Issue 16

Record The Horace Mann

JANUARY 9TH 2020 || VOLUME 117, ISSUE 16

HORACE MANN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1903

RECORD.HORACEMANN.ORG

Community members join march against anti-Semitism Talia Winiarsky & Julia Goldberg Staff Writers 25,000 protestors gathered in a sea of blue and white in Foley Square last Saturday, singing Hebrew songs and proudly raising posters reading “No Hate, No Fear” and “We Are All Neighbors” to protest the slew of recent anti-Semitic attacks in New York and the surrounding area. In the brisk midday air, elected officials, including Mayor Bill De Blasio and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, led the crowd across the Brooklyn Bridge and into Cadman Plaza to be addressed by politicians, writers, activists, and leaders.

According to a New York Times article, more than half of the 421 hate crimes reported in New York City in 2019 were directed at Jews. On Saturday, Dec. 28th, an intruder took a machete to the home of a Rabbi on the seventh night of Hanukkah, wounding five Hasidic Jews, and on Tuesday, Dec. 10, two shooters opened fire on a Hasidic deli in Jersey City, killing three civilians and two police officers. These are only two of the reported attacks, which are rising rapidly in numbers; anti-Semitic crimes in New York City alone have increased by 21 percent in 2019, The Washington Post said.

“We won’t back down.

We’re not afraid.”

-Oliver Keimweiss (12) New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo spoke about the rising hatred in a news conference on Sunday, Dec. 29, the day after the stabbing. “If anyone thinks that something poisonous is not going on in this country, then they’re in denial,” he said. At the march, he announced that New York State would spend an additional $45 million for security at religious schools and institutions.

In response to the violent events, the United Jewish Association of New York (UJA) promptly organized a march to “[to] say no to hate and no to fear,” according to their website said. The UJA publicized the event through Facebook, creating a page for the event on Monday, Dec. 31st.

Justin Gurvitch (10) was disappointed in the lack of publicity for the march. He did not see the Facebook post, but if he had, he would have attended, he said.

Oliver Keimweiss (12) believes that the minimal publicity was in part because the UJA planned the march within such a short time frame. “It was hard to get word out, and a lot of people already had other plans,” he said.

Keimweiss attended the march with his parents, younger sister, and brother, all of whom felt that attending was necessary, he said.

While Keimweiss feels safe within the school community, the recent anti-Semitic attacks frightened him. “I think a lot of Jews in the area were scared. I think everyone felt that we had

to do something, that we had to show we’re still together.”

The purpose of the march was not to accomplish one quantitative goal, so much as to show solidarity, Keimweiss said. “We had thousands and thousands and thousands of people coming together to say we stand together, we won’t back down. We’re not afraid.”

Reina McNutt (12) hoped that Jews who did not attend would hear the about the striking statistics of the march, and would realize that there is a caring Jewish community out there, she said.

English teacher Dr. Deborah Kassel felt obligated to attend. “I thought it was a moment in history and as a citizen of the world I feel it’s my job, even if I’m just a speck or drop of water, to stand up for what’s right and to understand a phenomenon that has emerged more acutely in the past couple of years than I ever could have imagined,” she said. “Just like my life as a teacher, there may be little things that I can do, but if I don’t do them, who am I?” In support of the Jewish community and their fight against anti-Semitism, citizens of various backgrounds attended the march. Muslim marcher Karim Smiers held a sign that expressed his support for the Jewish community. “The common enemy here is hate,” he said. Smiers attended the march in part as a way to thank the Jewish community for combating Islamophobia and rallying at those marches.

Kassel said that the march brought Jews and citizens of other beliefs together. In particular, a woman with a sign reading “Make America Love Again” struck Kassel. “If you’re going to stand up for justice, it has to be justice all around,” she said. “Otherwise, you’re just creating another scapegoat.”

The diversity of the crowd was powerful, said Randy Klein from Harlem, a third-generation descendant of a Holocaust survivor who attended the rally. “If you think Jews are only watching other Jews, or only trans people are watching other trans people, or only women or watching women, you’re mistaken.”

Yana Gitelman (11) hoped that in the fight against anti-Semitism, the often politically split Jewish community, which she said is often split politically, could begin to unite, she said. Unfortunately, Gitelman didn’t feel this unity; during the four and a half hours she marched, she heard various groups having their own side conversations and an overall lack of group chants, she said. “The chants, for me, are the most unifying parts of march. I want to leave a march with no voice left, feeling like I said something.”

To show their support of the entire community, Gitelman and Liliana Greyf (10), who attended together, attempted to start a cheer of their own: “No hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here.” Unfortunately, like most others, it didn’t last for long, Gitelman said.

At the march, chief executive officer of the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York Eric Goldstein acknowledged the complexities of the Jewish community. “We need to recognize

Courtesy of Reina McNutt

MAKIN’ MUSIC! A group of protestors drop a beat on the street.

Courtesy of Yana Gitelman

A BETTER TOMORROW Gitelman and Greyf march across the Brooklyn Bridge together. that despite differences we have, we’re here to show our solidarity with all Jews, including very much the visibly traditional Orthodox community,” he said.

Greyf attended the march with Gitelman because although she feels shielded from anti-Semitism in the school’s enviornment, the recent attacks opened her eyes to the lack of security for Jews in America, she said. “[It] reminded me of where we are as a society.”

Student activist Blake Flayton’s speech at Cadman Plaza particularly struck Greyf. Flayton spoke about nonviolent forms of anti-Semitism, referencing his own experiences with name-calling and exclusion from peers. The speech showed Greyf that many schools do not foster a safe and inclusive community for Jews, she said.

On Thursday, Nov. 21 2019, at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Kayum Ahmed of the Open Society Foundations made a remark in his presentation during a high school assembly that upset many families, Tablet Magazine reported.

Ahmed stated that victims of oppression could become perpetrators. He told students “that Jews who suffered in the Holocaust and established the State of Israel today…perpetuate violence against Palestinians that [is] unthinkable.” Many parents voiced their concerns regarding the comment from the assembly to the magazine.

In September 2017, three people spray-painted the word “Jew” on a house on 246th street and Waldo Avenue—just a block away from school. According to Volume 115, Issue 2 of The Record, the school assisted the NYPD in their search to find and hold the perpetrator accountable.

Gurvitch was surprised that the march did not have a large presence in discussions around school or in his history class. This incident is just one example of a larger issue: the school does not address anti-Semitism adequately, he said.

“There are a lot of Jews at Horace Mann, but nevertheless, [anti-Semitism] seems to be very under the radar.”

Anti-Semitism should not be a topic reserved only for days of rememberance, such as Yom Hashoah, Gurvitch said. “Even if there are 17 attacks in three weeks, there’s no discussion, which is kind of strange.”

Malcolm Furman (9), who attended the march to show his support against anti-Semitism, said that humanities classes should address

anti-Semitism as much as they discuss other forms of discrimination, he said. “In English class, for instance, we read books that discuss racism a lot, or sexism, things like that. Those things are discussed a lot more than anti-Semitism.”

Gitelman described a divide between the school and the outside environment. “In a nice way, [the school] is like a bubble,” she said. “If someone isn’t looking at the news that much, or isn’t thinking about it too hard, it’s very easy to not think of Jews as a marginalized community.”

Kassel said that if there will be any change in the approach the school takes to anti-Semitism, it will be because of the student body. “Adults in this community are in a a more complicated position in terms of the intersection of the personal, political, and professional,” she said. “If you want change, it’s got to come from you.”

“As a citizen of the world I feel it’s my job, even if I’m just a speck or drop of water, to stand up for what’s right and to understand a phenomenon that has emerged more acutely in the past couple of years than I ever could have imagined.”

