Artemis Spring 2024

SHE SURFS

THE SPORTS ISSUE

Archer Surf

Women Making Waves BREAKING THE CHECKERED CEILING

Artemis

The Archer School for Girls Magazine

The Archer School for Girls

11725 Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90049

310.873.7000

Editor

Rachael Uriarte

Director of Communications & Strategic Marketing

Associate Editors

Amanda Ryvkin

Associate Manager of Communications & Strategic Marketing

Sarah Rafiqi

Communications & Strategic Marketing Coordinator

Special Thanks To Archer Advancement

Design and Layout

Rachael Uriarte

Photography & Illustrations

Amanda Ryvkin

Archer Communications

Archer Athletics

Rebecca Aranda

Anika Orrock

JD Renes

Devon Trunk

Megan Youngblood

Board of Trustees 2023–2024

Frank Marshall, Co-Chair

Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, Co-Chair

Justin Chang, Vice Chair

Melanie Poturica, Secretary

Tracey Briscoe Monroe, Treasurer

Prem Akkaraju

Kelli Bernard

Janet Feldstein McKillop

Lauren Finkelstein ’01

Robin Formanek

Paloma Jimenez

Janice Min

Hannah Minghella

Melissa Rawlins

Brian Rosenstein

Corinne Verdery

Perry Wallack

Michael Zeller

In This Issue

Seen. Heard.

18

"Archer surf was born out of a passion, out of a sense of community and camaraderie.”

Kim Smith, Director of Athletics — She Surfs

32

“We paradoxically live in a world where pink is seen as feminine, fragile, and delicate but powerful, innovative, optimistic, and progressive.”

The Pink Paradigm

Stay Up To Date

52

“Great ideas can come from anyone, and anyone can learn.”Mike Carter

Think Big, Dream Big: Journey of Hydra comes to an end

Follow us on social to unlock a world of exclusive updates and captivating behind-the-scenes moments, giving you an insider’s view into the vibrant world of Archer. @archerschoolforgirls

NEWS BRIEFS

PBAS Pitches In for MLK Day of Service

On Monday, January 15, a group of Archer students and their families, organized by Parents of Black Archer Students (PBAS), participated in Big Sunday's 12th Annual MLK Day of Service Clothing Drive and Community Breakfast. The group helped to assemble winter survival kits, created greeting cards to accompany the kits, painted murals, and listened to the smooth jazz sounds of the Blue Breeze Band at 42nd Street Elementary School. It was a day of community, fellowship, service, and fun.

HUMANITIES

Meredith H. ’26 Places as a Finalist in the NSPA Individual Awards

Congratulations are in order for Meredith H. ’26, who is officially a National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Individual Award Finalist for her student journalism. During a particularly competitive year, Meredith’s story, "Benefitting and learning through sports: Student athletes develop endurance, time management," was one of only 10 stories submitted nationally to advance to the final round in the Digital Story of the Year: Multimedia Sports Story category.

The Muses Robotics Team Dominates Robotics League in Pixel Perfect Competitive Showing

Archer’s Upper School robotics team, The Muses competed in the final qualifying tournament of the USFIRST FTC Robotics Program on Sunday, January 7. The interleague competition held in Diamond Bar, CA gathered twenty teams from different leagues across Southern California. Teams were charged with using strategy and teamwork to perform tasks such as collecting hockey puck-sized "pixel" pieces from the field and placing them on a vertical board, launching an airplane, and ending with a pull-up. Archer students demonstrated creative engineering skills and teamwork, earning them 1st place in their league during the regular season while briefly missing out on the playoffs after their last regular match.

The Muses are US FIRST FTC SoCal League A2 regular season champions. In the SoCal ILT (Inter-League Tournament), they earned 2nd place in the Motivate Award and 3rd place Design Award. Mike Carter received 1st Place in the Compass Award for his role as the team’s coach.

COMMUNITY

Bumo x Archer Co-Host Panel Discussion about Nurturing Childhood Resilience

On Wednesday, August 16, Head of School Elizabeth English and Joan Nguyen, the CEO and Co-Founder of coworking and childcare facility BumoWork, met at BumoWork Westfield Century City for a panel hosted by Cool Moms Podcast Host Elise Peterson. Panelists discussed their experiences as working mothers, the importance of building resilience in children, and strategies for how to do so.

SERVICE STEM

COMMUNITY

Rabbis Jaclyn Cohen and Dara Frimmer Give High Holy Days Presentations

In partnership with Archer's Jewish Student Union (JSU), Archer invited special guests Rabbi Jaclyn Cohen and Rabbi Dara Frimmer to speak with students about the Jewish High Holy Days in September of 2023. They discussed self-reflection and making amends, and students were encouraged to ask questions in an open Q&A. Upper School students then had a taste of Rosh Hashanah with donated apple slices and honey after learning more about the importance and significance of foods on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Gemma W. ’25 is a YoungArts National Competition Winner

Gemma W. ’25 is one of the recipients of the YoungArts Awards in the Voice/Singer-Songwriter category. She submitted three original songs: "Anomaly," "Mother’s Call," and "Blest Are The Lonely." The YoungArts Award recognizes the exceptional technique, strong sense of artistry, and depth of thinking and performance of Gemma’s submissions.

SERVICE

The Artemis Center Hosts Voter Registration Table for the Brentwood Community

On Sunday, October 22, The Artemis Center hosted a voter registration table at the Brentwood Farmers Market. Students Sophia L. ’24, Olivia M. ’24, Grace R. ’25, and Olivia H.-G. ’26 were excited to get out into the community to engage in activism and leadership around voter registration. Many people they encountered did not know that 16-year-olds can now preregister to vote and were happy to have the opportunity to fill out the paperwork. The students received lots of commendations from market visitors for their civic engagement.

COMMUNITY

Alumni Panel Promotes Health and Well-Being

On Monday, October 16, the Archer Alumni Board hosted a Health and Well-Being Panel for Upper School students. The panel was comprised of Loren Castle, founder of Sweet Loren’s, Debbie Saroufim, a body acceptance coach, and Olivia Tiffany ’09, a doctor of Clinical Psychology. Panelists shared the different paths that led them to their careers, spoke on issues that young girls are facing, and talked about growing from their experiences.

ARTS

COMMUNITY

Grupo Folklorico La Rosa Get Students Dancing for Hispanic Heritage Month

To ring in Hispanic Heritage Month in the fall, Archer welcomed Grupo Folklorico La Rosa. Members of the group performed traditional folk dances from the Mexican states of Veracruz, Chiapas, Sinaloa, and Jalisco. The group’s director, Maria Antonia Villalobos, taught the audience the Jaliscan dance la raspa, and invited students onstage to perform what they had learned.

COMMUNITY

Community Honors Dia De Los Muertos

On Wednesday, October 25, Middle School students attended an assembly on Día de Los Muertos. Students heard from faculty members as well as fellow Middle School students about the holiday, its meaning, and traditional foods and practices, such as pan de muerto and ofrendas (altars). Spanish teachers and students also shared an overview of what Spanish language students are learning in class about the holiday. That afternoon, the Tia Palermo Library screened “Coco.”

The next week, the Spanish Language department set up an ofrenda in the Zimmer Family Lounge with photos, papel picado, marigolds, and other traditional symbols for our community to appreciate and contribute to. In their Spanish language classes, 8th grade students created mini altars to remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones, pets, and inspiring figures who have passed away.

Finally, on Wednesday, November 1, Hermanas Unidas hosted a Día de Los Muertos celebration in the Historic Courtyard. To a backdrop of lively music, students, faculty, and staff were invited to eat pan de muerto and make tissue paper flowers and cards for the community altar.

LEADERSHIP

2023 Music Video Strikes Gold at Brilliance Awards

Archer’s 2023 Raise Your Paddle video won first place gold in the Fundraising Video Outsourced category of Inspired School Marketers’ Brilliance Awards. The video featured an array of students on Archer’s campus set to a version of Ingrid Michaelson’s “Pretty” arranged by Piper Rutman ’23, performed by the Unaccompanied Minors, and choreographed by Georgia Ehrlich ’23. With assistance from Archer's Advancement and Communications Departments, Choral Director Hannah O’Connor and Middle School Director Reed Farley ideated and coordinated the video, which was shot and produced by PE Studios.

