Issue 22

Volume 118 Issue 22

The Record Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Inaugural poet Richard Blanco hosts workshops Sean Lee and Ayesha Sen Staff Writers This week, former President Barack Obama’s inaugural poet Richard Blanco virtually hosted a three-day poetry workshop on the fundamentals of strong poetry writing.

Blanco read his poem, “Looking for the Gulf Motel” to the attendees, who then reread it, looking for sensory detail. The attendees then discussed those details, the craft of the poem, and the interaction between poet, poem, and reader. In the following meeting, Blanco went over the technicalities of poetry, including the use of line breaks to emphasize certain elements of a poem.

Courtesy of Sean Lee

TELL BY SHOWING Blanco teaches.

Blanco emphasized the importance of technical skills and language in poetry during the workshops. “Besides all this technical mumble jumble, writing and thinking and lines and line breaks and typography and stanzas are at the very essence of poetry because it makes us think differently,” Blanco said. “It makes us hear language differently. It makes us put words on paper differently.”

English teacher Dr. Deborah Kassel took her 11th and 12th grade English classes to Blanco’s threeday workshop because she thought

Blanco’s talent as a poet and his potential would positively affect her students’ development as writers, she said. Furthermore, the study of poetry is an essential component of her English 11 class, she said. “How could I deprive my students of the opportunity of working directly with one of America’s most celebrated poets?”

Arman Azmi (10) attended the workshop because of his own interest in creative writing and to become familiar with Blanco’s work.

“I knew about Blanco because he came to our school once already, but I wasn’t familiar with his work,” he said. “After I went to the first day of the workshop, I was blown away when he read his poem ‘Looking for the Gulf Motel.’”

English teacher Rebecca Bahr took her 12th grade English elective, Writing Nature, to one of Blanco’s workshops on Wednesday, she said.

In the elective, students write or read a significant amount of poetry, so Bahr jumped at the chance to work with Blanco, knowing her class would benefit from his workshop.

Bahr was especially impressed with Blanco’s discussion of senses, she said. Blanco showed the attendees that his poems are 98% sensory details, which Bahr has been discussing with her students.

“Blanco discussed how we, at essence, are biological beings, always rooted in the senses,” she said.

Blanco’s emphasis on the importance of generating a poem with an uncensored flow of words — which can later be structured in a more deliberate way — stood out to Kassel. She was particularly intrigued by Blanco’s inversion of the adage, “show-don’t-tell” into “tell by showing.”

Rachel Zhu (12) was fascinated by the discussion about the extent to which a poet can fabricate details for the sake of artistry for emotion.

“Blanco said something along the lines of ‘It’s true as long as it’s true to you,’ which is immensely inspiring,” she said.

Blanco’s reading of his poems felt more personal and intimate, helping Zhu feel the human connection even more during the workshop, she said.

In one activity, Blanco asked students to write a sensory-based poem about a specific location, as he did in his poem, “Looking for the Gulf Motel,” Bahr said. “I love the way he broke down [the assignment] into steps for the students, but also shared the fact that his first version of the poem was really not very good,” she said. After revision, Blanco used only one sentence from the first draft, Bahr said.

“That is such a good lesson for us — rarely do the poems just pour out of us,” she said. “There is real craft in getting to the finished product.”

Attending the workshop was an extremely positive experience, Zhu said. “The workshop has given me a multitude of insights and perspectives that will cause me to look at [poetry] in a whole new light.”

Courtesy of Keith Renner

record.horacemann.org March 5th, 2021

Courtesy of Adam Casdin

COVID SAFE Renner, his wife, and Casdin exude confidence post-vaccination.

Faculty receive COVID-19 vaccines, new quarantine guidelines follow

Katya Tolunsky Staff Writer Since January 10, the schools’ faculty and employees have been eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. As soon as the local New York health department approves the new Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, employees who received both doses of the vaccine will no longer be required to quarantine if exposed to a positive COVID-19 case, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly said. However, the school will stop this practice if a vaccinated employee becomes infected with COVID-19, Kelly said.

Both the vaccination locations

the Moderna vaccine at the Mott Haven Village Preparatory High School in the South Bronx. Casdin waited in line with fellow teachers for two hours, he said. “There was a certain camaraderie.”

Casdin had no apprehensions about receiving the vaccine. “I have a certain faith in science and I think there was enough scrutiny of the vaccine from outside groups,” he said. Still, Casdin would like to see some hard data in the next few months about the vaccine; specifically, he would like to know whether he is still able to contract COVID-19 and pass it on even if he is asymptomatic.

Like Casdin, History teacher Dr. Ellen Bales did not have any

There is a psychological component to receiving the vaccine, Bienstock said. He now feels slightly more comfortable socializing with teachers, specifically teachers in the history department since they have all been vaccinated.

With respect to the school’s safety protocols and guidelines, nothing is going to change, Kelly said. “We will not be relaxing our protocols, nor will we be encouraging social get-togethers outside of school,” he said. “In addition, we’ll continue to monitor and adjust the need to remain socially distant across all athletic and co-curricular offerings.”

Renner has not changed his

“All of a sudden it was like, ‘I will be able to see my parents soon. Someday there won’t be weird plastic barriers between me and my students. I will delete Zoom from my computer.’”

-Keith Renner and available dosages are limited, Kelly said. There remain quite a few school employees still in search of their first shot, he said.

Some employees and faculty at the school opted out of this round of vaccinations, Kelly said. “The majority of these individuals have well-documented or verbally communicated reasons for doing so,” he added. “Until the vaccination is mandatory, we will continue to encourage but not require the vaccination.”

Ceramics teacher Keith Renner received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx in late January and his second dose in late February. Renner did not experience any major side-effects after receiving the shot. “For a few hours it felt like someone had punched my arm,” he said. “No big deal.”

Renner was surprised by how emotional he was when he received the vaccine, he said. “All of a sudden it was like, ‘I will be able to see my parents soon,” he said. “Someday there won’t be weird plastic barriers between me and my students. I will delete Zoom from my computer.”

English teacher Dr. Adam Casdin received both doses of

apprehensions about taking the vaccine. “The risks of the vaccine are very low compared to the risks posed by a COVID-19 case,” she said. “It is a matter of relative risk.”

Bales received the Pfizer vaccine at the Hospital for Special Surgery on the East Side in January and the second shot in early February.

Bales said the process was easy and that the hospital was extremely organized and professional.

Bales does not plan on becoming more lenient with respect to social distancing guidelines now that she is vaccinated, she said.

“There isn’t yet complete data on whether vaccinated people can infect others, even if they are asymptomatic,” Bales said. “I won’t put other people at risk of a disease that can have very serious and long-term health implications and about which we know little — for obvious reasons — about the long term consequences.”

After receiving both doses of the Pfizer vaccine at Mount Sinai Hospital in East Harlem, History teacher Barry Bienstock did not experience any side effects. Bienstock was eager to be vaccinated, and after receiving both doses of the vaccine, felt comfortable visiting his grandchildren for the first time in a long time, he said.

social distancing behavior or plans since he received the vaccine, he said. “Getting the vaccine is more of a psychological victory to me, but my safety protocols are still very much in place.”

Corey Brooks (11) feels more comfortable attending school now that so many of his teachers have been vaccinated, he said.

Nathan Zelizer (11), however, does not feel more comfortable in school now that teachers have been vaccinated, he said. “The teachers are far more responsible than the students in terms of social distancing, so if I felt worried about contracting COVID at the school, it would have been [from] other students, not the teachers.”

Teachers receiving vaccines is just one piece of the larger puzzle, Casdin said. “At least from my side, the concern was always student-to-student transmission,” he said. “I have the sense that the adults in the community are taking precautions and not traveling or socializing. But I think it’s very hard to do that for a young person, to be completely cut off.”

Although teachers receiving the vaccine cannot hurt, it will take reaching real herd immunity in the community before things will fully normalize, Bales said.

