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Volume 34, Issue 4 140 Brandeis Road Newton Centre, MA 02459
Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper · Newton, MA · Established 1984 · November 14, 2017
Fuller elected Newton’s first female mayor By Sophie Lu & Jennifer Wang Sr. News Editor, News Contributor
DEEPENING
DISCONNECT
photo illustration by Netta Dror
NPS survey reveals only 37 percent of black high school students agree with the statement “I feel like I am a part of this school”
By Thomas Patti Every morning when her school bus turns into South’s parking lot, senior Khyla Turner prepares to adjust her body language and word choice. For the next eight hours, she will assume her second identity: the “Newton South Khyla.” The stark contrast between her home and school environments, she said, necessitates this change of face. “It’s just different,” she said. “I’m off the bus, I’m in the breezeway now, so I have to do kind of a face-switch. Some things stay the same, but you lose a lot of your identity when you step off that bus.” Turner, a METCO student and co-president of the Black Student Union, said many students of color feel similarly weary of their image within the South community. In fact, a 2016 citywide survey of seventh to twelfth graders indicates that black students’ sense of disconnectedness from the Newton high schools is on the rise. According to Newton’s 2016 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 65 percent of white high school students agreed that they felt connected to their school. Among black high school students, only 35 percent said so — nearly a 20 percent decrease from 2014. “I wouldn’t say that I was surprised, but I was definitely disappointed,” senior Bennett Walkes, a student facilitator for South’s Courageous Conversations on Race, said of the report. “I think that these results sort of show where our racial climate is at at South. If you’re a student of color, it’s easy to feel sort of isolated in this community, and I think that’s a thing we need to work on.” Principal Joel Stembridge agreed, acknowledging that the school’s efforts in recent years have met limited success.
“The issue of how students of color are connected to our school is not new,” he said. “It’s one we’ve been thinking about and working on. And to have these numbers go in the exact opposite direction that we want them to go in is concerning.” Administered every two years since 1998, the YRBS began as part of a national push to address the perceived epidemic of risky behavior among teens. In 2014, the district began analyzing the results to examine possible causes of the achievement gap between black and white students, Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Mary Eich said. By sorting student responses to the statement “I feel like I am a part of this school” by race, she said, the district could begin to evaluate whether minority students’ discomfort in their classrooms might contribute to the gap. “What we wanted to know, or what we sort of had an idea about, is that black kids don’t necessarily feel as much a part of their school as white kids,” she said. “If that were the case, they might not have the connections with teachers, with each other, with other kids that would support a strong academic performance.” Increased media coverage of police shootings of unarmed black men the previous summer likely affected students’ responses, guidance counselor Amani Allen said. Turner agreed that there were likely national factors at play. “Outside of school, in the real world, kids don’t feel like their country or nation accepts them,” she said. “Then they come to school and they feel like it’s more of that.” RACE, 4
Ruthanne Fuller was elected Newton’s first female mayor on Nov. 7, defeating City Council Chair Scott Lennon by 340 votes. Upon confirmation of the victory, Fuller addressed a crowd of supporters at her election party, encouraging them to look toward the future. “We thank the voters in Newton for your trust in me, and I pledge to justify that trust by thinking big within our means, by planning the work and working the plan and by standing up for Newton’s core principles of respect, diversity and acceptance,” she said. “And I promise I will never stop listening, and regardless of where you live, your voice will count at City Hall.” Out of Newton’s 56,000 registered voters, only about 24,500 cast ballots in the mayoral election. Former mayoral candidate Eli Katzoff said this low turnout could have been the difference in a closely-contested race. ELECTION, 2
OT win sends girls soccer to sectional final Photos by AJ Kret
23
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
UNCONTESTED
Fewer students now run for South Senate while class office sees candidate influx.
5
melissa SHANG Freshman Melissa Shang advocates for representation of disabilities in the media.
17
KEEPING PACE
Student referees learn skills they can use both on and off the field.
22
NEWS 2 EDITORIALS 6 OPINIONS 8 CENTERFOLD 12 FEATURES 15 FUn page 19 SPORTS 21
NEWS page 2|november 14, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM
news@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 4
Fuller wins race, becoming Newton’s first female mayor
Nov. 7 Election Results Mayoral Race:
Proposed Charter:
Ruthanne Fuller: 12,405 (50.7%)
YES: 10,912 (46.6%)
Scott Lennon: 12,061 (49.3%)
NO: 12,519 (53.4%)
Ward 1:
Ward 5:
Ward 2:
Ward 6:
Ward 3:
Ward 7:
Ward 4:
Ward 8:
Councilors At-Large: Allan Ciccone Jr. & Alison Leary Ward Councilor: Maria Scibelli Greenberg School Committee: Bridget Ray-Canada
Councilors At-Large: Susan Albright & Jacob Auchincloss Ward Councilor: Emily Norton School Committee: Margaret Albright
Councilors At-Large: James Cote & Andrea Kelley Ward Councilor: Barbara Brousal-Glasar School Committee: Anping Shen
Councilors At-Large: Leonard Gentile & Joshua Krintzman Ward Councilor: Christopher Markiewicz School Committee: Diana Fisher Gomberg
Councilors At-Large: Deborah Crossley & Andreae Downs Ward Councilor: John Rice School Committee: Steven Siegel
Councilors At-Large: Victoria Danberg & Greg Schwartz Ward Councilor: Brenda Noel School Committee: Ruth Goldman
Councilors At-Large: Rebecca Walker Grossman & Marc Laredo Ward Councilor: R. Lisle Baker School Committee: Kathleen Burdette Shields
Councilors At-Large: David Kalis & Richard Lipof Ward Councilor: Cheryl Lappin School Committee: Matthew Miller
photo by Netta Dror
Fuller gives speech at her election party at Terry O’Reilly’s after results were revealed.
ELECTIONS, from 1 “The shivering reality is that it’s a very tight race of fighting, but we don’t have enough people who are going to vote, and we need to remedy that in future elections,” he said. F.A. Day Middle School eighth grader Griffin Bond canvassed for Fuller’s campaign. He said many residents were eager to discuss Newton’s future with Fuller. Despite being disappointed in the results, voter Finn Flaherty said there is solace to be found in the tight voting margin. “[Lennon’s] been my alderman and my city councilor for as long as I’ve lived here,” he said. “He lost by a very small margin, which is impressive.” Lennon’s concession speech echoed a similar message. “The campaign is over,” he said to a crowd of supporters. “It’s now time to come together for our shared goals and our values, to continue to make this the best community to work, live and raise a family [in].” Among his supporters was Diane Tiernan, who said that despite the loss, the campaign marked a turning point in apathy toward local elections, especially among young people. “What I will say [is] it’s nice to see the
involvement at all levels,” she said. “That’s so important, and we need that. I love the interest in the college and high school generation. I have not seen it in many many years, and it’s great. It’s refreshing.” Flaherty said that even though he wished Lennon had won, he recognizes the importance of Newton electing its first female mayor. Field director for the Fuller campaign Nat Fixx said Fuller’s unique ability to take time to listen to voters and connect with residents translated into votes on election night. “She would spend 30 minutes talking to someone about whatever they wanted to talk about, and it was clear that it wasn’t a campaign because if it was, she’d be moving to more doors,” Fixx said. “She really just cares about what people in Newton care about, and she wanted to hear it.” Fuller said she is committed to being a responsive mayor to all Newton residents when her term begins next year. “The doors of City Hall will always be open to you,” she said. “Regardless of which candidates you voted for, and whether you were yay or nay on the charter, we stand together in our common love for this city. And I ask for your help, your ideas and your input because, together, let’s take charge of Newton’s future. Now, let’s get to work.”
photo by Adam Baker
Lennon gives a concession speech at Post 440 after Fuller was named the mayor-elect.
Senate hosts mayoral candidate Q&A to encourage engagement Julian Fefer, Dina Katz & Sophie Lu
News Contributors, Sr. News Editor In an effort to increase civic awareness, the South Senate hosted mayoral candidates Scott Lennon and Ruthanne Fuller to answer students’ questions on October 16 and 23, respectively. Each candidate had the opportunity to speak for five minutes and then answered student questions chosen by senators. Junior Ben Powdermaker, a South senator, said the Q&A aimed to inform students’ opinions of the two candidates prior to the Nov. 7 city election. History teacher Corey Davison said the forum was one of few school events that invites students to think about the larger community. “It’s really important for us at school to engage more directly and widely with the world outside the building because all of our lives exist outside the building too,” he said.
“Our school is almost a lab for society and we are creating civilized people to go into civilized society and be responsive, effective and productive”. Senate President and senior Michael Ryter, who was involved in planning the forums, added that this year’s election of the mayor, City Council and School Committee makes student awareness particularly crucial. “Students have to pay attention to the mayoral race and all other races, especially with this year’s election,” he said. “They have a profound impact on our schools in terms of school policies [and] school budgeting.” Senate Vice President and junior Hope Zhu said student turnout for the forums exceeded her expectations but still felt low. “I actually was surprised by the number of students that showed up,” she said. “Part of me expected to see like five people in the lecture hall, but most of the seats were actually filled, which I think is awesome. It made me feel very proud of our school. So
I think students care more than I expected, but still maybe not enough. I think more seniors, who can vote, could’ve been there.” Freshman senator Maya Makarovsky said the sessions were very telling, noting that hearing Fuller speak changed her opinion of Fuller as a candidate. “I thought that [Fuller] didn’t answer any questions; she just guided away from them to show her plans as mayor,” she said. “It kind of brought out her meaning, which wasn’t to connect with students, but rather persuade them to vote for her.” Senior Emily Goetzler said the events informed her own decision prior to the election. “As someone who’s 18, I thought it was really beneficial. It really helped me meet the two candidates,” she said. “However, I thought what the candidates said was very much geared toward high schoolers.” Even for students who cannot vote, Zhu said, the forum provided information
that allowed them to make an impact on voters. “I personally can’t vote yet, but I went because I think it’s just a good idea to get to know the people representing you, no matter what age you are,” Zhu said. “I know that personally, I can tell my parents who I believe they should vote for, and they may be more inclined to vote for that candidate.” Like Zhu, Davison said he was pleased with the number of students who convened to participate in their community. “There were … kids from all over the school who came to this one thing,” he said. “It didn’t have to do with getting a grade. [It wasn’t] an organized team event. It was just people doing things because it’s interesting and because it’s good for the community. As a school, we’ve been focusing on doing things like that more often, and I think this kind of signals the effect of that culture change.” Additional reporting by Carina Ramos
November 14, 2017|page 3
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts
South pilots one-to-one program
Making Progress JULIA GELLER
Class of 2019
South senate update
S
photo illustration by Netta Dror
Peri Barest & Sophie Goodman
“From what I’ve noticed, kids do get distracted sometimes. Sometimes they’ll watch videos [or] play games instead of doing their work,” she said. “But kids will do that anyway with their phones, so I don’t really see it as a big deal.” According to junior Colin Chen, some students in his class opposed the pilot because they already had laptops. Gold said that these students asked if they were required to participate, but were strongly encouraged regardless. “They told us that it wasn’t really an option,” she said. “They highly recommended
freshman year or in middle school. “A lot of juniors already have a system in place of how they do schoolwork, and a News Reporter, Sr. News Editor lot of them already have computers,” he said. South has recently implemented a pilot History teacher Jonathan Greiner, who one-to-one technology program in history previously worked at the Lawrence School teacher Jessica Engel’s freshman world hisin Brookline, which had a one-to-one pilot tory class and Chrysolite Fitzgerald and Jorprogram, said he has many concerns about dan Kraus’s junior DaVinci classes. Students implementing the same program in Newton. in these classes can borrow a school laptop For example, he said the school would to use both in class and at home. have to change its infrastructure to support The students will switch from Chromethe large number of people using the internet books to Macbook Airs halfway through at once. the year to determine which device is ideal, He said the lessons at Lawrence School according to vice prinwere too centered [The program is] is a really good idea because a lot of the cipal Steven Rattendi. on understandhomework that we do is very computer based, and for The pilot’s buding how to use get comes from the technology as opstudents [who] don’t have a computer, it can be district, but funding, posed to the matereally challenging to get that access. he said, would be a rial being taught. major issue if the pilot “The technolKaitlyn Shuaghnessy, Class of 2021 were to expand to the ogy would be driventire school. that we take the laptops. Otherwise, there ing the lesson rather than using the technology According to Engel, laptops provided would be no point in conducting [the] to drive a deeper understanding,” he said. by the pilot have proved useful in class. She experiment.” Costello said that student, parent and said she used the computers in place of Technology specialist Missy Costello teacher feedback is critical for the pilot’s sucnotebooks for the opening question. said some of the students still use their own cess. Students will have the opportunity to “We have a record of what everyone’s devices. complete a survey at the end of the month, written, and we can see the voices that are Accdording to Chen, the pilot was an a second survey before the students switch not sharing out loud,” she said. invaluable resource for students who can’t devices and a final survey at the end of the Junior Annie Lee-Hassett said having afford laptops. school year in which students and families a computer in class makes notetaking more Students increasingly need laptops can compare the two devices. efficient. to complete assignments, freshman Kaitlyn “The hope is that, if this is a successful “The teacher can still give us paper- Shaughnessy added. pilot, … maybe a whole grade level could go work, but if we need to graph something on “[The program is] a really good idea one-to-one next year,” she said. Desmos or do research, it’s very easy to have because a lot of the homework that we do The goal of the one-to-one program, a computer open,” she said. get is very computer-based, and for students Costello said, is to expose students to new While junior Vera Gold agreed that [who] don’t have a computer, it can be really technology they might encounter in the future. laptops made researching and notetaking challenging to get that access,” she said. “We want students to be able to supeasier, she also said that laptops can be Junior Langston Lee said he thinks port themselves with technology, to be ready distracting. the program should be implemented during for college [and] to be ready for their career.”
