Volume 120, Issue 8

The Record

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Alums speak at Veterans Day assembly

Ariella Frommer Staff Writer

Alumni veterans and aactive duty members Eric Derecktor ’12, Ben Ja cobson ‘09, Victor Ladd ‘11, Matthew Meltzer ‘13, and Elizabeth Vierya ‘04, along with Middle Division dean and history teacher John McNally, spoke at the first Veterans Day assembly since 2019 this Tuesday.

assembly in 2019], and realizing that she could be up there one day, too.”

After Bondor’s senior reflection, McNally introduced the assembly and each veteran alum. McNally asked sev eral prepared questions to the panel before opening it up to questions from the audience.

Eighth graders visit the MET

Hornfeld and Anoushka Parakh

Contributing Writers

This Monday and Thursday, the eighth grade visited the Metropoli tan Museum of Art’s (MET) Hindu and Buddhist sculpture galleries with Upper Division (UD) students in Art History:What is a Masterpiece?, a full-credit art history class taught by Visual Arts Department Chair Dr. Anna Hetherington. It was the first time the trip ran since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

To prepare eighth graders for the trip, Hetherington gave a presenta tion that introduced art history con cepts and instructed students on what to look for when at the MET.

“The eighth graders have been learning about belief systems in their

history classes, and through our trip, they are able to connect the iconog raphy of the art to the stories and beliefs they’ve learned about,” Middle Division (MD) History Department Chair Catherine Garrison said. While the trip mainly focused on Hindu and Buddhist art, students can draw on their experience at the MET to an alyze art from other regions and re ligions over the remainder this year, Garrison said.

The aspects of Hinduism and Bud dhism that Ved Daga (8) learned about in class helped him understand the artifacts he observed at the MET, he said. Daga realized that there was more to each religion than meets the eye. “When people talk about the Buddha, they often think there’s one main artifact, but there are hundreds in the MET.”

see Art History on page 8

English department attends diversity retreat

William Chasin and Daniyaal Ghani Contributing Writers

Last Thursday, the Upper Division English Department participated in their annual professional develop ment retreat. The retreat, which fo cused on team building and growing the skill set of each faculty member, took place at Wave Hill, a Public Garden and Cultural Center in Riv erdale.

The event was led by Rosetta Lee, a diversity speaker and trainer who presented about leading open and inclusive conversations around race, sex, class, gender, and other topics that arise when discussing works of literature in the classroom, English teacher Dr. Adam Casdin said.

“One of the most compelling distinctions Rosetta Lee made was between thinking in polarities ver sus binaries,” Casdin said. Polarities draw awareness to the relationship between inclusive classroom dis cussion, and considering unity and diversity as adjacent conditions, he said.

English Department Chair Ver non Wilson learned new ways to proactively address when students make offensive comments, even un intentionally, and how it is the teach er’s job to be an upstander and bring that comment to the attention of the class. As the individual with the most power in the classroom, teachers have the responsibility of explaining why something is hurtful so students would not make such remarks in the future, he said.

While teachers may not need to incorporate skills like these into the classroom immediately, they will be useful if a situation involving an of fensive comment arises, Wilson said. He is better equipped than he was before the retreat to break down, in the moment, what just happened.

Wilson said he feels lucky to be at a school that can send teachers on yearly retreats to help improve their teaching skills. The school’s reputa tion gives the department the ability to work with experts whose knowl edge helps faculty members better benefit their students, he said.

Clementine Bondor (12) helped plan the assembly after talking with English teacher Dr. Adam Casdin about her se nior reflection on the military, she said. “He had asked me if I was interested in bringing back the Veterans Day as sembly and without hesitation, I said, “absolutely.” Casdin reached out to the alumni and asked them if they would like to speak at the assembly.

Since the last assembly in 2019, the school has not recognized Veterans Day any more than a line in an email, Bondor said. “It’s easy to get lost in the New York City bubble of saying ‘oh, the military is someone else’s problem,’ but it’s something so personal for so many people.”

Before the assembly, McNally emailed the speakers, asking them to speak honestly and to ensure the as sembly did not become a recruiting event for the military, he said. “The panel guests really tried to broaden the message beyond the military, and the hope was to give students something to think about no matter what their thoughts politically are about the mil itary.”

Throughout the assembly, there was not one overarching viewpoint on the armed forces, McNally said. “For a school like Horace Mann, we are in a bubble here, so hearing different view points and different perspectives is valuable.”

Gabe Jaffe (11) was excited for the as sembly to hear stories he is not usually exposed to, he said. “When I think of Horace Mann and its alumni, I do not typically associate their career paths with the United States military.”

Meltzer agreed to speak at the as sembly to share his unique experience, he said. “When I was at Horace Mann, I did not have a whole lot of exposure to people who had served in the military, so the opportunity to provide that to the current student body was exciting to me.”

Going into the assembly, Meltzer was not expecting the level of engagement he received, he said. “When we were looking for questions, there were a ton of people raising their hands, which was surprising but fantastic.”

At the start of the assembly, Bondor gave her senior reflection on why she wanted to join the Army. “I hoped that there might be one freshman girl sitting in the audience, just like I had [in the

The veterans first discussed their motivations for joining the military. A common reason amongst the alumni was not wanting to follow the tradition al path that the school sets up for stu dents: graduate high school, attend an Ivy League college, and get a well-pay ing job.

Even though the school does not prepare students physically to engage in combat, it teaches critical thinking, a crucial skill in the military, Meltzer said.

Gabe Jaffe (11) was surprised by his answer, he said. “This was interesting for me to think about as I wouldn’t typ ically associate the activities we do in school with activities done in the mil itary.”

On the other hand, the school did not prepare Derecktor for the econom ic and political diversity between him and others he worked with. Regardless whether his viewpoints aligned or di verged from them, he had to learn how to work with people of different back grounds, he said.

