Volume 119 Issue 28
The Record
record.horacemann.org
Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903
May 20th, 2022
Students choreograph, recite, and model in annual Asia Night performances Nia Huff and Naomi Yaeger Staff Writers
From a fashion show to Independent Study Presentations, the Upper Division’s (UD) East Wind West Wind’s (EWWW) annual Asia Night served as both a fundraiser and a celebration of Asian culture last Friday evening, Esha Patel (12) said. The event began with a dinner served from six to seven pm, then featured two acts that ran from seven until eight. Since Asia Night is also a charity event, EWWW hosted a bake sale a few weeks beforehand to raise money, Patel said. This year, they raised between $1500 and $1600 were sent to #StopAAPIHate, an organization dedicated to advancing equity for the Asian-American community, she said. The night before the bake sale,
accompanied her on piano. “It was fun to learn a piece from my culture and to be able to perform it,” she said. During the event, Emily and Ellen played a song called “The Moon Represents My Heart,” from a popular TV show in China, Ellen said. Michael Shaari (12) gave a shortened version of his Independent Study on how the three main Japanese religions influence and manifest in Japanese culture. During Asia Night, Shaari focused on how Japanese art demonstrated the tenets of Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism, Shaari said. “In most regions, religion isn’t necessarily a part of everyday life, but in Japan, Shintoism is basically Japanese culture.”. The event also featured a K-Pop Dance Medley, Daphne Tsai (10) said. The group had to overcome a few
Courtesy of Larry Tao
FASHION FORWARD Lee (11) and Tao (11) strike a pose during show.
EWWW members had a sleepover where they prepared for the next day’s celebrations, Patel said. “We always spend the night before cooking all these fun meals. We made dumplings from scratch, we made samosas, we tried to incorporate everyone’s cultures into it,” she said. “It’s always a lot of fun.” At the event, Ellen Wang (9) played the flute while Emily Wang (9)
challenges the day of the performance, she said. “We had to reassign a lot of stuff since someone got injured,” she said. Nevertheless, the group rose to the challenge and still put on an amazing show. The dancers only started preparing two weeks before the show, Serena Bai (10) said. “We really put together the entire program in a very short amount of time,” she said. The dancers worked
well together, and put on a great performance that celebrated Asian culture, she said. During the fashion show, participants walked down the stage in a two-by two formation, then formed a V to display their outfits, Rizaa Fazal (10) said. Fazal wore a traditional Pakistani Gharara in the fashion show, she said. “I think there needs to be more South Asian representation, especially within the Asian community, so me and Rani [Ogden (10)] put on South Asian clothing to show off our culture.” To start planning for the event, EWWW co-presidents Tomoko Hida (12), Yin Fei (12), and Patel sent out a sign-up form to club members for the specific events at Asia Night, Hida said. “There’s some things that are essential to Asia Night, like the Dance Medley and the Fashion show,” she said. Besides asking people if they wanted to take part in the K-Pop Dance Medley or the Fashion Show, the form allowed club members to sign up for their own performance, play the Taiko Drums, introduce other presenters, or help run the ticket box, Hida said. UD English Teacher and CoAdvisor of EWWW Jennifer Huang thinks that the students did a lot of the planning . “It is so student-driven. I help with the logistics where I can. We try to do our best to make sure everything is on track, and the timing is right, but a lot of the planning comes from the student leaders,” Huang said. Sending out the form was only the beginning of the work involved in the event, Hida said. With the help of Fei and Xu, Hida collected Google Drive folders, videos, and recordings while working out logistics for performances, such as finding accompaniment for singers and musicians, she said. This year’s Asia Night was especially notable as last year, EWWW put together a prerecorded video to be live-streamed for everyone to watch
Courtesy of Larry Tao
Courtesy of Larry Tao
MODEL MOMENT EWWW members take a bow after their fashion show.