-Dr. Deborah Kassel

Annabelle Chan/ Art Director

OPINIONS

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Editor-in-Chief Julia Robbins Managing Editor Mayanka Dhingra Issues Editor Jude Herwitz Features Nelson Gaillard Gabby Kepnes Kiara Royer News Amelia Feiner Madison Li Sam Keimweiss Simon Yang Opinions Victor Dimitrov Abigail Salzhauer Lions’ Den Darius McCullough Mark Fernandez Ranya Sareen Andrew Cassino A&E Nishtha Sharma Eliza Poster Eddie Jin

THE RECORD OPINIONS JANUARY 10TH, 2020

Fighting the growth of anti-Semitism in America

Roey Nornberg and Zachary Brooks On Saturday, December 28th, a masked man invaded the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, where around 100 Hasidic Jews were gathered to celebrate Hannukah.

Immediately upon entering, the man, wielding a large machete, stabbed five innocent guests, including Josef Neumann, who suffered a knife through his skull and into his brain. He is now in critical condition, and doctors doubt his chances to ever regain consciousness.

This act of vile hatred is by no means an isolated incident. Antisemitic attacks are on the rise around the country, with a 21% increase in the past year alone.

In 2018, there were over 1,879 recorded incidents in the United States. In the words of Nita Lowey and David Harris of the New York Times, “we are no longer talking about isolated, occasional actions… but a regular phenomenon.”

We are not exaggerating when we say we have never lived through a more frightening time to be a Jew in the United States. And yet, it often feels like the fear and pain of the American-Jewish community are only used for political

gain by politicians from both sides of the aisle looking to gather support for their base. When an act of antisemitism poses an obstacle to a political agenda, the trend has become to minimize, ignore, or even defend the act.

Take, for example, the response of elected Republicans to the 2017 Charlottesville Virginia rally, where people chanted “Sieg Heil” and “Jews will not replace us.” Instead of condemning those protestors who marched through the streets donning Nazi paraphernalia, President Donald Trump famously wiped his hands of the issue, claiming there were “very fine people on both sides.” Fine people? In case you forgot, the people Trump defended were advocating for another genocide of the Jews.

We do not believe Trump is an overt antisemite. He has never called for attacks or hatred against Jewish people. In fact, some of Trump’s closest friends and advisors are Jewish, e.g. his own daughter, Ivanka, who converted. However, in the wake of the Charlottesville rally, Trump decided not to call out antisemitism and instead put forth a vague statement to appease his political

Design Editors Euwan Kim Reena Ye Chris Ha

Photography Griffin Smith Ahaan Palla Jake Shapiro Faculty Adviser David Berenson

Staff Writers Izzy Abbott, Adrian Arnaboldi, Abby Beckler, Bradley Bennett, Sam Chiang, Sogona Cisse, Jack Crovitz, Adam Frommer, Andie Goldmacher, Julia Goldberg, Andie Goldmacher, Alison Isko, Avi Kapadia, Marina Kazarian, John Mauro, Yesh Nikam, Henry Owens, Oliver Steinman, Emily Shi, Samuel Singer, Natalie Sweet, Sasha Snyder, Vivien Sweet, Joshua Underberg, Talia Winiarsky, Chloe Choi, Emma Colacino, Yin Fei, Lucas Glickman, Claire Goldberg, Liliana Greyf, Lauren Ho, Walker McCarthy, Maya Nornberg, Morgan Smith, Patrick Steinbaug, Katya Tolunsky, Nathan Zelizer Staff Photographers Julia Isko, Daniel Lee, Ava Merker, Kelly Troop, Halley Robbins, Sophie Gordon, Amanda Wein, Maxwell Shopkorn, Emma Colacino, AJ Walker, Lucas Glickman, Lauren Ho Staff Artists Wilder Harwood, Sarah Sun, Rachel Zhu

tweet, many of Omar’s Democratic colleagues in the House declined to even call out her tweet for what it was: antisemitic.

Once again, we do not mean to assert that Democrats in the United States Congress, or even Rep. Omar, are antisemitic. In fact, in response to the controversy, Omar apologized and has spoken out against antisemitism several times; however, the fact remains that at this critical junction, House Democrats had an opportunity to make a powerful statement against antisemitism but declined to do so

caust in the 1940s. Comparing any antisemitism faced by Jews in the United States in the present day is at least inaccurate and at most offensive. And yet, the antisemitism Jews face today is still real and on the rise.

Now is the time to recognize that antisemitism is a vile form of bigotry, just as much as any other -ism or -phobia. Antisemitic acts stem from many different affiliate groups, many of which are themselves at odds with each other.

However, antisemitism should never be used as a tool to protect

for political reasons.

Hate against Jews comes from all sides, and it should be acknowledged as such. Both of us have family who escaped and perished from antisemitic violence in Europe in the late nineteenth-century Russian Pogroms and in the Holo-

a political narrative and must be identified and condemned no matter the perpetrator or the context.

It is time for us all to come together to repudiate antisemitism, regardless of the side of the aisle it comes from.

Riva Vig / Contributing Artist

manipulators. After much delay and deliberation, the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives passed a weak resolution that condemned antisemitism but did not reference Rep. Omar in any way. In fact, in the wake of the controversy stemming from her

Quick fixes for our student government

Middle Division Ben Wang Isabella Zhang

Art Directors Annabelle Chan Gabrielle Fischberg Katya Arutyunyan

base. Trump allowed antisemitism to take a backseat to party politics, setting a dangerous precedent for the rest of the country.

At the same time, there have been several recent events in which Democrats have been reluctant to call out hate speech as antisemitism. One elected Congresswoman, Representative Ilhan Omar (D- MI), tweeted in 2012 that “Israel has hypnotized the world,” a statement that may seem innocent until one realizes its connection to the historic antisemitic trope of Jews as hypnotic

Roey Nornberg, Julia Robbins, and Jude Herwitz We’ve been on student government at Horace Mann for a collective 10 years. Summing up all of our experiences, we have seen first hand which practices impede Community Council Representatives, Student Body Presidents, and Class Presidents from making progress. A few quick but impactful tweaks can help transform student government into a more effective vehicle for positive change in our community. In future weeks, we’ll elucidate some ideas for broader, structural reforms which we believe would make student government as helpful as it can be.

Before proposing any changes, though, it is important for everyone to understand what all officers do in the status quo.

What do the separate offices do:

Community Council (CC) Representatives: Four Community Council representatives are elected every year by their grades to serve on the Community Council, where they discuss and debate new initiatives. Oftentimes, these initiatives center around improving student life; this year’s initiatives, for example, included monthly birthday cakes and lab lunch passes.

CC Chair: The Community Council Chair is elected every May by the new Community Council. Their official job is to oversee the duties of the Community Council, both by working with CC Representatives on initiatives and running meetings.

CC Secretary: Also elected every May by the new Com-

munity Council, the Secretary records the meetings’ proceedings and helps the Chair run meetings.

Class Presidents: Two class presidents are selected via a grade-wide vote and meet with their grade dean approximately once a month. The main responsibility of class presidents is to plan grade meetings and organize other grade-wide gatherings, like movie nights.

Student Body Presidents: Two Student Body Presidents are elected in the Spring to serve as the representatives of the whole student body via an Upper Division wide vote. These two seniors plan new programs, like the recent HMO Buddy System and the soon to be implemented Teaching Assistant Program, and also organize two yearly Student Showcases.

What is wrong with the current system:

The CC rarely meets, and when it does, representatives often have few proposals to work on. Class Presidents don’t have clear or defined roles/platforms, which makes it difficult for them to create meaningful change. And Student Body Presidents often lack a clear connection with the CC that would allow them to build more comprehensive and effective plans.

How do we change it:

Let’s improve how the student council works for the rest of the year, right now. Here is how an improved system could work: To revitalize the CC: Before a CC member brings a nascent idea before the CC to develop it, the representative should write up a formal proposal. This would bypass the conversations that block the flow of progress in the current Council. The proposal, at the very least, would answer the following questions: “What is the idea?”; “Who would bear the responsibility and burden of its implementation?”; “What are the potential benefits and downsides of the idea?” This proposal would first be sent to the CC chair, who would offer initial feedback and constructive criticism. Once it gets an initial green light from the chair, the proposer would send their work to the rest of the Council. Each Council member, including the advisors, would read it before the next meeting and make suggestions on how to improve the idea/ask questions they have

about the idea’s feasibility. After the idea is workshopped by members of the CC, the final version should be put to a vote. The proposal, if approved, should then be sent to Sr. Dalo (the Dean of Students) with number of votes for and against attached.

