Issue 29

Volume 119 Issue 29

The Record

record.horacemann.org

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

May 27th, 2022

Feature: Investigating the ethics of out-of-school college counseling Sophie Rukin and Emily Sun Staff Writers In the competitive environment of college admissions, students are going to do everything in their power to get an extra edge, Brent* (10), who chose to remain anonymous to keep his college counselor’s information private, said.

For him and other students, that means hiring a college counselor outside of school. While private counselors may or may not serve a significant advantage, their prevalence among students has generated a secretive culture, fueled by admissions anxiety and their steep financial costs.

Private counselor services range from hourly consultations to comprehensive packages that begin as early as middle school. They provide long-term guidance on academic course selection, extracurriculars, standardized testing, summer programs, research, internships, and competitions, as well as short-term advice on admissions essays, recommendation letters, college lists, interviews, early decision applications, and actions after a deferral or waitlist.

33 percent of Upper Division (UD) students use a private college counselor, according to an anonymous Record poll with 121 responses. 38.2 percent of the 34 seniors who responded use them; 40.6 percent of the 32 juniors; 28.1 percent of the 32 sophomores; and 21.7 percent of the 23 freshmen.

The results are higher than the most recent nationwide study titled “High-Achieving Seniors and the College Decision,” which was conducted in 2006 by Lipman Hearne, a marketing and communications firm, in partnership with the National Research Center for College and University Admissions. From a sampling of 1,264 students who scored in the 70th percentile or higher on the SAT/ACT, the study found that 26 percent hired a college counselor outside of their school.

An anonymous survey that the College Counseling (CoCo) department has sent at the end of the admissions process for the past nine years found a lower number — 15 to 20 percent of senior students and parents reported hiring

to pursue and what classes to take, she said. She hired a college counselor to help her apply to the UD, and she will keep working with the counselor through the college application process. “My parents didn’t go to Horace Mann, so they didn’t understand the admissions process and they wanted an expert’s opinion.” she said.

Since the end of freshman year, Ashton* (11), who is anonymous because his parents want him to be discreet about the subject, has had a private counselor. He would feel at a disadvantage without one because they helped him identify prestigious writing competitions, apply to summer programs, and write an email to get an internship for this coming summer, he said. “Because of that, I’m assuming that the results with the out-of-school counselor will be better.”

Between

Lauren Kim/Art Director

September and January of senior year, Joaquin Ramirez Villareal’s (12) private college counselor helped him build his school list and revise his application essays, he said. His brother used the same counselor when he applied to US colleges from England, so his parents asked if he wanted to do the same. He agreed because they helped make his brother’s college process less stressful, he said.

As applicants increase and acceptance rates drop, private college counseling has grown into a two-billion-dollar industry, as reported by a 2019 New York Times article titled “Inside the Pricey,

“Everyone at HM is very cognizant of all the opportunities that being at HM affords us, so there’s a sense that [having your own private counselor outside of school] is unnecessary or a luxury that may not be justified.”

- Jiyon Chatterjee (11) outside college counseling each year, Executive Director of CoCo Canh Oxelson said. “I’m going to guess it’s closer to 50 percent,” he said. “Even in an anonymous survey, I’m not sure people are being totally honest about it because they’re so worried that we’re going to find out.”

The CoCo has no official policy on outside college counselors, Oxelson said. People are secretive about the topic because they worry that school counselors will not work as hard for students who have them — which is false — or because they might offend the CoCo — also false, he said. Some parents have even asked Oxelson if they need an outside counselor. “My response has always been, ‘I do not believe that you need to do that, but if it will help you feel better about it, sure’” he said.

While Brent* is happy for as much assistance as possible, he does not think the counselor helps substantially, he said. “At the end of the day, [college admissions are] a highly merit-based system, so help can only get you so far.”

Having a college counselor outside of school has helped Courtney* (9), who is anonymous because she feared how her parents and future teachers would react if they saw her speak openly about the topic, figure out what extracurriculars

New York Times article.

While IvyCoach is an industry anomaly, fivedigit price tags are not uncommon. A 90-minute consultation with IvyWise costs $1,350 and the median tuition for long-term counseling is $25,000, according to a spokesperson in the 2019 Vox article titled “The outrageously expensive world of college counseling services, explained.”

TopTier Admissions’s four-day boot camp before senior fall costs $18,000, according to the article.

These lofty rates may contribute to why people do not talk about private counseling openly, Jiyon Chatterjee (11) said. He does not have one and only two of his peers have told him they do. “Everyone at HM is very cognizant of all the opportunities that being at HM affords us, so there’s a sense that [having your own private counselor outside of school] is

Totally Legal World of College Consultants.”

Prices depend on the type of service, the counselors’ background, and the company’s target clientele. According to the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), a professional association that represents independent college counselors, the average hourly rate is $200, and comprehensive packages for two years of counseling cost between $4,000 and $6,000.

Hour-long consultations with NYC-based company Bespoke Education, founded by Tim Levin ’89, start at $250 for and reach $400 for more experienced counselors, while a one-year package with over 30 hours of meeting time costs $9,000. Another NYC-based company, Prestige Education Consulting, charges $15,000 for their two-year “Premium Services” package.

Prices at prestigious companies run even higher — an hour-long consultation costs $1,750 at IvyCoach, according to the 2019 Stanford Daily article titled “Elite college counseling: A legal, prohibitively expensive pay-to-win game in admissions.” IvyCoach’s “Unlimited Package,” an “exclusive college counseling concierge service” for students applying for up to 20 schools, comes with a $1.5 million check, according to the 2019

unnecessary or a luxury that may not be justified,” he said. “I don’t have any moral judgment on people who might use outside of school resources, I just don’t see the need for it.”

Taboo and secrecy is a large issue with private college counseling, Dan Frommer P’18, ’21, ’24 said. “As the college process is becoming harder, especially today versus 10 years ago, I would think open communication with the college counseling group would lead to more productive discussions.” None of Frommer’s children used private college counselors because the school’s college counselors were more than sufficient, he said. “They know our kids and they know HM, but most importantly they have been very accessible and available.”

Last June, Asher Swersky (12) and his parents hired a private counselor because his previous CoCo counselor, Frank Cabrera, left the school at the end of his junior year, and Swersky did not get a new counselor until a few weeks before senior year started. Even though he has a justified reason for hiring outside help, it still feels embarrassing to talk about it because of how much it cost, he said. He declined to specify how much his family paid, but it was “a lot,” he said. “I don’t know if I want to be known as the kid who’s spending all this money on something that school provides.”

While some students tell Senior Associate Director of CoCo Kaitlin Howrigan they have an outside counselor, she often has to infer, she said.

“They’ll keep referring to a cousin or an uncle that I can tell is actually a private counselor.” A handful of her students have been upfront about private counselors, but she cannot begin to guess

“The world isn’t fair. If you hold yourself to such high, lofty ideals like equality, you’ll just end up losing the competition.”

- Ashton* (11) how many actually have them.

While private college counselors seem like an unfair advantage to students who can afford them, they do not offer a strategic advantage because they have no more knowledge or information than school counselors, Oxelson said. “If [students and parents] are expecting that they’re going to get better outcomes, that’s debatable.”

Some families seek out private counselors with a lower caseload so their students can get more attention, Oxelson said. The school has an average 22-to-one student-to-counselor ratio compared to NYC public schools’ 400-to-one, but private counselors can have a smaller ratio of 10-to-one or less. Still, the CoCo has concerns about the quality of support that students get from unvetted external sources, Oxelson said. “We can’t be sure if they’re getting good advice.”

Swerky’s private counselor seemed competent because of her credentials, but she gave him consistently bad advice between junior spring and senior fall that hurt his application, Swersky said. He fired her and got a full refund after she advised him not to take Calculus senior year, switch to the ACT when he had practiced for the SAT, apply as a filmmaking major when he only had film writing credentials, and did not review his Early Decision application, he said. “My parents were freaking out because they’re paying a lot of money, and we’re getting screwed.” She also edited one of his essays until it seemed like she wrote it for him, which crossed an ethical line for Swersky, and he chose not to submit it.

Families should steer clear of consulting companies that write essays for students or guarantee admission to certain schools, Dr. Kat Cohen P’25, founder of IvyWise, said. Their counselors adhere to the National Association of College Admissions Counseling’s (NACAC) “Guide to Ethical Practice in College Admissions” and the IECA’s “Principles of Good Practice,” which states that “members shall not write application essays or any portion of an essay for students.”

Membership in organizations like NACAC and IECA is not mandatory for independent college counselors, so unaffiliated practitioners are not bound to their guidelines. According to a 2018 survey by IECA, the 2,732 members affiliated with them and similar organizations only represent 20% of all independent consultant companies.

Private and school counselors both have advantages and disadvantages, Savannah* (10), who has a private counselor and is anonymous to

see Coco on pg. 4

Do you have a college counselor outside of school?

Based on 121 student responses to an anonymous UD poll.

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THE RECORD MIDDLE DIVISION MAY 27TH, 2022

Lions roar in MD Sports Afternoon Clara Medeiros and Leila Dossani Staff Writers The Middle Division (MD) Lions hosted Trinity in an afternoon full of food and springthemed sports games during the first annual MD Athletic Day last Thursday. “There were some big victories and even the losses were close,” Head of MD Javaid Khan said. “We were competitive throughout our matches.”

The MD Athletic Day is an exciting new addition to the MD calendar, as MD students get to experience playing games on the home field. The players get a taste of what homecoming and UD sports in general might feel like, MD Girls’ Lacrosse Coach Emily Perelman ‘13 said. MD sports afternoon will be a great way to encourage upcoming high schoolers to participate in school teams and

feel comfortable playing in front of your friends and teachers, she said.