at home, Huang said. While the celebration last year was still good, Huang enjoyed hosting the in-person event and allowing everyone to connect. Before the event, attendees had dinner on the Fisher patio, courtesy of the Korean Parents League, the Chinese Family Network, and the HM South Asian Families group, Isa Melián (10) said. “It was nice. It had twinkle lights, it was still bright out, and it was very peaceful. There was a baseball game going on, and everyone was hanging around,” she said. While Ellen was nervous before her performance, her nerves faded when she got on stage, she said. “It was kind of nerve wracking before, but once the piece starts, then you start to really enjoy it,” Ellen said. “You forget about your nerves because you’re just so in the moment.” Throughout their performance, the dancers in the K-Pop Dance Medley changed costumes multiple times, Saanvi Sherchan (10) said. “They started out very formal, in buttonups and suit jackets. Then there was an intermission for a while, and they came out again, this time wearing something completely different. It was very colorful and way more casual
than the suits,” she said. During these intermissions, different club members performed short, comical skits, Patel said. “Daphne and Sean [Lee (11)] wrote these very short skits that filled the time while we were shuffling around, trying to get everything in place,” Patel said. “They were very cheesy, but I think they were very effective in getting everyone to laugh.” The event synthesized old and new Asian culture, Tsai said. “From older practices in Asian culture to new ones like dances, they’re all part of our culture and our community,” she said. During the fashion show, Fazal liked that the music playing was South Asian, she said. “That little act of just playing a couple of Bollywood hits made me and the other South Asian girls so much happier,” she said. Huang enjoyed the event, she said. “I had a really good time. It is always a little hectic because it is such a logistically complicated event to put together, but I was really impressed. Just seeing how much the students can get done. I was really impressed with the performances and the attendance was surprisingly high, considering we are still living in a COVID era.”
Goodies Galore: International Food Festival celebrates culture Harper Rosenberg Staff Writer
“Being open to food can help you be open to people. Be open to difference and get the collage that we are,” co-chair of the Black Parents Union (BPU) Daniel Nartey P’24 ’30 said. The Upper Division’s (UD) annual International Food Festival took place for the first time since 2019 on Monday. Parents worked together to bring a variety of dishes from their cultures into Olshan Lobby and Lutnick Hall to share with the community. To get ready for the event, the cochairs organized parents to bring in food by sending emails to the community, Marisa Rosenthal P’21 ‘24 said. “It’s just one of the most fun events for parents to volunteer at, we
all love being here and seeing all the kids enjoying all our food,” Rosenthal said. “To prepare for this event we had a number of Zoom meetings and then we had to create a sign-up link to reach out to Black parents to see who wanted to participate and volunteer,” Nartey said. The BPU brought all types of West Indian, Caribbean, and African food such as jerk chicken, collard greens, saltfish fritter, curry chicken, representing the African diaspora, Narty said. “This event is an opportunity to share our culture with the school and bring our home cooked meals and the things that make us who we are to share with the community — so not just for our kids to see it on campus and know that they belong and that we belong, but that the community can see it as
Lynn Egan/Staff Photographer
GOOD EATS Students gather in Olshan Lobby to enjoy delicious food.
well and know that it’s a staple to the school.” Rosenthal hopes the students get to see what a diverse background our beautiful community comes from and explore new cultures, she said. Rosenthal brought bagels with cream cheese and lox to represent her Ashkenazi, Eastern European, Jewish culture. Because bagels are also a large part of the culture of New York City, they are a testament to the impact of Jewish on the city, Rosenthal said. “Part of it is a connection to New York too because everyone thinks of bagels as a New York based food but it was really brought here by people of Eastern European Jewish descent and it shows our impact on our community,” she said. Bagels are especially common at breakfasts after religious services when there is a Kiddush. Geeta Kumar P’23 hopes students learn that just because food has a lot of flavor and different herbs that they don’t usually have, like cumin, cilantro, or coriander, it can be delicious and open up their palates, she said. “We brought South Asian food and the dishes that we brought were samosas, chicken tikka masala, rice and naan — the hit was the mango lassi,” Kumar said. At the event, students get to try a variety of food get the opportunity to learn about different cuisines, Nupur Gupta P’25 said. “It’s a great event that builds community,” she said. Alex Pustilnik P’22, ‘24, brought
chilaquiles verdes de pollo which is a dish made with tortillas, chicken, tomatillos, onion and cilantro, he said. “[This dish] is something I used to eat very often in Mexico when I was growing up and a dish that my kids really like, so I thought it would
mousse, she said. “One dish that I really remember was the saffron rice, it was really similar to Turkish food,” said Yilmaz, who is Turkish. Her favorite thing to try at the event was the Vietnamese coffee, she said. Yilmaz was excited for this year after
“This event is an opportunity to share our culture with the school and bring our home cooked meals and the things that make us who we are to share with the community.” - Daniel Nartey P’24 ’30 be perfect for the event,” Pustilnik said. He hopes students were able to learn about the wide variety of cultural heritages at the school by sampling a little bit of many cultures, Pustilnik said. “Food is sometimes a very easy gateway to a culture,” he said. The festival is a way to showcase a little bit of his family heritage and is a fun way to connect with the school. Students should not be afraid to try different foods, Riya Daga (11) said. She loves trying new foods at the event even though she’s a picky eater. “I tried a Brazilian passionfruit mousse that tasted like a piña-colada,” she said. Daga also tried Vietnamese coffee for the first time. Alara Yilmaz (10) enjoyed a variety of foods such as Korean fried chicken, glass noodles, brigadeiro, a brazilian chocolate dessert, and passionfruit
attending the event in 2018 and 2019 when she was in the Middle Division. James Ho (10) was excited to eat foods he does not usually get to try, he said. “I’ve had many of these foods before, but they don’t always have them at school so it was nice to have them during the school day,” Ho said. UD Science teacher Lisa Scott tried a variety of foods, such as basmati rice, daal, a samosa with tamarind chutney, and roti, she said.“I love to eat so I’ll try almost anything,” Scott said. “Chances are I’ll find a new food that I like,” she said.
