The Horace Mann Record RECORD.HORACEMANN.ORG
HORACE MANN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1903
APRIL 20TH, 2018 || VOLUME 115, ISSUE 24
Students rally for gun control Nishtha Sharma Staff Writer
Faculty members to take on new roles next year Madison Li Staff Writer
Abigail Kraus and Eva Fortunato/Staff Photographers
Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly announced this week that Head of Middle Division Robin Ingram, AP Calculus AB teacher and Registrar Mitchell Francis, and Associate Director of Middle & Upper Division Admissions Chris Garrison will be transitioning to new roles next year. Ingram will be stepping down from her position after the end of this school year. She will transition to working in the Middle and Upper Division Admissions Office under Director of Admissions Jason Caldwell, according to an email sent by Kelly on Friday, April 13. While the average time in New York City for division heads is four to six years, Ingram has served in her position for 14 years, she said. “I felt like it was time for other people who have good ideas to take over; I’m excited to see how the new Head will restructure the Middle School,” Ingram said. In her new position, Ingram will be aiding the Admissions Office in implementing a new software program, Ravenna, which is nowadays used for many college and private school applications, she said. As she has always interviewed middle school candidates for the school, Ingram will be able to apply her knowledge of what makes a good fit for a middle school student when she interviews both middle and high school
candidates, she said. Her other responsibilities will include managing the Student Ambassador Program, which is currently run by Garrison, and visiting fairs at other schools. Ingram will miss teaching her sixth grade science class every day and will likely only teach her eighth grade Crime Lab elective, she said. Garrison will transition from the Admissions Office into his new role as Registrar at the start of the new school year, he said. “I feel that I’ve taken an enormous amount from this position, and I’ve learned a lot about so many different aspects of the school while working with amazing people that I’m grateful to have worked with,” Garrison said. Garrison has worked in the Admissions Office in his current role for seven years, and he has also served as the Head of the Student Ambassador Program, he said. “[Garrison’s] positive energy is infectious and made me love giving tours and attending open houses,” Isha Agarwal (10), a Student Ambassador, said. Garrison’s new responsibilities as Registrar include overseeing the student information system that the school uses, which manages scheduling, grades, narratives, and progress reports, he said. Francis will retire from his two positions at the end of
the school year, he said. He has been creating schedules at the school since 1991 and was appointed as the First Registrar of the school in 2008, he said. Francis has been working with the student database, which includes grades and narratives. His role involves organizing schedules and other student information, he said. “Mr. Francis, besides being the true snow g-d, has been an incredible teacher; our class has loved his stories, sense of humor, patience, and endless enthusiasm,” Beatrix Bondor (12) said. “I think our G period Calculus class and the entire school will definitely be sad to say goodbye to him.” Overall, Francis has learned a lot from his students and colleagues from his time at the school, and he has had an amazing time being a teacher at the school, he said. “I’ve coined the phrase ‘Teacher Heaven,’” Francis said. Horace Mann Probability of a Snow Day Index (HMPSDI) will unfortunately be retiring as well this year because Francis is the only one who knows how to calculate the probabilities, he said. For the next two years, Francis will be living at John Dorr Nature Laboratory with his wife, Dorr Administrative Assistant Lorna Francis, and working as a database consultant for the school. Then, his wife and he will be moving to Burlington, Vermont for retirement, he said.
Today, students from the school will join several thousand high school students across the five boroughs will walk out of school and gather at Washington Square Park to protest gun violence. The rally will honor the lives lost in the Columbine shooting exactly 19 years ago, and the many other school shootings that have occurred since, including Parkland. Students will leave school at 10a.m. to make signs and register to vote before the event starts at 12p.m., Radhika Mehta (12), one of the organizers, said. The speakers in attendance include Parkland survivor Isabella Robinson, NYC Councilman Keith Powers, Pulse Nightclub Shooting Survivor Christopher Hansen, and Congressman Jerry Nadler. The opportunity to hear these speakers “lets us connect to these horrible events and allow the momentum of this movement to continue, no matter how long ago they may have happened,” Natalie Baer (10), who plans to walk out, said. The administration decided not to penalize student protesters and offered to pay for students’ subway fare. “Dr. Levenstein and I were on the same page in terms of wanting to support reasonable and responsible student activism,” Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly said. Computer Science teacher Danah Screen is supportive of students who miss classes to attend the rally. “When I see students going forward in the name of social justice and activism, I highly encourage them because I was involved in similar moments of change while I was in college,” she said. “For Dr. Kelly and me, it was a question of equity…and we thought it was important to give students that voice,” Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein said. The planning committee began organizing the event days after the walkout that happened in schools nationwide on March 14, and delegated different tasks through subcommittees. Some of these subcommittees include sound, public outreach, dealing with school administrations, and fundraising, she said. “Outreach, especially over social media, was
one of the more difficult tasks we had because NYC can be very segregated due to differences in socioeconomic backgrounds through out,” Duncan Freeman, a senior at the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, said. “However, we were very fortunate that people were very helpful, and were very willing to donate money.” Freeman noticed that overall, planning the rally has brought a lot of students together, and he hopes that it will collectively bring about change in NYC. After being approached by other students, Zarina Iman (12), Binah Schatsky (12) and Mehta spread awareness of the rally to the school. “I chose to get involved because gun violence is such a pertinent topic in today’s world, especially in high schools,” Iman said. Iman was also inspired to participate after seeing gun violence in communities of color, she said. Many students plan on attending the rally. Ashley Dai (10) is attending because she believes “we are fortunate enough to live in a community where we’re able to advocate for nationwide gun control without being shut down completely,” she said. “As a high school student, gun violence directly affects me, and I believe it’s time to acknowledge that we are not safe in schools and that we must take action now,” Natalie Sweet (9) said. “I want that politicians [to] recognize us and our voice, and the best case is that they bring about legislation directly because of the walkout,” Bernard von Simson (10) said. Nyle Hutchinson (11) will not attend partially because of his academic work, but also because he is undecided about his stance towards gun reform rallies. “I think student activism is great, but personally, I’m not sure if I fully agree with the ideals of this specific movement,” he said. Likewise, Brian Wu (10) is not participating because he is undecided about his opinion, and remains neutral on issues pertaining to gun reform because he does not “fully oppose or agree with either side,” he said. “I’m attending because I think it’s really important to show your support. I feel like our generation is at the forefront of some really big changes in society, and I want to be there for that,” Rivers Liu (12) said.
