The Belfield Banter - Issue 5

The Belfield Banter

January 30, 2023

Musical Musings

by Anthony Cai

I remember the first musical I saw in elementary school, Hairspray, and I remember the main character singing “Good morning Baltimore!” The power of the music and the lyrics struck me immediately. How could someone be so outgoing, so open?

The Saints Come Marching In: A Basketball Recap

by Liam Robertson

The St. Anne’s-Belfield basketball teams have had an incredible season so far, demonstrating their commitment to success through a series of impressive wins. The varsity girls’ team boasts a record of 16-1, and they have outscored their opponents with a whopping 1,149 to 613 ratio. The boys’ varsity team has dominated as well with a record of 16-3.

I think there are two sides to people, just like I like to write and sing. When I pick up a pen or hit the keyboard and write, what I understand is another form of self-reflection; that’s why most of what I write is not for others to read, because they exist more as a wakeup call to myself than a record or a message. Singing is different, this lively, bold and confident way of expressing emotions does not seem to match me in essence, but why do I like it? Is it a signal that I want to show a piece of myself to the outside world?

On January 18th, the Saints reminded us of their strength with two triumphant victories. The girls crushed St. Gertrude 68-43, and the boys buried Benedictine 95-69. McDonald’s All-American Mo Johnson led her team with 24 points and 11 rebounds and almost secured a triple-double with 7 assists. And one underclassman couldn’t miss: with 11 three-pointers, Chance Mallory broke the single-game school record with 42 points. Since these wins, the Saints have continued to be unstoppable: the boys defeated St. Christopher’s and Blue Ridge, and the girls came out on top of Trinity and Collegiate.

Be sure to come to cheer on the Saints and witness their athleticism before the season wraps up!

Lunar New Year Forum by Izzy Sanok

I have never regretted the connections I made with the outside world. Even though I’m relatively introverted, it is undeniable that many of the behaviors I display when I am around friends may give them the opposite perception of me. I like to get to know everybody. There are so many people in the world, and I can learn more about the world by getting to know new people.

Maybe musicals are a way to get to know other people. To externalize the internal, to transform into a louder and more vocal version of ourselves. Maybe musicals are a way to make thoughts that are hard to articulate through speaking more communicable.

Lyra Likes: Recent Reads

by Lyra Stewart

As an avid reader, I love expanding my literary horizons and seeing what bookstores have to offer. I recently enjoyed three books in particular, so without further ado, here are three book reviews!

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

This was the second book by Sally Rooney that I have read, Normal People being the first, and I really enjoy her straightforward, honest style of writing. It’s easy to become engrossed in the stories she creates because the writing is accessible and allows for focus on the plot and characters. She doesn’t include quotation marks for dialogue, which took some getting used to, but once I did, I didn’t mind it at all. Her novels emphasize the beauty in the imperfection of everyday life, and she doesn’t glamorize love stories to an unrealistic extent. Conversations with Friends tells the stories of two young women, Frances and Bobbi, who become friends with an older married couple. I really enjoyed this book because it wasn’t as predictable as most romance books. Even though the book is written in the third person, you get to know the main character, Frances, very well. This book may not be everybody’s cup of tea because of its slightly untraditional nature, but I really enjoyed it!

The College Process

by Clare Antesberger

Ah, yes, it’s that time of the year again. As seniors start receiving their admissions decisions from colleges around the country, the juniors are plagued with the fear of what we call the “college process.” When asking friends during my free period about one word they would use to describe the college application process, people said “astonishing”, “terrifying”, and “scary”. I would have to agree - the process can be each of these things. No words can fully articulate the intricacies of this process, but as a senior that has committed to college, I can offer words of wisdom and explain it a bit. Here are some things I learned throughout the process!

It is different for everybody.

Much about the college process is universal - everyone is nervous, eager, and unsure. But it’s also a process that is extremely different for every student. What is right for one student may not be right for the other, so don’t compare yourself to others. Lean on each other and cheer each other on, but respect the privacy of those around you.

Know what’s the right fit for you.

Because everybody’s process is different, knowing yourself and doing your research is incredibly important! Be sure to talk to your family and college counselor about what range of schools would work best for you academically, socially, and financially. SCOIR, Google, and Niche are a few incredible online resources, and the Fiske Guide books are wonderful for learning about different schools and building your college admissions vocabulary.

Talk to your college counselor!