Milo Mandelli-Valla’s (11) favorite moment in the assembly was when the speakers discussed the morality of their actions, and how they dealt with disagreeing with an order, he said. “It raised a question about how far military action can be taken and brought up the human side of combat, in the sense that morals come into war,” he said. “It’s not just a matter of good versus evil in that way.”

Jacobson flipped the question of mil itary members’ responsibility for their actions onto the audience. While the military ultimately “pulls the trigger,” the public votes for politicians who make decisions and pay taxes that fund

the armed forces, he said.

Given that the assembly happened on Election Day, McNally appreciat ed Jacobson’s response because it was directed towards the students, he said. “The idea of ‘you’re a citizen, you have a voice, use that voice, whether it’s pro testing, voting, or writing letters,’ was really powerful.”

At the talkback, Meltzer’s favorite question asked was about the alums’ opinion on a mandatory draft, because it allowed him to provide his own idea for service, he said. “Most military of ficers do not want there to be a draft because we do not want the people who we are leading to not want to be there,” he said. “But I talked about a required or, at least, encouraged, public service.” The idea that everyone should spend a period of time serving their communi ty in some way after graduating would bring society together, he said.

In addition to speaking to students, Meltzer enjoyed reconnecting with the other alumni, he said. Meltzer, the youngest of the alumni, looked to the others for mentorship when applying to the Naval Academy, while at the Acad emy, and when he was serving, he said.

After the assembly, Bondor hopes students see that there are many dif ferent paths after graduation, she said. “When I entered high school, Horace Mann and the military seemed mutu ally exclusive. To hear the perspective from someone who has taken the road less traveled by can be really valuable.”

Mandelli-Valla has always wanted to join the military, and the assembly af firmed his plans, he said. “I was very ap preciative of the school taking the time to have speakers from this under-ap preciated sphere of our society.”

Even if it is not through the military, the idea of service was highlighted at the assembly, McNally said. “To com mit ourselves to a mission larger than our own success, our own grades, and our own college admittance was inspir ing. Hopefully, it allowed students to think, ‘how can I contribute?’”

ART IN ACTION! Eka Sepiashvili (12) teaches eighth grades history students.

Zach

Courtesy of Dr. Anna Hetherington

SERVING THE COUNTRY McNally leads panel of alumni.

Aanya Gupta/Staff Photographer

Americans can benefit from a collectivist mindset

to share my experience with the school community. The LS Grant contributed $6,825, the full program cost, towards the program.

This summer, I traveled to South Korea for six weeks through the Lembo-Sperling (LS) Grant. The foundation believes that summer travel experiences open students to new ways of seeing the world and funds students who might not have access to such experiences otherwise.

As a second-generation KoreanAmerican, I realized that I was not as in touch with my Korean heritage as some of my peers. In my youth, I didn’t think much of it, but as I moved onto elementary and middle school, Korean students, parents, and teachers expected me to be familiar with Korean customs. For example, I did not know I was supposed to speak formally and bow when greeting my elders, instead of waving and saying “hello,” which came off as ignorant or rude.

I always regretted not knowing how to speak Korean, so I don’t have as close of a relationship with my grandparents, since they barely speak English. My lack of cultural enrichment caused me to miss out on family relationships. My mom single-handedly raised me and my two brothers, cared for my grandmother, and ran a medical practice, so we didn’t have time to observe practices like attending Korean school on Saturdays or celebrating Korean holidays like Chuseok. When I heard of the LS Grant the winter of my sophomore year, I saw an opportunity to rekindle a connection to my heritage. I found a travel program I wanted to attend, wrote an essay detailing how this related to my life, studies, or goals, and proposed a plan

From July to August, I studied Korean language and culture at Hanyang University. As I familiarized myself with the alphabet and learned the names of people, places, and things, I felt a sense of belonging because I no longer needed my mother to read everything to me. In the afternoons, we visited the National Hangeul Museum, the Korean Food Promotion Institute, and Taekwondowon, among other sites. There, I saw the language come to life as people laughed, joked, and argued in Korean. By learning about Korean history, culture, and lifestyle, I grew more confident in my ability to participate in Korean society and pass down knowledge and traditions to the next generation.

As I was out and about, I noticed that the way Koreans spoke was quite different than Americans. And no, I’m not talking about the part where they speak Korean. Rather, certain phrases they used seemed a bit out of context.

Every day, we got a text update from our program cultural director, Misook Jeon. She always started her messages by saying “good morning,” “how are you?” or “did you enjoy your lunch,” before getting into the daily agenda. She always ended her messages with “thank you,” even when they didn’t include a request.

These habits confused me. Why was she thanking us when she never asked for anything? Why did she always say “good morning” in her updates instead of sending out the schedule by itself? Lacking an explanation, I shrugged it off and attributed it to her kind personality.

Misook was not the only person with this tendency. In Korea, I studied flute with an English-speaking teacher. Every week when he texted me to arrange a lesson, he always began his message by asking how I was. When he asked me when I was leaving Korea to make lesson plans, he first asked how my new étude was coming. It got my wheels turning. Perhaps Misook and my flute teacher’s way of speaking was a larger cultural phenomena that I didn’t understand just yet.

One bus ride home from a cultural excursion, Misook announced

Volume 120 Editorial Board

a Saturday trip to a waterpark. I heard several people audibly groan, complaining that they did not want to go; many had not packed bathing suits for the occasion and knew they would come home with mosquito bites. Misook hushed the bus. “Think about the group,” she reminded us, “We are going together as a group.”

That’s when it hit me. In the book “The New Koreans” that I had read before arriving in Korea, the author, Oscar Breen, explained the collectivist mindset that dominated the nation. Like many East Asian cultures, Koreans prioritize the well-being of a group over the needs of an individual. As a result, Koreans tend to be more attuned to the emotions of those around them. All the intricate courtesies began to make sense.

Being surrounded by these collectivist practices made me more conscious of the feelings of others around me. I began asking others how their days were more frequently. I became more attentive to everybody’s well-being and more emotionally aware, noticing nuances in tone and facial expression. Fundamentally, I became a better listener.