2

THE RECORD OPINIONS MARCH 5TH, 2021

“A step in the right direction”: Coming to terms with my sexuality Anonymous It took me several years to be able to type the word “gay.” Even now, it looks better in quotes — separated from the rest of the sentence. The first time I wrote it into a document, it looked out of place, as if someone had pasted the language in a different font.

I began writing about my queerness in tenth grade, more than five years after I recognized it. Until then, I had never considered my sexuality a topic to be discussed on paper. I had come to terms with what I youthfully named “liking girls,” and I had found a group of confidants with experiences similar to my own. At a young age, my sexuality became one of my most prominent identifiers. I knew — and supposedly accepted — who and how I was. Yet, I could not write about it. To think about queerness — to verbalize it, even — was comfortable, but only because it was fleeting. To write it down was (and is) something entirely new.

My friend once read me a memoir about their sexuality that they had written for English class. I was immediately bewildered: first, because the act registered in my mind as one of bravery; second, because I wondered why I had never considered doing the same. Throughout my time at Horace Mann, I have been assigned plenty of personal essays, self-reflective narratives, and identity poems, yet somehow, not one of these assignments prompted me to discuss my sexuality.

I should be clear: at a place like Horace Mann, submitting an essay about my sexuality would not have

caused me any additional struggle. In my many years at this school, I have never been harassed, oppressed, or mistreated because of my identity.

(It is important to mention that I am fortunate to have had this experience, and it has not been this way for everyone. I am not claiming that this institution is one without embedded homophobia and discrimination. I can only speak of my own experience, one that is likely an exception.) I have had the incredible privilege of being taught by people who are queer, of discussing queer experience in my classes. Sexuality is taught in the Health curriculum, and GSA is a thriving club.

The Katz Library has a comprehensive collection of queer literature for young adults, a section which I visited secretly

It is humiliating to discover something within yourself that is not a part of everyone. It is embarrassing to write (and to read) stories of love and longing that are fueled by their secrecy. My identity is given a separate, secluded space in the library, removed from the ordinary and made uncommon.

I am at a place that accepts my sexuality but does not guarantee my comfort within that identity. I was not afraid to come out because I was scared that someone would push me into a locker or call me a slur, but because I was terrified of the possibility of someone really knowing who I am. I was scared that I would become associated with what Horace Mann teaches its students about queerness — its normalcy, yes, but also its

Vivian Coraci/Staff Artist

each day in seventh grade.

But I came to these shelves in private (never checking out a book, always looking around to make sure I was alone) for the same reason that I never wrote an essay about my sexuality: the expected fear of discrimination was replaced by intense feelings of shame.

uncommonality. I am grateful that this school buys LGBTQ+ fiction for young adults, but I find it hard to grapple with the fact that it needs its own section, far away from the romance a straight student would read. Queerness is an exception, and it should not be. Straight students don’t spend their middle

school years wondering whether the world will accept them on top of worrying about what to wear to school.

Straight students can be accepting and kind and incredible allies, but they will never be entirely understanding. They have never felt this kind of shame.

The first time I came out to someone (my best friend in fifth grade, who was kinder than one could possibly imagine), I could not say the words out loud. After minutes of awkward sniffling, I managed to scribble out my secret (the phrasing too embarrassing to recall) on a piece of tissue, in orange gel pen. In eighth grade, I cried after (not during) an assembly about homophobia. I went to the bathroom and locked the door. It took me almost two years to reveal my sexuality to my favorite teacher at this school. When I did — and when we talked about it — I pretended to be nonchalant, unphased.

In reality, I could not have been more terrified.

This is the third time I am rewriting this piece. For some reason, it is proving to be more difficult than I originally expected. Perhaps it is my obsessive nature — I want to convey exactly what I mean through these words. More likely, however, my perfectionism can be attributed to this pervasive and quiet shame.

When I ultimately finish and publish this piece, I will choose to remain anonymous. To put my name on this would be to acknowledge my queerness — my oddity, my difference — to the student body. I know that I would not be hurt, oppressed, targeted, or bullied in my decision to do so. In fact, I am quite sure that most of my grade is already

aware of my sexuality. Still, I cannot let myself attribute these thoughts to myself. By remaining anonymous, I am protecting myself from the possibility of embarrassment. I may be cognizant, accepting even, of my own identity, but that does not mean I am entirely comfortable with it.

I acknowledge that by remaining anonymous in my publication of this piece I am doing Horace Mann students a certain disservice. Perhaps I am missing the opportunity to support queer students. Maybe I am even taking part in this greater cycle of internalized homophobia. I worry that my anonymity equates to selfishness: if I am not comfortable enough to do this, will anyone be? Still, I cannot help but feel an incessant, internalized worry.

What if they think of me differently?

What if my shame is more valid than my truthfulness?

Let me be clear: I am not trying to send the wrong message. Being ashamed of one’s existence should not be the norm. I am working to get to a place where I can not only type out my experience, but publish it under my own name too. For now, I hope this piece can be a source of comfort to queer students and a moment of education for others. If you are straight, being kind is not your only job: please be cognizant of the sense of normalcy this school has granted you, a normalcy which is so often taken for granted.

If you are queer, it is important to remember: this shame is common, but it is not necessary. I am working towards leaving mine behind, and I suppose writing this down is a step in the right direction.

Pre-planning outfits: Yin Fei’s (11) guide to more positivity

Yin Fei Picture this: Your alarm blares at 8:23 a.m. You finally manage to crawl out from underneath the warmth of your cushy sheets, only to find yourself donning a grey sweatshirt that, from the looks of the coffee stain on the front pocket, you may or may not have worn the previous day. Top it off with a matching pair of oversized pants, and you’re ready to hop on to Zoom for your first class. Sound familiar?

After months of braving quarantine and barely taking two steps out of my house over the summer, I noticed that, as each day passed, I slowly lost the motivation to change from my fuzzy pajamas into an assembled outfit. Jeans and dresses seemed like an impossible task, and I often thought to myself, “Who would actually actually care about what I wear?” This same mentality carried over into online school, and I soon noticed that my laundry basket was overflowing with the same sets of old

t-shirts that were practically falling apart at their seams.

I was bored with my routine clothing choices, yet, spurred by laziness, I also could not bring myself to wear any of the other options in my closet. While transitioning on and off of remote learning, I saw that several of my peers were in the same boat, sporting bed heads and baggy clothes.

Though there is nothing wrong with rolling out of bed and reaching for your favorite hoodie, I found that enacting the same indifferent attitude only prompted me to feel, at best, boring, and, at worst, unproductive. These feelings were exacerbated by my inability to go outside frequently because of COVID-19 and the amount of schoolwork I had.

I was already experiencing the coalescing weight of isolation, procrastination, and imposter syndrome from all the pressures of undergoing junior year during a pandemic, and my static clothing was a reminder that I was in a state of dormancy. I often thought to myself: “If I can not even manage to do something so basic as getting dressed in the morning, what hope do I have of overcoming more daunting obstacles in the future?”

When we returned to school after the winter break, I resolved to make more of a conscientious effort when it came to how I presented myself.

As a semblance of a resolution, I started quickly pre-planning my outfits the night before. Sure enough, it has become something I look forward to whenever the occasion arises. At times, it seems almost like an act of self-care, as it is a nice distraction and a break from schoolwork that I can

Managing Editor Talia Winiarsky Features Henry Owens Emily Shi Vivien Sweet

News Sam Chiang Yesh Nikam Marina Kazarian

Staff

Opinions Maurice Campbell Avi Kapadia Natalie Sweet

Felix Brener/Staff Artist

Volume 118 Editorial Board

A&E Izzy Abbott Abby Beckler Oliver Steinman

Staff Writers Devin Allard-Neptune, Mia Calzolaio Chloe Choi, Emma Colacino, Yin Fei, Lucas Glickman, Claire Goldberg, Tuhin Ghosh, Liliana Greyf, Lauren Ho, Hanna Hornfeld, Purvi Jonnalagadda, Oliver Lewis, Rowan Mally, Simon Schackner, Morgan Smith, Arushi Talwar, Katya Tolunsky, Nathan Zelizer, Max Chasin, Alex Lautin, Jillian Lee, Hannah Katzke, Vidhatrie Keetha, Zachary Kurtz, Clio Rao, Ayesha Sen, Emily Salzhauer, Aden Soroca, Emily Sun, Madison Xu Staff Photographers Kelly Troop, Sophie Gordon, Amanda Wein, Emma Colacino, AJ Walker, Lucas Glickman, Lauren Ho, Sean Lee Staff Artists Eliza Becker, Felix Brenner, Vivian Coraci, Riva Vig

enjoy before I go to sleep.