enate sponsored student forums with city councilors and mayoral candidates Ruthanne Fuller and Scott Lennon on Oct. 16 and 23 during J block. Moderated by senior senators Michael Ryter and Benjamin Anderson-Krim, these forums offered students and several first-time voters an opportunity to meet the candidates, learn about their positions and ask questions. Senate plans to offer more opportunities for students to learn about local issues throughout the year. Senate committees have also made significant progress. On Nov. 16, Senate will vote on a plan to grant automatic homework extensions to students observing religious occasions. Next, senators will meet with the Faculty Council and administrators to present our plan and gain their perspectives. Senate hopes a school-wide policy will be finalized early next year. Senators have initiated substantive dialogues with administrators and faculty. We have begun to speak with the math department about boosting financial literacy education. The Academics Committee plans to meet with department heads for feedback on its proposals to reduce the weight of final exams and to ensure students have fair access to their grades before each term ends. Senate sent out its first student survey this weekend. The Student Life Committee will use this feedback to work on several issues. School policy prohibits athletic teams from beginning practice during J block to ensure that student-athletes can seek teacher attention. Athletes, however, have reported that practices have begun during J block or so close to J block that they need to miss it to get ready for practice. Yesterday, senators met with the athletic director and are considering how they can help athletes. Senate continues to explore ways to offer more seating areas after the L bench’s closing. Senators are speaking with administrators about cost estimates for adding seating in many areas, including the 1000s and field house lobbies, the 6000s and the open space between the 3000s and 4000s. We hope to add seating to at least two of these areas in the next few months. On Nov. 16, Senate will vote on a comprehensive public relations strategy that calls for revamping our digital presence, redecorating the Senate bulletin board and regularly making announcements at class assemblies. Finally, Senate’s student representatives to the School Committee are looking forward to welcoming MayorElect Ruthanne Fuller and School Committee Members-Elect Bridget Ray Canada, Anping Shen, Kathleen Shields and Matthew Miller. We look forward to collaborating with you in the coming years! For updates, look out for our new board, “like” our Facebook page and come to our Thursday J Block meetings in the Lecture Hall. All are welcome!
page 4|November 14, 2017
News|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM
Survey indicates alienation of black students RACE, from 1 According to Stembridge, however, these national issues cannot excuse the district’s poor performance. “[The question] doesn’t say ‘do I feel a part of my country;’ it says ‘do I feel a part of my school,’” he said. “I would prefer we not explain it away too much, and instead, I really believe that the next step is to invite students who have answered this survey to come and talk and to share their experiences and share why would they say they’re not feeling part of the school.” The 2016 election has caused an increase in racially insensitive behavior among white Newton students, METCO counselor and African American Literature teacher Katani Sumner said. The survey coincided with an incident in which a group of students drove through a Newton North parking lot with a Confederate flag. During the spring of 2017, Allen said, displays of hate took center stage at South as well, including racist comments at Multicultural Day and a racial slur directed toward a black student by a white student. In the locker rooms, students of color face premature accusations of theft when an item goes missing, Turner said, and white students regularly use the N word to address black students. Junior football player Salim Gomez, who identifies as black and Latino, said he has experienced acts of racism on the field, including from his own teammates during practice. In general, he added, making connections with students of majority races has been difficult. “When I do try to associate with white or Asian people, there’s really no connection because it can either be the things we talk about are different or the way we talk is different, or just how we feel comfortable talking with each other [is different],” he said. “I don’t think they’re comfortable interacting with me.” These issues pose a unique burden for students of color in the classroom, Turner said. Microaggressions and unfair judgments, she said, divert students’ attention from their academic achievement. “I would like my teachers to recognize that in a classroom we’re not just learning
material ... like all the other students,” she said. “We’re being aware of our person, making sure we don’t fit into those stereotypes 24/7, so it might impact our studies a little more than a white kid or another minority or an Asian student because we’re not only worried about our grades, we’re worried about how people perceive us.” These constant fears ultimately result in a loss for the entire school community, Sumner said. “If you don’t feel like you’re a part of the school community, then you’re less inclined to want to be involved with things that might benefit you, like speech and debate, like theater, like [activities] outside of sports,” she said. “The school community loses because we’ve got this wonderful, rich,
When I do try to associate wth white or Asian people, there’s really no connection. ... I don’t think they’re comfortable interacting with me. Salim Gomez, class of 2019 diverse group that doesn’t want to invest in the school because they don’t feel the school is investing in them.” Allen, who attended South as a METCO student from 1991 to 1994, said he occasionally received disparaging remarks about his race. His tendency to spend time only with fellow METCO students, he said, limited his social and academic growth and at times made him feel disconnected from the school. “Being a METCO student, there was comfort being around other METCO students,” he said. “However, I think maybe stepping out of that comfort zone and joining clubs and participating in activities that may not have involved the social circle that I was involved in might have helped with that.” A 30 percent increase in bus costs this year forced the school to discontinue its 5:15 METCO bus, leaving only the 6 p.m. bus for METCO students with afterschool activities, Sumner said. While this inconvenience did not stop him from participating in football, Gomez said it has prevented others from engaging in extracurriculars altogether, leaving them with fewer opportunities to get involved with the school. While geographical distance can play
High School Students’ Agreement by Race/Ethnicity with the statement:
“I feel like I am a part of this school.”
Source of information: 2016 Newton Youth Risk Behavior Survey
a significant role in connectedness with the school, Sumner noted that resident black students are facing comparable challenges to METCO students. “I am as much concerned, if not more so, about the resident black and Latino kids because I just see this serious stress level because they don’t get to go back somewhere else where they might just be able to breathe; they’re here all the time,” she said. “If you don’t feel like you belong at school and then you don’t feel very comfortable in your neighborhood, how much stress is that?” While the YRBS indicated a 30 percent gap between black and white student response rates in high school, the disparity among middle school responses was only 5 percent. Sophomore Larissa Williams, who attended
Oak Hill, said South’s larger population creates a more separated community, isolating minority students. Leveled high-school classes further decrease classroom diversity, senior Simone Lassar said, noticing that in her experience, higher course level can denote greater racial homogeneity. Turner said the tendency to place students of color in lowerlevel classes limits their potential. “Don’t set low expectations for black students,” she said. “Assume that they can handle high-level classes and that they can manage their stuff. They’re not just here to be on a sports team and take all low-level classes that they’re going to pass with easy As.” Stembridge said the school has looked to increase class diversity by encouraging teachers to recommend more black and Latino students to ACP and Honors classes. Recent professional development meetings among South faculty have also centered around how teachers can best serve all students, he said. “The challenge that we present with our teachers is we want them to be able to make an individual connection with their students,” he said. “It’s really simply about getting to know the person and finding out what their experiences have been in the past ... and what works for them.” As Stembridge mentioned, the student body and administration have been working to tackle issues of race at South for years. The Black Student Union, whose membership has seen an increase in Latino students this year, offers a safe place to discuss race on local and national levels, co-presidents Turner and Williams said. Courageous Conversations on Race, a student-led group that will visit sophomore chemistry classes this spring, gives students the chance to have open conversations about sensitive topics, teacher facilitator Deborah Linder said. “A lot of kids weren’t sharing their stories. They were kind of keeping them to themselves,” she said. “By sharing them, they’re allowing other kids to realize that they can come out and share their stories as well. There are things that teachers and students alike do that they don’t realize are making kids feel alienated. … What we need to do is make people more aware of it so that we don’t make those actions or say the wrong things.” Classes like Leadership and Diversity and African American Literature give students time to ask these difficult questions during the school day, Sumner, who teaches
both, said. The Harambee Gospel Choir, discontinued this year due to insufficient enrollment, will return next year under a new name, she added. Sumner also co-leads the Legacy Scholars Program with science department head Gerry Gagnon. The program, which began two years ago, provides support for highachieving students of color, and Gagnon said it fosters an important sense of community among these students. “It’s a way that we can build some internal support system, to build a cohort of kids so that they can see that they’re not the only student who has been successful,” he said. “They might be only one of a handful of kids in their AP class or in their honors class, but there is a large critical mass of students who are African American and Latino who are achieving well here at South, so it’s an effort to address the stereotypes that might be present.” According to Stembridge, increased faculty diversity has been a major goal since he came to South; however, a lack of teachers of color seeking work in the suburbs has made hiring very difficult. A task force comprised of administrators and teachers from both North and South, he said, will also continue to investigate the implications and reasons behind black students’ falling sense of connectedness to their high schools. For Gomez, however, reversal of this trend must start with student action. “It needs to come from the kids,” he said. “They can get all these messages and ideas from the adults and superiors, but it’s up to them to take in the message and interpret it into their own mind and finally do something.” White students’ tendency to question African American students for spending time together in school presents a unique obstacle for black students, Lassar, a Courageous Conversations on Race student facilitator, said. “It’s a self-perpetuating cycle in a lot of ways,” she said. “Black students feel unwelcome; therefore, they congregate together and seek comfort from people who have similar experiences as them, and then they get called out on it. I just don’t think that you see that same pattern with other minority groups.” Williams said breaking this cycle starts with individual accountability. “This is where we’re going to be for the next four years,” she said. “Try and make it an environment that everybody wants to be in and not just a place that’s good for you. You have to realize that there are other people around you and that you can’t be selfish. … Bettering yourself, making yourself a more open person — it makes the school community a better place.” Given the current political climate, the future of black student connectedness at South remains up in the air, Turner said. “South is really at an intersection right now,” she said. “It could take a left and go totally off the scale and down to the ground, or it could go right and create a more diverse and accepting environment. It’s just this point in time. It’s 50-50.” For Stembridge, the survey calls for the district to double down on its efforts to create a truly welcoming atmosphere. “I’m taking it to heart,” Stembridge said. “Those are pretty stark numbers; those weren’t close. And I think that indicates to all of us ... in this building who care about how other people in the building feel — those numbers say to all of us that we have some work to do.” Additional reporting by Michelle Cheng and Carina Ramos
November 14, 2017|page 5
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|news
Fewer students run for Senate compared to Class Office Carina Ramos Editor-in-Chief
Contrary to students’ recent demand for more input in administrative decisions, few students now run for South Senate, the student governing body intended to give students a voice in school policy and bridge the gap between students and administrators. With three of this year’s four Senate elections going uncontested, some students said Senate’s limited impact on the school makes participating not worth their time. Senior Drew Pollock won a Senate seat his freshman year having “thought it would be cool to be a part of something at school that is a big force of change.” He said his older brother, a former class officer, had positively influenced his impression of Senate. After a few months of attending meetings, however, Pollock said he became disenchanted with his role as a senator. “I felt that we weren’t really being productive,” he said. “I felt like everything that we did didn’t really have any impact and anything we discussed couldn’t really be executed in school.” According to sophomore senator Lucy Chae, however, Senate does allow students to propose specific changes and policies to administrators. “We obviously have to pass everything we do by the administration, but if it weren’t for South Senate, I don’t think we’d have much of a say as we do right now,” she said. “Certain committees, like infrastructure, do really make a physical difference in the school.” Senate advisor and math department head Divya Shannon said senators “really do everything on their own.” Since Senate is entirely student-driven, influential policies come only from truly motivated students, junior senator Ben Powdermaker said.
“I think there’s a real mixture of kids who are just really into politics, kids who are doing it for applications and kids who actually want to make a change,” he said. “I think especially the leadership positions end up getting filled by people who really care.” Few students, however, express this initiative to pass legislation, Powdermaker said. When Chae first ran for Senate as a freshman, she said her peers’ lack of interest in student government came as a surprise. “I thought I’d be put in this huge contested election where I’d actually have to fight for it, … and I thought [freshman year’s non-contest] was an anomaly because no one else knew about [Senate],” she said. “But this year, it was also uncontested, and actually Class Office was very contested, so I think that sort of feeds into the idea that no one really knows what South Senate is doing, and they sort of see it as a joke.” This year’s freshman Senate election was similarly uncontested, allowing freshman senator Maya Makarovsky to win a seat without a stressful campaign. Makarovsky said she used the time she would have spent campaigning to begin identifying the concerns of her peers. Elections allow students to pick who they want to represent their interests before the faculty council and administration, but when six or fewer students want to join, this democratic element disappears, Shannon said. “There is no denying that a contested election means that the people who are elected really were elected by the student body,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that the people who are running uncontested don’t have the same vigor and commitment as those who are contested.” Powdermaker said the contested elections prior to his junior year ensured that only the most committed students won seats.
graphic by Adam Baker
“Our core has done a bunch in the Senate because we’ve been on for a while, and then I think we’ve had some valuable additions,” he said. “There’s been some people who got in sophomore year, and then because it was competitive again going for junior year didn’t get in, and it was not necessarily a bad thing that that happened.” To revive the democratic nature of Senate elections, more students must demonstrate interest in running, which Chae said Senate is hoping to encourage by helping students understand what they’re working on at any given moment. “[Students] don’t know what we’re doing, and … they do know what class office does, like the class events and stuff,” she said. “That’s why recently there’s been more of a push in South Senate to be more transparent about what we’re doing.” This push will result in a new public relations strategy. Makarovsky said that freshmen may have been intimidated by the time commitment mentioned in Senate’s prospectivesenator information packets; materials describing Class Office mentioned no such commitment. Powdermaker said he ran pri-
marily because his freshman advisory leader happened to be a senator and told him what Senate was like. “Everyone’s kind of disoriented, and it’s this big school and the last thing on your mind is figuring out running for an office position,” he said. After freshman year, however, the candidate pool for Senate doesn’t always expand. Meanwhile, class office races are unfailingly hotly contested. “I think people, just because it’s called ‘Class President,’ kind of have the impression that [Class Office] is more important,” Powdermaker said. “But I think in terms of actual changes to student life and how kids are doing, Senate does a lot more.” Shannon said senators can garner broader interest by reaching beyond Facebook surveys and Thursday J block meetings, seeking ideas and support from other students. “Just getting out and talking with students and being visible as senators will make more students want to be senators.” Additional reporting by Sebastian Tsao
South plans lip dub to increase school spirit and unity Michelle Cheng & Celine Yung
Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor On the day before Thanksgiving, South students will unite to lip sync over popular songs in the school’s first annual lip dub. According to Principal Joel Stembridge, the event is a chance for the South community to join together in relaxation. “The lip dub is not meant to solve any problems,” he said. “It’s just meant to be a day where we can get together and have fun.” In a schoolwide poll, students selected the songs “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus and “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake as the video’s soundtrack. Sophomore Adina Smith said allowing different clubs, teams or advisories to participate in the lip dub as groups will build community within those organizations. “That might be kind of like a bonding activity for them, and it could end up being fun,” she said. “There’s a first time for everything, so it’ll be an interesting experience, and we’ll see how it goes,” senior Sarah Goldstein said. According to Stembridge, the lip dub is a community-building initiative. “If it could be fun, then that’s something that we can enter into together, and we start to create the connections together — students, adults, everybody,” he said. “I think it does take all of us working together
to do that.” Senior class president Adi Shneorson agreed. “It’s a really nice step in the right direction in terms of school culture and school spirit,” she said. “I think we need a lot of people on board in order for it to be a success, but I am definitely excited for it.” Smith said some students feel like they have no choice but to participate, lowering overall enthusiasm for the lip dub. “In theory, it could be a good idea, but I don’t think we’re going to be able to pull it off well, and I feel like some students feel like they’re kind of being forced into it,” she said.
