The Belfield Banter, Volume 7

BELFIELD BANTER THE

Spring Poetry Issue

Issue #7

The St. Anne’s-Belfield School Student Newspaper

In This Issue:

SENIOR INTERNSHIP: AMAZON AID FOUNDATION THE BELFIELD BANTER PODCAST: VOICES OF CHILDREN, UKRAINE POETRY MONTH SUBMISSIONS: A MESSAGE TO MY ANCESTORS 13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE OCEAN HIDDEN BEHIND THE LIGHT THE LESSON OF THE PORCUPINE

A REVIEW OF HEARSTOPPER (Part 2) CONVERSATIONS WITH COLLEGE COUNSELING ST. ANNE’S BELFIELD GIRL’S BASKETBALL RECAP FACULTY FEATURE: MR. WEBSTER EDITOR’S NOTE SENIOR INTERNSHIP: AMAZON AID FOUNDATION

by Emily Cheng — Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a profound interest in the global environmental issues that humans are facing today.

Whenever I return to my hometown of Yingcheng, memories of the Fu River’s decay pull at my heartstrings. When I was young, the river ran clear and beautiful around the village. But over the past decade as the municipal government has introduced new industries and let them operate unregulated, the Fu has become inundated with waste. Flooding has increased, and plastic bags and chemical runoff cover the river’s surface. Witnessing this environmental degradation firsthand has made me painfully aware of the environmental challenges that pervade my community and the world has inspired me to seek to understand and address these pressing problems.

From taking AP Spanish with Dr. VG, I learned about the dilemma encountered by the Amazon

Spring Hath Sprung, Izzy S.

community when I watched the documentary River of Gold. I was mesmerized by the story of the illegal gold mining crisis in the Amazon habitat.

Gold mining allows the residents to make money to sustain their living. However, it devastates the environment through the discharging of mercury and wastewater into the Amazon River. In addition to environmental challenges, illegal gold mining presents social and economical challenges that affect the Amazon community members.

Illegal gold mining is an environmental, social, and economical issue. Solving this compounded issue requires careful considerations from multiple perspectives.

And, as I delved into the issue, I was conflicted. These people aren’t excavating gold to be greedy: they are sacrificing their health to gain a minimum wage to sustain the living of their family and to provide an

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education for their children. How could I ignorantly demand more from them? The mercury that is used to facilitate gold mining damages the river and debilitates human health. But, if the Amazon residents are incapable of fulfilling their basic needs after being deprived of gold mining (their sole source of income), then the environmental concern can’t be solved before alternative and sustainable solutions are devised.

After growing my understanding of the issue, I yearned to engage with the work that people do to help the Amazon community. When I heard about the internship opportunity at the Amazon Aid Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Charlottesville that aims to educate and activate global citizens to protect the Amazon through art, science, multimedia, and film, I reached out. During my internship, I learned about the various activities that the AAF has been organizing. I was especially intrigued by the Amazon Aid Artists project, in which artists communicate messages and advocate for protecting the environment through various kinds of art. I planned to create my piece of art as part of my internship to better educate people in my community about the issue, as I deeply believe in the power of activism through art.

Moreover, I created an account on the Chinese social media platform “XiaoHongShu”, where I translate the posts of AAF on Instagram to the platform daily. Here, I can facilitate conversations across the globe. Feel free to follow the account here.

Despite my internship and high school career coming to an end, I see it as the beginning of many more endeavors. I encourage anyone who shares my passion to take full advantage of the resources in our community and to take action.

The dilemma faced by the Amazon community cannot be solved in one day. However, if we start by learning about the issue and talking about it with our friends and family, we will find a way to solve the problem one day.

If you are interested in the documentary River of Gold, or to join the Amazon Aid Foundation to protect the Amazon, check out their website for more information!

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RAISE WE OUR VOICES: THE BELFIELD BANTER PODCAST

VOICES OF CHILDREN, UKRAINE

by Sonia Kamath — As the head of the Saints Service Club, education in conjunction with fundraising is one of my top priorities. In trying to plan a fundraiser for an organization helping children in Ukraine, it was important to me to delve into the topics at hand and provide the resources and information needed so that participants would understand what they were supporting.

