The ReMarker | December 2017

The ReMarker newspaper • St. Mark’s School of Texas • Dallas, Texas • Volume 64 Issue 3 • December 8, 2017

Louis C.K. responds to accusations: ‘These s t o r i e s a r e t r u e .’ G e o r g e H .W. B u s h g r o p e d h e r w h e n s h e w a s 1 6 . B i l l Co s by ’s s ex u a l assault case ends in a mistrial. Eight women say Charlie Rose sexually harassed t h e m . H a r v e y We i n s t e i n p a i d o f f s e x u a l harassment accusers for decades. Holly wood d i r e c t o r J a m e s To b a c k a c c u s e d o f s e x u a l harassment by 38 women. NBC news fires M a t t L a u e r a f t e r s e x u a l m i s c o n d u c t r e v i e w.

Kev i n S p a cey i s s u e s a p o l o g y to a c to r a f te r s e x u a l a c c u s a tthe i o n dynamics . B e n A f f l e cof k apologizes for groping actress Hilarie Burton 14 years ago.

Nickelodeon sexual harassment allegations against Chris Savino. Roy Price Quits Amazon studios After Sexual Harassment Claim. Chef John Besh Steps Down Amid S e x u a l H a ra s s m e n t S c a n d a l . At ra l l y, R o y Moore calls sexual misconduct allegations d i r t y p o l i t i c s . To p H o l l y w o o d a g e n t A d a m Ve n i t i s a c c u s e d o f g r o p i n g T e r r y C r e w s . L e o n Wieseltier gum admits ‘offenses’ against female colleagues . Robert Scoble resigns after sexual harassment charges. David Blaine accused of raping model in London in 2004 . Roman Polanski accused of rape by fo r m e r G e r m a n a c t re s s. R Ke l l y f a ce s f re s h allegation of underage sex and physical a b u s e. Kev i n S o r b o a n d a l l e g e d s ex u a l a s s a u l t b y G i a n n i Ve r s a c e . D u s t i n H o f f m a n allegedly sexually assaulted Meryl Streep.

Jenny McCarthy alleges sexual harassment b y S t e v e n It’s Se a g a la. near E ddaily We s t w i another ck Accused of become headline: man s e x u a l a s sprominent ault by a accused t h i r d of wsexual o m amisdoings. n . G e o r g e Ta k e i This begs the question: how do we conduct a c c u s e d o f ourselves s e x u ainl ltoday’s y a s world s a u when l t i n so g many former model i n 1 9 8 1 . J e f fprofessional r e y Ta m bsocial o r qinteractions uits ‘Transparent’ and s h o w a m i d s e xare unow a l being h a rre-defined? assment. Senator Al Davis Bailey, Sam Shane, F r a n k e n m a k e s • Story aReecen ew apology amid sexual Rabin, Wallace White h a r a s s m e n t a l l e gArtwork a t i oNaftal n sMautia .

Republican Jeff H o o v e r ’ s o w n s e x u aSEE STORY l PAGEh16 a r a s s m e n t s c a n d a l .

News in brief

BURKE GIVES TED TALK

Junior Trevor Burke gave a talk at the TEDxKids@SMU 2017 event held Nov. 30.

Along with 100 other sophomores, juniors and seniors selected, Burke hosted middle school students during the conference, the first TED-style event for the youth.

At the event, he spoke on the state of the Blackland Prairie habitat and what he and his brother are doing to save it.

REMARKER

POWER

HEADLINES OBTAINED FROM ACTUAL ONLINE AND PRINT NEWS SOURCES.

11 minutes with...

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Having the opportunity to be the head of Middle School fills me with great joy and a great sense of purpose.

DEAN CLAYMAN Page 8

Life in brief

NASECK TAKES YOUNGARTS Senior Perry Naseck will travel to Miami Jan. 8, 2018 for National YoungArts Week. His wood and metal work was recognized as a national finalist in the design arts by the National YoungArts Foundation.

Three other seniors received recognition for exemplary accomplishment in the arts: Riley Sanders received a merit award in photography, Jack Parolisi received a merit award in design arts and Crawford Helbing received a merit award in visual arts.

Only 757 artists in the nation received finalist, honorable mention or merit award status.

Sports in brief

IMPORTANT MATCHUPS TONIGHT To kick off an important day of the season in winter sports, the soccer team will host Trinity Valley here at 7 p.m.

The basketball team will face Oak Cliff’s W. H. Adamson High School shortly after at 7:30 tonight in Hicks Gym. Finally, the JV wrestling team will host a JV tournament in Spencer Gym and will participate in a varsity tournament the following day at R.L. Turner High School to cap off an busy weekend for Lions winter sports.

Inside NEWS THE MANUAL LIFE PERSPECTIVES BUZZ COMMENTARY SPORTS BACK PAGE

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Marmion to hold newly established J.J. Connolly Master Teaching chair starting next school year

by James Rogers oreign Language Department Chair Nancy Marmion was announced as the first holder of the newly-formed J. J. Connolly Master Teaching Chair Nov. 27.

Having received funding from alumni since Connolly’s Nancy Marmion passing in New 2014, the chair Master Teacher will be established by the beginning of next school year.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Marmion said. “I’ve worked at St. Mark’s with J.J Connolly, so I know the esteem in which

F

he’s held by any of his former students.”

The process to form the chair took six years.

“Whenever we have a Master Teaching Chair come online,” Headmaster David Dini said, “we go through a deliberative process and have a lot of internal conversations. Mrs. Marmion is obviously an expert in her field. She has a lot of qualities, characteristics and experience we look for in a Master Teaching Chair.”

Because Marmion held an administrative position as the Foreign Language Department Chair, she will no longer be allowed to hold the position and will return to the classroom full-time starting

next August.

“This is my 24th year as a department head,” Marmion said, “and it was hard to decide to step down. There are still ways that the department can grow.

At the same time, because I’ve been department head for 24 years, maybe it’s a good time for somebody to come in with a fresh vision. ” Since Marmion is stepping down, she says the biggest challenge she will have to face is continuing her relationships with her colleagues.

“I’ll miss the collaboration with each of the members of the department,” Marmion said. “I’m sure I’ll still be able to collaborate with them, but in my role

as department head, I’ve been able to go to the classroom of every teacher in the department and gotten to know each one of them.”

Dini is pleased with the support of the alumni that contributed to the position.

“It’s a great testament to the experiences they’ve had,” Dini said, “and its crucial to our well-being as a school. Our alumni understand that the strength of the school rests on the quality of the people and the teachers, and their willingness to invest in things like Master Teacher Chairs is a way of their communicating their belief in great teaching.”

Page 2

You’re there right beside me...

I

sit comforted, not by the hard wooden backs of the pew I sit in or the purple, velvet-colored buttons that jut out of the worn-down cushion under me, but by the 300 Sunday morning church attendees that pack the sanctuary.

Our pastor slowly walks up to the front podium, extends his arms — palms up — out at his sides and begins to fill the room with his dominating voice.

“Twenty-six of our brothers and sisters were killed this week in Sutherland Springs. Twenty-six souls, no longer with us.

We, as a congregation, in the face of this terrible tragedy, have the opportunity, the responsibilDavis Bailey ity to rally Managing around editor and support…”

He continues on about how our church can lead the relief and comfort efforts, but I — along with the entire assembly ­— can’t hear a word he says. Every iota of our focus instead is on the back doors of the sanctuary, which open with a muffled creak.

A tall, broad-shouldered, broad-bellied man shuffles in through the doorway. His black combat boots squeak on the tile floor with each nervous, shaking step.

And his face, I would imagine, is clenched tight, distorted underneath the black Batman mask that concealed his identity.

Immediately, my mind raced to the scene I had seen displayed so many times before on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC. Red and blue lights flash in the background, while a reporter — a mixture of terror, disgust and hopelessness glazing over his or her eyes — speaks to a nation of unbelieving mourners.

Columbine, Aurora, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas and now Sutherland Springs in our home state, all bearing a variation on the same headline: “26 killed in mass shooting.”

The man stepped out of the aisle and into an empty pew on the back row. He did not sit down, he did not take off the mask and he did not take his hands out of his pockets. As the pastor continued to talk to the backs of our heads, the families to the left and right of me left through the side doors.

A lone police officer ­— normally posted in the back corner of the building — navigates the maze of pews towards the man.

I expect him to leap over a row of seats, tackling our unknown churchgoer to the ground, but the police officer calmly sits down, inches from the unfaltering stander’s legs, and pulls out a Bible from the back of the pew ahead of him.

The police officer — as the congregation holds its collective breath – looks up to the man next to him and whispers a few words, words heard only by the two of them. Slowly, painfully, the masked man sits down on the velvet cushions.

After a few seconds, the sanctuary turns back to the pastor. “… now, we offer up our voices together. Please join us in singing hymn 157.”

As I leaf through the hymnal’s pages and begin to sing, I glance to the back row to see the police officer, one arm around the shoulder of the man — no longer masked — now belting out the hymn, despite tears in his eyes.

“Still You’re there right beside me, Nothing will I fear as long as you are near, Please be near me to the end.”

NEWS Owen Berger photo

LOOKING AHEAD

Senior Henry Kistler and his grandfather George Scragg read Kistler’s schedule for the day ahead Nov. 16 during Grandparents’ Day. The day included several hundred grandparents attending classes with their grandsons. After a brief address from Headmaster David Dini, the grandparents spent the day on campus.

News in brief GRANDPARENTS DAY TAKES OVER CAMPUS Three weeks ago, students were invited to bring their grandparents to school for Grandparents’ Day Nov. 16.

The day began with a breakfast before school featuring a talk from Headmaster David Dini.

After this, students brought grandparents to their classes and attended a Grandparents’ Day chapel.

UPPER SCHOOL QUIZ BOWL COMPETES AT HARVARD The Upper School Quiz Bowl team placed ninth out of 36 teams at a national tournament at Harvard

University Nov. 11.

The team consisted of senior Abdullah Akbar, junior Connor Pierce, sophomore Nicholas Cerny and freshman Ned Tagtmeier.

They competed against teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation.

language.

The opening, Lower School prayer and dismissal are all done in Spanish. Additionally, the introduction to the lesson is also done in Spanish.

DEBATE GOES TO HOCKADAY FOR TOURNAMENT Two debate teams participated in Hockaday’s annual debate tournament this past weekend and advanced to the semifinals.

Junior Samir Ratakonda and senior Harris Wilson competed as a team, and juniors David Vallejo and Max Wang competed as a team.

Although this tournament did not affect any rankings, Ratakonda

LOWER SCHOOL STARTS MONTHLY SPANISH CHAPEL The lower schoolers have started doing a monthly chapel in Spanish. This tradition started after International Week when the administration decided to give the students more exposure to the

said it was a pivotal prelude to the upcoming debate season.

YEARBOOK NOMINATED FOR CSPA CROWN AWARD The 2016-2017 Marksmen yearbook was recently named as a crown finalist by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association [CSPA], which honors the top student publications in the country.

The publication will find out whether it takes home gold or silver crown at the Spring convention in March.

A board of judges reviews all eligible publications to determine the crown selections, which is based on excellence in design,

photography, concept, coverage and writing.

The Marksmen is one of the 59 print-yearbooks chosen by the panel of judges to receive a crown next spring.

MCDONALD’S WEEK RAISES MORE THAN 12K FOR CHARITY This year’s McDonald’s Week raised more than $12,000 in support of Austin Street Center.

Led by co-chairs Parker Davis and Blake Rogers along with the Junior Class, the event was themed McScooby-Doo and provided opportunities for the class to bond.

­­­­­­— James Rogers, Wallace White, Ishan Gupta, Sid Vattamreddy, Christopher Wang, Michael Lukowicz

Say what?

Inside

3

Comments made by students, faculty and staff around campus

Alternative scheduling

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A faculty committee will be reviewing the schedule to determine if changes should be made.

4 Age of iPhones

I used to put frogs in a vacuum and watch them go splat. ­— Chemistry instructor Jon Valasek

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With kids getting smartphones at younger ages each year, how does that affect them?

Wilderness program

8

Middle school heads

Interim heads of Middle School named to permanent positions.

On campus Lessons and Carols · Where: Chapel · When: Dec. 12, 6:30 p.m. · What: A holiday performance by the choir All-school Christmas Party · Where: The Great Hall · When: Dec. 15, 11 a.m. · What: A Christmas tradition before break

­— Junior Jack Rocchio

7

People are calling for an expanded wilderness program, one that doesn’t end in Pecos, New Mexico.

I just freaked out because I couldn’t find my sweatshirt that I put in the washing machine, but it was actually stuck to the top of the washing machine.

Around the corner

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Coach! What type of Nikes are those? They ain’t clean... ­—Freshman Julian Ivarra on coach Ryan Hershner’s brown dress shoes

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When I was younger, I was the beta of my family. ­—Junior George Lamb

2016 CHRISTMAS PARTY

Off campus

Six Flags Holiday in the Park · Where: Six Flags Over Texas · When: Daily until Jan. 7, times vary · What: Christmas celebration at Six Flags Holiday Wonder at Fair Park · Where: Fair Park · When: Daily until Jan. 7 · What: 17-acre Holiday celebration

News • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 3

A WRINKLE IN TIME Alternative scheduling

With more and more schools switching from traditional schedules to alternative forms, the school’s administration is faced with a daunting question: should we make a change?

F

orty minutes into class, and Marcus Master Teacher Bruce Westrate is just getting started with the Enlightenment.

Marie Antoinette. Louis XIV. Thomas Jefferson. Images of them race through his head.

Westrate starts to cover enlightened absolutism, but then he sees the clock. There’s only five minutes left in class. I still have to teach them about Catherine the Great! How am I going to finish?

Westrate thinks of how much more material he could cover with ten more minutes.

And then ten becomes 20.

Twenty becomes 45.

He thinks of the question faced by the school. Should we change how the school day functions?

•••

Tackling this important question is the Schedule Review Committee [SRC], chaired by Upper School head Patrick Andrén. The committee is comprised of the various department and division heads, along with the headmaster and associate headmaster.

“The SRC’s role over the next two years is to explore and identify the tensions with our current schedule and to ask big questions about how might we allocate time to best serve our community now and in the future,” Associate Headmaster John Ashton said.

The SRC will review various methods both • ‘If there’s a better on campus and way to learn that around America we can figure out by someone coming in and to determine helping us, show us the effectiveness the facts and research of alternative that we can learn scheduling and more efficiently and effectively. Then, go how effective for it.’ one could be. To Sophomore accomplish this Christian Duessel goal, administrators will bring in outside help.

“We’re actually partnering with a group called the Independent School Management [ISM],” Ashton said, “and what they’re doing is they’re going to come into our school, evaluate how the school day currently runs and then once some of the SRC travels around the country to see how other scheduling methods works, ISM might recommend an alternative schedule for us.”

Administrators will meet with ISM Jan. 3 to discuss possibilities for alternative scheduling. However, Ashton believes throughout this

whole process, the ideal schedule is one that will work for our school community, not one that’s found elsewhere. The ideal schedule might be a block schedule, it might be a traditional schedule not unlike our current schedule or it could be something entirely different.

“One thing that will come out from all of our research,” Ashton said, “is when you start to look at the different models around the country of schedules, there are 50 different ways to allocate the time during the day between those two end posts [traditional scheduling and block scheduling]. I think schedule allocation time is pretty unique to each school. In the end, we might find that our current schedule works for us. You never know.”

Before taking any action to change the schedule, Ashton believes the school needs to weigh the pros and cons of our current schedule, with some of the cons being very important towards fostering community growth.

“For example,” Ashton said, “there’s not time in our day where boys can go off campus and do, perhaps, service or other things. There aren’t times in the day where we have opportunities for faculty to work together because we don’t share a common period or common block of time during the day.”

However, Ashton also thinks some of the pros of our current schedule create a strong community, which creates lots of the challenge for him.

“I think seeing the boys every day is a pro,” Ashton said. “Seeing students every day is a positive, without a doubt. I think another pro is the way we have the ability to manage absences, like if the students are sick or whatnot, because we see the students every day, five times a week.

I think our schedule allows for guys to get the classes they want. I think another positive of our schedule is that we have embedded time Monday through Friday, from 10:30-11 a.m., where we build community.”

Sophomore Christian Duessel, who

attended ESD until eighth grade, has seen the pros and cons of alternative methods of scheduling firsthand, but he still prefers the school’s current system. “[ESD] has changed it every year since I was there,” Duessel said.

“They’re continually testing new methods. Last time when I was there in eighth grade, you would have every class every day except one.

It would rotate and then one class would be left out every day.”

Duessel believes the later start time many private schools have is a huge advantage for students.

• Story Sam Shane, Ishan Gupta Artwork Naftal Mautia

“ESD starts at 8:45 a.m.,” Duessel 45 MINUTE said, “and then a lot of kids get to school early and can meet with their teachers and things, but starting at 8 a.m., a lot of students live far away, and so they don’t have that opportunity to go and meet with their teachers before school.”

Along with the personal disadvantages Duessel sees in switching over to a system like ESD’s, he disagrees with common arguments for block scheduling.

“One of the big arguments is you have longer classes so the teachers can get more stuff done,” Duessel said. “Personally, I would have trouble focusing for the last 15 minutes of class. For me, class is unproductive for the last ten minutes because it’s an hour and something of classes.”

Student Council President Canyon

Kyle agrees with Duessel when it comes to the time spent learning.

“I like [our current] schedule because the time is long enough to cover the material and comprehend it,” Kyle said. “But it’s not so long that our attention is lost.”

However, for Dr. Jerusha Westbury, who attended a school with block scheduling when she was a student, longer classes have their own significant advantages.

“One of the things that I really like about block schedules and having more time is that you have more freedom in the kind of activities you can ask students to do,” Westbury said.

“For example, if you wanted to show a film, you could show the whole film instead of having to break it up into multiple segments.”

Despite these pros, Westbury also thinks that block scheduling won’t drastically change the amount of free time students have, which is a common argument for alternative methods of scheduling.

“I don’t see how a block schedule would give you more time,” Westbury said. “If we’re looking at ways to get students more free time, I don’t know if a block schedule would actually make any difference to that.

It wouldn’t add or eliminate any of your free periods. You’d still only be taking six classes, but you’d be taking three one day and three another day.”

Westbury echoes Ashton’s sentiments in some of his positives towards our current traditional schedule.

“What I like about our current schedule is that I get to know my students better,” Westbury said. “I see them day in, day out, and since part of the school’s mission is to educate young men as people as well as students in academics, that’s pretty vital to that mission.”

BLOCK

80 MINUTE BLOCK

The Consensus

DO YOU PREFER A TRADITIONAL SCHEDULE OVER ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF SCHEDULING? NO

YES

38% 62% students prefer a traditional schedule

8

the average number of classes taken at schools with block scheduling

8:03 a.m.

the average high school start time nationwide

average length of block scheduled classes

30% percent of schools in the U.S. using block scheduling Sources: St. Mark’s ISAS Self Study American Association of School Adminstrators Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A tale of two schedules

St. Mark’s 8

Hockaday

Periods per day

4

45 Minutes per period 80 5-7 Classes per trimester 7 5 Days per rotation 6

Page 4 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • News

THE AGE OF IPHONES Smartphone use

Age 15? 12? 9? When is an acceptable age to get an iPhone? With students getting them at younger ages every year, how does the school respond?

GLOW IN THE DARK Huddled together in a dark room, five lower schoolers sit in silence, thier faces illuminated only by the glow of their phones.

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ome call it a plague.

Some call it the miracle of this generation.

Some call it a revolution.

Nonetheless, it’s taken over the world. It’s addictive. And at here, it’s more pervasive than ever before.

It’s the iPhone.

Every year, Marksmen are getting iPhones at younger and younger ages.

Having worked at the school for the last decade, Middle School Head Dean Clayman has seen a change in the Middle School dynamic as the popularity of phones increases.

“The preponderance of devices has increased at a younger age,” Clayman said. “More boys have devices than ever have had them before. They are more connected to family and others through social media than they have been in the past.”

But according to Clayman, the new • ‘My biggest fear is that as we become more ease in dependent on devices commufor communication nication we lose the ability to comes interact on a face-towith its face personal basis.’

Dean Clayman drawMiddle School Head backs.

“I do think there are concerns about boys maintaining a life independent of their devices,” Clayman said. “If we’re looking at trends, more Middle School boys are becoming reliant on their devices.”

Middle School Assistant Head Jason Lange, a major proponent of using technology in the classroom, says the ability to self-control phone use should start at an early age.

“Learning to manage the That’s really important, especialresponsibility that comes with a ly for students, because you’re phone is going to be absolutely learning all the time, and if you essential for not only the school, never allow your brain to go into but also the parents and the download mode that informastudents,” Lange said. tion can go in one ear and out Although there are adthe other.” vantages iPhones bring to the Sometimes idleness is the school, Lower and Middle very seed of creativity.

