The ReMarker | March 2019 by St. Mark's School of Texas

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

remarker

VOLUME 65, NUMBER 5 MARCH 8, 2019

RACIAL INSENSITIVITY

v The country watched as two of Virginia’s top elected officials had their lives and political futures torn apart after one was accused of and one admitted to wearing blackface during their college years. As the nation continues to wrestle with how racial bias should be addressed, we spoke to members of our community to understand why the right conversations need to be had.

‘

Change happens by starting these conversations.’ – Lorre Allen, Director of Human Resources

v Story, pages 6-7

STORY Sam Ahmed, Sid Vattamreddy, Colin Campbell, Aaron Thorne, Lyle Ochs PHOTO ILLUSTRATION Kamal Mamdani, Kyle Smith

University School of Milwaukee teachers visit school, study character and leadership program by Sai Thirunagari wo teachers from University School of Milwaukee (USM) visited campus Feb. 26-27 to learn about character and leadership education. A co-ed, secular private preparatory school in Wisconsin, USM is developing its own program and trying to accelerate the process by learning what works at other schools. “They are thinking through how they’re going to build out their own efforts in character and leadership education at their school,” Minda and Malcolm Brachman Master Teacher Chair Martin Stegemoeller said. “They are looking around at various schools around the country to help them to save them some time so they can pick and choose and decide what’s right for them.” Emily Ihrke and Samantha Adey, the USM visitors, first met Stegemoeller five years ago. “I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Stegemoeller present about [the] St. Mark’s Character and Leadership program at a conference in Washington D.C.,” Ihrke said. “At that time, I was impressed by the rich content of St. Mark’s program, as well as its scope; it’s rare for a school to have such a comprehensive program for all students in grades 1-12.” According to Stegemoeller, such campus visits often occur af-

ter a faculty member presents at conferences. Stegemoeller will speak in New York and Atlanta in April and at the Montreal International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC) conference in June. “Having people see people speak at conferences and then word of mouth from that — those are the only real ways to get people interested,” Stegemoeller said. “Right now there aren’t any other visits planned, but it wouldn’t surprise me if these three conferences in April and June would generate some interest and get some people wanting to come to campus.” After the conference in Washington D.C., Adey and Ihrke invited Stegemoeller to Summer Spark, an annual two-day symposium at USM, where he spoke and met their English department. “During Dr. Stegemoeller’s visit, several of our colleagues were struck by the depth of his knowledge and commitment,” Ihrke wrote. “It’s due to Dr. Stegemoeller’s expertise and generosity of spirit, as well as [the] school’s commitment to character and leadership education, that we’ve chosen to visit St. Mark’s.” Stegemoeller coordinated their visit here and sees mutual benefits in hosting such trips even though Marksmen already

have a Leadership and Ethics Program. “They’re really smart people, good folks, and we’ll learn a lot from them, too, in our own way,” Stegemoeller said. “We talk about empathy and compassion and being able to enjoy more of life by sharing other people’s experience. Well, that’s what this is.” Stegemoeller knows starting a new program at USM will be a formidable endeavor, but he believes the faculty are up for the challenge. “That is just a logistical problem of the highest order, Stegemoeller said. “Learning what you want to do and why and how is a huge task in its own right. I’m hoping that they come away with a sense of how daunting the task is and the kind of resources it’s going to take at their school to make it work.” Furthermore, Stegemoeller hopes Ihrke and Adey learned that character and leadership education can be a culture rather than merely a program. “I hope they take away the power of having multiple people, multiple good educators, at a school doing this work earnestly as opposed to just one person or two whose job it is to try to do this for a whole school,” Stegemoeller said.

agenda

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

Inside 3 Issues

Evaluating how we discuss politics here, 3 Looking at a new history course for 2019, 4 The St. Mark’s Parents Association, 5 Continued from cover: handling race, 6-7 How do we preserve our history? 8 The police officers who help keep us safe, 9

11 Discoveries

The courses returning for the 2019-2020 year, 11 Taking a look at the new Makerspace, 12

In the picture: the STEM Conference, 13

14 10600

Victor Vescovo ’84 is exploring the world’s oceans, 14 Moving up: Halbert Bai ’15 tells his life story, 15 Entrepreneurship: from Marskman to CEO, 16-17

SERVING THE CITY Participating in the annual Habitat for Humanity build in a partnership community service opportunity between the school and Hockaday, seniors Jayan Joshi (left) and Cole Duffy (right) help affix a sheet of plywood to the stud structure of the house.

BLAKE BROOM PHOTO

AP courses: why we “have” to take them 10

Senior Noah Carr is taking care of his family, 18

‘

Making change in India, sophomore Aaryan Puri, 19

20 Diversions

Staycations for the best Dallas spring break, 20

21 Culture

Marc Dominus ’71 is making waves as a painter, 21

Opinions

Buzz: the best late night bites around the city, 23 Editorial: practices cannot go over scheduled time, 24 Stocks to watch: ups and downs around campus, 25 Two sides of the debate on schedule changes, 26

27 Sports

A mother’s path to a WNBA contract, 27 Turning back to the school’s performance in SPC, 28

Lower and Middle School Testing The Educational Records Bureau (ERB) test will take place the week after Spring Break for Lower and Middle School students. Students in grades five through eight will take the

Fifth-grader Duff McKay is on his way to the PGA, 29 Looking forward to the season ahead, 30 For the sports junkie: a roundup of statistics, 31

Back page

Inside the world of set crew for the spring play, 32

—SENIOR SHANE NDEDA ON RACISM IN TODAY’S SOCIETY STORY ON PAGES 6-7

At a glance: spring break What

A week off from school, the last major break of the school year

When

March 9-17

Who

All students and faculty

In brief

Senior Daniel Mirochna is a commissioned artist, 22

What that whole experience let me know is that a lot of people in today’s times like have underlying racial biases that they’re not even aware of.”

test March 19-20 and March 25-27 during humanities and math classes, respectively. Lower School students will take the ERB test during the week of March 25-28.

ARTS NEWS >CHOIR HOSTS TREBLE ONLY EVENSONG The choir had a treble only evensong March 3. Because it was treble only, no Upper Schoolers attended. This was the only all Middle School event of the year. Additionally, the Upper School choir is busy preparing for ISAS. > FIRST GRADE FINE ARTS NIGHT TO TAKE PLACE The first graders’ fine arts night was held 6:30 p.m. March 7. The event featured ceramic works created by first graders in addition to a performance of Kids are Kids the Whole World Round, a new play that celebrates diversity. The fine arts night celebrated visual as well as the performance arts. The students dressed in clothing related to their family’s traditions for the play. They performed in the Lower School Music and Drama Room, which was open for anyone who wants to attend. GENERAL NEWS > SIXTH GRADE PLANS ANNUAL CAMPOUT The sixth grade will leave for their campout March 21 and return to campus in the afternoon of the next day. The campout is a single-night excursion where students will hike to a campsite during the afternoon of March 21. They will spend the night there and hike back to the buses on the morning of March 22. This campout is the first of their annual Middle School campouts which lead up to the ten-day Pecos campout in the

summer before ninth grade. > SEVENTH GRADE DOES COMMUNITY SERVICE The seventh grade will have its annual community service event in the Great Hall March 30. After being educated on world hunger, the students will fill bags with rice that will be sent to the less fortunate. The Marksmen will be accompanied by Hockaday’s seventh grade class at the yearly event. > SPRING BASKET DRIVE BEGINS APRIL 1. The Community Service Board will host the annual Spring Basket Drive, headed by junior Christopher Wang, April 1-15. Each advisory will assemble one basket filled with a coloring book, eggs with candy, a stuffed animal, a small toy, chocolate, candy and toiletry supplies. As in previous years, baskets will go to a variety of organizations specializing in charity for children across the Metroplex.. > SENIOR AWARDED FOR ACT OF VOLUNTEERISM Senior Trevor Burke was named a 2019 distinguished finalist by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for his outstanding acts of volunteerism. Burke has fought to protect the Blackland Prairie, an endangered ecosystem in East Texas. His efforts have included removing invasive species, planting native grasses and reintroducing the Northern Bobwhite Quail. Burke has also introduced a group of around 100 volunteers to his program. > STUDENTS SELECT 2019-

2020 COURSES Course Selection Week began Monday and concluded today. Upper School Marksmen and their parents conferenced with their advisors to choose classes for the 2019-2020 school year according to their preferences, recommendations and graduation requirements: 12 English credits; nine social studies, laboratory science, mathematics and foreign language credits; three fine arts and elective-course credits; and four years of physical education or athletics. Middle and Upper School students had no school Tuesday for these conferences. Students submitted course preferences and their advisors approved them online. > LATIN STUDENTS COMPETE IN BAYLOR COMPETITION Nineteen students travelled to Waco Feb. 23 to compete with about 30 other schools in a competition based on the Classical World. Along with a first-place win in Grammar from freshman Alex Ryan, the school finished first in the Novice and Advanced levels of Certamen, a competition similar to Quiz Bowl. The teams will now compete at the Texas State Junior Classical League competitions against the winners of other regions. SPORTS NEWS > WINTER JV SPORTS TEAMS END SEASONS The JV basketball team ended the season with a loss to ESD after a last-second shot by an opposing player. Guided by part-time coach Ryan Herschner, the team

finished with eight wins after playing 24 games. After a 1-2 start, the Lions JV soccer team, led by coach Joel Reemstma, improved thoroughly throughout the season and finished 11-3-2. > MIDDLE SCHOOL SPRING SPORTS BEGIN Spring sports for the Middle School have recently begun their spring seasons. Seventh grade baseball has their first game March 7 against Trinity Valley in Fort Worth. Eighth grade baseball has their first game March 5 at home against ESD. The Middle School lacrosse gold and blue teams have their first games Feb. 24 away against Southlake. The Middle School tennis team has their first game March 6 at home against Greenhill. Middle School track and field has their first meet Feb. 28 at Hockaday. The Middle School water polo team will participate in their first North Texas Spring League Tournament Feb. 24 at Southern Methodist University. > WATER POLO TEAM WILL TRAVEL TO ROMANIA The water polo team will travel to Romania during spring break to enrich both its overall athletic ability and team chemistry. With challenging practices and games against local and traveling Romanian clubs, the team well get excellent conditioning, exercise and fun. Since much of the team has already visited Bucharest, its base will be moved to the city of Targu Mures, located in the central-east part of Transylvania.

issues

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

POLITICAL DISCOURSE

The faces behind the screen Campaigns. Arguments. Movements. Social media has changed the game, for better or for worse.

KEYBOARD WARRIOR As posting political opinions on social media becomes more prevalent, it becomes harder to avoid controversy.

ust one 40-second video posted on Facebook sparked outcry in the Dallas community. A scene from the World War II movie Downfall with the subtitles changed to portray Mayor Mike Rawlings as Adolf Hitler and mayoral candidates as Nazi generals, posted by a man who simply thought it was funny. News outlets flared up. Candidates raced to issue statements. Everybody was watching the backlash. Everybody except Dalton Glenn ’18. For years, he’s cut himself from politics. He doesn’t listen to the news as much. He doesn’t talk about his opinion like he used to. Not since he had to face the backlash himself. ••• With the advent of social media, there are more opportunities to connect with friends and family now than ever before. But it’s also become easier to spread political opinions and messages to a wide base of followers. Senior Jack Katz, who frequently posts political messages on Twitter and Facebook, uses these platforms to spread his political views. “There are so many people who don’t have their own formulated opinions on certain issues,” Katz said. “Different people speaking out and giving different perspectives is what freedom of speech is all about, and it’s what learning is all about.” But not everybody has a positive experience posting their opinion on social media. In 2017, then-junior Glenn posted a message on Facebook in response to the news of four Dalton African-American teenagers who Glenn ’18 live-streamed their abuse of a Previously vocal about his opinions white teenager with diminished mental capacity. “I felt that there should have been more of an outcry,” Glenn said, “so that’s what I put into my post. And it started out pretty normal.” Soon, Glenn saw a variety of comments from his friends, some agreeing and some disagreeing. People linked to articles, made arguments and shared their thoughts. It seemed neutral. It didn’t take long for people to reply to the comments. A response would disagree with an argument somebody made, then a third person would chime in defending the original comment, maybe a fourth person would bring in their own opinion and the cycle only intensified. Four people turned into five. Five turned into ten. Ten turned into 20. It became chaos. “At that point, it erupted,” Glenn said. “Last time I checked, there were over 300 comments. I was getting comments well into the next day.” When Glenn walked up the steps into Centennial lounge the next morning, his friends couldn’t stop talking about it. They kept asking him, Why did you post it? What are you going to do now? And Glenn didn’t know. He had never thought of the repercussions. He didn’t know he would create a battle STORY Ishan Gupta, Paul Sullivan PHOTO Collin Katz

between students from multiple schools with just one post. “I noticed one thing a lot,” Glenn said. “There were a lot of people who used to be good friends of mine, who, because of politics or just because of how that whole incident turned out, I fell out of contact with. I definitely ended up with less friends than I had going in.” That’s when Glenn realized it wasn’t worth it. He had always liked politics, and he was always willing to share his opinions. But for him, it just wasn’t worth losing his friends.

“

With my friends at college, I don’t discuss politics. Never have. Probably never will. I just don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to risk losing them.” — Dalton Glenn ’18

better private. But on things that are broad that I view as absolutely necessary, I do speak out. It just depends.” Overall, Katz has been able to use social media as a tool to express his beliefs, and although he’s never run into a situation like Glenn, he still notices that not everybody is happy with what he posts. “If I can put my perspective out there, yes: it’s going to offend someone,” Katz said. “But I think it’s going to make more people think than it is going to incite anger, and that’s generally the reaction I seem to be getting.” And making people think is Katz’s way of creating action in the community. “It gets people to act,” Katz said. “I think that’s another way to move the country towards the direction of change that you want. That was one way of using my voice.”

The breakdown

In the beginning, the backlash the post received actually inspired him. It made Glenn feel like he brought up an important topic for debate, and he began to talk politics even more. But a few months into his junior year, he realized he was wrong. “I can say with complete certainty that there’s very, very little in this world that’s worth losing a friend over,” Glenn said. “I don’t regret the post I made, but I regret the backlash it got.” But Katz, who not only uses social media but also campaigns for politicians, isn’t concerned about potential backlash. For him, if a post stirs up controversy, that may be a sign of progress. “Even if your opinion is viewed by most people as completely wrong,” Katz said, “it’s your opinion. And at least it starts the conversation. In that sense, it’s a good thing.” In fact, Katz sees a situation like Glenn’s as beneficial, and he doesn’t advise students to avoid those types of situations. “Don’t be safe,” Katz said. “Getting a reaction is normal. If you believe in something, believe in it. Embrace it. And if people don’t want to embrace it, that’s their problem.” On the other hand, Glenn’s experience has led him to believe exercising caution is crucial when posting his opinion on social media. “If there’s something that needs to be said, say it, and say it loud and proud,” Glenn said, “but if it doesn’t really need to be said, if you’re just venting about something, then it’s not worth it.” Although Katz doesn’t see any topic as too dangerous, he does agree with Glenn when it comes to posting specific content with a very direct message. “You have to know your audience, and you also have to know your limit,” Katz said. “There are many things I’ve wanted to say that I know I can’t because they are left

percent

Social media users who find political discussions online to be more ANGRY than in other places

Percent of American adults who think social media is important for ___ Getting involved with important issues

Creating movements for social change

Influencing policy decision

12 Very

25 Somewhat

percent of U.S. adults encourage others to take action online.

Not too

Not at all

percent of U.S. adults take part in issue-driven groups online.

SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH CENTER

issues

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

CIVIC EDUCATION

New government course to be offered

Auction held by Parent’s Association

For the 2019-20 year, a new history elective aims to provide students with the principles of global citizenship and awareness.

sk anyone today about politics in America and they’d probably say things are controversial. Polarizing, for sure, and turbulent too. But ask them what’s happening outside the country, and they’ll draw a blank. How does America’s attitude on politics compare to Britain’s? How does it compare to Russia’s? How do the politics themselves compare? The intricate laws and guidelines of our system of government are constantly being highlighted in current events. Now more than ever, it’s crucial to understand politics. That’s where History and Social Sciences Department Head David Fisher is stepping in. ••• For the 2019-2020 school year, the school plans to offer AP comparative government and international relations for the first time, along with introducing several other new courses. The class, suggested by Fisher, has been offered to students as an option during course selection week, but it will only be confirmed for next year if a minimum of eight to ten juniors and seniors show interest in the course. The purpose of the class is to look at how countries negotiate with each other in the international arena, partly by studying current events. “This will not necessarily be a Model United nations course, but there will certainly be elements that I take from the UN organization and apply it in class,” Fisher said. “We might have games and simulations that follow the model that’s been set up there.” The course will only be offered every other year, but it will rotate with another new course, AP United States government, which used to be offered at the school in the early 2000’s. According to Interim Head of Upper School John Ashton, the two will be offered back-to-back so students can take both in their junior and senior years to get the full experience. “[The AP United States government course] is going to be really interesting to civics and our understanding the role of it, what it means to be an engaged citizen,” Ashton said. “But it will also equip students in those courses with a real understanding of politics and government.” For Fisher, the two new courses correlate directly with the three elements he believes

AROUND THE GLOBE To expand emphasis on civics education and international awareness, the school plans on offering a new AP comparative government course next year.

the history department should focus on: historical, economic and political science education. “Those three elements, at the very least, should be offered to students here at St. Mark’s so they can really be ready to shine and to function in the 21st century world,” Fisher said. AP comparative government and international relations is unique to the school in that it is a combination of two different topics in one class. Since the College Board’s AP comparative government course isn’t a full-year class, Fisher and Ashton decided to add the International Relations portion to give the course content that would cover the topics they wanted to cover as stated in their goals for the course. “If you look at those goals,” Ashton said, “one of the elements is: how can we provide you guys with courses, experiences and ways of thinking about yourselves as citizens in the city, the state, the country, the world and help you develop the skills to be engaged citizens?” That civic education goes hand-in-hand with the school’s goal of getting students involved not only in Dallas, but in their broader communities as well. “In a time like this, in a school like this, I think the function [of the History department] really has to be making sure that the graduates of St. Mark’s are well informed and active citizens of their country and in the global community,” Fisher said. “To do that we have to provide you with background information, material and skills to be those active citizens.”

Fisher especially recommends the course to any student who has an interest in pursuing a career path in a similar field in the future. “If you have an interest in the subject matter,” Fisher said, “if you’re thinking of going to a university and majoring in something that has to do with the social sciences, you want to be a lawyer, you want to be a diplomat or you just have a passion for understanding how countries work in the world today, then you should sign up for a course like this.” But even if a student isn’t interested in the social sciences, the AP comparative government and international relations and AP United States government courses John Ashton are still interesting Interim learning opportuHead of Upper nities, according to School Fisher. “[Comparitive Government] is a great addition to our available courses because it addresses a bit of a gap in our curriculum which has to do with getting students acquainted with the contemporary world,” Fisher said. “In other words, how the world we currently live in works.” Although Fisher and Ashton believe the new courses will be a useful addition to the school curriculum, it’s up to the students to decide whether it will actually be offered next year. “I think there’s really an opportunity in that course,” Ashton said. “It’s a neat offering that we don’t have right now, and we’ll see if there’s interest from the boys, from you guys.”

STORY Ishan Gupta, Henry McElhaney PHOTO Lee Schlosser

Eighth grade public speaking competition finished March 6 by Henry McElhaney he annual Good Words contest concluded March 6 during Middle School Assembly. Due to printing restrictions, the final results of the contest are not included. The Good Words competition is a speech recitation contest for eighth graders. While the competition is voluntary, the organizer of the contest, humanities instructor Lisa Brandenburg, believes public speaking is a necessary skill. “I created the contest to provide a unique opportunity for students to practice their public speaking skills, especially if they are students who are interested in acting and recitation,” Brandenburg said. Before the Good Words contest, the school held an annual Mr. Shakespeare competition for eighth graders. Former students such as NFL linebacker Sam Acho ’07 and actor and director Mont-

gomery Sutton ’05 have won the now discontinued event. “We did the Shakespeare contest for a decade,” Brandenburg said. “And then I thought, ‘I can’t hear Richard III anymore.’” A few years after ending the tradition, Humanities Department Chair Nicholas Sberna asked Brandenburg to pick up the Mr. Shakespeare competition again. Brandenburg agreed the competition would be beneficial, but she wanted a broader range of speeches the students could choose from. “I selected scenes from a variety of sources, movies and some of the books we’ve read in humanities that lean toward the character and leadership program of the school,” Brandenburg said. Brandenburg created a new competition, the Good Words Contest, and gave the participants almost 20 different

speeches to choose from. “I thought, ‘there’s another way to go at this. Let’s don’t just do Shakespeare, because we read all this great literature,’” Brandenburg said. “There are so many great movie speeches out there that have to do with inspiration and leadership.” Brandenburg expanded her ideas from movies, including speeches like Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s speech to the Maine Mutineers and Chief Joseph’s “I Will Fight no More Forever” speech. If a student wanted to perform a speech of his own choosing, he could. It just had to relate to leadership. “If someone has a specific speech in his mind, I certainly just want to check it and make sure it’s appropriate,” Brandenburg said. “I want students to be able to express themselves however they want to in this competition.”

by Paul Sullivan he silent auction was headed by the Parent’s Association Feb. 23. The theme was Elevation 10600, reminiscent of a Swiss Alps ski resort, and it was based on the path Marksmen take from first grade to 12th. Natalie Siegel, head of the Parents Association, and her colleagues were excited after putting in a lot of work to make the event possible. “We were just trying to think of something that is both fun, but also represents the journey of a Marksman climbing to the top,” Siegel said. “You want to have something that the parents can have fun with. [The event was] a white-out, so you’re supposed to wear white. We’re thinking it will look really neat because everyone’s dressed in white.”

NEW CLASSES OFFERED The school will offer four new courses in 2020: • AP Comparative government and international relations • Research writing and presentation, a researchintensive led by history instructor Jerusha Westbury • Two new science courses will also be offered, see page 11.

Including VIP passes to Shark Tank donated by Mark Cuban, a vacation home and tickets to the Super Bowl, the silent auction was entirely online and had gifts donated by some of the faculty and staff. “Mr. Jordan is having a pancake breakfast with the boys,” Siegel said. “Ty Montgomery ’11 has donated a chance to play a paint ball game with himself and Coach Bart Epperson. You could buy that for your son and 20 of his friends.” The live auction started off in the Great Hall with cocktails and appetizers and then moved to Spencer Gym for a seated dinner. “That was at the end of the evening,” Siegel said, “and they had the dessert and a DJ back in the Great Hall, so we were really moving back and forth.” Parents on the Parent’s Association have put in countless hours to make the event happen. “They’ve been working on this since last spring,” Siegel said. “It’s 20 people on the committee, and I can’t even estimate how many hours it is, but it’s a lot. It’s almost like a fulltime job for these parents in preparation, right before it gets really busy.” And it took a big amount of dedication from the parents to organize the whole event. “There’s a lot of things, the decoration, the live and silent auction items, all the details, the entertainment: it’s a lot," Siegel said. "Last year they raised over $200,000. We’re really hoping to meet or exceed this year and make a really beneficial gift back to school.”

issues

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Speaking up Parent Education Speaker Series Chair Lisa Rocchio is bringing in experts to talk to parents, giving them the opportunity to learn about teen issues. James Rogers: What’s your official role within the Parents Association? Lisa Rocchio: My job is part of the Parents Association and my title is Parent Education Speaker Series Chair. It is a newly created position. JR: Did the speaker series begin this year? LR: Yes. St. Mark’s has offered similar presentations in the past, but it was sporadic. The goal of this position was to offer several presentations during the school year with speakers that addressed relevant issues for parents. JR: What goes on in a typical event? LR: Each event is different but each presentation is usually about an hour long and includes a Q&A session. If the author has a book that was recently published, then a book signing is also offered. We have tried to schedule these presentations at varying times so that they are accessible to all parents. We have had a morning presentation, a lunch presentation and an evening presentation this year. Additionally, depending on the speaker’s SERIES timing, HELD we have SO FAR arranged

for them to meet with faculty and have hosted a dinner with different school representatives. JR: How popular are the presentations? LR: Depending on the speaker and the venue, we have had anywhere from 130 to 600 people in attendance. JR: How frequently are the events held? LR: We coordinated one event in the fall and two events this winter. This fall we coordinated with Hockaday to hear Julia Lythcott-Haims speak about her book How To Raise an Adult. In January, we joined with Hockaday, ESD Lisa Rocchio and Greenhill and Speaker Series hosted Dr. Wendy Chair Mogel at St. Mark’s. She spoke about her most recent book, Voice Lessons for Parents: What to Say, When to Say It and When to Listen. In February, we heard from Anya Kamenetz, author of The Art of Screen Time. JR: What do you hope to accomplish with this speakers series? LR: The speaker series addresses a need in the parent community for education and resources on many parenting issues

IN SESSION Anya Kamenetz, author of The Art of Screen Time, spoke to parents about how to limit and control technology usage for their children’s benefit Feb. 26.

such as technology and social issues. JR: Will you keep your role for the next school year? LR: I wish. This has been one of my most favorite and rewarding jobs at St. Mark’s. It has been interesting to research speakers and to hear what kind of topics the parents are interested in. I am going to be a senior grade representative next year as it is my last year as a St. Mark’s parent, but the Parent’s Association [will have] a great person to chair this job next year!

Speakers hosted • Julie Lythcott-Haims, on the effects of overparenting (Oct. 17, 2018) • Kristen Olhenforst, on youth anxiety disorders (Jan. 23, 2019) • Dr. Wendy

Mogel, on the art of talking to children (Jan. 28, 2019) • Anya Kamenetz, on the relationship between children and screen usage (Feb. 26, 2019)

INTERVIEW James Rogers PHOTO James Rogers

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issues

THEIR UNTOLD STORIES

too much racism. One time a guy who was homeless came up to me, my brother and dad and said something along the lines of ‘our race wasn’t welcome here’ and that the war was about to begin and our people in Syria were going to get bombed and destroyed. Other than that I’ve only had rare racist comments made or a few times people asking me if I speak English but I’ve never had my life threatened over race or anything like that. And I think I’ve told people some of these stories before.

Parent Travene Crawford — Since moving to Dallas, I have had experiences where people have looked at me and made assumptions about me. When coming to my home, strangers will ask me how much I charge to clean houses. This woman walked up to me at my front doorstep and asked me 'Oh, I've seen you here before, and I was wondering how much you charge to clean.' And I said that I lived here. She continued to talk to me for five more minutes and insisted that I helped her to find someone to clean her house.

On the front of the newspaper was the picture of the angry mob, and the guy I worked next to was right on the cover.

Lee Smith '64 — During my freshman and sophomore years, in 1966, in college, I was working in a Sears store in Chicago in the advertising department. The group I was working with at Sears was mixed, and we worked in the same production room. Dr. King came to Chicago and led a march for open housing and a community center called Gage Park, so there was this guy I worked next to and there had been a march over the weekend in Gage Park that had resulted in a angry mob of racists that came out to stop the march. I come to work on Monday morning, and on the front of the newspaper was the picture of the angry mob, and who is there standing on the curb with this outraged expression was the guy I worked next to.

No matter what race or religion, everyone has untold stories.

This guy said something about don’t speak Spanish in the United States; he said that we speak English here.

I have had experiences where people have looked at me and made assumptions about me.

‘Our race wasn’t welcome here’ and that the war was about to begin.

Junior Obaid Akbar —I haven't experienced

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

Sophomore Luis Garcia — One time I was

with my dad at a shopping mall, and we were just looking around at some of the clothes around there. I was little, so I don’t remember much, but my dad told me that there was this guy that gave him a dirty look and said something about speaking Spanish because my dad was speaking Spanish to me. This guy said something about don’t speak Spanish in the United States; he said that we speak English here.

‘You black girls are going to keep your mouth shut this quarter.’

Right when I walked past their table, they both immediately took their purses.

Zach Gilstrap '18 — I was with one of my friends, and he lives in Highland Park. We are walking upstairs from a bakery, and I see these two elderly white women who were dressed in really nice clothes and had nice handbags. And right when I walked past their table, they both immediately took their purses and moved them off the table as if they were avoiding me. But then all of a sudden, this eight inch rat comes out of the wall and scuttles across the building, and everyone sees it. The craziest part is that those two women didn’t move an inch. My parents told me that I am going to be in a different environment where people are not going to be as receptive to you as a person just based on the color of your skin.

Coach Dwight Phillips —

My son was about seven or eight years old, he was playing basketball, and I was sitting in the front row of the stands and my daughter and her friend were sitting next to me and just cheering for my son. When the halftime was over, the referee comes over and looks at my daughter and her friend and says ‘You black girls are going to keep your mouth shut this quarter.’ As a father, I always say, you can mess with me, but you don't mess with my kids. You don't treat kids that way regardless of color. I have dealt with racism for 55 years every day in my life because of the color of my skin. I don’t ever plan on changing. What I’m trying to do here is to build bridges. I’m cognizant enough to realize that there are issues.

RACIAL INSENSITIVITY | continued from page one

conversations

STARTING THE

Recent events show that

America still has a ways to go in racial acceptance. It's

imperative that we at 10600

realize this issue is still with us.

FROM THE LEGAL EXPERTS

We sat down with Alex Abdo '99 and human resources director Lorre Allen and asked about the legal ramifications of racism in the real world.

Sid Vattamreddy: What's the school's approach to racial sensitivity? Lorre Allen: We cover [sensitivity training] every year with the faculty and staff as a part of the inservice day training. We cover our non discrimination policy and retaliation or no retaliation policy. If an individual experienced any injustice or stereotyping, we have steps that we would follow. We first would want to speak to the individual, and then we would look into the matter. There are three sides to every investigation or every matter that comes forward: The person who's complaining, the person who the complaint is against and the truth. We will go through our regular process as outlined in our faculty and staff handbook. SV: How can we at 10600 Preston Rd. improve race relations? LA: One of the biggest things is that we as humans, we have biases. If you try to get to know yourself and become self-aware and you get to know the person that's in front of you, we can break down those biases. People are missing opportunities by not getting to know the person that's in front of them. By trying to understand we also begin to learn, and my whole career has been about learning. SV: What do you do when someone has a question about a workplace incident LA: When somebody has a legitimate question they want to ask me, I don’t get upset. They're asking me a question is because they want to know. Let's have that conversation, and I've had some really good intentional conversations with people who just want to know. Had I not started Lorre Allen a conversation, they HR Director could have walked away with misinformation and a different perception. These can be uncomfortable situations which are hard for some people to go through, but it’s important that we do.

SV: How did you get involved in the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU)? Alex Abdo: I first got to ACLU as a legal intern in my second summer in law school. I was working on post 9-11 civil rights litigation, mainly focused on the treatment of detainees by the military and the CIA in the aftermath of 9-11. After law school, I went back as a legal fellow, and I ended up working on very similar issues, mostly post 9-11 civil rights issues in my first 4 to 5 years at the ACLU.

BE IN MY SHOES – DWIGHT PHILLIPS HAND IN HAND

As race continues to be a issue in America, it is necessary to understand the experiences of those around us.

Alex Abdo '99

SV: Did you know you wanted to go into Civil Rights Defense? AA: [Civil rights litigation] is not what I set out to do when I went to college. After my two summers interning in law school, I got very excited about the possibility of using my law degree to advance causes I believed in. The possibility of what could be done with a legal degree in terms of an impact on the real world, that’s what really drew me in. SV: Why did you want to continue your work, and what drives you? AA: I came to see criminal defense as one of the most important civil rights fights that goes on everyday. It is the circumstance in which the government most directly touches the lives of most people in the country. You have people who are imprisoned and put through this process that isn’t always consistent or ideal in terms of fairness or due process. I became committed to the idea that everyone deserves a fair shot, even if they did something wrong. The people who work in public defense, they are often underfunded and have to go against people with many resources on the other side.

INTERVIEWS Sam Ahmed, Sid Vattamreddy, Colin Campbell, Aaron Thorne, Lyle Ochs ADDITIONAL REPORTING Eric Yoo PHOTO Kyle Smith ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

issues

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

Parents, teachers, students and alumni recount their personal experiences with stereotyping and injustice in the workplace and the world. There are times where people will come up and use certain type of slang and use a certain type of language with me.

Junior Kasen Roberson —

A lot of people will come up to me or people I know and make conversation with them about something that they're not very well versed in just for the fact that they are trying to seem like they are diverse. There are times where people will come up and use certain type of slang and use a certain type of language with me. It makes me feel uncomfortable because I know that they don't go home and talk like this. This is not something you regularly do, so in a way you're changing yourself to make me feel comfortable.

To move past that we have to set a new precedent. There needs to be a baseline level of respect.

