachew will be constructing their future home by hand.

Sophomore Gabe Bines, who heads the Habitat program here along with junior Toby Nwafor, is inspired by the group effort.

“You get to see the people you’re impacting,” Bines said. “It’s amazing to be able to make a physical connection and work with them.”

Correa has also begun to understand the full extent of Habitat’s work.

“I used to think we were building houses,” Correa said. “But now I know we’re really building communities.”

He believes there is something very special about the West Dallas neighborhood where Habitat builds its homes.

“We started building houses there 14 years ago, and now there are 14 houses on that block,” Correa said.

Correa believes that the residents benefit greatly from the fact that all the Habitat houses are in the same neighborhood.

“The sense of owning a home changes the way a community behaves,” Correa said. “People won’t just take care of their own house; they’ll take care of their whole neighborhood.”

This sense of community helps restore Correa’s faith in humanity during present times.

“Whenever things seem to be looking bad on the news, there are still situations like this where members of our community are coming together to change the lives of two immigrants,” said Correa.

10600

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

17

FLASHBACK

Tuning in

Junior knits for charity

A look at KRSM, the oldschool radio station which would transmit music during commuting hours.

by Eric Hirschbrich etween schoolwork, water polo and ceramics, junior Odran Fitzgerald doesn’t have much free time. However, he has made a hobby of knitting for fun during his daily activities.

“It’s really relaxing, and it leads to a lot of skills like learning how to work on something every day and build on it every day,” Fitzgerald said.

“The first thing I made was like ‘Okay, I’m going to make the longest scarf I can possibly make,’ so I made a scarf that was like 13-14 feet long.”

Knitting hasn’t always come easily to Fitzgerald. He first became interested in knitting when he saw someone else doing it.

“I just saw someone doing it in the local library,” Fitzgerald said.

“I picked up something called The Knitting Book by [Frederica Patmore and Vikki Haffenden] and it’s like 800 pages full of knitting techniques.”

After initially learning how to knit, he continued to practice different articles of clothing.

Fitzgerald often donates several of his knitted creations to charities.

“With knitting, a lot of the things I’m proud of are things I’ve made for charity,” Fitzgerald said.

“I knitted 40 to 50 stuffed bears for a local hospital for children. I knitted a couple sweaters for penguins in oil spills.”

One thing that Fitzgerald appreciates about knitting is the long-term investment for the large reward that it gives.

“It’s a really time-consuming hobby,” Fitzgerald said. “When you first start, it can be really frustrating. You don’t knit something and get it immediately. It takes several months to make a blanket.

The repetition and the process is really nice.”

B

T

GETTING ORGANIZED Members of KRSM crowd around a conference table, taking note of shift times and preparing for daily broadcasts.

he turn of a knob.

A loud zapping noise fills the small room.

“It was like something out of a Frankenstein novel.”

Seconds later, Richard Lane ‘85 is on the air for the first time. An electrifying experience that would stick with Lane for years to come guiding him through his late high school years, college and eventually his career.

••• Lane credits KRSM, the school’s old radio station, for his interest in radio that transitioned into his career.

“One of my friends who was also a musician came to me one day,” Lane said. “He was on the radio and was like, ‘We got a couple hours open, you want to come up?’ I didn’t know what to expect; I’m sure it was a horrible show. But I did it on a whim and I absolutely had a blast.

It was just one of those things where as soon as I did it, it was really cool.”

So Lane Richard Lane ’85 found an internship at a radio station in Dallas at 19 years old and moved out permanently to LA, where while in college, he worked for a production company doing syndicated worldwide radio shows as a production engineer.

“I went to Pepperdine University, got involved in their radio program, and quickly learned that I was light years ahead of everybody else,” Lane said.

“I got my degree in broadcast and TV production, but I didn’t care about TV

because I wasn’t a team player. In radio you could go at it on your own.”

But after coming back to Dallas and doing production for ten years, in 1998, Lane and his colleagues were all fired on a format takeover in the beginning of radio consolidation.

“I didn’t know anything about sales,” Lane said. “I was on the programming side of air production,” “But I went out and interviewed with someone at a radio station called WPAP, got the job, and after three months figured out what I was doing. I’ve been the general sales manager or Director of Sales for 12 years now.”

But through an uncertain career, Lane credits KRSM with his passion for radio.

“I wouldn’t have gone into radio, probably into geology or something else,” Lane said. “There’s no question in my mind that the radio station was a total pivotal point in my life.”

“The only radio station that can’t power a lightbulb,” KRSM originally started powered with only five watts — which would barely broadcast down a hallway — and was boosted to ten watts — where on a good day, listeners could tune in all the way from Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway.

“It covered everybody that was coming into school going and out of school.” Lane said. “It was a club, but it was a very loose. It was like, ‘Hey, you want to go an be on the air for a couple of hours and play your favorite songs?’ So you bring your own records, and it was in good taste.”

By the time that current chemistry

instructor Kenneth Owens ’89 started working on the radio station, it had transitioned into a class.

“There was a radio workshop class you had to take to work on the radio,” Owens said. “There was a morning drive time, an afternoon evening shift from six to ten in the afternoon, and weekend hours.”

Students would broadcast mostly music on KRSM, which originally started broadcasting on 88.5 megaHertz for the majority of its lifespan, and eventually switched to 91.7 and 93.3 megaHertz.

“Some 40 thousand watt rock and roll station just broadcasted over us starting on the last year of the radio and just swamped us,” Owens said. “We couldn’t even hear ourselves. So that was the end of the radio station.”

Efforts to start an internet radio station never came to fruition.

“Back at that time, bandwidth was so limited the music sounded terrible,” Owens said. “No one had smartphones to listen — you had to have a computer and that just didn’t exist in a decent portable fashion back then so the internet radio station never went anywhere.”

And so KRSM died out in the 19981999 school year. The only radio station broadcast and run by a DFW high school is the KEOM 88.5 FM radio station broadcast out of Mesquite ISD. But KRSM still played a crucial role in several students’ lives, including Owens and Lane.

“I was a pretty shy kid back then, so it was fun to have a microphone in front of me to talk to whoever was listening,” Owens said. “It was the first time I had any sort of public speaking presence.”

STORY Mateo Guevara, Nathan Han PHOTO Courtesy Development Office

FOR SALE

6311 Northport Dallas, TX, 75230

PRESTON HOLLOW HIP POCKET NOT IN MLS on your own personal sports court or swimming in your resort style spa pool complete feet and was meticulously built with children and entertaining in mind. Located on a quiet cul de sac, the home features multiple living areas, media room, wine room, two court and much more. For a private showing, contact Becky Oliver.

Becky Oliver 214.354.3098

boliver@briggsfreeman.com

perspe

18, 19 PUBLIC SERVICE

Obliged to

serve

With the school’s emphasis on leadership and character development, Marksmen are finding many ways to serve their communities through the public sector.

STORY Sam Goldfarb, Lyle Ochs, Ishan Gupta ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

T

hey are leading educational initiatives for one of the nation’s largest school districts.

They serve on Dallas City Council.

They’ve been appointed by Texas governors to positions of statewide influence and service.

And, with the school’s continued emphasis on its Character and Leadership Program, many more future Marksmen will, inevitably, find public service a calling that is both impactful and rewarding.

The school has produced hundreds of lawyers, medical professionals and, more recently, leaders in the technology world.

With more and more opportunities for a life of public service, more and more Marksmen are giving back to their country, state and local communities.

Here, the names are easy to find — Dallas Morning News stories, “most influential” lists, widespread mentions on social media.

Just last week, Alan Cohen ’01, who was appointed by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to head the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL), has been named to the Presidential Leadership Scholars program, which offers mid-career professionals opportunities to expand their leadership potential through interaction with former presidents, administration officials and leading academic and civic leaders.

And another Marksman, Lee Kleinman ‘77, will soon complete six years on the Dallas City Council. Kleinman has taken leading roles in a variety of city issues, including the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund, city parks, crime enforcement and roads and infrastructure development.

••• Many more Marksmen — serving locally and all across the nation — take their experiences here with them as they seek to impact and serve their communities.

Presidents, governors, mayors — that’s what people think of when they hear ‘public servant.’ But for George W. Bush Presidential Center Ken Hersh ’81 CEO, it isn’t all just about the title.

“What it really means is that you enter a position of responsibility where achieving other people’s objectives is greater than your own, and your monetary rewards are not going to be great,” Hersh said. “You have to have the satisfaction that comes from making a difference in ways that may be counted years from now. It could be counted today, but it may be counted many, many years from now.

It’s very akin to philanthropy in that regard.”

At the Bush Presidential Center, Hersh directs the Bush Institute, a think tank that works to resolve national issues such as immigration and health care. Before becoming a public servant, Hersh John worked in a private Ashton Associate equity firm, and he Headbelieves the differences master between the public and private sectors lie in the goals of the industries.

“In business, you can measure your result in dollars and cents, and the compensation and incentives tend to be denominated in dollars and cents,” Hersh said. “When you’re in the nonprofit world, success is not necessarily measured in dollars and cents. We may have a policy maker who’d add something to a piece of legislation, or we may influence a platform of some group that is working in a particular area to take on part of our cause, and that might be an incredible success, but it’s not measured in dollars and

cents. It’s measured in human welfare, moving people into a better life.”

Although there are differences, Hersh believes there are similarities as well.

“For me, it’s a different set of rewards and different set of incentives, but at its base, it’s about building a strong culture around a set of shared values with a real clear strategic direction,” Hersh said.

Former Texas Secretary of State George Bayoud ’73 notes that providing people with a better life doesn’t necessarily translate to dollars and cents for the public servant as the average Texas State Legislator makes $7,200 per year, according to a 2008 U.S. Census.

“The private sector tends to compensate people from a financial standpoint more than the government,” Bayoud said. “That’s why you have a lot of young people in the government. The government can afford to pay them, and young people can afford to make less when they’re starting out.”

In addition to the pay, former North Carolina Senator Eric Reeves ’82 believes the scrutiny involved with being in the public eye drives people away from serving.

“You’re living in a fishbowl,” Reeves said.

“It’s not easy, and you invite a lot of scrutiny on your personal life. If you’re used to being relatively private, I think it’s a hard jump to move into the public space and to go into that scrutiny.”

Despite the sacrifices of public service, former CIA Agent Ned Price ’01 sees the hidden benefits of serving others.

“Some days, you felt like a small cog in a very large system, especially when you’re just getting started,” Price said. “But there were other days — and I think these days certainly outnumber the former — when you would leave work exhausted, surrounded by darkness, feeling that you had accomplished something or had done something that kept the American people safe.”

According to Associate Headmaster John Ashton, the school aims to prepare students to have that feeling in their future careers — regardless of if it’s in public service or the private sector.

“St. Mark’s has always placed value on service,” Ashton said. “If you look even at the Statement of Purpose, to paraphrase, it’s to prepare boys to lead in an ever-changing and complex world. That goes way back.”

Ashton sees that purpose as something that’s been a defining trait of the school for decades, and for him, the work done by multiple alumni exemplify that.

“If you look over the decades, you’re going to find alums who are working in city government or national government in different ways,” Ashton said. “We’ve had great leadership, participation and devotion, in the military too.”

And that devotion is shown not only by those alumni who have official positions in government office.

“Character and leadership education

prompts students to see leadership as something broader than just holding a position of authority or responsibility,” Ashton said, “but rather as engaging in the communities that they’re a part of and then acting in ways to move those communities to make them better.”

For Jackson Cole ’16, that education was enough to inspire him to return to Dallas.

“Dallas is where I was born,” Cole said.

“It’s where I was raised, and even more than just that geographic reason, Dallas has given me so much. St. Mark’s is in Dallas, and I wouldn’t be the man I am today — I wouldn’t be where I am today — without St. Mark’s.

It’s only right for me to go back and hopefully make sure that other people have those same opportunities that I had.”

Cohen believes that Dallas requires collaboration of its citizens to solve societal issues and he will use those skills when working with the CPAL initiative, combating child poverty in the city.

“The types of problems that we face in a city like Dallas are so complex and so massive, frankly, that it’s going to require all of us finding ways to band together and be part of a solution and take action,” Cohen said. “This effort is really about making sure we don’t spend our time admiring the problem, but bringing people together to solve problems collaboratively.”

Reeves’s experiences at 10600 Preston Rd. drove him to invest his time into public service.

“We used to do a public canned food drive called the ‘Canpaign,’ and I was co-chairman of it.” Reeves said. “I don’t know if it was the curriculum or the teacher or the time that we found ourselves in, but I found myself drawn to issues happening in the greater community, not just the smaller, elite St. Mark’s community. I had also been a leader on the Pecos trip during that period of time, and I was also a captain on the wrestling team.

I think the combination of those things kind of led me towards extreme acts of volunteerism.”

Similarly, Cole reflects on his time tutoring at Pershing Elementary, serving on the Engagement Board, going to Philosophy Club and listening to TIB Talks, and he realized how that influenced his career path down the road.

“Those were the experiences at St. Mark’s that made me understand the goods that come with public service and the feeling of belonging,” Cole said. “And then I also realized that I would want to do that in Dallas as a larger part.”

Cohen hopes that former Marksmen will continue their involvement at higher levels after their time at 10600 Preston Rd. “One of the best ways that you can affect the system is by being part of the system,” Cohen said. “A lot of great change comes from within. So if you really want the government to work better for people, I encourage considering going and working in government and taking on roles where you can really have that kind of influence.”

From a similar perspective, Reeves urges Marksmen to dive into public service.

“I look at the federal government right now, and I find that to just be a failure of leadership all around,” Reeves said. “If I had a group of people as smart and capable as my peers from St. Mark’s and Hockaday, I see a very, very bright future if more of our peers would consider public service.”

‘AN APPRECIATION FOR THE LIVELY CONNECTION BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND RESPONSIBILITY, PRIVILEGE AND THE OBLIGATION TO SERVE.’

—Statement of Purpose

STAREDOWN The pressure of constant exposure to scrutiny is one of many challenges that public servants face. How does it feel to have so many eyes always watching every move?

One o

Admission offi

For me, John Loza back and spoke when was on the Dallas City resonated with me tha because I saw this man that I was sitting in 15 city council serving hi We have a great se the community service School Community Se I just thought I’d love ter. I went every Wedn I walked around St. M myself because I just d people had. Going to s me realize how it’s all looking at what I don’ find myself in a defici Public service is doi even more than you w

Dallas city elect Candidacy filing deadline

General election for ma and city council

Runoff election (if nece

ectives

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

From Goals IV Goals IV for St. Mark’s clearly states the school’s plan for fostering habits of community engagement in its young men. Here is what Goals IV says about civic responsibility:

• Develop a broad community engagement strategy.

Wrestling coach Reyno Arrendondo ’87 is one of many Marksmen who have answered the call of military service.

Reyno Arredono ’87

1. Identify opportunities to support greater Dallas city initiatives.

2. Cultivate relationships with academic institutions and other organizations that share a similar commitment to the wellbeing of Dallas.

3. Review the community service program to explore opportunities to expand its impact.

• Develop curriculum for Upper School students to broaden their understanding of civic engagement and leadership.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

fficer Korey Mack explains why he’s seeking council seat

— who graduated in ‘81 — came I was a junior in Decherd, and he y Council back then. Something at I can get into public service n that was sitting in the same seat 5 years earlier, and he was on the is community. ervice pathway, and it’s through e program. I served on the Upper ervice Committee, and at the time, to go down to Austin Street Shelnesday for my freshman year.

