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

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

remarker

VOLUME 65, NUMBER 1 SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

School shootings. Inappropriate relationships. Questionable conduct. Gray areas abound when talking about a school’s responsibility in protecting its students.

safe KEEPING US

In light of the Exeter allegations, editor Kamal Mamdani and managing editors Parker Davis, Lyle Ochs and Sahit Dendekuri investigate. Page 7 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION Adnan Khan, Parker Davis

Paul Hoehn named to Leonard N. ‘Doc’ Nelson Alumni Master Teaching Chair by Sam Goldfarb illing the position vacated by chemistry instructor Jon Valasek’s retirement, Paul Hoehn has been appointed to the position of Leonard N. “Doc” Nelson Alumni Master Teaching Chair. After a nationwide search, Headmaster David Dini selected Hoehn for the position, recognizing Hoehn’s devotion to the student body and natural mentorship of Marksmen and other teachers alike. Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron also played a critical role in the selection process. “When a master teacher retires, there is both an opening on the faculty and a vacant master teaching chair,” Carron said. “In these cases, the school performs a national search, even when there are ualified candidates on campus, and the internal candidates are included in that

search.” Beyond statements of interest, résumés and interviews, each applicant also taught a demonstration class. But a master teacher’s skill set extends far beyond the classroom. “[Hoehn] is equally comfortable running planetarium shows, engineering with microprocessors, performing chemistry demonstrations and making his own fireworks,” Carron said. “Mr. Hoehn is forever learning Paul Hoehn new things and Master Teacher sharing his talents and knowledge with colleagues and students.” That variety is one of Hoehn’s favorite things about his work here. He will continue to teach both Upper and Middle School

classes in the physical sciences, where he has more leeway to change the course to fit the needs of his students. “In my applied chemistry class last year, we talked more about nuclear energy than I had in the past, because we had some guys that were really interested,” Hoehn said. “The new position will continue to allow me to teach to my strengths and interests not just in chemistry, but maybe astronomy and geology in the future as well.” Hoehn’s impact and involvement around campus break through the walls of the classroom. At each year’s holiday party, he dons his inimitable vest, coattails and top hat as he joins the brass section on trombone. He also helps lead the Middle School Quiz Bowl team and plans to ramp up the Make Club even further with new

capabilities of the Winn Science Center. “I’m so glad we’ll be able to get to go play in there,” Hoehn said. “I can’t decide if I feel more like a kid getting ready to go to the toy store or a kid getting ready to open presents on Christmas — though it’s certainly more of an occasion than just going to the toy store!” He knows that the new center is just one step of continuing to bring the sciences here to the cutting edge and to bring the students here the best opportunities possible. “This new building’s designed for the next 50 years, so there’s going to be things that we use it for that we haven’t even thought up,” Hoehn said. “But having more guys comfortable with prototyping, designing, engineering, coding, collaborating making cool stuff that’s just some of the things we’ll be able to do.”

agenda

Inside

In brief

Issues

Changes to the Cum Laude induction process, 3

GENERAL NEWS > STUDENT STORE. The student store now accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express credit cards for purchases. Director of Student Store and Textbooks Nancy Goldberg ordered iPads this August to be used with the Square credit card processing app. Goldberg added this feature as a convenience for students and parents who don’t have cash on hand. Students and parents may also settle in-store account balances using Apple Pay, Android Pay, credit cards or cash. > ADMISSIONS RECORD. Six hundred and thirty applications for entry to the school were submitted to the Admission Office, a recordbreaking number surpassing the 603 applications from last year. For the first time in school history, the acceptance rate dropped below 20 percent as the school experienced its highest demand ever. Compared to last year, the Upper School is slightly larger with 392 boys attending, while the Middle School is slightly smaller with 335 boys enrolled. > E-WASTE DRIVE. The annual E-Waste Drive will be held Sept. 25, and the collection bin will be available from 2-4:30 p.m. The bin this year for the electronics will be located near the tennis courts, and the electronics that can be donated include almost anything that can run on electricity, from old to unwanted computers to chords, according to environmental instructor Dan Northcut ‘81. > SENIOR AUCTION. The Class of 2019 Senior Auction will be Oct. 7, offering a host of events and art from the seniors. From 1-5 p.m., a silent auction in the Black Box will auction things such as Marksmen ceramics, and a regular auction in Decherd will also offer senior items. The auction is led by a committee of seniors and Joe Millet and Amy Pool, the senior class sponsors. > LIBRARY UPGRADES TECH. Due to complaints of slow speed and other issues, the library has upgraded their technology this year. After multiple attempts to improve the machines with the addition of more RAM and other improvements, the library faculty and Technology Department decided to purchase new computers, as the previous computers were made in 2009. There are 24 new computers, with 15 in the library computer room, six in the main

Ted Cruz against Confucius Institute, 4 Washington DC schools cut AP classes, 5 NYU offers free tuition to medical school, 8

Discoveries

How Marksmen are prepared for the future in STEM, 9 Summer internships and research, 10 New Lower School science instructor, Matthew Dillon, 11

10600

Dr. Fray leaves orchestra to care for his wife, 12 A quick look at the new teachers, 13 Journalism alum Max Marshall travels to Vietnam, witnesses violence, 14 Senior Darius Ganji honored with prestigious cooking award, 15 Path to Manhood, 16, 17

Kinkead discovers birth family, 18

No heels rule. At this year’s Homecoming dance at the House of Blues, Marksmen’s dates will have to put their shoes in a provided plastic bag and put on a pair of protective shoes in order to enter the dance due to foot injuries during the past dance.

Diversions

Homecoming and the month that follows, 19

20 Culture

23 Buzz

Buzz: Coming of age movies, 23

24 Editorials

White: A word on boycotts, 26

Sports

No SPC titles during the 2017-18 year, 27

2008 SPC football champions, 28 Dilworth places in USA Track and Field championships, 29

page 32 Back Lucho Hadjigenov: Bulgarian kickboxer, 32

LOUD AND PROUD Varsity cheerleaders lead Lower Schoolers in pre-football game chants during Lion Pride Night Aug. 31. The Lions beat the Casady Cyclones in the season opener at Hunt Stadium 38-0.

Blake Broom photo

Gupta: Friendless on a late summer night, 25

ARTS NEWS > ARML MATH COMPETITION. Four Marksmen attended the American Regional Mathematics League competition Jun. 1-2. Junior Nicolas Tsao, senior Dylan Liu, Kevin Feng ‘18 and Jesse Zhong ’18 boarded a bus alongside their fellow Texas teammates to the University of Iowa, where they competed against students from all across the country. Sending four students this year was an impressive feat for St. Mark’s, as typically only one or two students qualify annually for the competition. > COFFEEHOUSE CHANGES. Upper Schoolers can look forward to reinvented coffeehouses this year as Fine Arts Board chairs Will Hunt and Cole Arnett look to bring new life to the tradition. Changes include releasing a video to pique students’ interest, increase student participation beyond what was usually just a part of the Improv troupe’s performances and bringing back coffee after a two-year hiatus. Additionally, Arnett said

— MAX MARSHALL ’12, FREELANCE JOURNALIST FEATURED IN MEN’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE GQ. STORY ON PAGE 14.

We’re not ignoring it, 24

Fan, Nathan Han, Chase Honaker, Will Hunt, Joshua Kang, Duncan Kirstein, Mujin Kwun, Dylan Liu, Albert Luo, Jack McCabe, Daniel Mirochna, Robert Newman, Connor Pierce, Richard Shen, Jonah Simon, Madden Smith, David Vallejo, Max Wang, Mark Weisberg, Seth Weprin and Matthew Zhang.

When you read a newspaper article, you kind of have a sense that there’s a much richer, more complicated, more human story that would take a few thousand words to tell behind those three paragraphs. That’s something I definitely learned while at St. Mark’s.

Senior Ayush Saha raised money for Boys and Girls Club, 21

Opinions

area and three in offices around the building. > CLOTHING DRIVE. The annual Clothing Drive was held Sept. 10-21. Students from all grades donated clothes, benefiting a variety of charities, including the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, Genesis Thrift Store, Austin Street Shelter and North Dallas Shared Ministries. > NATIONAL MERIT. Thirtyone seniors were honored as National Merit Semifinalists as their scores on the PSAT/NSMQT scores were among the top 1,407 in the state. Honored students include Shreyas Annaswamy, Rhys Arana, John Burton, Noah Carr, Connor Cheetham, Andy Crowe, Kristof Csaky, Parker Davis, Sahit Dendekuri, Owen Ditore, Ruoming

‘

Diversity in entertainment field, 20

The inconsistencies of English annotation standards, 24

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

the board is attempting to widen the scope of acts to other types of performances beyond even the typical fine arts. > RUTA SEPETYS VISITS. Internationally acclaimed author Ruta Sepetys visited Sept 17-18. Sepetys is known for her books Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy which are both New York Times bestsellers and international bestsellers. Her most recent novel, Salt to the Sea, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal. Sepetys arrived a few days before the red carpet world premiere of Ashes in the Snow, the film based on her novel Between Shades of Gray. Sepetys visited the Humanities 8 and English 10 classes. > MORRIS ’18 FILM RECOGNIZED. Clay Morris’ ‘18 film Dinner In 2036 was recognized by the All-American High School Film Festival July 2018. The futuristic work centered around longdistance relationships changing with technological advancements was the only film recognized of five submitted by the Fine Arts Department. Among Morris’ other recognized films are Fired and Jello by the All-American High School Film Festival and the Young Filmmakers Competition respectively. Morris is currently studying creative media production at the University of Oklahoma’s School of Communications. > CHOIR SIZE RECORD. This year’s choir is made up of 25 boys—the largest in choir director Tinsley Silcox’s tenure. The group, led this year by co-choristers Will Hunt and Ayush Saha, hopes for another excellent performance at the ISAS arts festival, as well as a national anthem performance at a Rangers game. This will be the second time the choir’s been led by two leaders, and their first Evensong will take place Nov. 4. > BLUES CLUB. The Blues Club, run by sponsor Stephen Houpt, welcomed two new members, sophomore Vikram Ekambaram on vocals and senior Alex Estrada on guitar. During their first meeting Sept. 6, the club practiced some old favorites in preparation for their two upcoming gigs: one at the Club Fair Sept. 18 and the next at the Austin Street Dinner Oct. 11. In addition, junior Eli Yancey is planning on playing both drums and bass. > FALL PLAY. The first play of the year, the play adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None,” a mystery story set in

England in 1939. It will be presented on the weekend of Oct. 26-28. The cast includes eight actors from here and three actresses from Hockaday, who were selected from an auditioning cast of 25 actors and actresses. SPORTS NEWS > SEAN WEBB GOFUNDME. A GoFundMe page was created to help raise money for junior varsity baseball coach Sean Webb after his house burned down July 26, 2018. A total of $5,280 has been raised out of a $10,000 goal. The family plans to use the money for buying the furniture and other appliances that were burned down. Webb is the son of physical plant director Mark Webb, who has been at St. Mark’s since 2005. The link for the GoFundMe site is: https:// www.gofundme.com/helping-thewebb039s-rebuild. > JV SPORTS. The volleyball junior varsity veterans team began their season 0-2, losing against Trinity Valley and the Texas Boys Volleyball Association team. Additionally, they placed third in the Houston Cup Tournament. The volleyball junior varsity rookies also started the season 0-3. Despite the losing start, both volleyball teams look to bounce back as the season continues. JV football’s first game against Cistercian was canceled due to the inclement weather Sept. 6

> MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS. The seventh and eighth grade volleyball teams, coached by Dwight Phillips and David Evans, respectively, kicked off their seasons with matches against Trinity Valley, the Texas Boys Volleyball Association and Greenhill. Postponed by lightning, the seventh and eighth grade football scrimmages on Sept. 6 against Cistercian were intended to be the start of competitive play for the John Perryman and Hayward Lee lead squads. The first official games for the teams took place on Sept. 13. The middle school cross country team had its first meet on September 13. New Chemistry teacher Cristina Macaraeg coaches the team alongside Brian Boucher.

At a glance: Homecoming dance What

A Back to the Future themed dance.

When

Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.

Where

House of Blues.

See page 19 for full Homecoming coverage.

issues

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

CUM LAUDE CHANGES

A tradition of recognition

The school’s decade-old custom of inducting juniors and seniors together into the Cum Laude society is coming to an end.

reté. Diké. Timé. Excellence. Justice. Honor. That is the motto of the Cum Laude society, one of the most prestigious recognitions an upperclassman can receive for academic attainment. But after decades of being done the same way — names being called one by one, students walking up the chapel steps — one group will be missing from the podium at the end of this year. That group is the juniors. After much consideration last year, the Cum Laude committee o cially made the decision in May to restrict induction to seniors only. Historically, the school has inducted ten percent of the Junior Class and ten percent of the Senior Class each year. With the new change, ten percent of the current Senior Class will be inducted, and twenty percent of future graduating classes will be inducted in coming years. The decision was made by Headmaster David Dini, Cum Laude committee president J.T. Sutcliffe, secretary ayMarie aughan and the rest of the Cum Laude Committee. “It was something we had been talking about during the course of last year,” Dini said. “After we had been through last year’s induction process, we had discussions over the course of several meetings about some potential changes we might consider doing in the future.” Consisting of 382 chapters worldwide, the Cum Laude Society was founded in 1906 and was brought to the school in the 1950s by then Headmaster Tom Hartman. “Bringing Cum Laude [to the school] was a way of elevating the academic profile of the school in addition to promoting] student recognition,” Dini said. Since its introduction to the school, Cum Laude has seen consistent, smaller changes. However, this new change is one of the biggest in the past 20 years and is driven by a variety of factors, including being able to evaluate a more complete view of a student’s academic career. “When you recognize boys at the culmination of senior year, it’s a more complete picture of their overall experience at the school,” Dini said. Another important benefit of the change is having more focus on one class as the committee decides which students to induct. “In a typical year, if we are recognizing juniors and seniors, we have to have an extensive discussion about the juniors being considered and an equally extensive discussion about the seniors being considered,” Dini said. “This change concentrates the focus on one class of boys.” The committee also looked at peer schools in how they manage induction. Although the decision was not solely based off of what other schools are doing, it was taken into account.

EMPTY SEATS After the new changes to the Cum Laude induction process, there will be no recognition for juniors.

“An overwhelming majority of the schools that we looked at are recognizing only seniors,” Dini said. “This prompted us to have conversations with other schools about the way that they did their Cum Laude structure.” Although Cum Laude is primarily an academic honor, the selection process involves more than just PA. “For some schools, it’s strictly a numeric decision. They don’t have a committee, and it’s “When you recognize just a numboys at the culminaber-based tion of senior year, it’s a calculation, more complete picture of a student’s academic period,” career.” Dini said. — Headmaster “Here, we DAVID DINI are very thoughtful and deliberate and have conversations about the experiences and successes of students.” The one downside students have noticed is that juniors who would’ve been inducted into the society will no longer receive the recognition. College Counselor Casey endason, however, does not see the absence of Cum Laude on a college résumé as a major hindrance going forward. ather, he sees a potential benefit for juniors. “I do not see this change impacting college admissions,” endason said. “I see it reducing unnecessary stress that builds a false assumption that holding this title is going to help a student land at a college he would like to attend. I am hopeful that juniors do not feel additional pressure revolving around Cum Laude.” Regardless of whether Cum Laude is on r sum s or not, endason said students have and will continue to land spots in top-tier colleges.

“We are seeing students admitted to fabulous schools with and without junior year Cum Laude,” endason said. “I am confident that our students will continue to be admitted to remarkable colleges and universities without Cum Laude designation in their junior year.” One aspect of positive change endason is hopeful to see is a change in culture at the school. He believes by taking off the pressure of being inducted into Cum Laude junior year, the collaborative environment that is typical of the school will last year-round. “There are students who feel like they need to gain a competitive edge over their classmates, so I see this reducing any notion of that and continues to build on the collaborative environment that I see unfold around campus every day,” endason said. “I hope students will continue to see their academics as a chance to lift up each other and support each other.” Junior Nicholas Tsao, who had hoped to be inducted this year into Cum Laude before he heard about the changes, thinks the new process has its advantages, especially when looking at people’s view of the Cum Laude recognition overall. “A lot of the people that were inducted into Cum Laude, especially in junior year, did not do what they did for the sake of Cum Laude,” Tsao said. “Cum Laude was supposed to be a recognition for what students had done but it feels sort of like a résumé building thing.” For the past two years, Tsao observed that students’ behaviors after the decisions were announced were more negative than usual. “The environment created is not ideal in more than one way,” Tsao said. “I can feel it creating some unpleasant feelings

among a junior class that normally should be very close knit. I definitely understand the motivations behind the change.” With the change in Cum Laude, Tsao doesn’t see the competitiveness as a problem that will show up anymore. “People aren’t going to have to worry about the consequences of getting in versus not getting in, at least in terms of college,” Tsao said. “If it’s for only seniors, then it’ll just be sort of a way of leaving a last mark, but it won’t mean anything for how they do it in the future. In that way, we still keep a little bit of what [Cum Laude stands] for, but we are removing that problem of breaking up the class.” Tsao is not worried about not having ample sources of recognition from the school. From his point of view, there are many more opportunities for students to be acknowledged for their academic achievements than just Cum Laude. “The change from juniors and seniors to seniors only could take away a little bit, but those people already get other awards at final assembly,” Tsao said. “There’s a lot of [recognition] for the academically striving people on campus.” Dini believes Nicholas the school values Tsao Junior recognition highly, and the new changes in Cum Laude will only highlight recognition. “Recognition is important, and we value recognition, but we want to make sure that it is done in the right kinds of ways,” Dini said. “We gave that a lot of thought and consideration. At the end of the day, we eventually reached consensus that this was going to be a positive direction for the school.”

STORY Sid Vattamreddy, Ishan Gupta PHOTO Rohit Vemuri

The other senior recognitions Headmaster’s Cup

Citizenship Cup

School Flag

Valedictorian

2014 - Lucas Williams 2015 - J. Carrington Kyle 2016 - Jackson Cole 2 - opal aman 2018 - Davis Bailey

2014 - Dylan Clark, Ryan O’Meara 2015 - Mason Smith 2 - Philip Smart 2017 - Edward Yang 2 - ach ilstrap

2 - ishal okani 2015 - Nathan Ondracek 2016 - Alden James 2017 - Andrew Lin 2018 - Canyon Kyle

2014 - Halbert Bai 2 - eorge Lin 2016 - Akshay Malhotra 2 - Patrick Mc ee 2018 - Harris Wilson

“

The whole walk to receive it is a total blur for me because the entirety of my St. Mark’s experience came rushing through me.”

“ Davis Bailey ’18

Headmaster’s Cup Recipient

Winning the citizenship cup was a great honor — it was wonderful being recognized by the faculty and it truly meant the world.”

“ Zach Gilstrap ’18 Citizenship Cup Recipient

The fact I was able to recieve such an award was humbling. When my name was called, I finally felt I made a difference.”

“ Canyon Kyle ’18

School Flag Recipient

Receiving the title of valedictorian was surreal — at a school like St. Mark’s, an award like that is especially meaningful.”

Harris Wilson ’18

Valedictorian

issues

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

FOREIGN INFLUENCE

A communist institute?

School’s security recognized nationally by James Rogers his past June, the school was one of the three high school campuses around the nation to receive the Facility of Merit for Safety and Security award, given by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security. According to the organization’s website, the award recognizes “a facility that has performed above and beyond normal operations to demonstrate an innovative approach to enhancing safety and security.” Director of Security Dale Hackbarth has been associated with this organization for the past five years, and this is the first year the school was recognized. “It’s a yearly conference that we go to.” Hackbarth said. “It emphasizes security in high school venues, not just in schools but also outdoor venues: football games, graduations or any large events.” The association not only holds the awards conference for spectator safety, but there is also a summit specifically for high schools. This is where Hackbarth says the organization learned about the rigorous security measures we have in place. “They got wind that we have quite a few cameras on campus,” Hackbarth said, “more than your normal amount. They asked me more questions and then had me write something up about our camera system, and I sent it to them. They then said that they’re going to recognize us and the Lamar Hunt Athletic Field.” Alongside the school’s venues, two other high schools and multiple professional venues were recognized, such as Dallas’s American Airlines Center, the University of Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium and the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon. Hackbarth emphasizes the many factors that attribute to winning this award beyond the school’s security staff. “It’s a team award,” Hackbarth said. “It’s not just for the security staff, but it recognizes facilities, security, faculty, staff, students and parents. It might say security and facilities [on the award], but I think in reality it recognizes the whole environment. It recognizes the security and the emphasis that we have here at St. Mark’s.”

After hearing critical comments from Senator Ted Cruz, people like senior Mark Weisberg have come to the defense of the Confucius Institute.

CROWD FAVORITE Senior Mark Weisberg grins as the audience cheers for him at the Bridge Competition in Kunming, China.

ommunist China is infiltrating American universities. The Confucius Institutes are the velvet glove around the iron fist of their campaigns on our campuses. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz

By the numbers

516 institutes worldwide

countries that have an institute

2.1

millions of students currently studying in an institute Source: ChinaDaily.com

The Chinese government-run Confucius Institute is nothing new to American soil. It’s the same institute that makes the international HSK Chinese Proficiency Test. It’s the same institute that sends funding to over 100 American universities. And the same institute that’s had direct ties to the University of Texas at Dallas, located only ten miles north of 10600 Preston Road, for more than ten years. It’s also the same Institute that’s been funding Marksmen’s trips to China for the Chinese Bridge competition over the past eight years. Cruz publicly stated and later tweeted these comments criticizing the Confucius Institute, known as Hanban in China, May 22 as a part of his series of efforts to remove Chinese influence from American higher education. The Institute, based in Beijing, establishes programs in American universities that are willing to become sister schools with a Chinese counterpart. UTD, whose sister school is Southeast University in Nanjing, not only receives funding from the Confucius Institute but also sends and receives students and teachers to and from the Chinese school. Although the school has no direct link to the Institute, Marksmen annually participate in the Bridge Competition, an international test of Chinese language and culture for dedicated students hosted by the Confucius Institute. Senior Mark Weisberg is one of the students who benefited from the Institute, winning competition at the local and regional levels in 2016 and gaining the opportunity to compete against students from over 200 other countries. “[The institute] paid for my trip to China,” Weisberg said. “It was a great time, a three-and-a-half week paid trip during the school year. Then, I also won a scholarship from that program that the Confucius Institute paid out to me this summer.” The scholarship of study, a grand prize for the top 20 winners of the Bridge competition, provides a free semester at any Chinese university. Weisberg used this scholarship to travel to Shanghai and experience the history he had read about in books. “You can go to places that were around before Jesus,” Weisberg said. “Places that were around before the

Greeks. You can walk on the Great Wall and it’s like ‘Oh, this is the first section that was built. This was built when the Xiongnu were invading North China.’” Seeing ancient history in first-person was completely new to Weisberg, but the most intriguing part of the trip was the amount of people he encountered. “If you go into a building that you don’t think is being used, the hallway will have three or four people walking through it,” Weisberg said. “If you go to a park in the middle of the day on a college campus where people should be having classes, it’s completely filled, if not with students then with elderly people. You go on the street at midnight, 1 a.m., 2 a.m, there’s still crowds of people clogging the streets.” From Weisberg’s perspective, the Institute has provided him with many opportunities that have helped him enhance his understanding of the Chinese language and culture. “The entire point, the reason why the Chinese government does it, is because they want the influence of Chinese people,” Weisberg said. “They want Chinese and English speakers to have that bilingualism. That’s hard to foster.” Weisberg acknowledges the differences between China and America. Not just in culture, but in ideas and in values. But for him, the Institute has done nothing except aid his linguistic growth. “There was a big craze about the Confucius Institute being some brainwash-type gig where the Chinese people bring Americans to China to teach them through the Chinese world lens and then finally get them on their side,” Weisberg said. “I think that’s fear mongering. Just because they’re a political and economic influence doesn’t mean that in every sphere of our lives China is our enemy.” Before his sponsored trip to Shanghai, before his scholarship, before his international competition — all the way back to his days in Chess Club — Weisberg always loved the Chinese culture. The experiences he’s had overseas fostered that love and taught him about a world much different than ours. “If you learn the language in a book and then try to go to China to work, you’re missing something,” Weisberg said. “And the goal of the Confucius Institute is to fill that in.” One way the Institute tries to educate high schoolers is through Confucius Classrooms. Chinese instructor Janet Lin, before joining the faculty in 2016, had established a Confucius Classroom in her previous school, Westwood Academy.

