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Student housing hindered A U.K. law passed over the summer has stunted the school’s ability to house students visiting for athletics and other events.
the Standard
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Advisory review The Standard conducts a survey revealing the favorability of the Advisory program one and a half years after the program’s implementation.
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Lets talk about sex education
Redesigning Life as Libero fashion standards
A look at the sexual education curriculum within the school and its effectiveness in comparison to other schools.
Aveleigh Baker (’17), who designed costumes for the HS production, is working towards making fashion more accessible to all.
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A profile on All-Tournament Libero Emily Barlow (’18), her volleyball career and the anonymity of the position.
News 2-5 | Opinions 6-10 | Features 11-17 | Culture 18-21 | Sports 22-24
Bring back the
hype A message from The Standard’s Editorial Board regarding the lack of school spirit and support amongst the student body Editorial on page 6 November/December 2016 | Volume 42, Issue 2 The American School in London | One Waverley Place | London NW8 0NP U.K. | standard.asl.org
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THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
Informational security Housing law
New food options in the cafeteria
In Brief
giene checks, and [they check] that we are complying with food safety and health and safety regulations,” Kent said. Although juices have now been brought back after they were taken away, the school still would prefer not to offer juices in the cafeteria due their high sugar content. “The school ideally would not like us to do juices,” Kent said. Despite the numerous regulations placed on the cafeteria, Alexander Kyprios (’19) enjoys the variety of food available. “The thing I like most about the cafeteria is the amount of choices they have, you can have so many different things there,” Kyprios said. Marco Kelly (’18) disagrees with the availability of food choices. He finds on Thursdays when the cafeteria regularly serves curry that his options are limited and in general, “there’s not enough variety.” Overall, Kelly believes the quality of food could improve. “It’s tolerable, but it’s not the best,” he said. Kelly eats at the cafeteria infrequently, but even that is more than he would like. “I would prefer every day to go out, rather than stay in the cafeteria,” Kelly said. While Surya Dhir (’17) also believes the food in the cafeteria isn’t as good as the food available elsewhere, he finds criticism of the food in the cafeteria unfair. “I think it gets a bad rap. I think it’s pretty good,” Dhir said.
Holiday Tea for elderly
WILLIAM BRUMMETTE STAFF WRITER
Previously removed from the school cafeteria due to a high sugar content, the juices returned after popular demand. A catering company ASL contracts called BaxterStorey supplements the juices, which were amended to be of more nutritional value. The food in the cafeteria is either made at ASL by BaxterStorey or it’s purchased from other sources the company uses. The grab and go sandwiches represent the hybrid nature of the cafeteria as some of the sandwiches are made at ASL whereas others are bought from an outside sandwich provider. This year the cafeteria introduced new juices, which are made at ASL. To make the juices “the company has developmental chefs and they come up with various recipes for the juices,” Kent said. Kent and the entire catering company must follow specific regulations when choosing certain products to serve in the cafeteria, specifically with regards to the types of meat. “We have to follow BaxterStorey regulations, I can’t just randomly go to the market and buy meat, because you’ve got to be able to trace it and know that it’s of a good quality and been prepared in a clean environment,” Kent said.
BaxterStorey have added new juices to the cafeteria. Due to high sugar content the school would prefer not to sell juices. However, because of student demand and the relatively low sugar level in these juices, they are available. PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL Some products are sourced locally, such as the bagels that come from local deli Panzers. Besides the regulations that Baxterstorey places on Kent, she also has to follow regulations from the school. ASL does not want to sell products that contain chocolate, due to the high sugar content. As a result the school no longer sells granola bars and flapjacks. The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) has concrete guidelines for food safety. “We have health and safety checks, we have hy-
School focused on increasing financial aid QUINN WHITMAN FEATURES EDITOR
As the New Frontiers project has finally drawn to a close after two years, the school is closer to reaching its goal of making ASL more accessible to a wider pool of socioeconomic groups. The Capital Campaign contributed £10 million to the New Frontiers Project which went towards Endowment for Diversity over the span of the project. The school wants to ensure the financial demands most parents face is not prohibitive for any potential parents. “The tuition costs are steep, and the goal was to increase the diversity in all forms of the school, with a particular focus on increasing the socioeconomic diversity,” Associate Dean of Admissions Ken Craig said. Craig, Head of School Coreen Hester and the Board of Trustees believe that more diversity, namely socio-economic, but not that exclusively, across all levels is essential to student development. “In the last couple of years, the office has been more intentional in trying to expand our outreach to financial aid families,” Craig said. Even before becoming the Head of School, Hester felt committed to “sharing
the resources of schools... with talented students who would like to access those resources.” In a similar vein, the 2010 Strategic Plan was developed to outline the goals of the school for the upcoming years, including
“We want families that need financial aid. We want a diverse parent body and a diverse student body.”
Coreen Hester, Head of School in regards to improving socio-economic diversity. One goal of the plan states that the school would like to “[increase] funding of financial aid to 8 percent of gross tuition revenue, and working towards endowment funds (expendable and permanent).” The goal outlined in the Strategic Plan guided the school in meeting its commitment to diversity. In 2015, the school surpassed the goal that was outlined in 2010, reaching 9.4 percent. “We want a diverse parent body and a diverse student body,” Hester said. Hester along with the Board of Trustees,
has set the new goal at 12 percent. The amount of financial aid applications has increased from the 2013/14 school year, with 95 applications to 141 applications for the 2016/17 school year. “There is some growth there, which we like to see,” Craig said. In order to keep the increase in Financial Aid applicants, the school has held Financial Aid Evenings every winter for several years to discuss the financial aid resources that the school has. “In the first couple of years, we had maybe four to six people that came, and in the last couple of years, we have had 50 or 60 people coming to our financial aid evenings,” Hester said. “This means we have advertised that we have financial aid, [potential applicants] are reading it, and then applying.” One value that has been a part of the financial aid program is that every family’s needs are different, with families receiving different levels of aid. “We do not want financial aid to be just one certain package,” Hester said. There is a varying spectrum for all applicants. One family could possibly receive close to the full tuition in aid, but there are also families who receive smaller amounts of aid. However, every family is expected to contribute to tuition costs.
PHOTO FROM ASL.ORG The annual Holiday Tea for elderly community members will be held on December 10. Every year an arts performance is put on for citizens living in local nursing homes and day centers. This year only the Jazz Band will be playing for the senior citizens. The performance is a snippet of what the actual winter concert will look like the following day. The performance is organized by the PCA-based group called the Friends of the Arts (FOTA) and will start at 3:30 p.m. Tea and snacks will be available.
December facilities schedule
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL Winter athletic teams will end practices for the first semester on December 7, amending the availability and schedule of various athletic facilities. On December 8 the Fitness Center is available after school until 5:45 p.m. On December 9 along with December 12-15 the pool, Fitness Center and MPR3 are available after school until 6:15 p.m. The Farmer Family Gym and the Blue Gym are also open until 5:45 p.m. On December 16 both gyms and Fitness Center are free until 5:45 p.m. All facilities will be supervised during these times.
Language lab to transform
PHOTO BY SOURNA DANESHVAR, JR. The World Languages Lab will transform into a regular classroom in the near future. The lab, which holds numerous computers, allowed students to record any work with the Digital Language Learning (DiLL) software. DiLL software is now available for students to download on their laptops, thus reducing the need for the lab. This academic year the lab will be a regular world languages classroom. Head of the World Languages and Culture Department Lanting Xu remains unsure of how the equipment currently in the lab will be used after the change.
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
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News
Safeguarding online presence Exploring the security measures that ensure online protection for the community at home and at school Cameron Campili | News Editor
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ith the implemented “oneto-one” laptop program, the internet has become an integral part of ASL. However, the internet has many dangers which ASL students and faculty face regularly. One such dangers is online predators. Despite the danger, Head of Security Barak Favé believes that threats can be easily avoided by using the same street smart attitude students utilize in and around London. “It’s so easy to hide behind a false profile or a few kind words so by being completely virtual you can be anyone. If you don’t know who’s on the other side then don’t interact with them,” Favé said. Online harassment and bullying is another danger many students face online. Director of Student
Life James Perry believes that this is a crucial aspect of online security: ensuring every student feels comfortable. Security is a major priority at ASL. Not only is physical security at the forefront ,but informational security as well. Director of Technology Nadjib Aktouf believes that, “as a school our number one responsibility is to keep children safe.” ASL however isn’t always able to deal with all informational breaches, and has to rely on outside school resources. In one case an app called Yik Yak enabled students to anonymously harass each other, leading ASL to contact Yik Yak to help disable the application in the ASL community. “Yik Yak have a GPS system that controls what they do and they were able to turn off the coordinates so that anyone who got within a certain area wouldn’t be able to access the app. So that’s just an example of us working with an outside agency to help protect the students,” Perry said.
