The Record

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Bahr advocates education for incarcerated people

Michelle Grinberg and Sofia Sahai

Contributing Writers

Black History Month assembly celebrates Black joy, excellence

Naomi Yaeger Staff Writer

The Union led an assembly featuring Black students and faculty to celebrate the start of Black History Month this Tuesday.

“Black culture is American culture,” co-president of The Union Allyson Wright (12) said. Wright and co-president Nia Huff (11) centered the assembly around Black culture to uplift the Black community at the school, Wright said. “Often, when we’re thinking of the Black community, it’s in regards to tragedy. We wanted to focus the assembly on Black joy and the appreciation of our culture to show how much the Black community has to offer.”

Last year, the school barely acknowledged Black History Month, only offering an assembly in March that featured dances without explaining how they were part of Black history, Wright said. “Horace Mann should have made it a priority to educate its students about the significance and impact of Black people and Black culture,” Wright wrote in an opinion article with Ashleigh Conner (12) (Volume 119, Issue 21). For this reason, hosting an assembly for Black History

Month was one of The Union’s goals for this year, Wright said.

In October, Huff and Wright reached out to the assembly committee — English teacher Dr. Adam Casdin, manager of the Theater Department Jonathan Nye, Head of the Upper Division (UD) Dr. Jessica Levenstein, and UD Dean of Students Michael Dalo — to explain their idea. “We said that we wanted to create something that was student driven, with student performances,” The Union advisor Toni Miranda said.

These meetings turned the assembly into an achievable goal, Wright said. “Mr. Nye and Dr. Casdin helped us in terms of understanding what it takes to actually put an assembly together,” she said. For example, they suggested starting the assembly with a performance, a rendition of John Coltrane’s “Blues Train” by Nate Ogiste (10) and James Moore (9), Wright said. Finally, Huff and Wright sent the program to Dalo and Dr. Levenstein for approval.

The committee was on board with the idea and asked them to submit an official proposal of what they wanted to include in the assembly. To put this proposal together, Wright and Huff see ASSEMBLY on page 4

English teacher Rebecca Bahr was appointed to the New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education Behind Bars last September for her work with education in the criminal justice system both inside and outside the classroom. The commission is part of the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and The Educational Justice Institute.

According to the NEBHE website, the commission strives to “develop an action agenda, policy recommendations, strategies, and next steps to align institutions, policymakers, prisons, and industry to increase the life and career readiness of formerly incarcerated people.” It meets in October, December, February, March, and June to discuss how to secure grants to provide incarcerated people with quality education and technology.

Bahr attended the first commission meeting at MIT, where members discussed their goals and broke off into smaller groups to discuss the program’s priorities. “The breakout session was powerful because I really was able to talk about my experience and represent the women that I had worked with.”

By the final meeting in June, the commission plans to provide policy initiatives that enforce equal access to edu- cation behind bars, she said. Bahr hopes to use her place on the commission to implement programs that bridge the divide between students and incarcerated people. “It is such a powerful experience of being able to give to people who haven’t had chances at education like we have here at Horace Mann,” Bahr said.

Bahr also plans to help the commission ensure that incarcerated women receive equal access to educational programs like their male counterparts, she said. In the committee, she discussed the discrepancies between men’s and women’s access to education behind bars. She proposed solutions to achieve equal access and change the trajectory of incarcerated women’s lives.

Bahr was appointed for her work with the Maine Department of Corrections and her senior English elective “Bridging the Divide.” She created the class with Simon Schnacker ‘22 to teach American literature in joint-classes with students and incarcerated women. Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, her class visited the Southern Maine Women’s Reentry Center.

While Bahr is involved in this work through the commission, students can become involved by participating in educational programs and organizing book drives for incarcerated people, she said. She suggests that they watch the documentary “College Behind Bars” to learn the basics of what education is like for incarcerated people.

East Wind West Wind draws full house with annual Asia Night food and festivities

Erica Jiang Staff Writer

Last Friday’s Asia Night featured a vibrant celebration of Asian culture through food and performances. East Wind West Wind (EWWW) also gathered donations at the event for Heart of Dinner, a non-profit that fights food insecurity and isolation among elderly Asian Americans.

The Recital Hall was packed with students, family members, and fac- ulty coming together to celebrate the Lunar New Year, with some attendees even sitting in the aisles or standing in the back. “Asia Night is always really fun, but I think we had a particularly great event this year — from the audience overflowing into the aisles to the laughter and smiles as they watched the students perform, I think Asia Night truly accomplished the goal of celebrating Asian culture,” EWWW Board Member Jillian Lee (12) said.

The night kicked off with a lion dance that weaved its way down the aisles, followed by the Japanese class’ annual Taiko drum performance, dressed head to toe in red, white, and black Happi. Each year, Japanese teacher Reiko Kawahara hires a professional Taiko master to help the students rehearse leading up to Asia Night, Lee said.

The mood of the night then shifted as board member Madison Xu (12) presented her independent study on child trafficking in China and the Chinese HuKou system, which is their complex housing system. “I liked Madison’s presentation because it gave a more serious tone to Asia Night and helped people understand not just the culture, but what is actually happening in these countries,” attendee Rizaa Fazal (11) said.

The K-pop medley was a crowd favorite, featuring eight songs by trending artists like IVE and Nayeon that EWWW board member Daphne Tsai (11) helped pick.