Mark’s feeling a little sorry for didn’t have the things that other serve in your community made about what I’m looking at. If I’m ’t have, I’ll always ient or inadequate or insufficient. ing on behalf of others, that or would do for yourself.

tions

cessary)

This he defended

”Strengthen St. Mark’s commitment to making a positive impact in the greater Dallas community.”

of our own

mayor

MILITARY SERVICE

Feb. 15 May 4 June 8

My view of public service is just this commitment that when you when you serve others, I think you are the ultimate beneficiary, and frankly, that’s why I do it.

Public service and community service are kind of one of the same. When I do more for someone else that I do for myself, that’s when I’m serving.

I served on the City Planning Commission. On this commission, we recommended a lot of different development and land use for about two years. There are a lot of buildings that came across my desk — zoning applications that I helped approve with 15 other people in the city. Before that, when I worked at Uplift — I helped them get their zoning approval for a K-12 school and a K-5 school.

I’m running to raise the level of representation that we receive in the city of Dallas. Too often representatives advocate the interests of those who they like and not the entire group of those who they represent. I know it’s my responsibility to represent everybody in District Seven.

Mack’s three platform planks

1. Design new course offerings that prepare students for public service, civic leadership and governance.

2. Encourage and regular and healthy public discourse among students regarding public policy issues and solutions.

3. Seek opportunites for students to become engaged in civic activities.

• Explore further opportunities to share St. Mark’s resources with public schools in the greater Dallas community.

1. Review and assess existing and possible DISD after-school programs and summer program on the St. Mark’s campus.

2. Explore opportunities for greater involvement by St. Mark’s students an faculty in community engagement programs on and off campus.

I

t’s one of the most demanding paths a Marksman can take– the path of military service. But wrestling head coach Reyno Arredondo ’87 committed to a life in the armed forces straight from high school, following in the footsteps of family who had also served.

“I had two uncles that were in Vietnam,” Arredondo said. “One of them was Air Force, one of them was an Army infantryman. The one that was Army infantry had been killed in Vietnam. Also, my grandfathers on both sides had served in the military. Our family was kind of steeped in serving.”

At first, Arredondo felt two main reasons to serve, in addition to family tradition.

“It was a way to give back my country and to set my life on a path that would potentially give me a secure retirement,” Arredondo said.

“And that way, I wouldn’t have to depend on anybody. It would be an independent type of career. And if I really liked it, then I’d stay.”

He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, earned his commission as an officer and began his career in the Army.

Over three decades later, he retired with so much more than just the ranks on his shoulders.

“Taking care of others — and the leadership that’s part of that — have been central to what I do in life,” Arredondo said. “I have a mantra that we are here for better reasons then just our own selves.”

Since his retirement, Arredondo feels that he’s been able to give back to those around him more than ever before.

“Having served 30 years in the Army, and now I have that retirement, I’m able to truly concentrate on helping others,” Arredondo said, “not just here at St. Mark’s, but in my community. I can help out my daughter and my son and their friends. And I can help the community at large.”

His years of service were instrumental in teaching him the value of servant leadership.

“Being a servant to the greater good is very fulfilling,” Arredondo said. “Of course, there’s been a long time when I’ve just been a subordinate. And in that subordinate role, I relieved myself of what I wanted to do for the greater good of the whole. Now, I’m still a piece of that machine. But I’m looking at it from a macro perspective.”

Here are other Marksmen who have served, or are currently serving their country with military service:

— excerpt from Goals for St. Mark’s IV, a strategic plan.

• Edward Ro ’17, Air Force John Holder ’15, Navy • Cameron Baxley ’14, Navy • William Moor III ’13, Marine Corps • Carson Warnberg ’12, Army

• David Cook ’12, Navy • Henry Lindsley, Jr. ’12, Air Force • Obadamilare Ogundipe ’11 Air Force • William Johnson ’11, Navy • Patton Taylor ’11, Navy

• Lyle McDonald ’10, Navy • Frederick Addy ’10, Army • Dylan Birch ’09, Army • Jacek R. Zapendowski ’09, Army • John W. Gannon ’09, Navy

For a complete list of Marksmen in the military, see https://www.smtexas.org/page/alumni/alumni-in-the-military

What they want With Dallas’ mayoral election coming up May 4 and Mayor Mike Rawlings’s being term-limited, we asked several community leaders what qualities they felt the next mayor of Dallas should possess:

• Revitalization and not gentrification. We have neighborhoods that we want to see revitalized, particularly in South Dallas. When revitalization happens and it’s not inclusive of the community, areas gentrify and property values generally drive people out of areas involuntarily.

• Public safety and quality of life. Our police officer shortage is unacceptable in a big, world class city like Dallas. I would work very hard to ensure that we recruit, train and retain the best officers in North Texas.

The challenges that keep us from that are being such a big, metropolitan area that we do not have the most competitive starting pay. We just acknowledge we can’t pay you what Wylie can pay you, but if you come here, we have close proximity to great amenities here in the city center.

• Engagement. Civic engagement starts at the ballot box, and it ends at the ballot box, but it is not everything. There are steps in between that are necessary for us to be engaged and responsible citizens, knowing how the different arenas of influence affect my life. Public service also includes knowledge of how jurisdiction works, how authority works and how people can exercise their political rights.

Jackson Cole ’16 Yale University junior, Headmasters Cup winner

Ken Hersh ’83 CEO of Bush Center, former Board of Trustees president

George Bayoud ’73 Former Texas Secretary of State, former Board of Trustees president

“They should always have that servant leader mentality of, ‘How can I help? How can I be of service today? How can I care today?’”

“The ability to listen. The ability to be intellectually honest and understand that facts may change and you may need to change your opinion.”

“A good ear; a good listener. It’s probably one of the most important things as a leader — to listen.”

Alan Cohen ’01 Head of Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL)

“To recognize that there’s going to be critics, so they might as well just do the right thing.”

Korey Mack ’00 Admission officer, former City Planning Comission member

Rudy Rodriguez Father of Jimmy Rodriguez ’17, attorney and corporate executive

“Temperament, organizational skills and resilience.

What you attempt to accomplish depends not only on you but on at least seven other people at City Hall.”

“A history of involvement in community affairs and an understanding of local needs — and a desire born not of ambition, but of affection for our community.”

10600

20

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

IN TRAINING

One year later

Blood Drive to return next month

by Jamie Mahowald he school will host the annual blood drive Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in N114. The Community Service Board encourages anybody over the age of 16 to participate.

According to Carter BloodCare, a Bedford, Texas-based non-profit organization that stores, processes and tests local blood donations before local distribution, donors should focus on drinking plenty of water prior to donation.

“Eat a hearty meal the night before your donation and get plenty of rest,” the company recommended on its website. “Eat a wellbalanced meal one to two hours prior to donation and remember to drink water throughout the day and limit caffeine intake.”

Registration requires photo identification from all students and permission forms from parents for minors, sent to the community in an email.

Carter BloodCare staff members will review the donors’ health histories to confirm they are healthy enough to donate. Donors will also be weighed, because the minimum weight for donation is 110 pounds.

“If you think you may be at risk of low iron,” their website said, “you may consider calling your physician or taking an oral iron supplement.

Do not take iron without consulting your doctor if you have any family history of too much iron in the body.”

The donation process itself lasts about ten minutes and collects a pint of blood.

“The goal for last year [2018] was 21 donors,” Community Service Director Jorge Correa said.

“We passed the goal by two of them. And that resulted in the collection of 27 units for all the area hospitals.

After donation, the website said, it is important to eat and replenish fluids and to avoid exercise or strenuous activity for 24 hours.

“This year, we hope to surpass 23 donors,” Correa said.

Freshman Will Shoup looks back on his training with Emily. from his his first moments adopting her from Canine Companions for Independence to today.

T

At a glance: Blood Drive What Blood Drive When Febuary 20, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where Nearburg 114 Who Carter Blood Care

I

“

It’s very difficult to put a lot of time and love into something and have to give it away.

You know that the whole time.”

Freshman Will Shoup

1,197

Puppies currently being raised

by Cainine Companions for Independence

t’s Emily’s first day of school.

So many new faces. There’s a lot to take in — the library, the classrooms and especially the people.

But something was off about the people.

Unlike at home, the people here aren’t as affectionate – and whenever they try to be, Will, the student she’s following for the day, tells them not to.

But Emily is Will’s dog, and that’s the rule — because Emily isn’t an ordinary dog.

She’s a dog with a job.

••• When freshman Will Shoup takes his service dog in-training on campus students are generally not allowed to pet her.

“There are service dogs that can sense the diabetic stuff for seizures,” Shoup said.

“If you’re petting them, they get distracted, and there have been people who have seizures and haven’t been prepared because someone was petting their dog when it could have warned them.”

People not being allowed to pet her is just one of the unconventional things a dog like Emily requires from its owners.

“We train it to learn about 40 or so commands and socialize it to environments, so that’s why I take her to school and to church,” Shoup said. “There are classes you have to attend to make sure that we’re training her and doing well.”

Shoup says teaching commands has been the most challenging part of his nine months with Emily.

“She doesn’t have a long attention span,” Shoup said. “So you can’t sit there and do [training] for like 30 minutes and just get something down. It’s frustrating, but you just have to kind of keep going.”

Shoup first met Emily at Canine Companions for Independence, a California-based assistance dog training non-profit that has prepared dogs for therapy, the deaf and help with rehabilitation.

“They have a building out in Garland, and we went there,” Shoup said. “They brought out a four-month-old black lab, and she was sleeping in the person’s arms.

It was adorable, and she was just really calm. It was crazy to see the difference between her and what most people would consider a normal black lab.”

Shoup recalls how he felt when he held Emily for the first time.

“I got out of school to be there,” Shoup said. “I just held her in my arms and smiled. I was really happy.”

By allowing Emily to interact with a multitude of everyday events and locations, Shoup trains Emily to be ready to help out in any scenario.

“We train them for the basic commands, and once we’re finished, they go and get trained in whatever they’re going to be,” Shoup said. “If the organization decides they want to be a blind dog, then they get specialized training to be a blind dog, or if they decide they want it to be just for therapy or something else, they’ll specialize it for that.”

In Shoup’s case, Emily lacks the attention span required for lengthy training sessions, so Shoup has had to adapt to her energetic tendencies.

“You have to do it repeatedly for five or 10 minutes,” Shoup said. “There are some commands that are very hard to introduce to her like speak. It’s very hard to get her to just bark.”

Shoup isn’t the only student to have trained dogs on campus before. Henry Roberts ’17 trained five dogs: Cilla,

ON THE LEASH Freshman Will Shoup trains his service dog Emily in the quad, who he brings on campus once a week: “We can pretty much take her anywhere to get her used to being everywhere in the real world with the person that she would help,” Shoup said.

Gwyneth, Odella, Bluebell and Dutch, the famous yellow lab that Roberts often brought to school. For him, training a service dog is all about taking time and having patience, both with the dogs and the people around him.

“Most people do not understand how to behave around guide dogs,” Roberts said. “One of my biggest jobs was to be patient with other people and educate them on what they could and couldn’t do around the dogs.”

Roberts’s schedule changed when training guide dogs.

“Everything is slower when you have to bring a dog with you,” Roberts said.

“Whether it’s just walking to my car from the end of class to my routine of getting ready in the morning.”

Shoup tries to incorporate the timeconsuming responsibilities into his routine.

For him, day-to-day tasks revolve around these short training sessions spread throughout his daily routines.

“I think some people think it’s [a huge impact],” Shoup said.

“But it’s just small moments like right after dinner, before I get back to homework I can do it, or after homework right before I go to bed. It’s really simple to fit five minute time slots into your schedule.”

At the end of the day, Shoup knows that one day, Emily will leave him for good and his

STORY Cristian Pereira, Luke Piazza PHOTO Jerry Zhao

time training her will come to an end.

“I think it’s gonna be very sad and hard to deal with because she is our first dog,” Shoup said. “And it’s very difficult to put a lot of time and love into something and have to give it away. You know that the whole time.”

Like Will, Roberts’s life has been forever changed because of Canine Companions for Independence.

“I look back on my time of raising guide dogs as the most influential thing I’ve ever done,” Roberts said. “It gave me an opportunity to leave my mark on St. Mark’s and give me an identity around campus, but most importantly I know I have directly improved the lives of multiple people with visual impairment.

I have seen videos and talked to people who receive guide dogs, and all of them talk about how getting a guide dog was absolutely life changing.”

diversions

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

21

HIGH SCHOOL DATING

The evolution of dating Dating has changed throughout the years in many ways.

We talked to couples from different generations to see the differences.

D

espite not having female classmates, many students still find a significant other while in Upper School. Although the essence of dating is the same, dating in the 21st century is much different than it once was. Social media and other cultural shifts have altered dating, for better or for worse.

Celina and Luciano Lopez Parents of senior Jahaziel Lopez Andy Crowe: Do you remember when you first met your spouse?

Celina Lopez: We first met in

the summer of 1991 at a mutual friend’s house. We were 13 years old, but nothing happened there.

We reconnected again in 1994 when we were juniors in high school when we were 16.

Luciano Lopez: First time I asked her out wasn’t an actual date. I invited her for dinner to my house. She wasn’t allowed to date and we respected her parents’ rules even though we had confessed our feelings to each other. We waitied until her parents gave us their blessing to date in 1996.

AC: What were your dates like and how did you plan them?

LL: Sometimes we planned

our dates when we called each other’s home phones or when we were out on a date we would plan the next outing in person.

We were an old fashioned couple.

I always went to her house to pick her up. Our hometown was small and I didn’t have a car so we walked a lot.

CL: An average date consisted of going to each other’s house. Back in the day it was popular to go out on Sunday evenings to this famous boulevard in our town.

We would just walk the whole boulevard back and forth. There were restaurants and a movie theater our parents allowed us to go to once a month.

AC: What was different about dating when you were in high school compared to today?

LL: Today’s high school students

have more freedom to do things.

One of those is the privelge to drive your own car and the flexi bility to go to a lot more places.

HAPPY COUPLES (Top left) David and Tamara Campbell. (Top right) Jonah Simon and Bianca Schwimmer. (Bottom left) Celina and Luciano Lopez. (Bottom right) Carr Urschel and Merritt McCaleb.

possible to hang out without being together because you can get that face to face time. Even if you don’t have time to hang out in person that day, you can still see their face and hear their voice.

CL: One of the biggest benefits was that social media didn’t exist. We had more of an in-person relationship, there was no internet, no filters or anything.

Senior Jonah Simon and Hockaday senior Bianca Schwimmer

David and Tamara Campbell

AC: Do you remember when you first met your boyfriend?

Bianca Schwimmer: It was at

AC: Do you remember when you first asked your spouse out?

David Campbell: We had a Val-

Parents of junior Colin Campbell

a Halloween party in seventh grade. I remember I thought he was weird because he was wearing bagpipes and a kilt as part of his costume. He was nice though.

AC: When did you officially ask her out on a date?

Jonah Simon: We had been best

friends over a year until we finally realized that maybe we wanted to see what being more than just best friends might be like. I remember we just hung out and watched TV at my house.

AC: When did you officially become “boyfriend” and “girlfriend?”

BS: It just sort of happened. We

hadn’t ever really talked about it, but one day he referred to me as his girlfriend, and I was really excited about it, so I didn’t correct him.

AC: What does an average date look like?

JS: Lately we’ve had a lot of

dates that go dinner, ice cream, and then going back to one of our houses to watch Netflix afterwards. Sometimes we have study dates too, where we just go to Starbucks and do homework together for a couple hours.

AC: What is something about today’s world that makes dating easier?

BS: I think FaceTime makes it a

lot easier. It makes it way more

entine’s Day mixer at Hockaday in 1986 and I asked her to dance with me and she did. A friend of mine had a sister at Hockaday.