Some informational breaches specific to ASL software can’t be prevented either. This past summer multiple ASL email accounts were compromised and couldn’t be accessed. Talia VasaturoKolodner (’19) was one student who was not able to access her Zimbra email. “I was locked out and then when I came back into school and went into the tech office there was a long line of kids there because everyone’s email was getting hacked over the summer, so I got my email re-set,” Vasaturo-Kolodner said. Although some breaches leak through ASL’s rigid informational security, the tech team is always available to help students and faculty. Vasaturo-Kolodner commends them for smoothly helping her fix her email. “They definitely helped me. They really went into depth and studied my history to see what I had been doing on my laptop to make sure that I was [using my computer] properly.” ASL has certain information
security guidelines which help filter out inappropriate material on the network. The network contains a web filter which bans certain websites. It does this by plugging in a checkbox of categories which are seen as “unfit for student and adult use,” Aktouf said. These categories include websites that promote extremism, pornography, use of drugs and weapon sales. The web filter which ASL runs is called Lightspeed. Aktouf defines the program as a “piece of hardware and it runs its own proprietary software.” All websites are obligated by law to categorize themselves by key terms, making it easier for the software to find and ban websites categorized under these terms. People to people interactions have reached an all time low, with online interaction subsequently reaching an all time high. “I think it’s extremely important not only for ASL but for everyone because it’s such a big part of our lives being online you interact less in be-
tween people and more virtually,” Favé said. Agreeing with this, Vasaturo-Kolodner believes that “Informational security is important because our whole lives revolve around the internet right now so if you know how to be safe there, you’re pretty set,” she said. Aktouf believes that, similarity to a physical threat to ASL, an informational threat is important to protect against. “If some wifi user was malicious in their intent and they knew their way around, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to do something malicious to our network. So it’s very important that we take precautions so that our data is kept safe and the security of our network is intact.”
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THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
New law inhibits school from housing SOURNA DANESHVAR, JR. LEAD NEWS EDITOR
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t Canons Park, ASL hosted the International School Sports Tournament (ISST) on November 11 with varsity girls soccer winning a silver medal. The location was a familiar one for ISSTs. However, unlike previous tournaments, the visiting teams stayed in hotels for the tournament because of ASL’s new policy prohibiting housing. ASL adopted the policy in response to a new U.K. law passed over the summer written by the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) organization. The law, ASL’s lawyers believe, restricts any persons under the age of 18 from staying in homes with people over the age of 18 for a “regulated activity”, unless the adults obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) safety check. A DBS check completes background searches to find any criminal records that may make someone unsuitable to be around children. As a result of the legislation, the ISST committee, which includes all schools participat-
ing in the tournaments, initially removed ASL from the hosting rotation for this year, meaning the varsity softball ISSTs scheduled at Canons Park will instead be played elsewhere. Putting around 70 softball athletes in hotels was deemed too expensive by the administration and the alternative of having around 35 families obtain DBS checks seemed infeasible. However, ASL will host varsity baseball ISSTs this spring, intending to house the 28 baseball athletes. They hope around 15 families will have had time to acquire DBS checks, making housing viable. The restrictions of the law extend beyond athletics with the school previously hosting other events, such as the International Schools Mathematics Teachers Foundation Senior Competition and various music festivals. For now this type of law only exists in the U.K., who Director of Teaching and Learning Robyn Chapel believes generally lead the world as a model for child protection laws. “The U.K. is further ahead than the rest of Europe in terms of passing laws that protect children... and I think many other countries will start to pass more laws,” Chapel said.
The law “Schools and colleges quite often make arrangements for their children to have learning experiences where, for short periods, the children may be provided with care and accommodation by a host family to which they are not related. Where the school or college is the regulated activity provider, it should request a DBS enhanced check (which will include barred list information) to help determine their suitability for the arrangement. A regulated activity provider will be committing an offence if they allow a person to carry out a regulated activity whilst barred and they know or have reason to believe that the person was barred.”
From KCSIE September edition Annex E
“We’re trying to follow the law, but also still really complete our mission of developing that global perspective and really believing that it’s important for us to instill opportunities to travel and connect with students at other schools.” DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ROBYN CHAPEL
Conflicting interpretations ASL’s interpretation
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ithin the language of the legislation, Director of Teaching and Learning Robyn Chapel identifies “regulated activity” associated with an educational environment as the term most pertinent to the school. “What our lawyers have said is that it’s hard for us to say [hosting] is not a regulated activity,” she said. The consequences for not adhering to KCSIE legislation would emerge during The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspections. Failing to follow the guidelines alone won’t fully determine the results of the school’s inspection, but certainly contribute. “If a school fails [Ofsted] can shut down the school,” Chapel said. “It’s the most basic thing that a school can do is protect the safety of its students.
A DBS check for all adults in a household would allow families to host other students. However, that process is “logistically very complicated,” taking sometimes months to complete, and it may require renewal after six months. Currently, the administration is exploring options to continue hosting, including asking parents to complete a DBS check after the school admits their child. However for some families that would host in a limited capacity or not at all the administration worries about the practicality of that demand. “Does that feel maybe extreme [to ask for a DBS check]? I wouldn’t say the word extreme, but we’re being pretty diligent,” Chapel said.
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ACS’ interpretation
ther schools in the U.K. face the same predicament, but not all have interpreted the law in the same manner as ASL. ACS Cobham, ACS Hillingdon and ACS Egham all operate under the ACS international schools group and feel the legislation still allows them to host. The International Schools Association (ISA) inspects the ACS organization and their schools. After reviewing the law the ISA decided that ACS schools could continue to house other students regardless of a DBS check under the framework of “regulated activity”. ACS compliance officer Richard Harrold finds a DBS check of limited value for international schools in upholding the principle of the KCSIE legislation: Child
protection. “It doesn’t actually say this family is absolutely safe. It just means the police has never heard of them, there is no record of them and with our international community, frankly it’s meaningless,” Harold said. Though the latest edition of KCSIE did not prompt significant changes to ACS schools operations, Harrold anticipates the next edition of KCSIE will offer some amendments to the host family provision. “I already know people who are on the KCSIE committee for 2017 and one of them told me about a month ago that host family is going under the spotlight and they’ll look at it again and we hope it... gives us more flexibility,” Harrold said.