Some evenings, my friends and I even choose outfits with each other over Facetime, offering advice on how to pair certain items. The following mornings, I wake up excited, wanting to know how my imagined outfits will come to life. The whole process is truly fun, especially since I have always liked exploring the latest trends and experimenting with my style.

This newfound energy transferred to my attitude at school as well. I was proud of my clothes, and my friends took notice too, which made me feel more reassured. A dapper outfit can also grant you that extra boost of confidence or positivity you might need to turn your bad day into a better one.

I no longer encounter that old feeling of weariness that would wash over me every so often.

Ultimately, this increased attention has improved my stress levels and improved my productivity, in tandem with inspiring me to attempt new means of outward expression. Thus, I hope it can apply to other students who find themselves stuck in a similar situation or who believe they have no reasons to wear anything that couldn’t double as a loungewear set.

The process may seem trivial,

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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

but there is also a difficulty in breaking free from those sluggish constraints that I have witnessed in our school community. I understand that in light of “senior slump” or the constant battle against stress and fatigue, putting thought into clothing choices might seem like too much hassle and not enough benefit. However, the challenge in getting properly dressed can serve as a means to overcome other barriers in one’s life.

How will you find yourself effectively tackling crucial responsibilities with the knowledge that you were not able to conquer the small hurdle of wearing a pair of jeans? It might be labeled a simple task, but changing your clothes can signify a tangible shift in mindset, allowing one to feel more in control and more accomplished — two results that can ultimately translate into other sectors of your life.

Now, I do not mean to say that I will somehow come to renounce all comfortable clothing or that I will always opt to dress up. I also want to convey the fact that I do not wish to lecture you or tell you what you can or can’t wear. However, since our school is fortunate enough to attend inperson instruction, it would be a waste not to bust out those super cool corduroy pants or that chic vintage jacket that you had been saving for “just the right time.”

Whether simply switching up your hairstyle once in a while or even adding some unique accessories, I advise students to shed their sweats and take a risk when it comes to showing off their personalized styles, as you might come to find that it has a profound effect on your mood or the way you carry yourself on a daily basis.

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3

HORACE MANN NEWS MARCH 5TH, 2021 Courtesy of Melissa Parento

MAKING MEMORIES Graham and Co-Chair of Annual Fund Catherine Goodstein Wallace at the Annual Fund Kickoff.

A loss in our community:

Remembering board member and equity advocate Lawrence Otis Graham AJ Walker and Emma Colacino Staff Writers After years of advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the community, Lawrence Otis Graham, who held a variety of positions on the school’s Board of Trustees since 2008, passed away on February 19 at the age of 59.

Graham was a parent at HM from 2002 through 2015, and after several years as an active parent volunteer, was asked to join the board in July of 2008.

Graham will leave behind a lasting legacy at the school, particularly in regards to the school’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly said. “I think Mr. Graham’s family would be honored to know that he taught us much about access and the need for a universal definition of justice,” he said. “His work ethic and willingness to be visible by being present and engaged will continue to raise the bar for many for decades to come.”

Graham was born on Dec. 25, 1961 and grew up in Manhattan.

His father, Richard Graham, was a real estate developer, and his mother, Betty Graham, was a social worker. In 1967, Graham and his family moved to White Plains where Graham attended White Plains High School. Upon graduating from high school, Graham attended Princeton University, where he wrote three guidebooks about getting into college.

After graduating from Princeton University in 1983, Graham attended Harvard Law School where he met his wife, Pamela Thomas. Graduating from law school in 1988, Graham became an attorney at the Manhattan law firm Cuddy & Feder. In addition to working as a corporate and real estate attorney, he also authored

fourteen non-fiction books about education, race, and politics. His last book, titled “The Senator and the Socialite: The True Story of America’s First Black Dynasty,” details the story of Blanche Bruce, the second Black U.S. senator and the first to be elected to a full term.

In 1992, after Graham was already a partner at a law firm, he omitted his degreesfrom his resume and took a job as a waiter at the Greenwich Country Club in Connecticut; Graham detailed this experience in a cover New York Magazine article titled “Invisible Man.” “Quite frankly, I got into this country club the only way that a Black man like me could,” he wrote. “As a $7-an-hour busboy.”

The article recounted the racism, sexism, and anti-semitism Graham encoutered while working at the club, and was one of his most influential pieces.

Other works of Graham’s include “Members of the Club: Reflections on Life in a Racially Polarized World,” a collection of essays and other pieces of immersive journalism including “Invisible Man,” which was published in 1995. One of Graham’s best- known books is “Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class,” which was labeled as a New York Times Notable Book.

Thomas said that the through-line in all of Graham’s writing is trying to help people who are not Black understand what that actually feels like, she said. “He wanted people to understand that when they look at someone Black who had achieved so much, they shouldn’t assume it was easy.”

As a member of the Board, Graham’s writings were reflected in his diversity and equity work for the school. He was instrumental in the creation of the annual Fall Gathering, a schoolwide event to support diversity by allowing families

Japan Day

to interact with one another casually as well as participate in discussions hosted by the school’s parent and student affinity groups. “Larry strongly believed that if prospective families were given the opportunity to meet the greater HM community, they would come to understand our unwavering commitment to DEI [Diversity, equity, and inclusion],” Director of Development Melissa Parento P’22 said.

Graham also supported the school’s Student Assistance Fund (SAF), a fund created to provide students with equal access to opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom and eliminate disadvantages based on economic standing. Graham aided the fund through consistent annual donations, Parento said. “If there was ever a shortfall, Dr. Kelly could always call Larry to fill the gap or fund a student’s experience.”

Additionally, Graham supported the SAF through encouraging other parents and alumni to support the assistance fund, Kelly said. “He also encouraged the school to consider reimbursing a broader array of expenses, such as athletic gear, international travel and technology.”

In addition to being a lawyer and author, Graham was a political analyst for News 12, a regional cable news television channel in the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, he ran for a New York seat in the House of Representatives in 2000 but ultimately lost. Graham was also the chairman of the Westchester Country Police Board, and served on the boards of the Red Cross of Westchester, the Westchester Holocaust Commision, the Princeton Center for Leadership Training, and the Jack & Jill Foundation.

Graham joined the Board of Trustees in 2008, and served as Chair of the Annual Fund, the school’s yearly campaign to raise money in

on the school’s Board of Trustees, Kelly said. “He pushed us, all of us, to do better and be better, and he had zero interest in favoring any one group over another,” Kelly said.

Like Kelly, Board Chair Larry Grafstein P’11 P’12 P’15 said that Graham contributed tremendously to the board over the years. “A highly valued member of our Executive Committee, he was a wonderfully positive and energetic presence who leaves a profound and powerful legacy at our school. We are devastated that we lost him far too soon but will always remember and be inspired by him.” Kelly and the Board of Trustees are planning a tribute to Graham to honor his memory, Grafstein said.

Graham was specifically an asset to the Development Committee of the Board of Trustees, Parento said. “In recent years, he would request to be the Trustee Liaison for parents in our Three’s program, saying that he loved sharing the excitement of families who were just starting their HM journey,” she said. “We, of course, were thrilled to have him take on this role, as he was one of the warmest, most inclusive members of our community and immediately made our new families feel welcomed.”