As a very talkative person, I was not sure if this day could ever come. Growing up, I interrupted others who were speaking and was a little too blunt about my opinions, sometimes accidentally hurting people with my words without knowing what went wrong. Adults had told me to be more careful of what came out of my mouth, but I never mastered the skill as well as my peers, earning me many parent-teacher conferences where I was described as “a little rough around the edges.”

While part of my talkativeness comes from my personality, there is another element at play: the American education system. From a young age, we teach American children to ask questions, speak in front of the class, and be active participants. We learn to listen much later. This active teaching method conditions students to consider listening as secondary to speaking, unless we effectively unlearn this habit as we grow older.

While some Americans may believe they have unlearned their original teachings, I do not believe that any

Staff

of us truly do to the extent we think. A prime example illustrating how Americans are impatient listeners is the stigma around stuttering. As explained in a New York Times Opinion video, stuttering is a problem with the listener, not the speaker. If people deciphered stuttered speech, stutters wouldn’t be an impediment. Thus, our impatience prevents some members of society from fully participating in a world made for talkers.

Living in a community of collectivists in Korea allowed me to internalize the habit of listening carefully and checking in with those around me before I speak. I have taken this practice with me back to NYC. My go-to line when I see someone isn’t just “hi” anymore; it’s also “how are you?” I make time for quick chats with teachers in the hallways, and I have been more mindful of the impact my words have on others.

Listening more often has also helped me learn better — I absorb more information and make extra efforts to listen to what my peers have to say to avoid rephrasing what someone says before me. Some worry that speaking less seems as though they are not paying attention. To the contrary, remaining quiet, listening intently to what others say, and decreasing redundancies allows me to raise more thoughtful points to our discussion than I would if I spoke more.

Notably, this clash between what I and others see as constructive ways to contribute to a conversation make it somewhat challenging to keep listening. Nonetheless, I aspire for a day where different means of productive discussion due to cultural differences are all accepted as valid forms of participation in an American classroom. All it takes is a simple change of perspective.

Staff Writers Ariella Frommer, Ava Lipsky, Clara Stevanovic, Erica Jiang, Etta Singer, Hanzhang Swen, Harper Rosenberg, Isabella Ciriello, Jorge Orvañanos, Joshua Shuster, Kate Beckler, Lucy Peck, Maeve Gold man, Mira

Staff Photographers Nicole Au, Jorge Orvananos, Trish tran, Aanya Gupta, Jiwan Kim, James Zaidman, Emily Wang, David Aaron, Harper Rosenberg, Evan Contant Staff

Sam Stern, Dylan Leftt, Sammi Strasser, Kristy Xie, Addy Steinberg, Ishaan Iyengar, Sophie Li, Serena Bai, Kayden Hansong, Aashna Hari, Karla Morei ra, Isabelle Kim, Christain Connor, Sam Gordon, Dani Brooks, Aimee Yang

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.

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Online Editor Emily Grant Faculty Adviser David Berenson

Design Editors Arin Rosen Alara Yilmaz Sophie Pietrzak

Elise Kang

Courtesy of Elise Kang

MD does not prepare students enough for UD workload

As someone who has been at Horace Mann for most of their life, I know how high the expectations are. For all my years here, I have to suc ceed as that “ideal student” — high grades and lots of extracurriculars. That all changed when I came to high school. With the new obligations and responsibilities, achieving that goal of an “ideal student” comes with new challenges.

My jump from the Lower Divi sion to the Middle Division was not that difficult. I had Spanish every day instead of twice a week, increased freedom with lunch periods, and art rotations — but that was about it. I managed the workload with ease and still saw my friends every day in class and during lunch.

Coming into high school, I as sumed the transition would be sim ilar. I was wrong. Academically and socially, I now have to put in far more thought and effort to succeed.

When it comes to homework, I

went from 30 minutes finishing up my assignments to spending an hour to two or three hours per night. In middle school, if I rested for an hour on my phone before starting my homework, I would still have more than enough time to finish my work and sleep at a reasonable time. Now, even without procrastinating on my phone, I still go to bed much later or I can’t complete all my work. Last year, I would be home most days by four p.m., finish school work, then go to bed by 10 p.m. Now, I stay late for clubs most days, take the bus at six p.m., do a few hours of homework, study for upcoming assessments, then go to bed at almost 12 a.m. During weeknights, I have little time for anything else.

My testing schedule has also ramped up from the MD. Last year, we had an assessment once or twice a month for every class. Teachers spread out and coordinated our as sessments with other classes we would only have two quizzes a week, tops. My testing schedule now is al most every other week, in every class. This week, I had a sci ence test and lab, two up coming projects in Japa nese, and an upcom ing major history as

sessment.

With the influx of work, it’s hard to handle all the extracurriculars that the Upper Division (UD) offers. In middle school, I was a part of two clubs that were low commitment, did not meet every week, and ended in time to catch the four or six p.m. buses. Now, I take the late bus three out of the five days because of the Service Learning Team. Since Service Learning is a high commitment club, my old habits of skipping meetings in MD won’t cut it this year, lest I get kicked out or miss important work. Thankfully, some clubs are more in formal, like Mock Trial, JASA Son nects, and Women in Business, so I can see what I am interested in with out having to fully commit.

Sports practices and game sched ules have also upped their commit ment. In the MD, I could try sports I hadn’t played be fore like

the case for UD athletes. After prac ticing for over an hour in the after noon with multiple games per week, student athletes are still expected to finish two or more hours of home work. This extensive commitment and higher expectation, on top of the UD’s academic stress, makes me hes itate before participating in sports. That said, I look forward to trying out for the squash and softball teams, hoping that I will still be able to main tain my grades with the extra hours of practice and late games.