No one had cell phones back then, so I got her home number from my friend’s sister’s directory and called her. She wasn’t home the first night because she was at a swim banquet. She wasn’t home the second night I called. I kept leaving messages. Then finally, on the third or fourth call, I was able to talk to her and asked her on a date. We went to Andrew’s for our first date.

AC: How did you go about planning each date?

DC: There was no texting. There

was no email. We could only communicate by phone and neither of us had a second phone line. So, I had to call from my main home line and make sure it was okay with my parents and siblings to use the phone or else it would be busy or I’d get “call waiting.” We always communicated by phone, and for the first several months we had an interesting pattern who called who.

Tamara Campbell: You always called me and I never called you the whole time we were dating in high school.

AC: What was the biggest difference of dating while you were in high school compared to now?

TC: We went on more actual

dates than I think high school students do now just because that was our only chance to really see each other, talk to each other, have contact with each other. So we tended to actually, on Friday or Saturday nights, make plans to do things and go out and not just text or hang out at someone’s house.

DC: It’s easier now to be in direct contact with people. Before, every time you wanted to talk to your girlfriend you had to call the main number of the house.

You might get the dad, you might get the mom, you might get siblings or you might get nothing. So it’s much easier to be in touch with folks and much more straightforward to know exactly where they are and can plan things last minute.

Hockaday junior Merritt McCaleb and junior Carr Urschel AC: How many dates did you go on until you officially considered each other boyfriend and girlfriend?

Merritt McCaleb: I think we only

went on a few dates until we officially considered each other as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Carr Urschel: I thought we were dating after our first date. It was pretty early to think that, but we had hung out informally a couple times before and it was going amazing. I wanted to be dating so there was some bias there.

AC: What does an average date look like for you?

INTERVIEWS Andy Crowe, Jahaziel Lopez, Colin Campbell PHOTOS Courtesy David Campbell, Celina Lopez, Jonah Simon, Carr Urschel

The grid

Whether you’re single, dating or hitched, there are plenty of fun activities to do around Valentine’s Day and the month of February.

Rainbow Vomit

DFW Vintage Swap Meet

Baketball Game

What

Interactive art exhibit with several installations

Buy, sell, and trade vintage apparel, music, art, memorabilia and accessories

Counter game against ESD

Price

$20 - Weekdays $25 - Weekends

Location

Across from Fair Park

Monster Jam

The Art of the Brick

Critically acclaimed Motorsport event featuring some of the most exhibit featuring massive famous monster trucks structres made of LEGO®

$5 admission Free

International Event Center LLC

When

Open every day, times will vary

March 3 12 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Who to bring

Art fans and Instagramers (photography is allowed)

Fashion fanatics, hypebeast, clout chasers

ESD

Feb. 8 7:30 p.m.

Cheapest tickets are $25

AT&T Stadium

Feb. 23 7 p.m.

$20

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Feb. 23 - Aug. 18 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.

LEGO® enthusiasts

Lions fans only

Friends prone to road rage

MM: We usually go out for dinner somewhere, drive around and watch movies or Netflix. Our dates are fairly chill.

We don’t care too much about the dates themselves, we just want to see each other.

AC: What about today’s world makes dating easier than it was 30 years ago? What makes it more difficult than it used to be?

MM: I believe that technology

has had a profound impact on our society, especially when it comes to dating. Technology makes dating easier today than it was 30 years ago because it makes it easier to contact and get to know someone. At the same time, technology makes dating today more difficult than it used to be. People are quick to judge others, especially with regards to the content of one’s social media, and unfortunately, it can negatively affect that person’s view of another. People also rely too heavily on social media to get to know someone which makes it more challenging to actually have a conversation with that person.

CU: Technology makes dating a lot easier. I can have a conversation with her throughout the day and not feel super disconnected from her, even though we miss each other a lot during the week. I think that something that makes dating more difficult in today’s world would be social media, especially things like Instagram and Facebook. They cause for a lot of false standards and expectations in relationships.

culture

22

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

LITERARY FESTIVAL

From the authors

Renaissance man

From Vietnam war novelist to children’s book author, these four Literary Festival guest speakers give key insight into their evolution into successful writers.

After years in the drama scene, Montgomery Sutton ’05 is looking to change the game with his one-year-old production company, Rude Grooms.

I

f you took a moment and looked around at the people in the city that never sleeps.

If you snuck a quick glance at the Borders employee shelving the newest books.

If you noticed the fez-wearing doorman opening the door for you in the middle of the night at the Jane Hotel.

If you went to the café the next morning and looked up at your waiter.

You might have realized all three of those guys are the same guy. The bookstore employee. The doorman.

The waiter.

You wouldn’t know it, but that same guy, the one who just served your morning coffee, has three more jobs.

Actor. Director. Playwright.

His name? Montgomery Sutton.

••• Ever since Montgomery Sutton ’05 joined the Dallas Children’s Theater at age three, he’s been intrigued by plays, especially the dynamics between the characters and the audience.

“In a play, you don’t know who the audience is going to associate with,” Sutton said. “They may associate with the protagonist. They may not, but you’re all in a shared space together. And the notion of drama going back to the Athenians is about presenting multiple complicated points of view that are in opposition.”

Sutton credits the school for channelling and developing his enthusiasm.

“Some of my first exposure to Shakespeare I remember being accessible to me was through [humanities instructor Lisa] Brandenburg or watching Romeo and Juliet in that class.

[English instructors Curtis] Smith and [Victor F. White Master Teaching Chair David] Brown gave me interesting ways to look at things. And also with [drama instructor] Jacque Gavin and the film program, which was excellent.”

Still, with all this groundwork, Sutton knows part of his success, very much like the corporate world, is luck.

“There’s that old mantra of luck is where opportunity meets preparation,” Sutton said. “I have prior connections or fortuitous timing to thank for a lot of things, but that wouldn’t have meant anything if I wasn’t already ahead in terms of my preparation. It ebbs and flows. I feel this career is very much like the stock market. If you stick with it, it does tend to rise, but there are massive peaks and massive valleys.”

Nevertheless, Sutton ebbed and flowed his way to his first professional acting job in The Tempest the summer after his freshman year of college with the Shakespeare Festival in Dallas.

The next summer, he landed the role of Romeo in the festival’s performance of Romeo and Juliet.

But still, Sutton understands his good fortune and the inherent obstacles in a profession like his.

“It’s very hard as actors,” Sutton said. “A saying that resonates with me is the job of being an actor is auditioning. In those rare instances where you book a role, that’s the reward that you get. That’s not the job even though

Karl Marlantes Author

‘

BREAKING A LEG Montgomery Sutton ’05 (right) performs amid the crowd gathered at Rude Groom’s rendition of Twelfth Night in The Plaxall Gallery in Queens, New York, Jan. 2019.

that’s the thing that actually does end up paying you. It’s just paying you for all those countless hours and days and months and weeks you were auditioning.”

And Sutton has embraced this life. Instead of considering his film career a sole source of income, he still keeps multiple different avenues open to sustain himself.

“I still have a part time job at a rehearsal studio,” Sutton said. “I still have a video production company.

That’s my primary day job. I still design websites and do graphic design for certain clients that I’ve had since I was 18 or 19. There’s always a need to find something else to fill no matter your level of success.”

“

It’s now just a numbers game of create, go more places, put more out there and you’ll get more back.

— Montgomery Sutton ’05

Sutton has taken it into his own hands to change this culture, starting his own production company, Rude Grooms, a year ago, approaching production in an unorthodox manner.

“We don’t have directors,” Sutton said. “We have what are called actor managers. I really like facilitating collaboration. I think it’s way more exciting to put a group of actors in a safe space and see what we create and what our boundaries are.”

Sutton’s aversion of a director stems from his belief the director title has a heavy-handed implication, but even with this new form of production, he understands he is an outlier, and he doesn’t want to completely eradicate the tried-and-true form.

“What I’m describing is rare in my industry,” Sutton said. “It’s something we’re trying to actively change.

It’s why we created this company. To put the performer-audience relationship at the front of what we do.”

Rude Grooms found success early, with its production of Twelfth Night, which received acclaim immediately, integrating both old and new techniques of production to bring the Shakespearean comedy to life.

STORY Siddhartha Sinha, CJ Crawford PHOTO Courtesy Montgomery Sutton

“It was an immersive production done in the 12,000 square foot warehouse in Queens,” Sutton said. “The audience moved through different spaces and had scenes coming at them from above, in between. They’d be walking from one place to another, and a scene would burst out through a door right in between them.”

To promote this production, Rude Grooms stuck to their non-conventional ways, which didn’t cost a dime.

Instead, the company promoted freely through social media.

Another contemporary aspect of Rude Grooms is understanding today’s world is all about content generation. According to Sutton, the hunger to find people with similar thoughts and beliefs has yielded a culture of constant creativity regardless of the entertainment form.

“Whether you’re doing a YouTube channel or creating theater or creating music,” Sutton said, “the hardest part is finding those people, but once you start to find them, it makes it all worthwhile. It’s now just a numbers game of create, go more places, put more out there and you’ll get more back.”

As of now, Sutton is shifting to writing a “Shakespeare-meets-Tarantino-style” original play. Rude Grooms was awarded a grant from the Queens Arts Fund, which will allow them to perform Shakespeare’s As You Like It in parks around the Queens borough this summer.

Sutton also wants another adventure to supplement his writing, and he’s Montgomery Sutton ’05 preparing to audition for various acting roles in the “lucrative film and television fields.”

Nevertheless, Sutton, now supported

by Rude Grooms, is not going to jump at the first opportunity like before.

“I feel like I know enough of what I want to create that I don’t have to be jogging as an actor all the time,” Sutton said. “I can wait for bigger fish to come in while I work on the projects I want to create and create those with a little more confidence and security.”

SUTTON’S SCHOOL STORY • Improv Troupe • Fine Arts Committee • Asian Film Club • Choir • Arts edi- tor of The ReMarker • Performed in various theatre, musical produc tions

I got a letter from the editor who was assigned to [the Matterhorn manuscript], and it was a great letter. He said he loved the novel, and it could become classic. The last sentence was “this will be the nice thing you hear from me.” Literally from then on, he’d send back stuff with slashes on top of pages and would write “UGH!” and “This makes me puke!” At some point you just take it and continue working through.

Kimberly Willis Holt Author

‘

I used to dread revision. Early on I received a letter from my editor about my first book.

She said “I hope you enjoy revisiting these characters because you find that revision can be truly magical — what happens between the writer and the manuscript.”

I’ve pretty much been in love with revision ever since. I really love revising. I think in the beginning I didn’t because I was overwhelmed, and I didn’t even know how to begin.

Amanda Petrusich Journalist

least ‘forAtme as

a critic, when I was first starting out I was so insecure and nervous about the work I was doing, and whether I was entitled to be doing it, and whether I was good enough to be doing it, that I would get in my own way of trusting my instincts.

I wanted to like the cool thing, to say the right thing, to be correct — I think I got in my own way a lot. I wish earlier on I could’ve known to trust myself more, trust my own voice more. To be true to my honest reactions to things.

Joaquin Zihuatanejo Poet and Author

‘

When I first started, I was just so damn excited to have a poem on the page I had created.

I felt a lot of joy in that genesis and very little joy in revision. I mean I still did it but I wasn’t very good at it because I wasn’t diligent and faithful. I was writing the other day, and I wrote the line “a crown made of huisache thorns,” and I looked at that line and the word “made”— a professor once told me, “Joaquin, there a thousand more poetic ways to say ‘made.’” And that rang true to me, so here I am not aching over a line but a word inside the line.

Now, “a crown fashioned from huisache thorns,” is poetry. It can even come from one word. What I didn’t have earlier that I have now is the joy that comes from the revision and making a 14-line poem where every single word be what it needs to be, where it needs to be.

culture

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

23

ALBUM DROP

Strictly TaBlue

Sophomore resells antique guitars

In anticipation of his fifth album released, band leader and physics instructor Stephen Houpt has been working close friends and fellow musicians to bring his inspirations to light.

by Eric Hirschbrich ften, people flip houses, boats and other large pieces of property to turn a profit, but sophomore Collin Katz flips guitars. For nearly half a year, Katz has used his understanding of guitars to become a registered guitar distributor. “[I learned] a lot of bargaining skills because most of the guitars I get are not selling for that [price],” Katz said. “I have to know how to make offers. If you insult the buyer with a low offer, you won’t get anything.”

Years ago, Katz first became interested in playing the guitar after playing the video game Guitar Hero.

Now playing the real guitar, Katz practices multiple times per week and attends School of Rock.

“I play in the Blues Club and go to School of Rock and I play guitar and practice with a band around three times a week or so,” Katz said.

It all started when he noticed that he could turn a profit through a website.

“I was shopping for guitars online for myself from this website for a music store in Chicane when I saw a guitar on sale,” Katz said.

“It was such a good deal that I couldn’t pass it up, but it was a jazz guitar and I don’t play jazz. I knew it could sell for so much more because it was worth $4,800, and they had it for $2,200.”

The process of buying a guitar starts when someone expresses interest to Katz about buying a guitar with certain specs.

“You have to know every spec about the guitar you are selling because they will have a lot of questions if they are buying a several thousand dollar guitar,” Katz said. “It’s about making sure they get a good deal so they’re satisfied and you’re satisfied with the money you made.”

Katz believes what makes him a good guitar salesman is his passion and feel for guitars. Having played and collected guitars for so long, Katz knows how to find the right guitar for any person’s specifications.

“I also collect them even though I buy and sell,” Katz said. “It’s just something cool like cars or shoes.

Because of this, I’ll already have business experience, and I’m hoping to open up a physical guitar store — that’s what I want to do when I grow up. This is a good experience for that because it’s basically the same thing on a larger scale.”

O

IN THE STUDIO Rehearsing a song for the album, Houpt (Left: harmonica), Gokani (Right: bass guitar), Katz and Glorioso (back: rhythm guitar and vocals) look to the producer for feedback on the song.

H

e made his first one with one of his neighbors.

He made his second one by himself.

His third and fourth — he made those with one other person as well.

In the upcoming debut of physics instructor Stephen Houpt’s fifth album, though, he’s brought together an entire band. Strictly TaBlue, Houpt’s newest blues band, is ready to drop its album at the end of March.

••• Because Houpt and Chirag Gokani ’17 have had great successes performing at various casual venues so far, they decided to form a blues band to give better, more authentic performances.

Drawing upon many members of the school community, Houpt recruited singers, drummers and guitarists until he finished forming the band he had envisioned months ago.

“I had to think about who had the best voice for this kind of music,” Houpt said.

“I’d heard [Fine Arts department chair] Marion Glorioso singing in the past — she used to come to Blues Club meetings a few years ago— so I got her.”

Next on the list were freshman Colin Katz, who is the rhythm guitarist for the band, Mike Camerata, a drum instructor who teaches some students in the school’s band program and Gokani, who specializes in the bass.

Houpt himself could play the harmonica and sing, so all he needed now was a lead guitarist.

“The best person I knew for lead guitar was my brother-in-law, Kevin Taylor from Abilene,” Houpt said. “He played at the Chicago Blues Festival and toured Europe and all kinds of stuff.”

Though the other members of the school’s Blues Club weren’t directly

involved in Strictly TaBlue, they provided support and had a major influence on the production of the band’s album.

After putting together the best band that he could, Houpt and his team had chose songs to record.

Around half of their selected songs were well-known blues classics, but the other half consisted of original compositions by both Gokani and Houpt himself.