To reinvent the role of Class Presidents: Class Presidents should dedicate themselves to ensuring the well-being of the students in the grade they represent. This could entail the planning and implementation of movie nights, grade bake sales, class apparel, and grade assemblies. Additionally, to ensure that Class Presidents remain accountable to their constituents, they should be required to meet with their Deans at least once a month, and be prepared with written, thought out proposals. Finally, Class Presidents should be expected to send a monthly email to their grade with updates on their progress on certain initiatives.

To improve the position of the Student Body Presidents: Right now, the most useful aspect of the SBPs is their weekly meeting with the Dean of Students, which gives them the platform to get immediate feedback on, or approval of, their ideas from a member of the administration. The biggest missing link here is the input of other students, which is where the CC comes in. The first solution is to hold more regular meetings between the SBPs and the Chair of the CC, who could offer a third opinion on undeveloped ideas. The second fix is for the Student Body Presidents to present their fully formed and implemented plans to the CC for constructive criticism. It would allow for more input from the people whom their initiatives would affect most, and make sure that those initiatives are as polished as possible.

The ability to put these changes into effect lies solely with student government leaders. We welcome any criticism of these ideas and hope that this can spur conversation about how to build a more efficient and successful student government.

Sincerely, RN, JH, and JR

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HORACE MANN NEWS JANUARY 10TH, 2020

Debate dominates at Minnesota tournament

Yesh Nikam and Arushi Talwar Staff & Contributing Writers

During the first weekend of winter break, ten members of the school’s public forum debate team showed off their skills at the 57th annual John Edie Debate Tournament hosted by the Blake School in Minneapolis.

“The tournament was a success overall,” Richard He ‘19, who attended the tournament as a judge, said. The team performed the best out of all the events they’ve attended this year, he said.

The team’s main goal throughout the competition was to advance as far as possible in order to receive a bid. Depending on their difficulty, tournaments have certain elimination rounds that debaters must win in order to receive a bid. Blake is an octofinals bid, which is considered to be the largest and most competitive type of bid tournament, Emily Shi (11) said.

Courtesy of Emily Shi

TEAM TRAVELS Student debaters in Minnesota.

Debaters aim to collect two bids during the season in hopes of qualifying for the Tournament Of Champions in April, considered to be among the most prestigious of debate tournaments, Sasha Snyder (11) said.

Partners Taimur Moolji (12) and Saif Moolji (12), co-Presidents of the debate team, advanced to the quarterfinals and received their second bid. In addition, partners Anabelle Xing (11) and Shi reached octofinals and earned their first bid.

“It’s a big accomplishment, especially at a national tournament where the competition is really good,” Snyder said.

The team traveled with their coach, Amala Karri, a student from George Washington University and former president of the Hunter College High School debate team, Leyli Granmayeh (11) said. “She was a really successful and inspiring public forum debater on the national circuit and became good friends with the HM debate team,” Xing said.

Karri usually helps coach rounds by providing crucial feedback and by thinking of in-round strategies, Xing said.

Karri attends rounds with different partners and gives advice or explain arguments after they were over, Shi said. “Everything she told us, we implemented in the next rounds to do better.”

Even though He attended as a judge, his debate experience was valuable to the team. Since he was the research director on the debate team last year, his familiarity with the debaters who attended the tournament provided the team with insightful knowledge and guidance, Snyder said. Though He came to the tournament to be a judge, he also helped the team research their topics and provided

moral support, Shi said.

The tournament was a change of pace for the debaters. “Usually schools or colleges host the tournaments, and in those cases, our rounds will take place within classrooms, but this tournament was held in a hotel and rounds took place in hotel rooms and conference rooms,” Snyder said.

Furthermore, the team normally attends tourCourtesy of Emily Shi

SUCCESSFUL BID Honorees celebrate after tournament. naments in the Northeast with mostly east coast attendees, but at Blake, there were over a hundred other debaters, many of them from the west coast, Granmayeh said.

These west coast debaters had a faster and more technical debating style than is typical. However, since the team had previously come across certain east coast teams with the same style, the faster-paced rounds were not too much of a challenge, Xing said.

Most of the judges at Blake were former debaters or debate judges, a change from the high concen-

tration of parent judges the team has grown accustomed to on the east coast. “It’s less about sounding convincing and more about following rules in order to win the round. You have to adapt a little,” Granmayeh said.

The judges especially disliked paraphrasing evidence, something that the team used frequently, so they instead read directly from their evidence. Making that shift was challenging, Granmayeh said.

Since the tournament occurred right after a major testing week, the team was not able to do as much preparation beforehand as they would have liked. Instead, they did most of their preparation on the flight and between debate rounds during the tournament. In order to compensate for their lack of preparation, He helped them research prior to the rounds, Granmayeh said.

Though this tournament was in December, the attendees were debating with the January topic, “Should the US government end sanctions on Venezuela?” which was released two weeks before the debate. They felt the decision would give them a strong advantage for their two upcoming tournaments in January, Snyder said.

Aside from debating, the team enjoyed the time they spent together. The long trip to get to the tournament gave them a chance to bond outside of school and come together as a team, co-President Shay Soodak (12) said.

Even though the team just recently attended Blake, their sixth tournament of the year, they already have their eyes set on the future. The team plans to attend seven more tournaments, most of which will be during January and February, Granmayeh said.

Kahn (12) shines at People’s Improv Theater Ayesha Sen and Claire Goldberg Contributing & Staff Writers

Spencer Kahn (12) performed his latest comedy act at the People’s Improv Theater in Chelsea last Friday. Kahn was asked to perform at the show by two college students, Moly Winiarsky and Mary Spedara, with whom he had interned for three years. The performance was the debut of their show called “Mommy Issues with Moly and Mary.”

Kahn performed a seven minute set of stand up comedy. “This show that I did last Friday included some of the jokes that I used at the opening assembly earlier this year, as well as some new material that I had written down on my phone,” Kahn said. “I write jokes on my phone every other week or so, but I have plenty of observations I put down whenever they pop into my head.”

“It was a fun, standard comedy show for adults,” Dylan Chin (12), who attended the performance, said.

“Anyone who has had a conversation with him will know.

He’s Spencer Kahn, you can just tell that he’s a funny guy.

His show was just naturally funny.”

The comedy was more explicit than his typical school performance, Ashley Dai (12) said. “The most notable aspect of this show was Spencer’s new mature material, which I haven’t seen before in his school performances. It was fun seeing a more adult side of his comedy,” she said.

Kahn enjoyed the experience, Jayer Yang (12) said.

“You could tell that he was

having fun cracking jokes on stage, which made everything he was saying all the more energetic and enjoyable for the audience,” Yang said.

Kahn’s act differed from the rest for a number of reasons, Dai said. “I think what made Spencer stand out was his energy. The other comedians were all very relaxed and conversational, but Spencer was really able to engage the audience with sudden changes in volume or tone and by moving around the entire space,” Dai said. She was even in tears the whole show because she was laughing so hard, she said.

This was the first performance of “Mommy Issues,” so the crowd was tightly packed with family members and friends, Kahn said. Several other comedians came to watch the show, including two relatively well-known comics, Andre Sereno and Moss Perricone. The theater was small, which created an intimate atmosphere between the performers and the crowd, Kahn said.

“He got many laughs and the crowd was extremely engaged. It was definitely a good audience,” Chin said. Chin wasn’t surprised by this positive outcome, he said.

A good audience makes stand up much easier, Kahn said. “The audience was super responsive throughout the whole performance, so there were some opportunities for me to play off of the energy, which is always fun.”

Kahn draws his inspiration from his peers and from teachers at his comedy club, Kidz ‘N Comedy, where he has gone for around six years, he said. “I’m really thankful for my friends because they

always do things that make me laugh, which I can write about it,” Khan said.