School Counselor Dr. Gabriela “Downtime is why peoReed says many problems often ple have their best ideas in the stem from constant phone use. shower,” Reed said, “because “Part of the problem is that you literally have nothing to do we turn to our phones when with your brain besides sit there we’re bored,” Reed said. “Rather and think.” than interacting with our world Even though iPhones can or allowing ourselves to have easily point kids in the wrong downtime direction, Lange says there where we is no stopping the fast-growJason Lange ing culture around them. As daydream Middle School or think Assistant Head the school looks towards the about the future, the best course of action future, is instilling discipline among we’re constantly looking for students. external entertainment. We “It’s inevitable that phones need to learn to keep ourselves are going to become a more company.” pervasive part of our school The missing boredom that’s culture,” Lange said. “We are replaced by screen time is one going to have to work together of the most crucial things that to make sure phones find their a phone takes away from brain appropriate place in an academic development. environment.”

“It’s important to allow ourBut when it comes to what selves to feel bored sometimes,” the appropriate age for a child to Reed said. “Our brains use bored get a phone is, there are countdowntime to do all kinds of realless variables. ly important things. Downtime “It really depends on the is crucial for figuring out who maturity level of the kid,” we are.”

Reed said. “It depends on the Reed says that downtime is level of parental oversight, it the most valuable time people depends on their friend group have to process everything they — there are a lot of factors that have learned throughout the day. have to go into that decision.

“All of the memories and There are some kids who are bits of information that we ready for a phone much earlier, gather all day long, when you go but some kids really need their into downtime, get transferred parents’ help keeping it from to your longer term memory. them until they’re ready.”

The breakdown

The situation: As we look at the different effects an iPhone has on students, two sixth graders gave up their phones for three full days.

Here’s what frequent iPhone users Baxter Perry-Miller and Warner Hartnett had to say at the end of every day without their phones.

Baxter Perry-Miller

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I spend an hour and a half on my phone every day, before school to play games and after school to call my parents. Tonight, it probably won’t be very different without my phone.

It hasn’t been that bad, I’ve definitly been spending more time with my family and friends. I’m going outside and playing.

Warner Hartnett

Day 1

Day 2

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The experience was enlightening. A phone is nice to have but it isn’t necessary. as time went on I realized if it’s not for video games then I don’t use it a whole lot. No matter how much you think you need it, you really don’t.

‘

‘ ‘

Day 3

I probably use my phone two to three hours a day.

When I use my phone, I either get calls from people, watch Netflix, play games or get texts.

Without my phone, I feel a little bit better, but I can’t say how.

I missed watching Netflix in between doing homework, but I had a lot more time. I used it to do homework, it was packed. I also got to spend more time with family.

I felt like I was better off without my phone. What I missed most was probably the alarm clock. I kind of missed Netflix but I realized I was better off without it. This experience taught me that I need to live more in the present. I had more time to do things.

• Story Kamal Mamdani, Michael Lukowicz Photo Riley Sanders

Middle School takes on new Community Service project in addition to traditional Gift Drive

by Ishan Gupta he Middle School advisories and Lower School homerooms donated gifts to 70 children Dec. 7 through the Community Partners of Dallas (CPD).

Started by the Middle School Community Service Board, this initiative is run by Middle School community service coordinator Meagan Frazier.

The board has worked on projects like this in the past, donating gifts to 25 children last year themselves, but it wanted to increase the number of boys it could help.

“This year, when we all sat down with Sr. [Jorge] Correa, Ms. [Isabel]

T

Toledo and I,” Frazier said, “we really thought that it would be something that would be really cool if we could open it up to Lower School and Middle School advisories as well.”

Each advisory was assigned a boy who had asked for a gift through CPD. In many cases, the gifts from the advisories would be the only presents the boys would receive during the holidays.

Middle School Community Service Board member Niles Harvey believes the gifts are a great way to give back to the Dallas community.

“The reason we do it is just to show

that we care because at the end of the day, we need to make sure to be an example to those that do not have as much as we do,” Harvey said. “Knowing our reputation as a school, we just need to make sure we follow through and give to other people.”

Because there were fewer advisories than needed, the board, Middle School office and Lower School office were also assigned their own boys. Frazier believes by donating gifts to a child of their own, the board was able to lead by example.

Since the age of the boys ranged from preschoolers to 16-year-olds, the

gifts the boys asked for ranged from simple Legos to much more expensive toys.

“If we can’t get something that the kid wants, we had to get something that’s comparable to it,” Harvey said.

Frazier and Harvey want to open this initiative to upper schoolers as well.

‘It’s an opportunity for us to really show kids that we care and just all in all help because I know there are kids who don’t get the opportunity to get the gifts that they want,” Harvey said. “It’s good for them to know that they have people who care for them.”

News •December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 5

The Breakdown

A HELPING HAND FOR ALL

With new services being offered to students in all grades, we asked Barbara Van Drie and Dr. Gabriella Reed from the counseling office about what they do for the community.

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he students had no idea.

A few weeks ago, AP psychology instructor Barbara Van Drie, was about to teach her class a new form of meditation.

The practice helps hospital patients, Olympic athletes and others who benefit from stress reduction.

The students loved it. They came back for more. They started practicing it on their own.

The surprising part of this meditation form: all it requires is a chime.

Besides the typical discussions about

problem solving, family life and academic support, the counseling office is offering new ways to help students.

Van Drie, who also serves as director of counseling, introduced a meditative practice to her class that stems from her training in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).

“It’s basically a secular form of meditation,” Van Drie said, “and it’s used for stress reduction in hospitals and psychotherapy. I had my class experience it as well.”

Van Drie uses the chime as a signal, but the type of meditation is up to the student.

“It’s a particular way of paying attention,” Van Drie said, “one that gives rise to a moment to moment, non-judging awareness. I use a chime at the beginning and end to bring your attention to focus. I basically talk [the class] through it. It can just be muscle relaxation or focusing on anything really.”

While this can help improve academic performance, Van Drie says athletes can also benefit from it as well.

“You can also use it for performance enhancement,” Van Drie said.

“Olympic athletes use it to enhance their athletic performance or help them calm themselves down.”

In addition to Van Drie’s work with

Upper School students, Lower and Middle School counselor Dr. Gabriela Reed helps out the younger generations of Marksmen not only in counseling sessions but also in and out of class.

“I do lessons in Lower School classrooms on things like building empathy or being a good friend,” Reed said. “I try to go on the majority of the campouts and field trips to spend as much time with the boys as possible so that they’ll feel comfortable with me.”

Based on a boy’s age and problems facing them, the counselors are able

REST AND RELAXATION As sophomore James Shiao relaxes, Lower and Middle Schools Counselor Dr. Gabriella Reed demonstrates the process to Shiao by ringing the chime, which has been proven to help relaxation.

to work with them and cater to their needs.

“Because I work with the Lower and Middle School boys,” Reed said, “I work with issues that correspond to those developmental milestones.

But even within the Middle School, there are big differences between a fifth-grader and an eight-grader. In the Lower School, I’m more likely to work with a boy on building social skills or improving attention. In the Middle School, I see more anxiety around doing well, issues with time management or study skills and friend group issues.”

Reed hopes to reduce the anxiety some students experience when they need to see counselors by creating a positive environment.

“I’m hopeful that the more open people are about their depression or anxiety issues,” Reed said, “the more others will see how common these struggles really are and what a difference it can make to talk to someone that can help. In the counseling office, we do our part by working hard to create a welcoming and approachable environment.”

Van Drie emphasizes the earlier a student comes in for support, the easier the problem will be able to be addressed.

“If you have an issue,” Van Drie said, “the sooner you address it, the easier it is to fix. I would rather deal with things when you are living at home and attending school here than when you get to college. At college, you don’t have the same support systems around you.”

In terms of student participation in counseling services, Van Drie is happy with the current situation but wishes more students that need help would see her.

“I think people should avail themselves of our services,” Van Drie said.

“Students do, but I think there are a lot more of who could. I encourage guys to use our services because there’s no reason not to. If you want to reach out, that can be done as privately as you need it to be.”

Pillars of Mindfulness · non-judging · patience · a beginner’s mind · trust · non-striving · acceptance · letting go

Green Club offers service opportunities

by Michael Lukowicz Every month, Green club offers all Upper School students an opportunity to be green. Lake cleans are held Saturday mornings at White Rock Lake and offer five community service hours per trip.

A relatively new activity, lake cleans have been conducted for just over two years. They start at 9 a.m. and end at noon, covering trails and roads near White Rock Lake. Green club co-president Ben Hurst first joined the club to have fun helping the Dallas community and the environment, inspired by his time spent at the lake.

“You don’t see many people at the lake cleaning it up,” Hurst said. “It’s a place I bike and run at, so it’s always nice to look at the place when it’s really clean.”

The lake clean procedure is nearly the same every time: the group assembles, gathers its gear and sweeps the area, making sure to stop by the edge of the lake.

“We bring trash bags and gloves, and we go along the lake shore near the dam area because that’s where most of the trash collects,” Hurst said. “We find stock piles of washedup items that we pick up, put in the respective trash or recycle bag and throw away.”

Green club also coordinates wiCh Love of the Lake, a non-profit organization that serves to preserve White Rock Lake Park, to provide service opportunities with a sign-up online, and people from several different schools and communities participate.

To be part of a Green Club lake clean, students an email one of the Green club leaders or sign up online.

“We announce it in assembly,” Hurst said, “so you just have to contact one of the leaders, and we’ll tell whoever’s leading that lake clean.”

• Story James Rogers, Mateo Guevara Photo Kathan Ramnath

Portfolios with a Purpose being implemented into History and Social Science Department classes

by Wallace White istory and Social Studies Department chair David Fisher and Upper School Assistant Head Chris Disimile introduced economics classes to the game Portfolios with a Purpose, a virtual investment game that raises money for charity.

The organization was created to educate people about finance and raise money for charity at the same time. Players invest virtual money in real-world enterprises and compete to build the best financial portfolio possible.

The game already has more than 3,000 players worldwide in 32 different countries. It has raised $2.1

H

million and donated to 905 charities.

“The whole point of the activity’s to raise money for charity,” Fisher said, “but at the same time encourage boys and girls to learn about the stock market and to become financially literate. No real money is being traded, but the money that’s raised comes from the registration fees.”

Fisher believes Portfolios with a Purpose is a good way to extend what is taught in economics courses offered to students or anyone interested in finance.

“Although it doesn’t have a direct relation to what we teach in the economics classes, many of the

students who are taking economics are interested in economics,” Fisher said. “This is as good of an entryway as any, and it’s sort of a fun thing we do in class occasionally.”

Disimile participated in a similar program at the Sage Hill School where he previously worked. However, these students used $70,000 of real money provided by their school. Whether they made money to donate to charity was their responsibility.

“For the most part it was really student-driven,” Disimile said.

“They would pitch ideas, and the rest of the club would vote on

whether to buy it or not and eventually would help fund our [community service] program.”

Fisher says this game can be a springboard to expand what the History and Social Studies Department teaches outside of purely history.

“I’m very much pushing for a bigger footprint for our department and the things we do at St. Mark’s,” Fisher said. “Social science knowledge in general is important knowledge, especially for kids in high school, and anything we can do to increase people’s awareness of the application of that knowledge in the real world I think is for the better.”

Page 6 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • News

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS

Science center will opt for silver instead of gold certification.

A

multi-million dollar facility with a biotechnology lab.

A project with years of planning behind it.

A building projected to offer Marksmen many new opportunities which were not possible before.

A building that — in the eyes of environmentalists — is lagging behind others.

As progress is made on the Winn Science Center, focus has been placed on the new facility and the opportunities that will be made available, but what has not been in the spotlight is the environmental impact this new building will have, as the new science center will be certified LEED Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Unlike other schools in the area whose new buildings are certified gold, the new facility will be behind others environmentally.

Created by David Gottfried, the USGBC is an organization that supports the construction of cost efficient and sustainable buildings using their LEED rating system.

Since its creation, the USGBC has certified over 2.2 million square feet of buildings and has certified buildings in 165 countries and territories.

All levels of the system, though, are environmentally conscious and help make strides to increasing energy efficiency.

“As with any project, we want to set an example and be leaders in our community,” Director of Development Jim Bob Womack ‘98 said. “LEED certification is an outward symbol that St. Mark’s is doing things the right way when it comes to building new

165

BUILDING

LEED SILVER

facilities. It has become the expectation of our entire community – alumni, parents, faculty, and students – that we would do our part for sustainability, creating efficient and ‘green’ environments on campus.”

Science instructor Dan Northcut ‘81 has been an advocate for LEED certified buildings since the construction of Centennial and Hoffman, and he explained how the certification system works.

“The way LEED works is that you have this big list of options and some of which are required to meet certain standards of efficiency like heating and cooling,” Northcut said.

There are many options in the LEED process.

“If you’re shooting for silver, you get the certain number of options required and if you’re going for gold, you check off a few more of those options,” Northcut said. “Platinum is the highest and that’s more options.”

On campus, Hoffman and Centennial

are already LEED Silver buildings, and the addition of the Winn Science Center would be the third, but schools like ESD have made all of their new buildings gold certified.

“We already have two silver certified and most schools that are building new buildings these days are mostly going gold,” Northcut said, “and so, for me, as the environmental science teacher and as an alum, I would rather see us leading and being in the forefront of environmental issues than settling for silver.”

The creator of the USGBC, David Gottfried, believes that schools are one of the most important places to have

the number of countries in which there are LEED certified buildings.

2.2 Million

N

UNCIL CO

WINN CENTER SEEKING SILVER LEED

U.S. GREE

LEED certification

the number of square feet of buildings that are LEED certified.

energy efficient buildings.

“Schools don’t go as hard as they can on energy efficiency,” Gottfried said. “You teach through demonstration, and the best way to teach is through your own buildings. You teach about climate change, resource efficiency, waste management, health, and all of those things you have to show in what you’re doing.”

Along with teaching about ecological effects, a gold certified building would also save the school money in the long run.

“Usually, it’s expensive because LEED certification • ‘Most schools costs a little bit more that are building like in the range of new buildings one or two percent these days are more,” Northcut said. mostly going for gold.’

“That makes some Science people balk at the Instructor Dan whole idea, but when Northcut your building is LEED certified, it will save you money over time because you will use less water and use less energy.”

Although the new building will not be at the forefront of environmental progress, Northcut does believe that it will help inspire Marksmen in science including environmental science.

“It’s a little sensitive for me, because I don’t want people to think I’m unhappy that we’re getting a new science building, because I’m not,” Northcut said. “It’s going to be an awesome facility, but since it’s going to be a long term structure, I would much rather us put more money into the building up front because environmentally and ethically it’s the right thing to do.”

92,000

the amount of LEED projects worldwide.

The Man in the LEED In 1991, David Gottfried founded LEED ratings and the United States Green Building Council.

Since then, Gottfried has gone on to manage multiple companies including Regen360, a company that helps accelerate the adoption of greentech products and methods and has worked with companies such as Apple, Starbucks and Dreamworks.

Kobe Roseman: How are rating systems like LEED effective in the business world?

David Gottfried: I think certifications is the greatest tool ever. Certifications and rating systems backed by professional accreditation works really well in the green industry. Any system you want to transform, I think an accreditation system is a great change agent as a tool and then you educate around it, and then you can have tax credit and incentives. There are 200 local governments that have incentives for LEED along with a couple states that have tax breaks. The local governments are probably a faster growing point.

KR: How does money factor into the LEED system and environmental sustainability?

DG: Some people say it costs too much, and you have to look at those people and see if they are throwing away money that can be used for energy efficiency.

KR: How were you inspired to create LEED? DG: I feel like our lives are short here and you need to do something than just work at feeding your family and making money. I was a developer in the building industry and I thought how could we make it healthier and more efficient even within the same budget.

For me, it turned out to be a 30 year run. Now I’m applying our accreditation tools to other areas outside the green industry.

300,000

David Gottfried Creator of LEED

LEED accredited professionals who rate buildings.

• Story Lyle Ochs, Duncan Kirstein Artwork Michael Lukowicz Additional Reporting Kobe Roseman

Sixth grade humanities exhibits annual Museum of Ancient Arts in Nearburg

by Michael Lukowicz The sixth grade will hold its annual Museum of the Ancient Arts exhibit Dec. 11-12 in Nearburg 114, and all Lower, Middle and Upper School students are invited to stop by.

The project began four years ago as a supplement to humanities classroom studies regarding ancient cultures, most commonly pre-A.D. 500 Greece, Rome and Persia. Assistant head of Middle School Jason Lange explains that students pick a topic, do research in the library for a week and then make their own creation or model.

T

“It’s a good opportunity for the boys to make 3-D tactile models of something that caught their interest while studying the ancient world,” Lange said.

Equipped with guidelines, examples and their own creativity, sixth-graders work on their projects for three to four weeks. The project has gained attention across the grades, especially from those who have participated in the past.

“The idea is really for our boys to create their own museum of artifacts from ancient Greece, Rome or Persia,” Lange said. “We encourage Middle

School boys to come visit, but lower schoolers and some upper schoolers come too.”

The project was originally constrained to ancient Greece and Rome, but it has since expanded to include any culture the boys have studied.

“We’ve found over the course of the last four years that the boys’ interests are beyond Greece and Rome and that there are many other significant civilizations,” Lange said. “Persia is a big one we spend a lot of time studying, so often we find ancient Persian things.”

Rather than giving a presentation

or talk about their interests, the boys get to involve themselves through crafts based on their research. A descriptive note card supplements each project.

“In the classroom, we touch on so many topics to a shallow level,” Lange said, “and the project lets the boys really follow something that interests them. They get to really be the teachers by sharing what they’ve created or what their interest is with their classmates. It allows us to go much deeper in detail into those civilizations than we teachers could ever do on our own.”

News • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 7

OUT OF THE CLASSROOM Class retreats

As students get older, retreats are reduced to half-days, leaving some Upper School students wondering: Why does it all stop?

PLAYING AROUND Sophomores play tug of war during their sophomore retreat at the DD Ranch Event Center.

W

hether it’s a new found appreciation for the outdoors, class bonding opportunities or a better understanding of how one can lead, it seems like everyone takes something away from the off-campus trips and retreats.

From Wilderness Program campouts to half-day retreats and field trips, there are many memories to be made and new friendships to be formed. As grades get older, the off-campus trips are reduced to half-days leaving some Upper School students wondering: Why does it all stop?

Lower School grades have off-campus trips during the year to places such as the zoo and museums. However in middle school, grades begin taking overnight trips together starting with the fifth grade Sky Ranch trip.

Senior Carson Crocker, who has gone back on multiple Middle School trips and the Pecos trip as a sherpa, thinks these trips offer time to bond as a class.

“I always looked forward to the Middle School trips,” Crocker said. “I would say a good part of my grade also looked forward to them. But regardless of whether they liked camping, everyone always came back with funny stories from the trips.”

The middle school trips may be short, but Sberna says they are crucial in order to prepare students for the big Pecos trip.

“The big push in the early stages,” Wilderness Program Head Nick Sberna said, “is to use the middle school campouts as preparation and buildup for the Pecos.”

In addition to learning things like cooking and building shelters, the trips help students develop themselves and become closer as an entire class.

“Having 24 hours to myself [on my solo night] was a really impactful experience,” Crocker said. “As an eighth grader, I was really only focused on the Cowboys,

girls and basketball, but sitting alone and reflecting how I could improve myself, I really began to see who I wanted to be.”

Crocker has returned on the Pecos trip twice as a sherpa himself.

“Going from experiencing the Pecos as a student to a sherpa is a big change,” Crocker said.

Assistant Upper School • ‘Boys are Head Chris Disimile also cared for, but thinks the off-campus trips men care for others.’ provide opportunities for Wilderness bonding and personal Program Head growth.

Nick Sberna “I think it’s a good introduction to the Upper School [for the boys],” Disimile said, “in terms of learning how to rely on one another to come together as a class and realize that you’re not in this alone, and it’s tough but if it’s raining out there as you’re trying to set up your tent, it’s not just raining for you, it’s raining for everyone.”

Not every student enjoys the camping trips as much as other retreats; however, even the uncomfortable parts of trips serve to help the students.

“The reason that wilderness education is impactful is that it’s risky,” Sberna said.

“There’s inherent risk that comes from that. There’s a real impact for your decisions. You can try to duplicate that in an urban setting, but it won’t be as immersive as the wilderness.”

Malcom K. and Minda Brachman Master Teaching chair Martin Stegemoeller thinks the impact of off-campus trips continue to follow students after the event.

“I’ve heard a lot of positive things from kids,” Stegemoeller said. “The older they are, the more positive the comments.”

Although there are official class trips after

freshman year, they are much shorter and have no camping or backpacking aspects to them.

SETTING UP Senior Blake DeSantis bonds with his classmates during an impromptu volleyball game at their senior retreat.

“One of the unfortunate things in our program,” Sberna said, “is that we get you all pumped up and then you all hopefully have a really positive Pecos experience, but then it just kind of ends.”

Because of the popularity of these trips, many students and faculty have expressed interest in creating more trips for students to go on after freshman year.