Senior Mark Weisberg — There was a peri-

od of time for three years I wore a Jewish star, and everytime I went to the airport, I would take it off because you never know what people are stereotyping for. Just because we live in our own little bubble, it’s completely incorrect to assume that we're not a part of it. We are, and we help set that climate. It's so hard to change a political climate, and right now our political climate is that those kinds of things are acceptable. To move past that we have to set a new precedent. There needs to be a baseline level of respect and our part in setting that baseline level of respect is embodying it wherever we are. If we act like upstanding citizens all the time, no matter where we are, that will set a precedent.

It's not really fair to expect a person from one religion or one background to speak on behalf of an entire religion.

Waseem Nabulsi '18 — Anytime something bad happens in the news that in any way involves the Muslim community, it always feel like we are looked at as kind of like the spokesperson for all Muslims. Because for the most part, it's not really fair to expect a person from one religion or one background to speak on behalf of an entire religion. This isn't just a St. Mark's thing; it is an everywhere thing. I had to argue with a student who very passionately tried to debate with me it is the case that most Muslims are terrorists.

I feel like that played into my race as an Asian and how we are stereotyped to be quiet and submissive.

Edward Ro '18 — So during basic training, I was, for a short period of time, something called the flight chief. WI was the go-to-guy to communicate with if we were doing something bad or anything like that. We had this one upperclassman, and he would ask me how many words I spoke that day because I was ghosting basic, which is trying to go through basic without doing much, so I tried not to speak but I was the flight chief. I feel like that played into my race as an Asian and how we are stereotyped to be quiet and submissive. So he would tease me like that. And once we switched flight chief to a white guy, that guy never asked the new chief how many words he spoke that day.

By the numbers:

60 percent of workers have experienced race-based harassment

34 percent of race related workplace discriminations

84K total workplace discriminations charges filed

398 millions of dollars secured for victims in private sector

29K total race related workplace discriminations suits filed BREAKING THROUGH THE WALL In the midst of race-related stereotyping and injustice being frequently discussed topic in current events, community members need to break down the wall to have these important conversations about how we view each other.

Sources: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

I don’t get a lot of in my face racism, but some people go out of there way to not be racist.

Math instructor Marjorie Curry — A

lot of things I experienced come from the way people respond to me. For instance, if I say I work at St. Mark’s it’s almost always followed up by, 'what do you do there?' I don’t get a lot of in-my-face racism, but some people go out of their way to not be racist. It’s almost overcompensating. For example, someone telling me how much they love Oprah Winfrey or that they voted for Obama. That type of thing is really not necessary.

You do have to make sure that, as a black man, you shouldn't have to always watch your step, but that's just the society we live in.

Senior Shane Ndeda — This is probably the summer entering my junior year. It was at North Park Mall, and I was going to watch a movie. I had some time, so I walked by some nice department stores. I don’t even go into the store. And then I saw that there was a mall security guard who was just sitting on a bench, and he saw me stop and look. And then he stood up and decided to walk in my direction, but I didn't think anything of it. Then he actually tapped me on the shoulder and he asked me why I was looking at the clothing inside the department stores. I talked to my parents later about how you do have to make sure that, as a black man, you shouldn't have to always watch your step, but that's just the society we live in.

For me, it was more than just a joke

know first impressions aren’t fixed, and I really do try not to be judgmental, but something about Fred* struck me in a very wrong way. Maybe it was his wearing a MAGA hat to “see how many people would start a fight” as we walked around the Washington D.C. area, his noxious, bright green t-shirt or his propensity to interrupt other students attending the Congressional Leadership Program with us… I don’t know, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt anyway. I had a week with him after all, and there was no reason to burn bridges so early on the first day. There was no reason until I saw his face, which contorted and tensed as no one gave a reaction to his hat. His ear-to-ear grin sheepishly shrank as his interruptions slowly faded into irrelevance. It was an observation that stayed in the back of my head as his own CJ Crawford turned towards Communime, and Fred’s cations editor smile returned. “What’s your name?” he said. “CJ.” “‘CJ’? That’s not really a black name is it? You look more like a Jamal or something.” No. There’s no way I heard what he said correctly. I shook my head like someone had pressed a reset button, and I ignored his first spoken sentence to me. There’s no way. “You wanna hear a joke?” Nope. “Sure thing, man,” I said. I really should've walked away, but I stayed long enough to hear his joke. Long enough to hear him say that unforgivable, crowd-silencing word. I heard everything this time. No mistake. As soon as his words *Fred is an alias

registered in my head, my thoughts followed closely behind, red hot. Who is this kid? Why is he this way? Who told him saying anything like that is okay? It’s not okay. He’s not okay. No one prompted him. He needs to be more aware. Someone needs to let him know. Thoughts almost manifested as action as I clenched my fist but stopped. A moment of clarity seized my anger-fueled response. A moment to think back to a talk my father had with me. A talk all black men have with their sons. “You don’t have the luxury to express how injustice makes you feel as a black man,” the lessons all said as clear as Fred’s chatter in my ear. It’s a funny observation yet grave in its implications. By all means I’m human, but by the world’s means, I’m a black man. The recognition of my identity as CJ Crawford — Marksman, artist, athlete, friend, son, brother — is not enough due to the historical and social context attached to my excess in melanin. I must recognize the sum of all my parts. Personally and racially. As the minority, I’m representative of all who came before me, come with me and will come after me. Statements like “Your name doesn’t sound black,” or “You don’t act, talk black” only work to try and separate my self from an essential aspect, that being racial identity, of “myself.” Remaining strong in this identity, no incorrect or biased claim to my name or my actions can threaten to weaken my judgement. I can’t afford to prove people like Fred right, feeding his false ego built on tearing others apart. I have too much attached to my skin. Fred fed himself around the negative reactions people gave him, so my resolve to ignore Fred starved him, and the strength in my own identity only grew.

issues

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

LEADERSHIP WALL

Debate plans for last tournament

Recent controversy surrounding the statues of Confederate veterans at Pioneer Park calls into question the very definition of leadership.

by Eric Hirschbrich he school’s debate team is hard at work preparing for their final conference of 2019. In order to be fully prepared for their debates, the team has begun researching arguments and strategies in preparation for the National Debate Coaches Association (NDCA) tournament. Debate team member Sahitya Senapathy says that the debate is committed to being prepared for the tournament, and works towards accumulating enough material to compete well. “We’ve got the NDCA tournament,” Senapathy said. “We’re doing a lot of research, cutting a lot of new affirmatives, a lot of new policy proposals that were going to advocate for as well as researching negative strategies that will be useful in beating other teams.” Senior Max Wang describes the focus of the team on identifying important information on the topic before the tournament. “We are doing more in-depth research into the topic,” Wang said. “That would include more affirmative and negative research on reducing restrictions on legal immigration.” Senapathy notes that the debate team focuses specifically on preparation for the debate, and that their performance during debate competitions usually reflects the degree of preparation and work they put into their arguments. “I think St. Mark’s has historically won rounds based on our research,” Senapathy said. “Research has been an essential point in our historic legacy of St. Mark’s and our debate program. Good research that is strategic has generally led to better results in tournaments.” In addition to their large amount of research, the debate team is also coming up with new debating strategies. “We’re going for certain strategies on the immigration topic that will be harder for the other teams to answer,” Senapathy said. “A lot of the research that were doing is targeted toward specific nuances of the topic that other teams may not have an easy time answering.” The debate team looks to make this last tournament count, as it is the last debate tournament some of the seniors will compete in. “Given that this is the final tournament of the year and the last tournament of for some of the seniors on the team,” Senapathy said. “I think that we’re all really amped up and trying to win as many rounds as we can and make our research worthwhile.”

Leaders or liabilities? T

hey were pivotal to the Civil War. They were praised as the greatest leaders of their time. But they fought to preserve centuries of slavery. Jefferson Davis. Stonewall Jackson. Robert E. Lee. Albert Johnston. The Dallas City Council voted to remove each of these men from the 60-foot high, 123 year-old Confederate War Memorial at Pioneer Park Cemetery Feb. 13. The political controversy surrounding the monument raises many questions: How are leaders judged? What context must be taken into account when judging them? Those are questions the Lower School Leadership Wall tries to answer. ••• The Leadership Wall did not start with those questions in mind. Originally, it was meant as a platform to commemorate people who had done great things, or had been in great positions of power. “[Under former Head of Lower School Barbara York], it was meant to recognize strong leaders and what it meant to be a leader,” Head of Lower School Sherri Darver said. “Our first nominee, George Washington, exemplified that.” But as the Lower School changed their ethics curriculum, Darver’s goals for the wall changed as well. “Our shift here as a school has become so much more intentional on character and leadership,” Darver said, “so we thought about how we could further refine the process.” Darver saw this as an opportunity to Sherri change the scope Darver of the Leadership Lower School Wall, to focus Head more deeply on the connection between leaders and the values the Lower School focuses on. “The responsibility of being a leader, empathy, compassion, all of the 12 virtues we have in Lower School, we apply to those leaders and pull those virtues into the conversations that they have in their classrooms,” Darver said. This process was demonstrated in the selection of the newest member of the Leadership Wall, Rosa Parks. Parks was nominated at the start of the process

by six different students. “This year, we had several nominees,” Darver said. “The figures that rose to the surface and had the most nominations were Rosa Parks, Neil Armstrong, Alexander Hamilton and Muhammad Ali.” After Parks was voted in, four students, one from each grade, were chosen to research her life. They delivered a presentation to the entire Lower School March 8 during an assembly. “We sort of say, what things did you see in Rosa’s that stood out the most for you personally, and why?” Darver said. “And they then take that back to their classroom.” For a more controversial nominee, such as Muhammad Ali, the process may have played out differently. “He had a lot of great things that he did,” Darver said, “but he also had a lot of controversial things. Because of where they are developmentally right now in the Lower School, it’s difficult to really point out all of those controversies.” Darver still works to develop the proper historical context when nominees have complex histories. If a leader such as Robert E. Lee was nominated, she would work to educate students about the full implications of his leadership. “[Lee] may be part of our history,” Darver said, “but we also have to look at whether he was always leading in a positive manner. If someone that controversial rose to the top of the bin, we would absolutely have to provide context for his actions.” For AP U.S. history instructor Bryan Boucher, that context is vital when discussing the memorializing of

controversial figures. “I think if they’re being put up in honor or remembrance of veterans and their causes,” Boucher said, “then I do think that there’s a value to having that physical artifact and having future generations confront the challenge of that.” Boucher sees preservation become a major issue when the monuments become a focal point for oppression or hate. “Some of these statues were put up at a time that were really meant to reinforce a lot of the racial segregation and prejudices of the preand post-Civil War era,” Boucher said. “They have become a cause that certain groups promoting hateful ideas have rallied around.” He doesn’t believe the problem has a universal solution, but that it should be decided by the community as a whole. “As a historian, there’s a concern about covering up the past,” Boucher said. “I think that also has to be balanced by how memorials are being interpreted in current day and current time and by different groups of people.” The Pioneer Cemetery decision and the Leadership Wall may not be the same situation, but for Boucher, they both teach the community about how to face its history. “Our past is not always pleasant,” Boucher said. “We can often learn a lot about presentday issues by looking at past issues and confronting them.”

STORY Alam Alidina, Ishan Gupta ARTWORK Michael Lukowicz

In my opinion Honesty, per‘ severance and

responsibility because you need to be honest and the only way you can be a leader is by telling the truth, or else no one will trust you and you’ll be doing the wrong thing. Reagan Graeme fifth grader

Students give their take on what they think should be valued in a leader.

‘

They should be kind and open-minded. And they should have courage to do things that some people might think is the right thing but are too scared to do it. Mateen Mostafavipour fifth grader

confident in ‘ They’re their choices. They’re

not shy to speak their beliefs. They’re organized. They just know everyone. Austin Williams freshman

always that ‘ oneThere’s guy who wants

to do everything. You should be able to lead and guide others to do something but you shouldn’t be forcing others to do what they don’t want to do. Sean Zhao junior

should have ‘ They integrity, be courageous, persevere, and a leader has to to listen to other people’s thoughts.

Dylan Bosita fourth grader

T THE LEADERS ON THE WALL •Norman Borlaug •Mahatma Ghandi •John Kennedy •Martin Luther King Jr. •Abraham Lincoln •Nelson Mandela •Rosa Parks •Jackie Robinson •Mother Teresa •Harriet Tubman •George Washington •Malala Yousufazi

TIPPING OVER After the City Council’s decision to remove Confederate statues from Pioneer Park, traditional leaders fear their monuments could be taken down as well.

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

issues

SCHOOL POLICE

Their gun, their badge, their dream Protecting and serving the school. Why do the officers on campus spend their time in our community?

hirteen-year-old Beverly Ma sits at her desk, admiring the woman standing at the front of the classroom. The woman up front is talking to the class, and Ma is captivated. She notices the crisp navy blue uniform, the belt crowded with tactical gear and the police hat sitting squarely atop the lady’s head. Just in seventh grade, Ma already knows what she wants to be when she grows up — a police officer — because of the woman who visited her class on career day. ••• Jason Groom looks down at his watch. Thirty minutes since his night shift ended. Some faint light from the sun is beginning to appear. Groom turns off the ignition and leans back in the driver’s seat of his patrol car. Pulling his police cap over his eyes, he yawns and drifts off. A couple hours later, it’s back to work. The start of a new day. ••• Little Antonio Machorro stares intently at the photo of his father on the mantle. He sees a man decked out in camo with a gun propped against his shoulder. He sees a man that looks much like himself. And he sees a man serving his country. Machorro wants to be just like his father. He wants to serve. ••• Ma, Groom and Machorro are all offi-

cers of the Dallas Police Department (DPD). All three protect the school. All three have their own unique story. And all three have their own path that has led them to 10600 Preston Rd. Day in and day out, police officers face numerous challenges. To most observers, these challenges seem to be the many risks an officer takes executing his or her duty on the streets, facing crime. While these dangers are all a part of the job, another type of challenge exists for officers — what goes on behind the scenes. According to the Dallas Morning News, the DPD lost more than 50 officers in 2018, and since 2017, the number of officers has decreased by about 300. This reduction in manpower has led to officers like Ma, Groom and Machorro working more shifts and having less time with their families. “I’ve been at details before on late nights from 12 [a.m.] to 8 [a.m.], and there’d only be four people on detail Antonio Machorro covering all of CenDPD tral [Expressway],” officer Groom said. One of the reasons the number of officers is plummeting across the nation, not just in Dallas, is because of the difficulty departments face in hiring new recruits.

ON THE JOB When she isn't protecting the greater Dallas area or sitting in the classroom with Chinese instructor Janet Lin, Beverly Ma takes an extra job at the school as an officer on campus.

“People always had enthusiasm to be police officers,” Machorro said. “Now, that enthusiasm seems to have tapered.” Other reasons, such as stress and politics, have also caused interest in law enforcement to decline. “You’re in situations that in a split second could change your life,” Groom said. “So a lot of people don’t want to deal with that. And then people get passed over even though they were the best one for the job, but they’re looking for demographics. That’s just kind of the way politics works, and that’s just the way it is.” Not only are less officers coming in, but more officers are leaving. One of the reasons for the exodus at the DPD is the relationships officers have with their superiors. In Ma’s eyes, her superiors think differently than her because they sit behind a desk while she risks her life out in the field. “There is a disconnect between upper management at work,” Ma said. “Our upper command staff versus us, so a lot of people leave for that reason too. I guess nationwide people just aren’t doing this job as much anymore either. I think a lot of people are also just quitting to go do other professions.” Even though the number of employees in the DPD continues to go down, Dallas police officers will continue to do their job to the best of their ability — to protect the people of Dallas under their watch. “There are a lot of brave men and women in our department, and we’re all given that stigma by the actions of a few,” Machorro said. “The one thing that we will do is we will show up every day and work. Regardless if we’re short or not, we are going to provide the best quality service that we can for the citizens.” Because, after all, the reason Ma, Groom and Machorro entered law enforcement in the first place is to serve. “I just treat people how I want to be treated until they dictate otherwise,” Groom said. “Then we have to do what we do. That’s pretty much it. You want to help somebody. That’s why you’re in this profession.” While the officers that protect us over-

come many obstacles every day, each has his or her own life outside of work. Ma sits in on Chinese instructor Janet Lin’s class from time to time, since she speaks Chinese and aspires to teach herself someday. She plays piano and has two dogs she loves, Bella and Eddie. Groom commutes one hour each way to work. He has three daughters, owns a ranch with Jason Groom cattle, hunts and DPD fishes. officer Machorro, who has experience patrolling schools in El Paso, enjoys spending time with his family and supporting his son and two daughters in their athletic and artistic endeavors. Whatever they enjoy doing in their free time, these officers also sacrifice their own time to protect and serve the community. Every day they knowingly undergo the risks and challenges that come with being a police officer because they love what they do. “I can’t see myself doing anything else,” Machorro said. “I love the job. I love the satisfaction of knowing that at the end of the day, I made some kind of difference in somebody’s life.”

Officers in the Dallas Department 3523

3362

2015

2016

STORY Robert Pou, Sid Vattamreddy PHOTO Collin Katz

3115

3007

2017

2018

source: Dallas Morning News

issues

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

BALANCING COURSES

AP: Advanced pressure? What are the struggles with taking too many APs? What is the right balance between challenging courses and life outside of school?

unning on barely any sleep, the senior leans back in his chair, exhausted, burying his face in his hands. He’s taking five AP classes. He has five more hours of homework. And he’s on his fifth cup of coffee. Is this too much for me? Should I have balanced my classes with everything else going on in my life better? It’s not the first time he’s asked himself those questions. ••• For Associate Director of College Counseling Casey Gendason, the purpose of AP courses is to expose students to a demanding course load. He believes universities want to see students take AP classes. “In the eyes of colleges, AP classes align the most with college-level classes, especially during the freshman year of college,” Gendason said. “Colleges view it as a highly preparatory course for a student entering a rigorous college curriculum and environment.” According to Director of College Counseling Veronica Pulido, juniors usually take one to three and seniors take two to four AP courses on average. But senior David Vallejo takes five AP classes and took four AP classes his junior year in addition to debate. Part of the reason why Vallejo enrolled in five APs is that certain subjects he wanted to study are only offered as AP courses, such as AP statistics. “In terms of the classes that I actually had a choice to take, like physics or economics, part of it was just to be able to maybe test out of classes for college and because it would look good on my transcript,” Vallejo said. “But also, part of it was I’m interested in those subjects, and I thought it’d be almost like an added plus for it to be AP.” Vallejo uses his experience from junior year to better manage his schoolwork for APs as a senior. During his lunch and free periods, he works on his homework to minimize a large amount of work. “Teachers help a lot,” Vallejo said. “They know that people at St. Mark’s are taking a lot of AP classes [and] are trying to balance it with sports, other extracurricular activities, community service, things like that. They understand, and they try to assign homework in a way that you will be able to complete it.” Even though he tries to work efficiently, his AP workload restricts

Say what? Comments from all around campus

‘

My arms hurt from bench pressing the world. — Junior Andres Arroyo doing pushups

‘ his free time at home. Because he invests so much time during the day doing homework, Vallejo can’t spend as much time as he’d like to with his friends. “That part of my free time is taken up by homework, but it’s something I’ve learned to live with,” Vallejo said. “It’s something I knew I was getting into, so I’m not disappointed that I don’t have that part of school life. But it is what it is.” Even though Upper Schoolers may feel pressured to enroll in as many AP classes as possible, Gendason emphasizes students should balance rigor with what’s manageable. “Try to play to your strengths in areas you’re good at, areas you excel in, areas you connect with and enjoy,” Gendason said. “Consider the AP class if it’s offered. In an area that is not of interest to you or does not tend to play your strengths, consider a regular class to balance out the schedule because we know colleges have two plates in the air: the rigor of curriculum plate and the reality that they want to see students do well in school.” Pulido believes students should strive academically but also make time for extracurriculars and their other interests. Colleges view what options the school offers to students and evaluate whether Marksmen have taken advantage of those opportunities. “In terms of being able to say we are a school that has ‘x’ amount of AP classes and honors classes, has the student been able to push himself in

terms of rigor of curriculum?” Pulido said. “It does depend on each student to figure out where that balance is, because in the college’s mind, by all means, they would like to see the best of the best and you take in everything that’s offered and you doing well in the courses.” Furthermore, Gendason believes students shouldn’t overburden themselves to the extent that they can’t keep their grades up. According to him, taking multiple AP courses is just one piece of the puzzle to appeal to universities. “That does not guarantee admission to a particular college and does not make a student three steps ahead of others when applying to colleges,” Gendason said. “You have to have a rigorous schedule that makes sense for you, and then the question is what else is the student going to bring to the table?”

LOSING SLEEP If students find themselves taking more high-level courses than they can handle, they may not be able to find the time to do what they want.

— Junior Andrew Laczkowski after being caught sleeping in class

‘

I think we can all agree this problem is too stupid to solve. — Math instructor Amy Pool

‘

Our goal today is to get everyone kicked out. — Senior Davis Malouf before class

‘

“On a normal school day most of my time is spent just finishing up work, and I don’t have as much time as I’d like to do other things.” — senior DAVID VALLEJO

As course selection week comes to an end, Pulido and Gendason urge students to sign up for classes in which they can both push themselves and balance their workload. “College counseling is always happy to help students talk through their courses, so our doors are always open, and we’re happy to talk about potential classes,” Gendason said.

I was just taking a long blink, Mr. Houpt.

Aren’t Siberia and Serbia the same thing? — Sophomore Leo Ohannessian

AP classes senior David Vallejo will have taken by the end of the school year.

‘

I have “Despacito” in my veins.

— fifth grader Owen Hanson

STORY Sai Thirunagari, Eric Yoo PHOTO Jerry Zhao

Fourth-grade class travels to Austin to visit cemetery, state capitol, museum March 21 by Robert Pou he fourth grade class will be visiting Texas State Cemetery March 21 to see the trail-blazing Texans buried there, including Stephen F. Austin, George W. Bush and Chris Kyle, the “American Sniper.” Leaving school at 6 a.m. for the day-long field trip to Austin, they will also visit the Bob Bullock Museum and the Texas State Capitol. Exhibits at the Bob Bullock Museum cover aspects of Texas history stretching from millennia ago to the present. Most notably, the museum houses the original Goddess of Liberty statue which capped off the Texas Capitol for almost a century. It also boasts remnants of one of French

explorer Robert La Salle’s ships, La Belle, which sunk more than 300 years ago in Matagorda Bay. “The museum is very interactive and has great movies and films,” Lower School Head Sherri Darver said. “There is a lot to see and do in that facility.” After exploring the museum in the morning, the fourth graders will tour the Texas State Capitol and have lunch. The students will get to experience the well-known rotunda with its portraits of former governors and presidents spiraling up and around the walls of the circular room. They will get to see for themselves the eight-foot-wide star encircled by letters spelling “Texas.” In the afternoon, the fourth graders

will visit the Texas State Cemetery, the resting place for many of Texas’s most famous leaders. “It is very historical and one of my favorite spots in Austin,” Darver said. “A lot of people don’t realize how many great things you can learn at the state cemetery.” The trip coincides with the Texas history curriculum that the fourth graders are learning about. This excursion will be the first trip to Austin for a fourth grade class in school history. In the past, fourth graders have spent a night at Sky Ranch, but the fifth graders also take a trip to Sky Ranch in August every year. With the trips only being about five months apart, the second trip in fifth

grade became redundant. Darver had taken the same Austin trip with the fourth graders at Hockaday when she taught there, so she knew the basic itinerary that should be put in place. “I kind of knew what we wanted to do, and now it can finally happen, so we’re excited,” Darver said. Although this year will mark the first trip to Austin, Darver hopes the trip will become an annual tradition for Marksmen as they advance into Upper School. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for the boys to learn a lot about Texas, and they will have studied so many of the things that they’re going to see and learn about,” Darver said. “It’ll be very timely.”

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

discoveries

NEW SCIENCES

Making a comeback With the addition of the new Winn Science Center, the school plans to bring back and update old courses with the building’s new abilities, features and tools.

PLANETARIUM CAPABILITIES The new planertarium can project everything from 3-D projections of the globe to a real-time earthquake map of the Earth to a model of the human body.

most useful,” Carron said. Although the most recent DNA science MAKER SPACE Freshman James Singhal (foreground) and Junior Meyer class was in the 2015-2016 school year, the class has been offered every year except this Zinn (background) make use of the 3D printer in the new maker space in the Winn Science Center. year due to the construction of the Winn Science Center. However, with the new facilities, One major benefit for the Information Engineering biology instructor Mark Adame does see the class making class now is that the class now works in its own space, a comeback next year. instead of having to share a class with Middle School. “The only reason [we] didn’t [offer the class] was that “Information Engineering is not working in the the whole move from the portables into the new building eighth grade science classroom anymore, not having to was just too much for all of us to handle,” Adame said. take things apart because eighth grade is coming in,” “It’s just a two trimester course, but I can’t imagine it Founders Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel said. won’t make next year. Kids that were going to take it this “We’ve got a permanent setup upstairs. We’ve got a space year are juniors, so I imagine those same will sign up for that’s carpeted and perfect for flying the nano drones it next year.” right now. It’s a dedicated space, we don’t have to sit on The class has always been a two trimester course, top of each other anymore.” and the one year Adame taught the class, he emphasized In addition to a new space to work in, Rummel is also learning through hands-on labs rather than lectures alone. planning on taking advantage of the maker space to en“As a lab class, I didn’t want to spend too much time hance the curriculum. Next year, when all the equipment lecturing about the background information and wanted will have arrived, the class will be able to take advantage to use that extra time doing lab, doing analytical stuff and of some of the tools to create more advanced projects. actually hands-on working with all the materials,” Adame said. “And while we’re doing that, we are going to go into the background of it so have the activity and the concepts drive the learning. So as they’re doing the experiments, So I’m thinking, what do they want they’re learning the concepts like you do in a research to know about the night sky? Learnlab.” ing formulas and memorizing numAs of now, Adame will be teaching bers isn’t particularly exciting to a the DNA science classes next year. Outside of just learning new material for the labs, lot of people. — Cecil H. & Ida Green Master Adame hopes to instill in students more Teaching Chair Stephen Balog experience with maintaining their lab area when working in the DNA science class“I always try to do something that is physical in room. addition to the coding, so the idea is that we will proba“I want them to get good lab etiquette, bly be down in the maker space making things, whether good lab management, good lab safety, a it’s electronic component boxes, or designing a robot,” sense of ownership to their lab space and Rummel said. “We are already thinking of enhancing the learn all the techniques and use all that com- nano quads by 3D printing some protective structures for bined into working toward a project where them.” they have to actually get an outcome,” Regarding astronomy and geology, Cecil H. & Ida Adame said. Green Master Teaching Chair Stephen Balog has been The goal of the class will be for stuplanning how to most effectively teach the class in a way dents, with Adame’s help, to design their that appeals to the most students. own projects to work on after doing research “So I’m thinking, what do they want to know about on current experiments and techniques the night sky?” Balog said. “My approach this year has used. With the emphasis on hands-on exbeen to start off learning constellations just so that when perience, labs in DNA science will be more you’re out at the night sky, you can see what’s there, then extensive than ones in AP Biology and other learn the planets and learn what makes the planet special. courses. So I’m building it as a science course that works for “It’s a multi step process, and if any of non-scientists, too.” the steps mess up, you have to replan your But Balog will also be prepared to give special atapproach or start over and repeat and repeat tention to students who choose to delve deeper into the it,” Adame said. “All the biology courses science of the course. and AP biology can’t necessarily repeat that “If there’s somebody who’s really into astronomy or experiment over and over and over again wants to do astrophysics or something like that,” Balog because you don’t have time, but research said, “we’ll run a different curriculum for them, someand science involves doing one experiment thing supplementary to all of that. It doesn’t hurt to know the basic stuff, but if you already know it, then we’re STERILIZING SAMPLES Freshman Ethan Borge configures the settings to until you get a consistent result. I’d rather the new autoclave. The autoclave is located in the prep room of the DNA ideally have them in DNA science is an opgoing to do something different with you and teach you science lab along with other equipment that will be used in the class. portunity to do this.” something else that’ll expand your understanding.” very student is required to take three years of science. Scrolling through the list of classes in the science department, amidst the required courses of biology, chemistry and physics, and past the AP courses are three elective courses that often elude perusing eyes: DNA science, astronomy and geology and information engineering. Although they may not be classified as honors or AP, with the new Winn Science Center, all three courses will utilize some of the most advanced facilities in the new building in their curriculums. ••• Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron, who has evaluated the viability of science electives in the school’s curriculum, places a priority on courses that will carry the most relevance as students move on to their future careers. “The two most dynamic industries in the sciences right now are probably engineering—intellectual engineering, like robotics engineering—as well as biotechnology, which is really still in its Wild West stage,” Carron said. “So our goal is to have our electives align with those areas.” When deciding on a comprehensive and applicable lineup of elective courses, Carron balances teaching ability and resources with potential for future implementation. “We’ve tried to concentrate on an offer of electives that we think we can make the best, and that are also the

STORY Matthew Zhang, Michael Lukowicz ADDITIONAL REPORTING Cooper Ribman PHOTOS Rohit Vemuri

“

discoveries

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

MAKER SPACE

Building toward the future From featuring cutting-edge technology to having a maker space director to guide students, the new maker space is a prominent feature of the Winn Science Center.

INNOVATION Right now, the maker space is mainly used as a classroom and used by robotics. However, next year, the new maker space director will be teaching students to use the new equipment.

“

For us, the maker space is the additive side of this whole process. This is where the 3D printing comes in, where you’re assembling electronic components to building something. Founders Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel

helves packed with equipment and materials, the spacious room looks similar to an ordinary 16-seat classroom. Yet next year, the maker space will be far from ordinary — not only will it have some of the most cutting-edge technology in the Winn Science Center, but the room will offer students the opportunities to pursue their own projects with the help of a new maker space director to train them. The purpose of the maker space differs from the shop next to it in that the maker space is mainly for assembling products while the shop is more for deconstructing pieces. “For us, the maker space is the additive side of this whole process,” Founders Master Teaching Chair Doug Rummel said. “This is where the 3D printing comes in, where you’re assembling electronic components to build something. If you’re taking it apart for building that would be the shop.” Not all of the equipment has arrived in the maker space yet. Two of the major devices coming in during the near future will be the computer numeric control (CNC) machine and the laser cutter. “The idea for a CNC is that you put down large pieces of wood and it’s a high speed rotary bit,” Rummel said. “You have to have the right bit, and you can’t go too fast, so the bit doesn’t catch and burn. We will also be able to laser cut and at least engrave metal. We’re talking about microns, but you can you can actually laser cut the surface to put patterns in. ” With the new technology coming to the maker space, a maker space director will be hired to oversee the facility and manage supplies. “They’re hiring somebody to basically make sure the engineering side is all up and running,” Rummel said. “He’s in charge of maintaining all the tools in here and getting everything ordered. My job is to give them the concepts of what they might want

to do with with the tools.” In addition to maintaining the maker space, the maker space director will be in charge of training smudents to use the various new equipment. “Once we have all the tools in, you learn how to get qualified on the tools,” Rummel said. “Once you are qualified and we feel like we can trust you, then you can come in and build projects. You can decide what you need to do. There are no dedicated classes yet, but there might be places where we reach out to folks across the curriculum. Mrs. [Marjorie] Curry wants to 3D print some geometric volumes for her class. So it’s a resource tool that everybody can use on campus.” One model common in universities with maker spaces is that once the older students are trained to use the tools, they can then teach underclassmen, a strategy the school will try to incorporate. “Very often at Georgia Tech, Stanford or Dartmouth, they’ll have undergraduates run the shop, and they basically self-train everyone else,” Rummel said. “We will try the same program. Seniors get qualified on the tools, and the idea is, we will have the senior guys work with the younger guys.” Rummel can also see the possibility of students outside of the science department, like wood and metal students, taking advantage of the technology in the maker space. “The CNC and the Doug laser cutter are going to be Rummel Founders great boons for wood and Master Teaching metal design,” Rummel Chair said. “The idea is that you can CAD (computer-aided design) up stuff. It’s the way most furniture is made these days. Some is made by hand, but a lot of it is done by robots, which will cut out and assemble it

STORY Matthew Zhang PHOTO Rohit Vemuri WINN SCIENCE CENTER UPDATE

Numerically speaking

air, gas and vacuum outlets

adjustable shelves in total

tissue culture hoods in the prep room

together. It’s a whole different style, but it gives you more opportunities to conceive, and to try something new.” The new maker space, like many of the other facilities in the Winn Science Center, is focused on giving students hands-on experiences. “Hands-on is an important aspect of why we built this building,” Rummel said. “It’s not just about doing computers and virtual stuff, but actually physically building things is a talent. Manufacturing, actually putting things together and designing the robots that design something else, that’s a big deal in the 21st century. We have to use our hands. Our basic protocol is to give you guys the tools, train you up on it and turn you loose. Give you the opportunity to see how far you can go.”