A lot of Kahn’s jokes are observational, Kahn said. He got the inspiration for this joke style from comedian Mike Birbiglia, he said.

One of Kahn’s observational jokes was about his family’s turbulent, ongoing relationship with White Castle, Yang said. “Spencer at a full-length show meant we got to see him have time to get more creative.”

“There are a lot of comedians who have a quick way of telling their jokes deadpan, so sometimes I write a lot of my jokes like that,” Kahn said.

Deadpan is a form of dry humor where the delivery is blunt yet ironic.

“His delivery of his jokes was always very consistent and dry which made them even funnier,” Chin said.

Kahn has had an interest in comedy since he was eleven years old, he said. “I saw a show and thought ‘this looks

like a lot of fun and not too hard’ so I signed up for a summer program,” he said.

However, comedy proved more difficult than it seemed, he said. “I wasn’t too funny at the beginning, but with a lot of time, effort, and writing I got better and better.”

Comedy has been helpful for Kahn in many ways, he said. It has increased his confidence and allows him to add funny, interesting twists to essays that he writes for classes, he said. “It’s more than just a fun party trick,” he said.

In the future, Kahn hopes to continue his career in comedy through college. He will continue performing anytime he’s given the opportunity, he said.

Comedy can be for anyone, Kahn said. “If anybody who is reading this is interested in pursuing comedy, I suggest going for it. It’s a lot of fun and all it takes is a notebook and from there, you can write some jokes and see what happens.”

Annabele Chan/Art Director

Courtesy of Catherine Mignone

VICTORIOUS Mignone with her first-place team.

Mignone (10) plays World Youth Rugby Festival

Katya Tolunsky Staff Writers

After attending a nationwide talent search in November which consisted of a seven-hour practice and evaluation session, Catherine Mignone (10) was selected as the only girl from New York to attend the World Youth Rugby Festival (WYRF). Mignone spent her winter break competing in the WYRF tournaments in Irvine California alongside girls from all around the globe.

The WYRF brings together young rugby players from all over the world to promote the sport and its values of teamwork, respect, and accountability. They hosted their first annual tournament in 2018. At the event, teams from South Africa, Canada, and the US came together to compete in a series of rugby games over the course of five days.

At the tournament, Mignone met Naya Tapper and Hope Rodgers, two members of the USA Women’s Rugby Team. “I’ve looked up to these players on the national team for my entire rugby career,” she said. “It is incredible to meet your role models, and even more incredible to play with and learn from them.” Tapper gave Mignone advice on her pass technique and position on the field and cheered her on during the games, she said.

Mignone played inside center at the tournament, a position that

involves a lot of defense and offense, she said. “I played with and against college freshmen,” she said.

“It was certainly challenging, but a very valuable experience for me.”

Mignone feels she improved her tackle technique and stiff arm, and she can’t wait to keep getting better in the upcoming tournaments and through training, she said.

At first, Mignone was nervous to play at the tournament, but she gained confidence through her success in the games, she said.

“The experience in its entirety was incredible,” Mignone said. “I definitely improved my knowledge of gameplay through playing with a new group of girls, as I had to be even more aware of exactly what was going on on the field.’’

Mignone spent time with her teammates before and after the games and gained many new friendships, she said. “Some teams from South Africa didn’t speak English on the field so the opposing team couldn’t understand them and predict their plays,” Mignone said, “It was awesome to realize that I am a part of a multinational community” Mignone was selected for a few future tournaments and programs in Las Vegas, Colorado, Portugal and California with Rhino Rugby, she said. Rhino Rugby, who helped organize WYRF is one of the leading rugby companies in the world.

see RUGBY on pg. 6

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THE RECORD FEATURES JANUARY 10TH, 2020

Throwback from Volume 87: Crossword by Justin Weiss

“Create words using letters from the hive! *words must contain at least four letters *words must include the center letter *letters can only be used once Score points to increase your rating! *four letter words are each worth one point *five letter words are each worth three points *six letter words are each worth five points *seven letter words are each worth 10 points Good = over 30 points Excellent = over 80 points Genius = over 140 points from RUGBY page 1 Mignone was introduced to the sport through her father, who played rugby in college, and she started playing three years ago. “I have always been a bit of an aggressive athlete, so rugby was perfect for me,” she said.

Mignone fell in love with the sport immediately, she said. “The community that you get from playing rugby and the athletic abilities you gain makes you a great all-around athlete, and it opens up this new world of athletics,” Mignone said.

In 2016, Mignone played for a rugby club team in New Jersey called Morris Rugby. She joined the team for an international tour in Ireland in the summer of 2017 and attended two Nike rugby programs in the following two summers, she said.

After many meetings with Associate Athletic Director Ray Barile and Director of Athletics Robert Annunziata, Mignone successfully

created the school’s first Girls Rugby Team two years ago. “Last year was our team’s first season, and we killed it,” Mignone said. The team is hosting an organizational meeting on February 6th and is looking forward to the team’s upcoming season, she said.

Micaiah Chang (10) said that Catherine brings joy and support to the rugby team. “She encourages and leads the team without ever being mean,” she said, “Personally she’s been a huge part of myprogress and relative success in the sport.”

In one game against the French-American school last season, Irati Egorho Diez (12) recounted a time when Mignone started seriously bleeding after she was tackled. “She just wipes it off and she gets back on the field and she keeps playing,” Diez said. “That was the catalyst and then she got super focused and made some of the most beautiful plays I have ever seen.”

“Rugby is a really big part of who Catherine is,” Hanna Hornfeld (10) said. Hornfeld feels that although

Annabelle Chan/ Art Director

Catherine isn’t an official team captain, she embodies the role, she said.

“When the rugby team first started, most of us had never played before in our life or even knew how the game worked, but Catherine worked really hard to make sure that we all felt like we could learn and she saw what all of our individual talents were,” she said.

Gaby Peralta (10) expressed a similar sentiment. “Catherine was extremely supportive and really helpful when it came to understanding the game,” she said.

“She is an amazing player and made so many great plays.”

Mignone explained that her favorite part of rugby is becoming friends with her opponents after the games, she said.

“You may be tackling each other on the field but after the game, you eat cupcakes with them.”

After meeting Migone, Tapper took to her intagram story to applaud the young athelte calling her “the future.”

STARCROSSING Mignone with Tapper.

5

HORACE MANN FEATURES JANUARY 10TH, 2020

PURSUING PASSIONS:

THREE STUDENTS’ INDEPENDENT STUdies

Julia Goldberg Staff Writer Eddie Jin (12) stepped to the front of his Independent Study Seminar class this week to ask his peers to consider the defining features of a tragic hero. The presentation was his second and final of the semester, and was far less cheerful than his first one, which explored the concept of altruistic heroism, Jin said.

Jin chose to begin his presentation with a clip from the 1996 Kenneth Branagh film adaptation of Hamlet, a play that most English 11 classes read, to foster a conversation about what it truly means to be a hero, he said.

“When I structure my presentations, I usually like to catch the listener’s attention with a movie or something they can understand easily,” Jin said. He integrated movie clips throughout his presentation because the visual component engages the listeners, and because his advisor, English teacher Dr. Deborah Kassel, is an expert on the area. Kassel has a degree in film, Jin said, and approaches movies from an analytical perspective he finds insightful.

“I love literature, but I am also fortunate to be living in the age of film. In diaogue the two media give us a much richer experience of what it means to be human,” she said.

Kassel and Jin meet approximately once a week to discuss interpretations of movies and books that focus on heroism. “Ultimately, [Jin] chooses, with guidance from me, what

Hanna Hornfeld Staff Writer In a world split into four warring kingdoms, a disease known as the Corruption has infected creatures, causing them to attack your village. It is your job to help the villagers escape to safety. Sean Zlatev’s (12) virtual reality game incorporates all of this and more for his independent study.

The game is a fantasy adventure, set in a world where players are free to explore and interact. On Thursday, Zlatev presented this simulated world and his process of making it.