STORY Ishan Gupta, Paul Sullivan PHOTO Courtesy Mark Weisberg

The classrooms are always funded by nearby Confucius Institutes, and although the money they receive is indirectly transferred from the Hanban Headquarters in Beijing, there is no direct link between the classrooms and the Chinese government. “They don’t really control what you do because they can’t control you,” Lin said. “They are over there [in China], and there’s no way they can control you. They can’t even ask you to send an invoice because it’s your business.” At Westwood, Lin used her funding for Chinese New Year observations, International Week celebrations and field trips. But despite all the benefits, Lin felt like she always had the freedom to teach what she wanted to teach. “People asked me, ‘Hey, you benefited by the Confucius Institute. Are you influenced by them?’” Lin said. “No, I’m independent. I have my own mind. I know what best suits my student.” Because of the school’s ability to fund its own programs, Lin doesn’t see the need for the school to ever establish a direct relationship “If I didn’t have the with the Confucius Institute, there Confucius would be no opportunity Institute. for me to go to China.” According — senior MARK WEISBERG to her, the school’s never taken a single dollar from the Institute, even with all the free trips students like Weisberg have won. “When they go to the competition, they’re not going to sightsee,” Lin said. “They won the first place in the USA so they represent the USA by going to China.” At the same time, Lin believes the Institute has provided her students with valuable opportunities they couldn’t find anywhere else. “I want whoever’s learning Chinese to have first-hand experience in the country, to feel the culture, to be immersed in the culture,” Lin said. Overall, Weisberg echoes this feeling and believes his life wouldn’t be the same without the Confucius Institute. “Without the Institute, I wouldn’t be able to learn Chinese to the depth that I have now,” Weisberg said. “Not just the language, but also the culture.” Weisberg’s international competition, his scholarship, his free trip to China. They were all key factors to Weisberg’s personal growth and turned him into the person he is today. “If I didn’t go to China,” Weisberg said, “I’d be a completely different person.”

issues

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

5 Maintenance work completed over the summer

AP CLASSES

More than a college credit No more ‘teaching to the test’ as several prominent D.C. schools eliminate a long-lasting staple from their academic curriculum.

by Paul Sullivan he school’s maintenance staff made a number of changes over the summer. Among the most significant of the changes to the school was the removal of the alleyway by the school’s entrance and the big dirt mound by the batting cages around the carpool entry area. Thirteen years ago, when the first renovation was done on Norma and Lamar Hunt Field, there was a lot of dirt that was removed and the school decided to put that dirt in a mound just in case,director of the Physical Plant Mark Webb said. “It turns out that we’ve not really needed it,” Webb said. “We used some of that dirt [from the mound to fill in the concrete alleyway], then removed the rest of the dirt and put in irrigation. We still have a little bit more work to do there to fine tune everything but it’s about ready to use for practice fields.” The maintenance staff also conducted a well-needed campus wide repainting, according to Webb. “[In Hicks Gymnasium] we have painted walls, ceilings, frames, trusses, the whole nine yards,” Webb said. “We went to a pure white color. We also changed the color in the locker rooms. All the locker rooms in Hicks Gym are white with a flat black ceiling and you can see the artwork that they put in the hallways.” Afterwards, Webb and the maintenance staff replaced -year-old windows in parts of the Lower School. “We replaced about half of them this year,” Webb said. “That would include the north side and west side along with the windows on top of the roof and the windows that are near the fine arts rotunda area. The windows replaced were a part of the original building built in 1976. “It was clearly time to do some replacements,” Webb said. In addition to the other renovations, the campus has also amped up its security system. “We installed six cameras on the east side of the property that looks beyond the press box and along our tennis courts area,” Webb said. “That helps us out with safety and security. We now have about 93 cameras on campus.”

T FALLING OUT At schools in Washington D.C. where Advanced Placement classes are being taken out, more and more of the AP textbooks are losing their value.

gay

ore likely to have a higher GPA. More likely to enroll in a fouryear college. More likely to obtain an advanced degree after high school. Students who take AP courses have been proven to have a high chance of having success after high school according to multiple studies conducted by the Journal of Educational Research since the popularization of AP curriculum in 2000. Even with all of these apparent advantages, seven Washington D.C. private schools announced over the summer that they will be dropping AP classes from their schedules. The courses will be slowly phased out of the schools’ curricula over the next four years. The schools made the decision so their teachers could have more flexibility and

time to teach topics not on the AP exam. “[There is] too much minutiae [and] emphasis on test preparation,” Patty Carver, a veteran science instructor at one of the D.C. schools, said in an interview with The Washington Post. At 10600, teachers feel different about the role of the year-end test in AP classes. “Teaching to the test should not be the only goal of an AP course,” AP chemistry instructor Kenneth Owens ’89 said. “If you are only teaching to the test, then you are not teaching correctly.” Even though he uses a lot of time to prepare his students for the exam, Owens still feels he is able to teach additional information. “There are multiple topics I cover in my AP chemistry class that are not necessarily going to be on the AP test but would

be helpful for my students,” Owens said. Likewise, College Counseling Director Veronica Guzman-Pulido believes the school’s teachers do a good job at bringing outside information into the classroom. “Our faculty is great at being able to bring in other material to the curriculum, whether in AP classes or not,” Pulido said. However, one of the disadvantages of dropping AP classes is almost every school in the nation offers a variety of AP classes. “The AP curriculum currently is standardized across the country and across the world, potentially,” Pulido said. “It is a good indicator for colleges that students are learning in the same particular format.” This does not mean students have to take AP courses to do well in the college process. In fact, students can still take the AP exam without ever taking the class. “AP has never been a universal path to college credit or college acceptance,” Owens said. “You don’t have to take APs to be successful in college. And you don’t have to take the exams to show you know what you are talking about.” By excelling in AP courses and AP tests, students are able to forgo one to two semesters of college and save on tuition. Each credit a student earns can be worth up to over $600, according to a study done by Student Loan Hero, a college debt management firm. “I know friends who really did push to get their freshman year [of college] more or less out of the way,” Owens said. “They were not going to get a lot of money from the schools and that was an important consideration for their parents.” Additionally, the quality of education at any particular high school does not necessarily hinge on whether or not the school offers AP courses. “If I teach at a school with a good enough reputation,” Owens said, “I should be able to trust in the quality of the education regardless of whether the transcript says AP on it or not.” Pulido has confidence in the school’s ability to understand when to make changes and when things are working well in terms of the curriculum. “There are a lot of things that can be done with AP courses,” Pulido said, “and [the school] is very good at understanding where the student is coming from, where the faculty is coming from, and making sure everyone’s goals align with each other.” Despite the revisions the Washington D.C. schools made, Pulido believes students and teachers alike find a balance between bringing in outside material and utilizing the AP curriculum. “Our students here are well prepared with the curriculum currently offered, and the faculty is able to still encourage and push students to the next level,” Pulido said. “Although [AP classes] might not be as flexible as other courses, they overall work well in our school.”

By the numbers

1.2

millions of AP test-takers in 2017.

70%

increase in test-takers over last decade.

22k

schools that offer AP classes. Source: College Board

STORY Sid Vattamreddy, Robert Pou PHOTO Collin Katz

issues

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

INDEPENDENT STUDIES

Above and beyond

Say what? Comments from all around campus

As a way for students to explore topics untouched by standard curriculum, the school provides the opportunity to engage in an academic tutorial.

‘

he academic experience on campus offers a variety of subjects spanning from the natural sciences and mathematics to the humanities and foreign language. Some students, however, discover a keen interest in a specific field that is not explored by courses at the school. This hole is filled by the academic tutorial, or as ictor . White Master Teaching Chair avid Brown calls it, an independent study. This option, available only to seniors, allows students to dive deeper into a specific field they are interested in. “Independent study is the opportunity for one-on-one conversation and discussion between the teacher and the student on a topic that the student finds interesting,” Brown said. “I leave it up to the student largely to determine the curriculum that we will use.” Brown, who agreed to work with senior onah Simon in an independent study pertaining to classic novels and works of literature, believes the program provides a major opportunity. “I give some guidance,” Brown said, “but it’s up to the student to say, ‘I want to focus on this topic’. It’s a richly rewarding experience to be able to meet every week with us to do one-on-one for a period and just talk about something that interests him and that I know a little something about.” After previous experiences with independent studies, Brown sees a substantial difference between the traditional classroom experience and his one-onone tutorial with Simon. “It’s like a tutor,” Brown said. “We meet once a week instead of every day. I will give, in this case, onah an assigned reading on the topics that we’ve agreed upon, we come up with our own course of study and I give him certain pages to have read by the next week, and we’ll get together and talk about what those pages reveal.” Brown stresses that the

Isn’t Harvard in England?

unior Lache ar Had higenov

‘

If you can’t solve a problem in two minutes, I recommend crying.

Physics instructor Stephen Houpt

‘ NEW VIEW Senior Jonah Simon works one-on-one with Victor F. White Master Teaching Chair David Brown, studying great works of literature and novels in their independent study.

student is presented with more freedom and autonomy in the independent study. “The student is as much if not more of the creator of the course as the teacher is,” Brown said. “ Simon gets to choose what he wants to read, and I help him with the order that we’ll study them on and go from there.” “The nice thing about an independent study is that you get a lot of freedom and options to customize it how you want depending on what you’re studying.” — senior JONAH SIMON

Brown says there still are boundaries which should be obeyed. “While we do, as teachers, have a large amount of academic liberty at a private school,” Brown said, “we also have certain guidelines that we need to follow. There are goals and mission statements and course descriptions for every course that’s written here.” The opportunity of independent study allowed Simon to pursue his deep

interest in the fields of novels and literature. “I’m passionate about it,” Simon said. “It’s what I want to study in college, and I felt like I wanted to read some more of the classics before I got to college. Also, I just wanted to be well-read and educated.” Simon agrees with Brown that the independent study courses provide a variety of choices. “The nice thing about an independent study is that you get a lot of freedom and options to customi e it how you want depending on what you’re studying,” Simon said. Contrary to traditional courses at school, Simon will not receive a letter grade for his performance in the independent study. “I don’t get a grade,” Simon said, “so Mr. Brown will just decide whether I passed or I failed. We wanted to keep it as loose and as flexible as possible.” In the college application process, Associate irector of College Counseling Casey endason believes academic tutorials can make a positive impact.

“It counts as a class and colleges will see that the student is taking the tutorial and a big bu word in college admissions is curiosity,” endason said. “An academic tutorial is going to convey curiosities because that’s what the academic tutorial is all about. It can look very favorable in the eyes of colleges.” Despite these positives, endason points out the rarity of academic tutorials at the school. “Most students are taking the traditional courses over the academic tutorials,” endason said. “We could go two or three years without a student doing a tutorial.” Ultimately, endason believes that a close connection between student and teacher can pave the way to an effective academic tutorial. “I think the reason students pursue academic tutorials,” endason said, “is because they connected with a teacher who they really enjoyed working with and respect and would love to work alongside them in a more one-on-one situation.”

STORY Christopher Wang, Alam Alidina PHOTO Rohit Vemuri

I have legacy at M.I.T: Madras Institute of Technology. Senior Samir atakonda

‘

I feel like I’m being bullied.

History instructor Bryan Boucher

‘

Plastic is my favorite color. Sophomore Blake Broom

Around the corner On Campus Donuts with Darver · Where echerd Classroom · When Oct. and , - a.m. · What Spending time with Lower School Head Sherri arver Upper School Pep Rally · Where Hicks ym · When Oct. , a.m. · What Turning up for the football team

Trader’s Village Fajita Fest

Off Campus Showtime Saturdays · Where alleria allas · When Sept. 2 , a.m. - 2 p.m. · What ree entertainment for families Fajita Fest · Where Trader’s illage · When Oct. , all day · What reat food and great music

Record-breaking number of students in AP economics caused by increased junior enrollment by Sai Thirunagari record 2 students have enrolled in AP economics this year, with four class sections compared to the the three sections last year. Seniors are still the class majority, but History and Social Sciences epartment Chair avid isher attributes this addition to the increase in enrolled juniors. “Making more people aware there is no restriction to taking AP economics provided they have a recommendation from a tenth-grade teacher means that we have uite a few juniors signed up,” isher said. “There’s a sprinkling of juniors much more so than in the past.”

While juniors often take physics and an additional AP science class, economics is another AP course option that students can use to broadcast their different interests to universities. “If you’re not a math-science kid, and that isn’t the story you want to tell colleges, then maybe that’s part of the reason why AP economics is popular,” said economics instructor Chris isimile. “ Students want to paint a picture that says , ‘I want to be an econ major I want to go into the business school.’” While the notion that taking economics will provide

personal finance benefits to students is false, part of the course appeal is that students can learn about company and market behavior. “I’m not going to train you in my econ class to manage your own personal budget, to write a check, to know the difference between certain banking options or even give you tips on how to invest in the stock market,” isher said. “That’s not what this course is about. It will help you answer the uestion ‘How does the world work?’ But there is overlap between what businessmen and business students.”

issues

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

COVER STORY | continued from page one

Reference checking, background checks

Travel policy reflects emphasis on student safety

In light of recent allegations about a former instructor, the school continues to make protecting its students the highest priority.

ight to one. The ratio is everything to a school. It’s how easy it is to get help when you’re having trouble with math. It’s whether the teachers you’ve never even had address you by name when they see you in the hallway. It’s everyone knowing everyone, always willing to help each other out. And alumni coming back 20 years later to a community that remembers them and embraces them with open arms. It’s about familiarity, closeness. And personal relationships. But what if those relationships go too far? ••• Phillips Exeter Academy, a centuries-old prep school in Exeter, NH, released a report Aug. 24 detailing allegations of sexual misconduct against 11 former faculty members, including former St. Mark’s instructor Dr. Henry Ploegstra who taught here from 1984-2012. Ploegstra, who was employed at Exeter from 19661980, was accused of inappropriate behavior with students during his time at Exeter, but has repeatedly denied those allegations. Ploegstra also denied ever engaging in any inappropriate conduct with students either at St. Mark’s or at the Trinity School, a private school in New York where he taught before joining the St. Mark’s faculty 34 years ago. According to the report, Exeter allowed Ploegstra to resign following a student accusation in 1980, not publicly releasing the reason for his departure, paying him a year’s severance and continuing to give Ploegstra positive recommendations to potential employers—namely the Trinity School and St. Mark’s—for the remainder of his career.

“

We focus on the formal training, but we also help people in informal ways so they pay attention to the subtleties of human interaction. —

Headmaster David Dini on how the school trains faculty Throughout his application, recruitment and hiring, no red flags arose to school o cials that would suggest anything concerning about Ploegstra’s past. The Exeter report—coupled with dozens of other similar cases at universities, high schools and even religious institutions—has raised questions about student safety. To ensure that safety, Associate Headmaster John Ashton leads recruitment efforts for new faculty members. The first step in ensuring student safety begins in the hiring process for teachers, a multi-month, multi-step process that involves whittling large pools of applicants down to the final candidate. ven after that candidate is selected, the rigorous process is far from over.

“We identify the person we want to offer the position, and we offer the position,” Ashton said. “And if they accept, it’s contingent upon a successful completion of reference checking and background check. They get a background check of all public and personal records. Then [we] call and personally speak with at least three references.” The school does not stop with background checks for new teachers, however, because all school personnel undergo recurring background checks every five years. “In addition to the screening that we go through when we hire an employee, we also go through ongoing screenings of existing employees,” ini said. “We do routine, systematic background checks on all employees, even after they’ve worked here for a long time. That’s done across the board, just as a continual check of everybody who works at the school.” Not only are teachers thoroughly vetted before being hired, they also constantly undergo instructional training regarding student safety. “We invest a lot of time every year to make sure we refresh that information for everyone,” Headmaster David Dini said. “We focus on the formal training, but we also help people in informal ways so they pay attention to the subtleties of human interaction.” Teacher training begins well before students set foot on campus, as Director of Human Resources Lorre Allen leads all faculty members in a presentation detailing the rules governing adult-to-adult interactions as well as adult-to-student interactions. “It’s about two and a half hours long and that’s done every single year, and for anyone coming in, before or after August, they go through safe schools training, which covers harassment prevention staff-to-staff training online and harassment prevention, staff-to-student,” Allen said. The school implements specific practices to keep students safe, practices which go above and beyond what is mandated by law. “Our policies are more stringent than the law provides,” ini said. “We want to make sure that we’re doing things in a way that protects the well-being of everyone on campus.” Whether it is teacher-student relations or any other issue on campus, Dini says the school is continually looking at ways to improve its policies and strengthen the entire culture on campus. “It’s a growth mindset,” ini said. “It’s woven into the NA of St. Mark’s.” In addition to these preventative measures, the school also implements various policies to create an environment that supports the safety of students. “There are both policies that we have, like putting in place doors with windows,” ini said. “It also goes to giving employees a reminder about the importance of good judgment and responsibility. Ultimately, the care and safety of every student is our highest priority, and we are responsible for that.”

5 MAJOR STEPS IN HIRING PROCESS 1. Administrators review candidate pool for six to eight weeks. 2. Top two or three candidates are chosen, invited to school for further interviews and teach a sample lecture. 3. Finalist is chosen and they are offered the position. 4. Background and reference checks are performed. 5. A contract is issued.

STORY Kamal Mamdani, Sahit Dendekuri, Lyle Ochs, Parker Davis PHOTO Adnan Khan

LUNCH BREAK While faculty members constantly take precautions to stay professional at work, the culture of the school emphasizes the value of healthy and appropriate studentteacher relations.

by Parker Davis, Sahit Dendekuri ver the course of the past few years, the school has taken steps to ensuring safety in student travel. Previously, overnight travel was a rather decentralized process, running through division and department heads. But since 2014, the school has established consistent processes through which travel must be approved. And as the school looks to ensure the safety of its students in all overnight trips, one of the hallmark pieces of the travel policy is the fact that every trip requires the presence of at least two chaperones. According to Hunt, this helps to mitigate some of the risk associated with the trip. Should anything happen to one of the chaperones, another will be able to ensure the safety of the students at all times. Along with the two chaperone rule, the school has also revamped the travel program by making it more centralized, headed by director of student travel Scott Hunt. The goal of the program is to increase student safety with regards to both domestic and international student Scott Hunt travel opportuDirector of student nities. travel “We’re doing things like vetting chaperones and training chaperones and communicating what our expectations are as an institution,” Hunt said. “The primary consideration above all else is student safety.” One of the key elements of the program is Hunt. His role is to vet, coordinate and plan all school-related trips and outings submitted by members of the faculty and staff. “My job is not necessarily to plan the trips, but to oversee and be a resource to help faculty who are planning trips” Hunt said. “There’s a handful of other things we’ve done. But I think the big piece is establishing accountability through consistent processes.” With his role in the program, Hunt works closely with chaperones to educate them about travel practices that ensure that students are safe and that the trips run as smoothly as possible. “It’s not uncommon for people, when they travel and if they are new to traveling with students, to travel in the manner in which they might if they were traveling alone” Hunt said. “The reality is that when you are traveling with students and you’re responsible for their safety and their well-being, you have to approach travel through a different lens and so part of my responsibility is to educate faculty and to help them understand best practices.” Ultimately, student safety is the utmost priority in all facets of the program, even as teachers look to broaden students’ academic, athletic and social horizons through travel opportunities. “The school is invested in exhausting every avenue to make sure that we’re doing things the best way we possibly can and recognizing there’s risk in everything we do,” Hunt said. Our goal is to identify potential risks, find ways to mitigate them and develop plans should a risk become an incident.”

issues

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

COLLEGE DEBT

Forever indebted

WEIGHED DOWN With college debt accumulating over the years, students find themselves struggling financially postgraduation.

Rising tuition costs across the nation are breaking the bank for students. Can St. Mark’s break the trend?

e’s graduated from one of the most prestigious medical schools in the nation after a grueling eight years filled with late nights and hundreds of hours of intense testing. When he walks across the stage on his graduation night, there’s one thing that is weighing him down: the massive amount of college debt he’s accumulated, reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. College and student loan debt has continued its meteoric rise across the nation, totaling $1.48 trillion in the U.S. But one of those medical schools announced that they would cover tuition for all students. In August, New York University (NYU) School of Medicine announced it would cover the tuition of all its students, regardless of merit or need. The school, where annual tuition is $55,000, cited concerns about the overwhelming financial debt facing graduates. That same trend is happening all across the nation, at prestigious private colleges, public colleges, and even here on campus at 10600 Preston Road. NYU’s solution to tuition, possible due to generous donors, isn’t conceivable for every school. But as college tuition costs rise and St. Mark’s tuition follows pace, what does the future look like for students? ••• A 12th grader at St. Mark’s pays $31,750 in tuition to attend. That’s more than five thousand more dollars than the cost was ten years ago, and while some of that increase can be attributed to senior perks and inflation, there’s still is a si able

increase even while accounting for all other factors. The average tuition increase from year to year for the last ten years is 3.55 percent, while the average tuition increase for the last five years is . percent, following a nationwide trend. “We do our best to keep tuition costs down,” Suzanne Townsend, director of finance and administration, said. “But our financial aid package is our hallmark and what allows us to have such a diverse student body.” St. Mark’s financial aid is certainly one of the most generous in the nation as it impacts one out of seven students up to a total of $2.3 million. But for students whose families may be aided by the financial aid program or welloff enough to afford going to St. Mark’s, is the added cost of an expensive four-year college too much of a burden to handle? “We try to take that into account while granting financial aid,” Townsend said, “but it definitely is an issue and something we try to take into account while deciding tuition costs.” St. Mark’s and universities share the same issues that plague them and lead to rising tuition—supply and demand. More and more students want to go to college and more and more kids want to go to St. Mark’s. For elite universities looking for elite students, the margins are far tighter. And to lure that top talent, the amenities schools offer have become as important as their degree plans. And those amenities factor into the

ever-growing cost of tuition and other fees required to go to school. For instance, at NYU medical school, even with the $55,000 tuition cost paid for by the school, the students will still have to cover the roughly $27,000 cost of room and board. But high-flying and prestigious private schools aren’t the only schools with rising tuition costs. Public universities are also continuing the trend, and while attending a four-year private indstitution NYU may be infeasible for many students, the price of a four-year public university education is also becoming more of an issue. This school’s tuition may not continue that same rise though, according to Townsend. “We’ve been taking steps to try and limit tuition costs,” Townsend said. “It’s a tricky to balance – you don’t want to limit students and take any opportunities they would’ve had away, but you don’t want to put a strain on families financially.” For some students’ families, paying for a 12-year St. Mark’s education and then an expensive four-year college education can total up to half a million dollars before financial aid and other scholarships, well more than many can afford. And that has become a consideration for more students and parents while applying for St. Mark’s, especially those who are entering in the lower school and have to pay nine to twelve years of tuition. “It’s a tough situation for any parent,” Townsend said. “But certainly we’re working on slowing the increase of tuition and that is a priority heading forward.”

