Volume 120, Issue 24

The Record

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Holocaust survior Samuel Marder shares story at assembly

Hannah Becker Staff Writer

“A Romanian soldier came in the ghetto and told us ‘please pack all of the stuff that you can because you do not know where you are going and when you are returning, and you will need a lot of food because you do not know when you will be able to eat next,’” Holocaust survivor, author, and professional musician Sam Marder said. Marder shared his story at the Upper Division’s (UD) Holocaust Remembrance Assembly this Tuesday, the school’s first assembly directed to teaching about the Holocaust since 2015.

At the assembly, Marder talked about his early childhood before the Holocaust, his experience when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) and then Germany invaded his region, the process of being deported and sent to a concentration camp, and his life after liberation.

English teacher Dr. Deborah Kassel opened the assembly by talking about the “banality of evil,” a concept that had been coined by German philosopher Hannah Arendt and explained in a Holocaust Assembly in 2015 with Werner Reich, who described the phenomenon as the “good people who do nothing.”

Currently, in the Middle Division and UD, none of the required courses spend time going in-depth into the details of the Holocaust. Charlotte Henes (10) feels that the school should have more workshops or assemblies about the Holocaust if

they are unable to implement it into the curriculum, she said. “We read a book about the Holocaust in fifth grade, but since then, my history classes have only briefly discussed it,” she said. “It is really important to educate people about [the Holocaust] because history can repeat itself, and it is necessary for everyone to know what happened.”

Following Kassel’s opening remarks, Emily Salzhauer (12), who organized the assembly, gave a brief presentation to provide context on the Holocaust, including a timeline of the major events, photographs depicting these events, and an introduction for Marder.

Marder began his story with his early childhood in Czernowitz, Romania, where he lived a typical life, oblivious to the hatred and conflict that surrounded him until the age of six. “On my first day of school, I had to walk and I had to pass by another school. When those children saw me walking, they came out of the yard and started hitting me with stones,” he said.

Soon after, Czernowitz was invaded by the USSR, Marder said. “The Soviets came and arrested all the business people, and it became a really scary experience,” he said. A year later, the Germans took over his city, invaded homes, and attacked Jews, he said. Then, the Germans established ghettos, which are small, walled-off parts of cities where Jews were kept before deportations to concentration camps or death camps, he said.

Prior to the assembly, Lexi Lawsky

(10) knew about Holocaust from what her grandmother taught because her ancestors were survivors, she said. “My family is mostly German Jews, so it was interesting hearing stories from a Jew living in Romania at the time,” she said. “I also learned a lot of new details that I did not know before, such as the ghettos that the Jewish people were put into before being deported.”

Then, Marder shared details about his journey to the Verkhovna Concentration Camp, where he lived for three and a half years. When he was deported, Marder and other Jewish people were pushed into cattle cars and marched to the concentration camp, where they were forced into small rooms. “We were so close to each other that all we could do was lie down on the ground. We were like sardines pushed together,” Marder said.

After the Soviet army liberated Jews from the concentration camp, Marder went back to his hometown, then to a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Germany before moving to the U.S in 1949. Marder received a scholarship from the Manhattan School of Music, allowing him to pursue his passion for the violin that developed when he was a young child, he said. He continued his musical career in the US, leading several orchestras and touring around the world.

Rose Korff (10) felt motivated and encouraged when Marder said that he and his father remained optimistic after facing so much anti-semitism, she said. “I think that is not how I would feel and react in that situation,

so it is really inspiring that they maintained a positive attitude during such a difficult time.”

After Marder finished telling his story, the assembly transitioned into a Q&A. During this, Salzhauer asked Marder, “a lot of people say ‘never again’ when talking about the Holocaust, but many of us don’t know what we can do to keep this promise. What can we as students do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” Marder responded that there is no way to fight anti-semitism, so all people can do is be kind to everyone they meet. It is rare to change others’ outlooks on life, especially when they have been taught to hate by everyone around them, he said. “Love is the only element that combines people together and allows them to survive happily,” Marder said.

After the assembly, Salzhauer,

Kassel, and Marder hosted a talkback session. There, a student asked a question about how the unimaginable experiences that Jewish people had during the Holocaust will be shared after all the Holocaust survivors are no longer with us, Sam Korff (12) said. Marder responded by saying that once all the survivors are gone, the history of the Holocaust can be distorted, so we should do everything in our power to stop that from happening. “The way he was so monotone and so matter-of-fact when talking about all the horrors that he suffered made them all the more heartbreaking because he had to go through all of this, and it was just regular life to him,” Korff said. “It was really, really powerful how he lived through such horrors and still remained so optimistic.”

Letter to the Editor: Mr. Wilson responds to SparkNotes feature

A cheekily titled feature in last week’s Record (“To Read or Not to Read…”) brought to light a questionable tendency among some students to use summaries readily available on platforms like Sparknotes and Shmoop in place of assigned reading in their classes. As an English teacher and someone who cares deeply about literature and reading, I’ll admit to being troubled by what I read, but not for the most obvious reasons. Of course I, like all HM teachers, am aware of Sparknotes (and other tools like it), and I realize that some percentage of students do make use of it from time to time. On this point, I emphatically agree with my colleagues’ stated “dislike” of the platform and the shortcuts it makes not just possible but dangerously alluring. Yet what really got me about the article was that it hinted at a deeper miscomprehension about the nature and value of intellectual work in students’ education.

In Hamlet, the tragedy whose most famous soliloquy the article’s title playfully paraphrases, Shakespeare presents us with a deeply

complicated title character, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Early in the play, griefstricken by his beloved father’s sudden, suspicious death, and dissatisfied with what he views as the performative mourning of members of the royal court at Elsinore, Hamlet insists on the stark divide between what really “is” and what only “seems.” However, as the play progresses Hamlet makes the meaningful decision to confuse, or rather conflate, the nature of this division between what is reality, and what only appears to be real. Hamlet, all too famous for his failure to act, is at the same time devoted to acting, that is, to playing and performing—acting by other names. One could make a strong argument that it’s this dizzying back and forth between alternative realities that leads to Hamlet’s famously philosophical “To be or not to be” moment. By the end of the play, the prince falls victim to his own intentional blurring of the distinction between the real and the unreal. To use his words, he himself is “hoist with his own petard.”