Last year, Zlatev took AP Computer Science, the highest level computer science course offered at the school. Zlatev’s teacher, Computer Science and Robotics Department Chair Danah Screen, suggested that he do an independent study in order to continue with computer science during his senior year. The two brainstormed potential projects and eventually settled on virtual reality, Zlatev said.

Before last summer, game design was one of Zlatev’s side hobbies. While working in a group to create a game at a precollege program at Carnegie Mellon University, Zlatev realized he wanted to pursue game design seriously.

“The thing that really tied the knot was watching other people react to the game we made,” he

Vivien Sweet Staff Writer Though buzz about a potential World War III broke out only a couple of days ago, Noah Phillips’s (12) independent study, titled “Yemen and the Middle East Proxy War,” already had it covered.

His presentation focused on both the Yemeni Civil War—which Phillips referred to as “the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world right now”—and the proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, both of which have recently drawn the U.S. into the Middle East conflict.

In preparation for his project, Phillips watched a couple of documentaries and read about the history of proxy wars and the overall development of Yemen. In addition, he met regularly with his advisor, Middle Division history teacher John Eckels. Although Eckels is not an expert on Middle Eastern conflict, his experience in conducting historic and current events-based research allowed him to guide Phillips in that area, Eckels said.

“Sometimes it’s a benefit when doing research to have someone who doesn’t know that much about the specifics, partly because I can ask Noah questions,” Eckels said. “He knows more than I do, so I have to ask him questions, and that pushes him to clarify.”

All art by Annabelle Chan/Art Director

he wants to do,” Kassel said.

After Jin showed the class the clip from Hamlet, he asked the class for their opinions.

Some argued Hamlet was a hero, as he acted on behalf of his father, whereas others stated that he wasn’t heroic in the least—he had simply gone on a revenge spree, they said. Jin acknowledged both perspectives, introducing Hamlet as a tragic hero. Though tragic heroes have mostly noble intentions, they ultimately cause destruction, Jin said.

Jin’s fascination with the complexities of heroism began in the latter half of Kassel’s English 11 class, when he read Oedipus Rex and Hamlet. For a creative project, in 11th grade Jin filmed himself reciting a very original and compelling version of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Kassel said. Even though Jin saw Independent Study as a rather unconventional course, he decided to enroll in the class to pursue his newfound interest. “I realized that heroism is something that’s interesting and complex and important to study,” he said.

After supplying a simple definition, Jin segued into an overview of Aristotle’s perspective of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the first person to critically analyze plays, a tragic hero is one “whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty.” Aristotle also emphasized that these heroes evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience, Jin said. “The audience needs to think, ‘What if that were me?’”

Afterwards, Jin dedicated time to defining Aristotle’s terminology, such as the “hamartia,” or tragic flaw, of these heroes, and the “catharsis,” which is the sense of pity that the hero evokes. Jin proceeded to said. “ Wa t c h i n g them go ‘Sean that’s really cool’ was an awesome experience that made a hobby shift into a passion.”

Zlatev and Screen started by creating a Gantt report, a chart planning out a project’s schedule. They laid out a precise time frame for everything that had to be done, from designing the world, to writing the story, to coding it all, he said.

Zlatev anticipated challenges despite his careful planning. The biggest obstacle he faced was an error with the game engine that he spent two weeks researching how to fix. If Zlatev had left it unfixed, there would have been a problem with lighting in the world, he said.

In his project, Zlatev combines disciplines aside from

Eddie J in (12)

show the class a clip from Batman, and they discussed how the hero of the film fits Aristotle’s archetype.

Though appearing midway through his presentation, Aristotle’s theories were the first that Jin researched, he said. “After you get a base in some of the fundamental thoughts about a [tragic] hero, that’s when you can start watching movies through the lens of those classical views.”

Jin then presented one addition to Aristotle’s criteria: a tragic hero, Jin said, “often [has] to go against what they are told.” To support this point, he showed a final clip from the movie Schindler’s List.

The presentation concluded by debunking the “happily ever after” myth. “We think about a hero like Superman who flies off into the sunset, but that’s not always what happens,” Jin said.

Jin hopes that his listeners will walk away with the understanding that heroes may be frail and complicated after his presentation. It’s possible for both heroes and average people to try hard and still fail, he said.

“It becomes a question of the human being finding the hero within,” Kassel said. “Heroism lies in the act of finding the best part of ourselves and acting on it, in spite or even because of the obstacles we face.”

Not unlike Hamlet, Jin has a few decisions ahead of him: as he furthers his research, he will choose two additional subtopics of heroism to research and present to his class in the coming semester.

Sean Z

latev (1

2)

programming.

Because presenting the programming itself in an interesting way would be difficult, he chose to concentrate on the creative side of his project, he said.

The presentation focused on Zlatev’s process of story writing, the world he designed, and how to write your own stories for games.

Coming up with the game’s story was particularly enjoyable for Zlatev because of his love for creative writing, he said. The three main parts of creating the story were building a detailed world, designing authentic characters, and storyboarding. At the end of his presentation, Zlatev split students into groups and had them create their own worlds, characters, and storylines using the techniques he taught.

The most important feature of the game is its interactiveness, so Zlatev’s next primary focus is the controls. In the coming semester, Zlatev is going to take on the daunting task of actually coding. “To think about what the end result will be is fascinating,” he said.

For the second semester, Zlatev has also signed up for English Teacher Dr. Jonathan Kotchian’s Interactive Fiction elective.

The course’s curriculum is centered around Choose Your Own Adventure-type stories, in which readers’ choices dictate the course of the plot. Zlatev hopes to be in Kotchian’s class because he will be able to tie it in with his independent study.

Bringing together creative writing, programming, and art has been an adventure for Zlatev. “It feels like I’m setting off on my own, and I’m really happy to be able to do something that I have an interest in,” he said. “It’s been really fulfilling.”

Noah P hillips (1

Phillips started off his presentation by defining what exactly makes a proxy war, giving examples of past proxy wars, and listing the pros and cons for a large global power, such as the United States, to engage in one. This was the second presentation he had given in front of the class, the first of which took up only half the period.

This background information was helpful to classmate Margalit Patry-Martin (12), since she had only learned about proxy wars in the context of history class. “I hadn’t ever really gone through the specific advantages of [proxy wars], so I thought that his discussion was a really good way of clarifying what I already knew,” she said.

Around midway through his presentation, Phillips broke the class up into thirds to discuss three articles with differing viewpoints about Iran: two were written by journalists for the Washington Post, and one was written by right-wing American commentator Ben Shapiro. By giving his peers such a diverse range of opinions, Phillips hoped to “foster a bit of understanding” about the manifold sides of the conflict, he said.

Charles Simmons (12) was impressed by how Phillips was able to “tread lightly on a controversial topic,” he said. “Rather than projecting his own personal beliefs, [he] gave us the facts and let us come to our [own] conclusions.”

However, Phillips’s independent study was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of his work on Middle Eastern studies. In October, Phillips attended a conference called “ Un i t e d

2)

Against Nuclear Iran Summit” in Manhattan where he spoke with a handful of foreign policy experts and diplomats who are directly involved in dealing with the crisis in Yemen, he said. Next month, he will be in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles to meet with more individuals connected to the issue of Middle Eastern warfare.

For the written portion of his project, he plans on submitting opeds to think tanks and other publications such as The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the Middle East Institute, The Washington Examiner, and The Hill in order to raise awareness for the dire situation in Yemen, Phillips said.

“Especially in America, even though we are doing quite a bit to impact what is going on there—and in many ways detriment a lot of lives in Yemen—not a lot of people know about it,” Phillips said.

6

THE RECORD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT JANUARY 10TH, 2020

Not Far Away, Not Long Ago: Museum remembers Auschwitz Talia Winiarsky Staff Writer

The wheels on a train that took people to Auschwitz sit in a dark room, looking as though the slightest touch could send them into motion. The metal wheels signal the entrance of a macabre exhibit and act as an ominous warning. The viewer must prepare themselves to see harrowing objects, ranging from barracks in which prisoners lived to the shoes of murdered children. The Jewish Museum of Heritage features these artifacts in its exhibit “Auschwitz: Not Far Away, Not Long Ago,” and the Museum is only a subway ride away from school.