COMMUNITY

Alumni Stars Shine Bright as Awards Season Kicks Off

Congratulations to Archer alumni Kate Berlant ’05, Samy Burch ’05, and Gracie Abrams ’18 for their Emmy, Golden Globe, and Grammy Awards nominations, respectively. Kate was nominated for the Peacock Original sketch comedy special “Would It Kill You To Laugh? Starring Kate Berlant & John Early,” in the Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special category. She has been touring London, New York, and L.A., performing her eponymous one-woman show. Samy was nominated in the Musical or Comedy Motion Picture category for the film “May December.” She has a prolific career in film and television, including casting credits in “The Hunger Games” trilogy. This was her first screenwriting credit. Gracie was nominated in the Best New Artist category. She has made a name for herself as a melodic singer-songwriter whose debut album, "Good Riddance," was released in February 2023, right before she set off as an opening act on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY

Head of School Elizabeth English Featured in ‘A Bit of Optimism’ Podcast

In a thought-provoking episode of the "A Bit of Optimism" podcast, host Simon Sinek and Head of School Elizabeth English explore the problems facing parents today, the importance of boundary setting, and why kids need and thrive from rules. In particular, Ms. English discusses the significance of teaching self-regulation as a cornerstone skill for the future of leadership, nurturing children's ability to turn to one another—not just devices—when faced with emotions. In a nod to the name of the show, Ms. English shares how Archer students make her hopeful for the future.

VISIT BIT.LY/SINEKENGLISH OR THE QR CODE TO LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE

Archer Celebrates National Coming Out Day

The Archer community joined our Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) for a National Coming Out Day celebration on Thursday, October 12. The Historic Courtyard turned technicolor with rainbow flags as students, faculty, and staff made bracelets, snacked on colorful candies, responded to reflection questions, and enjoyed music by LGBTQ+ artists.

Diwali Celebrations ‘Light Up’ Archer Campus

In November, Archer learned about and celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Middle School and Upper School students attended respective assemblies where their peers presented on the holiday, sharing the history, meaning, and common customs of Diwali. On Tuesday, November 14, a Diwali festival was held in the Historic Courtyard, during which students enjoyed Indian sweets, drank chai, and learned Bollywood dance moves.

Archer Attends NAIS People of Color Conference

Students Lola T. ’26, Selah J. ’26, Rachel C. ’25, and Kayla B. ’24 accompanied English Teacher Sala Bandele-Jackson and Associate Director of College Guidance Shalyn Tharayil to the 2023 NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC) in St. Louis from Wednesday, November 29Saturday, December 2.

PoCC is the flagship of NAIS’s commitment to equity and justice in teaching, learning, and sustainability for independent schools. This year’s conference theme, “Gateways to Freedom: A Confluence of Truth, Knowledge, Joy, and Power” highlighted how different paths can converge to a common journey.

LEADERSHIP

COMMUNITY

ATHLETICS

For the first Athlete Leadership Council (ALC) meeting of the 2024 year, we talked about the meaning of the word “yes.” The question we explored together was, “How do you show up when the yes feels more like a maybe?"

Hands raised. They had ideas:

You remind yourself of the goal you are working towards. You ask for support.

You motivate your teammate, and in doing so, take a step forward into the yes.

Sometimes, it just feels challenging. And that’s okay. You show up anyway.

When you show up, the magic happens. You move closer to your goal and to your team.

Not so coincidentally, Archer said "yes" to a partnership with Laura Youngson, CEO of IDA Sports and Co-Founder of Equal Playing Field, to promote one of the first athletic shoes designed for and by women athletes. Archer film students and soccer players joined a production crew to film a commercial depicting the evolution of women in sport and the continued efforts to work towards equality. On the day of filming, Youngson joined ALC to share a piece of her story and encourage them to use the sports platform for female empowerment. Archer’s partnership with IDA Sports filmed athlete actors in uniforms from 1920 to modern times. The message was about breaking barriers and generating momentum toward equity in sports.

Archer Athletics' commitment to supporting and celebrating the success of female athletes has resulted in a record number of graduating student-athletes continuing their sport in college—seven. Division 1 recruits Cate C. ’24 (Colgate Soccer) and Amelia H. ’24 (Brown Swim) were honored in the early decision signing ceremony that included their reflections on the journey to achieving their goals and gratitude for the encouragement along the way. Surrounded by their classmates and coaches, they both underscored the importance of showing up, saying yes, and putting in the work to reach their goals.

Similarly, the 2023 Fall student-athletes put in the effort to achieving undefeated seasons, league and championship titles, participating in championship finals, and advancing in CIF playoffs on the cross country course, in the pool, and on the tennis and volleyball courts. With powerful female role models to follow, Archer athletes are eager to continue the journey of teaming and empowerment—one challenge at a time.

Kim Smith Director of Athletics

GO PANTHERS!

Middle School Cross Country finished 3rd in the PBL League Finals and earned 8 individual PRs.

College Signings: Cate C. ’24 signed her NCAA NLI to play soccer at Colgate University and Amelia H. ’24 signed with Brown University Swim.

Varsity Tennis won their 6th consecutive undefeated Liberty League Championship and advanced to the 2nd round of CIF Team D2 playoffs.

Middle School Swim earned their 10th PBL Championship title.

Cheer team performed for the first time during home volleyball games.

Upper School Cross Country won their first Liberty League Championship and qualified for CIF Team.

6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams advanced to the PBL League Championship game. 7th and 8th grade Volleyball achieved undefeated league seasons.

Varsity Volleyball advanced to the 1st round of CIF D4 playoffs.

Equestrian Fall Shows: In the Novice division, riders earned Reserve Champion and Champion, and in the JV Division, one of our riders earned Jumper Champion.

GOOD SPORT

IN THE FIERCELY COMPETITIVE WORLD OF SPORTS, GIRLS ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED AND UNDERSERVED—HOW CAN WE SET THEM UP TO BE “GOOD SPORTS” WHILE CONFRONTING PERVASIVE GENDER INEQUALITY?

WORDS BY SARAH RAFIQI

PHOTOS BY REBECCA ARANDA

Last November, Archer’s Director of Athletics Kim Smith stood in the balmy San Diego air to watch the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) semi-final match. Although the sun was just beginning to set, the court looked brighter than ever—and not just because of the wattage of Snapdragon Stadium’s lights. A recordbreaking mass of 32,262 soccer fans came to watch the match, selling out the stadium in a crescendo of cheers. Amidst the crowd, Smith felt a familiar energy in an unfamiliar sight. It was a scene she could only have dreamed of in her years as a professional soccer player.

In many ways, the NWSL finals represent how far women’s sports have come in the last few decades. The NWSL itself is only 12 years old, younger than most Archer students. Before that, there was no professional league for female soccer players in the U.S. The growth of women’s sports—including soccer—can find its roots in Title IX, a landmark civil rights legislation in 1972 that prohibited sex-based discrimination in any federally-funded school or educational program. Prior to Title IX, only 1 in 27 girls played sports. That number has now grown to 2 in 5 girls who are actively participating in sports today. These stats have a cascading effect on collegiate-level sports. According to a recent study by Wasserman, one of the world’s leading sports talent agencies, there is a near-equal number of total Division I competitions across men’s and women's college sports due, in part, to Title IX. However, there is a significant drop off at the professional level. Women’s sports represent only 8% of the total professional competitions played in the U.S. Moreover, whatever collegiate and professional women’s games there are only get 15% of media coverage compared to comparable content availability, up from 5% in 2019, according to Purdue University’s study, “One and Done The Long Eclipse of Women’s Televised Sports, 1989–2019.”

There is also a gap between the experience

of female athletes and male athletes. Serena Williams, for instance, is one of the most decorated athletes of all time, yet that hasn’t prevented her from battling double standards. She is consistently judged for her outfits and called a “bad sport” for her attitude while male tennis players rarely answer for such things themselves—a timeline of William’s double-standard treatment is listed copiously in a 2022 article by Marca, Spain’s national daily sports newspaper. Moreover, despite her numerous accomplishments, she is not regarded as highly as her male counterparts. During the Rio Olympics in 2016, an interviewer referred to male tennis player Andy

the world’s highest-paid male athlete, Lionel Messi, made $130 million, while the highest-paid female athlete, Naomi Osaka, made $51.1 million. They also found that in the 2022-2023 season, the maximum salary of WNBA players was four times less than the minimum salary of players in the NBA. That same year, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Champions prize equaled only a quarter of the Men’s World Cup Champions prize.

Considering the growing interest in sports among girls, it is fair to question why there is such a big discrepancy between youth participation and professional representation. One place to start is off

Lack of access to sports facilities and equipment, lack of female role models in sports media, and lack of funding can all reinforce messages that sports are not for girls and women.

Murray as “the first person ever to win two Olympic tennis gold medals.” Murray quickly pointed out that, no, the Williams sisters already held four gold medals each.