As the school reaches the final games for the spring season, the MD sports afternoon creates an exciting environment for those participating, coaching or watching the sports teams. It was an opportunity for the MD to get together, have an afternoon celebrating their athletes, MD Girls’ Softball player Tessa Siegal (7) said.

The MD Athletic Day was incredible because students from all divisions came out to support the sports teams, Perelman said. “It made me so proud that they were also proud of how they played. They walked away being a little bummed about the loss, but also being reflective and proud of how they played as a team and how they communicated and passed well,” she said.

“Everyone was really riled up to this game because this was our toughest opponent,” MD Girls Lacrosse team member Maya Yoon (8)

Courtesy of HM Flickr

MD SPORTS AFTERNOON Girls softball game against Trinity.

said. Yoon was upset about the loss but she still enjoyed playing with her teammates and watching other teams, she said. “Winning or losing, I feel like it was still important to get to know each other during that day, and we gave each other pep talks which was really fun,” Yoon said.

MD Softball team member Neeya Gupta (7) enjoyed hanging out with her friends after her game and going to the barbeque. The barbeque featured generic “sports foods” like hotdogs, burgers, and chips, she said.

“Families were all smiles,” Khan said. “There was food, and we even treated our competitors.”

The event was more enjoyable for MD Girls Lacrosse team member Ashley Kuo (8) because it took place on campus. “Since we were on our home field it was really fun since everyone was cheering you on,” MD Girls Lacrosse team member Ashley Kuo (8) said. As the season progressed, the team bonded and became much closer. “We are more comfortable with each other,” she said.

“There were so many fans out there, and it was just a fun-filled, spirited afternoon,” Perelman said. It was amazing that the team had the opportunity to watch the MD Boys Lacrosse team, since the teams practice alongside each other every day but never get to see one another in their games, Perelman said.

Throughout the season, the team has improved greatly and has learned to communicate with each other more, Kuo said. “You can really tell they’ve grown a lot as players and as teammates since the beginning of the season,” Perelman said.

MD Baseball team member Harrison Ruderfur (7) enjoyed the new experience of

playing on alumni field and having so many of his peers and teachers watch. He also said it felt a little strange playing in front of others, especially his teachers. The team ended up beating Trinity 17- 2. “It was a great experience and a lot more people watched,” he said.

MD Softball team member Tessa Siegel (7) enjoyed spending time with her friends and eating food that their parents and the school provided for them. “I thought it [their winning game against Trinity] made us a lot better and it gave us confidence,” she said. It was a close game, and the team began playing better towards the end when everyone was cheering for them, she said.

Another bonus of MD athletic afternoon is that the community has the chance to see all the MD teams play, MD Softball team coach Michael Duffy said. “It was great to be playing on the main field where our team, who had been working very hard, could be recognized by the rest of the school. We had an actual crowd there, which was nice to see,” he said. The game started off very close, but towards the end HM pulled through, and wound up winning 13 - 5, Duffy said.

Playing in the game on Thursday and the season overall has encouraged Yoon to try out for the UD team because of how much she has enjoyed being a part of the team, Yoon said.

The MD sports afternoon is a great way for players to display their athletic abilities in front of the HM community, Duffy said. “They [the MD players] were excited to play in front of peers and also parents and other people were able to watch and teachers, so getting the community together was great.”

Welcome to the jungal: MD production “Jungalbook” Maeve Goldman Staff Writer “My favorite moment was the final bow,” Claire Lee (8) said. “Looking at everyone, seeing everyone on stage together, and taking in the fact that we made this amazing show.” Last Thursday and Saturday the Blackbox theater came to life with the sounds of the jungle, as wolves howled, birds chirped, and leaves rustled in the Middle Division’s (MD) spring musical, The Jungalbook.

Theater teacher Haila VanHentenryck selected the Jungalbook, which is adapted by Edward Mast from a book of theater for young audiences, she said. The play differs from the many adaptations of the 1894 Rudyard Kipling story that are on Netflix and Disney live, she said. “It takes away the disneyfication of the play and gets closer to the original Jungalbook,” VanHentenryck said.

“Unlike the cute cuddly animals in Disney, our animals are more savage and harsh just like the laws of the jungle.”

Before formal rehearsals began, the cast took time to fully encapsulate their characters, VanHentenryck said. Although the students are playing humans in a playground as opposed to animals in a jungle, they are animalistic kids, she said. “Each student had a specific animal that flavored their performance,” she said. Students did this by viewing videos of animal movements and noises, which became the basis of the physical and vocal elements that they chose to incorporate into their performance, VanHentenryck said.

Ella Hecht (8) played a hypnotizing snake named Kaa, she said. To get into character, Hecht practiced dance movements which she improvised on stage, she said. She gravitated towards kicks, splits, and backbends to showcase the slithering

and flexibility of Pythons, Hecht said. “I focused on executing and accentuating my moves.”

For three months the cast rehearsed on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and sometimes on Saturdays, Lee, who played Mowgli, said.

Rehearsals began with a check in, then an ice breaking question such as which character from the play they would be, a physical and vocal warmup, and finally the cast started blocking and running scenes, Lee said.

Rehearsals ended with team bonding, Loewy Miller (8) said. “We would practice reinforcing one cast member each to give them recognition and appreciation,” he said. “It really helped build a community.”

The play came together on stage, Lee said.

“Once you start the show you’re in it and it runs like a machine where everything just clicks,” she said.

Lee’s favorite scene to perform was the beat “Time Passes”, she said. Lee got to interact with the set, climbing around the industrial jungle, scaling the slide, and swinging on the broken swing set, she said. “Mowgli never stops moving,” Lee said.

“It shows how much Mowgli trusted the space and his home and helped the development where Mowgli doesn’t know if he belongs here and if he is actually safe and secure.”

Miller had the most fun experimenting with his emotional range in the scene where his character, Sherakhan Khan the tiger kills Akela, he said. “It was really fun and interesting to play around with the emotions of being defeated,” he said. Miller practiced smiling excessively, changing his volume, and making exaggerated facial expressions to truly convey the villainous spirit of his character, he said.

On the days of the show, students struggled to balance the fun of the performance and not breaking character, Hecht said. For example, in

Volume 119 Editorial Board Head of Design AJ Walker

Editor in Chief Hanna Hornfeld

Managing Editor Liliana Greyf

Features Mia Calzolaio Emma Colacino

News Claire Goldberg Katya Tolunsky

Opinions Devin Allard-Neptune Yin Fei

A&E Purvi Jonnalagadda Arushi Talwar

Middle Division Jade Ciriello

Lions’ Den Lauren Ho

Art Directors Vivian Coraci Lauren Kim Riva Vig

Design Editors Avani Khorana Arin Rosen

Photography Sean Lee Sam Siegel

Online Editor Lucas Glickman

Faculty Adviser David Berenson

Courtesy of Haila VanHentenryck

JUNGALBOOK Cast poses for group photo on set. one scene Hecht, as Kai the snake, attempted to hypnotize one of her friends, she said. “To stay calm I needed to take deep breaths and not look directly at him or I would laugh,” she said. “We found ways to stay middle schoolers and keep the process light hearted while still working.”

Each of the three performances was different from the last due to the different audiences, Hecht said. “It was interesting to see different things each audience picked up on, there was a different vibe with each show,” she said. On Thursday, the cast performed for the MD who attempted to be respectful, not laughing at the jokes or showing much emotion, Hecht said. “During the Saturday performances, the parents were more excited.”

VanHentenryck loved watching parents’ reactions to the performances, she said. Another cast member’s mother exclaimed how realistic the actors were. “It’s fun for me to see all the parents Staff

Staff Writers Alex Lautin, Alexandra Yao, Allison Markman, Audrey Carbonell, Audrey Moussazadeh, Ayesha Sen, Cecilia Coughlin, Celine Kiriscioglu, Divya Ponda, Emily Salzhauer, Emily Sun, Hannah Katzke, Jillian Lee, Jiya Chatterjee, Max Chasin, Rachael Baez, Sean Lee, Vidhatrie Keetha, Zack Kurtz, Ariella Frommer, Athena Rem, Ben Rafal, Ella Shaham, Erica Jiang, Etta Singer, Heidi Li, Kate Beckler, Lucy Peck, Maeve Goldman, Naomi Yaeger, Neeva Patel, Nia Huff, Rani Ogden, Samantha Matays, Sophie Rukin Staff Photographers Aanya Gupta, Allyson Wright, Amelia Hirsch, Anna Miller, Aryan Palla, Ben Rafal, Catherine Mong, David Aaron, Dylan Greenberg, Harper Rosenberg, Jiwan Kim, Lynn Egan, Madlyn Yoon, Matthew Jacobson, Nicole Au, Oliver Konopko, Trisha Tran Staff Artists Aashna Hari, Addy Steinberg, Aimee Yang, Amira Dossani, Christian Conner, Dani Brooks, Dylan Leftt, Elena Zhu, Felix Brener, Isabelle Kim, Ishaan Iyengar, Karla Moreira, Kayden Hansong, Kristy Xie, Lauren B. Kim, Sam Gordon, Samantha Strasser, Samuel Stern, Serena Bai, Sophia Liu, Sophie Li

realize what committed, amazing, performances their children are doing,” she said.

Overall the cast formed a lasting connection, Lee said. “We have lots of inside jokes,” she said.

“You make a lot of friends in theater because you are all in a vulnerable situation and doing weird things but you aren’t embarrassed because everyone is in it together singing, acting, and playing games.”