“We got together and rehearsed two or three times before going to the recording studio the next week,” Houpt said. “We all went in January to this recording studio out in Garland called Audio Dallas and recorded 11 different songs, which have just finished being mixed.”

Among the songs the band performed for their album include The Thrill is Gone, Rock Me and Crossroads.

Because some of the songs are intense while others are more mellow, Houpt had to think about which pieces would fit in to his final album.

Each member of the band contributed to the performance process by offering ideas on how to approach the song, what keys to play in, where the solos would be and what they needed to do in the rhythm sections. This synergy and teamwork helped the group feel they “owned” the songs that they played.

Recording songs during the school holiday wasn’t the end of the story. Houpt had to go back to the studio several times over the past month to oversee the editing process on his latest album.

From adjusting sound quality to fine-tuning the overall music, Houpt worked with sound experts to perfect his recordings.

“I had to go back to the studio over and over again for editing and mixing,”

Houpt said. “The editing and mixing is a really interesting process — suppose somebody came in a little late while they were singing. That can be fixed. Suppose somebody was just a little flat. That can be fixed. You can change the quality, tone and volume and put reverb on some of the voices. It’s unbelievable. The little flaws that you would hear if it were live are removed.”

With the editing and mixing completed recently, Houpt’s album has now been sent to a different studio to be finalized.

There, the studio will package together the refined audio into a complete album to be published.

“We send it off to someone else and they get it ready for the next phase and make it available to the public,” Houpt said. “I don’t know if I’m going to make physical copies or not, but eventually what will happen is that it will come out on Spotify and Apple Music.”

BANDING TOGETHER From left to right, sophomore Collin Katz (rhythm guitar), Chirag Gokani ’17 (bass guitar), Mike Camerata (drums), Stephen Houpt (harmonica), Paul Osborn (studio owner), Kevin Taylor (lead guitar), Marion Glorioso (Vocals), embrace after a day in the studio.

STORY Dylan Liu PHOTOS Courtesy Stephen Houpt

MELODIC HARMONICA Practicing some different riffs on his harmonica, physics instructor and band leader Stephen Houpt gets ready for the next band rehearsal.

FINISHED PRODUCT One of Katz’s flipped guitars, a Gibson Les paul Custon 1960 Reissue Special.

culture

24

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

ACADEMY AWARDS

And the Oscar goes to...

My Instagram

Roma, The Favourite lead in nominations, but will one of these take home the big prize=?

T

he foreign language film Roma and period piece The Favourite received the most nominations — ten apiece — when Oscar nominations were announced Jan 22.

Members of the community have their definite favorites, too, and they don’t necessarily agree with the pundits. Will voters honor Hollywood hunk Bradley Cooper with Oscars for A Star is Born or will they opt to reward Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón? Can Lady Gaga best oft-nominated Glenn Close for Best Actress? Movie fans will find out when Oscars are awarded Feb. 24.

Here are some thoughts on how Oscars should go, according to members of the community: Pam Elder, librarian • Best Picture — Green Book • Best Actress — Glenn Close, The Wife • Best Supporting Actor — Mahershala Ali, Green Book • Best Director — Adam McKay, Vice David Brown, White Master Teacher • Best Picture — Vice • Best Actress — Glenn Close, The Wife • Best Actor — Christian Bale, Vice • Best Supporting Actor — Steve Carrell, Vice (not nominated) Drew Woodward, sophomore, film enthusiast • Best Picture — Green Book • Best Actor — Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody, Bradley Cooper A Star is Born • Best Supporting Actress — Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk • Best Director, Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

The hopefuls

What I like about this car is the design of the original car because even though it’s from 1967, it looks super modern, almost futuristic, and even though you can’t see the quality in the picture, this is the first time that I had really good specular reflection in the paint, which is the effect that I emphasized in the Bugatti drawing.

Specular reflection is a mirror-like reflection, so that’s what I focused on, and that’s why it looks so glossy. So in the paint at the headlight, if you were able to zoom in you could see a little bit more detail and how it’s really a reflection of the trees in the paint.

And that’s the same pattern that I tried to do in the windshield, but this was a couple of months before I did the Bugatti, so obviously I was less skilled.

‘

• Alum Michael Patinson ‘12 is a lifelong lover of movies, and follows the Oscar hunt avidly. Here are some of his thoughts on this year’s crop of nominees:

The Academy Awards Date. The presentation of the Oscars will be telecast on ABC television network, Sunday, Feb. 24.

Airtime. 7 p.m. Central time.

Longevity. This is the 91st presentation of the awards.

No host. For the first time in 30 years, the telecast will not feature a host for the evening.

Previous. Last year’s winners include Picture, The Shape of Water; Best Actor, Gary Oldham, Darkest Hour; Best Actress, Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri; Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri; Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya; Best Director, Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

INTERVIEWS Eric Yoo ARTWORK ReMarker archives

Best Picture. The Favourite: A critical darling and fantastic movie. Its likeliest competition for the crown is from Roma, which I foresee being held back by its foreign-language status. The two films with the highest number of nominations are rightfully seen as the frontrunners, and A Star Is Born underperformed nomination-wise, showing the Academy may not be as high on the movie as originally thought. They are the three most deserving nominees, and luckily they are also the three most likely winners, as I cannot see Vice, an absolutely garbage movie, pulling enough number one votes to take the statue.

On a side note, Roma went unnominated for film editing, typically a necessity to win Picture, but which is also becoming increasingly less important.

Best Actor. Rami Malek: Despite the rightfully lackluster response to Bohemian Rhapsody, Malek’s tremendous and transformative performance here seem to have taken away Christian Bale’s momentum, so he’s my choice.

Bradley Cooper is also a possibility, but only because some might feel they need to make up for unfairly snubbing him for Director.

Best Actress. This is truly a four-horse race, with a Yalitza Aparicio win highly unlikely, as she was definitely the fifth nominee. Olivia Colman seems like the choice here, but I could see Melissa McCarthy taking the win for her incredible work, or Glenn Close taking it for her veteran status (most nominated actress ever without a win) rather than for her subpar performance. Lady Gaga was an early favorite, but the disappointing nominations haul for Star Is Born have hurt her chances quite a bit.

Supporting Actor. After Rockwell’s win last year, he has no shot at the statue, which is a good thing, because he’s barely in a terrible movie. This makes this category a wide-open four-horse race. Sam Elliott’s nomination is awesome as he’s a great character actor who has never received his due, but I don’t really foresee a win. The same goes for the recognition for Adam Driver. This leaves Mahershala Ali, who won just a few years ago, and Richard E. Grant, who gives the best performance of the bunch. Due to this combination of factors, I’ll go out on a limb and predict Grant.

Supporting Actress. I’m typically rooting for Amy Adams to win, as I personally feel she’s one of the best living actors, male or female, not to have won, especially after her Arrival fiasco, but this is not one of those times. In terms of prediction, I’m going to go with Regina King. The inseparability of the two excellent women from The Favourite means that I’m predicting a vote split that pushes Golden Globe-winner King onto the podium.

Best Director. Alfonso Cuarón: It’s between The Favourite and Roma again.

This was Yorgos Lanthimos’s first film that managed to successfully toe the line between idiosyncratic and off-puttingly strange, so there’s a distinct possibility he wins here for The Favourite, but I think Cuarón, an Academy favorite, takes the Oscar. Another side note: McKay’s direction is appalling, and his nomination over Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born is a travesty. Pawel Pawlikowski’s nomination is outstanding, however, as every one of his movies, especially Ida, are stunning in both their simplicity and emotional resonance.

Deep diving into junior Pablo Arroyo’s passion for drawing exotic cars, shown on his Instagram @pabloarroyo2020. Here he is, in his own words:

Mahershala Ali

Christian Bale

I bought [alcohol markers] with the purpose of doing this. And they are the correct medium for car renderings or car designs, so that’s why I used it. It’s kind of the standard for anything that’s really detailed in color. I’m happy with it. But what I regret is not having done it entirely in one way.

So I was kind of experimenting on the right side, and I like how it looks, but I think I should have done either the entire car with an interesting appearance like I did on the right side or having it entirely realistic, like I did on the left. I think either way it would have looked better than having them mix.

But it’s really hard to get good practice in just doing them by themselves because this car is about 18 inches wide. So it’s harder to do on a smaller scale because the pencil only gets so small.

‘

Bradley Cooper

Lady Gaga

Rami Malek

Students’ films to be shown at Young Filmmakers Festival

by Han Zhang he YoungFilmmakers/NewFilmmakers Festival in New York will be showing five movies written, directed and edited by Marksmen.

“I enter all St. Mark’s films into festivals,” film studies instructor Jennifer Gilbert said. “Part of the film assignment is to give me a festival packet with information about the film that festivals require.”

As the festival runs throughout the entire year, the exact date when the Marksmen’s films will be shown is uncertain. People interested in knowing the exact date of showing and more about the festival itself can visit the website at www.youngfilmmakers.com.

Two of the films, Memoirs and White Feather, were produced by students who graduated last year, Sammy Sanchez ’18 and Matthew

T

Theilmann ’18.

“Getting films into festivals is always fun,” Thielmann said. “I heard about it when she told us it got back in December. I’ve had the honor of getting a couple in and the best part is showing it to strangers and seeing their reactions to it.”

Both Theilmann and Sanchez have continued to pursue their passion for film into their college careers, with Theilmann majoring in radio, television and film at University of Texas at Austin and Sanchez attending the New York Film Academy at New York University.

“I always planned to continue film after graduating,” Sanchez said.

“It’s just great getting to work with all these people who share my love of film.”

Movies also include A Life of Memories by sophomores James Carr and

Sarbik Saha, about an elderly man’s remembrance of his wife.

“I feel really good. I’m proud of the work Sarbik and I have done,” Carr said. “It’s really great since it’s our first high school film and being accepted into this festival is a great honor.”

The actual process of making the film wasn’t easy for the students.

“The actual shooting of the film ended up taking ten hours,” Carr said. “The shots took so long because a lot of the shots looked bad. We spent the entire weekend filming everything all over again because we didn’t realize that our camera shots were wrong.”

Other student-made movies being shown include Young Dallas by junior Jackson Singhal and senior Shane Ndeda, and Dinner in 2016, by Clay Morris ’18.

The LaFerrari used to be one of my favorite cars. So when I did the graphite drawing, the larger one with an Italian flag, at that point, it was probably my favorite car, especially to draw because a lot of cars look nice in person, but really boring in two dimensions.

I’m very critical of my own artwork, so I look at it, and I see everything that I did wrong. The shading is really, really rough. I had just gotten a new set of pencils, so I tried to use all the different pencils when I could have gotten away with using just two or three.

So sometimes you try to be too ambitious and using more tools rather than just getting better skills. So my advice is definitely to prioritize developing your craft rather than buying new tools.

‘

Interview Luke Piazza

culture

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

25

NEW BAND

Twist and shout After its debut performance of The Beatles’ ‘Twist and Shout’ at Coffeehouse in December, the band Due tomorrow, do tomorrow, consisting of six juniors, explains its musical process.

JAMMING OUT Band members Charlie Rubarth, Eli Yancey, Will Mallick, Henry Exall, Wallace White and Ramsey Beard practice on a Saturday night at Yancey’s house, preparing for their next performance March 23 at Hockaday Coffeehouse.

Sai Thirunagari: How did you form the band?

Eli Yancey: I approached [Will] with the idea of putting a band together because we wanted to do stuff at Coffeehouse. I was like, ‘What if we do a band?’ And he was like, ‘Sweet, I’ll put it together.’

Will Mallick: It was pretty much just Eli texting me, and then just being like, ‘All right, who do we want?

Yeah, these people.’ At least I wasn’t –– no offense, guys––expecting that much out of it. I don’t think any of us were really.

We were like, ‘It’ll be fun.’ I honestly did not know Eli was a musician god. It was our friendship–– we became really close this year. That’s essentially why I think we both were very adamant about starting it.

ST: How did you come up with the band name?

WM: I just really liked [the name] because it has a nice ring to it, and it’s easy to remember. It’s kind of funny, too.

Han Zhang: What inspired you to join the band?

Ramsey Beard: The main appeal is I get to hang with people I like to hang with, and I get to play music while we do it.

Wallace White: I always wanted to join a band, but I didn’t take initiative –– I was kind of lazy. But once the opportunity presented itself, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to be in a band.’

Henry Exall: A huge appeal of the band is that

there’s a lot of songs that you can’t play by yourself because you need drums, you need bass, you need all that other stuff. I’m sure all of us are pretty musical people, and we all want to perform, but we can’t perform stuff alone. So that’s a plus, and then having a band is a fun thing to do because you like all the people.

Charlie Rubarth: It makes me enjoy practicing.

Instead of making it work, it’s fun.

ST: What do you enjoy most about being together in a band?

WW: When it’s just one guy playing, it’s kind of isolated. You don’t really get the full sense of the song. But in this case, everyone contributes their specific skills to this one song, and it just feels so nice.

HE: Music is a way of creative expression. Normally, creative expression is a solitary action. That’s your own thing.

But when you’re able to do it with five other people, and the way you do it in a band, it’s so vital.

When you’re able to do it with a group of people and really rely on the group of people to creatively express yourself, it’s a really cool experience.

EY: If I was on stage in Coffeehouse by myself, I wouldn’t have near as much fun or feel as good after the performance unless it’s with a group of guys.

Right before you go on [stage], you’re like, ‘Okay, I really don’t want to mess up right now.’ And then you get up there and you kind of just get started.

HZ: How do you conduct your practices?

WM: None of us really hung out together before this, and now it’s a weekly, biweekly thing. We just chill with each other for an hour or two. My favorite part of that is being able to make music.

We try to come up with our own spin on things.

I think that’s the most fun. I’m also in improv set, so I like that kind of stuff. Not necessarily making it up, but having us make it out of nowhere. We know what we’re going for, but we don’t know where it’s going to go.

CR: Eli pulls out his phone, searches songs and we play for probably an hour. [We] pick the top five or six and just cut down from there. I enjoy the small breaks in our rehearsal where Eli begins drumming and then Will starts scatting, and then we all just join into a random session.

The entire rehearsal is usually just an improv session. It’s really the friendships that drive the tempo.

ST: What are your aspirations for the band?

CR: The main goal is to make other people happy at the same time as doing something that makes us happy. We all enjoy what we’re doing, and a lot of other people do, so it’s just a benefit for the St. Mark’s community as a whole.

WM: I think it’d be cool for us to be able to get outside of the St. Mark’s-Hockaday bubble. For me, if someone shows their parents, and the parents show their friend, and that friend is like, ‘Oh, I have a kid, and it might be fun for [the band] to play for my kid’ or something like that.

BAND MEMBERS

• Rubarth: piano and vocals • Yancey: drums and vocals • Mallick: vocals • Exall: guitar and vocals • White: guitar • Beard: bass guitar

INTERVIEWS Sai Thirunagari, Han Zhang PHOTO Collin Katz

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

CONCERTS

VIDEO GAMES

Far Cry: New Dawn Metro Exodus

Release date

Feb. 15 Feb. 15 The Lego Movie 2 Video Game Feb. 26

COIN Meek Mill Wiz Khalifa

ALBUMS

MOVIES

Concert date

Feb. 17 Feb. 22 March 7

The Lego Movie 2 Alita: Battle Angel Happy Death Day 2U

Release date

Feb. 8 Feb. 14 Feb. 15

thank u, next, Ariana Grande Harverd Dropout, Lil Pump Wasteland, Baby!, Hozier

Drop date

Feb. 8 Feb. 22 March 1

buzz

26

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Pie-a-palooza

Here’s Johnny We admire Kubrick’s thriller in a throwback review as it nears its 40th anniversary.