The Museum’s chair Bruce C. Ratner, also a developer and philanthropist, told The New York Times that the Museum highlights the need to take a stance against anti-Semitism. “My interest and that of the Board is how the Holocaust applies today.”

Furthermore, although the Registry of Holocaust Survivors contains the names of over 195,000 survivors, many of the people listed are since deceased. The exhibit ensures that the survivors’ stories will exist after they are gone.

The exhibit narrates the Holocaust in chronological order, occupying three floors of the museum. The first floor tells the beginnings of persecution in Europe, the second features the start of concentration camps and attempts to convey what life was like for prisoners there, and the third floor focuses on prisoners’ deaths and the Holocaust’s implications for the future.

The artifacts, however, are what set this exhibit apart from other Holocaust exhibits. The viewer gains a new perspective on prisoners’ lives on a personal level. It provides an intimate view of prisoners’ plight and fosters a direct connection between the prisoners and the audience. This exhibit is unique because it draws a connection between the past and the present in its artifacts.

At the beginning of the exhibit, a viewer enters the dark, cold, and high-ceilinged room. It is completely silent, except for the sound of a solemn, solitary oboe, causing immediate discomfort. There are no windows in the exhibit; there is nowhere for the eyes to seek reprieve from the horror. In the second room, there is a wheel used on the cattle cars to carry people to Auschwitz; over 100 people would be forced to cram in one car.

The use of the artifacts encourages the message “Not Far Away, Not Long Ago.” “It feels more real now than in the past,” visitor Kyle Onick of Texas said.

Visitor Adam Dewalle, a seventh-grade student who attends school in New York City, spent a few days learning about the Holocaust in

school but gained a new perspective from the exhibit. “You get to really see a first account of what happened and evidence of how it happened.”

The artifacts counteract the Nazi’s dehumanization of the prisoners, which they accomplished by mental, physical, and psychological abuse. The dehumanization was manifested in tattooing of the prisoners, shaving of their heads, separation of all family ties, and daily mass killings, among other tactics. A quotation on the wall of the second floor by Auschwitz survivor Sonia Landau in 1946 reads, “With every drop of the [tattoo] needle, a piece of my life dropped away.”

The museum displayed stories of individual families, providing the audience a glance into the prisoners’ lives before the Nazis viciously ripped them away. For example, a glass case holds many ragged leather briefcases and prominently features the briefcase of Kurt Stein, which lays above the rest. The briefcase has Stein’s name on it; the accompanying placard tells of his life as a doctor before the war, and of his tragic death right after his arrival at Auschwitz. These stories attempt to restore pieces of the victims’ humanity that the Nazis were determined to erase.

Some stories are so personal that they seem as though they were never meant to be told, but rather to remain a treasured family story or secret kept between loved ones. Engagement rings are not meant to be displayed in museums, but to be worn and treasured by the person who was given it. The ring of Zdenka Fantlová rests in a glass case on a wall, representing a promise to her fiancé, Arnošt Levit. At Auschwitz, Fantlová slipped the ring under her tongue, risking a beating, and even death, according to its placard. She did not have the opportunity to marry Levit, as he did not survive the camp, suffering the same fate as the rest of her family.

For visitor Arielle Averboukh of New Jersey, the scariest artifact of the exhibit was the worn-down shoe of a baby, displayed unnaturally in a glass case. “It doesn’t matter their age or where they were from they were all killed,” she said.

Former Auschwitz SS member Oskar Gröning said in a 2004 interview, “The children, they’re not the enemy at the moment. The enemy is the blood inside them.” This harrowing quotation hangs on the walls, next to quotations of victims.

The museum often juxtaposes the perpetrators of the Holocaust and the victims. On the third floor, there is a wall that displays photos of the Nazis at Auschwitz in “The World of the Perpetrators.” They smile, often, arms around each other, despite the atrocities that they committed. Visitor Alex Hall of New York, the Chief of Staff of a political organization, said he was particularly disgusted by the Nazis’

political organization and meticulous plans of the genocide. Detailed maps of the camps and other records of the Nazis line the walls as well.

The wall right next to “The World of the Perpetrators” is called “The Lost World of the Victims,” which shows the victims’ family photos of their lives before Auschwitz. There are gleeful wedding days and births, children playing in the street, people in front of their workplaces, and grinning portraits. In the same room is a model of the doors that were used to restrain the prisoners as the Nazis released Zyklon B, a gas that would kill all the people in the room within 15 minutes.

The juxtaposition of the two groups emphasizes the cruelty of the crimes that the Nazis committed, but also, suggests that somehow, these people share a common humanity that the Nazis strayed far from. Thus, the exhibit connects the prisoners to their torturers, as well as the viewer, who are all fundamentally human.

The viewer will remember the feelings of grappling with these concepts, even if they do not remember the facts that they have learned.

The exhibit’s audio guide asks the viewer a question that they can seek, but never know: “How did people like you and me create such a place?”

Courtesy of Talia Winiarsky

A TRAGIC REMINDER Pot used to “feed” over 200 prisoners.

Metalhead: Donny Howard pursues passion in music Courtesy of Donny Howard

DRUMMING IT OUT Howard poses on the drum set.

Sam Chiang Staff Writer Donny Howard’s (12) love for music began the day his parents played songs from classic rock artists such as Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.

As he grew older, they played louder and more intense music, like heavy metal band Iron Maiden and Grunge performers Pearl Jam, he said.

Once he got access to the internet, Howard discovered more bands on his own, and his interest

has only grown, he said.

When applying to the school in fifth grade, Howard was interviewed by Coach Rawlins Troop P’18, P ‘21 who asked him what he hoped to receive for Christmas, Howard said. Howard told Troop that he wished for a drum set, and Troop told Howard’s parents, he said. Howard said he was overjoyed to unwrap a drumset for Christmas and soon began taking lessons.

While in the Middle Division, Howard was unsure of what he wanted to do in the future, though

he always dreamed of being a professional athlete, he said. Once Howard entered high school, sports practice began to occupy more of Howard’s time, forcing him to fall behind on his lessons, he said.

However, Howard didn’t quit music; he kept playing on his own for recreational purposes.

Howard wasn’t always able to play the drums when he got home at night, so he decided to learn how to play the guitar. Playing an acoustic guitar set enabled him to play quietly, and not wake up the neighbors, he said. Unlike how he learned the drums, Howard learned how to play by watching YouTube tutorials. “After like two or three songs I kind of had a decent enough familiarity with the fretboard and built enough dexterity which allowed me to do whatever I wanted to,” Howard said.

Howard began playing his own solos on his guitar and improvising pieces as he went along to pursue his interest in Rock and Heavy Metal, he said. His background in playing the drums has helped him improvise well, he said, and he plays for his own entertainment orHoward for his friends.

Courtesy of Donny Howard said that he still plays the guitar almost every night, including the songs that he already knows, learning new ones, or even improvising his own solos. While he’s not playing his music in front of an audience, Howard said that he sometimes records a voice memo of a riff or lick that he likes so that he can play it again in the future or insert the clip into a song he is producing.

However, Howard hasn’t given up playing the drums—he sometimes plays for the steel drums ensemble at assemblies and concerts, he said. He doesn’t play at every concert; Howard said that he switches off to allow other members of his class a chance to play the drums.

Occasionally, Howard collaborates with his friends and even helped teach Jake Shapiro (12) to play the guitar, he said. “I loved watching him play and wanted to try,” Shapiro said; Howard introduced him to the music that he liked and it stuck. Although Howard no longer teaches Shapiro to play the guitar, the pair still play together in a casual setting or at larger events, such as the

Relay for Life.

Howard has expanded his musical dexterity thanks to courses offered by the school. In tenth grade, Howard took a Music Technology class taught by Music Teacher Doug Epstein, which served as an introduction to musical production, he said. In the class, students learn how to to use the program Pro Tools, the industry-standard digital audio workspace used to record, produce, and create music.