Elizabeth Fortunato/Staff Artist
Annual Science and Technology Showcase features keynote speaker and student research Julia Robbins Staff Writer
inside
This evening in Cohen Dining Commons, students will be presenting scientific research projects as part of the school’s annual Science and Technology Showcase. The evening will include a poster session, a light dinner, a Robotics Club presentation, and an alumnus speaker. “The purpose of the event is definitely to celebrate the accomplishments of our students here in a non-competitive environment,” Science Research Coordinator Dr. Christine Leo said. The planning for the event included securing a keynote speaker and making sure that students are prepared for their presentations, she said. Dr. Sakellarios Zairis ‘04 is the keynote speaker for the event and has a PhD in Computational Biology. Zairis and Adrian Ross ’04, who will also be attending the event, are starting a Biotechnology company together. “I think it’s a great thing to not only see what [the alumni] have accomplished, but to learn the paths that they took to get there,” Leo said. Zairis will deliver a “brief history of drug
Field Trip Review
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Four UD classes experience the world beyond HM
discovery and how Biotech is becoming more of an engineering discipline,” he said. “I hope that [attendants] come away with the accurate impression that Biotechnology as a field is actually accelerating; the rate of change, the pace of discovery, is really kicking into high gear and that it’s a very exciting time for creative, young minds to be plugging into what the big challenges are,” Zairis said. In addition to delivering a slideshow presentation, Zairis hopes to engage with student research in the poster session part of the evening, he said. The majority of student presenters for the Showcase are in the Science Research class. At the Showcase, students have the opportunity to present their findings to members of the school community. Showcase participant Ben Doolan (10) is looking forward to seeing all of his peers’ research and hearing the guest speaker talk, he said. Doolan’s project attempts to optimize machine
learning for research about Type 1 diabetes, he said. He hopes that his presentation will make members of the school community think about the disease, Doolan said. “I thought going into the class I wouldn’t be able to produce any research that would be interesting to other people, so I’m kind of just excited that I got the work done and that I’m able to share it with people,” participant Jonah Newmark (12) said. Newmark is doing a presentation about how enzymes produced by carnivorous plants can help with research on Celiac disease, he said. Newmark looks forward to presenting in order to inspire other kids to take the Science Research class and to raise awareness about Celiac disease, he said. Along with displaying the research that those in the Science Research class are doing, the Showcase also exposes people to the Science Research class which is “the most underrated class at Horace Mann”, Radhika Mehta (12) said.
Immigrant Stories
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Students and faculty share their journies to the United States
“A lot of people don’t realize how easy it is to get involved in research.” This year, Mehta has been trying to create a water filter that uses both an activated carbon filter and ultraviolet LEDs to purify water, she said. In her presentation, Mehta will show viewers a prototype of her device, in addition to her poster board. Govind Menon (12) is trying to answer the question: “how can we use the bikes that [people in Bangladesh and parts of East Africa] are already using, to desalinate water?” “If more people are aware of the need to desalinate water, I think we’re looking toward a better tomorrow,” Menon said. “Even if science is not your passion, I think that everyone could be really intrigued by the work that students have been doing and some of the questions that they’ve been trying to answer,” Leo said.
Shake it Up!
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School explores Shakespeare through impromptu performances
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THE RECORD OPINIONS APRIL 20TH, 2018
Speaking from the ‘I’ perspective: A critique on SOI
Alexandra Crotty Junior year requires a lot from students. Between harder classes, standardized tests, extracurricular commitments, et cetera, we - like everyone else at this school - have very little time to spare. So of course, when I saw a free period taken up once a week by a class called Seminar on Identity (SOI), I was not thrilled. SOI is a course that all juniors are required to take that meets once a week. For the first chunk of the course, students discuss topics in social justice including race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic class. For the remaining time, the class is led by one of the college counselors and shifts its focus towards preparedness for the college process. But in the words of the Upper Division handbook, SOI is a course that “will provide
11th graders with an opportunity to explore identity development broadly and consider the ways in which their own identities can provide them with the agency to affect positive change in their lives and in their communities.” The handbook description makes SOI sound like a really valuable course. So far, that has not been my experience. One main problem was that upon starting the class, it immediately became clear to me that the scheduling of it was flawed: SOI starts during the second trimester. That causes it to be viewed as “taking up a free” instead of as its own legitimate class. That viewpoint spoils it for students from the start. Since students enter the class bitter about their stolen time, it disincentivizes them to go in with an open mind, participate regularly, and take advantage of the class. Furthermore, since many of the topics discussed in SOI have been touched upon in other classes such as English and history, I, like several of my classmates, don’t feel like I’m hearing much new. Needless to say, that doesn’t help SOI’s case. Another issue was that since nobody in my section of the class was willing to put themselves out there, I don’t feel as if I’ve taken anything away from the class. I personally plead guilty to even having played hangman with the person next to me. I think my unwillingness to participate is amplified further because the class is rigidly
structured and doesn’t allow me to stray from very specific prompts, hindering self-expression. Since the teachers ask such specific prompts, oftentimes the class feels more like answering a survey than it does a discussion course. Moreover, the few people who do speak up about these key issues are people who have already formulated opinions on topics such as social justice. This causes the class to be one-sided and only beneficial to those who already regularly engage in thinking about how their identity plays a role in their lives. And why couldn’t we discuss this as sophomores or as freshmen? They generally have far more time than upperclassmen. I never got a straight answer from my teachers or the administration, only responses along the lines of “junior year is an important time to think about these issues.” I’ve heard some of my classmates advocate for implementing the curriculum of SOI much earlier, because if Lower Division and Middle Division students learn about these subjects, they’ll be able to identify issues relating to social justice more easily throughout the rest of their lives. I think that there is some validity to this argument, and that since younger students have less of a time strain, it could really be beneficial to incorporate a course like SOI into the curriculum earlier. I believe that with some work, the school can make SOI a better experience. I would suggest combining it with the ninth grade introductory
course Horace Mann Orientation (HMO) to create a year-long class. Adding another college night for juniors would cover the information learned in the college portion of the class. Another solution I’ve heard my classmates advocate for is making SOI optional so that the people who enroll would actually care and contribute. We could also remedy this reluctance to participate by structuring the course in a less rigid manner. For instance, the teachers could do more to encourage discussion by bringing in a range of prompts and allowing students to choose which ones to delve into. By allowing more flexibility in responses, the course could stimulate more meaningful and independent thought. Essentially, SOI is well-intentioned but not well-executed. Its intent is to heighten our awareness of how our identities affect our experiences and the experiences of those around us and is a noble cause. If it were to succeed in its mission, we would be better able to identify and stand up to injustices related to people’s identities. However, I’m not sure that the planning of the course accurately anticipated how unenthusiastic the junior class would be about participating in SOI. Taking up a free during the dreaded junior year and the ineffective class structure, have hindered this course’s ability to make a difference in the way students think about identity.
