Issue 2

The Record

Volume 118 Issue 2

record.horacemann.org

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Septemper 18, 2020

Distinguished or Disgrace? Considering Barr ‘67 Emma Colacino and Hanna Hornfeld Staff Writers

In 2011, Peter Benjamin ‘67 wrote to the Alumni Council, encouraging them to name his former classmate, U.S. Attorney General William Barr ‘67, a distinguished alumnus of the school. Now, nearly a decade later, Benjamin wrote the alumni council another email urging them to revoke that same award. Over the past few months, the council has received a significant amount of correspondence both against and in support of revocation, and is considering whether it, too, should change its stance on Barr.

This controversy originated after Barr allegedly ordered the forcible removal of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters outside the White House in June, leading Kiara Royer ‘20 and Jessica Rosberger ‘20 to create a petition to revoke his distinguished alumnus award, which has received over 8,830 signatures thus far.

According to a Record poll conducted this week, 47.3 percent of 241 students signed the petition.

57.7 percent of respondents prefer that the Alumni Council revoke the award, while 22.4 percent of students voted to keep the award in its entirety, and the remaining 19.9 percent voted for the Council to keep the award but issue a statement condemning Barr’s actions.

Time at Horace Mann

Conflicting opinions regarding Barr date back to his days in high school, where some, such as Benjamin, remembered him to have a goodnatured disposition while others, such as Jimmy Lohman ‘69, considered him a bully.

Barr’s character in high school explains his recent actions, Lohman said. “He’s just a grown-up version of the bully that he was back then, with an amount

of power that is unimaginable,” he said. “And instead of bumping into me in the hallway, he is ordering troops to attack peaceful protesters.”

James Kaplan ‘67 said he wasn’t close with Barr in high school, but he knew Barr as an average individual. “The thing that was unusual about him was that he was politically right-wing,” he said.

“He supported Barry Goldwater. Most of us liked Lyndon Johnson.”

Barr demonstrated an early interest in politics. In the Lower Division (LD), which used to refer to the seventh and eighth grades, he wrote for the World News section of The Quill, the LD’s newspaper at the time. In addition to reporting on international current events, Barr penned a few opinion pieces, including an article defending the historical achievements of the Republican party in a point-bypoint response to a Democratic writer.

Benjamin, who was close with Barr in high school, said he vividly remembers Barr as funny and personable. On subway rides home from school, the pair had conversations about topics ranging from the Catholic Church to bagpipers. On stage in their theater class, Barr was talented and fun to watch, with “one of the most expressive faces” Benjamin has ever seen, he said.

Barr’s Mannikin page also highlights his humorous antics: “An incomparable master of facial contortions, Bill had a lighter side which endeared him to his classmates.”

Despite Barr’s apparent light-hearted nature, Lohman remembers Barr as “aggressive” and “confrontational,” he said. “He was just someone I tried to avoid because if I encountered him, he was liable to do something threatening or intimidating.”

Lohman often wore buttons to school in support of the Congress of Racial Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, two well known Civil Rights

organizations. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the reason he targeted me was because I wore those buttons,” Lohman said. “The fact that it seemed to be my support for civil rights for African Americans that set him off reflects very poorly on his character.”

Jonathan Smit ‘67 also felt targeted by Barr due to Barr’s belief that Smit was gay, he said. In their gym class, Barr frequently threatened to beat Smit up and called him “Adonis,” in reference to a handsome man in Greek mythology with whom Aphrodite and Persephone fell in love. “I would characterize him as a bit of a brute who liked to throw his weight around,” Smit said. “I just remember him being a lot like the way he is now — very implacable, not warm.”

“Majority Coalition,” a group of students who “took it upon themselves to shut down [racial justice protesters] — physically, if necessary.”

At Columbia, Barr received a B.A. in government and M.A. in government and Chinese studies.

Between 1973 and 1977, Barr simultaneously worked for the CIA and studied for his J.D. degree from George Washington University at night. He graduated with honors and moved on to a position as a law clerk.

see Barr on pages 4-5

College and Career After graduating, Barr attended Columbia University. When Lohman arrived at Columbia two years later, he learned that Barr had developed a reputation for “attacking” anti-war protesters, he said. According to an article in Politico Magazine, Barr belonged to the

Courtesy of HM Flickr

History speaker series explores BLM through webinar Devin Allard Neptune and Vidhatrie Keetha Staff Writers

Professors Dr. Crystal Feimster and Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor contextualized the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement yesterday on a Google Meet webinar. The speakers also answered questions submitted by students before and during the event, which was moderated by Teyonce Allison (12), Jaden Richards (12), and history teachers Dr. Lauren Meyer and Dr. Emily Straus.

The speakers began the discussion by addressing the recent struggles for racial justice from a historical perspective.

Specifically, they spoke about the history of the tense relationship between Black Americans and the police, and how that history continues to influence incidents of police brutality.

Throughout the United States’ history, underlying issues of racist policing and racial inequality have never been sufficiently addressed by the government, Taylor said. In previous instances of Black resistance, federal officials have taken temporary measures to “cool things down,” but the systemic issues have remained, she said.

A key step towards social change is understanding racial inequalities, Taylor said. Many Americans are not aware of the real issues that Black communities face, and by spreading awareness and learning about these issues, students can enact change even without having the power to vote, she said.

The best way the school and its students can act as agents of change is through education, Taylor and Feimster said. It is important that schools offer courses on African American history, because those courses show students

that African American history matters, Feimster said.

Taylor brought up multiple examples of how voting alone is not enough to create change in society.

In many cases, there is no candidate on

DR. CRYSTAL FEIMSTER a ballot who represents the issues voters want addressed, and in those situations, people need to become active, she said.

AJ Walker (11) had been looking forward to the event for the entire week, and it did not disappoint, he said. “The speakers were so comfortable speaking, and you could tell that they both were very knowledgeable about Black history,” he said.

Last night’s webinar was the first of a monthly series hosted by the Upper Division History Department titled “How did We Get Here?: The Roots of Current Struggles for Racial Justice.”

Over the course of the series, different issues pertaining to the history of race and ethnicity in the United States will be discussed by historians distinguished in their field.

Before the school closed in March last year, history teacher Barry Bienstock noticed a rise in conversations regarding social issues in the school’s community, he said. “There was this increasing desire for people to know more about the issue of police brutality and racialized

violence.”

When HM Online began, Bienstock and history teacher Dr. Emily Straus came up with the idea to start a speaker series for the school, Bienstock said.

“Zoom became our idea of the perfect vehicle for getting people from all over the country who would be willing to participate and create a series.”

By creating a space for dialogue, the series aims to provide background on different social issues that have influenced the United States for hundreds of years, Bienstock said. “As the series suggests, ‘how did we get here?’” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to address with all of our speakers.”

Head of the Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein first heard of the idea for the series over the summer, when she met with members of Black Students Demanding Change (BSDC), she said.

After the meeting, Levenstein learned that Bienstock and Straus were interested in developing a monthly speaker series too, she said.

“The stars aligned,” Levenstein said.

“During the summer when all of our attention was so much on the fight for racial justice, [we thought] that it would be helpful for the school community to see the protests in historical context.”

During the development of the series, Bienstock and Straus continued to consult members of the BDSC, who stressed the importance of the student body learning about the issues African Americans face, History Department Chair Dr. Daniel Link said.

“My hope is that students who were involved in that will participate in the event on Thursday night and can learn important lessons that they can use in their own activism,” Link said. “I think students are concerned about these issues, but they often don’t quite understand them very well. So

the point of this series is to help them better understand what’s going on in the country.”

The history department chose speakers based on their area of expertise, and both Feimster and Taylor have extensive knowledge on institutional racism, Link said. “We wanted speakers who have done research work and have written and thought a lot about particular issues,” he said.

“Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor would be an obvious person to talk about Black Lives Matter,” Bienstock said. Taylor has published an entire book and articles about the topic, so Bienstock reached out to her, he said.

Taylor is an activist and author who writes about Black politics, social movements, and racial inequality in the United States. She received her PhD in African-American Studies from Northwestern University, and currently works as an assistant professor at Princeton University, according to her website.