“If we could continue the wilderness program after Pecos, even if it’s only a one or two night trip, I think that would be great,” Crocker said. “Even if they were optional trips, that would still be a good step forward towards furthering the program.”

Although there may be students interested, starting new trips would be logistically difficult for many due to scheduling.

“As students get older, they have more commitments,” Disimile said.

“They’re more involved in clubs and extracurriculars, whether it’s debate or football or other things that take their time and make it more difficult to get the whole class together. I think it would be worthwhile, but I think as the students get older it gets tougher to do.”

In addition to logistical issues, there is

also less of a need for school sanctioned trips.

After freshman year, many students get their driver’s license which allows more unofficial casual class bonding experiences to be formed.

“You see more upper schoolers at athletic events,” Upper School Head Patrick Andrén said. “You see more upper schoolers at dances, spirit parties and things like that. Although those aren’t officially school-sanctioned things, they are other ways of bonding. That said, the addition of more school sanctioned trips is something we have spoken about and we’re going to continue to talk about.”

• Story Andy Crowe, Sid Vattamreddy Photos Riley Sanders

Visit the

St. Mark’s Student Store for Last-Minute Holiday Gifts

In addition to potentially creating new trips, Sberna thinks there are ways the current trips can be improved.

“I think there are cool opportunities for us to not only expand the program but to keep making the stuff we already have even better,” Sberna said. “Our ongoing goal is to constantly keep improving what we are doing and make it more beneficial for the boys.”

At a glance: retreats and campouts by grade 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade 9th Grade 10th Grade

None None Camp Jolt Sky Ranch Sky Ranch One-night campout One-night campout Two-night campout Pecos Sophomore Retreat

11th Grade 12th Grade

None Senior Retreat

Would you like to see another wilderness trip in Upper School?

64.9% 22.8% 12.3%

Yes - It should be optional

Yes - It should be mandatory

No

Page 8 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • News

A PERMANENT TEAM

Middle School administrators

Formerly in interim positions, Clayman and Lange have the ‘interim’ tags removed from their titles.

DYNAMIC DUO Middle School Assistant Head Jason Lange and Middle School Head Dean Clayman were officially named in an all-faculty special meeting Nov 8.

I

nterim Middle School Head Dean Clayman and interim Middle School Assistant Head Jason Lange can now remove “interim” from their titles, after Headmaster David Dini announced to faculty Nov. 8 that the two administrators were being appointed permanently to their positions.

Clayman’s journey in the community started in the Development Office as the assistant director of admissions in 2007. Five years later, a teaching slot in Middle School humanities became vacant, and Clayman decided to continue his journey with the school as a humanities instructor.

Along with that position, Clayman joined Middle School administration as the assistant head.

Lange, on the other hand, joined the school’s community as a sixth grade humanities • ‘I want to be instructor in 2014. He has contributconnected to you ed to many aspects of the commuand not just be nity, helping out as a coach, advisor the disciplinary in the Middle School and a member of the Wilderness office, so my Program. message to you This past summer, Lange took is to please come up the Interim Assistant Head of visit.’

Assistant Head Middle School position and continof Middle School ues to teach sixth grade humanities.

Jason Lange For both educators, it means a lot knowing the school searched nationwide to find the perfect fits for the positions and ended up finding them.

“I wouldn’t have moved to Dallas if it weren’t for St. Mark’s,” Lange said. “Dallas isn’t special enough, but St. Mark’s is. In that regard, St. Mark’s does a really good job of making connections with educators who are

at the top of the field and bringing them here and giving them opportunities.”

Clayman feels privileged and honored to be able to serve the community in his new role.

“St Mark’s is an awe-inspiring place,” Clayman said. “To work here is a great honor and a great privilege. Certainly, having the opportunity to be the head of Middle School fills me with great joy and a great sense of purpose.”

Both administrators have set goals as they hope to

move the Middle School community forward in a variety of different ways.

“Learning to balance being a teacher and being an administrator and maintaining that balance is my goal on the short term,” Lange said. “As far as long-term goals, I just hope to continue building my relationship with Mr. Clayman. He’s an amazing administrator, and he thinks things through and has incredible confidence and patience and always does what’s best for the boys and families of St. Mark’s.”

Clayman has goals he hopes to achieve in the future as well.

“I think there is a place and need for a continued integration of our character and leadership program into our classes and advisory program,” Clayman said, “and seeing that become a regular experience throughout Middle School is a big goal of mine.”

Although the new positions are very challenging and demanding, both men are honored to take them up.

“It’s invigorating,” Lange said. “It’s a big step from just teaching humanities six. I’ve watched Mr. Clayman

in this role for three years, so I know him as a teacher and some of the things he deals with. But sitting on this side of the desk, I get a much broader perspective of faculty, student and administrative interactions.”

For Clayman, the transition has been very smooth thanks to his experience under the predecessor of his position, Warren Foxworth ’66.

“I’ve learned a great deal over the years from Mr. Foxworth,” said Clayman. “I would say he has been a real exemplar of patience and shown how to make a deliberate decision to benefit the long-term.”

Ultimately, both educators are honored to hold their

respective positions and look forward to leading the Middle School for years to come.

“I couldn’t imagine a finer community where I get to continue my journey as an educator,” Lange said.

“This is by no means a final destination, but it’s just a stop on my road to be an ever-better educator, and whether I do that as the assistant head of Middle School or a teacher of sixth grade humanities, I’m very happy where I am and I’m looking forward to being in this role for a long time.”

Clayman shares the same feeling as Lange and hopes to continue to lead the Middle School and its students to a bright future.

“I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity,” Clayman said. “I view St. Mark’s as an extremely special place. I’ve worked in many schools across the country, and I have never been in a place so focused upon its mission and so well supports its students and faculty, and it is an honor to be a part of the school.”

• Story Christopher Wang Photo Riley Sanders In the picture

Sophomore Ahmed places in top 20 in China test

by Sid Vattamreddy ophomore Sam Ahmed traveled to China this past October to participate in the annual Chinese Bridge competition. He placed in the top 20 with his partner out of 105 teams and in the top 25 out of 200 competitors individually.

Introduced in 2002 by the Chinese National Hanban, the Chinese Bridge competition is a contest for foreign students to display their mastery of the Chinese language and culture. The competition took place in Kunming from Oct. 11-28.

Chinese instructor Janet Lin introduced the competition to Ahmed’s class near the beginning of last year, and Ahmed worked to get to the competition over winter break.

“I had a lot of free time, and this opportunity actually looked really interesting,” Ahmed said. “So I jumped in with two feet and put all my effort into it.”

Ahmed qualified for Chinese Bridge after getting second place in the Dallas Fort-Worth area competition and first place in the southern U.S. region competition.

Ahmed was paired up with the

S

Riley Sanders photo GIFTING FOR A CAUSE Student Council members, in conjunction with Community Service Board leaders, led the annual Gift Drive Nov. 28 to Dec. 13 aiming to raise 2018 gifts for the Salvation Army to donate to kids in need.

northern region winner from Minnesota at the competition.

“We talked a lot on [video chat] before, but I did not even see her until we flew to Seattle and went to China from there,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed was eliminated from the competition less than 12 hours after he and his partner found out they were in the top 20. They received a list of Chinese idioms and poems to memorize for the next day.

“A lot of teams didn’t even get any sleep that night,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed looks forward to participating in more Chinese speaking competitions, but does not plan to participate in Chinese Bridge again.

“It’s very time consuming,” Ahmed said, “and [missing] two to three weeks of school again would be terrible.”

Although he will not return to the competition next year, Ahmed said he enjoyed the experience in China.

“It was the best experience of my life,” Ahmed said. “I got to meet so many people from all over the world. Even though it’s really hard catching up, it was completely worth it.”

News • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 9

made in Texas Photography Credit: James French Photography

Since 1958

8 1 0 2 CELEBRATING 60 YEARS 1958 –2018 A PARTY WITH A PURPOSE Gilley’s South Side Ballroom Saturday, January 20, 2018 Beth Ryan Hockaday School

William Paredes Jesuit Dallas

JSB Co-Chairs (Left to Right): Casey Bowden Ella Kelly Highland Park HS Episcopal School of Dallas

Bryn Klingaman Highland Park HS

Alec Dewar St. Mark’s School of Texas

Featuring:

St. Mark’s Underwriting Class Co-Chairs: Carson Crocker (12th), William Hall (12th), Colin Campbell (11th), Lyle Ochs (10th)

JUNIOR SYMPHONY BALL

Sign-up online at www.JSBdallas.com

News • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 10

THE MANUAL Your guide to all things manly

In this issue: Holiday Planning Make the Perfect S’more

CHRISTMAS STAYCATION Yes, we could all use a getaway vacation this winter. But traveling to a tropical beach or the Rocky Mountains isn’t on everyone’s agenda. If you’re stuck in town over the holidays, here are several ideas to jumpstart your planning in the Metroplex.

How to

S’MORE THAN A FEELING

W

hen it comes to s’mores, not everybody has a fire pit for the traditional roasting of marshmallows. Have no fear: you can whip up the same savory goodness of s’mores in the convenience of your own home. All you need is a microwave and these ingredients.

2 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

What you’ll need:

HOLIDAY SPIRIT Put on some warm clothes, grab some hot cocoa and pile in the car.

Get ready to make your rounds through the city’s most festive neighborhoods to see some of the best light displays. We’ve rounded up some hotspots for your (and our) enjoyment.

WHERE: Vitruvian Lights (Addison), Deerfield Holiday Lights (Plano), The Christmas Tree (Highland Park)

2 jumbo marshmallows ½ Honey Maid graham cracker ¼ Hershey’s chocolate bar 1 small bowl

1

Place the graham cracker in the bottom of the bowl and break it up with a spoon.

Put the marshmallows on top of the crumbled cracker and the chocolate on top of the marshmallows.

2

3

Heat in the microwave for 15 seconds on high or until the marshmallows puff up.

Mix the melted chocolate and marshmallows with the cracker crumbs. Allow marshmallows to cool a moment before eating.

• Recipe Zach Landry Photos Zach Landry.

BLADES OF GLORY Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned ice skater, there is no better place to hit the rink than the Galleria. Surrounded by stores, shoppers and restaurants, you are truly at the center of it all.

They even offer private or group lessons.

COST: Admission $11, Skate Rental $3

MOVIE NIGHT Too cold for snow angels or snowball fights? Then light a fire, snuggle up in a cozy blanket and enjoy a holiday movie. Whether you’re in the mood for a laugh or for a holiday classic, there’s a movie for any occasion.

SUGGESTIONS: Elf, A Christmas Story, Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

ICE! Walk through this holiday attraction at the Gaylord Texan featuring two million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures. Be sure to bring a coat, because the temperature is kept at a chilly nine degrees. This indoor winter wonderland also has five two-story tall ice slides.

COST: Child $13, Adult $22

• Guide Zach Landry Illustrations Naftal Mautia, Michael Lukowicz Photos Zach Landry, Creative Commons

Page 11

Hanging out with...

Pablo and Andrés Arroyo

Find out about the Arroyo twins’ favorite memories and funniest moments together.

Pablo Arroyo (left) and Andrés Arroyo (right) Riley Sanders photo

LIFE

Who’s older?

Pablo Arroyo: Me, by a minute.

How can you tell the difference between you two?

Andrés Arroyo: Pablo is a bit taller, and he has a small speck between his right eye and nose.

Who is the better student?

PA: It depends. We don’t share grades because someone always gets angry.

Who is the better runner?

AA: Pablo is better at short distance [running], and I’m better at long distance [running].

How has your family dynamic influenced your athletic endeavors?

PA: I can’t lose to him.

What’s your favorite thing about your brother?

PA: The fact that he has such a good brother.

AA: Pablo’s drawing is really impressive.

What’s the thing you’re most proud of?

PA: For me, it’s my McLaren drawing.

What is your favorite movie from your childhood?

AA: I didn’t like movies when I was a little kid.

PA: He’s also lying.

AA: No really, I didn’t like Pixar movies. The intensity was too much for me.

PA: My dad says I really liked Spiderman, but I can’t remember.

What’s the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear the word “run?”

AA: Winter.

PA: Pain.

What’s special about you and Pablo’s fraternal bond?

AA: Pablo and I have a lot in common, much more than most brothers, so I think that makes our bond stronger than that of most brothers so I think that strength makes it special.

Can y’all read each other’s minds?

AA: Pablo and I don’t have twin telepathy, but because we live under the same conditions and are biologically very similar, if one of us feels bad or sick, chances are the other one feels bad as well.

Kathan Ramnath photo

PIE EATERS

With the holiday season approaching faster than ever, the seniors and their little buddies have been bonding closely, meeting together Nov. 14 to share a chocolate milk and apple pie McDonald’s snack. Senior Alan Jiang (right) enjoys a snack with his second grade buddy Charlie Tholking (left) as they attempt to form a tower out of their leftover trash.

Life in brief ANNUAL GIFT DRIVE EVENT HOPES TO GET 2018 GIFTS The annual Gift Drive, a charity event aimed at collecting gifts for children, started Nov. 28 and will end Dec. 13.

This year, the theme for the drive is Gift Busters, and the Student Council hopes to donate over 2018 toys to centers around Dallas such as the Salvation Army and Austin Street Shelter.

The gift drop-off sites are at Nearburg, the Lower School Circle and in the left wing of Centennial.

SCHOOL CHOIR TO PERFORM ANNUAL LESSONS AND CAROLS The choir will perform its 67th annual Lessons and Carols in the

Chapel Dec. 12, with the organ prelude at 6:30 p.m. and the service at 7 p.m.

To begin, a single fifth grader will be randomly selected to sing the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City.

The service will proceed with various carols and anthems that change every year, one of which will be sung by this year’s fourth graders.

In addition, Headmaster David Dini will select a younger chorister, an Upper School chorister, a parent and someone from the school community to sing the readings.

BLUES CLUB HOLDS SECOND LOCAL PERFORMANCE Blues Club performed at Austin Street Shelter Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. during the organization’s serving dinner.

The members who participated, including sponsor Steven Houpt and president Raymond Jurcak, played a variety of songs including “Crossroads,” “The Thrill is Gone” and “Lonesome Whistle Blues.”

The club will continue to perform at Austin Street throughout the rest of the year, with the next performance planned to be sometime in the early spring, according to Jurcak.

banners, which involved any spiritual, religious or personal phrase of their choice.

Lower School Head Sherri Darver believes the Banner Chapel is a beautiful and special tradition.

The banners are now displayed in Lower School and will remain there for the rest of the year.

BANNER CHAPEL HOSTED YESTERDAY BY FOURTH GRADE The Lower School Banner Chapel took place yesterday at 12:45 p.m., involving a mix of banners with different personal cultures.

In front of the whole Lower School, fourth graders marched down the aisle with their self-made

MIDDLE SCHOOL HOSTING ‘WE CARE’ BAKE SALE TODAY The second “We Care” bake sale, an event that provides funding and support to Haitian children, will be hosted by members of the We Charity Club today in the Earl Cullum, Jr., Alumni Commons.

According to We Charity sponsor Paula Cham, the first sale of the year raised a total of $730 for the children of Haiti.

Students are encouraged to help provide for the bake sale

by both making and purchasing candies, snacks and other foods.

FIFTH GRADE VISITS NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK The fifth grade visited the North Texas Food Bank Nov. 11 in the class’s first ever collective community service trip.

The grade focused on assembling nutritious meal bags for other kids in the Dallas area.

The trip will continue annually, with the new fifth graders going to the North Texas Food bank during the fall of every year.

The fifth graders assembled more than 840 of those bags within two hours, totaling around 3000 pounds of food.

­­­­­­— Sahit Dendekuri, Tianming Xie, Matthew Zhang, Albert Luo, Dylan Liu, Sam Goldfarb

Inside

14

Headliners

CONCERTS

Henry Stache piloting

A look into sophomore Henry Stache’s flying hobby and the brandnew Flight Simulator.

19

Literary Festival

A biographical peek into some of the literary guests visiting the school in January.

21

Netflix shows reviews

Reviews of both the best — and the worst — of some of the TV that Netflix has to offer.

Josh Abbott Band at Billy Bob’s Texas

Jan. 5

< Katy Perry at the American

Jan. 14

Shakira at the American Airlines Center

Jan. 28

ALBUMS

‘

Senior Cal Rushton and his pottery I enjoy ceramics because it gives me something to do at St. Mark’s that’s not purely academic. You can take it your own direction, make it your own and show who you really are.

20-25

Drop date

< What Makes You Country,

Dec. 8

The Beautiful & Damned, G-Eazy

Dec. 15

Luke Bryan

McDonald’s Week

A visual glance at the Junior Class’s annual event to raise money for Austin Street.

Concert date

Airlines Center

20

Artist in action

Rubba Band Business: The Dec. 29 Album, Juicy J

MOVIES

Release date

< Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Dec. 15

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Dec. 20

The Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Jan. 26

Cal Rushton >

Adnan Khan photo

Number of pieces made each year

7

hours spent per week on ceramics

Page 12 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Life

is our art

DYING? W

hether it takes the form of a painting, a sculpture or a piece

of ceramic pottery, art has been one of mankind’s primary forms of pure, raw expression.

It transcends all language barriers, and it’s as old as history itself.

But for many, its cultural influence today is slowly waning — a trend only exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

As younger generations lean more toward technology-based career paths in STEM and language fields, the slow decline of artistic impact on society becomes more and more evident.

But, is our art actually dying? And, if it is, how do communities — both local and far-reaching — cope with this deprioritizing shift away from art and art culture?

• Story Mark Tao, Rett Daugjberg, Sahit Dendekuri Additional Reporting Sam Ahmed Artwork Matthew Coleman

Arts on campus Continuous support of arts program allows art culture at 10600 Preston Rd. to flourish and thrive.

A

lthough the school isn’t affected directly by the art budget cuts, the school’s faculty and students greatly appreciate the emphasis on continued support of the arts.

Former ceramics instructor Bill Kysor, who retired at the end of the 2016 year, believes the community has benefited strongly from the growing changes of art cultures, as the school program prospers from the increasing range of diverse cultures.

“I’ve seen the arts culture in [St. Mark’s] get better and better,” Kysor said. “With all of these people coming from all over the United States and possibly foreign countries, now we have so much diversity here that I think the arts are beginning to flourish.”

Additionally, Kysor thinks the arts culture is in no serious danger of dying, pointing out the large number of students who still study art even after high school.

“It’s not like the arts are dying out,

and nobody here is doing anything anymore,” Kysor said. “The people that are becoming [US] Presidential [Scholars Program] winners, [a competition that nationally analyzes all forms of art pieces and recognizes the best works], a good percentage of them are going to pursue the arts because they’ve gotten this pat on the back for what they’ve accomplished, and it gives them confidence.”

Speaking to the curriculum as a whole, Fine Arts Department Chair Marion Glorioso-Kirby says the knowledge one can gain from studying the arts can be applied to many other diverse fields.

“The skills and knowledge learned in Fine Arts classes are essential to a complete education,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “What a student learns in ceramics or drawing helps to inform their studies in the humanities. Much of what we know about past civilizations and societies comes from the remains of pottery and artwork. How art, music, or drama

is made and who made them, can only fully be appreciated by understanding and doing the craft itself..”

In fact, greater emphasis is placed on the

arts in Lower School, designating 90 minutes of art, drama and music each week to the curriculum. Fourth grader Kayden Zhong shows a great level of importance in the role art plays in expression.

“People can show many feelings, like happiness or sadness, or motivation, and can express it through their art,” Zhong said. “Art allows you to take a • ‘[Art] is a great little break from your assignments, because way to enhance in academics you your view of the world.’ always have to follow a Fourth grade straight rule, but in art instructor you can be creative.”

Suzuko Davis Fourth grade instructor Suzuko Davis supports the early inclusion of art at such a young age to help shape the boys.

“I think that they feel like they can

really express those feelings in art that they maybe [don’t know] the words for yet,” Davis said. “This is a safe space for them to really express themselves and who they are and not worry about these external pressures.”

Like Glorioso-Kirby, Davis believes in the broad uses that art has outside of the painting, song or play created.

“Art is really an extension of how you are at that time, and you really cannot separate people from their artwork,” Davis said. “It helps free you up from that daily grind, and it allows your brain to work in different ways, it can only enhance your learning.”

Overall, Davis says art serves as a medium of expression that can bridge the gap between languages.

“It helps you broaden your view of the world,” Davis said. “It helps you learn about other cultures, and how people express themselves. Art is a universal language. You don’t have to speak French to understand a French painting.”

Life • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 13

Arts in Dallas A surge of artistic endeavors undertaken by the public city of Dallas creates a central hub for art culture.

O

ver the past two decades, Dallas has experienced a surge of artistic activity. With the expansion and development of the Arts District through the establishment of facilities like the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre Center and the Winspear Opera House, the arts scene in Dallas does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Agustín Arteaga, the Eugene McDermott director of the Dallas Museum of Art, says the arts scene here is “impressive, diverse, exciting, energetic and engaging.”