States with the most maker spaces

31 20 24 17 56

SOURCE: POPULAR SCIENCE (2016)

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

discoveries

STEM FESTIVAL

A promising potential The STEM Festival, organized by co-chairs Emmett Berger, William Haga and Devan Patel brought in guests from all over the country to speak with Lower, Middle and Upper School students March 1.

YOUNG SCIENTISTS Uber Elevate Head of Business Development Wyatt Smith gives Lower School students a glimpse into his career.

GUEST INTRO To start off the panel discussion, STEM Conference co-chair junior Devan Patel introduces the four guest speakers.

THE LINEUP During Upper School assembly, the panel of STEM Festival speakers, (left to right) Dr. Kesha HarrisHenderson, Dr. Taft Armaneroff, Wyatt Smith and Gideon Powell, introduce their projects in Dechard Auditorium.

CANCER RESEARCH In the Winn Science Center’s lecture hall Radiation Oncologist Dr. Kesha Harris-Henderson from Methodist Charlton Medical Center teaches students about her profession. PHOTOS Lee Schlosser, Rohit Vemuri, Courtesy Dave Carden

RECEPTION Held in the Winn Science Center after school, students and founder of Autonomous Crypto Gideon Powell (right) discuss the future of STEM.

10600

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

ON THE EDGE

Pushing human limits

Victor Vescovo

After conquering the tallest peaks, Victor Vescovo ’84 seeks to descend to the deepest ocean floors of the world, sharing his experiences through a satellite phone while at sea.

We took a look at the career path of Victor Vescovo ‘84

itting in the titanium sphere capsule of the planet’s most advanced diving submersible, diver and leader of the Five Deeps Expedition Victor Vescovo ’84 lets a sigh of relief escape while descending into the serene darkness of the South Sandwich Trench, the deepest part of the Southern Ocean, which has a pressure level of 16 thousand psi. Although any mistake in the design at such an extreme depth will undoubtedly result in death, Vescovo knows that the toughest hurdles of the endeavor are already behind. For the past few days, Vescovo and his team have been waiting for the infamous weather of the Shrieking Sixties to die down so that they may launch the submersible safely into the water. ••• Having conquered the tallest mountains of every continent, Vescovo aims to venture to the earth’s deepest valleys, successfully diving and mapping the bottom of the South Sandwich Trench, the second of five oceans in his endeavor, Feb. 4. “[The Southern Ocean] is a very inhospitable ocean,” Vescovo said. “We were very fortunate that we had a three-day window at our precise location of decent weather when we were able to dive. Once you’re in the water and you’re descending in the water column, it’s remarkably quiet and peaceful.”

“

It’s like running a small business. As we always say whenever something difficult happens, if it was easy, someone else would have done it already. — Victor Vescovo ’84

Another one of the largest hurdles that Vescovo faced was getting the submersible, named The Limiting Factor, into the ocean and back onto the support ship. Launching and recovering the submersible, weighing over 27,000 pounds, is a dangerous task. The Pressure Drop, a U.S. Navy vessel that Vescovo refitted, serves as the support ship. “A submersible can move by itself without a tether underwater,” Vescovo said. “However, it needs a support ship because it can’t go long distances. Getting something that weighs 12 tons off the back of the ship is a difficult proposition. In rough weather, the two vessels can potentially collide and pose risks to the people in the submersible as well as on the ship.” The support systems are one of the most vital parts of the submersible because all the oxygen must be brought from the surface. This means that the exterior needs airtight because the air inside remains pressurized to one atmosphere. “There’s no compressed air on the submersible,” Vescovo explained. “We dive so deeply that compressed air would not work, and that’s how you normally raise and lower a military or a regular submarine that only goes down to about 500 meters. We go down to 11,000 meters, and therefore, we have to work with weights. We weight the submarine a very precise

1976

Entered St. Mark’s School of Texas

1983

Appointed editor-in-chief of Marksmen

1984 THE PLAN Victor Vescovo ’84 explains the plans of his next dive into the South Sandwich Trench, the deepest point in the Southern Ocean, Feb. 4.

way to get it down, and then we release weights at the bottom to allow it to come back up.” Vescovo’s adventures began with the Seven Summits Endeavor, climbing the tallest peak on each of the seven continents. Next, he skied to the North Pole and South Pole. As he searched for his next challenge, he discovered nobody had reached the bottom of four of the world’s five oceans. “I was in the Navy Reserve for 20 years,” Vescovo said, “so I had a connection to the sea. I thought that’d be a nice symmetry of adventure to be the first person to climb Everest and go to the bottom of the oceans.” Much of Vescovo’s passion was ignited as a young boy. Reading different science-fiction and adventure books when he was young helped spark his imagination. “Books like Dune — they’re all about trying to unlock the potential in the human beings to the maximum they can do, mentally and physically,” Vescovo said. “I loved Jules Verne as a young boy. From a very early age, reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or The Mysterious Island or books like that put a spark in my head that never really went away.” His former instructors at 10600 Preston Rd. also bred many of the qualities that later helped Vescovo design and organize each stage of his adventures. “Arranging [the expedition], refitting a former US Navy ship, organizing a crew, getting a film crew engaged — all these things needed administratives,” Vescovo said. “All of these financial issues are very difficult, and that’s what my instructors at St. Mark’s helped me get reasonably good at from a young age.” From all his adventures climbing mountains, flying helicopters and now diving in a submersible, Vescovo has learned how to manage his fear. “At a certain point, it’s not that you get immune to it,” Vescovo

STORY Tianming Xie, Jack Davis PHOTOS Courtesy Victor Vescovo

said, “but you learn how to train your mind to truly rationalize fear. If it’s an irrational fear, you can learn to ignore it because it’s irrational. It’s just the primal part of your brain telling you not to do something that is actually okay.” Once Vescovo completes all of his dives, he plans to sell the entire system, including the ship, submarine and other equipment that can explore the 95 percent of the ocean that remains unexplored. “This system can go anywhere and dive anything, which is not something that any other submersible can say,” Vescovo said. “We hope that other people will pick up the baton, so to speak, and continue the science program that we started.” When Vescovo assembled his team, the main characteristic he looked for in people was a strong passion. “I have the best people you could assemble from the entire planet working on this, and without that I don’t know if it would have worked,” Vescovo said. “If I had not had the right people in the right place at the right time, it would have been the weak link in the chain, and it may not have worked.” Vescovo also believes people have to push themselves to do adventurous tasks. No matter how small or large the adventure, it is crucial that people take advantage of the opportunities they have. “Buy that plane ticket, allocate the time to do that extraordinary thing,” Vescovo said. “You have to make it a priority to do the adventurous things in life, or you’ll never get them done, and you’ll deeply regret it by the time you’re older` and you can’t go.”

Graduated from St. Mark’s School of Texas

1987

Graduated Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University

1988

Graduated Master’s degree from MIT

1991

Advised the Saudi government on business investments

1993

Joined the US Navy Reserve as an Intelligence officer

1994

Graduated MBA from Harvard University as a Baker Scholar

1999

Vice President of Product Development of Military Advantage

2002

Co-founded Insight Equity

2013

Retired as a Commander (O-5) after serving 20 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve

2016

A LOOK INSIDE Eleven thousand meters under the sea, Vescovo ’84 descends into the calm, dark and unexplored bottom of the sea.

Became an instrument-rated, multi-engine jet and helicopter pilot

2017

Became the 12th American to complete the “Explorer’s Grand Slam” (Seven Summits and both Poles)

2018

First person to reach the deepest point of the Atlantic Ocean

10600

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

UP AND COMING

Never giving up After his valedictorian speech, Halbert Bai ’14 left the crowd wondering why and how his story was possible. Almost five years after, Bai is reaching for loftier goals.

eaning on his dad’s shoulder in their apartment with one mattress, a stove and refrigerator, Halbert Bai ’14 repeated the alphabet back to his dad, still thinking the “and” in between “x, y and z” was an actual letter . This was a ritual the pair shared every night in Bai’s elementary school years since coming to Dallas. Having to struggle with learning English as a second language and being put in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class for it was normal to Halbert. He kept his story mainly to himself through his career here, only telling his past about his mother leaving him at 18 months old and his family’s early struggles to his close friends. But on the night of his Commencement speech as the valedictorian of the Class of 2014, Bai’s extraordinary journey was revealed to the whole school. From there, his incredible story continued, studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Cambridge and now Yale. ••• When Bai gave his valedictorian speech that night in 2014, he really didn’t think much of it, but afterwards, hundreds of people came up to him to congratulate him and tell him how unique and inspiring his story was. “I just wanted to share that story because everyone has their own individualized experience going through St. Mark’s, and we should be cognizant and aware of how different our lives might be,” Bai said. “Not every St. Mark’s student is from an affluent two-person household family.” After immigrating to Dallas from Shanghai, Qiong, Halbert’s dad, took care of Halbert throughout his life. “When I was young, we only had a lone mattress, a refrigerator and the car,” Halbert said. “My dad worked long hours in his clinic and was able to support us and completely change our lives, and then he was able to send me off to St. Mark’s.” Before coming to 10600 Preston Rd., Halbert faced many obstacles in school when he was trying to learn English. “My dad’s secretary taught me English, and I was sent to ESL class for a year,” Halbert said. “And in second grade I got a detention for writing an essay as a list of words. Most people thought I wasn’t very intelligent.” After elementary school, Halbert received his acceptance letter to the school in sixth grade, which started a new chapter of his life. “The St. Mark’s community really supported my development and growth,” Halbert said. “Teachers pushed us really hard, taught us the fundamentals of their academic disciplines and taught us how to be good leaders and fundamentally good people.”

IN THE SPOTLIGHT While delivering his Commencement valedictory speech in May 2014 in front of classmates, teachers and parents, Halbert Bai ’14 explains his own journey story throughout his life.

For Halbert, nothing would be possible in his life without the constant support he received from his dad. Qiong worked 50 to 60 hours a week in his medical clinic to be able to put food on the table and support his son. “I’m so grateful for all that he’s done for me, and it was incredibly challenging for him to raise me as a single parent because the responsibilities to work and make ends meet, to put food on the table,” Halbert said. “Sending me to St. Mark’s was probably the best decision he ever made for me, and St. Mark’s completely changed the trajectory of my life. I wouldn’t have had all these amazing opportunities to pursue my aspirations if it wasn’t for my dad.” Halbert credits the campus for teaching him the importance of character and leadership and helping him find his way in life. “We learned that our duty as Marksmen is to give back to communities and to really develop into good leaders who will help change the world, and I feel like that’s my mission to really advance, contribute and give back to the communities that I’m so privileged to be a part of,” Halbert said. “The culture at the school really helps promote your own intellectual and personal fulfillment and helps you discover what you’re passionate about and what you hope to really pursue in the future.” As a student, Halbert not only took advantage of the opportunities around him, but he put himself in positions to fail and to learn from his failures. He believes that failures are necessary to be successful in any part of life. “I had a very fond memory of really struggling in Dr. Acuff’s sixth-grade math class,” Halbert said. “Despite doing poorly

in his class, I joined the Middle School Math Team because I thought it might help me learn more math. Then we were in the seventh grade, and we started dividing into regular and honors math classes, so I was put in the regular math class. Through grit and hard work, I was able to move on to the honors class.” After leaving campus, Halbert found a new home at the University of Pennsylvania where he double majored in biology and psychology. During his time at Penn, he went to Cambridge University. Halbert is now at Yale studying public health and is going to medical school at the Icon School of Medicine at Sinai Medical School in New York. Qiong is proud of his son since he is following his own footsteps by going into the medical field; he worked in a clinic throughout his life. “Everybody can choose their own path, but I think my son has similar characteristics, so I tried to tell him when he was at Penn Halbert that I think it is best for him Bai ’14 to go into a medical field,” Qiong said. “And right now, I think he realizes more and more that he chose the right path. As doctors, we help people everyday. You feel good about your life because everyday you try to do something for somebody and make people feel better. I think that’s the best job.” Throughout his life and even concerning his future, Halbert emphasizes how important it is to go through struggles and be open about them. Working through Halbert’s share of obstacles in life, he acknowledges that failure is not something to be afraid or disappointed of. “Especially at a place like St. Mark’s, it’s very common to feel like you’re the only one who’s struggling amongst all your amazing and impressive peers. But the reality is every student is struggling at something, and that’s something. You can bond over this struggle and learn from one another,” Halbert said. “Everyone should be more empathetic, learn to make more charitable attributions of others and strive to see the world from another person’s perspective.”

STORY Sam Ahmed, Mateo Guevara PHOTO ReMarker archives

BAI’S SCHOOL STORY •Photography Club President • Marque EditorIn-Chief • Biology Club President •iGEM Team Founder and Captain

“

The St. Mark’s teachers influenced his work ethic. That is probably the most important thing that has happened to him going forward.” Qiong Bai

perspe

16, 17

business TAKING CARE OF

Want a career in business? Take a tip from these pros — from angel investors to startup devvelopers to high-power executives.

CROSSING THEIR DESK For entrepreneurs and business leaders, the work never stops. In their experience, there's n

From Harkness table to boardroom, alums take lead in business Graduates in the business world recount their journies to where they are now, sharing what they learned along the way

Rhodes scholar finds a different passion

avid Campbell ’86 didn't set out to be a businessman. His career came after years of exploring. After majoring in history at Yale University, he pursued a master’s degree in international relations at Oxford University through the Rhode’s scholarship program and then went on to earn a J.D. from Harvard Law School. “You can go into business even if you studied law or if you have a PHD or if you studied other topics,” Campbell said. “The world is a little more specialized now. It’s more common to go directly into what you study. It’s harder, but you can still make those transitions.” While the skills he gained in law school didn’t directly pay-off in the short term, for Campbell, the analytical abilities he developed helped him land a job at McKinsey, a premier management consulting firm. Not only that, but they also facilitated his transition into the energy sector, as it requires active litigation and contracts. “Law school was a springboard for my subsequent career in business,” Campbell said. Although he’s now a successful CEO and a board member for several organizations, Campbell’s advice for people early on in their business career is to not focus so much on the short term and obsess about the slow rate of progress. “I think that it’s very important in whatever your first job is, and early in your career in general, to focus on doing your absolute best in that job,” Campbell said. “It can be a trap to think ‘why am I not CEO yet or why am I not a billionaire yet’, but it’s important to focus on developing your skills and focusing on what you do, and things are going to come your way. Demonstrate excellence in the job you’re in, as opposed to obsessing about the job you’re not in.” In order to truly stand out in a business setting, Campbell believes it’s important to focus on your own work first before anything else, with the ultimate aim of making a positive impact at your respective organization.

“You can’t volunteer for a bunch of stuff and not get your core job done” Campbell said. “Raise your hand, pitch in and be a team player. Help the organization in areas that are outside your specific area. That’s a very powerful combination early on in your career.” Now, as a tenured business man looking back on his career, Campbell feels that being patient was crucial to his growth and development. “I think that, it’s a bit of a cliché, but you should really go into what you want to do because it’s going to take hard work, commitment, and sustained effort to succeed in business,” Campbell said. “Find a field that’s really interesting to you that’s going to make a big difference over time. Be patient. It might take a little time to get there.”

Connecting technology and finance

it was the last industry you’d want to touch.” Stein believes one piece of his business mindset that has carried him the farthest is his propensity to take calculated risks. “I’ve always liked a challenge,” Stein said. “And when people say something can’t be done, that’s exciting because maybe it suggests there’s an opportunity, even if there’s a little bit of an opposition streak. I like to do the thing that everyone else isn’t doing. It’s helped me in my career, like in starting Betterment.” For the aspiring entrepreneurs at 10600 Preston Rd., Stein says the key to creating a business is to do just that, taking concepts and ideas and creating something, no matter how rudimentary it may be. “One thing I like to say is, just to start to make it real,” Stein said. “If you think you want to start a business, try starting a business. Do something that makes that happen. The quicker you can make it a reality instead of an idea, then you have something you can start showing people and talking about.”

fter graduating from here, John Stein ’97 had almost no idea where his passions— academic or otherwise–would take him. “I studied economics and behavioral psychology [at Harvard University],” Stein said. “I was really interested in how I might combine those two fields and help people make better decisions about things. But there wasn’t an obvious career path in combining psychology and economics to make the world a better place.” After deciding pursuing a career as a doctor wasn’t for him, he decided to dive into the business world, soon after landing at First Manhattan Consulting Group, one of New York City’s top consulting firms. But even after time there and a stint at Columbia University, Stein knew he wanted to on the business world solo. After years of refining his concept, Stein launched Betterment, an entirely automated investment firm, in 2010. Today, Betterment manages over $16 billion for more than 400,000 clients. And while the company’s success is obvious today, Stein stresses it wasn’t always so clear-cut. “A few people said, ‘Yeah, go for it. It’s a great idea,’” Stein said. “But a lot of people said that it was a terrible time to start a financial services company because it was 2010 and everything was falling apart in finance. They said

STORIES Sahit Dendekuri, Sam Goldfarb, Parker Davis PHOTOS Kyle Smith

A different kind of bull market

ason King ’94’s career in the business field started in different fields entirely– those of the family ranch. The first job he had was taking care of the property and livestock. “I worked alongside the cowboys,” King said. “I was a mounted hand, and I did that all through high school.” He was handed the grunt work, the menial, grueling tasks no one else would do. “In high school, I was hand-spraying a bunch of invasive species with a spray pack on my back in 110-degree weather,” King said. “Those were brutal, brutal days.” After graduating from Princeton, King returned to Dallas to take classes at Texas Christian University, not pursuing business school. “I came back and did TCU’s Ranch Management program,” King said. “There was a period of time where I came back and drove myself up the learning curve so I could understand that industry.” That program took him across the equator to Argentina, where he worked on an estancia,

200,000 acres of land devoted to livestock. “I went down there for four months,” King said, “and I’d love to glorify it in some way. But it was a hell of a lot of work.” He wasn’t given a desk job, even though he had a year’s worth of intensive study from the TCU program. “My work was basically being in charge of a fencing crew, which meant we were building a bunch of high fence with creosote posts,” King said. “Each one weighed a couple hundred pounds, and we had to move them manually and dig four-plus-foot deep post holes.” But the experience proving himself to his skeptical and experienced Argentinian ranch hands taught him one of the most important lessons he’s learned in business. “The only way I can earn the respect of the crew around me was to lead right alongside them, to get in there,” King said. “And by the time I left, I was ultimately able to gain their respect and that of my manager—by showing them my grit and work ethic.” The hard work didn’t stop in Argentina. King came back to the States, working first for a leveraged buyout firm in Fort Worth, next for an FDIC and growth equity firm in Dallas. He also went to business school, and currently works for the company his father founded, Luther King Capital Management. “I realized that I wanted to come back to the family operation,” King said. “Some of that was a function of the value that I saw our firm provide to our clients, the philosophy and investment discipline that we hope to perpetuate within the institution.” But there was more to it than just how the company went about investing. “There was a lot of overlap in my life with the operations of the firm and how it relates to our own kind of family,” King said. “It not only piqued my interest from an intellectual standpoint, but it also made sense from a fit standpoint, from where I wanted to go with my life moving forward.” King wears many hats at the company, which now manages over $14.5 billion of assets. But even with that tremendous responsibility, the most important lessons he’s learned come from back on the ranch. “There’s a lot of people I know who thought that just because they had a degree, they were entitled to some preferential job,” King said. “Whether it’s a ranching operation or whether it’s finance, you’re going to excel when you’re willing to work the hardest.”

ectives

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

Big sharks: tips from the top of the food chain Investor Mark Cuban and entrepreneur Mark Kusin '01 are both Shark Tank stars and veteran businessmen — but they met each other from opposite ends of the bargain.

Cuban's success began with online sports broadcasting, and he's worked his way to almost legendary status in the world of business.

Kusin appeared on Shark Tank marketing Reviver clothing swipes and has developed projects from retail products to restaurants.

no replacment for late nights and grinding hard.

Business in Texas

percent

On the value of networking: The piece of advice I always talk about with aspiring entrepreneurs is the need to lean on your network of family, friends and mentors. One of the reasons I love the Character and Leadership program at St. Mark's is if you are a person of character, your personal network will never forget that and will always be there for you. My brother and I met our partner in Malibu Poke — Jon Alexis — 25 years ago at St. Mark's. When we were thinking about starting the restaurant, he was our first phone call. It ended up he was also thinking about starting a poke restaurant, so joining forces made tons of sense. On incorporating feedback: You can't be afraid to ask for advice. And when you ask, make sure you're actually listening to that advice. The road to success is never a straight line. You need to always listen to your customers to make sure you're solving an actual problem that needs fixing. If you build something that isn't in demand, it's usually a waste of your energy. On getting started: Another important lesson is just about hustle. Companies don't start themselves. If you're really committed to bringing an idea into reality, it's going to take a lot of problem solving and grit. When you're an entrepreneur, you usually don't have someone to do the boring stuff. It falls on you, and if that high level of accountability scares you, then you should ask yourself if it's really a life you'll be happy with.

On the decision-making process: It depends on the business. But effectively, I try to look at all options from the perspective of our company, our employees and our customers. How does each stakeholder benefit or not and what problems might it cause. Then I evaluate the total impact and make a decision On successful entrepreneurs: They work hard. They focus on sales and getting to profitability, and they are relentless in making customers happy. On the best investors: One that adds more than just cash. Can the investor bring in customers, technology other resources? In the perfect business you don’t have to raise outside capital. The perfect business allows you to start small and grow by adding new customers. On student-run businesses: The best advice I can give you is to start small , with a product or service you can create and sell using your own time. A business pitch for Marksmen: If I was 12 or older, the business I would start today would be developing Alexa and Google Home voice activated skills and bundling then with the products from those companies, and selling them as a bundle to families and businesses. Voice activated products are exploding right now, but few people truly understand how they work — which is crazy because making them work is so easy Any Marksman can go online and learn how to develop skills for them. Once you have learned, it would be super easy to find out which families you know already have Alexa or Google Home products and offer to customize them to suit what the family — or even business — needs.

Businesses in Texas that are minority-owned

14.5 Billion

Dollars of assets managed by Luther King Capital Management

ROUGH WATER Eric Kusin (right) and brother Ben negotiate with angel investors on Shark Tank, trying to secure a investments to get their product, Reviver, off the ground.

percent

Business owners who had not previously owned a business

2.6 Million

Small businesses in the state of Texas

Never too young to get started Students run their own startup businesses, learning to turn a profit from their passions Adnan Khan Davis Yoo Ryan McCord Jackson Singhal Shoe resale High Key Events Halcyon Dallas, DJ Telethon, clothing

“

percent

Business owners who founded their own business SOURCE: HOUSTON CHRONICLE, U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

By the beginning of my freshman year I realized I could make money doing something I loved, hence the creation of Halcyon Dallas. I get to do what I love for profit.

“

I started my solo art project/clothing business, Telethon, as a way of unifying some of my interests in design and clothing and advertising into a practical venture.

“

I’m glad that I have given myself this experience because it has opened my eyes to my interests in business, entrepreneurship and sociology, fields I want to pursue.

“

What I find truly successful is getting a crowd of 50 young adults dancing, jumping up and down, laughing and letting loose while not caring about what others think about them.

10600

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

HELPING OUT

Stepping up After his father died when he was just ten years old, senior Noah Carr filled the role of the man in the house.

ost resumes showcase an extracurricular activity, an internship over the summer or a leadership position that makes an large impact on campus. But senior Noah Carr had something much more important to tell universities he was applying to: His role in taking care of his family. After the untimely death of his father in 2011, ten-year-old Carr took on a multitude of responsibilities in his household, from little things like taking care of dinner and laundry to watching his younger sisters and taking them to school whenever his mother went out of town. Seven years later, Carr believes playing a major role in taking care of his family is a crucial part of what shaped his character and identity today. ••• When he began brainstorming topics for his college entrance essays, he knew he wanted to write about the role he had filled in his family after the passing of his father. “You don’t know me unless you’ve heard of this,” Noah said. “You might know of me, but you have no idea who I am and what my values are without knowing the connections I have formed and the growth I’ve had because of this experience.” Bradley Carr passed away in 2011 from a heart attack. Shortly after his father’s death, Noah was already helping his mother by assisting with the responsibilities his dad left behind. “Earlier on, it was a lot more subtle,” Noah said. “That was when it was just: ‘What’s going to be for dinner? Make sure the laundry gets done.’ Very low-key things. As time has gone on, it’s turned into: ‘Noah, I’m going to be out of town for work.

Can you watch the girls on your own?’” The bonds and experiences Noah gained during this period of time are almost inexpressible, so he struggled to properly describe his life in these essays to the point where his college counselors questioned the topic’s viability. “At one point, they had been like, ‘This is such an integral part of you, but it seems like you’re having a lot of trouble. Are you sure this is what we’re going to do?’” Noah said. It was still difficult for Carr to be able to truly define himself. At times, writing the essay was tedious and frustrating, and trying to tackle such a personal topic posed many challenges for Carr. “I went through like 20 different revisions,” Noah said. “It was really hard to do sometimes, but eventually I succeeded.” Carr wants the universities that he applied to know that what he’s writing about is the truest possible representation of himself. “Here’s me on the table. You are the college I love. Take me or leave me, but I really, really like this college. And here’s who I am as a person,” Noah said. “In my opinion not including this aspect of my life in my college applications would have been practically lying about who I am.” Now that the application process is over and his essays are complete, Carr will say goodbye to

STORY Trevor Crosnoe, Luke Piazza PHOTO Courtesy Noah Carr

FAMILY FIRST Gathering for a family holiday photo, Noah Carr and his family celebrate Christmas together.

his family and set off towards his college life in just three months. Despite Carr’s critical role in maintaining a balance in his household alongside his daily help, he isn’t worried about his family’s future without him. “I think with me leaving, my sisters will have the chance to grow into new responsibilities,” Noah said. “My younger sister will be driving fairly soon, and I think they’ll all have the possibility to grow in ways that they haven’t got into before.” Assuming the position of responsibility that Carr took on and dealing with the struggles that he dealt with is not an easy task, but for Carr and his family, working together and helping each other out is as natural as breathing. “I don’t find it difficult because my family is close,” Noah said. “We’re strong and because I consider all of our relationships strong, we just work past every problem that comes up.”

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

10600

STUDENT TRIP

Spring play begins first rehearsals

Cutting the red ribbon Sophomore Aaryan Puri’s family trips to India include a twist of community service — in his father’s hometown, Puri installed a computer lab at a school for victims of domestic abuse. “We started our trip by landing in New Delhi. Once we were in New Delhi we went to the house where my mom’s side of the family stayed. We stayed there as a headquarters for most of the trip. I also visited Gurugram, where my dad’s side of the family stayed, which is actually where the school was. While we were in these two cities, we didn’t stay at any hotels — we stayed at our families’ houses. It was great, because I could experience it as someone who lived there, and not a tourist. Then we also went to Jaipur for about four days, but we stayed in a hotel there. After that, we went to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. That was great as well. “The last time we visited India was almost three years ago. Every two or three years we try to go back. All our family is there and I was born there as well. We had been meaning to go back for a while, and around Thanksgiving break the tickets opened up, so my dad booked them kinda spontaneously. We had no prior reservations at that point so we were scrambling to get arrangements. I guess it all worked out in the end.

GETTING TO CLASS Puri tutors children in English at the school.

“What mainly made this a community service trip was the fact that I went to this school full of underprivileged kids and taught them for five days. From around 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., I taught them math and English. I also served food to them. This part of the trip is really what separated it from a regular vacation. I also told them stories of what life was

like in the States. It was absolutely amazing to see how these kids faces would light up whenever I would talk about something like Six Flags, or even football games. Exposing this new way of life to kids who have not even left the city was just such a great experience. “I’m fluent in Hindi, and I keep up with what’s going on from news and politics to movies and songs. There was one time during recess that we played a game that was based on songs. Someone would sing a song in Hindi, and depending on what the last letter of what the song ended with, the next person would have to sing a new song with that letter. This was probably one of my favorite experiences, because some of these kids are actually super talented. If given the right opportunity, they could really make it big. Another time was after school when we had just ended class, we got all the classes, grades one through six, to get in the courtyard and just dance their hearts out. We blasted music and all the kids were just jumping around. It was my last day there, so I was sad to leave them, but I definitely left on a high note.

ready for the real world, college and jobs, they need to be prepared in the area of computer skills. That’s why we donated a total of six good computers. We’re going to donate more the next time I visit.

IN THE CROWD Sophomore Aaryan Puri stands in a sea of children after inaugurating a new computer lab at the Sugam Ngo School in Gurugram, India.

“The saddest part of these kids’ stories is their background stories. They have fathers who beat their wives right in front of their own kids. There are some kids who even get severely beat by their fathers themselves. That’s why I usually walked some of the kids home after the school day to ensure that they reached home safely. But even though they were exposed to such a horrible home life, they never failed to put on a smiling and happy face. “The fact that these kids, who’ve been exposed to domestic violence and a terrible home life, still managed to smile every day at school. That was very inspiring. These kids were eager to learn. They wanted to learn more, and they were always just so happy, even though they faced real problems in their lives. I will never forget the smiles on their faces and their eagerness to learn new things.

“The generation of today and the future is all based on technology. These kids don’t have access to a computer anywhere else. In order for them to be INTERVIEW Jamie Mahowald, Han Zhang PHOTOS Courtesy Aaryan Puri

by Eric Yoo he spring play will be William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It is one of Shakespeare’s comedies and will be directed by Tony Vintcent Fine Arts Department Chair and Upper School drama teacher Marion Glorioso. “I think this is one of Shakespeare’s funniest play,” Glorioso said, “if not the funniest.” Glorioso describes the play as one of Shakespeare’s best works. “The language in the play,” Glorioso said, “like most Shakespeare plays, is very poetic, of course. But at times it is vulgar at times, cross at times, and it is also extremely romantic at times.” Assistant manager sophomore Jack Genender believes this play will be funnier than people will expect, but it will turn out really well.

GRAND OPENING Aaryan Puri cuts the ribbon to the new computer lab on his last day in India.

The drama program will hold two shows in the amphitheater and two more in the black box, the first instance of this phenomenon. The second graders perform in the amphitheater every year, but the Upper School drama program has not performed there since The Tempest four years ago. The second graders perform at the amphitheater because the Greeks Much Ado acted their About plays Nothing. outside. May 2, 4 p.m. Much Ado May 3, 7 p.m. About May 4, 7 p.m. Nothing May 5, 2 p.m. was also performed outside, so they are using the amphitheater. Although Glorioso did not direct the fall play because of maternity leave, delegating the responsibility to interim drama instructor Hayley Nelson, she was heavily involved in the production. Glorioso believes this production will be just as well done as the fall play. “The auditions were excellent,” Glorioso said. “Everything we do here is excellent.” Seniors Ruoming Fan, CJ Crawford and Will Hunt act the lead roles of Leonato, Don Pedro and Signior Benedick. Junior Henry Exall is acting as Count Claudio in the play. The play will have four production days: May 2 at 4 p.m., May 3 at 7 p.m., May 4 at 7 p.m. and May 5 at 2 p.m.

diversions

Dallas

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

SPRING BREAK

Stay-cation station

Dallas Dallas

Dallas

Lots of spontaneous trips — for one day or a bit more — await Marksmen over the nine day Spring Break holiday MAGNOLIA

GREAT WOLF LODGE

RIVER WALK

FOSSIL RIM

Dallas Dallas

• See Chip and Joanna on a day trip to Waco’s Magnolia

• Spas, waterslides and wolves — all in Grapevine

• San Antonio’s River Walk

• A land of animals isn’t all

offers boat tours, dining

that far away

know most of y’all don’t watch HGTV, but Fixer Upper is one of the most underrated shows of all time. Chip and Joanna Gaines, the creators and stars of the show, opened up Magnolia in Waco in 2015. This is a paradise for anyone who likes architecture, interior design and silos. Just kidding about the silos part, but there are two silos that you can’t miss when driving there. For spring break, Magnolia is having a huge vendor fair with food trucks. Magnolia Bakery is not far away from the main location, and you can easily get there on the Silo District Trolley.

reat Wolf Lodge is a classic family vacation. You won’t have to drive far to get there since it’s in Grapevine, maximizing the vacation time you can actually spend relaxing. There are dozens of slides, some with inner tubes and plenty of other activites. If going through a gigantic toilet bowl waterslide isn’t your thing then you can check out the spas, the ropes course or MagiQuest, an interactive scavenger hunt around the hotel.

GALVESTON

ENCHANTED ROCK STATE NATURAL AREA

with camping adventures

here in Texas; not Hawaii

nchanted Rock State Natural Area, located 17 miles north of Fredericksburg, covers over 600 acres. You can do a full camping trip here for less than 20 dollars per night. If you like using real toilets and sleeping on a mattress, don’t worry. Most people just go for a day hike to the top of the mountain.

nother in-state vacation great for the whole family is Galveston beach. It’s not Hawaii, but it’s much more affordable. While you’re there, visit the beach, go to The Boardwalk and check out Moody Gardens, an amusement park and aquarium. Galveston also has some of the most delicious seafood Texas offers.