These double standards contribute to the gross lack of pay equity across the spectrum of sports. In October 2023, Adelphi University published a salary comparison of male and female athletes across a variety of professional sports. One of their findings was that in 2022,

the court. According to research from The Conversation, there is a dearth of sports research on female athletes. Their report found that most participants in sports psychology research studies are male. Across sports psychology research conducted between 2010 and 2020, men and boys made up 62% of participants, of which 22% of studies examined only men. For reference, only 7% of studies specialized in women. Since these studies are used to inform performance strategy,

the lack of research equity can negatively impact women and girls, causing them to feel defective. American runner and coach Lauren Fleshman’s autobiography, “Good For a Girl,” discusses the damaging effects of comparing female athletes to the standards that are set for male physiology. She notes that “when puberty isn’t talked about except in damaging myths, a natural and essential process is viewed as a threat, something to fear or grieve, and there is significant motivation to bypass it somehow.” This leads female athletes to be unhappy with their bodies and often drop out altogether. Fleshman specifically points to the damaging physical and mental health consequences of menstrual dysfunction and the restrictive eating habits of girls attempting to freeze or reverse puberty. Moreover, a 2015 article in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that 51% of girls aged 13-14 reported that their breasts had some effect on their participation in compulsory sports and exercise. While the report was UK-focused, it’s not hard to imagine girls around the world may be facing similar discomfort. Additional studies in The Conversation show that female athletes have more significant symptoms of mental ill-health than their male counterparts. Considering these statistics, it’s unsurprising that The Women's Sports Foundation states that, by the age of fourteen, girls in the U.S. are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys.

Gender biases in coaching and public sentiment also have a chilling effect on girls' participation in sports.

continued on page 54

SHE SURFS

WORDS

BY RACHAEL URIARTE

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MEGAN

YOUNGBLOOD

“I had a slight fear of waves. I still do.” For Taviana M. ’25, catching a wave in surfing is an electrifying blend of exhilaration and fear. Once you get into position, anticipation mounts, and then, you paddle like mad as the surge of the ocean lifts you, your momentum and that of the ocean converging to propel you forward in a rush of adrenaline. It took Taviana several lessons to move through her fear. She notes, “[Now] I love the adrenaline of catching a wave.”

Formed in 2022, Archer Surf was born out of a passion, a sense of community, and camaraderie, says Director of Athletics Kim Smith. There are roughly a dozen Archer Surf athletes, and the club’s goal is to provide athletes of all levels with the opportunity to develop their surf skills and foster a meaningful connection with nature. The inaugural surf season saw one Archer surfer compete in the Scholastic Surf League with competitions held at Carpinteria and Ventura Fairgrounds. But among those who are competing in meets, Archer girls are in the minority. “What I see is that it’s male-dominated,” says Taviana. “When I look to see who’s competing at competitions, it’s majority boys who compete.”

For decades, surfing has been portrayed as a rugged, adrenaline-fueled activity dominated by men, often depicted in movies like Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 “Point Break.” The hypermasculine portrayal of the sport was reinforced by the fact that early modern surfing communities were predominantly Eurocentric, with men visibly being the primary participants, instructors, and leaders in the sport.

Despite its modern male-dominated image, surfing's roots reveal a different story with origins in Polynesia. The Polynesians possessed a deep-seated bond with the vast expanse of the ocean, woven intricately into the fabric of their existence. Known as "he'e nalu"—roughly translated to “wave sliding”—in

Hawaiian, surfing transcended mere practicality or leisure; it evolved into a ritualistic communion, a watery conduit linking mortals with their pantheon of deities and the elemental forces of nature. Within their cosmology, the ocean held sanctity, its depths inhabited by formidable spirits and gods. Riding the waves wasn't just a sport; it was a reverential act, an homage to the divine dwellers of the sea. To catch a wave was to harness the very essence and might of the ocean, bridging the tangible and the transcendent realms in a singular, sacred dance.

Before contact with Christian missionaries in ancient Hawaii, surfing was an egalitarian pursuit; it belonged to chiefs, common folk, warriors, the old, and the young alike. Women being written out of history is nothing new, so it’s unsurprising to learn that there is a female-centered aspect of surfing history that most people don’t know about. Ancient Polynesian historians point out that women earned the highest esteem for their prowess, finesse, and elegance on the surfboard. Women were considered esteemed surfers who contributed to the sport's development and shaped its cultural significance, including Polynesian mythical lore.

According to legend, the Hawaiian Goddess Pele, ruler of volcanoes, is hailed as one of the earliest surfers. She learned the art from Kamohaoli’I, the guardian shark god, who then passed on his knowledge to her youngest sistergoddess, Hi’iaka. Another myth describes Mamala, a surfing kapua—a shapeshifter—who could effortlessly morph from a stunning woman into a formidable shark or even a colossal lizard. In one captivating tale, Mamala finds herself entangled in a love triangle with another kapua and a chief, a story that doesn't bode well for the male kapua. Yet, what shines through in the

Ancient Polynesian historians point out that the WOMEN EARNED THE HIGHEST ESTEEM FOR THEIR PROWESS, FINESSE, AND ELEGANCE on the surfboard. Women were considered ESTEEMED SURFERS who contributed to the sport's development and shaped its cultural significance, including Polynesian mythical lore.

There are roughly a dozen Archer Surf athletes, and the club’s goal is to provide athletes of all levels with the opportunity to develop their surf skills and FOSTER A MEANINGFUL CONNECTION WITH NATURE.

myth is Mamala's extraordinary athleticism. Renowned for her ability to dance atop even the most colossal waves, she reportedly reveled in the wild, wind-whipped waters of Kou Bay (today's Honolulu Harbor). In homage to her prowess, the ocean off the coast of Waikiki bears her name: Ke-kai-oMamala, the Sea of Mamala.

The arrival of American missionaries in the 19th century saw the introduction of piety and strict gender roles, which swept through Polynesia and beyond. Even more devastating was the onslaught of infectious diseases and the shift towards a cash-based economy, robbing Hawaiians of their once-plentiful leisure time. With the demand for labor in newly-established sugar plantations, there was little room left for the pursuit of surfing. The untamed joy of riding waves faced near extinction, leading the sport to become a male-dominated pursuit.

"By 1900," proclaimed Duke Kahanamoku, "surfing had vanished across the Islands, save for a few remote spots... and even there, only a handful of men braved the waves." Renowned as the "Father of Modern Surfing," Kahanamoku’s skill in riding waves earned him multiple Olympic gold medals and widespread recognition. Beyond his legendary surfing, Kahanamoku's legacy endures as a cultural icon, inspiring generations with his passion for the ocean and his embodiment of Hawaiian values. The puritanical disdain of Christian missionaries toward activities like surfing, where scantily clad men and women mingled amidst the sea's embrace, created an environment hostile to the sport. "Surfing was limited to select beaches—primarily on the islands of Maui and O‘ahu—because “missionaries frowned on ‘idle and sensuous’ practices such as the hula, Native sports, and surfing,” writes Isaiah Helekunihi Walker, author of “Hui Nalu, Beachboys, and the Surfing Boarder-lands of Hawai‘i.” In spite of the newly-imposed societal norms, small groups of men and women, including members of the royal family, surfed through the late nineteenth century. “Among those who frequented the waves during this time was Queen Lili‘uokalani’s niece and designated heir to the throne, Princess Victoria Ka‘iulani,” wrote Helekunihi Walker.

If Kahanamoku rightfully earned the title of the man who brought surfing to the modern world in the early 20th century, then Princess Ka‘iulani is the unsung hero who rescued the sport from extinction.

Born Princess Victoria Kawēkiu Ka‘iulani Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Cleghorn on October 16, 1875, Ka‘iulani carried the weight of a regal lineage, her name a tribute to both Queen Victoria and her late aunt, Anna Ka‘iulani. Throughout her life, Ka‘iulani's devotion to the Hawaiian people shone brightest in their darkest hours. In the Hawaiian tongue, Ka‘iulani translates to “the highest point of heaven” or “the royal sacred one,” fitting monikers for a woman who soared above mere mortal concerns.

"He took me by the scruff of the neck and yanked me onto my feet... OFF WE WENT DOWN THE WAVE." - Isabel Letham

Kaēiulani, inherently athletic, embraced a diverse array of activities, from the grace of equestrianism to the thrill of surfing, the serenity of swimming, the strategy of croquet, and the tranquility of canoeing. In a notable 1897 interview with The Sun newspaper in New York, she reflected, "I love riding, driving, swimming, dancing, and cycling. Really, I'm sure I was a seal in another world because I am so fond of the water…My mother taught me to swim almost before I knew how to walk."

Acting as a courageous intermediary between the cultures she connected, Ka‘iulani aided in the preservation of surfing tradition amidst the seismic shifts of European colonization while playing a pivotal part in safeguarding Hawaiian culture at the age of 17.

Surfing's global reach expanded quickly in the 20th century. In a 1915 showcase down under in Sydney, Australia, Duke Kahanamoku took 15-year-old Isabel Letham under his wing. “He took me by the scruff of the neck and yanked me onto my feet,’” Letham later recalled, according to the National Library of Australia. “Off we went, down the wave.”

While Letham might not have been the first Australian to catch a wave, she would undoubtedly go on to earn a place among the most celebrated. After relocating to California, she assumed the role of swimming director in San Francisco, where she endeavored to introduce surf lifesaving techniques akin to those of Australia's prestigious Manly Life Saving Club. Despite facing rejection from the Manly Club, who denied her membership on the basis of her gender, arguing she couldn't handle rough seas, Letham's story persists as a testament to her resilience and determination. As Molly Schiot recounts in “Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History,” Letham's legacy endures as a beacon of defiance against gender barriers in sports, some of which continue to persist today.