DR. KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA TAYLOR She is the author of “Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership,” a book that became a 2020 Pulitzer Prize in History Finalist. In addition to two other books about Black Activism, Taylor’s writings have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Boston Review, Paris

Review, Guardian, The Nation, Jacobin, and Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society.

When organizing the speaker series, the history department decided to format the webinar as a conversation between two scholars, Bienstock said.

History teacher Dr. Laura Meyer invited Feimster to speak alongside Dr. Taylor, Bienstock said.

Feimster received her Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2001 and taught as an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina. Currently, Feimster is a tenured Associate Professor at Yale University, and teaches a seminar on the politics of racial violence, according to The Root.

Now, Feimster studies African American History, specifically focusing on racial and sexual violence. In 2009, she published the book “Southern Horrors: Women and the Politics of Rape and Lynching,” that outlined racial politics in the postbellum South.

Currently, she is working on a two books, one titled “Sexual Warfare: Rape and the American Civil War,” and the other “Mutiny at Fort Jackson: A Case Study of Wartime Freedom.”

The idea of being a better advocate for change and being a better voter reflects the School’s core value of Life of the Mind, Levenstein said.

“Life of the mind is not necessarily reading for reading sake. I think that life of the mind makes you a better citizen,” she said. “If you understand what events led us to a moment of great social upheaval, you can be a better advocate for the kind of change you want, you can be a better voter, you can have a more nuanced understanding of how and why we’re here and what we need to do to get out of here.”

2

THE RECORD OPINIONS SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

The pros of pronouns: normalize gender identities faculty had simply forgotten this part of our initial conversations.

However, when we came into our classrooms on the second day of school, we were once again confronted by the lack of awareness during our introductions. Where was the inclusive community we had been hearing so much about? Most importantly, where was the consideration of Mutual Respect? If we had not taken the time to tell each other what we needed, how could we achieve a Secure and Healthful Environment and a Caring Community?

Liliana Greyf and Mia Calzolaio If you’ve scrolled through Instagram recently, you may have noticed a set of pronouns — (she/her), (he/him), (they/them), to name a few — typed out next to the emojis that already surround your peers’ usernames. Although some users had already added pronouns to their pages, a wave of brightly colored infographics caused many to make this change in August. These shared posts emphasized the importance of normalizing gender identity and the pronouns that come with it. The graphic posted most by our followers was from the account @wearegenchange. It was convincing and accessible, containing two slides detailing the importance of pronoun usage for both cisgender (cis) and noncisgender people. It specified that cis people “have nothing to fear from [pronoun usage]” and doing so “normalizes it for people who are not cis.” At the same time, the post made clear that non-cis people had no obligation to share their pronouns, unless they felt comfortable. As cisgender women, we understood that sharing our pronouns on social media was the easiest way to acknowledge and support the transgender and gender-nonconforming communities.

By displaying our pronouns in a public place, we were normalizing that action for those who are not cis. We were attempting to create a more inclusive, open space.

Horace Mann prides itself on encompassing just that — its values surround inclusivity, progressiveness, and a radically openminded community. So it would be an understatement to say that we were both disappointed last Wednesday when our teachers neglected to ask the students in our classes to share their pronouns.

The day had been bizarre in many ways, so we presumed that the

“Cis people: It is not about what pronouns do for you; rather, it is what saying them does for others.”

Within the school’s Core Values is a promise to create an accepting institution for all of its students. In order to see this goal through, we must truly be aware of all members of our community, no matter how they identify. To not ask students for their pronouns is to neglect the respect that is mandated by our Family Handbook; it is disrespectful to assume the gender of someone you have never met. These assumptions perpetuate harmful stereotypes and behaviors that oppose the values of our school’s framework.

We spoke to our friends and asked them if their teachers had acted any differently than ours. Only a few of the many students we spoke to had a teacher that asked for their pronouns; within those few, only one or two of their six or seven teachers bothered. When did Instagram, a platform designed to share pictures of brunch and mirror selfies, become more filled by progressive reform than the halls of Tillinghast?

We wondered if our anger was unnecessary, performative. We wondered if it was our place to address this topic, one that seemingly didn’t affect us. Looking for other perspectives, we spoke to our mutual friend who attends Fieldston, and she mentioned that the speakers at all of their assemblies introduce themselves with their name and pronouns, no matter how well-known they are or how long they have been a part of the community. We thought about

our First Day Assembly, and we could not remember a single time an educator or student had begun their speech the same way.

We realized that as the majority, especially at this school, cis people play a crucial role in the normalization of pronoun usage.

Cis people are entitled to a sense of security in their own gender identities, because they are in an environment that automatically perceives them as they wish to be perceived. Cis people: it is not about what pronouns do for you; rather, it is what saying them does for others.

This shift is as small as an additional sentence said by a teacher at the start of class, a simple form sent out before the first day of school, or a line added to the end of an email or next to a name on a Zoom call. In writing this, we are asking both students and faculty to consider implementing what many of us have already learned online. Pronoun usage can and should be normalized at Horace Mann — and cis students and faculty must play a large role in facilitating this change.

Gabby Fischberg/Art Director

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Is this HM Alumni Council-awarded honoree truly honorable any longer, if he ever really was?

Rescind the award, Alumni Council!

Make your decision already, and take strong action!

By not rescinding the award, you are condoning Barr's far-reaching unacceptable behavior and implying that the community of HM students and alumni supports this world-class villain as well.

The reality that Barr's alma mater has rescinded the Distinguished Alumnus award will be both national and international news, potentially with large effect.

Do it already.

Rescind!

If not now, WHEN?

Annabelle Chan Art Director

Op-Cartoon

From, Roger Sussman ‘76

The pharaoh and his footmen Volume 118 Editorial Board Managing Editor Talia Winiarsky News Sam Chiang Yesh Nikam Marina Kazarian

Features Henry Owens Emily Shi Vivien Sweet

Opinions Maurice Campbell Avi Kapadia Natalie Sweet

A&E Izzy Abbott Abby Beckler Oliver Steinman

Editor-in-Chief Julia Goldberg Lions’ Den Yotam Hahn Alison Isko Josh Underberg

Middle Division Adrian Arnaboldi Bradley Bennett Jack Crovitz

Staff Staff Writers Devin Allard-Neptune, Chloe Choi, Emma Colacino, Yin Fei, Lucas Glickman, Claire Goldberg, Liliana Greyf, Lauren Ho, Hanna Hornfeld, Oliver Lewis, Rowan Mally, Walker McCarthy, Morgan Smith, Arushi Talwar, Katya Tolunsky, Nathan Zelizer, Max Chasin, Alex Lautin, Jillian Lee, Hannah Katzke, Vidhatrie Keetha, Louise Kim, Clio Rao, Ayesha Sen, Emily Salzhauer, Emily Sun Staff Photographers Kelly Troop, Sophie Gordon, Amanda Wein, Emma Colacino, AJ Walker, Lucas Glickman, Lauren Ho Staff Artists Eliza Becker, Felix Brenner, Riva Vig

Issues Editor Adam Frommer Design Ally August Lowell Finster John Mauro Sarah Sun

Art Annabelle Chan Gabby Fischberg Lauren Kim Rachel Zhu

Photography Jackson Feigin Julia Isko Maxwell Shopkorn

Faculty Advisor David Berenson

Editorial Policy About Founded in 1903, The Record is Horace Mann School’s award-winning weekly student newspaper. We publish approximately 30 times during the academic year, offering news, features, opinions, arts, Middle Division and sports coverage relevant to the school community. The Record serves as a public forum to provide the community with information, entertainment, and an outlet for various viewpoints. As a student publication, the contents of The Record are the views and work of the students and do not necessarily represent those of the faculty or administration of the Horace Mann School. Horace Mann School is not responsible for the accuracy and contents of The Record and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein.

Editorials All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar, and layout are made by the senior editorial board. The unsigned editorial represents the opinion of the majority of the board.

Opinions Opinion columns represent the viewpoint of the author and not of The Record or the school. We encourage students, alumni, faculty, staff, and parents to submit opinions by emailing record@horacemann.org.

Letters Letters to the editor often respond to editorials, articles, and opinions pieces, allowing The Record to uphold its commitment to open discourse within the school community. They too represent the opinion of the author and not of The Record or the school. To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters

should be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or email (record@horacemann.org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed.