Courtesy of Melissa Parento

NATURAL LEADER Graham speaks during his 2000 run for Congress. lead different committees as well, Friedman said. “At board meetings he asked probative questions to anyone presenting to the Board in a professional demeanor yet highly focused on the issue at hand,” he said.

“He was unafraid to follow up if the answer received was unclear,” he said.

Amanda Salzhauer P ’18 ‘20 ‘23, who currently serves on the Board of Trustees, met Graham in 2006 as Nursery Division parents, and knew him as a friend before becoming colleagues on the Board, she said.

Salzhauer greatly appreciated Graham’s contributions to the Board.

“He was a positive force,” she said.

“Graham was incredibly engaged and always enriched board discussions.”

Graham had a meaningful effect

One of Friedman’s lasting memories of Graham is the way Graham supported him and offered encouragement while Friedman helped the school navigate its response to child abuse allegations that surfaced in 2012, Friedman said.

“To this day, I believe if it were not for Larry and a few other trustees, I am not sure I could have maintained the emotional or physical strength to get through the challenges we faced,” he said. “Those times showed what he was made of: intellectual honesty, endless energy to do what he thought was right and an ability to support and show empathy to others when they needed it.”

12th graders attend Service Learning Day that has been emphasized this past school year.

“The Class of 2021 is at a pivotal moment in their high school careers where many are balancing nostalgia, the present, and The senior class attended a virtual Service hopes for the future,” Director of Center Learning Day on Thursday, which began for Community Values and Action Dr. with a keynote presentation from April De Kimberly Joyce-Bernard wrote. “There will Simone, included alumni-hosted discussions be an opportunity for the 12th graders to about issues regarding accessibility, wellness, further explore service-learning through a and the environment, and ended with a critical social justice lens as they consider the reflection led by author Jason Reynolds. historical and current inequities that appear The theme for Service Learning Day in systems and policies in our own Bronx was “Exploring Justice, Hope and Healing community.” through Community Partnerships,” an idea

Lucas Glickman and Simon Schackner Staff Writers

Scan the QR code with your camera app to be directed to the virtual Japan Day exhibition webpage where you will find performances, demonstrations, presentations and more, all brought to you by the students of the Japanese Classes.

support of the daily operating budget, since 2010. Under his leadership, the Annual Fund contributed to the success of the $100 million HM in Motion campaign, which included the construction of Lutnick Hall, Prettyman Hall, Friedman Hall, and the Loria Aquatic Center.

Graham was particularly fond of working with the Nursery Division and often was the Trustee speaker of the Nursery Division’s Back to School Night, Director of Annual Giving Kristen Pietraszek said.

Former Board Chair Steven Friedman ’72 knew Graham would be an asset to the Board after meeting him at a lunch early in Friedman’s first term. “He seemed to me to be a team player who could work with other trustees and always represent the Board well,” he said.

Working with Graham was an “absolute joy,” Friedman said. “When presiding over [board] meetings, I just let Larry be Larry,” Friedman said. “He wanted and received transparency as did I, and everything he asked or said came from a good place.”

Graham was always an important member of the committees he served on and even came to chair and

De Simone is the co-founder of Designing the We, an organization that works to co-create an ecosystem of social change through the design of effective collaborative processes. During her presentation, De Simone displayed an interactive exhibit titled “Undesign the Redline,” which was produced to help students explore the ways in which policies in the Bronx contributed to inequity and concentrated poverty that disproportionately impacts communities of Black people, Indigenous people, LatinX people, and People of Color, the Center for

see Service Learning Day page 4

4 from Service Learning Day page 3 Community Values & Action (CCVA) wrote in an email to the senior class before the event.

Students then explored topics such as education equity, electoral and legislative advocacy, environmental justice, immigration policies, and the opportunity gap between individuals through workshops. Each student had the option of attending one of six workshops. April De Simone continued her dialogue about undesigning the redline in one workshop. OKO Farms, Roads to Success, and Summer on the Hill — all of which are nonprofit organizations — partnered with CCVA to run three more of the workshops, and the final two workshops were hosted by alumnae Zarina Iman ‘18 and Lutie Brown ‘18.

Through these workshops, the senior class engaged in discussions and activities with the school’s longstanding community partner agencies and alumni, Joyce-Bernard wrote. They explored relevant topics that influence our everyday landscape, such as educational equity, electoral and legislative advocacy, environmental justice, immigration policies, and the opportunity gap, she wrote.

“At the Roads to Success workshop, we discussed how to solve and raise awareness for educational inequities, which is something we don’t normally don’t spend time thinking about and reflecting upon at Horace Mann,” Lita Crichton (12) said.

OKO Farms practices and promotes aquaponic awareness as a sustainable farming method to help mitigate the impact of climate change while increasing food security in New York City, according to its website.

Summer on the Hill aims to further the education of promising, low-income public school students from The Bronx, Washington Heights, and Harlem, according to their website.

Lutie Brown ’18 led the Taking Action for Social Justice workshop, which aimed to engage individual students about the issues that matter to them. During her time at the school, Brown served on the inaugural Service-Learning Committee, which helped the school transition from community service to service-learning through the design and implementation of a projectbased service-learning requirement.

“I hope that everyone comes out of [Service-Learning Day] with action steps and [that] everyone is able to have these important open dialogues with one another and brainstorm ways to actually get involved themselves and feel empowered to do so as individual 12th graders going out into the world,” Brown said.

Eli Scher (12) signed up for Brown’s workshop on community activism and social justice. “Brown reiterated that individual actions, even if you don’t feel like you have a lot of power within a system, can inspire change and others,” Scher said. “Activism is often talked about in very general terms, as we aren’t given specific ways to reach out, but [Brown] provided us with very specific ways to accomplish our goals.”

Zarina Iman ’18 ran a workshop on refugees and immigration. Iman began her work with refugees through an informal out-of-school program during her junior year. At the University of Pennsylvania, she continued her work in this field by joining a club dedicated to helping refugees, and after her first year, she joined the board where she currently serves as the finance chair, Iman said.

At the end of the event, New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds led a reflection with the students.

The reflection allowed the senior class to think deeply about their experiences with service-learning at their time at the school while furthering their curiosity to learn about ways in which public purpose, community engagement, and their own motivation can amplify the initiatives within their communities, Joyce-Bernard wrote.

Courtesy of Sarah Sun

EQUITABLE DESIGN De Simone explores mindset of equity.

THE RECORD NEWS MARCH 5TH, 2021

Mock Trial advances to elimination rounds in NYSBA Mia Calzolaio Staff Writer On Tuesday, Mock Trial’s plaintiff team won its case against James Madison High School in the preliminary round of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) tournament. This win followed the defense team’s win against Jamaica High School one week ago. These consecutive victories advanced the club past the preliminary rounds and into the following round of 32, President Ericka Familia (12) said.

This year’s case centers around a former child prodigy who was suing her parents after they had invested the profits from her early musical career into a fraudulent company, losing all the money they had saved for their child. During the trial, the plaintiff team argued that the parents had mismanaged their child’s money and were obligated to reimburse her, while the defense argued that the investment was well-intended at the time, Avi Rao (10) said.

After the club presidents, Familia, Rachel Kuhn (11), and Sabrina Freidus (12), received the case assignment and handed out the witness and attorney roles shortly after Winter Break, the club began work on their case, Freidus said. “It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “It’s a lot of work to create a case because you have to come up with the story that you’re going to tell, and then you have to write your individual materials too.”

The club presidents stressed organization this year, meeting about twice a week after school as a club and then in smaller groups in the weeks leading up to the tournament to write and practice witness affidavits and lawyer examinations. The effort ultimately paid off, Familia said. “We were able to form a very cohesive team this year,” she said. “We all work very well together and that certainly contributed to our success.”

The fact that many members of the team had competed in Mock Trial tournaments in years prior also contributed to the positive team dynamic, Freidus said. Since a large portion of the team understood the structure of the trial, the group was better

able to comply with the formalities of the event and act professionally.