When students use Sparknotes and AI like ChatGPT to generate ideas and, especially, to do their work for them, they too confuse, and attempt to equate, what is with what is not. Students who digest easy Sparknotes ideas instead of reading Morrison and Shakespeare, for example, or allow ChatGPT to craft an essay’s thesis, mistake the difficult and challenging intellectual work of close reading and writing for an annoying, empty exercise they must complete for a grade. For them, the grade is the thing. But this jaded way of seeing education and its uses is, aside from being cynically transactional, quite frankly boring.

Last week’s article spoke about students using Sparknotes when they’re stressed about deadlines, and it’s true that a Horace Mann education is demanding. Yet there are great pleasure, satisfaction, and fulfilment to be had in doing hard work—the “heavy lifting” Ted Chiang talked about on Book Day. Students who opt out of their reading, and who choose not to cultivate the critical skills whose importance

my colleagues and I stressed in the article, do a disservice not to their teachers but to themselves. They underestimate their own evolving talents and strengths, dismiss what they don’t understand, and ultimately sabotage the life of the mind by relying on the apparent “thinking” of a bot or the canned cliches anyone with an internet connection can find online.

Midway through Hamlet the prince exhorts a group of actors to be natural, since the point of their art, he says, is “to hold…the mirror up to nature.” Like those players, Horace Mann students are uniquely equipped to explore, reveal, and enrich the nature of their world. But to do so they must embrace the sometimes unpredictable adventure of true intellectual endeavor, not fall for the weak reflection behind their screens.

From, Vernon Wilson Head of English Department

A SURVIVOR STORY Marder shares anecdotes from pre-WW2 Romania.

Evan Contant/Photo Director

Model UN wins Best Large Delegation at Cornell Conference

Anya Mirza Staff Writer

From April 20th to April 23rd, the school’s Model United Nations (MUN) team finished off their season with a major win at the Cornell Model UN Conference (CMUNC).

As one of the few College-hosted MUN conferences, CMUNC was an important event for the team, Andrew Doft (10), who won a Best Delegate award, said. The team attended two other major college hosted conferences this year at Harvard and Princeton.

Students were given three weeks between when they received their assignments and the beginning of the conference to prepare, Secretary General (SG) of MUN Nitika Subra-

maniam (12), who won a Best Delegate award, said. During this time, the team met frequently to refresh on some fundamental skills like speech and blockwork.

For Asha Tandon (10), who won a Best Delegate award, the great team dynamic was the highlight of the conference as well, she said. The team would meet every morning for bagels and every evening for dinner, she said. “It’s a really good community and it’s really nice to have people who are supporting you because it can be stressful in committee.”

The team earned the coveted Best Large Delegation, and six team members “gaveled,” placing first in their respective committees. In addition to Doft, Tandon, and Subramaniam, the six Best Delegate recipients included Sean Lee (12), Lily Wender (11),

and Rain Li (10). Sarina Shah (9) and Francesca Finzi (9) received Outstanding Delegate awards, Julia Bouchut (10) and Emily Park (9) earned Honorable Delegate awards, and Josh Anderman (10) and Andrew Ziman (10) won Verbal Recognition awards.

History teacher and MUN faculty advisor Dr. Steven Fabian enjoyed seeing the student’s expressions of surprise during the awards ceremony, as they announced the team’s numerous prizes. “The students were supporting each other, hugging each other, cheering each other on,” Fabian said.

The team celebrated their success with a MUN winning tradition at the school. “On Monday during break, we got to have a Lucky Charms Moment which we haven’t had all year, where the SGs pour Lucky Charms in

your mouth,” Tandon said. Subramanian is proud of the team and their performance at the Cornell conference, she said. “We still have a

Behind the decision to discontinue SOI

Rena Salsberg and Clara Medeiros Staff Writers

The school announced in the Addendum to the Program of Studies that the course Seminar on Identity (SOI) would be discontinued after running for six years. The course met weekly for a trimester and was required for juniors to take.

According to the Program of Studies, the course allows students to understand the intersections of social identifiers through readings, screenings, activities, and conversations. After students completed SOI, a college counseling workshop replaced the course.

SOI originated from a previously required course called Quest, which allowed juniors to explore their identities and helped students think about who they are and what they believe in so they were able to present themselves accurately to colleges, Dean of Students Michael Dalo said. The course has varied its curriculum over time.

The course was initially intended students gain more vocabulary in approaching conversations about diversity and identity, Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein said. “It was a priority for us that all of our students had essentially the same vocabulary so that they could talk about difficult subjects or challenging

subjects or important subjects without being nervous about language. We really wanted this not to be a taboo subject but a subject that students were engaged in.”

The most recent version of the course explores delving into your own identity while learning to understand and appreciate other identities,

Junior Issue 3 Editorial Board

Heads of Design

Sophie Pietrzak

Alara Yilmaz

Features

Erica Jiang

Maeve Goldman

A & E

Editor in Chief

Neeva Patel

News

Lucy Peck Kate Beckler

Joshua Shuster

Sophie Rukin

Art Directors

Sophia Liu

Karla Moreira

Sarah Aaron

Managing Editor

Ariella Frommer

Opinions Naomi Yaeger Clara Stevanovic

Lions’ Den Sofia Kim Jorge Orvañanos

Design Editors

Jiwan Kim

Photo Directors Aryan Palla

Evan Contant

previous knowledge about the topics covered in the class. “There were points in the course in which they were practicing new skills and exposed to new content. However, those moments weren’t consistent throughout the course,” she said. This fueled another issue, which is inconsistency with student engagement throughout the SOI classes. “A course that meets once per week at best does not ensure the connection and community required to practice courageous identity conversation skills.”