In the end, VanHentenryck hopes middle schoolers will connect their experience as adolescents to the play, she said. “It’s a story of Mowgli, a boy raised by a wolf pack coming of age and growing up and realizing he’s not actually a wolf,” she said. “It’s about the finding of identity,” VanHentenryck said. “Middle school is the same as Mowgli’s journey, you find where you fit in, where you want to fit in, and where you don’t want to fit in.”

Editorial Policy

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

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

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

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

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

THE RECORD NEWS MAY 27TH, 2022

Students advocate for reproductive justice in walkout

CAPTIVATED CROWD Students gather to watch Kim (11) speak.

Maeve Goldman and Rachel Baez Staff Writers During break on Thursday, students and faculty gathered on Alumni Field in a walkout for reproductive justice organized by Louise Kim (11). Student speakers protested the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade and emphasized the importance of universal access to abortion.

The walkout emphasized how the struggle for reproductive rights affects all members of the school community, Kim said. “It can be very isolating for students to deal with big and grave issues alone.” The walkout aimed to reaffirm a sense of community to ease some of the pain and burden students may feel due to abortion restrictions, they said.

“As a woman, hearing stories and speeches from other women was really important for me,” Gisele Mitchell (11) said. “Continuing to educate and share personal opinions and

stories makes a really big impact because as corny as it sounds, we all need to know that we are the future.”

“Don’t ban abortion for everyone when only some people disagree with it,” Kira Lewis (9) said in her speech at the walkout. “When someone wants an abortion, regardless of your personal opinion, you have to trust their decision- making skills and understand that they know what they need. You do not need to make their decisions and the government shouldn’t either.”

Kim hopes the walkout will encourage members of the community to join the fight for reproductive justice in any way possible, she said. In their ending speech, she issued a call to action for students and faculty to donate to abortion funds, register to vote, contact representatives, and spread awareness about abortion resources such as abortion pills that individuals in restricted states can utilize.

History buffs dominate Quiz Bowl competition Rena Salsberg and Nora Wildman Staff Writer The History club and club president Lawson Wright (11) hosted the History Bowl finals on Thursday. The History Bowl includes trivia questions about history, Justin Gurvitch (12) said.

The History Bowl began with about 35 students divided among eight teams, Wright said. During the event, teams were eliminated leaving ten people divided into two teams for the finals. The two final teams started as one

adapted to match something that our students would reasonably know and have appropriate difficulty.”

All members of the community were invited to participate in the competition, Wright said.

Participants could register as a team, or elect to be randomly assigned to one, he said.

Although Gurvitch and his friends have not gotten a chance to attend the history club meetings, they were excited to participate in the History Bowl and decided to join the competition, he said. “We thought that it could be a fun way to spend some time

“The entire library could hear us. It’s more fun than competition, and there is an insane amount of hype.”

- Darson Chen (12) team that broke into two. The two final teams were the Bombastic Festivals 2, led by Ryan Finlay (12) and the Bombastic Festivals, led

by Thomas Grant (12).

In the prelims, each round contained 15 questions, worth 10 points each, Wright said.

If a contestant got the question wrong they were not penalized.

Dr. DeMaio found that the questions were difficult and was impressed by how many of them the students answered correctly, she said.

Participants could buzz in as long as the host had begun reading the question, Wright said. “Not only are you trying to answer the question, but you are trying to answer the question with the least amount of information given.”

While players could buzz in at any point while the question was being read, teams could only discuss their answer if it had been read fully. Non-verbal gesturing was allowed and each five person team had one buzzer.

During the History bowl people got so excited when a question was answered right that their excitement caused heads to turn in the hallways, Wright said.

To prepare, the club had to find spaces and hosts, as well as create questions and a rulebook for each round of the competition, Wright said. “The questions used are pulled from multiple different resources and then

together before the end of the year,” he said.

Rohan Buluswar (12) is also not a member of the history club, but his friend, Ryan Finley (12) asked if non-club members could participate, as many were excited by the competition, Buluswar said. “It ended up being 12 of us who said yes to my friend’s offer, so we partitioned into three teams, and two of those three teams are going to play against each other in the finals,” he said.

Darson Chen (11) enjoyed that every time a question was asked, Leonardo Giorgini (12) would immediately press the buzzer and get the question right within seconds, he said.

“We all just roared so loud that the entire library could hear us,” Chen said. “It’s more fun than competition, and there is an insane amount of hype.”

Giorgini participated in the event because it seemed like a fun opportunity to be able to share his knowledge with his friends, he said. “It seemed fun to do it with friends and be able to see our success compared to the success of other teams.”

Wright hopes that the History Bowl will be even larger next year, he said. “This year planted the seed for a lot of people so that next year the competition can grow even larger,” Wright said. “I not only hope that people get some fun out of this event, but I also hope that students recognize just how much history that they actually know.”

Although the walkout was a step in the right direction, it highlighted how much the school still has to grow before it sufficiently supports people with uteruses, Mitchell said.

Some boys played a game of Spikeball right next to the walkout, completely oblivious to the people protesting the potential loss of many students and faculty members’ bodily autonomy, she said. “They needed to go inside and read the field,” she said. Mitchell was also disappointed with the lack of male teachers at the walkout as teachers are crucial in setting a precedent that the student body follows, she said.

After the walkout, the Office for Identity, Culture, and Institutional Equity (ICIE) hosted talkback sessions D and E periods to serve as a more personal and intimate space for students to share feelings and ideas, Kim

3

support and solidarity.”

In planning the walkout, Kim used their experience organizing a Middle Division walkout for gun control after the Parkland shooting in 2018, they said. She gathered input from their peers on how best to plan the walkout, then communicated with the school administration so that Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein and Dean of Students Michael Dalo could help ensure the walkout ran as smoothly as possible, she said.

“Where youth voices are often erased in the greater conversation of advocacy, the school gives students the space where the same voices suppressed elsewhere are uplifted and amplified here.”

Celia Stafford (10) appreciated that the walkout handled the abortion battle in a serious manner, in contrast to pro-choice

“Where youth voices are often erased in the greater conversation of advocacy, the school gives students the space where the same voices suppressed elsewhere are uplifted and amplified here.”

- Louise Kim (11) said.

Kim started planning the walkout shortly after the Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked on May 2, they said.

“I felt a lot of outrage from students and members of the community because of the leaked draft opinion,” they said. “I noticed that there was no space where community members could come together physically in

arguments that detract the movement, she said. “It reminded me to educate more people, including men, about abortion rights in the right way,” she said. The walkout also reminded students of their ability to initiate change in the community around them, Stafford said. “I feel understood, empowered, and part of a community that cares.”

Courtesy of Barry Mason

SMILES FOR STEPS Students having fun at the carnival.

Annual STEPS carnival unites UD and MD students of color Celine Kiriscioglu and Audrey Carbonell Staff Writers

Students Together Empowering People of Color Successfully (STEPS) hosted their annual end-of-the-year carnival on Four Acres last Friday. The carnival featured a photo booth, arcade games, basketball hoops, ping pong, and a car racing game.

The STEPS program is composed of high school mentors and middle school mentees, Ashley Coburn (10) said. The mentors plan activities for their monthly meetings and weekly talks with their mentees, she said. “We are split up into grades — sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade — and [we] play games with the mentees, we talk about their lives, and we do cultural things,” she said. “We try to support them in any way they need us, so if they want advice, we try to give it to them.”

The carnival was an exciting way for the STEPS mentors and mentees to reconnect one last time before the school year ends, Coburn said. “It’s fun for the mentees, and it’s fun, as a student leader, to see the sixth graders that I started with at the beginning of the year and how much they’ve grown physically and how much they’ve changed over the course of the year.”

When organizing the event, Co-Directors of STEPS Ashley Michel and Reyenelle Jimenez wanted to connect kids from both the Lower Division (LD) and Upper/Middle Division STEPS programs, Michel said. “The Carnival is to create a space for students of color in the school to be together, to feel uplifted, to feel a sense of community, to invite their parents [to] be closer to the community as a whole, and to just help all of the students of color to feel like Horace Mann

is their home and a place where they are seen and celebrated and valued.”

“STEPS has expanded into the Lower Division, but because our school is so big and our schedules are so different across divisions — it is no easy feat to gather all of the STEPS community together to celebrate and connect,” Jimenez said. “The STEPS Carnival is a significant event because it is the only event that we hosted this year where our students of color in Lower, Middle, and Upper can hang out and play together.”

This year, STEPS was able to host more guests, Michel said. “The carnival was on Four Acres rather than the Grasshopper in the Lower Division,” she said. “Also, we had a return to inviting parents and families, so that was nice to see just an extended STEPS community.”

“The carnival is a good way for the STEPS community to come together, meet new people, and prepare for the next school year,” Coburn said. The activities at the event help to bring the community together, Coburn said. “I remember last year at the STEPS carnival I met one of the fifth graders, who then became our sixth grade mentee, and we raced together. He was very competitive, and I saw him this fall, and I was like ‘Oh my god I know this kid.’”

“STEPS is such an important part of students of color’s lives here at Horace Mann, being the fact that it’s a predominantly white institution,” Jiya Chatterjee (11) said. “It’s really nice that at the end of the year, we get to come together as a community and enjoy the fact that we get to have this space.”

The carnival also helps to bring new members into the STEPS program, Chatterjee said. “Not necessarily everybody gets to know about STEPS until they see this big carnival, and it’s a great way to introduce the club to the school community.”

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THE RECORD FEATURES MAY 27TH, 2022

from Coco on page 1 avoid backlash from her parents, said.

“Our school’s college counselors are used to working with our school, our kids, [...] and are more familiar with the Horace Mann system.” A private counselor works with students from various schools and may have a better view of the college admissions process on a broad scale, she said.

