The Horace Mann Record, Issue 27 - Junior Issue 3

The Horace Mann Record JUNIOR ISSUE #3

HORACE MANN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1903

MAY 17TH, 2019 || VOLUME 116, ISSUE 27

Ben Hu (12) named Presidential Scholar John Mauro and Adrian Arnaboldi Staff Writer & Contributing Writer

Ben Hu (12) was honored with the Presidential Scholar award along with 161 other students in the United States. This award is given to high school seniors with strong academics, an intriguing application, and top standardized test scores in their state, according to the U.S Department of Education Website.

Hu is the first student from the school to win the award since Rachel Ha ‘13, Hu said. He will be traveling to Washington D.C. in June to meet the President, First Lady, and Secretary of Education to receive the award, he said.

Out of 3.6 million high school seniors, 6,000 students were nominated by the nomination committee, Hu said. “After the nomination, the government will notify you to send in an application, and then again if you become a semifinalist, or a finalist,” he said.

The application was as intricate as Hu’s college application, and it required Kaitlin Howrigan, Hu’s college counselor, to write a lengthy

report about him, he said.

The application asked for Hu’s transcript, his standardized test scores, four short answer questions, and one long essay along with a photograph of something of great significance to him, he said.

“I included a picture of me with a bunch of fifth graders holding origami cranes,” Hu said. “It was important to me because it combined my interests of origami and education.”

Because of the length of the application and the time it would take to complete it, initially, Hu did not want to apply. However, after doing some research about the award, and meeting with his counselor, he realized how amazing the opportunity was and changed his mind, he said.

“It was a lot of work and it definitely interfered with my school work.” Hu said. “I eventually finished it, but it was very close to the deadline.”

Hu was exhilarated when he won the award, he said. “I was very surprised, because I thought I had no chance at winning.”

“I’m very appreciative of the government for giving me this award,” Hu said. “Because the Courtacy of Ben Hu

PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR Passing on his passion for origami.

Courtacy of Taussia Boadi

primary basis of my application was about education, it makes me feel extremely validated for my work.”

Academics aside, Hu is also a leader, talented origami maker, and good friend, Brigette Kon (11) said.

Hu’s involvement in the community, his dedication during the college process, and his thoughtful organization skills have made him an exceptional student in the school community,” Howrigan said.

Charles Garcia, who was Hu’s math teacher and pick for Distinguished Teacher, was impressed that Hu was able to write an application while dealing with school work, college applications, and varsity sports, Garcia said.

“He has worked tirelessly his whole high school career, while being one of the most sincere people in the whole school,” he said.

“As a leader, he’s really approachable,” Euwan Kim (11) said. “He makes everyone around him comfortable because he doesn’t just say what he wants to, he listens, suggests, and builds on my ideas,” she said.

Garcia has various underclassmen students that adore and look up to Ben for guidance, Garcia said.

“Ben exudes positive and friendly energy,” Lorenzo Hess (12) said.

“People look up to him both academically and as a leader on the water polo and swim teams.”

“Personally, I don’t think of myself as that big of a leader. I think I’m just someone who’s active in the community, like most people who love their community,” Hu said.

Hu is the co-President for the school’s Saturday Morning Tutoring Program, where students at the school tutor young kids from the Bronx. Outside of school, Hu works as a teacher’s assistant at a Chinese school in the area spreading his love of language and culture, Howrigan said.

Garcia was speechless when Hu picked him to be Distinguished Teacher, he said. “I know that Ben has had a lot of important influences and amazing teachers, so it meant the world to me when he picked me,” he said. “It’s oane of the best memories I’ll have as a teacher.”

“My family and the community around me have been very supportive of me,” Hu said. “I couldn’t have done it without my family and friends,” he said.

DISCUSSION Taussia Boadi (11) engages in thoughtful conversation

Diversity conference inspires students Gabby Kepnes Staff Writter

The Diversity Awareness Initiative for Students Conference (DAIS) was held this past Saturday in an attempt to strengthen the awareness and respect for different cultures among private school students in New York City.

Founded in 1999, the DAIS organization has worked with more than 10,000 students to host meetings and conferences with the goal of maintaining a supportive community among students, faculty, parents, and administrators in New York City private schools, according to the DAIS website.

The day consisted of rounds of workshops, affinity group meetings, a talent show, and a dance party at the end, Nshera Tutu (10) said.

Jayla Thomas (11) signed up for a workshop which discussed the intersectionality between beauty standards, colorism, and the Eurocentric features that are pushed to the front in the media.

Tutu tried to sign up for workshops concerning not only things she was interested in but also topics that she didn’t have a lot of information about, she said.

“Through the workshops, I hope to introduce myself to a wider variety of things under the topic of diversity, and also to bring my depth of knowledge on colorism and racism to the other students,” she said.

Natalia Mason (10) attended the God’s Plan workshop, where she discussed how religion affects different gender roles, she said.

Other workshops included liberalism, the United Nations, and discrimination in education.

Elected Community Council Representatives

INSIDE

Zachary Brooks (11) Adam Frommer (10) Emma Colachino (9) Jude Herwitz (11) Leyli Granmayeh (10) Justin Gurvitch (9) Zachary Brooks (11) Jaden Kirshner (10) Rowan Mally (9) Bennett Neuwirth (9) Julia Robbins (11) Natalie Sweet (10) Nshera Tutu (10)

Religious Journey Facebook Memes

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Charles Simmons reflects on his relationship with Christianity.

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A deep dive into four of the most popular meme groups among HM students.

The entire community came together to discuss personal struggles and hear about others’ experiences, Destiney Green (9) said.

Taussia Boadi (11) attended informative and interesting workshops and felt that the students who led them were good facilitators, she said.

“It was really surprising to see how kids my age could have such great leadership skills,” Mason said.

Some of the students from the school had previously gone on the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SLDC) trip with the school back in November as well.

“SDLC was a national conference, and so the stories were a lot more spread out, because you had kids from Arizona and kids from Idaho,” Charles Simmons (11) said. “DAIS is more like a city conference where you’re going to meet a lot more of the independent school community within our own community,” he said.

“I feel like going to DAIS and SDLC has deepened my interest for diversity and equity work,” Boadi said.

“There’s a common theme that the reason people are against making things more diverse and being more progressive is because they aren’t educated on those topics,” Boadi said.

It is important to be educated on the topics that were covered at the conference because the more knowledge you have, the less ignorant you’ll be, Thomas said.

“I learned from the conference that first and foremost, we are a community and we can always push forward,” Simmons said.

“I was so proud to see people so young doing such great things,” Boadi said.

Elected co-Class Presidents

Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Daniel Lee (11) Yana Gitelman (10) Paul Wang (11) Madhav Menon (10)

Katya Arutyunyan/Art Director

Alum draws laughs

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Rebecca Shaw ‘14 describes comedy career from HM to “The Tonight Show”

@hm.record @thehoracemannrecord Horace Mann School 231 W 246th St, Bronx, NY 10471

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THE RECORD OPINIONS MAY 17TH, 2019

Charles Simmons While most of my friends spent their Easter weekend relaxing with their family at home, I was visiting a different type of home. I attended three different church services in the span of two days.

I live in the threshold between three different worlds: the church, the home, and the school. My relationship with Christianity is directly influenced by all three spheres. It was born in the church, nurtured in the home, and challenged in the classroom. As I grow older, I find myself more often challenged within the classroom. Horace Mann’s environment is focused on making us “critical thinkers.” This critical thinking does not exclude religion, and as I have grown, the way in which I understand my faith has grown concurrently.

In eighth-grade history, we had a unit called Living Color in which we studied Eastern and Western religions. I have vivid memories of recounting the Bible, almost as if it were second nature to me, and paraphrasing my father’s sermons, thinking that I too was a priest. Looking back, I spoke from a place of dogmatic faith.

This caused me to treat the material as a “Sunday School refresher” rather than an exercise in critical analysis. I was more concerned with proving I could remember the four gospels than I was with seeing how the larger themes of reincarnation and the afterlife connected with Eastern religions, or even with the other Abrahamic religions. I had not developed the maturity or perspective to look at Christianity as anything but the truth. This inability to reason was largely driven by my emotions regarding the topic.

Faith is something near and dear to my heart, and as the line between personal feelings and the actual material blurred, I felt as if my spiritual life and my academic career would not be able to coexist.

I’ve learned from my father that part of my job as a Christian is accepting the fact that a large part of Christianity, and religion in general, is clouded in mystery, and it is based on something that you cannot confirm. You must trust something you cannot see. Faith is largely based, in part, off of this struggle. It is not meant to be easy. It’s not true faith if you can confirm it. It is meant to be challenged.

You cannot read the Bible with a scientific mind or you will miss the point. The Bible says that Moses split the Red Sea, but there is no way to confirm that. Looking for confirmation of biblical miracles takes away from the stories. This is what it means

It wasn’t until I recently visited my old parish community that I began to fully understand the real power of religion. I had gone to attend a recital hosted at the church, and from the moment I walked in, it felt like I had never left. It was incredible how comfortable I was; I felt like I was truly home. I cannot tell you what the primary purpose of religion is, and the history of religion is a violent and discouraging one. But, despite this saddening history, one of the purposes of religion is not only its ability to bind people with their god, but also with one another to create a community. In fact, the word “religion” comes from the Latin word “religio,” meaning to bind together. Seeing familiar faces for the first time in years helped me recognize just how important these people were to me during my time at church and how their unconditional love still made me feel like family even after years apart.