In the '60s and '70s, so surfing underwent a radical transformation, morphing from a niche hobby into a commercialized worldwide obsession. Dubbed the Golden Era of Surfing, the sport witnessed an explosion in popularity across genders as surf culture infiltrated mainstream society, birthing a fresh batch of surfing idols.

With the ability to fly across the board with ease, the queen reigns supreme in chess. Towering over pawns, rooks, knights, and bishops, she is the master of her checkered domain and can move as many spaces as she wants in almost any direction. In a world of black and white and rigid, pre-prescribed movement, she has a level of flexibility and fluidity that is unmatched. Meanwhile, the king, whose safety makes or breaks the game, can only move one space at a time. While safeguarding the king might be the goal of chess, the expert maneuvers of the queen are key to a player’s success.

While the queen may reign supreme on the board, according to Daniel Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication for the U.S. Chess

WORDS BY AMANDA RYVKIN

Unveiling the RICH HISTORY OF WOMEN IN CHESS: From Pioneering Players to Archer's Chess Team, Explore the Triumphs, Challenges, and the ONGOING QUEST FOR EQUALITY ON THE CHECKERED BATTLEFIELD.

Federation, as of February 21, 2024, only 11.7% of all U.S. Chess Federation members have self-identified as female. In the history of chess, few women have broken through into the highest ranks of the game. Why is it that women have been sidelined in this mental sport?

Surprisingly, the queen has not always been such a significant player in chess. It was not until a real queen who exercised considerable influence came into play that her eponymous piece gained the ability to move more freely.

Chess is largely considered to be a descendant of the 7th-century Indian war game Chaturanga, where each piece corresponds to a role within the Indian army. This iteration of the game

didn’t have a queen; it split the pieces into four different types: infantry, elephantry, cavalry, and chariots. After 600 CE, chaturanga evolved into shatranj, which was played across South Asia, regions of Central Asia, and more, and introduced the piece of the “firzan” (in Persian), or counselor. The counselor, the predecessor to today’s queen, was limited to one-space diagonal plays.

By way of the Middle East and North Africa, eventually, the game spread to Europe where, in the 990s, the counselor was finally upgraded to “Regina,” a queen. However, the newly designated “queen” was still confined to the counselor’s extremely limited movements. It wasn’t until the late 1400s that the queen was set free, gaining the ability to move farther and in more directions. What led to this

for changes in gameplay and the emergence of a powerful “female” piece, you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that women played a prominent role in the world of chess. However, the rise of the chess queen coincided with enforced gender segregation in the game. Now that the queen was the most powerful piece on the board, it was ironic that women began to be shut out of chess. “Chess became a much faster, more exciting game and, thus, came to be perceived as a more masculine pursuit,” notes the Encyclopedia Brittanica. From the 15th century until the mid-19th century, female players were segregated from male players.

The professional and amateur chess world largely revolves around rankings in national and international competitions. This general structure

In a game known for being solitary, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL CONNECTION—the exact things often lacking in the outside chess world for women and girls—ARE AT THE CORE OF THE ARCHER CHESS EXPERIENCE.

liberation and empowerment? Chess historians believe that this shift was due to the notoriety of Queen Isabella I of Castile.

Queen Isabella I ruled Castile and Aragon with her husband, Ferdinand II, in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Among other moves, they united Spain, sent Christopher Columbus on the voyage that led to his exploration of the Americas, and launched the bloody Spanish Inquisition which mandated that everyone in Spain be Roman Catholic and led to the exiling and killing of large numbers of Muslims and Jews. Isabella and Ferdinand’s large impact on European politics seems to be reflected in the evolution of chess.

With such a forceful inspiration

and system began to develop in the 19th century when the first chess clubs were started and the concept of international chess competitions came to the fore. Women were shut out of the nascent chess clubs, but they established their first dedicated club in the Netherlands in 1847, and later, in the mid-1880s, they were allowed to join men at a club for the first time in Turin, Italy.

World Chess Championships began in the late 19th century. The first unofficial world champion match was in 1866, between two internationally prominent chess players, Wilhelm Steinitz and Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen, with Steinitz emerging victorious. From then on, the winner, the World Champion, would set the terms for

future potential challengers and would have to defend their title in arranged matches that they set up. The first official World Chess Championship was in 1886, when Steinitz beat Johannes Zukertort. Women were absent from these competitions, but in 1927, the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE, or International Chess Federation) established the Women’s World Chess Championship. Later, by the 1940s, FIDE also took over administration of the open World Chess Championship, which remained closed to women until 1986. FIDE has remained the organizer of both sets of championships to this day.

Despite the fact that women were sidelined for so long, the history of international chess features some incredible female players who often gave male players a run for their money in the face of prejudice and misogyny. Sovietborn Vera Menchik won the first Women’s Chess Championship in 1927 and competed frequently against men. According to former U.S. Champion Jennifer Shahade, cited in a New York Times article, Menchik was known for her “fearless, confident style.” Georgian Nona Gaprindashvili was the first woman to be named an International Grandmaster in the 1970s, a title separate from and with higher ranking requirements than the International Woman Grandmaster. According to NPR, Gaprindashvili was known for her “aggressive” play and once even played a game in which she and the other party agreed to a draw only after there were almost no more pieces on the board. Gaprindashvili also played against men and found that, according to her lawyer Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, men “would go to great lengths to avoid the embarrassment they saw as being beaten by a woman.”

continued on page 55

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

DEVON TRUNK

Once synonymous with traditional gender roles and limitations, the color pink is experiencing a profound rebirth, evolving into a symbol of strength and empowerment for girls and women.

In past decades, pink has been the predominant color associated with femininity. From the moment a baby girl is born in the hospital, a pink hat is put on her head. In most cases, baby shower gifts and room decor are all pink for girls. Yet this wasn’t always the case, and it should be noted that this change is fairly recent.

Finding a color more politically and socially divisive than pink is difficult. First of all, pink wasn’t always associated with femininity, fragility, or delicacy. In the 19th century, it actually used to represent power, wealth, and status. Pink clothing was incredibly expensive to maintain, meaning that only the wealthiest men (and women) would be seen sporting the elusive clothing. Historic 19th-century portraits depict nobility and high-class families wearing all pink as a status symbol. Little boys were painted in large, extravagant pink dresses, symbolic of their family's power as they could afford to dress their children in the finest colors.

Pink was also viewed as more of a man's color, equating it to the new red because red was aggressive and manly. The Earnshaws Infant’s Department, a trade publication in 1918, wrote that the general rule that should be followed is that blue is for girls and pink is for boys. Their reasoning was that “pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.”

But because the meanings we assign to inanimate objects and colors are socially constructed, inevitably, as humans change, so do the associated connotations. In the early 20th century, pink clothing became more and more marketed toward women, and American society began seeing men wearing pink as flamboyant and flashy; inappropriate and too feminine.

And here is where the cultural shift begins.

When I began exploring the beginnings of the “girl color,” there was only one consistency: nothing was consistent. Across many sources, videos, and articles, we cannot collectively decide there was just one moment when pink changed. Some people have pointed to Mamie Eisenhower’s pink ball gown from inauguration day; others point to World War II and its impact on women in the workforce. My research pointed me to the 1950’s. At this pivotal time in history, men returned from World War II and resumed the jobs women had taken over in their absence. Although women

Finding a color more POLITICALLY AND SOCIALLY DIVISIVE THAN PINK is difficult.

had been capable of carrying out jobs and functions in the workforce throughout the war, it was suddenly deemed that the jobs they had been incredibly successful at were only fit for men, and the societal expectation was for women to resume their place as homemakers. America was returning to the status quo and telling American women that they belonged in the home. This shift back to “traditional gender roles” was perpetuated through gendered marketing.

Advertisements for cleaning products, washing machines, and cooking supplies all became pink.

Fast forward to today, this isn’t the only example of gendered marketing or stereotypes. Today, most toys marketed to girls are pink. Princess dresses, mini kitchen sets, and dollhouses are usually found in pink colors.

In her 2011 book "Cinderella Ate My Daughter", author Peggy Orenstein

We PARADOXICALLY live in a world where pink is seen as FEMININE, FRAGILE and DELICATE, but also, POWERFUL... and PROGRESSIVE.

discusses the “princess” market. The industry that is standing upon pillars of pink and sparkle is marketed towards young girls. In the book, she explains that nearly every toy for girls was pink or sparkly. She asks the sales representative if all the pink is truly “necessary,” and he responds, “Only if you want to make money.” The hidden agenda of these businesses is to make money through the color pink being marketed to girls.

So if pink is associated with young girls, then what could be more frightening to a 200 pound college football player than being indirectly called a little girl?