Voices of Children is a group based in Ukraine that provides psychological support to children affected by the war. True to their name, the organization has a “Children’s Advisory Council,” which helps ensure that they achieve their mission of making children’s voices heard by creating a page of videos where children share their experience of the war. I appreciate how well thought out their objectives and methods are, and I want to stress the importance of their work. If you find that you want to do more reading, their website can be found here. Thank you again to everyone who donated and to those who are reading this article and listening to the podcast episode!

In this episode of Raise We Our Voices: The Belfield Banter, Sonia Kamath ‘24 is joined by Mr. Jon Shoup, a humanities teacher and the faculty sponsor to the Model UN. In conjunction with a fundraiser for Voices of Children, Mr. Shoup discusses the basics of the war in Ukraine and his opinions on how to talk about the topic with children and students. In the episode, they also discus what people should be taking away from the crisis.

A MESSAGE TO MY ANCESTORS

by Khai Davis

— You come into this world, full of innocence and purity. You are not just a speck in this universe: you are the living word, an entity carved perfectly by the belly of your mother. Pigmented by the night; your skin smooth like cocoa and eyes filled with bottomless hope for a better day. You come into this cruel world through the darkness and will shine light upon this foreign land. The land you will be building a country upon with your hands, bare and calloused. You will page two

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know as little of your age as cattle know of theirs’. You’ll hold no earthly connection to your maker and know nothing of your father.

You will never know your truly divine origin. At birth, you will be trained to bury your divinity and to never let it shine through, for your divinity is what scares them most. To be an invisible man. They want you to forget your roots. The roots that pulsate through your motherland.

The land that birthed the royalty of your ancestors. You’ll never know the beauty of your land.

They’ll leave you with nothing but the spiritual connection your ancestors blessed you with.

“The American Negro has the great advantage of having never believed the collection of myths to which white Americans cling: that their ancestors were all freedom-loving heroes.”

–James Baldwin

13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE OCEAN

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird (Wallace Stevens) parody

by Qiming Fu — Among twenty visible tides, The only moving thing Was the white foam of the waves.

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Of the suffocated aquatics about you?

I know humble origins And swollen, unfortunate silence; But I know, too, That the ocean is involved In what I know When the ocean flattened out of sight, It marked the end Of one of many horizons At the sight of oceans parting in white light, Even the sailors of Pequod Would cry out despairingly.

He rode over the Atlantic In a Spanish caravel Once, a joy mislead him, In that he mistook The vision of his journey For America.

The sails are moving.

The ocean must be running.

It was dusk all morning It was raining And it was going to rain.

The ocean slept In the bedrock locker.

I was of three teeth, Like a coral In which there are three on a trident The ocean whirled in the maelstrom swirls.

It was a small part of the catastrophe.

A star and a fish Are one.

A star and a fish and an ocean Are one.

I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of reflections Or the beauty of remedies The ocean hushing Or just after.

Oils filled the wide canals With colorful black The light of the ocean Weaves it, to and fro The mood Laced in the light An unforgivable casualty O shallow men of Terrains Why do you imagine blue waters?

Do you not see how the green ocean Swishes around the fins

Accompanying Artwork by Emma Finley-Gillis

HIDDEN BEHIND THE LIGHT

by Anthony Cai

— The light poured from the train Void swords dangled overhead Speeding so fast The carriages twisted and warped Fireworks crackle in the distant sky Spinning and blooming Dancing and blossoming Into circles every time The clock slowly paces to zero The tinkling sounds Owl jumps out Now everything is new What civilization is all about Amid countless rebirths To shed light anew Young, aged Gorgeous, ugly Primitive, civilized All flesh is distinct when turning into celebration The new tide overtakes the old Washes away everything Whispers from the Pope’s Throne Trickle of sounds scream Golden light gradually blurs in my eyes The glow quietly enlarges So long that I can hardly see So long that it reminds me of another glimpse of light

I went through another door Or rather Another door closed behind me Once again The time curled As the gilded page Rolling by As nothing reserved The old peaks With new clouds Collide one after another A new fragrance rebounds The story resonates In my mind Closing its curtain Once again Evening sun in the sky Making the clouds shine Like they’ve been burned by fire Color keeps coming out Reddening half of my sight

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I walk down the hill Sit at a park bench I am not up to anything Just contemplating this quiet time