I hope that by continuing to grapple with the discomfort of the unknown, I will begin to understand that the mystery of faith is not something to be looked at as a burden.There is beauty in the unknown, and faith seeks to understand this beauty. I do not know the mind of God– I am only sixteen, after all– but I do know how important religion has been to understanding who I am.

to have faith, to stare into the abyss and hope that the isolation and loneliness you feel is only a small part of a much larger plan and there is a being that understands what it means to be you. Faith seeks understanding.

Faith can be mistaken for dogmatic belief, and if it is not sufficiently tested, it very well may be. For me, the moment when I truly challenged my faith came last year. My friends and I were discussing whether the English department should read Brokeback Mountain, a novel focused around the emotional and sexual relationship between two cowboys. At the time, I was apprehensive, silently wondering whether or not my reading of the book would force me to question my religion beyond my regular level of comfort. I think the uneasiness

stemmed from a much larger discomfort. No longer being able to say with absolute certainty that there was a God bothered me and I was becoming more defensive in the hopes of salvaging my faith. As the questions grew more direct, the answers became more and more abstract and my inability to provide a concrete answer led me to doubt my faith. It felt as if my worlds were coming into conflict and sooner or later, I would have to make a choice. I felt as if I was drowning.

I’ve replayed that conversation in my head countless times, trying to reason and reconcile with a former version of myself. In my English 11 class this year, the opportunity to engage with this discomfort and test my faith presented itself.

We had read a play by Mikhail Horowitz titled We Cannot Know the Mind of God. While bizarre and witty, the play touches on the profound relationship between the individual and God. I remember going home to ask my father what his thoughts were, hoping for some desperately-needed closure. He simply told me that faith seeks understanding.

I wrestled with this advice for some time, asking myself, “What does it mean to understand?”

Understanding means empathy and contemplation.

A true Christian cannot be closeminded.

Jesus displayed kindness and compassion to everyone. A true Christian does not succumb to the “us vs. them” mentality but rather looks for commonality and cooperation.

I was too frustrated at the time to truly appreciate the complexity of his answer and I found myself asking what the purpose of religion is. The most common answer I received was that it was “a way to explain the unknown.” Until recently, I found nothing wrong with this definition and I accepted it as the “right answer.” By this time, I had begun to teeter the line between casual Christian and casual agnostic.

the world, I think we can still do better to cultivate a better-rounded learning experience in our classrooms.

I don’t mean to undermine the current curriculum; I think it’s crucial to have an extensive understanding of the region in which you live.

However, by allotting less time to the study of other parts of the world, I worry that the school does not encourage students to understand the complexities of the world. My previous lack of education regarding different time periods and regions allowed these gaps in knowledge to be filled with assumptions and generalizations. I did not fully realize what I was missing until this year when I decided to take AP World History, in hopes of beginning to replace those cloudy ideas with concrete information.

AP World History is categorized as a sample course, meaning it covers the overview of events instead of focusing in on the details in order to cover a broader curriculum. I generally prefer more specific history courses; however, I feel that this structure was necessary to cover the timespan of history that I had not yet learned. A whole year’s curriculum could have been dedicated to many of

the topics in AP World, such as the Inca Empire, that we instead covered in a single day of class.

As our class studied a range of events across different geographies and time periods, we found unexpected patterns and commonalities, but also long-term differences that shaped the identities of different societies. We were able to see small-scale events within the backdrop of the larger world’s circumstances and make meaningful connections about causation and the interconnection of different societies and their histories.

We used our textbook like the zoom tool on Google Maps; you can focus in and see the streetlife of a /Art Director particular city, but then Annabelle Chan zoom out and take in the perspective of the full globe again. In class we studied topics like the Agricultural Revolution, the migration of humans across Earth, early empires throughout AfroEurasia, and the development of classical empires in Rome, Greece and China, just to name a few, little of which I had learned in earlier history classes. We studied the Aztecs, Incas, and other vast empires of Latin America that thrived before the arrival of European colonists. I was able to see the extensive history of different regions and in doing so learned that many of the instabilities

and conflicts present today originated from the burden of colonization and/or foreign imposition coupled with the often tumultuous process of decolonization. I can confidently say that Dr. Bales’ AP World class has changed the way I see the world.

I urge rising Junior and Senior students to try and take an array of history courses about regions, time periods, and concepts with which they are less familiar. I also encourage Horace Mann to teach a more diverse history curriculum in the years leading up to 11th grade, so that no matter what electives students choose to take in the Junior and Senior years, they will still be well-informed about a diverse group of regions and timespans.

Learning about new places, events, and groups of people is not only liberating but also useful in life.

I hope more students will push themselves to study unfamiliar topics and gain a positive experience expanding their knowledge of our history and making new connections between our life and the world around us. Just as Horace Mann students are required to explore a variety of different subjects in their years here (for example, you must take Biology and Chemistry even if you do not plan on becoming a scientist), it is useful for students to learn about a variety of regions and time periods in history in order to have a more well-rounded understanding of the world. Our school can contribute to shaping the next generation of leaders as insightful and compassionate individuals, beginning with a more aware and well-informed student body.

“Part of my job as a Christian is accepting the fact that a large part of Christianity, and religion in general, is clouded in mystery, and it is based on something that you cannot confirm.”

Katya Arutyunyan/Art Director

Expanding horizons: broader perspective, broader understanding

Lily Seckendorf Lily Seckendorf Going into 11th grade, I was overwhelmed by the numerous options of history classes. Junior year was the first time in my life that I could choose from an array of regions, time periods, and themes to focus on. Before filling out the course selections sheet, I explored the curriculum booklet and looked back on my past experiences as a history student.

Upon reflecting, I found that my previous history courses had been largely focused on United States and European history. By the age of 16, I had only a shallow knowledge of Asian, African, and Latin American histories, but I had taken approximately six US or European-themed history courses over the past nine years. While I understand that it is impossible to cover the history of every area in

Volume 116 Editorial Board Managing Editor Mayanka Dhingra

Editor in Chief Julia Robbins

Issues Editor Nishtha Sharma

Features Nelson Gaillard Abigail Salzhauer

News Isabella Zhang Kiara Royer

Opinions Victor Dimitrov Madison Li

Lions’ Den Darius McCullough Jude Herwitz

Photography Abigail Kraus Griffin Smith

Art Directors Katya Arutyunyan Annabelle Chan

Faculty Adviser David Berenson

Middle Division Mark Fernandez

A&E Eliza Poster Ben Wang Design Editors Euwan Kim Reena Ye

Online Editor Henry Wildermuth

Staff Writers Malhaar Agrawal, Laura Bae, Steven Borodkin, Andrew Cassino, Mayanka Dhingra, Victor Dimitrov, Amelia Feiner, Mark Fernandez, Nelson Gaillard, Leonora Gogos, Jude Herwitz, Edwin Jin, Spencer Kahn, Samuel Keimweiss, Gabrielle Kepnes, Suraj Khakee Madison Li, Darius McCullough, Noah Phillips, Eliza Poster, Julia Robbins, Kiara Royer, Abigail Salzhauer, Ranya Sareen, Nishtha Sharma, Masa Shiiki, Griffin Smith, Benjamin Wang, Robbie Werdiger, Simon Yang, Isabella Zhang, Izzy Abbott, Bradley Bennett, Sogona Cisse, Jack Crovitz, Jackson Feigin, Adam Frommer, Andie Goldmacher, Julia Goldberg, Avi Kapadia, Marina Kazarian, John Mauro, Henry Owens, Emily Shi, Samuel Singer, Sasha Snyder, Vivien Sweet, Natalie Sweet, Joshua Underberg, Talia Winiarsky, Lauren Ho, Katya Tolunsky Staff Photographers Eva Fortunato, Iliana Dezelic, Griffin Smith, Harrison Haft, Andrew Cassino, Julia Isko, Julia Robbins, Daniel Lee, Ava Merker Staff Artists Elizabeth Fortunato, Alexandra Crotty, Gabrielle Fischberg, Annabelle Chan, Julia Roth

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.

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Students and faculty participate in school-wide accreditation process Julia Goldberg and Ryan Reiss Staff Writer & Contributing Writer Once a decade, the school is required to reflect upon itself not only to be accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) but also to discover aspects of the school community in need of further improvement and implement changes as deemed necessary.

“The school must first undergo a selfevaluation, which is what we’re currently in the middle of,” Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein said.

“This ‘self-study’, as it is called, is a thorough review of what the school does and why, what they do well, and where they believe they can improve,” Director of Institutional Research and Enrollment Management Lisa Moreira said.

To complete the study, Moreira and Lower Division Psychologist Nicole Zissu divided every faculty member from all divisions, totaling almost 400, into 24 committees.

“While NYSAIS provides guidelines, every school makes the process their own,” Moreira said. “The guideline to ‘involve all members of the school community’ is a challenge in a school as large as HM.” A few of the committees included parents and students, such as Student Body Presidents, Community Council members, and students who attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference. In all cases, there are a mix of people on each committee to ensure different perspectives, Moreira said.