In 1979, the University of Iowa painted the guest football locker room in Kinnick Stadium pink. In a FOX Sports video, they describe that the purpose of the locker is to make “...you feel weak and pathetic. This isn’t love; it's disrespect. And that’s the point. They’re in your head, and you're not even in the tunnel yet.” The video insinuated pink as an attack on masculinity, relaying the point that women are less than and weaker than men. Men's inherent aversion to pink is fuel to the fire that is toxic masculinity. It reiterates the idea that men should always fear being weak and that the color pink is also weak.

However, we paradoxically live in a world where pink is seen as feminine, fragile, and delicate but also powerful, innovative, optimistic, and progressive.

My first childhood bedroom is proudly described as “gender neutral” by both my parents. I had green curtains, a green-toned rug, and a brown chair. There wasn’t anything pink to symbolize the room as the nursery of their first-born daughter. But when we lived in Toronto, we painted my room pink in 2016. It didn’t occur to me until now that this was an intentional choice by my mother. We painted my room pink in the midst of a presidential election, an election in which a major party was represented by a woman. How empowering.

I was 10 when I attended the infamous women’s marches in Los Angeles in 2016. I can tell how little I was because my gappedtooth smile goes from ear to ear in every picture. I was mesmerized by the sea of pink “pussyhats.”

continued on page 57

THE FUND

The Archer School for Girls relies on the community's philanthropic support to take learning inside and outside of the classroom to the next level. Students thrive in an environment made just for them, and your gift to the Archer Fund today will be a wonderful tribute to Archer’s faculty, staff, trustees, and students.

Archer Fund contributions benefit:

• Athletics, performing and fine arts, experiential education, sustainability, humanities, world language, STEM, field trips, and student clubs

• Faculty professional development

• Financial aid, which is utilized by one in five Archer students

• Alumni initiatives, events, and networking opportunities

Please contact advancement@archer.org with any questions.

Thank you for supporting the Archer Fund.

Ways to Give:

• By credit card: archer.org/donate

• By stock: archer.org/stock

• By mailing a check to the School at 11725 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Leadership Giving Levels

Visionary Circle - $50,000 & above

Founders Circle - $25,000 - $49,999

Head of School Circle - $10,000 - $24,999

Leaders Circle - $5,000 - $9,999

Community Giving Levels

Partners Circle - $2,500 - $4,999

Friends Circle - $1,000 - $2,499

Arrow Circle - up to $999

FOUNDERS DAY 2023

On November 11, 1994, informed by current research on the clear benefits of single-sex education for girls and guided by their founding principles of innovation, community, and diversity, three girls' school graduates gathered at the Brentwood Country Mart and made a decision to empower future generations of women. On that day, Megan Callaway, Dr. Diana Meehan, and Victoria Shorr decided to open a girls' school by September of the next year: The Archer School for Girls.

Every November, we honor this day, our founders, and their vision at our annual Founders Day & Senior Recognition Ceremony.

This year's festivities included an address from Head of School Elizabeth English, performances by The Unaccompanied Minors, and remarks from Dr. Meehan, Ms. Callaway (who also shared some words on behalf of Ms. Shorr), Student Body President Anaiya A. ’24, and Acting Upper School Director Tracy Poverstein on behalf of 12th Grade Dean of Culture, Community, and Belonging Stephanie Nicolard.

During the ceremony, Ms. English also gave out Diana Awards, which recognize alumni who embody our mission, and celebrated the Class of 2024. Congratulations to Gabrielle Miller '04 and Gracie Abrams '18, who were awarded the Professional Achievement and Rising Star Awards, respectively! Fellow alumna Dominique Greene '01, accepted the Diana Award on her sister Gabri's behalf.

Photo credit: Emily P. ’26

Sophomore Melinda W. ’26 reads “Reflect Empathy Ukraine Anthology” in the library. She and sophomore Shayl K., who attends Santa Monica High School, published their book Oct. 21 and said they hope it spreads awareness about the humanitarian crisis Ukraine continues to face.

Awareness through arts and literature: Sophomore Melinda W. ’26 co-publishes Ukraine anthology

BY EMILY P. ’26, SENIOR REPORTER

OCTOBER 29, 2023

Colorful artwork and original poems from several authors in Ukraine and the United States fill the pages of “Reflect Empathy Ukraine Anthology.” The founders of Reflect Empathy—Archer sophomore Melinda W. ’26 and Shayl K., who attends Santa Monica High School—curated the collection. Reflect Empathy is a nonprofit organization “devoted to expanding empathy, respect, and sensitivity among young leaders in their communities and globally.”

Melinda and Shayl published their book through Amazon on Saturday, October 21. Melinda said the anthology is dedicated to raising awareness for the ongoing crisis in Ukraine from the Russia-Ukraine War that began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Melinda said they began creating the anthology in the beginning of July 2023. She and Shayl spent several months sorting through the art and poetry submissions to pair them together on the pages. They gave notice to the submitters that their work would be included in a published anthology and would only consider the submitters’ work if they gave permission. Melinda said every artist and poet who submitted gave permission for their work to be in the anthology, and from there, she and Shayl collected submissions through an organization called Teenside.

The anthology is composed of four sections: “Bridge,” “Mirror,” “Compass,”

and “Symphony.” According to Melinda, each section represents how people can use empathy to understand crises around the world and the different ways empathy can be expressed and felt.

The collection includes eight poems and 11 art pieces. All proceeds of the book will go towards granting the Ukrainian poets and artists featured in the anthology scholarships for higher education opportunities. Melinda said she and Shayl want to help them achieve their goals. “We want to support Ukrainian artists and writers in any way we can, and that also applies to Ukrainian students,” Melinda said. “We definitely want to support them and help them achieve their dreams.”

When asked about what motivated them to pursue creating this anthology and supporting Ukraine, Melinda said her and Shayl’s passion stemmed from their desire to help people around the world who are impacted by catastrophes like war. Similarly, Shayl said it was their passion for social change that inspired them to spread knowledge of the destruction and devastation Ukraine continues to face.

“I think the greatest motivator was just the feeling we had. We saw the news, and we saw tanks rolling down the streets in Ukraine. We really felt devastated that Russia was trying to destroy an entire population,” Shayl said. “We felt like the best way to raise awareness was through the arts and literature, so that really galvanized us to try and…get Ukrainian artists and artists from the United States to come together and really talk about this terrible war.”

Shayl and Melinda met at Lincoln Middle School and have worked together on Reflect Empathy for several years. Shayl said he and Melinda have developed a close friendship over the years. “We met in seventh grade, became really good friends, and had this mutual idea of using art and literature to highlight different humanitarian crises and evoke empathy,” Shayl said.

Sophomore Alexa K. ’26 is a close friend of Melinda and said she supported Melinda while she was choosing and matching poetry with pieces of art for the anthology. Alexa described Melinda’s dedication to the project.

“Melinda does a really good job of talking to people and being a really good listener. I think that might have helped her a lot in getting information and helping produce her book. I also think she’s a really good team player,” Alexa said. “So that probably helped her a lot, and I could see that because I know she was working really hard with Shayl and not just by herself.”

Melinda described her and Shayl’s goals going forward and future steps they would like to take regarding Reflect Empathy and the anthology. “[Our] action plan is probably to email people we know or have interacted with, at least in Ukraine, from other literary magazines and then see if they have any methods of helping us donate money,” Melinda said, “using another organization to donate proceeds.”

THINK BIG, DREAM BIG Journey of Hydra comes to an end

BY MEREDITH H. ’26 SENIOR REPORTER

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Archer’s InvenTeam wrapped up the journey of their three-year invention, Hydra, this past summer. After facing a two-year delay, the team was able to travel to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and present their invention from Monday, June 12Wednesday, June 14, as a Lemelson MIT alumni team at Eurekafest.

At Lemelson MIT Eurekafest, the team showcased their invention and connected with 11 other schools through scavenger hunts, picnics, and presentations.

Hydra is a rooftop device that detects and extinguishes fire embers, which can potentially prevent wildfires. Throughout the project’s evolution, both Middle and Upper School students were involved in 3D printing, computeraided design, programming, and communication.

For the 2020-2021 school year, InvenTeam received a grant from Lemelson-MIT to build Hydra. However, due to COVID-19, the first year of development was remote, and scheduling changes led to difficulties in coordinating between Middle and Upper School students online. Many team members continued their work on the invention once inperson classes resumed.

Over the following two years, InvenTeam maintained its partnership with MIT and the Lemelson Foundation, resulting in a special invitation to present their project in Boston as an alumni team. Senior Emi M. ’24 said this presentation demonstrated the collaboration students had to achieve

the creation of Hydra. Engineering and Design Coordinator Mike Carter said he was surprised when MIT professors commended the technical sophistication of Hydra’s design. Moreover, at Eurekafest, Archer received the prestigious Golden Beaver Award, which recognized the project as the best use of technology. Carter said this award was a significant highlight of the evening, even though Archer attended as an alumni team, which initially raised doubts about their eligibility.