Highlighting my image: Makeup and fashion as art forms
Elizabeth Chung I started wearing makeup when I wI started wearing makeup when I was nine. In hindsight, that was really young; I’d be willing to bet that I was the first person in my grade to start. You can’t blame me, though - I was so impatient to start putting bright red on my cheeks, and glittery black under my eyes! I didn’t want to wait until I was “old enough” to wear makeup without garnering weird stares and the occasional remark that I looked like I had a fever (too much blush a rookie mistake). I wanted to wear makeup now. And so, I did. I defied every parental protest, even if it meant hiding lipstick in my schoolbag and applying it in the school bathroom, or learning to do graphic eyeliner in a moving vehicle so I could get away with wearing it outside of home. I did it because I wanted to, even if nobody else liked it, and especially when they told me I couldn’t. I approach a lot of what I put on my body that way. If I want it, I’ll try it, whether it’s with cosmetics, contacts,
clothing, or wigs. Why not blue lipstick? Or black? What if I want green eyes today, and hazel eyes tomorrow? What if I want to have short blue hair? So what if this shirt is totally backless, or if these pants have chains hanging off them? Why not buy a backless shirt made of chains? If I want to look some way, then I will. Temporarily, that is. See, the beauty of cosmetics and fashion is that it all comes off. Every day is a clean slate, a chance to start something new. You don’t have to sacrifice anything about the way you look naturally in order to have fun with how you present yourself. The way I look when I first get up is the same way I’ll look when I go to bed, regardless of whether I wore studs and a cyber-goth mask or a flouncy skirt with purple hair while I was out. At the end of the day, fashion and cosmetics are veneers. They’re not real. The problem comes when people start wishing they were real, especially when it comes to makeup. I can’t wish golden highlight onto my face, nor can I wish on red lips or contour. It’s simply not possible. No matter what the makeup industry says about ‘glowy skin,’ ‘sexy cat-eyes,’ ‘fluffy lashes,’ or whatever other moniker they sell to us women, I can’t ever actually have that because it’s fake; you can’t look like that without makeup because it’s impossible. And even if it were possible, I wouldn’t want it, because then what’s the point? The thing that’s so amazing about makeup is that you can change it all the time. Makeup
is not about looking beautiful, or impressing others. It shouldn’t be a chore, and it shouldn’t be a way to make yourself look ‘presentable.’ We are beautiful and presentable enough just as we are. Makeup should be an optional instrument of expression - an opportunity to show off and accentuate parts of your personality however you see fit by using your face as your canvas. If you find that you don’t really love makeup as an art form, and you’re only using it as a social veil to feel decent about yourself, then I strongly urge you to to take a break. Cosmetics can so easily turn into a social crutch, which is dangerous, because the brevity of makeup makes putting it on over your insecurities akin to taping a bandaid over a bullet wound. Insecurities are more than skin-deep, and tricking yourself into thinking makeup will fix it all will only make you reliant on it. Nobody needs makeup; however, if you really love it as a creative tool and not as a mask, then using it can be incredibly empowering. Of course, I’ve faced a lot of backlash for wearing what I want to wear, both with my makeup and my clothes. I like to joke that I may be one of the most reported kids in the school, and in all honesty, I probably am the most dress coded. I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t heard negative talk about me regarding how I look. However, I don’t do what I do because I care what others think of me - I do it because I like it. If others’ thoughts about the way I looked mattered to me,
Volume 115 Editorial Board Managing Editor Lynne Sipprelle
Editor in Chief Katie Goldenberg
Features Surya Gowda Megha Nelivigi
News Betsey Bennett Sadie Schwartz
Opinions Sandhya Shyam
A&E Solomon Katz
Lions’ Den Will Han
Photography Jake Shapiro Ahaan Palla
Middle Division Tenzin Sherpa
Design Editors Allison DeRose
Art Director Jackson Roberts
Faculty Adviser David Berenson
I would’ve stopped dressing so boldly a long time ago. And yet, here I am; still as interested in changing up my looks as ever. There’s something amazing about being given the power to reinvent your image however you want. The way I look is something I own; I can redesign myself in whatever manner I choose, and I can switch it up whenever I feel like it. And, I can do it all without compromising who I really am. I can
Staff Writers Malhaar Agrawal, Betsey Bennett, Peri Brooks, Amelia Feiner, Elizabeth Fortunato, Leonora Gogos, Caroline Goldenberg, Katie Goldenberg, Surya Gowda, Will Han, Jude Herwitz, Edwin Jin, Solomon Katz, Janvi Kukreja, Madison Li, Connor Morris, Megha Nelivigi, Noah Phillips, Eliza Poster, Julia Robbins, Abigail Salzhauer, Nishtha Sharma, Sadie Schwartz, Tenzin Sherpa, Sandhya, Shyam, Becca Siegel, Charlie Silberstein, Lynne Sipprelle, Griffin Smith, Georgi Verdelis, Ben Wang, Jeren Wei, Robbie Werdiger, Simon Yang Staff Photographers Iliana Dezelic, Eva Fortunato, Miyu Imai, Abigail Kraus, Daniel Lee, Mimi Morris, Benjamin Parker, Tatiana Pavletich Staff Artists Elizabeth Fortunato, Sofia Gonzalez, Surya Gowda, Damali O’Keefe, Spyridoula Potamopoulou, Jackson Roberts, Zoe Vogelsang
have my cake and eat it too. I can go home, wash it all off, and go back to being the brown eyed, black haired girl that I’ve come to love so much. After all, while your makeup can be your art, your beauty is your own, and that can’t be recreated with any amount of product.
Jackson Roberts/Art Director
Editorial Policy ABOUT The Record is published weekly by the students of Horace Mann School to provide the community with information and entertainment, as well as various viewpoints in the forms of editorials and opinion columns. All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar and layout are made by the editorial board. The Record maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and National Scholastic Press Association. EDITORIALS & OPINIONS Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority of the senior editorial board. Opinion columns are the sole opinion of the author and not of The Record or the editorial board. NOTE 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. The Horace Mann School is not responsible for the accuracy and content of The Record, and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein. LETTERS To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters to the editor should be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or e-mail (record@horacemann.org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed and should refer to a Record article. Letters may be edited for grammar, style, length and clarity. CONTACT For all comments, queries, story suggestions, complaints or corrections, or for information about subscribing, please contact us by email at record@horacemann.org.
HORACE MANN NEWS APRIL 20TH, 2018
HM Hits the Road: Field Trips in Review
Spanish Three Honors to Repertorio Español Victor Dimitrov Staff Writer On Wednesday, Spanish Three Honors students watched a live performance of “La Casa de Bernarda Alba,” a play that they have been studying in class. The group watched the play, written by Federico García Lorca, at the Repertorio Español theatre, and then went to Dos Caminos restaurant for lunch. “By taking the Spanish Three Honors students to see the play, it allows them to experience the work they’ve been studying the way it was meant to be,” Spanish teacher Michael Dalo said. The trip has been going on for more than 10 years and has become a very large part of the curriculum, Dalo said.
It is always a fun and interesting experience for students to see native Spanish speakers perform and then enjoy Mexican cuisine, Spanish teacher María del Pilar Valencia said. “When you watch a video of something, you detach yourself from that experience, but when you experience something live, then it is no longer as remote and you can associate yourself with it,” Valencia said. “It was really helpful to watch the play, as it’s very different to read a production versus actually see it,” Isha Agarwal (10) said. “It helped us improve our listening comprehension skills, as we had to pay attention to the specific lines.”
Voices of Protest to Brooklyn Courthouses
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Art History Studies to Frick Museum Kiara Royer Staff Writer
On Wednesday, the Art History Studies class visited the Frick museum to discuss three pieces of their collection that they had previously studied in class. The class is centered around portraiture, and the Frick has a really great collection of portraits by various artists, Amrita Acharya (12) said. A staff member at the Frick gave the class a tour, and the students were able to discuss the actual works of art right in front of the pieces, art history teacher Dr. Anna Hetherington said. Being able to see various portraits in person is a great way to augment the study of art in the classroom, Arianna Laufer (12) said. It’s exciting to see art pieces, especially sculptures, because seeing art in person is very different than discussing it from a screen, Hetherington said.