That’s a part of the mission of NYSAIS everyone participates in this. It isn’t just the administration; it’s the full school,” Levenstein said. “We have the opportunity to formally note what we still need to work on, and that’s the goal.”

It’s not just about jumping through a hoop, it’s about pausing to evaluate our systems, she said.

“An example of outgrowth is that 10 years ago [during the previous accreditation], the history

department realized how much more global they wanted their curriculum to be,” Levenstein said.

Ideally, the school will emerge from the process this year with better focus on how it can move forward in the next 10 years, she said.

“As you’d imagine, we have made a significant number of changes since our last 10 year review, not least of which are the significant campus changes, major curricular changes across all divisions, and expanding our work in the areas of diversity and inclusion, including the creation of ICIE,” Moreira said.

After all 24 committees complete their evaluation, Moreira and Zissu, among others, will write a report summarizing the school’s findings.

To end the process, NYSAIS will find colleagues from other NYSAIS-accredited schools to become the school’s visiting committee.

“The visiting committee is given a copy of our self-evaluation and supporting documents, which they then read in preparation for their visits,” Levenstein said. “They spend a few days here on campus with the idea that they’ll talk to all the relevant parties at this school. They don’t just sit and talk to Dr. Kelly; they talk to students, they visit classes, they speak to staff, they meet parents,” Levenstein said.

English Department Chair Vernon Wilson, a member of the Teaching Evaluations Committee, said he enjoyed the process. “It was nice to work with colleagues from every division of HM on understanding how and why we should evaluate teachers at every stage of their career,” he said.

“This is our chance to be honest with ourselves as a school,” Library Department Chair and cochair for the Student Body Committee Caroline Bartels said. Though the school does many things well, there is always room to improve, she said.

In her committee specifically, faculty and students looked at how the mission of the school is reflected in the student body, Bartels said. NYSAIS provides the school with guiding questions and in return expects a narrative, she said.

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Katya Arutyunyan/Art Director

Members of the Student Body Committee discussed whether the school’s activities, such as clubs, sports, or affinity groups, fit the needs of the student body, how disputes and confrontations between students are dealt with, and what the school sees as its strengths and goals for the next 10 years.

“Together, we talked about ways to promote student life and how we can better meet the needs of the students,” Charles Simmons (11), a member of the Student Body Committee, said.

One takeaway was how willing faculty were to listen, Simmons said. “The faculty treated all of the students’ ideas with respect, and they were receptive to the suggestions we made,” he said.

Bartels believed that students and faculty in the committee felt comfortable being honest and sharing their opinions, she said. “I think students felt empowered to talk about what they think we need to hear, and I don’t think anyone felt like they needed to censor themselves,” she said.

It was largely a discussion about students’ own personal experiences at the school, Taussia Boadi (11), who was on the Student Body Committee, said. However, what was most intriguing was hearing teachers talk about their own experiences, Boadi said.

“At the end of the day, high school isn’t just about the students; it’s also about the people who work there. Teachers want to advocate for students but also for themselves, because this is their workplace and they need to be happy here,” Boadi said.

To thoroughly evaluate every aspect of the school, each committee also met on February 25th, March 11th and May 6th after school, and for one full day on April 1st. The group also discussed what has changed since the past accreditation, Bartels said.

“For a lot of students, their scope of memory is two-three years. A student will say, ‘but it’s always been that way,’ but no, not really,” she said. Bartels feels as though it was good for students to hear from faculty, who have been here for a longer time, about how things have changed over the last ten years. “Though change sometimes feels really glacial, for a lot of the adults, we see real change and are heartened by it,” she said.

“That’s what it keeps it interesting as an adult in the community— knowing that nothing stays stagnant and that there’s always room for improvement,” Bartels said. “If we fight against the changes that need to happen, we’ll never improve.”

Reflecting on community engagement: celebrating a year of service learning Izzy Abbott and Sam Keimweiss Staff Writers The Center for Community Values and Action (CCVA) will host the 11th Annual AllSchool Service Learning Day this Saturday as a celebration for this year’s service learning projects. In preparation for the event, and as part of their service learning requirement, the Class of 2020 gathered on Tuesday to partake in group reflections.

Associate Director of the CCVA Kimberly Joyce-Bernard believes reflection is a vital aspect of service-learning because students can consider new ways in which they can incorporate reflection throughout their entire service activity, she said.

“This can foster new questions and a multifaceted perspective in regards to government, service, policy, globalism, and personal agency,” Bernard said.

“The reflections really made me much more passionate about my service, and I am wanting to get even more involved next year,” Laura Bae (11) said.

The reflection was separated into three parts, Amiya Mehrotra (11) said. In groups of around twenty, students introduced themselves to their peers and described what they were doing for service.

Mehrotra was surprised by the diversity of projects. “There were a lot of projects that were really popular, like [Cancer Awareness Club], but a lot of people are doing something different,” she said.

Noah Phillips (11) is tutoring out of school for his project. He enjoyed the reflection because it gave him an opportunity to look at his project through the lens of service learning, he said.

After introductions, students broke up into small groups and discussed a set of questions, Mehrotra said.

“We explored the goal of the school, which is a better understanding of the world outside [the school],” Phillips said.

Following the group conversations, the students wrote a letter of thanks to someone who inspired them during their individual service learning projects. Jayer Yang (11) found this to be the most powerful part of the reflection, as it gave him the opportunity to single out and thank a person who helped in a specific way, he said.

In addition to the reflections, the CCVA has been organizing Service Learning Day, which “should be an entertaining and enriching day for all ages,” Director of the CCVA Dr. Jeremy Leeds said.

For 11 years, Service Learning Day has been an opportunity for students, faculty, and members of the Bronx community to come together and engage in a day of active service as one unit, Leeds said.

The Day aims to celebrate a year’s worth of service in the school with the Riverdale and Bronx community, Leeds said.

The event is a collaborative effort between the

CCVA, the Parents’ Association, and students from the Middle and Upper Divisions, Program Associate for the CCVA Natalie Sanchez said.

The event will feature student-run booths with activities such as ceramics, t-shirt design, and musical chairs that will be stationed around the tennis courts and the greater campus. The event will also have Bronx DJs Grandmaster Caz and Grand Wizzard Theodore leading a workshop and providing live music, and it will culminate with a barbeque, Leeds said.

Like years prior, students from tenth to twelfth grades will set up booths or will host activities that give back to the greater Bronx community.

The school has also invited a variety of their community partners such as Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, the Ittleson Center, and the Riverdale Senior Center, Sanchez said.

Tyler Jonas (12) is hosting a workshop on puppet-making with members of the Public School 95 site group of the Service Learning Team. “I have participated in Service Learning Day ever since I was a student in the Lower Division, [and] it’s a day to celebrate our Bronx community,” she said.

Andie Goldmacher (10), who is also working at the puppet-making booth and is representing HM246, looks forward to seeing the students she

“My whole high school experience has been centered around service learning, and I wanted to be a part of a day that celebrates all of the amazing achievements everyone at HM has made through the robust service learning program.”

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

Seeking balance: a complicated relationship with the metaphysical

HORACE MANN NEWS MAY 17TH, 2019

has worked with through the HM246 program, she said. “My whole high school experience has been centered around service learning, and I really wanted to be a part of a day that celebrates all of the amazing achievements everyone at HM has made through the robust service learning program,” Goldmacher said.

Kareena Gupta (10), who is on the Service Learning Team, is running an “Appreciation Station,” where attendees will write notes of kindness or appreciation and place them on a bulletin board; for each message written, one can be taken by someone else in return, she said.

Gupta hopes that the activity will spread kindness and friendship to the whole school community and beyond, she said.

Student-run service projects, such as Seize the Seas and the Social Impact Investment Club, will also be represented in booths during the event.

Oliver Keimweiss (11), the Cancer Projects Coordinator for the Cancer Awareness Club, will be co-running a booth representing his club at Saturday’s event. He will be doing an activity called Luminaria, in which participants can decorate paper bags in honor of people who have lost their lives to cancer, Keimweiss said. Those bags will be displayed in the closing ceremony of Relay For Life, which will take place at school on May 23rd, he said. “In doing this we want to bring a greater sense of community to school and [the] Bronx community, as well as to Relay for Life,” he said.

One of the most exciting things about Service Learning Day and the reflections is “seeing individual projects by students as well as the bigger picture of how meaningful service learning as a whole has been to HM and to everyone we’ve worked with this year,” Leeds said.

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THE RECORD FEATURES MAY 17TH, 2019

HORACE MANN FEATURES MAY 17TH, 2019

Meme groups HM students love Annabelle Chan /Art Director

Talia Winiarsky Staff Writer

The Facebook group “Subtle Asian Traits” frequently discusses K-pop, bubble tea, anime, and other relatable topics for Asian Facebook users.

In the group, 1.34 million people with many differences, including age, language, and location, are united by their Asian heritage.

The group has at least ten thousand posts per week, including pictures, memes, polls, and videos. According to a statement on the group’s page, all content must be approved by one of the moderators or administrators.

Dozens of the members are students at the school, most of whom are upperclassmen,

Chris Ha (11), a member of the group, said.

The group was formed in September of this year, and quickly gained a reputation as a funny and relatable page, Isha Agarwal (11), who joined the group this past winter, said.

Agarwal enjoys feeling as though she’s a part of a large community, she said. “There are people from all over the world celebrating their Asian heritage in one Facebook group,” she said.

