Volume 120, Issue 10

The Record

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Feature: Examining gender disparity in academics

Sophie Rukin Staff Writer

In the late 1980s, history teacher Barry Bienstock and former English teacher David Schiller conducted an experiment in their Interdisciplin ary Seminar elective to address the gender divide in class participation. They banned male students from speaking in some class periods to help female students feel supported in the classroom. “There was cer tainly a heightened level of frustra tion during that 45 minute period,” Bienstock said.

Gender dynamics have been a part of classroom experiences since the school’s start. Founded in 1887 as a “coeducational experimental and developmental unit” of Teach ers College at Columbia University, the school operated as an all-boys independent school from 1947 until 1975, when girls began to formally enroll in the high school.

When Patrick Ciriello ‘83 was a student at the school, he noticed a significantly greater proportion of

female teachers and students at the school, he said. “[The gender ratio] was skewed more towards boys and there were some teachers who were sexist and chauvinistic towards girls,” Ciriello said.

Bienstock also saw a heavily male-dominated environment when he first started teaching at the school 40 years ago in 1982, he said. By the late 1980s and early 90s, attitudes toward gender in the classroom had grown more positive as faculty

began amending the curriculum, Bienstock said. “There was an effort to create more diversity in terms of what books we were reading, espe cially in the English department,” he said. “By the end of the [90s], there was much more diversity in terms of the types of books and the gender of the authors.” Prior to this effort, teachers did not teach any books by female authors in classes.

Thirty years later, gender dis parities continue to pervade school

classrooms. In the five core subjects of math, science, English, history, and world languages, gender ra tios fluctuate among students and faculty. STEM classes continue to skew towards higher male student enrollment and participation, while humanities classes tend towards female students. These disparities influence classroom participation, shaping who feels empowered to speak and who doesn’t.

Editors’ note: The impetus behind our deep dive into the gender divide

As female students, we have experienced firsthand how unbalanced gender ratios can negatively influence a classroom environ ment. We often wondered about the origins of gender stereotypes — for example, how girls are assumed to be weaker at STEM sub jects or should focus on the humanities — as well as if our school’s history as an all-boys’ institution has had any influence on percep tions of gender in academics today.

With this feature, we explored the nuanc es of gender dynamics within the classroom, which primarily involved examining the extent to which gender disparities exist and have existed over time. Which classes tend

to exhibit gender disparities, and why? What are the implications of skewed gender ratios on factors such as class participation?

We also aimed to examine actions taken to address gender disparities — have they presented any viable solutions, or were such efforts fruitless? In what ways can an at tempt to address a gender disparity inher ently perpetuate gender stereotypes?

To answer these questions, we drew upon a wide pool of data: we sent out a poll to the student body with 166 responses, combed through rosters for 400L classes since 2013 with help from Registrar Mr. Chris Garri son, tallied faculty gender ratios from the

five major academic departments every five years since 1995, and counted the an nual recipients of department awards since 2013 with help from department chairs and Administrative Assistant Ms. Diana Gonza lez. We have compiled this data into graphs alongside the article.

However, we also acknowledge that our data is mostly organized around a gender bi nary — with the exception of our poll, which includes input from nonbinary students, our graphs only consider ratios of female to male students and faculty. Consequently, our analysis of the data primarily unpacks the experiences of female and male students

and faculty.

Ultimately, we hope this article provides insight into how students and faculty cur rently perceive classroom gender dynamics, as well as how gender dynamics have shifted over time.

Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoy the piece.

– Ayesha Sen and Vidhatrie Keetha (Fea tures Editors)

Forget trig, teach me how to roast a chicken

that ended in a burnt chicken and a blaring fire alarm, I turned to You Tube to learn how to roast a chicken, do laundry, and change a bike tire.

It should not take a pandemic for young people to learn life skills that, decades ago, were an integral part of the nation’s high school curriculum. In addition to teaching academic subjects, schools ought to prepare students to live on their own. Home Economics should return, but with a twist: make it mandatory for students of all genders.

a larger movement to train women to become more efficient household managers. Alas, Home-Ec, having deviated from its origins, began to peter out and eventually disappeared from school programming with the rise of feminism and a decreasing emphasis on non-academic subjects in the 1970s. There are few remaining Home-Ec classes available today.

dry were a breeze, but I quickly ru ined my new, prized Harry Styles sweatshirt in the dryer. I heard sim ilar stories from friends. But, all these experiences have given us stories to tell, and on the rare occasions when things go right — for example, pre paring a nutritious dinner for a sib ling — we are filled with newfound confidence.

During the pandemic, I, like many others, found myself quarantined at home for months. One thing the lock down especially showed me is that I lacked many essential everyday skills.

As an eighth grader who sudden ly had to attend school online while stuck at home with busy parents and a younger sibling, I faced new responsi bilities, which I decided to face headon. After a failed cooking experience

Home-Ec courses were a founda tional piece of past education sys tems, specifically for women. During the 19th century, Home-Ec was available only to white, middle and upper-class women whose families could afford secondary schooling. In these programs, women were taught how to cook, garden, sew, and care for children. Men did not often partake in the class as they were not expected to utilize those skills.