Pizza is the perfect remedy for a hungry teenage boy. With National Pizza Day just around the corner, we’ve reviewed four popular pie places from around town.

CHEESY. Whether ordered in a restaurant or delivered to a home, pizza remains one of the all-time favorite comfort foods.

Delucca Gaucho

Sometimes you want pizza.

Sometimes you crave pizza.

I have a place for you if you need pizza.

Recently opening in the Design District of Dallas, Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine delivers a pizza experience like no other restaurant can.

Once seated inside the restaurant, you find yourself staring at the coaster-seeming item in front of you. That is how you order.

Much like a Brazilian Steakhouse, one need only flip his or her card to its green side to be swarmed with people who want nothing more than for you to choose their item over any others.

Each person in the restaurant serves one of 20 different styles of pizzas—five of which are dessert pizzas. Of the other 15, there are offerings of Chicken Tikka Masala pizza, Mexican Elote with Crema Fresca pizza and 13 more that all equally deserve a spot on the menu.

In addition to all of this, every table is constantly barraged with charcuterie plates and a literally endless supply of lobster bisque.

One would think that such a restaurant would charge a fortune for a crazy amount of pizza, meats, cheeses and bisque, but Delucca only wants $20 per person.

If you live too far, or just don’t want to leave home for pizza, you can also order each of the twenty pizzas from their website.

Each specialty pizza costs around $13, which is a reasonable price when you consider the amount of pizza you actually would have eaten if you went to the restaurant.

If ordered, the lobster bisque and charcuterie do cost extra, so you can’t really get the complete experience from home.

I simply cannot stress how necessary it is that you try this restaurant. With such a wide range of foods available and as much as anyone could possible want, it doesn’t make sense to skip a trip to this restaurant.

A

By the numbers

94

QUALITY, QUALITY, QUALITY Delucca Gaucho will give you the best pizza out of all four places we reviewed.

1628 Oak Lawn, Ste. 100, Dallas

AS THICK AS IT GETS Old Chicago is known for their incredibly thick Chicagostyle pan pizzas.

5319 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas

FOR THE FOODIE Canne Rosso offers the largest variety of unique flavors, perfect for the curious pallate.

7328 Gaston Ave, Dallas

percent

The percentage of Americans who eat pizza regularly.

350

the number of pizza slices eaten by Americans per second.

National holiday National Pizza Day is celebrated tomorrow, Feb. 9

Most popular topping Pepperoni is the most popular topping, according to a 2016 poll

Least popular topping Anchovies are the least popular topping, according to the same poll Source: DeNiro’s Pizza REVIEWS Duncan Kirstein, Cristian Pereira

MIXED OPINIONS Although some may not like it as much as others, Coal Vines is very well liked around town.

5407 Belt Line Rd, Dallas

T

he walls seem to close in as a sharp note is stretched into an eternity of claustrophobia. My handful of popcorn misses my mouth, for I am mesmerized by the horror of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

The first Stephen King novel I read, The Shining holds a place in my heart, but the claws of Kubrick’s film don’t grip me out of nostalgia, but rather an appreciation of a masterfully disturbing atmosphere. To create terror while refraining from jump-scares is a talent and an underappreciated art-form. Too many contemporary horror movies rely on sudden arpeggios and low “horror” frequencies that cause subliminal feelings of terror, but Kubrick’s The Shining is too subtle for that.

As Room 217 calls to Danny Torrence, so too does The Shining call to me, as I continually rewatch, trying to decipher the ending’s meaning. Why—after Jack Torrence’s rampage— does the camera slowly pan through the hotel, landing on a photo taken years before featuring Jack’s signature, terrifying grin? Many fans have attempted to decipher the meaning of this, and I stand proudly among their ranks.

I have spent hours of my life, alongside both fellow horror fans and

Old Chicago

Old Chicago serves exactly the kind of pizza you think it does.

If you are looking for a deep dish, delicious pizza, then now you know where to go.

With a menu of eleven different pizzas, Old Chicago has the taste and variety to put it at the top of many people’s lists, and rightly so.

Pizzas range from the Thai Pie to a Steak & Beer Cheese pizza. The flavors and types available will have anyone coming back a second time.

If you aren’t in the mood for their famous pizzas, however, you can order yourself a specialty calzone, pasta or various types of burgers. Old Chicago offers something for everyone, and it’s all delicious.

This restaurant is not the place to go for a light meal, though. Much like Delucca Gaucho, this is a place for only the truly hungry.

Unfortunately, Old Chicago does not deliver their incredible pizza—something that puts them behind some options that may not be as good.

If you are looking to go out and sit down—lunch or dinner—I recommend Old Chicago. The variety of the offerings with taste to match is almost unbeatable.

Cane Rosso

B+

Creativity and pizza go hand in hand, and no restaurant better exemplifies that than Cane Rosso. If you’re looking for a good Neapolitan thin-crust pizza, Cane Rosso will absolutely be the restaurant that ends your search.

The first thing anyone will notice about the restaurant is its inviting atmosphere and excellent service. Within seconds of sitting down, someone will undoubtedly approach you ready to introduce themselves and take your order.

The variety of pizzas are incredible as well, but you cannot go if you’re unwilling to be a little adventurous. The pizzas can, however, get a little bit pricey, especially if you’re going to build your own pizza. The price is usually worth it, though, and you will walk away satisfied.

One thing I certainly suggest as well is looking up their secret menu. Cane Rosso offers three different types of pizzas with names that keep them from being written on the menu or here, but they sound delicious.

In addition to their selection of various pizzas, Cane Rosso has all kinds of italian food available—everything being as creative and delicious as their pizzas.

Coal Vines

B

At a certain point in our lives, the Dominos and Papa Johns of the world don’t cut it anymore. Pepperoni pizza is replaced by a Margherita pizza and thick crust is replaced by thin crust.

Coal Vines is the kind of pizza place you go to when it’s time to grow up.

Unlike some of the other restaurants I’ve named, though, Coal Vines is not just a pizza place. Their menu consists of everything from sandwiches to salads to pastas—a real italian restaurant.

As a member of a family who frequently visits Coal Vines, I suggest you go; however, I don’t know if ordering the pizza is the best idea.

The most glaring issue with the pizza is the crust. It is bland and often burnt past an enjoyable point.

Even if you don’t care about the crust, my issue with the pizza is that there is simply nothing special about it.

The pizzas boast no special ingredient or special technique; they’re simply regular pizzas. In addition, there isn’t really any pizzas that are anything other than what you would find anywhere else.

The restaurant certainly isn’t bad, it’s just plain.

C

reluctant friends, in the world created by Kubrick, searching for crumbs of clues scattered along the hallways of the Overlook Hotel. A flashback here.

A painting there. And yet the hotel holds secrets I have yet to find, and I am excited to find more of them each time I watch The Shining.

While I have been tempted, I have never sought out Kubrick’s official interpretation of the film’s final shot. The Shining challenges me to be observant and to submit to Kubrick’s explanation would be to eliminate the mystery I so enjoy. While this does mean I will never know the feeling of having correctly broken the code laid by my directorial hero, it does mean that the ending of The Shining holds infinite possibilities for me.

These possibilities cannot be found in today’s horror films. The beauty and brilliance of the phantom father is approached far too rarely, as filmmakers have even ceased to attempt the complexity of Kubrick’s work; instead, they rely on heavy-handed use of costumes and profuse bloodshed. A rare few sometimes take influence from the genius of the past, and for that I am grateful: Watching movies like The Witch and Hereditary gives me hope for the future of the genre I adore.

REDRUM Despite being released in 1980, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining continues to be one of the greatest thrillers ever released.

PHOTOS Aaron Thorne, Courtesy Creative Commons

editorials

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

remarker

27

Natatorium in need of renovations to meet basic competitive standards

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

Aquatic facilities no longer meet the needs for athletes here.

KAMAL MAMDANI

managing editors PARKER DAVIS SAHIT DENDEKURI LYLE OCHS

S

ince the 1970s, the pool has served as a cornerstone of the athletic facilities at the school. Since then, it has played host to varsity, junior varsity and Middle School swimming and water polo teams, all while serving as a key venue for Lower and Middle School physical education and numerous camps and programs for non-students that span the summer and academic year alike.

The pool, which is 25 yards long and has a width capable of serving six regulation swim lanes, continues to see its use skyrocket, as swimming and water polo teams have captured an increasingly large percentage of the winter and spring season’s athletes, respectively.

That has led to one key issue for the teams, particularly the swim team. Constrained by the small size of the pool, members are forced to split into two groups to have enough room to run a safe and efficient practice, preventing all members of the team from working together during what should be the daily 4-6 p.m. run.

Additionally, the relatively old age of the natatorium has led to a necessity for copious amounts of chemicals to be

head photographer KYLE SMITH

assignments editor JAMES ROGERS

creative directors JAHAZIEL LOPEZ MICHAEL LUKOWICZ

communications director CJ CRAWFORD

opinions editors CONNOR PIERCE WALLACE WHITE

opinions specialist DUNCAN KIRSTEIN

10600, culture editors SAM AHMED TIANMING XIE

discoveries editor MATTHEW ZHANG

focus editors

NATHAN HAN CHRISTOPHER WANG

issues editors

ISHAN GUPTA SID VATTAMREDDY

sports editors COLIN CAMPBELL AARON THORNE

perspectives editor SAM GOLDFARB

diversions editor ANDY CROWE

graphics director MATTHEW COLEMAN

copy editors

ERIC HIRSCHBRICH DYLAN LIU

research director NICK WALSH

business manager PAXTON SCOTT

staff writers

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

used to keep the water safe for students. But through those processes, the pool has become more difficult for swimmers to tolerate, and multiple Marksmen have had to leave the swimming and water polo programs solely because the chemicals in the pool proved too damaging to their eyes and lungs.

W

hile the facility was renovated in 2001, ensuring Marksmen were able to practice and compete in a somewhat updated pool, the natatorium has reached a point where it can no longer suit the day-to-day demands placed on it by each of the groups that utilize it.

Two key changes need to be made in order to meet those demands. First, the size of the pool needs to be addressed. While the ideal pool for all of the school’s athletic programs would be a true 50-meter stretch with a deep end where water polo could be played and a shallow end in which younger Marksmen could learn to swim and enjoy aquatic sports in their younger years, swimmers across grade levels say even widening a pool of the current length to eight regulation lanes would spread the load

in such a way that would make practice and competitions much more manageable.

Second, the pool needs to be updated to ensure all students are given a safe environment in which to pursue the sports they choose. While these changes would be costly, the benefit that would arise from the heightened comfort and safety for all swimmers would be well worth the investment.

The swimming and water polo teams are among the school’s most successful, the swim team continually holding the SPC title for over a decade and the water polo team besting some of the state’s largest public schools for state titles four years in a row. In addition, each group serves as the sport of choice for dozens of students from seventh to 12th grade.

Athletics are a cornerstone of the school’s mission, building the whole boy.

So as the school moves on from the successful completion of the Winn Science Center, we hope members of the administration and the Board of Trustees make the improvement of the pool a high priority as we begin looking toward the 2019-2020 school year.

artists

CHAD KIM COLE ARNETT

photographers

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

adviser

RAY WESTBROOK

headmaster DAVID W. DINI

opinions and editorials

Editorials represent the viewpoints of the newspaper’s Editorial Board and not necessarily those of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff. All personal opinion columns, bylined with the writer’s name and photo, represent the views of that writer and not necessarily those of The ReMarker, Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff.

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 guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for submissions.

letters to the editor

Letters to the editor are welcome and encouraged. They must be typed, signed and not exceed 300 words.

E-mail submissions are not accepted.

advertising

Contact the business staff at 214.346.8145. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Inclusion of an ad 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 League Press Conference, Austin.

Teachers must give leniency for morning tardies Construction near school’s entrance has prevented many students from arriving on time.

A

s students and faculty returned to school following Christmas Break, they were met with new road repairs and construction on Preston Road near the Over Downs Drive entrance to the school. While construction along Preston has created delays for members of the school community for years, this new round of repairs blocked the turning lane on Over Downs Drive, creating an obstacle that has caused significant traffic for students as they come to school in the morning.

Because of this obstacle, the entrances on both Over Downs and Orchid Lane have faced significant backup, and this backup has led to delays of ten minutes or greater in some cases, preventing many students from arriving to their first period classes on time.

Because these students are arriving to class late as a result of this unusually large amount of traffic, they’ve received a significantly greater number of tardies than usual, a punishment that has resulted in detentions for some students.

While we acknowledge that it is students’ responsibility to do everything in their power to arrive to school on time, the exorbitant amount of traffic caused by the ongoing con-

struction on Preston and Over Downs has made it nearly impossible for some students to make it to their first period class promptly. Many students live far from the school, have siblings their parents must drop off before them or have no way to leave for school before a certain time, meaning that these delays have made it nearly impossible for them to arrive on time each morning.

MORNING TRAFFIC Students and parents slow down as they scramble to avoid the Preston Road construction zone as they hustle to get to school on time.

Because of this, we believe that teachers and administrators must show some leniency to students during the time period in which Preston is under significant construction. While students who arrive very late to first period or make a habit of arriving late to school should still receive tardies, students who have no other option but to arrive late because

of the construction and other factors should not have to risk serving detentions. So, for the time period in which repairs persist on Preston and Over Downs, teachers and administrators should commit to not giving tardies to those who make a clear effort to arrive to school on time but simply cannot because of construction and traffic factors that simply are out of their control.

At the same time, if given this leniency, students should not abuse it. Instead of taking advantage of the policy, they must do everything possible to arrive to school on time each morning.

While this will not be feasible from time to time, students must not make a habit of arriving late and using the construction as an excuse. If they do abuse this privilege, teachers and administrators should continue to give students the tardies they deserve.

By allowing for this temporary leniency, students’ mornings and lives at school will improve, as they will no longer have to overcome the burden of constantly worrying about the consequences of arriving to school late because of the impediment of traffic.

An impediment they can’t control.

editorials/opinions

28

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

STAFF EDITORIAL

For the new Winn Science Center, a simple but profound ‘thank you’

A

fter the ribbon was cut to mark the opening of the cutting edge Winn Science Center, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the tireless dedication and ceaseless work that so many members of our community put into the construction of the Winn Science Center.

Ever since the foundation was laid in November of 2017 all the way to the opening January 9, the building has always been a wonder to students who were ever-curious about its design, utilities and student accommodations. Students were struck with awe as soon as they set foot in the doors.

Every beam that holds the roof up, every brick that lines the outside, every room that serves as a catalyst for education, was

the product of the sacrifice, vision and labor of some many people we should be ever-grateful for.

From every construction worker that worked long hours to the careful planning of every square inch, many talented and dedicated people played a part in the perfection of the form and the function of the science center.

It goes without mentioning that the new buildHUMBLE FOUNDATIONS After ing would two long years, the efforts of not have many members of the commueven existed nity paid off with the building’s if not for the opening.

New Library computers: Spike

Sports dismissal times: Slight Increase

Stocks to

Students were pleasantly surprised to see that new computers had been installed in the main lobby of the library.

vision and generosity of the Winn Family Foundation. With their contributions, they have truly marked a new age for STEM at the school.

The school has always prided itself on its heavy investment in students and teacher quality of life, and the new building is continuing our long lineage of stellar facilities to foster great teaching and learning.

Now with renovations in progress in the old McDermott-Green Math and Science Quadrangle, the science facilities have seen a dramatic increase in quality.

The great investment so many people made will pay dividends in quality science education and learning opportunities.

Coaches have been getting better at dismissing their students on time and minimizing extra time spent.

College Counseling: Increase

With juniors starting their college counseling sessions, counselors have made each meeting productive and timely.