Junior class officer Veer Sawhney, however, said the lip dub will give students something to be excited about. “Overall it seems like a really nice thing,” he said. “[It’s] something to look forward to.” By the time the video is finally released, students might have lost enthusiasm, Goldstein said. She added that though the lip dub will be an interesting experience, she suspects seniors will be less excited than other grades. “I think it sucks as seniors that we’re not going to be able to follow this through, so if this one’s rough, it’s not like we’re going
Building connections is not going to happen in isolation. ... It’s a two-way street. Joel Stembridge, Principal “It was kind of thrown at us, and we had to make the best of it by voting for what we think should be the song or if we want to participate in a certain way,” sophomore Maddy Rufo added. “That’s good, but the fact that not all grades were included in making the decision of actually doing the lip dub wasn’t great.” Goldstein said she thinks some students will ditch the lip dub, which will diminish the sense of community that South is trying to foster. “There are going to be more people who ditch than those who ditched the pep rally or the One School, One Question because nobody knows what to expect,” she said.
to get a second chance to make it better,” she said. “I think a lot of seniors are less motivated because of that.” Stembridge said that in order for South to build community, students must stay open-minded. “Building connections is not going to happen in isolation. … It’s a two-way street,” he said. “We have to be willing to actually make connections with each other and to try things.” Participation by various individual clubs and teams will cause students to be more aware of different facets of South, which will help increase spirit and community, Shneorson said.
“Once we have a lip dub, [students will] see, ‘Oh, I have a reason to be proud of my club or a reason to be proud of the theater department’ or ‘I have a reason to be proud of my sports team,’ and that will just build overall spirit for their own activities and for other activities,” she said. “People will definitely hear about activities they haven’t heard of yet at South. ... It’s going to be cool for us to all meet and see the variety of people involved in it.” Sawhney agreed, saying that while some students currently may not see connections between different organizations, the lip dub will help to remedy that. “It’s a good first step in order to link everything together,” he said. “Think about it: you’re going through the school. You have the theatre, the music room, the band room, arts, all the athletics in the field house and stuff like that, so you keep going around. They’re all connected through this video, and I think it kind of strings together the different parts of South, which is kind of nice.” While some students are not open to the idea of the lip dub, Shneorson said, it’s important for students to appreciate South’s effort to increase spirit and community. “There is skepticism about the reality and practicality of it all, and I think that people need to keep an open mind,” she said. “After all, this is our first time. This is a big step for the school and the administration, and I think they should be very grateful that we are moving in the right direction.”
EDITORIALS page 6|November 14, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM
editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 4
the CAT’S
MEOW All the news that’s fit to print ... and then some!
Student Chaperones On Thursday night, eight students arrived unannounced to chaperone faculty prom, checking staff IDs and breaking up groups of dancing teachers. “If I learned anything from chaperoning, it’s that I wouldn’t want any of those teachers to teach me how to Dougie,” junior Mac Arayna said. Rather than admonishing the students for their impromptu arrival, South faculty thanked them for keeping annual party-crashers out. “South faculty prom is the crème de la crème of faculty proms,” Anne Truder said amidst a dazzling display of laser lights. “Last year, North teachers tried to get in with fake South badges — there were even some teachers from Western Mass who tried to crash! That was weird.”
Smiley Fry Found Dead In an email to South parents, principal Stole Jembridge confirmed that the custodial staff found a dead smiley fry last Saturday night on the Goldrick staircase. “He was in rough shape,” custodian Tate Lawson said. “We were walking up to the third floor and there he was, his warm insides busted out of his crusty casing and ketchup smearing the stair. We tried CPR, but we knew he was already gone.” Jembridge’s email included a labeled diagram of the fry, drawing special attention to the mangled region that once bore a wide grin. Local police have launched an investigation into the cause of the popular snack’s death. “Any time we see something like this happen here at South, we take it very seriously,” Newton police chief Spud Love said. “For such a happy-golucky little fella to experience this is just tragic.”
“Despacito” Coalition After sorting through the lip dub song submissions, student analysts uncovered a coalition of Spanish teachers who all submitted “Despacito” as their song choice. “We just wanted everyone to learn the proper lyrics,” Espa Nol said. “It’s not ‘burrito, burrito — it’s ‘pasito a pasito!’ Burritos aren’t Spanish!” Not all the Spanish teachers shared the same motives for submitting “Despacito.” “I just wanted to see the students frazzled,” Spanish teacher Justine Berro said. “They’re like mouth-gaping fish that can only say ‘Despacito.’”
Assessing the necessity and value of a one-to-one program at South
As today’s schools rely more heavily on technology, all students should have access to resources that will allow them to participate in this digitized academic environment. South’s implementation of a pilot one-to-one program in which students receive school-funded laptops provide many with this muchneeded opportunity; however, significant questions remain regarding the program’s overall value. Other schools that have implemented the one-to-one program have seen an increase in schoolwide communication and witnessed overall improvement in all students’ research abilities, benefits that South could theoretically enjoy. With an increasing number of teachers using platforms like Schoology and organizing in-class online activities, the connection between the classroom and technology is strengthening. The one-to-
one program would guarantee every student’s ability to participate in these activities. Implementing a one-to-one program would require infrastructure changes and staffing additions to account for the influx of students using WiFi on their laptops. These additional needs represent significant costs of the one-to-one pro-
involvement like art or athletics; rather than a one-to-one program. It may be more efficient for South to continue utilizing existing technological resources, like its laptop carts and computer labs instead of one-to-one. Additionally, the one-to-one program may ultimately cost the very students it aims to help. The
While students without laptops would benefit from the one-to-one program, South would be better served allocating funds elsewhere... gram atop the basic price of laptops. While students without laptops would benefit from the one-to-one program, South would be better served allocating funds elsewhere for students who already own laptops. Since we already have so many computers at South, school funds should be allocated to programs with high levels of student
cost of fixing or replacing a damaged laptop, which would fall on the student, would defeat the one-toone program’s purpose of alleviating the cost of technology from students unable to afford it. While the program intends to provide all students with the resources to succeed in today’s changing education system, it may be counterintuitive to this goal.
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The Lion’s Roar, founded in 1984, is the student newspaper of Newton South High School, acting as a public forum for student views and attitudes. The Lion’s Roar’s right to freedom of expression is protected by the Massachusetts Student Free Expression Law (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 71, Section 82). All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Lion’s Roar in no way reflects the official policy of Newton South, its faculty or its administration. Editorials are the official opinion of The Lion’s Roar, while opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lion’s Roar. The Lion’s Roar reserves the right to edit all submitted content, to reject advertising copy for resubmission of new copy that is deemed acceptable by student editors and to make decisions regarding the submission of letters to the editors, which are welcomed. The Lion’s Roar is printed by Seacoast Newspapers and published every four weeks by Newton South students. All funding comes from advertisers and subscriptions. In-school distribution of The Lion’s Roar is free, but each copy of the paper shall cost one dollar for each copy more than ten (10) that is taken by any individual or by many individuals on behalf of a single individual. Violation of this policy shall constitute theft.
november 14, 2017|page 7
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|DESK
Finding time for myself in a year EDITOR’S of test scores and college deadlines DESK from the
Thomas Patti Managing Editor
This fall, I dropped mixed media. I vaguely remember having thoughtlessly listed it as an alternate course last spring, but its appearance on my schedule nevertheless came as an unpleasant surprise. For three years of high school, I had successfully avoided any form of visual art, and I had no intention of ending my streak now (to any and all who are scared of paint and/or pottery: Intro to Publications gives art credits). Plus, a number of APs were already suffocating my schedule, and another free block would be of great service, especially with college application deadlines looming. To drop the class, I needed the signature of Ms. Leary-Crist, the head of the art department. When I entered her office, I apologetically explained that mixed media just wouldn’t work out with my preexisting workload. I told her I wished I had given art a shot in my freshman or sophomore year when I had far fewer responsibilities. She sympathized with my predicament and issued me a piece of advice: continue to find time for the things you enjoy. Honestly, I didn’t think much of the suggestion at first. It sounded like a good mantra to print beneath dolphins
on an inspirational poster, but it seemed somewhat distant in practice. I had always made a point of taking time for myself, and I promised myself I’d do the same during my senior year. Little did I know how difficult keeping that promise would be, and even less did I understand how crucial keeping that promise would become. By early September, I had decided that the warnings about senior-year chaos were overblown. The same kind of inexplicable reasoning I’d employed to foresee
As an underclassman, I spent most of my free time on a basketball court. After getting off the bus every afternoon, I’d dump my backpack at home and sprint down to the park, where I’d shoot hoops often until dark. After seven hours of sedentary confinement, basketball was my outlet. While my skill never quite caught up with my passion (my high school career culminated with an axe in sophomore year), I continued to rely on the sport as a way to temporarily leave school stress on
Not everything that’s worth doing will fit neatly into a drop-down section of your Common App. Not every meaningful passion will give you a competitive edge. no perceivable risks in designating mixed media as an alternate also compelled me to believe I would somehow be exempt from the stress that thousands of seniors before me had lamented. I quickly realized I was mistaken. Since school started, I’ve spent more nights working on papers past 3 a.m. than I’d like to admit. On more than one occasion, I’ve elected to postpone an essay’s submission to Turnitin.com until the morning in fear of sideways glances from my teacher the next class. Senior year has been hard. Finding time for everything else has been harder.
the sidelines. Besides, unlike during my years of competitive play, the old men pacing the court at the park never demanded I run suicides. Eventually, I’d come home, eat dinner, knock out my homework assignments and be in bed by 11. Since then, my school workload has demanded a dramatic cut to my park hours. However infrequent, every trip continues to be well worth my time. Only on the court can my mind elude the firm grip of school stress, and only there does the weight of my backpack truly come off my shoulders. Contrary to what your three
tests on Wednesday might seem to imply, physical health matters, too. And for the studious skeptics: at least in my experience, a healthy dosage of exercise and the outdoors can greatly improve work efficiency. Especially this year, in a classwide push to maximize our chances of college acceptance by any means necessary, I’ve noticed more and more seniors — myself included — are forfeiting the activities they genuinely enjoy. Surely, some of this is inevitable amid the heightened expectations of senior year. But when I hear about the Ivy-bound senior who’s taking every AP class, attending every club’s J block meetings and playing every sport, I wonder whether this mad dash for external validation is in anyone’s best interest. Colleges will love you, your future self might thank you — but what about today’s you? Doesn’t your present self count for anything? Not everything that’s worth doing will fit neatly into a drop-down section of your Common App. Not every meaningful passion will give you a competitive edge. Singing in the shower or dancing in the rain won’t turn any heads in the Stanford admissions office, but if that’s your thing, don’t give it up. In a year about preparing for the future, let’s remember to save some time for today.