Epstein has known Howard for the majority of his high school career and has been with Howard at every step of his musical journey. Howard’s confidence in his musical abilities has never been an issue, said Epstein. “He’s just gotten better at [playing], and his vocabulary is just getting bigger,” Epstein said. “Playing drums, steel pan, and guitar, and engineering his own and other’s sessions, he is hungry for any opportunity to make and create music.”

Howard will be attending Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee in the fall to further his music career and obtain an Audio Engineering Technology degree, he said. Belmont University’s Audio Engineering Technology program is the only program in the world that adheres to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) standards.

After obtaining an Audio Engineering Technology Degree, Howard believes that he will be able to forge his own musical path. “I can end up just working at a recording studio, being kind of like a studio tech, who like helps set up the microphones just does that sort of technician type work on a record,” he said. “I could be the guy who actually does the recording on it. I can be the guy who mixes it, produces it.”

In addition to working in a recording studio, Howard would also be able to work in live sound at venues ranging from local restaurants to Madison Square Garden, he said. Facing this plethora of choices, Howard remains open to any possible career within music. “Whatever opportunity comes first,” he said.

7

HORACE MANN LIONS’ DEN JANUARY 10TH, 2020

Boys Varsity Basketball splits games against Packer and Browning Adam Frommer and Alex Lautin Staff Writer & Contributing Writer Boys Varsity Basketball lost to a last-second shot at Packer and beat Browning with missing players due to illnesses and injuries.

With less than fifteen seconds left during the Packer game, Robert Mantz (12) made a threepoint shot to tie the game at 68 points. However, Packer quickly came back with a game-winning basket, and a final score of 70-68.

Team members attributed the loss to simple errors on both offense and defense. For example, the team often rushed to shoot the ball from difficult situations and when they had easy chances, failed to convert them into points, said guard Aillil Walsh (10). They also struggled with stopping the ball and preventing fast breaks, Avi Kapadia (11) said.

Jaden Kirshner (11) said that the team played really well in the last few minutes of the games.

With many steals, the team was able to fight back, he said.

Even though the Lions lost, it was an important game to play because of the high level of competition, Ben Feldman (11) said. Packer is not a member of the Ivy League, so while the game counted towards the NYSAIS playoffs, the result did not impact the team’s league standings.

At the Browning game, the team made a lot of impressive plays, Feldman said, but communi-

Lauren Kim/Staff Artist

cation on defense is the team’s biggest area for improvement. The final score of the game was 66-61 Lions.

The team played without two really strong players: Ben Chasin (11) and Walsh, Head Coach Tony Wright said. The circumstance allowed for some players who usually have less playing time to step up, he said.

Mantz said that his brother Eddie’s defense and tempo allowed the team to stay in control the whole time. “I think we are a totally different team when he’s not on the court in terms of our game speed and how much we can control the game,” Robert said.

Robert said that he has generally been really impressed with Walsh’s playing. Even though Walsh is not one of the five starters, he is one f the team’s leading scorers. “Especially as a sophomore we are all very excited for him,” Robert said.

This year, Wright replaced long-time Head Coach Tim Sullivan, and the dynamic of play is entirely different than last year, co-Captain Jack Blackman (12) said. The team’s best player Kelvin Smith left this year to attend boarding school, so the team has to rely more on team plays. “We don’t have the superstar in Kelvin that we had last year, so we work together better now,” he said. Last year, the team played to protect Smith and ensure that he could play most of every game, but now the coach puts in different groups of players.

Wright coaches with a different playing system than the players were used to, Wright said. The style includes more constant movement on the court and less set plays. “You’ve got to do a lot of thinking.” With a more motion-based offense, the team might never do the same play twice in one game, whereas set plays only allows a few options. “You can be very creative with it, too,” he said.

A few weeks before break, Feldman walked out of a game. Blackman said that Feldman left during halftime because the coaches were not giving him enough playing time during the game.

“My emotions got the best of me,” Feldman said. When leaving, Feldman said that he did not want to make a big issue out of it.

He left the game very subtly, Kirshner said.

Kirshner did not notice until later because

Jackson Feigin/Staff Photographer

BREATHE co-Captain Robert Mantz (12) gets ready to shoot free throw. he was playing a lot that game and was pretty focused on the court, he said.

“I knew if I were able to leave the team I could spend more time doing other academics or clubs or focusing on other things,” Feldman said.

While he loves basketball, it is not the endgame for him. Before leaving for good, Feldman wanted to make sure that the decision was well thought-through. After speaking with coaches and Director of Athletics Robert Annunziata, he decided to return to the team and finish out the season even though he did not feel as though it was the best decision for him. “It was me trying to deal with the frustration of my performance,” Feldman said.

Kirshner was surprised at how little playing time Feldman had during the previous games, he said. “He is a very powerful player.”

Wright said that he plays athletes based on how hard they are working. “I don’t care if you have been a starter for the last two years. If someone is outworking you in practice, if someone else is showing up every day and doing the little things, they are going to play regardless of what the history has been,” he said.

Feldman was ultimately disappointed with communication from the coaches. “When you

get frustrated, you make a decision,” he said.

“So me walking out on the team might not have been the best decision in the moment, but I just wanted to take some time to reflect and see where I could move forward from there.”

Kapadia said that he is impressed with the coaching, especially considering that it is the head coach’s first year. He said that the team is one cohesive unit this year.

The team has decreased in size by two members in the course of this year alone. “It was upsetting to see people go,” Blackman said. But the smaller group has allowed for team members to know their role on the court better, he said.

Kirshner said that athletes have left the team in the past, so the recent circumstances do not carry much weight on the team, and the best way for the team to move forward is to focus on playing, he said. “We know that it is a long season and everyone has personal reasons for leaving, and we just want to focus on the game and respect their decision.”

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

Technical rule denies wrestling first win of 2020 against Poly Prep Emily Shi and Madison Xu Staff Writter & Contributing Writer Despite achieving one of their best performances of the season on Wednesday, the Varsity Wrestling Team lost to Poly Prep on a decision based on technical criteria – a rare event that has not occurred in four years.

Since the Lions lacked wrestlers to fill one weight class, Poly received an automatic forfeit for one match, earning them six points and bringing the score to a 31-31 tie. In such cases, the referee goes down a list of tiebreaker criteria, and declares the win based on which team fulfills the earliest criteria listed. Even though the Lions earned more points per match than

Poly, the first criterion stated that teams would win meets based on the number of matches won, which Poly technically achieved because of the forfeit.

“We definitely outperformed Poly Prep at this meet,” co-Captain Bernard von Simson said. “It was a disappointment, but I’m not as upset as [I would have been] if we had lost by traditional means.”

After Poly began with a lead after the first match, Jacob Schorsch (11) pinned his opponent in less than 10 seconds, earning six points and bringing the score to 12-9 lead for the Lions.

This match began a winning streak for the lions, bringing the score to 39-18 advantage for the Lions by the time that James (JT) Thomas

Jackson Feigin/Staff Photographer

TAP OUT Liam Futterman (11) pins Poly Prep wrestler to gain lead.

(10) defeated his opponent by pinning him with only his upper body.

Matches throughout the latter half of the meet became increasingly longer and closer, while simultaneously growing the camaraderie and spirit in the room.

The winning title came down to the last period of the longest match yet. During the last match, where Harry Lowe (9) and his opponent both attempted to pin each other numerous times, each team stood to intensely cheer for each side and offer advice to the wrestlers.

Frankie Dogramaci (9), a spectator, was excited to see how supportive the schools were of their teammates, she said.

Even during practice, aside from simply exercising harder, the team focused more on prioritizing team spirit through chants and words of encouragement, co-Captain Liam Futterman (11) said.

In spite of the unfortunate results of the meet, von Simson remains hopeful for the team’s ability to beat Poly Prep at the Ivy League Wrestling Tournament, he said. “There were really strong movements of the team that I think showed Poly Prep that we were just as good as we were last year when we beat them.”

Poly Prep has always been the team’s biggest rival, who Schorsch considers the second-best team in the Ivy School Preparatory league after the Lions, he said. In the early 2000s, the school often beat Poly at wrestling, but with Poly’s recent success, the rivalry has grown bigger.