Creating a relationship with your college counselor is essential in this process. Your college counselors are your advocates, cheerleaders, and mentors. They have your best interests at heart and the more that you share with them the more they can help you. Also, they are the ones that send all of your materials to the schools you apply to! So keeping them up to date is a must.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

I read this book very quickly. I became addicted as the enemies-to-lovers plot rapidly unfolded. The main characters, Olive and Ethan, meet because their siblings are getting married. Despite their initial dislike of each other, they are the only two that don’t get sick at the wedding, so they take the trip that was intended to be their siblings’ honeymoon. On the trip they have to pretend to be married, which leads them to find out that they get along better than they thought. This is a trope that has been done many times before, but the witty, impressive writing is engrossing. The characters could benefit from a bit more depth and intrigue, but the book’s fast-paced nature and intriguing plot twists make it an enjoyable read.

Learn to love writing.

A big piece of the college application process is writing. From your personal statement to supplemental essays, writing is an essential skill for this phase. When thinking about what to say, the most important thing is being authentic. Also, your teachers, college counselors, and parents are here to support you! Proofreading is incredibly helpful, but before you hit submit make sure they still sound like your voice. Lastly, start sooner rather than later!

Don’t worry too much!

The college process can be incredibly stressful, but it’s also incredibly empowering and wonderful. It’s important to stay hopeful and believe that what’s meant to be will happen. Any school that you end up attending is incredibly lucky to have you, and good things come to those who wait. It’s not a race or a competition!

The college process is one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had. I’m so grateful for the support that the St. Anne’s-Belfield community provided, especially the College Counseling Office. I’m so excited to see the incredible things that come out of the younger classes’ processes!

Lunar New Year Dishes

by Qiming Fu

Portrait of an Unknown Lady by Maria Gainza

This book was very different from what I’m normally drawn to, but I gave it a try after Dr. Troy recommended it to me, and ended up enjoying it quite a bit! The story takes place in Argentina and follows the experience of a woman who is involved in art forgery. The book’s mysterious plot and riveting narration. The story is full of many characters, and the people and scenes that seem out of place support the narrator’s claims of not remembering the story correctly. While I got lost in the plot a few times, I still enjoyed this book. The smooth writing and nostalgic tone felt warm and kept me turning the pages.

Many popular new year dishes are a play on words. In Chinese, the name of many food is pronounced the same or very similar to other words that may resemble blessings or good fortune. Here are three recipes my family makes every year that you can try cooking yourself!

“What You Wish Will Come True”

Ingredients: Pig Heart

Cilantro

Tomatoes Orange

Slice all your ingredients and place them in a circular format around your plate: heart on the inside, orange on the outside. Start from the center and work your way out, focusing on a wish as you do so. Once you finish consuming a serving of each of the four ingredients, your wish has been manifested and will come true!

Underappreciated Women Throughout History

by Lovissa Price

Throughout history, heroic and accomplished women have been hidden in order to reinforce the false notion that they are powerless. When these heroines are remembered, they are almost always compared to men who achieved similar feats. I’d like to tell the stories of a few trailblazing women without comparison or silencing.

“Celery and Peanuts” (Diligence & Wealth)

Ingredients:

Celery

Peanuts

Sesame Seeds

Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was a French impressionist painter in the 1870s who, despite her stunning and innovative art, is vastly undervalued. Throughout her early adulthood, Morisot worked alongside her sister, Edma, under the training of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and often displayed her art at Paris’s legendary salon. However, while Berthe continued to pursue art until her death, Edma married and ceased the activity altogether. Berthe’s art soon after took a significant turn. She began to take up and even assist in the invention of impressionism, a style of art focusing on the impression received from a moment. Before the 1870s, art generally consisted of wealthy and powerful people (especially men) posing for a very purposeful picture with a clear focus. Morisot became bored of this. She often depicted women doing regular household chores in informal attire; redefining the previously flawless template to which women were expected to conform. When Morisot got married, she refused to let it absorb her life as was customary for women at the time: “Men are inclined to believe that they fill all of one’s life, but as for me, I think that no matter how much affection a woman has for her husband, it is not easy for her to break with a life of work,” said the artist. Berthe Morisot is a perfect example of a woman overlooked because of her gender. I highly implore everyone to look at some of her many feminist paintings, such as Young Woman Watering a Shrub, The Psyche Mirror, and Woman at her Toilette.

Cut your celery into chunks and mix with shelled peanuts and sesame seeds. You can either eat this dish raw or by pickling them first. The celery in this dish helps reduce urges of procrastination and laziness, encourages diligence and fitness, the peanuts means “to produce wealth” (or to grow flowers, if you read it backwards), and the sesame seeds resemble legacies/coming back each year.

“Quail Eggs with Apples” (World Peace)

Ingredients:

Apple Cubes

Quill Eggs

Ketchup

“Apple” has a nickname in Chinese, meaning “the fruit of peace/safety”. For this dish, serve boiled quail eggs (which sounds like “to be safe”) with diced apples (you can fry them beforehand for an extra little pizazz), and flavor it with some ketchup.

Enjoy!