Finally, my social life has also changed with the UD schedule. I used to have lunch with all my friends ev ery day, spend time with them, and go out on the weekends. Coming into this year, I expected that part of my life to stay the same. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I don’t have the same lunch block as many of my friends. With my lunch block my only free most days, I often use it to meet with a teacher or work. Most school days, I have too much work to get food or hang out. On the weekends, I have to stay in to finish work and catch up on assignments, complete projects, or study for an upcoming quiz.

tioned places around the high school and courses we could take. They nev er once talked about the amount of work we were about to receive and how that would shape the new ex perience we were all about to start. Programs such as UD orientation and the MD’s buildup to high school as a whole have room for improvement. Certain aspects such as increasing the workload little by little, explain ing tactics to study better, or teaching time management tips before eighth grade year ends would really help. If I had received tips like those, I would be having a much easier time with my transition.

Although high school has been a big change and is more challenging, there have also been many benefits. For one, we have much more free dom. Last year, because of COVID, we had no frees until after spring break. Instead, we had study halls where we stayed in one classroom with very little choice about what we did. Now, we can spend our free time however we like and even leave school during our free time.

soccer, basketball, and softball. We met during D period to practice and our oc casional games usually finished be fore four p.m., with plenty of time to complete homework and study when we got home after games. That is not

MD did not prepare me for the in crease in work. Transitioning to high school, I have had to improve my time management skills on my own. I expected that the MD would prepare us for high school at Horace Mann, but we did not do anything that would ease this transition. The whole three years in middle school, we nev er focused on high school, treating it as though it was far in the future.

One month before school ended, we had UD orientation. They men

School casts ballots in midterm elections

Sophie Rukin Staff Writer

This Tuesday, students and teachers at the school, along with millions of Americans, voted in the 2022 midterm elections. The ballot included a wide variety of federal and state positions includ ing senators, congress members, and governors, as well as policies, such as voting on a Racial Equity Office in New York City.

The elections are reflective of the political change the country has seen over the last five or six years, history teacher Melissa Morales said. “It’s a continuation of this exceptional moment of po liticization and of using divide as opposed to ideas of unity to gain votes.”

While this election is unlikely to have a large impact on major federal law, because even if both the Houseand the Senate flip Republican, the Democratic president retains veto power, it is a good indication of where voters lie, Morales said. Polarization has been at the front of Steve Yang’s (12) mind during the election season, he said. “This election is more important than any other we have had before, mostly because of the deep partisanship in our country and the lack of reaching middle ground,” he said. “We have more extreme candidates on either side than ever.”

While Yang is not old enough to vote, he stays up-to-date with news on the election. “As several people have said, democracy may be on the line with all the election deniers, so I think it’s import ant to stay involved,” he said.

Despite few students being able to vote, civic engagement and political discourse are very prev said. Political discourse at the school helped prepare

As time goes on, I am adjusting to my new Upper Division reality. My classes are in full swing and I can no longer rely on what I used to do in the MD. The change is difficult, but I am learning to be a better student — I meet with teachers to better un derstand class topics and try differ ent study strategies such as finishing work earlier or using platforms like Quizlet or Kahoot. Soon enough, I will find strategies that stick and help me become the best student I can be.

MIDTERM RESULTS (as of Thursday night)

SENATE:

Of the 100 seats, Republicans need 51 to win control; Democrats need 50.

Results: R - 49, D - 48.

Remaining races: Arizona (D+5), Nevada (R+1.8), Georgia (runoff in December).

HOUSE:

Of the 435 seats, either party must win 218 to gain control.

Results: R - 209, D - 191.

Lily Sussman

Elena Zu/Staff Artist

Stage crew brings HMTC’s fall production to life

Yaeger Staff Writer

“The show doesn’t feel real until the in troduction of sets, lights, and costumes,” Etta Singer (11), who acts in “The Good Doctor,” said. While most of the work happens on stage, the Horace Mann Theater Company’s (HMTC) fall production comes to life through the student-produced sets and lighting.

Students enrolled in the Applied Design and Technical Theater class, taught by Tech nical Director Caitie Miller, are each assigned to either lighting design or set design for one of the HMTC’s productions during the year, Athena Spencer (12) said. While the students each get their own assignment, the class is very collaborative, especially between the two students working on the same show, she said. Spencer was set designer for “The Good Doc tor,” meaning they envisioned, designed, and supervised the production of the set.

On the stage sits overlapping platforms, decorated with an assortment of shapes and colors inspired by paintings created by Wassi ly Kandinsky, a famous Russian painter from the late 1800s. Since “The Good Doctor” is based on a series of short stories written by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov, Spencer saw these designs as a way to honor the Rus sian backstory of the play.

Spencer created the design by collabo rating with Manager of the Theatre Depart ment Jonathan Nye, who directed the show, she said. “When we had our first production meeting, he brought these inspiration pic tures of Russian paintings and suggested that we incorporate them in some way, which I thought was a great idea.”

Starting in the first week of school, Spen cer collected images that encapsulated the set she envisioned. “We start by making a mood board with images and themes that pop into our head,” they said. “It’s a lot of looking up images on Google and Pinterest and putting them together on Google Slides.”

After Spencer finished creating her plan, Miller turned Spencer’s designs into a blue print that the stage crew could build, Miller said. “My job as technical director is to do all the drawings. Athena had a beautiful render ing of what she wanted the set to look like, and then I figured out exactly what platforms we need to build,” she said.

The stage’s platforms provide a nice cen terpiece for the show, Etta said. “It’s really cool that each scene has a platform that it mostly stations on,” they said. “It makes each scene seem separate, but still united by the common set.”

Another member of Miller’s class, Gael Singer (10), was in charge of the lighting de sign for the show, she said. “I had to decide how many lights were needed, where they had to go, what color they should be, what kind of lighting instrument I needed to use, and how each scene or moment should look.”

The process was very similar for lighting: Gael read the show, drew inspiration, and re searched the show. Then, she let her ideas sit

for a little bit. “If you proceed without making sure your ideas are decent, it could be pretty difficult to change your mind later on,” she said. Finally, she narrowed down her thoughts into a specific, detailed plan.

Once Gael finalized the lighting plot, a

assembled the plot during stage crew meet ings after school on Tuesday and Thursday. “I normally lead a small team of people,” Simon said. “We hang the lights, we focus them, we point them in the right direction.”