Even if an outside counselor is wellinformed, they can only advise students based on a common data set, public information on how many applications a school receives and who they accept, Oxelson said. School counselors make more accurate predictions using the school’s internal admission statistics and advocate on behalf of specific students to college admissions officers in a way that private counselors cannot, Oxelson said.

The CoCo is also privy to information like teachers’ recommendations, which allows them to direct how students present themselves through their essays in a cohesive manner that outside counselors cannot, Oxelson said. “All of the pieces of the application work together, almost like a puzzle and when you don’t have particular pieces, you can’t complete the puzzle.”

Rather than facilitate the college process, private counselors might add to students’ stress as they have double the meetings and work, which can lead to less communication with the CoCo and a disjointed counselor letter, Howrigan said. “I worry that the story that I’m telling [admissions officers] about the student doesn’t jive with whatever they’re doing with a private counselor.” The more transparent students and families are with their school counselors, the better, she said. “We won’t think you’re a bad person because you’re using an outside counselor.”

Despite the high price, potential downsides, and no proven uptick in outcomes, outside counselors might benefit students and parents who feel extra anxious about the college process, Oxelson said. He has even recommended trusted counselors to families who might benefit from that additional reassurance. “If they just want to get through the process with more sanity, then I can understand that.”

Talking to a counselor outside of school helped Villareal feel more secure, he said. He was not sure he wanted to go to college, partly because he was nervous about applications, so the counselor walked him through his choices. “The college tools that we have at school, like Kickstart, make you a lot less reassured of your choices because it’s all doom and gloom on there,” he said. (Kickstart is a program that uses students’ GPA and standardized testing scores, alongside the most recent three years of the school’s data,

thinks he is in good hands because they are more upfront about what he must do to achieve his goals. He used to think his GPA was sufficient for the colleges he wanted to apply to, but his counselor told him to step it up because it was not high enough, which he does not think the CoCo would do. “[They] give kids the sense that everything will be fine, just do what you want, your grade is good enough for this college — when the truth is far from that.”

Families often hire outside counselors because they think the CoCo might put the school’s interests above individual students’ interests, Courtney said. In particular, she worries that if too many students want to apply to a certain school, their counselor might discourage them so as to not hurt the school’s acceptance rates, she said.

Some people measure success by counting Ivy matriculation, and people even compare matriculation lists of independent schools to determine who “did better,” Senior Associate Director of College Counseling Chris Farmer said. He shuts out those concerns when he works with students and only wants them to apply to schools that are a good fit for them. “There is this feeling out there that we push [students] a certain way so that the outcome of the class could be good,” he said. “That’s not how it works.” CoCo counselors do collaborate on all students’ lists to assess whether a school should be categorized as an unlikely, reach, target, or likely, but the college list is ultimately the senior’s. Their goal is to ensure that every list is balanced, not to sway students towards or away from certain schools, he said.

Kayden Hansong/Staff Artist

in your activities, and building relationships with your classmates,” she said. “Constantly looking over your shoulder and thinking about what the colleges want you to be doing rather than what you genuinely want to be doing, that just adds stress.”

Another appeal of private counselors is that they can assist students when school counselors are not available, like when they are off work or over the summer. “I don’t think anyone should

“I worry that the story that I’m telling [admissions officers] about the student doesn’t jive with whatever they’re doing with a private counselor.”

- Senior Associate Director of CoCo Kaitlin Howrigan Private counselors’ lack of institutional ties means they need to attract clients with high acceptance rates, so they tend to be more blunt and effective, Ashton said. He started UD as a STEM-orientated student; his counselor repositioned him to apply as a humanities student because the competition is less fierce than STEM. Using that strategy might give him a better chance, and the CoCo would not have been as direct, he said. “[They] take more of a passive stance on what the kid wants to do,” he said.

“They’re not as frank as my out-ofschool counselor.”

By the time juniors get their counselor, most have already settled on their interests and have gotten

Kayden Hansong/Staff Artist

to sort colleges into unlikelies, reaches, targets, and likelies.) “Everyone was telling me that my prospects were low.

She was just the only one who was like, ‘apply to where you want, it’s your four years, you shouldn’t let other people decide for you,’” Villareal said.

Even though Ashton’s private counselor highlighted parts of his application that were lacking, Ashton

Even for those who want help deciding what interests they should hone before senior fall, the CoCo would not be as heavy-handed as private counselors in recommending them to do an extracurricular so they look “more compelling” in admissions, Farmer said. “We don’t want to push students to do something that’s not organically happening.”

In addition to more aroundthe-clock support, some students hire private counselors to start the application process earlier. According to the Record poll, out of the 40 students who have a private counselor, 2.5 percent hired them in seventh grade or earlier, 7.5 percent in eighth grade, 30 percent in ninth grade, 22.5 percent in 10th grade, 27.5 percent in 11th grade, and 10 percent in 12th grade.

College has always been something Savannah has had in the back of her mind, so she started working with a private college counselor at the start of 10th grade, she said. “Since college is a goal I’ve always been racing towards, starting with extra help a little earlier seemed like a better idea.”

Schools look at transcripts and activities from all four years of the UD, so families might want to plan ahead to maximize their time, Cohen said. “It’s never too early to start thinking about the process in terms of how you approach high school,” she said. Students can identify their core interests and pursue them through academics and extracurriculars in school, independent projects outside of school, or summer programs.

The CoCo does not think students need to start thinking about college

involved in the activities they will list on their application resume, Farmer said. As such, the CoCo cannot plan students’ paths like private counselors who have worked with them since freshman year, but they help connect students’ school activities to potential majors and careers. “They’re planning it on the front end, we’re reflecting on what a student has done,” he said.

applications before they get counselors in junior year, Oxelson said. “I can understand some family saying, ‘I want my child to meet with a college counselor in ninth grade because I want my child to be motivated to know what it’s going to take to get into [a top college].” However, outside counselors are not the only way to get that information — the CoCo hosts gradewide meetings for parents starting sophomore year and parents can meet with Oxelson individually, he said.

Since Oxelson does not have students on his caseload this year, he has more time to give parents advice and encouragement before their student begins counseling junior year, he said. “Parents of 10th graders have been encouraged to schedule meetings with me so that I can answer their questions and many, but not all, have taken advantage of that opportunity.”

Although Courtney does not know how much a private counselor increases her chances to get into her desired schools, they give her peace of mind that she is taking steps in the right direction for her future, she said.

“It makes you feel like you know what you’re doing, a little bit.”

Contrary to Courtney, Becca thinks it is unnecessary to have a private college counselor as a freshman and does not think many students in her grade have them. “I don’t think [having a college counselor] makes that much of a difference,” she said.

“When you’re testing, as long as you don’t cheat or anything, it is just you and your grades.” The most a private college counselor could help with are essays, and students do not need help writing college essays until junior year, Becca said.

Starting too soon raises the concern that college admissions take over and distract from the high school experience, Howrigan said. “A big part of being a successful applicant is just focusing on school, getting engaged

feel like they need to spend additional money, but I realize I’m not available 24/7,” Howrigan said. Though the CoCo offers an essay workshop after junior year and revises essays in the fall, rising seniors who write their Common App essay and supplements over the summer might want someone to help brainstorm and edit their work.

The CoCo’s timeline worked well for Malaya Gaboury (12), so she did not need a private counselor, she said. She sketched out her Common App essay over the summer and did not begin her supplemental essays until September, so she worked on it with her counselor and revised it based on their feedback.

“Between the college counselor and my family, I thought that was enough,” she said.

An outside counselor might be helpful for people who know where they want to go, but Gaboury did not find it necessary because she was satisfied with the resources at school and open about her choices, she said.

“Every time I saw my college counselor [in school], she would ask me ‘what kind of school do you want to end up in?’ I remember saying, ‘honestly, I’ll be happy anywhere.’”

For students with a difficult goal — like Ashton, who is aiming for a top 10 school — the benefits of a private counselor outweigh the moral ambiguity, especially given how private counselors are only one of many economic inequities within college admissions, he said. “The world isn’t fair,” he said. “If you hold yourself to such high, lofty ideals like equality, you’ll just end up losing the competition.”

The question of economic privilege in college admissions extends beyond counseling to everything that people do to enhance their academics and extracurriculars from elementary through high school, Cohen said.

While some students use private consultants to boost their chances, it

is comparable to how others pay for athletic coaches, music instructors, or other services, she said.

In response to the high economic barriers to college counseling, IvyWise offers IvyWise Scholars, a tutoring and college counseling program that takes applications from students with under $75,000 household income.

At least one out of every 10 students from the high school Class of 2022 was pro bono, Cohen said. “It creates a nice balance, where paying students pay for those who can’t afford to.”

The IvyWise website also provides a “KnowledgeBase” that includes their blog, podcast, and other resources.

“Our biggest giveback is what we offer for free to everyone,” Cohen said.

Even though private college counselors amount to paying someone for a better chance at admission to a college, it differs from other backdoor methods that blatantly rely on financial privilege, like donations, Swersky said.

Legacy and donations are more unfair than having a private college counselor, Savannah said. “All the money in the world will not make your kid a smart, hard working person, who deserves that spot.” However, having some extra help along the way is not a bad thing, she said. “Your scores speak for themselves, your activities […] you did those things, even if you were pushed to do them by someone else, you still were able to do it,” she said.

Despite how students still do the work with private counselors, it still feels disingenuous to use one’s wealth for an advantage in the college process, Swersky said. “The majority of kids don’t have outside help or if they do, it’s not one that they’re paying over $10,000 for.” But it would be obnoxious of him to judge those who have counselors since he used one as well, even though it backfired, he said.

“If you have the money and that is something very important to you, you might as well spend it for your college.”

While it is indicative of economic privilege, the fact that some families can purchase additional counseling is just one facet of inequality present throughout the application process, Howrigan said. “In the admissions world, you’re never going to square that circle in terms of fairness or disparity of opportunity.”