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
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The future of hosting at ASL T
he implementation of the KCSIE legislation reaches numerous aspects of the school, namely athletics and performing arts. Once Athletics Director John Farmer learned of ASL’s inability to host he contacted Athletic Directors from other schools informing them of the school’s predica-
“We are going to take each hosting opportunity and decide whether it’s logistically possible to check every adult in the house” Bronwyn Harrison, Director of Performing Arts
ment. Initially, the other Athletic Directors responded that the new legislation would not preclude any competitions, “but little by little things started deteriorating,” Farmer said. Due to the close timing of the law’s enactment to the fall sportsseason, the ISST committee decided to keep the varsity girls soccer ISSTs at Canons Park. Field Hockey was scheduled to play the The British School of Paris (BSP) and the International School of the Hague (ISH), but both canceled their October trips. The most troubling aspect of the cancellation for Farmer is that along with the Field Hockey matches at ASL, BSP also canceled two rugby matches the Pirates were scheduled to play in January. Farmer understands why ASL’s inability to host may be prohibitive, but he feels canceling the reciprocal trips is an unnecessary consequence. “I think it’s sort of a shame to not be willing to do exchanges even if the quid pro quo is lost because it’s about the students and there’s nothing we can do about [the law],” Farmer said. Over the past years Sophia Linkas (’17) and her family hosted students from other schools and she recalls one exchange where her family housed a girl from Egypt. Learning the Egyptian culture through her perspective “was really eye opening and something I’ll remember forever. It’s good to learn about other cultures through housing.” In the aftermath of the new legislation the ISST board and its respective schools dis-
cussed only the challenges of this school year, though Farmer senses significant complications in the future. “The long-term problem is that we may have to give up on these midseason week-end exchanges,” Farmer said. To adjust, Farmer will add more local competition to teams’ schedules, an opportunity he relishes, but not without some dismay at the current circumstances. “There’s no two ways around the fact that these weekend exchanges and these incredible travel opportunities are very unique to our school and our region and our part of the world,” he said. “It’s a real loss from a growth and social maturity and social-educational standpoint.” As sports teams continue to attend ISST competitions, performing arts will continue to attend music festivals. However, the legislation has prompted greater security precautions with attention to Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) hosting guidelines. “Now we specifically and overtly ask the question ‘do you know that the families we are sending our students to are [safe]?’” Director of Performing Arts Bronwyn Harrison said. Next year the school is scheduled to host the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) drama festival, though the housing situation remains uncertain. “We are going to take each hosting opportunity and decide whether it’s logistically possible to check every adult in the house,” Harrison said. Harrison fears putting students in hotels may detract from the essence of these trips. “It’s going to make trips more expensive and that is an issue when it comes to diversity because when the trip goes up in price then some students who are coming to us maybe can’t make the trip,” she said. Due to the feasibility of completing a DBS check for each adult in every household the amount of students at the festival may decrease compared to years past. Director of Teaching and Learning Robyn Chapel hopes the ISTA drama festival isn’t one of the last events ASL hosts. “Ideally, as a school, what we believe in is that we’d like to host. It’s the benefit of the experience that deepens when you stay in someone else’s home and how you get to know them,” she said. “It’s a richer experience than staying in a hotel.”
TOP: The varsity girls soccer team prepares ahead of their game against ACS Cobham in the ISST semi-finals. ASL hosted the varsity girls soccer ISST this year, but due to a UK law ASL decided they could not to host athletes and instead they stayed in hotels. PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL BELOW: Isobel Bohmer (’15), Victoria Lim (’14) and Ali Ahmed (’18) discuss a math problem at the ISMTF held at ASL in 2014. Apart from athletic events, a new UK law increases the difficulty for the school to house students for events like these and performing arts festivals. PHOTO BY ALEX GANDHI
£11,000 per person of acquiring a £45 Cost DBS check. of renewing a DBS check £13 Cost after six months of no use.
Both the British School of Paris (BSP) and International School of the Hague cancelled their athletic trips to ASL in October. BSP also cancelled two rugby matches ASL was scheduled to play in January.
Cost of putting 75 athletes in hotels for the varsity girls soccer ISST held at Canons Park.
£600 Cost of feeding ASL and American School of the Hague (ASH) athletes after the two schools played at ASL on September 23.
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Opinions
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
Inside the Trump campaign Advisory Buzz
Bring back the hype A
s members of the community filed into Canons Park on November 11, there was a noticeable scrawniness to the crowd. The varsity girls soccer team was set to play ACS Cobham in the International School Sports Tournament semifinals. The school day was cut short so the entire High School could attend. However, in the hour before students were due to travel to Canons Park, the attendance office received an almost record number of emails describing “appointments” or other excuses for absence. In fact, the day as a whole had a similar level of attendance to the day before a break. In what was meant to be an event for the student body to support peers, there was a lack of interest and cohesion amongst students. It seemed like less than half of High School students attended this mandatory event, even though the school day was cut short in order to ensure that they were not forced to be at Canons Park outside of school hours. Students would not
have skipped had it been a regular school day, speaking volumes about the lack of importance we place on school spirit as a high school. As a community, we should never have allowed our school spirit to reach such a low point. The administration should not have to force students to go to Canons: We should have the initiative to go and support our peers. This match is one of countless examples of a distinct lack of support students have for one another. Not only is there a severe absence of peer-to-peer encouragement, but also a lack of spirit towards our school. Whether it be at athletic events, spirit days, or any other functions, we, as a student body should support ASL and do so proudly. Rather than viewing school events as obligations, we ought to view them as ways to unite as a community, supporting one another in our various endeavors. With all the stresses that each high schooler feels, it is understandably difficult to attend every game, play, or event. However, school spir-
TYLER SKOW Editor-in-Chief MARTHA COLLINS Deputy Editor-in-Chief SOURNA DANESHVAR, JR. Lead News Editor CAMERON CAMPILI News Editor SOPHIE ASHLEY Opinions Editor MICHAELA TOWFIGHI Lead Features Editor ANANYA PRAKASH Features Editor QUINN WHITMAN Features Editor OLIVIA ABRAMS Culture Editor ALEXANDRA GERS Culture Editor JONATHAN SHEVES Sports Editor ANKIT MEHRA Online Director STEPHANIE BRENDSEL Online/Photo Editor CHRISTINA LEONARD Online Editor SHANNON MILLER Adviser CARTOONISTS Theo Longboy STAFF WRITERS Maya Ariburnu, William Brummette, Martha Duff, Anastasia Ruimy, Houdah Daniels, Michael Flaherty, Piya Garg, Charlie Gorrivan, Rohan Haarman, Isabella Lhuilier, Cameron Moghadam, Uma Mokhtarzadeh, Jonathan Novak, Nah Ozturk, Jonathan Philips, Ishaan Rahman, Lorenzo Rasetta Moini,
Editorial
it goes beyond attendance. It is also a mentality that lacks amongst our student body. The lack of spirit in our High School is two fold, stemming from indifference among the student body, but also the nature of our school’s academics. With the rigor of our curriculum comes a competitive undercurrent amid the student body. This can spill over and affect our attitudes towards our peers’ extracurricular endeavors. While it’s certainly not the case with all students, we believe the competition bred within our school tears at the fabric of a supportive student community. The successes of our peers has become something that causes anxiety instead of a sense of pride. We attend a school where no two students have identical passions, and we all participate in a range of different activities. We need to start acknowledging our peers and support them. Whether a student places well at a cross country race or a math competition, they are representing
Standard
Maddie Sayre, Ethan Snizek, John Towfighi, Imogen Weiss, Amaan Zafar STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jagger Boussuge, Eliza Blakemore, Sofia Janssen, Jordan Koski, Athena Lambropoulos, Kenzie Morris, Imogen Weiss, Celine Sawiris, Maddie Sayre
MISSION STATEMENT The Standard staff and adviser are dedicated to creating a collaborative, open forum that cultivates productive dialogue within the School community by publishing exemplary student news media according to the strictest standards of journalistic integrity. CONTENT The Standard covers news related, but not limited, to the School community. Issues-driven coverage that aims to explore ideas, themes, concepts, trends and recent developments beyond the campus that are relevant to members of the community are also included. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send submissions to the journalism lab, room Y-201, or to the_standard@asl.org. These must adhere to the same set of ethical guidelines that all staff content
ASL. Anytime a student from our school succeeds, we should feel as though we are part of that success as a member of the ASL community. Additionally, students should feel proud to represent ASL and support peers in all activities, not just athletics. The perception of school spirit is that it is something only present at American high schools and equates to attending sports matches. However, as an Editorial Board, we believe that it should include but also extend beyond athletics at this school. Be it taking the time to attend a Late Cafe performance, attending the school play or following the Griffins on Twitter, we must cultivate a wider interest in what our peers are accomplishing and acknowledge their achievements. As a high school community we are defined by our spirit. This Editorial Board takes issue with the lack of passion and enthusiasm that currently exists within the High School. Principal Jack Phillips stated in his opening address to the school this
is held to, and will only be published at the discretion of the editorial board and the adviser. The Standard retains the right to edit letters for length and AP/Standard style. All letters must be signed in order to be considered for publication. EDITORIALS Articles published without a byline and presented in the same location issue-to-issue represent the majority opinion of the editorial board. They are unsigned. COMMENTARIES Articles with a byline and a photo of the author in the Opinions section of the newspaper are opinions articles. They represent the view of the writer only, and not necessarily the staff of the newspaper or any other individual or group in the community. CORRECTIONS POLICY Readers reserve the right to call attention to an error in print or online stories. Any queries regarding potential corrections can be emailed to the_standard@asl.org or be reported to Y-201. The corrected version will appear online with a note indicating that the article has been updated since it originally appeared. If the article originally appeared in print, a note about the correction will also be printed in the following issue.
year that the community is stronger today than it was when he first entered the High School. In light of the absence of school spirit, we question the validity of this statement. As an Editorial Board, it was easy for us to identify this issue, but we acknowledge that perhaps there is no straight forward solution. School spirit is not something we can just create, nor can we realistically implement new directives to organically grow a supportive community. It’s a choice we all make as individuals: To look outward instead of inward. Next time the basketball teams play at home, go watch a game. Next time the visual arts classes hold an exhibition, walk over to the art building and take in their creations. Next time Jambalaya publishes a new issue, commend your peers on their magazine. Take time to appreciate the dedication and work of your peers, in all aspects of the High School.