And that it is in part due to the cultural melting pot that the city has become.

“A blend of cultures and ideas help create a very vibrant and active arts community,” Arteaga said, “and we are very fortunate to live in a city that has so much to offer in the arts.”

With the city’s new cultural plan, which aims to analyze the city’s cultural priorities and determine how the city can stay arts friendly, Arteaga feels the active effort by city officials will lead to greater emphasis and promotion of the arts in the coming years.

“They are welcoming citizens to participate actively in the establish-

ment of this plan, as well as the city’s numerous and diverse cultural institutions and organizations,” Arteaga said, “This is an excellent example of the city’s commitment to expanding access and interest in the arts.”

Although the city is now putting

forth an active plan to promote the arts, historically Dallas has always relied heavily on private funding for the development of the arts. While government funded organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) provide funding for exploratory art, Dallas Theater Center Board Chair Julie Hersh believes government support, on both a national and local level, is minuscule compared to the individual and foundation philanthropy that has helped develop the arts scene.

“The whole development of the arts district, in terms of the Winspear and the Wyly and the Meyerson, were all projects that were privately driven and funded,” Hersh said, “once the money was raised, the buildings were often handed over to the city to be managed, but they would’ve never happened without philanthropy. That’s very different from most other cities.”

Despite the positive impact pri-

vate funding has had on establishing arts facilities in Dallas, Hersh says more importance should be placed on improving the arts programming found throughout the city.

“You can build the buildings and some people like to put their names on buildings, which is great,” Hersh said, “but what really needs a lot more support in my opinion is the ongoing programming and that’s what matches our community and is the face of our community” Hersh believes good art programming helps appeal to larger audiences from diverse backgrounds and brings them together. Which ultimately, Julie helps Hersh create Dallas Theater a space Center Board Chair for open discussions about bigger issues in our world that might not be easy to talk about.

“To me, that’s why the arts are important,” Hersh said. “They allow you to step outside of yourself and see something from someone else’s perspective. Listening is a creative act. I think that’s something that we have completely forgotten in our culture.”

However, even if programming improved, citizens still need to explore and support the various art offerings found throughout the city in order for the arts scene to grow and thrive. Hersh encourages people to adopt an explorer’s mindset and try something outside of their comfort zone and typical five-mile radius.

“I would encourage people to try things,” Hersh said, “I don’t think that theater is going to be necessarily for everyone, but I think there may be an element of the community that is missing a human experience, that wants to have an experience like that.”

Ultimately, Hersh feels it is up to citizens of the city to take active measures to support and develop the arts.

“For me personally, I look at it as, I’m saddened by NEA funding being cut,” Hersh said, “however, I feel it’s incumbent on us, as citizens of Dallas and citizens of Texas, if this is important to us and our city and we want to have a city where we can have open conversations, then we need to be intent about funding the arts. You can’t always be reliant on the government to do that for you. Either volunteer or put your money into it because that’s the way it will survive.”

By the numbers — a look at the current state of the arts from the eyes of students

85.3%

79.4%

58.8%

DO YOU PLAN ON PURSUING THE ARTS AS A COLLEGE MAJOR/CAREER?

Most common career paths

STEM

NO 91.2%

YES 8.8%

Entrepreneurship

DO YOU THINK THE SCHOOL DOES A GOOD JOB OF PROMOTING ART?

have visited an believe the Dallas believe the U.S. art culture is art museum in is above average improving the past year in the arts

11

YES 58.8%

Law

NO 41.2%

9

4

Source: taken from poll of 34 juniors and seniors

In our backyard — the most popular art hubs and museums Dallas has to offer

PERFORMANCE ART The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre offers a multitude of various performances in arts.

IMAGINATIVE IMMERSION The Dallas Mu- MUSICAL SYMPHONIES The Winspear seum of Art contains many sculptures, Opera House provides a variety of opera and play performances. paintings and other traditional art.

ARTISTIC PAINTING The SMU Meadows Museum exhibits famous historical paintings from many different cultures.

Arts in the nation A changing nation’s view and outlook on arts culture questions the value arts will have to younger generations.

T

hough government funding to organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) continue to fund creative projects around the country, budgeting for said endowments has recently come into question. What is the importance of the arts in a nation?

Victoria Hutter, assistant director of Press and Public Affairs for the NEA believes the value of arts have benefit not only to artists but also to society as a whole.

“In terms of our society, arts have both intrinsic and extrinsic value for the individual. It’s about self-expression, self-discovery, and an opportunity to work as a team,” Hutter said.

“Extrinsically, you’ve got its ability to be a cultural bridge between communities in terms of expressing and sharing stories, which can be challenging with language barriers.”

Hutter adds that the arts boost economic development by inspiring involvement with other aspects of a community’s culture.

“The arts are used as a tool in economic development, leveraging local cultural assets, whether that’s an old factory in Pennsylvania or a rural mill in Massachusetts,” Hutter said.

For Robert Edsel ’75, founder of The Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, funding is an integral part of art preservation, promotion and education.

“It is a horrible, horrible idea to cut government funding of the arts,” Edsel said. “If anything, we should be trying to figure out two things: one, how to increase funding, but also how to make funding that we do have more efficient; to make sure it’s going to the very best projects and the broadest number of products.”

Though organizations like the NEA and NEH provide valuable funding, art projects have largely relied on funding from the private sector to come to fruition.

“Our government has largely depended upon the private sector and the goodwill of the public to fund projects,” Edsel said. “We have

the NEH and NEA, which have been the primary sources of government funding for various projects in arts, but a lot of it has come from private sources.”

Edsel says the struggle to find funding for arts projects is reflective of a country that doesn’t prioritize the arts and underappreciates the value of art culture.

“It’s not just the money, it’s the message it sends,” Edsel said. “I would say that the cuts to government Robert funding Edsel is the Founder of Monuments same Men way: it’s not just the money that isn’t available, it’s the government sending a message that the arts don’t matter. I think the government needs to stake out a position and say ‘the arts matter very much.’”

Protecting and promoting art does

not have to be as much of a commitment as donating, funding or endowing arts programs. According to

Edsel, simply voting for candidates who appreciate and support art can make a significant impact.

“The best thing we can do is go out and vote and pay attention to who we are voting for,” Edsel said.

“Ask those hard questions when you have candidates running for office, ‘How do you feel about the arts?’

Whether it’s local, state, or federal support for the arts, ‘Do you believe they should be supported?’ ‘What impact have the arts had in your life?’”

For those who can’t vote, Hutter adds that engaging in the arts in your community or in the nation will promote the arts culture in the U.S. “The best way to promote it is by showing up, by doing it and by going to it,” Hutter said. “Whether it means learning to play the guitar, singing in the church choir, or going to see a local play, just by participating in it both as a creator and a spectator, that’s how it is going to thrive.”

Page 14 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Life

21 minutes with... Henry Stache

FLYING LIKE AN EAGLE

Sophomore Henry Stache is working towards his pilot’s license and, with the school’s flight simulator, aims to get students interested in aviation.

TESTING IT OUT Stache simulates a flight on Vescovo’s donated flight simulator, the Redbird TD, which realistically simulates a Cessna. The school to plans to place the simulator in the new science building after its construction.

S

ophomore Henry Stache turns the key, igniting the low rumbling engine. Adrenaline runs through his veins as he rests his hands at nine and three.

Stache accelerates onto the wide concrete road. Nothing stands in his way for a couple miles.

His plane cutting through the air, Stache lifts off by himself for the third time. Reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet, he rehearses his maneuvers.

Stalls, slow flight, engine out.

Three hours later, Stache flips a few switches and tips the nose of his Cessna 172 at a ten-degree angle. It’s time to land. ··· Stache was first inspired to pursue a career in aviation from the experiences of his family members.

“My father works for American [Airlines], and my uncle’s a pilot for American,” Stache said, “so ever since I was a kid, I’ve just been going to the airlines and watching airplanes, and that kind of inspired me to get into aviation.”

As Stache approached 16, the age when most flight schools begin teaching students, he began to take lessons at a ground school.

“You start with an instructor, and they teach you how to fly,” Stache said.

“After ground school, which is where you’re just learning about flying from the ground, you get to go and fly by yourself.

After you fly solo, you do a check-ride, which is when an FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] examiner comes and flies with you and checks you out.”

Now, Stache is waiting to turn 17 to take the check-ride. Once he passes the check-ride, along with an oral and written exam, he will obtain his pilot’s license, which will allow him to take other passengers on flights.

Because of the resource intensive nature of flying, Stache had to truly commit to the process before learning to fly, dedicating a significant amount of time to flying.

“It’s not something you do where you suddenly say, ‘I want to become a pilot,’” Stache said. “It’s something you need to be really serious about and want to pursue. Otherwise, it’s a good chunk of money to spend that might not be worth it in the end.”

Before every flight, Stache first does a check on all of the parts of the plane to see if it’s functioning. Then, he takes off, putting all his focus into controlling the plane.

“It’s something where the minute you start rolling and in the air and until you land, it’s 100 percent focus,” Stache said.

Additionally, Stache must be focused wholly on the flying task at hand, for a distraction could lead to a potential disaster.

“There’s no time where you can’t be

thinking. You can’t have a lapse and be relaxed. You know that if something goes wrong you have to be able to act quickly, so you can’t afford to just have a blank moment.”

After honing his skills on a few specific maneuvers and practicing the motions to get out of tricky situations, such as an engine stall, Stache has learned the art of executing near-perfect landings.

“If you can’t bring it down, that’s a problem,” Stache said. “The landings take some work. The first few are always hard, that’s just the nature of the game. I’ve gotten 60 or 70 landings in my log book, and I got there by practicing rigorously every day. Every time I go out, I land three or four times at the airport and do circles just to practice because it’s something that’s so important.”

flying. Maybe that comes under the guidance of boys who develop a degree of mastery on this machine who could then introduce other boys with less experience and high interest to it.”

Stache also feels this simulator is a great tool for both the Aviation Club, and the entire school to use.

“I think it’s a really good tool for not only the older kids,” Stache said, “but I think it would be really nice if we could get the lower schoolers and middle schoolers involved in it. Take them there, show it to them, let them fly. I think that’s something the school could have great benefit with the flight simulator and something that would really pay off in the long run.”

The school also recently received a new

flight simulator that emulates a Cessna from Victor Vescovo ’84.

Associate Headmaster John Ashton hopes that the school can find a streamlined process to regulate the usage of the flight simulator.

“Our hope is that boys who have experience and interest with this get access to it,” Ashton said, “but also boys who have no experience whatsoever with what it would mean to simulate flying a small plane would be able to have access with this and explore their interests and maybe develop a love and passion for

• Story Dylan Liu, Tianming Xie Photos Riley Sanders, courtesy Henry Stache

FLYING HIGH After a successful flight in a biplane, sophomore Henry Stache admires the view of Love Field Airport.

Life • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 15

THE BUCKET LISTS It’s a video that has gone viral and inspired thousands of people worldwide: 33-year old Sian-Pierre Regis took his 76-year old mom on the adventure of a lifetime: crossing off items on her long-standing bucket list. Together, they’ve done things from taking a hiphop lesson to setting up an Instagram account. So, what’s on your bucket list? Here are some students and faculty and their “dream” tickets to adventure and fulfillment:

• ‘The one activity at the top of my bucket list is to travel

• ‘The number one thing on my bucket list would be to

all across the world. There are so many different cultures, experiences and places that I still have yet to discover and it would be a shame to live and die in the same corner of the world.’

visit every capital city in the world. It’s not about some accomplishment or something to brag about, but rather to truly see the world around us.’

Sophomore Toby Nwafor

Senior Mohit Singhal

• ‘I have seen famous pianists play solo concertos

• ‘I want to become a star football player.’

with renowned orchestras. Since I love to play the piano, I want to be able to do that one day.’

Fourth grader Beau Babilla

Junior Shreyas Annaswamy

• ‘I’d like to travel to some insane island that nobody’s ever

heard of. Or discover Atlantis. Or go to Rock Bottom from Spongebob. You know that place from Spongebob when they take the wrong bus back from Glove World?’

• ‘Before I die, I want to know that I’ve secured a good future for my kids and family.’

Junior Seth Weprin

Junior Landon Wood

• ‘I would like to publish. I have a number of book

• ‘Throughout ten years, I’ve thought that I

projects in mind, and I would like to publish at least one.

I would love to go to Tamanrasset. The headquarter’s the culture capital for the Tuaregs, and it’s dead center in the Sahara.’

wanted to go down the Mississippi River on a sailboat. ’ English instructor Curtis Smith

Rev. Stephen Arbogast

• ‘I want to go backpacking in three big mountain

ranges: the Himalayas, the Alps and the Patagonia region. I want to do this because these places are one of a kind, and you can’t get the experience of being truly free anywhere else.’

• ‘I’d really like to learn to play the piano, I’d really like to learn Spanish and I’ve dreamed about going on this walk. It’s across northern Spain, and it’s about 500 miles. It’s called the Camino.’

Freshman Aayan Khasgiwala

Math instructor Clara Ann Norman

• ‘’Id like to meet any of the following authors:

Margaret Atwood, JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King. I’d also like to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, help environmental conservation efforts, preferably with sea turtles or otters and go skydiving.’

• ‘I want to go to Tokyo.’

Seventh grader Arnold Spencer

Fellow Audrey Lane

• Story Matthew Zhang, Albert Luo, Mark Tao Artwork Naftal Mautia

Science instructor Mead attends National Biology Teacher Conference

by Dylan Liu ugene McDermott Master Teacher John Mead talked about one of his own projects at the National Association of Biology Teacher’s (NABT) in St. Louis Nov. 9-12, an event thousands of teachers attend in each year.

His speech, titled “Researching, Debating and Ranking the Top 20 Evolutionary Scientists of All Time,” was inspired by a study he found on Twitter stating that 70 percent of Americans could not name a single living scientist.

“That got me thinking,” Mead said. “How many people could name an evolutionary scientist not named Darwin? I asked 75 people I knew who were non-scientists and only three of them could name one. They all said Lee Berger, and since they all knew him because I worked with him, they were kind

E

of false positives. So I thought, ‘how can we get more people to become aware of these big thinkers in evolutionary science?’”

After asking 35 scientists to contribute a list of names for his Top 20 project, Mead eventually got 135 prominent evolutionary scientists to share at his talk.

“Students love to debate about things like that,” Mead said. “Any time you rank something, such as a list of the top ten baseball pitchers or top ten basketball players, you get people arguing very passionately with a lot of data, so I thought this would be something high school and college classes could benefit from.”

By presenting to a large audience at the national convention, Mead not only gets to spread awareness of significant scientists to students, but ultimately to a

much broader audience as well.

“My role in things is as an educator because I don’t have the skill set to go in the field to be actually doing the excavations,” Mead said, “so I take data, analyze it and present it to a more public audience. I can take the advanced information and share it with middle schoolers, high schoolers and kind of the general public and answer their questions in a way that more advanced scientists aren’t comfortable doing.”

By giving talks in locations such as NABT and various other schools, Mead spreads important information regarding evolutionary science to people across the world.

“I see myself as a bridge,” Mead said, “between the general public and the folks who are actually doing the excavating and the analysis.”

Page 16 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Perspectives

Keeping perspective

T IMBALANCE. • Story Davis Bailey, Sam Shane, Reece Rabin, Wallace White Photo Davis Bailey, Riley Sanders

F

or the past two months, every day has brought a new allegation, a new

accusation. Politicians, Hollywood producers, directors and actors, businessmen, journalists, all have used their positions of power and influence to abuse and violate those under them. While preparing young men to go off into the world, how does the school train its students to adapt to the power dynamics that populate all of adulthood?

he man who produced Shakespe Love, Airbud and Spy Kids.

The man who could laugh goof off on talk shows, before so easily slinking into the most cor most dangerous, most scheming trayal of the American presiden

The familiar face that welcomed you to Today Show.

All of them, powerful men in powerful indus teaching us a lesson that no one wants to have to Teaching us that it is all too common for people t abuse power.

It’s easy to not want to believe it.

But in every school, office and industry in th world, we navigate these hierarchies, these dynam of power.

These dynamics of power often come in the R D form of razor-thin tightL ropes we must balance on. l Ruth Ann Daniels, an employment litigation lawyer at Gray Reed & McGraw and mother of two grad and Josh Daniels ‘18, notes just how careful bosse to be, whether they are complimenting an outfit o asking an employee out for after-work drinks.

“When you have these positions of power - p er, congressmen, executive - you have to exercise extreme caution,” Daniels said. “Why would you asking a female out for drinks? Why wouldn’t yo your whole office to happy hour? In that situation female may feel like she has to go.”

Whether in a bar or a boardroom, the sense o gation employees feel can be destructive, but am and desire to grow in the workplace keeps it in th back of their mind.

“You love face time with your boss,” Daniels “You’d like to get to know them. I would say nin times out of 10, that’s all it is, but the one time it’s it becomes a he-said she-said. As humans, we spe 90% of our hours in our workplace with our cow and it’s fraught with opportunities for people to up.”

However, for those bosses who do abuse pow like Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer, that sense obligation is what they maliciously take advantag “I think Weinstein was extremely powerful… had all the power,” Daniels said. “When you are ing out as an actress you don’t have much. You’re subject to him using you in a movie. So I think he advantage because they all had the victim menta Daniels understands that in general, accusati often reflect abuse that must be addressed, but sh warns that those who have been victimized, or th they have been victimized, must exercise extreme tion when calling out bosses, making sure they’re just crying ‘wolf.’ Legally, a victim must suffer da or some kind of harm for conduct to be considere abusive, but any accusation, even if proven false, seriously damage the reputation of an employer their company.

“If I’m working with the company and we’ve conducted an investigation and we think the fair appropriate response is that the conduct didn’t o Daniels said, “then we try to do all we can to pre and protect that guy’s reputation, because it is un But a boss may say, ‘you got in a suit: you’re fired Daniels, as a mother and employer, has some advice for anyone who makes a mistake in schoo workplace, or any other aspect of life.

“We have got to teach people to take respons for their own conduct. If you suffer adverse job c quences, if you’re terminated or laid off or demot just is so frustrating that it seems the first thing p do is blame somebody else.”

History instructor Michele Santosuosso agree with Daniels that the responsibility is on the boss in this case, the teacher - but she also believes the some responsibility on the student to be upfront everything.

“If you want to be a teacher,” Santosuosso sa “it’s up to you to not abuse power. It’s easy to ha a grade over a student’s head, or threaten them w punishment, but you can’t do that. It’s in the job.

eare in

and o rrupt, g pornt.

The

Perspectives • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 17

student, you have to do all the teacher asks, nothing less.”

Although faculty are never explicitly taught how to avoid abuses of power, guidelines on conduct are touched upon during summer training.

“We’re never shown PowerPoints about ‘this is an abuse of power, this is okay,’” Santosuosso said. “But it’s made plenty clear by the end of faculty in-service

stries, o learn. to

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Ruth Ann Daniels Litigation lawyer

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of oblimbition he

Every prominent figure

recently featured in news headlines for accusations of sexual misconduct.

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Ben Affleck John Besh Louis CK

s said. ne s not, end workers, mess

Rep. John Conyers

wer, e of ge of. … He starte just e took ality.” ions he hink e caue not amage ed , can and

Rep. Ruben Kihuen

sibility conseted, it people

es s - or ere is with

aid, ang with . As the

Mark Halperin Dustin Hoffman Matt Lauer Roy Moore Michael Oreskes Jeremy Piven Roy Price Brett Ratner Terry Richardson Charlie Rose Steven Seagal Kevin Spacey Lockhart Steele Oliver Stone George Takei Jeffrey Tambor Glenn Thrush James Toback Harvey Weinstein Ed Westwick Leon Wieseltier Matt Zimmerman

*A so fD ec em be r5 ,2 01 7

e r and occur,” eserve nfair. d.’” e ol, the

Sen. Al Franken

in the summer what is okay and what crosses the line.”

Teachers like Santosuosso use their judgment to guide students through their time on campus and prepare them for positions in the working world.

Having been heavily involved in the film studies program during his time at the school, Cole Gerthoffer ’14 has maintained his interest in film production as a radio-television-film major at the University of Texas.

Starting his spring semester this year, he will enter the TV and movie making industry, working as a production intern on Conan.

As Gerthoffer prepares to enter the Cole Gerthoffer ’14 industry that has bred the TV production sexual harassment and intern abuse scandals that have dominated news outlets in recent months as a “bottom of the ladder” intern, he recognizes his own privilege in terms of his lack of fear of abuse or harassment.

“As a man,” Gerthoffer said. “I never ever take for granted the inherent power bestowed on all of us as men whether we like it or not because of the patriarchal society we live in.”

Gerthoffer argues the dynamic of power is automatically shifted in man’s favor, whether or not that man is in a position of influence or power. The important step in the workplace, he believes, is to recognize that inherent effect of a “patriarchal society” and combat it.