• Tipi? Yurt? Hipster hotels. Take a drive out to Marfa.

ave you ever wanted to stay in a tipi? What about a yurt? How about a trailer? At El Cosmico in Marfa, you can have your pick. This hipster hotel experience will give you plenty amazing photo opportunities. There’s also a lot of cool day trips you can take from Marfa so don’t worry, you won’t get bored just hanging around the campsite. (Pets are allowed.)

installation is work of many.

f you happen to find yourself in Amarillo over spring break, make sure to check out Cadillac Ranch. It’s a public art installation created in 1974. The sculpture is ten half-buried Cadillacs, but I promise it is cooler than it sounds. Unleash your inner-middle schooler and bring your spray paint. You’re allowed to leave your own (appropriate) markings on the cars.

COMPILATIONS Andy Crowe ARTWORK Ayush Saha

Here are some Dallas area activities to check out before you start travelling. Lacrosse Game

The Boho Market

What

Varsity lacrosse game against ESD

Pop-up market where 650,000 square feet of you can shop local current and future models artists and vendors next of cars to the farmers

Price

Free

Location

Episcopal School of Dallas

Dallas Farmers Market

Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center

When

March 22 7:30 p.m.

March 9 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

March 27 - 31

SMLAX fans only

CADILLAC RANCH

• Cadillac Ranch’s public art

The grid

Who to bring

f you have never gone to Fossil Rim, then this is your opportunity. Spring break offers the perfect safari-ing weather. It’s only about an hour and a half away from Dallas and worth every cent of the $21.95 ticket. The wildlife center and conservation has over 40 animals that you can feed pellets along your two to four hour journey. If you are a reckless driver, I suggest taking one of the guided tours to prevent any roadkill.

EL COSMICO

• Head to the ocean — right

• Hill Country beckons

f you want more of a traditonal vacation instead of a day trip, the River Walk in San Antonio is a great option. It’s far comapred to Fossil Rim, but not too long of a drive. At the River Walk you can go on a boat tour, shop and dine, all while enjoying the Latin American atmosphere. This is the perfect family vacation that you will remember for years to come.

Free

The whole family

DFW Autoshow

$11

Hot rod fans

Baseball Game

St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival

Counter away game against Cistercian

40th Anniversary St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival featuring more than 90 parade floats

Free

Cistercian Preparatory School

March 22 4:30 p.m.

Lions fans only

Parade is free, but parade concert tickets cost $20

Parade begins at Blackwell St. & Greenville Ave.

March 16

Green-wearing friends

culture

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

POP ART

Connected through art

Bangtan Boys (BTS)

After committing to painting full time after 40 years of risk management, Marc Dominus ’71 meets an unexpected celebrity in Deep Ellum’s Kettle Art gallery.

BIGGER CANVASSES Painted on one of his biggest canvasses, Art Can’t Hurt You is an example of Dominus’s use of color to convey certain emotions.

nside the Kettle Art gallery on a rainy Friday night, full-time painter Marc Dominus ’71 and the other artists felt it was about time to close when a young man dressed in a red pull-over, a red hat and red running pants walked in the gallery. “He was probably just trying to get out of the rain,” Dominus thought. Then a camera crew followed the young man as he stopped in front of Dominus’s most recently painted acrylic piece. Body guards clad in black suits followed closely behind. Still not knowing who the young man was, Dominus walked up to him and began explaining his painting. “V” the man introduced himself, using Google Translate to speak English. Turns out, “V” a Marc Dominus member of ’71 the most popular Korean pop band, BTS, had come to Deep Ellum to buy two of Dominus’s paintings. Just like that, an international megastar had become Dominus’s first formal art client. Regardless of V’s celebrity status, all that mattered to Dominus was that his painting attracted someone he’d never known before. ••• After working as a risk management consultant for 40 years, Dominus found himself in between jobs and decided to pursue a life as a full-time painter. Being a part of the school band at 10600 Preston Rd., Dominus was always on a creative project, but he never pursued art full

time until moving back to Dallas. “In the early ‘90s, I was living in Austin and was dabbling in art,” Dominus said. “I would do art off and on for a number of years. When I got back to Dallas, which was really by happenstance, and then I ended up buying my house. Because I lived in condos I moved quite a bit, and I felt like, ‘Okay, I’m going to create a space to do art permanently. I’ve got a studio in the back, and I’m getting ready to start to turn most of [the living room] into a studio to do some bigger canvases.” After reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Albert Einstein, Dominus found inspiration in his art through energy and waves. In particular, Dominus emphasizes energy, waves, color and texture in his pieces. “I feel that there’s energy in the universe that drives everything, and energy travels on waves, music travels on waves,” Dominus said. “The point is that each piece of art is really a record of the energy that I’m feeling when I’m painting, and different waves of energy resonate with different people.” When someone buys his paintings, Dominus feels a special connection because it means that someone else can resonate with his own feelings. “My feeling is that if you’re attracted to a piece of art, it’s because it resonates with you, and some aspect of my energy that resonates with yours,” Dominus said. “When I sell a piece of art, it’s like someone becoming part of my family.” Starting with oil, Dominus experimented with a few different materials throughout his time as an artist. Around seven months ago, he took a class at the Creative Arts Center in Dallas and discovered acrylic, which is a whole different experience according to Dominus. “I started with oil just because that’s what people do,” Dominus said. “When I lived in Austin, I was able to paint with the windows open, and so oil worked. The next time I did a lot of painting, I was living in Chicago, where it was really cold, so I had to keep the windows closed. Oil wasn’t going to work for me just because you don’t want to breathe that stuff in, so I discovered water soluble oil, and what’s great about them is they behave like oil paints, but they’re non-toxic, so you can

STORY Tianming Xie, CJ Crawford PHOTO Courtesy Marc Dominus

paint indoors.” Having turned his house into multiple studios, Dominus looks to continue achieving the milestones of a true artist. In fact, V’s purchase of Dominus’s paintings marks a significan’t growth in clientele for Dominus. “I was driving down to the gallery that day, and I was on the phone with a friend of mine, and people would say, ‘well, how’s it how’s the show going?’” Dominus said. “What you hear when somebody says that is ‘how many paintings have you sold?’ It’s not really about money, but I said, ‘I’ll tell you what would be meaningful to me is, because at that point, I’d never sold a painting to a stranger because all of the stuff I sold before was by word of mouth.” Although V may be one of the most popular musicians in the entertainment industry, Dominus truly values the fact that a stranger would feel attracted to his art. “It means a lot not just to see things that you’ve created but to create things that evoke feelings,” Dominus said. “Acceptance as an artist, not from a standpoint of feeding my ego but here this guy walks in, and he buys two of my paintings. He could buy anything, and V of all of them, apparently, is the most sensitive about art, and as far as I can tell, he came to buy the art because they were in Fort Worth, they got in the car in the rain in Deep Ellum and all the entourage to get out and buy the art. So to me, if nothing else happened, it’s really about feeling good about your own art.”

A seven-member k-pop band formed by Big Hit Entertainment in 2013, BTS holds enormous influence on the international stage after reaching huge milestones.

Members V Sub-Vocals Jungkook Main Vocals Jimin Lead Vocals Suga Main Rapper Jin Sub-Vocals RM Rapping J-Hope Rapping

Studio Albums 2 Kool 4 Skool O!RUL82? Skool Luv Affair Dark & Wild The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Wings Love Yourself: Her Love Yourself: Tear Wake up Youth Face Yourself

Milestones 2014 YinYueTai V-Chart: Rookie Award 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards: Best Korean Act 2015 Japan Gold Disc Awards: Best New Artist 2017 Billboard Music Awards: Top Social Artist 2017 Teen Choice Awards: Choice International Artist THE GALLERY Pictured left are two paintings which Dominus sold to the korean-pop group BTS. (opposite) Boxed In Too (right).

2017 Teen Choice Awards: Choice International Artist 2018 Guinness World Record: Having the world’s most Twitter engagements for a music group 2018 Forbes: #1 Korea Power Celebrity 2018 Featured on the cover of Time magazine’s international edition as ‘Next Generation Leaders’ SOURCE: BTS.IBIGHIT.COM/BTS.PHP

culture

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

My Instagram

CAMPUS ART

A parting gift

A peek into junior Tyler Nussbaumer’s Instagram account, @tylernussphoto, where he posts a variety of photos about three times a week. Check out his account and visit his website, tylernussphoto.com, to see all his images. Here are a few in his own words:

Senior Daniel Mirochna will be designing and constructing a brandnew sculpture, which will be featured on campus for years to come.

aniel Mirochna wants this badly. The presentation is over — there is nothing to do now but wait. Hours turn into days. Mirochna still hasn’t heard back, and questions are swirling in his head. Did he do enough? Did they like it? Did they pick someone else? But Mirochna doesn’t have the time to stress over that right now. It’s time for another presentation. Senior exhibition. As he polishes his presentation and makes some finishing touches, Mirochna is approached by wood and metal instructor John Frost. “By the way, you got the art thing.”

••• Student art has always been a staple around campus areas such as Nearburg and Decherd. However, senior industrial arts students proposed a drastic idea to give a lucky senior a chance to showcase his work forever. “Mr. Frost told me right before my senior ex,” senior Daniel Mirochna said, “we were bringing one of my pieces into the room. He just said, ‘by the way you got the art thing.’” The “art thing” in question? A commission from the school to build an installation. “As a class last year we told Mr. Frost we thought it’d be pretty cool if one of us could make a big outdoor sculpture for the school as a senior project,” Mirochna said. “Mr. Frost went to Mrs. [Fine Arts Department Chair Marion]Glorioso and Mr. [Headmaster David] Dini and asked if we could do that and they seemed really excited about it.” The process included developing individual ideas and pitching them all to the relevant faculty. “I settled on a design, Daniel Mirochna and then I Senior went at it,” Mirochna said. “We gave a five or ten minute presentation to Mr. Dini, Mr. Ziegler, and Mrs. Glorioso.” Mirochna has already begun working out the dimensions of his piece for the school. “It’s a very large design, like seven feet tall,” Mirochna said. “It’s got a two-feet tall base that I’m making, and I have to attach it to this concrete plinth that they’re making — they’re pouring it out right next

to the Chapel — it’s supposed to be right there.” Although Mirochna is not actually being paid for his sculpture, he and his family are excited about the undertaking. “My mom was way more excited that I was,” Mirochna said. “I was kind of scared a little bit, and my mom was like, ‘Oh my God that’s so cool, I’m really excited for you.’ My Dad was excited too.” Mirochna says he has spent the last few weeks drawing sketches and outlines of the different pieces his sculpture will be made of. He also says he has been

SNEAK PEEK A scale statue of what Mirochna plans to build as his parting gift to the school.

This was shot sophomore year in photography. It’s a more conceptual image. Sometimes you pretend your hands are a walking person, so this image was a play on that. It was the first time I really played around with Photoshop to construct something instead of just capturing it. It’s one of the turning points in my personal work because it really got me into constructing images digitally.

‘

problems and learn how to creatively fix situations and problem solve,” Mirochna said. Furthermore, after not being recognized by YoungArts this year unlike some of his fellow classmates, Mirochna wanted something else to end his high school Industrial Arts career on a high note. This commission does exactly that. “I didn’t get the YoungArts recognition like Blake and Davis did,” Mirochna said, “and I was just thinking that it would suck if I just gave up on industrial arts after that. I went at this pretty hard, and so it’s really important to me.”

cutting outlines and arranging them to get a better sense of how to maximize efficiency when it’s time to start building. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to efficiently use all the wood and quickly make everything,” Mirochna said. “It’s going to involve a lot of freehand grinding and sanding. At some point I’m going to have to get the grinder and make it look smooth and have a nice uniform curve.” Mirochna explained that since sanding is freehand, it’s probably going to be the hardest part of his project, and that Mr. Frost will also lend his assistance to him throughout the duration of his commission. After the project is done, Mirochna said he probably won’t continue his art in college depending on where he goes – although he did apply to University of Michigan’s art and design school. “I didn’t apply to anyone else’s art school,” Mirochna said. “I think I want to be an engineer.” Mirochna does, however, appreciate all the opportunities woodwork has opened for him, and is grateful to Mr. Frost for guiding him along his 3-D design journey. “Industrial arts has helped me work through a bunch of different

This picture was actually close to Times Square. The sun was setting, and my granddad and I were walking back to his apartment. This reflection caught my eye, so this shot is a couple of images put together. I took my favorite reflection of the sun, my favorite reflection of the dude and some of the smoke from the other images to create this image that looks realistic, but it’s almost too crazy to be true.

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FACTS AND FIGURES

New sculpture on campus Location

Next to the Chapel across from Decherd

Release Date

Before Baccalaureate

Time Investment

Seven hours a week

Dimensions

Seven feet tall, six feet wide, four feet deep

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Past achievements Scholastic Arts Regional Honorable Mention

Materials

STORY Cristian Periera, CJ Crawford PHOTO Courtesy Daniel Mirochna

I got a new puppy three weeks ago. English golden retriever. This is one of the first shots I’ve done with him. We went out to our front yard, and I had my sister bring him across the yard, and I called him over while taking a bunch of shots. I am obsessed with different seasons even though Dallas doesn’t have any. It’s pretty much just really hot or a little bit cold and rainy, but there’s never snow or that awesome fall season, so I’ve done a few fall pictures, a few winter photos, but these are all digitally created. This was from the winter, but the grass was all yellow, so I made it snowy. I’ve been making this category I’m calling “Seasons,” which is just exploring and creating these seasons we don’t have in Dallas. I try to make them really apparent in my photos.

Cedar with bolts and glue

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

CONCERTS

VIDEO GAMES

ALBUMS

MOVIES

Interview Luke Piazza

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn The Division 2 Yoshi’s Crafted World

Release date

March 8 March 15 March 29

Kodak Black Chelsea Cutler Bad Suns

Concert date

March 15 April 2 April 6

Captain Marvel Five Feet Apart Captive State

Release date

March 8 March 15 March 15

Drop date

When we all fall asleep..., Billie Eilish March 29 You’re the man, Marvin Gaye March 29 The Cure to Loneliness, Jai Wolf April 5

buzz

THE REMARKER • FEBRUARY 8, 2019

NIGHT OWLS

Late-night eats After 11 p.m., few restaurants remain open, leaving Marksmen looking for places to eat. GREENVILLE AVENUE PIZZA COMPANY You have to try pizza crack

atching your pizza being tossed in front of you and seeing it bake in the oven for some reason makes it taste infinitely better. At Greenville Avenue Pizza Company (GAPCo), you can see your pizza being made and talk with the people making them from across the bar

that runs the length of the restaurant and is the only seating there. After begging the oven to cook the pizza faster and seeing it pulled from the fire, I can personally promise you that you won’t be dissapointed but rather extremely satisfied. With large slices and the famous Pizza Crack, a garlic-based topping that elevates the taste of the slice even more than the traditional cheese and pepper flakes, GAPCo delivers the ideal antidote to your late-night hunger. Along with pizza, GAPCo serves hot

EL TIZONCITO Traditional Mexican comfort food

hile many other Mexican restaurants close at ten, El Tizoncito re-

mains open on Fridays and Saturdays until one in the morning. With multiple locations scattered across Dallas (the closest being on Lemmon Ave. and Forest Ln.), El Tizoncito or El Tiz for short is a great place to visit long after the sun has gone down. El Tiz features a colorful array of traditional Mexican comfort and street foods in a buzzing room with upbeat music always playing. The multiple TV’s located around the dining room ensure that you don’t miss a second of a big soccer or football game. At the center of it all the traditional trompo of marinated pork is constantly

spinning waiting for the next taco to be carved out. If tacos aren’t your thing you can choose between a traditional Mexican sandwich called a Torta or Tostadas and Flautas. While the El Tiz menu is studded with amazing appetizers like guacamole and nachos, you can ask for a special appetizer which is now off the menu called Chicharron de Queso which is a thin sheet of cheese melted into a golden crisp and served with Pico de Gallo. At the end of the day, El Tiz is the only place to taco about in town.

BIG GUYS CHICKEN AND RICE Chicken, lamb, beef — they’ve got it all

f you’ve ever been to a Halal Guys or eaten at any of the hundreds of Halal food trucks in New York, then you know exactly what Big Guys is: they give you a plate of rice with some meat, lettuce, tomatoes

and white and red sauces. You can also add a side of fries or pita bread or aloo, a fried blob of potato—all three of which are pretty good. The plate itself comes with chicken, lamb, beef or all three if you want, and all three are well prepared, well seasoned and taste fine. The white sauce is really savory, and the lettuce and tomatoes add a much needed freshness to an otherwise greasy platter.

The overall feel of the place needs a touch-up, but then again its mostly a call-in, pick-up sort of deal, so for most people the underwhelming interior won’t lessen the experience. Before midnight, Big Guys gets a B+. It’s a pretty good meal for a pretty good price, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Past midnight, however, with limited options, Big Guys should be at the top of your food options.

BUZZBREWS Everything from sandwiches to waffles, but breakfast reigns

ere’s the scenario. It is currently 3 a.m., and you know that you won’t be able to get even a second of sleep until you get an order of delicious Banana Nut Pancakes. If only it weren’t so early, there would be plenty of options. Luckily, however,

there is one restaurant still open at this hour. Buzz Brews—the epicenter of flavor in Dallas open 24 hours a day. With everything from sandwiches to waffles, Buzz Brews delivers a meal experience that is unique owing to their wide variety of available flavors of food items. While the portions are ample, I would

Classics

wings, pastas and sides that offer creative supplements to your meal. Garlic knots and Pizza Crack fries are essential to every order and give you something to snack on while waiting for your pizza. On the way out, make sure to pick up a bottle of Pizza Crack to use outside of GAPCo as it increases the flavor of any pizza and also works as a grilled chicken rub. Whether you go during the afternoon or at 2 a.m., GAPCo is a versatile and delicious option.

not call them necessarily good deals. The amount of food they make is good, but the meals are fairly expensive—most everything costing upwards of $10. The main dining room in the restaurant wasn’t anything special, and the vibe of the restaurant, despite their prices, is not one of luxury or anything of the sort.

The typical Marksmen hangouts.

IHOP

Late hours Friday and Saturday Greenville Avenue Pizza Company: 4 a.m. El Tizoncito: 1 a.m. Big Guy’s Chicken and Rice: 2 a.m. BuzzBrews: 24/7

IHOP has good breakfast food. Well, at least when Original Pancake House isn’t open—which it isn’t after 12 midnight. IHOP has surprisingly delicious pancakes for the price. I’ve tried their omelets, I’ve even tried their burgers, and none come close to their pancakes. After twelve, when everything tastes better, IHOP is an excellent option. It’s a great place to go with friends, their food is tasty, and there’s usually one nearby. Late hours: 24/7

Velvet Taco

Hungry? I know a place with tortillas, meat and a splash of love. I am, of course, referring to Velvet Taco. Home of some of the greatest, most creative tacos out there, Velvet Taco will fill you up with a burger, fish and chips, or one of their other options—all in a warm tortilla. Given the name, one can assume this restaurant has a decent red velvet cake. They do. If you are looking for a restaurant with creativity, variety and taste to match, Velvet Taco is a place you should take a look at. Like Torchy’s or Rusty Taco, each person will probably be ordering multiple tacos, so price can be an issue. The tacos, however, are fairly large and not incredibly expensive. One cannot go to Velvet, though, without also getting some of their amazing, ridiculous street corn. Late hours: 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Whataburger

Whataburger is the go-to of all the goto’s. As it is open 24 hours a day, Marksmen have ventured over to the corner of Forest and 75 for years to devour patty melts and honey BBQ chicken strip sandwiches. Juicy patties and crispy, hot fries combine to create a perfect concoction to cure any late-night hunger. The signature patty melt with its two patties with special sauce, grilled onions and melted cheese melt on your tongue and gives any night owl a perfect meal. Late hours: 24/7

REVIEWS Lyle Ochs, Duncan Kirstein, Cristian Periera, Mateo Guevara PHOTOS Courtesy Creative Commmons

Respawn just made a Fortnite killer

Apex Legends drops into the battle royale scene without fanfare and shakes up the giants of the industry.

by Cristian Periera fter 19 months of being the undeniable powerhouse in the Battle Royale genre, Fortnite has finally met a worthy opponent. Apex Legends is a free-to-play Hero Shooter/Battle Royale — I like to describe it as the Battle Royale version of Overwatch — developed by Respawn Entertainment, makers of Titanfall and Titanfall 2, that takes place in the same universe as the Titanfall series. Despite their recent games being published under the infamous EA, notorious for their skeevy schemes to suck as much cash out of players as possible, Respawn has remained relatively independent from the corporate grasps of the company—and it shows. Apex Legends surprisingly doesn’t seem like EA’s attempt to cash into the rapidly growing Battle Royale market. The quality of the product is too high—which shows Respawn genuinely wanted to make a good Battle Royale game. The game feels like a Titanfall game—the weapons are the same, the movement is great and the art style is similar. Each hero is different, making even your fifth straight hour entertaining, despite each game taking place on the same map. Each character boasts different

voice actors, different looks and even different accents. Their abilities are entirely different, ranging from Lifeline, who puts down healing devices and calls down care packages, to Mirage, who makes holograms to deceive enemy players. The user interface is impeccable. The game introduces a new ping system, allowing players to communicate with their fellow squadmates—there’s no solo mode, only squads of three — without having to use a microphone. There’s even a text to speech option if you really need to use it. And the game map is near-perfect in JUMPING IN Apex Legends has taken size and scale. the gaming market by storm, crushing Fortnite in first week player count. It’s smaller

than Fortnite’s, so you don’t have to spend half of your game running to escape the closing circle that leads to inevitable death if you stay too long in it—and half of your time playing the game complaining about how you got picked off while running and there was nothing you could do about it. There’s also only sixty players or 20 squads per match, so your chances of winning are much higher. I am frustrated with the game’s current monetization strategies—loot-boxes upon loot-boxes upon loot-boxes. Yes, the game is free, but I hate how random the cosmetic rewards are, especially since most of them aren’t that creative. The game also suffers from EA’s notoriously poor servers. Almost every time I play my game crashes at least twice, and when I finally enter a game I encounter serious lag. Overall, however, if there’s any game to beat Fortnite, this is the one. I’ve never been a big fan of Battle Royale games, but Respawn made me like theirs. If you have one game that you like to stick to, I’d maybe stick to that—Apex Legends takes some time to get really good at, and if you don’t have too much time to play it may not be worth the investment. However, if you find yourself playing videogames on a regular basis, definitely give it a try—you’ll enjoy it.

editorials

remarker STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS. 10600 PRESTON ROAD DALLAS, TEXAS 75230 214.346.8000 editor in chief KAMAL MAMDANI

managing editors PARKER DAVIS SAHIT DENDEKURI LYLE OCHS

head photographer KYLE SMITH

assignments editor JAMES ROGERS

creative directors JAHAZIEL LOPEZ MICHAEL LUKOWICZ

communications director CJ CRAWFORD

opinions editors CONNOR PIERCE WALLACE WHITE

opinions specialist DUNCAN KIRSTEIN

10600, culture editors SAM AHMED TIANMING XIE

discoveries editor MATTHEW ZHANG

focus editors

NATHAN HAN CHRISTOPHER WANG

issues editors

ISHAN GUPTA SID VATTAMREDDY

sports editors COLIN CAMPBELL AARON THORNE

perspectives editor SAM GOLDFARB

diversions editor ANDY CROWE

graphics director MATTHEW COLEMAN

copy editors

ERIC HIRSCHBRICH DYLAN LIU

research director NICK WALSH

business manager PAXTON SCOTT

staff writers

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

artists

CHAD KIM COLE ARNETT

photographers

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

adviser

RAY WESTBROOK

headmaster DAVID W. DINI

opinions and editorials

Editorials represent the viewpoints of the newspaper’s Editorial Board and not necessarily those of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff. All personal opinion columns, bylined with the writer’s name and photo, represent the views of that writer and not necessarily those of The ReMarker, Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff.

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Each issue of The ReMarker, along with archival copies, can be viewed on the school’s website, www.smtexas. org/remarker.

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

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Press run is 3,800 copies. Copies are provided free of charge to students, faculty and staff at various distribution sites on campus. More than 2,600 copies are mailed out to alumni courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

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THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

Virginia scandal reveals vital need for vigilant caution in everything we do. Our actions of today can profoundly affect our lives’ tomorrow.

he recent scandal involving Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and his alleged appearance in blackface in a medical school yearbook (Northam has denied it is him in the picture) has brought to light America’s history with racism and prejudice in society, how much we’ve progressed and how much more we have to learn. In a 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook, two students are pictured in offensive regalia — one in blackface alongside another classmate in a Ku Klux Klan robe — on Northam’s senior page in the yearbook. Many graduates have rightfully come out in protest of the picture, saying that it wasn’t acceptable for the time or setting under any circumstances. This incident highlights a negative aspect of our culture that we must work to abandon and forget, the deep-seated culture of racism in American society. There is no debate that what appeared on the governor’s yearbook page did was utterly inexcusable and a prime example of the racist culture America that has haunted the nation’s

identity for centuries and, unfortunately, still persists today. We have to learn that even things done in jest can cause pain, and jokes we make, while they may seem harmless on the surface, can cut deep and hit close to home for many people. We must always consider the context of what we may deem acceptable in society. No joke or tradition exists in a vacuum. Our actions speak louder than words, and our actions now will come back to haunt us if we are not careful in our decisions. Especially in the age of social media, the regrettable things we say and do will never go away. It’s not that bad teenage decisions might come back to haunt you, it is that they simply will. Just as has happened with Gov. Northam. Given that, we must always hold ourselves to the highest ethical and moral standard possible. That way, we will never have to confront the transgressions of our past in the future. However when past mistakes do arise, we must take unequivocal responsibility for our decisions and completely assume the burden of those mistakes, unlike what has trans-

pired in Virginia. For us to avoid having demons come back to haunt us, the simplest thing we can do is to simply act right in all situations and always consider the impact of every decision, whether direct or indirect. This also includes what we post on social media. Because social media provides a look into each and every one of our lives, we must carefully manage what we say or post on online platforms, lest we suffer the consequences of a bad decision now or later down the line. It would be foolish to believe something regrettable done today will simply fade away into obscurity. What has happened in Virginia and many other instances have clearly demonstrated that those bad decisions can easily resurface and ruin lives, reputations and relationships. Marksmen must remember to be persistently conscious of their decisions, regardless of how insignificant they may seem at the time. If we simply apply that rule of self-awareness to all aspects of life, we will never have to face the consequences of what we do today in the future.

Coaches must keep practices to alloted time Practices extend beyond two hours, preventing students from getting work done.

hroughout the winter and spring sports seasons, coaches have continued their practice of prolonging athletic practices well beyond their allotted two-hour timeslot from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m, as outlined in Lion Tracks. These long practices have continued to create the issues they have in years past, including lack of time for students to complete their daily assignments, insufficient time to prepare for cumulative assessments and persistent lack of rest WORKING OVERTIME Various sports have been going past their 6:00 p.m cutoff, keeping players as late as 7:00 p.m in extreme cases. for student-athletes. Extending practices their athletes, their continued as prescribed in Lion Tracks, for student-athletes prevents employment of practices lasting coaches will still adequatestudents from managing their well over two hours goes in ly prepare their athletes for lives at and away from school, direct conflict with this stated competition, while at the same hindering both their academic desire. time, students will have time and athletic performance, as So, once again, we believe to eat dinner, complete their they are faced with an inability coaches must restrict their daily homework, and stay rested to adequately prepare to meet practices the allotted 4 p.m. to for their academic and athletic their goals in the classroom and 6 p.m. time period. They must endeavors. on the playing field. not hold their student-athletes Thus, by preserving the These long practices contin- beyond this time period, as two-hour time standard, the ue despite previous calls from doing so hurts their players’ needs of student-athletes and The ReMarker to them. athletic and academic perforcoaches alike will always be While the clear disadvanmances. satisfied. tages these prolonged practices While we understand that We all want our athletic cause for students have been coaches have goals for practices teams to succeed at the greatest enumerated before, coaches that they must complete, we level possible, and this way, seem to have outright ignored believe that two hours is suffieach and every member of our and disregarded these calls. cient time for these goals to be athletic community will be While we know that coaches accomplished. So, by maintainprepared to attain that success genuinely desire the best for ing the two-hour time standard in the best possible way.

editorials/opinions

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

STAFF EDITORIAL

Students and teachers must help prevent disease spread on campus

ith flu season and other various diseases taking a toll on the community, students and teachers should take measures to prevent disease on campus. Many students and teachers have been out sick because some people don’t take the correct steps to prevent the spread of disease. In particular, this year, nurse Julie Doerge has reported an increase in the amount of people getting sick, particularly of the Flu. We think it is time to remind people on some easy ways to prevent disease from spreading. There have been much more cases of the Flu this year than in past years, with as many as 40 students in the Middle School out in one day. It should be well-known and followed protocol to never, under any circumstances whatsoever, attend school

if you are ill. Doerge has been firm in insisting that students only return to school after a period of 24 hours fever-free. Putting other students and teachers at danger of doing their job and attending their classes is never acceptable. It is not worth the risk of infecting fellow marksmen and teachers by coming to school sick because of a test or quiz being that day. The maintenance staff has been working hard to keep us safe from illness, utilizing more effective technology to target certain areas where disease spread would be most likely to happen. To prevent students and teachers from getting infected with disease in the first place inside and outside of school, Doerge suggests these basic precautions: Wash your hands: It’s been said many

times, and we won’t stop saying because it is the number one method to stop disease. According to the CDC, washing your hands frequently can reduce respiratory illnesses by 16-21 percent and reduces gastrointestinal illnesses by at most 57 percent.

to drink from, and bringing a personal bottle is always a good decision. We understand that some students do come to school because they have to take a test that day that otherwise they would miss because they stayed home sick. We understand this concern but it is simply in the best interest of the common good that sick students stay home. Teachers have done a great job getting people caught up with work, so students need not worry about that. To keep the community safe, it is paramount that we take health and safety seriously. Students and teachers should take this advice and make our community a healthier one and a more productive workspace.

Avoid contact with infected people: It is important that students and teachers do not come into close contact with infected people. In addition, if you do end up showing up to school sick, you should make it known so students know to not come into contact with you, thus reducing infection rate. Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of water keeps your immune system healthy as well as your body. The school has plenty of fountains for students and teachers

Blood Drive: Spike

No-homework weekend: Status Quo

The participation at the blood drive was a high point for community service in our community. We thank everyone involved in the effort.

Stocks to

Watch The bulls and bears of the stocks around campus

Substantial progress has been made in not assigning students homework after the end of the trimester, but some work is still assigned and needs to be stopped.

Cleaning up after lunch: Slight increase Student Hygiene Slight Increase Although the flu hit the community hard, students have done a better job staying home when sick and getting healthy.

Students have been more diligent about trash in the Great Hall recently, but there is still much progress to be made.

Chairs in the library: Decline The library chairs are being constantly moved around and put near tables they shouldn’t be near. Be sure to return your chair.

Backpack-clogged hallways: Crash Recently the hallways in buildings like Centennial Hall and Hoffman have been strewn with backpacks and other items. Students must keep their things out of the way.

A perspective from behind the mask

start walking onto the court. This is my moment. It’s burning hot in here. I briefly forget why then instantly remember. My vision is seared as constant beads of sweat drip off the tips of my hair into my eyes. Just a few more steps. Then I see it: my audience. I try to mentally prepare myself and focus through the hundred loud cheers. One shot. One opportunity. I resort to a strategy that’s gotten me through other nerve-racking times. 3… 2… 1… Go. High school sucks. The tests. The pressure. The stress. There are two types of kids through this seemingly infinite maze. The kids who have it figured out. Grades are on point kids. Super athletic kids. They’re in charge of so many clubs you can’t count them all on your fingers and toes kids. And then there’s everybody else. Scrambling to keep up with the hectic pace and pressure of this time. Realistically, most, if not all of us, strive to be the first type. Me included. That’s why I question my motives when I got my internship. This past summer I worked as an intern for the Texas Legends basketball team (The

G-League team for the Dallas Mavericks), where I helped plan, organize and execute their summer camps as well as some of their community events. Would I have tried to get a job if I didn’t have the pressure of college peering out of my closet at night? Would anybody? I don’t know. I peer out of the two inch Spiderman-esque eye slits in my surprisingly heavy mask and look at an audience so restless you’d know they’re a bunch of nine year olds without even seeing them.