Volume XXXIV The Lion’s Roar Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper 140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com
Editors-in-Chief Carina Ramos
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Celine Yung
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News
Sophie Goodman Sophie Lu Sebastian Tsao
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Cam Miller Ilan Rotberg Eu Ro Wang
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Local Government Correspondent Michael Ryter
OPINIONS page 8|NOVEMBER 14, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM
opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 4
perspectives: SHOULD STUDENTS ANONYMOUSLY GIVE FEEDBACK TO THEIR TEACHERS ? graphic by Dina Katz
THEY SHOULD
THEY SHOULDN'T
NOA NADLER Albert Einstein once said that “everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” What if you felt like a fish in our school system? What if your teachers tasked you not only with climbing a tree, but also with reaching the tallest branch? If students’ learning styles and teachers’ instruction styles don’t line up, students need a way to communicate this misalignment anonymously, without fear of teachers’ resentment. In this rapidly evolving world, outdated school systems are designed primarily to help “smart” kids succeed, even in a good district like Newton. With loads of homework, stacks of tests and not enough sleep, students find it increasingly difficult to keep up with their classes. This new generation has so much potential to innovate, but simply having a different learning style from other students could prevent a student from reaching his or her full potential. Students should provide anonymous feedback to make their teachers aware of which kinds of learners populate the classroom. Like students, teachers also have strengths and weaknesses, which they can’t be expected to recognize on their own. Likewise, teachers can’t infer students’ needs unless the students themselves communicate them. With student feedback, I believe that students and teachers can work together to ensure that all students maximize their learning experience. Students will be able to help teachers help them unlock their own potential. In some cases, students must identify themselves, but anonymous opportunities allow students to provide honest feedback without fear of retribution. Many students resist going to teachers with difficulties, fearing their teachers will take their pleas as criticisms and
reflect their annoyance in the gradebook. With anonymity, students can be honest about what they’re struggling with and how teachers can help. School may be easy for some because it just matches the way their brain works. The different ways in which students excel allows them to be unique and brilliant in their own ways. It is important that as a community, we support all types of learners. Teachers won’t be aware of their presence, however, unless students make them so. Along with helping kids succeed, allowing students to give feedback to teachers will improve the school’s overall environment. Personally, whenever I talk about or hear mentions of school, I feel tired, stressed and hopeless. If teachers are more open-minded in how they teach students, our whole perspective on school may change from the minute we walk through the doors to the moment we leave. Especially at this age, students are coming to understand what works best for them and should be able to share this insight with their teachers. Allowing students to give feedback to teachers creates an environment in which students aren’t afraid to ask for what they need to succeed. Everyone can learn and be challenged to their own extents and boundaries, and future society will be guaranteed an education system that benefits everyone. Providing teachers with feedback is a step toward a brighter future for our generation; it provides a medium for selfimprovement for all parties involved. As a school, it is important for us to consider the positive effects that healthy constructive criticism can have. When teachers are aware of the learning styles present in their classroom, together, we can create an environment where all minds flourish.
Allowing students to give feedback to teachers creates an environment in which students aren’t afraid to ask for what they need to succeed.
LAILA POLK
S
tudents should not be allowed to review their teachers. Most people have heard of websites like ratemyteachers.com or ratemyprofessors.com, but we rarely talk about the consequences of these sites. Students often abuse open forums that are intended for respectful, candid and constructive critique of teachers. Students can often be short-tempered and ill-mannered. These characteristics don’t just live offline — they transfer to the internet, too. A piece on this very topic written by James Silver, a reporter for the BBC News, said that in one online comment, a student called his teacher a “useless piece of garbage who wouldn’t know chemistry if it ran him over…” Sadly, comments like these are alarmingly frequent. Sally Vogl-Bauer, a communications professor at the University of Wisconsin, sued a former master’s degree student, Anthony Llewellyn, on charges of slander. Llewellyn allegedly criticized Vogl-Bauer on multiple platforms, including those similar to ratemyteachers.com. Llewellyn blamed Vogl-Bauer for his failing out of school and accused her of belittling him for his learning disorder. Situations like these, although rarely intensifying to this extent, are becoming increasingly common with the recent increase of anonymous online posting and review sites. Silver’s research found that during their first five years of teaching, teachers are leaving the profession at alarming rates. One possible explanation for this could be that the use of online teacher rating sites erodes trust between students and teachers. A Cornwall teacher, Kathy Wallis, told a BBC reporter that “you lose all trust in the students you’ve got sitting in front of you.” Many teachers, not only in the U.K.
but here in the U.S., also face this predicament. Teachers are feeling the need to be on the defensive all of the time, especially when teaching in the classroom. This is no way to teach and help students learn. These comments are hurting teachers and impacting the quality of instruction the students are receiving. This kind of feedback is a lose-lose for everyone involved. It’s clear that these online rating sites are causing far more harm than good. Furthermore, students shouldn’t be able to rate their teacher anonymously because it’s just that: anonymous. Anonymity is known for eliciting terrible behavior not seen when someone can truly be held accountable for their actions. A mob mentality can emerge from anonymity. A 2014 article in the Medical Daily about mob mentality said that, “When people feel they will not be recognized or called to answer for their actions, they are more likely to behave wantonly.” Online media platforms have been a ground zero for hate speech because of the lack of accountability the internet provides. Anonymity provides too much temptation to do and say terrible things and is a known conduit for bad behavior. Therefore, students should stop partaking in the online review of teachers to ensure and protect a safe, respectful relationship between teachers and students. Websites like ratemyteachers.com are supposed to provide students with a low-stakes forum to share their thoughts about their teachers without fearing retribution from their school’s administration or teacher; however, the sites are clearly not accomplishing this goal. Students slander their teachers online, leading professors to sue and teachers to quit. Although these websites have good intentions, their impact is surely negative.
Students should stop partaking in the review of teachers to ensure a safe, respectful relationship between teachers and students.
November 14, 2017|page 9
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|opinions
How we lost the art of searching Furthered by the era of foodie-ism and Instagram, novelist Pete Wells explains that as Americans post their dishes on social media, restaurants started changing their dishes to be most aesthetic, leading to unnecessary disposal graphic by Anna Zhang of perfectly edible food. Thought the value of tossed food seems miniscule in the ver since I was young, I have frereport from the Wall Street Journal, we will grand scheme, a Guardian report explains quently visited what my grandma generally spend no more than 15 minutes that roughly 50 percent of all produce in used to call the “lost and forgotten,” looking for misplaced house keys before the United States gets thrown out, wasting perhaps a more accurate name for the giving up. While a weekend trip to Home $160 billion annually. While the wealthy lost-and-found bin. “No one actually finds Depot can solve the problem, the keys we worry about the appearance of their food, anything there,” she would say. “Everyone never find can fall into the wrong hands. one in six Americans goes hungry. just forgets.” It’s been six years since I made In 2014 alone, almost $2 billion worth of Though losing and wasting material the 7,000 mile trip from my grandma in lost items were stolen from homes across goods is problematic, intangible things are Korea to the U.S., but walking into South’s America without triggering an alarm. much harder to recover. As children, we’re library every day, I notice that her words Moreover, 34 percent of home break-ins always looking for people; whether in hidering true. occur thanks to keys landing in the wrong and-seek or scavenger hunts, children light In September, the school’s lost and hands. Consequences don’t exist merely up when they find loved ones. As we grow found is empty. Fast forward 10 months, for lost keys; lost wallets can lead to credit up, however, we begin to lose important and the worn-down cardboard box is fraud and identity theft. relationships, sometimes yielding permaoverflowing onto the table upon which Our generation not only loses items nent consequences. it slouches. As a frequent misplacer of but also fails to see their value. As iPhone After immigrating to the United items, I spend a good deal of my free time 4 users are admonished as cavemen, our States, I began to lose contact with my rummaging through the lost and found. cultural norm to replace phones every time relatives in Korea. I used to call them every While it may be a great place to put on an a new one is released exemplifies our inweek, but as months passed, calls became impromptu fashion show with lightly-worn creasing apathy toward aging possessions. infrequent, resulting in no communication sweaters, very few people come to find A Gallup poll from June 2015 found that for months, especially with my grandtheir lost belongings. As Harvard psychol- 46 percent of Americans upgrade to a new mother. When I was young and both of my ogy professor Daniel L. Schacter explains, phone as soon as possible. When a new parents worked, my grandmother would we lose and misplace items more often version comes out, we automatically label take care of me. We would go to the playthan ever, yet we have slowly given up on it as “better” and as something we want. ground, she would tell me stories of my searching for them, equating “lost” with As soon as the iPhone 8 came out, many father and I would cherish every moment “unimportant” and “not worth looking rendered the iPhone 7 obsolete, though the with her. for.” When we stop searching, however, we two phones are almost indistinguishable. After our relationship gradually risk erasing them from our lives forever. We have fallen victim to the lure of “new,” faded, I never sought to rebuild it. Every The lost art of search illustrates a greater assuming that the more recent the release conversation became a routine, an arduous problem: in an increasingly consumerist date, the higher the quality. five minutes of very basic responses, and culture, appreciation for belongings has Moreover, we are too quick to throw when I moved to the U.S., the time zone turned to indifference and apathy. It’s time away things we can still use. An article difference became my excuse to cut her out to start searching again. in The Atlantic from 2014 explains that of my life. One afternoon, I received a call Whether a lost possession is as Americans have become obsessed with from her, and since my parents were not insignificant as a pencil or as important as food aesthetics, and to meet the demand, around to force me to take the call, I let the a key, many quickly give up searching after supermarkets throw out edible food phone ring. A few months later, when I reonly a few minutes. According to a 2014 with minor blemishes or wonky shapes. ceived a call from my father saying that my
By Eu Ro Wang
E
grandmother passed away, I knew that the call I ignored was a lost opportunity to reconnect. I had lost my relationship with my grandmother, and now, I couldn’t reverse it. I had taken my grandmother’s love for granted and failed to adequately reciprocate it. I don’t know if she was calling me to say hi or to say her final words to me, but I wasn’t even willing to take the call. Unfortunately, my story is not unique. A study by Merril Silverstein, professor of sociology at the University of Southern California, explains that children today are losing contact with their grandparents more often than children in previous generations. Moreover, a Pew Research study from 2010 found that 79 percent of people believe there is a large disconnect between the elderly and the young. The family members we lose contact with and the relationships we consequently lose should be a primary concern for young people. After all, who knows when we will lose our opportunities to reconnect? Rethinking a generational problem seems arduous, lacking concrete solutions. Our first step, however, can be as simple as redefining how we think of the word “lost.” Psychologist Jenny Kang explains that as we began to use the word “lost” interchangeably with “gone,” the things we were once willing to look for became too far out of reach. Instead, we need to see “lost” as “misplaced” — while “gone” is permanent, “misplaced” is temporary, waiting to be found. While we shouldn’t spend decades searching for our lost keys, we should search for things and people that really matter; we can’t just give up. It is equally imperative to rekindle relationships with loved ones. Take the time to let an old friend or family member know how important they are to you, even if it’s been a while since you’ve talked. Our lost and founds must no longer be “lost and forgotten.” It is our job to continue searching — every misplaced water bottle and eroded relationship deserves our best effort.
page 10|november 14, 2017
Opinions|THELIONROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR
Stop Criticizing Millennials by DANA SILVIAN During a particularly long dinner the other day, my mom lectured me on some new study claiming that millennials will ultimately doom the world. I wholeheartedly disagree. In October 2004, researchers Neil Howe and William Strauss coined the term “millennials” to describe “those born in 1982 and approximately 20 years thereafter.” That makes the cutoff approximately 2002, but for the sake of this article we’ll call it 2003 to include high school freshmen. We succeed our parents’ generations: Generation X, born in years 1961 to 1981, and Baby Boomers, born in years 1946 to 1960. I’ll admit it: the low job-search success rates for 14- to 35-year-olds are pretty intimidating. A Harvard study found that just six in 10 millennials have jobs, and half of those jobs are part-time. The numbers indicate that millennials are worse-off than members of previous generations in this regard. According to a BBC News report, people currently in their 30s are half as wealthy as those who were in their 30s a decade ago. As much as I hate to admit it, millennials have demonstrated a lack of ability to save money over the long term. Many millennials live at home and use
their parents’ credit card, and there’s no doubt about it — in both attitudes and technological involvement, our generation is fundamentally different from previous ones. Naturally, I decided to look at how these disheartening statistics came to be. Aaron Levy, an asvisor on adapting to changing generations, explains that millennials want their work to be their calling in life, not just a temporary way to pay the bills. This distinction means that millennials aim to pursue passions, not paychecks. If millennials don’t like what they’re doing, they would prefer to leave their jobs for lower-paying but more satisfying ones — or even unemployment. It is hard to find a job to which to stay loyal if you are constantly searching for the perfect profession. As a result, millennials will face frequent job turnover, and subsequently, comparatively lower income. Over time, however, this trending perception of work might pressure large
companies to adapt to the millennial workforce. These companies might soon begin to prioritize what’s important to millennials — improving the world — so that their new generation of employees sticks around. Thus, all this ambition must ultimately lead to corporate reform and innovation. Some members of Generation X and the Baby Boomers see young ambition and complain that millennials are narcissists who feel entitled to do whatever they want, but that feels unfair to me. How are millennials supposed to get what they want without ambition? Journalist Joel Stein, who studies generational gaps, notes that self-involvement has increased over generations, and millennials are just part of that larger pattern. This fact indicates that millennials aren’t selfish; they just know what they want. Aspiration and determination will move the world forward; a passive hope for things to somehow sort themselves out will not. As Steve Jobs said, “The only way
How are millennials supposed to get what they want without ambition?
to do great work is to love what you do.” We may be picky and selfish at times, but I believe passion will lead to greater results in every profession. It is easy for Baby Boomer bosses to complain about teens’ and 20-somethings’ narcissistic sense of entitlement and possession of far too many participation trophies. I found this critique ridiculous until I looked at my own awards. It isn’t fair that people born in a very different time get to criticize us for our different way of life — I’m sure that their generation similarly differed from their predecessors. The odds may be stacked against us in the quest for a perfect job, but millennials will surely accomplish great things nevertheless. Our tech-savvy upbringing means that our technological literacy is much higher, on average, than previous generations’, setting us up for unprecedented success in an increasingly techdriven world. Passion and involvement is critical for making change in the future, and large companies must eventually concede that the benefits of hiring us millennials are worthwhile. Maybe I am overly optimistic; maybe I am too insistent that we can improve the world — well, I guess that just means I’m a millennial.
