Volume 120, Issue 5

The Record

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Historian Kathleen Belew unpacks the white power movement at assembly

years, the department has invited historians to unpack issues around race and ethnicity over optional online lectures. This year, the history department wanted to ensure that everyone, not only history students, could attend these lectures, Morales said. “What the speaker series is doing is helping us understand something that is happening in our moment,“ she said. “We are less interested in making the assembly mandatory, and more interested in thinking that this is now something that the community as a whole can and should experience.”

the movement to disappear from public consciousness. “[White power] is a movement that has largely gone unopposed and unprosecuted from the 1970s to the present,” she said.

Maeve Goldman Staff Writer

“We have to recognize [the event of January 6] not as one intended to produce a major mass casualty event, but rather as a demonstration of power,” Dr. Kathleen Belew said to the Upper Division (UD) this Tuesday at an assembly on the white power movement. “Understanding the history of this movement is essential in understanding its role in political violence past, present, and future.”

Belew studies the “history of the present” at Northwestern University where she is an Associate Professor of History. She is the author of

“Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America,” a history of the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City.

The History Department invited Belew to reflect on the increase of white extremism and violence in the media, history teacher Dr. Emily Straus ’91 said. “We knew her through her scholarship, but many of us in the history department had also seen her through other outlets such as news programs or Twitter, so we knew she could speak to a wider audience.”

The assembly marks the first installment of an updated version of the Race and Ethnicity Speaker Series, history teacher Melissa Morales said. Over the past two

From the January 6 insurrection to politicians such as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, white power rhetoric and ideologies have risen exponentially in mainstream discourse, Straus said. “It is important as a community to understand where this came from and the historical roots of that hatred and violence.”

At the assembly, Belew characterized the post-Vietnam white power movement as a “substantial and ongoing threat to democratic systems.” She specifically pointed to the Oklahoma City bombing which, despite being the largest mass terror attack between Pearl Harbor and 9/11, has flown under the radar because common narratives that blame white extremist violence on “lone wolves” and “bad apples” allow

“We may think of the white power movement as incredibly diverse in every way but race,” Belew said. Rather than a narrow set of racists, the white power movement is a flexible, opportunistic coalition of Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, militiamen, skinheads, and even tokenized people of color. These disparate groups are united by a common goal to preserve the white birth rate against threats like immigration, abortion, and homosexuality.

Belew’s outline of the white power movement’s timeline was especially useful to Christine Tao’s (11) understanding of the movement in the Vietnam War, she said. “By dehumanizing people of color and creating the fear of communism, veterans came home with a distrust of the government that contributed to domestic racism and white power.”

Belew’s focus on a more contemporary history than students usually learn in class is refreshing, Avi Rao (12), an assembly moderator, said. “The purpose of studying history is to learn and connect with the present, and I think Belew does a really good job of using history to examine the present,” Rao said.

“Because we, as the HM community, are growing up in a political climate where white power ideology has been mainstreamed, it’s important for us to understand both the history and present status of such ideologies.”

The assembly helped students conceptualize white power as a part of a larger historical pattern, rather than a new occurrence, Rao said. “It is easy to think of Buffalo and white power as a more recent thing, but a lot of it is a continuation of older hate movements,” he said. Modern day white power believes in a network of global elites, usually Jewish, that work to eradicate the white race. The fear of white extinction is not new; it dates back to the 1920s with the white power group Elders of Zion, and further.

Morales’s history classes were interested in how the complexities of the white power movement allow it to conceal itself inside of other movements and political positions, she said. “There is something much more challenging of thinking of how this movement has expanded beyond the radicals that are directly connected to these organizations, and how the language of the White Power Movement has made its way towards the mainstream,” Morales said. “People who are picking up these ideas in the mainstream may not realize their origins, so I hope we

MUN hosts first in-person HoMMUNC in three years

Sophie Rukin Staff Writer

Last Saturday, the Model United Nations (MUN) team hosted over 600 students from 40 different schools across the tri-state area for a day of diplomacy and discourse at the 37th annual Horace Mann Model United Nations Conference (HoMMUNC).

After two years online, the conference fully transitioned back to in-person this year.

Planning for HoMMUNC began in late June of 2021, and required countless hours of organization and communication, MUN Secretary General (SG) Nitika Subramanian (12) said. “It was the first HoMMUNC in-person in three years, so that is a huge deal,” she said. “It’s a lot about organizing the team, organizing supplies, and communicating with the new advisor.”

The first order of business was contacting schools to compete in the conference, Subramanian said.

“We lost a ton of instructions and infrastructure from past years, so we had to start by making a call sheet and calling 200 to 300 schools.”

Club members then wrote background guides for participants, Lily Wender (11) said. Sophomores and juniors in the club each wrote 20 to 30 pages of information that

Lions take Tik Tok

students needed for their conference topic, including the history, potential solutions, and current actions, she said.

“My topic was mental health amongst children, so I had to research past action taken on mental health along with how different blocs [groups of countries] were handling it.”

As the date of the conference approached, younger club members stayed after school to compile supplies, Asha Tandon (10) said. “We were helping to do all the legwork that goes into the conference like stuffing folders, making placards, making name tags, and doing all the things to make the conference run smoothly.”

One challenge students encountered was juggling the after school work and the preparation needed to speak in their

“I was the chair of a crisis committee, so I basically acted as a link between the delegates and what was going on in their ‘crisis simulation.’” Harris did a variety of jobs — including acting as Boris Yeltsin — and he responded to letters from delegates, he said.

Students arrived at the school early Saturday morning dressed in blazers, pantsuits, and dresses, prepared to represent their countries. Delegations and crisis committees occupied almost every large gathering space at school, from the Recital Hall to the Atrium. The school was alive and packed; faculty advisors gathered in the student lounge, MUN leadership troubleshot problems, and delegates heatedly discussed their resolutions.

SophiaLiu/ArtDirector

moderators, or delegates at the conference itself, Miller Harris (12) said.

Wender chaired a delegation of middle schoolers that focused on mental health services for children, she said. While HoMMUNC is mainly for high schoolers, there were two middle division committees for students to learn about MUN and decide if they wanted to stick with it in the long term, Wender said. At the committee, the students rotated between moderated caucuses where delegates gave speeches on subtopics of the main topic, and unmoderated caucuses where delegates worked together on their resolutions, Wender said. “One of the moderated caucuses that came up on my committee was the effect of the COVID pandemic on mental health.”

Working with middle schoolers was a great experience, United Nations Development Program Committee Chair Nate Chiang (11) said. “It was

Clubs kick off in MD

MD students take part in Stage Crew, Rocketeers, D&D, and more.

a lot of the middle schoolers’ first conference, so I really wanted to encourage them to stick with MUN through high school.”

Alexander Doft (8) found the middle school committee to be a great learning opportunity, he said. “HoMMUNC was so much fun and a lot of other people should do it since it helps you improve skills such as debating and public speaking.”

Ziman enjoyed how the conference gave him the opportunity to be a mentor, he said. Ziman partnered with a first time MUN participant for his delegation. “At first my partner didn’t want to speak that often,” he said. “I pressured him to speak because I knew that he would ultimately benefit from more exposure to speaking, and by the end of the day I saw that his confidence had really improved.”