By the numbers

percent

of college graduates have student loans.

Over 1.48 Trillion dollars of total debt owed by Americans

$5,746 increase in tuition at 10600 Prestom Rd from 2013 - 2018

$343,860

what a 12-year student at this school will pay in total (based off tuition for this year)

$6,130 how much more tuition at this school costs than the average yearly rate for an out-of-state public university SOURCE: COLLEGE BOARD

STORY Nathan Han ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

Middle School Community Service Board to be revamped under new leadership by Alam Alidina iddle School Community Service co-sponsors Christina Jarke and Kurt Tholking are expanding the role of the board this school year. Jarke said the changes are designed to respond to an increase in interest among middle schoolers in leadership opportunities. “We wanted to allow those who have a passion for community service or who want to get involved in a leadership position to do so,” Jarke said. For Tholking, allowing more grades to participate is necessary to keep the program sustainable. “We can’t just have a two-person board that grows up and moves to the Upper School next year,” Tholking said. “We need to include other grades to keep it going.” Tholking also sees a need for more involvement from the Middle School in community service events at school. “A bigger Middle School board will have better representation at events and activities across campus,” Tholking said. Jarke and Tholking are slowly becoming more comfortable in their new roles. After the departure of former Middle School Community Service Board Head Meagan Frazier at the end of the last school year, they each felt a desire to become part of the program. Jarke was interested in getting to know the middle

schoolers better and fulfilling her own love for community service. After talking to Frazier about the role, she thought she would be a good fit. “I’m really passionate about community service and I wanted to engage with you all more,” Jarke said. She also sees working with Tholking on the board as a way to utilize both their strengths. “I handle the organizational side of things and [Tholking] has the computer knowledge and relationships with the students,” Jarke said. “We complement each other really nicely.” The new board is currently led by eighth graders Will Grable and Aadi Khasgiwala, but Tholking soon hopes to add additional members. “I’m looking forward to getting more students involved in community service,” Tholking said. “It was a big part of growing up for me.” Tholking recognizes it as important in broadening horizons. “We just want to foster empathy by having students visit other areas of Dallas,” Tholking said. “This is a great opportunity to get them out into those communities and by doing it in Middle School, maybe that will help them devel-

op a love of community service.” For Jarke, the program provides a way for students to give back. “It’s nice to get everyone to think outside the box about how they’ll impact the community,” Jarke said. “And down the road, when they become alums, it will shift from serving to potentially giving back to the school in a variety of ways.”

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

discoveries

TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

The ever-changing future

With technology advancing at such a fast rate, more diverse jobs are emerging. Are we ready for them? career in cutting edge technology, believes one area the school should work on is offering and sponsoring summer science internships for students, as right now students have to find and apply to programs themselves instead of the school guaranteeing spots for students like some other schools do. “I think that with the new science building,” Zinn said, “and with their new push for a better technical education, I think they really need to outsource more. You can learn history in school without needing to work at it, but you cannot do the same thing with technology. You have to be able to leave the gated walls of campus every now and then and interact with other entities.”

e’s walked a long road to get to this point. A grueling high school career at St. Mark’s. Four or more arduous years of work at a prestigious university. Long nights and early mornings at an internship fetching coffee. Now he is about to begin his very first day working in the ever changing technology field. A single uestion flashes through his brain as he takes a step forward. Am I prepared for this? Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron says the best way the Science Department and faculty can prepare students for such an ever changing technology world is by helping students establish a strong foundation. “By having a rigorous curriculum that teaches students why the science works the way it does rather than having them memorize algorithms or shortcuts,” Carron said, “we aim to make students as versatile in terms of their thinking and their skills as possible. We can’t prepare today for a specific career 2 years from now in a field that doesn’t currently exist, but we can prepare students to be able to adapt to those new fields.” However, the Science Department has two electives in particular which Carron believes will help prepare students for specific careers in the this type of environment NA science, which will be brought back next year, and information engineering. “In the new building construction, we prioriti ed those two fields,” Carron said. “There’s a whole wing of the building devoted to engineering and technology. The largest lab in Chris Eubank the new building is the biotech‘09 software nology lab, which has a flexible engineer design to try to accommodate changes in the field, which might be the most rapidly

changing out there in science right now.” With the new Winn Science Center, the department will not develop any new courses but will rather focus on these two electives in particular. One reason for this decision is the small student body. The other big issue with making more classes is that students may not take these classes just because they are not AP. “If we come up with a really cool science elective and offer it,” Carron said, “the students who are most interested in science are the most likely to sign up for the course, but at the same time they know they need a host of science APs with top grades and good AP scores to feel competitive for top science programs in college.” Silicon Valley software engineer Chris Eubank ‘ , who has gone through this school and reflects on his journey on becoming an engineer, stresses the importance of having practical knowledge under your belt as well as that of a strong curriculum. “The internships that I did were extremely valuable,” Eubank said. “Just to be able to get to work side by side with people who were just smarter than I was but also had so much on the job experience, and just gleaming that experience and knowledge from them.” Contrasting with popular views, Eubank believes language to be a pillar of success in the technology industry. “Preparing people for the tech industry, everyone wants to talk about programming classes,” Eubank said, “and I would take a step back and point at foreign language classes. The tech industry is inherently international. I work with people from all over the world and that’s the beauty of Silicon Valley. We’ve assembled so many of the brightest minds from across the planet and have concentrated them in this tiny geographical area.” Junior Meyer Zinn, who is seeking to pursue a

More valuable than both practical or classroom learning experience is the desire and passion to learn, Eubank says. Something that 10600 Preston Rd. instilled in him early on. “There is a foundational level of computer science that you have to have,” Eubank said. “But beyond that, I think what St. Mark’s did really well was not saying we are going to teach you this specific thing. It was more saying we are going to teach you to learn and we are going to teach you to get excited about learning.” Information engineering instructor Doug Rummel agrees that part of the responsibility to prepare students lies with faculty, who should be updated with the current technology industry and give students more opportunities. “If you’ve got faculty that are hungry,” Rummel said, “stay abreast in their fields, and want to learn new things, because you have the support that St. Mark’s offers in the summertime, you can get out and get an inkling of where things are going... Hopefully we can become a little more nimble in that regard. We have to give kids enough opportunities to play with the tools – more hands-on contact time.” While being prepared to initially begin working in technology is important, Eubank believes the bigger challenge is staying up to date with current trends in the industry while applying previous knowledge. “You are never going to show up to your job and know everything you need to know,” Eubank said. “Every single day I’m learning new things and learning new skills. That’s why we see the most successful people not going into a situation saying ‘I know what’s best.’ They are going into a situation saying ‘teach me about this situation and let me apply that to the things that I have done in the past.’” Eubank believes there is no way to predict what the tech industry will be like in ten or twenty years, so the best way students can prepare is developing curiosity and a desire to learn. “It’s always going to be a moving target in terms of what is going to be hot in the tech industry,” Eubank said. “What technologies and what types of programming are always going to be moving targets, so learning to learn and learning to love to learn is honestly the most important thing you can do early on.”

STORY Matthew Zhang, Mateo Guevara, Nathan Han ARTWORK Michael Lukowicz

Top five states’ new technology employment (in thousands) California

43.6

Texas

13.4

Michigan

13.1

Florida

New York SOURCE: COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

12 10.4

By the numbers

7.2 percent

The percentage of the the workforce in the tech industry in the U.S.

$112K

Estimated average annual wage of U.S. tech industry workers

1.4 Million number of software and web developers in the U.S. SOURCE: COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

“

There is a certain amount you can learn in school, but you really can’t learn about inter-organization al relationships, what motivates people or teams.” Chris Eubank, Silicon Valley sofrware engineer

discoveries

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

SUMMER RESEARCH

Summer in the lab

After finding and applying to certain summer research programs, students describe their work under professors.

Senior Shreyas Annaswamy Program: Nanoexplorers Project: Creating a robot for treating gastroschisis What is your project about? I helped design a device to close the opening in the stomach without too much scarring and we created a hollow silicone ring that would expand and contract pneumatically. It would be attached to a hole in the stomach and pull the skin inward. I worked on this in a 3D model software called Solid Works. Other people who had worked on this subject had taken the model and created a mold for it so they could 3D print the mold and the mold could be used to make a silicone model of the ring. What was the most difficult part of doing research? Starting the research process was the most challenging thing. At St. Mark’s, all the labs are basically spoon-fed to us, which isn’t bad since we get a new foundation for scientific principles. But being in this program where we were assigned to this lab and thrust into the program, it was a bit hard getting my footing in the ground. It was completely new learning environment. Do you think that school labs helped you in your project? The labs at St Mark’s did help since INTERVIEW Dylan Liu PHOTO Blake Broom

they’re geared to help us understand the real world applications of what we learn in science and give us good ways of performing that testing, and knowing what to understand from our tests and how to understand them.

Junior Nicholas Tsao Program: STEM-bridge Project: Making an aerogel material for sound insulation What motivated you to do research over the summer? I wanted to do research in something related to the fields of science that I study, and do research in material science, which is basically the perfect combination. Learning lab stuff and experiencing actual research is an applied skill you get by doing it. You can’t learn it from a book or anything. It’s fun and you get to see a side of it you don’t normally see. How is this different from anything you’ve done so far in school? It’s very different. As with any novel research, there’s no answer. You have to figure out what you’re trying to do by yourself, what goals you have to achieve, and you have to find ways to set out and do them while there’s not really a lab book directing you. What’s the most interesting thing

that happened during your time there? The lab was a material sciences lab, and there was a lot of stuff in there and it wasn’t exactly that organized. It was maybe as clean as the AP Chemistry classroom. The work area is pretty clean, but there were random shelves with Play-Doh in there. We were cleaning out the shelves once, and we found that someone made a box made of aerogel, and we played “Never Gonna Give You Up” ANALYZING SAMPLES Senior Shreyas Annaswamy pito test the gel’s effectiveness pettes samples into the thermocycler. Over the summer, Annaswamy created a robot for treating gastroschisis. in soundproofing. mograms from areas in Wyoming such as the Teapot Dome. I went to my lab, Senior Jason Peng looked at data, performed data analysis, applied algorithms, write code, do math Program: CAST and then plan what you’re going to do Project: Analyzing earthquake data and then do it. We analyzed the data to make a cutting-edge accuracy 3D model What motivated you to do research of the area. over the summer? I had a profound interest in physics and Has anything at school prepared you I wanted to do something I liked. School for this lab work or was it a comcultivated my interest even further. I pletely new experience? wanted to get a firsthand feel of what it’s It’s completely different from St. Mark’s like to be in a physics lab and do physics labs because you’re not really learning research. that much through the labs. You learn through the coursework and the labs are What things did you research and the applications, so you don’t know what what did you accomplish? the outcome is going to be. Geophysics. We extracted data from seis-

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

discoveries

SCIENCE SPECIALIST

Starting from scratch

Planetarium to have upgraded projectors

Lower School hires Matthew Dillon to be the first science specialist to teach first through fourth grade in advance of the Winn Science Building.

he time was ripe. With the Winn Science Center nearing completion, the real buzz on campus was all things “science.” And to capitalize on that, administrators decided it was time to have an instructor who exclusively taught Lower School science. The new addition to the faculty, Lower School science instructor Matthew Dillon, was hired over the summer and teaches fourth grade. Typically, Lower School staff members are re uired to teach multiple subjects at once. Dillon’s hiring is a step towards specialization of faculty for younger students. “Our teachers here all know how to teach science,” Darver said, “but we’re not science teachers per se.” A national search ensued, and candidates were slowly narrowed down until only Dillon remained. “We searched for that person that had science and elementary education experience,” Darver said, “and we happened to be blessed by finding illon, who was just a perfect applicant on every level.” After a series of video conferences and interviews, Dillon was hired, and he began the transition from his previous school in Hawaii, where he taught Lower School science, technology, engineering and math courses. “We were looking to relocate back to Texas,” Dillon said. “My wife’s family lives outside of Fort Worth. I started looking for teaching jobs in the area and I saw the posting for a Lower School science specialist at St. Mark’s.” While it is still early in the year, Dillon has already begun making small changes to the science syllabus. “He’s already started to look at our current curriculum,” Darver said. “Not just the science curriculum, but the entire curriculum of what every Lower School instructor teaches so that he can find connections to what they’re already doing in their classrooms. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him to determine what science is going to look like.” Dillon plans to meet with teachers by grade level as the year goes on and share his vision for the science program. “I’m real big on doing science, not so much studying science,” Dillon said, “but getting kids to interact with and look really closely at what they’re doing is really important to me.” Dillon has incorporated this idea into how he will make use of the Winn Science Center once its construction

is complete. “That’s kind of where my passion is, in science and maker’s ed.” Dillon said, “I was the lower school STEM and makerspace teacher at my previous school. They had printers, laser cutters and all that cool stuff with kindergarten through sixth graders, so I was looking for a job here that was similar.” Although it is still early in the year, there has already been a significant amount of positive feedback on illon. “The boys are loving science now,” Darver said. “I’ve heard so many great things about Mr. Dillon’s classroom demeanor, and we’re just really thrilled. I have nothing but positive things to say about him. He loves teaching Lower School.”

by Michael Lukowicz he new planetarium in the Winn Science Center will open for class usage this January. What started off as a re uest for a new planetarium turned into the plans for an entire new science building. Planetarium Director Dr. Stephen Balog, a contributor to the discussions and final decision, confirms that the school will always try to provide students with the newest e uipment. “Part of the contract is that if new technology comes out, we can work out a process to trade up,” Balog said. “So it’ll always stay at the cutting edge.” Two 4K-projectors will replace the old system’s single projector, vastly increasing the system’s resolution. “It’s still going to be digital,” Balog said, “but the biggest improvement is going to be that our old system was around 1,200 resolution, and this one’s going to be around 8,000.” The planetarium’s vendor, Spitz Inc., will take charge of training faculty and ensuring that they are able to take advantage of the new system’s capabilities. “[Spitz Inc.] will usually send down one guy, and we’ll work in groups of three or four,” Balog said. “After the week, we’ll be internally training each other.” or the first time, students may experiment with the planetarium. “After we get comfortable with [the planetarium], it would be possible to actually start training students to use it,” Balog said.

“

I’m real big on doing science, not so much studying science, but getting kids to interact with and look reall closely at what they’re doing is important to me. Lower School instructor Matthew Dillon

Balog considers opening it up to all types of video within various departments and subjects, especially film. “I’ve talked to Ms. Gilbert about if we could get the new types of Go-Pros that you can use to do 360 degree video,” Balog said, “we can actually have students do a video show.” The new o cial seating will hold 75 people, but Balog considers adding about a dozen beanbags to the front since the capacity slightly decreased. “The seating has actually dropped,” Balog said, “but that is because the new systems now are unidirectional, so everyone has to be facing the same direction.” Balog says that the school could have the capability of developing and shipping out educational products, all depending on how much students and faculty invest in the opportunities within the planetarium. “Our guys could be the ones who are trying out new things and building new things and then sharing it with the other schools,” Balog said.

NEW LOOK The new Lower School science instructor Matthew Dillon holds one of his favorite tools in the classroom.

Darver hopes that the addition of a dedicated science instructor will help encourage the younger kids to pursue science. “These little guys just love it,” Darver said. “Their natural curiosity just comes through in science and technology, and Mr. Dillon has a wealth of information on them.” Dillon has had a relatively smooth transition so far and is eager to keep going as the year progresses. “I’m really excited to be involved in this program,” Dillon said. “Developing a whole new program in the Lower School is going to be great.”

STORY Cooper Ribman, Trevor Crosnoe PHOTO Blake Broom WINN SCIENCE CENTER UPDATE

Sophomore selected for nature conservation trip by Matthew Zhang ophomore Josh Mysoré attended a conservation trip to Virginia through the Student Conservation Association (SCA) July 9-29. After finding out about the program from environmental instructor Dan Northcut ‘81, who taught Mysoré when he was in seventh grade, Mysoré decided to apply for the program. “The application process is pretty rigorous,” Mysore said. “It’s all online. I had to write a couple of essays. It’s your classic summer scholarship application: activities, hobbies, sports, personal accomplishments, write essays, talk a bit about yourself and you submit your application and hope you get accepted.” Mysoré and his crew’s work in Arlington, VA was focused on trail maintenance and trail cutting. They worked for about eight hours every day for three weeks.

“We would cut down trees and debark logs,” Mysoré said, “and then we would place them in the trail as water barriers. You see these all the time in regular trails. They are called ‘check steps,’ and they function as staircases, and it’s basically all to defeat erosion. Erosion is the number one cause of all trail buildup and mess up.” Mysor said he would definitely go back again if he could, as the more crews he joins the better placement he will get. Mysoré also found the experience valuable in ways outside of just doing community service. “I think SCA does a lot more than just give you an opportunity to work. It also facilitates leadership and strong work ethic,” Mysoré said. “I highly recommend it to anybody who is interested in environmental science and is looking for a way to give back to the community.”

Numerically speaking

8 number of lab stations for a typical lab

1,360 average square feet of a lab

12 labs in the new building (including the Makerspace)

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THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

LASTING LEGACY

In sickness and in health Following 19 years of service, Orchestra Director David Fray stepped down from his position when his wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

TOGETHER FOREVER David and Lynda Fray, who will be married for 50 years April 5, have faced battling her cancer together. Fray has devoted 19 years to musicians here as orchestra director.

Both r. ray and his wife Lynda have been consistent positive forces for me since I arrived on campus in 2 . Like so many in the St. Mark’s community, r. Fray goes out of his way to help and support others. He is an accomplished musician and teacher, but more so, Glenn he is a man who is centered Stroh and rock solid in his principles. His faith and family are at the center of his life. It grounds him as an individual, and it is amazing to see how he responds to the unexpected things which life brings. That has always been inspiring for me to witness as a colleague and friend. He sets high standards for himself and his students. I will certainly miss accompanying him on the ‘Kol Nidrei’ of Max Bruch, as has become tradition on our annual chapels commemorating Yom Kippur. — Organist Glen Stroh We had, if not half the orchestra, nearly half of the best musicians in the state, and all the top-tier players were St. Mark’s boys. That says a lot for him, r. ray. Our orchestra has been kind of the benchmark for which all the other orchestras are judged. There’s a lot of talent in there. We’re right across the hall from each other, so in the beginTim Hicks ning, he helped me. He was one of the first people I met here. He was always very helpful to me, getting going and getting oriented to the way they did things here. And we’d have to play in concerts around each other, so he’s always been there for me. It’s just been such a shock when he’s not here. When you work with someone for years, you notice that in little ways. He’s much more calm than I am. He’s definitely a man of faith, definitely. And he’s such an excellent musician. I’ve really enjoyed getting to work alongside him. —Band Director Tim Hicks

ourty nine years of marriage. A promise kept to take care of her in sickness and in health for 49 years. His promise to make a bowl of chicken noodle soup when she had the flu, and his promise to go on a late night CVS run to get a prescription. But this time was different. From not remembering the lyrics to a song she could sing in her sleep. To the moment he walked through the hospital room door and she could not come up with his name. “Who are you? What’s your name?” After years working on campus, r. avid ray made a decision to step down as orchestra director to care for his wife, Lynda ray, after she was diagnosed uly with a glioblastoma brain tumor that affected her speech. Past and present faculty and students took time to reflect on the impact r. ray has had on the school and their own lives. I was originally in choir but then I wanted to try something new. He took me under his wing the whole summer before seventh grade and taught me how to play the violin. He was the person that helped me the most. I would not be playing the violin without him. Matthew Raroque

The best thing that he did with us was preparing us for concertos and convication and concerts that we had. egardless of the seniors that left, he is still able to produce ama ing orchestras and concerts. I don’t know how he does it, but he has been able to do it every year. — Junior Matthew Raroque

Dr. Fray and I have been like roommates for two years because I have to come through his space to get to my space. We share a mutual faith in the Lord, and he’s really a prince of a man. I used to call him our artist in residence. His wife Linda Anglea is a gracious Hendricks person and a very talented musician.

Dr. Fray has always been very supportive of the choral program, so complimentary of everything that I did with the students and with the choir. or instance, on more than one occasion when I needed a cellist to play with the choir, I remember a couple of times, particularly during Lessons and Carols and once at vensong. r. ray came to rehearsals, learned the music himself and played. Having Tinsley that camaraderie among faculty Silcox is just so wonderful and so rare, but that meant so much to me.

I think of a man with a wit, and he controls his classes with a strong hand but a gentle heart. I think his high standard of expectation for the boys to do their best has produced a really strong orchestra every year.”

I’m sure that the new orchestra director will have the same sort of relationship, but it’s tough to lose a friend and a colleague from teaching abruptly. When you do the same thing for 19 years in the same place, you have to leave an impact, and I think over time we’ll figure out what that was.

—Piano instructor Angela Hendricks

—Choir Director Tinsley Silcox

STORY Sam Ahmed INTERVIEWS Jamie Mahowld, Luke Piazza, Robert Pou PHOTO Courtesy David Fray

HOW YOU CAN HELP If you would like to support Lynda Fray, go to caringbridge. org, where you can help with her chemotherapy treatments by making a donation. You can also send thoughts and well wishes. Viewers can track her progress through updates.

Going from public school orchestra to private school orchestra was a pretty big transition, and so he was a guiding figure through that. I think a large reason why I made All-State all three years in high school was because he played a really big part in my audition process and helped me refine my excerpts.

Austin Zang

—Junior Austin Zang Dr. Fray has taught me for nine years. He is one of the few teachers that has seen me progress in a skill from the very basics to performing at ISAS in front of large audiences. He’s been an advisor and mentor for me throughout high school. He taught me how to hold a violin bow, play twinkle twinkle little star for Rohan the first time. Vemu

For me, music has been a huge part of my life. I enjoy playing the violin and listening to classical music because of r. ray. He’s been an advisor and mentor for me throughout high school. Though the majority of the students have not come into contact with r. ray, all the orchestra members, former and present, will be able to tell you about some positive impact r. ray has had on them. —Rohan Vemu ’18

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THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

SENIOR CHEF

Jackson Cole ’16 takes part in Teach for America over summer

On the line

Senior Darius Ganji worked for two summers at Tei-An and left with more than just experience under his belt.

t was an honor no 17-year-old could ever expect. After working the entire summer in the kitchen at the highly-renowned Japanese restaurant, Tei-An, senior Darius Ganji sees Teiichi Sakurai, the head chef of the restaurant and Ganji’s mentor, scribble something down on a thin sheet of paper and signal Ganji to come over. Sakurai, known as “Teach” by everyone in the kitchen, places the piece of paper into Ganji’s hands. Flipping the paper over, Ganji’s eyes immediately light up at the bold text: Dear Darius, D Magazine, Best Japanese Restaurant of Dallas, Tei-An Signed, Teiichi Sakurai. No way, he thought. “I want you to have this,” Sakurai said. “You’re really passionate and into cooking, and I want to inspire you by giving you this certificate.” “Teach.” The chef who brought him into a professional kitchen, who taught him how to filet fish as long as he bought cheap fish and pushed him to prepare the nitty-gritty ingredients day after day, was passing on the restaurant’s highest honor to Ganji. ••• Just before entering ninth grade, Ganji began to take an interest in cooking during Pecos, the ten day camping trip completed by every freshmen class. Cooking every day

CLOSE CUT Ganji fillets fish in preparation for the day ahead.

that trip using ingredients like Spam, Ganji sparked his cooking passion. “My freshman year, right in the fall of it, I just started cooking,” Ganji said. “And that was a mix between the Pecos wilderness trip, as I enjoyed being part of the cooking crew, and then an Iron Chef competition my friend

After a grueling first day, Sakurai told him to bring in cheap fish so he could learn how to fillet fish. “And so the very next morning I go out early and buy some fish from H-Mart,” Ganji said. “He found that to be pretty cool.”