Avi Rao (12) took SOI as a junior and felt that the course allowed him to have a clearer sense of the path he wanted to take in the future, he said. “I also liked that you had a college counseling workshop right after because you’ve just spent a third of the year thinking about yourself, and now you spend the next third thinking about yourself again and how you fit into a certain college,” he said.

Although he enjoyed the course and was a frequent participant during the class, Rao understands the decision to discontinue the class, he said. Several other courses offered at the school already cover the material taught in the class, especially topics including race, gender, and sexuality. “I think the administration realized that they do a lot of that teaching in other classes, and so it’s not necessary to have a separate class for it.”

The class succeeded in teaching about the diverse identities within the student body, however, only meeting once a week prevented students from truly delving into the material, Emily Weidman (11) said. “There were times

Staff

Staff Writers Erica Jiang, Maeve Godlman, Naomi Yaeger, Sofia Kim, Audrey O’Mary, Blake Bennett, Brody Grossman, Emily Wang, Gillian Ho, Hannah Becker, Jacqueline Shih, James Zaidman, Julia Bouchut, Malachai Abbott, Nikita Pande, Oliver Konopko, Nora Wildman, Rena Salsberg, Diya Chawla, Zach Hornfeld, Julia Lourenco, Lily Sussman, Charles Ampah

Staff Photographers Nicole Au, Trish Tran, Aanya Gupta, Jiwan Kim, Ryan Nikitiadis, James Zaidman, Emily Wang, David Aaron, Evan Contant

Staff Artists Sam Stern, Dylan Leftt, Aydan Ergin, Kristy Xie, Addy Steinberg, Ishaan Iyengar, Sophie Li, Serena Bai, Kayden Hansong, Aashna Hari, Isabelle Kim, Christain Connor, Sam Gordon, Dani Brooks, Aimee Yang, Sarah Aaron

lot to improve on, but it’s a good first step.” She is excited to see the underclassmen and the team as a whole continue to succeed next school year.

where conversations were rushed or not fully finished due to the time constraint because we had to move at a pace that ensured we covered everything in the course,” she said.

Moreover, SOI taught Weidman new material that she hadn’t learned previously, especially because she did not take SOI in middle school, she said. “SOI was my first time really being exposed to a class that specifically focused on identity, and it was nice to have one designated environment where we could talk about different aspects of ourselves.”

Moving forward, the school does not have any plans to replace the course or establish a new optional course that is entirely focused on identity due to the vast number of existing courses that involve identity, Levenstein said. However, Horace Mann Orientation (HMO), a required course for all ninth graders, will include even more identity content in its curriculum.

Although the course will not be offered in upcoming years, it will not mark the end of a space where students can learn and discuss different aspects of identity, Moloney said. “Our core classes have increased their competency around certain identifiers which is more effective than carving out this extra time and effort for an inconsistent result,” she said. The overall goal of these programs is to educate future leaders that are going to go into the world and make a meaningful impact, she said. “It is essential to use the knowledge you learn in school to make the world a better place and further correct the systems of oppression that have existed in our society.”

Editorial Policy

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

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

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

Letters Letters to the editor often respond to editorials, articles, and opinions pieces, allowing The Record to uphold its commitment to open discourse within the school community. They too represent the opinion of the author and not of The Record or the school. To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters should be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or email (record@horacemann.org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed.

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

David Berenson

Online Editor Emily Grant Faculty Adviser

GAVELS IN THE AIR LIKE YOU JUST DON’T CARE MUN secure the dub. Courtesy of Sean Lee

Sophia Liu/Art Director

The Supreme Court needs a supreme change

To form a system of checks and balances, the Founding Fathers established the court to create a governing body secluded from politics, whose job eventually became the enforcement of the Constitution. While the purpose of the court has not changed to this day, the Supreme Court envisioned by the Founding Fathers is not at all a reality.

sense that a justice who is guaranteed job security could focus solely on their constitutional duties and avoid the influences of political pressures. The problem is that when they wrote down these laws, the members of Congress could not have imagined the polarization of political parties

Today, the Supreme Court is inherently flawed. Since its creation in 1787, the court system has barely changed. As the nation’s highest legal authority, we trust the Supreme Court to make verdicts that affect all of our lives every single day, but when was the last time we examined the structure by which the court is assembled and makes its rulings?

The Supreme Court is comprised of nine justices, each able to serve for their entire lifetime. When vacancies open up, the sitting president nominates a judge of their choice and brings them before the Senate for confirmation. If a majority of senators vote for that nominee, they are confirmed to the court.

Life expectancy in 1787 was far lower than it is today, meaning any justice appointed to the court was likely to serve for only a handful of years. In fact, the first five justices served for an average of seven years each. So, in the Founding Fathers, serving a lifelong term did not seem like a serious commitment.

Today, however, the average term length is around 27 years, and that number is only expected to increase.

By appointing justices for life, the Founding Fathers aimed to offer them complete job security, thus removing them from political pressure. In the 1789 Congress’ fairytale, it would make

motivated, and rather than looking to the Constitution to determine whether something is constitutional, they cherry-pick language from the Constitution that supports their preexisting beliefs. To make matters worse, due to lifetime terms, justices who support a certain political ideology continue to make politically motivated rulings for decades on end. If we look through the lens of the battle between liberals and conservatives on the court, each time a seat is “flipped,” constitutional verdicts shift toward one side for years. clear example of this ridiculous situation can be seen through the transition between former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Ginsburg sat on the court for 27 years until September 18th, 2020. During Republican Donald Trump’s presidency, and shortly before the 2020 election, when Ginsburg died, Trump moved quickly to appoint conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace her, and the Republican-led Senate (it does not get more political than this)

pushed her through to confirmation. This confirmation occurred despite the fact that four years earlier, the same Republican-led Senate refused to confirm Democratic President Obama’s nomination, claiming that appointments should not be made during election cycles. Seems pretty contradictory.