Alisa Buitenheis (9) partnered with a

Crossword from Melissa Migdon (11)

Test your knowledge and learn about Midgon’s behind-thescenes process.

sophomore mentor since HoMMUNC was her first tournament, she said. “It was a great learning experience, and I felt guided and included by my mentor and the Model UN team as a whole.”

Returning to in-person added to the HoMMUNC experience, Harris said. “I really enjoyed being able to see the delegates’ faces during the crisis updates, as well as doing some fun acting, and bringing my friends into the skits.”

While hosting and planning in person tournaments is a lot more work than hosting online tournaments, it was worth it, Subramanian said. “I cannot emphasize enough how rewarding HoMMUNC was,” she said. “There’s something so special about people enjoying the day, and to know that you made that possible.”

Investigating race in friend groups

Students discuss the role of race in friendships.

DIGGING DEEP Seniors ask Belew questions formulated by the student body.

DECORUM HoMMUNC attendees participate in a committee.

Courtesy of Sophie Rukin

James Zaidman/Staff Photographer

see ASSEMBLY

Honor McCarthy ‘18 and Nati Hecker (12) on TikTok stardom.

Nikolas Cruz and other mass murderers deserve the death penalty

judicial process that led to such a shameful verdict is the abolition of two integral statutes in 2016: first, the ability for a judge to override a jury’s decision of a life sentence for a criminal, and second, the ability for a jury to sentence a defendant to with a seven to five majority. As a result of these rescissions, the death penalty is more difficult to give to criminals because the decision must be unanimous among the jury, which, in the case of Cruz, is especially outrageous.

people to get less severe punishments when causing murder, injury, and pain for many. If sentences for violent crimes aren’t imposed harshly enough, less people will take the sentences seriously, which could lead to more tragic events like the Parkland shooting.

On February 14, 2018, 19-year old Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people and injured 17 more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It was the deadliest shooting at a high school in U.S. history.

For four and a half years, the country awaited a verdict on this man’s crime. Unfortunately, the United States failed to carry out justice last week when the jury did not give Cruz the death penalty, instead sentencing him to life in prison without parole.

When I heard the news of the verdict, I was shocked. I thought Florida, an increasingly red state, would impose the death penalty on Cruz, if premeditated mass murder was not enough of a reason for the death penalty in the first place.

Florida is one of 27 states, most of which are red, that allows for capital punishment. I firmly believe that Cruz should have received the death penalty for his heinous actions.

One fundamental flaw in Florida’s

The death penalty has two key benefits, which are especially applicable in the Cruz trial. First, it is the most foolproof method of ensuring a criminal never commits any future crimes or violent acts. Although life in prison without parole seems to also solve this issue, there’s the chance that a criminal commits acts of violence on other inmates or in the small chance of a jailbreak, a prisoner-for-life could escape.

Second, it proves to those close to the victims that the punishment given to the aggressor fits the nature of the crime. A plethora of parents of victims of the shooting expressed their disbelief in the verdict’s result because they awaited a quick decision to execute Cruz. This includes the parents of victims Alyssa Adelheff, Gina Montalto, Jaime Guttenberg, Scott Beigel, Peter Wang, and Helena Ramsay. Nothing could ever be done to bring back the victims, but executing the perpetrator of the murder rightfully punishes him for his crime.

A ruling of a life sentence for Cruz, rather than death, can set a dangerous precedent for future rulings in mass shootings, possibly allowing more

I have heard many people mention that Cruz was mentally ill throughout his entire life, and thus should not receive the death penalty. This argument is not just foolish, but also incredibly insulting to those whose loved ones were brutally murdered by Cruz.

Mental illness during a violent event like the Parkland shooting cannot explain a murderer’s actions if they are deemed sane enough to appear before the judge. A person is considered legally insane if they genuinely were unaware of their actions during the time of the event in question, or if they did not know that their acts were wrong. However, it was proven in court that Cruz was both aware of his actions, and knew they were wrong, which effectively rules out most, if not all, mitigating factors tied to mental illness.

All juries have different opinions, but this does not change the fact that the jury of the Parkland Shooting made a shameful mistake in their decision. However, the judge was unable to overrule the jury’s decision because of Florida’s legislation. I am disappointed in Florida’s legislature of the time for repealing the two previously mentioned laws, because it did not seem to take into account the possibility that the jury could make such a ridiculous decision that a judge would need to override it. If judicial override legislation was

still in place, the judge could have overrode the jury’s decision simply based on the fact that Cruz murdered 17 people and almost killed 17 more. Furthermore, I believe that there is no purpose in having a death penalty, especially under Florida’s new legislation, if not all jurors will be comfortable giving it to deserving criminals.

It is important to note that for nine of the 12 jurors in the case, it was pretty clear that Cruz deserved the death penalty. However, one of the three jurors who opposed the death penalty said that she just “could not” sentence somebody she saw as mentally ill to death. The juror’s statement infuriated me; it made clear that she never even considered giving Cruz the death penalty despite all the evidence that Cruz was aware of his actions. It is exactly for instances like this that the pre-2016 Florida legislation is integral to maintaining justice in the name of the law.

The juror’s statement also raises multiple red flags about the jury selection process before the trial even began. The fact that the prosecution failed to find 12 jurors who were all flexible and comfortable with giving the death penalty to a criminal based on sufficient evidence suggests that the result of the trial was arguably already decided before it even started. To me, that is heartbreaking, and a gross oversight on the behalf of the prosecution. If under Florida’s recent legislation, one juror never planned to take into consideration the death penalty, what is the point of having capital punishment?

Above everything else, what infuriates me the most about the verdict is that Cruz not only remains

Destroying art is not the right way to protest

Despite the controversial nature of their protest, there is important context and critical questions to be asked surrounding the stunt to get a complete picture of the protest.

Last Friday, two young activists under the organization Just Stop Oil threw a can of tomato soup on Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting at London’s National Gallery. They performed this stunt to protest the oil industry’s involvement in the climate crisis and publicize their organization. According to their website, Just Stop Oil is “a coalition of groups working together to ensure that the government commits to ending all new licenses and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.”

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alive, but spends the rest of his life under a roof with food, clothes, and water. I believe that when Cruz opened fire on the innocent men, women and children of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, he not only forfeited his right to live, but also his access to most basic human rights. Although life sentences are often less expensive than executions (in Florida, executions can cost up to 24 million dollars while it costs around 20,000 dollars per year to hold an inmate), I believe that people, especially those affected by the crime, would rather pay to end a murderer’s life rather than preserve it.

Punishments should fit the crime: the termination of Cruz’s basic human right to live. Florida taxpayers will have to reconcile that part of their taxes will be used to keep Cruz alive. That includes the family, friends, and close ones of all 17 victims of the shooting. Why on earth would they, or anybody for that matter, have to pay to care for the man who took these innocent lives and caused thousands anguish, sorrow, and torment?

The American justice system is not perfect. Even though there have been several successful results of recent verdicts such as the outcome in the Ahmaud Arbery trial, we must not turn our heads from miscarriages of justice like the Parkland shooting verdict. Florida governor Ron DeSantis said that he is considering introducing reforms after hearing about the outcome of the Cruz trial. I fully support this decision, and hope he re-introduces the judicial override and/or the seven to five majority rule.