Some time later, with both his knives and his skills sharpened, Ganji was beckoned over by Sakurai once more. “Basically, D Magazine had come and awarded him with the Best Japanese Restaurant award, and he’s not a guy who’s big on awards, so he came over and handed it to me and signed it, and I was like ‘There’s no way this is an actual thing,’” Ganji said. While it may only be some ink on paper, for Ganji it was the culmination of his time at TeiAn. The same certificate now sits mounted on his wall, forever a reminder of his hard work. “It’s nothing huge, but it’s very symbolic for me,” Ganji said. “I remember my brother came to Tei-An one night when I was working, and he said Teach went over and said some really nice things IN HAND Early in the morning after buying fresh about me which was very fish from H-Mart, senior Darius Ganji prepares to heartwarming.” filet the morning’s catch in the kitchen at Tei-An. Now that summer ended, Ganji knows he is held at his house.” one step closer to entering the real After learning basic recipes cooking world. from Tasty, a page on Facebook that “[This summer] proved to me released cooking videos and building that I’m able to handle an environenough reference points to create his ment like that,” Ganji said. “I have own dishes from, Ganji continued cooking with Ten Ramen, a shop inspired by the busy streets of Tokyo. During one of Ten Ramen’s open kitchen sessions, the executive chef informed Ganji of a new location holding their soft opening in North Dallas. Becoming a regular and demonstrating his cooking talent, he convinced the executive chef to let him train there. “Come around this next summer I walked the knowledge of what an environinto Tei-An, and ment like that is, and when I go into I was like, ‘Hey, it, I know I can handle it.” can I just start Building from this experience, helping out here Ganji plans to pursue a dual-faceted this summer?’” career in cooking. Ganji said, “and “I want to be a chef owner. So the chef was like, not just a chef, not just a restaurateur, ‘Sure.’ So basicalbut a mix of both,” Ganji said. “Obly for a month, viously, I would start out more on every single shift, the shift side, and then as I got more I would come experience, I would open up my in and work 13 own restaurant and then hopefully hours a day.” expand from there.” STORY Tianming Xie, Luke Piazza PHOTOS Adnan Khan

by Rajan Joshi ackson Cole ’16 was determined to actually make a difference in the community this summer. He didn’t opt for the normal college summer of staying at home and taking it easy for a few months before starting his junior year. Cole decided to work an 8-week internship with Teach for America, traveling to Nashville, Albuquerque and Chicago. In this internship, he had the opportunity to work with nonprofit groups improving education in their cities. Everything he did was linked to education and helping to make it better. Cole’s motives were largely inspired by his expreiences with faculty at 10600 Preston Rd. “It’s a long list of teachers who have inspired me at St. Mark’s,” Cole said. “I look at the amazing teachers… how much impact they had on my trajectory, and I was thinking, ‘woah they get to impact so many people every day.’” Cole strongly values effort faculty put in every day to guide students onto the correct path. “I’m not the only one who can say that about them,” Cole said, “so it really inspired me to want to get involved in education.” While many instructors here have inspired Cole, there is one in particular who stands out. “I’ve definitely had a lot of great teachers, but if I had to narrow it down to one, it would definitely be r. Martin] Steg[emoeller],” Cole said. “Dr. Steg really got me thinking about what makes a good man and what makes a good life.”

TEI-AN Location 1722 Routh St Suite 110 Hours Open 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. TuesdayThursday 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. FridaySaturday Price Range $31-60 Head Chef Teiichi Sakurai

OUT OF THE PAN Ganji stir fries soba noodles in the kitchen.

Stegemoeller is excited to see what Cole will do in the future and believes the oppurtunities for him are nearly endless. “He’s going to have a lot of options. He’s a great problem solver; he could go into law, he could really do anything he wants to do,” Stegemoeller said. Cole always has Stegemoeller’s full support during his service adventures. “I’m here to support him in any way I can,” Stegemoeller said, “to let him have the best life he can, and he knows that you get the most out of giving the most, and I’m just here to help.” Advice from faculty members here has cemented a place in Cole’s mind as he ponders his future. “One thing we talk about a lot at St. Mark’s is servant leadership,” Cole said. “So I know that whatever I want to do, I want to do it well. I want to be a leader, someone that others look up to.” For Cole, leadership goes beyond the position and status; it’s about the people and community. “But I also want to do it in service.” Cole said. “In service to the people, I interact with the communities around me, but also in service to others generally.” However, Cole’s service won’t stop after he leaves, as he aims to continue helping in any way he can during college and beyond. “Teaching is definitely something I’m looking at, possibly doing Teach for America after I graduate, and actually becoming a teacher for two years, but I don’t know exactly where that path will take me. All I know is that it will be in service to the communities that I am a part of.”

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AROUND THE WORLD

The human story

How an alumnus, caught up in criminal reporting, worked his way to a journalism career.

STORIES MAX MARSHALL WORKED ON WHILE ON THE REMARKER • Slowly Chipping Away, December 2010 • A Dangerous Dose March, 2011 • Same-Sex date policy clarified in Lion Tracks, September, 2011 • Girl Talk, February 2012

“

Writing can be a great tool for pushing yourself out of your interests.” Max Marshall ‘12

t could have been something straight out of a Hollywood script. Foreign gangsters, a millionaire director, a pursuant reporter. Standard criminal intrigue. ••• Fresh out of Columbia University, wide-eyed Max Marshall ‘12 was writing in Saigon for the Vietnam News. Marshall had nearly a decade of work under his belt, ranging from op-eds in The Columbia Spectator to a New York Times column. His journalism career, however, began here, where he served as managing editor for The ReMarker, where he became a mentee of Steve Miller ‘81 and where he earned a certain deep respect from his peers and teachers. “It’s nonfiction writing where you have to come in with the right balance of knowledge and ignorance,” Marshall said. “You need to know enough so you can stand on your feet and look around, but you don’t want to think you know everything, or else you won’t actually get the real story. ” But here was something new, something odd, something unscripted for Marshall to face. It wasn’t bound to be a happy tale—the story of Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the director of the 2017 summer blockbuster Kong: Skull Island. One of Vogt-Roberts’s post-op photos that eventually reached the press, one that shows a deep gash laced with deep stitches on his forehead, barely scratches the surface of the brutality shown to the director by a group of Canadian-Vietnamese mobsters out to get him. “It was unreal,” Marshall said. “I mean, I found out about him while I was living there [in Vietnam], but GQ (a monthly men’s fashion and culture magazine based in New York) sent me back to do more investigative reporting.” It was a months-long pursuit after which Marshall and Vogt-Roberts could bring the so-called “United Nations” gangsters to justice. Since then, Marshall’s July GQ article, “Attack on Skull Island,” has received praise and due press, an invigorating checkpoint in a career that began at St. Mark’s. And after an exhilarating year in Vietnam, Marshall transitioned back to reality in America, returning to the life of a New York freelance writer. Marshall’s writing career began its tenure with Texas Monthly in college as an intern in Austin. So far, he’s written ten articles for the magazine, established in 1973 by Mark Levy ‘64, including an upcoming cover article on his former mentor Steve Miller. “My first gig was just as the music critic for Texas Monthly,” Marshall said. “So I was just doing their monthly album reviews, and then I started do some lengthier stuff. I had an essay with them while I was in Vietnam, and my biggest piece so far was “St. Mark’s is probaa thing that was actually bly — definitely — the about St. Mark’s, about single community that I can come back to in my touring with the Steve mind as the place where I Miller Band.” learned who I want to be After college, he and how to get there.” spent a year on his own — Max Marshall ‘12 time living in Vietnam through Princeton in Asia, a postgrad fellowship that secured his infatuation with the country and, eventually, led to the Vogt-Roberts incident. Since then, he’s bounced around, taking independent work in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. But despite his seemingly nomadic “freelance life, hopping around from place to place,” Marshall’s memories rest at 10600 Preston Rd. “St. Mark’s is always on my mind,” Marshall said.

IN FOREIGN PARTS Max Marshall ‘12 rides a motorcycle through the streets of Saigon, Vietnam.

“The only trip I took home while I was in Vietnam was to go to my fifth year reunion. I think also that when you’re abroad, you start to think hard about where you come from, and you think about the communities that meant the most to you.” His inspirations also derive from the school, where he cites influential teachers like ictor . White Master Teaching Chair David Brown, English instructor Curtis Smith and Gene and Alice Oltrogge Master Teaching Chair ay Westbrook as reasons he’s not at law school, as reasons he can approach writing as a passion rather than as homework. “It’s something about their teaching style,” Marshall said, “that gave me a sense of freedom to try things linguistically, like an essence that you don’t have to be writing by formula. The goal of writing can maybe be to express your personality, to express your way of seeing things, to express your view of the world, to try and fail to be funny.” According to Brown, Marshall’s convictions were ever present here. “He was an excellent writer,” Brown said. “Great at engaging with discussion, any topic. He loved literature, and he tended to be unconventional, to take the devil’s advocate. You could

STORY Jamie Mahowald, Rajan Joshi PHOTO Courtesy Max Mashall ARTWORK Michael Lukowicz

almost see in his face a sort of smirk when he went into a direction that sort of went against the grain and challenged conventional attitudes, which I always appreciated about him.” The brightness everyone sees in Marshall motivates him keep searching for those personal stories. “When you read a newspaper article,” Marshall said, “you get a sense that there’s a much richer, more complicated, more human story that would take a few thousand words to tell behind those three paragraphs. That’s what I’m always looking for and that’s something I definitely learned at St. Mark’s, looking for those deeper stories—those more human stories.”

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NEW FACULTY, STAFF

Joining the family Jack Mallick ‘14, Reunion and Major Gift Coordinator: Hobby: playing water polo. When I was younger... I looked like Manny from Modern Family. If I could do anything over... [I would] get in shape before the Pecos.

Matthew Dillon, Lower School science specialist: Favorite book: Princess Bride. Favorite song: “Amazing Grace.” When I was younger... I had a full head of hair. One day, I want to... take my wife traveling in Europe.

Eric Slingerland, fifth grade humanities instructor: Favorite movie: The Sandlot. One day, I want to... write a book. If I could do anything over... it would be Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom.

Zach Smith, seventh grade science instructor: Favorite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Favorite vaction place: way, way, way away from everything. Hobby: ski-surfride-climb-paddle.

Pet peeve? Favorite book? 14 new faculty, staff give insights into their own lives.

Zach Erwin ‘96, Foreign Language Department Chair: When I was younger... I sang a lot more—mostly at Evensongs and on seven St. Mark’s choir tours. If I could do anything over... I wouldn’t step away from teaching temporarily at the age of 25 for a (very brief) stint in law school. Pet peeve: social media braggadocio.

Donald Kiehn, interim Middle School science teacher: When I was younger... I wanted to be a veterinarian. One day, I want to... become more involved in politics. At the end of the day... I’m happiest spending time with my two boys. If I could do anything over... I would try to be more outgoing and get more involved in high school and college activities.

Kevin Boone, technology specialist: Hobby: computers. One day, I want to... climb Mt. Rainier. At the end of the day... I just want to take a nap. If I could do anything over... [I would have] bought Apple stock.

Greg Crook, seventh grade humanities instructor: Hobby: following MLB and the Atlanta Braves. Pet peeve: people who leave their grocery carts in the parking lot. At the end of the day... I am grateful for my family and friends.

Ike Crews ‘08, sixth grade humanities instructor: One day, I want to... be able to dance like Curtis Smith. At the end of the day... I like to take a nice bubble bath. Pet peeve: people who drive slow in the left lane. Danielle Harmsen, Administrative Assistant to Physical Plant and Security: Favorite book: anything Dan Brown has written. Favorite vaction place: Grand Lake, CO. Hobby: knitting, photography (black and white).

Liz Kraft, Middle School math instructor: Hobby: running, swimming/ diving in the summer. When I was younger... I wanted to be a teacher or a dancer (I never learned to dance). If I could do anything over... I’d dance with my children from the time they were very young.

Cijlvere Nute, College Counseling Coordinator: When I was younger... I had a life size cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan. One day, I want to... travel around Italy and eat all of the pasta. If I could do anything over... I would have done a study abroad program in college.

Tonya Riley, Human Resources and Accounting Coordinator: Hobby: creating music playlists and genealogy. When I was younger... I wanted to be an actress. One day, I want to... skydive. If I could do anything over... college years, it was fun!

Cristina Macaraeg, Upper School chemistry instructor: Hobby: Baking cookies and challah. One day I want to... summit Kilimanjaro. Pet peeve: gum chewing and close talkers.

Each with his story, 3 alums return to teach, lead departments and help out in advancement efforts

ifferent names. ifferent faces. ifferent buildings. But still the same old place. Still the same old home. espite taking different paths after graduation, ach rwin ‘ , Ike Crews ‘ and ack Mallick ‘ have all returned to . ••• Zach Erwin ‘96 decided he wanted to become a teacher after being in . . Connolly Master Teaching Chair Nancy Marmion’s tenth grade Spanish class. “We read a play, and we were asked to present a part of the play, like teach the class,” rwin said. “I had so much fun doing that. That’s when I thought, ‘Hey, I could do this for a living.’” rwin attended mory University and completed his bachelor’s degree in 2 . He then worked at Woodward Academy, a private school in Atlanta, for two years. Afterwards, rwin attended uke University, where he completed his master’s degree in 2 and his doctorate in Spanish literature in 2 . He taught at Swarthmore College for one year, at University of Texas for two years and at Monmouth College from 2 until this year. “I really enjoyed my time teaching at the high school level, at the pre-college level,” rwin said. “Last year, Mrs. Marmion contacted me and said, ‘We have a position

open here for a Spanish teacher and for a new department chair.’ And I thought, ‘Well, this is my moment it’s a sign.’ So I applied, and here we are.” When he graduated, ack Mallick ‘ had no idea where his path was going to lead him. “It’s tough to pinpoint what you want to do, and I had a rough idea that I wanted to do something with people,” Mallick said. “I wanted to do something where I could promote something I truly believe in and I’ve experienced, so when the opportunity came to not eventually come back to St. Mark’s but to actually start at St. Mark’s, I was all over it.” raduating from Texas Christian University in 2 with a bachelor’s degree in communication and economics, Mallick heard about an opening in the Communications O ce and applied immediately. While recogni ing and understanding the changes made to the school ever since he left, Mallick still believes that the fundamental purposes of the school have remained the same. “ ou know, the cosmetic things have changed the buildings, the lunch, the faces, but what hasn’t changed is the mission of the school for sure,” Mallick said. “A lot of times when you get a leadership change, they take things

in a different direction and that’s not what has happened at all. I think we’re getting better every year and I think we’re striving for excellence every year, and that has stayed the same for sure.” ••• Graduating from the school in 2 , Ike Crews immediately felt the urge to travel abroad. “Before I went to college, I took a gap year,” Crews said. “I went to Peru for three months working on Incan ruins and teaching nglish. After that, I headed to Australia for six months, where I worked as a door-to-door salesman and a banana picker, as well as working at an infrastructure company.” espite his newfound experiences and knowledge gained from his journey, Crews still felt the pull toward one of the first places he learned to call home. “ ou know, I was walking to the parking lot after the football game against Casady last riday, and I just happened to look behind me and see the moon shining through the bell tower of the chapel,” Crews said. “All of a sudden, I was just hit with this sense of d j vu. No matter how much St. Mark’s has changed, it’s still the kind of place where guys will stay late, even until the moon is out, just so they can hang out and work along with their brothers.”

STORY Sai Thirunagari, Han Zhang PHOTO Adnan Khan

Clearing their minds: Teachers look to meditation for calming moment during the day by Mateo Guevara n an attempt to distance themselves from their busy lives, Chinese instructor anet Lin and physics instructor Stephen Houpt turned to daily meditation to glean a moment of calmness during their hectic schedules. Houpt uses meditation to calm and orient students before the lesson begins by having a silent period at the beginning of class. “I meditate every class period at the beginning for fifty seconds.” Houpt said, “ verybody in the class has to be uiet, we do fifty seconds of silence. Whether they meditate or follow their breathing

or just sit there and don’t say anything is up to them, but I follow my breathing in terms of meditation.” Having first learned how to meditate in Taiwan, Lin feels that mediation has become a vital part of her daily routine and preparation for the day. “ or me, because I have a busy life, I can clear my mind, so I can make decisions more e ciently,” Lin said, “and I feel like that’s an effective way to do that.” Meditation wasn’t easy for Lin at first, she says that it might take up to months for an individual to start up a habit of meditating.

“When at first you start practicing I will say for a couple months your brain will be spinning,” Lin said. “ ou cannot have five or ten minutes of just sitting there and not thinking of anything. It takes time to get used to and after a while you clear out your mind and that helps you to breathe.” Meditation and Chinese poetry serve a different purpose for Houpt who uses the translations of poems to find inspiration for his songs. “I’ve certainly used or adapted translations of Chinese poetry to write some of my songs,” Houpt said. “I’ll find a poem I particularly like and I’ll

play stuff. Maybe I happen upon something that fits with the poem. Often the poem isn’t exactly right for being a song so I have to change things here or there.” or those interested in trying to meditate, Lin warns of dangers commonly associated with students and meditation. “I don’t mix meditation and sleep,” Lin said. “That’s the student’s issue. Students think that meditation is just going to sleep. Meditation is relaxing and concentrating at the same time, you need to concentrate on your breathing while taking everything out of your mind, while also relaxing your muscles.”

perspe

16, 17

on the path to

manhood Learning to become a good man, a leader and a citizen is just as important here as preparing to become a doctor, a lawyer or an investment banker. The new direction of the character and leadership program focuses on those life skills.

arksmen know how to graph linear functions. They know how to use commas and semicolons. They know how to hold a conversation in a foreign language. They know how to push hard in the weight room and on the

field. Now, they’ll know how to tell a profound story of their growth from boyhood to manhood. With the introduction of the Path to Manhood portfolio to the character education program, students will create a complete record of their personal growth throughout their years at 10600 Preston Road.

“The Path to Manhood portfolio becomes this place of reference so a student can track how they’ve developed and grown and how they’ve learned new leadership skills, new character virtues,” Mason Smith ’15 said. “It’s also a medium for students to tell their stories and develop a narrative about their growth as a man that they’re proud to tell.” Smith, now a senior at Stanford University, served as a character and leadership intern over the summer. Under the leadership of Malcom K. Brachman Master Teacher Martin Stegemoeller, long-time director of the Telos and Leadership and Ethics programs, Smith was instrumental in developing the new portfolio. The portfolio builds on the existing character development projects across the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. These early versions of the portfolio have already made a significant impact for the youngest Marksmen on campus. Dr. Martin Stegemo“Last year, the eller Lower School kids Malcom K. Brachman actually used exerMaster teacher cises they had done month-to-month to run the conference with their homeroom teacher and their parents,” Stegemoeller said. “Apparently, that was wildly successful.” As they develop their abilities of reflection, they are introduced to increasingly complex philosophies. “These concepts will get expanded and reviewed over time, growing with each level of school,” Stegemoeller said. “The skills that they’re trying to master go from engaging as the goal, to serving as the goal, to coordinating as the goal.” Other programs at the school will reinforce

core ideas inside and outside the classroom. “As they get older the [expectations] grow more ambitious, so the prompts get to be more interesting, give more possibilities of the way a boy can take them,” Stegemoeller said. “The goal is to review and to expand.” The impact of the portfolio is intended to reach beyond a student’s twelve years here, helping boys reach their goals for college. “There’s a synergy between learning those skills and preparing for college,” Smith said. “At St. Mark’s, we believe that by learning to become thriving members of our communities, we’ll be better prepared for college applications.”

ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS The Path to Manhood statue over

Years of character and leadership programming formally incorporated into the curriculum

Smith believes the portfolio will help every Marksman tell his story as an important part of his college application. “We’ll be able to tell our stories well and point to these specific examples of how you become a leader and why you should become a member of that college community,” Smith said. Stegemoller looks even further into the future, into careers in public service. In his eyes, this is the ultimate culmination of the path that starts with the portfolio. “To me, the fact that we’ve never had a mayor of Dallas be a St. Mark’s grad is sad,” Stegemoeller said. “Chief of police, district attorney, city councilman: These kinds of positions are so important for the city. Why aren’t our alums running Dallas?” Ultimately, the updated programs will help Marksmen better understand themselves in the context of the communities they serve. “If there’s one thing I want all students to learn before they graduate,” Stegemoeller said, “it’s that they will thrive the most when they’ve learned how to take care of the world in a powerful way. If every boy knows linear functions, if every boys knows basic grammar and punctuation, then every boy can know this too.”

One portfolio, three sch

“

Boys will thrive the most when they’ve learned how to take care of the world in a powerful way.” Dr. Martin Stegemoeller

TWO-POINT PERSPECTIVE Stegemoeller and Smith discuss the future of the character education program. Instead of spending his summer interning in a more typical environment, Smith decided to return to contribute to the portfolio’s development. Combining Stegemoeller’s expertise with Smith’s alumnus reflections ensured the portfolio’s provided meaningful and powerful opportunities for today’s Marksmen.

STORY SAHIT DENDEKURI, SAM GOLDFARB, JAMES ROGERS PHOTOS RYAN MCCORD, KYLE SMITH

diploma, a membership into an expansive and accomplished alumni network and a chance to stride across the graduation stage like the many Marksmen before. Graduating brings many meaningful rewards. In the coming years, students will leave with a new remembrance of their time here. With yearly contributions from each grade in Lower School, ‘leadership loops’ in Middle School and the familiy history paper in the Upper School, students will receive the final product of a project they’ve contributed to for years: The Path to Manhood portfolio. Beyond the physical document, there’s something more than the actual writing pieces: the internal goods received from the work students put into each and every reflection piece, family history analysis and piece of artwork. There’s a common consensus, almost a cliché, to how well this portfolio will turn out in the eyes of teachers: What each Marksman puts into it is what they will get out. ••• rom the very beginning of Lower School in first grade, students already are receiving the Character and Leadership education that compliments the portfolio project. “In first grade, students have ‘Lion Pride Necklaces,’” Head of Lower School Sherri Darver said. “The boys can earn a badge for displaying one of the character traits that they’ve been discussing in class.” In addition to learning about certain attributes, Lower School students will contribute to their portfolios in a myriad of ways, not solely written. The first graders did a little video of what they’re most proud of in their Lion Pride necklaces,” Darver said. “Second and third graders did writing about heroes and why these people were important, and again emphasizing the connection to these people when they were children and how they got to where they are.” Darver emphasizes that no matter what grade a student enters in, he will still grasp the meaning and purpose of the portfolio. “Some boys only have one year of experience

here,” Da program the same Asid various c opportun nal abou “At s School bo to charac dle Schoo day, the e of two or advisorie In th is arguab However clarifies t can happ “Eng can contr ris said, “ maybe ev Morr academic “It’s tal,” Mor come fro departme experien even co-c potential Darv school, a folio will ence. “Eve arver sa ships bet and getti just abou together. place to b

ectives

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

He said it David Dini

Headmaster

Headmaster David Dini discusses the program’s strategic vision After consulting with various leadership institutions, the school creates a service-minded community to create tomorrow’s great leaders.