“That is something we always have to be mindful of,” Gerthoffer said, “and do our best not only to dismantle that system that favors men in all industries, but to be weary of how any action we commit is bestowed an extra element of power just because of the patriarchal elements of our • ‘Complaints are society.” oftentimes swept While he has not had to under the rug or deal with harassment in his ignored by the public because the public experiences, the recent allegawants to keep buying tions against actors, directors, the personality that politicians, journalists and the members of the entertainment industry professionals of every industry are selling, but the tide have caused the conversation is generally changing, to start among his peers and people are choosing fellow filmmakers, sparking the to take allegations recognition that even though it seriously.’ is hard to believe, this abuse can Cole Gerthoffer ’14 happen to anyone.

“I am lucky that, as a man, I do not have to be constantly on my toes worrying about being sexually harassed in the workplace,” Gerthoffer said, “not to say that sexual harassment or assault or anything can’t be perpetrated against men. To say these things don’t happen to men is disrespectful to the men who have been abused in the workplace or outside of it.”

To Gerthoffer, the reason these scandals have gone so long without being publicized is in part due to the nature of the entertainment industry itself, where consumers of TV and movie productions don’t want to believe that their favorite actor, producer, or personality isn’t the flawless character they put on for the cameras.

“The entertainment industry sells a product just as every industry does,” Gerthoffer said, “but that product is personality. Every famous performer we know of that has had these allegations made against them, but oftentimes, no one wanted to believe the women who accused them because they had been buying the personality that the performer had been selling for so long.”

Gerthoffer believes with the advent of social media, the potential for victims of abuse to speak to a larger, broader audience has been the key to the watershed moment that has led to the multitude of harassment and assault allegations.

“Everyone can talk to everyone all the time,” he said. “It is much easier for people to communicate if they have been mistreated. It is easier for everyone to reach a large platform as opposed to the past.”

Even though we wake up to a new celebrity accused of sexual harassment nearly every day, Gerthoffer believes the tide is turning.

“It definitely, hopefully, will keep happening until Hollywood is a safe place for everyone, and subsequently, all industries are safer for everyone.”

The Breakdown

54% 54% of Americans will experience sexual harassment in their careers.

79% 33% Only 50.4%

of victims of workplace harassment are women. of women have been assaulted at work. of Americans know how to report inappropriate behavior.

What to do if you encounter inappropriate behavior...

In the workplace

Document misconduct with a written record.

Schedule a meeting with your company’s or office’s HR department, and bring the record with you.

At your high school

Make sure your assaulter knows they must stop.

Report the incidents to the school. If necessary, consult the school’s counselor.

At your college

Write down what happened. Consult your school grievance policies and Title IX officer to determine routes of action.

Source: AWARE (www.AWARE.org)

What does St. Mark’s say?

‘

Sexual harassment has been defined as including any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: • Submission to such conduct is an explicit or implicit condition of employment • Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions • Unnecessary physical contact, including touching, patting or pinching • Certain types of conduct which might be intended to be inoffensive social exchanges, but which might be perceived as offensive, may be used as a basis for sexual harassment claims.

Source: St. Mark’s HR Policy

Page 18 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Life

FIREFIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE Next level

T

he model building was on fire.

Its plastic bricks melting, its miniature door collapsing in on itself, its roof cracking under the heat.

But the boys paid no attention. Their eyes were glued to the damsel in distress perched on a deteriorating window.

A single mannequin made of stark white PVC pipe – one of the many obstacles between them and that coveted victory. The flames licked its hollow body.

Unfazed, they inched the joystick on their controller forward, signaling their robot to begin its rescue mission. ··· The robotics team finished second at the Boosting Engineering and Science Competition (BEST) Nov. 4, where they competed against around 50 other local powerhouse robotics teams from across the metroplex.

“The tournament went as well as we expected it to,” senior co-captain Andrew Smith said. “At the local area, we aren’t segregated by division, so we are competing against teams with 90 plus people.”

Being able to outmaneuver some of the larger teams was difficult for the captains. “[For] some schools, this tournament is their thing,” senior co-captain Perry Naseck said. “They don’t have a football program; they have this.”

Robotics team members prepare for the next stage in their competition, which will put them up against some of the best teams in state.

Nonetheless, the robotics team focused on the contest’s theme and prepared accordingly.

“This year’s theme was firefighting,” Smith said. “[Our] robot had to complete several tasks modeling a firefighting scenario­— rescue a mannequin made of PVC from a burning building and carry him over to safety, lift chemical drums and move them to a safe space and knock down solo cups with ping pong balls to model extinguishing the fire.”

Additionally, the effort the team put into preparing for these scenarios suggests otherwise.

“You are given a very short period of time to design, test and develop your robot,” Smith said.

Just six months is all the time that the

competition gives the teams to prepare for the situation.

“We begin by building a practice field,” Smith said. “After that, we do some brainstorming to try to figure out mechanisms. [Then] we move on to building prototypes. Once we have the most efficient prototypes, we build those out of our final kit materials. We spend about a week practicing how to drive the robot making very small adjustments as we go along.”

With such a small amount of time given to create their robot for the competi-

BATTLE FIELD From left to right, sophomore Rohit Vemuri and senior Ben Clayman look on to the practice field as senior Andrew Smith, junior William Haga and junior Trevor Burke direct the robot’s movements. After their run at the local tournament Nov. 4 for the Boosting Engineering and Science Competition (BEST), team members have focused their attention on the upcoming state BEST competition, as the seniors look to make their final mark on the campus as it looks like this might be the only competition that they are able to do this year.

tion, late nights are almost a necessity for the team.

“We do about two to three a week,” Smith said. “The last week before the competition, every night is a late night.”

Besides worrying about not working their team members to the bone, the captains continue to look ahead to bigger goals and bigger obstacles, namely, the state championship.

“In terms of state, [they] have to decrease their robot’s response time in order to increase the score,” robotics sponsor Doug Rummel said. “They have to redesign the robot to make it lighter and faster in order to retrieve more game pieces.”

Looking at the work at hand, Naseck thinks of the impact he can make on the school to motivate him and his team.

“As a senior, this would probably be my biggest lasting achievement for the school because we haven’t won in so long,” Naseck said. “I would be very happy with that legacy.”

As the school year continues to move forward, the two captains think about the future of the team once they leave.

“We have some very experienced juniors and sophomores that could lead the team pretty well next year,” Smith said. “It’s really encouraging to see more interest from the underclassmen this year compared to last year.”

The introduction of the new Winn Science Center, due to be completed following the start of the 2018-2019 school year, will extend the limits of the robotics team due to the new tools and space.

“I’m going to guess that [we] are going to see a lot more people wanting to [join],” Rummel said. “It will be a lot more visible, there will be a lot more tools, a lot more cool things to play with. It’s going to give us a competitive advantage down the road.”

After the hundreds of hours put into the robot, Naseck believes that the hard work really does pay off in the end.

“It [all] pays off when you have a whole robot, and you’re driving it,” Naseck said. “But, there is always another goal. It’s a very engaged and involved process, but in the end, it’s very rewarding.”

At a glance: Robotics What

State competition

When

Today and tomorrow, Dec. 8 and 9

Where

Dr. Pepper Arena, Frisco

• Story Sam Ahmed, Naftal Mautia Photo Rohit Vemuri

Middle and Upper School choir members prepare for annual trip to Northpark Center

by Sam Goldfarb ontinuing a long-running tradition, members of the choir will bring their voices to Northpark Center Dec. 14, with students from the Middle and Upper School performing a holiday-themed lineup.

“I remember going on this trip back when I first joined choir in fourth grade,” head chorister Jake Horigome-Pigg said, “and I’m sure it’s been going on longer than that.”

Several different groups will be performing, but each will have their own time on stage. Silcox’s planned setlist is similar to a traditional evensong, but it will have another important difference for the singers.

“We normally have Schola members, grown professional singers, that join us at evensong to help us sing,” Horigome-Pigg said, “but for this Northpark trip, they won’t be with us.”

Despite missing several trained voices, Horigome-Pigg has already planned modi-

C

fications to his regular routine.

“The men’s section, basses, baritones and tenors, have to be a lot stronger on the parts,” Horigome-Pigg said. “Naturally, the higher pitched voices drown out lower ones, so we have to keep that balanced.”

Senior Benjamin Hurst, a two-year singer, similarly emphasized the importance of strengthening the lower part of the choir.

“It’s especially impactful since we have a lot of younger guys,” Hurst said.

“On the England trip this summer, there were three times as many younger guys, so we had to step up the low voices.”

Also, the new, original pieces composed by Silcox himself have been added to the selections along with traditional favorites.

“They’re really well-written pieces,” Hurst said, “so there’s no issue learning them. It’s been really fun trying out pieces that my own choirmaster has written.”

Horigome-Pigg has also enjoyed mastering his choirmaster’s pieces,

understanding the intention that went into each.

“With this last one we learned, we were focusing on a sense of timelessness,” he said. “He really portrayed that with his composing.”

Beyond an opportunity to blend the old with the new, the Northpark trip is a valuable opportunity for singers to mentor and become familiar with the

younger boys.

“Coming back as upper schoolers, we have the responsibility to look out for and look after the younger guys,” Horigome-Pigg said. “We get to know them really well from going abroad. It feels very brotherly; it’s not babysitting.

These are guys who want to see me and who I want to see, and I enjoy every minute hanging out with them.”

Life • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 19

THE WRITERS The artists from across the nation attending the festival:

T

he Literary Festival returns to campus Jan. 4-5, bringing six

writers from a broad range of disciplines to share their knowledge, experiences and insights.

This year’s official theme for the Literary Festival is Writing in the 21st

SYNTAX SYNDICATE Coming Soon

The 2017-2018 Literary Festival will happen the week after Christmas break. Chair Sahit Dendekuri and ViceChair Jack Trahan will be running the festival, with the theme being ‘Writing in the 21st Century.’

Let’s take a look at the visiting writers.

• Story Sam Goldfarb, Eric Hirschbrich Photos Courtesy Literary Festival Guests

Century. The theme will to explore three important ideas through both the panel discussions and the workshops: First, the importance of writing in an increasingly STEM-centered world will be discussed.

Second, the significance of honest and objective journalism during a time when fake and extremely partisan news floods our feeds will be investigated. Finally, the ways writers adapt to the constantly evolving mediums through which they can share their content to the world will be explored.

Literary Festival Information Website

smlitfest.com

Chair

Junior Sahit Dendekuri

Vice Chair

Sophomore Jack Trahan

Reception

Jan 5. at 3:15 p.m. in the Cecil and Ida Green Library

Day one, Thursday Jan. 4 What

Special Performance

When

Jan 4. at 3:15 p.m.

Where

Decherd Auditorium

Who

Songwriter Billy Crockett

Day two, Friday Jan. 5 What

Panel Discussion

When

Jan 5. at 10:30 a.m.

Where

Decherd Auditoriumd

Who

Dana Goodyear, Stacy Clark, Billy Crockett, Evan Daugherty and Mike Wilson

Billy Crockett

Songwriter, performer and music producer

• Creative director of Blue Rock Studios • Recorded twelve solo albums and produced for other major artists • SXSW BMI song panelist

Dana Goodyear

Journalist and Author

• New Yorker staff writer • Author of two collections of poetry: “Honey and Junk and “The Oracle of Hollywood Boulevard.

• Honored twice by the James Beard Foundation for her food writing

Tony Earley Novelist

• Winner of National Magazine Award for fiction • Specializing in short story writing • Named one of the best writers of his generation by Granita and The New Yorker • Samuel Milton Fleming Professor of English at Vanderbilt University

Stacy Clark

Geologist, Author and Journalist • Environmental geologist • Huffington Post blogger • Member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers.

• Children’s book author

Mike Wilson

Author and Journalist • Dallas Morning News editor since 2015 • Worked at ESPN and on Nate Silver’s data journalism website, FiveThirtyEight.com • The author of two books, Right on the Edge of Crazy and The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison.

Evan Daugherty ’00 Film maker

• Wrote the screenplay for Snow White and the Huntsman.

• Adapted popular youngadult novel Divergent for film.

• Developed TV pilot episodes for ABC, NBC, Syfy and Hulu

Page 20 • The ReMarker • November 3, 2017 • Life

Lookbook STARTING OFF STRONG McDonald’s Week kicked off Nov. 12 with a free carwash in the Lower School Circle. Donations were accepted to begin fundraising for Austin Street Center.

McSCOOBY-DOO • Photos Owen Berger, Adnan Khan, Riley Sanders.

It was a week of McMuffins, Quarter-pounders, fries and McFlurries when the annual McDonald’s Week kicked off Nov. 12. Hordes of hungry Marksmen descended on the McDonald’s at Preston and Royal to chow down — and to support Austin Street Center. With a theme of “McScooby-Doo,” the four-day event concluded Nov. 16.

SETTING UP McDonald’s Week co-chair Parker Davis (right) decorates the windows of McDonalds at the corner of Preston and Royal on Nov. 13.

START TO FINISH By the end of the four-day event, members of the Junior Class sold out of their t-shirts, donating the profits to Austin Street Center. Juniors Matthew Coleman and Parker Davis (above) sell T-shirts designed for McDonald’s Week. Students (right) go crazy during the theme reveal for McDonald’s Week. The class made a short film about the week and presented it to the whole Upper School during an assembly Nov. 10.

BRIGHT AND EARLY Each morning of McDonald’s Week, Junior Class members hosted specifically-themed events.

Chemistry instructor Kenneth Owens ’89 (above) hosted a chemistry show full of fire and dry ice on Nov. 15. Junior Mark Weisberg and senior Cal Rushton eat Scooby Snacks out of a dog bowl in another morning event (left).

Life • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 21

BUZZ

Reviewing the best of the best... and the worst of the worst.

In this issue: Netflix

HOLIDAY QUEUE

Without a doubt the best part of any school year, these two glorious weeks of Winter Break offer a rare opportunity to relax. Sure, you could do something productive, but why would you when you can eat junk food and watch Broadchurch instead? To aid in your indolences, we've gone on a quest to find the best material for your next Netflix binge.

A murder mystery from across the pond

Broadchurch • Grade A+

T

here’s a surprising wealth of quality to be found in English crime dramas. Most favor simpler plots than their American counterparts, for better or worse.

Broadchurch is one such show, featuring David Tennant (of Jessica Jones fame) as a detective on the trail of a murderer in the sleepy seaside town of Broadchurch, while the town's quirky citizens deal with the murder in their own ways.

The show does a great job of building atmosphere; Broadchurch itself is a quaint, charming place, but everything somehow feels off, from the gaily paint-

ed street signs to the too-perfect smiles of its residents.

The show constantly keeps you guessing, and the ultimate conclusion to the show's mystery is richly satisfying (though it will have you kicking yourself for not figuring it out sooner).

While the accents are a bit tough to understand at first, Broadchurch is unpretentious, gripping and strangely enough, simple. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire time.

For those fond of puzzles, crime dramas and psychological thrillers, Broadchurch may be the perfect place to spend your Christmas.

Firefly • Grade A

F

irefly didn’t have the warmest reception when it first released in 2002. Its distributor, FOX, was concerned about its low ratings. So concerned, in fact, that it moved the show to Friday nights, stopped advertising for it and aired the remaining episodes out of order.

Surprisingly, this did not improve the ratings at all, and the show was axed three episodes before its finale.

Fortunately, however, the sci-fi series has found a new home on Netflix, allowing a new generation to be disappointed that there's no second season.

Firefly tells the story of the renegade crew of the Serenity, led by ex-soldier Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (Nathan Fillion).

Star Wars: The Clone Wars • Grade A

F

or those of you who missed this show on television, you may be wondering why a cartoon is included on this list.

While Star Wars: The Clone Wars may be a cartoon, it most certainly isn’t a kids’ show. While actual bloodshed is rare, the series isn’t afraid to go to dark, using Star Wars as a medium to explore the horrors of war.

Viewers will encounter many familiar faces—Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker lead the ensemble, joined by Anakin’s padawan, Ahsoka Tano. But Clone Wars really shines with its original characters, whom the writers use to color unexplored aspects of a massive galaxy.

Helping matters is the fact that Clone Wars doesn't have a central storyline, opting instead for three-to-four episode arcs, each with its own separate plot and

A western for the 21st century After ending up on the losing side of a civil war, Mal and his crew flee to the outer reaches of space, where they eke out a living by smuggling, thieving and taking odd jobs from an increasingly shady series of clients.

Blending elements of sci-fi, western and fantasy, Firefly puts new, bizarre twists on typical genre conventions to form something completely unique.

Delightfully irreverent, gleefully violent and oftentimes darkly funny, Firefly may not have lasted long, but its spark, like its namesake insect, burns brightly.

It's a remarkably bold show, and Firefly isn’t afraid to tackle difficult, challenging questions.

A fine addition to any collection

characters.

There are two benefits to this structure: Firstly, it offers lesser known characters from the films, as well as brand new characters, to have their day in the spotlight. (Mace Windu, Padme, and even Jar Jar benefit hugely from this).

Secondly, the format allows viewers to skip over arcs they aren’t enjoying without compromising their ability to understand future episodes.

This is particularly helpful, as there are a couple of arcs that drag on for far too long. And yet there are other arcs (Battle of Ryloth, Darth Maul’s Revenge, Darkness on Umbara) that can go bar for bar with anything the film series has to offer.

And once you’ve watched The Last Jedi, there are few better ways to fill that Star Wars-shaped hole in your heart.

Arrested Development • Grade AThe return of the worst people ever

A

s the title sequence helpfully points out, Arrested Development is the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. That's the first season anyhow, but the show is so much more.

The Bluth family, which makes up most of the main cast, is comprised of aggressively terrible people, and part of the show's appeal is watching them find new, innovative and almost impressive ways to torpedo their own plans.

The cast performances are especially strong, particularly Jason Bateman as

• Reviews Austin Montgomery Photos Courtesy Creative Commons

put-upon heir Michael Bluth, and his son George Michael (played with trademark awkwardness by a young Michael Cera).

The show’s humor rewards the observant viewer; a major sticking point is the constant, many-layered 'callbacks' and 'call forwards' thrown by the writers.

Plot threads are foreshadowed seasons in advance, while an episode's outcome can hinge on a throwaway line by a minor character.

As Arrested Development prepares for its final season, do yourself a favor and make sure you’re caught up.

Page 22 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Commentary Staff editorials

WITH GROWING DISCONNECT, SISTER SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP NEEDS IMPROVEMENT What was once a tight-knit bond between sister and brother schools has become ever more strained in the last few years.

M

embers of our community were disheartened to read a Nov. 3 column in the Fourcast, the Hockaday School’s student newspaper, which portrayed a horrific event in which a Hockaday student watched as boys burned the cover of one of her books, titled “We Should All Be Feminists.”

Although the writer never mentions St. Mark’s by name, all students here who read the column thought the boys who were responsible for the deed were likely Marksmen.

While we were disgusted to read the alleged actions of some of our peers, this is only one of a series of events that have made it clear: the relationship between our school and our sister school, Hockaday, has deteriorated significantly in recent months.

The students of the two schools that share more than 100 years of history have experienced a growing tension in the last few years that can no longer go unspoken.

Not only has the relationship between students become weaker, but also the infrastructure between the two schools has worsened.

By decreasing the number of shared opportunities students from each school have to work with one another, the two schools have made it increasingly difficult to foster a strong relationship between students of the other school.

Whereas there used to be one director of community service working with both schools, now each school has its own — and each community service board works independently, making it more difficult for students from the two schools to participate in the same community service opportunities.

While the thrice-yearly drama productions used to be jointly put on by the two schools, each school now produces its own production, each falling on the same date, making it difficult for students to support both productions.

Students at one school also used to be able to take classes at the other school, such as a fine art or a foreign language, but when Hockaday changed its daily schedule, sharing classes between schools became impossible.

In losing these opportunities and infrastructure to interact on a more regular basis, current students are unable to share the tight-knit bond that previous students enjoyed.

In search of ways to improve the bond between our two schools, the editorial board had a conversation with a Hockaday student leader to gain some input from both sides. Here are some of the ways in which we can work towards a stronger bond between the two schools: • Community service: We would love to see the Community Service Boards from each school join together to think of a couple of projects that would be uniquely ours, not necessarily projects that a multitude of other schools or organizations would be part of.

• Joint Coffeehouse: The fine arts boards of each school could also benefit from better communication and interaction, in which Coffeehouses could become a joint effort, instead of each board taking turns to run the program.

• Student Council: A greater effort from both student councils would be beneficial to both schools, as more drives or other student council-run programs could be jointly completed. We believe the two schools could make a much

greater impact on our community if Hockaday participated in the Gift Drive or if we supported them in a charitable event of their choosing.

• Drama productions: When long time drama instructor Rod Blaydes retired in 2015, the two drama programs began to stage their own productions, whereas in the past the productions were jointly produced. Previously, Blaydes worked at both schools and made sure shows were selected which had both male and female roles.

• Sports: While we understand it is not as common for St. Mark’s students to support Hockaday athletics, we believe it would go a long way if we showed their athletics teams the same support they show ours at a variety of sporting events.