Dylan Leftt/Staff Artist

No matter how important a message is, attempting to ruin a priceless work of art is the wrong way to bring attention to an issue. Although they could not ruin the painting because it is encased in glass, the activists not only appeared to ruin the painting, but may have hurt it in other ways. Throwing paint on the painting likely damaged the frame, an integral part of the piece. From outrage on Twitter to articles criticizing this antic, the general consensus is that this is the wrong way to protest. Certain things need to be considered off limits to protesters, and if the only way they know how to generate buzz is to try to ruin other people’s creations, then activists need to reconsider what tactics they use; they need to use alternative methods to get people to rally behind their cause.

This is particularly relevant when the target of their protest is a piece by Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh was famously poor for most of his life. His artwork was never appreciated while he was alive, and he was mentally ill. Many doctors and psychologists speculate

Photo Directors

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Strasser,

Stern,

Aashna

Christain Connor, Sam

Aimee Yang

“woke them up” to the climate crisis. Although this doesn’t necessarily say anything about Just Stop Oil, it certainly raises some eyebrows that people this privileged are pouring money into an organization that just pulled off such an insensitive performance. Ironically, Just Stop Oil accepts donations in cryptocurrency, which is notoriously

There are too many issues with the organizations behind this stunt and the stunt itself for me to get behind it — even though I agree with their urgent mission to address climate change. Even if Just Stop Oil has good intentions, and even if they weren’t funded by the Climate Emergency Fund, a stunt like this is the wrong way to get a message across. So what is the right way to fight climate change, if not performances like these? This is a question we all need to consider. Despite this particular antic being bad, climate change is one of humanity’s most pressing issues that we need to find solutions for. One way students can fight climate change is by checking out the World Wildlife Fund, NRDC, Vox, and Green America to learn from people who know a lot more than I do on how to help fight this issue yourself. Save the

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Brody Grossman, Emily Wang, Jacqueline Shih, James Zaidman, Malachai Abbott, Nikita Pande, Oliver Konopko, Rena

Joshua Shuster

Theo Gingras

HM Micro-influencers take on TikTok Honor McCarthy ‘18

After jokingly posting a TikTok that blew up in September 2021, Honor McCarthy ’18 has amassed 16.6K followers and 2.5M likes on her account, @gingergrinch. Her first video was a dance, but she soon

realized that type of content was not her strength. Her ticket to TikTok-fame came with a video about her parallel life to another student at Yale University that gained over 4M views and 800K likes. “It was a crazy story about a series of coincidences between me and this other girl named Honor, and the way our lives overlapped in a very parent trap way,” McCarthy said.

Since then, McCarthy has become a “microinfluencer.” She posts frequently to a decentsized following, with a core group of people she interacts with, McCarthy said. The majority of her followers are women or girls who live in New York.

McCarthy’s content often takes the form of video series documenting her life, such as one where she reviewed graduation dresses. “I decided to try out probably 40 dresses, and all of them were completely horrible,” McCarthy said. She documented her struggles to find a cute white dress after realizing how difficult it was.

She also found success through TikTok sounds, where users sync videos to trending soundbites, often from pop songs. Many of her videos use Taylor Swift lyrics — like one where she riffs on her boyfriend to the lyric, “screaming, crying” from Swift’s “Blank Space,” which has 190.1K likes.

The third type of video that populates McCarthy’s account are “day in the life” style

Nati Hecker (12)

Kate Beckler Staff Writer Erica Jiang Staff Writer

North Face jackets, Soulcycle, and black Sambas pepper Nati Hecker’s (12) TikTok, @ natihecker. With over 2.3M likes in total and 13.9K followers on the social media platform, Hecker keeps her audience updated on the latest fashion trends and her personal routines.

Hecker first gained traction on the platform in December 2020 when her video unboxing the popular brown North Face puffer jacket went viral, garnering 1.7M views and 400K likes, as well as 30K saves and 11K shares. “It just blew up, then I started seeing that people actually really liked this content,” Hecker said. From then, her videos have accumulated thousands to millions of views each.

Ever since she was little, Hecker’s family and friends have always said they thought she would be famous, she said. “I always wanted to go viral, and that was my first taste of fame,” she said. “I don’t have that many followers in the scheme of things, but it was really fun for me to see people appreciate what I was sharing, and have these supporters validating me.”

Amelia Resnick (12), one of Hecker’s friends and followers, enjoys watching her videos.

“She has always talked about wanting to be famous, so I’m happy for her that she’s gained a following on that platform,” Resnick said.

“She’s getting sponsored posts, and I think it’s very cool that she does.”

Hecker said that her TikTok followers appreciate the mundane and unique aspects of her style, such as her Adidas Samba sneakers, more than people do in real life. “I wear the Sambas and everyone hates on them because they are kind of unique, but the people on TikTok like them,” she said. “I like seeing that people appreciate my specific style, even if it’s not for everyone.”

Through her TikToks, Hecker has connected with various other creators. “It was so fun to

see other creators reaching out to me, like Avani, who liked one of my posts,” she said.

Avani Gregg is a 19-year-old influencer with over 40 million followers and 2.9 billion total likes on TikTok, who posts beauty and lifestyle content.

Hecker has also worked with brands to post and earn money from sponsored content. “I realized that I can make a side hustle out of this,” she said. In February 2021, a small clothing brand called Honuhut reached out to her about posting a video featuring their products. “They paid me a dollar and 50 cents per thousand views, and I ended up getting 700 dollars from that one video,” Hecker said. “That was the most money I’ve ever made in one sitting, and it was just because I made a video about their clothes.”

Though viral multiple accumulated a large following, she does not consider herself a “micro-influencer.” “I don’t identify with the term influencer,” she said. “I just post things that I like. I don’t post things to specifically influence people.” In addition to posting what interests herself, Hecker caters to comments that ask her to post daily routine or clothing videos. “I just give the people what they want.”

Hecker takes inspiration from her For You Page and what is trending at the moment. Her friends and family also play an important role in her account and ask for specific videos, she said. “My parents have been very involved, my mom will see something and suggest I make a video about it.”

At the end of the day, Hecker posts without thinking too much into what attention it will attract. “I play it by ear and do what I want,” she said. “I just post what I’m doing, and if you like that, great, and if you don’t, that’s great too.”

After inspiration strikes for a video, Hecker

vlogs. “My videos were mostly showing what it was like to go to school, or occasionally extremely basic outfit content like a sweater,” she said.

Occasionally, when she feels passionate about something happening in the world like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, she posts about it, but the majority

McCarthy loves to create content, but she does not take herself too seriously, a trait that makes her videos more relatable, she said. “You’re recording stupid little eight second videos that you know everyone is sending around in their group chats, making fun of you. You just have to stay humble with it.”

If she films too many TikToks in a week, it feels more numbing than meaningful, she said. “I’m not trying to make this a full time job, it would take the fun out of it,” she said. “I like to think of it as a sort of virtual scrapbook or a diary that I look back on and be like, ‘oh my god, she’s so fun.’”

She also looks to friends from school to find inspiration. “It’s sort of the new Instagram, like a much more unfiltered version of it,” she said.

She sometimes sees other students posting the Yale University library on her For You Page, the part of TikTok that targets users with videos geared towards their

Although TikTok is not her job, McCarthy does earn money from paid partnerships with companies like Mother Denim and Rent the Runway. There have also been a few smaller fashion companies that have sponsored her but those are the main two.

McCarthy’s favorite part about posting on TikTok is the connections that she’s formed.