Correction:
Last week’s opinion by Braden Queen (11) was incorrectly titled and should have been titled “ProChoice Student: Legal Challenges of Roe”
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THE RECORD NEWS MAY 20TH, 2022
Tournament of Champions: Parliamentary Debaters advance through NYPDL Rounds Rachel Baez and Jacqueline Shih Staff Writers Three of the school’s Parliamentary Debate teams placed in the Varsity Division of this weekend’s New York Parliamentary Debate League (NYPDL) Tournament of Champions. After qualifying for this tournament at multiple NYPDL and some national circuits, the NYPDL invited three
This NYPDL championship was structured differently from monthly NYPDL tournaments because each person had to qualify individually by being ranked as a top 40 debater, Rukin said. In Parliamentary debate, participants only hear about their topics 15 minutes before the round, so they must debate based on common or prior knowledge. Debate rounds can cover a variety of topics, from foreign relations and
“I am used to doing Parli, I’m used to speaking on my feet, I know how the structure works, I know what I need to improve on, so I came in [the tournament] ready to have fun.” - Naomi Yager (10) of the school’s teams to compete in this past tournament with the top 40 debaters on the East Coast. Sophie Rukin (10) and Emily Grant (10) placed second in the Varsity division; Naomi Yaeger (10) and Elise Kang (10) placed fifth in the Varsity division; Jacqueline Shih (9) and Liam Kisling (10) placed second in the Novice division. The debaters also won individual speaker awards: Rukin placed 13th in Varsity, Grant placed 15th, Yaeger placed 17th, and Kang placed 22nd. Kisling ranked 16th and Shih ranked seventh in Novice.
economics to philosophy and pop culture, Yaeger said. The tournament was broken up into two days: the first day had four preliminary rounds and one eliminary round, while the second day had four eliminary rounds and the Grand Final, Rukin said. Teams qualify for preliminary rounds either by having a certain number of votes or a certain number of wins out of four. The eliminary rounds were run under a double elimination format, which meant that each team could only lose two rounds before being eliminated from the
competition entirely, Rukin said. If Yaeger’s team made it to the eliminary round, they would have placed better, she said. Her team was one ballot away from breaking into the eliminary, after they had won two of their rounds, tied one, and lost another, she said. “It was quite frustrating knowing that we came so close to breaking in this major tournament.” Rukin and Grant made it to the Grand Finals in their division, where they argued whether or not a second semester senior should enter a relationship with someone that they liked, Rukin said. Unfortunately, they lost that round because they ran a counterplan saying that the senior should choose to enter a friends-with-benefits situation. The round took a turn and ended up debating whether a friendswith-benefits relationship was any different than a relationship, Rukin said. At the end of the round, the judges said they lost because of this counterplan, she said. Even though the school’s debaters went against the top debaters in the country, each speaker placed well individually and as a team, Rukin said. “I am honestly so proud of our Parli team this year.” Co-president Nathan Zelizer (12) said that the team has prepared for tournaments throughout the school year through frequent
meetings that taught parliamentary debate skills, familiarized debaters with the format of each round, and ran practice rounds, he said. “Ultimately, nothing can teach you or prepare you better than going to tournaments.” The best way to prepare for tournaments is by participating in them, Yaeger said. “I am used to doing Parli, I’m used to speaking on my feet, I know how the structure works, I know what I need to improve on, so I came in [the tournament] ready to have fun,” she said. Though there are not many ways to prepare for these tournaments besides gaining experience, Yaeger reads the daily briefly from New York Times and philosophy articles
to stay up to date with the current events that could be potential debate topics, she said. Her partner reads economic articles, so as a team they are well rounded in their knowledge of potential topics. This competition made Rukin look forward to next year, she said. “I’m excited for the future, I want to debate in more tournaments because I think Parli is truly an incredible form of debate.” The club is going to thrive next year because it will be the first time that they have a batch of kids who have participated in the new Middle Division Parli team, Zelizer said. “Next year, teams will [also] have had real experience online debating, which will hopefully translate into in-person tournaments.”