• Joint clubs: Some clubs that exist in both schools could join together monthly to discuss what their counterparts are doing. Clubs such as Political Forum or Philosophy Club could greatly benefit from shared opinions and perspectives.

Whether it’s opportunities in these areas or ones we have yet to discover, we encourage the student councils and administrations of both schools to make this a priority in the coming years and to hold each other accountable. We’d like to see students engaging in discussions about what can be done to strengthen the relationship.

A concerted effort from members of each school community will bring the relationship back to what it should be, making the Hockaday-St. Mark’s community a fun, friendly and respectful community of athletes, artists and scholars.

And everything in between.

‘No Shave November’ should return next year or the first time in four years, the school did not participate in No Shave November, a month-long fundraiser for testicular cancer where students buy wristbands so they don’t have to shave.

Money raised is donated to the fight against testicular cancer.

In the past, students have bought wristbands which allowed them not to shave for the month of November while also contributing to the fight against testicular cancer with the money raised from these wristbands.

However, the decision was made to axe the program this fall because the school was not raising much money to contribute to the cause.

Although it makes sense from an economical viewpoint to abolish this event, we believe we have forgotten the actual importance of the event: the

awareness of testicular cancer itself.

Instead of looking for ways to raise more money for the effort, the school should look for more ways to raise awareness of this disease which is the most common cancer in males ages 20-39.

Memorable assemblies, such as the one in November 2014 in which Elliot Chang-Tung ’10 spoke to Upper School students about his battle with testicular cancer, are a great way to inform students about the seriousness of this disease.

Clearly, a personal account of someone fighting the disease can be a vivid reminder of why we should donate to and support this cause.

In addition to being an important way to disperse knowledge of testicular cancer, No Shave November is one of the few leadership opportunities sophomores are offered. This takes away an

STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS. 10600 PRESTON ROAD DALLAS, TEXAS 75230 214.346.8000 EDITOR IN CHIEF KOBE ROSEMAN

MANAGING EDITORS DAVIS BAILEY ZACH GILSTRAP

EXECUTIVE PAGE EDITOR MIKE MAHOWALD

ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR ANDRE ARSENAULT

CREATIVE DIRECTORS NAFTAL MAUTIA RETT DAUGBJERG

HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER RILEY SANDERS

ISSUES EDITOR BLAKE DAUGHERTY

COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR ALEC DEWAR

COMMENTARY EDITORS JIMMY RODRIGUEZ SAM SUSSMAN

SENIOR WRITER REECE RABIN

RESEARCH DIRECTORS ZOHEB KHAN NICK MALVEZZI

COPY EDITORS

MICHAEL LUKOWICZ SAM SHANE

PHOTO COORDINATOR OWEN BERGER

FOCUS EDITORS CJ CRAWFORD DUNCAN KIRSTEIN

LIFE EDITORS

SAHIT DENDEKURI MARK TAO

LIFE WRITERS SAM AHMED SAM GOLDFARB ERIC HIRSCHBACH DYLAN LIU ALBERT LUO TIANMING XIE MATTHEW ZHANG

NEWS EDITORS KAMAL MAMDANI LYLE OCHS

NEWS WRITERS

ANDY CROWE MATEO GUEVARA ISHAN GUPTA JAMES ROGERS SID VATTAMREDDY CHRISTOPHER WANG WALLACE WHITE

SPORTS EDITORS PARKER DAVIS CONNOR PIERCE

SPORTS WRITERS

After a year without the popular month-long effort to raise testicular cancer awareness, Student Council and the administration should reinstate ‘No Shave November.’

F

REMARKER

important opportunity for sophomores to hold leadership positions.

Certainly, students loved being able to skip shaving for an entire month. In a school with many regulations about dress and cleanliness, students enjoyed having this one small freedom, even if it was just for a month.

But the reasons for the event far exceed student comfort.

Even though No Shave November might not have raised much money in the past, every dollar helps, and the awareness gained for testicular cancer is the true reward this event yields.

Administrators and Student Council should reinstate No Shave November next year. Regardless of how much money is raised, the awareness frommonth-long event should be reason enough to merit continuation.

BREAKING NEWS REGARDING AMERICA’S GUN EPIDEMIC

COLIN CAMPBELL JOSH DANIELS NATHAN HAN JAHAZIEL LOPEZ AARON THORNE NICK WALSH

SPORTS MAGAZINE EDITOR WILL FORBES

ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR ZACH LANDRY

REVIEWS SPECIALIST AUSTIN MONTGOMERY

ARTIST

MATTHEW COLEMAN

CARTOONISTS SAMMY SANCHEZ KANNAN SHARMA

BUSINESS MANAGER CARSON CROCKER

ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER PAXTON SCOTT

PHOTO EDITOR KYLE SMITH

PHOTOGRAPHERS MATEO DIAZ ADNAN KHAN CHRIS MCELHANEY RYAN MCCORD RYAN NORMAN KATHAN RAMNATH CHARLIE RUBARTH LEE SCHLOSSER ROHIT VEMURI

MIDDLE SCHOOL LIAISON HENRY PICCAGLI

ADVISER

RAY WESTBROOK

A sad state of today’s world...

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Commentary • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 23

I

‘ Word on the

STREET

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

I want to get an A in Spanish.

Jack Cohen seventh grader

I

n his painted cinderblock room not much larger than a closet, Yi Chen played on his iPad until he fell asleep. He recently got the tablet as a gift from his parents for reaching a new milestone in his preparation for the Chinese national college entrance exam, the Gao Kao — or the SAT on steroids.

I stayed in his family’s apartment for a Chinese exchange program in the summer of 2014 — and by the end of that summer, I knew more about Yao Ming than I ever thought I would.

We didn’t talk much at first. We both went to school every day — albeit at different schools on opposite sides of town — but he left hours before sunrise and came home near 9 p.m. every night. And on Saturdays, in preparation for the Gao Kao, he attended prep sessions at school for the whole day.

But when Yi Chen did have free time at home, he always spent it alone in his room, fixing his attention on his iPad’s half-cracked screen. There was an obvious disconnect between us, but I couldn’t figure out what it was — I could tell Yi Chen was happy to have me there, but he seemed to have no real desire to speak with me.

One night, after Yi Chen had retreated to his room yet again, his father, Tao, sat with me on an antique leather couch, his faded-green flip-flops plopped on the coffee table. Tao was a Honda Manufacturing executive, and his English was impeccable — he often boasted that he spoke more fluently than I. But that night, as we watched the evening CCTV News, he heaved a deep sigh and asked me a question.

“Do you know why Yi Chen is so sad?”

I struggled for a second. This whole time, I had thought he was just shy — plus, I had only been there for a few days. Had I done something?

“He’s scared to talk to you,” Tao stuttered. “He’s uncomfortable with his English…we don’t know what to do. Studying has been hard on him; he’s just been so tired.”

I nodded — I had a feeling that this was the reason Yi Chen had been so quiet, and I knew now that I needed to eliminate the barrier between us.

Yi Chen’s English was sound, but limited, as was my Chinese — during the times we’d talked, there were many instances when, at our wit’s end, we would resort to hand movements to communicate. However, as time went on, that language gap decreased, with the help of Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming.

GRID

THE

I got up from the couch and knocked on Yi Chen’s door. “Come in,” he said, his voice shaky and irresolute.

Walking in, I saw Yi Chen huddled in the corner of his cinderblock room, curled under a cotton blanket, eyes focused on his iPad. I heard the resounding cheers of a sports crowd in the distance.

“Defense! Defense! Defense!”

I smiled and sat in the chair next to his bed. “What are you playing?” I intentionally spoke in English.

“NBA Live,” he said quickly, as if he were resisting taking his attention off the game.

I glanced at the cracked screen — he was playing with the Los Angeles Lakers, caught up in a closely contested game with the Houston Rockets. I had an idea.

“Shaquille O’Neal or Yao Ming?”

He stopped his frenzied playing on the screen and looked up Zach at me, his eyes open Gilstrap Managing and bright. He paused editor for a second and smiled a toothy grin.

“Funny you asked…”

He closed the iPad game and began explaining the “obvious” superiority of Yao Ming in the pantheon of NBA giants. His argument was sound, citing Ming’s five-inch height advantage and free-throw shooting prowess. He spoke as if he were presenting a dissertation — sure, he made a few mistakes, but he was talking to me in what seemed like fluent English. We talked about the NBA in his room until we both fell asleep, and we had debates and discussions about the game almost daily after then.

Yi Chen and I still keep up today—he always asks me to send him random Bleacher Report articles on Lavar Ball and future NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo (he used to love saying his name).

Beyond benefitting each other’s language studies, my experience with Yi Chen taught me the power of a common interest—I learned the best way to bridge any type of disconnect with someone is to take a gamble and find some sort of common ground. Because of Yi Chen, I learned that relatability is the easiest way to change a division into a commonality, a shy exchange student into an impassioned basketball guru.

Thanks, Shaq.

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

NOTICED

School Wi-Fi blocked websites Although we understand the need and importance of blocking some websites, we feel that the school should give students more freedom with how they use their computers.

Cold chapel The chapel seems much colder this year than in the past. While we understand the organ needs a certain temperature to keep it in condition, raising the temAfter school trash perature by one or While we love the snacks provided after two degrees would go a long way for school, we also are student comfort. disappointed with the amount of trash left in the Commons after school as a result of these snacks.

Student Sections We would like to commend our student sections for sticking to the motto of “cheering not jeering” even when they might hear other schools not doing the same.

After school snacks We are very pleased with the after school snacks Sage is providing in the cafeteria for students. The snacks give a much-needed morale boost to students after a long day of school.

Scheduling meetings We are excited to hear that administrators are meeting to discuss the possibility of changing the daily schedule to a block schedule, which is already being used by Hockaday.

McDonald’s Week Once again, the Junior Class did an excellent job raising money and awareness for Austin Street Center, while having a myriad of fun and exciting events ranging from the car wash to the scavenger hunt.

BRILLIANT

sell knives.

That statement usually prompts a couple questions.

My friends, family, teachers — they all immediately want to know.

Why am I — a microwaveable, frozen-food native and oven-and-stove stranger — selling kitchen knives?

When a friend told me I could take a last-minute, flexible job with Cutco Cutlery & Kitchen Knives this past summer, part of me was asking that same question.

But like any teenager, I thought some amount of pocket change was worth some amount of time, and I took it off a hunch.

So I sat in that worn-out office chair, listened to the manager’s introduction routine and scribbled key notes and phrases in the margin of my training manual as the day went on.

“With Cutco, you’ll always have sharp American-made knives!”

“All our products are dishwasher safe!”

“Cutco is guaranteed to last forever!”

After two days of training, I could rattle off all the names and uses of the 32 pieces in the biggest set Cutco offers: the Ultimate Set. At a retail price of $2,629, Kobe Roseman you’re a hero if you close one.

Editor in It’s complete with sixteen chief serrated knives, twelve straight knives, one specialty cheese knife, a carving fork, a turning fork and my favorite — the super shears.

Every demonstration I walk into, I base my routine around those dishwasher-safe, forever guaranteed, super shears.

I first take them out of my leather bag and ask the customer if they have a spare penny.

“Just to show you the quality of Cutco, I’m going to cut this penny in half.”

Every time, I watch the customer light up. And with a clean cut to break our stranger’s tension, they then usually ask me the same question my friends, family and teachers always want to know.

Why am I selling knives?

The most logical explanation I give is that I was looking for a flexible summer job able to adapt around my busy schedule. But what’s harder to put into words is why I fell in love with it — why I became so motivated to help my office meet summer goals, why I took careful notes at district meetings, and why, after weeks of collecting client lists, calling referrals and mastering the demonstration, do I keep selling knives?

After my first time cutting the penny with my first customer, something clicked. And it had nothing to do with kitchen utensils.

It was something about the music-filled drives to Plano, Dallas, Carrollton and back, the early morning breakfasts and late-night meetings in the office during push weeks and the office outings — from Fogo de Chao to bungee jumping — that brought me close to this group of knife-loving salesmen and made this whole knife thing click for me.

There’s something about the simple texts from past clients telling me they love what they bought. Something about the way my mom and grandma — two avid five-nights-a-week chefs — now seek my expertise in the kitchen. And there’s something about the feeling of an unfamiliar home and bonding with a stranger over the strength of the super-shears.

I’m no knife expert. I don’t plan on selling them as a career. But if you want a demonstration, I’ll rattle off all the names and uses of the 32 pieces in the Ultimate Set. Because I sell knives.

And there’s something special that clicked when I started it all off a hunch.

How Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming taught me Chinese

BAFFLING

Why am I selling knives?

OVERLOOKED

‘

I plan to stop doing lab reports the day that they’re due.

Garrett Davis sophomore

‘

‘

I want to teach my brother Cyrus how to cook.

Darius Ganji junior

I want to try and read more in my free time throughout next year.

Houston Engleman senior

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

‘

I want to get my crooked toe fixed.

Mark Adame biology instructor

‘

I think I should be supportive of my sisters.

Jackson Fair freshman

‘

To become more disciplined in my eating habits and taking care of my body.

Seun Omonije senior

‘

I don’t make resolutions; I make revisions.

Michael Morris English Department Chair

Page 24 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Commentary

The day I learned how to play poker... and became a big brother L

earning to play poker is arguably one of the most underrated milestones in anyone’s life. While on the surface it may seem to be the acquisition of a new card game and nothing more than that, learning to play poker serves as a graduation to the adult table.

For me, it was a source of great pride. I had finally crossed the bridge from playing Chutes and Ladders and Connect Four with whichever adult got the short end of the stick and was forced to entertain the little guy, to holding my own with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and everyone else in my family.

Nick But also for me, the Malvezzi Research moment I learned poker director was the moment when my life changed; changed in a much more significant way than claiming a legitimate seat at a game table.

One day when I was four-years-old, I returned from school to what will always be the biggest surprise of my life. It was one of those surprises that Mom and Dad sit down together to share, and those talks never end well.

Or so I thought. That day, I learned that I was going to

have a baby sister. And, a second revelation followed the first one: she was from China, and in seven months’ time my parents, my grandparents and I would travel to bring her home.

In 30 seconds, I had gone from being an only child who had never been out of the country to being a big brother with a sister half a world away.

Flash-forward through many long months of anxiousness to Nanning, China, the closest major city to the border China shares with Vietnam. Today was the day.

We were finally going to meet this new member of our family. While she was about to be a granddaughter, daughter and little sister, she was also about to gain a new name. Sure she had a temporary name, the one that the orphanage caregivers had bestowed on her, but she didn’t have a name yet. It was an early start on this big day, now six or seven days into our stay in China, and I was at the end of my rope.

So, what does any good grandfather do with a bored grandson whose parents had gone to complete paperwork in advance of adding a new family member? He teaches his five-year-old grandson how to play poker, with chips cut from three sheets of blank printer paper

and deck of cheap souvenir playing cards from Hong Kong. I was a quick learner, or at least I thought so when Granddad said he was going to take me to Vegas with him next time he went.

In that moment, playing poker with my grandfather diverted my mind from the fact that my whole world was about to turn upside down. Soon after I had become a poker master, we went to a hotel where we were going to see my little sister for the first time.

It was a five-minute drive for us, but an hour away from the impoverished village of Hepu along the China-Vietnam border where an off-duty police officer had found a day-old baby girl on the front steps of a hospital.

The now ten-month-old girl was about to see a thick head of blond hair for the first time.

So on that 115-degree day in the middle of September 2005, my life changed forever. To this day, we face difficulties incorporating Isabella Grace Malvezzi into our lives. We see frequently the effects that childhood abandonment had on her, but we do more than our best.

My life changed forever that day, the day I became a big brother. And the day I learned to play poker.

The opposite of a Christmas miracle: numb legs and a hospital visit I

can’t feel my legs.

Hustle and bustle in the kitchen – Aunt Dorothy and Mom cooking.

Laughter and shuffling in the game room – my brother Zane playing with our cousins.

And me, leaning against the hallway, eyes wide in disbelief.

It’s Christmas Eve, and I can’t feel my legs.

••• My family doctor had already diagnosed me with scoliosis, so when they told me the same thing at Scottish Rite Hospital, I was unfazed. I Naftal just laid there Mautia Creative in my bed, director tired from the barrage of tests I’d suffered in the last day. And then they surprised me.

“Surgery.”

An uneasy quiet blanketed the entire room. I could barely move when my mom asked the question I was too afraid to ask.

“How long will he be out?” The answer confirmed my fears.

“Two months.”

Two months isn’t too long, right? Me, trying to psych myself up for a surgery.

A bunch of tests. A few crew regattas.

Weekends with my friends. Some inside jokes. Two newspaper cycles. Spring fling… everything I would miss. It all started to snowball, and the gravity of my situation really dawned on me. I was faced with this bleak, unavoidable reality.

But my overall well-being and proper use of my legs was too important, so I went under the knife.

••• I was surprised by how easily I adapted to the monotony of my days in that hospital. The hourly medicine. Redressing my back. The pulsing pain trailing along my spine.

But what I couldn’t adapt to was being so isolated. The novelty of no responsibilities whatsoever and all that free time to myself wore off within a week. I started longing for things I’d usually want to

avoid like the plague – big family functions, early morning trips to church, classes. When almost half of my church spilled into my hospital room to check up on my progress, that longing grew stronger.

“We’re praying for you, stay strong.”

“We miss you at church.”

“I hear correcting your spine makes you taller. Did it?”

The lighthearted conversations – once tedious chores – boosted my spirits. I was thankful. I still am.

As I lay in my bed, cushioned by the soft blankets and pillows, and the mini christmas tree perched on my side table – a remaining remnant of Christmas – my focus wasn’t on my aching back, but the huge crowd of people there to support me.

“Thanks for coming y’all.”

I said it loud enough to reach the lurkers in the corners.

••• Weeks of dogged rehabilitation landed me back in school during the late stages of February, stuck in a clunky wheelchair and back brace. The two-month hiatus

Ar

the glo

b

A discussion of issues outside the scope of campus, around the country and across the globe.

Kerry Schneidewind

Assistant Director of Admission and Financial Aid

W

e would like to thank Kerry Schneidewind for all the work she does in the Admission Office.

Not only does she play a key role in the organization of school visits for prospective students and parents, but she is also the faculty sponsor of the Lion & Sword Society, helping to lead the organization’s members whether it be in leading school tours, handing out pamphlets before assemblies or working Open House and other important events.

Schneidewind may not be the most well-known member of campus among the students, but her impact on the school is surely one of the most important.

Once again, we thank Schneidewind for her hard work in the Admission office and with the Lion & Sword Society.

Thank you!

Recent mass shootings should lead to the reinstatement of safety drills

I

Looking at the rising and falling stocks around campus

e

d oun

TAKING

STOCK

Unsung hero

from school left me very behind – not only academically, but also socially. I may have been “back” after two months, but I was still recovering; I was still trying to find my way back to my normal. Fortunately, I had family and friends to help me along the path back to that normal. Whether it was helping me get from class to class in my wheelchair, helping me catch up on homework, or stopping by my house to see how I was doing, I always had support.

Like the church visit from weeks earlier, everyone I’d previously took for granted showed me time and time again why I shouldn’t do that. Not to disregard other people’s efforts.

It’s funny how afraid I was of back surgery. Of everything I could lose. I won’t say I’m glad it happened, but I will say I’ve learned from the ordeal.

The silver lining of it all — life’s way of gift wrapping a bad situation — was my newfound appreciation for those around me. Clichéd? Yes, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

n the past few months, the United States has seen a multitude of mass shootings, beginning with the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas and culminating with the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, just a few miles outside of San Antonio.

These acts of violence have truly made the world a scarier place to live in, as citizens now fear routine actions or actions which should bring peace and joy to everyone, such as going to church or to a concert. With this in mind, it is important for all students to know what they must do if they find themselves stuck in a situation as drastic and terrifying as this.

The school used to have drilling to prepare students for school shootings, but there has been an absence in the past few years of these lockdown drills. These drills would make the students more calm and confident in a drastic and dire situation.

Although it may be difficult to live a life completely free of fear, these recent shootings remind us that there are steps that can and should be made to ensure greater safety and peace for students.

Holiday decorations The seniors did an outstanding job getting the school ready for the holiday season with their festive light and inflatable decorations around campus for all to enjoy.

Open House The Admission Open House Nov. 8 was a huge success as the school received the largest number of RSVP’s since the foundation of this event for prospective families.

Silver LEED status With the new science building settling for silver LEED status, we feel as if the school is not doing enough to make sure our campus is as environmentally friendly as it could be.

Cafeteria trash We would like to see more of a concentrated effort from each student to clean up after himself. It is disrespectful and lazy to leave the cafeteria after lunch without having cleaned up the mess left on the table.

Page 25

Proving myself to that one empty seat

SPORTS

I

see all the possible ways I could succeed in the next two minutes.

I see all the possible ways I could fail.

But this all happens over the course of five seconds. Or maybe less. I’ve lost count.