SAHIT DENDEKURI: Is the program modeled after any similar initiatives? David Dini: It’s been organic. We’ve visited institutions that have had leadership development programs, including places like West Point and schools that have leadership development programs. But there is not a playbook that we’ve found out there or an example that we are modeling this work after. SD: What does the portfolio add to the student experience here? DD: This is a more personal narrative. It doesn’t just tell the story of your academic experience. Your struggles your successes in the classroom or on the playing field or in the art studio. This adds another dimension. SD: How does the school define leadership? DD: Walking across campus and picking up a piece of trash or opening the door or helping somebody that’s having a bad day, that’s leadership. That’s character. That’s what it means to make a difference.

rlooking the Perot Quadrangle serves as a physical reminder of the school’s character, service and leadership ideals. WORDS FROM THE WISE Senior Robert Newman and junior Sam Ahmed present to the Middle School during the first of six leadership loops.

hools, 12 years

arver said, “yet the character and leadership m is so engrained here, and everyone is using e vocabulary so they quickly catch up.” de from the traditional contributions from classes, middle schoolers have an additional nity to listen to older students speak and jourut the talk. six different dates throughout the year, Upper oys are invited to present on concepts related cter and leadership in assembly,” Head of Midol Dean Clayman said. “The following Moneighth grade boys are paired up into groups r three, and they lead reflective discussions in es for grades five six and seven” he Upper School, the classic family history paper bly the most significant portion of the portfolio. r, English Department Chair Michael Morris there are many other major contributions that pen throughout his department’s courses. glish, as a department, certainly knows that it ribute not only the family history paper,” Mor“but also to personal essays that boys write, ven up to senior year with their college essays.” ris mentions that English won’t be the only c subject that works on the project. more cross-divisional and cross-departmenrris said. “The pieces in the portfolio will om all three divisions and from all different ents, not just English. This will include athletic nces, music experiences, drama experiences, curricular experiences outside of the school, lly. We want to take a holistic view.” ver recognizes the project is unique to our and she hopes the process of creating the portl in turn give students a meaningful experi-

ery school around here has strong academics,” aid, “but the difference here is the relationtween the boys, how they treat one another ing them to see the bigger picture that it’s not ut them, but it’s also about lifting others up. . That’s what makes it so special and a great be.”

distinct Ethos task forces, each devoted to improving a different aspect of student life

A legacy of student leaders and mentors

hat has become an interdisciplinary program spanning a Marksman’s entire student life started with a simple idea: help fourth graders prepare for Middle School. When Dean Itani ’11 and a few like-minded classmates first established the Telos program here, he never expected it to expand into the program it is today. “It really started with a good relationship with Dr. Steg,” Itani said. “Having him two years in a row was really the basis for a lot of the other stuff that came up. If it wasn’t for our relationship with Dr. Steg, my involvement wouldn’t have been the same.” Remembering their own trials of Middle School, the first Telos team set out to prepare the younger Marksmen as best as they could, “We knew that Middle School was a tough time for a lot of guys, here and just in general, Itani said. “The question was, ‘Are there ways to make the Middle School culture a little stronger by going and starting with fourth graders?’” The first Telos team spent their free time during the day with the almost-middle schoolers, introducing them to the leadership concepts that would later form the backbone of today’s Ethos program. That vocabulary and thinking and higher-level cerebral stuff that r. Steg had already been working on We just had to make it digestible and fun for fourth graders,” Itani said. “By using examples like soccer practice to talk about servant leadership, we started developing a relationship with those kids.” Itani remembered how crucial the right guidance could’ve been during the daunting years of Middle School. “Seventh and eighth grade are really tricky times,” Itani said. “You start distinguishing kids into honors and

Lower School • • • • •

Honesty Kindness Sharing Empathy Fairness

not-honors classes, kids on A tand B teams. You start talking to Hockaday girls. Our goal was to tell the younger guys the things that we wished we had known earlier.” Today, the Ethos program is spearheaded by senior Sahit Dendekuri and junior Colin Campbell, carrying on the tradition set by Itani and his peers in 2011. “The Ethos program as students makes the St. “Our goal was to tell Mark’s community more the younger guys the things we wished we had than a superficial collection known earlier” of kids and teachers that —DEAN ITANI ’11, just come to school without founder of the Telos care for one another,” leadership society Campbell said. “It helps kids become aware of the opportunities they have here and how to fall in love with taking advantage of them.” Plans for the current school year are already in place and underway, building on the successes of years prior. “This year, there is a healthy mix of old, established task forces like Telos 4, 6, and 8 and new task forces like content,” Campbell said. “We hope the new task forces will work well with the old ones to broaden Ethos’ impact all over campus.” Moving forward, the team already has new ideas for further development and future implementation. After talking to several alumni who served as previous Ethos leaders, Dendekuri and Campbell are prepared to forge into the future. “We have a lot of ideas in the works,” Campbell said, “from a Quiz Bowl style competition with an ethical focus to a student handbook that every student at St. Mark’s can use to understand the opportunities before them and maximize their experience here.”

Middle School • • • • •

Gratitude Integrity Collaboration Modesty Resilience

Upper School • • • • •

Grit Ethics Coordination Self-Awareness Patience

10600

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

A FAMILY REUNITED

Librarian discovers birth family Librarian Barbara Kinkead unites with her long-lost kin after 57 years.

“

It was all such a miraculous journey.” Barbara Kinkead Lower School librarian, on meeting her complete birth family over the summer

arbara Kinkead’s hands trembled slightly, gripping the decades-old photo in disbelief. This is the same photo Mom and Dad have. How can this be? The photo of two-week-old Kinkead took her aback as she stood surrounded by her birth mother’s belongings. And suddenly, in that moment, her life came full circle. ••• Adopted at five days old, Assistant Director of Library and Information Services Barbara Kinkead discovered her birth family in Battlecreek, Michigan this past summer. Prior to this recent discovery, Kinkead knew nothing about her lineage. “I always knew I was adopted, but except for my own two children, I didn’t know anybody blood-related to me,” Kinkead said. “So I did my DNA on Ancestry.com, and I really just wanted to know my ancestral background, like, ‘am I Italian?’ But then I started getting all these DNA matches, and I’m thinking, ‘who are these people because they’re obviously blood-related to me?’” After writing to a couple of her

IN MOURNING Paying a visit to the Roseland Cemetary in Jackson, Michigan, librarian Barbara Kinkead (center) placed a rose on her birth mother’s burial with her biological half-brother Michael Brown (left) and half-sister Carrie Morton (right).

DNA matches, Kinkead found that nobody knew of any baby in the family that had been put up for adoption. “I didn’t really get anywhere with that, but then I thought, ‘I’m going to write to the state of Indiana and to where I was born to see if I can get my birth records,’” Kinkead said. “So I hired a confidential intermediary, who works with families, either to find their children they put up for adoption or children who were adopted to find their adoptive families, in Indianapolis.” The adoption, it turned out, was a closed adoption, meaning that Kinkead’s birth parents had to consent to revealing the information about her adoption. However, both of Kinkead’s parents were deceased, so the state was able to release the records directly. “I found that my birth mother’s maiden name was Dove, so I started looking on Ancestry.com and found [a match],” Kinkead said. “I wrote the woman who ran that family tree, and I said, ‘I have a DNA match to somebody in your family tree, but I can’t exactly see where the connection is.’” The woman, Linda Brown, replied that the Dove connection was through

her ex-husband. “I wrote back, and having done research, I knew that [her ex-husband] was my half-brother,” Kinkead said. “So I wrote her back and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I think your ex-husband is my half-brother!’ Send. Immediately, I think, ‘Oh wait, should I have sent that? Come back, come back!’ Because it was such a surprise to me — it all happened between May and June that I made all these connections.” Ten minutes later, Kinkead’s half-sister, Carrie Morton, wrote back. Fourteen years earlier, a few months before their mother passed away, Kinkead’s birth mother told Morton that she had a baby daughter put up for adoption. But, because her mother’s mind was “fuzzy,” Morton wasn’t sure if it was true. “I think you might be a part of our family,” Morton said in the email. One day after introducing themselves, Morton wrote a heartfelt email to Kinkead. “After a night of sitting with all that was yesterday, I am filled with awe and wonder at life’s journey,” Morton wrote. “I don’t know your

journey...the journey in your own life has brought you to this moment. What I do know is that I welcome you with open arms to share the journey forward in whatever way is helpful to you. I believe in the power of prayer and have prayed for you, name unknown, since I learned of your existence. I continue to pray for you as you navigate your way forward. Our mother loved people. And she loved you for 50 years of her life, unbeknownst to all of us. She is surely smiling and at peace.” Within a month, Kinkead, initially unsure of whether her birth family would even want to welcome her, was greeted as warmly as possible as her entire extended birth family [20 family members including five of Kinkead’s great nieces and nephews] gathered to celebrate. “The whole thing was kind of overwhelming,” Kinkead said. “My father was an only child and my mother only had a brother, so growing up, our family was very small. So it’s exciting being a part of this really big, new family. It’s obvious since all these people came to meet me that they’re a very close-knit family.”

STORY Tianming Xie, Eric Yoo PHOTO Courtesy Barbara Kinkead

Italy, Greece and Spain are destinations for Marksmen summer travel adventures When school closed June 1, Marksmen immediately turned their attention to the 12 weeks of freedom ahead of them. Sleeping late, pool parties and traveling from Peru to Rome, Spain to Greece and everything in between. We caught up with seniors Creston Brooks and Jonah Simon and sophomore Vatsal Vemuri to see how their travels went.

‘

I went to Rome for two weeks and Greece for another two weeks with the Paideia Program, which is devoted to the classics. We went to the spot where Caesar was killed, and we sat down and read first-hand accounts. We also caught sea urchins, and the only edible part of a sea urchin is their gonads. So we ate sea urchin gonads. Creston Brooks, senior

‘

I went to Spain for about ten days as part of a scholarship through the National Spanish Exam called Juniors Study Abroad. In Madrid, we stayed at a dorm in the Universidad Compultense. We also went to some nearby areas like Segovia and Toledo. The coolest definitely was the Prado Museum, which is the most incredible collection of Spanish art probably in the world. Jonah Simon, senior

Interverviews by Sid Sinha

‘

I went to piano camp in Madrid, and we went on some other excursions. Santander. Toledo. Segovia. Barcelona. We went to art museums in Madrid to see famous paintings like Las Meninas. Buildings by Gaudi. Beaches. We went out on the beach in Santander at 10 or 11 p.m. at night. We played games out on the beach all night long. Vatsal Vemuri, sophomore

diversions

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

19 Looking ahead to Homecoming

DRAMA SUBSTITUTE

Expanding the experience

Drama substitute Haley Nelson is working to bring creativity to a new part of the theater in the form of lobby displays.

hen you hear the words “plays” or “theater,” you might think of actors. ou may see a director shouting commands in a tall chair. ou might even imagine flashing lights or smoke machines. Chances are, you don’t instantly think of lobbies. While some plays stop at the edge of the stage, the Kitchen og Theater in allas’ Trinity iver Arts Center extends the experience to the front of the building. An experienced actress and director, substitute drama instructor Haley Nelson is now taking her talents to the front door.

While ine Arts epartment Chair Marion lorioso-Kirby is gone on maternity leave, Nelson has been substituting several upper school drama classes, in addition to directing the school play. Originally from Northern California, Nelson first arrived in allas to attend Southern Methodist University SMU . “I was in the Theater Studies program, so I took acting all four years, but I technically graduated with a playwriting and directing emphasis,” Nelson said. Nelson wasted no time getting into the local theater scene in allas after moving here.

Haley Nelson • Works as a dramaturg – an

advocate for the playwright who provides necessary information and context for the play to help actors, directors and the audience itself.

• Is a long-time substitute for Fine

Arts Department Chair Marion Glorioso, who is on maternity leave.

• Special skills: basic stage combat and basic Mixed Martial Arts (Brazillian fllor wrestling, bo staff)

“I started working with Kitchen og Theater during my senior year of college in 2 ,” Nelson said. “One of the original company members is on faculty at SMU.” Nelson works as Kitchen og’s Theater Lobby isplay ramaturg. A dramaturg is a person who helps the theater by providing literary or creative insight about a play or musical and the production surrounding it. “As a dramaturg, generally my job is to provide context for plays to enhance the uality of the play,”

Nelson said. “ or Kitchen og we’ve decided to bring it into the lobby. Kitchen og is called a ‘homeless theater’ because they had a permanent space that got taken away from them. So now they’re renting a space until they move into a permanent space hopefully next year. So part of that is they are in this space they can’t really claim. oing lobby displays is one way for them to put their mark on it.”

THE LOBBYIST Nelson stands in her temporary office inside the fine arts rotunda area.

The lobby displays Nelson creates serve other purposes as well. “It helps engage the audience,” Nelson said. “What does the audience need to know before they go into the theater? What do they need to feel before they go into the theater to connect to the piece? It’s also a community engagement thing. If we’re doing a historic play like we did for The oyale a boxing play around the turn of the century about im Crow laws we needed to be able to put information on im Crow laws in the lobby because we can’t assume everyone will know what that is.” But lobby displays can include more than just facts. “The most stressful lobby I’ve made but the one I’m also most proud of was the display for Br’er Cotton,” Nelson said. “It was our season closer and the play is about police brutality. Throughout the play there’s this metaphor of a tree that keeps growing from this family mixed with photos of cotton fields. I built a giant tree out of cardboard. I had the worst blisters ever from hot glue and tearing cardboard by hand, but I think that one was pretty cool because I could see my hands all over it.”

by Andy Crowe omecoming 2 will o cially kick off Sept. 2 . There are both varsity volleyball and varsity football games at home that riday in addition to alumni events. This year’s Homecoming dance, “Back to SM Hoco,” will be held Sept. 2 at the House of Blues, it was revealed to the Upper School Sept. . “We first started working on Homecoming back in May,” Student Council President Landon Wood said. “A week or two after I got elected, the new Student Council had our first meeting, and we began to think about what we wanted to do.” It didn’t take long for this year’s council to decide on a theme. “This year’s theme was actually an idea that someone came up with last year, when Canyon Kyle ‘ was president,” Wood said. “I thought that that was the best idea last year, so I voted for it, but “Bora Bora” ended up winning. So, as I went through that entire year leading up to the elections, I was just thinking to myself, ‘If I get elected, we’re doing Back to the uture. It’s going to be sick.’” With plenty of surprises to look forward to, the Student Council is excited to see what students think. “We want Homecoming 2 to be completely uni ue and remembered separately from other Homecomings,” Woods “Although Homecoming said. the venue is back events at the beloved • Alumni Kick-Off Party House of Blues, Sept. 28 (6 p.m. - 8 p.m.) it’s actually in a • Varsity volleyball game different part than against Fort Worth it was a couple Country Day years ago. So it Sept. 28 (6 p.m.) won’t be the exact • Varsity football game same environagainst St. John’s ment, but I think Sept. 28 (7 p.m.) going to be • Upper School Spirit it’s even better than Party Sept. 28 (9 p.m.) before, so get excited.” eciding on the Homecoming theme, making the video and planning the dance’s logistics is already a huge amount of work for the Student Council. To make it more di cult, Wood and other members were under a time constraint this year. “Usually Homecoming at St. Mark’s is in late October, but due to some scheduling issues that month, we had to put it in September this year,” Wood said. “That means I had one less month to come up with everything and get it done on time. Some aspects of that were a little stressful, but I think it’s going to be a great way to start off the year.”

Working alone, it’s completely up to Nelson to plan, design and create the lobbies in time for the shows. “It’s just me,” Nelson said. “I design everything. I get approval from the artistic director, but other than that it’s just me. I usually try to start working on it about a month out from the play and then it’ll take me about that long to put everything together.” Kitchen og Theater’s next play will be “ adiant ermin,” opening Oct. and running through Oct. 2 “It’s about a young couple that moves into an unpopular neighborhood under magical circumstances,” Nelson said. “They find out that they have a way to magically renovate their house at a very low cost for them but a perhaps higher cost for their community.” “ adiant ermin” doesn’t cater to a specific type of audience member, and student tickets are only for many showings. “Bring your political friend,” Nelson said. “Bring your friend who likes horror movies. Bring your first time theater-going friend. ou don’t have to be artsy in any way to like the show.”

STORY Andy Crowe PHOTO Adnan Khan

The grid

Homecoming 2018 King and Queen nominees

Homecoming will eventually end, but there’s no reason to pout. Here are some fun events to help you get over the post-Hoco blues. State Fair of Texas What

Price

Annual state fair with food, live music, football, a nd much more. Free tickets from school

When

Sept. 28 Oct. 21

Who to bring

The whole family

$30

Dallas Farmers Market

Sept. 29 Sept. 30 Foodie friends and family

“Radiant Vermin”

Plantation Museum

Home game against Houston Christian

Regional Premiere of this fast-paced, pitch-black comedy

“Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello”

Opening night: $30 Student discount: $15 (Thurs/Sun) $25 (Fri/Sat)

$10

Kitchen Dog Theater at The Trinity River Arts Center

African American Museum of Dallas

Free

Norma and Lamar Hunt Family Stadium

Oct. 5 7 p.m.

Only Lions fans

Oct. 4 Oct. 28

ADMIT ONE

PG-13 (Contains adult language)

471003

Fair Park

Come sample and vote on the best gelato from competing chefs

Football Game

471003

Location

Gelato Festival America

These are the ten nominees from here and Hockaday. Voting began the morning of Sept. 27 and closed on Sept. 28 around noon. Winners will be announced at the dance Sept. 29 at House of Blues.

Roshan Vemu

Davis Malouf

Will Hunt

Albert Luo

CJ Crawford

Sept. 22 - Dec. 31

History buffs

Audrey Van den Branden

Trinity Naile

Sophia Kim

Bianca Schwimmer

Dawn Ford

culture

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

ENTERTAINMENT REVIVAL

Pop culture shock

Get Out, Black Panther and Star Wars: The Force Awakens are all phenoms signaling a recent shift in Hollywood — a shift toward more diversity.

eventeen dollars and 27 cents for one medium-sized popcorn lacking the right amount of butter and a plush, comfy chair to spend an hour and a half in. Lights dimmed. Phones silenced. Every eager moviegoer in his or her seat waiting for the new blockbuster film. A film that isn’t focused on the classic Caucasian male saving the day and getting the girl. It’s more than a film. It’s the first Asian-American-focused studio movie in more than 20 years. It’s a film with a director who is the first African-American director to win Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Original Screenplay Oscar nominations in one year as well. It’s a conversation starter that over the past couple of years has diversified the film and entertainment industry. ••• With the recent releases of groundbreaking films like Get Out, Black Panther, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Crazy Rich Asians, the film industry has tapped into a new market that brings different cultures in the spotlight. Film studies instructor Jennifer Gilbert commends the industry for this push of diversity but argues that it is about time that the industry has made the change. “Hollywood is really far behind the curve when it comes to inclusiveness,” Gilbert said. “The cast is mostly white. I think it’s good that they’re starting to kind of expand and realizing that they can actually make money off of films with people of color.” With this new wave of films, ilbert believes that directors have been afraid of making this change with the constant fear that the diverse films won’t make money, and they only think about putting white males on the screen. “They’re only thinking about white people going and seeing films and forgetting about this whole demographic of people,” Gilbert said. “When you look at the industry itself, and who’s running the industry, it’s white men. And so they’re going to put white men on the screen, because that’s what they’re comfortable with.” Films like Black Panther and Get Out serve as milestones for audience members to watch as inspiration for the younger generation. “I think a lot of the stereotypes have come from Hollywood, or at least Hollywood has reinforced those stereotypes of the young black man who’s the thug, or the smart Asian kid who’s the nerd,” ilbert said. “It’s about time that we start seeing what people really are, and not what Hollywood or what our cultural stereotypes are.” As well Marion as providing Glorioso-Kirby inspiration for Fine younger genArts Departerations, Fine ment Chair Arts Department Chair Marion Glorioso-Kirby acknowledges that new demographics are connecting to the narratives these recent milestones push. These movies’ impact increase exponentially with the farther reach. “Anytime you are making films about different cultures,” lorioso-Kirby

INDUSTRY TRAILBLAZERS Iconic lead roles in diversityfilled movies like Get Out, The Force Awakens and Black Panther, have become influential characters in the industry.

Diversity in film We polled 202 students and faculty members to determine their choice for what movie from the last five years was the most influential.

The options • Black Panther • Get Out • The Force Awakens • Avengers: Infinity War • Incredibles 2 • La La Land • Crazy Rich Asians • 12 Years a Slave • Other

The picks (by age group)

said, “making films where the casting is colorblind and more people going to films can identify with someone in that film and have a story be told that is relatable to them in some way, then it can make that story just that much more inspiring.” These groundbreaking films also provide people who grew up in a film era where diversity was not that accepted the ability to change their view on various subjects. “For those other people who are 30, 40, 50, 60 and then grew up with the original Star Wars to say, I would have never thought of it this way,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “It’s eye opening and inspiring in a totally different way. reat storytelling and great acting doesn’t see sex and doesn’t see color.”

“

I think with Hollywood becoming more inclusive and all-encompassing, content is only going to get better — more authentic and more compelling. It’s exciting to see new voices get heard. — Taylor Hamra ‘95

When picking a cast for a play on campus, Glorioso-Kirby emphasizes that someone is going to be cast because they are the best actor for the role. “I pick a story that I want to tell, and I ask, 'who is going to help me to tell this story the way I envisioned it',” Glorioso-Kirby said. “It has everything to do with when that person shows up for auditions, who do I see is going to be able to embody that character to tell the story in the most effective way.” Employing “colorblind casting,” Glorioso-Kirby is able to choose the main role of the play by someone’s skill set. It is a method which Hollywood is slowly adapting. “It’s the opportunity that I have a lot of men to choose from, and their talents and their skill set is what matters and that’s all that should matter in this world,” lorioso-Kirby said. “It doesn’t matter the color of your skin or the culture you come from. It’s your talents and your skills that should drive your success. That’s what’s happening the film industry now. ” While in ennifer ilbert’s film studies class, the films that students watch are mostly from the 1940s and 50s, which

sparks a conversation about how the diversity of the industry has changed. She even had her advanced class write a paper about diversity in Hollywood after Get Out and Black Panther were released. “When we watch these older films, we watch them under the lens of our 21st centurypolitical culture a lot of times,” Gilbert said. “Kids will get upset because there’s things in there that are so obviously racist to us now, which back in the 60s, s, s really weren’t unacceptable. So that kind of opens up a conversation and our class discussions afterwards about how much film has changed.” This revolution in media has changed how stories are told in Hollywood –- in both film and television. Gilbert only hopes that this recent rise of diversity is not a trend and filmmakers will continue to create a market off these diversified films. “Most people in this country now are people of color, and it’s not fair that only white people stories get told because they’re the ones that are in charge of the industry,” Gilbert said. “It gives me hope for the future that we’re going to be seeing a more diverse not only cast but more diverse stories that are being told, and we’ll start seeing some more of those out in the mainstream.” In the wake of the cultural shift, ABC’s American Housewife executive producer Taylor Hamra ’ notices both negative and positive reactions. “With mandates to specifically hire a diverse person or a woman, it can get construed that someone — a white male didn’t get the job because they weren’t a woman or diverse,” Hamra said. “I think it’s really unfortunate to hear this because it puts a negative spin on what is ultimately progress and the propping up of voices that have not been given the same amount of opportunity in the past.” Despite naysayers, Hamra hopes this initiative will trickle down to younger generations in order to develop colorful voices in every creative aspect in Hollywood. Such recent cinema phenoms will strengthen the pipeline to under-represented creatives –- which in turn will see even better-received stories shine under the spotlight. “...with the discovery and encouragement of fresh diverse voices,” Hamra said, “those voices will soon gain experience and skill that there will be a accurate and hopefully equal representation of all cultures in the creative community.”