“I was really excited that we got to go, [but] I felt a little bit of sadness for all of the students who had graduated already or otherwise couldn’t be part of the trip,” Carter said. “But [I was] so excited for the students who could make it and particularly for the students who had been with it through the whole process. It was a really nice capstone to their journey of innovation.”

Karen Garcia ’23, a recent graduate, was InvenTeam’s administrative leader for the 2022-2023 school year and worked with the team since 2019. Karen said she was impressed by the team’s perseverance and was excited to have the opportunity to showcase all the progress they have made.

“It was such a dream come true because if you had told me in 2020 that we would actually be going to Boston, I would be so surprised because, at that time, I think everyone was thinking that COVID was a time that would go on forever, and there was no hope,” Karen said. “A lot of our members have been with us since 2019-2020, so the fact that they all

stuck around really meant a lot to me and to the team as well.”

In addition to the technical skills the team members learned throughout the trip, Emi said she enjoyed having the chance to get to know student inventors from all grade levels.

“I think it was just great to make new friends and to get close to a great group of people,” Emi said. “Even if people weren’t presenting, we would sit in the auditorium and tell them [the presenters] what they could work on and what we thought was great. I feel like everyone was really there for each other and really supporting each other.” Carter said students’ involvement in InvenTeam has not only equipped them with technical skills but has also taught them life skills they can carry on in their lives beyond this project.

“I really hope that it’s been a great time to inspire [students] to think big, dream big, and to really recognize that everyone has something to contribute regardless of their technical background. Great ideas can come from anyone, and anyone can learn,” Carter said. “Most students build this confidence that they know they can take what they have internally and what they’ve learned here and apply it anywhere in their life.”

Photo credits: Belen H. ’26

InvenTeam members assemble Hydra’s 3D printed case to present at Lemelson-MIT’s Eurekafest. They went to Boston as an alumni team and won the Golden Beaver Award for best use of technology. “It was such a great experience because it was a great culminating experience of my senior year and overall my time at Archer,” Karen Garcia ’23 said.

This story was selected as part of the Best of SNO showcase. Congratulations Meredith H. ’26!

Best of SNO showcases the best student journalism from members of the School Newspapers Online Network.

continued from page 16

According to the Women’s Sports Foundation’s April 2019 report “Coaching Through a Gender Lens: Maximizing Girls’ Play and Potential,” “Both boys and girls perceive boys as having superior sports skills and associate being an athlete with being a boy. Communities, schools, and parents devote more resources and invest more in supporting boys’ participation.” These messages are not always overt. In an excerpt from a Global Sport Matters article, Marjorie Snyder, WSF’s senior director of research and programs, says, “It’s not just an individual action or behavior that affects the girl. She gets an entire set of messages, and then she puts the story together herself.”

These internalized messages about body image discomfort and the inherent masculinity of sports can be exacerbated by material inequities. Lack of access to sports facilities and equipment, lack of female role models in sports media, and lack of funding can all reinforce messages that sports are not for girls and women. The results speak for themselves.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations’ High School Athletics Participation Survey, 3.4 million girls participated in high school sports compared to about 4.5 million boys in the 2018-2019 school year. The Aspen Institute’s State of Play found that in 2018, 39% of boys aged 6-12 played sports regularly, while only 31% of girls did. Studies by WSF and Project Play show these stats drop even further for girls of color. Similar results have been found in studies conducted in Australia, Canada, and England. To combat these trends, there should be an emphasis on tailoring coaching to girls. The State of Play reports that only 27% of youth sports head coaches are female, even though they are key to girls’ participation and retention. In this regard, Archer is fortunate to have Kim Smith. Her personal experiences in professional sports lend a keen perspective to her role overseeing

all athletics at The Archer School for Girls.

Smith grew up playing club sports with the support of her mother, a marathon runner and competitive rower, and her father, a foursport college athlete and Olympic qualifier in track in the 400m. As an undergraduate female soccer athlete at the University of Virginia, Smith had to contend with a lack of resources. “In college, we wore…the handme-down men’s uniforms that were massive in size; they weren’t fit for our bodies. We had pre-games in the men’s locker rooms, as we did not have a proper locker room with a whiteboard and stereo system.” At the time of her graduation, there were no opportunities for women to play soccer in the United States, so Smith made the decision to go abroad. She played one season for the FC Wins in Honjo, Japan, where the stadiums were bare, and the experience was isolating—as one of three English speakers on the team, Smith relied on a translator. From there, she transferred to FC Saarbrucken in Germany, where there was no excess money, so all players had to hold jobs to subsidize their soccer careers. Finally, she moved back to the States in the late 90s to play in North Carolina and then Sacramento in the semipro W League, as there was no professional women’s league at the time. While players had small stipends for travel days, the money was not sustainable, and so again, Smith had to work to support herself and her dreams. Since retiring from playing, Smith has pursued coaching. In this role, she sees how influential the early years of a girl’s development can be for her confidence in sports.

Smith asserts that it’s important for girls to feel seen, heard, valued, and safe in their training environment. The research supports this experience. WSF’s 2018 “Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters” report advises “identify[ing] ways to adjust the culture, composition, and operations of sports to make them more accepting of girls.” To Smith, this means tailoring coaching to both the physiology and mentality of girls. She says firstly, girls need to have “proper facilities to be able to develop as athletes.” Then, they need “opportunities to compete…so they get to learn more about themselves and to grow.” The coaching approach also needs to be tailored to how girls learn. “Girls, they need to know the why. [They need to know] how does this fit into the context of the game. [Also] how feedback is given: leading with positivity. It’s very different [than coaching boys].”

Smith is proud to see that female soccer players now have “incredible opportunities” to not only pursue their dreams but also make a living off of them, far more than when

she was a player. Yet she recognizes that there is still a long way to go and that this change often happens haltingly. Take soccer, for instance. Since Smith retired from the sport, there were two unsuccessful attempts at creating a professional league before the NWSL was created in 2012. Smith doesn’t see these short-lived attempts as failures, though. “Even though they folded, they were stepping stones,” she says. This is the pattern of growth towards gender equality in sports: small accomplishments that build on each other over time.

The same pattern can be seen in tennis, another sport that has made considerable gains for women in the past three decades. When Serena Williams retired in 2022, she had won $94.82 million dollars over the course of her career, according to Statista. Compare this to the $1.9 million Billie Jean King earned after winning 39 grand slams and retiring in 1990, as calculated by EquityAtlas. The disparity in prize winnings is not a happy accident. It was King’s advancements that paved the way for Williams.

In 1973, King empowered other players to boycott the U.S. Open unless they could get equal pay. The move worked. It was in part because of this strategy that tennis is now the leader of pay equity in sports. Smith asserts that similar strategies can still be used today to demand equity, including equal pay and media coverage. She believes it is imperative that female athletes understand the business side of sports so they can advocate for themselves–and for each other. “That’s the only way. Female athletes have to band together and work together. and that’s where the power is to be able to create change,” she says. This includes being savvy about partnering with investors who will stand by their commitments.

It also means communicating to media conglomerates that there is profitability in women’s sports. There is a common misconception that female athletes are paid less because they have smaller audiences and receive a smaller share of media coverage. However, there is evidence of deliberate pay disparity. In 2019, Forbes reported that NBA players received 50% of the league's revenue while WNBA players received only 25% of their league’s revenue. Certainly, leagues could negotiate more equitable contracts with their female athletes. Evidence also supports that the disparity in audiences results more from a lack of access than a lack of interest. A study in The Sport Journal found that exposure to women’s sports changed attitudes. The results of the study indicated that showing

participants highlight reels of women’s sports “decreased prejudice towards female athletes.” Currently, a trend of nontraditional sports viewing is pushing forward these attitudes. The aforementioned Wasserman study reports that increased social media and streaming consumption among Millennial and Gen Z audiences is driving the increase in media share for female athletes. Due to increased access, female sports games are seeing record attendance in basketball, soccer, and volleyball.

This shift was on full display at the NWSL semi-final match, where a sold-out stadium cheered for a cohort of players taking the ball from their predecessors and kicking it “down the line” to the next generation of girls aspiring to become women in sports. Archer is here to help these young players make that goal. As Smith asserts, Archer plays an important role in guiding this next generation into becoming the leaders they need to be to say, “I’m gonna go for it, I’m gonna be brave,” and ask for what they need, not just to be good, but to be great.

She Surfs

continued from page 26

Among them stood Linda Benson, a bona fide legend whose fearless conquest of big waves clinched her the Women's World Champion title in 1959, all at the tender age of 15. Benson's meteoric ascent shattered the myth of surfing as an exclusively male domain, inspiring hordes of young girls to grab a board and hit the waves.

Meanwhile, back on the sandy shores of Waikiki Beach, a band of trailblazing female surfers, dubbed the "Wahine Makaha," carved out their own slice of history. Challenging societal norms with every ride, they reshaped the perception of women in surfing, rekindling an indelible mark on the sport's landscape.