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The traffic in the distance The sound of noise does not stop Nearby street lights flicker on and off Like fireflies struggling In the city of stars During the middle of the night I, self-proclaimed atheist Can’t seem to firmly believe in either side at this moment The world full of round holes Even the out-of-place square-headed pegs Sooner or later Must also fit in I gaze Looking at the dimness overhead The eyes are sunken Seem to cut through the chaos and hit the distant nebulae I don’t know what to think But my soul seems to have been sucked in Maybe everything has vanished It’s hard to distinguish between real And fake insights Both curling Laying closely, intermingled My heart beats faster than ever I am sure aware Winning chance is gambling Though I wish to try for once Great hall of solemnity Priests play melodious music The holy church White and immaculate Gust of wind blow through Wind chimes dangling overhead Tinkling The Father sitting high in the golden chair Looking down on all beings Shedding the light of mercy

I was a loyal believer Holding it as my faith After passing through doors I began to question I began to wonder About the light imprisoned in a box Like a firefly trapped in an unending wave

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I tried to touch The world Hidden behind the light The world only I have seen Behind the door While never waiting to give it a glimpse Before the door closes Behind me My outstretched hand is hesitantly tentative My eyes are blurred by a new sight I think I see The gods of a new world

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perhaps that’s where the others are meant to stay the sad porcupine (the original Eeyore) looked to find peace–from forest to seashore never taking a second to wonder if it was his own defense that had led him asunder i understand his desire for protection what better defense than a sharp willed long quilled spiny injection?

The vermilion lips open and close The interrupted words are on my lips I have no chance to speak

should ever the porcupine need peace of mind or soul instead he leaves his friend with an painful new hole his defense leaves him without sense, he scores with no goal because the will of the porcupine is to be a grumpy little troll

The light drops again Like it used to be

A REVIEW OF HEARTSTOPPER

I feel dizzy Who? What? Where?

Hail, Holy Father!

It is my great honor to serve you!

The light ceases

THE LESSON OF THE PORCUPINE

by Zach Kapp — name a word or phrase that begins with the word pork “upine” and despite that Family Feud answer being less than divine for all time the question of how “the porcupine” remains as if the porcupine could just curl up and protect against the mental stains left upon our spikey friend time and again

how do you fare, fine porcupine friend? scared and alone, from now ‘till the end why do you fear those that come near? how much do you think it took to get me here? what will it take for us to rejoice? i no longer think i have that choice do you prefer to be alone, with nobody by your side? most animals prefer not to have spikes in their hide then why do you have them, if they drive the rest away?

by Anonymous — A few months ago, I saw a preliminary trailer for Netflix’s Heartstopper on my Instagram feed. Upon fully watching the trailer, I knew that I had found a new favorite show. The one downside was the month-long wait. I periodically checked the Netflix account and slowly waited but mostly forgot about the show… until I saw the countdown to the release.

Heartstopper is a coming-of-age drama following characters Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) at a college preparatory school in the United Kingdom. Throughout the show, during significant moments, annotations like hearts, butterflies, and, mostly commonly, leaves adorn the screen.

It opens with an entourage of scenes that portrays Charlie’s return to school after winter break, plenty of small flower annotations, and texts with his boyfriend, Ben, asking him to secretly meet in the library before classes. However, when Charlie gets to the library, Ben decides to cancel their plans via text.

After his unsuccessful mini-date, Charlie goes to his new form group (comparable to our advisory groups)

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to begin the day. For the new group, seats are assigned. In comes Nick Nelson, the Rugby King, as Charlie’s tablemate. Clusters of leaves fly around the screen. The two become friends without much hesitation. But, Charlie also noticed that he developed more than platonic feelings for Nick.

Despite their prevalence in the spotlight, Charlie and Nick are joined by a cast of equally prolific characters such as Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney), Tao Xu (William Gao), Tara Jones (Corinn & Jones), Issac Henderson (Tobie Donovan), and Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Egdell). Each of these characters are integral members of the entourage that effortlessly evolve the plot. Additionally, it is difficult to not see a range of representation in the characters due to their differing sexualities, races, family statuses, gender identities, and personal mental health experiences. Oftentimes, representation like this is simply not included in TV shows and movies. The creators of Heartstopper, however, do a fantastic job of including this diverse cast of characters while never having an aura of tokenism or performative activism.