For Euwan Kim (11), the page is a refreshing mix of Asian-Americans compared to the Asian-American community at school. “The school prides itself on being diverse, but has a specific pool of Asian-Americans, who are mostly very privileged,” she said.

Because the group’s target audience is Asian-

American teens, it is more relatable than broader meme pages, Gabby Fischberg (10) said.

“There are very specific experiences of growing up in an Asian household that a lot of others have experienced that I was surprised to see,” she said. Some of the posts that Fischberg has related to include ones about Filipino food and Asian parent culture, she said.

However, some posts can be problematic.

Kim doesn’t approve of posts that perpetuate Asian stereotypes. “Memes about stereotypes debilitate the hard work many Asian Americans have done to eradicate stereotypes,” she said.

“One of the posts that made me uncomfortable asked, ‘What does your parent beat you with?’ which is a common characteristic of Asian culture. This isn’t something that we should be laughing at,” Brigette Kon (11) said.

Kon investigated the nuances of the group for her Junior Research Project, and concluded that the benefits of the group are outweighed by its drawbacks, she said.

Ben Hu (12) has noticed that most of

the posts pertain to East-Asian people, and therefore, people of South-East-Asian descent can’t relate to the page as much, he said.

In response, members of Subtle Asian Traits formed the “Subtle Curry Traits” spin-off group for members of the South-Asian diaspora, Hu said.

Ha is not a very active participant in the group but appreciates being a part of community with people who can empathize with his experiences. “Growing up Asian is an experience that only Asian people can have and understand,” Ha said.

Courtesy of Talia Winiarsky Annabelle Chan /Art Director

Claire Goldberg Staff Writer

Eliza Bender (11), Gloria Khafif (12), and Jude Herwitz (11) partnered together to cook up a new meme page, Kosher style.

Kosher Memes for Good Jewish Teens is a Facebook group originally created as a joke three years ago by a group of HM students to form a community of “wholesome memes for Jewish teens,” according to Eliza Bender (11).

The Facebook group was modeled off of another Jewish meme page called “Extra Crunky Memes for Funky Sephardim”, Bender said.

Kosher Memes for Good Jewish Teens is a public Facebook page with a following of 91 students.

People are able to join the group, like, and comment on content posted by the creators of the group.

Though suggestions are welcome, members besides those creators, however, are not able to post on the page, Bender said.

“When I was a freshman I wanted to have the type of community that “Extra Crunky Memes for Funky Sephardim had,” Bender said. “Eliza, Jude, and I started this group as a joke to poke fun at some of the pop-culture that we saw every day,” added Khafif.

The content is funny, relatable, and good-hearted,

said Bender. “We had jokes between us that we wanted to share with people who might think they are funny,” Gloria Khafif (11) said.

After the first few posts, the group took off. “We didn’t think it would catch on with HM students, but one day someone tagged their friend on our post,” Khafif said.

A popular meme on the page is a Kippah with a Supreme symbol captioned: “For all you good Jewish children who just want to fit in during Shabbat.”

“It brought students together through means of comedy,” member Jack Eagan (11) said. Eagan joined because his friends were in the group and the content seemed funny, he said.

The meme page has around 10 posts. The group received The group has generated 86 likes in total, Bender said. The group has not posted in a year, Khafif said. “We still joke about the group and the kinds of things we used to post,” Khafif said.

Bender considers the page a failure because it is

no longer active.“We put the burden on ourselves to produce original content because we were the only ones who could post,” Bender said. Khafif thought the page failed because “it was just a phase,” she said.

“This article made me want to reactivate the page because it has a really good premise and wholesome memes,” Bender said. Students should be on the lookout and ready, because Kosher Memes for Good Jewish Teens is about to be revived, with more relatable and comical content than ever.

Members of the Facebook group Dogspotting are pawsitively in for a treat. Every day, 1.3 million members of the Facebook group Dogspotting post, like, and share pictures and videos of adorable dog “spottings”. The criteria for a post consists of an image or video of an dog unknown to the photographer, and many HM students participate in this exciting group.

The page was created in February of 2008 and has gained a global following. In order to join the page, an invite from an existing member must be sent or an application must be filled out and sent to the Administrators of Dogspotting.

The premise of the group revolves around a competitive game. Depending on the quality of the post, members commenting on the page can award points. Some of the dogs’ traits that can award extra points are size, silly or comical actions in the photo or video, and the type of dog. However, if the dog “spots” the photographer back while they are taking the picture, the dog wins, according to the administrators of the page.

Many students at the school are huge fans of this page. “I joined Dogspotting because I read a few Buzzfeed articles about it,” member Reina McNutt (11) said. “I also talked about it with one of my friends who was in the group. I love dogs, and I don’t have one, so Dogspotting is my dog place,” McNutt said .

Taimur Moolji (11), joined Dogspotting because his friend sent him an invite to join the group and the premise of the group seemed exciting. “It’s just fun to see dog videos when I’m scrolling through my Facebook feed,” Moolji said.

“I joined Dogspotting because I love dogs,” member Sabrina Freidus (10) said. “I love being a

part of it. It makes me smile all the time,” Freidus said.

So far, no student from the school has ever posted a dog spotting post in the group. “I’m not an active participant, though I look at the page a lot,” Mcnutt said. “But the page definitely makes me happy. The people who post are so wholesome,” she said.

The group is also a way for students to share enjoyable posts with their friends. “People will send me memes from the group to show me a funny post because they thought it would make me laugh or be relatable,” McNutt said.

Dogspotter Nina Gaither (10) likes the page because she can share posts with her friends and family, she said. “I have a bulldog so whenever I see a post with a bulldog I send it to my family,” she said.

“The group is actually the opposite of toxic,” McNutt said. “It’s beneficial to m e n t a l health and makes people happy.” Gaither added that the posts are monitored to ensure a positive environment.

O v e r a l l , Dogspotting has generated many fans at HM, as people indulge in its cute posts and share them with their friends and family.

“It’s just people appreciating the amazing cuteness of dogs!”

Freidus said.

Annabelle Chan/ Art Director

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sc h m b u an H .r

Emily Shi Staff Writer

“I’ve always felt drawn to teaching others, regardless of the institution,” Upper Division Math teacher Dr. Linda Hubschman said.

When Hubschman was in high school, she taught flute lessons to younger students. It was those lessons that drew her to teaching, she said.

After receiving her PhD in Philosophy, Hubschman taught Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics, Logic, a Seminar on Moral Improvement, and a Free Will Seminar in the Philosophy department at Yeshiva University (YU), she said.

YU has a dual program in which students study in a separate religion program along with their secular academic courses, which colored the way Hubschman conducted her philosophy courses, she said.

As a part of the religion program, Hubschman’s students studied the Talmud and Torah. These studies strengthened philosophical discussions because of the

s t u d e n t s’ willingness to debate morals, she said.

“The students were open to the idea that good and bad and right and wrong all exist, so we had a shared starting point. In a lot of other universities, you have to establish that before delving into ethics,” Hubschman said.

After Yeshiva, Hubschman came to HM to begin teaching math. She currently teaches AP Calculus AB, Precalculus AB, and Geometry Honors.

Hubschman decided to teach math based on her love for it, she said.

“When you dig deep into mathematical problems, you find more beauty. The process of uncovering mathematical relationships with students is one of my favorite things,” she said.

Hubschman felt a smooth transition from teaching college students to high schoolers because of the support of teachers and administrators, she said.

Since her arrival at the school, Hubschman has noticed that a high school community feels more closeknit, whereas in a college environment, more emphasis was placed on individual research and lecture-based assignments, she said.

“I loved Yeshiva, but here the school fills up more of my life. Rather than thinking and writing for my own research, I can interact with students in an environment where everybody knows each other,” Hubschman said.

Halley Robbins (11) enjoys Hubschman’s Precalculus AB course due to its discussion-based style. “[Hubschman] does a good job of making sure we’re involved

Courtesy of Eliza Bender

Courtesy of Yesh Nikam

Annabelle Chan /Art Director

Claire Goldberg Contributing Writer

A professor’s path

Annabelle Chan /Art Director

Talia Winiarsky Staff Writer In the wake of disappointment, students who were did not get into their early decision college found solace in each other…and in memes.

The Facebook group, dubbed “Sad Bois 2023,” was created by Josh Benson (12) with the purpose of providing support to those who had not been accepted to their first-choice schools.

Benson said he had the idea for the group the day after the first round of early decisions were released. He and some friends were lamenting the college application process, while also telling jokes to make themselves feel better. “I realized I wanted to do this on a larger scale,” Benson said.

The group quickly grew in popularity as more students received their decisions, Benson said. It amassed over a hundred seniors from the school who had not been accepted to their colleges, and even some students who attend other schools, such as Riverdale, he said.

Members of the group could post memes, polls, or anything else that they wanted to share, as long as it was approved by Benson, or one of the other group moderators, who are all seniors at the school.

Shortly after the group’s formation in December, Andrew Rosen (12) joined the group.

“It helped the class come together to realize that many other amazing and talented students were not accepted early decision,” Rosen said.

Moderator Everett Kagan (12) has published more than fifteen memes in the group. His most popular post pokes fun at the Common App home page, he said.

The group allowed Kagan to form connections with students who he was not friends with before,

he said. “Kids who I had never talked to that were in other friend groups were posting things similar to what me and my friends were posting.”