By the early 1900s, Home-Ec had grown in popularity across the Unit ed States. The subject morphed into

As Margaret Talbot quipped in the New Yorker, “young people leave school unprepared for adulting, clue less about laundry, primed to annoy one another when they cohabit with housemates or partners.” No matter the family structure, chores still need to get done. When everyone in the home knows how to do housework efficiently, everyone benefits. And, if Home-Ec was to return in a revamped format, it would also undermine the stereotype that “women belong in the kitchen” by equipping all genders with those skills.

For me, learning dai ly skills has come in fits and starts. The first several loads of laun

Financial literacy could also be come a part of Home-Ec, including handling taxes, budgeting, and sim ple information about the stock mar ket and investing. Basic training like this would equip students for their first jobs, handling income taxes, and

plement Home-Ec as an elective that fits into PE, like health. One semes ter of Home-Ec would be required to graduate, and there would be a test at the end of the semester. The course’s agenda would include basic cook ing training, possibly in partnership with FLIK, cleaning and maintenance skills, and a bit on financial literacy. Unlike some schools who have been forced to cut Home-Ec due to bud get constraints, HM, as a school with sufficient resources, has the capacity to equip their students for post-grad uation.

Home-Ec activities might include muffin baking competitions, laundry sorting, or stock simulations. In this way, the class could be a communi ty-building and stress-relieving activ ity for students as well as an educa tional one.

While it remains unclear how trig onometry will serve me in the future, I am certain that the skills taught in Home-Ec would make me a more self-sufficient person, and a bet ter partner, parent, or employee in the future.

Lax gun regulations fueled Club Q violence

unfazed. Over the next few days, as the shooting garnered more media attention, I realized how desensitized I have become to the gun violence in our country. I started to pay more at tention to conversations about gun control, anti-LGBTQ sentiments, and the intersection of the two. While it is important to focus on the gun side of the issue, we must recognize how also certain ideologies lead to attacks like these.

A mass shooting is defined as an attack in which three or more people are victims of gun violence. As of No vember 22, the Gun Violence Archive reported 607 mass shootings and pre dicted this year will surpass the 690 mass shootings of 2021 with just a month left in 2022.

On Saturday, November 19, a deadly shooting occurred at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. The shooter murdered 5 and injured over 18.

The Club Q shooting shocked most of the country, but for me, it felt odd ly ordinary. After skimming the New York Times article on the attack, I went back to my homework, completely

The United States has a gun prob lem. According to the Center for Disease Control, 2020 recorded the highest number of firearm-related deaths: 45,222 Americans, a 14% in crease from 2019. That translates to 124 Americans dying every day from an injury caused by a gun. The U.S. has the highest global ratio of guns to citizens. In 2018, there were 120.5 firearms for every 100 residents. The country with the second highest ratio has less than half this ratio. Addition ally, organizations such as the National Rifle Association use their power and money to create considerable sway in politics.

Volume 120 Editorial Board

It is no coincidence the Club Q at tack occurred the day before Trans gender Day of Remembrance and a scheduled family-friendly, all-ages drag brunch Club Q planned to host. There has been a massive wave of an ti-LGBTQ legislation in the past few years, from Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education,” or so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans discussions about gender and sexuality in the state’s public schools until the age of 10, to Alabama’s Senate Bill 184, which allows for the prosecution of parents and doctors who provide gender-af firming care for transgender youth. These sentiments — many of which are promoted by politicians like Flor ida Governor Ron DeSantis — have a direct link to the Club Q shooting.

Recently, the far right has fixated

Staff

on the increasing number of teen agers who identify as LGBTQ. As of February 2022, 7.1% of 12,000 adult Americans surveyed identified as LGBTQ, nearly double the percentage from 2012. This number is even high er amongst Gen Z Americans — 21%. While conservatives may attribute this to false narratives about LGBTQ people pushing an “agenda” on young people, the reality is younger genera tions have the language and resourc es to self-identify in a more nuanced manner. DeSantis’ Press Secretary Christina Pushaw tweeted in support of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, writing, “If you’re against the Anti-Grooming Bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you don’t denounce the grooming of 4-8 year old children.”

Politicians spreading these dan gerous claims normalizes the behav ior that leads to widespread violence against LGBTQ people. With social media platforms, politicians can share their opinions to a large audience and easily influence people, no matter how incorrect or dangerous it may be. We’ve seen the dangers of misinfor

Staff Writers Ariella Frommer, Ava Lipsky, Clara Stevanovic, Erica Jiang, Etta Singer, Hanzhang Swen, Harper Rosenberg, Isabella Ciriello, Jorge Orvananos, Joshua Shuster, Kate Beckler, Lucy Peck, Maeve Gold man, Mira Bansal, Naomi Yaeger, Neeva Patel, Saman tha Matays, Sofia Kim, Sophia Paley, Sophie Rukin, Spencer Kolker, Audrey O’Mary, Brody Grossman, Emily Wang, Jacqueline Shih, James Zaidman, Malachai Ab bott, Nikita Pande, Oliver Konopko, Rena Salsberg

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

Staff Artists 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

mation with Donald Trump’s tweets about the election being stolen fuel ing the January 6th riots. Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker ran anti-trans ads and delivered a speech with transphobic remarks days be fore the Club Q shooting. He further condemned his opponent, Democrat ic Senator Raphael Warnock, about using proper pronouns for military members, saying, “Pronouns. What the heck is a pronoun? I can tell you right now, grenades don’t know noth ing about no pronouns.”