The price of private counselors creates a disparity because it systematically disadvantages students who cannot pay for them, Villareal said. “Is it fair that people can’t afford those services, and they’re not being given the same opportunities as people who have them?”

* Any name with an asterisk represents a student granted anonymity.

THE RECORD FEATURES MAY 27TH, 2022

Siegel (12) dedicates year to study of psychology and decision-making Emily Salzhauer Staff Writer “I didn’t know much about psychology, but I thought that in the presentation, I’d be like a magician and I could say, ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ and that was something that excited me,” Jayden Siegel (12) said.

Over the course of the year, Siegel has researched and learned about regret, anticipated regret, and human decision making in his independent study, “Psychology of Motivation and Decision Making,” he said. “Regret is an emotion usually looking at the past and comparing what happened to what didn’t happen,” Siegel said.

“Anticipated regret is when you make certain decisions to avoid a negative emotion, in this case, regret.” In some cases, decision making is impacted by regret or anticipated regret. This is because people will try to avoid feeling regret, he said.

Siegel was interested in doing an independent study on psychology, but was unsure what he would focus on within the psychological field, he said. “I’ve always been really interested in human thought before I even decided on doing the research project.” Once he found the idea and concepts of regret and anticipated regret, Siegel was excited to learn more about them, and decided that they would be the focus of his project. Later, he realized that the two were tied to decision making, so

he incorporated that into his project as well, Siegel said.

To conduct his research, Siegel has read articles on platforms such as JStor as well Daniel Kahneman’s book “Thinking Fast and Slow,” a book that explains the two systems in the brain which control behavior and the ways that they can lead to errors in decision making. Siegel used the book to gain a better foundation of psychology, specifically in topics of decision making, he said. Decision making is tied to anticipated regret because if people predict that they may regret doing something, that may impact the choice they make, Siegel said.

Director of Counseling & Guidance Dr. Daniel Rothstein is Siegel’s independent study mentor and has helped Siegel organize his ideas and discuss his research after psychology teacher Kristen Yael Flatto went on maternity leave. “I played the typical advisor’s role in dialoguing about ideas and tracking his progress,” Rothstein wrote in an email.

In their meetings, Siegel was also able to have conversations with Rothstein about his topics, as Rothstein is a psychologist himself, Siegel said.

Despite Rothstein’s vast psychological knowledge, regret was one field that he never focused on, he wrote. “I learned how much more there is to study in this area, and what a pivotal role past regret and imagined future regret plays in our lives,” Rothstein wrote.

Like all independent study students, Siegel had two 20 minute

presentations and two 45 minute presentations this year. During his presentations, he taught his class about his research, incorporating examples and activities so classmates could better understand the complex psychological topics.

For his first presentation, Siegel used an interview of Jeff Bezos speaking about his decision to found Amazon to demonstrate regret in the context of decision making, he said. “Bezos said he used a ‘regret minimization framework’ to make the decision.” The goal of the regret minimization framework is to decrease the number of regrets one will have in the future. To do this, people must visualize themself in their old age, and think about the potential regrets they will have at that point in their life. This normally provides clarity for people to make big decisions, especially business decisions, in a way that they will not regret.

In another presentation, Siegel spoke about expected feedback, information that may control later behavior or decision making, Siegel said. To demonstrate expected feedback, Siegel used the example of gambling. “If I’m gambling and I choose to gamble, then I’ll know what would have happened if I didn’t gamble: I would have lost no money. But if I choose [not] to gamble, I will not know what could have happened if I did gamble.”

People may feel regret when they start comparing what could have happened to what did happen, Siegel said. “With gambling, you’ll have the

5

Courtesy of Jayden Siegel

STUDIOUS SCRIBBLES Siegel (12)’s independent study project notes. option to lose no money. That’s one reason why people typically regret gambling.”

For his fourth and final presentation last Wednesday, Siegel showed advertisement videos and asked classmates how regret or anticipated regret was used to market different products and services. In the various advertisements, the marketers relied on the fact that consumers would ultimately regret something in their lives and showed their product as something that they would not regret.

Although the scope of his project was limited to regret and decision making, Siegel gained a foundational knowledge in many psychological concepts, he said.

Through the independent study, Siegel was also able to gain research experience, he said. “It taught me a lot about presenting, about how to

conduct research, and how to read articles in a productive, but also critical, way.”

Rothstein is impressed by the amount of research that Siegel was able to conduct throughout the year, Rothstein wrote. “[The topic] is vast and he challenged himself by reading complex and dense research articles.” Siegel’s topic is a broad one, so part of Rothstein’s role was to connect it with other various psychological theories, Rothstein wrote.

This is Siegel’s first year of psychological research, and he is glad that he chose to do an independent study, he said. Because of the project, Siegel is inspired to continue taking psychology in college and learning more about these topics, he said. “I want to learn more about psychology because I think it’s really cool.”

Vig (12)’s fervor for film shines in independent study of female directors James Zaidman Staff Writer Riva Vig (12) discovered the artistic side of film through her Independent Study project, which focuses on researching the nuances of various female directors’ works and how they decide to design their films, she said.

As she wishes to go into filmmaking, Vig wished to take a look at the ways that different directors could affect their film via many different avenues. Towards the end of the year, she also viewed many different genres of film other than artistic and experimental film, she said.

During the course of the year, Vig moved from watching standard films that could be seen at a theater to films which did not focus as much on the plot. “I started with Hitchcock films, and then I moved to study other filmmakers who made films about films,” she said. Although she had planned to focus on many different directors and their signature styles, Vig ultimately decided to refine her topic to focus on solely female directors, she said.

Since a director’s style can affect how a viewer sees a film, she was interested in times where two directors created similar films.

When two directors did create two similar films, she was intrigued by how the two films, although similar in nature, differed due to the director’s style, Vig said. Vig was particularly captivated by Alfred Hitchcock’s films due to his unique and especially artistic style, she said. “The whole vibe you get when you’re watching it, it’s very different, so that was really interesting to see how they viewed filmmaking differently as well.”

Vig’s independent study advisor was former Art of FIlm Joseph Timko, who has retired from teaching but still works with students whose Independent Studies overlap with his previous work. His main approach while working with her was to share films that he found interesting with her, and then after she had watched the film, the two would discuss the films on Zoom, Timko said. Throughout the process, Timko sent her many films on DVD for her to watch — at some points she had 30 to 40 DVDs, Vig said. He enjoys mentoring for the independent study class due to its student-guided nature, he said. “It has been an education to me every time.”

In regards to the final project, Timko allowed

her to take a more independently guided approach, he said. Since she is very resourceful and able to work well independently, Timko was more than happy letting her take the lead on the final project. “I’m very impressed with her, [and] it was wonderful working with her,” he said.

Vig was also interested in exploring the work of female directors and how their identity affected their work, and therefore she decided to refine her study, Vig said. Once the shift had been decided, Timko introduced Vig to two world-class female directors, Agnès Varda and Chantal Akerman, and the two

Over the course of the first semester, Vig was able to determine which techniques worked while watching films. Whether or not to take notes during the film, and whether she should watch the film in one sitting constantly popped up as the most pressing issues that she was having, Vig said. “If I’m taking notes, I’m going to miss what’s happening next. I found that I couldn’t really break up the film, I forgot what happened at the beginning if I watched it in parts,” she said.

Towards the middle of the year, Vig had mostly settled on a technique for watching the films, she said. She would watch the film

Courtesy of Riva Vig

MOVIE MAGIC Films from Vig (12)’s independent study. viewed documentaries on their lives and films to contextualize their work in their lives.

Vig was particularly attracted to the work of Akerman. “She creates long, slow films, and she just sort of places the camera there and lets everything else happen on the screen. She likes linear shapes in the frame and she likes to start filming without a plan,” she said.

Despite the fact that Vig is fascinated by the film industry and filmmaking process, one of her biggest challenges while researching was learning how to meaningfully watch a longer film while not missing key details, she said. She asked herself, “how was I going to approach actually watching this film, when I can’t just sit there and zone out and I have to actually pay attention?,” she said.

continuously, and depending on the type of film, take notes in a manner consistent with the action. If the film had a lot of action or was very complex, such as Federico Fellini’s 8½, she would watch and absorb the entire film, and then afterwards she would write down what she thought was important so she could discuss what stood out with Timko.

However, for the films with less movement, such as Akerman’s From the East, Vig would take notes during the film on what she found interesting. “They would hold on the shots for a long time, so I’d be able to write notes in between, and I wouldn’t really miss anything,” she said.

Although it took her nearly half the year to fully understand how to thoughtfully view

the films, once Vig had developed a process it became much easier for her, and she felt quite rewarded due to her newfound skills, she said.

Vig began to appreciate this ability more later in the year, as the films that Timko sent Vig strayed further and further from the bounds of what would be found in a theater, she said.

It was also important to her to be able to fully comprehend what was taking place, she said.

“I began to figure out how to actually analyze a film, to ‘read’ the film essentially,” she said.

Another rewarding aspect of her studies of film was the ability to identify a director’s style, Vig said. The first artistic film Vig watched was Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour, which she watched with her class in Seminar in Literary Studies: Man’s Search for Meaning through Literature and Film, she said. Recently, when watching Last Year at Marienbad, Vig noticed that many styles were similar or shared between the two films, she said. After watching Last Year at Marienbad, she discovered that the film was also directed

by Resnais and felt accomplished knowing that she was able to pick up the nuance and style left by a particular director.