The Overlooked Diversity of Rap By CAM MILLER According to a Nielsen Music report, hip hop/rap recently became the most popular genre of music in the U.S., dethroning rock as the number one. Rap can be a very divisive topic of conversation in the music sphere because of both its provocative and explicit lyrics and its artists’ personal character. Rap, however, is too often generalized to the point where many people exclusively identify the whole genre with one small group of songs and artists. This labeling serves to paint a narrow, skewed image of rap, which in truth is an incredibly broad and diverse spectrum influenced by fashion, upbringing and social issues. To begin with, I believe the spectrum has two extremes, with Kodak Black and J. Cole on either end. On Black’s side, artists’ music often fails to convey a powerful image, attracting listeners mainly through production instead of lyrics. Black, for example, whose real name is Dieuson Octave, burst onto the rap scene with hit songs like “Tunnel Vision” and “Patty Cake.” Personally, I listen to Kodak for his production quality; however, his lyrics are practically devoid of deeper meaning. His actions outside of rap are also suspect, including multiple sexual assault convictions. While this type of music can certainly be enjoyable, it becomes very apparent that excellent beats and production often compensate for what these rappers sorely lack in lyrical quality. On the other end of the spectrum, there are artists whose production may not be as intense as some other artists’, but whose lyrics are
incredible. While his production may be less complex and catchy than that of Kodak Black, J. Cole undoubtedly has more lyrical talent. Cole uses his platform to narrate social injustice and other issues affecting minorities in America today. His thought-provoking lyrics over relatively simple beats attract many listeners, especially those who want to hear songs with a broader message. In between these extremes, though, countless other styles exist. Atlanta rappers like Future, Gucci Mane, Migos and Young Thug are heavily influenced by their upbringings, a fact that shines through their lyrics. Although they are probably closer to the Kodak end of the spectrum, they make frequent references to their childhoods and their struggles to make it from the bottom to where they are today. This music resonates with listeners because the lyrics paint a vivid picture of where these rappers come from. The personality of a rapper plays a crucial role in creating a unique style. Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert has distinguished himself from other rappers not only through his lyric and style, but through his unique personality, as well. Another instance of this is the A$AP Mob. A collective from Harlem, its members include A$AP Rocky and Ferg, who are also very fashion-conscious, and it shows in their lyrics. Their song “RAF,” which happens to feature Lil Uzi Vert, is about a shoe brand they like — in fact, A$AP Rocky wrote an article about the song’s namesake, Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons, who was featured this year as one of Time’s
100 Most Influential People. Finally, there are artists like Kanye West and Eminem, who are world-renowned wordsmiths, masters of their craft whose ability shines through in each and every song. While not all of their songs carry particularly deep meaning to their audiences, almost all of them have profound personal significance. Mostly, it’s their flow and unique way with words that have set them apart and made them legends. Although I do find myself listening to more of the beat-centric songs, I feel like I identify more with the lyric-centered songs because of the depth of their messages, which give the listener something meaningful to think about. Regardless,
ab y Is ic b
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you can’t go wrong with either. Just one of these subcategories cannot accurately represent rap in its entirety. Each has value, but you can’t claim they’re all the same.
November 14, 2017|page 11
campus chatter
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|opinions
UPGRADE
9 Girls soccer Celtics’ strong start
The Lion’s Roar asked ...
What is the best compliment to give and receive? “Any compliment that’s very specific, so anyone who says something specific to the topic, I think, feels really good.”
Reopening of the sandwich cart Goldrick Springs’ return Homework-free Thanksgiving
- Charlie Weinstein, Class of 2021
“‘You’re beautiful’ — the best kind of compliment is about appearance.” - Mitchel Shuster, Class of 2020 “The best compliment to receive is probably on your outer appearance because I feel like people are usually really insecure about that.”
Reputation
- Laurissa Foley, Class of 2019
Winter sports starting Murder on the Orient Express
“Something strong about a person — what they’re good at. I guess that’s what people like hearing: their strengths.”
- Edwin Wang, Class of 2018
9
DOWNGRADE
photos by Adam Baker
Movie Review: Blade Runner 2049 by Ben Reinstein
Early sunsets Gordon Hayward injury Another year before the next Stranger Things Christmas commercials Reputation Colder weather U.S. not supporting the Paris Climate Agreement
When “Blade Runner 2049” began with a melancholy yet thrilling raid sequence, I knew I was in for a unique and memorable movie experience. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film takes place in Los Angeles during a devastating famine in — you guessed it — the year 2049 and tells the story of K, a Nexus-9 Replicant portrayed by Ryan Gosling. K searches for the former blade runner, Deckard, a traumatized old man who has all the knowledge K needs to fight the corrupt government behind the dystopia’s bleak and ineffective society. Played magnificently by Harrison Ford, Deckard leads K to sophisticated discoveries regarding the history and meaning behind the blade runner. The audience is able to discover new aspects of the enticing mystery along with the film’s tired and distraught characters. The chemistry between Ford and Gosling is terrifically executed. Dialogue between them is tight and flows well with the fast, action-packed, mumbo-jumbo tone, while at the same time somewhat profound and intriguing, with much more
nuance and depth than many action movies allow their dialogue to have. Exploring themes such as the desire to be with a soul, 2049 makes an important statement about individuality. K strives to interpret the world with his own perspective, not an artificial one. Through graphic imagery, Villeneuve introduces the audience to both the wonders and the horrors of independence. The images revealed are beautiful and mesmerizing; essentially every frame of 2049 could be sold as a poster to hang up in a teenage bedroom. Villeneuve has developed a specific eye when it comes to shooting films, and this is, visually, his finest work yet. The contrast of colors is extremely satisfying for anyone who values color vibrancy, allowing the viewer to escape reality for two hours and 45 minutes. Yes. This movie is long. But every frame serves a direct and intentional purpose, building the structure of “2049.” Watch this movie. Do not miss it.
“Blade Runner 2049”
TIME TO REST? Busy culture perpetuates excess student stress
By Rachel Gu Gu photo illustration by Kimia Tabatabaei
A
fter seven hours of high-level class- from 42 percent in 7th grade to 88 percent to be very successful, and everyone wants es, three hours of play practice and in 12th grade. that for themselves, as well,” he said. two hours of improv, senior Katy Acknowledging junior year’s noticeFreshman Tayo Van Beever said Ronkin finally returned home at 9 p.m., ably increased workload compared to years that South’s competitive academic envigreeted by an unfinished pile of homework prior, junior Jay Garg said he often prironment also affects student health. and the ongoing stress of completing her oritizes his future over his current mental “It’s kind of like a competition in college applications. well-being. Newton to see who can stay up the latest “There are a lot of little things that “I’m guilty of having workloads that and who does their homework the latest,” keep adding on and on, and then my at times feel like are too much for me and he said. schedule ends up having no time for me, not feeling like I can drop down or that I The high standards students set or just no time to stop and think,” she said. even want to drop down because it feels too for themselves also result from parental “It’s hard to balance wanting to be involved important to my future and too central to pressures in affluent neighborhoods like – and feeling that pressure to be involved – my identity to continue on the path that I’ve Newton, where high-achieving parents with what you actually can do.” set for myself,” he said. aspire for their children to reach similar Ronkin’s overwhelmingly busy schedCollege counselor Kathleen Sabet levels of success, Ryter said. ule is typical of many South students who, said that with statistics indicating a direct In fact, parents are pushing themlike Ronkin, feel pressured to overload their relationship between more degrees and selves and their children to work harder schedules in an effort to stand out above the higher income, over 90 percent of South longer hours to remain at the top, accordrest. seniors aim for a college education, whether ing to The Economist. According to clinical psychologist Dr. it be a two- or four-year college. Hardiman said that this heightened Jane Ryter, this busy level of parent inculture contrib“It feels like if you’re not doing something after school, what are volvement prevents utes to the “anxiety from develyou doing? Why aren’t you building your resume or building your students epidemic’s” upward oping independence. college applications? You don’t want to look back and regret not trend. “I think In fact, the students feel like if doing some activity” National Institute they’re outside of of Mental Health that busyness, they - Katy Ronkin, Class of 2018 reported that 38 don’t know what to percent of teenage girls and 26 percent of College-related stress, however, is not do with themselves,” he said. “They don’t teenage boys suffer from an anxiety disorlimited to upperclassmen. know how to solve some of the problems der, a large increase, Ryter noted, from when Only two months into high school, that when I was your age we just solved on she first started practicing 20 years ago. freshman Kriti Dhiman said she has a our own.” Guidance counselor Christopher single-minded focus regarding her high Ryter said that the time that stuHardiman noticed a similar trend in stress- school education. dents spend participating in organized induced emotional and mental health issues “The goal is to get into a good college activities rather than with their families among South students. because getting into a good college means also negatively affects child development. “The number of students who are in having a good future and having a secure “Parents might take them to activipsychological and mental crisis continues to job,” she said. “If you don’t pressure yourself ties with good intentions, but all the kids be concerning here — not hundreds of kids, in high school, then you’re not going to be want is time to be with their parents – not rampant, but enough that it’s noticeable prepared for college.” down time. That time is necessary for kids and concerning because some of the mental According to Garg, these self-inflicted to feel valued, to feel important, for kids to health issues are significant,” he said. pressures are further perpetuated by compe- get to know who they are,” she said. “The The recent 2016-2017 Youth Risk tition among peers. parents are providing much less than they Behavior Survey confirmed that school-in“There are certain expectations that used to because of how busy they are and duced stress seems to magnify as college ap- people are trying to maintain for themalso because of technology.” plication deadlines approach. The percentselves, for their family, for their peers, to do The advent of technological age of 2016 Newton students who reported the best you possibly can because a large having a stressful life steadily increased number of people in this community go on Continued on next page
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Continued from previous page innovation also contributes to busy culture both at South and in society at large. According to The Economist’s “Why is Everyone so Busy,” a recent survey reported that 60 percent of smartphone users spend at least 13.5 hours connected to work every day. The constant stream of activity from work emails or texts from coworkers creates a “leaking” effect between work and relaxation, never giving people a real break from their jobs, Ryter said. Students involved in clubs, activities or group projects experience the same influx of messages tethering them to their obligations even when alone at home. College counselor Kathleen Sabet added that an abundance of information technology can create a higher-pressure, faster-paced environment for younger generations. The rapid pace at which modern society moves pressures students to be productive at all times, Ronkin agreed. “It feels like if you’re not doing something after school, what are you doing? Why aren’t you building your resume or building your college applications? You don’t want to look back and regret not doing some activity,” she said. “At least you’re involved in things. Maybe it’s better to be overextended than bored all the time.” Despite the negative connotations of boredom, Ryter learned about its benefits at a recent lecture by Chief of Adolescent and Child Psychiatry Susan Swick at Newton Wellesley Hospital. “When kids are bored, it helps them to develop resilience because being bored is kind of a mild discomfort,” Ryter said. “If you’re bored, you have to find something from within yourself to deal with the boredom and to fix it.” While students need this free time, Garg, a member of the debate team, said their schedules are often filled with activities they are passionate about, making them reluctant to lighten the load. “It’s important for me to find the work that I’m doing interesting and for me to be doing things that I’m interested in,” he said. “In my opinion, at least, I would rather be participating in an activity that challenges me, that might require extra work, but that I find rewarding, than to be not doing anything.” To encourage this activity participation driven by passion rather than resume-building, Hardiman said South needs to highlight students who participate in activities they enjoy. “One of my students was in the play, and he loves what he does. It emanates from him that he loves theatre. He’s not doing it because he thinks he’s going to get into the best college,” he said. “[Pursuit of passion] does happen here but sometimes gets lost because the college stuff gets overwhelming.” Ronkin added that students stress not only about the types of actvities on their resumes, but also about their levels of involvement in those actvities. “There’s a culture of ‘I have to be the captain, I have to be the president and I can’t quit this because I put so much time into it to get that leadership position,’ or ‘I don’t want to start something new because I don’t want to be at a freshman position,’” she said. In order to rekindle students’ enthusiasm for learning, which Sabet identified as a healthier
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motivator than college applications, she said students should remind themselves of school’s fundamental purposes: learning new material, expanding thinking and broadening perspectives. In fact, Hardiman said many of his students ultimately regret taking classes for their college applications rather than for themselves. “I’ve had a couple of seniors last year who said, ‘If I could do it again, I would’ve taken a few more electives that I was really passionate about, rather than looking at whether the classes are going to look good on the transcript or not,’” he said. Despite its consequence of stress, South’s busy culture also helps students by instilling work ethic in them, Dhiman said, noting that pressure drives students to work more efficiently and effectively. Sabet agreed that “challenge brings up your adrenaline to a certain extent. If it’s too easy, then you’re just always going to expect things to be easy. If you’re never challenged, then you’re not allowing yourself to imagine what your potential could be.” In fact, Garg said South’s challenging curriculum has honed his academic skills. “I was talking to some friends the other day about how English is one of the hardest subjects to deal with, but we’ve all seen marked improvements in our writing abilities and in our reading abilities,” he said. “It’s interesting and gratifying to see that all of the work we’re putting in is paying off.” While some thrive in South’s hectic environment, Ryter said the costs of busy culture often outweigh its benefits. Concurring students and faculty on South Senate and the Faculty Council look to decrease unhealthy levels of student stress. Sophomore Amit Fudim said while he supports eliminating high levels of pressure, he struggled to find a single solution that could change an entire school’s mindset. Acknowledging that such a drastic change takes time, Hardiman proposed small steps toward achieving a new school culture. “The more AWARE days, or the more therapy dog sessions that we have, ... the better chance that some of this will slowly erode, … eliminating that feeling of [having] to be perfect,” he said. While Garg said that South’s deeply instilled busy culture will likely persist in years to come, he believes the best way to alleviate student stress is for individual students to adopt new
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perspectives that prioritize themselves over their commitments. “The most important thing to be able to do within this busy culture, or within this whirlwind of high school, is to be able to step back and put things into perspective and recognize that getting a good night’s sleep, going out with friends or reading a book is more important than doing that one night’s worth of math homework,” he said. “In the long term, being able to put yourself first is the best solution.” Additional reporting by Kimia Tabatabaei
FEATURES page 15|november 14, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM
FEATURES@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 4
SKIN DEEP
South students and teachers with multiple cultural or racial diversities resist pressure to choose a single label By Jessica Altman, Zoe Golub and Maggie Kenslea
graphic by Maya Zeldin
South’s student body represents many different cultures, races and religions, creating a diverse community in more ways than one. Students identifying with multiple groups, however, reap unique benefits, senior Luca Hensch said. “In my eyes, I think being [multiracial] opens up a few doors that I think just being white or just being one race does not really get you,” he said. “It allows me to have different perspectives in different situations.” Hensch, who is Italian, Japanese and German, said that being the only multiracial student in a classroom allows him to share an interesting perspective with others. “[Teachers] appreciate having different voices in their classrooms,” he said. “Being multicultural is just one of those different aspects.” According to junior Bobby Lovett, who is half-white, half-Asian, being biracial has increased his social and political awareness, giving him a different outlook on life. “I’ve been through a lot of different political phases on both ends of the extreme at this point,” he said. “I think being biracial and being able to experience both sides has really helped me find a more solid middle ground and become comfortable [with] myself.” According to Lovett, multiracial students are still subject to discrimination and racism, despite their ability to share unique perspectives and connect with multiple groups of people. “People would use slurs on me as a joke and think it was really funny,” he said. “I’d let it
slide, but it eventually got to a point where I thought, ‘this is kind of serious.’” Freshman Adam Rotem said students are often shocked by his Hispanic heritage due to preconceived notions of what defines a multiracial person. “Most people think if you’re biracial, you’re probably either white and black,” he said. “Not many people think about it as Hispanic and all different types of races.” History teacher Faye Cassell added that the race with which she most identifies varies, especially while traveling. “The biggest misconception [about being biracial] is that you are either one or the other. You’re an American or you’re Asian,” she said. “I think it is much more complicated than that. ... It is sort of fluid about how I identify at any given moment.” Junior Laurissa Foley said she has noticed some forms of racial misrepresentation from a young age. “On tests like MCAS, when you have to fill out your race, they usually only have a few races, and you can never pick two,” she said. “I have always been checking off the ‘Other’ box, but I feel like they should have a biracial or multiracial box.” While being biracial or multiracial is not uncommon at South, some multiracial students still feel South’s classes could be more diverse, Foley said. “South can improve on [its] diversity because sometimes, I am still the only black or biracial student in my class,” she said.