Hetherington brings her class to the Frick every year because it is a great teaching museum, she said. This year, the class looked at a Gainsborough painting, a bronze bust, and a Rembrandt selfportrait, Louis Toberisky (12) said. “I think the students were amazed by where the discussion led them,” Hetherington said. Laufer’s favorite work was the Rembrandt self-portrait. “I love the juxtaposition of representing the artist as humble but also extremely powerful, and the way Rembrandt chooses to depict himself can be interpreted in either of those ways depending on one’s reading of the portrait,” she said. Toberisky’s favorite piece was also the Rembrandt because its message is up for interpretation, he said. Being able to have both a professional from the Frick and the painting to aid discussion was really interesting, Toberisky said.
Kiara Royer Staff Writer
Amrita Acharya/Photography Editor
WHAT THE FRICK! Art History students pose at the Frick.
AP World History to Metropolitan Musem of Art Courtesy of Sadie Schwartz
ORDER IN THE COURT Students speak with public defenders Sarah Burleson and Johanathan Brooks. On Tuesday, the Voices of Protest history class met with FBI agents, attorneys, prosecutors, and judges, and observed hearings at the Kings County Criminal Courthouse and the United States District Court for the Eastern District in Brooklyn. This trip tied into the class’s unit about the civil justice system, history teacher David Berenson said. The class also met with Assistant United States Attorneys to discuss narcotics prosecutions and justice reform. They ended the day with a Special Options Service (SOS) hearing before a federal judge. “I was most excited to meet the prosecutors involved with the El Chapo case as well as other cases that we’ve heard about in the news and the media,” Janvi Kukreja (11) said. It’s an eye-opening trip as we see some people on the worst day of their lives, where they could be arraigned for a crime they’ve
committed, but I hope my students will walk away with a better sense of the strengths and weaknesses of our criminal justice system, Berenson said. The most promising experience of the day was the SOS hearing, an alternative to incarceration program for young, first time, nonviolent offenders to help get their life back on track, where these offenders explained how they are working to become more productive members of society, Nisha Sahgal (11) said. Although it is easy to say that the criminal justice system does not work the way we wish it would, it was great to see people taking action and trying to help those who have no support system, Sahgal said. “I hope my students saw how complicated the criminal justice system is and how many moving parts there are, and that there are no simple answers,” Berenson said.
Robbie Werdiger Staff Writer
On Thursday, history teachers Dr. Ellen Bales and Dr. Susan Groppi took their AP World History students to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they received a guided tour of the ancient history galleries in order to complete an assignment focused on analyzing artifacts. The yearly trip provides students with a chance to experience artifacts and works of art vital to the civilizations the students are studying. “The ability to analyze primary sources first hand allows me to further develop as a world historian,” Josh Doolan (12) said. “The insight that the Met provided into ancient civilizations was one that the textbooks just couldn’t portray. It’s an entirely different experience to read about an artifact or culture rather than to see by eye what is being described,” Anika Rabkin (11) said. Students saw many artifacts ranging from a variety of time periods and civilizations. Ethan Finley (12) examined objects from the Han Dynasty in China crafted during the years 206 B.C.—A.D. 220, including luxury items made
from gilt bronze to clay objects used for daily use, such as food containers and buckets. Students also explored works from Iran, the Indus Valley, and Western Central Asia. Artifacts in this gallery included fine stone sculptures and inscribed Indian stamp seals from 2600-1900 B.C. They also saw the Greek and Roman galleries. “I particularly enjoyed walking through the room dedicated to sculptures of the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut. It was also striking that there was a successful female leader in that era,” Daniel Posner (12) said. “AP World History covers so many time periods and regions, which is why the Met trip is meant to begin the review process for the AP exams and refresh the students’ minds,” Groppi said. The trip is an “exercise not only about aesthetics and beauty but the material culture of societies. Art helps the students better understand connections between civilizations throughout time,” Groppi said.
National park explorer Darius Nabors to visit for school’s Green Action Week Gabby Kepnes Staff Writer
During Green Action week, next Thursday during C, D, and E periods, Darius Nabors, a man who traveled to 59 American parks in 59 weeks, will come and speak about his miraculous journey. In June of 2015, Nabors and his friend Trevor both quit their jobs to commence their 59week adventure. Their first stop was Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. He celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the United States National Park system by seeing as much of it as he could firsthand. As he visits the UD, MD, and LD, he will be talking about beauty and wildlife of the parks, what it took to make his expedition happen, and the meaning he took out of his trip. Nick DePreter, the Co-Chair of the faculty Sustainability Committee, first met Nabors at a conference in New York in February. As they talked, they discussed the value of speaking at school during Green Action week, a week dedicated to helping the environment, where
students will be able to earn points or prizes for bringing reusable water bottles and keeping the school clean. “Dr. Kelly and Glenn from Dorr both supported the idea of bringing in such a relevant speaker,” DePreter said. “We want to get kids to learn more about national parks as well as getting them to want to save the earth,” DePreter said. Nabors will describe in detail how he mapped out a logistical plan for those 59 weeks. “Nabors didn’t just drive into each park, snap a picture, and then leave,” DePreter said. “He did multiple activities in each park like swimming, backpacking, and more.” Vice president of Green HM, Ari MosconaSkolnik (11), hopes that Nabors will relate his experience to current events, like the ongoing political administration’s actions that some critics say are damaging wildlife, he said. “National parks are really important for the environment and the ecosystem, but also for preserving the wildlife that exist in the area.” Skolnik-Moscana
said. “All students and faculty will look through various lenses to interpret Nabors’s message. I hope everyone will gain an awareness of the planet.” DePreter said. Ella Anthony (10), a member of the CC Sustainability Committee, awaits the visit. “I hope to speak with Mr. Nabors to see what else we can do with the school to make Horace Mann a ‘green-er’ place,” Anthony said. Similarly, Head of the MD Sustainability Committee Roselle Yang hopes that the students will be more mindful of their daily usage of water bottles and running water,” she said. Shay Soodak (10) said that she’ll find it interesting to hear about the different experience Nabors had in each park. “In history, we’ve learned about Teddy Roosevelt and John Muur, reformers during the Progressive Era who helped found the national parks we have today” she said. “I’m excited to learn about the conservation of parks in relation to what we learned in class.”
Soodak said. Few people her age get to experience the delicacy and charm of National Parks, Julia Roth (11) said. “Since we aren’t exposed to the same aspects of nature as others, it will be interesting having someone come here and show us photos to give us a good visual on the non-urban side of life,” Roth said. It will be fascinating to see all the photos Nabors might have for the students, Bradley May (11) said. “Living in New York City, it’s hard to be exposed to experiences like the ones Nabors got to have,” he said. DePreter said he believes Nabors’ visit is relatable to every discipline at school. “He talks about the science of ecology as well as the humanitarian interest of the story.” DePreter said. As everyone anticipates Nabors, DePreter hopes the event will get students and teachers talking about and supporting the environment, he said.