The opposing side acted aggressively, pressing witnesses for answers and constantly objecting, Rao said. This created a rocky start to the trial, as after a particularly confusing question, one of the school’s team’s witnesses was almost impeached — meaning their answer to an examination question was inconsistent with their affidavit, Juliette Shang (11) said.

However, the school’s team was eventually able to use the opposing team’s aggressiveness to their own advantage. “We proved to be calm, and we respected their witnesses more, so I think that was a big factor, that we were more professional,” Rao said.

Another challenge the team has faced both in this trial and throughout the year was the new online format of the event, Jared Contant (10) said. Over Zoom, it is harder to make impressions on judges and speak persuasively; a major challenge for the club was figuring out how to recreate the process of a case online.

In addition to the new online format, the club’s presidents also made the decision to create two teams within the club: an inter-school team that only competes in scrimmage trials. and a NYSBA competition team that competes in rounds of the NYSBA tournament like the one on Tuesday, Kuhn said. This setup benefits the club, as the two teams — both with a plaintiff and a defense — allow the members to expand their capacity

for competition — a Mock Trial team is only allowed to have 12 competitors at any given time and the current combination of teams allows for 24 members.

This change also allows new members of the club to develop their skills before participating in real competition, so those members and the NYSBA competition group will both be stronger in coming years, she said.

While the inter-school group did not compete in the most recent rounds, they played a role in the club’s meetings and preparation for the case, Freidus said. For example, she incorporated parts of the closing statement from the inter-school team into her own work. “There have definitely been ideas going back and forth,” she said.

After winning the trial, the team came together in a collective Zoom call to debrief and spend time bonding over the events of the trial, Contant said. “We can just sort of laugh at all of the funny quotes that come out from the trial because everyone’s trying to project themselves as being more formal, but at the same time, some casual vocabulary is going to come out and mix with the legal speak in a funny combination of ways.”

Winning the trial was not only a relief but rewarding as well, Familia said. Since their competitors were so strong, she feels that the team was able to gain additional skills that will hopefully help them in future trials.

Courtesy of Mock Trial

OBJECTION! Mock Trial team poses in merchandise.

Classics Society competes at Annual Princeton Certamen Purvi Jonnalagadda and Allison Markman Staff Writers Last Saturday, three teams of four students from the school’s Classics Society competed virtually at the Princeton Certamen, a Classics competition, and nearly reached the tournament’s final rounds.

The competition followed a triviastyle format with each team buzzing in to answer a question, said Steve Yang (10), a member of the intermediate team.

There were 20 toss-up questions which any member of any team could buzz in to answer. When a member of the team correctly answered a toss-up, they received the chance to answer two bonus questions, said Classics Society vice president Nina Gaither (12), a member of the advanced level team composed of seniors. Teammates could discuss their thoughts on the bonus questions before giving a final answer. Of the three teams, none were able to proceed to the final rounds, but the competition was close, Yang said.

The morning began with a presentation from Professor Dan-el Padilla Peralta, an associate professor of Classics at Princeton University. Competition began directly afterwards.

Hanzhang Swen (10) found Peralta’s opening speech engaging. “Professor Peralta talked about the lack of access to the Classics world,” she said. “I realized how privileged we are at HM because

anyone at HM can take a Latin or Greek class. Other people don’t have these opportunities.”

Once the competition began, the members of the Classics Society were split into three teams of four. One member from each team was assigned to studying pre-imperial Roman history, post-imperial Roman history, mythology, or grammar, Nick Butera (11), who competed on the advanced level team of juniors, said.

All of the members of each team thoughtfully engaged in group discussions and collaborated to answer the question, Butera said. His most memorable moment of the tournament was his team’s final round, in which they competed and lost by just a few points.

The competition ran fairly smoothly, Yang said. One memorable moment for him was when a question about togas (a garment worn in Ancient Rome) arose. His team had discussed the exact same question in class a few days before the competition, so they answered it correctly, he said.

This was Swen’s first Certamen, and she meticulously prepared for it with the club in a Saturday study session leading up to the competition. After discovering her passion for the language this year, she decided to attend the tournament, she said.

During the study session, the club reviewed Certamen questions from previous years and quizzed each other, Yang said. “When there were questions we didn’t know, we would then search it

up to learn more about it.”

To prepare himself for the Ceratamen, Yang also looked at the school’s Latin textbook and another book titled “Ancient Rome: A New History,” he said.

Butera focused on grammar and used both materials from his Latin class such as past homeworks, his textbook, and the Perseus Digital Library to prepare for the competition.

This year’s Certamen differed from last year’s in-person competition, as the teams had to grapple with the online format, which caused difficulties because when two people attempted to speak simultaneously neither contestant could be heard, Yang said.

Because of the online format, the team also did not bond as much as they would have if they went to Princeton to compete, he said. “Last year we woke up very early and boarded a NJ Transit train to Princeton,” he said. “We had buzzers, a live Keynote presentation, and much team-bonding during lunch and on the way to and from Princeton. This year, because of the pandemic, all of the inperson aspects were gone.”

Butera, who has taken Latin and Ancient Greek at the school, said that he helped his team out with the bonus questions while also improving his knowledge of Roman history, mythology, and Latin grammar.

“Just being able to learn from team members and others was a great experience,” Yang said.

HORACE MANN FEATURES MARCH 5TH, 2021

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Urban Escape: Students’ Favorite Parks Van Cortlandt Park Arushi Talwar Staff Writer

For most of my time at the school, Van Cortlandt Park (VCP) was nothing more than a view from the cafeteria or an occasional Service Learning Day excursion. This past summer, however, the park has held countless memories throughout my pandemic experience.

In the midst of these few months in the closeddown city, everyone’s already non-existent social lives took a hard hit, and the prospect of a fall in quarantine was on the horizon. Once school started, I began biking to school each day through VCP to avoid public transit.

Every weekday in the fall, I would bike through the VCP bike path overlooking the lake as the sun was rising. There was something therapeutic about the serenity of the park at 7 a.m. Despite the fact that it is a 15 minute trip from my home, this journey was one of the first few experiences I had with the park. The bike path hosts a range of views, all mere minutes away from each other.

Running adjacent to the VCP golf course, the path stretches across the expansive landscape of the park, filled with lakes and fields. Biking alone,

or even with friends, is a COVID-safe way to get the most out of the outdoor experience.

The Van Cortlandt Lake along this path has benches and grassland perfect for socially-distant picnics, like the one I had for my birthday back in September. There are walkways on either side of the water, where some people fish when the weather is warm enough. On one side of the lake, two trees are hot commodities for those who bring hammocks to the park and make the most out of the beautiful view. It’s a close walking distance from the 1 train stop at 242 Street and secluded enough to stray away from the crowds.

Even during the school year, I found myself spending a lot of time at VCP. A few months ago, back when it was warm enough, Alex Nagin (11) and I played tennis on the courts closest to the school. These courts are always empty if you go directly after school ends, and it’s one of the few exhilarating and safe activities you can still do during the pandemic. The courts are surrounded by beautiful foliage peeking out from the fences, and it feels as if you are miles away from the bustle of the city.

The field, formally called “Parade Ground,” a few feet away from the courts, is perfect for

VAN CORTLANDT LAKE People gather by the lake on a warm and sunny day. throwing around a frisbee or softball, or maybe good.” Juliette Shang (11), AJ Walker (11), and I even hosting another picnic. (There’s no such sometimes come to the field after school, sit on thing as too many picnics!) Across Broadway, our backpacks, and take in the panoramic views Fisher Hall dominates the western view and the of the park. With some Broadway Joe’s pepperoni sun reflecting off of the glass windows is a sight pizza or Lloyd’s carrot cake, what’s better than a that will make you sit back and think, “life is Friday afternoon tasting menu?