Contact For all tips, comments, queries, story suggestions, complaints and corrections, please contact us by email at record@ horacemann.org.

3

HORACE MANN NEWS SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

Students, faculty communicate despite barriers Liliana Greyf Staff Writer

Large circular tables have been converted into rows of desks with plexiglass barriers, and students no longer gather in groups in the library — and as result, students and faculty are finding new ways to communicate and collaborate both inside and outside of the classroom.

Hannah Lipskar (12) now has fewer group discussions during her humanities classes, which she believes is caused by the new seating arrangements, she said. Instead, her classes have become more lecture-based, or her teachers call on students to speak one at a time.

History teacher Dr. Ellen Bales said the Harkness tables promoted class discussions, because students could see each other and her as she moved around the room. The rows in the classroom call for a much more traditional setting, to which Bales has had to adapt, she said. Rather than moving freely around the classroom, Bales must now stand at the front of the room, six feet away from her students.

“It is very difficult to have organic discussions,” English teacher Dr. Wendy Steiner said. “Of course, I support all the measures being taken, and they are very necessary, but having students in rows and having plexiglass barriers make it very hard to have a kind of regular class.”

To overcome the difficulty of the barriers, Jaden Richard’s (12) teachers attempted to utilize Zoom for partner work within the classroom, he said.

However, because everyone was speaking and listening to their computers at the same time, the noise made it difficult to hear one another. Now, the class has gone back to the more traditional inperson communication.

Head of Science Department Dr. Lisa Rosenblum struggled to have her classes to work in groups successfully, she said. It took students a while to interact with one another because it was harder to hear and see everyone’s faces, she said.

“It’s taken a bit of thinking as to how to work in groups safely, but students in my classes have gotten the hang of having pair share discussions on either side of the desk partitions,” Rosenblum said.

“We have tried to avoid raising the volume [of our voices], because then there could be aerosols that the mask might now prevent.”

Rosenblum has also been attempting to minimize the amount of time her students spend speaking to each other one-on-one, a difficulty she had not faced before this year.

The barriers between each desk have also posed problems for the collaborative nature of math classrooms, Annie Wallach (12) said. “On the first day of school, we had an activity where we had to ask each other questions from a sheet and share with the class, but when we started talking, we realized that no one could hear each other.” With masks on, it is also impossible to read lips, she said.

The inability to hear the student next to you has been especially harmful in foreign language classes, Alex Nagin (11) said. “Speaking to a partner is one of the most elemental parts of learning a new language,” he said. “But I just cannot hear the people next to me.”

Despite these challenges, teachers are still finding ways to experiment with their teaching techniques.

“I do a lot of small group work, so I am trying to find ways — whether it is by using the technology in the class or just having people who are already in the rows talk to each other — to be able to do that,” Steiner said.

Chloe Dichter’s (9) French teacher has been projecting documents both on the SmartBoard and has been sending them to students’ personal computers. This setup allows for students to both hear what the teacher is saying and reference it in two places in the room, Dichter said.

Bales has used shared Google Documents to create a collaborative working environment that does not necessitate speaking, she said. This method gives the students who tend to speak up less in class an opportunity to participate in the discussion without having to speak in class.

Teachers have also become harder to hear, Wallach said. “There are definitely some instances where a teacher says something, forgetting that they have to talk louder,” Wallach said. She has had to ask teachers to repeat themselves, but she thinks that teachers will remember to enunciate and start

Lauren Kim/Art Director

to speak loudly as the year continues.

When doing partner work, Lipskar moves her chair back to have a discussion so that she can easily listen to others without the barriers drowning out the conversation, she said. Although moving back ultimately allowed for Lipskar and her partner to complete the assignment, she realizes that moving behind the desks defeats the purpose of the barriers.

“I think right now, the line is really blurry between what is safe and what is not,” she said. “The project that we were doing worked out fine, but I did not know whether or not we should feel comfortable with the way we had to do it.”

The plastic screens in front of desks also block students’ vision of the board, Wallach said.

As a result, most teachers have allowed students to take them down for the sake of convenience, Lipskar said.

Because of the barriers and the plexiglass between desks, it is harder for students to see the board unless they are in the front row, Audrey Carbonell (10) said.

On the first day of school, Wallach was not in the front of any of her classrooms, and she was unable to see, she said. Since then, Wallach has made an effort to arrive to class early in an attempt to get a seat in the front.

Because of the mask policy and seating

arrangement in the classrooms, Steiner has found it more difficult to know how her students are feeling in class, she said. “I have been [asking kids to do] thumbs up, or I will just ask them how they are to get a read of the temperature of the room,” she said.

Rosenblum has found that getting to know her students has become a slower process than in past years. Still, she feels like she is starting to connect with them now. “It’s been great to be with my students in person and to be able to respond to their energy in class,” she said.

“I had this realization that for students [whom I have never taught before], I have never seen their whole face,” Bales said. “I can still recognize them, but it’s odd to think that I have never seen a full range of their expression.”

To minimize contact in hallways, the school has implemented staggered dismissal times — teachers are now required to end class five minutes early on their non-testing days. Because of this, there are students that Wallach has not seen in the past few days. Wallach had assumed that they were attending school online, but in reality, she had just not seen them, she said.

Last year, after H Period, Alex Nagin (11) would congregate with his friends before going home, he said. “Now I just exit the classroom and walk to my bus alone.”

Remote learners face struggles from home Emma Colacino Staff Writer While many students have returned to the school’s campus, approximately 27 students, or four percent of the Upper Division, remains online. Despite the efforts made to adapt classrooms for these online learners, they still face difficulties hearing, seeing, and participating in the class, online learner Scarlett Goldberg (11) said.

In order to facilitate online learning for students, the Information Technology Department has added Huddle cameras and microphones to every classroom, giving students a better view of the white boards and allowing for students to hear their peers and teachers. Huddle cameras have a microphone included and swivel to give a complete view of the white board, said Head of Upper Division Jessica Levenstein.

Isabel Mavrides-Calderon (10), who has chosen to learn from home because of a respiratory issue, has found that she is still unable to hear the comments of other students made in discussion-based classes.

Mavrides-Calderon also said the inability to hear her classmates is creating difficulties in Chemistry. “When other students are explaining a problem or giving an answer, if I didn’t catch it, then I have a gap in knowledge,” she said.

Goldberg struggles to see the white board, she said.

Additionally, she doesn’t know all of the students in her class, which makes it especially difficult to understand those talking during discussions. “When you’re having a debate or a conversation with someone, you need to be able to see each other, and since I can’t see the class, it’s bizarre,” she said.

Because the camera quality in some classrooms is blurry, Morgan Frances Cohen (11) has also experienced trouble seeing the white board. However, many of his teachers screen share presentations on Zoom, making it easier to follow along, he said.

Participating in class has also proved to be challenging for other reasons as well. “When you’re behind a teacher, it’s kind of hard to get their attention because you’re not always in the vision of the teacher,” Mavrides-Calderon said. “You either have to call out, or be lucky if your teacher sees you, and it’s kind of uncomfortable calling out in class.”

Math teacher Benjamin Kafoglis has discovered that including virtual students is difficult when he is unaware if their hand is raised, he said. “Certainly, if a student is raising their hand, I’m

going to notice that, but if it’s a screen I might not think to look at it,” he said. “My main focus is how I can make this experience as equitable as possible.”

Lexi Lawsky (8) also said participating in her discussionbased classes has been a challenge, she said. “In some classes, like math, participating means just filling out a worksheet on Notability and handing it in through email, but in other classes, like English, it’s a little harder,” she said. “I don’t really get to participate as much, so I sometimes feel left out.”

The challenge for virtual learners to participate has caused Leonardo Giorgini (11), who remains home because members of his family have respiratory or immune issues, to work especially hard to be an active member of the class, he said. “It’s very much on me to make sure that I’m doing everything I can to be able to participate in class to really speak out if I have something to say

Lauren Kim/Art Director

or a question to ask,” he said.

Giorgini’s teachers reached out to him and explained that they would make a conscious effort to include him in the class, he said. Since classes began, they have worked to incorporate Giorgini in the discussions, and he hopes that everyone is able to learn and voice what they have to say while being heard by the rest of the class.