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL
ENGAGEMENT WITH READERSHIP The Standard encourages all readers to submit their thoughts through letters to the editor, guest columns, online comments, and story ideas. Contact the appropriate section editor(s) for submissions. Distribution Press run is 800 copies. Copies are provided free of charge to students, faculty and staff in The American School in London; current enrollment 1,350. ONLINE VIEWING The Standard can be viewed online at standard.asl.org. Printed by Mortons Print Limited, 01507 523456 Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ TheStandardASL Follow us on Twitter: @TheStandardASL Follow us on Instagram: @TheStandardASL Follow us on Snapchat: thestandardasl
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
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Implementing more four-day weeks SOURNA DANESHVAR, JR. sourna_daneshvar@asl.org
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Without removing any days from the calendar, seven more four day weeks could be added to the schedule. Doing so would decrease stress within school and increase focus.
Waking up on a Friday morning without school and not worrying about the time of day are both moments I appreciate. Days like this don’t solely serve as luxuries but they also provide also educational benefits. Four day work weeks improve work environments and would have similar benefits in an educational environment. According to Forbes, company CEOs find that a shortened week yields better results within the workplace. Oftentimes the benefits are restricted to qualitative evidence. However, Global Shared Services for Ryan, a tax services firm, changed to four-day weeks and recorded a near double in revenue and profits in addition to a maximum score in client satisfaction. These advantages in the corporate world could translate to a learning environment. Students would be more productive and attentive throughout the day. The fatigue students experience from long school days, extracurricular activities and homework that keep students awake hours into the night would decrease with more four day weeks and more time to rest. Additionally, the change would
enrich relationships between students as well as between students and facultry members. Less tension and fatigue among students and faculty would allow each member of the community to be more personable and, frankly, kinder. It’s an odd argument, admittedly, but a friendlier atmosphere is a better one for academic productivity, but also understanding of one another and numerous other reasons. We currently benefit from the four-day weeks that exist in the schedule because of Bank Holidays. There simply needs to be more of them because these weeks mitigate the fatigue and stress that permeates a school year. Without removing any days from the calendar, seven more four-day weeks could be added to the schedule by slightly altering some other breaks. Doing so would decrease stress within school and increase focus. Currently, conferences occur on a Thursday and Friday, forming weeks of three school days. Amending the structure of the conferences so they occur on a Friday and Monday would add four four-day work weeks to the schedule, instead of two weeks of three school days.
While parent teacher conferences require support from faculty and cause logistical disruptions, modifying the structure would help students immensely. Holding conferences on two consecutive school days, though different weeks, still allows teachers to remain focused on conferences rather than teaching. Given the exhausting nature of conferences for teachers, they too could benefit from the respite between conferences. From this adjustment, students would be less stressed and more attentive for both four-day weeks when conferences occur. For both students and teachers, amending the schedule of parent teacher conferences and adding more fourday weeks would prove beneficial. Another way to add more fourday weeks would be spreading the non-school days of October break and the end of Winter break so that they’re seperate. The total number of school days would remain the same, but the proposal gives five additional weeks of four days of school. This change shortens October break from three days to one and the final week of Winter break to just one day instead of two. Instead of returning from Alternatives to three days off of school,
Progress Report QUINOA CHIPS
JOE BIDEN
BACKPACKS
we would return to one and shift the other two days of break to the next two weeks. Similarly, the second semester would start on Tuesday, January 3 instead of Wednesday, January 4. Thus, the final day of Winter break would move to another five-day week, creating two four day weeks rather than one three day week. Returning from Alternatives, many argue that multiple days of rest is necessary before returning to school. Two years ago, the furthest trip travelled to Cyprus, which only differs in two hours time difference. From personal experience, I attended the incredible alternative — one day is manageable to adjust to the new timezone. There are reasonable ways to amend the schedule, without removing school days, that would benefit the school for the vast majority of two months. The benefits of a four day week in both the corporate world and educational environment such as ASL are immense. It only seems logical to adopt a schedule that would improve the learning experience at ASL without removing any school days. I urge the administration to maximize the amount of four-day weeks in future years.
PHOTO 1 AND 3 BY SOPHIE ASHLEY, PHOTO 2 FROM INSTAGRAM. COM, PHOTO 4 FROM PIXABAY.COM, PHOTO 5 BY OLIVIA ABRAMS, PHOTO 6 BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL
HALLOWEEN
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Quinoa Chips: (D) Bring back chocolate rice cakes! 4. The Editorial Board of 1. Alexandra Gers The Standard gives 2. Joe Biden Memes: (A) Only thing good to come out of 5. this election. Joe Biden, I love you. Michaela Towfighi the school its last Backpacks: (F) What could you possibly need report of 3. Freshmen to bring to school that causes you to have backpacks larg- 6. er than yourselves? You are carrying genuine weapons on 2016. your backs. Martha Collins
Mannequin Challenge: (C) eh. Jonny Sheves
Jerk Chicken: (A) Shoutout to the cafeteria crew. Can every day be Jerk Chicken day? Cameron Campili
Halloween Assembly: (C-) Almost as bad as the college norms class meeting. Tyler Skow
Post Scriptum: Baseball ISSTs?
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Opinions
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
Opportunities for student involvement MARTHA COLLINS martha_collins@asl.org
“
Giving a powerpoint presentation for 16 students isn’t sufficient in preparing students for the large-scale presentations they may encounter in the future
Dozens of students, faculty, parents and alumni began filing into the School Center: A record-breaking number of audience members for a Speaker Series Event. It was daunting yet exciting, and I was ready. In a few moments the crowd would be quieted and the next hour and a half of the Presidential Election panel discussion would be left in the hands of Christopher Fletcher (’17) and me. Being able to moderate this event was an exciting experience. We were able to interact with journalists who are well established in their fields. Fletcher and I had prepared our questions, but we were also forced to think on the spot and create follow up questions and predict connections between different topics. I exercised and improved my public speaking skills, an area in which I believe the High School curriculum is lacking. According to the 2015 High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), when asked “How
much has your school experience at this school contributed to: Acquiring skills for a job after completing high school?”, most students responded “rarely”. This constitutes as a 2.9/4 average, which is below the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) average of 3.22/4. Speaking in front of a group of others is an invaluable skill for the future. No matter what professions students pursue, they will inevitably need to be able to successfully navigate speaking in front of dozens of colleagues and professionals in their field. Currently, our curriculum doesn’t adequately allow for enough opportunities for students to practice public speaking. Giving a PowerPoint presentation in front of 16 students in a classroom isn’t even sufficient in preparing students for the large-scale presentations they may encounter in the future. However, students aren’t even being given that opportunity to give presentations in class, as the HSSSE survey results reflected that
ASL falls below the NAIS average on frequency of class presentations. In addition to classroom speaking exercises, students should be encouraged to participate in largerscale events. Class meetings and, eventually, all-High School assemblies provide students with perfect opportunities to stand up and give presentations in front a larger group of students and faculty. The Speaker Series events, such as the Presidential Election panel discussion, are also great outlets for student participation. Student involvement should be two-fold. The organizers of these events should look to incorporate student voice, and students should additionally advocate for themselves and their skill-development, actively pursuing the opportunity to participate. Two years ago there was a student-run TEDxASL event. The involvement of students in planning the event is commendable and a step in the right direction. However, only one of the speakers in the event was a student. This was a great opportunity for students to
step up and speak about any area they are passionate about, yet, the student interest levels were exceedingly low. I believe a great addition to the Speaker Series events would be a TEDx-style conference with solely student speakers. Encouraging students to share personal stories, applicable revelations from the classroom, or anything else that peaks their curiosity would provide students with the perfect platform to voice their thoughts. The application-based Writer’s Seminar program provides students with opportunities to share their work in a public forum, and this is commendable as well. Programs like this should be more abundant. Akin to reading and writing, public speaking is an essential skill that needs to be continuously practiced in order to improve. If ASL does one thing outside of the classroom to prepare students for the future, it should be to actively encourage students to exercise their public speaking skills.