The result of this flip will be felt for many decades as Barrett continues to serve on the court. In fact, we have already seen a massive consequence. In June of 2022, the new Supreme Court released a decision on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that overturned its ruling of Roe v. Wade from 1973, which had guaranteed abortion access for all Americans for forty years until its overturn. This decision was only possible after the flip, as Barrett became the fifth vote to overturn Roe.

To be clear, just because one justice died four months before an incoming Democrat president, forty years of widely accepted law were upended. The Constitution did not change between these two rulings, nor did the safety or efficacy of abortions. All that happened was the death of a justice. Now, due to the lifetime terms possessed by justices on the court, rulings such as the Dobbs case likely will not be reversed anytime in the near future.

Book bans are erasing history: Dissecting our privilege to read

after repeated mentions of it in my English class this year. In more recent months, however, I have learned that not everyone has such easy access to the book, or even the freedom to mention it in class. The censorship of this novel is due to one reason: book bans.

During the school year, I struggle finding time to sit down and open up a book. By the time I return home and finish my homework, my brain has taken in so much information that it can’t fit anymore in––my elementary school days of reading for fun are largely over. As this academic fatigue recurs, books on my “to-read” list linger on my nightstand. But, one book consistently occupies the top of this menacing tower of literature: To Kill a Mockingbird.

I was finally convinced to read To Kill a Mockingbird (a coming-of-age story about a girl’s discovery of racial injustice within her community)

Book bans refer to any action taken against a previously-accessible book to curb its accessibility. When a ban occurs in a school district, the book could be redacted (certain passages or images marked out), restricted (for example, only available with a permission slip), or entirely removed from a school’s library or class curriculum. These bans can sometimes be extended from a school district to the entire state, placing even more barriers in the way of access.

There are at least 50 groups, consisting of over 300 chapters, working across the country to remove certain books from libraries, and their influence can be wide-reaching.

For example, the Florida Citizens Alliance has a network of more than 250,000 people who flood politicians with letters in support of bans. Parents, state or local lawmakers, and school officials also contribute to these efforts.

Reasons cited for books’ removal often include “lewd” imagery and language. For example, Maus, by

Art Spiegelman, is a graphic novel that depicts the experiences of Spiegelman’s Jewish family during the Holocaust. In the case of Maus, the school board objected to language such as “bitch,” “goddamn,” and one appearance of nudity (a small cartoon image of Spiegelman’s mother in the bathtub after taking her own life). While these aspects may not be ideal for a middle schoolaged audience, they seem beside the point in a narrative that bears witness to genocide.

In the United States, a shocking number of books have faced bans: there were 1,648 individual books banned in the 2021-2022 school year, and so far, in the 2022-2023 school year, 874 individual books have been banned according to PEN America’s recent report.

The majority of these books focus on themes of sexual orientation, health and wellbeing, gender identity, race, and religion. Books have become targets in a culture war over the issues faced by historically mistreated communities, such as LGBTQ+ rights and racial inequality. Yet, when faced with political pressure and parental anxieties, staff at schools are often told to “err on the side of caution” when deciding what books to make available––regardless of whether they support the bans themselves.

For minority groups, this representation of past and current struggles through literature can provide a sense of recognition and acceptance. Categorizing books as “dangerous” silences these voices.

Without access to books that portray diverse characters, readers only see a one-sided history. In addition, students who identify with these so-called inappropriate themes or characters may feel as though their identities are not worthy of representation. And while politicians may see book bans as a way to shield students from “controversial” topics, they are instead removing students’ access to the world and its history.

It’s important to take every effort against book bans while we can. Although book bans are most prevalent in certain states (specifically states where Republicans and conservatives dominate politics) successful policies and practices regarding bans can be extended to other states or communities across the country by motivated individuals.

In order to end the discrimination of the past, we

must first be aware of it. For children, this is vital. At schools, students can develop mutual respect for their peers as well as other individuals that surround them.

As we reflect on the recent Upper Division-wide Book Day, we should all recognize the value of books. They have the power to spark discussions and bring us together as a community in a day of learning and understanding. Regardless of whether you read Stories of Your Life and Others or not, the most important thing to remember is that we had the freedom to do so. Isn’t that a freedom worth fighting for?

Ava Westreich

Gabe Jaffe

From trading to grading: The man, the math, the legend

Julia Lourenco Staff Writer

“At one point I truly believed that I would be working at SNL, but here I am,” Upper Division (UD) math teacher Varun Prabakar said. When he isn’t riling up a crowd with an improv set at Magnet Theater or faking out his opponents in a poker match, Prabakar teaches Economics, Precalculus with Theory Honors, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry at the school.

Outside of teaching math, Prabakar dabbles in comedy and poker. In his first year out of college, Prabakar began playing professional poker for four months as his source of income. “I was able to pay rent, but not much more than that,” he said. While poker may not have been his final career, it inspired his longterm love for strategic thinking and problem solving, Prabakar said. “The majority of good [poker] decisions are based on well-defined, mathematically rigorous strategies, instead of playing the person.”

Prabakar graduated from The Wharton School of Business in 2015 with a degree in finance and statistics, under the advice of his father, he said. “My dad was an immigrant from India who struggled to make money for a lot of his life, so I thought that the most important

ty of Pennsylvania, Prabakar found that he enjoyed being on stage, he said. “When I moved to Chicago, I Googled ‘what are the top 10 Things to Do in Chicago’, and one of the first few things that came up is taking an improv class in Second City,” Prabakar said. Second City is the launchpad for numerous illustrious careers including those of Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell, he said. “I went to a few shows and felt that there was something in me that was always wanting to do that, so I immediately started taking classes,” Prabakar said.