In an effort to include Giorgini in the class, math teacher Timothy Behan pairs Giorgini with a member of the class by placing the computer on the desk of a student. “He always pairs me with a different person, and enables me to be able to participate by doing the same problems or worksheets that the other kids are, so I’m able to contribute and I’m able to get the most out of the class,” Giorgini said.

Similarly, Lawsky’s English teacher James Brink has paired her with a member of the class as a “seat partner” as a way to

ensure that Lawsky is included in the discussions and also is able to ask questions during the class, she said.

While the school has implemented changes in an effort to accommodate students academically, remote students are still unable to engage with their peers socially, Goldberg said.

“That’s the downside of remote learning,” she said. “It’s really hard to see your friends and socialize and especially meet new kids in our grade or in the grades below.”

Frances Cohen also finds connecting with in-person peers difficult; however, he has been able to connect to other online students. “I’ve gotten closer to people who are also doing online school, because when you’re on Zoom, you can interact with those people but only those people,” he said.

Mavrides-Calderon has felt like she is missing out on spending time with her peers and friends. “My friends have been really great about facetiming me during frees and lunch, but there’s definitely an aspect of FOMO [fear of missing out],” Mavrides-Calderon said.

Mavrides-Calderon hopes that when school activities begin, online students will have more opportunities to become involved in student life.

In an effort to improve the experience of online learners, Upper Division Dean of Students Dr. Matthew Wallenfang organized a meeting for teachers to share ideas of what has been successful or unsuccessful in teaching remote learners, Visual Arts Department Chair Anna Hetherington said. The meeting was optional and took place Wednesday afternoon, Kafoglis said.

“With lots of teachers figuring this out, we want to learn from each other,” Kafoglis said. “There’s still a lot of brainstorming and collective problem solving happening.”

Goldberg said the experience of online students will improve as the year progresses and is appreciative of the hard work of teachers to accommodate online students and improve their learning experience.

“It’s exciting to be with students in person, and so the extra challenge is making sure the remote learners feel like members of the in-class community as much as possible,” Hetherington said.

4

THE RECORD FEATURES SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

To keep or not to keep: Distinguished Alumni Award from Barr on page 1

Barr went on to work at the Washington law firm Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge, switching between private practice and public service. Then, between 1982 and 1983, he served on President Ronald Reagan’s Domestic Policy Staff.

In 1989, under President George H. W. Bush’s administration, Barr became Assistant Attorney General, overseeing the Office of Legal Counsel, and later, Deputy Attorney General. From 1991 to 1993, Barr served as Attorney General of the United States.

Lohman was taken aback after he heard about the first nomination of his former high school bully to the position of Attorney General by George H.W. Bush in 1991. “I just about fell down,” he said. “The one guy in my life who picked on me was named the highest legal position in the country.”

Barr’s first nomination motivated Lohman to write an article about Barr’s behavior in high school for a Florida newspaper called the Florida Flambeau.

“I read up on him at the time and saw that he had been involved in what I consider to be a lot of questionable activities, and because of

mater, shared an open letter condemning his behavior as Attorney General under President Trump, stating that Barr had repeatedly favored “fidelity to the whims of the President” over justice.

This fidelity, according to the letter, was evident when Barr provided Flynn and Stone preferential treatment because of their relationships with the President and when he seemingly attempted to deceive the public about the Mueller investigation in order to aid the President. The letter stated that “our school’s relationship with Attorney General Barr places us in a unique position, and imposes a unique duty on us to candidly confront his abuse of the office of Attorney General.” The majority of the faculty signed the letter.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an organization that started a petition for Barr’s resignation that has received over 100,000 signatures, published an impeachment report on July 28 underscoring some of what they believe to be Barr’s biggest transgressions. The CREW report highlighted the same concerns raised

Courtesy of HM Flickr

A DISTINGUISHED HANDSHAKE Head of School Tom Kelly with Barr after receiving the award my experience personally with him I felt I needed to air that,” he said. When Barr was nominated by President Donald Trump for Attorney General again in December 2018, it was like a recurrent nightmare to Lohman, he said.

Kaplan, however, was highly impressed that Barr was nominated to a federal cabinet position, noting that he is the only member of their class to have done so. After reading the news, Kaplan wrote Barr a letter of congratulations. Barr responded with an invitation to his swearing-in, which Kaplan attended.

In 2011, Barr was granted the Alumni Association’s Award for Distinguished Achievement by the school’s Alumni Council — a group of alumni volunteers dedicated to maintaining a connection between alumni and the school — for his position as Attorney General under President George H. W. Bush. The award is granted yearly to an alumnus who “exemplifies distinguished achievement in his or her chosen profession or accomplishments,” according to the school’s website.

Barr was nominated for the award by several members of his graduating class. Kaplan remembers signing a paper in support of Barr receiving the award at the request of a former classmate, he said. Benjamin wrote his own letter of support to the council as he believed Barr was deserving of the award and was being overlooked due to his conservative viewpoints.

In 2019, Barr became Attorney General for the second time under President Trump’s administration.

SUMMER CONTROVERSY

by the NYC Bar Association and the law school.

On the same day, Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee as House Democrats questioned him on his alleged misconducts.

Barr’s actions since this summer remain controversial, recently putting him in the national spotlight. This week, he encouraged prosecutors to charge racial injustice protesters with sedition, referred to a nationwide lockdown as the “greatest intrusion of civil liberties … other than slavery,” and reportedly called for charges against Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan for allowing designated police-free zones in BLM protests.

THE PETITION

alumni were posting about it on Twitter and Facebook. “Once it hit one or two people from every graduating class, it really took off,” Royer said.

On June 6, the Alumni Council posted on their webpage that they were aware of the petition and were going to deliberate on the issue. On July 16, they released a second statement outlining what factors they were considering — specifically, “the current candidate selection criteria, the topic of recission, precedent established by other academic and nonprofit organizations, and community feedback.”

The council has been working hard behind the scenes, President of the Alumni Council Samantha Cooper Brand ‘01 said. As soon as the petition was brought to her attention, Brand discussed it with members of the administration, including Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly and members of the Board of Trustees.

The council held a Zoom meeting on June 15 for members to express their views, after which Brand asked for volunteers from its voting body to form a special subcommittee to review the issue. Twelve people stepped forward, including Brand and now co-chairs of the subcommittee Alexandra Levin ‘00 and Joseph Pinion ‘01.

Since then, the subcommittee has been carefully weighing its options, Brand said. “We plan on having a robust report at the end of this, to really address the community as a whole, so they can really understand what we did, how we did it, and how we came to our conclusion,” Pinion said.

Royer and Rosberger emailed the council on June 8 to introduce themselves, share the list of names and comments on the petition, and request that the council rethink the award. They did not receive a response. Once the petition reached 8,000 supporters, they reached out again, asking to speak on behalf of the signatories.

On July 1, nearly a month after first creating the petition, the pair wrote an open letter to the council further explaining their point of view with the goal of pressuring them into responding, Royer said. By coincidence, later that day, the subcommittee invited them to join their meeting on July 16 — held prior to posting their second update — which they attended.

At that meeting, the council asked Royer and Rosberger clarifying questions to better understand their point of view, and the pair asked the council questions in order to see what the major concerns holding them back were, Royer said. After the meeting, Royer expected the committee to be able to make a quick decision about whether or not to revoke the award; however, they have yet to decide.

The committee is spending a long time deliberating, in part because it has never revoked an award before and as such does not have a process for doing so, Brand said. Determining the threshold for a revocation, creating a process that can be

the community, so the subcommittee is doing its best to give everybody an opportunity to express their perspective, Levin said. The council has received a lot of passionate correspondence from alumni, students, teachers, and parents on both sides of the debate and is working to make a decision that will appropriately take everyone’s opinion into account, Brand said.

Several members of the class of 1967, including Benjamin, wish that the council had sent out a general email to all alumni directly asking for their opinions, he said. Benjamin had to dig deeply into the school website in order to realize that the council was open to entertaining peoples’ opinions. He emailed them because he regrets his

What should the Alumni Council do about Barr’s award?