Student Technical Directors Bailey Hecht

month and a half, the stage crew colored the lights with gel to give them their color, paint ed the sets, and assembled platforms.

Many of the platforms used in the set were repurposed from the HMTC’s Middle Division production of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ last year, Miller said. “All we had to do was put legs back on them, and then we flipped them over and then covered them in what we call facing, the masonite, which is the pretty gray stuff.”

During a work session, the stage crew tends to split into two groups: one works on lighting with Simon and one builds the set, Hecht said. “We’ll have about two-thirds of us building — measuring the wood, cutting the wood, screwing it together, painting, assem bling, all that fun stuff.”

Lighting is important not only to convey artistic meaning, but also to serve the neces sary, practical purpose of making sure that the audience can understand what’s happen ing on stage, Simon said. “The main thing about lighting is that their face is lit and il luminated,” she said. “So, sometimes the light needs to be higher so you can see their face, sometimes it needs to be lower, depending on the actor’s height.”

Since the play is composed of many short scenes, the lighting in each scene is unique, Gael said. “There’s one scene in the show that I really adore: it’s called ‘The Audition,’ and it’s pretty close to the middle of the show,” she said. That lighting captures the relationship between the two main characters in the scene — Nina and The Writer, a character present in every scene who represents Chekhov, Gael said. “It captures the energy of Nina, the aes thetic of a theater, and makes the actors vis ible without compromising on the feeling of isolation or the overall vibe of the show. It also creates a juxtaposition between warmth and cold, which is a subversion of the characteri zation of The Writer and Nina,” she said.

Since “The Good Doctor” is made up of a series of small scenes, the actors not perform ing in a scene sit in chairs on stage where they can see the whole set, Etta said. “It’s a very nice time to admire the intricacies of the set,” they said. “My favorite part of the set is the shapes that go up the sides of the platform. They just tie everything together in a way I can’t explain,” Etta said. “I also love the one orangey light on the smallest platform on stage right that represents the ‘writers study.’”

chart displaying where each lamp is hung, she passed it on to light board operator and mas ter electrician Gwendolyn Simon (11), who

The stage crew built the sets and light ing used by the actors and supported actors during rehearsals, Assistant Stage Manager Charles Ampah (11) said. During a typical rehearsal, Ampah takes notes on what went wrong and what could be improved upon, he said. “I also wrote reports on what we covered in rehearsal that day,” he said. Ampah worked closely with Gael, as she primarily ensured all the lights worked while Ampah assisted in calling missed lines and in ensuring all the ac tors knew their blocking or their positioning in each scene.

The crew met on one Saturday and stayed late one Friday for a long rehearsal where they

(12) and Juliet Burgess (11) oversaw the stage crew, Hecht said. “‘The Good Doctor’ was a relatively quick build.” Over the course of a

Naomi

Courtesy of Athena Spencer

Courtesy of Athena Spencer

Elizabeth Lam/Staff Photographer

Actors explore humor and humanity in “The Good Doctor”

reNa SalSberg Staff Writer

“The

but also very witty and has a lot of ex cellent specific moments of comedy that I love,” they said. In one scene, a character drowns himself as a form of entertainment. “This scene is deliv ered in a very satirical way, which I

Good Doctor is written with an older humor in mind, but I think if you try and understand the language, then it’s funny,” they said. Having participat ed in every HMTC production since sixth grade, auditioning for “The Good Doctor” was a given for Hecht.

On the first day of school, the HMTC started signups for auditions. At auditions, Nye gave each student the same lines to read, he said. “Oc casionally, I would bring two students back for a two-character ‘chemistry read,’” he said. From there, he cast the play and decided on the roles.

Although the play was originally written for five actors who play mul tiple roles, they adapted the play to ensure there were no cuts and all 21 actors could participate. Instead of as signing actors to one character, each actor plays multiple roles throughout the play.

Another unique feature of Nye’s production is the staging: he decid ed to keep all cast members on stage for the entirety of the play, compared to how actors usually exit once their scene is over.

velop a character, which means that there is a lot of work that the actors have to do to get up to speed for that.”

the school — even for new students like me, although most of the actors have been working together forever.”

fall production, makes its debut this Thursday through Saturday in the Black Box.

The play is broken up into vi gnettes — short stories, each with a different set of characters. Director Jonathan Nye chose the play because it has a different format than tradi tional plays and because it uses hu mor to expose humanity in ways that are relevant to a high school, he said.

“I really enjoy the vignette for mat of the play, not only because I am a big fan of Chekhov’s work, who wrote the play, but also because I dab ble in short stories myself,” Loewy Miller (9), who plays the roles of “Narrator” and “Husband.” said.

When Athena Spencer (12), who plays the role of “Woman,” ini tially read the play, she did not know what to expect, but she grew fond of the dialogue. “I really like its sense of humor. It’s very subtle, a bit dark

absolutely love,” she said.

Bailey Hecht (12), who plays “Amy,” also enjoys the light-hearted, humorous nature of the play. “The

Spencer is excited to observe her peers’ performances, which they usually don’t get to do in other pro ductions, they said. “We have the op portunity to watch the other actors perform, especially while on stage, which gives us a unique perspective.”

The vignette format presents some challenges, Nye said. “Because each scene is short, it is hard to de

“Although my character is multi-dimensional, he is one of the more cut-and-dry characters, mak ing it much easier to show character development,” Miller said about his “Husband” role.

Actors rehearsed every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting the second week of school. “Towards the beginning of the year, Mr. Nye would call in two to three vignettes per re hearsal day. As we got further into the process, he would call in the full cast to rehearse,” Hecht said.

Rehearsals ramp up the weeks before the show. “We have Saturday rehearsals, and then we have tech re hearsals and dress rehearsals,” Raven Bai (11), who plays “Madam Cherdy akov,” said. “It just gets busier as time goes on. It’s a long commitment, but it’s fun.”