“As crazy as it sounds, I’ve actually met a ton of girls who have become real life friends through it, and girls who I never would have otherwise.”

picks a trending sound to get more views and edits the clip together using either CapCut or the TikTok app. CapCut is an online, free video editor for more elaborate videos, such as montages.

Aesthetic-wise, Hecker tends to post fashion and lifestyle content. “People really like seeing what life is like in New York City, and it’s so cool to me that I have so many opportunities to visit museums and shows,” she said.

Her platform gives her a unique platform that most people do not have access to, Hecker said. “It’s a crazy experience knowing that a single video you post can reach millions of people.”

Hecker does not try to promote a certain lifestyle with her content, but rather wants to share unique aspects of her life. “I once found a vintage Gucci watch that my mom had from the eighties, and I posted that and it got 2 million views,” she said.

Though many of Hecker’s videos feature luxury products and brands, a lot of the products are vintage and discounted, she said. “I like to shop a lot on The RealReal, and I’ve also bought most of the things I feature by myself, since I’ve been working at TaskMe [a small personalization business started by Caroline Kaplan ‘19] since eighth grade,” she said.

That being said, her socioeconomic background plays a part in what goes into her videos. “I still think it’s important to note that I would not be able to make the same content if I wasn’t in this position,” she said

Ultimately, Hecker hopes to promote more sustainability in fashion. “I don’t want to contribute to this idea of consumerism, which I think is an issue a lot of micro-influencers contribute to,” she said. Instead, Hecker wants to advocate for secondhand stores such as The RealReal, ThredUp, and Depop.

In addition to her public account, Hecker also has a personal account that she uses to connect with her friends. “I don’t show my personality enough on Tik Tok because people don’t like that as much, it’s more just snippets of my life that I like the aesthetic of,” she said.

Though Hecker’s account is a more curated version of her life, Resnick believes her personality is the same on and off the platform. “Her Tik Tok mainly revolves around fashion and she cares a ton about fashion in person too,” Resnick said.

Because it takes so much time to edit and post videos, Hecker has not been able to post

as much at the moment due to school work and college applications. “Earlier this year and in 2021, I would spend hours editing a video — I was very into it,” she said. Hecker has also learned a lot from her Filmmaking class at the school on how to get the right timing and lighting for her videos, she said.

Tik Tok has helped Hecker grow in various ways, she said. She sees herself as an entrepreneur and highly values learning about how brands work and seeing the inner workings of content creators. “I also make content for other brands, so that has helped with learning about what marketing is today,” she said. “I really want to go into business and marketing, so this has been a solid start.”

Hecker hopes to start posting more in the springtime, and continue during college. “I don’t know what my life will be like in college, but I just love posting,” she said. “Ever since I was little, I’ve always made little vlogs and videos, so even if people stop following me or I stop going viral, I’ll still post.”

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Vivian

Vivian Coraci/Art

walk away with an awareness of the kinds of things we are engaging with on social media and other news.”

Before the assembly, students read Belew’s New York Times Opinion about the Buffalo shooting in advisory, Straus said. A committee of history teachers — Barry Bienstock, Dr. Lauren Meyer, Melissa Morales, Dr. Peter Reed, and Straus — chose the piece as a precursor to Belew’s assembly so students could preview a distilled version of her main ideas, she said. “Not all students take a history class, so it was important that all students were prepared and ready to engage with Belew’s work.”

Advisors met on September 28 to

prepare for the advisory sessions, science teacher Dr. Jane Wesely said. They read Belew’s work and watched other supplementary sources, such as an Oprah segment, to guide conversations about how best to approach the white power movement with students, she said. “I felt a whole lot better prepared after the meeting,” Wesely said. “It’s easy to be in your own world and have your own thoughts, but it really helps to hear the thoughts of other teachers, who are just able to say things with the perfect choice of words.”

At the meeting, advisors got a loose outline of how they could structure the discussions to be most conducive to productive learning,

Wesely said. Advisors were urged to center discussions around Belew’s specific Op-ed and arguments, so that students could separate previous experience and biases from their understanding of Belew’s work, she said.

The advisory sessions were integral to open up discussions of the white power movement, Lily Wender (11) said. “There were a lot of very diverse opinions in my advisory, so it was interesting to hear different perspectives about the origin of the movement,” she said. Students used Belew’s arguments to debate whether the white power movement is solely a Republican movement, Wender said.

The advisory sessions ultimately

led to more productive questions during the Q&A portion of the assembly, Wender said. “It’s hard to ask questions if you don’t know the whole field a speaker is informed about, but because we read the op-ed, we could ask questions targeted to her research.”

Incorporating advisors in the history series process equips the greater community to participate in difficult conversations, Dean of Faculty Dr. Andrew Fippinger said. “Including advisories shows students that these issues matter beyond just our History classrooms.”

After the assembly, history teacher Barry Bienstock hosted a talkback for students to ask Belew questions.

MD student create, attend new clubs

Naomi Yaeger Staff Writer

Starting in October, clubs kicked off in the Middle Division (MD). Students from every grade have clamored to sign up for, attend, and even form their own clubs.

Clubs are an important part of the MD, MD Student Activities Coordinator Ofelia Marquez said. “Education is not just classes and books,” she said. “It’s also about learning empathy and how to interact with other people. Clubs and teams really give that opportunity to students.”

After looking forward to clubs in the MD for years, Stella Burns (6) is ready to join every group she’s interested in. “Ever since I was a kid, I loved clubs. They excited me because they sound so fun,” she said. Burns is a new member of Readers Forum, Model UN, Parliamentary Debate, and is considering joining Dungeons & Dragons.

Clubs meet during D or E period from Monday through Friday, the MD lunch periods, and usually meet once or twice in the ten day cycle, Marquez said. “The middle schoolers have those 45 minute periods to play and be joyful,” she said. Clubs that need a longer meeting time and clubs run by Upper Division (UD) students, such as Public Forum Debate or Model UN, can meet after school from Monday through Thursday, she said.

One new club this year is the MD Stage Crew Club, which will meet Mondays after school starting in November. “There are a lot of kids in the Middle Division that are interested in theater and [are] really passionate about it, but are a little scared to be on stage,” Technical Director Caitie Miller said. “This is a chance for them to come and be part of it, and to help create our beautiful shows.”

The club will focus on building the props and sets needed for the MD Spring Production of “James and the Giant Peach,” meaning students will get the chance to paint, do carpentry, decorate, and possibly even learn

lighting needed for the show, Miller said. “It’s going to be a chance for kids to come and get their hands dirty.”

Currently, the MD has 17 clubs that have started or plan to start in a few weeks, ranging from the Geography Club to the Readers’ Forum to the Ping Pong Club. Clubs can start and end at any point during the year, so this number will most likely change, Marquez said.

This flexibility allows students to be creative in creating their clubs, Marquez said. “The Soccer World Cup this year is going to be in November, as opposed to its usual time in the summer. We have a really awesome opportunity to create a World Cup club, where students are going to look at brackets and highlights of games.”

Clubs allow students to explore their interests outside of the classroom, Sanara Roeser (6) said. Roeser and Isabella Rivera (6) plan to start an Anime and Manga drawing club in the next few weeks, Roeser said. “We will talk about different styles of art and how to do them, and we’ll just have a fun time.”

Roeser and Rivera came up for the idea after they realized that they both liked drawing anime, Rivera said. “We just started talking more and more about drawing, and then, making a club was soon an idea in our minds,” she said.