One of Nicole Warszawski’s (12) favorite posts contained the name of a certain school, and prompted members to respond with a Facebook reaction if they had not been accepted.

“Getting a rejection letter is an isolating experience,” Warszawski said. The recipient of the letter only sees their name on it, but really, there are many other students at the school and throughout the country who are getting the same letter, she said.

In contrast, posts that prompted students to say if they’ve been rejected from a certain school, or posts that detailed how many schools a student had been rejected from made Eva Fortunato (12) hesitant within the group. “It seemed like people were trying to top each other on how many schools they got rejected from,” she said.

The group began declining in activity after all college decisions had been announced, and is currently inactive, Kagan said. “All good things must come to an end,” he said.

Courtesy of Andrew Rosen

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and i s easygoing if anyone is confused,” she said.

According to Hubschman’s advisee and Geometry Honors student, Zara Packer (9), the classes and advisory group that Hubschman leads have developed into close environments, she said. “Everyone feels comfortable around Dr. Hubschman. She’s really kind and I feel comfortable talking about all of my issues because she’s willing to help.”

In her courses and advisory groups, Hubschman continues to remember lessons learned from Yeshiva. “I think that all of the hours of discussions with my students at YU about philosophy made me a more careful thinker, broadened my perspective, and helped me become more comfortable in the front of a classroom,” she said.

“I feel very fortunate to have experienced such different institutions because they’ve both been remarkable teaching jobs,” Hubschman said.

Yesh Nikam Contributing Writer Very rarely is a high school student fortunate enough have a teacher who brings experience not only from overseas, but also from higher educational institutions. Dr. Cornelie Ladd brings both to her classics classes here at Horace Mann.

Ladd was first introduced to the classics as a child, when she studied Latin and Greek in Europe. She was fascinated by ancient languages and books, specifically that way the perception of human life comes across as modern through ancient literature, she said.

In college, Ladd moved to the United States and began her graduate work at Columbia University, where she dove deeper into the classics.

Ladd first gained experience teaching as a graduate student when she taught the Literature and Humanities (LitHum) course at Columbia. “LitHum is a course that introduces students to a compilation of books that are considered significant in the development of human thought, and in part the they involve the small classics,” she said. class sizes As soon have given as she him the ability to discuss topics with his students.

“I have, over the years, gotten [my classes] to be more and more discussion based. I take questions from the class and let them go wherever they will go.

My students will probably remark on the fact that we tend to go off on a lot of tangents, which I think is great.

It is something that you can’t do nearly so much in a university,” Wallenfang said.

Even though biology is inherently a lecture based class, “he finds a way to integrate the whole class and hear everyone’s voice,” Remy Wu (11) said.

This promotes a class of students that are more involved and interested in their work.

Whenever someone asks a question that is off-topic, he is always able to connect it to what we are learning or talking about, Halley Robbins (11) said. “He really knows his material.”

It is clear that Wallenfang loved the research he did at Columbia; he refers back to it in his teaching, Wu said.

enfang l l a .r W

Liliana Greyf Staff Writer

In second grade, after attending a job fair, Dean of Faculty and Biology teacher Dr. Matthew Wallenfang decided that teaching was his passion.

“My mom used to say that I have always loved to explain things to people, so I think that it is something that came almost instinctively to me,” Wallenfang said.

However, Wallenfang did not teach only high school students from the start of his career. He began his career teaching at Barnard College as an Assistant Professor in Biology, and he loved his five years there, he said..

“It was the perfect place to combine the research that I was doing for my post doctorate and be able to teach a number of classes.”

As a post doctorate, Wallenfang researched fruit flies and fundamental questions surrounding their aging process. He continued this research at Columbia.

The four classes he taught: Introductory Biology,

Cellular Biology, Cellular Biology Lab, and Biology Seminar ranged from eight to 200 students. Teaching these classes, Wallenfang learned how to engage his students, a skill that would be useful once he came to the school.

His larger classes, taught mostly to freshmen and biology majors, were more lecture based. “I tried to have as much student participation as possible, but you become constrained when you are up on a stage in a lecture hall with that many students,” he said. Although he found he was able to teach large classes effectively, he prefered smaller classes and the interactions with students they provided. He found that the more he was able to communicate with his students, the more he understood the best way to teach them.

As Wallenfang continued his work at Barnard, he wanted to look for an opportunity that provided more education than research. “Barnard was definitely a full time job.” At the time, he was spending his summers and free time in the lab, continuing his post-doctoral research.

“My friend started telling me about how amazing it was to be a highschool teacher working with younger students, and having summers off, and all of the wonderful things that exist with being a high school teacher. It got me thinking that that was something I should pursue,” he said.

When Wallenfang started at the school, he was influenced by how similar Barnard’s and the school’s curricula were, so he often found himself teaching in the same lecture style. However,

of esy ur t Co

Lind

a Hubschman

Katya Arutyunyan/Art Director

Dr. Lad

chose the classics as her field of study, Ladd knew she wanted to be a teacher, she said.

After she earned her PhD, Ladd moved to London and commuted to the Netherlands to teach a class on “Great Books” at the University of Tilburg. “The class focused not only on influential works from classical antiquity literature including The Iliad and Odyssey, but also on works from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and pre-modern and modern times.” she said.

Eventually, Ladd returned to New York City with her family. When the school offered her a job as a Latin teacher, she gladly accepted it, she said.

The classes that Ladd teaches are slightly different from the LitHum clahss at Columbia, she said. “In college, the reading assignments tend to be much larger, and the classes don’t meet as often, and [at the school], classes meet every day,” she said.

“At HM, [teachers] have the privilege of knowing our students better because we see them every day. We really understand how they can grasp things that are familiar to them and how they can grasp things that are new to them,” she said.

A crucial aspect of teaching, according to Ladd, is forming a close relationship with students. “You have to work with their growth, and you see their growth more close up because you see them every day” she said.

Despite the change in environment from a college lecture hall to a high school classroom, Ladd didn’t have to alter her teaching style too drastically because it is always changing regardless, she said. “As a teacher, you have to adjust every time you teach, because each class is unique,” she said.

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Rohan Bhatia (11), a student of Ladd’s Latin 4H class, feels that Ladd’s understanding of the class helps her communicate the lesson effectively.

“She always allows the student’s capabilities to guide the curriculum; and our assessments always build off of the understanding we developed in class”, he said.

Paul Wang (11), a member of Ladd’s Ancient Greek A class, appreciates how she understands that the students have other commitments, and thus communicates the lesson in an effective manner.

“Instead of making us memorize all the vocab, she really wants us to learn how to read,” Wang said. “She doesn’t want us to take unnecessary steps. For example, we don’t have to translate from English to Greek, but instead from Greek to English, so we can read ancient texts.”

After 12 years at HM, Ladd feels that the joy of teaching spurs from the close relationship between the student and teacher. “There’s a Greek word, lampros, which means ‘shining’ or ‘bright.’Your teaching has to be bright. It has to be inspiring. And it has to be something the students want to reach for,” she said.

-In-C ditor ins/E b b o lia R

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THE RECORD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT MAY 17TH, 2019

‘Endgame’: Superheroes and Spoilers Marina Kazarian and Patrick Stinebaugh

Staff Writers

James Thomas (9) was on Fandango at 8:00 a.m. on April 2, eagerly reloading the page, determined to score tickets for the opening night of the much-anticipated action film ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ The movie, which premiered on April 26, is the final chapter of Marvel’s 22-film anthology, the Infinity Saga, and meant so much to Thomas that he wouldn’t have missed it for the world, he said.

The Infinity Saga franchise started 11 years ago with ‘Iron Man’ and captivated millions of fans as it chronicled the tragedies and triumphs of superheroes brought to life from the Marvel comic books.

Every character from the Saga joins forces to defeat the ruthless villain Thanos in ‘Endgame,’ which quickly became the second-highest grossing movie of all time, earning over two billion dollars at the box office.

Like Marvel fans around the world, many students and faculty members were enthralled by the hit film. ““Avengers: Endgame’ was compelling to me because not only was it a finale of a finale, it was the end to a story that has lasted for a decade,” Jasper Heymann (11) said.

As someone who has been following the franchise since she was six years old, Tenzin Sherpa (12) felt that it would be wrong not to see the movie, she said.

“Frankly, I have never really enjoyed The Avengers movies; I much prefer the individual superhero movies instead,” Tino Caer (12) said.

“But, it only felt right to see how a piece of my childhood was going to end.”

For Caer, ‘Endgame’ marked the end of an era.

He believes that the movie acted as a final gift for the fans, he said.

“With every new movie, I became progressively more attached to the characters,” Sadie Hill (10) said. “It was like all the movies I watched and adored during my childhood came to an end. It was heartbreaking.”

For Mathematics teacher Charles Garcia,

‘Endgame’ was a perfect ending to a well-told story, he said.

In previous films, Marvel had mainly used male characters, but in new films like ‘Captain Marvel,’ strong heroines emerged and took part in the action.

“Marvel’s new introduction of a lot of strong female roles and characters really made me want to see [‘Endgame’] more,” Sherpa said.

‘Infinity War,’ the predecessor o f Endgame, was a huge success, and it left a cliffhanger which made Eddie Ahn (12) want to see it more, he said.