Sybil Ludington

Sybil Ludington was a seemingly insignificant person during the late 18th century who became a regularly discounted Revolutionary War hero. Ludington was the daughter of a colonel in the American Revolution who lived in New York. When she was 16 years old, Ludinton’s father received a message that British troops were preparing to attack the town of Danbury, Connecticut, and Colonel Ludington’s militia was needed as a defense. He immediately appointed Sybil to alert the troops, who were 40 miles away (which would take about four hours on horseback). Sybil was scared but eager to help her country. She mounted her horse, Star, with a male saddle and rode 40 miles through pouring rain and arrived in Danbury, successfully alerting her father’s troops who then drove the British back to Long Island Sound. Excluding her father’s report of the night, Sybil was forgotten until 1961, when a bronze statue of her was erected in Carmel, New York. Ludinton’s is a classic instance of women’s stories being erased to bolster the stereotype that they are incapable.

A Collection of New Years Blessings

Translation by Qiming Fu

May your halls be filled with gold and jade

May all your ambitions be realized

May your happiness be without limit

Jeannette Pickering Rankin

Jeannette Pickering Rankin was the first congresswoman of the United States of America and a feminist who never ceased her fight for equality and peace. Rankin grew up on a small farm near Missoula, Montana in the late 19th century. In 1902, she graduated from Montana State University and began exploring an array of possible career opportunities, all the while fighting for female equality. She eventually moved to Washington State and joined the women’s suffrage movement, helping Washinton to become the fifth state to legalize female voting. She then became a lobbyist for the National American Women’s Suffrage Association. In 1916, with a strong feminist drive and lots of support from her previous coworkers, Rankin ran for and won a seat in congress, becoming the first female congressperson. During her term, Rankin fought tirelessly for the rights of all women in the country. In 1918, she opened a debate on a constitutional women’s suffrage amendment which would pass in the House but fail in the Senate. Although women’s suffrage was never amended in her term, she helped form the Committee on Woman Suffrage, which eventually, in 1920, led to the passing of the 19th Amendment (which would legalize women’s voting.) In 1940, she again ran for and won a congressional seat which she used to spread the message of equality and peace. Even until she died in 1973 at the age of 92 (before which she was contemplating running for Congress again), she was fighting for equality in a battle that would far outlive herself.

May all your letters find you well

May a small investment bring ten-thousandfold profits

May you find peace and love and wealth

May you encounter happiness in this new year

And all your days begin with a smile

Editor’s Note

by Sasha Rinkevich

Dear Upper School Community,

Happy New Year! I am so excited to share with each of you the first edition of The Belfield Banter of 2023. Inside, we have articles on Lunar New Year traditions, the significance of musicals, overlooked women of history, book reviews, and so much more!

Over the past few weeks, The Belfield Banter and Banter Publications have launched the Banter Fellows Program. The Banter Fellows program aims to introduce the St. Anne’s-Belfield School freshman class to journalism and leadership within the Upper School. The program, in its start, has proven successful with a group of ten highly talented freshmen who will contribute more throughout the rest of the year spread out between the three Banter Publications

You can find the first piece published by a Banter Fellow in this issue by Lovissa Price on historically underrecognized women. We are so excited to see what these fantastic freshmen will bring and cannot wait to see their initiative and progress throughout the next few months.

As always, our wonderful staff and contributors have worked so hard to make this issue possible. I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to The Banter’s staff writers and editors, Banter Publications, our guest contributors, and Mr. Taylor. I’d also like to thank you for reading this issue!

2022 was a year full of change, growth, and delight, and those of us at The Banter are looking forward to all that 2023 will bring. This issue is the first of many, and we are so excited for all that is to come! If you are interested in getting involved with The Belfield Banter, feel free to reach out to newsletter@students.stab. org or srinkevich23@students.stab.org

With gratitude and warm wishes, Sasha Rinkevich,

Senior Editor

2022-23 Staff of The Belfield Banter

Sasha Rinkevich--- Senior Editor

Izzy Sanok--------- Managing Editor

Rose Ryan-Byrne--Asst. Managing Editor

Kay Tu-------------- Columns Editor

Anthony Cai-------- Features Editor

Liam Robertson---- Sports Editor

Lyra Stewart-------- Associate Editor

Sonia Kamath------ Associate Editor Banter Publications

Jack Dozier and Emma Finley-Gillis Editors in Chief

Ding Ding

by Anonymous

Ding ding, an unfamiliar sound

Ding ding, a feeling of excitement

Ding ding, the unrelenting dread of doing something wrong

A buzz comes with it

A buzz which triggers the nerves

A buzz which summons a gaze

Reading and thinking

Typing and thinking

Panicking and thinking

Away go the thoughts

Away go the words

But nerves remain with arms wide open

Awaiting another ding ding

open mic 1/20 by izzy sanok