For Vig’s final Independent Study project, she plans to work with Timko to apply the knowledge that she has discovered to her own filmmaking, she said. Since she now has an understanding of the many different ways that artistic nuance can affect a film, she plans to apply her newfound knowledge as she continues making films in her Filmmaking class and on her own, Timko said. In one of her films, Vig plans to mimic Akerman’s technique of filming random scenes without a plan, she said. “I’m going to go about my day at Horace Mann, and just shoot what I find interesting in chronological order throughout my day.”

Vig believes that her Independent Study has helped her to understand how to be a better filmmaker in general, she said. The experience of understanding how she can use many different artistic styles in film helped her explore the art form, Vig said. Timko also believes that Vig will carry the knowledge she is discovering now through her education at film school and eventually entering the industry, he said.

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THE RECORD MIDDLE DIVISION & ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MAY 27TH, 2022

Fifth graders prepare to leave the nest with MD Orientation Avery Vukhac and Anya Mirza Staff Writers On Saturday, rising sixth graders came to campus for their Middle Division (MD) orientation after two years of orientation programming being held online. “I feel excited about entering middle school and orientation made me more excited,” Tyler Soroca (5) said.

The orientation ran from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. Students and parents were split into separate groups, both of which listened to lectures.

The lectures were split into two parts, Alyssa Au P ‘29 said. First, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly gave the parents a general idea of what life in the MD would be like. Then, Head of MD Javaid Khan spoke to them.

Khan said that he gave both the parents and students their own mock assemblies in order to introduce them to life in the MD. During the assembly for the parents, he showed a Ted Talk to convey the importance of their roles in their student’s life, Alyssa said. “He also went into specifics about placement exams for new students among other class related items,” she said. On the students’ end, the majority of the orientation involved listening to speakers and communicating with new students, Lani Chen (5) said.

Since MD orientations in the past few years have been abnormal due to Covid-19 restrictions, Khan was given freedom to redesign the event to be the most beneficial for parents and students. Khan felt that in past years there has been too much information and lecturing packed into this one event which could be overwhelming. “[W]e made adjustments to the day, prioritized which information was essential at this point in their journeys, and then looked to create an experience that left families and students feeling excited about the school and community they are joining,” Khan said.

MD is very different from what Lower Division (LD) students are used to, with a larger number of students and campus size. “I

won’t be familiar with everyone around me,” Chen said. Vivian Chen, parent of Lani Chen, is excited for her daughter to get to experience the freedom that comes with being on a larger campus.

Though Khan and Kelly spoke about the MD experience, students weren’t exposed to too much of the campus, Holly Soroca P ‘29, ‘25,and ‘23 said. “There were no tours of a classroom,” she said. The new campus evoked anxiety in rising sixth graders as they navigated confusion about where they would go for their classes, Holly said.

Even if they were unable to explore all of it, students found that even seeing certain parts of the campus such as the atrium, Gross Theater, and the Cohen Dining Commons helped make them feel more comfortable about entering the MD. Holly said that all the students eating lunch together in the cafeteria made the middle school less intimidating for them. “Just being in the cafeteria made them feel more comfortable, and seeing where they were going to eat,” she said. Being able to be with his friends and make new friends during lunch was his favorite part of the day, James Au (5) said.

Despite anxieties about the large and new campus, rising sixth-graders, like Tyler, have much to look forward to after attending the orientation. He is excited to befriend new students next year.

Holly was appreciative of the information that parents were able to receive about their child’s upcoming MD experience. At times, it can be difficult to understand the context of what their children are telling them, so Holly was glad to join administrative lectures.

“They were hearing simultaneously what we [parents] were learning about so that we had information about what to ask the kids when we got home,” she said.

Parents who have older children, such as Holly and Alyssa, have noticed that there were some changes implemented since their attendance at past orientations. One major difference is that this year each sixth-grader

will be required to take a quarter of Latin starting next school year, said Khan.

Coming from the LD, returning students were taught how to manage their time well and to differentiate long-term projects from shorter ones. The MD is where skills of selfadvocating and meeting with teachers are developed, Holly said.

Some returning students from the LD are prepared to enter MD since their teachers have taught them how to maintain proper work habits. “I am used to being organized and getting my work done on time and if I have questions I meet with my teachers,” Tyler said.

One of the biggest changes for students as they enter the MD is the freedom that they gain, Holly said. “I think particularly because of Covid these kids haven’t really even had the opportunity to move around much in the LD,” she said.

Students look forward to this new independence they will have in the MD that they didn’t have in the LD. “I’m most excited about free periods,” James Au (5) said.

The MD also provides extracurricular

activities that students can join to further explore topics that they are interested in.

Tyler looks forward to the numerous clubs offered by the MD. Khan views orientation as a community builder.

Students’ families, too, were glad to be on campus for the day. “The parents were back in school again — you could see how much they enjoyed it,” Khan said.

Parents of fifth-graders found that the event was a great opportunity for them to meet and socialize as well. “[I] connected with other parents, whom I personally haven’t seen since the pandemic began so that was a treat,” Alyssa Au said.

Fifth graders and their parents share excitement about this transition into becoming part of the MD community. “[M]y child is starting his journey into a new chapter in his life,” Au said. She looks forward to the opportunities that MD will bring for her son, and the new relationships he will form as a result.

Samuel Stern/Staff Artist

For the first time in forever: UD music department collage concerts returns to Gross stage Hanzhang Swen and Madison Kim Staff Writers The UD Music Department Collage concerts happened last Thursday and Friday night from 6pm to 9pm. It was the first live concert that was open to the public since Feburary of 2020 due to the pandemic.

Extensive planning was necessary to ensure the concerts ran smoothly, stage and equipment manager Amir Khosrowpour said.

Khosrowpour was responsible for arranging the movement of steel pans, percussion equipment, and music stands from Fisher Hall to the Gross Theater stage, he said. The maintenance staff were also a huge help to Khosrowpour as they helped pack all the steel pans into their cases and moved them over to Gross Theater, Khosrowpour said. He also had help from three crew members from the Horace Mann Theater Company (HMTC) who assisted in the movement of all the chairs, stands, and percussion on and off stage.

Students prepared alongside their teachers to make the concert a success.

Alan Bates directed the Steel Bands, chose the pieces, with student input, and made most of the arrangements. Bates’s classes have been practicing their pieces for this concert since the beginning of the year. “ The Music Dept. had the two dates, May 19 and 20 scheduled a long time ago, but we only decided recently to have Steelband and Choral Groups together on May 20th,” said Bates.

“Preparing for this concert was very fun, important, intense, and helpful,” Brady Winter (10), a member of the Steel Band, said. “The performances and the concert went very well, it was better than smooth. It was beautiful, successful, a wonder, and joyous.” “Being back in the community was one of the best parts of the concert. Having family and friends there and being able to experience the full

effects of a concert after covid was amazing,” Winter said. Winter described the concert as inspirational, fantastic, the best performance of the year, and a hands down ten out of ten performance.

Jackson Shreiber (10) has been preparing since November both by himself and with the orchestra, Shreiber said. Clementine Bodnor (11) said that Treble Choir has also been preparing since the Fall. HM Treble met three times a week to rehearse but also used this time to collaborate and become closer by updating each other on their lives, she said.

Bodnor said that HM Treble Choir has grown very close as a group and she enjoys balancing a personal and professional life within the group. In Orchestra, they first sight read the

ensure that everyone knew their part, Glover said.

Tomoko Hida (12), a member of Sinfonietta, had to prepare a very difficult piece which was first distributed in December, and they have been rehearsing the same piece ever since.

“I was flustered at first but kept on rammin through it. I got the gist of the first movement pretty quickly, then the second movement, and finally, prepared for the third movement for a month and a half and had the piece down. A musical piece is often divided up into individual movements and these movements usually tell the story of the piece,” Hida said.

Hida also said that it was beneficial to her to experiment with different ways of rehearsing.

“We rehearsed without a conductor, like a

Jorge Orvañanos/Staff Photographer

SNAPPY SINGING Ho leads singers during in-person concert. pieces together as an orchestra class, and then for the remaining classes they focused on fixing the small musical and technical details Andrew Glover (10) said. Each section would have separate practice sections apart from an entire group, Glover also said. Additionally, the class played games, such as quizzes, to

classic ensemble. But sometimes we had Mr. Hetherington there to lead us through our piece and having him there was beneficial,” she said.

Both teachers and students of both the performers and audiences agreed that the concert went well. Bodnor said that their set

sounded the best it ever had at the concert and that all the parts they were worried about sounded clean. Amir said that the energy in both concerts was very high and that people were excited to be back on stage performing.

Joann Yu (10) attended the concert on Thursday and her favorite moment was watching the Sinfonietta perform Triptyque

by Yashushi Akutagawa, she said. “I enjoyed watching the Sinfonietta performance because they played a song composed by a Japanese composer, instead of by a typical white European composer,” Yu said. “It was nice to see some diversity in the music and different composers that they performed.” Yu said that she would recommend the music concerts to anyone at Horace Mann and thought that it was a brilliant experience.

Daphne Tsai (10), a member of Treble Choir, watched the concerts online because she had COVID but still wanted to listen to the treble choir. “I put a lot of work into the final performance, and although I was a bit sad that I was unable to perform with the rest of my choir, I also wanted to see experience an outside of a singer’s perspective, since I can’t sing myself,” Tsai said.

Another audience member, Daniel Pustilnik (10), said that he enjoyed the concert. He attended the concert to watch his sister, Dalia Pustilnik (12), who is in the treble choir, perform at her last concert. Although he does go to all of her concerts, this one was especially important to her because it is her last concert at Horace Mann. “I couldn’t really miss it and I’m glad I didn’t,” Pustilnik said.

He enjoyed all the performances, especially the steel drums and the song “Ain’t No Grave” performed by Treble Choir. “It was a good welcome back/comeback concert after not being able to host one for a few years due to COVID,’ Pustilnik said.