To create a club, students submit the So You Want to Start a Club? form on the MD Student Life webpage. On the form, they share a description of their club, proposed meeting times, and potential faculty advisor(s).

Marquez then reviews the form and meets with the students to discuss the logistics of their club, such as the materials they need, she said.

If a student who wants to start a club did not indicate an advisor on their form, Marquez works with them to find a faculty advisor who is interested in exploring that topic, she said.

“Our teacher body and faculty staff is just so amazing — they always have this desire to say ‘yeah, I’ll totally sign up to be an advisor for

this club,’” she said.

This year, Sarah Korn (8) founded the Sailing Club with a few friends, she said. “We’re not going to physically sail, at least not during school, so we’ll just teach them different components of sailing, like how to tie a knot,” she said. The club plans to meet once a week, during D or E period, she said.

When students start a club, they take the lead in creating lesson plans for each meeting, Marquez said. For example, to start the Dungeons & Dragons club, Max Khankin (7) found his own club advisor, Seventh Grade Dean Michelle Amilicia, and works with her to run the club’s meetings, Marquez said.

There are many benefits to joining clubs, Katherine Zhu (6) said. “Clubs are more free — it’s less of a teacher speaking, and more about student debating and discussing topics.”

Zhu is a member of over five clubs, ranging from Model UN to Rocketeers, a science club started by students. “When I grow up, I want to be an astrophysicist and I want to have some experience, thus Rocketeers,” she said. “I joined Parli, Model UN, and Public Forum because I really enjoy debate.”

Generally, students can just show up to a club they are interested in attending, Marquez said. For others, such as Parliamentary Forum or HM Lead, students have to fill out a short

“The talkback opened up space for more in-depth questions about the future,” Wender said. Wender asked a question about the newer white power groups that include people of color; Belew answered that the movement has grown more flexible to appeal to a broader base.

The assembly highlighted the pertinence of bringing current issues such as white power to the school.

For Belew, the battle against white power takes place on all fronts, she said. “There are places at every level of society that need attention and work,” she said. “Something as simple as paying attention is one of the things you can do.”

application, she said.

Sixth graders won’t be able to join the Parliamentary Debate until the spring, history teacher and advisor John Eckels said.

“Traditionally, Public Forum didn’t have sixth graders, at least not until after spring break,” he said. While this changed a couple of years ago, it wasn’t possible this year because the club only has one advisor, instead of the regular two, Eckels said.

The club focuses on teaching MD students debate skills in a less competitive setting, Eckels said. “Our league is a learning league, and so, it is competitive and there are good debaters, but it’s not all about who wins. It’s about learning the skills, celebrating that you’re there,” he said. “Our goal is always to create a community atmosphere.”

Burns appreciates having a mix of classes and clubs because they serve different purposes, she said. “Class time covers many different topics, like in math, you learn about this times this or this equals this,” she said. Clubs, on the other hand, allow students to focus on one topic they are interested in a low pressure environment.

The Middle Division (MD) Art Studio opened in Pforzheimer Hall at the start of this school year. Overlooking the atrium, the MD playdeck, and Van Cortlandt Park, the room is filled with painting supplies, markers, and easels that

students can use for visual art.

Over the past summer, the College Counseling department, which had been temporarily housed at Pforzheimer Hall, moved to a new location in the Lower Division.

Hetherington was the main advocate for the MD art space, Dean of Faculty Eva Abbamonte

said.

Art classroom opens in Pforzheimer Jorge Orvananos Staff Writer

“For a very long time, we have wanted a studio in the MD building where only MD classes would be taking place,” Hetherington said. “This was even before I became chair — Mr. Do, when he was chair, certainly talked about needing a space.”

Art teacher Ron Logan strongly supported the project. “It’s very important for the middle school to have a dedicated art studio in its building,” he said. “Logistically, it makes sense. But also, I think it makes all of the students feel more connected to daily life in middle school, which is good.”

While MD arts classes take place within the new art studio, any MD students can drop in and use it, Logan said. He tries to make the space accessible by keeping the studio open all day long. “Students can just come in for as long as they want to on [their] own time.”

Sixth Grade Dean John McNally has noticed that students have been

taking advantage of the studio during their lunch breaks, he said.

“I’ve noticed that many students go into the studio during their D or E lunch periods and it seems like such a calm, therapeutic space where students are able to relax and not have to deal with stresses from their school day,” he said.

Thomas Bouchut (6), one of Logan’s visual arts students, enjoys using the classroom, he said. “The space makes me feel at home and it’s a great place to work.” he said

Similar to Bouchut, Jasper Ho (7) enjoys the new studio’s location in Pforzheimer because it is easy to access and hopes to see more MDspecific spaces for art, he said.

The new studio is more inviting to MD students because of its location, Ishan Parfitt (7) said.

Tolga Ergin (7) visited the studio during a free period to spend time with friends, create art, and relax. He enjoys this studio more than the other spaces in Fisher, he said.

The studio is in a convenient

location in the MD since it is close to the cafeteria and the main MD building, Skyler Mitchell (7) said.

There are still many elements of the room Logan would like to improve, he said. “I do have cabinets coming, we were just literally hooking up the sink, and I’m going to be getting easels. A lot of the materials that we ordered last year for this space are late because of the worldwide production slowdown.”

Logan looks forward to finishing the room and hopes that the art studio will be a long-lasting part of the MD, he said. “Like all of the spaces here, hopefully it’ll be here for many years,” he said. “Future art teachers may change it up, but at least the basic studio furniture will be there.”

Aanya Gupta/Staff Photographer

Sam Siegel/Photo Director

BOOKWORMS Students gather for books and pizza at Readers’ Forum.

Crossword by Melissa Migdon (11)

2) Good for smoothie bowls, hard to pronounce

3) The world’s most famous arena (or so it claims), abbr. *

4) Rohl Dahl’s character that does not eat human beans

5) With 30 across, theme of the puzzle, famous ___ and ___ (use starred clues as hints)

FedEx competitor

Plot, area, location

Trig mnemonic, memorized wrong

@

Itchy patches of skin

Last letter of Greek alphabet, or good fatty acids

Cage fighting, abbr.

Sick, unwell

Cold tea

20) What a good baseball batter does

In London, home of the the FA cup final and the rugby league’s challenge cup *

When you will arrive, abbr.

What the coach threatens when you don’t play well

Football kick

Home of the Michigan Wolverines *

Something mysterious/puzzling

Katy Perry song, “Last friday Night (___)”

32) Before noon

Home of Dublin

Home of Istanbul, abbr.

League for 42 across teams

Termites or fleas, eg.

42) Students would never ask for __ assessments

That is

_ _ D, currently unknown

46) What Mark Zuckerberg wants to do with Meta, abbr.

and

from

(use

as

of the

8 limbed sea creature

Comedian Degeneres

TVD actor Sommerhalder

Trump’s loan of a million dollars

A potential problem with at home yoga?

Japanese cartoon

Minecraft Steve’s girlfriend

Continuous pain

12 Greek letter, found in physics’ friction unit

Young child, informally; also found in the caf’s fried foods section

Historical period

Scientist Bill

2019 Taylor Swift song, “__!”

How it’s made: the words that cross Melissa’s mind

The Record: What was the first word you came up?

Melissa Migdon: [1 Across]. It has a lot of vowels, so I was like, ‘I can make good words with this’ because there are certain words that you see appear in a ton of crosswords. I’ve done five or six now, and I have some words that have been in all of them.