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THE RECORD FEATURES APRIL 20TH, 2018
HM’s Melting Pot: Reflecting o
Being forced to step out of one’s comfort zone is an experience all immi for many members of the school community, who have encountered lan confronted ridicule and racism, all while adjusting to life in the United S
Abigail Salzhauer, Jude Herwitz, Ben Wang, Simon Wang Staff Writers
Citizenship Even after 18 years in the U.S., Spanish teacher Pilar Valencia has still not qualified to apply for citizenship. However, Valencia’s experience is not unique: student and faculty immigrants have faced similar challenges. “It is not like you come here and just apply for citizenship,” Valencia said. “You have to follow the path, and the path is long and complicated and difficult.” Valencia emigrated from Colombia in 2000 but still needs to wait at least one year before she is eligible to start her application for American citizenship, she said. She first came to the U.S. via her now ex-husband’s student visa before she obtained her own student visa. After graduating, Valencia received a working visa upon being hired by the school. She finally obtained a green card, a form of permanent residency which allows her to legally live in the country forever because she is married to a U.S. citizen. Currently, Valencia is undergoing the time-intensive process of having the conditions removed from her green card, which means proving that she and her spouse are still married in more than just an attempt to obtain permanent residency, she said. “You have to submit a huge amount of documentation to prove that you’re married to the same guy, and I am,” she said. In 2003, Chinese teacher Frances Fu decided to come to the U.S. from Taiwan, despite her and her husband having good teaching jobs there, she said. They decided to move to New York to give their children a better education, Fu said. Fu was able to visit sites across the United States, so for her “the actual trip was very wonderful,” she said. Afterwards, however, she and her husband needed to obtain working visas, which they did successfully due to her husband’s position as a visiting professor at NYU and Yale. Overall, the process took six years, Fu said. Helena Yang (9) moved from Beijing, China to New York and she entered sixth grade and is a permanent resident of the United States. Her status grants her many rights of citizenship, such as using the U.S. Citizen line at the Immigration section of airports, but she cannot vote, she said. Panagiotis Persians (11) lived across Europe in Holland, Poland, Greece, and Italy before moving to New York in 2014, he said. He is not a citizen but instead lives in the country attached to his mother’s student visa, which she received to study for a PhD., he said. “I don’t plan to live here after college or I’m not even sure if I want to stay here for college,” Persians said. Because of this, he has little interest in applying for citizenship and believes obtaining it would be “irrelevant” he said. Joshua Doolan (12), a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, was born in Australia and spent much of his life traveling back and forth from there to the U.S., spending no more than a few years at a time in each location. Olivia Kester (11) is also a dual citizen, but of the U.S. and Poland. Isabella Binnmyr (9) moved from Moscow, Russia with her brother Alex Binnmyr (11) when she was in sixth grade and has not lived in the U.S. long enough to become a citizen, a process known as naturalization. The criteria that decides who can and cannot undergo naturalization varies, but applicants over the
age of 18 must live in the country for five consecutive years as a permanent resident before applying, according to Road to Status, an immigration help website. The application involves various security screenings, documentation, and examinations and can take more than six months from start to finish. During her final interview for citizenship, Fu experienced an error in translating Chinese characters to English, she said. “It took more than half-an-hour,” Fu said. The immigration officer “even thought about not giving me the citizenship.” People tend to make assumptions when they hear the word ‘immigrant’, Isabella Binnmyr said. “When they hear that you’re not a citizen, they automatically assume that I’m illegal, and when they hear that I’m not illegal, they’re very confused,” she said. If Valencia had gone back to Colombia while she was in the U.S. on her student or work visa, even for a short amount of time, she would have needed to re-apply for a visa again, which could have been denied, she said. Valencia does not want to move back to Colombia. Though she still votes in the country’s elections, she feels somewhat disconnected from its politics, she said. Before moving here, Yang spent a lot of time in the U.S., visiting a few times per year as part of the process of acquiring permanent residency, she said. She is almost eligible to apply for citizenship in the United States and plans on doing so, as it will allow her to visit more countries without a visa than Chinese citizenship will, she said. “I think going forward for me, becoming a citizen is probably better for my future,” she said. countries than Chinese citizenship will, she said. “I think going forward for me, becoming a citizen is probably better for my future,” she said.
Courtesy of Sra. Valencia
CHEESE! Sra. Valencia smiles infront of “La Candelaria” in Bogotá
Courtesy of Sophie Coste
QUEENS OF VERSAILLES Sophie Coste and her sisters pose in front of Versailles
Racism and Nativism “I’ve been told, ‘go back to China,’” Mieu Imai (11) said regarding nativist sentiments she has encountered since moving to the U.S. from Japan when she was five years old. “Some people think Japan is the same thing as China and Korea,” Imai said. Although she does not experience comments such as these often, when Imai is walking on the streets, it happens from time to time. Even so, Imai rarely faced negativity when she was younger. In the school community, these types of comments do not occur, she said. Olivia Kester (11) spent time living in Germany before moving back to New York and then to Abu Dhabi, UAE. She attended a British school, where she encountered prejudice as the only American student, she said. While she has not experienced the discrimination that she did at her old school, Kester still refers
to herself as an European who has lived in an Arab country rather than saying she is from an Arab country, she said. Japanese teacher Mami Fujisaki did not encounter much racism after arriving in the U.S., she said. She first came to the U.S. when she was 16 and stayed in Alabama with a white family. Although “there was a lot of segregation at the time,” Fujisaki wasn’t the focus of the racism, she said. “I might have been the first Japanese person they’ve seen, but I didn’t get any discrimination,” Fujisaki said. Having lived in New York for some time, Hai Hai Hu (10), who is from China, hasn’t experienced much racism as well. “I think because New York is diverse, if you can speak English, people will assume you’re American,” Hu said. Hu believes that although there is still racism in our country, some of which comes from the president, “society is improving, but under the current administration the president is not helping it,” Hu said.
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HORACE MANN FEATURES APRIL 20TH, 2018
on immigrant experiences
migrants must face when moving to a new country. This is no exception nguage barriers, assimilated to new school and work environments, and States.
Cultural Differences Four years after moving from Paris to New York, Sophie Coste (11) still uses Google Translate to articulate thoughts she can’t express in English. Adjusting to the English language and American culture is a challenge for many of the school’s immigrants. “Overall, I wouldn’t say the transition was easy,” Coste said. Both Alex Binnmyr and Coste faced the challenges of writing in English, and Isabella Binnmyr initially struggled with speaking English less harshly than she spoke Russian. “I had a slight accent, but speaking was not a huge issue for me,” Coste said. Coste recalls the difficulties she faced during the first few months, not only in humanities classes, but in her math class as well. Every day for the first few months of school, Coste met with her math teacher to understand the phrasing of word problems, she said. “Most people think I’m a native speaker, but when I first came to America, I thought in Japanese,” Imai said. Although her first three months of learning English were very difficult, Fujisaki wished to master the language completely, she said. “I enjoyed learning English. I learned that English was the language of information, and that Japanese was the language of feelings, and the language reflects the culture a lot,” she said. In addition to the academic and linguistic challenges, Coste encountered social challenges, she said.
Although everyone at the school was very welcoming, the actual process of engaging and entering a friend group at the school took her some time, she said. Yang arrived in New York a month before school had begun, giving her time to acclimate, she said. Although Yang felt moving itself was easy, “moving to a new place anywhere, I had to adjust to meeting new people and making new friends,” she said. Yang still feels a link to China, but she thinks that culturally she’s “50/50” Chinese and American, she said. “[Being Chinese] literally defines who I am,” she said, “but I’ve also lived in the U.S. for a couple of years so that has come in as well.” Yang wants to live in the United States instead of moving back to China, and thinks it would be unlikely for her to return, she said. Persians does not feel particularly connected to the United States, but also doesn’t feel out of place, he said. “Honestly, because I’ve lived in many different places, I’m always out of place. There’s no place that I have that I call home,” he said. “Most of my upbringing from middle school has been in the U.S., so a lot of my views are different from what a lot of Chinese people would have, so I think it would be difficult to move back there,” Yang said.