21%

Keep the award

20%

Keep, but issue a statement Based on an of condemnation anonymous survey of 301 Upper Division students and faculty. initial support of Barr and wants the council to rescind his award, he said.

When Benjamin originally voiced his support for the award in 2011, he had kept his political disagreements with Barr out of the equation because he had seen Barr as honest during his first stint as Attorney General.

However, Benjamin said that since Barr is now allowing his personal beliefs to politicize the Justice Department, he is no longer worthy of the award.

When considering if Barr is worthy of the award, a part of the debate is whether revoking it would be an inappropriate political statement. In their open letter, Royer and Rosberger wrote, “This is not an issue of political parties but one of morality… The actions of the Attorney General in early June were in clear contempt of the protesters’ constitutional rights and against our country’s fundamental values.”

Despite this argument, others do not believe that the debate is indisputably nonpartisan. “Anyone who works in Washington for an administration has some tinge of politics on what they’re doing,” Levin said. “Unfortunately, this request is hard to separate from the very strong feelings that people have intertwined with politics.”

Scott Matthews ‘86 said that although the issue is

On June 1, federal law enforcement agents forcibly removed BLM protesters assembled on Lafayette Square to clear the way for the President to take photos outside St. John’s Church. According Courtesy of the HM Archives to the Washington Post, an anonymous Justice FACIAL CONTORTION TER Barr’s senior half page from the 1967 Mannikin, describing his character as well as some extracurriculars Department Official claimed that Barr directly replicated in the future, and deciding if the council political, he would still disapprove of Barr’s actions if ordered the protesters’ removal, although Barr Shortly after the incident at Lafayette Square, is even going to revoke awards in the first place is a the political parties were reversed. “It’s kind of silly denied this. The event immediately caught the Royer and Rosberger were texting each other time-consuming process, Pinion said. “We have to, to pretend that there aren’t politics involved,” he said. nation’s attention and sparked outrage over a about Barr. Rosberger suggested that the two start as a body, be ready to understand that the decisions “But even if there are politics involved, so what? He’s violation of the First Amendment right to peacefully a Change.org petition to encourage the Alumni that we make set a precedent,” he said. still harming the country. Saying you can’t take a protest.

Council to rethink his distinguished alumnus award, Furthermore, because the exact details of what stand because it’s politics is also taking a stand.”

In June, the New York City Bar Association called Royer said. “It came out of reading a bunch of articles happened at Lafayette Square have been under Kaplan does not support Barr’s actions or for Congress to investigate the legality of Barr’s and watching the news and seeing how seriously investigation by Congress, the committee has to politics, but he thinks Barr still deserves the title of actions in removing the protesters, as well as in problematic what he did was,” Rosberger said. balance the importance of considering information distinguished alumnus, he said. “I didn’t agree with reducing Roger Stone’s sentence, his role in Trump’s Within an hour, Royer said the pair created the that continues to be released with their goal to reach his political views in the late 60s, and I don’t agree pardoning Michael Flynn, and providing the public petition, wrote the blurb, and posted about it on a decision in a timely manner. with them now,” he said. “But that’s not the point. with misleading information regarding the Mueller Instagram. The number of signatures skyrocketed.

The point is that somebody from Horace Mann investigation in 2019.

COMMUNITY DELIBERATES Royer and Rosberger’s friends shared the link on achieved a very high professional position.”

On June 23, faculty members at George This issue is very important to many members of social media, and they soon noticed that other Clementine Bondor (10) also said that Barr Washington University Law School, Barr’s alma

HORACE MANN FEATURES SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

Alumni subcommittee deliberates for months

5

Rogowsky has heard people express similar deserves the honor and that removing it would the ‘80s and ‘90s. “Such accomplishments cannot an organization intended to represent the school’s alumni. The pair ended the open letter once again concerns about having to revoke other awards conflate politics with an ostensibly nonpartisan happen without the life of the mind,” she said. award. “He attained a seat in one of the highest In addition to being inconsistent with the asking the Council to make a final decision and — especially that of former governor of New legal positions in the country, which requires school’s values, allowing Barr to keep his award explain it to the public, writing that “it is still not York Eliot Spitzer ‘77, who resigned in 2008 after a prostitution scandal — but Barr’s situation is work, integrity, intelligence, public service, and an may diminish the prestige of being named a too late to do the right thing.”

The next day, the Council posted a third unique, he said. “Are there 9,000 people asking immovable sense of self,” she said. “Regardless or distinguished alumnus, Royer said. However, as whether or not one appreciates or condemns any a former award winner, Novick feels differently. update informing the community that the special the council to revoke [Spitzer’s] award? No. This of his political actions, his hard work and service “I don’t see the distinguished alumni award to be committee had finished discussing the issue and is a very specific instance where the community of warrant recognition. He can keep the award and some perfect representation of the greater good was now in the process of drafting its report to the alumni are standing up and saying this is crossing still be criticized by the community.” and that he’s tarnished it,” Novick said. “I just feel Council. Once this report is complete, the Council the line.”

Although the petition has a high number of While serving as the U.S. Attorney General like if the school stands for the values it says it will vote to make a final decision.

The committee is aware that some are disturbed signatories, Arthur Greyf P’22 P’32 warns against qualifies as a “distinguished achievement,” it stands for, he’s the least worthy recipient that I can by its lengthy decision-making process, but overlooking those who do not support revocation. shouldn’t be the only requirement for the think of.” award, Lohman said.

Gary Marton ‘67 does not support Barr’s values ultimately, it owes the community a thoughtful “If you talk to 50% of the United States at this point, Similarly, Tomoko Hida (11) either, but he said that the award should be left discussion rather than an impulsive one, Brand they will tell you that Barr did not do anything said that although Barr’s alone because those values are not a reflection of past accomplishments are the school’s teaching or belief system. “He does not Courtesy of the HM Archives admirable, they do not claim that he has been acting, directly or indirectly, excuse his present actions, as a representative of HM or as an adherent to its which are harmful to principles,” Marton said. “Nor does HM claim that the country as a whole. Barr has been acting on its behalf. As far as I am “We are in an active concerned, the school remains unblemished by movement where we anything that Bill Barr has done.” need the support of the Dan Weisman ‘71, however, said that the council leaders of our country and administration’s lack of action regarding the Revoke the award to move forward as a award does reflect upon the school — and it does nation,” she said. Hida so poorly. As a result, Weisman, who supports said that Barr has abused revoking the award, will donate to Hackley, which his power by aiding his sister attended, instead. “This is just a further President Trump in his blot on the Horace Mann reputation, and I don’t immoral, destructive, and want to be associated with it,” he said. racially charged agenda.

Scott Rogowsky ‘03, who has over 135,000 “Mr. Barr has become a major followers on Twitter, stated on Twitter that he, too, actor in a campaign to diminish the would no longer donate to the school. “I’m done civil liberties of Americans,” Benjamin with the school, frankly,” he said. “My dad, uncles, wrote in his email to the council. “He is at Mr. [and] sister went to Horace Mann. But if this is Trump’s side enthusiastically backing a campaign how the administration operates, I’m not going to of racial division and hatred… I trust [the council] send my kid there.” Rogowsky acknowledges that will agree with me that these actions are utterly the Alumni Council is a separate body from the LITTLE RASCALS Barr (middle row, third from right) and his classmates as 8th graders in 1963 contrary to the values of the Horace Mann school.” school itself, but he said that if the administration Rosberger said that recipients’ values are wanted the award revoked it would have pressured said. “We’d be foolish to think that what the council immoral,” he said. “It just happens that Horace decides is not going to be attributed to the school, Mann has a high number of liberals, and they feel projected onto those of the school, and therefore the council to do so. but that is also why we are taking such a deliberate that way. And they have a right to be upset with they should align with those that the school RECENT ACTIVITY response: to make sure that we are accounting for Barr, but I don’t think they have the right to strip supports. “For students, it’s important to be able On September 9, Royer and Rosberger released a the implications of the decision that we ultimately him of his well-deserved award.” to look up to figures who have won this award, in second open letter criticizing the Alumni Council’s come to,” Pinion said.