Nick Walsh

research director

I hear one of them call out. Dunker! Dunker! Wait… who the heck is Dunker? Oh that’s right. I am. One of my favorite quotes is from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Life is a journey, not a destination.” But with college applications looming these last few years, those ideals have often been replaced by a frantic scramble to figure out what

committee or club I can join to boost my chances. Too often I see us focusing on just getting to college. Not the path to get there. And five, ten, however many years ago, you or your parents might’ve had that same destination-mindset trying to get into this school. And once you’re in college, you might have that same mindset trying to find a job. And it’s an endless spiral of the same over and over again. While the destination sounds nice, you might miss what lies on the yellow-and-blue-brick road that got you there. I’m not sure what to do now. A little awkwardly, I wave to the kids and do a dance I learned from the video game Fortnite. I continue this routine through our basketball camp’s award ceremony and, by the end, I’m ready to be done. I’m sweating beyond belief, and I’ve clapped and waved more in this 40 minutes than the rest of my life combined. As I start to walk away one kid comes up and hugs the furry, blue legs of my mascot suit. Bye Dunker, I’ll miss you. I go home that night and think about that kid. Think about my life. Think about these last 11 years at this school. I made a real difference in that kid’s life with a wave. A dance. A hug.

Around the

Quad Students and faculty share their opinions on issues in the news and around campus. when it’s below ‘ Yes, 32 degrees, we really

need to be able to wear sweatpants. Joseph Day seventh grade

though the ‘ Even school is instilling

a uniform to keep us disciplined, the slacks provide little warmth. Eric Lai junior

Everyone doesn’t

‘ like the slacks, and

the sweatpants don’t detract from the professionalism too much. Rahul Vashi junior

don’t see a ‘ Ireason to do it,

but I think the sweatshirt logo requirements are kind of useless. Shane Sweet freshman

Do you think students should have more options regarding winter clothing i.e sweatpants, beanies, etc.? I think the stu‘ No, dents already have

too many options in clothing. Zach Erwin ’96 Foreign Language Department chair

think that they ‘ Ishould have more options, as long as it fits the dress code well. Isabel Toledo Spanish instructor

because there ‘ No are already uniform pants that are options, but students choose not to wear them. Jeffrey Hale Math instructor

knew what ‘Ifwaseveryone in Lion Tracks,

and what was allowed, students would realize how many options they really have. Dr. John Perryman Thomas S Adams Master Teacher

opinions

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

Point / Counterpoint Question: Should the school make changes to the schedule? If so, what changes?

yes

Sahitya Senapathy, junior

•

Grant Jackson, freshman

Any lengthening of student’s class periods would hamper their concentration abilities Any shortening of classes wouldn’t be worth the effort to re-organize for only five minutes off every class Proposed changes to a block schedule would encourage procrastination because of the lack of everyday classes. Classes like foreign language and math require daily practice with daily class periods, so any daily gaps would hamper student performance. Science labs would be very hard to arrange with a block/alternative schedule types.

• •

•

Change the current class period length to 40 minutes long. Quality is more important than quantity, and 40 minute classes wouldn’t sacrifice that much. The schedule needs changing to combat student sleep deprivation. New schedules should account for student time spent on extracurriculars and homework. Sleep deprived students perform academically worse, and a new schedule should address this. Shorter classes will encourage teachers to be more efficient with class time, thus making quantity a small concern.

To all the girls I loved, and hearts I have broken

ue será, será. Whatever will be, will be. It’s the post Valentine’s Day slump. Everything just seems to be in a standstill. It’s too early into the year to think about the future without getting lost in the present. And it’s too late into the school year to go back and “fix” things. To the smart one with the luscious hair, whose best friend Becky told you to stay away from me because I couldn’t tie my shoe. To the funny one in fifth grade, who moved to Idaho. Really!? Idaho? Why? To the cute one that sat across from me during that one summer a couple of years back, why didn’t we keep in touch after that last day of camp? To the one that won me over with a simple glance of those ocean blue eyes, and the silky black hair that seems to shine even in the shade. I could never quite crack the puzzle, not making me mad, but just frustrated. Frustrated at the fact that I was trying too hard not to slip up. Not to mess up. But I did. I wish I could go back and say all the things I should have said the first time around.

And now her father won’t shake my hand, and her mother won’t give me the reassuring smile any more. But I guess it is what it is. The slump. It’s the worst feeling in the world. Even worse than going up to bat, with the bases loaded, with the game on the line, and striking out. It’s even worse than getting home after a long practice and having to work on homework. Worse than putting in four years of hard work, only to get rejected from your dream school. Nothing cheers you up. Everything puts you down. It’s hard to find Jahaziel Lopez a silver Creative Director lining in anything. I know it didn’t end like it was supposed to. I’m still not sure how this story ends. But, oh what a time it is for the both of us. Maybe it isn’t such a bad thing to be stuck in a slump. Because, perhaps it is here where we can learn more about ourselves. It’s the comeback. It’s during these times that best defines who a person really is because it tests their limits and boundaries.

It’s whether or not we can still remain friends or at least intact as individuals. This is what will define you and me. So, how do you get out of the slump? It’s so easy to think that, when down in the slumps and emotionally beat, this roadblock is all that matters. In times of uncertainty, the most minuscule of tasks look unattainable, but the solution is to let everything out. No holding back. One thing is for sure: soaking in my sorrows won’t make anything better. I will move on. Whether that’s talking with my closest friends or to myself, the only way to clear the airways of my mind is to cleanse, profusely and profoundly. The key is that this setback, if I can even call it that, doesn’t matter. At 19 the best is yet to come. She stole my heart, but she also managed to break it. I will forever cherish the moments I shared with her, but the only way out of the slump is to face the uneven road ahead straight on, with an open heart, and with an open mind, because what happens next surely cannot be any worse than the past. The cure for the post Valentine’s Day slump, let go. Que será, será.

The report card Thoughts on happenings around campus Technology support on campus The tech support staff on campus have done a great job keeping technology in the classroom operational and functional. We thank the members of the staff for their service to the community.

Plentiful snacks in the Student Store

The Student Store has a large variety of snacks that help weary students get the fuel they need to get through the day. We appreciate their hard work and their addition of new food items.

Sub-par parking jobs We’ve noticed that some students have been taking up two spots when parking. Students should take more time when parking in the morning and do a better job.

Shut-down assembly activities Seven activities proposed by the student council this year have been shut down by the administration. As a result, once planned fun assemblies have been turned into an information dump. We urge the administration and student council to green-light more activities.

A-

A C F

Why everybody is obsessed with a light-up aluminum, glass and silicone box

s I reach down into my left pocket — it’s always in my left pocket — I groped around until I concluded there’s nothing there. I instinctively search my immediate surroundings in a mini panic, until I come to realize, yet again, I’m not going to find it. My prized possession, which seems to be almost everyone’s most used item, is in for repair. Apple said it would take about five days to repair, right after they informed me that there weren’t any loaner phones I could borrow. I think by now you get the gist of what I’m describing: My 32 gigabyte, matte black iPhone 7 gave up on me after a strong two years of consistent performance. One day I noticed it wasn’t receiving any cell service, and I discovered the antenna wasn’t working properly. I actually believed I was living with no connection to the outside world within

my first few days sans phone. Anytime I was away from a computer at home, I couldn’t communicate with anyone else. My usage went from sporadic to nonexistent. My Clash of Clans base was left vulnerable and defenseless. And without the ability to conform to texting etiquette, which is replying almost instantly, I worried that others would think that I’m neglecting them. I soon figured out the repercussions of being disconnected weren’t as awful as I initially thought. Living, as my dad always says, “in the moment” gave me a new perspective on how much we all use our devices. I can still picture myself walking back to the Apple store, phoneless, through the mall. While some people were in groups talking to each other, most people walking by their faces buried in their devices, pre-

venting any possibility of a normal human interaction. It was the weirdest feeling, being engaged with my surroundings yet feeling isolated. After once averaging over James Rogers two hours Assignments each day on Editor my phone, I definitely had more free time for more productive usages of my time. As someone struggling with senioritis, my homework productivity actually increased without constant buzzes and beeps keeping me from effective studying. Once a critic of the stringent cell phone policy on campus, I now hold a new appreciation for one of the purposes

of it: to keep students “in the moment.” After an interview for a story I had with Colin Igoe, the incoming head of Upper School, he made the observation that the students on campus were all engaged and not fixated on their devices, which is a direct result of the Acceptable Use Policy. Eventually, I did get a little tired of living without my device, because instead of the initial five day repair estimate, I hadn’t heard back from them for over two weeks. Apple eventually felt sorry for their error and replaced a device with one of their extras. Finally reacquainted with my portal into the addictive, time-wasting realm that my phone offers, I now try my best to refrain from using it in public places. Because interacting with people digitally is just not worth ignoring anyone in real life.

sports

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2018

BASKETBALL CAREER

A career cut short Nicole McMiller, mother of third grader Trevez McMiller, was a star basketball player in college and primed for success in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks before her career was cut short due to a heart condition.

Dolphins

everal weeks and five medical opinions later, Nicole Funn decides that it’s time to hang up her high-tops for good. A career chalk-full of accolades now had to end. On the brink of playing her first career Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) game for the Los Angeles Sparks, it’s now all over. A career with conference player of the year honors. A career with more than 1000 points. A career laden with potential primed for a success in the pros. All ended with one physical. Second degree atrioventricular block. A heart condition that causes beats to be missed and skipped during the heart’s natural rhythm. ••• Funn, who later married and became Nicole McMiller, started playing organized basketball in eighth grade after being introduced to the game my her older male cousins. McMiller averaged more than 20 points and ten rebounds per game as a high schooler, finishing as the number 31 prospect in the country in her graduating class before matriculating to Oregon State as a six foot tall small forward. “From my freshman year, I was ranked in the state,” McMiller said. “I got tons of accolades but never won a state championship with my high school team. But we won city championships. I played in the Nike All-American camps for two years, which is kind of like our McDonald’s All-American game. Back when I was in high school, we had what was called the WBCA which was a Reebok funded All-American camp and I played in that my junior year.” For McMiller, who could jump and grab the rim with both hands, success was quickly found at Oregon State, which was at the time a member of the PAC-10 conference. “My freshman year I was on the all PAC-10 freshman team, which is a pretty great honor,” McMiller said. “My sophomore year, I had the highest scoring PAC10 game against the University of Ohio. I scored 35 points.” After that sophomore season, McMiller decided to return to her native California. After considering the University of Southern California, also a member of

Beavers

the PAC-10 conference, McMiller decided to transfer to Pepperdine University, a member of the WCC conference. While at Pepperdine, McMiller would play with the sister of six-time NBA All-star Paul George.

“

After my fifth [medical] opinion, I basically decided it wasn’t worth the $35,000 salary I was making to put my life in jeopardy. — Nicole McMiller McMiller’s dominance did not stop despite her transfer and redshirt season. “I played two years at Pepperdine,” McMiller said. “My junior year we won the WCC conference. Senior year, we did okay, not as well as I would have liked. But my junior year we went to the NCAA tournament and played at Louisiana Tech, but that didn’t work out to well. I was on the WCC honorable mention team my junior year and first team WCC my senior year. I scored over 1000 points in college. I primarily, other than freshman year when I averaged about seven points, averaged over ten points in my other years.” As a senior, McMiller and her Pepperdine teammates played ranked opponents such as TCU and UConn. The spotlight in college naturally brought a lot of exposure for McMiller, who stood out to Los Angeles Sparks Head Coach Michael Cooper, who had played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA during their historic Showtime era in the late 20th century featuring Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. According to McMiller, her tenacity on the defensive end of the floor reminded Cooper, who won Defensive Player of the Year in 1987, of himself. “He came to see me play a couple of times and said that I reminded him a lot of himself because I played defense and averaged almost two blocks a game as a point guard,” McMiller said. “Whatever they needed me to play, I played it. I guarded the five foot girl or the six five girl, it didn’t matter.” This dogged performance from

STORY Colin Campbell, Siddartha Sinha ARTWORK Michael Lukowicz

Spark

Waves

McMiller symbolizes what Strength and Conditioning Coach Kevin Dilworth, who has been training female athletes for the last 14 years, refers to as an evolution in the female mindset. “A woman is going to be competitive,” Dilworth said. “If you tell a woman she can’t do it, she’s going to show you she can do it times ten that she can. She’s not going to go, ‘Oh, ok. Whatever.’ Now back then in the 70s and 80s, they would question themselves. There’s been an evolution with women nowadays. Every woman I’ve seen in the sports scene now is totally different from any woman back then. They have that fight in them already.” Dilworth sees this evolution continuing, especially when considering the precedent set Kevin by female athDilworth Strength and letes like Serena Conditioning Coach Williams, who “listen to their inner tuition” and “create their own standard” en route to complete mastery. “[A woman’s] going to show you what she does because she’s trying to prove a point,” Dilworth said, “and she’s going to make that point proven because she’s going to whatever it takes. They’re trying to make a statement by not just showing up, but also be dominant in it.” McMiller did just that, setting her own bar higher and earning a spot through a dominating tryout for the Sparks. Furthermore, the Sparks sweetened the deal, allowing McMiller to continue her education at Pepperdine, located in nearby Malibu, California, while also working on her professional career and perfecting her craft. But the tests and physicals the Sparks employed, many of which were foreign to McMiller, brought to light a condition with her heart in a time when heart issues were at the forefront of basketball due to the experiences of former Laker Ronny Turiaf, who had open heart surgery due to a similar condition. After hearing opinions from five doctors, McMiller decided to shut down her professional career. “Weeks went by, I got four or five different opinions and was basically put

on light workout duty,” McMiller said. “After my fifth opinion, I basically decided it wasn’t worth the $35,000 salary I was making to put my life in jeopardy.” For McMiller, the transition to life without basketball was not seamless. “It was definitely a big deal,” McMiller said. “I had done something for the last eight years of my life day in and day out. I worked out eight hours a day, and that was on a consistent basis. We played year round. Everything revolved around basketball.” ••• McMiller basketball career is still a factor in her life today. She uses the lessons and skills she learned in her time as a player to, in turn, help her son, third grader Trevez McMiller. “I play with [him] sometimes, and I coach him and try to get him to understand experiences that I’ve had so that he can mature much faster given that his mother played at such a high level,” McMiller said. At this point, McMiller’s love for the game rings true through her desire to coach Trevez, but she understands it will take some time for her son to replicate her passion for the sport. “I try to lend experience,” McMiller said. “I’m a little intense so I can’t wait for him to get a little older. Then, he’ll understand the intensity I have for the game.”

A tale of two leagues

NBA

WNBA

1.46

Average viewers

Average salary

Highest salary

Average attendance

50%

Percent of league revenue

million million million

thousand

source: Livestrong

413

thousand

113

thousand

<25%

sports

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

WINTER SPC

High expectations And it's another dunk from Aaron Thorne

Despite two first-seeds, no winter sports team took home an SPC championship

first-seeded basketball team. A third-place finish. A first-seeded soccer team. A fifth-place finish. A swimming team that once won nine SPC championships in a row. A third-place finish. Despite a star-studded basketball team with multiple talented underclassmen, a soccer team with a balanced roster across every grade and one of the most consistently dominant squads in the conference in swimming, no winter team was able to secure an SPC Championship this year. To senior swimming captain Robert Newman, the biggest reason for the team’s inability to secure a first-place finish was a lack of specialization in the swimming program. “We have no club swimmers in the Senior Class, and the majority of the team has steadily become filled with water polo players,” Newman said. “Although this makes our team very deep, we lacked star swimmers that could secure multiple podium spots against the predominantly clubfocused competition.” However, Newman believes the team’s youth will help them regain their dominance in future years. “I think it is completely possible to regain the championship next year without changing much,” Newman said. “Much of our competition is graduating, and we had a fairly young team this year. Everyone just needs to stay focused on the final goal and be willing to make sacrifices to achieve that.” While a third-place finish might seem disappointing on the surface, Newman doesn’t think it lessens any individual successes the swimmers had. “I can’t really say we underperformed at SPC,” Newman said. “We had the highest percentage of personal records ever for the swim team. That being said, of course we weren’t happy with the result, but it did little to detract from the great season we had overall. I think we really came together as a team, and everyone improved as the season progressed.” Although anything short of a championship may seem as a failure

by Aaron Thorne hen I was just a toddler, I would watch NBA games on TV while simultaneously mastering windmill dunks on my Little Tykes 3-foot hoop. On the elementary school playground, I was convinced I would be the next Dirk Nowitzki, and that all my friends would make the journey to the league by my side. As I grew up, of course, my interests shifted elsewhere and I slowly came to every sports-loving boy’s sad realization that the chances of me making it to the NBA were drastically slim. But that didn’t change my love for the game or my readiness to make an impact in Hicks gym. When I reached middle school here, I dreamed of the days on the Lions’ varsity basketball team where my teammates and I would wipe the floor with Highland Park in front of a huge home crowd. I longed for the days when I could drop a triple double and then read about it in the newspaper the next day. I fantasized about the day I could catch a lob from a teammate and throwing it down ferociously through the rim. I even yearned for the moment when my teammates, coaches, family and friends would swarm me after I scored a thousand points in my varsity career. Now, a junior Aaron Thorne in high school and a Sports editor member of the varsity basketball team, I can safely say that I have witnessed each of these things occur in the St. Mark’s basketball program over the last couple months. I just witnessed them from the bench.

THE PODIUM While two teams were able to secure third place finishes, and every team finished in the top five, no team was able to take home the gold.

in the eyes of an outsider, head soccer coach Cory Martin thinks otherwise. “Overall, I would say [the season went] great,” Martin said. “I mean we did not lose a [regular season] game after mid-December. We did very well, and I was proud of the boys and how well they played in the counter season-they lost two points from a draw, and the rest of them were wins.” Going into SPC weekend without a counter loss, the soccer team had high expectations for their performance before the tournament. “Because we were so young last season, the boys had some high expectations, a lot of them were even talking SPC championship,” Martin said. Coach Martin is optimistic about next season but needs to see improvements from all grades before he commits to how we stand next year. “While I don’t know if we will be able to duplicate this year’s success in the counter season, I think that the guys are actually pretty confident that we will be able to do it again,” Martin said.

STORY Nick Walsh, Luke Nayfa, Rajan Joshi ARTWORK Jamie Mahowald

Both the basketball team and soccer team finished the counter season as the top seeds in the SPC north division, but similarly to Martin, head basketball coach Greg Guiler believes there is a lot to take away from the team’s third place finish in the SPC tournament. “I think you learn more from failure more than you do from success,” Guiler said. “Failure is frustrating however. There is no doubt that the team that wins it is sitting back and enjoying life. We have improving to do to make sure we maximize our potential next year.” While it may have left a bad taste in team members’ mouths to have disappointing finishes, both of these coaches believe that instead of sulking, they should also celebrate the regular season success. “I was very proud of our performance,” Martin said, “though unfortunately, we didn’t have a great match in the first game of the SPC tournament, so that puts a sort of damper on things because the only loss we had was that one game, but that was the difference between the top four and fifth place like we got.”

Junior varsity lacrosse team disbands

by Rajan Joshi

ecause of the limited number of players signed up, the Lions athletic department decided to scrap the JV lacrosse team. This decision led to many student athletes, such as sophomore William Aniol, who would have been most likely stuck with very little playing time on the varsity team this year, instead of being able to play significant minutes for the JV team. However, a leg injury will sideline Aniol for the entirety of the season, which was disappointing considering he was planning to play all along. “Last year, the coaches would bring down some sophomores to play JV during the games, and they were really helpful in teaching us different aspects of the game,” Aniol said. “I was hoping to be able to do that for the new freshman this year and I thought it would be cool to do that, but I understand why they chose not to have a JV team, and I was looking forward to learning more on varsity before I got injured.” Of the six players in the class of 2021 who played lacrosse their freshman year, Aniol was the only one to sign up to play again his sophomore year. After hearing his

peers all say they wouldn’t be playing, he had his doubts about signing up. “It was definitely a little odd because a bunch of the kids were hinting that they may not be joining lacrosse again, and when they finally said they weren’t playing, I just felt really awkward, and I didn’t know if I should play or not,” Aniol said. “But I ended up sticking with it because I like playing the sport, and I ultimately didn’t want others to affect whether I was going to play or not.” Many incoming freshman, including Connor Duffy, are ready to compete at any level, even if it is at on varsity. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to play on the varsity team,” Duffy said. “And I’m ready to compete for serious playing time.” Though they know they may not get the same minutes as they would have on a JV team, everyone is ready to go and compete for their spot on the team and show why they deserve it. “Though there are some upper-classmen who may be currently ahead of me in the depth chart right now, I want to prove myself,” Duffy said. “I’m ready for the challenge, and I believe in myself to prove that I belong.”

“

There was a lot of talk about how anything less than a championship would be a failure." Greg Guiler, head basketball coach

I watched my teammates do the dirty work to blow out Highland Park by double digits in a loud and rowdy Hick’s Gymnasium on a Friday Night. I cheered as Harrison Ingram dropped 20 points, 21 rebounds, and 12 assists…then I read about in the Dallas Morning News the following day. I felt my jaw drop as Colin Smith—a freshman—caught the ball in mid-air and silenced the Bishop Lynch crowd with an earth-shattering slam dunk. I even gave Andrew Laczkowski an emphatic high-five for scoring 1000 points in his St. Mark’s varsity basketball career before I could even score 50. I count my blessings for the opportunity to be a part of something as utterly amazing as the basketball team. Somehow, by some concoction of hard work and incredible luck, I get the privilege of wearing the same uniform as future Division 1 athletes and NBA players. On game days, my stat line might look a little bleak compared to theirs, but I know my role. I am there to be the best teammate I can be, whether through my work ethic in practice, my communication on defense or my diligent effort to scout other teams, even if all of that is done from the bench. Sometimes, as I take my seat on the comfortably-cushioned chairs in Hicks gym, the picture of Aaron Thorne dunking over a Greenhill kid or breaking an ESD kid’s ankles still crosses my imaginative mind. Because I'm a competitive person, I am going to continue to work my hardest and pursue more opportunities on the court because I want to be out there. But for right now, I am ecstatic to watch my teammates live out my dreams for me on the court. And who knows? If I grow another foot, maybe becoming the next Dirk isn’t completely out of the question.

sports

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

MIDDLE SCHOOL GOLFER

Duff stays out of the rough

Senior commits to play water polo at UCLA

Fifth grader Duff McKay has demonstrated his love for golf, playing in tournaments around the world and earning a rank of 13th in the world among all fifth graders.

Aaron Thorne: Tell me about some of the tournaments you play in. Duff McKay: I travel all over the country. I play in pretty big tournaments, like I have one in North Carolina that I play in every year. That’s the World Championship. And then there’s three in California. That’s the IMG World Championship and the FC World Championship, and there’s also one in Alabama that I play in. That’s the junior masters and I’ve also been to England and Scotland to play golf. So I’ve played in a lot of places. AT: How do you place in these tournaments? DM: Last year at the World Championship. I got 13th out of 167, and I was the youngest one there. So yes. It was the 11 year old age group, and I was ten back then. My birthday is July 31, and that’s the first day of the tournament. So I had to play up a division. AT: What’s your favorite moment you’ve had? DM: I hit a hole in one in Scotland. It was the U.S. Kids European Championship. It was 113 yards, and I had a seven iron. It was crazy. I pulled my seven iron out and I hit it and I hit it really low and it hit the front of the green and rolled and rolled and it just went in. My dad just happened to videotape that swing, but his battery was at one and his phone died during the backswing. That was two or three years ago. AT: What’s your favorite club? DM: My favorite club would have to be my putter. I like my putter a lot because I’m good at putting. And probably my favorite iron is probably my six iron. AT: When did you start playing? DM: I started playing golf when I was two and a half years old. AT: Do your parents play golf? DM: My dad plays. He spends a lot of time helping me out, but I beat him, and I beat my grandfather too. AT: How often do you play? DM: I play pretty much every day. AT: What’s your longest drive? DM: I’ve hit one 250 yards before.

HOLE IN ONE Practicing his swing, fifth grader Duff McKay drives the ball in the green one day after school.

AT: What do you usually shoot now? DM: Well, I usually shoot for 18 holes, and I usually shoot, on average, even or one over even.

‘can I have that putter’ so that’s my putter. My wedges are the Titleist SM seven wedges. My irons are Callaway steelheads, and my woods are the Callaway Epics.

AT: So you go after school every day to play golf? DM: Some days are just practice and some days are practice a little bit then I’ll go play. I play at Bent Tree, but when it’s all rainy I’ll just go to the the indoor hitting range at Golden Bear.

AT: Who’s your favorite golfer? DM: My favorite golfer is probably Jordan Spieth. I’ve met him once or twice. I go to a lot of the tournaments. I’ve gotten a lot of autographs from him. I’ve gotten a lot of autographs from lots of players actually.

AT: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever played at? DM: The North Carolina tournament, I played there at Pine Hurst and that’s where I got 13th. So Pine Hurst is probably my favorite place I’ve ever played at.

AT: Would you say your game is like Jordan Speith’s? DM: I don’t want to brag, but I hope I can be like Jordan Speith one day.

AT: What clubs do you play with? DM: My putter is a really old Scotty Cameron that I got from my coach for free because it was his and he had 30 putters and I just asked him

INTERVIEW Aaron Thorne, PHOTO Courtesy Stacy McKay

AT: What do you want to do with golf in the future? DM: Well of course I want to play on the high school St. Mark’s team, and I also want to try and play in college. I’d really like to go to Texas. We’ll see if maybe I could play on the PGA Tour. I hope so.

by Jack Davis enior Chase Honaker received a phone call from the coaches of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) water polo team with life-changing news: he’d obtained preliminary approval for a student-athlete acceptance. “They had to ask me ‘are you excited about this?’” Honaker said. “All I could say was ‘yes,’ because I didn’t know how to respond at the moment. For the rest of that night, I didn’t know what to do.” The preliminary approval correlates with his acceptance March 18. As long as there is nothing glaring in Honaker’s application, he’ll be accepted to UCLA. “The coaches for all the varsity teams put in who they want to recruit and bring in, and athletics and admissions work together,” Honaker said. “They look through everyone, and they make a decision on whether or not they will accept a certain student.” Being at 10600 Preston Rd. has brought both advantages and disadvantages during the recruitment process. One disadvantage for Honaker came because he lives in Texas. His games are not visited by coaches because they typically look for Californian and European players, so he has extra work reaching out to coaches. “My parents recorded every game I played in, and I’d sit there after and pick out highlights to put together and put on a YouTube channel to broadcast myself to those coaches because no coaches come to watch a Texas water polo game,” Honaker said. However, working with the school’s coaching staff has been extremely beneficial. Both coach Mihai Oprea and assistant coach Spencer Dornin used their connections to help Honaker practice and eventually get accepted to UCLA. Oprea helped Honaker find summer programs to practice and improve which has helped his credibility with schools. “I know coach Spencer, who played on the US National Team for quite a while, was roommates with the coach at UCLA,” Honaker said. “So [Dornin] called him and put in a good word for me. I think that might have pushed me over the edge.” After swimming in elementary school, Honaker eventually started water polo during sixth grade P.E. and found a passion for it. “I got a heart issue in sixth grade that meant I couldn’t run around and do sports on land at all,” Honaker said. “I sat in the water polo rotation for all P.E. during the third trimester, and I really enjoyed it.”

sports

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

ON BALL D Senior defender Blake Rogers defends Bryce Walker of the Westlake Chaps during the game on Feb. 23. The Lions lost the game by a score of 10-1.

GET SERVED Doing his typical pre-serve routine, junior Alex Piccagli gets ready to whip the ball across the court to his opponent during practice Feb. 27.

Lacrosse team looks to reload after second place

Led by seniors, tennis looking to end long drought

2018 RECORD 2-1

2018 RECORD 9-4

2017 RECORD 13-7

2018 SPC FINISH 2nd

FUN FACTS There are seven freshman on the team, including Ian Mize, James

Fults, Blake Molthan, Connor Duffy, Henry Schechter, Niles Harvey and Henry Piccagli

THEY SAID IT “We play in a 5A/6A league of schools that dwarf us in size and

play all year round. The only thing we can do is work as hard as we can, embrace the challenges, keep striving to be better each day and enjoy the ride.” – head coach

2018 SPC FINISH 2nd

NOTABLE The varsity tennis team is coached by Sana Cortais. Cortais is the only

female head coach among all varsity teams in the school.

THEY SAID IT “We lost a lot of good players, but we gained a lot of great players.

The new guys will make for a fun year, and we’re going to get better every day. We believe we can take SPC 2019. You heard it here first.” - senior Adnan Khan

Hayward Lee

FOLLOW THROUGH Senior Charlie Hubbard holds his follow through after launching a drive. Hubbard is one of several senior golfers.

Reliant on underclassman, golf team gets practicing JESUIT TOURNAMENT 9th of 22

2018 SPC FINISH 11th

FUN FACTS Two freshman are in the varsity “Top Five”: Mac McKenzie and Anashay Monga THEY SAID IT “It’s all about the mental game. Coming off a bad hole, you have to compose yourself and move on. Take it shot by shot. We all have to keep that in mind going into the first few tournaments of the year, especially since we have some young talent on the team this year.” - junior Tony D’Apice

BALL RAISED With laser focused eyes, junior James Schiao extends his arm out of the pool as he looks to take a shot on net during a team practice Feb. 27.

Water polo team ready to compete for another state title 2018 RECORD 14-3 NOTABLE The team has chosen Chase Honaker, Robert Newman, Mark Weisberg and Joe Lofgren as captains. THEY SAID IT “This year, we graduated no seniors, so we’re the same team. We addded a great class of freshmen. Overall, we’re a more experienced and tougher team ready to grind and win regionals and state.” — sophomore Aayan Khasgiwala COMPILATIONS Jack Davis, Aaron Thorne, Cooper Ribman, Colin Campbell PHOTOS Rohit Vemuri, Peter Malouf

sports

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

WARM UP Surging ahead of his teammates, senior Colton Barber leads the pack of sprinters for the track and field team, whose first meet was March 1 at Greenhill.

QUICK TOSS Torquing his body, junior Mason Rareshide, a shortstop and pitcher for the team, flings a toss to his teammate. His first game was Feb. 28 against Hillcrest.

Track team prepares for grueling season ahead

Baseball squad looks to return to SPC throne

NOTABLE LOSSES Seun Omonije, Daniel Garcia, Clay Morris

NOTABLE LOSSES Jimmy Rodriguez, Zach Landry, Reece Rabin

2018 SPC FINISH 3rd

THEY SAID IT “I’m really excited for the season. I know we have a strong group of returning members with lots of new faces. I’m glad we’re carrying on the culture, and we’re aiming for the SPC championship.”— sophomore Kit Colson FUN FACT The team, comprised of nearly 50 athletes, is slated to compete in 11 meets this season. These meets will take place around the state and include the annual BVU Invitational, where the middle school and varsity teams will compete Mar. 22 and 23.

2018 RECORD 9-9

2018 SPC FINISH Lost in quarterfinals to Kinkaid THEY SAID IT “After our first game of the season, we played hard but we still have things to work on. We gave up seven runs. Overall, I think we have a great shot this year at the SPC tournament.”— junior Mason Rareshide FUN FACT The team tied against Hillcrest by a score of 7-7.

COMPILATIONS Sid Sinha, Aaron Thorne PHOTOS Rohit Vemuri

For the sports junkie A deeper dive into Lions sports for the spring season. Statistics and records reflect games through March 2.

SMLAX ATTACK Junior Titus McGowan, senior John Burton, freshman ian Mize, junior Colin Campbell and junior Charlie Rose handle the ball during their game against Westlake Feb. 23.

THSLL lacrosse

SPC Baseball

Advanced stats:

Standings

1 cascade S Helmet 1 pair of shoulder pads 2 elbow pads 2 gloves 1 stick 1 mouthguard

The next five: Bishop’s School Cathedral Prep Coronado HS @ ESD Southlake

3/9 3/11 3/12 3/22 3/26

Goals vs. St. Andrew’s: Luke Evangelist 3 Henry Piccagli 3 Ryan Mccord 2 Lyle Ochs 2 Parker Clark 2 Titus McGowan 1 Niles Harvey 1 Connor Duffy 1 Colin Campbell 1 Ian Mize 1 Titus McGowan 1

North Zone: St. Mark’s Oakridge Cistercian Greenhill ESD Casady Trinity Valley FWCD

0-0 5-0 3-2 3-2 3-2 2-3 0-6 0-5

3/19 3/22 3/26 3/29 4/2

Advanced stats:

Notable single-game performances: Senior Daniel Mirochna went 2/3 with two doubles, one run scored and three RBI in the Lions’ tie against Hillcrest High School Feb. 28. .