North Woods, Central Park

Riverside Park Jade Ciriello Staff Writer

Courtesy of Arushi Talwar

Emily Sun Staff Writer

I heard the North Woods before I saw it. Between the rustling leaves that lined the park road there was the sound of water crashing on rocks. I followed it to a waterfall that smoothed over uncut boulders, where a snapping turtle lumbered down the stream on wrinkled talons before it slipped into the water’s clear depths. “Huddlestone Arch,” a sign read.

The North Woods is 40 acres of forest tucked between 101st and 110th Street: a manmade Adirondacks in the middle of Manhattan. Dubbed the most secluded area of the park, it’s easy to forget you’re in the city when car horns fade to bird chirps and the clatter of construction is muffled by their flapping wings.

Glen Span Arch marks the southern border of the woods. A stream called the Loch flows below the arch and threads through the forest with a river valley named the Ravine on either side. There, you can hike on trails, snap photos, walk your dog, grab a pair of binoculars and birdwatch, or look for other flora and fauna — I once found a chipmunk scurrying about the undergrowth with its cheeks full of hickory nuts while a Scarlet r o t Tanager flittered past on red wings. c ire rt D im/A The forest consists mainly of pin oaks and black cherries, whose dense K n e Laur leaves blot out the sky. There are also American elms, distinguishable by their twisting branches, and sweetgum, which bears spiked fruit and star-shaped leaves. In autumn, red, orange, yellow, and purple foliage flutters from trees to the forest floor.

By winter, the branches of trees are bare, letting the sun filter through the dark bark. After snowfall, the trees look like they have been dipped in powdered sugar, and the Loch is licorice black. If you go to the woods at sunrise, you can see the first light wreathe the snow in golden halos and breathe in air so sharp you can feel it press a cool palm to the back of your windpipe.

With spring come the flowers that dot the Ravine paths. Find the orange Turk’s cap lily flower, and you might catch a hummingbird drinking nectar from its downward-facing stamen. Look for

After months spent in quarantine, I finally felt safe around others when COVID-19 cases started to drop in New York City over the summer. That’s when I walked past the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument, which is located on 89th street in Riverside Park.

The monument is a tall cylindrical marble structure with many different carvings and sculptures surrounding it. It is also surrounded by benches and a series of steps that look out over the Hudson River. The monument commemorates Union soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument is the perfect place to do homework, have lunch with friends, and walk around. The monument is a charming place, and it is not usually bustling with people. Especially during the warmer months, it was always a great Courtesy of Henry Owens

SOLDIERS’ AND SAILORS’ On the edge of the park lies this monument. location to relax and get some fresh air after being cooped up inside all day.

Compared to the Soldiers’ and the Sailors’ monument, Riverside Park as a whole is much more lively and busy. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful places to take a walk in New York City.

I love seeing children ride their bikes and watching families play catch with their dogs.

One of my favorite places to visit in the park is the Boat Basin, which is located at 79th street and serves as a site for many different kinds of boats. During the summertime, the Boat Basin is often crowded, but I always enjoyed going there with my family and friends. My friends and I would often go to dinner, stroll around, and play softball and soccer there.

I also love to take my dog for a walk through the park. I have always found happiness in watching my dog play, chase squirrels, and try to run up to other dogs and people. Seeing others jog through the park, look at the river, and have family time also brings me joy because I saw that people were still able to enjoy their lives during such a difficult time.

Beyond offering an opportunity to get some exercise and get out of the house, the park is a great place to feel calm and escape from everything going on in the world. Walking around always relaxed me and alleviated any stress I had.

In my experience, exercise has been a great way to distract me from any worries or pressure I might feel in my life, and I was very grateful to find a park where I could go during such a trying time for many people.

Courtesy of Emily Sun

THE LOCH A beautiful winter day in the North Woods.

Virginia bluebells in their pink and violet clusters, and the bumblebees with their heads stuck in the trumpet-shaped blooms. The maroon skunk cabbage releases the smell of rotting carrion when disturbed, so it is best to steer clear of those.

On summer mornings, you can listen for bird calls and try to spot them in the canopy. A low coo is the mourning dove, with its dusk colored chest and grey-tipped tails. Black-throated green warblers tweet in seven successive screeches, identifiable by the neon yellow patch around their eyes. If you’re lucky, you might even hear a red-tailed hawk — their long “caw” mimics how they dip through the air on wingspans over a meter wide.

As twilight approaches, watch the sun glint off the Loch. This hour is my favorite: when the water mirrors the pink-dusted clouds and trees that lean over the edge as the birds soften their song before the night.

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

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HORACE MANN LIONS’ DEN MARCH 5TH, 2021

SKI

Courtesy of HM Flickr

Sofia Kim Contributing Writer

Malcolm Furman Contributing Writer

TABLE TENNIS

During in-person practices at the start of the season, the Table Tennis Team completed drills with and without a paddle on the Grasshopper at the Lower Division campus, Avi Kumar (10) said. The practices would often start with running, conditioning drills, and stretching, and then the team would transition into playing games against each other.

After returning from HM Online, the team played table tennis in tents on the tennis courts. The change in environment was a challenge for the team, Jiyon Chatterjee (10) said. The lights in the tent had a tendency to flicker on and off, frustrating those who were playing matches, he said.

“Coach Surhoff and everyone involved managed to make it fun by constantly evolving games, tournaments, and mixing up the kinds of tournaments we played,” Chatterjee said. The team played bracket tournaments, round-robins, five-point tournaments, and a variety of different games.

As athletes were unable to continue with normal drills during HM Online, they worked on technique and skills by following online instructional videos, Surhoff said. She found the videos to be a silver lining in a challenging season, as the team did not view online material when practicing in person. The athletes also performed shadow strokes to practice their technique and spin, in addition to core work and footwork, Surhoff said.

“We didn’t play any games against other schools, but we played against each other,” Kumar said. He said that he and the rest of the team improved and he was glad that the team had the opportunity to compete against one another.

On the last day of the season, the Varsity Table Tennis team held an awards ceremony and a raffle for prizes. “It was a really good way to cap the season and a good way to reflect on what we did,” Kumar said.

Since there were no seniors on the team this year, Surhoff looks forward to keeping the entire team for next year’s season.

WINTER SPORTS:

SEASON RECAP SWIM Sophie Q Li Contributing Writer During this year’s swim season, only about half of the 40-member team was able to practice each day, and of those athletes, only eight were able to be in the pool at one time, Coach Michael Duffy said.

Ari Salsberg (12) found this season challenging because athletes’ physical separation translated to less social interaction. “It was incredibly difficult because what makes the swim team so unique is the bond that all of the members have,” he said. “However, I’m glad we at least got to swim and stay safe.”

During the 10-day cycle, every swimmer practiced five times. To ensure that each athlete had the opportunity to swim with as many teammates as possible, the groups of swimmers frequently rotated, Salsberg said.

Athletes were assigned a specific stroke to practice while in the pool,

BASKETBALL “Prior to realizing that we weren’t going to have a season, our goal was to win a championship this year,” Boys Basketball Coach Tony Wright said.

Though the basketball teams could not play traditional games, the athletes on both the Boys and Girls teams gave this season their all, Wright said. “These kids took it and strived and continued to give the same effort, if not better, and every day they came in and they worked their tails off.”

As in a typical year, the Girls and Boys teams practiced separately, Ceci Coughlin (10) said. The teams were assigned different time slots in the Upper Gym, as the Lower Gym was unavailable.

During practices, each player was given their own sanitized ball and played games that did not require them to be in close contact with one another, Coughlin said.

Lauren Kim/Art Director

Lauren Kim/Art Director

Courtesy of HM Flickr

Zachary Kurtz Staff Writer

In previous years, the Ski Team regularly practiced and raced at Campgaw Mountain Ski Area and Winter4Kids. However, due to this year’s safety precautions, the team’s practices took place either outside or in the fitness center, Coach Rawlins Troop said.