“I chose to see Endgame basically because of the massive hype and my expectations for the movie,” Ahn said. “I generally like that Marvel has a lot of action packed into the series, andAnnabelle Chan/Art Director that the characters have so many movies to develop.”

Richard Hausman (12) enjoys Marvel movies because of the compelling characters, especially villains, he said.

“Even though Marvel has missed a couple of times, they do a pretty good job in casting excellent actors who present believable characters,” Caer said.

Caer feels that the Marvel movies received a bit too much love, simply because his generation grew up with them, he said. They aren’t perfect.

There were too many scenes “jumping between

different shots of Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Hulk just punching weightless CGI bad guys,” he said. “It is incredibly slow for the most part, and I fell asleep, something I have never done in any movie,” he said.

Marvel movies have been an important part of Sherpa’s childhood and have defined her interests, she said. Superheroes, like Peter Parker in ‘SpiderMan,’ have served as her role models, Sherpa said.

“The movies and shows showed communities like the ones I grew up with,” she said. “The action-packed movies have fueled my sense of adventure.”

Sherpa has found that many people at t h e school share her love for the film a n t h o l o g y, she said.

“It’s great that I can pick up a

c onve rs at i on with someone I usually don’t talk with and just talk about this movie,” Sherpa said.

Such a widelyanticipated movie had the entire internet worried about spoilers, Hausman said.

“I have had Marvel movies spoiled to me more times than I can count,” Caer said. “I think that it is mostly due to the fact that people are so excited about it that they can’t help themselves.”

Yoseph Kamran (12) left his Economics class for a few minutes when he heard some people talking about the ending of the movie, he said.

Similarly, Thomas deleted social media off of his phone for a week to avoid spoilers, he said.

“Everywhere I looked there was #dontspoiltheendgame,” he said. The hashtag was created by the directors of the movie, Joe and

Collage Concert ends year on high note

Sam Singer and Chloe Choi

Staff Writers

Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Gross Theater will be brimming with eager teachers, parents, and students, as student musicians perform in the anual end-of-year concert: the Collage Concert.

The concert will feature performances by three Steel Bands, Glee Club, Concert Glee, Treble Choir, Sinfonietta, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, and the Music Production classes.

Students have worked tirelessly all year, and the concert is meant to showcase their hard

performing a unique version of the classic jazz piece ‘I’ll Be Seeing You,’ he said.

“I hope the concert shows the immense growth we’ve made through the year,” Mong said. “We initially had trouble getting all the notes down, but despite our shaky start, we’ve become a really strong choir and will give an impressive performance,” he said.

Glee Club worked to perfect performances of ‘Lonesome Road,’ the lively African folk piece ‘Tshotsholoza,’ and the vivacious ‘American Song Book,’ Dalia Pustilnik (9) said “I’m so ecstatic for the Collage Concert because these songs are absolutely amazing, and we’ve

Max Shopkorn/Staff Photographer

TAKE A BOW Sinfonietta rehearses final performance. work and talent. Students and teachers will also be showing their appreciation for one another through performances and commendations, Chair of the Music Department and Steel Band Director Doug Epstein said.

Concert Glee is putting on a melodious and exciting rendition of Toto’s popular song ‘Africa,’ completed by an eight-person solo group beside an invigorating vocal percussive performance, Jonathan Mong (10) said. The group is also

worked so hard on them,” Pustilnik said.

Ming Xing Hawkins (9) is a member of the Wind Ensemble, which is playing ‘Folk Dances’ by Dmitri Shostakovich, one of the most popular wind composers of all time. “We’ve had a fantastic time preparing for the concert, and I can’t wait to perform and hear what others have been working on as well,” she said.

The HM Orchestra plans to wow

the crowd with Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Libertango,’ a multi-part piece adapted for orchestra and designed to engage the audience, Alejandro Espejel (9) said. “[Libertango] is a beautiful piece that we are all extremely excited to perform,” Espejel said. “We’ve been practicing a lot, so it’s become exciting and sounds gorgeous,” he said.

“Orchestra is like a big family, so we’re are all so eager to show everyone the hard work we’ve put into this concert,” Tomoko Hida (9) said.

All of the band ensembles are performing in the concert, including the 50-member Wind Ensemble and some of the Jazz Combos, Band Director Michael Bomwell said.

For the first time at any of the school’s concerts, Epstein’s Music Production classes are playing their own music between the performances of the larger groups, Epstein said.

“I’m especially excited about this chance my groups have, as they’ve been working for months to create new music from scratch,” he said.

“Whether your favorite genre is jazz, classical music, rock, or anything else, you’ll find it at our Collage Concert, which will show the monumental talent of all of our groups and directors,” Epstein said.

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

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HORACE MANN MIDDLE DIVISION MAY 17TH, 2019

Anthony Russo, to encourage people not to ruin the movie, Thomas said.

Garcia said that the spoiler culture surrounding ‘Endgame’ is equal to that of ‘Star Wars,’ making him believe that the Avengers film is to the current generation what Star Wars was to his, he said.

“We grew up with [The Infinity Saga], and that is why we loved it so much, but I don’t think that it will be relevant in future generations, kind of like how ‘Star Wars’ is starting to die out a little bit,” Caer said.

“Memes are a big part of the Endgame hype, whether it be image-based memes on various social media platforms, or ‘fake-spoiler’ memes that satirize the excessive fear of ‘Endgame’ spoilers,” Hausman said.

Heymann believes that the common obsession with avoiding spoilers is unnecessary and “a little over-the-top,” he said.

“Avengers: Endgame is such a huge movie that one spoiler really does not ruin the movie at all,” he said.

With so much hype building up for the movie, many tried to make their movie-going experience as fulfilling as possible.

“I would say that this movie was one of the only movies where I felt connected with the audience,” Caer said. “In all my theater experiences, I have never felt compelled to whoop and cheer with everyone else.”

Sherpa bought her tickets in advance and saw the movie on a Sunday morning to avoid the long lines of people, she said. The movie’s three hour runtime was no joke either.

“I was kind of preparing myself for it,” Sherpa said. “I thought, ‘This is such an important movie, everything is leading up to this.’ And if I were to take a bathroom break I felt like I would miss a lot,” Sherpa said.

Marvel has been able to create a complex and connected story with their cinematic universe that no other series has truly been able to replicate, Heymann said.

“What I like most about Marvel movies is the level of complexity of their plots and how the plots are always connected,” he said. “The studio pays extreme attention to small details, and that is what makes their movies stand out.”

Shaw ‘14 works for laughs

Vivien Sweet

Staff Writer

Rebecca Shaw’s ’14 journey to becoming a staff writer on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ began in the third trimester of her senior year, when she replaced Physics with a Senior Initiative Project. Instead of learning about the trajectory of an airpumped rocket, Shaw and classmates Sophie Mann ‘14 and Valerie Bodurtha ‘14 wrote and directed a high school themed musical called ‘Upper West Side Story,’ parodying the school’s culture and launching her into the world of comedy.

“For as long as I can remember, I grew up listening to old George Carlin records and watching old SNL episodes,” Shaw said. “But my Senior Initiative Project was really the first time I had allowed myself to think of working in comedy as something you could commit yourself to doing professionally.”

After graduating high school, Shaw continued her pursuits in comedy at Yale University, becoming director of the school’s sketch comedy group Red Hot Poker. Shaw, along with comedy partner Ben Kronengold, gave Yale’s annual comedic graduation address in 2018, which would jump-start their careers in the entertainment industry.

“We put the video of our speech on YouTube primarily for our friends and family to see, but it quickly went viral,” Shaw said. Because of the traction their address gained, Shaw and Kronengold were able to meet more people in the entertainment industry and sign with her current agents and manager in Los Angeles.

When the opportunity came for the pair to submit a packet of their work to ‘The Tonight Show,’ Shaw felt prepared, she said.

Her experience in high school had helped shaped her ability to “make the most out of a rare opportunity,” she said.

Since March, Shaw has been working tirelessly around the clock writing nightly sketches, which consist of political cold opens, impressions, and anecdotal

monologues, she said.

A new episode comes out every day, so Shaw’s schedule can be quite hectic, she said.

“Production of the show is incredibly fast-paced,” she said. “If something doesn’t quite go as planned, tomorrow is a new day and you can start from scratch.”

One of the most surreal experiences of her career was pitching a sketch to Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a popular Democratic presidential candidate, she said.

Last Monday, along with the sketch team, which includes Kronengold, Shaw wrote Courtesy of Rebecca Shaw

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT? Shaw prepares. a “slow jam” on an imitation news station, where Buttigieg delivered his policy position, and Jimmy Fallon along with the Tonight Show’s in-house band, Roots, turned it into a “jazzy, suggestive” song. The segment was as ludicrous as it was informative, she said.

Shaw majored in political psychology at Yale, so writing political material is something she enjoys doing, she said.

Without the resources and freedom the school entrusted Shaw with during her Senior Initiative Project, she probably wouldn’t be anywhere close to the job she holds now, she said.

“Horace Mann doesn’t make slackers,” she said. “It’s hard to go out of the school and not have a good sense of what it takes to achieve your goals and how hard you need to work to get there.”

MD SPORTS IN ACTION! Staff Writers Jack Crovitz Alison Isko

Contributing Writers Morgan Smith Yin Fei Sam Chiang Lauren Ho

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

The MD Boys’ Lacrosse team has experienced an eventful season under the coaching of MD Boys’ Lacrosse Coach Gregg Quilty.