According to Hensch, multiracial people should not be categorized by their ethnic background. “Don’t assume our identity is solely based on our ethnicity or our culture,” he said. “I think we are our own person, and whatever may have happened in the past is the past and shouldn’t be taken as the be-all, end-all.” Biracial students and teachers rarely encounter issues with racial identity from the onset, according to Lovett. Being half-Asian and half-white was not something he thought about regularly until he reached middle school. “At that point, we started talking about it, and people started using slurs,” he said. “Race literally just didn’t dawn on me and people didn’t really start to take notice until high school.” Cassell agreed, adding that she began to understand the importance of cultural diversity and representation later in life. “I have just become more and more aware of the lack of diversity in a number of different arenas,” she said. “For example, the concept of ‘yellow-face’ is something that still exists in pop culture.” Lovett’s feelings about his racial identity have matured as he’s aged, he said. “When I was younger, there were a lot more feelings of shame,” he said. “But as I’ve gotten older, there are a lot more events in which I can actually use my race and my position as a biracial person to speak up more about race, and usually in those moments I feel more proud [to be biracial].”
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features|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR
south scripts L
ast spring, film studies classes showcased seven student-produced films in South’s annual student film festival. Many South graduates said the class, along with South’s numerous creative niches, inspired them to continue exploring opportunities in the filmmaking industry. South ‘07 graduates Rebecca Karpovsky and Amanda Lundquist began writing a script for their film “Pinsky” in 2012. “Pinsky” has since won Best Feature in the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival and has been played in film festivals across the country. Its last stop on its 2017 Fall Film Festival Tour is the Boston Jewish Film Festival on Nov. 18. The duo said their experiences at South and growing up in Newton heavily inspired the movie’s plot, which addresses themes of queerness, intergenerational conflict and identity discovery. “The story is not exactly our own, but a lot of it is based in truth and in our lives and the lives we lived in the Boston area,” Karpovsky said. “We decided to make the movie ourselves because we realized it’s a particular topic, [and] we are the only ones who could tell the story.” South’s Children of the Candy Corn and South Stage, along with film studies, fostered Lundquist’s love of storytelling. “I remember writing a 10-page paper on Spike Lee, watching ‘Summer of Sam’ and ‘Malcolm X’ and just having the space in high school to be filmed with ensemble casts,” she said. “Dealing with contemporary issues about politics and identity and being able to just talk about them and write about them for a high school paper was super unusual.” ‘09 graduate and current writer, director and producer Erica Rose also said film studies was a unique opportunity. “I had known that I had wanted to be a filmmaker for a long time even before I took that class, but it reinforced my passion for [film],” she said. “It’s just an incredible experience to be in a room with people who want to discuss films in the way that you have been waiting to discuss them for years.” “You don’t have a lot of time [or resources] in high school in that setting, ... but what we could do was amazing,” Karpovsky said. “We watched a lot of films, and we dissected them. … It was really a college film theory class at Newton South.” Film studies teacher David Weintraub said film studies most benefits those who are already interested in film, like Rose.
South students and graduates reflect on the impact of film and film studies By Catherine Granfield, Laila Polk, Jacqueline Williams and Gabby Znamensky
“The students who get the most out of film studies are the students who are already curious about what art can do and already invested in any kind of creative art as a source of meaning, inspiration, passion [or] creativity in their own lives,” he said. Rose said that while the class does not singlehandedly prepare students to enter the film industry, it is a vehicle for thoughtful discussion. “[Film studies] definitely doesn’t give you a practical mindset into how to make films because that is such a deeply complex industry that really you can only ascertain once you’re in it, but it creates an environment where you are talking about movies openly and discussing [them] intellectually and critically and really valuing them as an art form,” she said. ‘17 graduate Rebecca Yakubovich, said film studies encourages a deeper understanding of the filmmaking process, which includes collaboration and teamwork. She said she learned both skills by working on her film studies group’s final
film, “Table A,” which received the “Best Film” award, among others, in South’s 2017 film festival. “It’s only a 10-minute movie, … but it probably took us over 40 hours, maybe even more, to complete,” she said. Film studies transforms students’ perspectives on film, senior Amanda Smith said. “I’ve always really liked movies and liked to analyze them myself,” she said. “It’s more fun to learn how to actually do it, instead of just [in] my amateur way.” Senior Izak Monaco added that because of film studies, he has noticed many devices films use to act as social commentary. “There’s a lot of metaphors in movies and a lot of simple small things that directors try to show the watcher that some people don’t get to recognize,” he said. “It all connects to what’s going on in the world.” Rose said aspiring filmmakers will benefit from hands-on experience, adding that she learned techniques she still uses
today from making her own amateur high school films. “The biggest piece of advice is to keep creating — to keep making your own films, to be writing your own scripts, to watch as many movies as possible,” she said. “The best way I learned and am still learning is by creating my own work. I got a camera, I got my friends together and then we made films.” “Story-telling was always part of who we were [and] what we do,” Karpovsky added. “We were always creating.” Lundquist said having exposure to film has increased her appreciation for film as an art form. “When you watch a film and you don’t know what goes into making it, you don’t realize how much of a miracle it is,” she said. “I’m never going to see a film again and say I hated it. … I’m always going to find somebody’s job in that film, the art director, or a line in the writing that I can appreciate because [film] is a whole collaborative effort and a whole universe that we’ve created.”
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THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|Features
November 14, 2017|page 17
Wheeling, Writing, Advocating Melissa Shang advocates for disability representation in media through writing and speaking
photo by Netta Dror
Freshman Melissa Shang speaks at an interview with WGBH News’s Craig Lemoult at an Understanding Our Differences event on Nov. 2.
By Sophie Lewis, Talia Raffel and Carrie Ryter Only a freshman, Melissa Shang has already coa character with a story similar to her own. with disabilities can have normal lives.” authored a children’s book called “Mia Lee Wheeling “American Girl [dolls] conquer today’s challenges,” The book was published using the money from their Through Middle School,” which is based on her life as a she said. “Their stories made me experience what life is Kickstarter campaign and is now being sold worldwide. disabled middle school student. like for those people, but then there was never a doll with Shang’s advocacy work did not end there; she conShang’s best friend, Cassie, who asked that her last a disability, so I could never really relate to a doll with my tinued speaking at events to spread her message to crowds name remain confidential, was surprised when she heard story.” of thousands. about Shang’s book. With the help of her older sister Eva Shang, Shang, In October 2014, Shang spoke at the United Nations “I was so … amazed that she ... had that kind of at just 10 years old, launched a petition for an American International Day of the Girl event, and in November capability,” Cassie said. “I always knew she had that kind Girl doll with a disability in Jan. 2014. 2014, Shang and her sister gave a Ted Talk titled “Why of creativity, and I loved how she just took it by the reins.” “I told my sister … [because] I thought she was a Girls with Disabilities Matter.” Shang also introduced Cassie served as inspiration for the protagonist’s really inspirational person, and I thought she could help,” Malala Yousafzai at a United Nations convention in Nov. best friend, Caroline, in Shang’s book, which she disShang said. 2014, and received a standing ovation from the audience. cussed at an Understanding Our Differences (UOD) event The petition rapidly achieved viral popularity, “I always [admired Malala’s] strength and her bravin the auditorium on Nov. 2. receiving over 150,000 signatures and being featured in ery, and it inspired me to keep going and keep advocating The event marked the organization’s sixth book media outlets like BuzzFeed, People Magazine and Oprah for people with disabilities,” Shang said. discussion about the importance of disabled characters in Magazine. “She just has this confidence that wherever she children’s literature. “I had done some advocacy work before, … but goes,” Eva said. “She has a story to tell and she deserves to UOD, which will soon celebrate its 40th anniversanothing that approached [this] scale,” Eva said. be there.” ry, provides Newton elementary schools with a disability According to Shang, the real reward was the influx Recently, Shang’s piece in The New York Times, awareness curriculum and aims to educate students about of people who contacted her, sharing stories of their own “Stories About Disability Don’t Have to Be Sad,” gained a the importance of inclusion. disabilities or those of their loved ones. lot of traction. Shang spoke about her work advo“If she is interested, ... she can put “I want to send people with disabilities a message saying that cating for disability representation in the a passion to it,” Sue Liu, Shang’s mother, media. Before and after her presentation, they belong. Don’t let people bring you down. Your are very strong said. Shang signed copies of her book, which “I think she has very strong opinand you deserve to be represented, and I hope that in future years ions, and targets the conventional stereotypes of she’s very driven, [which] you you will be.” self-hatred and pity that often appear in don’t see in a lot of kids her age,” Chrisdisabled characters’ storylines. tine Luciano, Shang’s aide who helps her Shang was born with Charcotnavigate the halls in a wheelchair, said. - Melissa Shang, class of 2021 Marie-Tooth, a neuromuscular disorder “She’s been in this situation her whole life, ... but she that progressively degenerates muscles and never seems to get upset or aggravated,” Luciano added. weakens the body, but she refuses to let it define her. “For the first time, I actually felt like I belonged and “She has a lot to offer.” “At first, people tend to see me as my disability, or that there were people like me,” she said. “I want to send people with disabilities a message me as being in my wheelchair, but then, when they get to Unfortunately, American Girl did not respond in saying that they belong,” Shang added. “Don’t let people know me, [they] see me as what I’m really made of,” she the way that she had hoped, Shang said; the company bring you down. You are very strong and you deserve to said. “People with disabilities are just people and deserve made no promises of releasing a disabled doll and closed be represented, and I hope that in the future you will be.” to be treated as such.” the conversation. Shang remained determined nonetheShang’s message resonated with young students who Shang highlighted this mantra in her presentaless, and with her sister’s help, wrote a book that starred a read her story and attended the UOD event. tion at the event, in which WGBH News’s Craig LeMoult disabled female protagonist similar to herself. “I came [to the event] because I was reading this interviewed Shang and took questions from audience Titled “Mia Lee is Wheeling Through Middle book, and I think it’s an incredible story,” Brown sixth members. School,” the book follows main character Mia Lee, who, grader Hewitt Devlieger said. “We had these short speeches presented at elemenlike Shang, has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and is inter“Before, when reading books about disabilities, I tary school, and I really enjoyed them, and I think they’re ested in stop-motion filmmaking. didn’t think too much about how the characters are repimportant for people to come to and learn about,” junior When the sisters held a Kickstarter campaign to resented or portrayed,” Rashi school seventh grader Liza Aviva Fidler said at the event. fund the book, they raised three times their goal of $2,000 Grossman said. “Listening to her made me consider the “We all have something to learn from people with in a mere 24 hours, according to Eva. characters’ feelings more than I would have otherwise.” disabilities, and I’m excited to have a student from South Despite receiving a flood of support from family, For now, Shang is focused on getting through freshpresent,” South parent and UOD program director Jenni friends and the disabled community, Shang said she enman year and hopes to continue her advocacy work. Acosta said. countered an impasse when she reached out to publishers. “Girls with disabilities deserve to be represented,” From a young age, Shang said she seldom saw dis“All of [the publishers] said ... the lightheartedness she said, “And people without disabilities should have abilities represented in the media. As an American Girl of the story isn’t quite a match for the disability and the resources to help them understand.” Doll fanatic, Shang learned about gymnasts and horseseriousness of the subject you’re trying to convey,” Eva back riders, but said she realized that the franchise lacked said. “In reality, that was exactly our point, that people Additional reporting by Dina Zeldin
page 18|November 14, 2017
THE
Features|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR
COMMONAPPLICATION
The Roar follows four seniors with different interests as they navigate the college application process and will reveal their identities and college plans as they make their decisions
By Dina Zeldin
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ulian* submitted his Early Decision application to Harvard University and has begun working on his regular admission applications. Although Julian said he is satisfied with the final version of his application, he said Ivy League school acceptance is very luck dependant. “There’s just that magical thing that shrinks 80 percent down to 5 percent,” he said, noting the hefty difference between Harvard’s volume of competent applicants and the school’s final acceptance rate. “At this point, there’s no real way of knowing if I have it, so I’m just going to see what happens,” he added. “It’s kind of a premature apathy, so maybe I’m just being delusional.” Julian said he was initially attracted to Harvard’s various on-campus opportunities, as well as the university’s proximity to home. For the rest of his applications, Julian will be applying to high-caliber STEM schools in the Northeast in hopes of staying close to home while pursuing his interests. Since he has already completed the major parts of his applications, he said the rest of the college process will be significantly less stressful. “I don’t think I’m going to have to make any major novel decisions,” he said. After spending a couple of days overthinking the final mouse-clicks necessary to submit the application, Julian advised future applicants to not pressure themselves too much. “How procrastination works [is] it’s just you delaying what you believe will be some sort of failure,” he said. “As anxious as you may be, just try and calm yourself down in whatever way works. ... It’s better than letting the anxiety of the deadline be a distraction.”