Malicious intentions and sentiments have led to the idea that pro-LGBTQ educators are indoctrinating students, and the criminalization of healthcare for members of the LGBTQ commu nity, and once again, horrendous vio lence against the LGBTQ community. To curb these attacks, our government should enact stricter gun control laws. But, as citizens, we must refuse to be come complacent and condemn preju diced politicians and their hate-fueled sentiments before they cause further damage.

Editorial Policy

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

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

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

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

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

Lucy Peck

Isabella Ciriello

Vivian Coraci/Art Director

An investigation into the school’s water fountains

Naomi Yaeger Staff Writer

Every day, students and faculty use the wa ter fountains placed around the school. Despite their uniform appearance, each water fountain has different characteristics, from their water source to their operation, both of which affect its water pressure.

All of the Middle and Upper Division foun tains are electric, Director of Facilities Man agement Gordon Jensen said. “When you press the button, it opens up a solenoid valve, which is an electronic valve, and that lets the water through.”

The campus buildings were built over many years and are relatively distant from one an other. As a result, each one has its own water supply, Jensen said. “Lutnick has the brand new water line that we brought in off of Tibbett Av enue,” he said. Meanwhile, Tillinghast, Fisher, and Rose Hall get their water from pipes that come in from lower 246th Street; Pforzheimer Hall and Spence Cottage get their water from upper 246th street.

These different water sources are a contrib uting factor to differences in the fountains wa ter pressure, Jensen said. “City pressure could be different between those lines.”

To keep the water clean, each fountain has a filter that catches sediment in the water, Facil ities Supervisor Dan DeCecco said. “We check them at least once a month,” he said. The new er fountains have lights to indicate the health of their filters: green for a good filter, yellow for an aging filter, and red for filters that have reached their capacity.

When a filter is older it continues to clean the water, but at a much slower speed, Jensen said. “As it clogs, you’ll get less pressure,” he said. “There will be some right away, but then it’ll slow down, because it takes the water a while to get through the filter.”

Whenever Tamiah Williams (11) forgets her water bottle, she uses the fountains, she said. “The part of the fountain that fills up the water bottles and the filters are usually fine, however, the part that gives a single drink usually only has a small stream,” Williams said. Students of ten have to come very close to the fountain to get a substantial drink, she said. To avoid any potential sanitary concerns, Williams uses the paper cups in the cafeteria to drink from the upper part of the fountains, she said.

Another reason behind weaker pressure in some fountains is that none of the buildings have water pumps because they only have four or less floors, Jensen said. As a result, the high er the floor, the lower the pressure. “You lose one psi for approximately every two feet you go up,” he said. “The first floor, and even the base ment, would be at a higher pressure than the higher floors because they are at street level.”

Dylan Montbach (10) has noticed this differ ence, he said. “The fountains that are closer to the ground, like the one on the pool deck, are much stronger,” he said. “On the third floor [of Tillinghast], there’s almost no water that comes out of the water fountains..”

The weak stream provided by the fountains can lead to embarrassing situations, Gisella Fischberg (11) said. “I went to go drink from the water fountain, and the water came out, so I put my mouth over the water. But then, the water stream kept shrinking!” she said. “I didn’t want to put my mouth on the thing. It was so embarrassing, someone was waiting behind me and saw it all.”

Faculty bonds at ceramics workshop

Annika Bhandari and Eliana Son Contributing Writers

Ceramics teacher Keith Renner hosted the first Saturday Ceramics Workshop for faculty members before Thanksgiving break, on November 19. 13 faculty members, from varying departments, at tended the workshop.

“This workshop was meant to build some cama raderie among faculty and staff,” Renner said. He wanted to bring the faculty together post-COVID in a fun and engaging way.

Renner began the workshop with a quick in troduction to ceramics. “I condensed what would normally be a year-long class into a 30 minute demonstration,’’ he said. For the remainder of the workshop, the faculty participants created a plate, bowl, or cylindrical pot of their choice.

Renner ensured that every attendee, no matter their level of experience, finished a piece of artwork by the end, he said. “It was important to me that ev eryone left with sort of a souvenir.”

Visual arts teacher Brian Lee decided to make a kimchi pot inspired by Korean ceramics, he said. During the workshop, he learned how different techniques affect the purpose and effectiveness of a pot, Lee said. “Some [kimchi pots] allow the fer mentation process to hasten, some make it slower,”

he said. “Not only did [Mr. Renner] guide us with aesthetics in mind, but also function.”