Courtesy of Sophie Rukin
DYNAMIC DUO Grant (10) and Rukin (10) don their Parli merch.
HarMonia concert raises $25,000 for Summer on the Hill Kate Beckler Staff Writer HarMonia raised over $25,000 for Summer on the Hill in their fifth annual chamber music concert on Saturday evening. Two out of the five annual performances have been virtual, but this event marked the return to the stage in person. After the performanced, HarMonia held a reception to encourage donations, Jisang Kymm said. While the event itself is free, attendees are encouraged to support Summer on the Hill. The money donated from the event will go toward Summer on the Hill’s
general operating budget, which includes classroom materials, teacher salaries, buses, food, and T-shirts. HarMonia is a music group that began with a group of ninth graders, from the school, in 2018 who were passionate about music and wanted to use their talents to help out the community. “They decided to play a benefit concert for a cause close to home and settled on Summer on the Hill,” Executive Director of Summer on the Hill Markell Parker said. This year’s concert featured students playing the violin, cello, viola, and piano. Students played a variety of quartets, trios, and
Courtesy of HarMonia
VIRTUOUS VIOLINISTS Ensemble members play a piece.
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
group pieces that covered artists from Tchaikovsky to Brandenburg, showcasing their range in ability and talent. “I think the concert went pretty well and we had a pretty good audience too and I had fun playing,” violinist Stephanie Lee (10), said. The group started rehearsing in April in order to be fully ready for the concert, violinist Ella Shaham (10) said. They met in person three times to put the individual parts together, but the majority of the practice happened independently. “We had to contribute time outside of rehearsals to learn our parts and the rehearsals helped us bring the parts all together,” Lee said. The performers practiced with Ani Gregorian Resnick P ‘21 ‘21 ‘23, Veronica Oh P ‘21, and Adele Anthony. As the main director of the ensemble, Resnick helped to find pieces, coached the groups, and worked with Parker to coordinate with Summer on the Hill, Shaham said. “Veronica Oh made our posters and promo things and the amount of time that the coaches and Ani Resnick dedicated to make this event
Courtesy of HarMonia
SONGS FOR SOH Harmonia ensemble performs at benefit. happen is unbelievable,” Lee said. In addition to the posters that Oh created, the group worked together to use other forms of promotion to encourage donations, Shaham. “We shared the links to donate and/or buy tickets, and people donated for weeks leading up to the event,” said. Although some of the donations came from the concert itself, the weeks leading up to the event raised the most money, she said. The HarMonia performers were able to bond over their love of music and talent which helped to make the event so beautiful, Shaham said. “It’s a rewarding experience to play the violin alongside friends and know
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
that we are helping contribute to a greater cause, and overall, it is also a lot of fun,” she said. The ensemble brought an already close-knit group of friends closer together, Shaham said. “They were all good friends and shared both talent and passion for music, so they created HarMonia to use these things they had in common to help the HM community through Summer on the Hill,” she said. “It was such a fun experience, and it was great to be able to give to an important Horace Mann-affiliated program like Summer on the Hill,” Kymm said.