As the show prepares for its Thursday debut, HMTC members have been working on final touches, Bai said. “For the past two weeks, we have been adding lights, and cos tumes, finishing the sets, and finally being able to see the whole play come together.”

Auditions, rehearsals, and shows build a close camaraderie among ac tors, Miller said. “HMTC is a really great and welcoming community at

HMTC is arguably one of the closest and best communities Spen cer is part of at the school, they said. “As much as I love performing and acting, what has brought me back to the HMTC is the community we have made over the years. I’m friends with basically everyone in the shows, and I feel that we have developed a nice tight-knit group that I love to spend time with.”

from Set design

worked on specific aspects of the show, such as painting the sets or working on lighting, Si mon said. One of these rehearsals was the Sat urday paint call, a meeting around two weeks ago where the crew painted set pieces from 10 to five p.m., she said. “We sat together and painted while listening to music, it was such a fun and enjoyable experience.”

At the lighting rehearsal, another special ized rehearsal, actors said their lines as quick ly as possible so the crew could practice all the light cues and sound cues, Ampah said. “They were talking at basically 2x speed, which was funny.”

While Miller supervises to make sure ev erything is safe, the crew is very much stu

dent-run, she said. “I think of it like being an editor on a book — they give me their ideas and then I help them refine, I help perfect, and I help them create it,” she said. “One of the things that’s great for me is watching somebody’s joy as their idea comes to life.”

While it can be stressful at times, creating the lighting design for a show is a very fun,

creative process, Gael said. “I get to analyze a script in a way I’d never get to in another context,” she said. “It’s really cool to see some thing I put so much work into come together in a tangible way that other people can see.”

Good Doctor,” the Horace Mann Theater Company’s (HMTC)

Courtesy of Sean Lee

Elizabeth Lam/Staff Photographer

Elizabeth Lam/Staff Photographer

Written in the stars: students look to astrology for fate and fortune

maeve goldmaN Staff Writer

“If you write something down three times in blue pen it won’t come true, but I do think that if you have confidence and believe the universe is on your side, you can accomplish lots of things,” Niki Pande (10) said. “I don’t believe in the actual practice of manifesting but I do believe in the mindset of manifestation – practic ing confidence is something every one should do.”

Astrology is the belief that the planetary alignment of the solar sys tem influences individuals’ charac teristics and actions, and encompass es a set of divine practices ranging from horoscopes and manifestation to palm reading. Modern astrology dates back to the second millenni um BCE, history teacher Peter Reed said. Recently, interest in astrology and applications of the practice have gained popularity in the US, with Google searches in “birth chart” and “astrology” hitting five year highs in 2020, according to an article on BBC.

This renewed interest in astrology follows a general pattern of increased engagement with the metaphysical during times of uncertainty, Reed said. “The pandemic disrupted all of our habits, routines, and the status quo,” he said. “It forced us to start asking questions. Everyone responds to those disruptions in different ways, but a very typical response is to look for answers or ask questions.”

Astrology was one way of looking for such answers during the COVID-19 outbreak, he said.

Like many other individuals during quarantine, Pande first en countered astrology when she was bored during lockdown, she said.

“In middle school during COVID, I was looking for a hobby or passion to obsess over because I had so much free time,” she said. “Looking on In stagram and seeing a lot of videos about horoscopes and astrological signs made me curious about my own birth chart.”

While Pande does not believe in every aspect of astrology, the preva lence of coincidences in her life and others’ lives has prompted her to be lieve in the practice to some extent, she said. “Sometimes things line up a little too accurately,” she said.

“For example, Tauruses are chill and

not super into astrology and I have my reservations about how true it is but I do believe in it to an extent,” Daga said. “There is no harm in be lieving in things like manifestation or horoscopes asIt can only benefit me” she said.

Horoscopes, which are charts based on astrological signs, are a key part of Daga’s relationship to astrol ogy, she said. “My mom and grand mother are really into it,” she said. Horoscopes are used anywhere from finding a potential partner in India to which day you should start your year-long paper in history, Daga said.

Clio Rao (12) does not believe in horoscopes at all, she said. “Honest ly, I think a lot of millennials view astrology as their form of religion,” Rao said. However, Rao does not share this belief, she said. “I’ve just always been a really cynical person, and I think a lot of astrology is fu eled by confirmation bias, which I don’t really like.” Confirmation bias is when an individual considers evi dence as confirmation of their exist ing beliefs or theories, even if there is no correlation.

For Jisang Kymm (11), astrology is inconceivable, he said. “Just because you’re born in a certain month, your

to work to get something.”

Kymm agrees that faith can yield positive outcomes, even if astrology

(11) said. “I guess I kind of believe in zodiacs, but in a Chinese sense, because it was part of my upbringing

-

itself is not true, he said. “Manifesta

and cultural context,” she said. “Chi nese zodiacs compared to our west ern understanding are a bit more general, and aren’t attributed with as much of our characters and person alities.”

Astrology is a part of the founda tions of other societies as well, Reed said. “[Historians] have records of astrological texts and forms of divi nation,” he said. “The idea of reading the stars in order to discern the will of god, predict the future, and gain that kind of knowledge is common and widespread in a lot of different cultures and societies.”

Hinduism also has similarities to manifestation practices, Pande said. “When you go to a temple, there are specific gods that represent spe cific qualities, for example one for strength and one for intelligence,” she said. “If you pray to a specific god you are asking them to give you that characteristic, like in manifestation,” she said. “It’s this mindset that if you believe enough, these good things could happen to you.”

calm, and I thought about people in my life who I knew were Taurus and it matched up perfectly to almost ev ery single one of them.”

Riya Daga (12) also appreciates the culture of horoscopes and man ifestation, although she is not a firm believer in astrology, she said. “I’m

stores asking us to promote astrolo gy related goods like jewelry, and we even had a fanpage”

However, Pande has also encoun tered toxic uses of manifestation on

“It’s not rooted in reality and it’s based on things that are made up or illogical without mathematical or logical bases,” Kymm said.