Ages 14-15 Get Out Ages 16-17 Get Out Ages 18-19 12 Years a Slave

“

A lot of the stereotypes have come from Hollywood, or at least Hollywood has reinforced those stereotypes. It’s about time that we start seeing what people really are, and not what Hollywood or what our cultural stereotypes are. — Film studies instructor Jennifer Gilbert

Ages 20-30 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Ages 31-40 Get Out Ages 41-50 Other Ages 51 and above Other The winner Get Out PICKED BY

20.8 percent

IN THE POLL

Here are the Academy Awardwinning Best Picture selections of the past five years: 2018 The Shape of Water 2017 Moonlight 2016 Spotlight 2015 Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance 2014 12 Years a Slave SOURCE: OSCARS.COM

STORY Sam Ahmed, CJ Crawford ARTWORK Matthew Coleman

culture

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

ARTISTIC INFLUENCE

My Instagram

Celebration of arts

A deep-dive into Arnold E. Holtberg Master Teaching Chair Scott Hunt’s Instagram account, where he displays some of his photos from his three-week road trip in the Baja Peninsula this summer. Here are highlights from his Instagram account @scotthuntphoto, in his own words:

After months of preparation, senior Ayush Saha organized a bigger and better Festival of Illustrated Literature Sept. 15 in Deep Ellum.

THE LINEUP Artists, writers and guests gathered in Deep Ellum to view artwork and writing on display Sept. 15 for the Festival of Illustrated Literature, which raised money for the Boys and Girls Club of America.

Michael Lukowicz: How did you come up with the idea of the Festival of Illustrated Literature (FOIL)? Ayush Saha: I really wanted to do something more with my art, so I treated my art as a journey. When I was really young, it started off with me taking things from my environment and trying to recreate those. The next step was trying to recreate things in my mind and put those onto a canvas and find that creativity. Now I want to mix the creativity with an actual environment, something physical. I had a family friend who helped me with the idea. She wanted to incorporate literature into it, and she gave me the idea of an art-writing combo, and I just ran with it. ML: How did you get all the artists and writers to participate? AS: It wasn’t that hard. I have friends from all these schools that are a part of it, so I would just ask one person if they knew artists and writers, and they would give me some names when

I asked them. Most people said yes; it was very easy. ML: Do you hope to continue coordinating similar events in the future? AS: . I’m hoping that someone who participated this year will be able to continue it next year. I’ll talk to them about how I ran it and how I decided to do different things, and hopefully they can run with it and turn it into something even better than what I’ve done and make even more money and have even cooler things with more new ideas. Hopefully I can do things like this in college or in my adult life. I know this is a very teenage, young-adult-type art thing, so hopefully my goal outside of St. Mark’s will be to mature it and have it grow for an older audience. ML: Is there any way students and faculty can still contribute to the fundraiser? AS: I still have a GoFundMe on my website, www.foil.gallery. If you go

picture of the kayak with islands ‘inThe the distance is Bahía de Los Angeles.

there and then to the buy ticket link, and at the bottom it’ll say ‘make a donation’ and have the GoFundMe page. I still have a lot of t-shirts you can order, $20 each, and they have really cool designs.

It was made during an early morning paddle on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula. The water wasn’t exactly calm but I was never far from shore so it wasn’t really a big deal. Later, I was reading about kayaking and discovered that these were considered dangerous waters due to unpredictable winds and strong currents.”

ML: Who will the fundraiser support, and how did you choose your beneficiary? AS: Every single penny will go to the Boys and Girls Club of America. If I had the time and opportunity, I would like to actually do something with that money rather than give it off and never see it again. I would rather work with it and do other things. But one thing I really do believe is that problems that we have today are all instilled into people while they’re still developing. The Boys and Girls Club of America help children on the streets and put them in a good environment, I really wanted to support that and make sure they have a good foundation because I think the foundation is what really leads you into your life. ML: What was the most challenging part of setting it up? AS: It wasn’t really challenging; there were a bunch of logistics. There were a bunch of easy things put together. Everything went smoothly, but there were just so many things to do at once. It was kind of getting hectic, but it did really help that I had 25 people this year, so I was able to delegate lots of responsibilities to different people.

By the numbers

3,000 dollars raised last year

5,000 dollars raised this year

100

people who came last year

250

people who came this year

Several days later, I made the ‘picture of Bahía de Concepción from under my tent. This was probably one of the prettiest places in Baja. That night a storm blew in, rocking the van and sending my tent into the darkness. The following morning, I recognized the mangled wreckage of what was my tent partially submerged in the surf about 100 yards out to sea. After having a cup of coffee, I kayaked out to it and managed to bring it ashore. It was pretty rough but salvageable.”

There were a lot of logistics like finding the venue, finding the band and finding the people themselves, then designing the magazine. Everything worked out perfectly, but having put all those moving pieces together was kind of hard. ML: Any thoughts or reflections now that the event’s over? AS: This year was much better than last year. This year we raised $5,000, and last year we raised $3,000. Last year there were 100 people, and this year there were around 250 people. There was a lot of growth in it, which I’m really proud of. I’m just really happy that I did have that growth factor from last year’s event and that I can maybe even continue that in the future if someone else decides to continue it. STORY Michael Lukowicz PHOTO Lee Schlosser

The image of the coastline was ‘made from the Pacific Coast Highway in Big Sur. It’s surprising more people don’t drive off into the ocean, gawking at the amazing views instead of paying attention to the road. It can be a little dicey at times, but absolutely epic scenery there.”

culture

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

CINEMATIC INFLUENCE

Junior crafts benches for non-profit

Anxiety or technological advancements? Difficulties fitting in take center stage in first-time director’s critically-acclaimed blockbuster.

FITTING IN Elsie Fisher, portraying Kayla Day in the movie Eighth Grade, uses social media throughout the film to fit in at her middle school.

that parental involvement is just as important as it is with teachers. “Parents are obviously key to the health and well being of their children, and adolescence is a very di cult time to be a boy or a parent, ” Clayman said. “The bottom line is being authentic. It’s being connected. It’s being truthful. Honest, consistent, frequent communication is the bedrock that any sort of relationship needs to be built on.” And while initial involvement is of great importance, Clayman believes relationships need to be continually cultivated and reinvented. “You almost have to create a new relationship in every stage of [adolescence],” Clayman said. “If you just assume it’s there, you’re probably missing the boat. You need to be in the moment with them, creating relationships with them wherever they are.” Ultimately, Clayman puts the responsibility on the student himself to realize when he is straying away from himself. “When one of our boys starts to make decisions that are not in their best interest just to become somebody else or become friends, that’s where I think the line is drawn because you start to sacrifice who you are.” Clayman said. “It’s all about [making sure] you’re being your best self.” 1.5 1 0.5 0 -0.5 -1

-1.5

Depressive symptons

Unemployment

Smartphone adoption 5 201

201 4

3 201

201 2

201 1

201 0

200 9

200 8

-2 200

Just like Kayla in Eighth Grade, anxiety thrives among teenagers who feed into the obsessive social media culture. “Given that you’re in the midst of identity development at this age, you’re constantly judging and critiquing yourself,” Van Drie said. “I think that contributes to the rise in anxiety that we see.” Middle School Head Dean Clayman says one of his roles is to help students experiencing anxiety and other symptoms of excessive social media use. “We try to be very aware of what’s going on,” Clayman said. “And then really, as a middle school, we try to be very close contact with the counseling o ce. We have meetings with the counseling o ce once a week to share concerns and discuss boys that we think we may need to help a little bit more.” But to help these students, Clayman believes building strong relationships with them is paramount. “I think the foundation of how the Middle School supports all boys is to really know them,” Clayman said. “The more [we] genuinely want to be available and understand them, the more it helps us help them.” And while meaningful connections between students and certain faculty may not necessarily be as present between students and their advisor, Clayman still believes it is necessary to keep the advisor involved through constant communication. “There are some faculty members that you just naturally connect well with, that you feel comfortable with, that you feel safe with,” he said. “And so what we try and do is make sure that both the advisor and what we call informal advisors stay very closely connected.” But Clayman, whose sons, Ben and Sam, both graduated from here, stresses

200 7

veryone seems to be having the time of their lives at Kennedy’s birthday party. Everyone except Kayla. She’s the outcast in the group. The runt of the litter. What’s she going to do? She doesn’t know anybody. She doesn’t fit in. She’s only here because she has to be here. She wants comfort. She wants peace of mind. She wants friends. She’s got Snapchat friends. She’s got Instagram followers. But she’s got something else, too. Anxiety. And while Kayla is just a character in a movie, there are Kaylas all around us. We just don’t see them. ••• In Director Bo Burnham’s newest film, Eighth Grade, which debuted in July to critical praise, protagonist Kayla Day is constantly anxious and crumbling under societal pressures. All these feelings are a product of her generation, Generation Z. Director of Counseling Barbara Van rie says this level of self-reflection has never been seen at this age. She says social media is to blame, and its impact is evident. “Electronic device use is linked to happiness and mental health issues,” Van Drie said, “and that starts happening after two hours.” On average, teens use social media for six hours every day, Van Drie says. They’re consumed by it. It’s supposed to connect people. But in reality, it’s tearing the fabric of society apart. “We have never had the high rate of loneliness that we are seeing now in college freshmen,” Van Drie said. “In 2016, for the first time, the majority of entering college students described their mental health as below average.”

by Trevor Crosnoe unior Daniel Ardila, along with classmates Romil Mathur, Alex Piccagli, William Gonzalez and senior Davis Yoo, created Wood for Good, a non-profit that has made seven benches for Gooch Elementary and Austin Street Center. In the summer before his freshman year, Ardila decided he wanted to make a difference. During Middle School, Ardila had been involved in instructor John Frost’s 3D Design and Woodworking program, and he wondered if he could use the skills he learned from those classes to give back to the community. “We wanted to do something with woodworking since I had gotten some tools,” Ardila said. “We decided we could build benches and also help people.” One year later, Ardila’s idea became a reality. Working out of a shop in his family’s garage, the group has already made an impact on the lives of the underprivileged. “So far, we’ve made seven benches,” Ardila said. “We sold one to pay for materials and gave three to Gooch Elementary School. Ardila and Wood for Good have big plans for the other benches. “The rest are sitting at my house right now waiting to be delivered to Austin Street Center or anywhere else that needs them,” Ardila said. The school is also actively involved in these two communities. Students are offered the opportunity to tutor at Gooch, an elementary school in North Dallas, and volunteer at Austin Street, a downtown shelter for the homeless. While its primary goal is to help the disadvantaged, Wood for Good has personally benefited Ardila as well. “It’s a really fun way to do community service,” Ardila said. “It’s a great to hang out and build stuff at the same time.”

CELLULAR DEPRESSION Smartphone ownership rates among Americans, yearly unemployment rate, and depressive symptoms among tenth graders.

STORY Siddhartha Sinha, Cristian Pereira PHOTO Courtesy Creative Commons

Headliners

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

VIDEO GAMES

MOVIES

CONCERTS

Concert date

Release date

ALBUMS

Drop date

Release date

Forza Horizon 4

Oct. 2

Florence and The Machine

Sept. 29

Night School

Sept. 28

Young Sinatra IV, Logic

Sept. 28

Super Mario Party

Oct. 5

Phoenix

Oct. 5

Venom

Oct. 5

Trench, Twenty One Pilots

Oct. 5

Call of Duty Black Ops 4

Oct. 12

Bruno Mars

Oct. 15

Goosebumps 2

Oct. 19

Forever Neverland, MØ

Oct. 19

buzz

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

We also watched...

MUST SEE Even if you aren’t a fan of movies filled with awkward moments and gutwrenching scenes filled with tears, laughs and screams, Eighth Grade and Boyhood are worth a watch if not just to say you saw them.

Aging before our eyes In a movie ‘jam-packed with so many surprises,’ viewers will learn a lot about teenagers’ angst

Spanning 12 years, movie shows life, hardships

Our favorite: Eighth Grade

Check out: Boyhood

riter-Director Bo Burnham just cooked up the most relatable movie of 2018 – especially if you’re an eight-grader or a senior. Or anyone in

between. A huge part of this relatability comes from the film’s protagonist, Kayla Day, an eighth-grader struggling to fit in. She’s played by lsie isher, who does an impeccable job being an insecure, lonely and, most importantly, relatable girl navigating through the final days of Middle School, especially when one considers she’s only 15 years old. Josh Hamilton (the actor, not the former baseball player) also does an amazing job as Kayla’s single father, Mark. Portraying the roller coaster of emotions that dads feel as their child nears adolescence is not easy to pull off, but Hamilton does it with flying colors. urthermore, the soundtrack was awesome, but in a weird, artistically creative way. It’s full of loud obnoxious synthesizers, yet it does a great job showing how much of a confusing mess Kayla thinks her life is. The decision to make Kayla have her own self-help YouTube channel was an idea of pure creative genius. As the movie progresses, we see her tell the camera how important it is to be confident, be yourself, etc. even though she never takes her own advice. Although there are some moments Bo Burnam that apply only to girls, most of the movHas two ie is jam-packed with so many surpriscomedy speingly accurate moments you’d think an cials on Netflix: extremely talented eighth grader wrote What and the movie, not a 28-year-old. Make Happy Don’t let the director’s age fool you, though, because he did an incredible job with this film. specially when you reali e that ighth rade is his first movie, ever. Kayla Day’s struggles as she tries to make sense of her quirky life are both hilarious and wholesomely depressing, and you really get to see her grow from a clueless, insecure girl to a confident young woman. The movie unconventionally has no real beginning middle or end, no climax, no main conflict. It’s a series of adventures Kayla goes through as she learns self-acceptance, confidence, and how to choose the right friends. In conclusion, Bo Burnham’s first ever film is a success. It’s full of great acting and dialogue, interesting music and moments so relatable you’ll swear they used your eighth-grade experience as a model to write the script.

ichard Linklater’s Boyhood is the kind of movie many people will say is amazing despite only half of those people having actually seen it. At it’s core, Boyhood is a beautifull made movie detailing the life and hardships of a boy, Mason, his sister and his parents. Linklater captures everything from family dinners to birthday parties, and he does so in a way that feels natural while still throwing in some movie magic. The cinematography and execution of scenes is stunning, and the film, spanning the Richard Linklater course of 12 years, shows Also known for the passage of time and Waking Life its effects on man briland A Scanner liantly. Darkly Boyhood, however, is not a movie for everyone. With a runtime just under three hours, viewers must really commit themselves to watching. If you get up to use the restroom, you’re going to miss half of Mason’s life. Some would argue, though, that missing the movie is a plus. While I understand the film has many ama ing aspects, it has several striking flaws that keep me from praising it outright. The story, while an interesting concept, has many cliché moments and predictable dialogue. But I also have to acknowledge the di culty of making a movie based on a normal life without any cliché moments. After all, we’ve all, on our own, lived through parts and pieces of Boyhood’s plot. None of these glaring problems come into view until the last hour of the movie, though. The conflicts faced by Mason, including abusiveness and family drama, seem to fade away as everyone finds their place. I understand that resolution is the heart of a movie’s ending, but I just felt as though it came to soon. Boyhood isn’t perfect, but it’s just artsy enough to warrant a watch.

REVIEWS Duncan Kirstein, Cristian Pereira PHOTOS Courtesy Creative Commons

tand by Me is a surprislngly dark movie detailing the journey of four Oregon boys who decide to seek out the dead body of a nearby child. While there is stigma surrounding young actors, these young men prove to be great in the roles they were cast in, and the movie ends up a faithful adaption of Stephen King’s novel. Everyone has felt the stress of a rapidly approaching end to summer, as well as the need to go on one final adventure that comes with it. As previously stated, the movie finds its stride thanks to the portrayals of the four main characters, and the actors of the movie should be proud of their performance in this classic 1986 movie.

ive stories strewn F together to form the instantly recognizeable

ver feel run down? Ever E need a personal day? Meet the man who invent-

movie, The Breakfast Club. Once more, a person should not miss this cultural phenomenon, especially now that the movie is on Netflix. There’s a story for everybody and a character for everyone to relate to. Among these characters there is a principal, a rebel, a jock, an outcast and a brainy guy named Brian. If none of that sounds appealing to you, then watch the movie for everybody’s favorite song; Don’t You (Forget About Me). Give the movie a watch. You’ll really be glad that you did. Come on, it’s only an hour and a half long.

WHAT ELSE IS THERE? While the movies named above are classics, they represent only a small part of the coming of age genre and its awardwinning population. Pictured (clockwise) are Moonlight, Napoleon Dynamite, Lady Bird and Dead Poets Society.

f you consider yourself a fan of America’s pasttime, The Sandlot ought to go at the top of your list of movies to watch. Following the story of Scottie Smalls and his attempts to make friends, The Sandlot is a heartwarming, funny movie that will be sure to have anyone on the edge of your seat. I would be lying, however, if I said there were no moments that cause me to groan or look at my phone. These things are bound to happen while watching any movie about kids because, honestly, kids are awkward. That being said, The Sandlot is still one of the quintessential coming of age movies that is a necessity for anyone looking to have a good time.

ed the “I really don’t feel well” gag—Ferris Bueller. One cannot go through life without seeing this movie, even if the genre is not their favorite. Missing this cinematic phenomenon means being left out of hundreds, if not millions, of references thrown out by teachers, co-workers and friends. If you can’t see this movie for one reason or another, you owe it to yourself to at the very least watch Avery Pearson’s homecoming king video. His parody fits in the most important references while lowering the run time.

editorials

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

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

Responding to Exeter story: We are not ignoring it

editor in chief KAMAL MAMDANI

managing editors PARKER DAVIS SAHIT DENDEKURI LYLE OCHS

School has taken appropriate action on this deeply important issue.

head photographer

KYLE SMITH

n the weeks since the release of information regarding claims of sexual misconduct at Phillips xeter Academy, St. Mark’s has received pointed criticism from a local media outlet for its response to the xeter report. A former St. Mark’s instructor was accused of making sexual advances toward two former students at the New Hampshire school when he was a teacher there from see page for more coverage . The coverage suggested administrators at St. Mark’s had specific information about the details of the accusation in 2 . That is not the case. In 2 , the then xeter principal had informed St. Mark’s that a single allegation dating back to the s had been received. etails of the accusation were not given with xeter’s initial communication, only stating there “had been an allegation, that the allegation had been denied and that it had not been pursued any further,’ according to Headmaster avid ini. This communication came to school o cials one year after the instructor had retired from St. Mark’s. Because of the very limited scope of information that was received, St. Mark’s o cials chose not to inform the community, but rather told xeter o cials that if any allegations against this former teacher were to arise, they would be immediately reported. When concrete information was released to the public by xeter last month, administrators here took a deliberate course of action, informing the community in a letter ini sent

assignments editor JAMES ROGERS

creative directors JAHAZIEL LOPEZ MICHAEL LUKOWICZ

communications director C. J. CRAWFORD

opinions editors CONNOR PIERCE WALLACE WHITE

opinions specialist DUNCAN KIRSTEIN

senior writer MARK TAO

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

cartoonist

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

out Aug. . On Aug. 2 , the school received its second communication on this topic. xeter o cials once again contacted St. Mark’s to inform the school that a report was being released later that day, and that included specific information related to allegations against this teacher, including allegations that had been intentionally covered up. Coverage in a local publication challenged the school, saying we were ignoring the issue and should have responded more uickly. However, the school chose not to immediately publici e the issue but instead take all precautions to ensure a proper response would be given to the community. As soon as he got the call from xeter last month, ini had a conference with the leadership of the Board of Trustees and the school’s legal counsel. The same day, he also met with the entire administrative team, and shortly thereafter called the president of the National Association of Independent Schools and their general counsel, seeking input, guidance and perspective. Several days later, there was an xecutive Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees to review the matter in detail. In the days and weeks that have followed, there has been extensive focus and attention on making sure the school is doing everything it should to remain focused on the safety and well-being of those in our community. Certainly, the school’s first priority is to its own

community students, parents, faculty and alumni not the media. es, the letter ini sent out took some time it had to be thoughtful, factual and deliberate. By taking the time to research and respond appropriately, ini’s letter did just that. ••• Through the years, St. Mark’s has been known for the highest standards in its hiring practices, going well beyond what is expected to bring only the best and most talented instructors and staff members into its community. Here, faculty members are trusted to exercise strong judgment, be professional in all dealings with students and to know and embrace the school’s policies on relationships between adults and students. uite simply, we trust our teachers. We trust them to model good behavior, to help build a community atmosphere where it is safe to leave backpacks on campus, laptops unmonitored and where students feel comfortable sharing their problems and concerns with caring instructors. We also trust our administrators to put into place policies and procedures which provide us with stellar instructors instructors who not only are masters of their subject matter, but who also subscribe to the school’s values and mission. We are confident the school acted appropriately in taking its time to respond to the community. To suggest otherwise is to not know the principles by which this school operates.

adviser

RAY WESTBROOK

headmaster DAVID W. DINI

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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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Standards needed for English annotations By not having a set standard of expectations for reading notes, teachers detract from class and learning experience as well as making grading more difficult for instructors and students.

tudents coming off summer feel there has been a lack of a concrete standard for annotations in nglish classes. It has led to a wide range of what is considered “annotations,” from wayward scribbles to deliberate analysis. Much frustration ensued as students tried to adjust to their teacher’s standards. Having these decentrali ed criteria for annotations creates a rift in how a text is intended to be interpreted. When students annotate differently, they also interpret books in a different way across classes, garbling any message that a text may be conveying due to students essentially reading the book differently. This makes it harder for students to collaborate and discuss the book on their terms. Having different interpretations also runs contrary to the depart-

ment-wide lessons taught in these books. or example, the manhood themes of nglish are a victim of this subjectivity. Also, grading is made ambiguous by their fluid standards, and students fre uently get fluctuating grades for, what they understand as, good annotations. If they had a checklist they could go by things would be much easier. Some may say that the different interpretations of books are a good thing, saying that art’s meaning is in the eye of he beholder. However, having concrete standards doesn’t sacrifice personal experiences with these texts. While some may say that teachers having their way of annotation is a good thing, it also comes with a whole host of problems for teachers and students alike. These include but are

not limited to Students grades varying wildly for a different amount of effort put into annotations. Teachers are giving good grades to students who simply underline sentences indiscriminately right before class. Introducing underlying standard to annotations could clear up the confusion. We suggest that the nglish department implement a policy that looks for selective underlining of important topics in addition to margin notes. This will ensure that students and teachers alike are operating on the same page when they go through books. This may lead to more productive class times where students can focus in on themes without ambiguity brought through differing standards for annotations.

editorials/opinions

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

STAFF EDITORIAL

Senior lounge in dire need of revamping Administrators’ summer transformations have missed the mark

eniors returned to school this year eagerly looking forward to access a special perk of their final year on campus the senior lounge. However, over the summer, school administrators made the decision that changes needed to be made to the lounge because of misuse by previous senior classes. As a result, the space was closed to seniors while these modifications were being discussed. After consulting with senior class student o cials, administrators made the decision to implement several changes to alter the overall purpose of the senior lounge. In an effort to make the area one for open discussion and collaboration among every member of the class, video games a previously critical entertainment component of the space will no longer be in the lounge. Additionally, the

regulation-si e ping-pong table that previously occupied a large part of the room will be removed from the lounge. While we agree that some behavior in the senior lounge has gotten out of line in recent years and that some alteration needed to be seen with respect to the room’s rules, we believe that the seemingly benign changes implemented by administrators completely defeat the purpose of having a senior lounge. In previous years, the space had served as a sanctuary for seniors to unwind by allowing them forms of entertainment not found elsewhere on campus, namely video games and ping-pong. By removing these outlets for relaxation, the lounge offers little benefit to seniors over other spaces on campus. Seniors can talk and build community throughout our campus, but what made Lunch tray returns: Huge spike

the space. Additionally, we believe that administrators should bring back video games to the lounge on a conditional basis. Administrators and senior class student o cials should come to agreement on a list of approved games, and seniors should be able to play these games with the knowledge that if they are misused in any way whatsoever, the games will be removed from the lounge. This will allow for the senior lounge to return to serving as the sanctuary it once did, while at the same time creating a way for administrators to check and monitor videogame usage in the lounge. By making these changes, we believe that the senior lounge can become an even more productive and entertaining space, meeting the needs of every member of our community.