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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 FEATURES MAY 20TH, 2022
Professionals of the household: The layered dynamics of stay-at-home parenting
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All art by Vivian Coraci, Lauren Kim, Riva Vig/Art Directors
Hannah Katze and Ariella Fromer Staff Writers “I always thought that I would go back to work and to the contrary, I enjoyed [stay-at-home parenting],” Andrea Madaio P ‘23 said. Madaio left her job upon deciding that she wanted to be the one taking care of her child full-time instead of a nanny, she said. Because she had worked 60 hours a week with travel, it was
impossible for her to have both a fulltime job and be with her child during the day, Madaio said. Despite her hesitation, Madaio found the adjustment to staying at home easy, she said. “I thought I would be bored at first because the baby just eats and sleeps basically, but I really enjoyed it.” Many students have different family dynamics, whether they have a stay-at-home parent or two working parents. Many factors lead to parents becoming stay-at-home parents, such as long work hours, financial luxury, and gendered pressure. These family dynamics result in different relationships between students and their parents. Peter Yu (11) finds that having a parent always present at home is comforting both psychologically and physically, he said. “I feel like having [my mom] around definitely helped me grow a lot and deal with challenging situations.” Yu’s mother was an electric engineer but decided to stay at home after having his older sister, he said. “She tried to have a nanny do that, but she wanted to be more hands-on with the kids.” Rochelle Ludwig P ’23 ‘26 ‘30 worked parttime for a couple of years after having her first two children, but decided to stay at home after having her third child because the hours her job required did not fit with her schedule, she said. “I worked with kids that needed after-school help as an occupational therapist, and that was the biggest struggle because that was exactly when my kids were getting home from school.” After the 2008 financial crisis, Mike Hiller P ’24 decided to leave the financial industry and become a stayat-home dad, he said. He also wanted the opportunity to instill his own values and principles into his son. The transition to stay-athome parenting was challenging for Hiller, he said. It was hard for him to adjust from a career, where he was constantly surrounded by colleagues and friends, to an environment where it was just oneon-one with his son, he said. “It was not easy from that regard, but it was super rewarding being able to see all the milestones and all the firsts.” FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS Despite possible financial consequences, it made sense for Hiller, at the time, to take on the role of stay-at-home father, he said. “Having to rely on one income as opposed to two can be difficult,” he said. “Every family has to weigh the pros and cons, look at their financial situation, and do what’s right for them.” Financially, becoming a stay-at-home parent was a big decision for Madaio, she said. Her husband’s career played a large role in her being the parent to stay home as he made more money than she did, she said. She also considered how strong her relationship was with her husband because staying at home also meant giving up her financial independence, she said. She took into account how expensive having a child is and was fortunate enough to have the luxury to make her own decision. STUDENT-PARENT RELATIONSHIPS For Yu, having his mom stay at home made them closer, he said. “I feel like compared with a lot of my
peers who don’t have stay-at-home parents, I feel like my mom has given me more attention, and I feel like that definitely helped me grow as a kid,” Yu said. Hiller and his son have also created a close relationship through their shared love of sports, he said. He has been able to help his son pursue golf by providing him with transportation so he can practice. “From an empathetic standpoint and from a development standpoint, knowing that I can be there for him to help him grow in the sport is great,” he said. Madaio does not credit her close connection with her daughter to her being a stay-at-home parent, she said. “If I were a working mom, as long as I was fulfilled at work and still happy with what I was doing, I think we would still have the same closeness,” she said. Because Rochelle has been a stay-at-home parent for a large part of her children’s lives, it is unclear to her whether her staying at home has made her closer to her children, she said. “I think that they feel a sense of support, but I’m not overly involved to the point where they don’t have any independence,” she said. While Maya Westra’s (11) parents, both of whom work, were less involved in her day-to-day life when she was younger due to busy work schedules, she was close with her nanny, she said. “I think it was definitely nice to have a third parent figure, someone who could offer me different advice and different perspectives [while I was growing up].” She considers her childhood nanny to be like a second mother, she said. Despite Westra’s parents often having busier schedules, she admires how hard they work, she said. Her parents are big role models for her, and she is inspired by their work ethic and determination, even though it may result in them spending less time together. Likewise, Miller Harris (11), whose parents both work, considers them to be role models for him, he said. “They really showed if you work hard and put in the work, that you can make it to a high level in your respective fields. So I think it was a positive thing to be able to see that.” Although Harris’ parents work, they spend a lot of time together and are always there for h i m , he said. “I think that it’s important to understand t h a t although my parents both work, they’re still both full time parents, they’re not taking that off and I