A letter to the first lady, with love SOPHIE ASHLEY
sophie_ashley@asl.org
“
Her beautiful strength and natural elegance was a stark contrast to the other women I had become too used to seeing as ornaments on the arms of politicians
In 2008, I sat in my 2nd grade classroom surrounded by talk of an election that I couldn’t yet grasp the impact of. As my peers bickered naively about the candidates, I remained transfixed by the woman standing next to Barack Obama. Her movements were graceful, but not practiced. She was composed and polite, her demeanor warm and friendly. Her beautiful strength and natural elegance was a stark contrast to the other women I had become too used to seeing as ornaments on the arms of politicians. It was not until years after I first saw the First Lady that I realized my draw to her stemmed from my admiration of her character. Throughout her term as the first lady, Obama’s unwavering confidence and grace under constant watch and often criticism from the American public has been an inspiration in my life. I can’t say my investment in American politics is that much deeper than it was when I was 8. My expatriate upbringing has created a disconnect between my hometown and my understanding of its government. But even so, the strength and moral fortitude Michelle Obama has demonstrated over the course of the last eight
years will continue to inspire me even after her husband is no longer president. As someone who has always had trouble taking the high road, her ability to create light in a dark situation astounds me. At the recent Democratic Convention, Obama said her now famous line, “When they go low, we go high.” This needs to be remembered now, when it seems that the people who will soon be in charge would rather trade insults than do their jobs. Every time my fear surrounding the current president-elect becomes a little too much, some of it can be put at rest by knowing that Americans (whether they be women, LGBTQ , or people of racial minorities) have role models like Obama to turn to. In staying true to her ideals and publicly opposing the opinions and actions of Donald Trump, she has solidified in my mind that I, as both a woman and a human being, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. In addition to the impact she has made by
plainly leading by example, the causes she has chosen to support as well as her efforts have been both worthwhile and successful. She has spent her two terms as First Lady making differences in the lives of young Americans. In response to the increased frequency of childhood obesity, she fought to provide students with healthy meals and keep them active. When she became frustrated with the gender inequalities in education, she started an organisation to fund girl’s school education. In everything she represents, Obama is the embodiment of
who I want to grow up to be. Her hard work and success in dealing with commonplace issues as well as her everyday attitude towards life has showed me that I am allowed to be more than I ever thought I was capable of. I am allowed to be powerful and have opinions, while also being a mother. I am allowed to be ambitious, but also kind. But the most important thing Obama has demonstrated is that I am allowed to fight for what I believe in, and I never need to apologize for it.
The New York Times Style Magazine published an article with the same name on October 17, 2016 which included thank you letters to Michelle Obama. PHOTO FROM WBLS.COM
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
•••
Opinions
One size does not fit all
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The expectation that girls should look like this is unrealistic, and denounces everything that our generation should stand for.
THE DATA
clear that they have built their fame off of social media. The kind of girls they have sporting their brand name all share one look. The frequency at which we see this “perfect” body reflected in the media as well as the unrealistic “one size fits all” clothing, makes many girls feel like this is what is expected of them. But I’ve realized that an item of clothing marked “one size” is designed for a high fashion model who wears a size zero rather than the average body type. The expectation that girls should look like this is unrealistic, and denounces everything that our generation should stand for. We have the power of social media in our hands, and should be using it to empower ourselves rather than put each other down based on different body types.
Rather than celebrating different body types, Brandy Melville has found a way to deem anyone who does not match their look to be lesser than those who do. They have negative connotations about anybody whose body does not meet the requirements to wear the clothing modeled by the “beautiful”, instagram-famous girls who model for the brand. In questioning the branding that only appeals to one body type, I began to ask myself what it meant to be a “Brandy girl.” Their media and advertising plan is meant to make young, thin girls feel like they’re a part of something, while excluding the majority of the population. If you can fit into their tiny clothing, you can be the face of their company. If not, you can shop somewhere else. These marketing wizards have
Buzz
The
OLIVIA ABRAMS
olivia_abrams@asl.org
Tall, but not too tall, a medium sized torso, long legs and a flat stomach. The bodies of girls in our generation are expected to fit this mold. For as long as I can remember, I have been told to stand up for what I believe in and do so with confidence. Though these words have echoed in the back of my mind, it is hard to find confidence growing up in a world where only one female body is advertized in teen retail and the media. I know that I am healthy, but I have found myself questioning why fashion brands have the ability to dictate what is considered beautiful. The Italian fashion brand Brandy Melville has made a name for itself in the business of teenage retail worldwide. They cater to teenage girls and sell one size fits all clothing. Scrolling through their Instagram page, which has 3.7 million followers, it is
THE ADVISORY PROGRAM
WITH OPINIONS EDITOR SOPHIE ASHLEY
16% 76.5% 34.3% 77.6% 34.5% 81.8% 22.2% 83.3%
Of Grade 9 students feel “very comfortable” going to their advisor for help Of Grade 9 students don’t feel that the mission of advisory is clear
Does your advisory improve your overall experience at ASL? Grade 9
Of Grade 10 students feel “very comfortable” going to their advisor for help
Yes No
Grade 10
manipulated young girls through social media, making them aspire to have the same unrealistic body types, artificial hair colors and porcelain skin that is characteristic of their models. What still confuses me is why the fashion industry gets to dictate what is considered to be a universal size. Mass media shouldn’t be able to tell you that there’s only one beautiful body type. We are more than our bodies, and that is not something I am trying to deny. We are all different, that is a fact, but our differences seem to be setting us apart in a negative way. We need to love ourselves and our bodies, and welcome the fact that we are all different. A beautiful body is one that involves self love, and acceptance. One size does not fit all, it only fits small.
THE VOICES “Our advisories don’t really do anything to help us that much, it’s just 40 minutes of time that we spend with a random group of people.” Caitlyn O’Neill (‘20)
“I think it should be a thing where you go in if you need help instead of you’re forced to go in.” Alexander Kyprios (‘19)
Of Grade 10 students don’t feel that the mission of advisory is clear Of Grade 11 students feel “very comfortable” going to their advisor for help
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Grade 11
Of Grade 10 students don’t feel that the mission of advisory is clear Of Grade 12 students feel “very comfortable” going to their advisor for help Of Grade 12 students don’t feel that the mission of advisory is clear
DATA TAKEN FROM A SURVEY OF 81 GRADE 9 STUDENTS, 67 GRADE 10 STUDENTS, 55 GRADE 11 STUDENTS AND 72 GRADE 12 STUDENTS CONDUCTED BY THE STANDARD. WILLIAM BRUMMETTE AND MARTHA COLLINS CONTRIBUTED TO REPORTING.