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THE RECORD ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT AND MIDDLE DIVISION MAY 27TH, 2022

Students collaborate on and offscreen in “Student Body President”

Sean Lee Staff Writer

Cast and crew gathered on Friday, May 13 to film “Student Body President,” a collaboration between eight different classes and several faculty members, film teacher Jordan Rathus said.

Filmmaking 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Film History, taught by Rathus, worked with theater teacher Haila VanHentenryck’s Acting on Camera to organize and execute the film shoot. “Ms. V and I meet before the school year begins, and we go through the schedule and figure out between two and three projects we can film together,” Rathus said.

The film is about a rivalry between fraternal twin sisters from very different cliques in a race for student body president, Yasmeen Masoud (10) said. Masoud plays Fox, the popular, spoiled, and prissy twin who has everyone in the palm of her hand. Fox’s twin sister, Scarlett, is a 2000’s grunge “Avril Lavigne type” meant to be an outcast both in her school and home life, played by Celia Stafford (10), Masoud said. “Their friends actually end up playing a really big role in the end, and I’m excited for people to see how that plays out,” she said.

A week before the major shoot day, actors received scripts and discussed details with directors, playwrights, and members of the filmmaking class, Masoud said. Then, the crew, VanHentenryck, and Rathus collaborated on a film schedule that actors received a few days before the shoot day.

Filmmaking students were split into two groups: the first unit filmed the majority of large group scenes, and the second unit filmed contained scenes with fewer actors, Rathus said.

“It was organized in a way that enabled us to film two things at once because it’s a very ambitious script,” she said. “We had many spreadsheets that all recorded exactly which actors we needed in which scenes in which locations, and when we were scheduling it, we found multiple scenes that could be filmed simultaneously.”

Another large part of the preparation for the filmmaking crew involved reading and understanding the script so they could get the right shots, Ethan Waggoner (12) said. As the boom mic operator, Waggoner knew which actors had mics on, which helped him know which audios to prioritize when shooting the scene, he said.

While Waggoner was supposed to be a cameraman, he stepped up and filled the role of a boom op that many others shied away from. “It often puts me in a bunch of awkward positions — if you end up watching the movie, I’m constantly under the table or hanging above the shot, which is fun,” he said. “It definitely doesn’t get noticed as much, but the movie doesn’t have audio without it.”

Assistant Director Logan Dracos (12) ensured that both crews were organized and on top of the schedule throughout the day to get the best shots and performances, he said. “It’s been a lot of organizational work,” he said. “Organizing something this big takes a lot of time and effort, which Ms. Rathus and the rest of the crew have certainly put in.”

Before actors reported to the first location on the film day, they performed a ritual warmup to get prepared, VanHentenryck said. “We all held hands and did this vocal warmup and said, ‘yes, we’re going to do this film.’ That was a special moment.”

Throughout the day, a behind-the-scenes unit went around and interviewed cast and production crew members, getting in-depth shots of what was going on and diving deeper into the details of the set, Jack Chasen (10) said. “There are so many moving parts to a big production, so it’s good to be able to get in-depth insight and a closer analysis into everything that’s happening.”

The behind-the-scenes unit needed to know where certain cast and crew members would be at a certain time for interviews, and relied on call sheets made by Rathus to find their way around the set, Chasen said.

Despite extensive preparation, the cast and crew still faced some challenges throughout the day, Waggoner said. For the first of the film crews, a messed-up first scene delayed the entire process by almost 45 minutes, he said. “We started the day in a really difficult position. But if you’re behind, you just gotta figure it out,” he said. “Ms. Rathus knows what she’s doing, so she got us in line and we adapted and shot in a different place.”

Waggoner’s favorite scene to film was an interview scene in the cramped Moose Miller Room. In the scene, one of the sisters is disciplined due to an incident involving her twin, which called for a serious atmosphere in the lighting and mood of the shot, he said.

The scene sets the tone for the rest of the film and the actors and English teacher Dr. Jonathan Kotchian’s performances were very powerful, Rathus said. “There’s really nothing like being in the room when everybody’s running around, going crazy to get ready for the shot — then suddenly, the camera and sound roll, and everybody has to be quiet and the moment just creates itself,” she said. “It’s like magic captured on film, and I feel really happy that so many kids were able to experience it.”

While the shot was a challenge to capture, the lighthearted atmosphere the crew fostered made it an enjoyable scene to shoot, Waggoner said. “It was really fun to see that a super quick interrogation scene, that in the movie is going to be a minute of quick cuts from a bunch of camera angles, took us an hour of moving and constantly shifting the camera around the room to get every angle,” he said. “I’m literally under the table pointing the boom op and leaning all the way on my chest to stretch it as far as I can because it’s a super compact room.”

Masoud appreciated the professional nature of the set and crew, she said. “The day was a sneak peek into what it’s like to be in a film and TV acting, so that was super cool to see,” she said. “It’s shown me the distinctions between film acting and live theater, and how different working with a film crew is to working with a stage crew.”

Working with actors from the acting class was a nice change of pace from the usual acting subjects, Waggoner said. In most filmmaking classes, the

that together with the Wounded Amazon marble,’’ Hetherington said. “It was interesting to see how differently male and female wounded heroes are portrayed,” Christine Tao (11) analyzed a 1630s narrative painting by Paul Rubens titled “Venus and Adonis,” she said. “The project made me think deeper about art,” she said. “I used to think some Renaissance paintings were ugly but by learning about the specific iconography and artists’ choices, I gained a greater appreciation for why paintings look the way they do.”

Gisele Paulson (11) presented Artemisia Gentileschi’s religious painting “Esther before Ahasuerus,” a painting that detailed a narrative from the Old Testament, Paulson said. “It was painted by one of the most prominent female renaissance painters so it was super cool to learn the feminist angle of the Renaissance.”

The opportunity to view art in-person, as opposed to through online images, was crucial to the student’s understanding of each work, Hetherington said. “Being in front of a work of art in-person is always different than viewing it on screen,” she said. “You can view the size, technique, impasto, and sculptures in the round.”

Seeing the art first hand increased students’ appreciation of each piece, Gabriela Tinaj (11) said. Tinaj was amazed to discover that her painting, “Portrait of a Carthusian” by Petrus Christus was smaller than she imagined — only 11.5 by 8.5 inches, she said. “I was impressed with the amount of detail and how naturalistic the painting was.”

In addition, students were able to experience the specific staging that curators designed for each exhibit room, Hetherington said. The different methods of presenting art influence the way museum-goers interpret the work, she said.

For example, if two renaissance portraits of the same person hang next to each other the subject will still be presented in different ways,” she said.

If a painting is hung near a window with light that obscures it, it’s very different than a portrait that is next to a door and you can view people walking through the door,” she said. “There are choices made and the ways we experience objects that are different in person than in a classroom,” Hetherington said.

After students left the Greek and European galleries, they were instructed to explore the museum and analyze one of its other exhibits, Hetherington said. “There is a real joy in discovering that students can think about works of art they have never seen before and understand them.”

The ability to see non-Renaissance art exposed students to styles of art they did not encounter in class, Tao said. Tao visited the museum’s Costume Institute exhibit “America: A Lexicon in Fashion,’’ she said. “It was super cool to see more current works such as A$AP Rocky’s quilted outfit from the Met Gala and Taylor Swift’s Grammy dress.”

The trip to the Whitney and High Line allowed students to further engage with the question of “what is art,” and “how certain places and artists define art for us,” Art History teacher Avram Schlesinger said.

The students prepared by researching two artists whose pieces were presented at the Biennial, then taught the rest of the class about their art, Schlesinger said. This year the Biennials theme is “Quiet as it’s Kept.” “The Whitney Biennial is the show that demonstrates the latest of artists’ creations for the past several years,” he said.

Serchan enjoyed seeing one of the artists she researched, Wang Hui’s installation, she said.

“Their installations include LED lights,” she said.

“It was mesmerizing to sit under them and watch them glow.”

At the Whitney, the art gained a new significance, Campbell said. Campbell was drawn to an installation called Jail by Denyse Thamos, she said. “A photo of it was shown during class

Courtesy of Haila VanHentenryck Courtesy of Riva Vig

IN ACTION Students in the process of filming. students themselves or their family members must act in front of the camera. “They’re always a little awkward in front of the camera, which is understandable,” he said. “But these people, even though it’s just an acting class in high school, they usually have more acting experience than anyone we’ve ever worked with.”

Actors showed high levels of professionalism when delivering lines, staying in character, and reshooting several scenes from different angles, Waggoner said. “For high school actors, they were really, really professional, and for us, it made things so much quicker and easier,” he said. “Even the people who weren’t in the acting class, like some of the teachers like Mr. Bauld, killed it.”

The professional nature of the set was exciting for VanHentenryck, she said. “To see all of the film people with their name tags of what they’re doing and being on the walkies being like, ‘we need this,’ and using professional lingo and a call sheet — it’s just really cool that students get to experience a professional film shoot.”

Collaboration between different classes has been enjoyable for Masoud, she said. “I know they’ve worked really hard to write this script and plan this project out, so I hope the other actors and I do it justice.”

After a day of shooting, Dracos found watching back the footage the most rewarding. “Seeing all of the work and coordination culminate in a really good shot is super satisfying,” he said.

UD Art History classes explore exhibits at the Whitney and MOMA Maeve Goldman Staff Writer The brushstrokes were no longer pixelated and the buildings were no longer the size of a projector as the school’s half-credit Art History students left the classroom and entered the Manhattan art scene on their first trip in two and a half years. “Seeing the art at a museum gave it a new significance as the center of a dynamic environment rather than a still photo,” Ellie Campbell (10) said.