Hawaiian Rell Sunn caught her first wave at the young age of four in Makaha, a cozy

hamlet nestled on Oahu's shores. When she hit competition age, the field was sparse for women, so she dove headfirst into men's contests instead. As chronicled by The New York Times in her 1998 obituary, she was a near-permanent fixture in the finals of men's events. "Come 1975," the Times reported, "Sunn and other trailblazers like Joyce Hoffman and Linda Benson had ignited a spark in enough women to take up the sport, paving the way for Ms. Sunn to co-found the Women’s Professional Surfing Association and kick off the inaugural professional tour for women." Even before she earned the moniker "Queen of Makaha," her middle name, Kapolioka’ehukai, seemed to foretell her fate. In Hawaiian lore, it translates to "heart of the sea," a fitting descriptor for the woman who, in 1977, made history as Hawaii's first female lifeguard.

The early 21st century marked a seismic shift in women's perception and involvement in surfing. No longer relegated to the sidelines, female surfers emerged as formidable contenders and trendsetters. The advent of the Women's Championship Tour (WCT) in the 1980s provided a stage for women to flaunt their prowess and vie at the pinnacle of the sport.

Icons like Layne Beachley, reigning over the WCT with an impressive seven world titles, and Stephanie Gilmore, matching her feat with seven world titles of her own, skyrocketed to household fame, embodying the apex of female excellence in surfing. Their journeys illustrated that aspirations could transform into tangible triumphs with grit and unyielding dedication.

As we enter a new era of surfing, the presence and influence of women in the sport have never been stronger, but the journey toward gender equality in surfing continues to present frustrating challenges. Despite the remarkable achievements of female surfers, women have often found themselves marginalized within the industry, facing disparities in prize money, sponsorship opportunities, and media coverage.

In recent years, however, there has been a groundswell of advocacy aimed at leveling the playing field and ensuring that women receive the recognition and respect they deserve.

One organization at the forefront of this movement is the Women's Surfing Alliance (WSA), a grassroots collective dedicated to promoting gender equality in the sport of surfing. Founded in 2015 by a group of passionate female surfers, WSA has been

instrumental in advocating for equal pay, increased representation, and greater opportunities for women in surfing. Through initiatives such as mentorship programs, community outreach, and grassroots activism, WSA is working tirelessly to empower the next generation of female surfers and ensure that the legacy of women in surfing continues to thrive.

In addition to advocacy efforts, the rise of social media has played a pivotal role in amplifying female surfers' voices and spotlighting their achievements. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have provided female surfers with a powerful megaphone to share their stories, connect with fans, and challenge stereotypes about women in the sport.

From the pioneers of the past to the trailblazers of tomorrow, the legacy of women in surfing is a testament to the power of perseverance, passion, and the indomitable spirit of the human soul.

“When I’m out there, and I’m waiting to find the perfect wave for me… that moment when I’m able to catch a wave, it’s such a freeing feeling,” describes Taviana M. ’25. “When I’m catching a wave I’m able to escape from everything else, and that’s what I’m focusing on.

Breaking the Checkered Ceiling

continued from page 35

Three of the most prominent women in chess to date emerged in the 1990s: Susan, Zsófia, and Judit Polgár. Zsófia reached the rank of Woman Grandmaster and Susan and Judit both achieved Grandmaster status. When Judit became a Grandmaster, she was the youngest person to ever do so in the history of chess. These women fought to open up the chess world to women. Indeed, a 2018 Sports Illustrated article notes that it was Susan Polgár

who petitioned that “Men’s” be removed from the “World Chess Championship” competition’s name, effectively creating space for women to potentially compete. Her sister, Judit, eventually became the first woman to compete in a World Championship tournament in 2005, which served as a qualifier to the official World Championship title match. Even Judit, who reached the top echelons of chess only about twenty years ago, was faced with sexism and mistreatment, noting in a 2020 New York Times article that “there were opponents who refused to shake hands.” Since then, no other woman has competed in a World Chess Championship. Unfortunately, Judit did not move on to secure the champion title in 2005, so there has yet to be a female World Chess Champion.

So far, it seems women are still being outranked by men in chess. In 2020, only 37 women were counted among the 1,700 regular grandmasters worldwide. As of January 26, 2024, there are more men named Vladimir (two Vladimirs!) ranking in the top 100 international chess players than there are women. In fact, there are no women listed at all.

Of course, as Coach Jay Stallings, Archer’s Chess team Coach, noted, the “history of women in chess is not as long…because they hadn’t been invited to the table, so to speak, until the 20th century.”

Archer Chess team member Elyse H. ’29 feels the impact of the lack of women and girls in the chess world. “I notice for a fact that when I’m going to a co-ed tournament, [...] it’ll normally be me, [one of her friends on the chess team], and maybe like seven other girls and a room full of boys” across age groups. Archer Chess team Captain Liora G. ’24 also noted that a lot of girls aren’t joining chess because it’s so maledominated. “Especially for younger girls, they don’t want to be in a room full of guys that won’t listen to them.”

Female players are, to this day, being restrained by bias. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology titled “Checking Gender Bias: Parents and Mentors Perceive Less Chess Potential in Girls” noted that “parents and mentors thought that female youth players’ highest potential chess ratings were on average lower than male players’” and that this bias “was exacerbated among parents and mentors who believed that success in chess requires brilliance.”

Female players are also being held back by societal expectations. To win at chess, there is a conception that you have to be aggressive and confident, and often, these are qualities that are stereotypically attributed to boys and men. In contrast, women and girls are historically seen as demure. Women have also been socialized to be more hesitant and compliant, to couch their requests with timid language—“If you don’t mind…” Along those lines, they are much more likely than men to not apply for a job because they don’t meet all of the qualifications.

At a recent girls’ chess tournament, Liora G. ’24 noted that the tournament organizers were handing out cooking mitts. This, obviously, wasn’t received very well. Not only is this sexist, but it also feels extremely dated. Who is expecting high school girls to want cooking mitts in this day and age? As she put it, this incident sparked a conversation for Liora and her team about “different unintentional, well-meaning, but still sexist practices” that happen at tournaments. Even in these spaces dedicated to women, according to Liora, “almost none” of the tournament directors for the all-girls tournament were female. Chess culture seems to tell women in chess that they are not as important. Maya H. ’27 notes that she thinks “women are taken less seriously in chess.”

At the top of the chess world, just as in the sports world at large, there are also financial disparities. For example, the 2023 US Junior Chess Championship, which is open to all genders, awards $40k, but the 2023 US Girls’ Junior Chess Championship only awards up to $20.6k. While the existence of an open and a girls’ tournament in theory creates double opportunities for young women to potentially earn prizes, it does seem somewhat telling that the prize amount significantly decreases when the tournament is only open to girls. Furthermore, since girls and women are still working to break into the higher ranks of open chess, these sorts of disparities can unfortunately effectively result in girls and women earning smaller prizes.

However, chess tournaments and public perceptions around chess are evolving, and its player base can evolve with it.

Even within the last decade, the chess world has experienced several seismic shifts. With people stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall popularity of chess increased. According to The Washington Post, after the pandemic began, Chess.com’s average daily user count went from 1.5 million to 5-7 million.

2020’s “The Queen’s Gambit,” the Netflix original series that followed the fictional Beth Harmon’s climb in the chess world, compounded this effect and catapulted chess—and specifically women in chess— into the public eye. The show became Netflix’s most-watched scripted miniseries, with over 62 million households viewing the show within one month. Chess.com’s active users skyrocketed after the show came out. The New York Times noted that from October 2020 to April 2022, Chess.com’s monthly active users went from about 8 million to almost 17 million. Similarly, The New York Times reported that physical chess set sales skyrocketed.

Online chess, in particular, has grown significantly in popularity in recent years. People are playing chess on their computers and on phone apps, and people are even streaming their games. Liora attributes chess streaming as “giving a platform” to many female chess players. “I feel like everything’s had pros and cons, but I feel like it kind of generates publicity but [is] also changing the narrative of chess being like an old man’s game.” These online communities also ostensibly make it easier for female chess players to connect with their peers and feel less “alone in the room,” so to speak. Streaming also helps female chess players find and follow other female chess players.

In a more and more disconnected world, chess organizers like David Heiser of Renaissance Knights believe that chess is creating a way for people to build community in person. “I think things like the chess meetup [are] a way for people to get out and have those personal connections and have something to bond over.”

This has been Liora’s experience. Ever since she began playing chess in middle school, thanks to a random email her mom received in 6th grade from the LA Chess Club, Liora had wanted to be on a chess team—she loved seeing the team dynamics at tournaments. So when she came to Archer, she worked with the administration and Coach Jay Stallings to launch Archer’s inaugural team.

While the subjects of the 2023 Journal of Experimental Psychology study might have shown that gender bias in chess “was exacerbated among parents and mentors who believed that success in chess requires brilliance,” we know at Archer that our students are striking brilliance all the time. Our students have the exact kind of brilliance—and are building the type of

community—it takes to reign supreme on the chess board.