In practices, Von Simson aims to continue working on conditioning and technique in order to achieve the team goals to win the Ivy League Tournament and the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Tournament, or the United States Championship.

The Lions have another change to defeat Poly Prep at the NYSAIS meet, Coach Gregg Quilty said. “[The] loss hopefully will motivate them to

come back and beat them at the end of the year.”

Prior to this tournament, the team had an 8-1 record with only one loss against Iona Prep in their first meet of the season.

The Lions are the only team in the Ivy Prepa-

Felix Brenner/Staff Artist

ratory School League that practices more recent moves due to Quilty’s expertise, which gives them a unique leg up against their opponents, Thomas said. “You’d be surprised how much it helps us at tournaments.”

These techniques proved helpful in the meet against Poly Prep, when multiple wrestlers used these moves to earn six points through pinning their opponents.

Some of these technical moves include upper body throws, and leg riding, when a wrestler places their legs through their opponent’s legs from a top position, Thomas said.

The Lions are specifically good at leg-riding, Liam Futterman said. “That’s kind of what we’re known for and all of the teams know that, but they can’t really defend against it because we’re so good at it,” Futterman said.

The disappointing results of the meet this Wednesday have inspired the team to continue to train as hard as they did before to reach their eventual goal of Ivy League and NYSAIS champions, Von Simson said.

Lions’ Den Record Sports

JANUARY 10TH 2020

Unconventional Sports Julia Goldberg Staff Writter

Mayzar Azmi (10):

8

Courtesy of Mayzar Azmi

Milen Nelivigi (11):

Racecar Driving Parkour

While most athletes at the school practice their sport on the field, track, or court, Mayzar Azmi (10) practices his sport in the comfort in his home—on a race car simulator, which he built himself out of aluminium extrusions.

Originally, Azmi’s passion for engineering sparked his interest in racing. “For me, the basis of cars—the technology and entrepreneurship—comes from racing,” he said. “I think if you want to be in the car industry, you have to know how to race cars because you have to know how it feels to drive at the absolute limit of grip in a car meant to do just that.”

Azmi started racing on his own around two years ago and decided to join a team not long after, he said.

Though the team competes at meets together, each racer practices on their own. As of now, Azmi practices on Saturday and Sunday on his simulator for anywhere from three to eight hours a day. When he races, Azmi feels “excitement and passion,” he said.

According to Azmi, an athlete’s genetics doesn’t affect their speed as it may in other sports. “[Racing fast] comes from mostly experience, and yes, having 10 years of experience is better than having just two or even one, but if you want it badly enough, you can get it,” he said.

“Personally, I think anyone can race, and I think anyone can win.”

This year, Azmi is racing at the Formula 1600 level, which is a step above Formula Four. The best level is Formula One, which is for professionals who “drop everything else in exchange for it,” he said. If drivers hope to reach Formula One, they must start practicing at age five, and in order to continue moving up the formula ladder, many drivers and their families even move to Europe. Though Azmi has never raced outside of the U.S., he dreams of one day competing at Nurburgring-Nordschleife in Germany.

As of now, Azmi has competed in four races against competitors typically aged 15 to 21, and he has had a podium—or top three—finish two times. Even though he doubted he could place beforehand, Azmi believes his second race was his best. “I managed to keep my head cool, and I eventually fought my way up to second place. I couldn’t believe it, but if it’s taught me anything, it’s that anxiety only holds you back, especially in a highstakes situation,” Azmi said.

Upon arrival at any competition, Azmi always completes a few laps of warm-up to stay calm and learn the track. “Being able to slow down—not literally, but slow down your brain—that builds confidence,” he said.

After warming up, Azmi and his coach decide what Azmi’s focus for the practice should be. “There’s probably a million things you could do to bring down your time, but the best way to do it is just think of three, maybe four, things you can do,” Azmi said. “It’s much easier to think about it in little, manageable parts. You don’t say go faster or slow down; those are really hard things to think about.” In the past, Azmi has focused on coming into turns faster or breaking later out of the turn.

In order to achieve a personal best, a racer must go the fastest speed possible without crashing or running off of the track. “You have to learn how to reduce lap time while not overpushing,” he said. “You can’t get into the car and just pray for everything to be okay; you have to be extremely deliberate with your actions and fully conscious of every input you are making in order to lower lap times.”

Keeping this limit in mind, Azmi visualizes himself on the track prior to race. He imagines the feeling of the brake pedal and the angle of the turn, he said.

“I also try to visualize other people,” Azmi said. “If they make a mistake, it’s good to know how to take advantage of it.” As an example, if someone near him slows down into a turn, Azmi will consider how he can compensate.

Steering clear of others is typically the correct decision, since the rest of the racers are usually too fast or too slow to pace with, which can be distracting, Azmi said. “You’re always trying to focus on your own lane,” he said. “By doing that, you’ll actually be able to race more competitively.”

Even if you do pace with other competitors, respecting them is of the utmost importance, Azmi said. “You can’t just crash into other people; it’s literally illegal,” he said. “You’ll get disqualified. You have to be really smart and really careful, but you also have to win.”

But Azmi has learned much more from racing than sportsmanship, he said. “I can focus better for longer periods of time, I can manage my anxiety better,” he said. “Racing has helped me in so many ways, I can’t even list them all.”

At the age of ten, Milen Nelivigi (11) was enjoying Casino Royale, a James Bond thriller, when a scene filled with heart-stopping leaps, jumps, and rolls caught his eye. The scene, coupled with countless Youtube videos of parkour, inspired Nelivigi not just to continue watching others master the sport, but to try it out for himself.

In fifth grade, Nelivigi and a few of his friends from his old school, Trevor Day School, began practicing parkour once a week at a nearby park. “I enjoyed the social aspect the most,” Nelivigi said.

“Everyone had their strong points, so if someone was better at one thing they’d help you out with that.”

Parkour, by definition, is the act of moving in the most efficient way from point A to point B, Nelivigi said. However, because of the number of obstacles, parkour isn’t just about running; it’s also about balancing on small objects, jumping over vaults, and scaling walls—all without any equipment.

Because of the number of obstacles, parkour is an extreme mental challenge, Nelivigi said. “You can already do these things physically,” he said. “It’s just about overcoming fear.” To counteract his nerves, Nelivigi promised himself that during practices, if he encountered an obstacle he didn’t think he could overcome, he would attempt it at least 10 times before giving up. Overcoming these obstacles provided Nelivigi with a great sense of pride, he said.

Nelivigi specifically recalls learning how to scale one wall, which he originally thought was too tall for him to climb over, that same year. “After a month of practice, I was able to scale the wall and jump off of it without being scared,” Ne-

livigi said. “It gave me a lot of confidence because it’s easy to give up on something that you think you can’t do. After I finally got over it, I realized you just have to put some work in and push yourself.”

Nowadays, parkour generally attracts people seeking an adrenaline rush—but it wasn’t always a voluntary, or recreational, activity, Nelivigi said.

According to the World Freerunning Parkour Federation (WFPF), the people of the Caribbean island Martinque and their ability to navigate the land and natural obstacles greatly impressed naval lieutenant George Herbet of England.

Hoping to improve his soldiers’ grace, Herbet implemented the sport as the training for the French army during World War I. Then, in the late 20th century, veteran of the French Special Forces Raymond Belle taught the discipline to his son, David Belle, who established the first organized group of parkour practitioners with his friend Sebastian Foucan. However, after a personal split, Foucan moved to the United Kingdom and brought with him a varied version of the sport: Whereas Belle’s version of parkour had no flips, Foucan’s new approach relied on acrobatics. In the years following the divide, new leaders, who were not necessarily followers of either Foucan or Belle, emerged in the sport. By 2007, practitioners sought unity between athletes of various perspectives, and as such formed the WFPF. The WFPF was the first organization to formally introduce parkour as a sport, and is currently dedicated to “advancing this dynamic new sport to its proper place alongside other recognized sports and disciplines,” their website said.