encouragement, and recognition, and often come to her for advice, she said. “However, I don’t assist them academically by proofreading essays or studying much for tests, but they’re very in touch with me when saying, ‘this is where I’m going’ or ‘this is the grade I got.” While Zachary Ludwig (11) now has more independence as he is older, he appreciates being able to spend time with his mom when she’s home, he said. “But even now, it’s nice to have someone to talk to or someone who can help you while doing a lot of work.” Yu has also become more separated from his parents as he has gotten older, he said. “Now, as I’m older, I think [my mom] trusts me more. So she allows me to have much more independence and take over my own stuff.” For Sareena Parikh (12), growing into her independence took longer in comparison to her peers, she said. She assumes this was a result of reliance on her stay-at-home parent. Parikh’s mom is involved in her social life, she said. Because she lives in New Jersey her mom will often drive her into the city for plans with friends. Parikh has become closer with her mom as she has gotten older, she said. “It has definitely made my mom and I closer but I feel like at times I come home from school and I’m very irritable, and she just doesn’t get that sometimes, which is a little bit frustrating.” But, now they have learned to understand one another and have better communication, she said. Yu has never had a problem with personal space, besides having to share his phone’s location with his parents, he said. “They give me a lot of autonomy and I’m able to be by myself most of the time without any disturbances.” Because Westra’s parents have busy work schedules they often saw each other less when she was growing up, she said. But, that did not impact her relationship with her parents as they have made a big effort to get closer and spend time together by making sacrifices like leaving work earlier to have family dinners, driving her to school once a week, and hanging out during the weekends, she said. During COVID Westra was able to spend more time with her parents as her mom worked at home for all of last year, she said. “[Before COVID] she used to work a seven to seven job but seeing her when I got home every single day was like a really nice change,” she said. “I think we definitely got a lot closer as a family.” THE HMPA/SCHOOL VOLUNTEER WORK
know that if I ever need them for anything I would always be able to reach them regardless of what work stuff is happening.” Stephanie Lee (10)’s mom, who left her job when she had children, was more involved in her academic and social life than her dad, she said. Because her dad gets home late from work, her mom brings her to extracurricular activities and helps with academics. “My mom used to be really hands-on with getting me to do my homework and other tasks,” she said. Because she has become more independent, the differences in her parents’ lives now make much less of an impact on her. For Madaio, staying at home was a larger adjustment when her daughter started attending the school at the Bronx campus in first grade, she said. “I changed my whole life around to be home for her, and now she was gone for most of the time.” But, she continued to stay at home because it is important to be there when her daughter is off from school ,on break, and over the summer, she said. While raising her daughter, Madaio made sure to foster independence, she said. But, teenagers still need a lot of parental guidance as they begin taking risks. “I think whether you’re a stay-athome parent or you’re a working parent; you do have to be actively involved, to help guide them and be there so that they make good decisions,” she said. Rochelle’s children want her approval,
When her daughter came to the school, Madaio became involved in the Horace Mann Parent Association (HMPA), she said. Joining the HMPA allowed her to meet the families of her daughter’s friends. “I think that being able to be actively involved in school and meeting other parents, for me, was quite helpful,” she said. Madaio also wanted to set an example of the importance of being involved in the community, she said. “I think it was nice for her to see that we were involved in her world and that we were always there for her, so she knows that we’re her biggest advocates.” Hiller has also been involved with the school through programs like the HMPA, parent ambassadors, and the Parent Institute, since his son started in the Nursery Division, he said. He became involved so he could understand the dynamics of the school better and so his son knew he was a part of the school’s community. Rochelle is also in the HMPA and helps out at bake sales and book fairs, she said. “I was just up at school for the first time since February of
2020 for a good to be
bake sale, and it was so back on campus and see
all the kids’ faces.” Parents do not have to be a stay at home parent to be involved at the school, Rochelle said. “I have many friends who are working parents and were able to do just as much as I did,” she said. Neither of Harris’ parents are involved in the HMPA, but that has not led to him feeling left out, he said. “They’d always come to conferences, always make time if there was an actual important meeting that they have to be at. But for things like bake sales, I never thought that it was important that they had to be there.” GENDER DYNAMICS While being a stay-at-home dad has allowed Hiller to build a close relationship with his son, it has also come with its challenges, he said. He has found that he has less in common with his friends as they have pursued their professional careers while he has transitioned to staying at home. Madaio has found that stay-at-home parenting is harder than
going to work because she is home most of the time, she said. “When you’re going to work you have an outlet where you can see other adults and do adult things,” she said. “I also think that your kids get to see the best that you are because when you come home you’re looking to spend time with your kids versus stay-at-home moms.” As a stay-at-home dad Hiller has found that there are not many dads who he can share his experiences with, he said. “It can be isolating.” But, he has never faced any backlash, he said. “If anyone ever took issue with it, it was never visible to me.” Rochelle did not face any backlash either, she said. Her flexible career choice versus her husband’s more busy job impacted her ability to be a stayat-home parent, she said. “My husband is a fulltime banker, he travels and works long hours, [so] my career choice led to a naturally more flexible schedule than my husband’s career.” However, gender did play a role for Madaio, she said. When she was pregnant a friend of hers said “A mother is always the mother no matter what her position is or how successful. A man will get a thank you for doing what is taken for granted as a mother,” Madaio said. This resonated with her as she had also come to the conclusion that she could not have it all and would have to make a choice. Harris’ mom has faced criticism for being a working parent, while his dad has not, he said. He believes that it is unfair for someone to say that his mom is any less of a mom to him as a result of working. While she never faced backlash for her decision, many people did not understand the role Madaio was taking on, she said. They questioned her choice, asking her “what do you do all day,” she said. “My schedule is not so concrete as going to work, so I find myself busier and involved in many, many more projects than if I stayed in the working world.” In addition to being there for her daughter and running her household, she is involved in volunteer work and is a Title Insurance representative on a part-time basis, she said. When Madaio was younger she was intent on having a career and doing it all, she said. “When I hit my 30s I realized that you can’t have it all. You have to make decisions as a mother,” she said. “I also enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes much more than I ever expected which made the decision even easier.”