“I feel like this season has been amazing overall, with a record of 3-3, and a huge improvement from last year when we didn’t win any games,” Julien Harcourt (8) said.

In practice, the players have been disciplined and have been working on different types of offense- such as an open set formation- as well as different types of defense - such as zone and man-to-man. Although the team only has a short amount of time for training, the team’s progression has clearly been

translated into their play, Quilty said.

“Since they now understand so many new strategies, their spirits are also higher and each one of them seem to be enthusiastic to play,” Quilty said.

One highlight for the Lions was their 6-5 win against Riverdale last Thursday, Quilty said.

“We went into sudden death overtime against our rivals, who we have not beaten in three years. In overtime, I won the face off and scored right away, which was very exciting,” Harcourt said.

“We were able to avenge our previous losses to them, so it was definitely a huge boost of confidence,” Quilty said.

As a new team this year, the MD Boys’ Volleyball Team had 16 relatively inexperienced players, which made the season slightly challenging, MD Volleyball Head Coach Jason Torres said.

Because of the team’s inexperience, they worked on all aspects of the game during practice, covering “the basics of volleyball, from rotation to positions,” Torres said. wever, the team greatly improved from the beginning of the trimester.

“They all stand out in their own way, whether it’s setting, serving, hitting, or playing defense,” he said. “They have all been progressing well enough to play as a [cohesive] team.”

“My favorite part of volleyball is

the importance of teamwork and the atmosphere, as every member of the team is in it together,” Steve Yang (8) said.

The team’s improvement was evident during their two intra-squad games, which were one a highlight for Torres’s this season, he said. “They were exciting and filled with many rallies and aces,” said Torres.

“At no point is [the game] ever over,” Yang said. “A ball could go out of bounds and seem like a disaster but it can be brought back and be saved.”

Althogh the game is never over, the season is, as the MD volleyball team has no more games left this year, Torres said.

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

The MD Girls’ Lacrosse team has had a roaring season, finishing undefeated and winning four games against the Fieldston Eagles, the Riverdale Falcons, and the Dalton Tigers. The key to such a talented team is their unity, support for each other and willingness to learn, MD Girls’ Lacrosse Head Coach Caroline Surhoff said.

“The team is like a family; we are all so close and have a lot of fun during each practice. Everyday we all look forward to going up to the field and playing again,” Tess Goldberg (8) said.

Although the rainy weather has been a challenge, since it limits the number of outdoor practices, they have continued to persevere and work

member has improved, Duffy said.

Duffy tried to cut as few girls as possible, keeping 24 girls on the team. “Overall, I think everybody’s developing pretty well.” he said.

One specific moment stood out as a season highlight for Duffy. “[In one game], we were losing 5-1 and we came back to beat Fieldston 8-7. It was a great game,” he said.

The MD Softball season is almost over, as the last game will be taking place next Thursday. But overall, it was a rewarding season. “We always have fun and I’ve made lots of great friendships by joining the team,” Goldmacher said.

hard, Surhoff said.

“The girls have also been improving on defensive footwork, learning to spread out to create scoring options on offense,” Surhoff said. However, they still need to decrease the number of stick fouls they commit, she said.

“Lacrosse isn’t really an easy sport.

At times I can struggle with a play or learning when and where to take the perfect shot,” Goldberg said. Goldberg has learned to be a good team player and work her hardest, she said.

The team hopes to continue its winning streak and have even more exciting goals and assists in their home game against Dalton next Thursday, Surhoff said.

The Middle Division boys’ baseball team had an exciting and robust season.

The team is currently undefeated, left fielder Daniel Cornstein (7) said. “The success we’ve had this year is because they’re a really good group of kids,” MD Baseball Assistant Coach Colin Barile said.

“We have a very good team with a lot of good talent, both in the 7th and 8th grades,” said MD Baseball Head Coach Edwin Santiago.

The team’s enthusiasm and camaraderie made them an especially pleasant team to work with and be on, said Barile.

Abi Kraus/Photo Editor

“Every single time we go out, we go out to improve and play as a team, and the kids embrace that,” Santiago said.

Jasper Adelman (8), Aden Soroca (8), and pitcher Jacob Silverstein (8) all stood out this season for their talent and commitment, he said.

One especially memorable moment was the first game of the season, said catcher Chase Forbes (7). “We struggled without our two best players, but we managed to overcome it and turn our season around.”

“The future is bright for Horace Mann Varsity Baseball,” Barile said.

Abi Kraus/Photo Editor

Despite having only six runners, the MD Boys’ Track Team looks forward to ending the season with a bang at the Gotham Games Championships on Monday, Vitor Agripino Maia Gabay (7) said.

However, the team has ten less players than last year, Marcus Lee (8) said. “Part of it may be that this year the athletic department added two more sports, which gave students more choices,” Coach Robert Harmon said.

Unfortunately, having fewer participants has stopped the team from competing in all the relay events, but luckily part of what makes the Track and Field Team great is that everybody can participate in individual events of their choice, Harmon said.

“Being on the tennis team is like being a part of an ensemble where I can collaborate with everyone and work hard,” Krish Gandhi said.

The MD boys tennis team is undefeated so far with one match left, Middle Division Tennis Head Coach Rawlins Troop said.

One of the main reasons for the team’s success is that the team has been primarily focusing on doubles strategies and rallying, which serves the added purpose of preparing the team to try out for JV and Varsity in high school, he said.

“Winning all of our matches was pretty exciting, but the most exciting thing for me is seeing how the kids progressed,” Troop said.

The Middle Division Softball team has had a good season so far, as they currently have a record of four wins and two losses, MD Softball Head Coach Michael Duffy said.

Laine Goldmacher (7) believes that the team has a lot of energy. “My favorite parts of softball this season have been [the] team spirit and working with the great coaches Coach Duffy and [Assistant] Coach [Gabriel] Cunha to improve my softball skills,” she said.

During the team’s practices, they focus on the fundamentals, hitting, fielding, and catching technique. When comparing recent practices to those from the beginning of the trimester, it’s easy to see how much each team

“I actually prefer the smaller team size because I get more individualized attention and suggestions from the coaches, Agripino said.

Some of the team’s highlights include Zach Montbach’s (7) top-time finish in the 80-meter hurdle at the Gotham Games Qualifiers and Parker Wischhover (8) finishing fourth out of 79 in the hundredyard dash.

Although the team is still awaiting some of the results from the qualifiers, everybody is very excited about the championships.

“It’s a big deal because it’s not only the Ivy League but rather all NY independent schools competing for the championship,” Harmon said.

Jisang Kymm (7) thought that the matches were the most exciting part of the season because he was able to watch his teammates compete. “Since there are limited tennis courts at the matches, as soon as somebody leaves to go for a match, there will always be someone coming back to cheer you on,” Gandhi said.

The team will look to end their season on a high note by bringing in one last win on May 21st in their match against Brunswick, a school in Greenwich. No matter the result of the game, Troop will still be very proud of the team for always rising to the occasion and putting forward their best effort, he said.

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

While pushing themselves to improve their times, the MD Girls Track Team bonded together and looks forward to closing out the season next Monday at the Gotham Games, MD Girls’ Track Team Coach Meredith Cullen said.

“We had Caroline Madaio (8), Julia Phillips (7), and Daphne Tsai (7), among others, qualify for Gotham Games, and we’ve had a lot of improvements over the season,” Cullen said. “During practice, the girls worked on hurdles, strong starts and finishes, and handoffs for their relays. Overall, it was really good.”

According to Madaio, the team has improved significantly from the start of the season with times becoming faster

such as Madaio’s 800 meter time, which improved by 12 seconds. Despite two injuries during the season, the girls pushed through and continued to lower their times at meets.

“Many people had out of school commitments, and wouldn’t be able to make some of the meets, which left the entire team at a disadvantage,” said Ayesha Sen (8). Even with an incomplete team, many girls still found the meets exciting, Cullen said.

“Competing against other schools was the most exciting part of track,” Giselle Paulson (8) said. For Madaio, the support given by her teammates during meets was a highlight of the season, she said.

The new MD Ultimate Frisbee Team has started off with a record of one and one, and has two remaining matches.

Although the team is composed of mainly inexperienced players, everybody has stepped up and learned how to compete together, Larry Tao (8) said.

“I’m really excited to have so many kids on the roster. Everybody’s improved a lot over the course of the season, partially because the majority of kids who tried out were new to ultimate,” Coach Chris Nelson said.

Despite being in its first year, the team has created lasting memories. “The moments I really cherish are where I see a player who has been struggling, figure

out a skill or make a play that I wasn’t expecting,” Nelson said.

That same feeling is shared by the players. “Playing a new sport is really cool because it feels like we are building a community,” Bryan Jiang (8) said.

“The biggest challenge has been executing plays and formations in the field, as well as keeping our throws consistent,” Tao said.

Next week, the team will take on two teams who pose new competition and challenges. The team is looks forward to implementing new strategies such as stacking and moving vertically to open up more space, Jayden DeCambre (8) said.