Last Wednesday, Visual Arts Department Chair Dr. Anna Hetherington’s Renaissance and Ancient Art History students visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) together, Hetherington said. “The Met offers the opportunity to view both Ancient and Renaissance work,” she said. “I wanted students to think about the connections between Ancient Greek and Roman and European Renaissance Art.” Meanwhile, Contemporary Art History classes went to Manhattan to view the 2022 Whitney Biennial and to observe contemporary architecture along the High Line, Saanvi Serchan (10) said. “Going to see work we had studied in class was an incredible experience,” she said.

Before attending the Met, Renaissance and Ancient Art History students were assigned an art piece to research, which they would present to students in smaller groups at the museum, Hetherington said. She chose the works by ensuring that each group had art of different types, mediums and themes, she said. ”I wanted to include paintings and sculptures and different types of work such as religious, narrative, portrait, and mythological.”

Hetherington selected the different art based on how individual pieces interact with each other, she said. For example, Hetherington paired together two Roman sculptures from 138 - 181 A.D. and 1st–2nd century A.D., she said. “One group had the Fallen Warrior sculpture so I put

Sean Lee/ Photo Director

ASTOUNDING ART Field trip flicks. presentations but the picture did not reflect the scale of the piece or the simultaneously threedimensional and claustrophobic atmosphere that it conveyed in person.”

After students left the Biennial, they walked along the High Line and discussed contemporary architecture, Schlesinger said. The High Line passes by quintessential contemporary architecture such as the Lantern House, Zaha Hadid’s building, and High Line 23, which marked the beginning of postmodern structures on the High Line, he said. “The High Line has a lot of what we call starchitects.”

Overall, Schlesinger believes the trip further inspired students to engage with art history, he said. “I hope the students gain a desire to go back and look at more art.”

Lions’ Den Record Sports

MAY 27TH, 2022

Track team competes in NYSAIS Championships Avery Vukhac and Anya Mirza Staff Writers 11 members of the Boys and Girls Varsity Outdoor Track team attended the NYSAIS Championships hosted by the Collegiate School at the Icahn Stadium this Wednesday. Several athletes, including Daniel Schlumberger (12), broke their personal records and even placed as high as fifth in their events.

“Senior captain Daniel Schlumberger had an excellent day as he ran his personal best times in all of his events,” Boys Varsity Track coach Jon Eshoo said. Schlumberger ran three events in total: 100m, 200m, and 400m, Eshoo said. Schlumberger placed 12th in the 100m, 6th in the 200m, and 5th in the 400m.

Allysson Wright (11) was one of the other athletes who broke a personal record after jumping over 31 feet in the triple jump.

Another athlete who performed well in the championships was Adande Nartey (10), who placed 6th in the long jump after a jump of 19½ feet.

In order to qualify for the championship, each athlete had to meet a specific time, Cullen said.

For example, one of the qualifications for attending NYSAIS Championships is having a time less than or equal to 2:20 in the 800m at any official meet during the season, Eshoo said. All of the athletes have been training hard and trying their best throughout the season which has resulted in tremendous improvements, he said.

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To prepare for the meet, the team did a wide variety of workouts, both fitness and running, and made sure to hydrate as much as possible, Girls Varsity Track coach Meredith Cullen said. The team has been practicing in Van Cortlandt Park and the fitness center in order to prepare for the meet.

The runners completed intervals and ladder workouts to make sure they were in the best shape possible before the championships, Schlumberger said. The workouts were physically taxing, but in the end helped the team reach their end goal of performing well in the race, he said.

The workouts and drills that each athlete does are based on which specific race they run, Wright said. For example, Courtsey of Track Team Instagram sprinters work on specific drills that will improve their RUNNING-READY Team members on the track. short distance sprint times, while long distance runners do drills to work on their endurance, strength, and and made sure that they were in their best shape for the meet, technique, she said.

Wright said. During every practice, every member of the team put One example of a workout that the track team does is repeats, in their all, and the end results reflected their efforts. during which the runners repeat certain distances, Ahana Nayar Despite not reaching the success other teams have had, the team (11) said. is full of true fighters, Schlumberger said. Many of the runners have In order to get faster times, runners work to improve both also had to do multiple events, which is very difficult and physically strength and speed. The team works on strength training in the taxing, he said. weight room to do this, Eshoo said. Some workouts that are The NYSAIS Championships mark the end of the Varsity Track effective in gaining leg muscle and quadriceptive strength are Team season. “On behalf of the coaching staff I can say that we all squats and lunges, he said. enjoyed the season a great deal,” Eshoo said. “The kids were great The team worked extremely hard during their daily practices and we had a lot of fun.”

Varisty Ultimate Frisbee falls in a hard-fought game to Heschel in DiscNY semifinal playoffs Avery Vukhac and Anya Mirza Staff Writers Varsity Ultimate lost a tough semifinals DiscNY playoff game against Abraham Heschel School this Monday, their last game of the season, with a score of 4-13.

The team’s strengths during the game were decision making, strategy, and understanding of how the game is meant to be played, Rohan Buluswar (12) said. Additionally, they played cohesively as a team—not crowding but creating space for plays and not blocking teammates, working together, and Courtesy of Ultimate Team

THE ULTIMATE TEAM Allard-Neptune (12) and Ghosh (12).

communicating, he said.

During the game, the team’s plan was to play smart and try not to drop the frisbee, and they also had some specific strategies, co-captain Sareena Parikh (12) said. “We set a stack and the person at the front of the stack runs deep with the frisbee and we try to get a deep shot,” Parikh said The team started with a horizontal stack offense, where there were three players in the back and four in the middle layer, Tuhin Ghosh (12) said. In this strategy, teamwork and coordination were essential as the players in the middle layer were moving in pairs. Later, they transitioned to a vertical stack method, he said. In the horizontal stack method, the cutters line up in a horizontal line on the field, while in the vertical stack method, they line up in a vertical line, Alex Nagin (12) said.

Another strategy the team employed during the game was a two-three-two zone defense, where there were two players in the front, three in the middle layer, and two in the back, Buluswar said.

“If it weren’t for a few small errors we had made, [the score] definitely could’ve been a lot closer,” Buluswar said. The team tended to get impatient when they approached the end zone, perhaps from the heat outside or the pressure during the game, leading to unforced drops, he said.

Heschel was a challenging team, as they have many athletic players who are tall and fast—two ideal qualities for Ultimate players, Buluswar said. They were undefeated this year and last year, they were ranked 6th in the state, he said. “They’re definitely one of the favorites in the league to win.”

The biggest challenge during the game was trying to crack Heschel’s zone defense, co-captain Ghosh said. They often prevented cutters—people who make catches—from getting open. “If we were up against any other team, we would’ve had a shot of getting into the finals,” he said.

Even against overwhelming odds, the team kept a high level of intensity and fought hard during the whole game, Varsity Ultimate coach Chris Nelson said.

A highlight of the game was the team’s 3-point winning streak, which brought the score from 5-0 up to 5-3, he said.

The team qualified for the playoffs based off of their record during the regular season, Ghosh said. By the end of the regular season, the Lions and Regis were tied for fourth in the league, he said. Thus, they played a tiebreaking match to determine who would make it to semifinals, with the Lions

winning the game on universe point.

One player that stood out during the game was Sam Singh (11), Buluswar said. “He made some incredible catches that other people did not think were gettable.”

Devin Allard-Neptune (12) also excelled, Ghosh said. She was reliable to have in deep space—near the Lions’ endzone, where she would block any long shots made by Heschel—, found open spots to receive passes, and prevented throws. She was strong in both offense and defense, he said.

One memorable moment during the game was a momentum shift during a short field turnover, Nelson said. Ghosh threw a long throw and Allard-Neptune jumped above two defenders to catch the pass.

At the end of the game, team captains Ghosh and AllardNeptune were recognized during the spirit circle, Nagin said.

“Players from both teams acknowledge a MVP and a Spirit MVP on the other team. During this game, Devin and Tuhin were acknowledged for their athleticism and playing really hard on the field.” he said.

Leading up to the game, the team had a week of fun practices, but they stayed focused on the upcoming game, Nelson said.

In particular, the team did dump resets at almost every practice. “A cutter is moving to the open space to try to move the frisbee further down the field to the endzone you’re trying to score in. but if the defenders on the other team are doing a really good job, you wanna dump it to the person behind you and then restart the play.”

For the first game of the season, the team played Heschel and lost with a score of 4-14, Buluswar said. Since then, the team has improved significantly. Their league record was 5-3, and their overall record was 6-4, he said.

The team has a bright future, Ghosh said. “The juniors have a lack of experience but a lot of spirit and knowledge about strategies,” he said. “All they really need is the practice COVID took away from them,” he said.

Nagin really loves ultimate frisbee because it emphasizes unity not only among the team, but among its opponents, he said. “You acknowledge face to face with your opponents what they did well, and you shake each other’s hand and congratulate each other.” he said.

LIONS’ BOX: Results from This Week’s games 5/23 - Varsity Baseball vs. Riverdale -- WIN 5-4 5/23 - Varsity Baseball vs. Poly Prep -- LOSS 1-8 5/23 - Varsity Ultimate vs. Heshel -- LOSS 5-15 5/23 - Boys Varsity Volleyball vs. Brooklyn Friends -- WIN 3-0 5/24 - Boys Varsity Golf HM Invitational

5/24 - Girls Varsity Golf HM Invitational 5/25 - Boys Varsity Volleyball vs. Saint Ann’s -- WIN 3-0 5/25 - Boys Varsity Golf vs. NYSAISAA Championship 5/25 - Boys Varsity Outdoor Track NYSAIS Championship