Similarly, LaPoff said that revoking the award addition to seeing how the values of our school have lack of transparency about its deliberation process This isn’t the first time the school has grappled would ostracize those members of the community been realized over time in certain distinguished and its failure to make a timely decision. “We, as with rescinding honors. The main field used to be who disagree with the petition. “The discourse alumni,” she said. many of you do, personally believe that AG Barr’s named after former Head of School R. Inslee Clark in our nation in the past years has become angry To keep Barr on the distinguished alumni list immoral actions warrant the revocation of his Jr. and has since been renamed Alumni Field, after and violent. Accusations, gossip and character would be to actively endorse his values, Hida award,” they wrote. “However, we never demanded pressure from alumni following Clark’s exposure assassination have become the norm: ‘I am always said. If the council doesn’t revoke Barr’s award, it this: our petition is entitled Rethink Attorney for his involvement in, and subsequent cover-up right, they are always wrong,’” he said. “If the alumni should at least release a statement condemning his General William Barr’s Status as a Distinguished of, the sexual abuse of students throughout the council revokes the award, the message they send is behavior, she said.

Alumnus of Horace Mann… The Alumni Council 1970s and 80s. “It’s been done before — editing that Horace Mann is no longer a school that fosters The school’s core values are listed in the Family has made little effort to seriously reconsider their Handbook as mutual respect, mature behavior, life of the mind, a secure and healthful environment, and a balance between individual achievement and a caring community.

Barr’s repeated disregard for his responsibilities to the country and constitution should be enough for the school to express opposition to his values, Lynn Novick ‘79 said. Although Novick, who won the award in 2018, wouldn’t normally support the revocation of an honor that was awarded so long ago, the situation warrants change because Barr’s actions have strayed too far beyond the school’s core values, she said. “[Barr] has dedicated himself since becoming Attorney General to serving the interests of Donald Trump, period. He does not serve the American people. He has undermined ‘a secure and healthful environment’ in the justice department and in the country, does not treat others with ‘mutual respect,’ nor does he foster ‘a caring community’ for anyone other than the president,” Novick said. “If the school really believes in these core values, and I hope it does, I don’t see how they can stand by this award to someone who represents the opposite.”

Bondor feels that certain core values — which Courtesy of HM Flickr Barr does exemplify — have been overlooked.

“Have we forgotten about the life of the mind?” EVERYONE SMILE Barr (center), Benjamin (third from left), and their classmates pose for a photo at the Distinguished Alumni dinner in 2011 she said. “The Horace Mann I know values conferring of the Distinguished Achievement the narrative and acknowledging that things have learning and free exchange of ideas but has become independent thought as a tool to aid students Award on AG Barr. They have been conspicuously changed and we can no longer associate our school an indoctrination center for progressive ideology.” to connect with the world around them and slow walking our petition since its inception.” and our values with such a person,” Royer said.

While Rogowsky is disappointed with the accomplish great things. Barr has accomplished In their second open letter, the pair shared two Still, revoking Barr’s award would come with administration’s lack of action, he is heartened by something great by making his way into this emails they had sent to the committee since their complications. Rabbi Michael LaPoff ‘73 said that a the actions of the students who started the petition. position. Surely he has embodied the intellectual meeting on July 16, to which they never received revocation will lead to picking apart the actions of “In this incredibly tumultuous time, with so curiosity and dedication that the HM spirit is a response. The council’s responses to prior all other recipients, leaving no room for mistakes. much upheaval and reckoning, for Horace Mann about.” emails were also unclear and left many questions “You will need to go and look at every award students to take it upon themselves to say, ‘Our Bondor noted several of Barr’s past achievements, unanswered, Royer and Rosberger wrote. If the recipient and examine them through the lens school has a small role to play here’ — I was really including his role in creating programs to combat Council does not make a decision soon, Royer of current political correctness and revoke their proud of that,” Novick said. violent crime, in counter-terrorism activities and Rosberger encouraged former recipients to awards too,” he said. “I’m sure someone can find during the Gulf War, in the Department of Justice’s return their awards, future nominees to decline some problem with Horace Mann. Maybe we need response to the savings and loan crisis, and in the the award, and the administration and Board of to change the name of the school?” deregulation of telecommunications companies in Trustees to reconsider the Council’s legitimacy as

59%

6

THE RECORD NEWS AND MIDDLE DIVISION SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

Students confront new testing options Purvi Jonnalagadda and Clio Rao Staff Writers

Beginning in March and continuing through the summer, the College Board and ACT closed test centers across the country due to safety concerns surrounding COVID-19, leaving many students stressed and unable to take a test.

Usually, colleges require applicants to submit either an SAT or ACT test score, which evaluates particular skills a student may need in college. However, this year, more than 1,400 colleges — including both large research universities and smaller liberal arts schools — have decided to go test-optional because of the numerous cancellations and the number of students unable to test.

“This means that [colleges] will not require test scores from applicants and will not hold it against those who cannot or decide not to submit test scores,” Executive Director of College Counseling Canh Oxelson said. “Hopefully, our students take advantage of this flexibility.”

Max Migdon (12) signed up for the SAT in May and June, but both tests were canceled. “It was

frustrating to have prepared just for the tests to be canceled,” he said.

“While not required, I am anxious that not having a test score will put me at a slight disadvantage because it is one less thing for colleges to grade me on.”

Abigail Morse (12) said that she feels like she cannot compete with another applicant if they score high and she does not have a score, even if tests are optional. “I am slightly worried because I hoped that the score would improve my college application,” she said.

Leyli Granmayeh (12) said she spent copious amounts of time studying for the SAT and is happy with her score after taking the test in December. “Even though it is optional, I think giving colleges more information is always better,” Granmayeh said. She also feels less pressure about her senior year grades because she has an extra data point to which colleges can refer.

In order to help seniors take their tests, the school offers the opportunity to take the ACT on October 6 and the SAT on October 14 during the school day. The school will ensure that adequate social distancing is possible by allocating a larger portion of the campus to testing, and all students and proctors

will be required to wear masks.

Despite the addition of October test dates at ths school, some students are still worried. Morse was initially planning to test in August and therefore did not anticipate the need to take a test in October, but she is now more stressed after her August test was also canceled.

Morse has wanted to take the SAT since before spring break and studied almost an hour a day for the two months leading up to her test in March. At that point, she was unsure about the status of her upcoming test and was anxious about studying for a test that may be canceled. “I was extremely disappointed when my only SAT testing date was canceled because I had worked very hard,” she said. Morse was notified of the cancellation only the day before her test.

In addition, some students have changed their college lists according to their test scores.

Morse said that College Kickstart, an online program that seniors use to determine which schools are reaches, targets, and likelies, asks for two data points: an SAT or ACT score and a student’s unweighted GPA. Morse is currently struggling to use the program without a test score.

Although Rebecca Rosenzweig (12) has a test score, she is unsure if she will submit it. Rosenzweig was able to take the SAT in December, but, wanting to score higher, signed up for tests in May and June, which were subsequently canceled.

The uncertainty about testing during the fall is particularly concerning to Rosenzweig. “I am not sure what to expect, which makes everything a little more stressful,” she said. “It helps that the seniors are all going through it together because we can rely on one another and it is always easier to go through difficult

experiences with others at your side.”

Although Mikayla Benson (12) was also worried about the numerous cancellations, she said it has given her the opportunity to highlight her other skill sets, especially since she is a performer. “As a performer and writer, this has been exciting for me to consider,” she said. Benson has enjoyed writing supplements and the common application personal statement, as they have given her the opportunity to introduce herself in a way that better represents who she is as a student and person, she said.

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

MD removes frees from schedules Arushi Talwar Staff Writer The Middle Division (MD) has temporarily removed free periods from the majority of students’ schedules and replaced them with study halls to promote social distancing, Dean of the Class of 2025 Michelle Amilicia wrote in an email. “The more free periods students have, the more likely they are to congregate in unmonitored spaces and possibly forget the distancing or mask guidelines.”

Head of Middle Division Javaid Khan considered implementing this change long before the school year started. “As we watched the news and saw schools who tried to reopen during the summer, we saw that those who did it wrong [had] students congregating in spaces with no social distancing,” he said.

Since the capacity of common spaces have

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

decreased, there are fewer areas for students to congregate during frees. Allowing students to roam during their frees would have been a recipe for disaster, Khan said.