A typical in-school practice consisted of running laps and core workouts on Four Acres, Zhang said. While practicing online, the team worked out together a few times a week. Their workouts included yoga and watching exercise videos on Youtube, William Leung (12) said.

Zhang’s goal for the season was for the team to bond, as that made her past experiences memorable, she said.

Throughout the season, athletes bonded by playing various games, such as soccer and kickball, Leung

Everyone was able to improve in their skills, Eddie Mantz (12) said. “We were not able to play against each other or another school the whole year but we managed to get better through individual dribbling and shooting drills.”

Mantz found it challenging to keep working hard each day knowing that the team was not going to have a normal season. Still, he became a better shooter and scorer due to the drill time, he said. Mantz motivated himself to keep working as he knew that this was his last year with the team and he did not want to take the time for granted.

Girls Coach Ray Barile wanted all members of the team to enjoy themselves and improve their skills this season. During practices, the team completed shooting and dribbling drills to improve each individual’s game, he said.

“Everybody seemed to enjoy being with each other [and] working hard,” Barile said.“It tells a lot about a team when they want to be together.”

Lauren Kim/Art Director

said. “Being able to have that feeling of working together and winning together was missing from the season without skiing, so kickball and soccer helped us get to know each other better.”

Troop appreciated the positive attitude the team — especially the seniors — brought to practice every day. “I would like to thank my seniors, as they’ve been with me for four years,” he said. “I will miss them terribly.”

The team closed out the season with a kickball game against the Squash Team.

“It was a great way to end the season, being able to have a group huddle after practice and work together as a team,” Zhang said.

Though the inability to ski together was a disappointment, the team had a fun season and is excited to continue next year, Lynn Egan (9) said.

“If you join ski, it’s implied you are joining a family,” Catherine Zhang (12) said.

Isha Krishnamurthy (10) said.

Athletes on the pool deck used jump ropes, worked out with stretch cords, used Vasa trainers — machines that simulate swimming — and completed core workouts, Duffy said.

In addition to workouts, online practices included team bonding and learning about the mental aspects of swimming, Salsberg said.

Krishnamurthy hoped to maintain her times from last season, but had difficulty doing so due to COVID-19 protocols, she said. However, she is grateful that she was still able to swim.

“This year’s goal was just getting to cherish an activity we love, when there are so many more serious things going on,” she said.

Duffy credited the seniors for their leadership. “They did an unbelievable job of keeping everybody’s spirits up and the morale up for the whole team,” he said.

“The tradition at Horace Mann swimming is to work hard and always have fun,” Duffy said. “We did the best we could [this season].”

Lauren Kim/Art Director

Courtesy of HM Flickr

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THE RECORD LIONS’ DEN MARCH 5TH, 2021 Courtesy of HM Flickr

Nia Huff Contributing Writer

FENCING

From exciting online practices to Coach Julio Benjamin consistently cracking jokes, this year’s fencing season was memorable, Jorge Orvananos (9) said.

This season, athletes on the Varsity Fencing Team practiced on different days depending on whether their weapon was sabre, épée, or foil, Abby Beckler (12) said. During practices, athletes were unable to use gear such as jackets, lamés, and masks due to sanitary concerns, so they were unable to fence one another for the majority of the season.

“With all the individual weapon practices, we were able to bond in our individual teams,” Beckler said.

Athletes practiced in individual groups in order to minimize the number of people in one space and allow the coaches to focus on

one weapon per day. However, once a week, the entire team practiced together to keep the camaraderie high and to work together to improve their skills, Karolina Fic (9) said.

Despite the restrictions, Benjamin and Coach Errol Spencer tried their best to keep practices as normal as possible, Orvananos said.

When practices were on campus, athletes practiced their footwork, blade work, and enhanced their overall skills. However, during HM 2.0, practices were centered around conditioning, stretching, and discussing what to do when they returned to school, Spencer said.

During the final practice of the season, the athletes fenced one another in a bout for the first time all season, where they had the opportunity to use an electric fencing strip and practice their technique, Fic said.

INDOOR TRACK Mira Bansal Contributing Writer Although COVID-19 made this season difficult, the Track Team made the most of it, Coach RJ Harmon said.

The two teams separately built endurance and speed by running laps on Four Acres and by practicing how to start sprints, Caroline WillerBurchardi (9) said.

“We pushed each other to get personal bests,” Logan Dracos (10) said.

Willer-Burchardi’s goals for the season were to gain endurance, work on sprinting, and strengthen her body and core. Despite spending weeks online at a time, Willer-Burchardi was able to meet her goals by practicing sprints and

testing her endurance through online workouts, she said.

Dracos enjoyed playing football during one of this season’s practices, but the highlight for him was bonding with underclassmen, he said.

“I was glad that the team was able to work on chemistry by participating in team bonding exercises.”

Athletes still participated in team traditions this year. Each year, the Girls Team does Baking with Brenda, an activity where they make donuts with Brenda Cohn, Harmon said.

This was a highlight for Burchardi, as it allowed her to have fun with her teammates.

Bonding with them was especially important to her because, as a freshman, she was new to the team.

Lauren Kim/Art Director

Courtesy of HM Flickr

WRESTLING

Courtesy of HM Flickr

Rani Ogden Contributing Writer The Wrestling Team found creative ways to improve this season while abiding by social distancing guidelines, Coach Gregg Quilty said.

The team was divided into four groups, labeled A, B, C, and D, which were determined by age and skill level, Elias Romero (11) said. Each day, two of the groups would practice, as the wrestling room was unable to accommodate everyone.

Wrestlers either went to the Fitness Center to work out with weights and Bulgarian bags or to the wrestling room to practice their skills and technique. During their hourlong wrestling room sessions, athletes were not allowed to make physical contact with one another, but team members “shadow wrestled” while standing 12 feet apart, Quilty said.

While non-contact practice is not as effective as practicing with an opponent, it still helped the team remember technique and maintain their skills, Romero said.

The wrestlers practiced on their feet, in the wrestler’s stance, which is how every match

SQUASH Clara Stevanovic Contributing Writer During Squash Team practices, athletes had to be split up into small groups in order to maintain social distancing, he said. “Everything really was a puzzle,” Coach Ron Beller said.

Although the team was unable to play on a squash court this year, athletes practiced swings and basic strokes in the gym and Fitness Center, Kush Malhotra (12) said.

“We tried to play the safest games possible given the COVID limitations, and we were able to do that as best we could,” Beller said.

Despite this season’s challenges, Beller said the team substantially improved their athleticism and constructed meaningful inter-team relationships.

“I think we all grew as people and as players,” he said.

“A lot of people were able to get bigger, stronger, faster, but, more importantly, we were able to come together as a team, as a program, to learn more about each other,” Beller said.

Lauren Kim/Art Director

Courtesy of HM Flickr

begins. They then practiced various moves by visualizing their opponents legs and moving as if their opponent were in front of them.

“We went over every fine point of every single maneuver that we did, and we just drilled it to death,” Quilty said.

James Thomas (11) was used to having 20 people in the wrestling room at once, so he had to adjust to working out alongside only eight or 10 members. “A big part of wrestling is the camaraderie of it,” he said. “If you have everyone separated into four distinct groups, it’s kind of hard to get that sense of teamwork.”

Although the pandemic forced the team to forego matches, the team still had motivation that was “off the charts,” Quilty said.

“The moments that we shared together in the room were just more special because I think we knew that we wouldn’t have a season at the end, so we knew we would have to make the most of our time together,” Romero said.

“All of us bonding not just over a common goal of getting better in the sport of wrestling, but becoming better men and women, I think was something really special.”

“We have to be ready to come back with the passion, with the revenge next year, to accomplish what the seniors hoped to this year,” Romero said.

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THE RECORD ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MARCH 5TH, 2021

G LDEN GLOBES REVIEWS S p r i ngs m l a P Lauren Kim/Art Director

Jordan Wasserberger Contributing Reviewer In an era of remakes and reiterations, nothing is worse than a retelling of a classic. “Palm Springs” attempts to breathe fresh life into the Groundhog Day sub-genre, and fails, despite a few clever moments.