One of his biggest achievements in comedy was performing in front of Lorne Michaels, the director of SNL, Prabakar said. However, the cut-throat nature of professional comedy made performing less enjoyable, which is why Prabakar chose not to pursue a professional career. “It was awesome, I have no regrets […] and I still do stuff like that so it’s a pretty fun hobby.”

Four years later, in 2019, Prabakar quit his job as a trader to become a teacher, he said. “I was always motivated by what I thought was material success,” he said. “But the older you get, the more you start to realize what’s really important.” After introspection, Prabakar decided to evaluate his career choices, he said. “I wouldn’t really be proud of anything

to read them –– and the same is true for teaching,” Prabakar said. “I enjoy trying to see how confused students are from the expression on their face, and then going to them and unpacking that confusion feels very rewarding.”

To Prabakar, confidence is the most important lesson for his students, he said. “I want to show my students that they all have what it takes to solve even the hardest of problems,” he said. “You shouldn’t be afraid to be yourself.”

In his classes, Prabakar takes a discussion-based approach to math to foster independent thinkers and learners, Laine Goldmacher (11), a student in Precalculus with Theory Honors, said. “[Prabakar] always asks his students how they answered a question before explaining the correct way to do it, really listens to them, and makes sure they’re thinking critically.” Goldmacher said.

HM’s Scholar Sanctuaries

testing week, he once walked with me to my next meeting with a teacher to make sure that I understood everything that was being covered on our test.” she said.

In Kang’s opinion, this special bond separates Prabakar from other teachers she has had in the past, she said. “[Prabakar] told us that he would skip his lunch period if he needed to [in order to meet with us],” she said. “He just wanted to see us succeed.”

Prabakar also shows his commitment to the school outside of the math department, as the faculty adviser for the Economics club. “I get to create a space for the many kids in the school who love economics to have discussions about finance,” Prabakar said. “I try to encourage my econ pupils to analyze both sides of every argument, allowing students to keep their biases in check, which is important in the world of economics.”

be able to solve hard problems every day,” Prabakar said. “[The stock market] is essentially a real world puzzle

ten –– and when you’re teaching, it’s not just about talking at the stu-

you can solve for real world reward.”

Prabakar also kick-started his comedy career in Chicago. After experimenting with spoken word poetry during his time at the Universi-

dents, it’s about reacting to them and hearing what they have to say.”

Similarly, Prabakar’s passion for teaching mirrors his love of poker. “You get to observe people and try

In addition to his discussion-based approach, Prabakar’s enthusiastic personality always engages his students by using humor to make math more fun, Precalculus with Theory Honors student Elise Kang (11) said. “He always tries to make the class fun for [his students], and uses anecdotes from his background in Chicago or his sense of humor to keep us enter tained,” Kang said. For example, he used the Chicago area code 312 in one of the class’ problems, and then yelled ‘shoutout to Chicago!’ Kang said.

What Prabakar’s students most appreciate about him, though, is his dedication to their wellbeing as indi viduals, Goldmacher said. “During

In the future, Prabakar plans to continue teaching, but hopes to expand to the digital world, he said. He is developing a website to teach math in a comprehensive style through a series of videos that focus on critical thinking and structure, rather than just exercises, he said. “I’m currently working on building out a curriculum that is world-class for every student in the world that wants to learn math, if they believe in themselves

Second Floor Library, 73% First Floor Library, 38% Library Study Rooms, 31% HM’s Concentration Killers

Cafeteria, 58% Mong Family Cafe, 57% Alumni Field, 39%

Sarah Aaron/Art Director

A-CUTE PHOTO Mr. Prabakar snaps a selfie with his Pre-Calc class.

Courtesy of Mr. Prabakar

“In improv, you have to listen –– and when you're teaching, it's not just about talking at the students, it's about reacting to them and hearing what they have to say.”

- Mr. Prabakar

Christian Connor/Staff Artist

POLL: 173 students voted on the most productive and distractive on-campus locations.

New Year, New Courses, New You: A look into the 11 additions to the 2023-2024 Program of Studies

“Seeing kids discover what makes them passionate is something that really excites me about the courses that we’re offering,” Computer Science and Engineering Department Chair Dr. James Gaines said. “Hopefully, as time goes on, we’ll have even more classes to widen the scope of our offerings.”

The Program of Studies, released annually in April, describes the 187 course of ferings that students can select for the upcoming school year. For the 2023-2024 year, the school will offer 11 new courses, from half-cred its such as Music of NYC and the Birth of Disco, Punk, and Hip-Hop, to full-credit ad ditions like LGBT American Histo ry. These new classes allow students to explore diverse areas of interest and dive into subjects previously missing from the school’s course options.

Five of the new offerings are re branded Computer Science classes. The new classes Ethical Hacking and Network Penetration and Mac iOS & iOS Development will teach students how to adapt to the mod ern world through understanding networks and software creation, Gaines said. For Mac iOS & iOS Development, students have the opportunity to release an app in the macOS store, he said. Gaines hopes that these new courses will offer students more paths to pursue their passions, he said. “Computer science is super fun, and it clearly is the world around us,” Gaines said. “Just getting kids to come in at any entry point is really exciting.” said. By examining primary sources, the class will explore the history of queer people within

the United States from the first colonies to the modern world, she said. “Queer people have always existed, and they’ve always been around,” DeMaio said, “It’s just that the way we talk about them and the way we’ve seen them and the way we understand their lives have changed.”

One of the two new science courses, Chemistry, Consumerism, and Citizenship, will be taught by UD science teacher Lauren Mc

genres, he said. “All three genres were also created by underrepre sented communities,” Hetherington said. “It’s the kind of thing that’s easy to lose sight of, where [music genres] actually came from, and how they affect what we do today.”