Watch The bulls and bears of the stocks around campus

Trash in Centennial Lounge: Slight Decline With the science building being renovated, an infux of students have used the Centennial lounge, and increasing the amount of trash there.

Community service hours procrastination: Decline

Messy Hicks locker room: Decline

Many students have delayed community service hours and had to find opportunities over the MLK weekend. We encourage students to plan ahead.

Ringing the gong of redemption

W

All the investments the school makes in the future of its students and teachers are greatly appreciated, and this grand addition to the collection of buildings will serve as a catalyst for STEM advancement in the school for many years, even decades, to come.

With this new building, the community has created a multitude of new opportunities, and we must be thankful for all of the work and sacrifice that so many people put into this great project.

We are excited to see what the future holds with this new addition to campus and what the available opportunities will provide.

The campus has a new building to call its own, and it will change the STEM programs here forever.

hen opening a college decision letter, the general rule of thumb is to wait until you get home. That’s what they told us the morning of Dec. 13 in a Senior Class meeting. Some people are going to get in, some aren’t. It’s just the way it works.

But of course, not everyone is going to follow that rule. I was one of those people.

Dartmouth told me I’ll get my decision at 3 p.m. So when I check my email at 3:01 to find an empty inbox, I’m overanxious. In seconds, I’ve checked Twitter, Reddit, College Confidential and refreshed my email ten times.

Nothing.

Sitting at a table in the journalism room with Sahit Dendekuri and Parker Davis by my side, they calm me down a little.

They don’t have to worry about their emails until 6 p.m.

3:04. I hear it. It’s the Outlook Web App calling me.

Admissions.application@dartmouth. edu: There has been an update to your application portal.

Sahit and Parker leave the room, giving me the little bit of alone time that I need.

After a thoughtful consideration of your Early Decision candidacy, the Admissions Committee has denied your application to join our Class of 2023.

Wow. It stings like the Hornets beating us on the gridiron.

It all rushes back into my head: the SAT prep, the resume, the months of writing and rewriting essays, the college visits, the info sessions, the pressure to succeed. After all that, you just want to get in so damn bad.

Walking back to Sahit and Parker, I give them a shake of the head. The hugs I get back are instantaneous.

I walk down the Hoffman hallway to find a mass of people in the college counseling suite. As soon as they see the defeated expression on my face, it’s just more hugs.

Then I hear, “Kamal, it’s your turn to ring the gong!” How could I have forgotten. Our class brought in “The Rejection Gong” for students to ring after a college rejection. Along with letting the successful kids enjoy their success, we figured the reKamal Mamdani jected students should get Editor their time to shine. It serves In-Chief as a way to acknowledge the whole process — to show that most of us are going to experience rejection at some point.

So in a crowded college counseling room, I hit the gong. It was followed by a moment of silence and then a round of applause.

That’s why I knew I would be fine opening the letter at school. Every senior I saw attempted to make me feel better.

The sting from rejection was almost lost in all the love that surrounded me.

As we crafted 94 unique college lists, openly sharing our reaches and safeties with each other, the competition of getting into college didn’t feel like much of a competition. The transparency within our class forged a culture where we built each other up.

There’s no desire to edge one another out — rather the brotherhood at a time when all of us need it is how we’re getting through the process.

And it’s why it doesn’t feel so bad to ring that gong.

The Hicks locker room recently has been littered with trash, clothes, and equipment. We urge student to keep their things in their lockers and throw away trash.

Around the

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

definitely important ‘ It’s and absolutely necessary.

It gives more leadership opportunities to students that you would otherwise miss with out the requirement.

Justin Kim junior

I think it is. We are

‘ privileged here, and

we should be trying to break our bubble with community service.

Blake Moltham freshman

not necessary, but ‘ It’s students treat it as a box to be checked, and not really a real opportunity to serve your community.

Henry Piccagli freshman

‘ Itperisse,notbutnecessary com-

munity service is definitely important.

Mason Westkaemper sophomore

Q:

Do you believe that the currently mandated 15-hour community service requirement is necessary?

because it forces ‘ Yes, you to put yourself

out there in other people’s environments, and learning about the people that you aren’t familiar with.

Sarbik Saha sophomore

not one hundred percent ‘ It’s necessary, but it helps us

with building habits that will help improve the community as a whole.

Fisayo Omonije freshman

think we should have the ‘ Irequirement.

It’s good for students to learn how to manage time, and become a more well-rounded individual.

Jack Trahan junior

would rather have com‘ Imunity service be some-

thing the student wants to do rather than has to do.

Marsha McFarland Cecil and Ida Green Master Teacher

opinions

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

29

Point / Counterpoint Question: Should celebrities have major influence in political discourse and/or policy discussion?

no

yes

•

•

Ramsey Beard, junior

• • •

•

•

Jackson Singhal, junior

A celebrity’s opinon shouldn’t carry anymore weight than any other person Celebrities are out-of-touch with the issues of the common person Celebrity opinions are corporate and void of actual logic Most of these celebrities were brought up in wealth and privilege, making them more out of touch with the rest of America Most of celebrities have no experience in politics, and they rarely have a wellbacked opinion Celebrities commonly fit the liberal, “champagne socialist” stereotype and rarely have nuance in their opinions

The report card Thoughts on happenings around campus Student Spirit Although the main highlight of football season is over, students flocked to show sprirt and support during the winter sport season, with great student coordination and unity.

Cafeteria options The many options in the cafeteria lately have been welcome and appreciated by the student body. We appreciate SAGE’s commitment to our nutrition and diversity of palette.

Crowded Centennial lounge With renovations going on in the old science building, many students moved to the Centenntial lounge, making the place very crowded at times.

Trash in the Commons Students have been throwing their trash from the after-school snack offered at 3:05 on the floor of the commons and not picking up after themselves. This needs to end.

A A-

C F

•

• •

•

•

Celebrities can encourage people to engage in their democracies ex. Taylor Swift endorsement of TN Democrats It’s not about changing the minds of people who already engage in politics, but getting new people involved Celebrities massive influence allow them to be very effective activists They encourage people to go do their own research about politics by making people more aware Celebrities influence also allows for effective boycotts where they might have else failed When celebrities endorse a political candidate, it can be very impactful

Parker Davis ’19: 11 years ago, today and forever

B

efore I had even stepped foot on the ground at 10600 Preston Rd., my name already had a new addition. I was no longer Parker. Not even Parker Davis.

Instead, I was Parker Davis ’19.

I was only seven, but I went with it.

Whenever I went to a computer on campus, I was always 19davisp. I still am. And when someone here asks me my email, the answer is always the same: 19davisp@ smtexas.org.

I knew I was going to graduate in 2019. But in 2008, that year felt way more than a decade away. It felt more than a lifetime away from where I was, sitting in Mrs. Rice’s second grade class.

But that number stuck with me as the years and grades ticked by. From the beginning of fifth grade — which I started with Mr. Davies — to the end of eighth — which I left behind in H212 with Mr. Evans — I was always Parker Davis ’19. But in 2015, that year felt way more than four years away.

In ninth grade, it was all the same. At 8 a.m. on the first

day, Mr. Smith’s sheet listed me as Parker Davis ’19. And so will Dr. Balog’s, even as I leave a St. Mark’s class for the final time at 3:05 p.m. May 16.

That number — 19 — has never been just a year. For 11 years, it was a goal. Something to reach for, something to aspire to. But as I stood and watched the clock tick past midnight a month Parker Davis ago, managing the first editor breath and heartbeat of 2019 hit me a little bit harder.

Since I joined the brotherhood of the Class of 2019 in March 2008, that year has been a piece of who I am. I’ve read or written it so many times that I’m sure there’s an indent in the shape of a one and another of a nine somewhere in my head.

I’ve typed “Parker Davis ’19” so many times that I don’t think twice when I have to fix the backwards apostrophe.

And I’ve thought about the number 2019 so many times — when I look at the class flag

hanging in my room, see the XIX on our senior shirts and, now every day, when I write the date on countless pieces of notebook paper — I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it.

I look at my first-grade buddy from the Class of 2030, and I can’t help but think how far away 2030 sounds. But I let myself think that in 2008, and here I am, still unsure how I managed to let the ten greatest years of my life sneak by.

The days — eight, ten, maybe fourteen hours spent at 10600 Preston Rd. — were long. But the weeks were short. And the years even shorter than that.

When I leave this school behind, my name will pick up a new number. Wherever I go next, I’ll become Parker Davis ’23. But whenever I return — when I come back home — whether the year is 2030, 2050 or beyond, I’ll return back to the other number. The number that has given me my 93 brothers and led me down the long path I’ve taken to where I am today.

Then, and forever, I’ll be Parker Davis. From the Class of 2019.

A waterfall, a mountain and the nature of routine: why we preserve our memories

I

sat on top of Cornet falls—the spout of water pounding the small pond of water below it. I was no stranger to these ironred cliffs and ice-cold water. The short, steep hike was so familiar to me.

Each time I come to Telluride, I always feel the hike getting a little easier each time.

But each time I come up here, the wonder begins to fade.

Sitting back on the burnt-orange jagged rock, I remembered.

We boarded the cab, and the gondola sent us up the mountain. The all-glass walls were perfect for my eleven-year-old, hyperactive eyes. As we got to the top station of the mountain, we have flung out the gates of the station and down the other side of the mountain.

The view was incomprehensible for my mind. The way the mountains formed a bowl around this small, humble town. The peak of the tallest, monolith of a mountain standing tall over the distant waterfall.

Just to the slight left side of my view, my father pointed his finger and tapped my shoulder.

“That’s where we’re hiking today.”

I couldn’t find it at first, but I finally located the small, faucet of a waterfall in a valley of red rocks. It didn’t look that high compared to the towering giants of mountains around it.

I didn’t know how high I would think it was after I got there.

We started up the trail, on my first great, 2.4-mile odyssey.

At least it was an odyssey for me. My twig-like legs gave up after the first half mile. I had never hiked before, so I was in no way prepared for this ascent.

Each rock was its own mountain to climb. For me, 2.4 miles was long, but I had no idea how steep it would be.

Each minute dragged on as I ascended into the thin, dry air of the tight valley. I didn’t know how close I was to the mountaintop, just that we were perpetually “almost there.”

After squeezing through a tight space between two rocks, I saw a clearing. It was the light at the end of the tunnel. I was so overcome with excitement that I bolted a full

speed up the trail.

Then I stopped. Dead in my tracks.

My awe-struck eyes gazed upon the glorious waterfall that, now, seemed massive compared to what I saw on the gondola.

The water plunging into a small pond with the force of a fire hose made a deafenWallace ing sound to my White opinions small, young ears. editor I looked up at the small, spout bounded by crimson-red rocks on both sides with vegetation on top.

I stepped across the small, cold river in my size seven crocs, trying not to slip on the mossy rocks my mom warned me about.

I walked onto a hill made of only jagged, sunbleached-red rocks, shadowed by a colossal cliff that felt like it could fall at any minute.

I was so amazed, and I was so scared — all at the same time.

I’ll always remember that first time I went up Cornet falls. But after the years

ticked by and I grew older, the hike became easier and easier Every time I got to the top, I was less and less amazed. The massive torent of water became a dripping faucet, the red rocks only a stage decoration.

The things in life that we do for fun can easily become chores we loathe. The things that brought us wonder only give diminishing returns each time we revisit it.

But in that experience, in that moment of revelation, I remembered why I climb that same mountain up to that same, small waterfall.

At the end of the day, it’s because I wanted to, and I still wanted to hold on to that child-like wonder.

We’ll never really recapture that joy of our first experiences, and how wholesome they were.

The best we can do is remember and never forget those moments that we look back on with such fondness.

They can serve as a reminder of how far we’ve come, and how much we have yet to learn.

sports

30

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

DIFFERENT PATHS

Weighing the options Playing sports is no easy decision. Juniors Colin Campbell and Aaron Thorne sat down with some of their peers to talk about why they play, or in some cases, why they don’t.

CHOICES From three sport athletes to one sport specializists to people who play no sports at all, Upper and Middle School students are faced with many different options for what sports they can play. Basketball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, football, baseball and several more all are offered.

Different students are forced to weigh their different options, and a variety of factors drive their decisions.

F

resh off of four months in the mountains of Switzerland, junior Charlie Rose expected some things to be different than they were.

Homework, friends, the weather.

But something else looms large in his mind. What about sports?

Rose, who had played football for the school for three years, missed the entirety of the season. He also came back in the middle of soccer season.

So Rose, who had been a three-sport athlete several years, made a decision he never thought he would make. Because of his time in Switzerland, he changed his entire athletic profile. He was now a onesport athlete.

Rose is a prime example of the athletic decisions students here inevitably have to make. At some point, the worth and merit of sports has to be evaluated.

For Rose, the transition to playing one sport, lacrosse, hasn’t been easy because of the relationships he is missing out on.

“I do miss playing the other sports because of the camaraderie that a team develops throughout a season,” Rose said.

“I miss the part of being on a team with people I don’t know as well and then getting to know them through that sport.”

Like Rose, junior Will Mallick played three sports in Middle School. But as Upper School approached, he had to choose between continuing that trajectory or pursuing acting. At 10600 Preston Rd., it is nearly impossible to both play sports and participate in school productions.

In the end, Mallick chose acting, a decision he feels has its pros and cons.

“Initially, I saw myself being a three sport athlete in high school, but that’s ultimately not what happened,” Mallick

“

It’s nice getting to have practice everyday because it helps me stay in shape. I also consider myself a very competitive person so to have three very different opportunities to compete all school year is awesome.

— junior Taylor Hopkin

said. “The hardest sport to quit was basketball because it was my favorite sport, but I chose to try something new my freshman year and fell in love with it.

So, at the time, it was a tough decision, but looking back on it, it doesn’t really seem that way since I’ve been so integrated into the theater programs at both St. Mark’s and Hockaday.”

Mallick recognizes some things that he misses about playing sports.

“I do miss playing sports,” Mallick said. “It’s really cool to see our teams play so well with each other, and that’s probably what I miss the most. Having someone to back you up even if you’ve made a mistake. Another thing would be the satisfaction of doing something cool in a game, like scoring, making an athletic play and being able to celebrate with teammates. However, I don’t think I would trade that satisfaction for the satisfaction I personally get after a show.”

While some students are forced to quit sports for non-athletic reasons, like Swiss Semester or acting, some athletes reduce the number of sports they play in order to focus on one singular sport. An example is junior Paxton Scott, who played four sports in Middle School (baseball, football, lacrosse, basketball) but now just plays football. He uses the winter and spring seasons to lift weights, run routes and work with head coach Bart Epperson.

There are also students who do not choose this path of specialization. For junior Taylor Hopkin, the choice to play

STORY Colin Campbell, Aaron Thorne PHOTOS Colin Campbell

three sports was an easy one.

“I used to play football and basketball in Middle School, and I love them both so the decision to play those sports were no-brainers,” Hopkin said. “I chose to do crew for my spring sport because from what I had heard, the physical conditioning we do in crew would set me up well for my other sports. Also my good pal [junior] Billy Lockhart was doing it and I thought it would be fun.”

Hopkin is one of a select few on campus who play a school sport during each possible season. For Hopkin, the practice schedule and consistent games have their physical and academic drawbacks.

“Having practices year round is pretty difficult, especially with the St. Mark’s workload, but it’s nice getting to have a practice everyday because it helps me stay in shape,” Hopkin said. “I also consider myself a very competitive person so to have three very different opportunities to compete all school year is pretty awesome.”