SHEIK ZAYED MOSQUE Kester and family pose in Abu Dhabi
Courtesy of Olivia Kester
Courtesy of Joshua Doolan
DOWN UNDER Joshua Doolan poses with Australian wildlife
Experiences at HM In her first experiences teaching at the school, Fujisaki was surprised by the willingness of students to actively participate in class. In Japan, Fujisaki had been used to a quiet classroom where students feared that talking too much would be considered rude. While assimilation into the school community has been an easy transition for some, others have faced challenges. Fujisaki believes that “the student-teacher dynamic is very different in Japan” as well, she said. Yang has never felt like an outsider, especially because the community is so diverse, she said. Yang moved to the U.S. primarily because of education, she said. She attended an international school in Beijing, which had English as its primary language and also taught in a Western style, but her parents wanted her to be educated in the United States, she said. Kester entered the school in eighth grade and experienced a “barrier” between herself and other students, she said. “I expected people to treat me a little differently because there’s a lot of xenophobia in this country, especially coming from an Arabic country. One person was really rude to me, but everyone else stood up for me,” Kester said, referring to her experience at the school. “My transition was much easier than I anticipated.” “I separated myself and I didn’t have any friends for two months, but then slowly people started reaching out and the school became my home,” Kester said. Doolan was born in Sydney, Australia and has moved back and forth from Australia to the U.S. five times. “Never living in a single place for more than four years at a time forced me to learn how to meet new people and live in the moment in each new situation,” he said. Binnmyr’s family originally chose a school by looking through a book of high schools, but their
decision changed after a cab driver asked if they had heard of the school, Isabella Binnmyr said. Even though she went to an American school in Russia, there were many differences in the way the people acted there, she said. Coste feels as though the school environment in the U.S. is drastically different than in France, she said. “When I first came here to the middle division, I noticed that the girls and boys don’t mix that much,” she said. In France, there are typically no divides among friend and gender groups, she said. Coste also remembers being surprised about the rather early concern about colleges among students in the U.S., she said. “It was intimidating at first because I knew nothing about colleges in the U.S.,” she said. Coste felt as though early discussions about college were unhealthy for students, she said. Even though her old school was based off of the American public school system, Isabella Binnmyr was surprised by the quality of education here, which was much better compared to her old school, even though she continued to learn the same material, she said. “Coming to Horace Mann was really strange initially and a really big adjustment,” Isabella Binnmyr said. When Kester started at the school she was surprised by how differently the math curriculum was taught from the way it was in her old school in Abu Dhabi, Kester said. At the school, Imai wishes her teachers would take into account that she is not a native English speaker, she said. “I used to write my papers in Japanese and then [translate them to] English,” Imai said. Alex Binnmyr recalled the difficulties he initially faced when asked to write essays, he said. “I already spoke English back in Moscow but writing essays for classes was quite challenging for me at first,” he said. He found expressing his opinions in English especially frustrating as he knew what he wanted to write, yet could not put into the best words, Alex Binnmyr said.
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THE RECORD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT APRIL 20TH, 2018
English department Shakes it Up Amelia Feiner Staff Writer
To celebrate the great works of William Shakespeare, the school’s administration, in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), has spearheaded Shake it Up, a week celebrating the famous writer’s monologues, scenes, and sonnets. Students and faculty alike are participating in monologues that are displayed on screen throughout the school, impromptu class performances, and pop-up productions all over the school. The week of festivities began with the presentation of a scene from King Lear during Book Day. Theater arts teacher Alexis Dahl, who helped to produce the week, thought that a scene from King Lear was perfect for the Book Day assembly as it both provided context for the novel selected for book day and promoted Shake it Up, she said. Dahl produced many of the performances happening during the Shake it Up week, hoping that Shake it Up would give the community a deeper understanding of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) hands on approach to teaching Shakespeare in the classroom. Instead of a more traditional, mechanical method, the RSC uses rehearsal room techniques to enhance the studying of Shakespeare, Dahl said. Rehearsal room techniques
require teachers to think about how actors interpret theater during rehearsal, and how teachers can translate these techniques into classrooms to try to get students engaged with texts that can sometimes seem distant, Dahl said. English teacher Dr. Adam Casdin, the RSC program director, uses RSC methods frequently in his classes and is coordinating Shake it Up performances with his students. Casdin’s tenth grade English class performed a scene from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will in the Cohen Dining Commons. Jack Blackman (10), a member of the class, liked performing the scene because it allowed for a deeper and more singular focus instead of racing through the whole play, he said. The class has had RSC instructors every day for the past few weeks, and they have participated in many activities and exercises to become more comfortable with the text, Blackman said. The first few days were pretty tough, but after talking about how they used the words and why they interpreted them the way they did, Blackman adjusted to the new learning style, he said. “He told us to pretend like we were in a wrestling match, and half the class was Viola and half the class was Olivia,” Blackman said, recollecting one of his class activities, “Someone would start and we would cheer and scream like it was wrestling. It seems
goofy at times, but it helps us get a different perspective of all the ways things can be read and performed,” he said. Ennis Smith, Administrative assistant to the grade deans, participated in many performances throughout the week as well, and he interrupted many classes with monologues and sonnets. Sabrina Freidus’ (9), English and French classes were interrupted by Smith, and she loved to see the faculty performing for the students. Smith was expressive and engaging, Freidus said. In addition to performing, Smith has coordinated the production of the videos playing on monitors throughout the Upper, Middle, and Lower divisions, and he hopes that the publicity of Shake it Up will help change the way that students interpret and approach Shakespearean texts, he said. “This started out as an initiative withSmith, Dahl, Casdin, and Little are just a few of the people who have contributed their time and effort to run Shake it Up. 27 faculty members were videoed performing monologues, and students as young as second graders rehearsed and performed, Smith said. The efforts to bring the community together through Shakespeare, even across divisions, have been a success, he said. SURPRISE! Smith takes the stage
Japanese course transcends language
Courtesy of the Urasenke Chanoyu Center
TO A TEA Tea master conducts ceremony
Leonora Gogos Staff Writer On Wednesday, the school’s Japanese classes had the chance to utilize their knowledge of Japanese dialogue and culture during a traditional tea ceremony; the trip was one of the many cultural activities students studying Japanese participate in. The teahouse, located on the Upper East Side, was built by a Japanese carpenter using materials brought from Japan. Japanese teacher Mami Fujisaki said that she takes a Japanese I class to the ceremony every year, but since the upperclassmen wanted to go again, she is taking the AP Japanese Spanish Language and Culture, Japanese V, and Japanese VI classes this year. After removing their shoes, a highly trained tea master served tea and sweets to the students on traditional tatami mats, cloth rectangles made from rice straw. The students had a chance to use traditional Japanese etiquette they were taught in class. After the
ceremony, the students explored the teahouse, and then ate at a Japanese restaurant where they used their vocabulary to order in Japanese, Fujisaki said. “They have to actually use their greetings, with a nice bow, because the tea ceremony has the four elements of Japanese culture: respect, purity, harmony, and tranquility,” Fujisaki said. “That’s how I want them to experience it.” James Thomas (8), a member of Japanese I, had the most fun he’s ever had on a school trip, he said. The food at the restaurant was delicious, but the tea ceremony was his favorite part, he said. “We sat down without our shoes and listened to our tea master tell us the history of the tea ceremony and its relevance,” Thomas said. At this point in their learning, the focus is on applied knowledge, Emma Jones (12), a member of Japanese V Honors said. “Once you reach our level, it’s more important to be engaged in the culture and taking broader strokes than just learning vocabulary,” she said. Allen Park (11), a member of AP
Japanese, said the AP Japanese class explores topics like calligraphy, traditional Japanese food, and Japanese pop culture and media, he said. Students bow when they enter the classroom and follow the no hat or chewing gum policy to adhere to real Japanese culture, Fujisaki said. “They learn the language, but I want them to learn beyond the language,” she said. Park said that almost everyone taking Japanese is also interested in Japanese culture. “When I learn about Japanese culture, it’s very different from American culture,” Park said. “It’s a lot more upright and strict, there are more rules to follow, and ideas of having respect towards elders and peers,” he said. “If learning one or two languages pushes them to explore the world in the near future, that’d be great. Then, they respect other cultures, and the more languages you speak, the more experiences you can have, the more people you can meet, and the more food you can taste,” Fujisaki said.