Lions’ Den Record Sports
MAY 20TH, 2022
Boys Varsity Tennis places first in Ivy Prep League with 13-game winning streak Allison Markman and Blake Bennett Staff and Contributing Writers Boys Varsity Tennis (BVT) beat Trinity 5-0 in the Ivy Preparatory League Championship on Wednesday. After losing their first game of the season, the team completely turned their record around, with a thirteen-game winning streak and 13-1 overall record. This record included Ivy quarterfinal and semifinal wins against Collegiate and Riverdale, respectively. Grant found Max Meyer (11) to be a stand out player on Wednesday, as he lost the first set but came back to win his match, Grant said. “Connor Bernard 12 also stood out by hitting an insane passing shot on match point which secured hm’s sweep over trinity,” he said. Each player employed their own strategy in order to win their game. “The doubles teams’ strategy was to keep groundstrokes deep and cross court allowing the player at the net to pick off a volley and win the point,” Grant said. The first doubles team, Damian Stellings (12) and Bernard, ultimately secured the final match in their 5-0 win. This strategy was thanks to their coach, Patrick Westoo who told them to keep the rally cross court and deep, James Grant (12) said. Team members additionally employed the strategy of maintaining a good winning momentum throughout their matches, Jayden
Siegel (12) said. “Our main strategy going into this past game was to be confident and come to the match ready to support each other,” Frangenberg said. “We all were very confident and wanted to stay solid and play well in our games.” For Josh Winiarsky (11), sweeping Trinity was the highlight of his season. “Everyone contributed to that match, and all our hard work all season paid off,” he said. For him, Frangenberg’s 6-0 6-0 win in the third singles sport was a highlight of the match. Another was Santiago Espejel’s ace on a deuce point to win a really important game. During the match, the team focused on putting the success of the group as opposed to being concerned about the results of their own matches or how well they played individually, Winiarsky said. Their coach Patrick Westoo told them to concentrate on their own matches and trust that their teammates would win their matches. Frangenberg found it tough to stay focused because the fans from Trinity screamed very loud during points. “I stayed calm though and blocked them out,” he said. The energy at the match was electric, partly due to Trinity’s crowd, Meyer said. He found their spectators to be rambunctious and disrespectful. However, their negativity turned into a motivator for the team, and forced them to raise their level of play. “We were able to rally and use their energy to get the sweep.”
The biggest challenge was playing without having practiced since Friday of last week, Grant said. “The team could not play on Monday due to bad weather, and practice was virtually canceled [Tuesday] due to senior cut day even though seniors wanted to play,” Grant said. “But we were definitely still wellprepared from the numerous other matches we have played and won this season.” Throughout the season the lineup was constantly changing, as many members of the team were injured or sick, Winiarsky said. However, during finals they thankfully had
4
their entire lineup. “We needed new players to step in at big moments, and they did,” he said. Another aspect that made the win even more special was celebrating their victory with (BVT) alumni who came to support the team at their final match. They were able to spend time together and take photos as a team, Meyer said. To celebrate their win, the team took photos together with the Ivy Champion trophy, Frangenberg said. “We were all excited, but knew we deserved it more than any other team.”
Courtesy of Jayden Siegel
MAKE A RACKET Stellings (12) springs towards the ball.
Varsity Crew takes to the water for first post-pandemic competition Courtesy of Crew Team
ROCKIN’ REGATTA Crew team speeds through the water.