The new 400-level Seminar in Literary Studies (SLS) Interactive Literature class will examine the in teractions between classic text and multimedia works, English teacher Dr. Jonathan Kotchian said. “Stu dents will have to take an existing work of literature and adapt it into an interactive format,” he said. “For example, a computer game, where players can choose their own adven ture with these texts.”

Stephanie Lee (11) wants to take the Interactive Literature Course next school year because she is in terested in examining digital texts like video games, she said. “What really stood out to me was that it’s very different from your standard English class, since we’re dealing with all types of literature,” she said. Lee is also excited to code her own interactive text as a part of the curriculum, she said.

place,” he said. “This really is an ex ploration of this particular time and place in New York City in the 70s, and how people who got the short end of that stick created these scenes

look up at the night sky and say that they understand what’s going on up there.”

The other course in the science offerings, Astronomy: From Black Holes to Supernovae, will expand upon topics covered in traditional Physics class such as nuclear reactions and electromagnetic waves, UD science teacher, Dr. E. Jane Wesely said.

Music teacher Nathan Hetherington hopes to bring a more modern and local perspective to the history of music through his 200 level course, Music of NYC and the Birth of Disco, Punk, and Hip-Hop, he said.

The course will look into the origins and popularization of disco, punk, and hip-hop and examine the scene, circumstances, and culture surrounding these

For McGinty, the concept of Chemistry, Consumerism, and Citizenship arose as a way to counter students’ negative perceptions of chemistry as a subject, she said.“I think there are so many students who, after 10th grade, don’t necessarily want to pursue chemistry after that, but the class allows them to learn how chemistry is extremely useful in our society.”

While DeMaio has already come up with a basic structure for LGBT American History, including fragments of LGBT history from the United States History class, such as the 1950s Lavender Scare, she has yet to create her individual lesson plans, she said. “I’m really excited as part of my project this summer to read even more books than I’ve already read, and collect primary sources.”

Some students, like Michael Rubinov (10), are drawn to certain courses because of its teacher. “A part of the appeal is the fact that he’s actually the one teaching these courses,” he said “Dr. Gaines is a wonderful teacher.”

Gaines is eager to begin teaching his new course, he said. In his Seminar Class, Gaines has already been test-running ethical hacking and iOS development with his students, he said. In doing so, he has been able to see what students want to learn specifically and their responses to the new content, he said.

“We’ve been pilot testing some of it and it was really fun and successful for kids.”

DeMaio hopes that her course can create a safe space for queer-identifying students to further connect

Congratulations Lawson Wright (12) on winning 1st place in the senior documentary category at the New York State History Day competition!

Diya Chawla and Julia Bouchut Staff Writers

SophiaLiu/ArtDirector

Heidi Li/Staff Artist

Raven Bai/Staff Artist Karla Moreira/Art Director

Something Rotten! is anything but: Zaidman’s 5-star review of the spring musical

James Zaidman Staff Writer

Welcome to the Renaissance! This year, for the spring musical, the Department of Theatre & Dance has put on a rendition of the comedic musical “Something Rotten!” The musical, directed by theater teach er Benjamin Posner, debuted yes terday and will run for two more performances tonight and tomorrow.

I had the pleasure of at tending opening night and was delighted by the quality of the acting, the costumes, the set.

Originally written in 2015 by John O’Farrell and Kar ey Kirkpatrick, “Some thing Rotten!” sends viewers to 16th century England, where fiction al brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom (Bailey Hecht (12) and Etta Singer (11)) strug gle to put on a play with their own theater troupe. Unfortunately for them, their short-lived popularity is slipping, and their patron, Lady Clapham (Amaris Christian (10)), threatens to sponsor the far more popular William Shakespeare’s (Athena Spencer (12)) newest production of “Richard II” instead of their play. The brothers decide they need to act fast and scramble to find the next big hit in theater, coming up with the idea of a “musical.”

Most actors on stage had visible chemistry which aided the plot. During dance numbers, the entire ensemble performed in coordination with each other, and all the actors displayed a solid grasp of their character’s personality without ever overdoing it.

Although I initially had concerns with the portrayal of Shylock (Alex Felberbaum (9)) due to potentially problematic Jewish stereotypes associated with the character, I was pleased to see that none of my concerns, or the similar concerns

of others who I have spoken with, were realized. Felberbaum did not over-exaggerate Shylock’s personality, nor did he tone down his attitude too much. I credit Posner and Felberbaum for thoughtfully

(11)) wore a bright pink skirt to emphasize her jovial personality.

The set design and staging, while not too complicated, further elevated the scene. The color-changing backdrop of the River Thames brings the show to life, flashing different hues based on the emotional setting of the scene. For example, in moments of rage, the backdrop is lit bright red, but during gleeful moments such as during the number “A Musical,” the backdrop changes between bright colors like light purple

family, and Nigel was stringently forbidden and appealing to watch unfold on stage.

The relationship between the Bottom brothers was also portrayed with great accuracy. The sour history between Nick and Shakespeare is not only apparent, but clearly exemplified, with the two actors showing a constant undertone of contempt for each other.

I also appreciated how the costumes reflected each character’s personality. For example, Shakespeare’s shiny leather waistcoat emphasized his flashy essence. Similarly, Lady Clapham wore purple, an expensive and regal color at the time, rings on all fingers, two large earrings, and a heavy chain necklace to demonstrate her wealth. On the other hand, the positive and energetic Bea Bottom (Celia Stafford

In the props department, London’s famous Globe Theater is replicated and placed at center stage, where important events, often involving Shakespeare, take place. In addition, different backdrops come down onto stage when scenes change. For instance, when Shakespeare recites some of his poems in a park, highly detailed, full-stage backdrops of trees fly in from above, painting the outdoor atmosphere. They are accompanied by bright lights to mimic the sun, which really sells the park’s setting.