Passionately discussing the show with a friend prompted my deep delve into the written version of Heartstopper, which is set in a graphic novel format. Written by Alice Oseman (who also directed the show), the book follows an almost identical path. There is less of a focus on the characters other than Charlie and Nick in the book, though there is still appropriate homage to each of the characters. Those who read the book will be disappointed to see the disappearance of Aled Last in the show, yet his replacement by Issac Henderson is not a disappointment. Issac is an equally incredible character, and Oseman has hinted, in recent interviews, to an exciting future for Aled.

It is quite rare to see this purely joyful representation of LGBTQ+ characters in modern television. Noting that each character has moments of strife and struggle in the show is quite important, but the portrayal of queer interactions without absolutely tragedy is not common. An example of a comparable show would be Netflix’s Young Royals (see a student-written review in Issue Two of The Belfield Banter), where the depressing undertones of LGBTQ+ youth are deeply ingrained.

Following the characters throughout the series is both refreshing and thrilling. Each of them gives you an opportunity to see the good and bad in teenage life.

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(PART 2) CONVERSATIONS WITH COLLEGE COUNSELING

by Kay Tu and Anthony Cai

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of a series of articles from our Digital Editors, Anthony Cai and Kay Tu, on the inner workings of the college admissions process and our college counseling office.

What’s the funniest application you’ve seen?

Belak: The funniest essay that I’ve read was probably the student who wrote in their “Why Chicago?” essay with the title, “I don’t want to go to UChicago. My parents made me apply”. Did he get in? No! He did not. I mean, it was obvious he didn’t want to go. For UChicago you can also submit a video– sometimes they are lovely, fun, and whatever else.

Sometimes, they are amazing– and I once saw one which was very unexpected of a girl who was really into biology. In her video, she walked us through her dead animal collection.

She was dead serious about it, too. She walked through making comments like “and this is the coyote’s head.” It was kind of terrifying, but it was really cool. I fought for that girl, and she ultimately got in.

If you were a rising senior now, which colleges would you apply to and why?

SJ: In 1993, I applied to Franklin and Marshall College. In those days, we didn’t have the technology we have today. We had the old-fashioned cassette videotapes for college information There was a girl in my class who gave me a videotape for the school. “Franklin and Marshall,” I thought, “what a strange name.”

Watching the clips, I learned there were some things I was looking for: I wanted school near my brother in New Jersey. Coming from a graduating class of thirty, I wanted a smaller school. Coming as an international student, I wanted a school with community. I chose to apply early, got accepted, and it turned out to be so transformative I changed in ways I could never even imagine. I think that, if I had to go back and do it again, I would make the same decisions. The reason I liked to push all of page six

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you is because, when I was a high school student, there were so many things I didn’t believe I was capable of. But, because I had people who believed in me and supported me, I was able to try. I am who I am because I got to do things I never would have imagined.

getting knocked off by Trinity-Collegiate, one of the top teams in South Carolina, in the final round.

“Coach Stinnie always gave us advice like ‘play your game,’ ‘make your defender be under your will.’”

How do you consider suggesting (or not suggesting) that students apply for Ivy League schools?

Rubenoff: We would recommend any school to students based on what they’re looking for in their personal experience, interests, and locations. I think an Ivy League can make sense if it’s the right fit for the student, and if they’ve done their research to know what they’re looking for. I remember one student in my first year doing college counseling in England, one of the top students in her class, who came to my office and said, “Everyone tells me that I should apply to Ivy League schools, do I have to?” I, of course, told her “No! You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” There’s a perception that, if you are so smart, the Ivy League is where you have to be. But, for some students, it’s not what they want. That student ended up at Carleton College, which was a perfect fit for her and her love of science, art, and the liberal arts. Applying to Ivy League schools is really a question of fit and of what you want for yourself and your college experience.

ST. ANNE’S-BELFIELD GIRL’S BASKETBALL RECAP

by Rose Ryan-Byrne — The St. Anne’s-Belfield girl’s basketball team finished the 2019-2020 season 20-6 and had high expectations for their 2020-2021 season.

Unfortunately, the season was wiped out by COVID-19. This meant that the expectations for the 2021-2022 season were high but uncertain.

But, the team exceeded all expectations! They delivered with a tremendous 2022 season, a 20-2 record, two players on the all-state team, and Coach Stinnie being selected as the Virginia Girls Basketball Coach of the Year!