Though this change may seem like a disappointment to many students, there are many positive sides, Amilicia wrote. “Any chance they have to meet with teachers and get work done is always a benefit.”

After experiencing the first week without frees, James Koplin (7) is happy to be able to focus more on work and have time with his teachers. “The best thing about the change would be teacher availability,” he said.

“Your teacher is right there next to you, and you’re probably doing their homework, so you can always ask a question, and you don’t have to wait for an email,” Julia Lourenco (7) said.

Nikki Pande (8) thinks that having a designated time in the day to finish work is a

significant benefit. “I find it reassuring to know that I have time to catch up on homework or to get some extra studying in,” she said.

Caroline Mignone (6) also said the added study halls force her to complete her work in school, which results in more free time at home. In some of her classes, if someone finishes classwork early, they can start on their homework which is helpful, she said.

Amilicia views this change as less drastic in comparison to the COVID-19 precautions the school has been taking already. “Since COVID is keeping us all at a distance, frees or no frees, their off time would not be as free as they are accustomed to,” she wrote.

Khan noted that other schools used the pod system, in which a group of kids stayed together the entire day and had teachers come to them. At the school, he said this would be difficult, considering the number of academic choices students have. “Because we cannot do pods at Horace Mann, we had to think of an alternative that satisfied the same goal of minimal movement throughout the day.”

When Lourenco first heard that she had study halls in place of frees, she was not bothered by it, as she had previously used her frees to study and read. “I like the study halls better because it’s more of a controlled environment,” she said.

During these study halls, Lourenco tries to do work which requires less concentration, like making flashcards, and then focus more when she gets home. She believes a downside to study halls is that the students have to stay quiet, which eliminates the opportunity to collaborate on projects.

Matthew Brand (7) was not surprised to hear the new changes, since he understood the need to keep everyone contained. Last year, Brand didn’t have frees until the second trimester, so his daily routine isn’t completely new to him, he said.

Mignone also said the change is not too big of a difference from previous years. “I probably would have met with teachers, so instead of

that we have study halls, so we still get to see teachers.”

Similarly, Zach Hornfeld (7) said he wouldn’t be utilizing his time any differently than if the change was not implemented. “I usually just get my work done at school when I have the time and then after I could go around with my friends,” he said. “A few people were disappointed, but I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

Although this isn’t much of a change for him, Hornfeld thinks it could be a beneficial shift for others. “Now, for the people who didn’t take advantage of their frees the right way, they can use them responsibly.”

Still, many students miss the break from school they experienced during their frees.

Last year, Pande enjoyed the break in the day to relax and take a pause from school, whether it was playing sports or getting a snack. “I miss having that free time to get to choose where you spent your time or hang out with your friends,” she said.

Although Lourenco likes the study halls, she wants to be able to leave the school environment during the day. “I wish we could have [study halls] outside so we can breathe some fresh air, so it would be a little more relaxing,” she said.

Although some students might be missing their extra time to relax during their frees, Brand feels as though he has enough time in the day to do so. “For me, my lunch periods are long because I eat quickly, so the time I have after I eat makes up for the time I would have during a free.”

As for teachers, Khan recognizes that they are spread thin with their responsibilities this year. “Hopefully this is not something we do forever, this is just what we need to do right now in this pandemic,” he said. “For a lot of adults this is scary, and they’re bracing through that because they want to make sure that the kids are served, and I am deeply appreciative of that.”

HORACE MANN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

BLACK LIVES MATTER GALLERY opens

loved the idea. At the beginning of August, Hetherington asked if they would put on a show together, he said.

Hetherington said the gallery has two primary goals: to show as much student work as possible and to be relevant and significant to the community at large. “I hope that visitors to this exhibit will connect, will question, and will consider that the people in the photographs are real people,” she said.

When photographing the protests together, Silverman and Kakodkar would follow the protests as they criss-crossed the city, Kakodkar said. They followed protests through the FDR Drive, downtown Manhattan, across the Brooklyn Bridge, and off of the West Side Highway.

The protest that Walsh photographed began at Dyckman Street in Inwood and went all the way down to Harlem on 125th Street, crossing through much of upper Manhattan, he said.

Silverman understands that many people were unable to attend the protests because of the pandemic. “I wanted to bring the

Lauren Ho and Hannah Katzke Staff Writers Crowds fill up Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the streets of New York. Posters in hand demand justice. Police officers watch as protesters link arms in solidarity. This fall, photographs

by Julian Silverman (11), Ailill Walsh (11), Armaan Kakodkar (12), and Campus Photographer Barry Mason are on display in the Fisher Gallery, sharing the stories of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.

Courtesy of Ailill Walsh

Silverman attended and photographed several BLM protests with Kakodkar from the end of May through June. “We were there for several of the tense protests in the early days, but we were also there for the more peaceful protests later on, which were two completely different experiences,” he said.

All of Walsh’s photos are from one protest he attended with his club basketball team. “I’m the only white person on my basketball team, and everyone else is African-American, so I wanted to be there for them and do my part,” he said. “I was going back and forth between shooting photos and chanting with the other protesters.”

After Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly sent an email about the school’s plans to incorporate changes in the school’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work, Silverman reached out to Kelly and offered to share his photographs with those who were unable to attend the protests, Silverman said. Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein, Film/Video and Photography teacher Jordan Rathus, and Visual Arts Department Chair Dr. Anna Hetherington

Courtesy of Julian Silverman

protests to those who weren’t able to attend the protests and allow them to understand what was occurring and why it was occuring,” he said.

Similarly, Walsh aimed to spread knowledge through his photographs. “I wasn’t trying to benefit artistically off the movement, but rather spread awareness to my friends who were isolated or in quarantine and unable to truly see what was happening,” he said.

Silverman doesn’t prepare an agenda before taking pictures but rather takes pictures whenever he sees fit, he said. He aims for viewers to interpret their own story through his pictures.

Kakodkar has a slightly different approach to taking pictures. He took as many photos as possible and even brought extra SD cards to ensure that his camera would not run out of memory. “After taking all the photos, I would go home, hope for the best, and then go through and edit all of them,” he said.

While photographing a protest, Walsh takes photos when someone is holding an interesting sign or wearing a piece of symbolic clothing, when a group of people are doing a motion together, or when there’s an interesting background, he said.

Walsh said there is one big difference between other photos he takes on the streets of New York City and the photos he takes of protests: the history that comes with the photo. Since its founding, the United States has dealt with the legacy of racism, and it’s still a problem today, he said.

“With photographing these protests I’m contributing to history,” he said. “My photos could end up in a U.S. history textbook 50 years from now.”

“All of the photos represent a positive note of the attention that people are providing to the BLM movement,” Kakodkar said. The photos have a powerful message behind them: people want change and are willing to go out and fight for it, he said.

Silverman said the images contain an array of messages: some display unity, while others reveal calmness, anger, exhaustion, and hope, among many other themes. “Unity is the most apparent, as many photographs show people chanting together, but you can also sense fear and anger in the photos as protesters react to police

7 Courtesy of Julian Silverman

officers arriving at peaceful protests in full riot gear.”

Alex Nagin (11), who visited the exhibit with his Voices of Protest class, found the photographs beautiful, as the photographers truly “captured the essence of the protests,” he said. One photo he found particularly moving was of a Black woman hugging a police officer, because he’s used to seeing division between the police and the protesters. “I think it’s really important that we have this exhibit at school because we’re in what I believe to be the second rendition of the civil rights movement,” he said. “It’s good that the school is committed to exploring and discussing this movement both in and out of the classroom.”

Silverman hopes students and teachers will visit the exhibit and continue the conversation on social injustice or begin a new one. “We’re in the middle of something that happens once in a generation, and I think that everyone should be taking notice,” he said.

Just by going to the gallery or by reading more on BLM and why people are protesting in an effort to educate themselves, people can make a difference, Kakodkar said.

Courtesy of Julian Silverman

Courtesy of Armaan Kakodkar

Courtesy of Julian Silverman

Courtesy of Julian Silverman

Courtesy of Julian Silverman

Lions’ Den Record Sports

8

SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

“Hardcore PE is not the priority”: PE reduces contact Mia Calzolaio and Yin Fei Staff Writers This year’s Physical Education (PE) program will promote social distancing, prevent large gatherings by closing off the locker rooms, and will require students to wear masks unless they are performing high-intensity aerobic activities or are 12 feet apart, according to the school’s reopening guidelines for the fall.