Throughout the show, six styles of Renaissance-era houses and walls wheeled around the stage to illustrate scenes, allowing for fast changes in setting. At the same time, the house sets managed to add a layer of depth which could easily be lost with a larger number of sets.

For scenes and musical numbers with extra flair, two tied-off red curtains glided in from the sides of the stage, putting extra emphasis on the idea of “a show within a show.”

The lighting matched the onstage mood and amplified it with bright reds, blues, and greens. Two spotlights moved effortlessly to highlight action across the stage, often focusing on prominent characters like Shakespeare or a Bottom brother, but also highlighting others like the minstrels (Isabella Ciriello (11), Juliet Burgess (11), Bethany Jarrett (11)).

The incredible live band especially made the production stand out. Being able to hear the nuance of each instrument in a band as opposed to a recorded track added so much more depth to the show.

The volume of the music was well-controlled and balanced adequately with the characters. While most lead characters with musical solos have lavalier microphones to pick up and project their lines throughout the theater with no issue, when an actor without a microphone tried to speak over the music, their words were often drowned

out, especially during “Welcome to the Renaissance,” which disappointed me. However, this is my only critique of the show. With the overall context, I was able to fill in what the actors might have said with no harm to the plot.

The first performance on Thursday was energetic and exciting.

Although it experienced the usual mishaps that one would expect on an opening night, such as transitions taking longer than expected or curtains getting caught on set pieces, the overall experience was one to remember. The actors were always in sync with the band, and clearly enjoyed themselves, which always improves the quality of a performance.

The audience was also extremely receptive to the irony and comedy present in the show, with laughter heard after nearly all jokes, especially those which could be considered a bit more risky. At the final curtain call, the actors received a persistent standing ovation with “Welcome to America,” a semi-reprise of the opening number, “Welcome to the Renaissance.”

I was incredibly impressed by all aspects of “Something Rotten!” and would most definitely give it a deserving five stars! If you have the time this weekend, consider supporting your classmates in this showcase of their hard work and talent.

OPENING NIGHT Something Rotten! upstages the audience.

LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION Bailey Hecht (12) gets into character.

Dylan Leftt/Staff Artist

Courtesy of Emily Wang

Courtesy of Emily Wang

Matthew Brand Contributing Writer

Whether it is at a weekly assembly or a podcasting class, Head of Middle Division (MD) Javaid Khan has students think about how stories can be mirrors or windows — mirrors for those who see themselves reflected in the story, and windows for those who do not. Last year, Khan created a semester-long arts elective for eighth graders that embodied his mirror-window philosophy called “Podcasting,” where students could learn how to create and record their own podcasts.

The class is centered on the themes of race, social issues, justice, and equity, with the end goal of teaching students how to think critically about the world around them, Khan said. He chose podcasting as the vehicle to convey ideas about race because podcasts drive people to be open, honest, and introspective, he said.

Khan begins the semester by explaining what a podcast is before guiding students to create their own. While there is no homework, students have two projects over the course of the semester. The first is to record an interview, while the other is to produce a study on one

of the class’ themes of race. “Everything is connected in Podcasting, and we eventually form a series of episodes where the class’ work all comes together,” Khan said.

As a podcast lover, Jacob Rosensaft, (8) who is taking the course this semester, thought the class would be a perfect way to express his creativity, he said. “What makes the class unique is that we have freedom in what we create,” Rosensaft said. For their interview projects, students can interview anyone of their choosing, whereas, for the race study project, students are encouraged to produce an episode surrounding race’s impact on society.

Sofia Sahai (9), who took the class last year, was drawn to it because she felt that podcasting would allow her to pursue her love of storytell ing in a vulner able yet exciting way, she said. “I was intrigued by using the new equip ment, and storytelling in a way that can connect with others.”

Every class starts with a warm up, Khan said. “It’s either a story prompt, or a discussion with a partner,” he said. The questions in the warmups range from articulating memories into words to explaining opinions on topics surrounding race, he said.

One of Sahai’s favorite warmups was the “prompt card” warmup, where students would improvise two-minute responses to questions about personal memories, opinions, and even experiences with race, Sahai said. “Even though they were simple questions, the warmup cards set the precedent for the class, and made it easier to open up.”

For Sahai’s final project, she teamed up with two of her other classmates to produce a podcast exploring colorism and its effect on beauty standards over time. The class’ study on the theme of race gave Sahai a new perspective on life, she said. “The class helped us understand how race and identity affect so many aspects of our society.”

A dive into Khan’s new MD podcasting art elective College art portfolios: Student artists

college admissions process

Oliver Konopko Staff Writer

Most college applications include an essay, transcript, and teacher recommendations, but for many artists at the school, college applications include an additional step: an art portfolio. College art portfolios, containing visual, performance, or studio artwork, give students a unique opportunity to showcase their artistic interests, talents, and personality to colleges, Ross Petras (12) said.

These profiles can take many forms and vary based on students’ specific artistic interests, Executive Director of College Counseling (CoCo) Canh Oxelson said. Musicians can submit a video of them playing instruments or singing, and visual artists can submit scans of their pieces, he said.

Sometimes, the requirements for the portfolio change based on the college the student applies to, Oxelson said. For example, some colleges ask for a three-minute audio recording of a singer, while others want a seven-minute video, he said. “[At CoCo], we need to make sure that students are researching the requirements for each school, because they all differ, just like they do for essays.”

An art portfolio is a good way to show more of yourself and your interests to a college admission officer, Molly Goldsmith (11) said. Goldsmith plans on submitting a portfolio of her singing in English and other languages to demonstrate the intersection of two of her largest interests: song and foreign language.

Students are advised to start their portfolios in the spring of their Junior year to avoid rushing, Oxelson said. “We want students to really plan, if not execute, their portfolios early so there is no last minute rushing.”

Since art is such a significant part of many students’ lives, it only makes sense to submit a profile, Raghav Poddar (11) said. Poddar, who paints and draws, plans to submit a portfolio of his various art pieces, he said. Some art pieces Poddar will include were made after starting his portfolio, while others he made in advance, he said.