In the middle of his junior year, senior Blake Rogers had a difficult decision to make. Already a varsity letterman in soccer, he could either use the winter to continue playing soccer or to bolster his lacrosse ability and collegiate prospects.

Rogers decided to quit soccer and focus on lacrosse. He ended up receiving All-District honors but returned to the soccer program for his senior year as a starting center defender.

“I came back because I really just missed playing the game and being with the team and [head] coach [Cory] Martin,” Rogers said.

He rejoins Hopkin in the school’s diminishing pool of three-sport athletes, playing football, soccer and lacrosse. For Rogers, playing three sports has its perks because of the inherently different groups of people the different sports entail.

“I think being a three sport athlete is, first, a lot of fun,” Rogers said. “Also, I think being on three different teams means I can be around a lot of different guys that, otherwise, I would never see which is

great.”

Athletes like Rogers are often-times fueled by the passionate fans of school sports. Junior Luke Evangelist, who can be found at nearly every sports event, finds meaning and purpose in sports even though he plays one sport. For him, being a fan can be of major importance for the success of our teams.

“I am supportive of all the Lions teams because it is my mission to reward our athletes for their hard work by showing up and supporting them,” Evangelist said. “I try to be as active as I can on social media in order to encourage people to come to games. I always attend home games, and I try my best to attend most of the away games because having just one or two fans can make a huge difference.”

“By showing up to the games, you are showing the teams that the entire St. Mark’s community is behind them,” Evangelist said. “I believe that all of us have a competitive spirit. Whether that is in the classroom or on the field, I encourage everyone to be competitive in the stands too. I want opposing teams to fear playing at Hunt Field and Hicks gym. Fans play a huge role in sports, and by attending games, I hope to give our players the edge they need to win.”

Evangelist is an example that a passion and love for Lions sports doesn’t necessarily have to depend on actually putting on the uniform.

15

SPORTS OFFERED HERE

“St. Mark’s sports are everything to me. Every week I look forward to the Friday night games, no matter the sport or location,” Evangelist said “Although I am not able to play every sport at St. Mark’s, I aspire to be as passionate as the athletes on the field while cheering from the stands. Whether in the classroom or on the playing field, I will always support my brothers.”

sports

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

31

GAME REVIEWS

Video game mania

With the new releases of NBA 2K19 and Madden 19, ReMarker staff members discuss the gameplay of the newest editions of video games in sports.

FOOTBALL

Madden 19

New Madden brings exciting features and stunning graphics

I

n some ways, Madden 19 distances itself from its predecessors. From new features to enhanced graphics, it’ll be hard for the football fan or video game lover to stay away from the game, which more likely than not will leave the player with a smile reminiscent of that of Antonio Brown on the front cover.

This edition of Madden, the 31st in the long and prestigious history of the game, features animations and detail that rival any sports video game ever made. From reflections in players’ helmets to stadium shots, there is an unmatched level of detail in the gameplay.

Equally as impressive as the life-like nature of the game is the addition of “real player motion”, which allows for more personalized and realistic movements of players. It also allows for more differentiation between players of different caliber. In other words, ratings actually matter.

Another solid component of the game are the three different types of games the user can play: “arcade”, “simulation” and “competitive”. With “Arcade” representing a faster-pace, simpler and more high-scoring kind of game and “Competitive” being a challenging, user-centric mode in which controller skills are emphasized, Madden 19 allows for different levels of Madden skills and fandom to enjoy the game.

As in years past, the Ultimate Team mode is one of the better-developed and most fun parts of the game. One new change to the Franchise Mode is that users can now create their own draft classes, which is a very positive change.

The one overarching negative about the game is its tendency to be busy and overwhelming. While the different cutscenes and animations are certainly beautiful, they distract from the ultimate point of the game: to simulate playing football.

The screen also moves around mid play, zooming in on different areas (like when a wide receiver is thrown the ball). This makes it more difficult to see clearly the movement of both teams from the broad angle Madden-users are used to from past editions of the game.

While not particularly groundbreaking or totally underwhelming, Madden 19 merits its cost and provides a beautiful, multi-faceted and feature-driven game for football lovers. — Colin Campbell PHOTOS Creative Commons

BASKETBALL NBA 2K19

SOCCER FIFA 19

2K gets it right in its newest edition, featuring intriguing new game modes

Fifa’s gameplay options make it hard to put down the controller

N

F

BA 2K19 picked up right where NBA 2K18 left off, bringing back all the right features from last year and creating even more content for consumers to get lost in for hours. As is expected, graphics have improved, and more faces and shoes have been scanned into the game, allowing for even more accuracy in gameplay.

With “The Way Back,” the MyCareer story featuring both the Chinese Basketball Association and the G-League before getting to the NBA and the return of the neighborhood, a playground for the entire community, 2K nailed the MyCareer experience.

Still, this is what we expect from 2K, and its shortcomings have been in the lack of new content other modes, but this year, 2K pulled out all the stops, releasing new cards and hundreds of challenges like Triple Threat, the three on three mode, in MyTeam.

Also new to the game is player mentorship in both MyLeague and MyGM, where you can accelerate the growth of younger players and reach their potential faster on your way to building the next NBA dynasty. Nevertheless, player mentorship isn’t the only new feature to the MyLeague and MyGM experiences, as 2K has added historic draft classes to its servers from every year dating back to 1960, allowing you to draft a rookie Magic Johnson, LeBron James or Michael Jordan, among others, to your team and watch him grow into the legend he has become.

But if there’s been a mode flying under the radar in this year’s edition, it’s the return of the MyGM story: “The Saga Continues.” This year picks up from NBA 2K18, with returning characters in an immersive MyCareer-esque storyline, where you are named the general manager of an expansion team in a mode filled with suspense, betrayal and plot twists in the road to building an upstart team for an eccentric owner.

Regarding gameplay, NBA 2K19 has made improvements with mismatches, allowing a center like Shaquille O’Neal to truly dominate a weaker point guard in the post, which was far too difficult in years past, but computer help defense still needs some work, especially when guarding simple offensive concepts like the pick and roll, as it still leaves players wide open much too often. — Siddhartha Sinha

Junior runs successful highlight video channel

by Colin Campbell ith over 1,300 subscribers and 875,000 total views on his videos, junior Jackson Morris has created a widespread following for his YouTube channel, Hail Mary Highlights.

Morris, who creates season-long highlight videos for popular NFL players such as Todd Gurley and Julio Jones, joined YouTube in fall of 2016.

“I was looking for videos online, and I wasn’t really finding full highlights,” Morris said. “A lot of the videos I found had music instead of game audio. I prefer to hear the commentators, and I thought, ‘You know what, I’m sure there’s other people who want to see longer videos too.’ So I just started making them for my favorite players.”

Morris makes the videos by cutting and clipping together the individual player’s highlights from weekly game highlight videos produced by the NFL’s YouTube channel. The videos can last anywhere from five to 16 minutes in duration.

“I go through each week and cut together the highlights all the way through, even if the team made

W

the playoffs,” Morris said. “I go through and see all the plays the players made that game, and see which ones are worthy, like a sizeable gain or a good move. Then I export it and throw it on YouTube.”

Morris’s most viewed video, a recap of Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson’s 2016-2017 season, has over 160,000 views. While each video takes several hours to create and publish, Morris doesn’t actively try to promote his channel.

“I haven’t really done too much promotion,” Morris said. “I didn’t really tell anyone about it until pretty recently. I’m not invested in making a big whole channel, I obviously think its cool to get more views and all that, but I’d rather put more time into making videos because that’s the fun part for me: getting to see, at the end, what I created.”

Morris does not seek any financial gain from his videos.

“I do not make money,” Morris said. “The film is copyrighted by the NFL, and I’m fine with that.

I don’t make it for the money, I just wanted to do something cool.”

IFA 19 is a necessary item in every video gamer’s collection.

From the challenges and frustrations of online gameplay to the time-sucking storylines of an RPG, FIFA is the all-in-one game.

If you are unfamiliar with the FIFA franchise, the games themselves aren’t particularly different, but there’s a system that Electronic Arts uses to produce a new game: improve the graphics, fix the speed of gameplay and add new features for interesting options to traditional FIFA. FIFA 19 follows this formula exactly and then some.

As well as improving the character likeness and celebrations, the EA Sports team also built upon it’s RPG storyline, The Journey, which debuted in FIFA 17. The storyline allows the player to jump between characters and understand their different paths in their careers while making crucial decisions that decide their success.

FIFA 19 took huge strides forward in their one-onone, local gameplay with additions of “House Rules” options. “House Rules” prevents the tedium of playing the same game over and over again by adding game modes that allow all fouls or contains two-point shots. Your wins and losses against your friends will be saved in local play, keeping an accurate record for bragging rights.

FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) is the online competition of the game and Fifa’s most popular feature. Building your “dream team” takes an entire year of saving coins and upgrading players to compete with better opponents.

If you have never played FIFA, you wouldn’t understand the controller-smashing, rage-quitting, roller coaster of emotions that comes with playing online FIFA. Between losing to pay-to-win players and winning a well-fought promotion game, FIFA uses constant extremes of happiness and frustration to keep you playing for hours.

Even if you don’t play soccer, FIFA 19 is the perfect game for any gamer. You will want to put hundreds of hours into the game, and after playing FIFA once, you will be a lifelong fan of the franchise. — Lyle Ochs

sports

32

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

LOOKBOOK

Fan Blizzard Friday A

s the regular season of winter sports starts to wind down and counter season starts to ramp up, every game counts in the SPC. On Friday Feb. 1, the Lions hosted the Cistercian Hawks in basketball and soccer as a part of Fan Blizzard Friday. It began in the morning with hot chocolate and t-shirts for the seniors, followed by a pep rally for Upper School students in Hicks Gym and cupcakes and cookies in the Great Hall before the games took place in the evening.

GOALAZO Freshman Noah Soliz breaks the deadlock in the 74th minute of the neck-and-neck contest against Cistercian.

WHITE OUT In the first half of the Lions’ 57-37 win against SPC rival Cistercian, the student section, dressed in all white, cheers on sophomore Harrison Ingram as he brings the ball up the court.

IN THE PAINT Fighting his way through the Cistercian defense, freshman Colin Smith hits a jumpshot for two points.

LION WALK After securing the 2-0 win against Cistercian to remain at the top of the SPC North Zone, soccer team members thank fans and parents for their support throughout the match.

GETTING HYPE The SuperFanMen, seniors Jake Yarckin, Austin Nadalini, Jack McCabe and Student Council President Landon Wood announce the upcoming sports events for Fan Blizzard Night.

PHOTOS Will Rocchio, Lee Schlosser

THREE POINT CHAMPION After defeating junior Obaid Akbar, freshman Luke Martin shoots lights-out in the championship round as he beats sophomore Klyde Warren in the pep rally threepoint competition in Hick’s Gym.

sports

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

33

LIVING UP TO A LEGACY

Like father, like son

Juniors place high in national crew regatta

J

Sophomore Eric Yoo sits down with sophomores Knobel Hunt and Henry McElhaney, whose fathers were both Lions soccer players.

SQUAD UP Clark Hunt ’83, sophomores Knobel Hunt and Henry McElhaney and Scott McElhaney ’85 exchange salutations after participating in the Alumni soccer game Dec. 27. The Alumni went on to defeat the varsity, 2-1.

Eric Yoo: What is the dynamic of having your father or son play the same sport as you?

Sophomore Knobel Hunt: I think it’s really fun. Realizing that every time you’re on that field that dad played on adds a little extra meaning while you’re out there, and knowing that every time I get up there, he’s supporting me and looking for me to do my best. I’m going to live up to his expectations and just work my hardest.

Clark Hunt ’83: It’s a lot of fun for me to get to see Knobel play and think about my days at St. Mark’s back in the early ‘80s when I played on the soccer team. I’ve had a chance to follow the program over the years.

My brother played here ten or 12 years after I graduated, so I got to see him play a little bit. It’s very special for me to get to see Knobel play for the varsity soccer team, and it brings back a whole bunch of very good memories.

Scott McElhaney: The fact we both play and love soccer gives us a lot to talk about and do together. As a parent, that’s wonderful. I sometimes like to tease Henry by explaining that the St. Mark’s soccer teams in the mid-1980s were really very good and

could beat this year’s team. But he is quick to tell me that he is skeptical that my old teammates and I ever could have been good players.

EY: Did your father’s playing soccer in high school have anything to do with your interests?

Henry McElhaney: I think that definitely has something to do with it. Obviously I like playing soccer, but having a dad who shares that same passion is great. Being able to talk with him about soccer is not something everyone can do with their fathers.

EY: What would it mean to follow in your father’s footsteps and win an SPC Championship?

KH: It’s something we desire greatly as a team, and I know we all go out there and work really hard every day to do so. I feel like we have a really good group of players this year. So I think that going out there and winning knowing that my dad won the same thing would be the icing on the cake.

SM: I hope the team gets to experience winning SPC. It’s a real accomplishment, and something you never forget. It will be tough to win, but with enough smart playing and men-

tal toughness, they can do it.

EY: What are your thoughts of the father-son dynamic?

CH: I think that, like most things that a father gets to teach your son, it’s a very special right anytime you have a chance to teach your son how to do something that you loved. There’s a great connection there that’s built between the two of you. That’s something that Knobel and I have enjoyed almost his entire life, and I would imagine that even once he’s done playing soccer, we will still enjoy watching the game together.

KH: It’s special. It’s a bonding experience. It’s something that we both have in common that we love dearly, and we’re able to connect through it.

It’s crazy to think that, not too long ago, I was really little and he was teaching us the basics of soccer. Because time flies, knowing that I have him to coach me and help me along is awesome.

HM: It’s a unique dynamic. It’s great to be able to talk with my dad about the games I play in and have him really understand what I’m saying.

Being able to have him give feedback on what I should and should not be doing really is valuable.

INTERVIEWS Nick Walsh, Eric Yoo PHOTOS Collin Katz, Courtesy Development Office Archives

THROWBACK Clark Hunt ‘83 (left) and Scott McElhaney ‘85 (right) make moves as members of the Lion’s varsity soccer team in 1983. The two players helped lead their team to an SPC championship for the 1982-83 season. Hunt played midfield and forward while McElhaney was a goalkeeper. Both players earned all-SPC during their careers here.

by William Aniol, Rajan Joshi uniors Christian Duessel and Billy Lockhart competed at the second annual U.S. Rowing Youth Regional Challenge, Dec. 13-15 in Sarasota, FL. Representing the Southeast Region,which placed in second overall, Duessel’s quad boat finished in third; meanwhile, Lockhart’s quad came in first.

The two applied after receiving an email and were selected among 430 other top rowers across the country. “[The event] is just to bring together the best rowers from around the country and put them head-to-head,” Lockhart said.

“They really concentrated the talent from across the country because all the best rowers from all the different regions applied.”

The challenge was held at Nathan Benderson Park, a famous race course where Olympians train yearly. Competing with the most talented rowers in the country was an eye-opening experience for both, as competition was much bigger and stronger than what they were used to.

“We now know all the talent in the country, we know kind of where we stand, we’ve been to the venue,” Lockhart said. “I was intimidated when I saw all the other rowers; I’m 6’3” and was the smallest in my boat. It was just humbling to see all the other talent.”

Likewise, Duessel felt honored to even be considered among the best in the nation.

“It was truly a humbling experience,” Duessel said. “To be given the opportunity to go up against the best rowers in the country was truly a blessing but also gave us perspective.”

Going into the challenge, the two didn’t know exactly what to expect. However, looking back upon their trip, they gained valuable experience which can be applied here at 10600.

“Being selected to attend then competing against all the best rowers in the country just gave me extra motivation for the upcoming season,” Lockhart said. “It made me work even harder than I was before and made me realize that I definitely have room to improve if I put the work in.”