The team started the season with a nail-biting win over Catholic and rattled off to win the next nine consecutive games, some by significant margins. Their streak, unfortunately, came to an end during the Boo Williams Tournament

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–Olivia Wagner, Class of 2022 Following this loss, the team steam-rolled through the rest of the regular season before tearing through the state tournament. The team won a dramatic game against Bishop Ireton, but they unfortunately lost during the state finals.

The team is losing quite a bit of talent next year, with Olivia Wagner going to play at Radford and Ruby Adkins playing at MIT. However, they are returning a lot of talent with Kymora Johnson who was recently named the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year. With the amount of momentum they built over this season, there is little doubt that the team will continue to dominate in the years to come.

FACULTY FEATURE: MR. JASON WEBSTER Are you new to the Charlottesville area?

JW: My family moved to the Charlottesville area in the summer of 2020. We’re not entirely new to the area but had been away for quite some time. My wife and I both attended UVa, and we had visited Charlottesville many times as a family in the time since.

When COVID struck in the spring of 2020, we were living in Oman. The uncertainty of the pandemic made the move back to the US a priority, and Charlottesville was a wonderful landing spot.

What made you interested in working in the education sector?

JW: The idea of becoming a teacher took shape early in my time at university. In high school I coached youth basketball and soccer and immensely enjoyed the opportunity to work with kids. At UVa, I found myself pulled toward history classes again and again - Russian history, Central American history, Middle Eastern History, etc... It hardly seemed to matter the

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course, I was eager to soak up the history.

Teaching high school Social Studies seemed to be the perfect alignment of my interest in working with kids and my passion for history.

What is your favorite pastime outside of school?

JW: Sports. I’ve always enjoyed playing and watching sports. As a kid, it was basketball, baseball, soccer, and football. Anything my friends and I could play, we played. In college, my friends and I formed teams to play everything from innertube waterpolo from innertube waterpolo to bolleyball in pursuit of the elusive UVa intramural championship t-shirt. We finally got our championship in street hockey, a sport none of us were the least bit competent to play.

I still get out and play soccer a couple of times a week and have enjoyed the opportunity to coach soccer here at STAB. My two sons play basketball and soccer, so it’s a lot of fun to get to watch them play.

How would you describe your teaching experience in STAB compared to those schools in which you have taught overseas?

JW: In many ways, STAB was a great school to transition back to after teaching abroad for six years. The international schools I taught at in Korea and Oman were both small schools with high achieving students and a strong community feel, similar to what we have here. The presence of an international boarding program at STAB also helps me feel connected to the world of international teaching.

There was certainly something magical about living and working abroad– there’s a vibrancy to even the most everyday things. While I look forward to traveling or living abroad again one day, I am grateful for the opportunity to teach everyday at STAB.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

by The Belfield Banter Editorial Board — Hello, Saints!

The time between spring break and the end of the school year always seems to go by in a flash– we just settle into Quarter 4 classes, and then, suddenly, final projects and tests are upon us. While we’re excited that summer break is just around the corner, we’re also starting to think about the bittersweet parts of the end of the year, like saying goodbye to graduating seniors or friends who may be moving away.

So, before the 2021-2022 school year is in our past, we at the Banter hope you find time to say good luck to all the seniors who are headed out into the world beyond our campus. Maybe take a minute to track down a teacher or coach who you really connected with this year and say thank you. Tell the Dining Services staff how much you appreciate all their hard work preparing food for us each day. Soon, we will celebrate the end of the year. For now, we appreciate that you made time to read this issue of The Belfield Banter– full of student poetry, athletics updates, and other opinion pieces about the state of the world.

Happy Spring!

The Belfield Banter Editorial Board

2021-22 BANTER STAFF Jack Dozier* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Editor in Chief Emma Finley-Gillis*- - - - - - - - - - - - Managing Editor Hannah Laufer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Columns Editor Ally Alvarez - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Features Editor Qiming Fu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Creative Director Kay Tu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Digital Editor Anthony Cai - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Digital Editor Izzy Sanok- - - - - - - - - - - -Assistant Managing Editor Sonia Kamath- - - - - - - Director of Student Outreach Rose Ryan-Byrne - - - - - - - - - - - - Community Editor

Andrew D., 24’ singing with Skyline Drive at Prom 2022

*Asterisk denotes members of the Editorial Board page eight