In a game known for being solitary, community and social connection—the exact things often lacking in the outside chess world for women and girls—are at the core of the Archer chess experience.

Liora’s favorite part about starting the chess team at Archer is the camaraderie she feels with her teammates. Not only has it provided her with an opportunity to be a leader at Archer and share her love for the game, but she feels that it has also enabled her to “get to know people outside of the classroom” across grades. This experience was echoed by Maya, who remarked that because of the Chess team, she now has a bunch of friends in 10th and 12th grade, “elevat[ing]” her experience at Archer.

The program has grown in the short time it’s been at Archer. In the first year, the team had less than ten people; now, in its third year, they’ve more than doubled their membership. Students come from different chess backgrounds, and Coach Stallings lets students go at their own pace, with each student working in a different place in the curriculum. They practice drills and strive towards different achievements, such as getting checkmate with different configurations. They also engage in different thinking techniques and become familiar with each piece’s strengths and weaknesses.

At Archer, our chess program teaches our students critical thinking and analytical skills. Maya recalled Coach Stallings’ saying: “If you find a good move, think of a better one.” Elyse H. ’29 has taken away the importance of planning ahead and “fighting your hardest.”

Every year, Archer’s Chess team is able to apply these skills and their maneuvers at the All-Girls Tournament in Chicago. These tournaments enable female students to connect and work together to improve. For Liora, one of the benefits of the all-girls tournaments is that, because there are so few girls in chess, most students are not competing in teams. This ends up leading to a more interactive and supportive dynamic. “It’s more collaborative. There’s more talking at the chess board,” Liora shared.

All-girls and all-women titles and tournaments, such as the one our students attend in Chicago, have been a cornerstone of the chess world’s solution to the game’s uneven gender representation. The hope behind these initiatives is that they

encourage women and girls to continue in chess and help elevate female players. For example, according to Coach Stallings, before U.S. Chess began recognizing female players in each youth age group, the age group lists were almost entirely made up of boys, and it was discouraging for female players. Now, female players can make a list that feels less outside their reach. In the big leagues, womenspecific rankings and tournaments also enable more women to become professional chess players since there are financial prizes and there are more tangible titles.

If Archer is any indication, the future is hopeful for more women on the international chess stage. Heiser, whose Renaissance Knights co-runs the All-Girls Tournament in Chicago, notes that they’ve been seeing increased numbers of girls in chess programs locally as well. Unfortunately, in recent years, growth has stalled a bit. While the pandemic piqued interest in chess for the larger public, it led to a “crash” in the U.S. Chess Federation’s national membership numbers, as stated by Daniel Lucas, the organization’s Senior Director of Strategic Communication. While membership is up again, Lucas noted, “For reasons we don't understand, the number of female members has not fully rebounded.” From 14% of members identifying as female before the pandemic, the number has dropped to 11.7% as of February 21, 2024. That being said, Lucas also shared that identifying one’s “sex” is optional when joining U.S. Chess so “the number is likely somewhat higher.” While this recent dip in female membership levels is unfortunate, the long-term trend is still positive. According to Lucas, back in 2000, only 1% of their membership base identified as female. Even with COVID, that percentage has increased more than elevenfold in just 24 years.

When asked what she liked about chess, Elyse joyfully said, “I love winning.” She knows she’s up against a lot, but she’s prepared for the challenge, sharing, “I do have a lot to prove because I am a girl, and on top of that, I’m also not white…it definitely makes me feel out of place, but also does compel me to perform better… I beat adults. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

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This protest was the first time I felt I was a part of something bigger than myself. It was the first time I knew I was making a difference.

Millions of women participating in these marches took to the streets outraged and wore pink. How could a man be our president when he openly talks about grabbing women “by the pussy”? It was a phrase by a man who bragged about taking away the power that women held. But in those marches, we rose. Together, we reclaimed the word pussy and the color pink. Women across the country took back the power and used their outrage to fuel a movement. A movement which continues to galvanize us to fight for the disassembly of the patriarchy and give birth to a new era of gender equality. Personally, “revolutionary” doesn’t even begin to describe how influential the women’s marches were for that young 10-year-old girl.

The momentum of the pink movement continued throughout the years that followed. In their Fall/Winter 2022-2023 collection, Italian fashion house Valentino sent down the runway an entire line in a new signature Pierpaolo Pink (PP). The Pantone Color Institute, recognized globally as the leading source of color expertise, collaborated with the Maison-developed Pink PP. Though pink in fashion is clearly not a new phenomenon, what sets Pierpaolo Pink apart is that it symbolizes something new. In an article with AnOther Magazine, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino’s Creative Director, says, “Pink is maybe the color that has the most progressive thoughts about it—so you understand that it’s all about perceptions. This collection was an invitation not to think with superficiality but to have an open mind and see everything with fresh eyes.”

Today, we see men wearing more pink than at any time in the last 70 years. The

pink movement is not exclusive to women reclaiming it for themselves. In the last 70 years and even in the last five years, our society has collectively grown more conscious of gender stereotypes and biases. We are seeing more and more open conversations about the harm caused by rigidly associating genders with jobs, colors, etc. This open conversation has brought out a new wave of people of all gender identities wearing pink fearlessly.

Inter Miami CF was consistently a losing team for two years before their rebranding and acquisition of their star player, Lionel Messi. According to a Sports Illustrated article about Inter Miami’s renaissance, the pink jersey is them making a statement. “After two years, pink represents Inter’s chance to realize its potential—it reflects a key moment of transition and the club’s willingness to address prior shortcomings and make bold moves.”

Compared to the attitudes towards pink at Iowa University, Inter Miami is redefining how pink is portrayed in sports. No longer will it symbolize weakness or fragility, but rather optimism and potential. Our society is growing into the idea that pink is powerful and more change is coming.

In the spirit of new beginnings, pink gains the symbolic connotation of optimism for a new future.

One of the most inspiring things about the pink movement is that it is international, diverse, and inclusive. Take the Gulabi Gang. The Gulabi Gang (Gulabi is Hindu for pink) is an anti-domestic violence group founded in India that has famously claimed a bright Fuschia as its color. They protect women from abuse and violence in the rural and poorer areas throughout India and actively fight against child marriages. Their choice of color, like Inter Miami FC, was symbolic and strategic. In an article for Color Studies, photographer Bob Hambly explains that pink “is an emotionally charged color that has stirred women and men for centuries... All colors abound with history, meaning, and symbology. Pink has blossomed into a hue that now represents strong-willed individuals and groups who choose to be seen and heard.”

Symbolism and perceptions of color are an important part of many cultures and societies around the world.

If you wanted to paint your baby girl’s room pink in 2022, you might have had some trouble due to another famous and stereotypical female figure, Barbie. On the "Barbie" set (2023), they used an entire global supply of Rosco’s paint for the set of the movie.

“Barbie”—both the cause of the revolution and something so revolutionary. The movie itself is packed with brilliance and thoughtful nuances about the world around us. But one line that I haven’t been able to get out of my head is when the fictional CEO of Mattel, Will Ferrell’s character, says, "We sell dreams, imagination, and sparkle. And when you think of sparkle, what do you think of next? Female agency."

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to have a Barbie. My mom said, “I didn’t want you feeling bad about yourself, but now, I’m forcing* you to watch 'Barbie' many times because it is changing our world.” I noted an asterisk around “forcing” because I would watch “Barbie” 100 times voluntarily.

Greta Gerwig’s 2023 “Barbie” forces us to look at the way our society is set up. It’s uncomfortable at times. It’s hilarious during others. Do pink, Barbie, and sparkles really make you think of female agency? Probably not, but I believe that the connotations associated with pink are changing.

America Ferrera’s character says, “I want to be a part of the people who make meaning,” and that is what each woman is doing today. As we reclaim the color pink, in all of its complexities and all of its history, we forge a new meaning for the color. Together, we are all making a difference.

Yet, even with all of this progress, we still have so much further to go in the journey of female empowerment. Despite bringing home over a billion dollars at the box office, being the highest-grossing movie directed only by a woman and the most successful release in Warner Bros. history, and earning critical acclaim, neither Greta Gerwig nor Margot Robbie were nominated for Oscars for Best Director or Best Female Actor, respectively. Ryan Gosling, who portrays “Ken” in the film, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and fans on X (formerly Twitter) have been quick to point out that without Barbie, there would be no Ken—similar to what the movie conveys. Is it possible that the pink, sparkles, and dancing took away from the message in the film? I don’t think so; I believe it only enhanced the themes.

Taylor Swift truly says it best in her Miss Americana documentary, “I wanna love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society. I wanna wear pink and tell you how I feel about politics. I don’t think those things have to cancel each other out.”

They don’t. Not anymore. Because we are in an era where pink is shedding the labels it used to have and gaining new ones, everyone is impacting the year of pink, and everyone is a part of the change.

Upcoming Alumni Event Dates for 2023-2024

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