SAGE Dining services: Status Quo

The lunch trays are a welcome return to the cafeteria. Now students can carry their food easier with less risk of spiling.

Stocks to

the senior lounge special was that it offered the uni ue opportunity to do more than that an opportunity to play games and other activities that gave seniors the ability to take their minds off of college applications and all of the others stressors of their last year here. Instead of making these undermining transformations to the senior lounge, we believe that the school should instead take a different course of action to fix the lounge one that would meet the goals of administrators and the senior class alike. irst, provided that students agree and commit to using it responsibly, the school must permit the ping-pong table in the lounge. The table was previously a critically important focal point of the lounge, and by allowing its return, school administrators will help achieve their own aim of fostering community within

SAGE has consistently done their job of feeding hundreds of marksmen. Altohugh some improvment is possible, their’s no rush

Winn Science Center progress: Steady Increase

Watch

Loudness in chapel: Slight decline

Construction is going smoothly, and many factulty have already received tours of the facility. It is schedueled to be open by January.

The bulls and bears of the stocks around campus

The chatter while entering the chapel drowns out the organ. Students should be mindful of this.

Packed parking lot: Crash

Spikeball in the quad: Increase

The traffic in the parking lot seems worse this year than ever. Parents and teachers are parking in students lots, causing them to be late.

Spikeball has been a great addition to free periods. It’s simple and engaging: the mark of a great game

Friendless on a late summer night, but not without family

ne friend. That’s all I have left. Eight in the morning on a summer Saturday and the only thing I can think about is tonight. I have to go somewhere, anywhere. I already convinced Karen earlier in the week to hang out with me tonight, days in advance. That’s how serious my I’m-not-staying-homealone mission is. I finish my -hour SAT class, then flop onto the driver’s seat of my silver 2011 sedan, exhausted. I take out my phone to plug it into the auxilary cord inconveniently located in the glove box, but before I close the compartment, I see a notification pop up on the screen. Text from Karen. The two of us are the only people from our friend group left in town. And just like any other teen-

ager still in town during July, we’re bored out of our minds. Assuming she wants to confirm our plans for tonight, I unlock my phone, open Messages. The first word my eyes see. Sorry... Unbelievable. I’m shocked. The one person, the only person in town. Gone. Called to work on a Saturday night. I feel betrayed, angry, hopeless. Like everything’s falling apart. The second Saturday night I’ll be alone, in a row. One was hard enough, but two? Two’s brutal. Two’s my worst nightmare coming to life. ••• It doesn’t really hit me until dinner. inner’s the final sign, the white flag. inner’s when my

parents ask me if I’m going out, and I have to look them in the eyes and tell them no. For me, it’s embarrassing, like the end of the world. But my dad, he looks happy for some reason. It’s not every day you see your parents relish in your pain. My dad’s grinning, talking really fast, saying we should go out for dinner. Maybe Chinese, Mexican. But I shoot him down. Don’t really feel like it. And his grin fades away, he looks down. He’s disappointed. But so am I. Welcome to the club. We grill, eat turkey burgers at the dinner table, sit across from each other, my dad talking to me about work, the hospital, my plans for college, how proud he is of me. About my job, the research I’ve been doing,

my dedication and involvement in school. I pretend to listen, respond with the occasional “thank you” and half-hearted “yeah.” Ishan Gupta Issues Editor

I pick at my plate, slouch in my chair, and that’s when he hits me with the question. Do you want to watch a movie? At first, I’m surprised. Then I’m disappointed. Not that I don’t have any plans tonight. Not that my friend ditched me for her job and a little bit of extra cash. I’m disappointed in myself.

‘ idea ‘ much needed

‘

It would be a

rea e need

for students more time o . Ramsey Beard junior

Around the

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

Although it sounds great on paper it could lead to more and longer school days. Zubin Mehta freshman

I think it’s a bad ecause missing a day will be putting students behind. Colin Williamson junior

••• I look at him, this man working so hard to spend time with me, connect with me, rescue me from the he-has-no-friends-in-town pain. And I unslouch, look him right in the eyes, smile and say, “I’d love to.” The grin on his face says everything. ad flips open his Mac and scrolls through movie timings. He doesn’t know what he wants to go see, but I already do. Ant-Man and the Wasp. He’s skeptical, but we hop into my car and head to AMC illage on the Parkway 9 anyways. Two hours later, we walk out of the movie – his arm around my shoulder, the two of us laughing, smiles on both our faces. And I’m lucky so lucky Karen had to work.

students would ‘ No, have to miss out on summer e periences more. o n time is important. Paul Mlakar Director of Academic Information Systems

Many schools around theresolution? nation have decided to move to 4-day school weeks. Do you think this is a viable option for us? What’s your New Year’s

‘

I wouldn’t be against it, but it might put students behind, and that s a side e ect e should consider. Owen Simon freshman

feel like this would be a ‘ Islipper slope. The Tuesda for e ample ould ecome the ne monda . ot much ould change. Lars Ochs freshman

If school ‘ Iteedepends. s are shorter the da s in turn ould ecome harder. Jordan Gaines sophomore

may put students ‘ Itehind in academic contests or even standardi ed tests. Charlie Mapes fifth grade

opinions

26 Of Kaepernick, Nike and your own self-righteousness

e all know what happens. When a company takes a side on a political issue, they get boycotted for a couple of weeks, and no one cares about that. Wash, rinse, repeat. When you ask these people why they boycott, their answer casts a shadow of some sort of moral superiority, whether they intend to or not. It’s a sort of self-centered bravado that says, “I support this, so I’m better than you!” We saw it from the left with Uber. After Trump’s immigration restrictions went into effect, the New ork Taxi Workers Alliance refused to drive anyone from JFK airport for one hour in “solidarity” with refugees. Uber eliminated surge pricing at JFK to capitalize on the situation. It was simply a smart business move. But of course, the morality police came in, decrying that Uber was “profiting off of xenophobia,” as jourWallace White nalist Dan O’Sullivan Opinions claimed. Of course, if editor he had known basic economics, he would have never said this. There were high demand and low supply, so Uber swooped in. Fast-forward to 2018, and the moral projection returns, this time on the right. Nike releases an ad featuring former pro football player Colin Kaepernick, who started kneeling for the national anthem in protest of police brutality. It featured a face shot of him, with the words, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” In my opinion, that sounds like what a cult leader would say to his followers, but that’s neither here nor there. This bombastic rhetoric implied in the message did more than have a few people disgruntled, it started a storm. Generally, people on the political right were outraged and proclaimed they were to boycott Nike because of their endorsement of the kneeling. Many said how disrespectful Kaepernick was to the troops and their sacrifice, and by extension, Nike was disrespectful. However, most of these people I have spoken to are no better than people who give thoughts and prayers after a tragedy. Their words are empty and actions minimal. These “boycotts” die off uickly and rarely garner change. There is a worrying problem in American politics of ideology being injected into everything. Nothing seems to be safe anymore, and the left is most guilty of this. When everything is political, you can’t enjoy anything without having an ideology prescribed to you. The Christian right were the morality police of 2 th century. Now, the regressive left has replaced them in this role. Moral outrage rarely leads to change because its not based in objective truths that everyone can relate to. It’s subjective, and up for interpretation. Nobody is a racist for enjoying Papa ohn’s Pi a. Nobody is an America-hating thug for buying Nike. This outrage culture has only served to make normally politics-free enviroment s toxic. Politics shouldn’t control everything you like. As far as I’m concerned, as long as Chick-fil-a’s stance on abortion doesn’t inhibit their ability to make delicious chicken sandwiches, I will continue to make my after-school snack stops without worrying about if a “sexist” made them, or an “un-American” cook fried the chicken. Can we not enjoy anything without it being a statement on ourselves? Can we not have pleasures and not be subject to prejudice for it? uit projecting your sense of moral righteouness on to others. Real moral people don’t need to do that. No one needs to know that your moral. If you think you are a really good person, chances are you aren’t as good as you think you are. There is no need to use these company publcity stunts to push your moral agenda.

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

The games that got me off the ground

waste of time. Mindless garbage. Isn’t there something better that I could be doing? very time I turn on my PC to play a video game, my parents confront me with something along those lines. And I suppose they’re right, a lot of the time. Even though I only have time to play on the weekends, and not even all weekends at that, I could be getting ahead on work or cleaning my room or accomplishing something. es, there’s probably something better I could be doing. But video games, as mindless as they often seem, ignited one of my greatest lifelong passions: my love of aviation, and by extension, my love of history. This military-academy-hopeful and history buff struggling through junior year owes it all to a disk fished out of the bargain bin at Walmart. When I was eight, I dreamed of being like my friends who had their box s with Halo and Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed. Either because they had older brothers or because their parents had no idea what happens in those games, my second-grade buddies enjoyed their hours transfixed by the M-for-Mature titles lining their TV cabinets. Meanwhile, my parents were happy to pick up Wii Sports Resort or Super Mario alaxy great games, both of them.) But I wanted desperately to be cool and play one of those M-rated games. My dad came home one day with

a new game. Blazing Angels: Squadrons of World War Two adorned the plastic case in gaudy blue military-stencil-esue font. On the cover, a British Spitfire chased a German Messerschmitt through the smoky skies of London. But what caught my eye the most was the bold black ESRB rating in the corner. T for Teen. Close enough. Looking back on it, Blazing Angels was a properly abysmal video game. Over-the-top voice acting featuring the cheesiest of German accents: “Ze American ist here NI N ” More American hoo-rah than launching fireworks on the Fourth of July as Sam Goldfarb AC/DC Perspectives plays in editor the background and a bald eagle shrieks in the distance. P- Lightnings and Japanese Zeroes zipped around like TI fighters. very plane had unlimited bullets and bombs that could magically reload in flight. I loved every second of it. Something about the game had me hooked. I could never beat the mission where you had to fly a captured erman fighter through a tunnel of ice in Norway, but I googled the codes. Hold + and -, then press left-right-1-2-2-1 to unlock all missions.

When the family upgraded to a Playstation my dad wanted it as a Blu-ray player), Heroes Over Europe and other flying games of increasing realism and historical accuracy joined the shelves. Gradually, I learned the course of World War II, from the invasion of Poland to the atomic bombs, from the perspective of the air war. I learned that the games didn’t have all the facts right, but the veterans and historians did. Fighter pilots’ autobiographies replaced my copies of Alex ider. Last summer, I took my first solo flight in a Cessna 2. Next summer, I will apply to the Air orce and Naval Academy’s Summer Seminar courses. I hope to be a fighter pilot after I graduate from one of the academies. It started with a “Howdy Cap’n Now that you’re s uared away, I’ll be goin’ up with you to get you ac uainted with what you’ll be flyin,” coming over the TV speakers. Now, I broadcast my own radio calls. In the real world. In a real airplane. “Nacogdoches tra c, CAP 22 reuesting runway for takeoff, staying in the pattern, Nacogdoches tra c.” ight rudder, mixture full rich, open the throttles, rock’n’roll. Into the sky – where eight-year old me has always dreamed of being, ever since I tore the plastic wrap off Blazing Angels: Squadrons of World War Two.

The report card Thoughts on happenings around campus Large student sections Student sections have been consistently full of energy and support, in both home and away games. Participation has never been better.

Late textbooks

Some students didn’t receive their textbooks until well after school started. Of course, we do understand that this was out of the school’s control.

Preston Road traffic

The traffic on the way to school has only worsened with never-ending construction on Preston Road.

A+ BD

Elevated Cooking Club

The breakfasts provided by Elevated Cooking Club were a great addition to every students’ morning routine, while simultaneously donating profits to charity.

Weight room water fountains

The water fountains in the weight room could be better. However, we do understand that matinence staff have more important things to attend to.

iMac mice theft Theft of mice from the school computers is nothing short of illegal. This needs to stop immediately. All future incidents of theft should be reported to security.

A C F

Kansas City two thousand watermelon gator... Hike!

‘

Tex,” the coach points to the second-grade me, “I want you to take 15 steps into the end zone, stop and turn around. I’m throwing you the ball.” I look behind me, not sure if we have another “Tex” on the team. And when did I become “Tex?” My name is Tianming. And I’m not from Texas, originally anyway. I was born in California. “Lions on three…One, two, three—Lions!” 15 steps, take 15 steps in a straight line and catch the ball. Wait. What’s the end zone? “Hike ” I sprint forward, arms pumping, short strides, two green flags fluttering by my side. I wave my arms, but no football. To my side, a defender hugs me closely, so I take off again. . ... I extend my arms and look back for the ball, just like I’d been taught in practice. 19…20…21… “Where’s the defender?” I’m thinking, still pumping my short legs, leaning forward. 2 2 2 I skid to a stop and whirl around. In the distance, I see the QB of our second-grade flag football team shouting

and waving frantically. It all seemed directed toward me. I look behind me. I’m wide open, so why isn’t he passing me the football? Apparently, if you catch the football feet beyond the end one, it doesn’t count. I never really “got” football. My mom signed me up for flag football, along with all the other popular “American” sports. It’s not that she forced me to play. It was the exposure that mattered. xposure, however, wasn’t enough, considering Tianming that not only Xie 10600 and were football Culture metaphors editor blowing right over my head but also the actual football, partly because I thought every play was freestyled. I failed to realize that the string of city names, numbers and animals barked before “hike” actually meant something. or example, “Kansas City two thousand watermelon gator” meant, “Tianming, run 15 yards, turn around and catch the ball.” Also, I now understand why chess players don’t play football because in chess… TD means tournament director.

GM means grandmaster. Blitz means “We’re playing a five-minute chess game with no delay or increment.” And “hook and ladder” are types of checkmates, one involving a protected knight and a rook in the shape of a fisherman’s hook and the other involving two rooks. It’s very confusing, so I have researched the rules, current stars and teams so I will feel included in the spirited Friday football games, the casual lunchroom conversations and the heated debates about whether I should draft Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady on my fantasy fantasy football team. I say “fantasy fantasy” because I don’t have a fantasy football team. But if I did, should I draft Rodgers or Brady? Somehow, I am expected to know this and defend my decision passionately. I am trying my best to understand this obsession with football. It may take a while, but I’m going to give 110 percent. I’m going to take it one game at a time, and I’m going to keep my eye on the prize and leave it all on the field because I’m coming to understand there’s no “I” in “team,” not that I ever thought there was. But apparently, it’s important that I know that. Oh, and from now on, just call me “Tex.”

sports

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

NEW MENTALITY

Empty banners

Coming off of a year with no championships, Lions athletes and coaches combine positive lessons learned from defeat and their hunger for victory as the new athletic year begins.

HARDWARE For the first time since the 1956-1957 school year, the Lions did not add to the trophy count as they did not win a single championship last year.

he 2017-2018 school year left the championship banners lining the gym unchanged. Football: failed to qualify for the SPC playoff. Swimming: second in SPC. Basketball: third in SPC. Lacrosse: second in Texas and second in SPC. By no means was last year a failure. Placing second in the “Athletic Director’s Cup,” an award given annually to the best overall male sports program in the SPC, Lions sports teams were competitive in every single sport played. But for the returning coaches and players on those teams that fell just short, the absence of victory looms large in the way they have trained and prepared for the 2017-2018 athletic year.

see a lot of drive and determination on that front. I would say not getting the win last year was motivating.” For head football coach Bart Epperson, winning a championship was just one of the several goals that his team had during the 2017 season.

“

Going into the final race of the 2 SPC Championship meet, the Lions swim team knew what had to be done a first place finish combined with a fourth place finish by St. John’s. This result would propel them to victory. After an intense three minutes and 17 seconds, the top four finishers in the race had clocked in their times. The order was set in stone forever. In fourth place was St. John’s, narrowly losing to St. Stephen’s. That left the top two teams in the event, John Cooper and St. Mark’s. But the Lions finished second, ending any hopes of attaining a tenth consecutive championship. For Robert Newman, a junior on that team, the loss represented a major let down. “I felt like, personally and as a team, that I and we let down those that had come before us and set this precedent for winning, and it was something that had kind of become expected of us, and we failed in that,” Newman said. “I was just depressed and disappointed.” For Coach Oprea, this loss serves a purpose as his swimmers look towards the upcoming season. “I think that was kind of just a reality check... the seniors of that class, of course, they're not happy about it,” Oprea said. “But, it's better for the program because the people that are coming back have a different attitude, a different perspective, and they can work harder and realize that if we don't give everything 100 percent all the time, that we might lose again. So it's not that bad. It’s actually pretty good.” Head basketball coach Greg Guiler has seen a similar shift in his players after finishing third in SPC last year. “I think we had a good summer, which is indicative of the guys being eager to do what it takes to take that next step and win a championship,” Guiler said. “I

According to Epperson, the team played at a competitive level, stayed positive throughout the season and maintained a high level of composure and enthusiasm. In doing this, the team accomplished all of its goals except for the last one: an SPC championship. For senior linebacker and team captain Davis Malouf, a junior on that football team as well as a member of the lacrosse team that lost the SPC and state championship game, these past losses have motivated him as his window to win a championship slowly comes to close. “It absolutely makes me want it more,” Malouf said. “I only have two more seasons here. I know it is attainable to get a championship in both football and lacrosse so I am very excited to see what happens.” As a leader on both teams, Malouf has advice for younger members with a Lions similar hunger for victory. “Go into either of the gyms and look at the wall, Malouf said. “We have a culture of championships here at St. Mark’s, and if we are willing to put in the work at being successful, we will add more championships to those banners.” Another athlete searching for his first SPC championship is senior football and lacrosse player Blake Rogers. “Since I've been in high school we haven't won an SPC Championship in lacrosse,” Rogers said. “Last year’s senior class and the one before never got to experience that opportunity. We’re 2014 extremely hungry to get that

The people that are coming back have a different attitude, a different persepctive and they can work harder and realize that if we don’t give everything 100 percent all the time, that we might lose again. — Swimming head coach Mihai Oprea

STORY Colin Campbell, William Aniol, Luke Nayfa, Parker Davis PHOTO Rohit Vemuri

first one and want to be the class to kind of bring it back to St. Mark’s.” Rogers also knows that avenging last years losses in both the SPC championship and the State title game won’t be easy. “It’s going to take working really hard all fall and winter just to make sure we're in the best shape as possible,” Rogers said. “Our weight training, our conditioning, all that really comes into play late in the season when we're tired and we've already played a couple games in SPC and that championship game is always about how good of shape you're in, and I think it'll really be how we work early in the season that’ll determine what happens in the championship game.” For both Malouf and Rogers, last year’s lacrosse season was still a success despite the eventual loss. Both of them say that getting better and having a bond with their teammates in and of itself made the season special. A championship would have just been a cherry on top. On a similar note, Assistant Athletic Director Josh Friesen feels that athletes donning blue and gold should not let victory or loss ultimately determine their attitude. “I don't want them to judge their success strictly by wins and losses because a lot of the memories they’re going to form in their activities are going to be the bus rides with their friends, hanging out in the locker room, team meals and stuff like that,” Friesen said. “There might be a big win or two along the way that they’ll remember, but really it's the experiences and how their coaches motivated them and how their teammates pushed them and things like that which will be the lasting

championships by year

2015

2016

2017

2018

memories.” Coming off of a year in which none of the school’s teams won a championship, Friesen’s biggest takeaway is actually the level of class our athletes compete with, even if their efforts didn’t ultimately result in a trophy. “I would say I’m most proud of how we were improving every single day with our teams,” Friesen said. “Our kids showed great sportsmanship and they took the field and they worked hard and they did it the right way. That represents the school in a great way. I’m really proud of how we handle ourselves as athletes and how our coaches are helping drill home the character piece that is so vital to the mission of the school.” Athletic Director Mark Sullivan, who says that there was great participation in summer conditioning programs, believes that championships are not the primary focus of the athletic program. “Our goal is not necessarily to win games, its how do we do it,” Sullivan said. “We want to teach you to work hard without cutting corners and to be respectful, responsible young men and in the meantime, through our medium of sports, we’ll probably win a few games and probably win a few championships. But the goal itself is to not win the championship. The goal is to help you guys become better young men through our discipline of athletics. If you’re just always chasing the win, it s harder to find that continued and prolonged success.” For anyone looking at the fact that 2018 does not appear on any championship banners, uiler has an important clarification. “People look at our banners on the wall and say, ‘Man, St. Mark's didn't win a championship last year. How in the world. What's wrong with the athletic program,’ and it’s like, man, we finished in the top three in in almost every single sport and we finished second in the athletic directors cup,” Guiler said. “It was a great year.” Heading into the 2018-2019 school year, there is undoubtedly optimism from the top of the athletic program to the bottom, fueled largely by the motivation and hunger of Lions athletes. According to Sullivan, it is a great time for Lion sports. “There's an excitement about being at St. Mark’s and on this campus,” Sullivan said. “You see it in the classrooms, you see it out on the quad at lunchtime and you see it in the stands and on the fields and in the gyms. This is an optimistic institution about our future, and there's a great spirit about this place and a lot of that is born within the students themselves.”

sports

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Senior serves as intern for Morning News