Grade 12
“We’ve all gotten really close because it’s the second year of advisory. Whether I’m having a great day or a stressful day, it’s always good to be there.” Tania Veltchev (’17) “The greatest irony is that rather than giving us the time to finish our work we are behind on, we spend our conference times merely talking about how much work we have.” Oliver Wilson (‘17)
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THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
Opinions
Inside the Trump campaign
An alumnus reflects on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election after working for the Trump campaign, and on his current role on the presidential transition team JAMES MALIN (’15) GUEST WRITER
In the weeks and months since Labor Day, it has been my honor and privilege to work for and serve the President Elect of the United States Donald Trump. My interest in Trump’s campaign as an observer and a supporter goes back to the very beginning, to the infamous pictures of Trump and his family descending the escalators at Trump Tower in June 2015. While Trump’s direct language caught my interest as he announced his candidacy that day, I had little idea that in just over a year I would be riding that very same escalator into work every morning. My personal role in the Trump campaign began in voter services, where I logged incoming mail, as each piece of mail sent to the campaign was responded to. I read the stories of hundreds every day, all of whom were desperate for Trump to win. People who had been left behind and forgotten, who felt that Trump was the only candidate speaking directly to them and their concerns. People without a reliable paycheck donated amounts as small as $5 to help the man they believed in. These are people who just want a better future for themselves and their families. After working with voter services for several weeks, I transferred to the communications department. I
Hundreds of millions of advertising dollars were spent by Trump’s opponents, both fellow Republicans in the primaries and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the general election, with the sole purpose of besmirching Trump’s character. Partisan advertising is to be expected, and its effects were felt on both candidates. What is not expected, however, is a partisan media. Wikileaks published over 50,000 of Clinton’s Campaign Chairman John Podesta’s emails, some of which showed evidence of favorable treatment from journalists from Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Even CNN, which is assumed to be centrist, was in on the racket. During the Democratic primaries, debate questions were allegedly leaked to Clinton on more than one occasion. All of these connections comprised a coordinated effort to render Trump unelectable, and it almost worked. However, the mainstream media did not account for the plummeting public trust in news coverage. On November 9 the supposed experts were just as surprised as the people relying on their coverage for information. In the aftermath of the election, I was disappointed, but unsurprised, to see the results of a poll of 315 High School students conducted by the Government
“
I read the stories of hundreds every day, all of whom were desperate for Trump to win. People who had been left behind and forgotten, who felt like Trump was the only candidate speaking directly to them and their concerns. was moved to the War Room, which is the center of all communications activity. During the latter stages of the race, the War Room worked nearly 24/7. I continue to work there during the presidential transition, monitoring news for both positive and negative stories.
and Political Theory class that showed only 17 percent of students favoring Trump. What was perhaps more disappointing, and less expected, was that of the 53 faculty members polled, all voted for Hillary Clinton. ASL is a school that says it
James Malin (’15), bottom right, watches alongside President Elect Donald Trump as the votes are counted on election night. PHOTO FROM TWITTER.COM/IVANKATRUMP
champions diversity, which in my 7 years as a student there, stood as a fair statement. The liberal faculty consensus shown by this poll, suggests ASL is not as diverse as it claims to be. Yes, there is diversity in ethnicity, race, religion and appearance at ASL, no one can dispute that. But is there diversity of thought and ideas at ASL? This poll says there is not, which is frankly disappointing and indicative of troublesome hiring patterns for the school. I am not saying that all faculty should be rabid Trump supporters, far from it, but I do find it astounding that not a single of the 53 polled faculty members has a strain of conservative ideology to bring to the table. Were there no economics teachers in favor of the deregulated, lower taxed economy that Trump was offering? Were there no social studies teachers sympathetic to the rise in anti-globalization sentiment seen across the world, mirrored by candidates like Trump, Marine
Le Pen and Nigel Farage? Does no teacher see the faults in Obamacare that Trump pointed out? For a rigorous academic debate about the merits of any political ideology, manifest in economics or any other school of thought, ASL should provide both sides of the argument, which is apparently not happening. Groupthink and confirmation bias of liberal sensibilities is a big part of why Trump won this election. It is too easy for people who do not like Trump to dismiss his supporters as racists. That also defies logic and data, it is the opposite of what I found in countless letters I read, and is not a winning political position either. To say Trump won because of racist America, is to ignore the facts. Trump could not have won Florida without large CubanAmerican and Haitian-American support. Trump could not have won Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa without winning the support of people
who voted for President Obama 4 and 8 years ago. What the mainstream media missed was that Trump’s movement was not a racial movement, but it was a movement to restore government honesty and fidelity to the American people. Members of the ASL community may believe Trump’s Presidency will see a new rise in deliberate, institutional racism. However, in his victory speech, Trump stated his victory was a “movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.” President Elect Trump has no ulterior motives or special interests, all he has is a debt of gratitude and loyalty to the American people who elected him their President. Trump will enter office full of new, bright ideas, excited to “Make America Great Again” for every single American in the country.
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
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••• Alternatives Sex Education
Features
Building a bionic arm
What began as a summer project for Ali Ahmed (’18) has now turned into an experimental challenge: To build a bionic arm that costs less than $100 Amaan Zafar | Staff Writer
A
s a young boy, Ali Ahmed (’18) spent time focused on building a Lego submarine. At the time he didn’t think much about the skills he was learning while completing the project: Problem solving and determination. After finishing the construction of his submarine, Ahmed’s attention turned to other small Lego projects, building his interest in engineering over the years. Ahmed continued his passion when he took a 3-D design elective in Grade 7. There he learned about Com-
pensive and customized, so that it could suit everyone?’,” Ahmed said. During this past summer, Ahmed started a project working with 3D printers that could aid people in need of prosthetics and spread his knowledge of the subject to those who are interested. The goal for the project was to create a bionic arm that costs less than $100, using recyclable plastic from water bottles as filament for the 3D printer. Ahmed began his work at the Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT).
“I took a scan online of someone’s hand and I used it to model a hand, so now the most recent version actually has the contours of someone’s hand,” Ahmed said. “When you use the right filament color to match the person’s skin, it can actually look like a person’s skin.” After they worked through the various problems such as time management and trial and error situations, they tested out the prototype. Together, Ahmed and Pabarcius realized that they could rely on the support of other students and decided
“I thought, ‘why can’t I use 3D printing to make hands, which could make it inexpensive and customized, so that it could suit everyone?’” ALI AHMED (’18)
Ali Ahmed (’18), pictured above, and Lucas Pabarcius (’18) run Prosthetics Club in the MILL to build prototypes of bionic arms, like the one Ahmed is holding. PHOTO BY MICHAELA TOWFIGHI
puter Aided Design (CAD) and taught himself certain features of CAD by spending extra time out of class figuring out how to operate the system. Two years later, he joined the High School robotics team, learning basic concepts such as electrical CAD software and circuit boards. Whenever Ahmed went on vacation to Tanzania or Pakistan, where his grandparents live, he noticed that because of the lack of medical infrastructure many couldn’t obtain prosthetics. “I thought, ‘why can’t I use 3D printing to make hands, which could make it inex-
Ahmed wants to give back to the community in Tanzania and aims to provide the organization with a completed prototype, hopefully before December break. To continue his work at school, he has been working in the new Make Innovate Learn Lab (MILL), where 3D printers are available. Ahmed has recently teamed up with Lucas Pabarcius (’18), who is the co-head of the Prosthetics Club. Ahmed and Pabarcius have worked corroboratively on the design and electronics of the prototype.
to “create a club to further develop our hand with the support of multiple people, beyond just us,” Pabarcius said. The Prosthetics Club is a space for anyone to learn how to work with 3D printers. “In our club we are going to be teaching the students how to use CAD,” Ahmed said. Ahmed also hopes to share his knowledge beyond the walls of the MILL. He plans on publishing the design files of the hand so anyone in the world can use them to help others by building their own prosthetics.
Two Grade 9, five Grade 10 and six Grade 11 students d not attend Alternatives
437 students, 92 percent of the High School, went on 24 different trips around Europe. 40 students, 8 percent of the High School, did not attend.
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irector of Student Life James Perry has a conflicting relationship with Alternatives. Each year, in the weeks leading up to Alternatives, Perry is disheartened by the flood of emails he receives excusing students from the trips. “I get those [emails] and I ask myself, ‘why do we do this?’ And as numbers drop and I am thinking ‘no one is going to come’,” he said. Yet, any doubt Perry has towards the sustainability of Alternatives is quickly overcome once the trips conclude. “I just think in some ways it's a special, irreplaceable program that with the right tweaks I think is worth saving,” he said.