TR: When did you start making crosswords?

MM: It was a thing that I started in English class. I was literally just drawing words and seeing how they fit together. I’m actually not even a huge New York Times crossword person. I only got the subscription like two weeks ago. I started to do them and was like,

‘this is really fun. Like, I should make my own.’ My first one, it took me hours because it was like, nothing works. But you get used to the flow.

TR: What’s your process?

MM: I printed out a 15 by 15 blank grid and just started writing. I think of my first word across. I usually try to do like four letters because that’s what the New York Times one is. I usually think of a celebrity or a song or something I see in front of me. And then I kind of just work from there. I also pull out an alphabet. Like, I literally have like a printed alphabet to look at like think of letters that might work because I’m really stuck sometimes. I go through every single letter in the alphabet like,

‘what would work? Do any of these make sense?”

TR: What was the hardest part of this one?

MM: The bottom right corner. I spent over 30 minutes just trying to get that little section to work. I had to make a punny clue for [57 Down] because it’s just not a word, but you could split it into two words, and I just had to make them make sense together. I’m good at creating clues. I was making this one crossword and there was this one section where I had “PIR.”

Then I thought, ‘oh, two times pi r. The circumference of a circle.’ Then I was like, ‘oh my god, I can use that as a clue.’

TR: How many times did you have

to erase and start over for this one?

MM: A million times. I’ll come up with a celebrity and be like, ‘I really want to put this in, this is cool.’ But it doesn’t work. And then it’s like, erase, put back, erase, put back. There’s always a lot of back and forth.

TR: Sounds stressful.

MM: So stressful. Like actually — because you’ll have a whole section done and you’re about to finish it, and then it just doesn’t work. There’s one little section that you can’t find a word for, so you have to change the entire thing. It’s like, all that work for nothing.

TR: So why do you stick with them?

MM: It’s really satisfying to have

an end result and be like, ‘oh I finished it! These are all words or abbreviations, this works.’

TR: What are you working on now?

MM: I’m working on one right now that is perfectly symmetrical and has no two letter words. That means if you have a four letter word and a box on the left, starting from the right side, you also have to have a four letter word and a box. You can’t have a four letter word, six letter word, then a three letter word. I’ve been working on it for a couple of days now and I’ve made no progress, but we’re getting there.

Investigatng the role of race in friendships

Neeva Patel Staff Writer

In 2020, when Emily Akbar (10) was in middle school and the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction, she observed students become more attentive to surrounding themselves with people of different races and identities, she said.

While some students choose to befriend students of the same race because they might have shared experiences, others gravitate towards their friends based on their personalities alone. Although the majority of students are conscious of the race of their friends, it is not something that all students look actively to change, Dylan Montbach (10) said.

Anya Mirza (10) thought about race, she said.

“During 2020, we saw many racial disparities in police brutality, anti-Asian hate crimes, as well as how COVID-19 disproportionately affected certain groups of people,” Mirza said. “These events broadened the definition diversity to include not befriending people different backgrounds, but also learning about accepting their struggles due to their identity.”

does not think these events affected how he approached making friends, he said. “I mainly base my friends based on who I feel most comfortable with or enjoy spending time with and nothing has really changed that.”

Coco Trentalancia (12) also forms friendships based on who she likes to spend time with, and does not think race matters when it comes to friendships, she said. “There is no template for how one can constitute a friend, especially with race.”

While Trentalancia is subconsciously aware of race when it comes to her friends, it is not something she pays attention to on a daily basis. That being said, she has noticed that friend groups around

friendships, some also consciously make connections with others of the same race.

As a result of shared lived experiences, people of the same race can support each other in ways that students from different backgrounds may not be able to, Bethany Jarrett (11) said. “For students of color in a PWI [predominantly white institution] it can be very comforting and positive to go to students of the same background,” she said.

Jarrett is especially grateful for her friendships with other Black

overall on how these things might impact different people.”

For Mirza, a range of diversity is good for friendships because it exposes her to many different perspectives, she said. Because of this, Mirza does not consider race when forming new friendships and is part of a friend group of people with various racial backgrounds, religious backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses, she said.

Moreover, living in New York also helps bring lots of diversity to the student body, Akbar said. “Many of

nervous to step into an environment where only one other person looked like her, but over time, she saw more hijabis around school and felt more

classes or free periods with, diversity automatically increases in high school, Eva Onur (9) said. “The group you share frees with in high

based on race, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.”

Akbar sees how people can bond over similarities when they occupy the same racial group, she said. “In middle school, a lot of my Asian friends would go to Asian talks together in Mr. Khan’s affinity groups,” she said. “It was nice to have a friend group that shared some of the experiences they were talking about.”

Similarly, Kira Lewis (10) has noticed that a lot of students from

“I would say there is a certain part of me that wants to make friends with people who have similar interests to me, but I also like making friends with people who are really different than me because we can share new things.”

the school tend to be same-race, with some diversity sprinkled in, she said. “I do feel like I am able to talk about certain topics regarding race and culture more freely with students of the same race as me.”

Students in friend groups with mixed backgrounds might find it hard to discuss topics regarding race because it is difficult to gauge an individual’s comfort levels, Trentalancia said. She has observed that people adjust their vocabulary for the comfort levels of their friends, but it can get tricky if people forget others’ preferences, she said. “In school-sanctioned environments, there are always instances in which people may not be so aware of commentary, especially when there aren’t parents or as many adults present, so it could just all go downhill,” she said.

While students might not notice race, or use it as a guide to

minority groups cluster together, she said. “Minorities have some shared experiences, and you could probably be more comfortable in a friendship with someone you relate to more.”

However, her friendships are based on whether or not she gets along with another person, she said.

Sometimes, Lewis finds herself unintentionally gravitating towards certain races or groups,, she said. “I would say there is a certain part of me that wants to make friends with people who have similar interests to me, but I also like making friends with people who are really different than me because we can share new things.”

Diversity allows students to gain a better perspective on issues that might revolve around race, Montbach said. “You can ask your friends what they think about a certain social issue and then you can put in your own input and gain a better idea

Elena Zhou/Staff Artist

even though we attend a PWI.”

While each division has a diverse student body, many students have noticed an increase in diversity as they enter the UD.

Mirza saw a shift in her friendships as she entered the UD, she said. “When I first came to the school [in the Middle Division] I became friends with the few Indians I knew because we had things in common, and I guess I was less open,” Mirza said. “But now, it’s definitely changed a lot and I have a very ethnically diverse friend group.”

Jack Beard (9) also thinks the school is more diverse in high school because students join many more clubs or teams that feature people of all different identities, he said. “I’ve made many friends on the football team and I think it’s definitely a diverse team, but the friendships I made there were formed around a shared interest, not race.”

In high school, Akbar interacts with a lot more students that look

comfortable, she said.

After Akbar entered high school, students seemed to have matured, and learning about events in middle school where racial profiling was at an all-time high helped further that openness around diverse friendships, she said. “In classrooms, we had discussions where a lot of other students of color would speak and I learned from them and became friends with them through that experience,” she said.

To a certain extent, Allyson Wright (12) considers the school more diverse than when she entered in the Lower Division (LD), but only because her grade started with very little diversity to begin with, she said. “When I came to the school, we had only around four to five Black kids in my grade,” she said. “Although there has been a very small increase in people of color coming to the school, the unequal proportion to the number of white students is the same.”