“I think the concept that your birthday has anything to do with your personality or future destiny is completely unfounded,” Braden Queen (12) said. “Although it may be fun to pretend that we can predict the future with astrology, it definitely is pseudoscience.”

of salt.”

The benefits of astrology are great est for those who do not practice specific religious faiths, Joann Yu (11) said. “My mommy believes in astrology and she uses it to explain everything that happens to me or her because she doesn’t have any other faith,” she said.

In Daga’s family, belief in astrolo gy has been passed down to her from her grandmother and mother as a way to strengthen her connection to Jainism and Hinduism, she said. “I don’t engage in astrology much but my mother will tell me ‘today is a good day to do this’ or ‘make sure you do this today’”, she said. “In my culture there are a lot of superstitious days where it’s an auspicious day to start something new or do certain things,” she said. For example, on Dhanteras, which is the first day of Diwali, it is highly recommended to buy silver or gold jewelry.

social media, she said. “I see a lot of really toxic manifestation stuff, try ing to make people obsessed with you or getting revenge,” Pande said. “I think that is extremely harmful and totally unhealthy. I don’t think anyone should be trying to cast a love spell.”

Rao also does not believe in man ifestation, although she does see more logic to manifestation than astrology, she said. “The concept of having some sort of external grasp on what may happen can be almost reassuring,” Rao said. “Maybe this is a stretch, but I feel like people also can conflate manifestation with in stances in which you really just need

However, blind belief in mani festation can have negative conse quences on a person’s life, Yu said. “If you try to use astrology to explain everything your life will go off the rails and you’re never going to figure out why,” she said. “You are just go ing to blame your problems on some random thing in the sky.”

Although today’s perception of as trology is cluttered with millennials and the internet, its roots date back to cultural customs, Christine Tao

While Pande appreciates the pos itivity associated with astrology and manifestation, she no longer believes in astrology, Pande said. “Seventh grade me was pretty gullible,” Pande said. “I believed that astrology was real, but after hearing other people’s perspectives, I’ve seen the light. The day you are born on can’t determine your personality.”

Rao’s stance on manifestation and astrology has not changed so far, she said. “I sort of think this is all really outlandish and totally strays from any sort of realm of possibility,” she said. “However, lately, I’ve really been trying hard to be less of a cyni cal person, so who knows? Maybe in the future I’ll get into it.”

“I think the concept that your birthday has any thing to do with your personality or future destiny is completely unfounded.”

- Braden Queen (12)

AmiraDossani/ArtDirector

“[Historians] have records of astrological texts and forms of divination. The idea of reading the stars in order to discern the will of god, predict the future, and gain that kind of knowledge is common and widespread in a lot of different cultures and societies.”

Peter Reed

Pirouettes and perceptions: Is dance a sport or art?

lucY Peck Staff Writer

“I remember when I was in lower school, some of the boys in my class would tell me that dance isn’t a real sport,” Sophia Paley (11) said. “It made me upset because I know firsthand how much work dance requires.”

Paley is one of many dancers at the school who have experienced stereotypes surrounding the activity and the question of whether or not it can be considered a sport.

Paley, who dances five hours per week, has

“People don’t typically recognize how athlet ic dance is. It’s necessary to call it a sport just to correct that misconception.” Unlike other sports, dance is more individualized, Paulson said. “It’s everyone for themselves, it’s not like you work as a team to do something.”

Charles Chaitmen (10), who began ballet when he was four years old, noticed that dance is taken less seriously than other athletics at the school, he said. “I wasn’t given the same respect as if I was doing a sport, even though ballet can be just as hard or harder,” he said. In spite of the artistic aspects of the dance, such as cho

art obscures the training and athletic talent be hind each movement, Gaboury said.

been exposed to numerous stereotypes relat ed to dance during her time at the school, she said. “I still have had people tell me that dance requires less work than other sports like soccer or basketball,” she said.

That said, it is not fair to qualify dance as only a sport — it is also an art form because it requires elements from both, Paley said. As a sport, dance requires numerous hours of train

reography, dancers are constrained to athletic movements, he said.“ It is an art form but it is extremely physical.”

Classifying dance as either an art or a sport depends on the type, Niki Pande (10), a member of the Horace Mann Dance Company (HMDC), said. “If it’s slower and elegant, I would say it’s more like an art,” she said. “But, if it’s super fast paced and requires lots of stamina, I would say

Certain stereotypes can also arise from view ing dance as purely an art, Gaboury said. “There is a stereotype about dancers having eating dis orders and always thinking about body image.” Body image stereotypes are related to viewing dance as purely an art because then, the focus is on the way one’s body looks and how they can use it to make certain shapes, she said.

we provide used dance costumes and shoes to less privileged children.” Paley also teaches tap classes to younger children to pass on her love for dance, she said. “Teaching is also a great way

ing, exercising, and stretching. As an art form, dance is a method of self-expression that allows people to create a physical representation of their emotions, she said.

“Dance is definitely an athletic art,” Bethany Jarrett (11), who has been dancing since she was three, said. “It depends on what type of dance, because competitive dance is more of a sport because you’re training for a judge to rate your skills.”

“[Dance] is definitely taken less seriously than doing sports and other athletics,” Jarett

that it is more like a sport.” These fast paced dances could also be considered an art because of the thoughtfulness that goes into the chore ography, she said.

Although many people believe dance does not require a lot of work, time, or energy, this is far from the truth, Pande said. “But, you have to practice a lot and it requires a lot of energy,” she said. “I have to eat two protein bars before I do rehearsal because it’s so tiring.”

Serena Gaboury (12), who has been doing ballet since freshman year, views dance as more

school’s culture. “Espe cially with the spirit squad, everyone is able to gather around and watch them perform,” she said. “Their perfor mances help encourage the student body to take dance seriously, but also to get involved if they think they would enjoy it.”

ber of the spirit squad, Jarrett has observed the role of dance within the school community, she said. The spirit squad’s dance concerts usually have a high turnout of students, faculty, and family members, she said. “I think that the community definitely enjoys the performances we put on.”

finds the group to be a safe and welcoming environment, he said. “What I like about it is that it’s not just ballet, it’s other styles too, so I’m learning more about dance.”

found ways to merge it with her other extracur ricular activities, she said. “My sister, Ava, and I started a charity called ‘Donate to Dance’ where

said. “But I think that dance is very important and respectable in its own way.” It is important to remember the artistry of dance, as well as the endurance that the activity requires, she said. Dance is both an outlet where you can express yourself and is a physically demanding activity, Jarrett said.