Playback

2008 football squad — the last to win SPC — was a special breed

wo-hundred-forty-seven miles away. Freezing weather. The Lions are winning 10-7. The Holland Hall Dutch have the ball on their own half of the field. One more play will decide the fate of the game. One last hail mary will determine the 2008 SPC football championship. The quarterback launches one last prayer into the endzone. If his receiver catches it, the Dutch win. If not, the Lions will take home the trophy. As the ball sails in the air, Lions defensive backs Whit Shaw ’09 and Kirk Hayes ‘09 knock the pass to the ground. A huge wave of relief and joy overcomes the Lions’ players and fans. Game over. Lions win. All the Lions players sprint to the middle of the field and tackle each other with excitement. Meanwhile, the majority of the stands, filled with Holland Hall fans who prematurely wore t-shirts that read “SPC Champions,” are shellshocked and dumbfounded. Just weeks before, the Dutch defeated the Lions in what outside linebacker Drew Nicholas called “a blowout.” Now, the Lions find themselves on top. On the sideline, the newest champions dump a cooler full of grape Gatorade on Coach Epperson. It’s bitterly cold, but Epperson doesn’t mind. His team just won the SPC Championship game. Bart Epperson believes that there were three main components of the 2008 Lions football team that set them apart and ultimately got them the SPC trophy: their dedication and desire to be the best on a daily basis,

THE LINEUP Twelve members of the Lions’ 2008 team flaunt their SPC trophy after defeating Holland Hall by a score of 10-7.

and their ability to hold each other accountable when another player made a mistake. “They brought dedication every single day, and that was pretty special to see,” Epperson said. “These guys were committed and focused on being the best on a day-to-day basis. And, they held each other accountable. If somebody didn’t do their assignment correctly, they let them know in a good way.” The quarterback and defensive back of the team, Hayes, also remembers the players’ confidence and swagger leading them to the title. “We knew that no matter who was on the other side of the field, we were going to beat them if we just did what we were supposed to do,” he said. “We knew we were prepared for every game and believed in every player at every position—that helped us come together as a team.” Throughout the season, the team forged bonds that have lasted even after they graduated. They are still in touch with former players and coaches. “My best friends to this day are a lot of the guys on that team.” Hayes said. “A bunch of us play in fantasy football leagues together and get together almost every time we’re home for the holidays.” Drew Nicholas ‘08, outside linebacker of the team, still looks back on that season with nostalgia, so much so, that he volunteered for a few weeks over the summer to get this year’s team prepared for the 2018 season. “It was really one of the the most meaningful, informative experiences of my life,” Nicholas said. “I wanted

STORY Aaron Thorne, Jack Davis PHOTO Courtesy Development Office

to be a part of that again for a short amount of time.” In the regular season, the Lions played Holland Hall and lost by a large deficit. One of the biggest challenges for the players and the coaching staff was putting the past behind them and being the best team they could be. “There were times, like the first game at Holland Hall, where it looked like we may not make the championship, but no one ever gave up and coach Epperson and coach Labhart made sure we didn’t,” Hayes said. “No one on this team had an ego, and the seniors didn’t let it happen.” Epperson learned many lessons from the 2008 team, lessons which he still implements in his coaching methods today. “They found the time in the day to get it done, make great grades, and go out and dominate the sport that they committed to,” Epperson said. “I just keep pushing today’s players so they know that it can be done. I learned from what they did that it can be done now, with no excuses, on a day to day basis. That’s what I try to get across to the team.” Ten years later, Epperson remembers the positives of the team and believes the ’18 team can use the qualities of the ’08 team to lead them to a successful season as well. “This is one of the best private schools in all academia and extracurriculars in the United States,” Epperson said. “If those guys can make the commitment, and hold each other accountable and come out every single day and give it their best, I know that these guys in this era of 2018 can.”

by Christopher Wang or ten weeks over the summer, senior Nathan Han interned as a writer for the sports section of the Dallas Morning News. Han was one of five high-school students selected from the Dallas metroplex to intern for the publication over the summer. During his time as a sports intern, Han was presented with story assignments pertaining to a variety of sports including soccer and basketball, which in turn provided him with opportunities to meet and talk to many athletes, coaches and others involved in the sports scene. “The coolest experience was probably getting to interview Clyde Drexler and Nancy Lieberman in the same room on my last day,” Han said. “It was the day before the BIG3 basketball tournament. And halfway through the interview I decided to just ask them some random basketball questions as a fan instead of the more typical scripted questions.” Although Han’s story was never published, he appreciates the meaningful experience itself. “I never turned in a story for that assignment because it was my last day,” Han said, “but it was by far the coolest experience by just getting to talk basketball with two of the greatest basketball legends of all time.” Aside from being able to cover sports events like a FC Dallas game, Han was also surprised at how well-received he was by his co-workers in the workspace. “The environment was really welcoming,” Han said. “I felt more like a reporter than an intern during the time I was there. Getting to be in a newsroom everyday was probably one of the cooler parts of the internship.” Han believes the internship experience will help prepare him for a job down the road, but his time working for the newspaper meant more than the addition to his résumé. “It doesn’t hurt to show someone your byline in the paper,” Han said. “But the experience was much more than just being able to say that you were on the Sunday paper.” Will Forbes ’18 was the sports intern the previous summer and was the first ever student from the school to be an intern at the Dallas Morning News. Ultimately, Han’s internship at the publication provided him with an insight on a career he may consider pursuing in the future. “I think the biggest thing I drew from my internship was that this career is definitely something I want to pursue further,” Han said, ”and it’s something I’m taking into consideration while applying for colleges.”

“

We knew that no matter who was on the other side of the field, we were going to beat them if we just did what we were supposed to do.

Kirk Hayes, 2008 SPC championship quarterback

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THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

RESURGENCE

Three strikes later

Back on the grind

Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth – after representing the United States 20 years before in the olympics – takes his shot at the ultimate challenge: a world record.

FLEXING HIS MUSCLES After competing in the USATF Outdoor Championships, Dilworth wears his medal outside of Roos Field, a stadium in Spokane, WA where the event was held.

NEED FOR SPEED Dilworth poses before the race, which occured July 26-29 this past summer.

hy? Why on this day? Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth sat dejected in the warmup area at the USA Track and Field (USATF) Masters Outdoor Championships in Spokane, WA. After just one 100-meter sprint, his goal, his dream of breaking the world record in the long jump at this meet, was seemingly s uashed by a flared Achilles tendon. For the last six months, Dilworth had trained relentlessly for this day. Four training sessions a week. Going vegetarian for four months to cut 14 pounds in weight. Doing everything possible to achieve his goal. And all of a sudden, all the work, all the time, was seemingly for nothing. ••• In this moment of sadness, the people who inspired Dilworth were his fellow competitors. “The other guys who were competing, they come over to check on me and tell me, ‘hey, man, relax, you’re going to be fine,’” ilworth said. “And they’re motivating me now. I remember those moments. It keeps me pushing.” Those interactions helped Dilworth make his comeback. While he didn’t break the world record, Dilworth placed second in the long jump. Overall, he is still pleased with his performance. “I competed to the best of my ability,” ilworth said. “I was happy with my performance, and I learned more from it than just winning. It taught me to persevere because I dealt with the Achilles during training and I could’ve quit. But I kept doing the right things in order to get

to where I was at.” Dilworth also took his experience as a life lesson about dealing with injuries. “I wish I had done better than what I did,” ilworth said, “but when you have things that can really hinder your career and livelihood as far as popping an Achilles tendon, you have to be very smart about it.” Even with his success in the long jump, Dilworth feels the most impactful moments from the day were from watching his fellow competitors. His favorite highlight was watching a 101-year-old man run the 100-meter sprint in 22 seconds. Because it was a Masters event, all athletes must have been at least 35 years old. “Seeing them run is mind-blowing,because we put too much value on age telling us what we can and can’t do.” Dilworth said, “ Really, you can do it because the mind is strong. Their willpower is strong. This lets me know that age is nothing but a number.” Dilworth feels these messages give insight into the real benefit of his competition. “I was there to see these other things take place around me, so I can take it back and give better messages,” ilworth said. “What good is it to me to break the world record just for bragging rights and then it’s over? But seeing people over 80 years old doing the triple jump gives me something to bring back and share with other people.” Dilworth believes he can use these moments to help convey his positive message at the school.

“Here at St. Mark’s, I’m not just a strength and conditioning coach,” ilworth said. “I want to be a good man with a positive voice for everybody here. I want to be the voice that when everybody else is saying no, I can be a yes and a can and a try.” No matter the results in the competition, Dilworth still knows there are benefits to the hard work and training he has put in. “It keeps me young,” ilworth said. “It keeps me disciplined and eating right. I just want to be in the best shape and be the model individual for those who are discouraged at my age.” Dilworth says he has taken away lots of insight about himself and goals in general. “I made this trip to do this one thing because my major goal was to go to break the world record in the Masters,” ilworth said. “That was my focal point. Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I heartbroken? Yes. But being human, you make goals and reach them, but I learned from it because sometimes not receiving what you wanted going into it is not truly why you should’ve been there.” Overall, Dilworth believes his experiences have only rea rmed his personal goals in life. “Every young man here is going to go through something.” ilworth said. “ ou have to be the positive voice when someone’s going through something. It’s the way you say it and it’s the way you present it that really makes the difference. My goal in life is to help people be better, do better, see better and then achieve whatever they want to achieve.”

STORY Nick Walsh PHOTOS Courtesy Kevin Dilworth

Athletic Department adds new facilities and upgrades to campus by Cooper Ribman he Athletic Department has added a number of improvements to the athletic facilities this year. Most visible is the addition of the new scoreboard in the Norma and Lamar Hunt Family Stadium. “It’s a really cool thing for football and soccer and lacrosse kids,” riesen said. “The old scoreboard had just gotten outdated after years.” The board is fully LED, and can show live feeds, instant replays and of course, the score of a game. “This new one is significantly more advanced,” riesen said. “It has so much more capability it’s a big step up.” In addition to the new scoreboard, the inside of Hicks gym has been completely redone. “We took down everything in the gym,” riesen said. “They repainted the entire gym, including ceilings and

beams.” The locker rooms were also repainted, as well as cleaned thoroughly. “We’ve also added some wall skins that represent certain sports for certain areas,” riesen said, “we started swimming in the hallway leading to the pool, and then in August, were able to get the hallway leading to the Hicks locker room with skins that represent football, soccer and lacrosse.” The Athletic Department also has made plans to put skins on the walls of the halls leading into Hicks gym, and also those leading up to the wrestling room. The Mullen Family weight room has also received a few updates this year. “We’re always updating the room to best serve our teams,” riesen said, “we have large teams in there, and if you only have one piece of equipment that’s a high priority, it can bog down the

e ciency of getting guys through their workout.” Every year new equipment is added to the weight room, replacing old machines that were rarely used. “We can cycle the old stuff out to make sure that the weight room is e cient for so many athletes to get in and out of there and get stronger, whether they’re in a sport or in the offseason training.” Despite all of these improvements, the Athletic Department still has more plans on their mind for the future. “We’ve had meetings and discussions regarding all sorts of different spaces,” riesen said, “the order that they get done is sometimes left up to the vendor or depends on other factors like photography content for the wall skins. It’s a fun process and it’s great to see the reaction on the kids’ faces when they see it for the first time.”

by Aaron Thorne can’t strike out this time. With each step toward the batter’s box my heart beats faster and faster. I have to focus on one thing, and one thing only. Not striking out. The pitcher delivers a fastball. Steeerike one! I watch strike two hit the outside corner of the plate. Steeerike two! My legs shake viciously beneath me. The pitcher throws a curveball in the dirt but I swing anyway. I finish my half-assed swing before the ball even reaches the plate and I jog heatedly back to the dugout. I toss my Demarini aggressively onto the bat rack. I throw my helmet hard into the ground. I snatch off my torn-up batting gloves and throw them into my bag. After I finish my performance, I plop myself down on the bench, bury my head in my hands, and I cry. Nobody tries to console me. Nobody wants to. I am inconsolable.

Aaron Thorne Sports editor

Until the age of 13, I would throw a temper tantrum every time I struck out. I quit baseball for a year because I couldn’t handle the disappointment that came with the game. But I soon discovered that I couldn’t stand the idea of not playing the game I love. I would tell myself I hated baseball, but I kept finding myself being called back to the diamond. The next summer, I gave it another shot. I suited up in my undersized jersey, strapped on a pair of cleats that were too dirty, and rested my bright silver sports goggles on my face. I might have looked dumb, but it felt good. When my number was called, I took my Demarini up to the plate. My legs started shaking. All I could think about was not striking out. I watched strike one go by, and swung and missed and strikes two and three. Everyone anticipated my tantrum. But what everyone expected never came. Yeah, I struck out on three pitches. But I realized that striking out is part of the game, and I love the game. As I looked out into the depths of the green grass outfield through my stupid ugly silver sports goggles, I couldn’t help but smile. I might’ve struck out. But it felt right.

sports

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

STARTING OFF STRONG Superfanman Austin Nadalini (below) leads the “Lion Walk,” where all the fans line up around the players and cheer on the Lions as they run out of the locker room to the field.

LOOKBOOK

Friday night lights

As Marksmen get settled into the beginning of the school year and start to get back into the Monday-through-Friday routine, the light at the end of the tunnel is the home football games. The camaraderie and the school spirit that come hand in hand with the games make them one of the most attended events at the school. The team’s first home game was Aug. 31, when the Lions beat Casady 38-0.

PHOTOS Will Rocchio, Charlie Rose, Lee Schlosser

BIG DOGS Captains Colin Neuhoff, Davis Malouf, Ryan Warner, Landon Wood and Blake Rogers walk from the locker room out onto the field, preparing for the coin toss at midfield before the opening kickoff.

SCHOOL SPIRIT Before the game, Lions students and fans, like senior Will Hunt (above) paint their faces blue and gold in support of the Lions for their first home game of the school year.

GETTING HYPE The student section stands up and makes some noise as the Lions defeat the Casady School Cyclones 38-0. FIELD GENERAL In the second quarter, senior starting quarterback Colin Neuhoff surveys the field as he runs for positive yardage. RUNBACK Senior safety John Harbison (48) eludes a Casady receiver as he runs back an interception near midfield.

sports

THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

Volleyball looks to improve and win first SPC championship since 2014 2018 RECORD 1-2 2017 SPC FINISH 3rd NOTABLE Sophomore Tristan Doan averages nearly 20 kills per game. THEY SAID IT “So far, so good. We started the season with back to back losses, but are quickly getting up to speed. With a four-set win last night against Greenhill, we should be fueled to go to Casady this Friday and take care of business.” — head coach Darren Teicher

UP IN THE AIR After scoring a touchdown against Casady Aug. 31, senior wide reciever Ryan Warner celebrates with senior Landon Wood and other members of the offensive line.

Football opens season with commanding victories over Casady and Cistercian 2018 RECORD 2-1 2017 RECORD 5-3 2017 SPC FINISH Did not qualify NOTABLE For the second year in a row, the Lions have opened the season with two victories.

THEY SAID IT

“The biggest concern I have is to make sure the team doesn’t get complacent. Not becoming complacent and continuing to strive for excellence will give us an opportunity to keep winning.” — head coach Bart Epperson

MID STRIKE Senior Parker Davis launches himself into the air, tracking the ball as he prepares to spike it during a match against Greenhill Sept. 11. The Lions went on to win the match by a score of 3-1.

Cross country starts the season strongly, led by dynamic “A team” 2018 BEST FINISH 1st at Northwest Invitational at Discovery Park 2017 BEST FINISH 1st at Trinity Valley Invitational 2017 SPC FINISH 4th NOTABLE Pablo Arroyo ’20, Tyler Nussbaumer ’20, Andres Arroyo ’20 and Seth Weprin ’19 ran the second fastest time in school history at the Greenhill 6-mile relays Aug. 25. THEY SAID IT “Three words describes what makes the 2018 Cross Country team a good one: courage, chemistry, and grit. We have a pride mentality.” — senior Mujin Kwun

SURGING AHEAD Senior Seth Weprin (center), junior Pablo Arroyo (left) and Andres Arroyo (right) are neck and neck during Time Trials in 2017. COMPILATIONS Colin Campbell, William Aniol, Jack Davis, Aaron Thorne PHOTOS Lee Schlosser, Charlie Rose, Jayan Joshi

For the sports junkie A deeper dive into SPC football 4A Kinkaid Episcopal St. Mark’s H. Christian ESD St. John’s Greenhill

SPC volleyball 3-1 3-1 2-1 2-2 1-1 1-2 0-3

The next 4 St. John’s H. Christian Episcopal Greenhill

9/28 10/5 10/12 10/26

Episcopal St. Stephen’s Casady Kinkaid St. Mark’s St. Andrew’s St. John’s FWCD Greenhill Trinity Valley

Advanced stats: Colin Neuhoff NFL QBR: 96.12

Advanced stats:

Anthony Andrews vs. Cistercian:

13 tackles, 2 pass breakups 1 forced fumble, 1 sack

SPC cross country

Fencing

The next 3

Notable:

Jesuit XC Classic: 10/5 SPC North Zone Meet: 10/26 SPC Championships: 11/10

The next 4 FWCD Trinity Valley Greenhill Casady

Paxton Scott Breakdown of Yards: 171 yards after catch 162 air yards

2-0 1-0 1-0 2-2 0-1 0-1 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0

ions sports for the fall season. tatistics and records re ect games through ept.

9/28 10/2 10/5 10/13

Top 5 highest verticals on team: 1. Tristan Doan: 32 in 2. Albert Luo: 31 in 3. Lincoln Dales: 27 in 4. Parker Davis: 26 in 5. Sam Ahmed: 25 in

Advanced stats: Seth Weprin 5K split: First Mile: 5 min 1 sec Second Mile: 5 min 10 sec Third Mile: 5 min 10 sec Final 160 Meters: 35 sec Total time: 15 min 56 sec

The fencing team is seeking a victory in its annually-hosted tournament. The date for the tournament is still yet to be determined.

They said it:

“We have started poking the wall. We’re building up strength and endurance and chemistry within the team so that we can have a successful tournament when the time comes.” - junior Tianming Xie

Advanced stats: The average fencing blade is 90 centimeters long 10 pieces of equipment are required for each fencer before competition.

FALL ATHLETES From volleyball players Matthew Raroque (left) and Albert Luo (right) to football player Anthony Andrews (center), Lions athletes have enjoyed a roaring start to the 2018 season.

remarker

GAME ON Varsity volleyball team members break the team huddle during a early season matchup against Greenhill. The Lions went on to win the match 3-1. The team travels to Trinity Oct. 2 for a pivotal counter match.

the

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

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THE REMARKER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

IN HIS ELEMENT

The notorious Lachezar Junior exchange student Lachezar Hadzhigenov (Lucho) started kickboxing at the age of five in Bulgaria. Now, the sixteen-year-old aspires to become a world champion. Jahaziel Lopez: The first question is for the guys here at St. Mark’s who may not know. Could you explain a bit about what kickboxing is? Lucho Hadzhigenov: When I was a kid, at about five years old, I started with karate. I did that for two years, and then I switched to soft-style kickboxing and I did that for seven years. And now, for two years, soon going to be three years, I’ve been doing hard-style kickboxing, which is probably what you’ve seen on T . Kickboxing is a mixture of boxing and kicking. lbows and knees are not allowed. I’ve been doing martial arts in general for almost 2 years now. JL: Do you do any other sports back in Bulgaria? LH Back in Bulgaria, I only do kickboxing and when I go out with friends I sometimes play basketball, but that’s it. JL: Are you planning on doing some kickboxing here? LH eah, I found a gym near the school so I’m training there. I’m going to do kickboxing at this gym and wrestling at school.

he told me you’re not going to go training. Then I reali ed I love training and competing. Connor Mc regor is one of my biggest inspirations, but the biggest one is my big brother. He’s a uropean championship silver medalist. He has achieved a lot and I’ve always looked up to him. JL: What does your typical day of training consist of for kickboxing? LH Back home in my new gym, I train every day Monday until Sunday from p.m. to p.m. When I go back to Bulgaria, or if I’m able to compete now while I’m in the U.S., I’m probably going to have a heavier schedule. I’m going to train a lot harder because I want to become a world champion. I’m going to have a lot, not seven training sessions a week, but or more. JL: Are you doing anything here with Coach Dilworth? If you are, are there any differences from what you usual-

ly do back home? LH Coach ilworth is great. I usually never go to the gym. I never lift weights. He asks you what you do, what your interests are, what your goals are, and he makes a program that’s just perfect for you. His workouts are specific and awesome for the athletes. JL: What would you say is your biggest strength when you’re in a match? LH The biggest strength for me is that I never give up. I’m used to fighting a lot taller, a lot bigger, and a lot of stronger guys. Also, there’re different styles in kickboxing. Some people just focus more on boxing and some people more on kicking, I just try to do my best in both. JL: Do you see any differences in styles of kickboxing than in Bulgaria than it is here in the U.S.? LH My style that I’ve formed from all

JL: Are you nationally ranked in Bulgaria? LH There’re rankings in the World Association of Kickboxing Organi ations. This is like the biggest amateur kickboxing organi ation in urope and in the world, so I’m ranked there, but that rank doesn’t get o cially released. I’ve been a member of the national kickboxing team of Bulgaria since 2 . JL: You mentioned you’re doing wrestling. How has Coach Reyno helped you with kickboxing and adjusting to wrestling? LH rom the first time I met him he was super great and open to help. I was super happy about having the chance to learn. He has used what I already know to build new wrestling skills. JL: What are some of your other long-term goals that you want to achieve in kickboxing? LH In kickboxing, a lot of people ask me if I want to go professional and my answer is always no. My family in general have always concluded that I must use my head for different things. I don’t want to be a punching bag. However, my goal is to become world champion.

JL: I know you started football recently, so what interests you about football? LH This is my only chance play football because it’s my first time in America, and I just became interested. very time I finished classes, I would go out and watch the guys play football, and I became captivated. This is one of my only chances to learn from the best, so in America, I’m going to take that chance. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

JL: What are you most looking forward to about the rest of the school year here? LH I want to be able to get disciplined a little, because I can be a bit la y back home. Lessons here are far more exciting than in Bulgaria, and I’m mostly looking forward to getting ready to go to college and just getting better academically.

JL: Is there one moment in your kickboxing career that stands out to you? LH Well, a big thing that would stand out in terms of my career would be to become a world champion, but I haven’t yet done that. But this year, I overcame a lot of adversity. I was forced to leave my team that I was with for ten years because of some political issues between my dad and the owners of the club. It was very hard for me to make the switch, but in my first competition since I switched, I managed to get first place. Also, though I’m years old, I won my first medals in the men’s category this year. JL: Was there something or somebody that introduced you to kickboxing? LH To be honest, it took me a long time to fall in love with my sport. The first five years I thought I did it because of my dad forcing me to go. Once I didn’t do my homework and didn’t get a good grade,

these years I’ve trained is a very different style from what people are used to. I’ve formed a great sense of distance, so my style is very different because I move a lot. I like to pick the shots instead of just going in and trading with the person.

JL: Do you have any other personal goals while you’re here in the U.S.? LH I want to go to as many places as I can go because this is my first time in the U.S. I want to meet new friends, build new relationships and have a lot of fun.

SHOWING OUT Junior Lucho works on his craft during a weekly sparring session. In addition to kickboxing, Lucho hopes to participate in the Lions wrestling program.

INTERVIEW Jahaziel Lopez PHOTOS Lee Schlosser Schlosser

JL: Is there something that you would want to leave behind here at St. Mark’s when you go back to Bulgaria? LH I wish people would remember me for being a hard worker. I want them to remember me as a cool dude who just likes to have fun and has a good sense of humor.