While visual artists submit portfolios, actors like Petras fly to auditions around the country for their application, Petras said. Despite the travel, he enjoyed the opportunity to perform in front of the people who would later admit him to college, he said. “It’s hard, really hard, to make something super individualized in the college process, and I felt that auditioning [was] super individualized.”

For the artists who do not get individualized auditions, they still need to bring their personality to life through their profiles, Goldsmith said. Since portfolios are limited by how many images can be included or how long a video can be, students need to balance choosing pieces that show their creativity and skill with pieces that display their personality, she said. “I want to help [admissions officers] get to know me better as a person,” she said.

When crafting portfolios, students must create a central theme that connects the artwork, Poddar said. Poddar’s theme came to him naturally when he noticed that all of his artworks had mentions of his struggle with

Along with helping students find a love for podcasting, starting the elective was an opportunity for Khan to share his personal love for podcasts and radio. Khan became hooked on radio shows at a young age and loved the audible form of storytelling. Khan’s passion for radio flourished in college when he became a DJ and hosted his own primetime show. He hopes that the elective inspires students just as DJing inspired him, he said.

Khan sees the mission of the class reflected in the students’ projects, he said. He recalls that even though the final projects are all meant to

surround race, he sees a great variety of topics explored. One group of students created a ‘round-table’ discussion on race’s role in sports while another dove into race’s impact on the music industry. “That’s what the class is all about; seeing students produce podcasts on topics of their interests, and connecting it to the theme of race.”

Part of the beauty of podcasts is that anyone can make one, Khan said. “All voices matter, and I think podcasting is very much an equalizing medium.”

perfectionism. Although at first, Poddar did thing personal about themselves to an evalu

express their passions in the

LEARNING TO PODCAST MD Students express their voices on the radio.

Sarah Aaron/Art Director

Aashna Hari/Staff Artist

Emily Wang/Staff Photographer

Lions’ Den Record Sports

Girls Varsity Lacrosse perseveres in face of 2-17 loss

Zach Hornfeld Staff Writer

ney Kurtz (9) said. Rather than running the ball up the field alone, Kurtz hoped players would help each other, she said. Still, she knows all members try their hardest to win.

Varsity Baseball hits Dalton out of the park

Will Chasin Staff Writer

did what we had to do,” Chase Forbes (11) said. On Monday, the Varsity Baseball Team trounced Dalton 13-0.

game against Dalton as they had for any other game, Augie Grim stad (9) said. In previous games, the team had trouble tracking the ball in the air, they focused on fixing these errors during practice, he said. To prove before they worked on taking proper routes to balls in the air, on the ground, and throwing them to the infielders, Grims tad said. started out strong in the first Hen threethe

innings, he said.

A few players especially stood out to Coach Matthew Russo, he said. Sam Spector (11) was a force on the mound, striking out 11 batters over the course of five innings, Russo said. Siegel and Gill both racked up an impressive three RBIs each, which are runs that are scored as a result of a specific

Additionally, the seniors’ skills shined through during the game, Siegel said. Max Ting (12) and Aden Soroca (12) constantly rough performance game, as they only managed to get a single hit, Siegel said. And although the Lions completely controlled the game, they still have improvements to make, he said. The team will have to improve their RBI settings for the future because some runners were left on bases, wasting an opportunity to get in another run, Siegel said. “The team is looking to improve with runners in scoring position this season and continue domi-

Boys Varsity Volleyball looks to make a comeback after recent losses

Avery Vukhac Staff Writer

Despite the Boys Varsity Volleyball Team’s winning record, they suffered a tough loss against The Masters School on Monday evening. The team won their first three games this season, but their past two losses have hindered their success.

In past games, the team typically lost their first sets and then refined their skills as the game progressed, Dylan Montbach (10) said. To improve their mindset, the team went into the game with a positive mentality so that they would not suffer early on, Montbach said.

The game had many moments where the crowd was on the edge of their seats, Leo Courbe (12) said. While the team started the game down 2-0, they fought back to a tie at 2-2, but ultimately lost in the fifth

set 15-13, he said. The post-game atmosphere was tense because the team had gone into the game with the expectation of winning, Kyle Vukhac (12) said. However, the Masters school also handled the situation poorly by failing to interact with the Lions in a sportsman-like manner, he said.

“Masters was very obnoxious in the way they handled their win because it was a game that everyone poured their hearts into,” Vukhac said.

Coach Jason Torres felt that the team had potential to win the game, he said. He especially applauded the team’s ability to battle against a close loss and win back the next few sets, he said. Particularly, the team’s mental resilience gradually strengthened, allowing the team to identify what they needed to do to improve, he said.

Although the game did not end in a win for the Lions, there were still

moments that stood out, Montbach said. As the team finally found their rhythm in the third set, Vukhac slammed an impressive spike onto the side of the other team’s court, he said. “It was a very high-energy play that boosted up the energy of the entire team.”

The loss in part could be due to the numerous days off from school these past few weeks, as the team has not been able to practice enough before their games, Vukhac said. The lack of practice has had a profound effect on the team’s performance during games, he said. Specifically, with the cancellation of school last Friday, the team had not practiced for a week prior to the game, Vukhac said.

Despite limited training time, the team still works effectively during practice, Courbe said. The team typically scrimmages or practices setting and spiking, he said. If the

team continues to work hard during practice, they will be able to return to their initial success, he said.

Last year, the team won the NYCAL league title and went onto the State finals at NYSAIS, setting the

bar high for this year’s team, Torres said. As long as the team continues to put its best foot forward during upcoming games, they can reclaim last year’s achievements, he said.

SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS! Boys volleyball nears towards victory.

Courtesy of Daniel Pustilnik

Aryan Palla/Photo Director

Aryan Palla/Photo Director