Lions’ Den Record Sports

8

MAY 17TH, 2019

Captain Ben Metzner: hitting it out of the park Adam Frommer and Gabby Chong Staff Writer & Contributing Writer

w i t h i n the sport have not come without setbacks, Ben’s father, Scott Metzner said. He was unable to play to his full potential during a critical Captain and center fielder of Max Sh opkorn/S college recruiting period, due to taff Phot the Varsity Baseball Team, Ben ographer a hamstring injury.

Metzner (12) is in the midst of his “This difficult fourth and final season as a Lion; his teammates experience falls into say he will leave a legacy of dedication, leadership, the category of what and hard work.

Dr. Kelly would call Metzner began to play baseball when he was a ‘teachable moment’, as young as he can remember, he said. His older or in other words a brother, Eli ’16 showed interest in the sport, and painful, but valuable, life Ben naturally followed. lesson,” Scott Metzner said.

“It started with playing in our room with a little Despite Ben’s obstacles, he has wiffle ball bat and a ball, and we used to have super taken on a mentorship role as an competitive games in our shared room,” Ben said. approachable leader, teammate He began by participating in the West Side Little Andrew Rosen (12) said.

League in Manhattan but only truly discovered his His leadership style is such passion for baseball once when he entered into that he influences the team by his high school. Ben made the Varsity Baseball team example. “He sacrifices himself in his freshman year. by making diving catches in order After his first year on the team, Metzner decided to reach base,” teammate Adrian that he wanted to compete in college, he said.

Arnaboldi (10) said. That is a “I saw this promotional video that the Texas conscious effort on his own part, Christian [University] baseball team made that Metzner said. He recognizes the showed the life of a college baseball player. It role he plays and enjoys it. was called ‘The Grind’ and it showed the athletes Metzner’s presence has motivated waking up early to lift and run, practicing, and then fellow teammates to train harder and eventually playing in the College World Series,” perform at their best capacity, Rosen Metzner said. After watching the video, he felt said. inspired to pursue baseball in college.

“He’s challenging himself more this He has since spent his summers as part of a year than ever in terms of leading by tournament team with other athletes who seek to example. He steps up when it counts,” get recruited for college. The teams participated in Varsity Baseball Head Coach different competitions around the east coast.

Matthew Russo said.

As Metzner progressed, he became one of the Whenever the team makes errors, best players on the school team, his teammates say.

Metzner invariably reassures them to “He’s really fast so he can steal a lot of bases. remain positive and to concentrate He can hit for power. He is hitting really well on the following play, Webb said. this year so far, and he’s a good fielder too,” teammate Ryan Webb (10) said.

BATTER UP Ben Metzner (12) winds up for a swing.

Unexpectedly, Metzner’s accomplishments

“The program has seen talented kids play collegiate baseball but there has always been a disconnect between those players and the rest of the team,” Rosen said. Metzner has shifted the team culture to a place where every player at the same time has respect for him, meanwhile knowing he is receptive to others.

By taking his own initiative, Metzner fosters an energized team environment, and players have subsequently followed his lead, Arnaboldi said.

Even after a loss against Collegiate and without any direction, Metzner led the team in running laps shortly after the game concluded, to be more adequately prepared for future games.

“I have never seen anybody work harder than Ben,” Rosen said. “He is commonly looked upon by the rest of the team to make the outstanding play in center field or the big home run over the gym.

Just by being himself, Ben has been a leader to this team.”

Russo has been Metzner’s biggest motivator and influence, Metzner said. Russo coached him for football and baseball for the past three years and made it his job to prepare him to play in college.

“He’s helped me become a better competitor, player, but most importantly, a leader,” Metzner said.

Playing both football and baseball with Russo has forced Metzner to become tougher and more competitive, he said.

“I encourage him to do things he thought he couldn’t do,” Russo said.

As the team captain, Metzner has led the Lions to their most succesful season in his tenure on the team. They team holds eight victories and nine losses.

“We are in fourth place right now and if we [continue to] win, it would be our best in the four years that I have been on the team,” Metzner said.

“While winning is important, Ben plays because of what the sport means to him, not because of set priorities,” Scott Metzner said.

Annabelle Chan/Art Director

Meanwhile, as he prepared for the college process, Ben knew that he aspired to play after high school and was recruited to some Division Three schools.

“I seriously considered a bunch of them, but my goal was always to play Division One baseball,” he said.

In one field, he had a significant upper hand over other potential recruits: academics.

“It opens a lot of doors when [colleges] see that you go to Horace Mann,” Metzner said. “They look at you in a way that they wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent so much time on academics.”

Metzner got into Yale University through the normal admissions process and plans to walk on to the team, he said. He has been in contact with the coach and must be physically fit enough come tryouts to make the team, so he will spend the summer training to get fully in shape.

“A dream of mine is to be a general manager of a baseball team, which is something that factored into my recruiting decision,” Metzner said.

As he prepares to play his closing games for the school, Metzner will most of all leave behind his team-first mentality, Webb said. “He’s always been a guy that has cared more about the team and winning more than his personal success, which will help the team for years to come.”

Ultimate frisbee team loses in sub-ultimate conditions

Andie Goldmacher and Nathan Zelizer Staff Writer & Contributing Writer

The Ultimate Frisbee Team’s season ended on Tuesday as they fell 15 to three against Poly Prep in the Ivy Preparatory League playoff semifinals at Randall’s Island. The team’s captains, Gabe Hernandez (12), Henry Wildermuth (12), and Orion Lehoczky Escobar (12) were all optimistic heading into Tuesday’s game, Hernandez said.

The team’s most important quality is its spirit, which is the frisbee term for sportsmanship, Coach Chris Nelson ‘09 said. “Our team is often the loudest on the sideline, and the players not only cheer for our team but for other teams if they do a really cool move.”

The school hosted two weekend tournaments, which provided good opportunities for everyone

Halley Robbins/Staff Photographer

LASER FOCUS Solomon Katz (12) lobs the disk. to play, Nelson said. The weekend tournaments operated round-robin style, so every team that attended got to play all the other teams there, Nelson said.

Through tournaments, practices and weekend conferences, the team was able to come together, Paul Wang (11) said. “The senior captains and Coach Nelson really brought the team together.”

Nelson is a former Horace Mann student

and ultimate player. He uses this experience to relate to the players and show the importance of being respectful. “Even though we are fierce competitors, Nelson values being respectful which brings us together,” Wang said.

Nelson has been impressed by the team’s optimism and resilience, he said. “Even though we have faced some strong opponents, our team has hit our stride with all of our players growing and developing chemistry on the field and becoming a fundamentally solid team.”

The group came together through their daily practices and training during spring break, which allowed them to spend more time together and learn to struggle and succeed as a unit, Hernandez said.

The team has faced and overcome many challenges this year, Nelson said. “The team had to learn a lot of difficult offensive and defense strategies.

One of the largest challenges to the sport is that there are no referees. “Since there are no referees, players had to learn the rules on their own, which can create a large mental load on the players,” Nelson said.

An additional challenge for the team has been its height difference compared to other teams. “A lot of other teams, such as Poly Prep and Regis have tall kids,” Hernandez said. “Even though they do not play as well as us, they can still beat us because of height.”

When the team is not playing in a windy environment like Van Cortlandt Park, players that are taller and can jump higher have the advantage, Lowell Finster (10) said.

The team has successfully overcome all of their challenges with the help of Nelson and the seniors, Wang said. “Coach Nelson gives everybody playing time, which has been very helpful.”

Many of the players learned from each other to improve their skills. “Even if two players are rookies on the team, they helped each other by

asking questions and learning together,” Nelson said. Both rookies and returning players have shown massive improvements, Wang said. “Julia Robbins (11) and Daniel Lee (11) have both taken on a new role and improved a lot,” he said.

Nelson along with other players credited the senior captains for much of the team’s success.

“Our captains and other seniors are very good players that taught us the values of ultimate and are great mentors,” Wang said.

The grade diversity of the team has greatly contributed to its success. “The younger players are really impressive and are paving the way for the future,” Wang said.

The team has a very strong senior and junior class and a lot of sophomores have stepped up as well, Nelson said. “We even have freshmen learning the game this year too, so everyone is coributing.”

First year players like Abigail Morse (10) practiced their skills outside of daily practice.

“Our coach always encourages us to do our throwing homework,” new player Abigail Morse (10) said.

Morse described the frisbee team as different from other teams she has been on because of the increased chemistry on the field, she said.

“Whenever we come off the field we discuss what to improve from the last point; and as a result, I have gotten to know the other players better through the common goal of improving,” she said.

Tuesday’s game was met with a lot of unforeseen challenges, Finster said. “It was different for the team to play on Randall’s Island since we are not used to a turf field, and there was a lack of wind, which was difficult because this allowed us to throw farther than we could during practice in Van Cortlandt,” he said.

The team had a rough start to the game and did not score in the first half, but came back and scored three points during the second half. “Going into the game, we s h o u l d

Halley Robbins/Staff Photographer

SOARIN’ FLYIN’Natalie Sweet (10) leaps for a grab. have had a different mindset. Even though we had the necessary skills, our own mental spirit was down when we didn’t score,” Morse said.

Though the team did not come out victorious, Nelson applauds their work. “The team brings a great spirit and camaraderie to every practice and event that I will miss during the off season,” he said.

Congratulations to: Baseball Golf Boys Tennis Boys Volleyball Softball For making the playoffs!

Annabelle Chan/Art Director