Upper Division math teacher Charles Worrall loved sitting and chatting with other faculty mem bers during the workshop, he said. Worrall knew that he wanted to attend the workshop after many years of students telling him about their transforma tive ceramics classes.

Several teachers had prior ceramics experience from when they were students. School nurse DeAn na Cooper took a ceramics class in college and found the workshop an enlightening experience, she said. “As an adult, you don’t have many opportu nities to learn something new, whereas when you’re younger, you learn and try new things all the time.”

Middle Division history teacher Catherine Gar rison also had ceramics experience going into the workshop but had not sat down at a wheel for ten years, she said. “It was a fun way to be in the role of a student in an engaging activity, and also supporting one another as many learned something brand new to them.’’

While the ceramics studio could only accommo date 13 faculty members for this workshop, many more expressed interest in participating, Renner said. He hopes to host more workshops in the fu ture, so that others can try their hand at ceramics.

“Science Olympiad” wins CC Dodgeball Brawl

Harper Rosenberg Staff Writer

This Monday, the Community Council (CC) hosted the Dodgeball Brawl finals, a tournament that took place throughout November and ended with the winning team “Science Olympiad.”

While looking for more ways to get the CC involved in planning fun student events, CC cochair Jake Ziman (12) discovered the school’s de cade old tradition of running a dodgeball tourna ment before the Buzzell basketball game between the school and Riverdale. “We opened [the tour nament] up to the high school to get as many peo ple involved as possible,” Ziman said. “I just love the energy that we were able to generate.”

With a final turnout of 170 players across 13 teams, Ziman was happy to see everyone so ex cited. “It’s the same we see with Project X and the spikeball tournament, where people just love to compete,” he said.

“We’re really a passionate team — we wanted to win with both our drive and passion,” a member of semi-finalist team “Balls of Fury,” Ovie Ayanruoh

(11) said.

Although “Balls of Fury” did not succeed, they look forward to winning the championship next time, Lane said.

The winner of the finals was “Science Olympi ad.” “Their primary prize is bragging rights, and they seemed pretty excited. We’re currently figur ing out a reward for the team,” Ziman said.

Ziman was happy to see everyone enjoying the game while playing, accepting when they lost, and celebrating, he said. He organized the tournament with CC members and their advisors, Upper Divi sion (UD) Dean of Students Michael Dalo, Regis trar Chris Garrison, UD Psychologist Dr. Ian Per vil, and Head Librarian Melissa Kazan. These staff members set up rounds, judged games, and sorted out logistical issues. “It was really an all hands on deck effort,” Ziman said.

The CC is considering having another dodge ball tournament along with a volleyball game before the Buzzell Games in February and April, Ziman said. “Anything is on the table, and of course, we’re always open to student suggestions,” he said.

DRINK UP In case you forgot what they look like.

SPIN THE WHEEL Visual arts teacher Brian Lee ventures into new medium with ceramic pot.

WWW “Science Olympiad” poses for the

Courtesy of Jake Ziman

Courtesy

Brian

Evan Contant / Staff Photographer

Gender dynamics in STEM classes

The prevalent narrative that boys take more high-level math and science classes has held true over the past 10 years. Over this time frame, Phys ics with Calculus, a 400 level science course, has had an average gender ratio of 72% male to 28% female. Calculus with Theory, a high level math course, has had an average of 61% male to 39% female students over the past 10 years. The dis parity shows up in annual departmental awards — while the Robert J. Cairo science awards since 2013 have a near-even split between 45% male and 55% female winners, Joseph Chase and Joan Brady Bowen math award winners have been 70% male and 30% female.

While gender is not the only factor in sched uling, grade deans and the administration make a conscious effort to have as balanced of a gender ratio as possible in each class section, Registrar Chris Garrison ‘04 said. “We realize it is probably not ideal to have one female-identifying student in a class filled with all male-identifying students or vice versa.”

Divya Ponda (12) has noticed a gender imbal ance in class participation in many of her high er-level STEM classes, she said. Although some times unintentional, this disparity may be related to boys undervaluing female perspectives in the classroom setting, Ponda said. “Sometimes it feels like I have to work thrice as hard to even have my ideas be considered.” This is only more common when girls are a minority in a class, she said.

Even so, the school’s first priority is ensuring that students can take any class that they are eli gible for, regardless of gender, Garrison said. “If there’s a course with a pretty massive gender im balance in the one section that exists for that class, the deans are not going to prevent a student from taking that class to adjust the gender dynamic.”

While gender disparities can exist anywhere, Ponda has noticed the most prevalence in her higher-level STEM classes like Calculus with Theory Honors, she said. Generally, this is be cause fewer female students choose to enroll in higher-level STEM classes, she said. “I’m not sure what exactly causes this, but I know that many girls don’t want to take the classes because of how male-dominated they are.”

Determining the cause of the gender disparity in physics is hard since there are so many factors at play, Science Department Chair Dr. Lisa Rosen blum said. She has noticed that fewer girls tend to request Physics With Calculus than other courses.