Jessica Thomas/ Contributing Photographer
Yeeqin New (12): Chinese fashion Caroline Goldenberg Staff Writer
As Yeeqin New (12) began presenting her independent study on Chinese fashion, the slow, rainy afternoon transformed into a hands-on discovery of the creation of traditional ornate buttons. Earlier this school year, New gave two other presentations in the first and second trimesters that focused on the history of her topic, she said. “For the third trimester, I wanted to do something more creative,” New said. She decided to explore sewing her own qipao, a kind of Chinese dress. New began her third-trimester presentation with an explanation of each process necessary to create the dress, which includes choosing the fabric, making the pattern, and creating the buttons, called frog buttons. From there, New delved into a more in-depth explanation of frog buttons, which not only decorate the dress, but also hold together traditional qipaos. New, who had been practicing the creation of frog buttons for the past couple weeks, then showed video tutorials that provided steps to make these buttons. Classmates used string and scissors to create their own. Natalie Raum (12), a student in New’s independent study class, enjoyed the activity, which was a more interactive approach rather than a “lecture-based” one, she said. “All of Yeeqin’s presentations have shown how much she’s learned about the subject she is studying, but they have also involved the class in
thoughtful ways,” English teacher Jennifer Little, the classroom leader for New’s independent study class, said. In addition to meeting with the class every other day, Little also checks in with each student every other week, and she and New discussed an interactive aspect to her presentations during these meetings, Little said. The idea for New’s study traces back to when she first visited the exhibit, China: Through the Looking Glass, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art several years ago. The exhibit showcased the work of western designers who were influenced by Chinese art and fashion. “I thought it would be cool to study where some of that inspiration came from, tracing back to the roots and looking at Chinese fashion. And I’m Chinese, so I thought it would be relatable,” New said. New’s project also incorporates her interest in sewing, something she does in her free time, she said. After investigating the history of the art, New used online tutorials and sewing blogs to learn more about how to specifically create a qipao, which involved several aspects she had not been used to, she said. “Learning the history behind it makes the sewing part much more meaningful,” New said, as she was able to identify the context behind different styles and designs. For Zoe Mavrides (12), another student in the class, New’s presentations were particularly informative because they took a look at history through an entirely different lens that she has not explored in the past, she said. Courtesy of Juli Moreira
HORACE MANN MIDDLE DIVISION APRIL 20TH, 2018
MD students and faculty lead Wellness Wednesday initiative on natural disaster preparedness Noah Phillips Staff Writer As a part of the school’s Wellness Wednesday Initiative, students in the Middle Division (MD) had the opportunity to attend a workshop detailing methods of natural disaster response and prevention. The workshop took place largely in response to the recent catastrophes in locations including Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida. “There were so many natural disasters that occurred almost simultaneously in the fall that I thought it was important to take a deep breath and think about how we could be proactive and thoughtful about our approach rather than reactive in the moment and then move on,” Caitlin Hickerson, a faculty organizer of the event said. The event was composed of five workshops, which covered topics like map and compass reading, first aid basics, and water purification, Hickerson said. Each session provided skills valuable to the recovery from a natural disaster, and students were incentivized to fully partake by offering a prize to those students who attended all five of the workshops, she said. The initiative also consisted of stations designed to help
PREPARE YOURSELF READY NYC Staff hand out disaster preparedness booklets. individuals and families prepare for the challenges of post-disaster living and informative videos and slideshows regarding some of the major natural disasters in North America since 2000, she said. According to Brooke Gomez (6), the main student organizer of the event, planning for the initiative began in December. The
initiative is the first of its kind and was prompted in part by a presentation Gomez gave to her sixth-grade Spanish class about Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. After giving her presentation, Gomez’s teacher recommended the presentation be shown to other grades and the school’s Middle School student government, HM
Alexandra Peeler/ Contributing Photographer
Lead, helped to organize the larger initiative, she said. Hickerson worked with many members of the community to help put this together, building on their skills and knowledge base, she said. Two members of the science department set up a water distillation lab, the school’s nurse and athletics department oversaw
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first aid, and two teachers with orienteering experience lead the map and compass station. In addition, members of the community reached out to friends and families to get “on the ground” information about recovery from these events, Hickerson said. Hickerson also reached out to the Office of Emergency Management and asked them to set up a booth with READY NYC materials, she said. Josephine Mignone (6), a student organizer of the event, believes that the organization of the stations allowed for a vast array of knowledge to be conveyed to attendees, she said. “This recent disaster in Puerto Rico showed that something like this could happen to anyone, and I think that many of us forget how frequently this has happened in the states,” Mignone said. “Many countries and large areas are located in a zone that might be very susceptible to natural disasters, or might not be prepared for a disaster that can wipe out their whole normal way of living,” Matthew Aponte (8), a student organizer of the event, said. “We need to educate students so they can be prepared for something that might come in the future.”