The content and intensity of the classes have also been reviewed in order to emphasize both limited physical contact for students and elements of social interaction and physical activity, Director of Athletics, Health, and Physical Education Robert Annunziata said.

Coaches are starting the year with fun and simple exercises like stretching and yoga to allow students to be happy and healthy, Coach Caroline Surhoff said. “We can also add equipment to classes as long as we provide enough for each student and disinfect before and after use,” she said.

Classes will include activities intended to optimize time outside, Upper Division PE Department Chair Amy Mojica said. The classes will range in size, with multiple teachers covering larger groups so that students can spread out and be able to participate in games such as cornhole, bocce, frisbee golf, and tennis, as well as group activities, like body weight exercises, yoga, and pilates. The Athletics Department also designed a golf center on One Acre that has putting and mini golf, she said.

“It’s definitely an adjustment period, but at this point I think the kids are becoming more and more excited to just be together and participate in

something as a group,” Coach Michael Duffy said.

Though the discussion to reinvent the curriculum for the 2020-21 school year began at the start of summer break, the PE Department had been thinking of creative ideas to implement long before the conclusion of HM Online in the spring, Annunziata said.

Every coach has strengths in different areas of PE, so the process of generating a plan involved input from the entire department, Coach Meredith Cullen said.

One of the goals with this year’s PE curriculum is to maintain a stress-free environment. Mojica said the staff is aware of how overwhelming it is to come back to school with masks and classroom separation, so PE will give students a nice break in the day to throw a ball around, spend time with a different group of people, and participate in some physical activity, especially after months of lockdown.

“We are all somewhat scared or nervous about the unknown and how PE or even regular classes are actually going to be in the future,” Cullen said.

“It’s just about trying to get everyone as active as possible within the safety parameters, as well as trying to alleviate all the anxiety.”

Ericka Familia (12) appreciates the time to be more active. “In quarantine, although some of us work out at home, we probably haven’t been able to get the same amount of activity as we would have otherwise,” she said.

The school wants to use the outdoors for as many activities as possible, but weather may pose an issue for PE classes. On days when they aren’t able to be outside, teachers will have to be more resourceful when finding a place to hold class, Mojicia said. Potential indoor locations for PE

include the fitness center, the main gym, the pool deck, and the table tennis center, she said.

Before the year began, students voiced concerns about another challenge they expected to face in PE during the pandemic: masks.

Though Sam Siegel (10) said masks are necessary, he also knows they can be hard to deal with when people need large amounts of air, which might make it difficult to wear one during PE. “Even when I bike outside right now, I always just think about how I am breathing way too heavily to be wearing [one].”

In addition to masks, Siegel said he worries about the weather and wearing modified athletic clothing during the day to compensate for lack of changing rooms. “Despite it being a valiant effort, it might be best to simply suspend PE temporarily,” he said.

However, some students are getting more comfortable with the new activities and expectations after attending class.

Initially, Amanda Katiraei (12) said although she was always confident these measures would be effective in containing the virus, she didn’t know if continuing to have PE would be worth some consequences that could follow. Now, she is enjoying her classes, she said.

“The teachers are very chill and understanding about the fact that a hardcore PE is not the priority at this moment,” Katiraei said. “They don’t expect you to run around a lot, as they are just looking for you to have a good time participating.”

Ashley Chung (11) had her first PE class at the golf center last week. She was excited to start playing mini-golf and spend time outside, she said. “I can see why masks would be an issue if we were doing the same PE exercises as last year, but

Fall sports return to practice Katya Tolunsky Staff Writer As fall sports return with an intramural model, new safety guidelines require athletes to wear masks and social distance at all times throughout practice.

“I’m sure there’s some disappointment and lack of incentive to participate without having interschool competition,” Director of Athletics, Health, and Physical Education Robert Annunziata said.

“But our school is fortunate to have our students here in person, on campus with an opportunity to participate in intramural play. There’s aJackson lot ofFeigin/Photo schools Director not in person, and we are making the best of what we have available to us.”

Athletes will be broken up into cohorts of eight to 10 whenever possible and spread out according to social distance guidelines, Coach

Michael Duffy said.

Coaches will provide mask breaks frequently and encourage the use of individual equipment whenever possible. If shared equipment is needed, it will be disinfected properly, he said.

The Varisty Water Polo team is not permitted in the pool yet, so instead athletes will perform exercises in the fitness center, pool deck, and the observation area. In all of those spaces the students will be spread out, Duffy said. “This is actually providing us an opportunity to strengthen our shoulders, become [more] fit, become stronger and also raise our water polo IQ by working on strategy.”

14 boys and 23 girls are allowed in each locker room at a time, and there will be a monitor at each entrance to ensure that social distancing protocols are followed, Annunziata said. The fitness center has a maximum capacity of 14 people, and the aerobics studio holds eight people.

Varsity Field Hockey goalie Piper Wallace (11) said this season will

GIRLS TENNIS GEARS UP Tennis team socially distances on the court.

because they are accompanied by more relaxed activities, I’m not too worried.”

Similarly, Laine Goldmacher (9) enjoyed her first few PE classes, one of which included playing frisbee golf on One Acre. She found them engaging because they included fun activities that weren’t competitive or difficult and kept people moving, she said.

The classes are running smoothly so far, Duffy said. “It’s still early and so it will be little while until we see how the activities will really work out, but I think the school has put together a good plan [for us] that uses the entire campus,” Duffy said. “It’s been great seeing the kids, and I can tell that they are ready to get back into it after so long.”

Although Cullen knows there will need to be future adjustments in accordance with the progression of the coronavirus and its implications for the school, the school is practicing the safest

Jackson Feigin/Photo Director

HOLE IN ONE! A student putts. methods possible for PE, she said. “I have total faith in our school, faith that if anybody can do this well, we’re going to do it well, and the students are going to do it well.”

serve as an opportunity for the team to improve their fundamental skills. “It should be a time for people to decompress after a long day of school and have fun, as opposed to just being stressed about what our next game is,” she said. “Having it be intramural allows us to still play as if it were a real game without the actual stresses of it being one.”

Some athletes are concerned about the difficulties of wearing a mask while playing sports. Wallace played field hockey over the summer and couldn’t wear her mask because she could barely breathe, she said. “I’m a goalie so I have to wear a helmet, a mouth guard, and a mask,” she said. “It’s not easy.”

In a week, the state’s guidelines will permit the Boys Varsity Soccer team to start playing contact soccer while still wearing masks, Varsity soccer player Lucca Correia (11) said. Until then, all athletes are required to social distance, and the team will mainly be doing drills.

Correia is grateful the school is holding sports despite the new safety precautions. “I appreciate the lengths in which Horace Mann has to go to to make this work, and I think it’ll definitely be worth it,” he said.

The Boys Varsity Football team is not playing contact football this season. Instead, they plan to focus on drills to improve their technique, Varsity Football player Nathan Zelizer (11) said. “We’ll be doing a lot of tackling drills but with pads instead of humans,” he said. “We’re going to try to make sure that this season isn’t just a wasted season.”

Ryan Nikitiadis (9) is worried about the difficulties of staying six feet apart while playing volleyball, she said. “We are usually pretty close together, and volleyball involves a lot of teamwork.”

The Girls Volleyball team is divided into four groups, and each group practices two days a week; one group uses the main gym while the other practices in the Lower School, Destiney Green (11) said.

Everyone on the team has to sanitize their hands before passing the ball, she said.

Since the athletes will be playing against each other instead of other teams, Green thinks the competitiveness within the team will rise.

“But I’m really excited to have something I enjoy to look forward to after school, even if it is different from normal,” she said.

The Cross Country team will meet four days a week and practice for only an hour, since it is difficult and tiring to run in masks, Maya Nornberg (11) said.

Although this season will be different, Duffy is optimistic that his athletes will still improve a lot and enjoy their season, he said.

“It’s definitely gonna challenge us because we are not doing what we typically do, but sometimes adversity brings teams together.”