SPC golf

SPC track and field

SPC crew

The next four:

The next three:

Coach Oprea’s player rankings

Parish

3/21

Trinity Valley

3/29

ESD and Greenhill

4/4

2/10

Texas Rowing 4/21 Championships

Eaton Eagle Invitational in Haslet, TX

3/17

Central District 5/5 Youth Championships

Chic-fil-a tournament 4/16 @ Squaw Creek

Texas Distance Carnival

3/17

USRowing National Championships

BVU day one

3/23

Advanced stats:

SPC tennis:

Results from the Jesuit Dallas Invitational on 2/25

SPC Records

Next 3:

1. Robert Newman 2. Joe Lofgren 3. Mark Weisberg

Volunteer relays @ Arlington

6/8

4. Odran Fitzgerald

The next five: THESA Cistercian @ Trinity Valley @ Greenhill @ Bishop Lynch

UIL water polo Advanced stats:

5. David Li 6. Lee Schlosser 7. Jack Palmer 8. Leo Ohannessian Goalies 1. Chase Honaker 2. James Carr 3. Ramsey Beard 4. Tim Weigman

Team

9th

Romil Mathur

Anashay Monga

Mac McKenzie

Camp Collins

100 Meter dash 10.57 1600 M Run 4:16.52 High Jump 6’ 9” Shot Put 58’ 4” Discus 178’ 9” Triple Jump 46’ 7.25” Long Jump 23’ 5.5” 200 M Dash 21.31 110 M Hurdles 14.22 300 M Hurdles 38.12

@ Houston Christian 3/23 @ John Cooper

3/24

@ FWCD

3/27

Advanced stats: 7 broken strings so far this season

remarker

the

WORKING HARD Sophomore Owen Goldberg hammers a nail during the Habitat for Humanity build Feb. 16. Students worked together with Hockaday students as a part of the community service project.

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

backpage

THE REMARKER • MARCH 8, 2019

SET CREW

Curtain call

Members of set crew talk about the challenges they will face and their experiences as they put on the show.

Jahaziel Lopez: What’s one way set crew has affected your life outside of working on plays? Senior Simon Unglaub: It gave me more of a purpose than anything. Just do something every single day four to six because I needed to have a sport anyways. In all honesty, I had too much time and this really just helped. It’s a huge time commitment, but I enjoy it. Also, the practical skills allowed me to help fix furniture that was broken before at home. JL: Has there been a time where you slipped up? Junior Judson Dommer: There are tons of times where I may activate a cue early on accident. Or a sound cue even, which is really bad because there’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a really intense scene and a boat horn comes over the loud speaker. That typically isn’t the greatest. Sometimes if I hit a cue off, I’ll try to end it as early as I can. Or fade it out really quickly so it doesn’t sound natural. But the lighting cues, sometimes I’ll hit a cue and lights just will come up for some reason. So I have to figure out what’s happening on the board, fix that on the fly. Luckily my shows have been pretty straight forward, not many mess ups. JL: What’s your best memory from set crew? Senior Alex Estrada: Freshman year because all of the seniors who were on set crew that year were super nice and welcoming. They made it really fun to do it, and they kept me coming back. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t still be doing this if it hadn’t been for how welcoming and fun they were at that time.

JL: Since some of the play will be outside, how will that make your job different? What are some of the logistics you might have to work around? SU: Well, it severely limits what props and other set design we can really use because it has to be transported in and out. We have to build around the fact that the amphitheater is not level ground, so we’re going to have to make a bunch of small platforms to balance things out. We also have to consider the risk of weather, in terms of what materials we can use. We can’t use paper mache because the rain will just destroy it. We’ve already decided on the sound, and we’re just going to use Bluetooth speakers rather than the big normal speakers we have. Lights are going to be a bit of an issue, in terms of setting them up obviously. The risk of rain means that we have to have our light and sound boards under cover. We also have to consider the fact that since

we don’t have any backstage, which will make all the scene changes difficult, so we’re trying to make as much of a static stage as possible. For props, we can’t really use heavy wood and we have to make sure they can fit through the doorways. JL: Do you have a funny story from being on crew? JD: Before we got the board that we have now, we had this big old light board. My first time programming cues ever, I programmed one cue that was fine. I programmed a second cue and it was fine. I programmed my third cue, and the board froze. I couldn’t do anything with it. I turned it off and on, the board was still frozen. Eventually, I realized it was just broken. I ripped it after programming three incredibly simple cues, and that was before the big show, so I was glad we were able to find a replacement. That was super stressful when I thought I killed the show. JL: Can you tell me what your job is, and what that entails? AE: I’ve switched on and off on this job. Simon and I, we’re both doing it because it’s such a big show. I’m a stage manager, and what that means is, I could either be in the shop, helping design and build the set, or I could be out with the actors. And what I basically do then is, I write down their directions, so if they ever forget or need to refer to me, I have that information for them, and they could ask me about it. I could tell them about it, just in case they forget while running scenes. I also work with [Tony Vintcent Fine Arts Department Chair Marion] Glorioso and do whatever else she needs me to do. JL: I know you guys have work nights, so what do you do on a typical work night? AE: It sort of varies because we always have a plan we need to fill, where we start off with design and then we end up progressing more toward the actual building. Painting happens at the end. It’s pretty straightforward, thinking about it in terms of the process, but we have to think about individual elements of the set. In the past, we had walls that we put up, and then we painted those, and we had furniture. This show’s a bit different since some of the show will be outside. JL: Are you excited or worried about the challenge of being outside? JD: A little bit of both. A bit worried about the new aspect of being outside, but excited about being able to be a part of such an amazing production. I am confident that everything is going to be fine.

1. TWO MAKES A TEAM Measuring some planks, the crew gets ready to work on the set. 2. NAILED IT Senior Simon Unglaub precisely drills in a nail into the mat of the black box.

3. LOCKED IN Junior Judson Dommer steadies a power tool before cutting wood. 4. BEHIND THE SCENES The crew plans out their next move as they start the building process. STORY Jahaziel Lopez PHOTOS Jahaziel Lopez

A REMARKER PUBLICATION | MARCH 2019

FOCUS A CULINARY LOOK AT WHERE WE COME FROM

Spanish instructor Jorge Correa prepares a traditional Chilean dish of Cuaranto over an open flame. See page 10 to read his story.

EDITORS Nathan Han Christopher Wang WRITERS Sam Ahmed Alam Alidina Colin Campbell Jack Davis Parker Davis Sahit Dendekuri Mateo Guevara Ishan Gupta Sam Goldfarb Rajan Joshi Kamal Mamdani Henry McElhaney Lyle Ochs Cristian Pereira Luke Piazza Robert Pou James Rogers Siddhartha Sinha Paul Sullivan Sai Thirunagari Aaron Thorne Sid Vattamreddy Tianming Xie PHOTOGRAPHERS Benjamin Hao Adnan Khan Will Rocchio Lee Schlosser Kyle Smith Rohit Vemuri FOCUS, a twice-yearly magazine supplement to the ReMarker focusing on a single topic, is a student publication of St. Mark’s School of Texas, 10600 Preston Road, Dallas, TX, 75230.

THE WAY THE BUTTER SPREADS T

ake a look around campus. Take a look at the student body. The faculty. The staff. And the many others who make 10600 Preston Rd. a second family for many of us. St. Mark’s is the single, unifying theme that connects all of us, yet we are all so different from one another. Each one of us has a different story to tell. Where our ancestors came from. Where we were born. Where we are now. Perhaps, even, where we will be. Our own unique narratives. The purpose of this magazine is to showcase the diversity of ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds within the school community through a traditionally-made dish that tells of a person’s, family’s or community’s journey. We featured nearly 20 unique culinary pieces graciously made by members of the St. Mark’s community. What makes food so special is the fact that it is universal — everyone understands food. And what makes it even more special is that even though food is in every corner of the world; there are so many remarkably different products using the same ingredients throughout the different cities, countries and continents. Food allows us to share our stories and cultures in an incredibly satisfying way. It’s uniform yet unique. There’s nothing quite like it. Our writers were graciously given profound glimpses into the many worlds that make up our campus through taste. From Texas chili to Hungarian chicken paprikash, we’ve been able to experience so many different dishes and cultures that all have one thing in common: their part in the community here at St. Mark’s, where a common goal of education unites us all. This magazine, however, doesn’t nearly do justice to fully displaying the incredible stories and backgrounds that individuals hold in our community. We know that we unfortunately left many out — in that sense, we apologize if we didn’t get the opportunity to share your story. Consider this as an appetizer for the main plate that is the community at 10600 Preston Rd.

— NATHAN HAN, CHRISTOPHER WANG EDITORS

THE AMERICAS

07 Second grader Dax Kane Hawaiian plate lunch 08 Sophomore Drew Woodward Texan chili con carne 09 Spanish instructor Teri Jellad Puerto Rican asopao de gandules 10 Spanish instructor Jorge Correa Chilean dish curanto 11 Spanish instructor Eslendy Noble Colombian Arepas 12 Orchestra director Sarah Choi Canadian Poutine

ASIA

14 Sophomore Andrew Nuth Cambodian feast 16 Senior Darius Ganji Persian saffron rice cake 18 Sophomore Daniel Wu Family Chinese restaurant 19 Junior Matthew Raroque Filipino kare-kare 20 Chinese instructor Janet Lin Taiwanese pork ribs

AFRICA

22 Junior Odran Fitzgerald Togolese fufu 24 The Omonije family Nigerian fried dodo 25 Sixth grader Sam Light South African bobotie

EUROPE

27 Senior Kristof Csaky Hungarian chicken paprikash 28 Third grader Taki Economou Greek lamb dishes 29 The Alfalahi family Timman bagilla 30 Headmaster David Dini Family Italian restaurant

RECIPES To view recipes discussed in each of these stories, visit our website: www.smtexas.org/FocusRecipes There, you will find coverage of each family’s recipes for the dishes contained herein.

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?

Diversity in the school’s cafeteria meals has been a priority for SAGE Executive Chef Marshall Garrett — just as it is for the school and Director of Admission David Baker.

o matter where they come from, all Marksmen share the same meal every school day: lunch. Lower schoolers race each other to be first in line. Middle schoolers eat quick to leave enough time to play on the quad or the back field. Upper schoolers grab box lunches on their way to meetings with teachers. But no matter where they are on campus between 10:45 and 1:25, every student eats the same lunch. Culinary traditions from all over the world inspire each meal — which creates not only good food, but also a reflection of diversity on campus. ••• In the summer of 2017, Executive Chef Marshall Garrett joined the school community as SAGE Dining Services became the school’s food service provider. Garrett first joined SAGE at Wilson College in Chambersburg,

Pennsylvania in 2012. As the sous chef, he worked there for two years until he found a management opportunity at the all-boys Blue Ridge School in Charlottesville, Virginia. And three years later, he moved south to Dallas. “Every school has a certain amount of pressure with an outside caterer coming in,” Garrett said. “St. Mark’s had been a sought-after school for a long time.” Starting at the school, Garrett recognized the concern about what would happen to the community’s favorites, like Indian food day and Chef Howard’s Pot Pie. But each SAGE location has the creative freedom to design their own menu, and this built-in flexibility lets Garrett and his team adapt to the unique tastes of the community here. “We, as the chefs, get to tailor our own menus as we see fit,” Garrett said. “We have a recipe da-

tabase, where we have thousands and thousands of recipes that we can pull from. And if we have a meal like Howard’s famous chicken pot pie, we can submit it to the home office and have it added.” For Garrett, SAGE’s main priority is making the school fresh food prepared from scratch by the chefs every day, no matter what cuisine they’re serving. “That can be sloppy joes, but it’s going to be done from scratch,” Garrett said. “It’s going to be fresh and we’re not opening cans and opening bags of product full of chemicals.” But having worked at multiple schools over many years, Garrett has also noticed that on top of cooking fresh food, making food from diverse cultural backgrounds has grown increasingly important. “Ethnic food is becoming more popular year to year as private schools branch out into other countries,” Garrett said. “Latin and Indian foods are becoming

especially popular around the country. Here, Asian and Mexican are consistently on top.” Garrett’s watched what the students like and don’t like, and he takes those observations into account when choosing what goes on the menu any certain day, but there are also other factors that get taken into consideration. “Knowing how diverse our community is, all information as far as ethnicity is concerned is welcome and it definitely plays a factor,” Garrett said. “It helps us get it right.”

or Director of Admission David Baker, the term “diversity” is a loaded one–and one surrounded by many misconceptions. He considers ethnicity to be one small part of the complex concept of diversity. Socioeconomic background, previous life experiences and many other factors play just as much of a role. But in terms of ethnicity,

Responsible for the day-to-day cooking in the school cafeteria, SAGE Executive Chef Marshall Garrett considers creating a diversity of food choices a priority for the kitchen.

Baker notices there has been great progress made throughout the decades. He doesn’t attribute the growth to himself or any other person, but rather the entire school. “In the late ’90s, early 2000s, the percentage of students who were not Caucasian was around 20 percent,” Baker said. “Now, it’s about 46 percent. And that’s over a 20-year period of time.” Although that’s a big achievement according to Baker, he’s not so focused on the numbers. He’s much more concerned with creating a dynamic campus environment. “Diversity to us has a much broader meaning,” Baker said. “We are striving to facilitate great conversations: transformative conversations. It really is that simple.” “The diversity of this community is its strength. We draw power from our individuals, places and perspectives.” - Director of Admission David Baker And those conversations are the essence of a Marksman’s education, according to Baker. “The best conversations are those in which a variety of perspectives and contexts are presented and are a part of the conversation in the room,” Baker said. Baker believes that to create a good dialogue, the Admissions Office must admit applicants with diverse thoughts and stories. “If you take a whole bunch of people who all think exactly alike,” Baker said, “have the same points of view, eat at the same restaurant and do all same things, there’s not going to be a lot of innovation. The generation of ideas is going to be substantially narrower in that room.” Creating a variety of thought

in the school’s classrooms doesn’t necessarily have to do with ethnicity. According to Baker, diversity is an all-encompassing term with many different subsets. “To me, it is every bit as important that you are sitting next to a young man who is from a different socioeconomic background than you,” Baker said. “I don’t distinguish between any of the things that we would call diversity. The whole universe of diversity is important to me.” Although the Admissions Office does have methods they use to ensure they’re reaching a large amount of families internationally, at the end of the day Baker believes the school’s prestige makes a big difference. “The fastest way to make sure that you have a diverse pool of applicants from which a diverse class will naturally come is to have a great school the people want to come to,” Baker said. “That’s the way we approach it.” But regardless of the diversity — the socioeconomic, religious, personality and ethnic differences in the community — Baker sees our identity as Marksmen as the most important. “[People] tend to segment guys into different groups, artificially,” Baker said. “But the last time I looked, you’re all Lions. I was there when you got in, so I know it. You’re Lions.”

STORY Ishan Gupta, Sam Goldfarb PHOTOS Will Rocchio

WHO WE ARE Ethnic diversity on campus

percent growth of the number of students of color in the past ten years

percent of St. Mark’s students are students of color

percent of St. Mark’s students identify as Asian-American

foreign countries the school received applications from

percent of St. Mark’s students identify as African-American

percent of St. Mark’s students identify as Latino or Hispanic

AMERICAS Dax Kane | Hawaii

Drew Woodward | Texas Teri Jellad | Puerto Rico Jorge Correa | Chile Eslendy Noble | Colombia

daughter has shown them just how little the typical U.S. education teaches about Hawaii. The state has, they say, a history that is worth studying, if for no other reason than to better understand the wide variety of cultures present across the U.S. The Kanes believe that same lack of understanding contributes to the image of Hawaii as a flawless tourist destination where the entire economy revolves around beaches and hotels. But that is not the reality many like Simon see. One of Hawaii’s most crippling problems is poverty. As an issue unacknowledged in the contiguous 48 states, addressing it properly will take much more attention from people in positions of power. While that change might not come today or tomorrow, the Kanes hope that, by continuing on a tradition that is slowly dying out, they can do their part to ensure Hawaiian culture continues to spread, spreading with it the trials Hawaiians face on a daily basis, stuck nearly 5,000 miles away from their capital city. STORY Parker Davis, Rajan Joshi PHOTOS Parker Davis, Courtesy Simon Kane

HAWAII 10

percent

of current Hawaii residents identify as Hawaiian or Pacific islander.

percent

HAWAII

right. Long grain rice, easily found in Latin American or European cooking traditions, is almost traitorous. Anyone who finds themselves indulging in long grain rice is not a true Hawaiian. ••• THE KANE FAMILY Hawaii, which has a rich cultural past Hoping to keep in touch with rivaling that of many nations, had a long their Hawaiian roots, traditional history as a recognized nation of its own before being annexed by the U.S. in the late island cuisine is a staple in the 20th century. Kane household. Originally settled by other Pacific Islanders, Hawaii’s food, people and culture grew largely undisturbed from the first human settlement until the Kingdom of Hawai‘i was overthrown in 1893. And that sudden change from traditional to Western rule has left many native Hawaiians hoping to preserve elements of their past as long as possible. Since he was born, second grader Dax Kane has found Hawaiian food and history to be as big a part of his life as the typical American staples. His father, Simon Kane, was born and raised in Hawaii, living there through college all the way until his mid-twenties, when he moved to California and met his now wife, Carli Kane. Since his kids were born, Simon has worked tirelessly to instill in them an appreciation and affinity for all aspects of Hawaii he can show them in Dallas. One of many of those aspects is the food. “I think [Hawaiian food] is all he really knows,” Carli said. “But he does it really well.” Food has become a key piece of how the PLATE LUNCH The traditional Hawaiian plate lunch, family keeps in touch with their Hawaiian consisting of kalua pork, steamed short grain rice roots, especially as living nearly 4,000 miles and macaroni salad, garnished with cabbage. from the state prevents them from returning on a regular basis. While everyone in the ften, the culture — and the food — family has a different favorite dish, many of of Hawaii is stereotyped down to the the most popular revolve around the plate luau, a traditional party in which a lunch. Macaroni salad was even a feature of large, roast pig is prepared over hot coals their most recent Thanksgiving meal. and presented with near endless accompa“Plate lunches, I mean, that’s the thing,” niments. But that tradition, used and abused Simon said. “Hawaiian food has some for decades to impress tourists to anAmericontemporary and traditional, and they’re canized Pacific island, is far from the norm really more of the contemporary, but they’re and the truth. all over.” To be Hawaiian is to know the plate For the Kane family, the plate lunch can lunch. It’s a very simple meal, but is a staple serve of a symbol of an underrepresented, of contemporary Hawaiian tradition and largely unappreciated culture, that of the life. Three elements are key. original Hawaiian people. The Kanes — First is a protein. Whether it’s a short rib similar to many other native Hawaiians, nadish adapted long ago from Korean traditive-focused institutions tion, the Japanese-inspired chicken katsu or and Hawaiian legislators the long-Hawaiian kalua pig. — believe the image of Second comes the macaroni salad, the true Hawaiian culture obligatory elbow pasta topped with a very has been taken over by light mayonnaise-esque sauce sprinkled a somewhat misleading with a few vegetables. one chiefly as a result of Last and most importantly, comes the tourism. And just like rice. The unit of measurement is the scoop, many of those people, usually one for the average eater and two they are doing their small for those looking to go a little bigger. But piece to help preserve it. the kicker is simple. It has to be short grain Beyond the food, the — commonly referred to as “sticky” — rice, two have found diving another nod to the true Hawaiian culinary into Hawaiian culture culture, firmly rooted in that of nations with Dax and their all over East Asia, but unique in its own

the percentage of Hawaiians living in poverty in 2015

SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

THE FAMILY The Kane family poses for a photo near the water. Simon moved to the mainland U.S. just after college.

TEXAS

THE WOODWARD FAMILY Traditional Chile con carne is a generational favorite in the Woodward household, who came to Texas in the late 1600s.

h, she’s one of those, is she? exclaims the great-grandmother of sophomore Drew Woodward. Upon meeting her grandson’s girlfriend, the Albany, Texas native has a hard time grasping the young lady’s vegetarian and low-fat diet. When dinner time comes, granny’s take of what a vegetarian meal looks like: a bowl of cauliflower, drenched in butter and garnished with bacon. “It wasn’t chicken fried steak, so therefore it was healthy and vegetarian,” said Melinda Woodward, Drew’s mother and the recipient of the West Texan spin on a healthy meal. Melinda eventually married into the family, and, in doing so, the marriage united two families with strong American and Texan roots. Melinda’s family came to the United States from Ireland in the 1670s. Not too long after, the family of Drew’s father, Andrew Woodward, settled in Texas. “Our family is out near Albany, Texas, which is about two and a half hours from here,” he said. “In the 1860s there was a military fort called Fort Griffin, which was put out there to protect against Indians and things like that. It was on the flat ground underneath a hill where a town was, which was a traditional old west town with saloons and stuff. It’s what you imagine an old west town would be … Our family ranch is on Maine street of

that town.” Despite centuries old connections to locations all across the country, the entire Woodward family came to a resounding agreement that they feel like they are Texans first and Americans second. “We’re Americans, and we’re all proud of that, but my feeling is that when you have roots in Texas, your family goes back in Texas and you grew up here, there’s a certain pride that Texans have that’s different than any other state,” Andrew said. “The history that we’ve got are a lot to be proud of.” There is an outdoor musical called “Fandangle” that celebrates the history of Albany each year. It has been running for 81 years. For Melinda and her family, it allows them to remember the history of the town where their family ranch is located. Members of the family have even participated in it. “The town where the ranch is has a lot of pride in the settling of that part of the country,” Melinda said. “We know so much about how that land was settled and our family is part of that history. We’re very tied to it, still. There’s a big festival every year celebrating the settlement of that part of the country.” For the Woodwards, beef and chili are perfect representations of life on the ranch, where the family likes to hunt, fish, spend

time outside, relax with family and watch Texas sunsets. “We spend a lot of time at the family ranch out in Albany, Texas, which is in West Texas,” Melinda said. “We eat a lot of beef. They have a cattle ranch out there. Chili represents what the ranch and our time out there feels like. It felt like a good representation of our family.” To the family, cooking meat too much is somewhat of a crime. “We don’t trust people who cook their steak too much,” Melinda said. Drew’s grandfather, Cliff Teinert, cooks for the family while they are out there. “He’s a really good cook,” Drew said. “Whenever we go out there, he makes steak, chicken, or just some really good country food.” This past fall, the Woodward family hosted junior exchange student Lachezar Hadzhigenov. Thanks in large part to food, he quickly assimilated into the Texan culture. “He likes food and he’s very adventurous and willing to try anything,” Melinda said. “It was fun to take him around town to all of our favorite restaurants and cook for him.” Keeping up with their family and the culture of Albany through food, the Woodwards are constantly reminded of their strong Texan ties. “We have a lot of opportunities to remember and celebrate the roots that we have here that we don’t have as much for all of America,” Melinda said. “So we just think about Texas a lot and why we’re here and what we love about it.”

BARBECUE, BISCUITS & BEANS Sophomore Drew Woodward’s grandfather published a cookbook of traditional family Texan recipes.

STORY Colin Campbell, Eric Yoo PHOTOS Nathan Han PICTURED Chile con carne

FAMILY HISTORY Both sides of sophomore Drew Woodward’s family settled in America and Texas several centuries ago.

PUERTO RICO SPANISH INSTRUCTOR TERI JELLAD Composed of beans, bell peppers and onions, Asopao de gandules is a Puerto Rican staple.

oaking the beans overnight. Dicing the bell peppers. Slicing the onions. As Spanish instructor Teri Jellad goes through the long and tedious process of making the traditional Puerto Rican dish, asopao de gandules, she’s reminded of the past. She’s reminded of her family coming together on Christmas nights and enjoying the dish. She’s reminded of a different culture, one of conviviality and togetherness. She’s reminded of home.

•••

When Jellad left Puerto Rico for America over 30 years ago, she didn’t want to stay in the states for long. After a second masters degree in library science, she was ready to get back home to Puerto Rico, but things changed. “There was a job in the oil industry. It was a job as the consultant for a company, and I applied, but I had no experience whatsoever,” Jellad said. “I didn’t know enough English. I didn’t know geology, and I was going to work with geologists.” Although she didn’t have the credentials, Jellad got the job and stayed with the company for nine years, but after she left the company and met her husband, her life became different. “I became a full-time mom here in Plano,” Jellad said. “A couple of years after that, when [my kids] started going to school, I became a library assistant.” After Jellad’s time with the library, she moved with her family to Bainbridge Island in Seattle, where she became teacher. Eventually, she moved back to Texas and joined the school’s community in August 2016. Nevertheless, Jellad’s familiarity with the Dallas area didn’t help her transition

from Seattle to Dallas. “When I moved to Texas, I spent two years crying,” Jellad said. “It was a culture shock. There are some things you learn as a human being that you don’t realize you have. I had a lot of issues here, especially in social parties.” Eventually, Jellad found herself being able to be reminded of Puerto Rico through food, using it as a medium to relive her favorite times back home. “For me, it just brings memories from home,” Jellad said. “Obviously, the smells of the kitchen, bring your memories of your parents, the people who used to be with you.” Beyond food, Jellad appreciates the Caribbean culture, especially how it blends cultures from various parts of the world. “We have a combination of people from Venezuela, Colombia, and Africa,” Jellad said. “The African culture is very musical. A lot of the music and dancing is very lively, so [being energetic] is who I am.” Always having a passion to cook, Jellad has also learned new dishes and even combined traditional Puerto Rican meals to make new family favorites, working off pure instinct and experience. “There are some things that I just learn because I see other people cooking,” Jellad said. “I learned it from the family. We just learned it from scratch because it’s part of who we are. You don’t have to follow a recipe or anything like that. If I want to cook something from Puerto Rico, I usually find out how do you make this a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and you just do it, you don’t have measurements or anything like that.” After marrying her husband, who is from Lebanon,

FAMILY TIME Jellad and her husband prepare for a hearty Puerto Rican meal of asopao de gandules and fried plantains as they set the table before dinner.

FINISHED PRODUCT After cooking for over an hour, Jellad’s dish is finally ready. Jellad also began to learn how to cook Middle Eastern food. And just like she combines food from her homeland, she also tries combinations of Lebanese food and Puerto Rican food. “My mother-in-law taught me how to cook a lot of Lebanese food,” Jellad said. “I had to use

STORY Sid Vattamreddy, Siddartha Sinha PHOTOS Sid Vattamreddy

MASTER CHEF Jellad slices up a plantain before frying it in a pan.

a book and write down whatever she told me because she will change the recipe. Eventually, I learned how, but not like her.” Ultimately, Jellad thinks food and culture as a whole is one of the most important things in the lives of both her and her family members, and it’s

their collective duties to continue the tradition. “For me, food is a connection,” Jellad said. “There are some things [my kids] like, and some things they don’t. I saw it was important to preserve both of the [Puerto Rican and Lebanese] cultures, so they grew up eating tabbouleh and tostones.”

CHILE

SPANISH INSTRUCTOR JORGE CORREA

An assortment of red meats, seafood and vegetables, the traditional Chilean dish Curanto is cooked over an open fire.

SIZZLING HOT While the food cooks, Correa (left) recounts his journey from Chile to America. Cooking a wide variety of beef, pork, chicken and seafood into the pan (above), Correa waits until the meat is simmering a golden brown color.

uring a cold winter night under the stars, Spanish instructor Jorge Correa sits around the oval shaped metal disk containing a stew of different meats, seafood and vegetables, prodding at the embers and checking to see if the food is ready. Conversation ensues. The only distraction for his family is from the barking coming from one of his dogs. No cellphones, no television. Just the company of his family. For Correa, making Curanto not only reminds him of his Chilean roots but also ways of bringing family together. ••• Before coming to the United States in 1999, Correa dreamed of leaving Chile and exploring the world. “There are two different types of people in the world, the type that stay in one place for their whole life and then there are the other type, the people who are always moving,” Correa said. “That is the way that it used to be. I was in high school and I was trying to go somewhere. I was looking in foreign magazines all the time.” After receiving an offer to move to New Orleans so he and his wife could teach Spanish and French, Correa began to think of a life outside of his home country. Moving to a new country and starting a new life with his four children and only six suitcases, the Correas were ready for the new challenge. When the program ended, Correa’s wife found a job at Hockaday as a Spanish teacher, and Correa soon followed suit and joined the faculty at 10600 Preston Rd. He’s now in his 20th year here. Correa’s first memories of eating the Chilean

dish go all the way back to his childhood when his parents used to make it for him. “The first time I had this when I was a kid, and my parents first started making it and then I learned how to do it,” Correa said. “In Chile, this is really the dish you make at a tailgate. I don’t really know how to make anything inside, but I know how to make this outside. When there is fire and company, we make this.” The roots of Curanto originate from when farmers used to make it by using a piece of the plow to help cook their dinner. “This disc is what you get from a plow, so people didn’t have to go anywhere,” Correa said. “They used the same part of a machine to cook with. I went to college in the south and people used to make this all the time.” Although Correa’s four children never learned how to make the authentic dish, he wants them to be able to so they can continue the tradition. “I don’t think they have ever made this, but I think they should,” Correa said. “It is not complicated. Like everything people do, you want it to have an authentic and specific flavor. It is just a mixture of all kinds of meat and potatoes like this” For Correa, part of the reason he continues to make the dish is to continue his Chilean culture and remember his roots. “There are many people who forget,” Correa said. “Fifty years from now, some relative of mine maybe will never know where I, his grandfather, came from. If [relatives] are important to you then

STORY Sam Ahmed, Sid Vattamreddy, Aaron Thorne

you should know about that.“ Correa always looks forward to cooking the dish because it allows him to be able to spend quality time with his family. “It is something we can all do together, and since we have to wait for it to cook, we are forced to talk,” Correa said. “The big event is when the family gets together. It is getting the whole family together and making the time to make that happen because otherwise it doesn’t happen naturally with the schedules. Food really does bring people together, but it is different when it is inside because people are on their phones and some are watching TV — when they are out here this is it.” While the traditional Curanto is irreplicable, Correa continues to make it to reconnect with his culture. “It is like re-creating something that happens over there and trying to bring it here, it is not exactly the same but it is a way of reminiscing. I feel a connection to it, and that reminds me of Chile,” Correa said. “It reminds you of something that you have been doing all your life, because it has been 24 years here.” As Correa says, preserving the culture he grew up in helps him to not only remember his past, but also shape his future. “It’s important to never forget where you come from because having that understanding molds your decisions,” Correa said. “In many ways, we bring pictures or photographs or things like that. There are many things in my house that have that meaning. That’s where the roots are It is the smell, the taste, it is the things that you do with all your senses.” PHOTOS Benjamin Hao PICTURED Curanto

COLOMBIA

SPANISH INSTRUCTOR ESLENDY NOBLE Arepas aren’t too complicated — any sort of filling in a baked white corn shell. Their simplicity makes them a Latin-American staple.

classic staple for everyone who lives in Colombia, Venezuela and the Preston and Royal area. Arepas are a Latin American multitool. Almost anything can go in the folded-over corn flour shell (always harina de maíz blanca, white corn), but it varies from region to region. In Venezuela, anything goes: meats, veggies, frijoles and plátano bananas are all fair game — Arepas, TX right down the road follows this custom. In Colombia, simple queso blanco is the tradition. For Eslendy Noble, fourth grade Spanish instructor and Bogotá, Colombia native, the taste of a gooey, cheesy arepa is the taste of her childhood. “I remember the feeling of an arepa fresh from the oven,” Noble said. “It would be warm, and you’d bite into it and and the cheese would keep going and going.” Arepas have no true American analogue — comparing them to hamburgers or pancakes wouldn’t do justice to the versatility of the dish. “We would eat them at breakfast, at lunch, even as a snack between meals,” Noble said. “In the summer or in the winter — it didn’t matter. People would always be selling them from street carts like hot dogs in New York.” During the summer, no arepa could be consumed alone — a bottle or can of Postobón Manzana, an apple-flavored soda, always went along. “Postobón was always my favorite when it was hot out,” Noble said. “We always got it in a bottle — for some reason, it tastes better that way.” With a flavor that started like apple and finished almost like a cherry popsicle, the cool, sticky-sweet soda contrasted perfectly with the hot, salty arepa. The logic of Noble’s combination was unavoidable. In Colombia, arepas are commonly paired

with another drink — chocolate, spiced hot chocolate. Piping-hot milk, real cocoa, cinnamon and clove go into the drink, never water. “Bogotá is very cold, since it’s high up in the mountains,” Noble said. “So every day in the afternoon, there was chocolate time in Bogotá.” Everyone in city would take a break in the afternoon for a steaming mug of cocoa and and an arepa — almost like English tea and biscuits at teatime. “Between 3:00 and 4:00, my mother would make us chocolate,” Noble said, “not from a packet like you have here, but real chocolate with foam on the top, and clavo and canela and chiles. Most of the time, we’d have that with an arepa.” A global citizen, Noble has lived and worked on three continents. But no matter where she goes, her Colombian roots stay with her. “When I studied back in Colombia, my bachelor’s degree was in languages, English and French,” Noble said. “I applied for an exchange teacher program that sent me to teach Spanish in Minnesota for ten years.” Though she enjoyed her time in the states, Noble wanted to keep exploring. “So I lived ten years in Minnesota, and oh my God, I was so happy,” Noble said. “And of course, I did come back to the U.S. But I went to live in Europe for ten years.” Her travels took her to France, Israel and Austria, where she also learned German. But the States called her back. “I moved back here because I didn’t like any place else the same way,” Noble said. “I always dreamed to come back. The same company that helped me in Europe helped me in Colombia to come back.” But her urge to get moving again caught up to her as she finished her citizenship process. “I was getting tired of the cold in Minnesota, and I found St. Mark’s 17 years ago,” Noble said. “It was only supposed to be for five years,

NEW HOME Noble shares her stories from homes around the world from one of her favorite places in the world — her fourth-grade Spanish classroom.

because, you know, I love to travel.” But something about this school caused her to stay. “I got to this place and I saw the boys,” Noble said, “and I had that feeling that this was the place I wanted to be. I love my boys, love them. And I’m passionate about teaching my language and my culture.” Having seen so much of the world, Noble understands the powerful connections food creates across and within cultures. “Food is something everyone can understand, no matter what language you speak,” Noble said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from, Colombia or Venezuela or the United States.” As Noble knows, food is a universal language — and everyone can understand an arepa.