However, the observed gender disparity in Physics is not present in every science class, and gender dynamics can look very different in other science classes, Rosenblum said. For example, in her Molecular Genetics classes, she has seen an inverse ratio, with more girls than boys, she said. In those situations, Rosenblum makes an effort to make sure every voice is heard.

Miller Harris (12) noticed a skew toward fe

male students in both of the higher level science classes that he took in the Upper Division, Organ ic Chemistry and Molecular Genetics: Cells and Physiology. On the other hand, however, Harris’s honors math classes have always leaned toward having more male students, he said. “Last year, there were only around four girls in my class and this year, there are only three or four.”

While Math Department Chair Brianne Gzik does not have an exact explanation for gender disparity in high-level math classes, she would be interested in exploring the topic more deeply, she said. Regardless of what factors determine gender ratios, the department makes an active effort to create inclusive classroom environments for all students, she said.

Gzik does not think that math is a gendered discipline, but through research for her master’s thesis, she found data suggesting that gender based stereotypes work against women in STEM, she said. “[Societal perception] definitely plays a role in student views,” she said. “Subconsciously, female students might internalize that a bit.”

Female students’ apprehension with taking high-level math classes has been a problem since the 90s and there have been many efforts to fix it, Bienstock said. “At one point, the head of the math department taught an all-female math class to try to generate a greater level of comfort in the classroom,” he said.

The lack of female representation in STEM and the narrative surrounding it often influences Nao mi Gelfer’s (11) behavior, she said. “There’s this intrinsic feeling that I have as a girl that if I want to say something in class, I have to be right. That stops me from raising my hand a lot, especially in STEM classes,” she said.

That lack of confidence for class participation is not as common for male identifying students, Harris said. “There’s more confidence amongst boys, but I do think a lot of that could be unearned confidence,” he said. He has often seen moments where boys in a class try to talk over girls in class and assert their ideas to be smarter. “I don’t think their ideas are necessarily ‘smarter,’” he said. “It’s just a confidence thing.”

The experience of partici pating as a male student likely feels different than it does for female students, Har ris said. “At least for me, I don’t care if I’m wrong,” he said. “I’ll try to an swer your question, and if the teacher says ‘you’re wrong’ I’m like, okay, great, what’s the right answer then.” However, he is still impacted by the students in the class and if he is surrounded by less supportive classmates, he is less likely to speak up, he said.

The strict gender binary in STEM classes can

*Calculated using Physics with Calculus 2021-22; AP Physics 2020-13.

*Calculated using Calculus with Theory Honors 2022-21; AP Calculus BC Honors 2013-20.

be isolating for gen der non-conforming students, Etta Singer (11) said. Last year, they still identified as nonbinary but went by she/they pronouns, they said. When learning about sets in math, the teacher pro posed that students split into a set. “One girl in the class kept asking to split based off gender, and even though we end

ed up dividing based on the language we took, I remember being so freaked out,” they said. “I just knew I was going to be put in the girl set and I would have to raise my hand and single myself out.”

There are problems with only acknowledg ing two genders in the classroom, Singer said. “There definitely needs to be more collective consciousness of gender noncomforming stu dents,” they said. “Literally today I got misgen dered in my math class and just sort of hard to sit there awkwardly.”

Sophia Liu/Art Director

*Calculated using all 400 level history courses 2019-22; all AP history courses 2013-19.

Gender dynamics in humanities classes

Humanities classes have had their own trends in gender dynamics and ratios in the past 10 years. Higher level English classes tend to be more female-dominated with an average ratio of 32% males to 68% females, while history classes have more even ratios of 45% male to 55% female.

Gender dynamics in hu manities subjects also show up in the distribution of depart mental awards over the years. Female students have dominated English and history awards in the past 10 years: Paul Block, Edward H. Simpson, Alan Breckenridge, Randal Castleman English award winners since 2013 have been 70% female, 30% male; Newcombe-Lewerth, Anthony Lewis, and Rob ert Caro history award winners were 65% fe male, 30% male.

Humanities classes have the opposite gen der divide from STEM classes. “In my Calculus with Theory Honors, there’s four girls in a class of about 19 people, which is crazy — in com parison to my Man’s Search for Meaning class where maybe 70 percent of the people are girls,” Divya Ponda (12) said. Talking and voicing her opinion is much easier for her in her human ities classes than in her STEM classes, largely due to gender ratios, she said.

es tend to be more balanced in gender partic ipation, than STEM classes, men can still of ten take over, Chatterjee said. “I’ve heard that sometimes when there are debates in human ities classes, boys may talk over girls because they don’t value their opinions as much,” he said. “Because guys don’t often have to expe rience being silenced or feeling like they can’t speak, they never learn to listen.”

However, a lot of participation relies on the specific students within the class, Link said. “If I have noticed anything, it’s that gen erally, boys seem more confident in speaking in class,” he said. “If teachers ask a question, boys’ hands will often be in the air whereas it’s not always the case with girls.”