T P H O T O S COURSEY OF ASL. ORG
he Alternatives program was started in 1978 in order to provide students not in music classes an alternative trip to Music Tour. However, the program has since evolved to include all members of the High School, and is a distinctive experience at ASL. The purpose of Alternatives though, has lost some of its clarity since its inauguration. Perry admits in a meeting amongst the High School administrative team that they conceded there “was no one unifying, clear purpose” for the Alternatives program. Other faculty members have perceived a similar issue with Alternatives. “Even in the lore that surrounds the origin of the trips, they are identified as an alternative to the music trip. Your purpose then is to not be the music trip but to provide a trip, there is no generative kind of reason for it,” Social Studies Teacher Chris Wolf said. “If we had
Finding an Alternative After running for over 30 years, questions emerge on the purpose and sustainability of the Alternatives program Houdah Daniels | Staff Writer Ananya Prakash | Features Editor Tyler Skow | Editor-in-Chief
Of those in Grade 12 who 0 Approximately 2/3 of the did students who did not attend didn’t go, half stayed becuase they said they needed to prep were in Grade 12 for the SAT
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an overarching purpose and sense of goals that needed to be incorporated, then I think there would be a larger buy-in by the student population.” Social Studies Teacher Mike McGowan agrees with Wolf and believes that a definite goal for Alternatives needs to be established in order to justify classroom disruption early in the school year. “We’re all a bit in the dark as to why we’re travelling to these places,” McGowan said. “If we have specific goals, there could be more learning outcomes that would come out of it.” In the programs current iteration, Perry would say all trips fall under one of three categories. “There are a handful of [trips] that truly feel like they get to the core of learning, all about learning, almost more academic than they are touristy. Then there are some that seem to be really good athletic outdoor physical exertion types of opportunities, whether it’s Extreme Norway, or Hiking in the Alps,” Perry said. “Then we have trips like mindfulness in France that I think are wonderfully enriching, but sort of probably fall into their own category.” Although Ryan Nealis (’17) has enjoyed the four trips he has taken throughout high school, he believes there are major issues facing Alternatives. “Great idea on paper but in real life, is it performing to the way it should?” Nealis said. Wolf feels a similar uncertainty to Nealis. “I think the current practice is not sustainable, I think there’s too much non-buy-in from many portions of the school,” Wolf said. “I think financially it’s a huge burden for something that many students don’t feel very satisfied with.”
Attendance constitutes one of the single largest issues facing the program. This year, just under 10 percent of High School students were absent during the week of Alternatives, including 27 seniors. Dani Swanson (’17) did not attend her Alternative to the South of France as she had an interview with a college conflicting with the timing of the trip. This year she has noticed a rise in seniors expressing negative views of Alternatives. “What [seniors] are thinking is, ‘what do I prioritize: Going on a school trip or potentially doing something that will make or break my chances of getting into university?’” Swanson said. Swanson acknowledges that the negative atmosphere surrounding Alternatives in the senior year is due to timing. “Everyone really resents the fact that Alternatives are when they are,” Swanson said. “Considering the time crunch for applications, the stress, the pick up in work and the importance of quarter one grades for early applications, the seniors really do think the timing is horrific.” However, Swanson has enjoyed the previous Alternatives she attended and appreciates the chance they give her to travel Europe. “The teachers work really hard and I think it’s such a great opportunity for us to have that ability to just go into Europe, appreciate the culture first hand and learn about the history in the place that it happened.” Nealis, like Swanson, struggled as a senior with the timing of Alternatives, but also understands the value of having upperclassmen attend. “I think it’s a great
“Considering the time crunch for applications, the stress, the pick up in work and the importance of quarter one grades for early applications, the seniors really do think the timing is horrific.” Dani Swanson (’17)
idea for freshmen and sophomores, it’s an introduction to high school where they are being put into a position where they can meet upperclassmen,” he said. “But from an upperclassmen perspective, where you are four weeks into school and about to apply to college, I question the validity.” Still, many students have had extremely positive experiences on their Alternatives. Despite not being able to attend this year due to a knee injury, Ethan Novak (’18) thinks favorably of the trips. “I think they’re doing a good job because they’re giving a wide range of trips, wide range of opportunities in a wide range of places,” he said. Novak also found when he was a freshmen “there were a lot of upperclassmen that I definitely got significantly closer to… which is definitely nice coming back to the school.” Libby Reagan (’19), new to ASL this year, had a similar experience to Novak in that attending Alternatives allowed her to meet new people and build friendships. “[Alternatives] really helped me build stronger connections with people in my grade as well as kids in other grades. It helped me get to know more people so I could see friendly faces walking around school,” Reagan said.
T
he administration is not considering canceling Alternatives as of now. “I would never want to get rid of anything just like I tell someone never quit a job until they have looked in all the different avenues to make something work,” Perry said. “Never quit anything until you’re absolutely sure.”
“[Alternatives] really helped me build stronger connections with people in my grade as well as kids in other grades. It helped me get to know more people so I could see friendly faces walking around school.” Libby Reagan (’19)
Wolf wonders if one avenue of improving Alternatives could be redefining the mission of the trips. “I think that we should explore a lot of different options. I personally like the idea of educational opportunities that are not classroom-based,” he said. Other ideas brainstormed by the faculty include making Alternatives service-based trips, or making the trips divided by grade and more focused on community building. Changing the timing of Alternatives is another proposal both students and faculty have suggested. World Languages and Cultures Teacher Whitney Nuchereno believes “the school has recently been more aware of future planning” to be “more conducive to [seniors’] schedules and to any standardized tests.” Nuchereno acknowledges that the timing of the Alternatives likely has to be changed. “You kind of want the [seniors] to take a break away from all that pressure, but it’s not very realistic with the timing of the trips,” she said. Swanson hopes that a change will allow more seniors to enjoy Alternatives without worrying about the college application process. In regards to a new timing of the trips, Swanson believes it has to be after first semester, perhaps during February or March, or even after Advanced Placement exams. As of yet, no changes have been made to the Alternatives program. “I think it’s a system with which we can work,” Perry said. “I think it’s a worthwhile endeavor, but I do think reframing what we are doing, how we are doing and why we are doing it is a conversation worth having.”
“If we had an overarching purpose and sense of goals that needed to be incorporated, then I think there would be a larger buy in by the students population.” Social Studies Teacher Chris Wolf
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Features
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THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
PHOTOS FROM: BMSSABA.ORG, JOURNEYWORKS.COM, TEARA.GOVT.NZ
Let’s talk about sex education Exploring sexual education at ASL, the choices behind the curriculum and students’ personal experiences Stephanie Brendsel | Online/Photo Editor
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Michaela Towfighi | Lead Features Editor
ohki Asai (’17) sat amongst a group of boys in an unfamiliar classroom. Separated from their female peers, a great deal of anticipation started to sweep through the crowd of Grade 7 ACS Hillingdon students as they wondered why their routine afternoon class had been interrupted. Laughter erupted when a projector turned on revealing a presentation titled “Sexual Education.”
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
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Features
“ASL DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB OF PROMOTING SAFE SEX. THEY TEACH US ALL ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTRACEPTION AND THEY DO NOT JUST ENFORCE ABSTINENCE”
HADLEY*
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or Asai, learning about sex and the use of male condoms as a form of contraception was not beneficial at the age of 13. “It was an age when everyone was immature and when you talked about sex with seventh graders or middle schoolers it became something that was a funny topic,” he said.