C
aroline* has finished 16 out of 18 applications in time for her selfestablished Nov. 1 deadline, and is now working on her audition pieces for several musical theater programs. Currently, Caroline said the top schools on her list include the Boston Conservatory, Emerson College, the University of Hartford’s Hartt School and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. “I’ll end up going to whatever school can offer me the best and most intense training,” she said. Caroline added that she contacted various students and went on several college tours in order to get a better feel for the schools’ environments. After encountering initial trouble with the application process, Caroline said she contacted My College Audition (MCA), a college guidance and audition coaching program, for help. Together, Caroline and her coaches picked the audition songs and monologues that she has been practicing for months now, all in preparation for her prescreen audition video filming and her December live auditions. “You have to pick songs and monologues that you won’t get sick of,” she said. “The material that I’m working with is so awesome and so nuanced and interesting, so it’s really easy to keep working on because I’m always making new discoveries.” Caroline urged seniors to be understanding of each other in such a stressful time. “It’s so much about perspective, so you just have to be respectful of everybody’s different experiences,” she said. “It’s difficult, because none of this can possibly encapsulate a person. It’s a good time to be there for your friends and help them out.”
C
harlie* submitted five Early Action applications after spending several weeks before the Nov. 1 deadline putting final touches on his essays. “It’s been a lot of late nights and lots of stressing,” he said. “Luckily, it’s pretty much coming to a close right now.” Of his five already-submitted applications, Charlie is most hopeful that his materials will be well received by the University of Michigan and Boston College. “They really fit what I’m looking for in schools: medium to large size, having a lot of resources and being close to cities,” he said. Additionally, Charlie said his current list of schools all have strong political science programs to match his interest. “That has definitely become one of the main factors in the schools that I’ve been looking at and one of the main things I’ve been talking about in the supplements,” he said. Charlie said he made sure to apply to larger liberal arts schools to keep his options open. “I [want to] experiment a little bit and take classes on subjects that interest me,” he said. After initially struggling to find an essay topic, Charlie suggested that future writer’s-block afflicted applicants should not give up on potential ideas. “After I found an idea that I really had fun with, it became really easy to write a lot about [it],” he said. Additionally, Charlie said he found that teachers were very willing to help him when he struggled. “It’s easy to have these preconceptions about … what a good college essay is if you haven’t read one,” he said. “A lot of teachers in my life have been super supportive because this is such a stressful time for so many.”
A
graphics by Celine Yung
nnabelle* has finished her Common App essay and is working on finalizing her supplements. Although she is applying to schools in both the U.S. and Canada, Annabelle said that the application process has not been overwhelmingly stressful and that teachers have been incredibly understanding of her current workload. She has not yet decided which of her 10 schools is her top choice. “It’s cheaper there for me [in Canada], and I just want to leave the country and have a new experience,” she said. Annabelle noted, however, that others often denounce her decision to apply internationally. “Some people judge me, and I’m not taken seriously,” she said. “I just joke back.” Although she is confident in her decision to apply to Canadian schools, Annabelle said she is struggling to decide which areas she would like to continue to study further in her academic career. “You can’t just choose your life in a month,” Anabelle said. She added that conversations with fellow seniors often become competitive. “I hate talking about [college applications] because it sends such negative energy,” she said. “People brag about it, and it’s just annoying.” Annabelle plans to finish all of her applications by December, at which point she will have to record a video interview for one of her schools. She is hoping to stay on track for her deadlines by keeping organized. “It’s stressful, but if you manage your time, you’re fine,” she said. “I’m not the best person to talk to about this, but no senior really is.” *Names changed to protect students’ identities
November 14, 2017|page 19
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|fun page
South Crime Watch Editors’ Note: Individuals are presumed guilty until proven innocent. HACKING Nov. 13, Cutler Lab A senior was taken into custody after being found hacking into his Skyward account in an attempt to change his ceramics grade.
graphic by Sophie Galowitz
IDENTITY THEFT Nov. 8, Gym B Two sophomores were caught impersonating other students in order to get a flu shot. When taken away by authorities, one was heard yelling, “All I wanted was a crayon Band-Aid and an ‘I shoo’d the flu’ sticker!”
BREAKING AND ENTERING Nov. 5, Field House Three students broke into the field house and tore up more holes in the track. When questioned, the students said that their hatred of the pep rally influenced their attempts to prolong the renovation process.
PUBLIC DISTURBANCE Nov. 6, Library Students studying in the library’s quiet study section were interrupted by freshmen singing “Can’t Stop the Feeling” and “Party in the USA.” The freshmen refused to leave the quiet study area, claiming they were studying for the lip dub.
PLAGIARISM
South Whatzits Easy:
Oct. 20, Faculty Dining Room -
Three teachers were caught copying their coworkers’ midterm comments. When asked why they were plagiarizing, the teachers said they were behind on grading, but wanted to give assignments back before the term ended.
RICK
Overheard at SOUTH Yes, we heard you say that. Insightful senior girl: “I’ve come to the realization that I can’t say thank you. I always say hank you.” Junior honors English student: “What the f*** is a complex sentence?” 20/20-visioned freshman: “How do you close your eyes if you have glasses?” Clumsy athlete: “I just fell up the stairs.”
Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo of the Month:
Roar Advisory Pet:
Gu marvels at her experimental hairstyle.
Floating mold lived in 1201 for an unknown length of time.
Challenge:
From top to bottom: Stembridge, Goldrick, L bench, Rattendi, Gagnon
Film-loving math teacher: “We can say, along with the rest of the mean girls, the limit does not exist.”
SPORTS page 20|November 14, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM
Sports@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 4
no clowning around In a school that promotes more traditional sports, circus arts are often misunderstood By Emily Miao
photos courtesy ofAxie Breen photography and Bruce Mount
The Moody Street Circus performers showcase thier skills during performances. Sophomore Audrey Kissin and senior Zoe Heywood perform partner acrobatics and aerial straps.
W
hen sophomore Sarah Kim went to the Moody Street Circus in Waltham, she had mild expectations. “I was expecting more small, comical acts with maybe one or two big, impressive acts,” she said. Sophomore Audrey Kissin’s aerial performance, however, surpassed Kim’s initial expectations. “Audrey was a mermaid caught in a net that was hanging from the ceiling. She wore a white shirt and leggings that were really shimmery,” she said. “She performed to a really lyrical song. I was impressed by the whole thing, especially how graceful she looked. If I had tried to do something like that, I wouldn’t come close to how amazing she looked.” Kissin, along with a handful of other South students, is a circus athlete at Moody Street. Aerial silks are not her main event; she specializes in the static trapeze, unicycling and contortion. Senior Zoe Heywood, circus athlete and teacher at Moody Street, choreographs and performs her own aerial dances. “[I piece] together moves ranging from simple to really hard, or easy to dangerous, and make them flow just like a ballet or a contemporary piece — not on the ground, but in the air,” she said. “There are drops, flips [and] grippy stuff — stuff where you just wrap your body up in all directions.” According to Heywood, Moody Street performers possess a range of impressive talents, noting that some advanced students are learning to juggle knives. Despite the performers’ talents, Heywood said that some people question the validity of circus arts. “I don’t know if people realize that that’s what people dedicate their lives to,” she said. “I don’t know if they think about what goes on behind the scenes and how much work goes into creating that spectacle that everyone loves.” Kim agreed that circus arts are often not taken seriously. “Most people think of circus as a kind of joke, like when they say ‘go join the circus,’” she said. Students, Kissen added, have an overly simplistic
view of circus activities. “Lots of people don’t see it [as] a sport,” she said. “When they hear circus arts, they think it’s a clown with a red nose and colorful wig.” In spite of these beliefs, circus artists work tirelessly for their sport, just like other athletes, Kissin said. “There’s a lot of strength and thought that goes into it, and it’s not like anyone can do it,” she said. Melinda Pavlata, owner and teacher at the Moody Street Circus, said circus athletes must take their performances seriously in order to succeed. “Many people underestimate how much they need to practice to learn [and] master different aspects of circus arts,” she said. According to Kissin, training can be physically exhausting. “When Zoe says we’re doing conditioning, ... you’re like, ‘okay, I’m not going to be able to walk tomorrow,’” she said. Heywood added that circus is a massive time commitment, requiring her to train for at least four hours for six days each week. Kissin said stigmas about the circus account for limited participation in circus arts. “When people think of circus, a lot of people think, ‘Oh, animal abuse, scary clowns, that’s creepy, I don’t want anything to do with it,’” she said. Sophomore Sage Winkler said she would not support a circus if she heard similar stories. “If I were to hear that a circus abuses their animals, I would definitely not want to go support them by going to watch,” she said. “Buying a ticket is basically like paying people to go abuse the animals.” However, these rumors should not affect circus arts as a whole, as only a small percentage of circuses engage in immoral activities, Kissin said. “Some people have an appreciation for [circus arts]. I think a lot of those people are people who have talked to those who do circus arts,” she said. “My friends have seen my shows and they realized how hard it is.” Kim pointed out that very few people have a suf-
ficient knowledge of the art. “I don’t think people really know what circus arts entails,” she said. “It doesn’t get enough representation because it’s not very popular, so really only the friends of the performers hear about it and actually go see the performance.” Because circus is so unique, Heywood said, many people don’t process what they are watching. “It’s just not something that you see every day in your normal life. Like you can walk to the park, and you see people playing soccer and people swimming, but not every day you go the circus,” she said. “On some level they realize that what someone doing is amazing and insanely impressive, but on the other hand, it doesn’t really register what they’re doing because it’s so particular.” Sports like soccer and gymnastics are more wellsupported because they are more widely played and viewed, she added. “Almost everyone does kindergarten soccer, [and] people do these school sports and you hear about it a lot, so you’re more likely to start doing that,” Kissin said. “There isn’t kindergarten circus.” According to Kim, a circus arts club at South would help the sports gain recognition. “There’s so many different sports teams and clubs at South that represent a big variety of activities that people do, but there isn’t anything that represents circus arts, and there should be,” she said. Winkler agreed that South would benefit from the addition of a circus club. “Every student should be able to express what they are interested in at school, and if students enjoy circus arts, they should be able to do so,” she said. Heywood said that a club would not offer a proper environment or schedule for circus athletes to flourish, as athletes would not have enough time to hone their skills. Regardless of the level of recognition for circus arts, Kim said, people should enjoy watching the athletes perform. “[The circus] is meant to be beautiful and entertaining,” she said.
November14, 2017|page 21
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts
South renovates indoor track in field house Catherine Granfield & Caleb Lazar
Sr. Sports Editor, Sports Contributor When senior hurdler Vicky Shevchenko trained on South’s indoor track last season, she couldn’t seem to time her jumps. When searching for an explanation, she realized the issue might be the track itself. “As I’m running, I feel a bump, and I’m like, ‘oh, that’s probably it,’” she said. “[The bump] might have messed up my stepping.” Shevchenko, along with the rest of the indoor track team, trained on the 13-year-old surface of the field house track last season. Amid growing concerns about the track’s degradation, the school will finish installing a new rubber surface before Thanksgiving break, according to athletic director Patricia Gonzalez. “It was due for a renovation,” Gonzalez said. “The stands are mobile, and the years of moving them back and forth created grooves and tears in the track. [It was] more expensive to fix hole-by-hole than to do the whole renovation.” Senior hurdler Seanna McGraw said the tears and poor traction of the rubber made it difficult to practice race-starts inside. “A lot of the sprinters do block-starts, and the blocks also could slip,” she said. “The rubber had gotten really torn up, so it was rough, so it would hurt to start on your hands and knees.” “The track was really hard, and the spikes that we used on our shoes are like cleats. They don’t really stick in the track because it was so hard, and it would be slippery to run on,” senior hurdler Joey Lorant said. “It’s not ideal for racing.” Gonzalez said the new track surface will help the almost 200 winter athletes who use the field house. “It will even [the] thickness across the whole thing, which is awesome not just for the runners, but for the people that use the basketball and volleyball courts [and] even for our wellness classes because a lot of their things happen on the surface of the track,” she said. The renovation will install a new Mondotrack surface, Gonzalez said. “The material is ... top-of-the-line,” she said. “The
photo by Netta Dror
Construction continues in the field house with a goal of renovating the 13-year-old indoor track before Thanksgiving. expectation is that we will not have to worry about it for always impact one team. another 15 years.” “It seems strange that they didn’t figure out how Since the renovation is taking place during the to do it in the summer, or one year do it during [girls] school year, wellness classes have been unable to utilize volleyball, one year do it during basketball [and] one year the space, according to head volleyball coach and wellness do it during boys volleyball,” Winters said. “I think the teacher Todd Elwell. frustration of it can sometimes bring down the mood at “When we get into a situation where the weather’s practices.” bad outside, now we’re down to [Gym B], a classroom and According to Gonzalez, the budget’s approval last maybe the fitness center,” he said. “It makes it harder, but spring did not allow the school adequate time to obtain our department is flexible, and we can adapt.” materials and build during the summer. The renovation also overlapped with the girls volley“The material is not made right here in the United ball playoffs, forcing the varsity team to relocate to Gym States. It’s coming in through Canada from China, by boat B with little warning and causing some irritation for the to Canada and then by track here, so it’s a transportation players, sophomore volleyball player Maggie Winters said. issue," she said. "This was the earliest time it could have “The freshman and JV teams have to walk all the been done." way over to Brown,” she said. “They have to start their Winters and Wu said that while inconvenient, the practices later, so it takes more time and they kind of have renovation is worth the distruption. this awkward time in between school ending and practice According to Wu, the players appreciate the renowhen it’s kind of too short to get any homework done.” vation due to its positive impact on the South athletics The timing of the renovation made some team program. members feel that South values the volleyball team’s prac“At the end of the day, the field house is going to tice less than that of other teams, Wu added, citing recent be a lot better for all the sports that use it, and in general years’ renovations in Gym B and the field house that afit’s just going to benefit everyone,” she said. “We just wish fected girls volleyball similarly. they would have done it over the summer when they had a According to Winters, the renovations should not lot of time.”