FILLED UP While traditional Colombian arepas are filled only with cheese, Venezuelan tradition is slightly different: if it’s food, it can go in an arepa. Pork and plátano, beef and queso, or chicken, avocado and veggies can all be found between the white corn shell. STORYSam Goldfarb, Henry McElhaney PHOTOS Lee Schlosser

CANADA

ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR SARAH CHOI Orchestra director Sarah Choi’s parents come from Korea. Choi herself is Canadian. Her kids are American. The struggle for Choi? What parts of her past to pass down to the next generation.

rchestra director Dr. Sarah Choi is Canadian. Self-proclaimed 100 percent Canadian. Her last name and her ancestors might have come from Korea, but Choi says she couldn’t pick out any extended family from a police roundup. Choi might’ve lived the majority of her life in America, in various cities from New York to San Francisco to Dallas, but she still calls Canada home. “The only time I ever visited [Korea], I actually got kicked out of a building,” Choi said. “The security guard was yelling at me and I couldn’t understand him so me and my friends got kicked out.” When asked to name a favorite Canadian dish, Choi mentioned poutine, a dish originated from Quebec consisting of french fries and cheese curds topped with gravy. “Cooking is just not my thing,” Choi said. “Food just isn’t something I care about a lot or make

a big deal about. I’ll eat almost anything you put in front of me.” ••• Choi was born and raised in Toronto to two Korean parents, who she credits with her knowledge of Korean and familiarity with Korean food. “I grew up eating a lot of Korean food,” Choi said. “It’s kind of like comfort food for me — but I don’t particularly have a favorite Korean dish or remember anything really strongly.” Then, at the age of 18, she moved to New York, then San Francisco and now Dallas. It’s been quite the journey for Choi, who joined the school this fall as an interim orchestra director. But through all of the moves, Canada has always held a special place in her heart. “I was born and raised in Canada,” Choi said,” and I would still call Canada home.” Just like many of the students here are first-generation Americans, Choi is a first-gener-

ation Canadian. But just as her parents came to Canada from Korea, Choi’s children will also be first-generation Americans. And just like her parents, Choi is trying to pass down her heritage from parts of Canada and Korea to her children as well. “That’s why I bring my family back to Canada every summer,” Choi said. “It’s partly visiting family, but it’s also about teaching them about Canada and Toronto and how life is over there.” “I feel a little regret that I don’t know my Korean past that well, yes, but at the end of the day, I’m proud of my connection to Canada and I’ve embraced that.”

— Sarah Choi

The issue? Balancing her Korean, Canadian, and her husband’s heritage, as well.

“My husband is Chinese and I’m Korean,” Choi said. “So all [the Korean] they know is basic phrases. Instead, they’re working on their Chinese more.” And even if her kids already know English, there’s still much more to be learned about Canada and the culture in Toronto. “There’s a lot of differences between [Canada] and America,” Choi said. “It’s just a big culture difference — just like there’s a big culture difference between Texas and New York, there’s a big difference in how people act and living in Canada versus America.” Like poutine, which Choi said she makes sure to eat with the family everytime they visit. While her Canadian roots may be strong, Choi doesn’t particularly identify with her Korean roots as strongly. “I feel a little regret,” Choi said, “about that ,yes, but at the end of the day, I’ve proud of my connection to Canada and I’ve embraced it.”

STORY Nathan Han, Cristian Pereira PHOTOS Courtesy Sarah Choi

FAMILY COMES FIRST Orchestra director Sarah Choi, pictured alongside her husband and her three kids, has always called Canada home.

CANADA DAY Extended family members of orchestra director Sarah Choi celebrate Canada Day.

CAMBODIA THE NUTH FAMILY

Reconnecting with before: that’s why they prepare this meal.

e tries not to dwell on his past. A past riddled with sounds of gunshots. A past marred by the death of his youngest brother. A past wasted away in the Khmer Rouge’s labor camps in Cambodia. But Pithou Nuth, father of sophomore Andrew Nuth, still tries to reminisce of a time before everything went wrong. From beef salad to amok soup, food is his tool to reconnect with memories of him and his family gathered around the dinner table. Memories of lazy summer Sundays spent playing with his four brothers in the field. Memories of his father’s warm embrace. For Pithou, food is a way to remember. ••• Led by the ruthless Pol Pot, the Cambodian communists known as the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. They forced the people in cities to evacuate and work in rice fields in the name of agricultural reform and reeducation, eventually executing professionals, intellectuals and any suspected affiliates with the former government. “They don’t believe in the family structure,” Pithou said, “so they separate the men from the women and women from the children. And they abolished currency, they abolished religion, they abolished pretty much anything that society would have.” Fleeing from the Khmer Rouge forces, Pithou’s family retreated to a rural village near Phnom Penh, but his father, a pilot in the Cambodian air force, decided to return to the capital to help the new government. Pithou never saw him again. Transferred from labor camp to labor camp, the next four years of Pithou’s life were a blur of endless days and hungry nights. Pithou’s grandparents and youngest brother eventually died from starvation and sickness. He didn’t even have time to grieve. “You kind of [have a] ‘well, I’m next so who care[s]’ attitude,” Pithou said, “because

you didn’t have anything to eat, you didn’t have anything, you have to work, you have to do all that stuff. So you never really take the time to grieve properly like probably some people would do. When your brother pass[es] away, it’s a blessing for us because they don’t suffer anymore. He was literally bone and skinny, and we had to shave his head.” But, in 1979, Pithou’s family was finally liberated, as the Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia and defeated the Khmer Rouge regime. After making it to a refugee camp established by the Red Cross and UNICEF at the Thai-Cambodian border, one thing led to another, and eventually, the Catholic Diocese of Dallas sponsored Pithou’s family to immigrate to the United States in 1981.

“Fortunately, since my dad was associated with, I guess, the U.S. Air Force because he was in the Cambodian air force,” Pithou said, “so we got the kind of priority. So they say if you have any connection with the U.S. government you can get the priority to come.” It’s been 38 years since Pithou emigrated to the United States. And for Pithou, cooking Cambodian food is a way for him to reconnect with his culture that he left behind. “Because of that [Khmer Rouge] period and all of the oppression and labor camps,” Pithou said, “they didn’t provide us with food, so they could starve us to death, because that’s what they wanted to do. Certain [foods] remind us of that time, one of these things being raw spinach. We survived with that because we didn’t have any other stuff.” Because of the difficulties in making a full Cambodian meal, the Nuths only cook these recipes about once a month.

STORY Sahit Dendekuri, James Rogers PHOTOS Lee Schlosser

“When you cook, you can see it’s too much sometimes and for us,” Nuth said, “in a way, we’re kind of lazy. When you cook, it takes time to do. [The kids] also don’t like it too much.”

Pithou acknowledges the shift in his cooking style and tastes after living in America for such a long time. “For us we sort of “Americanize, so we don’t use all of the rice,” Pithou said. “I came over when I was 14, but I went to school and you kind of get used to that cafeteria food or food for four years right, and then no one cooked because we didn’t have Cambodian food.” Pithou’s adoption of Americanized food coincides with his acceptance and appreciation for American culture and the American Dream. “I don’t dwell on the past,” Pithou said. “That’s kind of one good thing about who I am because I have a really sad, kind of horrific childhood. What this country has done is that it has afforded me opportunities. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of us Cambodian refugees are successful. A lot of them are still in hardship because they were in the wrong place. I consider myself lucky. What this country has done is that it has helped me achieve the American dream.” Despite being a refugee and understanding the importance of immigrants, he does not believe in opening our borders to just anyone. “I don’t have any qualms about refugees that come here legally,” Pithou siad. “But I do for those who come illegally. I know we have the right and left, but just have common sense. The world has changed, you can’t just open the borders for everyone.” Looking back, Pithou is grateful for all the opportunities granted to him in the United States. “I am blessed to call myself an American,” Pithou said. “I pinch myself sometimes with Andrew and my daughter. I always say feel blessed to be where you are at. Take advantage of it.”

1. LAYED OUT Before preparing the meal, the Nuth family shows off the raw ingredients. 2.MIXING IT IN Pithou Nuth mixes the beef in with the limebased seasoning. 3. BLENDER-READY Sinna Nuth prepares the broth for the Fuzzy Squash soup by blending the ingredients together to make a smooth paste. 4. FAMILY TIME From left to right, Sinna, Pithou and Andrew Nuth sit in anticipation of the feast that lies ahead. 5. FISHY BUSINESS Pithou Nuth labels an amok dish with red snapper into a lemongrasslined bowl. 6. BEST FOR LAST The Durian Custard is baked then served on top of sticky rice. 7. FINISHED PRODUCT Once done, the dish is left to boil. 8. INTENSE PREPARATION The Nuths only cook a full Cambodian meal once a month because of the difficulty.

IRAN

THE GANJI FAMILY Their lives were forever changed by the Iranian Revolution. But senior Darius Ganji’s parents and their families persevered.

arab “Rob” Ganji’s father had a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a PhD and had done postdoctoral work. He had worked for the U.N., almost becoming secretary general. He had been the dean of the law school of Tehran University, advisor to the Iranian prime minister and minister of education in Iran. Now, with everything but his education lost, he was starting from scratch. ••• Darab’s father didn’t expect to be going back to Iran. Until that point, he had lived an almost entirely western life after he had left Iran to study in the U.S. “[My father] went to the University of Kentucky, got his bachelor’s and his master’s,” Darab said. “Then he went to Geneva International and got his PhD in international law and human rights. Then, he went to Cambridge and got his postdoc in International Law and Human Rights, and then the United Nations offered him a job in New York.” Things at the U.N. were going well, to the point where Darab’s father was a contender to the position of secretary general of the U.N. But now, he had to return to Iran. “My mother came from a political family and her cousin was prime minister of Iran in the 1960’s under the Shah,” Darab said. “The fundamentalist Muslims assassinated him in front of he Parliament.” Darab’s parents only planned on returning for the funeral, but Darab’s father soon realized Iran wanted him to stay. “Everyone approached my dad,” Darab said. “They said, ‘Why don’t you come back to Iran – you can do what you want to do in Iran.’” And so his path changed. Darab’s father became dean of the law

school of Tehran University, advisor to the Prime Minister, and Minister of Education in Iran. “He really wanted to contribute to the education side,” Darab said. Then the revolution began. darab’s dad wasn’t worried – at first. “It was inconceivable to us for Iran not to have a shah,” Darab said. Soon, he realized his assumptions were misguided, and he fled Iran, leaving almost everything behind – and restarting his life in the United States with nothing – except a son. Darab’s father started a French bakery to provide for his family. “I was born in this country,” Darab said. “[My parents] came here at a very difficult time. It wasn’t easy for a 14-year-old Iranian in the U.S.” Darab described how the post-revolution Iranian government kept all Americans in Iran hostage and how this changed the American perception of Iranians for the worse. “The regime in Iran took Americans hostage, and when I was going to high school kids could not differentiate between those guys and a good guy who had left Iran.” Despite these hardships, however, Darab is extremely thankful for the opportunity the United States gave his family. “This shows the beauty of this country — that anyone can start from scratch,” Darab said. “My father started a bakery, did remarkably well with the bakery, and he started our life from zero, practically. That’s the beauty of this country.” Like his wife, Darab is extremely passionate about the importance of education. “That’s the only thing no one can take away from you no matter what happens in the world,” Darab said. “If you have a good foundation and a good education you can start all over.”

FAMILY HISTORY Flanked by his father and mother, senior Darius Ganji holds a family cookbook with several Persian recipes.

eath to the shah. Things were getting dangerous for the Azar Pahlavi and the rest of her family. “Death to the Shah.” Demonstrations, revolutionaries marching in the street with one goal: overthrow the monarch. “Death to the Shah.” Pahlavi was the Shah’s niece. ••• Just two weeks away from starting school, Azar “Azi” Pahlavi Ganji, then 14 and named Azar Pahlavi, started to pack. She had to leave Iran — she genuinely feared for her life “Things were getting very dangerous,” Azar said. “People would go into the streets and chant, ‘Death to the Shah.’” Azar’s grandparents were scared for her and her sister. Don’t leave them here, they said. Have them come to Europe. So to Europe they went. Little did they know, they would never return to Iran — for the rest of their lives. “My father had a place in Paris,” Azar said. “So we stayed there, and then school started and [my grandparents] said, ‘Don’t come back.’” And her family weren’t the only ones worried for her. “The government of Iran was calling my parents, saying, ‘Don’t come back,’” Azar said. Azar says the move was so quick she didn’t even really have time to process the situation. “We packed the two weeks before “We packed for a two-week vacation to Paris before the beginning of school. We went to Paris and never came back home. - Pahlavi Ganji

STORY Cristian Pereira, Nathan Han PHOTOS Nathan Han

the beginning of school,” Azar said. “We went to Paris and never came back home.” Everything that meant home to her — she would never see it again. Luckily, Paris turned out to be an adequate new home. “There was no culture shock,” Azar said. “Because every summer [my family and I] would go to Paris.” Azar says school was probably the most challenging aspect of her new life in Paris. “English was my third language,” Azar said. “I could communicate, but when they threw me in a class with a Shakespeare book, I was like, ‘Wow.’” Luckily, since she was extremely young for her class, she was allowed to repeat a grade, which helped her catch up to the level of other students. Things seemed to be going well. But even in Paris, the terror of the Iranian revolution and its leader, Islamic radical Ruhollah Khomeini, still followed her. “Khomeini came to Paris and things got really dangerous,” Azar said. “My parents said, ‘For your safety, we will get you in boarding school.’ And we were gone. I never thought in my life I would end up in a British school.” Luckily, the threat soon subsided, and she was able to finish high school in Paris. After graduating she attended the American University in Paris, which is where she met her future husband, Darab Ganji, and later moved with him to the United States of America. Azar stressed the importance of friends, family and education. “No matter what happens,” Azar said, “the love of family and friends and your education is all that can hold you together.”

1. HEAD CHEF In an Elevated Cooking apron, senior Darius Ganji sits in front of his saffron rice cake. 2. TEA TIME Most Persian meals are served with tea to wash down the meal. 3. DESSERT The Persian Napoleon is a pastry with heavy influence from French cuisine. 4. PASSING IT DOWN The family cookbook holds several recipes written by relatives, including Ganji’s aunt.

FEASTING Sangak bread - “It’s a traditional Iranian bread served with main dishes. The name comes from the Persian word for ‘rock’ because it’s cooked over red hot pebbles.”

Kebabs - “They’re the signature protein in Iranian cuisine. There’s everything ranging from minced meat Koobideh kebabs to Baarg kebabs — made from beef filet — and Joojeh — a saffron marinated chicken kebab.”

Senior Darius Ganji explores the in’s and out’s of a plate of traditional homemade Persian food.

Tahchin - “It’s a crisped, Persian, saffron rice cake with a custardy inside that comes from a yogurt, egg and saffron mixture. It’s in the oven for almost two hours.”

Eggplant stew (Khoresht Bademjan) “A slow, simmered stew with beans and dried limes. There’s so many Khoresht’s (stews) in Iranian cuisine and they vary per household.”

Basmati rice - “It’s a long-grain rice commonly used in Persian cuisine. We dress the top of it with saffron to give the few yellow grains their distinctive color.”

CHINA THE WU FAMILY

Sophomore Daniel Wu has worked hundreds of hours at his family’s restaurant: Wang’s Chinese Cafe — to which he credits learning many life lessons.

welve hours a day. Three-hundred-sixty days a year. Late night shifts during holiday seasons. Sophomore Daniel Wu’s parents, Kai Wu and Pansy Zeng, immigrated to the U.S. from China, seeking a better a life. And they have it. After Kai owned and worked as a chef at Hong Kong Express, a partner-owned restaurant, and Zeng was a waitress and food deliverer there, they decided to buy a restaurant and start a family business. Now they work tirelessly to manage Wang’s Chinese Cafe in Preston Center. ••• After coming to America a few years apart, Kai and Zeng met each other because they lived in the same apartment complex. Kai invited Zeng to work at the first restaurant, and they later married each other. A desire for autonomy primarily motivated Daniel’s parents to buy Wang’s and leave their old jobs. “I know my dad isn’t the type of person to follow other people’s instructions,” Daniel said. “He wants to be his own boss, and he’s very outgoing, so he’ll do things his way. That’s the main theme of them opening a restaurant, coming to America: independence from other people and not having other people tell you what to do all the time.” Buying the restaurant presented many logistical and financial challenges for the Wu family when they settled in the U.S. “Opening the business was extremely difficult because when you open a new business, you have to rent out a place or buy a place,” Daniel said. “You have to buy all the stuff that you’ll need: plates, silverware, decorations [and] set up with telephone companies so you can do delivery.” When Daniel was one and a half years old, his parents sent him to China to live with his grandparents because the restaurant entailed too much work to raise their son simultaneously.

When Daniel grew older, he began to work with his parents in the restaurant. OPEN LATE Located at 6033 Luther Lane, Wang’s Although he only wiped tables and Chinese Cafe has served the Dallas community for cleaned dishes during Lower School, he faced more responsibilities as he became over ten years. older. wants, but it will take work to accomplish it. “In Middle School, I would be serving tables, “I’ve taken that being independent is diftaking care of customers who came in,” Daniel ficult,” Daniel said. “But once you’ve gotten said. “Then towards the end of Middle School, control of everything, it’s a lot better than taking I started taking phones, packaging food, and orders from someone else.” then usually during New Year’s or the holidays, Because the restaurant is extremely time-conour whole family will suming for the family, it’s one of the main places be here. And we’re all where he can be with his family. At least one of “I left China to find just working together his parents is typically at the restaurant until more opportunity.” trying to get everythey close. — Kai Wu thing done so we can “That’s mostly my dad, so I’m able to be go home.” somewhere that he is most days of his life and Daniel sees the hundreds of hours he’s spent most of the time during his day,” Daniel said. at Wang’s as a time for him to bond with his “Now he’s in college classes, he has to study parents over individual successes, similar to for stuff, so I don’t really talk to him very much how a sports team feels after their persevering other than when I walk by to get water. We’ll through a rigorous practice. just exchange a little story, and then go our sepa“My connection with them doesn’t really rate ways.” come from us working on a single thing togethAlthough Daniel hasn’t decided his career, he er,” Daniel said. “When I see them working hard is sure that the lessons he’s learned at Wang’s or when they are happy because a big order will guide his future. has come in, we’ll all feel that joy. Then once “Whatever “I left China to have more it is I end up the shift is over, we’re all like, ‘Yeah, we did political freedom.” it.’ That’s something to talk about the next day, doing, I’ll still — Pansy Zeng something to talk about in the car ride.” be able to be independent,” By working with his parents at Wang’s, Daniel Daniel said. “And I’ll still be able to deal with has picked up many lessons about how to deal difficult situations.” with different situations as they present themDaniel believes many people don’t have the selves during his shifts. privilege of inheriting a well-established busi“If someone doesn’t have enough change ness and financial security from their parents. or is acting disrespectful to other customers, “I realize that not everyone, not every family how to ask them to leave without being rude,” who is attending St. Mark’s is as lucky or has as Daniel said. “Small things like that that you pick much of a foundation that is helpful because my up [are] not only important for your job in the parents started from scratch here,” Daniel said. future but also for social situations that occur.” “Some people had to work harder to be where Over the years of watching his parents build they are at, and some people got it passed down their restaurant, he learned he can do what he to them, and they didn’t have to work as hard.”

STORY Jack Davis, Sai Thirunagari PHOTOS Adnan Khan, Courtesy Daniel Wu SETTING THE TABLE At the Wu’s family restaurant (far left), diners enjoy traditional Chinese food. The restaurant, located in the Preston-Royal shopping center, has become a staple of the family’s life here. THE HEIR Sophomore Daniel Wu (top right) looks around his family’s restaurant. Wu has learned a lot from his time spent watching his parents run their restaurant. THE FOUNDERS Standing in front of a band, Kai Wu and Pansy Zeng (bottom right) pose for a picture. The two created their restaurant soon after coming to the U.S., despite difficulties finding the money to get the project off the ground.

PHILIPPINES THE RAROQUE FAMILY Junior Matthew Raroque’s parents were born in the Philippines, and he’s had a taste of that culture as far back as he can remember.

spiral of colorful dishes lines the giant round table—adobo, pancit, lechon, kakanin, ube halaya and lumpia — each one influenced and manipulated with each wave of countries that had colonized the Philippines. As dozens of shoes pile up at the front door, Malaysian, Oriental, Spanish, Muslim, African-American, Indonesian and Dutch cousins all gather around the table. At the center, the huge bowl of steaming Kare Kare, made with oxtail, tripe, shrimp paste, and various vegetables simmers in peanut sauce and toasted brown rice. Kare Kare is that stand-out dish. It’s the centerpiece of all major Filipino gatherings, requiring days of preparation and work in advance. In many ways, the diverse array of Filipino food embodies Filipino culture: the country itself is a delicious melting pot of races, cultures and religions. ••• Junior Matthew Raroque can’t remember exactly when he first ate Kare Kare, and neither can his parents, Henry and Tes Raroque, both of whom grew up in Manila, capital of the Philippines. “It’s a big dish, we don’t usually just cook it every day,” Henry said. “Usually when people gather together, friends and family gather together, everybody looks for it. There’s always a big pan with it. This one is always going to be there, so everybody looks for it. It’s the highlight of the feast. I guess it reminds you of friends and family every time you see it.” Although Matthew didn’t like oxtail at first due to the pungent shrimp paste ingredient, he suddenly found himself obsessed with the dish one gathering. “My older brothers, John and Christian, were so into it,” Matthew said. “But I was never really into it. And then I guess, one gathering we had, I decided to try it, and then I instantly loved it. But you have to acquire taste for it over time. It was probably during some party that we held when I was young. From then, I just grew up with it.” While oxtail can be found in any regular supermarket, it is expensive now due to the increase in chefs that are using oxtail in their dishes. When Tes and Henry Raroque first immigrated to Dallas, however, oxtail was still relatively cheap. “We didn’t meet in the Philippines,” Tes said. “We met here in Dallas in the hospital that I was working at. We grew up the same way—both of us went to Catholic schools, not those elite schools. No, our families couldn’t afford that,

so it was an average neighborhood that we grew up in.” When Henry and Tes had their firstborn child, Henry’s mother flew in from the Philippines A SPOONFUL Lifting up a piece of meat, junior Matthew Raroque enjoys to cook for her grandson a bowl of Kare-Kare, a traditional Filipino dish prepared with a variety of different meats and vegetables, chiefly oxtail, tripe and shrimp paste. and family, because you come here, you work hard, you get passing down to become somebody, and I think most people her recipe for Kare Kare in the process. from third-world countries are hardworking,” “His mom is a really good cook,” Tes said. Henry said. “You come here for better things.” “In fact, she was the one who taught me a lot Both the Philippines and the U.S. are similar of the dishes I know. She cooked a lot when she because they are both melting pots of people was staying with us at that time, and she taught from different kinds of cultures and experiences. me a lot of these dishes, especially Kare Kare. “To some degree, the reason that there’s a lot She even gave me her recipe.” of problems here is because it’s a melting pot,” Henry said. “But, we’re used to that. In our culHenry, who immigrated to the U.S. to receive more advanced training under UT Southwestern ture, we have a Fiesta, and every house is open — it doesn’t matter who you are, you can go to after completing medical school in the Philipevery house and eat. And when you go there, pines, was working on his fellowship at the time everybody’s different, everybody’s coming from while Tes, after her sister settled in the U.S. as different places. So when we came here, we a nurse, decided to come to the U.S. to enter were used to different cultures. It doesn’t bother nursing school. us at all, and we really enjoy it. We don’t take “The U.S. is just so advanced, and the Philany of those things negatively because it’s an ippines is a unique culture in the sense that we evolution, it’s a journey to getting to know each were invaded by everybody — we were under other.” Spain for three years, we were under Japan In the end, the Raroques have stayed for five years, and prior to that, the in Dallas since they came to the U.S. Malay race were there, and then because it is the ideal place to raise the Americans came — and a family, according to Henry. each culture, each country, “If you’re not from here, that came in brought someyou won’t know how much thing, but it’s the American of a mixture Dallas is because culture that brought everythe impression is that you thing,” Henry said. “I use come here, and everybody’s that term loosely, but at a cowboy,” Henry said. “Well, one point, we were called you get to be a cowboy if you Brown Americans in Asia stay here long enough. But you because we were so Amerirealize there’s a lot of people canized — like our system of from different cultures. And a lot education.” of people I knew here were not from Since the American culture was Dallas — they just got attracted here. already ingrained into the Philippines, I think it’s the same attraction that we have. Henry believes that the U.S. was just like an When I came here, I knew that this was a place I extension for him. could raise a family.” “But it was better [coming to America]

STORY Tianming Xie, Jack Davis PHOTOS Will Rocchio PICTURED Kare-Kare

TAIWAN

CHINESE INSTRUCTOR JANET LIN Far from home on a newspaper assignment Chinese instructor Janet Lin found more than a story — she found her whole life ahead of her.

riving across a foreign country with all of her belongings in tow, Chinese instructor Janet Lin found herself eight-thousand miles from her native country of Taiwan. As she jumped from city to city, Lin looked for a place to call home. She started in San Diego. Chicago was too cold. New York was too crowded. Houston was too humid. On a whim, Dallas was perfect. ••• Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Her father was in the army, so she attended school with other children who lived on the base together. She attended elementary school, high school and college in Taiwan. Having lived there her whole life, she became a section editor for a prominent Taiwanese newspaper. She would be given assignments around Taiwan and sometimes internationally. On an assignment for the newspaper in Mexico, Lin was tasked with interviewing a man by the name of Lawrence. Lin had no idea she would be interviewing her future husband. “Lawrence was my assignment,” Lin said. “We met in Mexico. Not in China. Not in Taiwan. Not in the United States. In Mexico.” Lin would return to Taiwan soon after getting married because her job and family had remained there while she met Lawrence.

A CLOSER LOOK The BBQ pork ribs are plated on a bed of broccoli and tomatoes.

“My roots are in Taiwan.” Lin said. “All my life I’ve only known Chinese, so he moved back for one year and I saw him suffering THE DISH Lin putting on display her homemade, traditional because his whole life was back [ in the United States]. I BBQ pork Ribs in her office on campus. could really sense his sufferThe dish Lin took to the United States is ing. So I said, ‘Ok. It’s time for me to sacricalled “步步高升” or in English, BBQ pork fice.’ So that’s why we moved here.” ribs. It’s meaning and significance come from Lin continued to work as a section editor its simple ingredients and ease to cook. for the Taiwanese newspaper while she lived The name of the dish roughly translates to in the United States. “get promotion continuously; and to attain “They were holding my position for eminence step by step.” Since the ingredients anytime I wanted it back.” Lin said, “I didn’t come in a series of one tablespoon of wine, make a final decision for a while because I two tablespoons of vinegar, three tablespoons had only brought two suitcases when I came of sugar, four tablespoons of soy sauce and here.” five tablespoons of water. Lin lived in a couple of cities before she Lin’s mom wanted her to have the dish not decided to stay and live in Dallas. Her path only because it was easy to make, but also for took her across the country, originating in the what it meant for Lin’s career and future. west coast and taking her to the east coast “The ingredients are a metaphor for life.” and finally south to Dallas. Lin said.” So the ingredients are going higher “We stayed in Houston for some months, and higher, and that’s about your life. Mom but I didn’t like it because the weather was wanted me to have it so it would remind me like Taiwan and very humid.” Lin said, “I that my life could go higher and higher.” decided we should go back to Chicago, but Lin’s life has certainly changed as she driving on the way from Houston to Chicago moves higher and higher through life, and we passed through Dallas. We stayed a she believes her work as a journalist helped couple of days in Dallas and I thought that it her see the world with a more open mind. was a place we should live, so that’s why we That’s not to say she hasn’t faced some stayed here.” challenges along the way in her journey While Lin was growing up she would alimmigrating. ways watch her mom cook for her and love it “Because I travelled a lot and interviewed when she cooked special dishes for birthdays a lot of people, I was more open-minded.” or other celebrations. Lin said. “It was easier for me to adopt to a “I liked my mom’s 糖醋排骨. It’s a sweet new lifestyle, but on the other hand my caand sour rib but it’s difficult to make.” Lin reer and education was all Chinese, so when said. “ She would always make for my birthI moved to the United States I had to start day or whatever celebration.” learning English.” Lin is always looking for ways to stay in When she moved to the United States, Lin touch with her family back in Taiwan and asked her mom for the recipe to her favorite feel connected to them. This dish is one of dish. many things she has brought with her to the “When I decided to move to here, I asked United States. my mom if I could have the recipe for it.” “I really like the dish because it has a lot Lin said, “She said, ‘why don’t I give you the of meaning to me.” Lin said. “And the ‘one, other one? It’s easier to make and it also has a two, three, four, five’ means that everybody good meaning.’” can do it.” STORY Mateo Guevara, Trevor Crosnoe PHOTOS Benjamin Hao

AFRICA Odran Fitzgerald | Togo

Fisayo Omonije | Nigeria Sam Light | South Africa

TOGO THE FITZGERALD FAMILY Fufu, a doughy-like yam accompanied by a spicefilled broth, is a long-time Fitzgerald family favorite.

t 19 years old, Sylvie Fitzgerald was on the run. Escaping the widespread civil unrest and violence against the dictatorship in Togo, her father, a politician, sent her along with her six brothers and sisters out of the country. One of her brothers landed in Germany. Others stayed with relatives in different parts of Africa and Europe. Sylvie, herself, ended up in Italy. And that’s where she met Barnaby. Sylvie and Barnaby Fitzgerald married in Italy and moved to the United States where they had junior Odran Fitzgerald and his sister, Moina. Even after living in the United States for nearly his entire life and being born on American soil, Sylvie thinks it is important for her son to still hold onto his African roots. “For me, it’s very important that he considers himself an African,” Sylvie said. “When he was about six years old, just so that he knows where he comes from, we moved back to Togo. Things were not completely stable at that point, but they were stable enough. My husband had a year of sabbatical and he wanted to do some research in villages in West Africa, so we went back to Togo and spent a year there.” Going to school in Togo provided Odran unique experience that Sylvie believes he would not have been able to obtain anywhere else. “I think it gave him a sense of confidence that he wouldn’t have if he grew up in America,” Sylvie said. “Every two or three years we go back. Two summers ago we had a big family reunion with all my brothers and sisters from all over the world, with my father — everybody came back. That was the first time we were all together in the same house in

A TRUE PASSION Sylvie Fitzgerald loves the process of making fufu.

STORY Chris Wang, Han Zhang PHOTOS Benjamin Hao PICTURED Fufu with Chicken

35 years.” Fufu, a traditional Togolese dish composed of gigantic, mashed yam with a doughy-like texture accompanied by a sauce or a broth, reminds Sylvie of her hometown. “It reminds me of my childhood,” Sylvie said. “Memories of all of us taking turns pounding the fufu, and then usually we would put it in a big dish with the sauce on it, and we all sat around the table and we would use our hands to eat it. So it’s for everybody — it’s community, it’s family.” Slyvie credits her Togolese background for providing her with a different perspective when looking at the world around her. “I think it gives me the capacity not to be stuck on things: to see that whatever the appearance is, it’s not always just that and to go beyond that, to give people a chance to express themselves without having already made my opinion,” Sylvie said. “I have to say, it gives me a different perspective than when I’m with my friends that are African Americans. We definitely have different perspective on things like race relations, on racism.” Similarly, Odran feels a sense of pride in having such a unique background behind him. “For me, having a background in another country is not something that I see a lot, especially in a country like Togo, which is a pretty small country,” Odran said. “Having something to look back on and having something that I can express — it’s nice to be able to wear a Togolese suit. It doesn’t really affect me in any way other than how I think and have a different perspective on different things.” Both Odran and Sylvie have recognized the profound relationship between fufu and the Togolese culture, community and people. Sylive uses chicken, garlic, ginger and other spices in her own take on fufu. “In making fufu—that’s really it,” Sylvie said. “It’s a very simple way of cooking fast, and Togo is not a rich country, so it’s the simple things that people can do with a few ingredients that makes this dish and country so special.”

times a month Odran eats fufu with his family

TEAMWORK Odran and Sylvie work together on preparing the yam base for fufu. It takes two to properly undergo the process.