It’s not bad, just a perfectly mediocre version of a phenomenal film.

“Palm Springs” follows the same plot as every other Groundhog Day-esque film ever made. The main characters are trapped in a never-ending time loop of a single day and must figure out a way to escape.

In Groundhog Day, the plot involved finding your personal conviction and learning to right your wrongs.

In “Palm Springs,” it’s about killing baby goats.

I wish I were kidding, but (spoilers!) Nyles and Sarah escape from the time loop by blowing up a baby goat at the right moment, and then blowing themselves up in the hopes that the force of the explosion will propel them out of the loop. This has to be one of the dumbest ways characters have escaped a sci-fi scenario, and no amount of J. K. Simmons’ sarcasm can make up for that colossally stupid denoument.

Let’s acknowledge the positives first. Andy Samberg and J.K. Simmons are tremendous. Samberg remains one of the funniest actors of this generation, and it seems his role as Jake Peralta on “Brooklyn 9-9” has only bolstered his abilities. His portrayal of the dry, sarcastic, nonchalant Nyles is genuinely amusing, although by the end of the film, it borders on tiresome.

I would’ve liked to see a bit of individual development from the character, as what little we do get is more of

a plot mechanism than organic growth.

Cristin Milloti is great as Sarah, but she heavily relies on Samberg’s performance as a sounding board to play off of, and we as an audience have grown tired of the “naive newcomer doesn’t know the rules of the thing, so they bumble about and mess up until the witty, if apathetic, experienced person begrudgingly takes them under their wing.” It’s a done-to-death cliché, and I expected more from Samberg as a writer, given his SNL tenure.

Simmons, on the other hand, deserves a place in the Hollywood Hall of Fame. Ever since Whiplash (2014), Simmons has become one of my favorite actors, so seeing him mess around with Samberg was an absolute delight. Nyles and Simmons’ character Roy have a fantastic tête-à-tête dynamic, and their frustrated yet sympathetic relationship shines through. When the first scene with Roy and Nyles entails Roy firing a crossbow into Nyles’ back, you know you’re in for a wild ride. I wish the film was centered more around the two men growing from their adversarial nature and learning to work together to figure out a solution to this Groundhog Day scenario, as their relationship is the only originality in all of “Palm Springs.”

“Palm Springs” isn’t a wholly bad film. Its tone is fresh, Simmons and Samberg are great, and it has some genuinely funny moments. The actual plot leaves a lot to be desired, but I’m inclined to cut Samberg some slack on that front considering he’s a new writer and has a long career ahead of him. All told, it’s an entertaining 90 minutes, so if you have time to spare go ahead (it’s worth it for Simmons alone).

Record reviewers share their thoughts on movies nominated for the 2021 Golden Globes

THE

MIDNIGHT SKY Divya Ponda Contributing Writer Released in December by Netflix, “The Midnight Sky” is a futuristic, thoughtprovoking, and humbling film that ends on a depressing yet beautifully satisfying note. The movie is directed by George Clooney, who also stars as scientist Augustine Lofthouse, the only living man left on a post-apocalyptic Earth after a mysterious occurrence. Throughout the film, Lofthouse tries to warn a crew of astronauts who have successfully completed their task — finding a Jovian moon — to abort their mission to return to Earth.

While taking shelter alone in a scientific outpost in the Arctic, Lofthouse meets a mysterious and seemingly mute young girl, who reveals her name as “Iris” by drawing the flower on a table. The film then switches from Lofthouse and Iris’s perspective to that of the crew, as both groups are faced with their own daunting, unexpected journeys.

I first watched the movie when it was on my Netflix recommendation list, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I remember looking through the ratings and feeling shocked as I noticed the mixed reviews about the film. While some reviews were extremely

HAMILTON Allison Markman Contributing Writer The critically acclaimed, recordbreaking, Tony Award-winning musical “Hamilton” has exited the stage and made its debut on Disney Plus. The film immediately transports the viewer back to the 1770’s in New York City, where Alexander Hamilton—a young boy from the Caribbean—builds his legacy and maintains his honor while fighting for the U.S. during the Revolutionary War. The film maintains all of the original show’s unique prowess, such as rap and hip-hop lyrics, an extraordinarily talented and diverse cast, and the ability to transport its watchers back in time. The film’s most impressive achievement, however, is its capacity to replicate the experience of watching Hamilton in a Broadway theater. As most live arts have been halted, the film arrives at the right time to share its message of perseverance and hope.

The film features the original cast of the show, starring Lin Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton. The engaging and invigorating performance not only makes viewers excited about Rachel Zhu/Art Director

learning American history but sheds light on the impact of the past on today’s politics. As Miranda says, “Hamilton” is about “America then, as told by America now.”

Miranda’s Hamilton is the embodiment of ambition, vocation, and core American values, as Hamilton’s tale of rising from an orphan to a celebrated politician celebrates American society’s collective struggle for social and economic mobility.

The film’s Black and Latinx cast, many of whom play white historical figures, allow “Hamilton” to offer a modernized outlook on historical events, thereby tying these past circumstances to our present. The contrast between the diverse cast and the historical figures they play reflects that history is an open book, constantly evolving and perpetually informing itself.

The unchanging scenery of the film is a stark contrast to the piece’s complexity. The design’s simplicity is effective in keeping the focus on the music, characters, and the dynamic choreography, which is executed with precision. The stage features a spinning section of the floor, portraying the fast-paced tempo of the city and highlighting

the pauses in the show that emphasize crucial historical moments.

The medium of film also allows everyone to have access to the best seats in the house. Due to the many angles accessible by camera, viewers are offered a wide array of perspectives that emphasize the subtle undertones of the intimate relationships in “Hamilton.” Both Hamilton’s allies and rivals, such as Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, George Washington, and the Schuyler sisters, have authentic interactions that feel real and seem to ring true by historical means.

The groundbreaking musical is an incredibly profound portrayal of the Revolution from the point of view of George Washington’s right-hand man. The music is beautifully written, and the show is meticulously directed.

It teaches lessons in hard work and determination and exhibits the establishment of American society from the very beginning.

Though Hamilton received no Golden Globes last Sunday, the film accomplished something sizable. It ensures that the legacy of Hamilton will live on forever with the cast who started it — the greatest award of all.

watch that had me invested in each scene; somehow, there was closure in the uncertainty because the movie felt real. In our world, we never know what will happen and what the future will be like. For too many people, movies provide a predictable and comforting ending, yet there is this strange beauty in unpredictability. Of course, this brief dive into the unknown can be terrifying — who knows what will happen to our world in the future? At the rate humanity is going at, I wouldn’t say that an apocalypse is so remote.

I also thought it was interesting how connected the viewer is to each of the characters, who felt like threedimensional people. I could feel myself hoping that they would all survive and make it to safety. It was painful to watch at times because while the crew was rejoicing about finding the Jovian moon and reuniting with their families, Lofthouse was trekking all the way to a satellite in hazardous circumstances to stop them from returning home. Lofthouse’s pain was a jarring contrast to the crew’s happiness, and knowing the future that lay ahead of both groups was heart-wrenching.

I actually ended up viewing this film twice because it felt like I was watching a completely different movie once I knew

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

positive, many others raged about the film ending with “no closure.” I found a huge appeal in the film’s mystery; unlike other science fiction films I’ve seen, “The Midnight Sky” left many details to the viewer’s imagination, which I appreciated.

There is a perfect balance of suspense and information: the film is gripping and intriguing, but it’s not dramatic to the point where there is no realism.

“The Midnight Sky” was a fulfilling

how it ended. Knowing the ending when I began somehow made the whole story even more impactful. The film is filled with unexpected twists and turns, and it ends in such a melancholy yet heartwarming way that it leaves the audience with a memorable moment to hold on to. I would 100% recommend giving this movie a try — grab a box of tissues and maybe some comfort food, especially for the ending.

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