Additionally, the two look forward to nationals next year, if they qualify, which will be held at the same race course.

“Now we’ve been there and it won’t be so intimidating because last year at nationals, the venue was really intimidating,” Duessel said. “It was our first time there, and we were very scared. Also, now we’ve seen some really good rowers and will definitely recognize them if we go back.”

sports

34

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8 , 2019

Senior Albert Luo to continue volleyball career at MIT

ICE TIME

Keeping things cool

Despite some logistical and physical challenges, sophomore John Hubbard has an affinity for an unusual Texan sport: hockey.

PUCK MASTER Gliding on the ice, sophomore John Hubbard tries to keep the puck in the offensive zone and score a goal for his Dallas Stars youth team.

Hubbard plays with players ranging from 15 to 18 years old.

S

ophomore John Hubbard races up the rink from his forward position seeking an outlet pass.

Scanning the center of the frigid ice for a teammate, in the corner of his eye looms a massive defenseman nearing him.

Immediately, the opponent extends his outreached arms, cross-checking him up against the boards.

He pushes back with every ounce of fight within him, creating himself space, then sharply jukes his defender, breaking free to center ice.

Now awaits a one-on-one opportunity with the goalie, looking him in the eye, the moment he’s been waiting for all his life growing up watching the Dallas Stars.

He fakes right, then left, then flings his wrists the black rubber puck zooms toward the top left corner.

And the buzzer sounds.

••• Living in Dallas, a non-traditional hockey hotbed, and being at a definite size disadvantage, Hubbard is not the

typical hockey player. However, he simply does not let this interfere with his love for the game.

Hubbard started playing hockey in ninth grade recreationally in the Dallas Stars’ junior league, simply wanting something different.

The league consists of 20 games per season along with practices twice a week held in Frisco.

He plays on a team ranging with 15 to 18 year olds, putting him at a notable size disadvantage.

“Honestly, hockey is just something different for me to do,” John said, “because I kind of got sick of the traditional sports I have been playing all of my life.”

— sophomore JOHN HUBBARD

“The older and bigger kids who have been playing for a lot longer have a huge advantage when it comes to the overall skill in the games,” Hubbard said. “But I think I have done a good job of holding my ground and

STORY William Aniol, Luke Nayfa PHOTO Courtesy John Hubbard

doing the best that I can.”

Although his skill is behind others’ owing to inexperience in the sport, he doesn’t let it interfere with his passion for the game.

“Hockey has taught me alot about how to continue to try to get better even if I am not as skilled as the other players,” Hubbard said.

“I play against kids who have been playing their whole life and that is a lot to compete with but I love the challenge.”

Not having a Lions hockey team for Hubbard and others creates an interesting dynamic as opposed to a school-sanctioned sport.

“It’s different because you have to try and actually meet the people on the team since you don’t already know them,” Hubbard said. “If we managed to get enough people interested in hockey here it would be great to have a team.”

When Hubbard first proposed the idea to his parents, they fully supported him and committed to driving out to Frisco.

“When I started mentioning the whole idea of trying out, my parents were all for it,” Hubbard said. “The only thing they were hesitant about was the long drive to Frisco but we ended up working that out.”

Hubbard’s mother, Patricia Hubbard, is proud of the strides John has made over the past year, owing to his determination.

“When John becomes interested in something, he’s pretty fearless about going all in,” Patricia said. “He had no prior experience, but in one year, he has learned to skate, practiced hockey skills, and made his way on to a team. His pursuit of hockey is driven by his desire to learn and to accomplish something he’s dreamed about.”

For Hubbard, hockey also serves as a life learning experience, teaching him to be patient and improve everyday at his craft.

“It’s something new that I can always get better at because I am so new to the sport,” Hubbard said. “I can continue to play at the recreational level even when I become an adult which is something I look forward to.”

by Cooper Ribman his coming Fall, Albert Luo will continue his volleyball career, playing setter for the MIT Engineers.

“Sophomore year was the first time a coach told me that I might have a shot at playing in college,” Luo said, “Since then, I’ve wanted to continue playing after I left St. Mark’s.”

Luo began playing more and more during the winter, spring and summer to try and increase his chances at getting recruited.

“Most of the recruiting happens during junior year,” Luo said, “That was when I really began looking at colleges.”

After a nationwide search, Luo narrowed his choiced down to two schools.

“For me, it was MIT or Vasser,” Luo said, “Those were some of the only schools I play that I could play volleyball for that also fit against my academic criteria.” kids who Though he worked hard for this have been playing their opportunity, Luo recognizes that he could not have done it alone. whole life, “I’m so grateful to my parents, teachand that ers, coaches and teammates that helped is a lot to me get to this point,” Luo said, “They compete made this journey possible and kept it with, but enjoyable along the way. I’ll always be I love the grateful for the support I’ve received.” challenge.”

T

“

sophomore John Hubbard

From playing with seventh grade PE coach Dwight Phillips to starting on varsity, senior Albert Luo has always loved volleyball.

“I played all six years, from seventh to twelfth grade, and loved it from the start,” Luo said.

Though his journey began in Middle School, he began to take the sport more seriously when high school began.

“Freshmen year was when I joined a club team outside of school,” Luo said, “That was the first time I saw competition outside of St. Mark’s. When all you see are SPC teams, you miss out on a lot of great competition.”

With this outside practice, Luo quickly moved up the ranks and began his career on varsity.

“I started playing varsity sophomore year,” Luo said, “The team needed a setter, and the coach made the investment in training a sophomore for the varsity spot.”

Luo’s career on the team came to an exciting end when the lions won the volleyball SPC Championship game against Trinity Valley.

“Winning the championship was incredible,” Luo said, “I dreamed about that for a long time. Ever since I was little, I wanted to play volleyball, and winning SPC in front of the whole school was awesome.”

sports

35 Swimming team dominates SPC competition, has tough time with public school foes.

<

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

2018 RECORD 5-2 2018 BEST FINISH 137-28 win vs. Cistercian Dec. 4 2017 SPC FINISH 2nd NOTABLE

The team lost 87-89 to Highland Park, with the deciding points going to Highland Park because of their diver, who gained six points for the Scots. There are no Lions divers.

THEY SAID IT “We’re doing really well, but we wish we could have the High-

land Park game back because we know we are the better team. We even beat them in the swimming part of the meet.” — sophomore Aayan Khasgiwala

TEAM CELLY After a goal versus Trinity Valley Jan. 25, senior Seth Weprin celebrates with teammates Henry McElhaney, Knobel Hunt, William Holtby, Eric Yoo and Blake Rogers. The Lions won 4-1.

<

Soccer squad surges into first place in SPC North Zone 2018 RECORD 12-3-1

2017 RECORD 9-8-3

2017-2018 SPC FINISH 4th THEY SAID IT “We’ve started the counter season off strong with several wins and one tie. We are coming together strongly as a team, peaking at the right time. I think we will really have a good shot at winning SPC if we keep focusing on working hard and improving with each practice and game played.”— junior Ben Hao

“We’ve refined our defense, and offensively we’re in pretty good shape averaging about three goals per game. We’re scoring enough goals but just giving up too many goals. Our goal is to get one of the top two seeds so we get the bye for SPC, not having to play in the play-in game. We’re playing our best soccer, and part of that is because we’ve gelled as a team. We had a bunch of individuals, now we’ve become more of a team.”— head coach Cory Martin

SUPPORTIVE SWIMMERS Looking out over the pool from the deck, sophomore Daniel Wu (left) and junior David Li (center) cheer on their teammates vs. Greenhill Jan. 18. The Lions won the meet by 42 points.

< Wrestling continues

by several highly-ranked < Led recruits, basketball sits

strong season

undefeated and at top of SPC North Zone standings.

2018 BEST FINISH 1st at St. Mark’s Invitational

2018 RECORD 24-5

2018 NORTH ZONE FINISH 1st

2017 RECORD 24-6

2017 SPC FINISH 2nd

NOTABLE This is the first year in head coach Greg Guler’s tenure in which his squad has shot better than 40% percent from three point range. The Lions hit 31 threes against Heritage Christian Jan. 11 and won by a score of 112-71.

NOTABLE The team placed sixth at the annual prep-state duals in Houston Jan. 19 and has three wrestlers ranked in the top three for their weight classes in prep state.

THEY SAID IT

“Winners win and losers lose. The season is going great considering all of the tough teams we have been playing. We have become very close to each other and I feel like i could hangout one on one with anyone on the team.”

— sophomore Harrison Ingram

THEY SAID IT “Every time we step on the mat, we’re always ready to give 100 percent for ourselves and our team.” — senior Colin Neuhoff

IMPROVEMENT Junior Lachezar Hadzhigenov engages with his opponent, sophomore Jackson Fair, during practice.

TIP OFF Junior Andrew Laczkowski shows his vertical against Casady Jan. 26. The Lions won 77-55.

COMPILATIONS William Aniol, Luke Nayfa, Cooper Ribman PHOTOS Blake Broom, Daniel Sanchez

For the sports junkie A deeper dive into Lions sports for the winter season. Statistics and records reflect games through Feb. 2.

MASTERS OF THEIR TRADE Senior William Haga (left) eagerly anticipates an opponent’s shot.

Sophomore James Carr (below) prepares for his entry into the pool.

SPC soccer Last five results: vs. Cistercian vs. Casady vs. Trinity Valley vs. John Paul II @ FWCD

SPC basketball 2-0 3-1 4-1 3-0 3-2

The next two @ ESD SPC

2/8 2/15

SPC North Zone: Standings and points Win = 3 points, Tie = 1 point, Loss = 0 points St. Mark’s 13 Casady 12 Cistercian 10 ESD 9

Oakridge 9

Greenhill 8 Trinity Valley 2 FWCD 0

North Zone: St. Mark’s Oakridge Cistercian Greenhill ESD Casady Trinity Valley FWCD

5-0 5-0 3-2 3-2 3-2 2-3 0-6 0-5

The next two vs. ESD 2/8 SPC 2/14

Advanced stats: Notable single-game performances: Freshman Colin Smith had 24 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and two steals vs.

Dallas Christian Sophomore Harrison Ingram had 13 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 blocks and three steals vs Casady Jan. 26 .

SPC swimming

The next one

SPC wrestling

2/16

SPC Championships 2/16 @ FWCD

SPC Championships @ Fort Worth

The next two

Prep Nationals in Bethlehem, PA

2/22

Advanced stats: The closer a swimmer gets to a stroke’s record, the more points out of 20 they get. Here are the top five point-getters so far:

Advanced stats:

1. Mark Weisburg: 129 points

4-2

2. Robert Newman: 127 points 3. David Li: 124 points 4. Daniel Wu: 117 points 5. Nicolas Gomez: 115 points

The team at the Prep State Duals at St. John’s in Houston:

Beat EHS 45-34 Beat ESD Beat Trinity Valley 48-26 Lost to St. John’s Lost to Liberty Christian

remarker

the

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

SHOWTIME Junior William Holtby faces off againts an opposing player during the team’s home game against Trinity Valley Jan. 25. The Lions would go on to win the game 4-1.

36

backpage

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

SURF’S UP

Paradise dreaming

After surfing for more than ten years, sophomore Jack Palmer has found a sense of appreciaion for the power of the wave.

D

uck-diving underwater to avoid the massive wave ahead, sophomore Jack Palmer surfaces from the lukewarm salt water in his wetsuit ready enter the barrel of the oncoming wave. Palmer sits motionless on top of the floating board, dreaming of the day that he can hang ten and hit a kick flip.

For Palmer, this has become a hobby that he can enjoy, but also something he can do with his dad. Unlike many familiar father and son bonding moments like playing catch in the front yard, Palmer and his father have found a shared interest in something a little different: surfing.

It has become a hobby that Palmer picked up around 11 years ago, and he has been able to work on his craft in his vacation home in Punta Mita, HANG TEN Riding a wave, sophomore Jack Palmer braces to finish out the ride. After being taught by his father, PalmMexico. er has been able to find a new hobby and passion in a sport many upper schoolers have barely thought about: surfing.

1

Surfing, most importantly throughout my life, has been a connection with my dad. He used to surf when he was young, and he taught me to surf when I was five or six. He taught me in Australia, which is where he’s from.

Now, we surf in Punta Mita in Mexico.

It’s a little town called near Puerto Vallarta, which is on the west coast, in the Pacific. My family has a house there, so we go there for most vacations and holidays. We’ve been going there for eight years, and I do focus a lot of my life around surfing. That place, that’s where I always want to be. That’s paradise for me. I’ve found my paradise, which is lucky.

2

I’ve been surfing for 11 years. My dad and I, we surf together, and it’s become more of a father-son kind of bond thing that we have. My dad’s the biggest influence, not

STOKED Overlooking the beach in Punta Minta, Mexico, Palmer has been able to find his home away from home.

only in surfing but my whole life. He’s always loved the sport, and he’s the biggest role model I’ve ever had. He loves doing things with me and surfing was something that he found that we could do together.

We also get to have fun, travel and go see new places while doing the one thing that unites us. I’ve met so many people through surfing too, and we’ve been able to make many family friends. The surfing community is a beautiful community one. They live almost to have fun. That seems like just the perfect lifestyle for me.

3

I haven’t surfed in Texas, but some people have. The big tankers down in Galveston, some people ride the wake of that, which is pretty cool. I’d like to do that one day.

I’ve surfed in California before. And one difference between California and where I surf in Mexico is that it is so crowded in California. It can sometimes be a toxic environment.

It’s a lot about which wave belongs to which person, which there are different rules you follow.

But a lot of times those rules are ignored in California because there can be upwards of 200 people in one place fighting for one wave. But down in Mexico the maximum we have is 30. That doesn’t even happen that often, only during Christmas or other holidays. From my experience, it’s more of a friendly environment down where I surf. That’s part of the reason we’ve made so many friends and made so many great memories there and why we’ve put our second home there.

4

One of the moments I remember best was probably when my sister and I were still about two years into learning. I remember out of nowhere I just turned, and that’s something you have to learn. It comes to you, but you don’t know when, and you have to work on it.

And it just came to me naturally and my dad was really excited.

I didn’t know what really happened, I didn’t

STORY Jahaziel Lopez PHOTOS Courtesy Jack Palmer

really realize that I had turned. It just happened.

That’s what surfing is a lot of the times. It’s in the moment. You just have to learn to enjoy it. That’s why so many people even risk their lives. It’s a very live in the now sport.

5

Being competitive is always a good thing but I think I’m competitive enough in other important parts of my life, such as the water polo and swimming teams here at school. I like being able to just enjoy the sport with myself, my friends and my dad. The biggest thing that I’m proud of is I’ve taken a few friends down there from Dallas with me, and I’ve tried to teach them.

A lot of times it’s not very successful, but one time a friend, after two or three hours of practice was able to eventually to stand up on his own. It was a pretty big achievement, especially because where we surf is not exactly a beginner’s spot. I was proud of both myself and my friend when he was able to stand up on one of their first tries.

6

Surfing is a passion. It’s something that I’ve loved doing basically my whole life.

My goal is just to keep surfing. If I have any sons in the future, I want to teach them how to surf just how my dad taught me. I want to keep surfing a place where I go to and have fun.

I don’t want it to become anything more or anything less than it already is, I just want it to stay like that. I want surfing to be a place where I can relax and where I do not have to worry about anything.

That’s what surfing is for me. It’s a place for myself to be me.

6’8”

The length of Palmer’s shortboard

The Breakdown

Palmer uses a shortboard when surfing, which is a shorter board and is typically used for riding bigger waves