“Togo’s just wonderful. It’s poor but after a few days you don’t even notice that. Everybody’s charming and hardworking and the food is especially great. My understanding is that when I went to Togo for the first time in 1999, I read in guidebooks; almost unanimously, they said that there was only one dish, which is what we know as akume. But in fact it turned out that when I got there, there were endless dishes—it was like was like Bologna— it was like Northern Italy. It was really surprising that whoever writes these traverls’ guides don’t have the food that the people serve. What this told told me is that people reduce contexts—they make them very small so that they are swallowable. So for eample, because I paint figuratively, I am called a realist—but of course that’s not true at all.” —Barnaby Fitzgerald

IN HIS ELEMENT

Father of Odran, husband of Sylvie and artist Barnaby Fitzgerald passes much of his time developing creative masterpieces in the comfort of the studio in the backyard.

NOTHING LIKE HOME Barnaby’s workplace gives him not only a chance to produce beautiful work but also a sense of comfort.

MASTERPIECE Barnaby explains the story behind his piece, a painting inspired by visits to African villages with his family.

THE SAFE SPACE Barnaby’s cabin-like work space provides him with serenity and time to reflect and is filled with tools too.

NIGERIA THE OMONIJE FAMILY A favorite in Nigerian households, fried dodo is a common meal cooked by the Omonije family.

n Nigeria, most homes have gardens where they grow plantains. When fried, they become the Nigerian delicacy dodo. You can eat it with almost any dish: as a snack, a side dish or an entree. Freshman Fisayo Omonije and Seun Omonije ‘18 eat it with all kinds of Nigerian dishes. Pounded yam and okra, Jollof rice and barbecued meat are favorites to eat with dodo in the Omonije household. Because dodo is a common delight in Nigeria, Seun believes that making it at home helps him connect with his roots. “It is probably the most popular of all Nigerian foods because it is eaten no matter what ethnicity you are,” Seun said. “Eating it makes us seem like we’re taking part of that common culture.” Femi, father of Seun FAMILY TRADITION The Omonije family is dressed in “I’ll always carry my and Fisayo, grew up in traditional Nigerian attire. last name with me Ondo State, Nigeria. After attending the University of — and that should Port Harcourt in Nigeria, remind people of my he pursued a master’s heritage — but I also at the University of bump Nigerian music degree Texas at Dallas to start a here at Yale in my life in the United States. dorm room. Today, Femi focuses - Seun Omonije ‘18 on ensuring he stays connected with his Nigerian background. “He grew up in Nigeria where there were a lot of rules that we don’t necessarily have here in America,” Fisayo said. “He still adheres really strongly to his culture. Around the house, we have a lot of Nigerian stuff, we have a couple Nigerian paintings and Nigerian drums. If you look in our house, you can see that we appreciate the culture from Nigeria.” While Seun never felt pressure from his father to keep the LAYED OUT Sliced pieces of dodo are placed on Nigerian “pride,” he believes it’s the little things that the paper towels just after being fried. family does which allows it to stay connected. “I think just the way that Nigerian people act is different than an American person,” Seun said, “so by acting like my parents raised me to act I am taking pride in my ethnicity.” One way is through the food; about the half of the meals Femi cooks at home are Nigerian dishes, and Seun has learned to cook many of the dishes himself. Freshman Fisayo Omonije shares his “Nigerian food is delicious and I know how to cook it, so I top five favorite Nigerian dishes. can carry that with me wherever I go,” Seun said. “I’ll always carry my last name with me — and that should remind peo1. Plantains ple of my heritage — but I also bump Nigerian music here at Yale in my dorm room.” 2. Pounded yam and stew Both Seun and Fisayo value and emphasize the signifi3. Jollof rice cance of staying connected with their culture — whether that 4. Dodo means by cooking the food, decorating the house or bumping the music. 5. Garri STORY Kamal Mamdani PHOTOS Courtesy Seun Omonije

Fisayo’s top five

SOUTH AFRICA THE LIGHT FAMILY Incorporating many spices brought straight from South Africa, bobotie is enjoyed in the Light family.

ive spices in a dish might seem like too many. Cumin, turmeric, cardamom, coriander and cinnamon. Bay leaves on top. It might seem strange to include raisins, chutney and jam in a dish with a meat base and a egg topping. But for Lindi Light, mother of sixth grader Sam Light ‘25, this is tradition. Bobotie, a delicious casserole-like dish served with yellow saffron rice, is a common South African dinner, which is where Lindi is from. Lindi grew up in a town named East London, which is between Cape Town and Durban, during the South African apartheid. “When I was living there, it was separate,” Lindi said. “There was very strict whites and blacks. We weren’t allowed any black kids in the school. It’s terrible. You can’t even describe it — can’t even imagine it — but that’s how it was.” After attending the University of Cape Town, Lindi decided to move to the United States to pursue her career as a physical therapist. “I came over on a contract for a short period of time, and then I really liked it,” Lindi said. “Then I went back to South Africa, got married, and came straight back. Our parents were a bit shocked at first, but they were okay with it… I’ve lived here for 16 years in Dallas and ten years in LA and then four years in Florida.” Eighteen years after she first moved to the U.S, Lindi received her American passport in 2007, the same year Sam was born. However, in the process, her South African passport was taken away, unlike her ex-husband Chris. Now, she considers herself more of an American than South African. “The South African passport was taken away—it’s green, and the second most deadly snake is the green mamba, so we called that passport the green mamba,” Lindi said. “What happened is Sam’s dad, Chris, asked

the South African government when he got his American passport if he could keep his South African passport, so he has dual citizenship. But I never did because I was like, ‘yeah, I’m American now!’” Lindi, Sam and her daughter Emma, who is a sophomore at Greenhill, still manage to travel back to South Africa once a year, despite her lack of citizenship. “It’s awful getting there,” Lindi said. “The problem is that it takes two days to get there, and two days to get back, so that’s the tricky part. It takes up so much of your time, so as soon as school is over, we’re going to just go.”

During their annual trips, bobotie is a necessary tradition. “We were just in South Africa eating [bobotie] and the kids were not used to it because they don’t eaten it that often. I try and make it often but if you’re not used to eating it then you’re not crazy about it.” Bobotie has been a culturally-important meal ever since Europe colonized the east. “It’s got a ton of history,” Lindi said. “Europe was colonizing the east due to the spice trade. The ships would come past South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, but the way east from Europe was such a treacherous and long journey that they had to stop in South Africa. In the East, the Dutch colonized Malaysia, so what they did was come back to South Africa and develop their own little community called the Cape Malay population. The Cape Malay made this little population in Cape of Good Hope and they were really good at cooking because they used all the spices that they got from Malaysia.” Bobotie isn’t a complicated dish but is rather a comfort food that South Africans enjoy weekly. “It’s not like a fancy meal,” Lindi said. “It’s just a throw-together, because sometimes on Sunday, traditionally everyone would have a roast, so they’ll take the roast leftovers and mince the meat from the leftovers and change it up with curry spices. There are always five spices and chutney and jam.” Lindi learned how to make bobotie from her grandmother and mother but has made changes to the traditional recipe to fit her family’s desires. “My grandmother and my mom made it,” Lindi said. “I actually just changed up the recipe myself a bit. Some people put fruit pieces like chutney, which has big pieces of fruit, but I use a South African chutney: this thing CLEAN PLATE The plate for Bobotie is almost always clean called Mrs. Ball’s. Mrs. Ball’s after dinner in the Light home, as it is loved by everyone. STORY Lyle Ochs, Paul Sullivan PHOTOS Rohit Vemuri

LOOKING ON Sixth grader Sam Light patiently waits for his mom to cut the dish. is very famous and and when we go home, we just bring a suitcase full of Mrs. Ball’s.” Mrs. Ball’s chutney isn’t the only other South African food that Lindi makes sure her family enjoys. “We get green cream soda, which you don’t get here, and we get tea,” Lindi said. “There’s a thing called Biltong, which is like beef jerky, and you can get ostrich biltong, kudu biltong or you can get beef, and I get the spices from the butcher back home to make it.” In addition, Lindi speaks Afrikaans around the house which preserves her South African heritage and allows her to talk about her children without them knowing. “My dad’s also South-African, and they knew each other since they were five,” Emma said. “Whenever they talk about us they speak Afrikaans. We use like random South African words like ‘how’s it,’ like what’s up and ‘lekker’ and it means good.” While they may visit South Africa every year, Lindi and her family will always feel more at home in America. “I think that the nicest place that I have ever lived, as in people, is Dallas,” Lindi said. “They’re so friendly and so nice. The Californians are a bit stuck up, and the Floridians are just too old and quite a transient society. But Texas has been fabulous. Everyone is so nice. The American Dream is fabulous and it’s so nice to be here. South Africa is great but I don’t think I would ever go back.”

EUROPE Kristof Csaky | Hungary Taki Economou | Greece Alfalahi Family | Sweden David Dini | Italy

usan Dischka Csaky, senior Kristof Csaky’s paternal grandmother, came to the United States in 1950 for a study abroad opportunity. Her goal was to move back to Hungary after finishing her studies in about a year. Just one year. But one day, Susan got a call from her mother. She was worried, afraid. Don’t come back, she told Susan. It’s not safe. The Soviets had taken over.

•••

Although senior Kristof Csaky was born in America, he’s familiar with the culture of Hungary from the multiple trips he’s taken with his family. Growing up in Dallas, Kristof and his sister learned Hungarian as their first language, and then later learned English. “In Middle and Lower School we went back to Hungary every year,” Kristof said. “Before that, before we were even in school, we probably stayed there for several years.” Kristof’s mother Eva has a better memory of Hungary. Born and raised there, she left the country after finishing college to start a new life in America. She received a scholarship from George Washington University and moved to Washington D.C., but memories from her time in Hungary have stuck with her through the years. “As a child, I don’t think you think about it very much,” Eva said. “We had these Communist Youth Organizations that were mandatory to be a part of. There was a special necktie you had to wear, and we had to do quasi-military exercises. I had to learn how to shoot a gun.” After World War II ended, Russia occupied much of Eastern Europe, including Hungary. Russia attempted to force its social, political and economic views on the Hungarians, but the people rebelled in 1956, launching the country into chaos. Even though the Soviet

Army regained control, Hungary eventually became a free country, rid of communism, in 1991. Eva grew up in Hungary when it was occupied by the Soviets. “Our parents did a good job of sheltering us from the nasty side of things,” Eva said. “We never questioned it. It was just natural that a portrait of Lenin was hanging on the wall in my classroom, in every classroom.” Eva may have been shielded from most of the occupation as a child, but her parents felt the full force of the regime. She never asked her parents why they decided to remain in Hungary during the regime, although she suspects they felt emotionally tied to their home. Their lives were very different in Hungary than they would have been had they left with Eva when she was young. “My father refused to become a member of the Communist Party, so our apartment was [raided],” Eva said. “That was just part of the Soviet regime. They were listening in on people they didn’t trust. It was like a police state. There was quite a bit of human rights violations.” Eva’s parents decided they wanted to stay in Hungary regardless, but Kristof’s paternal grandparents made a different decision after World War II many years earlier. In 1949, they immigrated to America separately under the Displacement Acts of 1948. Unfortunately, Eva’s parents did not have the same options when it came to escaping the Communist regime. “Whenever [my father] left the country, the authorities took my mother’s passport so that they wouldn’t risk him staying [in another country],” Eva said.

NIGHTTIME VIEW Senior Kristof Csaky and his sister, Katrina, stand in the balcony of their family’s apartment in Budapest, where they have a clear view of Buda Castle, the historic palace of the Hungarian kings.

HUNGARY THE CSAKY FAMILY

The Csaky family’s journey to America was filled with struggles and challenges. But despite the hardships, they never let their culture die.

When she moved to D.C., the first thing Eva noticed was the sheer volume of “stuff” in every direction she looked. “It wasn’t uncommon during communism that there was a shortage of products,” Eva said. “Going into an American store that had thousands and thousands of stuff, there was a huge contrast. The difference was overwhelming.” After graduating from George Washington University, Eva married Kristof’s father Karl, and they moved to Dallas to start a family. In the time the Csaky family has lived in Dallas, they have found several communities that celebrate the Hungarian culture. “Washington D.C., where we used to live, was a much larger Hungarian community and it congregated around the embassy,” Eva said. “Here, the Cistercian School’s founding monks were Hungarian refugees who escaped in 1956. That’s where the Hungarian community congregates, but it’s a lot smaller here.” When Eva reminisces on her childhood in Hungary, she recalls many hardships her family had to endure. But for Kristof and his sister, Hungary has only been a peaceful place—a central location for gathering with family and enjoying each other’s company. And in a Hungarian household, the best place to congregate is at the dinner table. “Our grandmother cooks for us everyday,” Kristof said. “It’s all this great food, and then we go and walk around the streets and go to restaurants and hang out with our younger cousins and uncle and aunt. It’s a great time to go back during the summer.” One of the most frequent meals served at the Csaky household in Hungary is, without a doubt, Chicken Paprikash. The dish is composed of small chunks of chicken layered over a base of some type of pasta. But above all, the dish is unique because of its generous use of paprika, a spice often used in Hungarian cuisine. “It’s probably the most traditional Hungarian dish,” Eva said, “So it has that kind of cultural context. It’s the kind of dish that people will make for Sunday lunch when the family is together. It has that kind of cultural and emotional context.” Kristof and his family try to visit their family in Hungary at least once every year, Whenever Kristof and his sister are able to visit though, they usually spend about a month at the apartment they have in Budapest. Above all, the Csaky family values their heritage and how lucky they are to be able to call two places home. “You can think of it as having multiple homes,” Eva said. “You will always have your biological families at home: your cousins, uncles and grandparents. But obviously, we have a home here in the United States. I feel very fortunate because we have these multiple lives and multiple homes.” STORY Ishan Gupta, Robert Pou PHOTOS Courtesy Kristof Csaky PICTURED Chicken Paprikás

GREECE

ECONOMOU FAMILY In many Greek families— including the Economou family — lamb is central to the dishes.

START TO FINISH Preparing traditional Greek food to remind the family of their life back in Greece, third grader Taki Economou and his father, Dimitri Economou, season a lamb dish and arrange a traditional Greek appetizer of cheese, olives, pita bread and peppers.

eals have been a central part of third grader Taki Economou’s family for as long as his father, Dimitri, can remember. After Dimitri’s maternal great-grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Greece through Ellis Island, they settled in Stockton, California. “My mom’s grandparents, my great-grandparents –– there was no opportunity in Greece, so they they left for a better life,” Dimitri said. Dimitri’s maternal great-grandfather opened a bakery and coffee shop and made his children work there. Dimitri’s maternal grandfather, Alexander Spanos, wanted a raise of $5 on his weekly salary to take care of his children and newly born daughter. Alexander’s father refused to comply, so Alexander took an $800 loan instead. “He opened his own catering business to feed all the agricultural workers in Stockton,” Dimitri said. “That $800 turned into a huge real estate business and owning the L.A. Chargers. All off of the $800 dollar loan. It’s a pretty impressive story.” Alexander founded the A.G. Spanos Companies and became the majority owner of the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League in 1984. He passed away in 2018. “My mom’s parents came over with zero dollars on a boat,” Dimitri said. “My grandfather had no money. He turned nothing into a lot that [my] family benefits now.” Dimitri remembers the many values his grandfather taught him and passes on these lessons to his two sons, Taki and Aristotelis. Dimitri embraces his heritage and frequently takes his children to the Greek Orthodox Church and Sunday school. “My grandfather told me numerous things — ad nauseum: family first; being Greek is important; don’t forget where you came from; don’t let your friends pick you, you pick your friends; your word is your bond; and don’t worry about

what other people are doing, just worry about what you’re doing,” Dimitri said. “I can’t tell you how many times he told me that.” According to Dimitri, Alexander created a life for his family through hard work and assimilated to the U.S. while preserving his cultural background. Dimitri remembers how his grandfather and father would sometimes speak Greek at home, giving him a conversational grasp of the language. “Growing up my grandfather [and] my dad would always talk about being Greek,” Dimitri said. “I think that’s all important. We grew up being Greek but also American and being proud of both.” Dimitri’s father immigrated to America to study at the University of Southern California. Dimitri and his family grew up in Stockton and relished Greek food cooked by Faye Spanos, Alexander’s wife. Dimitri also enjoyed Faye’s home-cooked meals with his friends. “Monday through Thursday, my grandmother would cook, and everyone in the family, which probably numbers from 10 to 20, would go eat,” Dimitri said. “When I was in high school, I would take two or three friends at least twice a week to go eat dinner. We’d eat dinner [and] go to basketball practice or soccer practice afterwards. She loved it, and my friends loved it.” Since he was two years old, Dimitri has visited his relatives in Greece every year. His parents returned to Greece in the ’90s. During his trips, he has enjoyed sightseeing and developed an appreciation for Greek history. “Growing up, we’d go to Greece for three weeks, then we’d travel around Western Europe,” Dimitri said. “That’s how I grew up. We would eat with all the cousins. You start adding all of them, and then it’s 100 people before you know it — just first and second cousins.”

STORY Sai Thirunigari, Kamal Mamdani PHOTOS Kamal Mamdani

Dimitri and Cary Economou, his wife, cook Greek food for their family on weekends when they can, using the same recipes and styles as Faye did. Eating these meals reminds Dimitri the large Greek dinners he would always with family back home. “As both Dimitri and I work, it is a challenge, but an important one,” Cary wrote in an email. “No matter the ethnicity, race [and] culture, family dinners and that togetherness [are] integral and very important, especially today in this fast-paced, over stimulating world. We may not cook the larger, more involved dinners every night, but we do cook as often as we can.” Dimitri believes it’s his obligation to regularly travel to Greece so that his children will carry on his family’s legacy. “As far as trying to stay connected to heritage, we take our kids to Greece,” Dimitri said. “We want them to see all these things, have a good appreciation for where it came from and learn more about the culture and some of the good things and the bad things. It’s a big endeavor, but it’s worth it in my opinion. I mean if I don’t do it, then [Taki’s] not going to do it.”

In his own words... For a third grade project, Taki shared his grandfather’s story and its importance. “From the story of my Papou, I have learned a lot about the ancient history and traditions of Greece. Family is important to the Greeks. My Papou had lots of brothers and sisters growing up. My Baba grew up with many cousins. I have a lot of cousins and our family holidays are especially fun with all of us.”

In Greek, Papou means grandfather and Baba means father.

SWEDEN ALFALAHI FAMILY Although the Alfalahi family has roots around Europe, their favorite meal is a Middle Eastern and Iranian feast.

wedish pancakes for breakfast. Burgers and fries for lunch. Middle Eastern food for dinner. For Sam, Adam, Noah, David and Sophia, all of it feels like home. They all connect with each meal in their own way. Swedish pancakes remind them of their younger years. Burgers remind them of their new life in America. Middle Eastern food reminds them of their ancestral roots. Through favorite dishes, the Alfalahi family can reconnect with their past. ••• Before the Alfalahi family moved to Dallas in 2012, the origins trace back to various Middle Eastern and European countries. Born in Iraq, Kasim Alfalahi, the father, was always looking for different opportunities to study and explore the world around him. After leaving his home country at the age of 15, he moved to England, Spain and ultimately Sweden for his engineering and masters degree. For Wasan Alfalahi, the mother, she was also born in Iraq but left for England when she was seven. Meeting and marrying Kasim in England, Wasan traveled with her spouse to Sweden, where she gave birth to freshman Sam and eighth grader Adam Alfalahi. Through Kasim’s work with Ericsson, the Alfalahis made their last move to Texas. “We moved here on the basis that we would only live here for a year,” Wasan said, “and then one by one, the boys got into St. Mark’s, so then we decided to stay. We are still connected to Europe. We try to go back every summer.” Returning to his first home, Adam feels a sense of pride in his cultural background. “It’s nice how we go back every summer and be reminded of where we came from,” Adam said. “I think that is really important.” Similar to Adam, Kasim wishes for his children’s diverse cultural experience to give them a

FRESH OUT THE OVEN The Alfalahi family prepares to dig in to the freshly cooked Timman Baghilla with rice and fava beans.

more global perspective than others. “I think it is good for the boys to travel and live different places because it is good to help their perspective,” Kasim said. “To be able to travel and see the world is an amazing opportunity.” Living in Iraq, England, Sweden and now America, Wasan wants her kids to take advantage of the opportunity to see and understand different cultures to understand that the world is bigger than just where they live. “I really want to continue having this global perspective,” Wasan said. “We want them to open up their world. For me, going from England to Sweden was a complete shock, very different cultures, and now I am so grateful because I can see the advantages of both and the challenges in both. We just want them to be global and an open mind. You can have an opinion about a certain culture and then when you are there it seems so normal—they are doing the same things.” Moving to America was not only a culture shock for the family but it was also a food shock. For Wasan, she was surprised at how different American food was from Swedish food, which her kids had known their whole life. “Sam and Adam grew up eating Swedish and French food, and when they came here, they were surprised to see ice cream,” Wasan said. “It is incredibly healthy in Europe, and I remember the boys seeing fries and American food. You really have to read the labels here. We never had to worry about that in Sweden. I would just send Sam and Adam out to the market to pick up some eggs and other ingredients, and I didn’t have to worry about what was in the food.” After cooking and learning about different foods in many countries, Wasan and Sam have found it interesting how food is portrayed and used slightly differently in every culture. “In the Arabic culture it is a big feast,” Wasan said. “In the Swedish culture you get your own plate with meatballs and potatoes. We like a good mix of food. Through food, you are able to experience the culture.” “Arabic food is a lot heavier, like a heavier meal,” Sam said. “Where the Swedish meal is a lot lighter.” While always making different dishes to remind her kids about where they have come STORY Sam Ahmed, Sid Sinha PHOTOS Collin Katz PICTURED Baklava, Kashta, Kanafeh

IN THE FAMILY Working on a side dish, Sam and Adam help their father Kasim. They also purchased and made different Middle Eastern deserts (in circular picture below). from, Wasan wishes that the kids can learn to make one of the dishes, but she understands the difficult task that comes with that. “They have been exposed to many different tastes, so if they wanted to learn, they definitely could,” Wasan said. “But I think that they are better at making breakfast. They have learned different skills, but some of the harder ones it is hard to make a big meal, and it is very labor intensive. After watching his mom cook all these different dishes, Sam hopes that he can learn from his mom. “I hope I can learn one or two dishes, so I can cook them to remind me of where I came from,” Sam said. “But it does take a lot of time.” For Kasim, food not only provides an outlet for people to share cultures but also breaks barriers between people. “At the end of the day you sit down and eat food with people and it’s all about enjoying something together, and trying something different,” Kasim said. “I think it is very important. I think that there would be less pre-definition of other people if people opened up and just enjoyed food together with other cultures. I travel a lot, and a lot of the time you go to a place and try their food, and it is very nice because you can talk about the culture the same time as you talk about the food.”

ITALY HEADMASTER DAVID DINI

CITY-WIDE RENOWN Dini’s Sea Grill sat on the Freedom Trail in Boston and right down the street from city hall, becoming a popular destination for locals and politicians. When the restaurant closed, its departure was marked in many Boston publications.

Run by Louis Dini, Dini’s Sea Grill was a Boston mainstay and a local favorite for 64 years.

n the heart of the Boston Commons, several legislators from the state capitol are seated in Dini’s Sea Grill, a casual seafood restaurant. A tall, big-nosed man walks around every so often, greeting his customers with a heavy Italian accent as if they were his family. This imposing, stereotypical Italian man was Headmaster David Dini’s grandfather, the man who migrated into the United States at the age of 17 on a ship across the Atlantic. Born in Bagni di Lucca, a small fishing village near the town of Pisa, Louis Dini decided to chase the American dream and follow his older brother to Boston to join his recent business venture: a restaurant. “My understanding was that [the restaurant] was started before my grandfather got there, and then my grandfather and his brother ended up working together on the restaurant,” David said. “And then my grandfather bought out his brother, so it became his restaurant. That was many, many decades ago, so that was fairly early in his life. He ended up running the restaurant for most of his life, right up until he died.” The restaurant, located on Tremont Street along the Freedom Trail, was a common dining option for politicians due to its low prices and close location to City Hall. “A lot of legislators from the state capitol would eat lunch there, so even though it was a very casual, relaxed restaurant, politicians were known to eat there pretty routinely,” David said. “In fact, I think I’ve got

a copy of the day that the restaurant closed in 1992. It was on the front page of the Boston Globe and [the headline] was something like ‘Politics was Always on the Menu.’” Dini’s Sea Grill was especially famous for its fresh Schrod fish, which is like baby Cod fish. “[Schrod] was what they became known for,” David said. “It was the most prominent thing that they served, but they served a lot of different things. Baked stuffed clams was really good. They would be clams that were breaded with a little bit of butter, and then it would be baked. And so, it would create a crust over the clam, so you’d put lemon juice on, and you’d eat it but, inevitably, you’d get a little bit of sand in your mouth, but they were so good. That was my favorite thing to order there.” Even though he did not grow up in the restaurant industry, Louis was born to serve and dove into the restaurant lifestyle, according to David. “He was very much a service-oriented person,” David said, “And if you own a restaurant, you live and work in a restaurant. He was certainly very connected to the operations in the restaurant. It was a seafood restaurant, so he had to go downtown to the fish markets and the harbor. He’d go down and buy fresh fish every day and fresh produce and all that. He was very much the face of the restaurant.” Although he was the owner, Louis put aside his pride to make sure that he was providing the highest quality of service. This mentality is depicted in a story that David’s father, Richard, told him about a time when he visited Louis after a day of classes at Boston University. “[Richard] went in to the restaurant one afternoon looking for my grandfather,” David said. “He went in, and the restaurant’s empty, and he’s looking for him everywhere, and he can’t find him. Finally, he wanders into the bathroom — my grandfather’s down on the floor

STORY Lyle Ochs, Tianming Xie PHOTOS Kamal Mamdani, Courtesy David Dini

with a toothbr bing the tile ar the toothbrush what are you d people who co and clean the r grandfather is don’t get it cle Rather than that his grandf and day out is has been passe “I’m still a b rant business, education, I’d restaurant bus “It’s incredibly don’t really rea work in a resta ally busy resta to judge a boo surprised by in people in way unexpected, an things that I le hard because r from college.” After Louis management o David’s aunt, w at the time wh moved away. “When he p ran the restaur more years,” D when I contem ton after I grad graduated from dergrad, and t ’92. They got t and explored p restaurant but close the restau rant becomes s ed with one pe not there any l be the same.”

Although Din moving back t father’s work e passed down t himself, influe as a waiter in H deaux before t chain” had not “Every time

you stepped in the door until the with a toothbrush, and he’s moment you left,” David said. scrubbing the tile around the toi“They have an interesting philoslets with the toothbrush. My dad is like, ‘Dad, what are you doing? ophy in terms of how they run their restaurants in that most of You’ve got people who come with a toothbrush, andand he’swork scrubyouthe were busy thethey moment the from people hire to be a waitin here and clean you stepped in the door the bing the tile around the toilets with er or waitressuntil or bartender were restrooms,’ and my grandfather moment left,”out David said. in college the toothbrush.isMy dad is like, of college, like, ‘Yeah, but‘Dad, they don’t get it youeither “They have or anin interesting what are you doing? You’ve got graduate philososchool or medical clean enough.’” phy in terms of how theywere run their people who comeRather in herethan and traditions, work school. They people the restaurants in that most of the to and clean the restrooms,’ andgrandfather my that were aspiring ethos that his people hire to bethings. a waiter grandfather is like, ‘Yeah, but other So showed day in they and day out is theydo or waitress or bartender don’t get it clean enough.’” there were a lot what David believes has been were either of outprofessional of college, Rather than traditions, the to ethos passed down his family. in college or in graduate that his grandfather showed day in people with as“I’m still a big fan of the or medical school. and day out is what Davidbusiness, believes and school pirations to restaurant if I They were people that has been passedweren’t down to his family. do a variety in education, I’d probwere aspiring do other “I’m still a big fanbe ofin the restauof to interesting ably the restaurant busithings. So there were a lot rant business, and if I weren’t in things, and I met aof lot of ness,” David said. “It’s incredprofessionalfascinating people with aspirations education, I’d probably be in thePeople don’t people working ibly demanding. of interesting things, restaurant business,” David said. there.” really realize how hard itto is do to a variety and I met a lot of fascinating “It’s incredibly work demanding. People Wildly popularpeople in in a restaurant, especially working there.” don’t really realize how hard it is to their locations, a a really busy restaurant. You popular in their work in a restaurant, especially a re-a book Wildly single Pappalearn never to judge by locations, a single Pappaally busy restaurant. You learn never deaux restaurant its cover. You’re surprised by deaux to judge a bookinteractions by its cover.with You’re wouldwould bring in people in waysrestaurant bring in millions of dollars every surprised by interactions with millions of dollars that are completely unexpected, year, according to year, the headmaster. people in waysand thatitare completely every according to the was one of the things that Yet, to become a general Yet, manager of a unexpected, and it was one of thework hard headmaster. to become I learned to really the restaurant, you would have to things that I learned to really work general manager of the restaubecause right after I graduated first work your fromhave beingtoafirst hard because right I graduated rant,way youup would fromafter college.” waiter, waitress bartender. from college.” workoryour way up from being a After Louis fell ill, he passed “They were also waitress the kind or of bartender. busiAfter Louis fell he passed the waiter, theill, management of the restauness that they grew management management ofrant the to restaurant to “They were also the kind of David’s aunt, who lived from the company,” Dini David’s aunt, who lived in that they grew managein Boston at Boston the time while herwithinbusiness weren’t a company that at the time while her siblings had away.said. “They ment from within the company,” siblings had moved would bring somebody from some moved away. Dini said. “They weren’t a com“When he passed away, my other tothat come in and run somea “When he passed away, aunt for pany would bring aunt ran themy restaurant a company store. They really believe in growran the restaurant for a number of body from some other company number of more years,” David ing from within, so itinwas verya store. They more years,” David was I conto come andarun said. said. “That“That was when community-oriented, team-oriented when I contemplated moving to Bosreally believe in growing from templated moving to Boston kind ofI environment.” ton after I graduated college. I college. within, so it was a very commuafter I from graduated from ForinDini, nity-oriented, restaurants and food are graduated fromgraduated college at from ’88 incollege un- at ’88 team-oriented kind much more of than a necessity to live. dergrad, and the restaurantand closed environment.” undergrad, the at restaurant Alice, taught and food ’92. They got toclosed the end their lease For Dini, restaurants at of ’92. They got to Louis the and his wife, him the importance of food to the and explored potentially moving the are much more than a necessity end of their lease and explored family community. restaurant but ultimately decided to to live. Louis and his wife, Alice, potentially moving the restaurant “Food was like community close the restaurant. When a restautaught him the importance of but ultimately decided to close for them, which in a lot community. of rant becomes sothe especially associatthe family restaurant. When a restaurant foodistotrue cultures and certainly very true in ed with one person, and then they’re “Food was like community becomes so especially associatItalian culture, which is still very not there any longer, it just wouldn’t for them, which is true in a lot ed with one person, and then much ofcultures our family,” Dini be the same.” they’re not there any longer, and certainly very it a partof said. “We revolve gathering true inaround Italian culture, which just wouldn’t be the same.” as a family around meals, andaitpart wasof our Although Dini did not end up is still very much true when I was growing up, and moving back toAlthough Boston, hisDini granddid not end family,” Dini said. “We revolve it’shis been truearound with Mrs. Dini and father’s work ethic, which back had been up moving to Boston, gathering as a family four kids. We always passed down tograndfather’s his father andwork to ethic,our which around meals,had anddinner it was true every night and still do up, as and it’s himself, influenced Dini to take adown job totogether, had been passed his when I was growing much as possible. That’s our most as a waiter in Houston’s first Pappafather and to himself, influenced been true with Mrs. Dini and our important community time is ourhad dinner deaux before the massive Dini to take“Pappas a job as a waiter in four kids. We always gathering time around meals.” chain” had not Houston’s existed yet.first Pappadeaux betogether, every night and still do “Every time fore you worked there, the massive “Pappas chain” as much as possible. That’s our had not existed yet. most important community time “Every time you worked there, is our gathering time around you were busy from the moment meals.”

AROUND HIS OFFICE Sitting in Headmaster David Dini’s office are a glass fish decoration taken from Dini’s and a bottle of marinara sauce made by his mother, Jeanne, in the traditional Italian way.

ON THE MENU Headmaster David Dini sits with a framed copy of the menu from Dini’s. Items on the menu include crab, lobster and veal, which all cost under $7.