Mello, '19, and teachers run Chicago marathon Jake Freudberg
she said. “You don't want to be pushing yourself too hard and not being able to finish.” Sports Reporter After the grueling feat, all three quickly returned “Right when we turned the corner to the finish line, to their normal routines. Senior Talia Tartaro, who ran I started sprinting as hard as I could,” junior Luna Mello Dreamfar with Macadino during her freshmen and sophosaid. “When we passed through, they had the clock with more years, said returning to school after running long my time. I kept walking, and they handed me my medal. distances can be challenging. To get that medal meant so much.” “After the marathon [you are] so sore, but it’s not Mello, along with math teacher Vittoria Macadino like you’re going to be bed-ridden,” Tartaro said. “It was and special education teacher and Dreamfar high school really hard, but it also feels very satisfying to complete marathon team mentor Holly Kee, completed the Bank of such a long-term project.” America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8. Kee, Macadino and Mello have all been involved Macadino raised about $1,000 for the Joslin Diawith South’s Dreamfar program, which trains students and betes Center, and Kee and Mello together raised about teachers of all athletic backgrounds to run the Providence $3,000 for Team Bright Pink, a breast cancer and ovarian Marathon. cancer charity. Kee and Mello met last year through the program. Macadino finished with a personal record of four Afterward, Mello approached Kee about running Chicago hours and 21 minutes, while Kee and Mello finished at five together, as Chicago is one of the few marathons that alhours and 26 minutes, Mello's personal best. lows 16-year-old participants, Mello said. After training with Dreamfar to finish the ProviHistory teacher Lily Eng, who organized the Dreamdence Marathon last May, Chicago is Mello’s second mara- far program for the past nine years, said student comthon. She said Chicago’s atmosphere was incomparable. monly run races with a mentor. “[During] Chicago, the streets are shut down. People “On any given Saturday, we’re probably running line the entire course," she said. "There’s maybe a half four, five hours at a time together for months, so you get to mile where there’s just a few people, but even then, there’s really know [the students],” she said. “You end up talkpeople everywhere. There’s so many runners in general ing and getting to know the kids in a way that you would that you're never alone." never know in any other club.” According to Kee, the heat was a challenge. Mello said although she did not run often with Kee “Chicago was really hot and a lot of people were get- during Dreamfar, Kee motivated her to finish Chicago. ting pulled off of the course, so I think it's really important “She is why I finished [Chicago],” Mello said. “She to have another person there to keep you going and calm,” kept encouraging me, saying, ‘You can do it, you’ve done
it before’. She helped to keep me calm because I was so nervous.” While Kee has run several marathons separate from Dreamfar, including the recent Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22, she said she loves running with Dreamfar because of students like Mello. “It’s an eclectic group of students, and ... it’s a combination of kids coming together with one common goal,” Kee said. Eng also noted one of the unique aspects mix of teachers and students involved in Dreamfar. “The kids see that there are different teachers – special education, math, world language, ” Eng said. “We have kids who can win their age group because they’re runners, and then you have people [for whom] just the fact they ran the 5K and the 10K is huge.” Kee, Macadino and Mello said they hope to run more marathons in the future. Though Macadino is not currently registered to run another full marathon, she said the Boston Marathon is her ultimate goal. Macadino said that raising $7,500 to run the Boston Marathon is more daunting than actually running. Kee and Mello are training to run Providence again this spring with Dreamfar. Mello said that although training was sometimes difficult, finishing the marathon was well worth the hardships. “You train sometimes, and it’s like 20 degrees, and you have to keep going because it’s so cold,” she said. “Crossing the finish line makes it all worth it.”
page 22|November 14, 2017
New Sox Skipper
JAKE FREUDBERG & THOMAS PATTI
the penalty box Baseball season just came to an end in one of the most dramatic World Series ever played. As such, we feel it seasonally appropriate to throw someone or something from Major League Baseball into the Penalty Box. But, with little from the World Series that bothered us (besides Joe Buck, who doesn’t deserve the attention of a full column — honestly, how does this guy still have a job?), we unfortunately have to let the hometown team take a brief time out. Next to the Penalty Box: the Red Sox. Only Boston would fire the manager of a 93-69, first-place team. As Red Sox fans, though, we reserve the right to give anybody who steps onto the field at Fenway a hard time with just about everything. So, we won’t defend Farrell here; it was his time to go. Farrell’s five years with the Red Sox had ups and downs, and many hoped team president Dave Dombrowski would fire him back in 2015. Since leading the team to a World Series win in 2013, Farrell’s popularity with the media and fans has declined early — Boston faithfuls no longer remember him as the trusted sidekick of beloved former manager Terry Francona. After losing in the ALDS, the Red Sox soon fired Farrell and hired Houston Astros bench coach Alex Cora as their new manager. While Cora’s Puerto Rican heritage and experience as a player in Boston (albeit as a benchwarmer) made him an interesting candidate, Dombrowski’s decision to hire him came too quickly. The Sox were also looking at several other candidates with more MLB managerial and coaching experience than Cora, including Brad Ausmus, Ron Gardenhire, Terry Collins, Brad Mills and DeMarlo Hale, among others. While having an experienced manager might not have been the top priority during the hiring process, this young Red Sox team could have benefitted from one. And while Cora possesses the qualifications of a former MLB player, he will quickly have to face some serious issues on the Sox squad. First off, he must address the gaping hole that just appeared at second base with Dustin Pedroia potentially out through June with knee surgery. Cora is not only going to need to find a worthy second baseman to fill in for the time being, but he is also going to need to make up for the leadership lost in Pedroia, who is one of just four remaining players from the 2013 World Series season. Cora’s other major challenge will be dealing with pitcher David Price. If the Red Sox want to succeed, they need Price healthy — and happy. It’s well known now that Price is not a fan of Boston, and if Cora can’t get him to buy in, the Sox might as well just kiss the $217 million they owe the 2012 Cy Young winner goodbye. As lifelong fans, we’ll be pulling for the Sox next season, but quickly hiring a manager with only one year of experience as a bench coach just seems too risky for a team with now ridiculously high expectations for the 2018 campaign. We are truly rooting for Cora to succeed; however, with many difficult questions lingering from last season, we’re concerned that he’ll need far more than our blessing.
Sports|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR
Controlling the
game
Student referees build confidence and take responsibility on the field By Dorra Guermazi and Ethan Kopf When freshman soccer player Dale Andre LaVelle began looking for a job in seventh grade, he found one in the sport he’d played since kindergarten. His love of soccer and desire to give back to the community, he said, attracted him to Newton’s referee training program. “Once the age came around when I knew I was able to [start reffing], I thought, ‘Why not?’” he said. “I get paid, I get experience and it’s fun.” Time spent on the field, student referees said, provides the work-experience benefits of a real job while also allowing them to develop confidence, help younger players and give back to the league in which they played as kids. Newton Soccer head referee Ioannis Kyratzoglou leads about 70 12- to 18-year-old Newton Soccer referees. Students who enter the referee training program learn and recieve support from certified referees, he said. “Especially for a young referee, there is a fear of the unknown. … They are afraid of the adults, they are afraid of the coaches and ... they are shy.” he said. “This is not something that they are getting in on their own.” Freshman referee Valerie Goldstein said making authoritative calls forces referees to overcome shyness. “If you hesitate or if you’re unsure of yourself, people are going to question you,” she said. “You need to prove that you’re in charge, and you want to run the game so that everyone is safe.” Sophomore referee and soccer player Daniel Linder agreed that “players’ safety is paramount,” adding that he tries to be a good leader and influence when he referees younger kids. “[Being a referee] helps me see things in a different way, and it helps me to see these kids as people that I need to help out,” he said. With lower-level teams and younger kids, Lavelle said the referee must treat calls as learning opportunities. “If someone does a throw-in wrong, you stop the game and show them how to do a throw-in,” he said. In high school games, on the other hand, referees must focus on calling the game fairly, senior soccer player Amanda Smith said, noting that referees frequently make mistakes. “Sometimes they can be pretty good and call a good game, but most of
photos by Netta Dror
Youth referees officiate intramural games as training to move on to higher-level games. the time they make really bad calls,” she said. “I understand that it can be hard at times, but they generally don’t see things.” Agreeing that a referee’s primary responsibility is remaining attentive throughout the duration of a game, sophomore referee Maya Joseph said players’ expectations are often unrealistic. “The referees are trying to do their job — they’re one person, and this is a high-intensity game, so it’s not easy,” she said. “They have to be paying attention 100 percent of the time, and no human person could make every call correctly.” Goldstein added that her experience as a referee gave her a new perspective as a soccer player. “Once I became a referee, I started to have much more empathy,” she said. “The ref is doing the best job that he or she can do, and they’re just trying to keep me safe, so I shouldn’t be mean.” Refereeing, Joseph said, has given her valuable work experience. “It’s given me a preview into what it’s
like to have a real job, especially at a young age,” she said. Goldstein added that refereeing gave her insight into the real world and even into her own game. “I learned a lot of professional skills like being on time, submitting my game reports on time and making a schedule, so I know which games I can and can’t do,” she said. “I also have learned a lot of skills about soccer, and by refereeing some higher-level games I’ve actually had some strategies for my own games.” Kyratzoglou agreed that refereeing provides students with a valuable learning experience and an opportunity for personal growth. “The impact that the referee program has on them is improving their confidence,” he said. ”Now, they are able to go out and referee younger levels of players and teams, and they are able to manage the difficult situations,” Kyratzoglou said. “As a part of this training program, they are maturing.”
November 14, 2017|page 23
THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts
Coach’s Corner The Roar’s Catherine Granfield asked boys basketball coach Joe Killilea for a season preview
Joe Killilea boys basketball coach
Q A
What distinguishes this year's team from last year's? We’re going to have to play differently. We had a lot of big, strong, physical kids last year, and we don’t have that this year, so we’re going to have to play a different style of basketball. We’re going [to] have to play smarter. ... I think we’ll be a pretty good shooting team. We’ll be able to score some points.
Girls soccer surges to sectional final Photos by Jack Blessington and AJ Kret
photo byJack Blessington
photo byAJ Kret
photo byAJ Kret
photo byAJ Kret
Clockwise from top left: Coach Doug McCarthy motivates his team, junior Audrey Lavey dribbles downfield, the team celebrates their 2-1 overtime victory over opponent Whitman-Hanson, junior Maia Madison fights for control of the ball with a W-H player.
Keeping My Chin Up MAIA MADISON
sports contributor
Floating column EDITOR’S NOTE: Every issue, The Roar publishes a different athlete’s perspective from his or her position on a sports team. Contact srstaff@thelionsroar.com if you are interested in writing this column.
With the dreadful swish that only your own net can make, another ball went in. A lump — dense, thick and ever-expanding, — crawled up the ladder of my esophagus, finding a seat in my throat. The hostile mood invaded my psyche: the jeers of opposing fans, the metallic hum of stadium seat drumming, the palpable laughter on the tips of dissenters' tongues. Doubt festered inside my head like it was entering an open wound. Glowing red, the scoreboard mocked me with its brilliance, branding my eyes with those horrid numbers. Each pulse of the red LED lights conveyed the same message: “Give up,” it seemed to shriek. “Just pack your bags and go home. You’ll never be good enough.” On that dark night at WhitmanHanson, I let those numbers taunt me. I let the six and the zero burrow their way into my brain. I let my chin fall to my chest, and I felt embarrassed. We had done our best, but our best just wasn’t good enough. A full year of school passed; summer turned to fall, and I returned to school for a new high school season. Stepping onto the turf, I remembered the night that had ended our season a year earlier. That memory, which had stayed dormant in my mind throughout the winter, spring and summer, suddenly came alive. However, in its sleep, it had evolved: it was no longer a source of shame, but rather one of interminable motivation. A motivation that drove our team, my soccer sisters and me, to win the Dual County League title for the first time in Newton South girls varsity soccer history. Unfortunately, while we found success in our own league that year, victory in the state tournament evaded us. As we lost in our first game, I thought back to the red scoreboard from a year earlier. Its neon “6-0” burned brightly in my mind. Since that game last year, we’ve won 17 games. Second to none is the intoxicating joy that winning two back-to-back DCL titles elicits. But through all of the smiles and all of the wins, it has been the losses that I’ve remembered most. It has been the heartbreaking goals that have pushed me forward. It has been the agonizing mistakes that I’ve learned from. Now, as we approach the state tournament for the third time, I stare directly into those bright red LEDs pulsing in my subconscious. I let those numbers egg me on. I let them dare me to strive for better. I lift my chin up, and I know that we will be prepared.