The longer Megumi Iwai-Louie (12) has been at HM, the more people from different backgrounds she’s met, but students still tend to form friend groups around shared experiences, she said. “If you look at HM’s friend groups, certain groups of kids from very similar backgrounds don’t often interact with other groups who might have different experiences.”

Iwai-Louie thinks that students at the school are still working towards diversity, if diversity is defined as people from all walks of life coming together and sharing their differences, instead of hiding them or only showing them to a select few. “People tend to gravitate towards people they feel most comfortable and familiar with, and that is normally people who look like them or who look like the people they grew up with,” she said.

Regardless, Iwai-Louie is appreciative of the friendships she has made. “Through HM, I’ve been able to build incredibly valuable friendships with people from many different backgrounds, who all contribute something different to the

school is very random so you are almost forced to make friends with people of different identities, which is great.”

As people grow up, friendships become more defined by similarities and what people share as interests outside of race, Montbach said. While children might make friends based on who looks the most like them, teenagers learn that looks are not important and find friends they share common interests and hobbies with, he said.

Lewis, on the other hand, does not see any students at the school diversifying their friendships, she said. In fact, students at the school sometimes consider white the default because it is a PWI, and therefore are less conscious of other races existing in the school environment, she said. Because she has the same friends in the UD as she did in MD, Lewis has also not noticed an increase in diversity within her friend group.

Jarrett hopes students at the school will stray away from the ‘I don’t see color’ concept, in which people don’t pay attention to someone’s race and, as a result, do not consider how that person is treated by society, she said. “It is very natural and important to see color because that is how we form supportive friend groups,” she said. “There is no reason to shy away from honestly talking about race since that is how we see each other in the most authentic light.”

That being said, students should not befriend people solely because they are people of color, Jarrett said. “It’s important to make natural friendships across race lines, and it becomes inauthentic if someone were to purposefully say ‘let’s make friends with her just because we need a Black person in our group,’ for example.”

Meeting a diverse group of people is very important to Lewis and she hopes more students at the school will embrace the idea of befriending people of all races, she said. “If something is happening to a group you are not a part of, it is important to be aware of that and be able to share experiences across racial boundaries.”

AmiraDossani/ArtDirector

“It is very natural and important to see color because that is how we form supportive friend groups. There is no reason to shy away from honestly talking about race since that is how we see each other in the most authentic light.”

- Bethany Jarrett (11)

- Kira Lewis (10)

Living together, learning apart: Siblings who attend different schools

lucy Peck Staff Writer

Every school day, Lenny Lane (11) wakes up, gets ready, and then wakes up his twin brother, Frankie, who attends The Calhoun School. Because Calhoun is in Manhattan, Frankie wakes up much later for a driver to take him to school, while Lenny takes the bus, he said.

Lenny is one of many students whose sibling attends a different school. This dynamic comes with upsides, like filling each other in about school days each evening and downsides, such as misalignment of break schedules, he said.

One benefit of having children attend different schools is that parents have fewer ways to compare them, Natalie Doldron (11), whose brother attended York Prep School and is now in college, said. It is difficult for their parents to draw direct contrasts between her and her brother when they attend schools with different course rigor, teachers, and academic environments. “They can’t say, ‘why did you get this grade in this class when

their teachers’ first names instead of Mr. and Mrs.,” Lane said.

Jill Schildkraut-Katz P’24, who has a son at the school and a daughter at Trevor Day School, has noticed numerous differences between the two schools, she said. “Both schools have engaged communities yet Horace Mann is a campus school that draws from over 150 zip codes, so it is more of a commuter school,” she said. “While Trevor does have people from outside of Manhattan proper, it feels a little bit more like a New York City school.”

Schildkraut-Katz said that each of her kids are in a school that caters to their interests. Horace Mann offers robust robotics and engineering programs, both of which are important to her son. Trevor is strong in arts and is more flexible with student schedules, which works for her daughter, who is a performer, she said.

Westreich’s brother, Austin’s, impression of Horace Mann compared to Allen-Stevenson is that the school has tons of homework and good cafeteria food, he said. Austin came to this conclusion after seeing his sister stay in

Similarly, even though Lenny and his brother are in the same grade, there is variety between the school’s curriculum and his brother’s, he said. “Their math curriculum is definitely different — he is still working on

school gave Tyler a friendly face in the hallways, she said. “I would try to embarrass him in the halls by calling his name out in front of his friends,” she said. “He would always get me Dunkin when he went down

Vivian Coraci/Art Director

brother during the day and then reconvening at night to discuss what happened at their respective schools, she said.

Emma Simon (10), who has a younger brother at Winston Preparatory School, has a similar experience with her sibling. “When you get home and ask ‘how was your day?’ there is more to talk about,” she said. “If we both went [to Horace Mann], I would already know what his day looked like.”

Lane notices many differences between his and his brother’s schools when they talk about his day, such as how teachers are addressed, he said. “At Calhoun, they say

Simon said. Her brother’s school focuses on different topics, particularly in his math and science classes. “He was learning physics in ninth grade, whereas we don’t start learning that here until junior year,” she said.

It was also difficult for Doldron’s brother to help her with school work because their curriculum did not match up by grade levels, she said. For instance, Doldron read “Lord of the Flies” in seventh grade, while her brother did not read it until tenth grade. On the flip side, her brother finished sinusoid graphs in ninth grade math, while she is currently learning them in junior year.

algebra concepts, while we are studying more trig and calculus topics.” For siblings who attend the same school, it is easier to relate with one another’s academic experience.

Tyler Rosenberg (11) received help from her brother, Spencer Rosenberg ’22, on difficult classes before he graduated, she said. Rosenberg remembers when her brother taught her how to solve graph problems in algebra, she said. “When I was a sophomore and he was a senior, he was already familiar day while the other does not. Additionally, the school is off for Diwali, Eid, and Lunar New Year, while Trevor is not.

“The challenge of having kids at two schools is that I can’t be all in at one,” Schildkraut-Katz said. “It’s important to be a role model to my kids and show them that their community is important.” Sending her kids to different schools makes it difficult for her to be as involved in both as she would like, especially on top of working full time, she said. Despite this, Schildkraut-Katz is still involved in both school communities.

The arrangement also makes things more hectic for Markman and his wife, he said. “But, we think the benefits outweigh the costs.” The breaks between the two schools line up because most New York City private schools are on the same schedule, he said. “Basic vacations, basic spring break[s] all align.”

Having a sibling who goes to the same

the hill.”

Similarly, Aamri Sareen (11) remembers when her older sister, Ranya Sareen ’20, would wave to her in the halls. “When I was in middle school and she was in high school, she and her friends always made an effort to say ‘hi’ to me,” she said. “It made me feel cool and important because they were older.”

Miller Harris (12) has fond memories of when his older brother Sam Harris ’18 attended the school. “He graduated five years can just be themselves and not worry about competing.”

“The upside is that they each get to develop their own identity and their own sense of self without the other being a contingent part of it. They can just be themselves and not worry about competing.”

- Ross Markman P ‘23

“It helps to have someone who knows what you’re going through.”

- Tyler Rosenberg (11)

“I’ve heard [Horace Mann is] very rigorous, very intense, very academic centric.”