Eighth graders enhance knowledge of ancient world through art history lecture Mayanka Dhingra Staff Writer Upper Division (UD) art history teacher Avram Schlesinger spoke to eighth graders on Thursday about architecture as an art form in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic culture, Schlesinger said. The event was organized by Middle Division history teachers John McNally and Dr. Della Brooks. The lecture was held as a supplement to the students’ coursework on ancient belief systems, McNally said. During the lecture, students were taught to analyze works of art through the lens of composition, context, content, iconography, and the historical movements represented in the works, a method called CCCI, Hanna Hornfeld (8) said. Schlesinger hoped to teach the students to look at the belief systems they’ve studied through visual rather than textual means, he said. Students spent the first trimester studying Hinduism and Buddhism in India and Daoism and Confucianism in China. Now the
students are studying Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in the Middle East, Julian Kepnes (8) said. Each respective unit has its own lecture to expand on the topic. For Hornfeld, the lecture helped to bridge the gap between historical beliefs and their manifestation in culture, she said. “It was a really cool experience to connect everything I was learning in the classroom to the real world in a visual and tangible way,” Claire Goldberg (8) said. “As a history teacher, I think the visual representations are equally important for the students to analyze as the literary ones,” McNally said. We have a tendency to take architectural spaces for granted and we exist in them in the ways they were set up for, Schlesinger said. “Most students don’t recognize that these spaces have a certain iconographic and symbolic value,” he said. From a historical perspective, the aim is for students to become conscious of the messages that
various belief systems present about man’s relationship with a higher power in different contexts, McNally said. Goldberg said the lecture went beyond the scope of what the students had been discussing in class. Schlesinger stressed a new concept called “ethnic domain” that deals with how spaces are given over to ideas, Goldberg
said. The concept was used to link to the three abrahamic religions while showing their importance in the establishment of houses of worship, she said. It was something she had never thought about before, she said. The lecture also helped eighth graders to prepare for their Living Color projects, Kepnes said. In the future visiting museums, the eighth graders will better identify
artwork and different artistic techniques, he said. McNally understands that the lecture also serves as an advertisement for UD art history, he said. A lot of the students that attend the lectures as eighth graders, end up taking art history over the course of their high school career as a result, Schlesinger said.
Lions’ Den Record Sports
APRIL 19TH, 2018
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Boys Varsity Volleyball: Season update Nelson Gaillard Staff Writer
In just the first two games and one scrimmage played so far this season, the Boys Volleyball team won more sets than last year’s eight games combined. With an 0-8 record last year, the only way to go is up, and the team has already improved this year, Boys Volleyball Coach Jason Torres said. The team won their first scrimmage, but lost the next two games. On Tuesday, despite playing well, the team lost their third game to Calhoun 0-3, Captain Ricardo Pinnock (12) said. But the next day, the team played a tense five setter match, winning 3-2, against United Nations International School (UNIS), last year’s state champions, Pinnock said. This was the team’s first win in two years. Last year, the team adjusted to losing seven players who had just graduated, making the past two years “rebuilding years,” Pinnock said. Pinnock, who has played all four years of highschool, is considered a leader on and off the court, Torres said. He’s probably the best player on the team, Eric Ohakam (11) said. “He knows how to lead and it’s really cool to have him as a captain.” As the only senior on the team this season, Pinnock took the role of teaching the new players how to pass and how to set very seriously,
READY TO RUMBLE Boys volleyball in preparation before the serve Panagiotis Persianis (11) said. Throughout this season, team passing has improved, and confidence has grown, Pinnock
Ben Parker/Staff Photographer
said. Pinnock also ensures everyone is doing his job on the court and takes responsibility for helping
the new players adjust, Persianis said. “One of the challenges is that just about all the players have no previous volleyball experience,” Torres said. The school does not have a middle school volleyball team yet. The team spends a lot of time learning the game as the season progresses, Torres said. Nonetheless, Sean Koons (11) said the team is much stronger and has better chemistry. “The bench stays positive throughout the match regardless of the score; always cheering on the team,” Torres added. “We never fight and never place blame each other. Also, we have some really great team spirit,” Persianis said. “We are just a really close team with group chats, inside jokes, and stuff like that which just pumps us up,” Ohakam said. “There is a genuine ‘fun-ness’ to the team. Not that we don’t take anything seriously, we’re just always laughing. There is always some reason to smile,” Pinnock said. In the future, the team can improve by communicating better on the court and keeping balls in, Koons said. “We can also improve by having the older more experienced players help the younger ones learn,” Ohakam said. “I definitely expect to be better than last year [but] I feel like next year will be even better than this year,” Pinnock said.
Girls Varsity Softball: Players to look out for Adam Frommer and Griffin Smith Staff Writers
ASHNA JAIN Ashna Jain (11), the team’s number one pitcher, is a natural leader on the field, Varsity Softball Coach Michelle Amilicia said. Throughout the past few years, the team lost several of its pitchers, and Jain stepped up in some of the games to fill that gap, she said. “After they put me in, I realized this was something I was good at. Knowing that I control a lot of the game made me want to practice more,” Jain said. Over the summer, Jain took lessons with a pitching coach in order to further help out the team the following year, Amilicia said. As pitcher, Jain is in the most difficult position of the field, Amilicia said. “She’s a natural leader given that she holds the ball and controls the pace of the game; all eyes are on her,” Amilicia said. “Being a pitcher is really overwhelming, and when it comes down to it, you control a lot of the game. With that, it’s really hard, but even if I mess up, I still try to stay positive,” Jain said. “[Her teammates] see how much Ashna practices, and they see her out there trying to give the team a fighting chance,” Amilicia said. “I’m a pitcher, too, so I look up to her; I learn from her,” Mandy Liu (9) said. “When I see her pitch, I think about me in the future about how that could be me one day. She’s really a mentor figure.” During games, the team cheers Jain on and supports her regardless of mistakes, Jain said. “Without that support, we would have had a much harder season,” Jain said. “Her pitches are very solid, and when a pitcher is really good, it gives us motivation to play better,” Liu said.
Daniel Lee/Staff Photographer
JANE FRANKEL Jane Frankel (12) is both a natural softball player and leader, said Varsity Softball Coach Michelle Amilicia. While Frankel has always been one of the best players on the field, recently there has been an aura of maturity around her that helps her lead, Amilicia said. Frankel was also the captain of last year’s team, Reina McNutt (10) said. “I found that this year, I’ve really been trying to adjust how I lead to better suit this group of girls,” Frankel said. “Jane has been playing on the team for so long that she can be a coach to us when she sees we need it,” McNutt said. In addition, Frankel motivates the team to improve and work hard, Mandy Liu (9) said. “She always brings positive energy even when we have had a bad practice, or when we are down in a game,” McNutt said. Jane has a really humorous side to her that lightens our spirits, but when we need to focus, she brings the team together, Liu said. “She wants to win, and I think that’s what we need in a leader,” Liu said. “This team has already taught me so much more about what it means to be a leader than I could have ever imagined,” Frankel said. “They are such an enthusiastic group of girls, who love each other more than anything, and it has been so much fun to play with them,” Frankel said.
ALEX PEELER Alex Peeler (11) is one of the most powerful hitters on the softball team, Varsity Softball Coach Michelle Amilicia said. “When she’s up at bat, people know that something is going to happen,” Amilicia said. “She carries a sort of quiet confidence.” Peeler has been playing softball for nine years, and began playing travel softball at the start of high school, she said. Joining the school team helped her prepare for playing in her outside league at a higher level, she said. Peeler is such a good hitter that the team counts on her, Mandy Liu (9) said. She also makes an effort to reach out to underclassmen on the team, Liu said. “I’m a junior now, and I am part of the team leadership,” Peeler said. It’s important to understand how the freshmen on varsity feel and empathize with them, Peeler said. The team listens to Peeler because of her love and knowledge of the sport, Amilicia said. “She’s not one to yell at people or get them in line, but people follow her,” she said. Over the past few years, Alex has grown in confidence, Amilicia said. “I try to have a calm mindset,” Peeler said. Since she plays third base and many balls come quickly to her side of the field, she has to remain focused, she said. “She takes it super seriously,” Amilicia said. “She’s always there, never missing games.” Peeler plans to play softball as much as she can, while she can, Peeler said.