Labeling certain actions as exclusive to one gender is a very hard task, English De partment Chair Vernon Wilson, said. “Across all disciplines, I believe girls are more likely on average, to feel the need, real or not, to ‘grind’ and work very hard to achieve high grades,” he said.

*Calculated using Seminar in Literary Studies: Critical Theories 2021-22; AP English 2013-20.

Gender ratios in a classroom can play a large role in how comfortable some students are when expressing themselves, Sofia Kim (11) said. Last year, Kim felt much more comfort able participating in her English class with a fe male majority, as opposed to her history class, which had a male majority. “It was especially hard to participate in things that I wasn’t 100% sure about,” Kim said. “Even if I was 85 percent sure, I would not raise my hand because it can be intimidating when boys answer the question in a way that implies everyone else is stupid.” Speaking can be hard if boys who act as if they are smarter than others seem more sure of the answer.

However, despite common stereotypes, Kim finds it easier to participate in STEM classes than humanity classes mostly due to judgment from male students, she said. “If I answer some thing right in math, no one can argue with me,” she said. “However, when I give my own opin ion in English or history, it’s subject to judg ment from people who think their answer is the only right one.”

However, being conscientious of gen der is relatively new to the school and it was not covered in the curriculum when he first arrived at the school, Bienstock said. “When I first in troduced women’s history into my 10th grade survey, I would have students shut their books,” Bienstock said. “I didn’t take that very well, so we had to have some conversation about the importance of gender throughout history.”

While language is not generally thought of as gendered on a general level, there is a trend of gender divides between different languages. For example, Studies in French has a large female majority with 35% male and 65% female students in the last 10 years, where as Studies in Spanish is relatively even with a slight male majority of 53%.

After taking Spanish in middle school and French in high school, Kim has noticed a large difference between the two. “There are defi nitely more girls in my French class than there were in my Spanish classes,” she said. The larger female population can often make it easier to participate, she said.

One reason French may skew female is that it is associated with stereotypical female things, Kim said. “When I think of French, I think of Paris and love and croissants, and shopping,” she said. “All things that society as sumes to be for females.”

*Calculated using Studies in Spanish 2020-2022; AP Spanish 2013-19.

In Jiyon Chatterjee’s (12) experience, hu manities classes tend to be more balanced in numbers than STEM classes, he said. Both his Global Environmental History class and Man’s Search for Meaning English class have a rela tively equal number of boys and girls, he said.

Talking in humanities classes is often much easier than talking in STEM classes, Gelfer said. “In STEM there are right and wrong answers as opposed to in humanities, where it’s more gray,” she said. “There’s less pressure to be perfect and right all the time.”

There has always seemed to be a rel atively equal gender balance of students in his tory electives, with the only exception being AP Economics when that class was offered, History Department Chair Dr. Daniel Link said. “AP Econ always remained the exception because there was a perception amongst students that the class was ‘for boys’ even when the depart ment tried to make it clear that was not the case.”

While class discussions in humanities class

However, discussions within language class es have always felt less divided by gender than other classes, Gelfer said. “Everyone is equally embarrassed by their poor accents,” she said. It is a class where students can realize that every one is a teenager and get their daily humbling, she said.

Despite the data, Clio Rao (12) has observed a significant divide in gender in Spanish classes, she said. In fact, Rao was one of just three girls in her Studies in Spanish class, which she took during her junior year. “It was definitely an in teresting experience because I’ve never been in such a male dominated class,” she said. “Often when there’s a lot of guys in a class the environ ment can be judgemental so it was really intim idating walking into that class and there being only two other girls.”

Although she was one of the other two fe male students in Rao’s Studies in Spanish class, Nitika Subramanian (12) did not experience sexism in the class, she said. “Spanish is one of the only classes where I can honestly say I hav en’t felt shortchanged.”

*Calculated using Studies in French 2020-22; AP French 2013-19.

Faculty gender ratio

Teachers play a large role in moderating class discussions and can mediate gender divides, should they exist in the class. Every depart ment except English has more female than male teachers this year, the first time that has been the case in the 27 years between now and 1995.

For example, in Ponda’s Global Environmen tal History Class, history teacher Dr. Ellen Bales makes an effort to ensure that every student has an opportunity to voice their opinion, she said.

Like Ponda, Braden Queen (12) has noticed teachers encourage a more equal gender dy namic, he said. For example, his freshman year English teacher mandated a “gender integra tion” policy in regards to seating where boys and girls would sit interspersed. “In most class es, guys and girls tend to sit apart from each other, making an awkward setting where one side is all guys and one side is all girls,” he said. The policy created a more cohesive classroom environment, Queen said.

The support of teachers and mentors at the school helped Ambika Acharya ‘12 handle gen der in the workplace, she said. “As a woman in tech, I can confirm that It is unfortunately very much true that I’m often the only woman in the room,” she said. “But the teachers who sur rounded me and encouraged me gave me the confidence to continue working hard despite the gender disparities that existed.”

STEM teachers have also implemented pol icies to encourage all voices to be heard in the classroom. For example, Science teacher George Epstein often tells students to turn and talk to a neighbor or consciously creates gender-diverse groups for lab work, he said.