Giselle Paulson (12), who has been dancing since she was six, said dance qualifies as a sport.

of a sport because dance allows her to move her body in new ways, she said. “It’s cool to see all the ways you can push and stretch your body.”

However, Gaboury also considers dance to be an art, and finds it dangerous to classify dance as just a sport or just an art, she said. Rather, dance is a hybrid between dance and art. Just looking at it as a sport misses the artistic quality of each movement, while looking at it solely as

“I wasn’t given the same respect as if I was doing a sport, even though ballet can be just as hard or harder.”

- Charles Chaitmen (10)

“[Dance] is definitely taken less seriously than doing sports and other athletics,” “But, I think that dance is very important and respectable in its own way.”

- Jared Contant (12)

SMOOTH MOVES Dancers glide across the stage.

FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT! Students learn choreography.

GETTIN’ GROOVY Dance teacher Patrick O’Neill leads dance class.

Victoria Zou/Staff Photographer

Victoria Zou/Staff Photographer

Victoria Zou/Staff Photographer

Vivian Coraci/Art Director

On the trip, students followed a strict schedule to make sure that they visited a certain set of artifacts, Daga said. The schedule set aside time for the students to explore the museum on their own, which Daga appreciat ed, he said.

The UD students who led Kayla Ogyaadu’s (8) group made the trip enjoyable, she said. “We actually got lost in the beginning,” she said. “But once we found where we were sup posed to go, they were very helpful and explained when each object was

made and what purpose it served.”

At the MET, UD art history stu dents instructed students about the artifacts. The goal of the trip was not only to teach MD students about Hin du and Buddhist art, but also to foster connections between the younger and

older students, MD history teacher John Eckels said.

Watching UD students teach their younger peers was a rewarding ex perience for everyone involved, Het herington said. “To see the Upper Division students, whose last school

experience at the MET may have been this eighth grade trip, to now be the docents for the eighth graders was very cool.”

MD celebrates International Food Festival

Daisy Lin and Jessie Fu brought a variety of Chinese-Amer ican dishes, including taiwanese pork rolls and dump lings. The rolls consist of pork, chicken tarot, and onions wrapped in a doughy bread. “It’s a very homemade dish,” Fu said. They brought various dishes because a prominent part of Chinese culture is sharing with the community, Fu said. “Chinese [cuisine] is very versatile and [includes] many different kinds of cooking styles, so all of these rep resent different paces of flavor.” Lin said. “Chinese dish es have evolved over the years, so it is commonly seen in Chinese restaurants in America, but nevertheless they still represent Chinese culture well.”

JAMAICAN SALTFISH FRITTERS

Mauvelette Burchell decided to bring Jamaican saltfish frit ters because they’re a staple of Jamaican-Caribbean cuisine, she said. The fritters are small patties of cod with scallions, potatoes, onions, and spices seasoned with curry, thyme and turmeric, battered and fried in a flour-based dumpling dough until the outside is crispy and the inside is chewy. They can be served as an appetizer or as a snack, she said. It’s a tedious job frying the individual patties, but Burchell decided to bring this dish because they accommodate students with dietary re strictions, given that it is nut-free and dairy-free.

Jenny Santana brought a traditional Dominican break fast known as mangú con los tres golpes, which directly translates to “mango with the three hits.” The breakfast is a well-known Dominican dish consisting of mashed plan tain with a side of fried salami, fried cheese, and eggs with pickled onion, Santana said. “It originated when Africans came to our island [Dominican Republic] as slaves. They brought the culture of the plantain and then we adapted it and changed that up a little bit,” Santana said.

Nancy Korff brought Noodle Kugel, an Eastern-Europe an Jewish dish Noodle Kugel is traditionally served when breaking fast. Korff decided to bring Noodle Kugel for two reasons: it accommodates students with dietary restric tions and she has a personal connection to this recipe. “The recipe is from my mom’s cookbook, and it’s just an easy vegetarian thing to make,” Korff said. It consists of egg noodles baked in a sweet custard, so the dish has a texture similar to pudding. “I highly recommend making it,” Korff said. “It’s easy and fantastic.”

To represent his Taiwanese culture, Jimmy Su brought black pearl tea. The creamy milk tea with black tapioca pearls was invented in the 1990s in Taiwan, a culinary representation of the fusion of multiple cultures as a result of colonization. He is passionate about sharing the history of each of the drink’s ingredients with students — the sugar that was traditionally used to sweeten the tea was brought to the island by Japanese immigrants from the Caribbean, he said. “You’ve got different spices from India, you’ve got milk from Europe, you’ve got sugar from South America, Latin America. You blend them all together, and that’s bubble tea.”

Shareen Dossani decided to share a traditional Bangladeshi street food known as chotpoti, which translates to “spicy.” It’s made with chickpeas mixed in sauce, seasoned with on ions, herbs, potatoes, and spices and served with a crunchy topping. “It’s a somewhat unique dish that not a lot of people know,” Dossani said. “And it’s one of my favorite Bangladeshi dishes.” Chotpoti is often served during Eid al-Fitr, the last day of Ramadan celebrated by breaking the month-long fast with family and friends. Dossani also serves it to her children as an afternoon snack.

TAIWANESE PORK ROLLS AND DUMPLINGS

MANGÚ CON LOS TRES GOLPES NOODLE KUGEL

BLACK PEARL TEA CHOTPOTI

iSabella ciriello Staff Writer

Kaitlyn Kuo/Staff Photographer

Photos courtesy of Isabella Ciriello

Vivian Coraci/Art Director