Emily Salzhauer Staff Writer “Watching our kids come down the racecourse to the finish after three years of not rowing is probably one of the best memories [from the weekend],” Varsity Crew coach Chelsea Ernst said. Last weekend, the school’s Girls and Boys Varsity Crew Team competed in their first and only regatta of the season — New York State Scholastic Championships — in Saratoga Springs, NY. Girls Varsity had their race on Saturday while Boys Varsity competed on Sunday, but both teams attended both races and cheered on their teammates, Sela Schamroth (11). The majority of the time at the regatta was spent setting up for the race, so the team only spent thirty minutes on the water and seven minutes competing in the race, she said.
Ernst was proud of the team’s performance and their attitude towards the regatta, she said. “We did exceptionally well, and it’s awesome to see how far they’ve come from the beginning this season to the culmination of the season at this race,” she said. “Everybody did amazing.” The team has lost three consecutive seasons because of the pandemic, which made this past weekend’s regatta that much more special for the team, Ernst said. For this reason, the majority of the team has never competed in a regatta, Ernst said. That presented challenges for the team at the start of the season, but they learned quickly, she said. “Our team actually has had no prior experience — we had two seniors, and we really relied on them to really step up and show people what to do, how to row, and how to facilitate a race,” she said. “In the short span [of the season], everyone learned how to learn to row and how
to race.” Alec Jackson (10) saw this season as a time for the team to learn after having missed so many seasons of rowing, he said. “This was really a rebuilding year for the team,” he said. “It really actually brought the team together.” Despite his lack of formal racing experience, Miller Harris (11) was still excited for the regatta, he said. “We’ve only been on the water […] three times before the regatta so that was a big challenge, but given the circumstances, we performed well.” Because this regatta was the team’s only one of the season, Harris hoped to do well in the competition, he said. “We really wanted to put our best foot forward and try our best.” Alessandra Agopian (9) was proud of the team’s performance at the regatta, she said. “We did well,” she said. “We were only 20 seconds off what we needed to place something.” Similarly, Jackson was proud of the team’s performance given that this was his first regatta ever. “We actually ended up doing pretty well for a novice crew team.” However, the team still needs to practice some skills, Jackson said. “We have to work on not keeling over, keeping the boat steady on both sides.” The actual racing part of the regatta was intense, Jackson said. “It was a good six or seven minutes of hardcore rowing. When we hit the start, it was all a blur until the end.” Co-captain Mekhala Mantravadi (12) stood out to Schamroth at the race, both as a rower and as a teammate, she said. “[Mekhala] is just one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. When we were all freaking out on the boat before the race, she was able to calm us all down and keep things positive,” she said. Schamroth believes that Mantravadi allowed the team to do their best with minimal stress,
she said. “She’s an amazing member of the team and we’re going to miss her next year.” Mantravadi also stood out to Agopian for her ability to help calm their nerves before the race began, Agopian said. “She was like our rock on the team because none of us knew what we were doing,” she said. “She was the only one that had never actually been in a race before, so she was majorly helpful. I don’t know where we would have been without her.” In addition to Mantravadi, co-captain and boys boat coxon Lauren Ho (12) played a big role in helping the boys team during the regatta, Agopian said. “Lauren was really strong [because] she brought the boys four together.” The two races the team competed in — Girls Novice Eight and Boys Novice Four — took place on Saturday and Sunday mornings, so the team had free time in the afternoons, Schamroth said. “We were all focused on crew, but we also had an amazing time.” A highlight of the trip for Schamroth was spending time with her teammates, she said. On Saturday night, the team went out for dinner at a hibachi restaurant and on a trip to Target, where they bought candy and games to play with back at the hotel, sheSchamroth said. “It was just so, so much fun.” Over the weekend and while waiting for their races at the regatta, Harris enjoyed being with his teammates, he said. “The waiting allowed for a lot of time to get to know a lot of the underclassmen on the team and make a bunch of new friends,” he said. “I now feel close with everyone on the team.” Jackson also liked bonding with his teammates, he said. “We got to know each other much better and understood each other more, which was a good outcome of the experience.”
LIONS’ BOX: Results from This Week’s games 5/13 - Boys Varsity Tennis vs. Riverdale -- WIN 3-2 5/13 - Girls Varsity Lacrosse vs. Fieldston -- LOSS 1-18 5/13 - Boys Varsity Lacrosse vs. Fieldston -- LOSS 6-12 5/13 - Varsity Softball vs. Fieldston -- LOSS 1-11
5/13 - Boys Varsity Baseball vs. Fieldston -- WIN 4-1 5/13 - Varsity Ultimate vs. Riverdale -- WIN 13-7 5/18 - Boys Varsity Tennis vs. Trinity --WIN 5-0