To make sure that students are well repre sented, it is important to have teachers of all different genders, Gzik said. “We always want a very diverse faculty because we want to rep resent our student body as best as we can,’’ she said. “Learning from people with different per spectives and experiences can be super helpful and encouraging to students, in my opinion.”

The representation of female STEM teach ers is beneficial for Gelfer, she said. “I see that women are more into STEM and pursuing STEM degrees, and I see a ton of female science teachers which is just more representation,” she said.

The female faculty representation is also re ally strong in the Spanish department, Subra manian said. “There’s a lot of female teachers and leadership who are all staunch feminists as well as all the male teachers who are also stanch feminists,” she said. “Because it’s such a rigor ous class they’ve learned to recognize the signs of sexism and lead by example.”

In the language department, faculty have worked to create a more even gender dynamic, Valencia said. “When I was hired, it was very much female dominated — which was shocking because where I came from, language was defi nitely not a female dominated field.”

Current gender ratios of faculty are much more equal, Bienstock said. In the 80s there were multiple years where there were not any female history teachers. Since then, that imbal ance has changed dramatically, as the Upper Division history department currently has eight female teachers and five male teachers.

Continuing to grapple with gender dynamics

It is hard to figure out how to handle gen der, Valencia said. “When there happens to be a gender disparity in a class that is out of our control, we are given an important opportunity to teach how to respect other voices,” she said. “It is something that you’re constantly learning to improve at.” As a teacher it is difficult when there is no exact answer but it helps to teach kids and prepare them for their futures, she said.

It is vital to break down gender stereotypes around all disciplines, Gelfer said. “I don’t think that men benefit from the stereotype that all guys have to be loud and talkative and confident because it’s not true,” she said. Gender equality goes far beyond just fixing problems for wom en. “The more perspectives you have in a room, the more intellectually stimulating it is.”

When Valencia was job-searching years ago,

a co-ed school was non negotiable, she said. “I was looking for a balance in perspective be cause a diversity of takes is what makes educa tion possible.” That doesn’t mean there will be a different perspective every moment, but rather that there will be a wide variety of views and experiences, she said. “Richness in education comes from our ability to appreciate people as they present to us.”

The solution to creating a more inclusive en vironment when it comes to gender is not bina ry, Gelfer said. “There is a ton of intersection ality,” she said. “As a white woman, I don’t have the same experiences as [non-white women]” It is important to listen to other perspectives and learn, she said. “Everyone needs to do their part and pay attention to what others are saying.”

Rule changes in the World Cup

2022Amir Berengut Contributing Writer

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is underway in Qatar, and there are important rules that have changed from prior years. First, the team squads have increased in size from 23 to 26 players. Only 23 can be called up to play on game day, so three still miss out. This roster in crease allows for backup players to substitute for players who get COVID in a full lineup. Because of the larger number of players, teams now have five substitutions per game that must occur in three windows. This means that five play ers can be brought on, but only in

Favorite teams and players for HM

Amira Dossani/Art Director

The importance of football in Brazilian Culture

Julia Lourenco Contributing Writer

up in Brazil, I realized that soccer, to us, isn’t just a game you have in the background: it is an integral part of our culture.

gland or Spain as well, but none seem to be quite as grand as in Brazil due to none other than our ever-lasting commitment to our players as fans.

Bra zil has the best soccer team in the world. But, this isn’t something that is just accom plished due to the skill of the players; it is also reliant on the enthusiasm of their fans.

Growing

Ever since I was younger, soccer matches have been a bonding expe rience with family and friends; every time our favorite team had a game, my family and I would gather around the TV. When it was time for events like the Copa do Brasil, or Brazilian Cup, everyone was on the edge of their seat, waiting to see which team would be deemed victorious.

Choosing which soccer team to cheer for is notorious for being an important milestone in a young Brazilian’s life. I follow in my grand father’s footsteps and represent the Rio de Janeiro based club, Vasco da Gama. This rivalry between soccer clubs runs deep in countries like En

Fans are very protective of their team’s victories, but when it’s time for the World Cup, it seems like all of Brazil comes together as one to fight for our country. We all set aside our differences and cheer tirelessly until we win the entire Cup. No other team in the world seems to have as many cheers, elaborate costumes, and pas sion as we do. Our constant victories fuel our devotion to our teams, cre ating an eternal loop of success for Brazil in soccer.

*Based on a Record poll of 271 students

Lions’ Den

Sea Lions dive into season at Ivy League Relay Carnival

Sarina Shah Staff Writer

The Boys and Girls Varsity Swim teams made a splash in their season opener as multiple swimmers reached their best times at last Monday’s Ivy League Relay Carnival.

The Carnival was a great chance for swimmers to get adjusted to the team, Boys Varsity Swim Coach Mi chael Duffy said. “The Relay Carnival is a non-scored event and it gets the new kids, who haven’t swam in a big competitive meet before, used to high school swimming.”

The team usually competes against another team in meets, but the Car nival is unique because there are no individual competitions, Girls Varsity Swim Coach Thatcher Woodley said.