- Frankie Lane (11), The Calhoun School

Crossword answers from pg. 5

Lions’ Den

Girls Varsity Soccer stages successful comback after slow start

Jacqueline Shih Staff Writer

The Girls Varsity Soccer team comes back strong after a tough start to their season

“I think we have the talent to beat anyone, so if we play together and we play well, there is no team we can’t beat,” Girls Varsity Soccer team coach Tim Sullivan said. The Girls Varsity Soccer team ends off this season hoping to go to the NYSAIS championship, Lexi Gordon (10) said.

The team ended off the last two weeks strong with a six game win streak, Gordon said. They moved from practically last in the Ivy Preparatory league to third overall of the seven teams in the league, Gordon said. The Lions won against Fieldston for the second time with a score of 1-0 on Monday, October 17th and tied 1:1 against Poly prep on wednesday, october 19th.

Looking back at the season, the team has improved immensely, Gordon said. The team set a goal earlier on in the season to win many games and

to work on connecting their passes. Their improvement and progress with the latter goal was really shown in their recent win against Dalton, as a lot of the team’s best plays came off of their combinations, Gordon said.

At the Fieldsotn game, Kayla Choi (11) scored the winning goal. It was a great shot – it beat the keeper near post, Gordon said.

Despite their win, “[the team] didn’t play [their] best, but it’s tough to play on that field, so [the team] struggled a little bit, but [they] kept fighting the entire game and never gave up, which helped us beat the very good Fieldston team,” Sullivan said.

“When we played Fieldston, the field was very small, and in a way it was a disadvantage to us,” Gordon said. Fieldston, playing on their home turf, obviously had the advantage, Gordon said. The team likes to use their speed at the top of the field for their advantage, especially in their offense, she said.

“[The team’s] parents were amazing and got so into the game –– they are always so supportive and really help motivate the team,” Gordon said.

Despite the 1-0 win against Fieldston, the team did not play their best. The team’s defense as a whole did stand out. All the players marked the opposition and maintained good

pressure on Fieldston’s players which made their passes very difficult to connect – this stood as a big advantage for our team, Sullivan said.

Christine Tao (11) played well in the middle, along with Jane Offit (11) and Choi, who were all big threats to score, Sullivan said. In fact, Fieldston placed 5 players on Offit and Choi, which stood as a major distraction for the opposing team even when they were not scoring, Sullivan said.

The team yet again faced the first ranked team in the Ivy preparatory league, Poly Prep on Wednesday, October 19. Having played them earlier on in the season on September 9, our lions lost 1-3. However, the team seeked revenge at home and tied 1-1 .

“Today [is] the day to prove that we have the best skill in the Ivy league,”Ceci Couglin (12) said. Regardless of the cold weather, the team had great morale and gave their all going into the game, Couglin said. The Lions were the first to score through a free kick by Choi –– Poly then scored through a free kick in the second half, sending the game to overtime. The team played pretty defensively in the extra minutes, Couglin said. They definitely played very well this game, and although they were disappointed they really

Girls Varsity Field Hockey wraps up rough season

Oliver Konopko Staff Writer

The Girls Varsity Field Hockey season is coming to a close, and with less than three games to play, Jojo Mignone (11) said the team has everything they need to win.

Both games this week ended in a loss for the team. On Monday, the team lost 3-1 to Fieldston and on Wednesday, October 19th the team lost 4-1 to King highschool. It was raining during Monday’s game, which made it more difficult to remain motivated and play hard, but the team pushed through, Alessandra Agopian (10) said. On Wednesday, the team was energetic, and after the game, they celebrated Maddie Yoon’s (12) birthday, Agopian said.

The team is currently 1-8 and their next game is October 22nd at Riverdale’s homecoming. Recently, winning the game has been the team’s main priority, Dylan Leftt (10) said.

To prepare for the game, Girls Varsity Field Hockey Coach Caroline Surhoff has put a greater emphasis on footwork and skills work, Leftt said. Another primary focus in practice recently has been to improve their teamwork and conditioning,

Mignone said.

As the season goes on, the team has improved their communication and gotten better at working as a cohesive unit, Mignone said. She believes the team is meshing together well and is very strong but is having a hard time putting it all together.

Naomi Gelfer (11) is very proud of the effort and hard work the team has brought to practice, which she thinks has been a strong point of the team this season, she said.

The team lost on homecoming, which was very disappointing, but they are still very impressed with each other, Mignone said. “It was a moment where even though we lost, we were all really proud of each other because we know that we tried our best,” she said.

Gelfer believes that perfecting the team’s corner plays, as well as a type of penalty, will be crucial in order to win the final games, she said. “Being able to restart the ball on penalties without allowing the other team to set up prevents them from knowing our next move,” she said.

Gelfer and Mignone both play defense. Gelfer wants to work on remaining aggressive during the game, even when she gets hit or beat

because being aggressive on defense is crucial, she said.

Mignone would like to work on her passing –– sometimes she passes the ball into open space instead of to her teammates, which causes them to have to fight for the ball, she said.

A strong point for the team this season has been their freshman, Leftt said. Most of the goals scored this season have been scored by freshmen and Leftt looks forward to playing with them next season as well, she said.

The final games of the season are part of the Brearley-Chapin tournament –– if the team wins on October 25th, they play again on October 26th. Regardless of if the team wins or loses, Mignone hopes that everyone on the team feels that they played an important role and that they are happy with how the team played this season.

To prepare for the tournament, the team has been focusing on handling in-game pressure, which Surhoff believes will allow the team to score more goals. Most teams lose their focus and intensity as the season ends, but Surhoff believes that the team has been getting better and more focused every single game.

Gelfer hopes that in the last few games the team can give their seniors a good send-off because they’ve been amazing this year, she said.

With the winter sports season rapidly approaching, the bonds made with the people on the team are what Mignone will miss the most, she said.

Mignone enjoys spending time with people in different grades and even with people in her own grade who she doesn’t have classes with, she said.

Gelfer didn’t expect the team to

gave it their all, Couglin explained.

“Everyone on the team is ultimately working towards the same goal,” Sofia Filardo (11) said. “From the perspective of the bench, the team has really been connecting on passes really well, especially in comparison to earlier this season, due to our communication and chemistry as a team,” Filardo said.

The success in the team’s record is a result of their chemistry and bonding as a team, Gordon said. The team often hangs out and grabs dinner together, Couglin said. “The whole team is very supportive of each other, and the energy that everyone on the team brings really leads us to the wins, we really never give up,” Gordon said. With two games remaining for our Lions, the team hopes to play their best and end off the season strong by making it to the playoffs with their seniors, Gordon said. “I will miss everything –– I love everyone on this team so much, and I’m going to miss the camaraderie. Practice really is the best everyday –– I look forward to seeing all my teammates and playing with my team,” Gordon said. “I really am fortunate to be able to play with many of my close friends,’’ Gordon said.

be so close at the beginning of the season, but is very happy with the relationships they’ve formed, she said. Surhoff is sad to see the season end because she loves seeing the different personalities of the team and watching them strive for a common goal, but she is excited to watch the end of the season unfold, she said. “It’s a good time to get hot at the end of the season, and we have as good a shot as anybody to win the tournament,” she said.

GET OPEN! Kayla Choi (11) passes the ball to Sophia Liu (11).

ON HER TOES Maddie Yoon (12) cuts in front of King for the steal.

Sam Siegel/Photo Director

Jiwan Kim/Staff Photographer