My senses melt over one another as I feel the absence of my dad in the audience.

I hear the curious whispers of the Scottish fighters behind me. It’s a mess of noises, but in the junk I recognize the words: “16,” “first,” “banana” as I face the piercing gaze of my opponent across the mat.

I go through the checklist to distract myself. Boxing gloves and sparring gloves and shin pads and foot pads and headgear. Wait. My mouthpiece.

My mouthpiece. I remember the panic that sent CJ Crawford my heart Focus Editor racing as I went through my gear in the morning, the world painted bright by my eyes, plagued with irrational fear and anger.

But I’m not going to let the smallest piece of gear in my bag render me ineligible to fight.

Not fight — prove myself. To the empty seat in the stands to my left.

The folded wad of paper towel from the bathroom feels soft in my hands, but it turns rough as bark and tastes sour when I stuff it in front of my upper row of teeth.

I walk towards the middle as the corner judge calls my name — paper plastered to my mouth.

My opponent, some 17-yearold from Florida, looks at me from head-to-toe. The exchange is routine as we measure each other up in less than two seconds.

My glare goes from analytical to predatory as I flex for an instant, making a bold power move to intimidate. It seems to work as he tries to do the same, but it doesn’t hold the same effect.

“Chayrut! Kyungnet!” The judge yells.

“Taekwon!” Both of us take our fighting stances and yell.

My heart’s pounding in my chest now.

Lead leg, jam it, then back fist or jab. Lead leg, jump turn kick.

No. Jab first to see his reaction.

Lead leg roundhouse — two times — one high, one low. Just go.

We begin to bounce in place, swinging our arms. We’re fighting each other in our minds and thinking one, two, three, four sequences ahead.

I take one more moment to look to the audience. My dad looks from his previously empty seat, phone in hand, recording me fighting.

No. Proving myself.

And I smile and chuckle, much to the confusion of the fighter in front of me.

“Kihap!”

And we begin.

STAY ON TOP

SPORTS Chris McElhaney photo

Senior Tucker Ribman attempts to flip his opponent over in order to pin him during a match at the wrestling team’s first tournament Nov. 18 at ESD. The team, which is led by a coaching staff with newcomers including head coach Reyno Arredondo and assistant coach Jason Leneau, will compete in over ten different events this year, including the SPC championship match and the annual Prep Nationals tournament in February.

Sports in brief JV SPORTS START SEASON

The freshman basketball team holds a record of 2-1 having only lost to John Paul II. JV has a record of 2-0.

The two teams defeated McKinney Christian and Spruce High school.

The JV basketball team competed in the West Mesquite Tournament from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.

The two teams took on the Anglican Church Grammar School at home Dec. 5, and both will square off against Adamson High School Dec. 8.

The JV soccer team is also off to a hot start having won their first game against ESD. The team faced Trinity Christian Academy at home Dec. 1 and Cistercian, at Cistercian, Dec. 4.

They will take on Trinity Valley at home Dec. 8.

NEW CLUB OPENS FIRST YEAR AT TURKEY TROT The St. Mark’s Running Club participated in the 50th annual Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot over Thanksgiving break.

This was the first year the club has participated in the event, which includes five-kilometer and eight-mile-long races, both of which snake through the streets of downtown.

Club president Mujin Kwun believes the group of several runners accomplished their goal of bringing the community together through a shared love of running, even though the club is still in its first year.

VARSITY TENNIS COACH NAMED AFTER SEARCH The Athletic Department named Sana Cortas as the varsity tennis team’s next head coach, becoming the team’s fourth head coach in

the past four years.

Cortas is currently a tennis instructor at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas.

She will be assisted by longtime coach Jerry Lacey, who last year assisted then head coach Lance Hagan in managing the team.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS OPEN SECOND TRIMESTER SPORTS The Middle School sports teams are looking to have a strong start to the second season of sports.

The seventh and eighth grade blue and gold basketball teams started their seasons with games at home against Cistercian Nov. 29.

The seventh and eighth grade soccer teams played their first games Nov. 28 at home against ESD. Middle School swimming and

wrestling are also looking forward to competing in their first tournaments and meet.

FALL SPC YIELDS STRONG RESULTS, BEGINNING TO YEAR The weekend of SPC tournaments Nov. 10-12 brought back two top three finishes, but no titles for Lions sports teams.

Varsity volleyball and cross-country teams both placed in their SPC championships in Fort-Worth as the teams took home third and fourth place respectively.

The varsity football squad ended its year with a winning 5-3 season but ultimately COMPETING did not qualify for the Senior Tucker RibSPC playoffs. man takes After losing the down the competition.

Athletic Directors’ Cup — the prize given to the best overall athletic program

in the SPC — to Kinkaid last year, this season marked the Lions’ first attempt to bring it back to 10600 Preston Rd. ALUMNI CONTINUE STRONG YEARS IN NFL, NCAA Ty Montgomery ’11, running back for the 5-6 Green Bay Packers, continues to shine in his third season in the NFL. Coming off of a 23-16 win over the Chicago Bears, which included Montgomery’s 37-yard touchdown run, the Packers and Montgomery look to finish the NFL season out strong. Sam Clayman ’17, a freshman at Princeton University, had a successful fall season on the golf team.

Playing in three of the first four tournaments, Clayman scored his best college performance at Dartmouth’s Quechee Collegiate Invitational, where he reached the round of top 15 golfers in the tournament.

­­­­­­— Nathan Han, Connor Pierce, Parker Davis, Nick Walsh, CJ Crawford, Josh Daniels

Inside

26

The scoreboard Varsity Basketball

8 1

Emergence of esports

Taking a look at one of of the fastest-growing sports trends in recent years.

Wins

JV Basketball

2 0

27

New wrestling coach

Reyno Arredondo ’87 has been overseas with the U.S. Army, and now he’s back to coach the varsity wrestling team.

30

Wins

32

Sports nutrition

How to best supplement your physical regimen to find athletic success..

Losses

Varsity Soccer

1 2

Wins

Losses

‘ ‘

‘

One of my favorite statistics is the assist to turnover ratio. I make it a personal goal of mine to keep that ratio high because that’s one of the best ways I can help the team and give us the best chance to win.”

1

— Junior guard Austin Nadalini

JV Soccer

1 1

Wins

Losses

SPC spectating tips from the Superfans

Scouting in the D.R.

Sitting down with Hamilton Wise ’08, now a scout for the Texas Rangers.

Losses

Highlight reel

The fans at the football games were amazing, but we can do better. The chants are going to be bigger and louder in Hicks Gym for the basketball games, and out on the field for soccer, and swimming will not be forgotten.”

— Senior Avery Pearson

We are cooking up new and better chants that will get the crowd on their feet. The most important thing that we’re doing to prep is making sure the fans go to the games. It’s the fans that really control the feeling of the game, so keep it up for the winter!”

— Senior Will Wood

24

points at the team’s tournament over Thanksgiving break

58

Nadalini’s three-point percentage thus far this season, one of the highest on the varsity team.

Page 26 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Sports

KEYBOARD HEROES In their element

Some call them sports, but some insist they are nothing more than videogames.

Regardless of what you call it, esports are the next big thing.

O

ne hundred ninety-one million regular global viewers over dozens of games and platforms. Double the size of Major League Baseball. Esports are the fastest growing sports trend across the globe, and Dallas just got a team of its own.

After reading about the trend in sports business magazines, Ken Hersh ’81, a minority owner in the Texas Rangers baseball organization, determined it was the perfect time to get involved in the professional video game industry.

“The entire ecosystem of what we think of as major league sports was being replicated in the electronic sports field,” Hersh said. “There were players, there were owners, there were teams, there were agents, there were brokers, there were arenas, there were sponsors—the whole nine yards was happening in the electronic media space.”

Hersh had claimed a small stake in a European gaming team, but his aim was to control a team of his own—to find a good group of people who knew what they wanted to do.

“From an investment standpoint,” Hersh said, “I look for things that are growing, things that may be undiscovered in certain capacities, and I try to find a great management team and a great platform.”

At that point, Hersh stumbled across an esports organization known as Team Envy run by a Texan named Mike Rufail.

Rufail was a Division I socKen Hersh cer player who started taking an Team Envy investor interest in gaming on the side. He became very interested in the esports business. One thing led to another, and Rufail became the CEO of his own esports organization.

When Hersh got involved, the team took off.

“They were looking for capital and I was looking for a team,” Hersh said, “so we met them and struck a deal.”

Similar to the Dallas Cowboys, Team Envy now has the exclusive rights to the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Additionally, they have teams across a variety of games including Call of Duty, Overwatch, Rocket League and others.

COACH CORTES Staring intently at a live feed of his team’s match, Christian Cortes ’15 (second from left) calls out plays for members to execute. As a coach of an esports team, Cortes is in charge of designing strategies for use during the game.

In January, Team Envy’s Overwatch players will participate in a professional league under the name Dallas Fuel. There will be regular season games, playoffs and ultimately a championship, where millions of dollars are on the line. In 2018, the league will take place in Los Angeles, but the following year, the Dallas Fuel will have its own venue for home games.

Unlike Hersh, Christian Cortes ’15 has been interested in esports since 2011.

“Honestly, I randomly met someone online when playing Call of Duty,” Cortes said. “I was playing a ton of Call of Duty at the time, and then I was actually fighting a Zombies match, and one of the guys that I was playing with • ‘I think [today’s was going to leave and go high schoolers are] play competitive. So I was like, going to determine ‘Wait, what’s competitive?’ what it is. You all are That opened up my eyes to cutting the cord on all of it. So I started playing a how you consume.’ lot more of these competitive Ken Hersh ’81 matches and finding the proper websites to go to actually play them, and that’s how I discovered esports.”

From there, Cortes has managed and coached various Call of Duty teams, including one called Rogue Nation. Now, he is switching his focus to Hersh’s Team Envy.

“I’m working with Ken Hersh’s company to run events in Dallas, run events for that team and basically be a representative of Dallas Fuel,” Cortes said.

Cortes’s new role will be just as involved as his

old job of writing up plays, writing up callouts and trying to neutralize situations where players get into fights. Both he and Hersh see a massive future for esports.

“I think [today’s high schoolers are] going to determine what it is,” Hersh said. “You all are cutting the cord on how you consume. You’re more comfortable opening up your laptop and deciding what to watch instead of turning on the TV and deciding what to play. And I think when people watch esports they watch what they play.”

They share the opinion that professional esports is just like any other major league sport, and it may be even more engaging.

“You may go to a baseball game with your dad, but you don’t play the game,” Hersh said. “You

watch it and you like the competition, but it’s just entertainment. People who are watching Call of Duty can appreciate it because they may play Call of Duty and they are going ‘Wow, this is incredible.

I’m learning. Next time I play, I’m gonna play that way.’”

Additionally, the future of esports in college is wide open. Schools like Arizona State University, UC Irvine, Miami University and many others have already created varsity teams and scholarships for esports players.

“It will end up looking a lot like traditional sports, no different from a golf team or a ski team, and it doesn’t take that many players,” Hersh said.

“The question is whether it’s the chess team or the ski team. There is no question that there are going to be tournaments.”

Cortes sees the same.

“I think every single game in itself could be a trend, but I think the overall development of esports, getting into colleges and all that, is going to make it more permanent. I also think that, in the future, we’ll see a competitive college division and an a competitive high school division at the point where it’s just, from 4-6 [p.m.], your team practices, and then you go home.”

Esports’ numbers speak for themselves. The future

is very bright for competitive gaming. With big companies getting involved as they are—exemplified by Amazon’s creation of a streaming service called Twitch, allowing anyone with a phone or computer to tune into the world’s biggest matches—esports are just as accessible for viewing as a football game or any show on Netflix.

“I think people who grew up playing these games will want to watch it as long as it stays challenging and fresh,” Hersh said. “It takes incredible concentration, coordination and reflex to play. That is every bit of skill as driving a car 200 mph and staying 12 inches from another car or hitting a golf ball to 12 inches from the cup.”

Predicted esports enthusiast growth (in millions)

162 191 229 264 303

• Story Parker Davis, Mike Mahowald Photos Courtesy Christian Cortes, Creative Commons MAIN EVENT Held in a stadium with tens of thousands of seats, the League of Legends World Championships attracted spectators from across the globe as millions more watched via online streaming services like Twitch.

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Sports • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 27 BACK ON THE MAT Arredondo encourages and motivates his new wrestling team as he begins his time as the mentor and coach to both current and future Marksmen.

Water polo team plans spring break

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21 minutes with...Reynold Arredondo

A LONG JOURNEY HOME

After thirty years of military service, Reynold Arredondo ‘87 returns to the varsity wrestling team.

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o matter what Lt. Col. Reynold Arredondo ’87 has done, whether that was falling in love with the fighting style Muay Thai in Thailand or attempting to fall asleep as hundreds of explosions shook the ground in “Mortaritaville,” Iraq, Douglas MacArthur’s words have stuck in his head: “On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other fields, on other days will bear the fruits of victory.”

Arredondo graduated from 10600 Preston Rd. 30 years ago.

Now, after a 30-year career that has taken him all over the world and seen him train mixed martial arts [MMA] fighters and direct football operations for a Division I football program, he’s back.

With one match left in his

senior year in 1986, Arredondo could almost taste the perfect season.

He had been there before.

Winning the Texas wrestling title as a sophomore two years prior, Arredondo was well aware of the sweet taste of victory. But he also knew the agony of defeat. As a junior, Arredondo failed to repeat as a state champion.

“I had already looked past my opponent, someone I had already beat before,” Arredondo said. “ I overlooked him, and he wound up beating me. I vowed that the next year I wouldn’t let anybody beat me. I trained like crazy, and I focused like never before.”

Arredondo lived up to that

by Nathan Han ead coach Mihai Oprea is planning to bring together the Romanian and United States head national team coaches to Dallas to practice with the water polo team this spring break.

The team had planned to travel to Romania and practice with teams overseas during spring break, but after the trip was cancelled due to a new travel policy, and the players were forced to stay home.

Their spring break practices were reconfigured in an effort to keep up the team’s training regimen.

The water polo team had traveled to Romania for two years in a row, once under the club name and once under the St. Mark’s tag. But when the new travel policy attempted to limit repeat international trips, the annual water polo spring break trip was an unfortunate victim.

The Romania trip was a staple of the program. Captain Robert Newman believes it played a vital part of the process of the squad’s success in recent years.

“Romania provided better teams that played a different style that we had to adapt to,” Newman said. “Spending time with members of the team had a good effect on the team and our chemistry.”

But the plans for the upcoming spring break will provide the same benefit to the program, which has had remarkable success, winning the last four state championships.

Along with the two national team coaches, who were both friends and helped create the Serbian national team, the vice president of the Romanian Water Polo Federation will also come over to help the team.

“I think it’s phenomenal that the kids will be able to coached by two Olympic coaches, the best in the world,” Oprea said.

Oprea is planning to have training and coaching sessions with the two coaches But ultimately, the team’s focus is on getting better no matter the circumstances and winning their fifth straight state championship.

“We will train as hard as possible,” Oprea said, “and adapt and do whatever we can do here to succeed.”

promise. After an undefeated senior season, he had one opponent left, a “big adversary” who he had only defeated once out of many tries throughout his career.

But as Arredondo put it, “I gave him a pretty good shellacking.”

Arredondo finished his high

school career as a ten-year Marksman, a two-time national champion and a two-time prep All-American. He also played football, soccer and baseball but wrestling provided him with the most opportunity.

“The one thing about wrestling was it’s an individual sport,” Arredondo said. “I knew that in a selfish manner, I didn’t have to rely on anybody else to win. Of course, the team concept is there as well, but I knew that it would give me a shot at potentially getting into college.”

Arredondo was recruited by the United States Military Academy for wrestling, an opportunity he embraced.

“It was fantastic,” Arredondo said. “I was very blessed to play a Division I sport of any kind and especially for it to be a sport that I love. But make no bones about it, it was hard. Division I wrestling is incredibly difficult, but I’m still friends with my teammates.

And It helped me to stay on the right focus because what I did was really commit myself to academics and wrestling in college.”

After being deployed to Iraq in 2006, a time of much inter-

nal conflict within the country, Arredondo was selected to be the first ever liaison officer to the Kurdish regional government in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq. During his tour, he spent eight months there, building amicable relationships with Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani, as well as the prime minister and cabinet members.

“That was no small feat, to do something like that representing our military and, in effect, our country,” Arredondo said. “The way I look at it, I’m just a little Latino guy from West Dallas who went to St. Mark’s, but those foundations helped me to then go to West Point and then be a major in the United States Army and be a liaison officer to a government in conflict.”

Arredondo went on to participate in two more overseas tours. During one of those, he was stationed at a place known to soldiers as “Mortaritaville” because it received the most mortar fire out of anywhere.

The lessons Arredondo learned from playing varsity high school sports and a Division I sport helped him endure the inevitable fear that long nights in Mortaritaville full of shelling, and the war in general, incited.

“Having been in athletics, having fought and competed as hard as I had, it gave me an edge because I was able to compartmentalize things and overlook things and take it as part of the theater,” Arredondo said. “I could tell apart those

soldiers who played sports because their calm was a lot different than those who never had those athletic experiences.”

After these deployments, Arredondo established a modern army combatives program at the Fort Hood military post in 2010. Having participated in mixed martial arts from a young age and boxed in college, Arredondo has since used this passion to train soldiers for hand-to-hand combat. Some of these fighters have gone on to professional fighting.

After a career with many

twists and turns, Arredondo finds it fitting that he comes back to where it all began.

“St. Mark’s did a lot for me as a young man,” Arredondo said. “It helped me to become who I was and is the reason for my successes at the United States Military Academy at West Point. I’m very grateful for that, and so to be able to come back here and help with something that I love is pretty amazing.”

Arredondo not only wants to revitalize on-campus passion for wrestling, but also wants to help the school in its mission to produce graduates of high character.

“What I want is for young men here to enjoy wrestling as much as I do,” Arredondo said.

“But if I can help the young men here at 10600 to be better young men, that’s really my goal. Wrestling is one of the means to do that but also just being integrated on campus as much as possible.”

• Story Colin Campbell, Jahaziel Lopez Photo Riley Sanders.

Arredondo founds youth wrestling club for aspiring Lower and Middle School wrestlers

by Nick Walsh ead wrestling coach Reynold Arredondo ‘87 recently started the Lions Den Wrestling club, a club for first through sixth-graders to learn about wrestling at a young age. The club of roughly 20 members meets Monday and Thursday evenings from 6:15-7:15 p.m.

Arredondo started this club with a goal to get kids interested in wrestling at a young age.

“I want to start building the wrestling ranks here at St. Mark’s,” Arredondo said. “The idea is to start building up wrestling into their muscle because there’s some really good foundations

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which wrestling provides.”

The club is split up into two different groups: a group of first through third-graders who don’t participate in tournaments and a group of fourth through sixth-graders who participate in tournaments. The second group is expected to start competing around the end of December.

Considering these groups, Arredondo feels it’s important to understand a wrestler’s age when developing him.

“I’ve put a limitation on it because I don’t want young kids to start competing because it’s a pretty stressful sport,” Arredondo said. “I think it’s more appro-

priate once you’ve grown up a little bit to start competing in wrestling. Really, none of the kids have to compete if they don’t want to. I really want them to just have fun.”

One of the reasons for Arredondo starting the club was his experience of wrestling at a young age.

“When I came here in the third grade, there were kids wrestling,” Arredondo said. “I would go to practices, but I didn’t compete until the seventh grade.

But I know how much those practices helped me out, and I want to offer this to the kids who are interested.”

Looking ahead, Arredondo is eager

to improve the club in the future.

“I want to have this first year under my belt and reevaluate,” Arredondo said.

“Some things work well with some kids and some don’t, so I need to figure the balance out. And I will definitely reach back to some of my mentors to provide me insight as well.”

Overall, Arredondo is excited for the possibilities this club creates for the wrestling program.

“We’ve had an incredible history of success in wrestling here as a wrestling powerhouse,” Arredondo said, “and if I can help rejuvenate some of it, I would be honored to take part in it.”

Page 28 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Sports

BEYOND THE X’S AND O’S In conversation

Coaches John Turek and Johnny Hunter provide insight into strategies and methods that lead to their teams’ successes.

Josh Daniels: As a coach, is there a specific coaching philosophy that you try to stick to?

John Turek: My coaching philosophy

throughout the year evolves, but I’m always direct with the kids. I set high expectations, and hopefully they reach those expectations. You learn to deal with each group individually. I talk to the track and field team in a different way than I talk to the cross country team.

Johnny Hunter: Really and truly as the

coach, I look at myself as a facilitator. I’m not a dictator. What that means is I look for how to get the most out of my players through both their feedback and that of my assistant coaches so that I can make prudent decisions for our team.

Nick Walsh: Is there a systematic approach that you have developed in instructing athletes?

JT: It’s progressive because I coach the

athlete, not the event. So if a particular kid is learning at a certain rate, I work at his rate. If another kid’s more advanced or not as advanced, I take a different amount of time.