Swimmers practiced a variety of dif ferent events at the meet. Isha Kris namurthy (12) swam the 4 x 100 med ley (butterfly, backstroke, breastroke, freestyle), 8 x 50 medley relay, and 4 x 50 fly relay.

Woodley noticed a range of emo tions amongst the newer and more ad

vanced swimmers, he said. “The team exhibited some nervousness, which is normal during the season’s first meet,” he said. “I look forward to watching swimmers learn to deal with situa tions that exude tension and stress. I am reminding the team that the best resource in such situations is finding courage through one’s teammates and also being there for each other.”

With a generation of swimmers grad uating and a new one coming in, Kris namurthy was skeptical about how the team would perform, she said. “We were a bit unsure about our perfor mance, but the team ended up doing really well.”

“Everybody put in a lot of effort, and we were all cheering for each other,” Dylan Montbach (10) said.

The team’s supportive nature contrib uted to their high energy off the bat, Duffy said. “Support is a large part of the team’s success,” he said. “The first thing is for everybody to understand what it means to be a good teammate, and that might mean sacrificing your best event [so a teammate can swim].”

A few weeks before the event, Duffy

and Woodley introduced an analogy of holding a rope to illustrate the im portance of teamwork, team member Alicia Li (9) said. “They asked us, if you were dangling at the end of a cliffside by a rope, who would you want hold ing the end?” she said. “The coaches always tell us that by the end of the season, you want to look everyone in the eye and know that they’re going to hold your rope.” With her teammates’ support fueling her, Li decreased her 50-meter butterfly time by one second at the meet.

After the Carnival, the team elected two members who supported the team and “held the rope” best: Montbach and Jojo Mignone (11).

Support comes in all forms and in various ways, Mignone said. “In a sport like swimming where it’s indi vidual, having somebody cheer you on everytime you take a breath, telling you to keep going, really makes an im pact,” she said.

The team plans to continue strength ening their bond throughout the course of the season. As a senior, Krishnamurthy aims to cultivate a

welcoming environment to ensure that everybody feels happy and included, she said.

The swim team also hopes to succeed in the Ivy Preparatory League Cham pionships in February. “Trinity is an especially good swim team with a lot of good swimmers, but I think we can do really well and get far,” Montbach said.

Last year, the team was extremely successful, Woodley said. “The team scored second during championships, but we try not to put expectations

around numbers and instead focus on process driven goals.”

Since practices began, swimmers have significantly improved their stamina and skills. “The first practice I was dying, but yesterday, when we did the same set, I was feeling significantly better,” Zach Hornfeld (9) said.

This is shaping up to be an amazing season, Duffy said. “Everybody thinks of swimming as an individual sport, but when you come together and swim as a team collectively, it feels different.”

Boys Varsity Basketball suffers loss against Trevor Day School

Daniyaal Ghani Staff Writer

The Boys Varsity Basketball Team launched their season with a close 43-50 loss to Trevor Day School last Wednesday. In preparation for the game, the team practiced and scrimmaged with Beacon School last week.

The crowd was very much alive at the Trevor match, William Chasin (9), who watched the game, said. “They helped by saying chants such as DEFENSE, DEFENSE.”

While the audience’s chants motivated the team to play hard, there were a few mistakes that cost the Lions the game. “The team did some really good stuff offensively and defensively, but a cou ple defensive breakdowns gave [Trevor] the ad vantage along with some missed free throws

slip-ups, the team played well for the majority of the game and improved on their defense from last year, Wright said. “Without a couple break downs defensively, we really could have won the game.” The team communicated throughout the whole game and there was a lot of noise on the court, he said.

“Our defense was really good — coming out the first half we only allowed 17 points,” Co-Captain Aden Soroca (12) said. Last year, the team strug gled with their defensive skills and coordination, so they focused on those skills this time around, Soroca said. “Practices have been a lot of running drills, playing defense, and helping the new kids on the team adjust to the environment.”

Teamwork is the key to improvement, Soroca said. “As we keep on practicing, we will be able to work as a team better, which will then improve our game as a whole.” The team prioritizes “un selfish basketball.” “For example, if you are driv ing to the rim and three players collapse on you, you should pass the ball out to one of the open

shooters.”

Along with the major focus on team effort, there is a lot of individual talent on the team, Jonathan Coleman (11) said. “There is a lot of room on the team for everybody to stand out and shine.”

This year, the team is as competitive as any other team in the league, Wright said. “We have a solid nucleus of kids and I think we have pretty good talent, but the important part is to come togeth er as a team.” Every team in the Ivy Preparatory League is good, so the team as a whole has to play hard at practice and as a team in scrimmages, he said.

Wright was surprised with Beacon’s skill level during the scrimmage, he said. Unlike the Lions, Beacon’s team already had months of practice. However, the school’s team still came together with good ball movement and encouragement to one another.

“I am excited for practice today and our upcom ing games,” Wright said. “As long as we keep on practicing, we can definitely win.”

Courtesy of Barry Mason

League

Ari Palla/Photo Director