JH: The main concept is that no one player

is bigger than the team, and so for me I really take that to heart. Even though we have star players, we have players that are in a supporting role that are equally as important as far as the team chemistry goes.

NW: Have you ever had to redefine your philosophies as a coach?

JT: I started out as a college coach for ten

years so when I first came here there was a huge readjustment of my perspective because I’m not dealing with athletes at the same level. The second adjustment I’ve made is I know this is an academic institu-

tion first, and the load on the academic side is great. I had to allow for more freedom to study, take a day off and study for a test.

IN THE MOMENT In preparation for their respective cross country and baseball practices, coaches John Turek (left)

and Johnny Hunter (right) bestow valuable information upon their athletes.

JD: How would you say little bit from both of those. them for the majority of life that exists your approach beyond the field? changes when you are talking one on one JH: I was really fortunate my dad had with an athlete about, say, his swing versus played collegiate sports. He was a baseball JT: You need to learn how to be responsiaddressing the entire team?

JH: I really enjoy the opportunity to pick

the brain of my individual players. When I get the one on one opportunities with them, I tend to ask a lot of questions, working on the physical aspects, but also the mental parts of the game. I really like employing the intellectual side of baseball and soccer as well now that I am coaching eighth grade.

JD: Obviously there are times when you will tell a kid to do something and it’s not the best thing for him. How do you respond to that? Do you change your attitude or approach?

JH: Absolutely. In my opinion, one of a

good coach’s best strengths is the ability to adapt, if you have a very rigid inflexible system that may or may not work for your players. Even though we have common standards for our team, there are certain expectations that are set in stone. I try to adjust as much as I can to get the most out of my players.

JD: What life lessons or character traits do you aim to instill within your athletes so that you will be able to properly prepare

• Story Nick Walsh, Josh Daniels Photo Riley Sanders The bottom line Marathon runners

The situation

A group of faculty will be participating in a relay at the BMW Dallas Marathon Dec. 10. Participants will include the usual group of “mathletes,” who will be running the marathon for a third year.

The group consists of math instructors Val-

‘

erie Davis, Jeffrey Hale and Janis Oprea. They will be joined by returning member and math instructor Paul Mlakar. Joining the group for the first time will be Middle School Head Dean Clayman. Here is what they had to say about their upcoming race: As far as the team, the last two years we have had two different people come in to race apart from the usual three of Mr. Hale, Mrs. Oprea and myself. This will be my first major event since coming back from my injury, so I hope we all are able to survive the race.

Valerie Davis, Middle School math instructor

‘

I have never run any sort of distance race before as I am not a runner by nature. I am using this as a personal motivation to stay in good shape, and so I have started to run more. My big hope for the race is to average an eight-minute mile, so I am trying to train enough to get to that point.

Dean Clayman, Head of Middle School

‘

We have not practiced as a group, but it is important that we each train individually to prepare for our individual leg of the race. I exercise on my own and also attend “bootcamp” type classes to help prepare for such a race. I also run other race events as a way to train for my leg of the marathon.

Jeffrey Hale, Ninth grade math instructor

ble. Not necessarily just for yourself, but put your team first. Being an athlete here is two hours out of every day. What we do in those two hours can be destroyed by everything else you do in the other 22 hours. Learning the commitment and dedication it takes to be on a team is the same dedication and commitment it takes to have a job.

JH: One of the key things is how to deal

with adversity. Adversity—anyone that’s ever played any sport has been on both sides—winning and losing. It’s instrumental to be a gracious competitor who is humble in victory and acknowledges defeat with grace when you know someone has beaten you on the field of play. At St. Mark’s, that tends to be the culture of the school.

NW: Who is one specific person in your life that inspired the way you coach or any philosophies you have developed in coaching?

JT: I’ve had some really, really good

coaches when I was training and growing up. Some of them were loud and verbose like me, and some were really quiet and deep thinkers. I try to take a

and basketball player at the University of Utah. When he occasionally coached, I really noticed that the guy was loyal and fair to his players. He worked with everybody and gave people opportunities to show what they had and compete for spots.

NW: Do you think having a set philosophy is important, or do you think it is better to adjust for each individual athlete’s needs?

JT: I think you need to start with a philosophy. Now can it change and evolve over time? Certainly. I mean I started coaching originally in 1980 and here we are in 2017.

I am not the same person I was then. I’ve made myself more knowledgeable about my sport.

JD: What would you say is the most important part of being a coach, especially when coaching high schoolers?

JH: I think it’s the relationships that you

build with each player. It’s really important that each player, no matter if he’s your number one player or the last guy on the bench, needs to know that you as a coach care about him, and if you do that, you find that the team chemistry is typically strong.

Sports • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 29

CONQUERING THE CONCRETE Alpha male

> I like skateboarding because it’s very

self-dependent, and it teaches you a lot of life lessons like how to get back up after you fall and how to not give up. Also, let’s say you’re shy, and you get into skateboarding, you’re going to lose that sense of shyness. You’re going to become a more social person because when you’re at the park no one there is hating on you. Everyone is there to help you. > My favorite place to skate is St. Francis

Skate Park because it is where I learned how to skate. Also Lewsiville Skate Park because it’s one of the best parks in Texas. > I started skateboarding when my

brother introduced me to it during the summer before seventh grade. I fell in love with it, and I haven’t stopped since.

> The worst injury that I’ve gotten while

skateboarding is when I was trying this really difficult trick, and I smacked my head on the concrete so hard that I was unconscious for a few minutes. That was pretty scary. > My skateboarding goal is to progress

every day. I want to learn something new every time I go out, and I want to do this for as long as I can.

would have to be: don’t ever think you’re too cool to learn how to do something a certain way. Everyone who skates started from the bottom just like you are now, and if you’re not going to put time and effort and your all into it, it’s not worth spending the $100 to $200

it costs to buy a full complete setup. So know that if you wanna start, you have to be ready for the pain, the struggles and the mental and physical work it’s going to take to learn new maneuvers on this plank of wood that could potentially be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.

the feeling of it. Every time I go out there, it feels really good to just ride around, and it’s especially fun to accomplish a trick after you’ve been working at it for a long time. > When I first started skateboarding, it

older brother, who had been skating for a few months already when he decided to teach my other brother. I saw that, and I got really jealous. > My favorite trick is the back-side flip.

> My favorite memory from skating

It’s a kick-flip where you pop and you’re doing a 180 with your backside. You’re turning inward, the board does a kick-flip and the person does a 180. I worked at this one for a long time, and it’s really fun to be able to do it now.

> My advice to people learning to skate

> My favorite part about skating is just

was actually way harder than it looked.

But over time I learned how to balance better on my board and just be comfortable to the point where I don’t even have to think about how I’m riding or how fast I’m going.

> I was inspired to skateboard by my

Sophomore Ricky Rodriguez has been skateboarding for years. Even through all the falls, successes and failures, he keeps riding.

would have to be when I first learned to kickflip. It’s my favorite because it’s the stepping stone to all other flip tricks, and by learning it I proved to myself that I know I can keep on progressing to learn bigger and better tricks.

• Story Aaron Thorne, Nathan Han Photo Adnan Khan

KICKFLIPS AND OLLIES Jumping a cone at his favorite skate park, sophomore Ricky Rodriguez completes one of the many tricks in his repertoire.

Page 30 • The ReMarker • December 8, 2017 • Sports

10600 TO BALLPARK WAY Next level

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fter navigating through seemingly endless rows of sugar cane fields, Hamilton Wise ’08 finally arrives at his destination — a fenceless baseball field in the middle of nowhere in the Dominican Republic. As he gets out of the car, he sees the typical sights of a baseball diamond: players warming up in right field, hitters preparing to take batting practice, coaches looking on.

All of a sudden, he can’t believe his eyes. A herd of cattle stampedes across the outfield. He looks around, expecting to see similar looks of amazement on the faces of the players. But, to his surprise, they do nothing. Nobody runs in fear, and nobody tries to fight them off. They just stroll off the field as if nothing has happened and wait for the cows to pass through.

During the delay, Wise, then in his first few weeks living in Latin America as “Assistant, International Scouting” for the Texas Rangers, sits shocked in the bleachers, wondering what he has gotten himself into.

and the people are fantastic. There are so many people I have met on this edge of the world that are just truly genuine human beings. It’s brought back a sense of belief in humanity.”

In his interactions with other baseball

Before he began working with the

Rangers, Wise played outfield and got his bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and then earned an M.B.A. and law degree from Tulane University in New Orleans.

“I ended up going to Northwestern, played baseball for four years, graduated and didn’t get drafted because I wasn’t very good,” Wise said. “I moved to New Orleans after that. At the time, I really wanted to work in the business of baseball, meaning the front office. I figured I’d go there, meet some people. I got lucky that one of those people reached out and got me an interview with the Rangers. That’s how I got into professional baseball.”

Wise began his work with the Rangers as a baseball operations intern. After serving in that role for six months, he began his current role in international scouting despite having little experience in that area.

“I was one of two interns at the time that was trying to find a full-time job, but didn’t know exactly what I was going to do,” Wise said. “Our assistant [general manager] asked myself and the other guy I worked with if we were interested in interviewing for the position. I was like ‘Yes. Absolutely.’ I ended up kind of falling into it out of circumstance because I wanted to start somewhere with the Rangers.”

Wise now helps manage the Rangers’ scouting operations all over the world,

Traveling in Latin America, Hamilton Wise ’08 is living the dream as a part of the International Scouting Department for the Texas Rangers.

SUCCESSFUL LANDING Hamilton Wise ’08 (top) goes to his first Rangers game in 1994.

Wise attends a Yankees-Rangers game (above left) with Arthur Brousseau ’08 and Zach Hochster ’07. Wise and his mom Susan (above right) spend time during his parents’ visit to the Dominican Republic.

from Latin America and the Caribbean to the Pacific Rim. He spends most of his time in Latin America, where he also runs operations at the Rangers’ Dominican Complex.

“First and foremost, I help coordinate within our international scouting group,” Wise said. “I’m basically the bridge between the scouts and the information they gather and the front office.”

Living in Latin America, Wise has had to adjust to life there.

“I didn’t speak any Spanish when I started, and it was rather intimidating,” Wise said. “It took me about eight months of just being essentially on the ground every day to figure it out. I do speak pretty good Spanish now. I can converse with pretty much anyone down there.”

Despite his initial difficulties, Wise now appreciates and embraces the Latin American culture.

“It’s great,” Wise said. “It’s absolute chaos, but in a good way. You never know what’s going to happen, what’s going to turn the next corner. But it truly is exciting,

• Story Connor Pierce Photo Courtesy Hamilton Wise

personnel and the people of Latin America, Wise points to the importance of the foundation he developed here at the school.

“The courage and honor creed is something that I’m never going to forget,” Wise said. “I deal with a wide variety of people, whether they’re front office executives or guys off the street in the Dominican, and you can tell at every level which people are honorable people, which people are good people, who’s going to have your back when everything isn’t so glamorous. I think that courage and honor aspect I always dig deep to in the end.”

Wise believes that focus on courage and honor is even more important in today’s atmosphere in international scouting, as multiple teams have faced scandals regarding unethical free agent signing practices.

“There’s definitely an element of shadiness that goes around in the game down there,” Wise said, “but as a group, we don’t operate that way. We absolutely value people who do honest work. That’s kind of our creed, being on the ground and outworking people.”

As he continues his work in international scouting, Wise hopes to one day move up in the front office. But for right now, he’s focused on perfecting his craft.

“In the long term, I think that most people that work in baseball want to be at the upper rungs of the front office, have a hand at least in making decisions on the big league club.” Wise said. “But for me right now, I think it goes in steps, and I definitely first want to master what I’m doing right now, kind of become the master of my realm as it is.”

And to do that, Wise says he’ll rely on two things.

“Smile and laugh. When I started my gig in Latin America, I didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t speak the language, had no idea where I was, didn’t know the culture. When I started talking to people, I was smiling and laughing like 80 percent more than I did normally. I came to the conclusion that that actually works. A lot of times we forget in the daily runaround of life in America that you’ve got to whittle it down to those two things: smile and laugh.”

SPC makes changes to football divisions

by Colin Campbell s announced by the Operations Committee of the SPC on Oct. 4, two changes to the SPC football division alignment will take effect in the upcoming season.

Most notably, Greenhill will move to the 4A SPC division for the 2018 season. They will share the division with St. Mark’s, ESD, St. John’s, Kinkaid, EHS and Houston Christian. Greenhill has been a member of the conference’s 3A division for the past two years.

The realignment means that the school’s 2018 game against Greenhill will count as an SPC counter game. The Lions defeated Greenhill 21-20 in their 2017 meeting.

Head varsity football coach Bart Epperson does not see the revised divisional alignment as a major factor in the team’s preparation for the upcoming season.

“Nothing changes for me,” Epperson said. “I take every year and every game as a challenge.

We will evaluate our team, the most current team, and what we have to do to get ourselves better... I’m more concerned with our guys and how to get our guys better within the system that we have.”

Greenhill has the second largest boys enrollment in the North Zone of SPC. Enrollment plays a role in the committee’s decisions concerning divisions.

As well as the Greenhill switch, another new change was made: St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School will combine their two teams in order to make one joint “Austin SPC Combined Team”. It will compete in the 3A division.

As a result of these changes, there are now seven teams in each SPC football division and the school will play six counter games in 2018.

A

Sports • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 31

MOVING FORWARD Two minute drill

Lions sports teams begin their winter seasons looking to build upon the success of fall sports.

>

Basketball hopes to continue its fast start and build towards its 18th SPC title

2017 RECORD 9-2 2016 RECORD 15-9 2016 SPC FINISH 9th NOTABLE The team’s mantra for this year is “Take 18”. The program has won a total of 17 championships, and they are aiming for their 18th in 2018.

THEY SAID IT “I want to see our guys compete every day with a sense of gratitude to go out, put on a uniform, represent your school, represent each other, lock arms and work with healthy, capable bodies and minds — head coach Greg Guiler

PUSHING FORWARD Junior Lyle Ochs dribbles around defenders during the team’s game against Kinkaid Nov. 17. The team would go on to lose their second game of the year 1-2.

>

Soccer looks for a leg up on its competition by using a combination of youth and experience 2017 RECORD 1-2 2016 RECORD 10-8-1 2016 SPC FINISH 10th NOTABLE Junior Seth Weprin is the school’s first non-senior varsity soccer captain since 2004.

THEY SAID IT ”I am cautiously optimistic. I think we have talent. We have some young players and a lot of it is going to be that transition from either Middle School or JV to varsity and how they handle that. ” — head coach Corindo Martin

SLAM DUNK Senior Jimmy Rodriguez attempts to stuff the ball through the net during the team’s game against Harvest Christian Academy Nov. 17. The team would go on to win the game in a rout, 83-17.

>

Swimming strives to match previous success with tenth consecutive state title

NECK AND NECK Senior Benjamin Hurst races for the wall during the 50 meter butterfly at the team’s time trials Nov. 28. The team held the trials to get a better sense of their players entering the year.

>

Wrestling aims to improve under new coach

2016 SPC FINISH 6th NOTABLE After having only eight members last year, the wrestling team has seen a major increase in the roster size this year, head coach Reyno Arredondo’s first year as head coach of the school’s wrestling program.

THEY SAID IT “I’ve had an opportunity to work with Coach Arredondo. He brings so much excitement and passion to the program, and I can’t wait to get back on the mat.” — sophomore Charlie Rubarth on returning to the wrestling program after not participating last season

GOING FOR THE PIN Junior Chad Kim tries to takedown his opponent during a heated match against an ESD wrestler. The match was part of a three-way event which took place at ESD Nov. 28.

• Compilations Josh Daniels, Jahaziel Lopez, Aaron Thorne, Colin Campbell Photos Parker Davis, Chris McElhaney, Adnan Khan

2017 RECORD None 2016 BEST FINISH 1st at State Championship 2016 SPC FINISH 1st NOTABLE After an extensive team meeting Dec. 1, seniors Alan Jiang, Andrew Li, Ethan Pittson, Kannan Sharma and Niteesh Vemuri and junior Robert Newman were elected to join seniors Ben Hurst and Edward Ro as captains.

THEY SAID IT “One our our main goals is to successfully teach our new swimmers the importance of team chemistry, altruism and relentless hard work. I expect great leadership from our seniors, and I expect every swimmer to learn how to give 100 percent in each practice and meet.”— head coach Mihai Oprea

In the picture FIRST GOAL Following the first goal of the season for the Lions soccer team Nov. 17, juniors Lyle Ochs and Seth Weprin celebrate.

Weprin scored on a corner kick from Ochs, but the Lions fell 2-1 to Kinkaid in the first action of the still young season.

REMARKER

St. Mark’s School of Texas

10600 Preston Road Dallas, TX. 75230

Sports • December 8, 2017 • The ReMarker • Page 32

YOUR WEIGHT

Advice on weight from strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth.

> “With gaining weight, I try to tell them to get more protein and more lean protein but not so much on the supplement side of it. They want to get their protein in and they want to get their protein drinks, but you can’t do that because your body doesn’t process that amount of grams of protein like it should.”

—Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth > “People that are maintaining weight need to try and get portions. That means getting your three essentials a day. That’s my breakfast, my lunch, my dinner.

Make sure you’re also filling the voids in between those though.”

—Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth

EATING SMART

Students and coaches share the importance of thinking before you eat.

> “In terms of supplements, it is key to talk to Coach Dilworth. A lot of the supplements aren’t completely safe so talking to coach Dilworth is big.”

— Varsity lacrosse and basketball player Garrett Mize > “First and foremost, nutrition and having a healthy diet is a way of life. There are certain foods that are good and some that are bad.”

—Head wrestling coach Reynold Arredondo > “I espouse eating foods which provide good energy and that breakdown faster than those fatty foods, which take longer to digest.”

—Head wrestling coach Reynold Arredondo

> “To a guy that’s losing weight, think about what you have been eating that’s been causing you to gain weight. Stay away from the McDonald’s, the Burger King, the Chick-fil-A. Stay away from the outside sources and go more towards the natural sources, then you just turn up the cardio.”

—Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth

> “A great diet is about making choices that help your body. Only one person knows their body: you. Each person has to get to know their own body to find out the right foods that help their lifestyle.”

—Head wrestling coach Reynold Arredondo > “As a coach in sport, I believe in making the right choices to fuel athletes’ bodies. However, I do not want athletes ‘cutting’ weight.”

—Head wrestling coach Reynold Arredondo

‘KEEPING THE RIGHT WEIGHT IS HARDER FOR SOMEONE WHO PLAYS MULTIPLE SPORTS, SO I TRY FOR GENERAL FITNESS.’ Senior Garrett Mize

PREGAME MEAL TIME

> “I appreciate the steps that athletic governing bodies have taken to pro-actively monitor and control wrestler’s weight cutting.”

—Head wrestling coach Reynold Arredondo

> “It’s mostly about being conscious not to eat too much sugar. There’s still a focus on protein but Coach Dilworth really pushes us to limit our sugar consumption.”

— Varsity lacrosse and basketball player Garrett Mize

‘I WAS THAT BURGER KING GUY. I WAS THAT MCDONALD’S GUY. BUT ONCE I CHANGED MY EATING AND STARTED EATING GOOD FOOD, MY PERFORMANCE JUST TOOK OFF.’

Athletes dicuss what their gameday diets consist of.

> “There is never an actual written meal plan for teams, it’s really just being smart and eating well that day.”

— Varsity lacrosse and basketball player Garrett Mize > “Last year I had to lose eight pounds in a week to reach the 152-pound weight class. Dinner would usually be a salad or some fruit. The worst part is the day before, when you have to watch every single thing you take in.”

—Junior wrestler and football player Colin Neuhoff > “Somedays I don’t get around to breakfast if I’m in a rush, but every game day I make sure to get at least something in for breakfast. Most importantly I get five bottles of water and two body armors from the store and finish them before 3 p.m. It’s incredible how much good hydration can help with how you perform.

—Junior wrestler and football player Colin Neuhoff

Strength and Conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth

FEAST ON

THIS

Sports and food go hand-in-hand. For spectators it’s peanuts and baseball — nachos and football. But for athletes, it’s all about getting bigger, faster and stronger.

• Interviews Duncan Kirstein, Andy Crowe, Jahaziel Lopez, CJ Crawford, Parker Davis Photo Kobe Roseman

IT’S ALL ABOUT DISCIPLINE Long distance runner Seth Weprin on what it takes to maintain a diet.

> “Yeah people keep a diet to varying degrees. I think [junior] Mujin [Kwun] keeps a really strict diet during running seasons, but he has an incredible willpower, so it’s no surprise he can handle it. In my honest opinion, I think nutrition has nothing on skill or work ethic, but if I keep a strict diet for a while I generally feel better.”

—Junior runner Seth Weprin > “The discipline of it all is the biggest part for me though. Keeping a diet just makes my life a little more regimented and makes me focus and work a little harder.”

—Junior runner Seth Weprin