the curriculum
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aving moved from ACS Hillingdon to ASL in Grade 10, Asai took Health. For Asai, this was a second chance to learn about contraception and sexual education. Older and more mature, his experience at ASL proved to be more informative. “I learned more about different forms of contraception – the details of each of the contraceptives available,” he said. For Health Teacher Bambi Thompson, the sexual education curriculum at ASL is built on two values: Openness and honesty. “We want students to have as much education as possible so they can make healthy decisions,” Thompson said. Teaching about various methods of contraception, STDs and the implications of sex, Thompson hopes to provide students with sufficient information to make “healthy decisions.” Health Teacher Joy Marchese believes a sufficient health program should go beyond just the mechanics of sex. “[Schools] need to teach a comprehensive sexual health program… covering not just the physical, but social and emotional [aspects of sex],” she said. Thompson and Marchese work hand –in–hand to teach Grade 10 students sexual education in their semester–long course. “We try to scaffold [the curriculum] so it is focused on relationships,
talking about friendship before [sexual education],” Marchese said. Even though the ASL health program chooses to address contraceptives rather than teaching solely pro-abstinence, Marchese and Thompson believe the purpose of health class is not to encourage sex, but to provide students with enough information for awareness and risks. “We are not promoting for students to go have sex. But, we are realistic that there are students who are in committed relationships with intimacy,” Marchese said. “[Students] can get information from someone else’s personal experiences but that may mean they don’t have the complete information.” For Ghalia Bseisu (’18), however, the health curriculum was too extensive due to her religious background and contrasted her friends education. “My friends in Saudi Arabia and my friends in Bahrain, don’t know anything to do with sexual education,” she said. “For me, it was really strange that I was being taught all of these things in sexual education and being taught in such depth.” Although Bseisu does not question the choice to teach contraceptives, she believes it should be taught with consideration to student’s comfort. “I think everyone deserves a choice between abstinence and being sexually active, that’s 100 percent the student’s choice,” she said. However, Bseisu feels health teachers should recognize the beliefs of all students in the class, and cater the curriculum to ensure everyone is comfortable. “You need to be more aware of students in the class and the comfort and ability level of each student in the class rather than as a whole,” she said. She also questions the decision to teach sexual education in such depth in Grade 10. “By Grade 9 I assure you kids are already becoming sexually active, and it is better to teach them what to do and what not to do,” she said. Echoing Bseisu, Hadley* (’18) questions the lack of a health class in freshmen year. “Grade 9 is a key year for students developing in relationships with the people in their grade,” she said.
In addition, Bseisu felt that Grade 10 was too late for the immense amount of of information. “In Grade 10, you are hit with all of this information and I felt scared because I did not know any of these things that I was being taught, ” she said. However, Asai maintains that a balance must be struck, as Grade 7 was too early for sexual education. “We didn’t realize what the implications or the serious impacts sex has or how important contraception is,” he said.
personal experiences
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or Hadley, sexual education helped prepare her for her own experiences. “I was less nervous my first time because I kind of knew what to expect. There are misconceptions about [losing your virginity]. We would go over things [in class] that people spread rumors about,” she said. Hadley felt sexual education is open and comprehensive at ASL. “They don’t polarize it and they don’t teach you abstinence is the only way,” she said. But for Hadley the curriculum also did not promote sex. “They really emphasize the only way you can for sure have safe sex is if you don’t have it,” she said. “They aren’t telling everyone to have sex or no one to have sex, but they do scare you a little bit talking about STDs and pregnancy.” Although she learned about various contraceptives and the risks, she felt the class did not prepare her emotionally. “In the sense of the biology of sex I felt prepared, but the actual emotional side of it you are not prepared for,” she said. Echoing Hadley, Kim* (’17) believes the emotional side of sex is not something that can be taught in a school setting. “School can’t teach you how to do it, they can teach you how to be safe, but they can’t teach you when you are ready,” she said. However, Kim had a much different sexual
“WE ARE NOT PROMOTING FOR STUDENTS TO GO HAVE SEX.... BUT, WE ARE REALISTIC THAT THERE ARE STUDENTS WHO ARE IN COMMITTED RELATIONSHIPS WITH INTIMACY”
HEALTH TEACHER JOY MARCHESE
education experience. Taking a health class at a school prior to ASL, Kim was taught sexual education in one class period. “It was one class with a PowerPoint, and you never got tested on it,” she said. In addition to the PowerPoint, Kim’s teacher brought in condoms, but did not go in depth on the topic. Kim notices a different culture at ASL, one that is much more serious and informative. “The most important part about it is teaching you how to be safe and knowing if you are comfortable. And making sure you are comfortable when you are doing it and not just doing because you feel like you should,” she said. “It is good to know you have a system where if you actually have questions you don’t have to Google it but you have teachers who know.” No matter how comprehensive the course, both Kim and Hadley agree there will always be lingering questions from students pertaining to sex. Having multiple friends seek her out for advice, Hadley recognizes, “There are questions that will never really be addressed in a classroom setting because they are the questions that you would ask your friend,” she said. “There are questions that you need personal experience from, and would be a little bit more on the intimate side if you were to ask them in a class.” However, Hadley took away one overarching message from the health curriculum: Safe sex. “ASL does a really good job of promoting safe sex. They teach us all about different types of contraception and they do not just enforce abstinence, they are not just saying ‘the pill is the only way you can prevent pregnancy or only condoms’,” she said. “They really promote safe sex, and would prefer us to be safe, and that is their main concern.”
*To protect the privacy of certain students, names have been changed in this article.
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Features
The struggle of cultural assimilation
Despite the array of cultures and nationalities represented in the community, many of those who are not a part of the cultural majority feel a pressure to assimilate Ananya Prakash | Features Editor
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hen Murad Jah (’18) arrived at ASL in Grade 8 from a British school, he never felt more alone. He didn’t have many friends and because of his Turkish origin, he didn’t fit into the American cultural norms. Furthermore, his grades suffered because of it. He felt different. Over time he “started learning a bit more about how people [acted] and how to adapt.” Eventually, “everything just picked up socially and academically.” Although American by name, ASL is accustomed to international students and teachers coming from a wide spectrum of locations around the world. While there is a multitude of countries represented amongst the community, some students and teachers believe that a diversity of cultures is not always visible. Instead, an American culture dominates the school community. Learning Specialist Jeri Byrom, who identifies as a black American, came from Malaysia before teaching at ASL. She believes that there is a compulsion for both students and teachers to assimilate to the “white western culture” that she believes is the cultural majority at ASL. “I think the school is really trying to pay attention to the [different] cultures and making sure people can come as their whole selves, [but] I don’t think that’s a reality right now,” Byrom said. Jah believes that many people change themselves in order to fit in with the dominant culture. “I think they change the way they
think about things, the way they look at things, so other people will agree,” he said. Byrom believes that her culture differs from the cultural norms of many at the school. Specifically, Byrom feels like the way she styles her hair is impacted by perceptions that she receives from the westernized culture of ASL. “When I change my hairstyle, I normally get a lot of attention at school so I have to prepare myself for that,” she said. Many people ask Byrom questions about her hair, which can frustrate her. “It’s different from the dominant culture, it’s black hair and I can do things with it that maybe other people from
Quinn Whitman | Features Editor
cheery, but I am not because that is not a part of my culture,” she said. The ways that the social norms of Ogino’s culture differ from that of ASL is also evident in how people communicate, such as by making jokes that have American cultural references, which are foreign to Ogino. “Communicating is a big obstacle, even if you do speak English,” she said Jah believes that for students who are culturally American, it is easier for them to succeed at ASL both academically as well as socially. “I think it’s easier to make friends, easier to talk to people and easier to interact with teachers,” he said. “If you don’t [fit in], you don’t
identifies as a French-Canadian, shared a similar experience to Byrom upon his arrival to ASL, in that he also identified a strong culture that dominated the community. “Most teachers come from the Western World [and are] mostly caucasians,” he said. In contrast, Chaznane Fidahoussen (’19), who has lived in Madagascar for most of her life, joined ASL from a British school this year. She believes that being a non-American international student at ASL made it easier to fit in when she was new. “It is easier for someone who is international, because they have a different culture and they have more things to talk about,” Fida-
“Everyone is really excited for Thanksgiving throughout November. [Other students] kind of expect me to be cheery, but I am not because that is not a part of my culture.” Effie Ogino (’19) other cultures can’t do.” she said. “You want to touch [my hair] and you want to know, ‘how does it do that?’ It just grows out of my head like yours does.” Effie Ogino (’19), who identifies as Japanese, believes because she is not American she feels a stronger expectation to conform to the American culture, especially around holidays. “Everyone is really excited for Thanksgiving throughout November. [Other students] kind of expect me to be
make friends, you don’t understand the system, so you don’t learn as well as you probably could.” Byrom agrees with Jah and also realizes that if she conformed fully into the western culture at ASL, rather than retaining her own culture, she would be accepted more among the ASL community. She believes that if she completely assimilated, “life would probably be a little easier.” World Languages and Cultures Teacher Patrick Marinucci, who
houssen said. “I think it is good to have differences in order to learn about other people’s perspectives.” Fidahoussen believes that the more liberal attitudes of both ASL and London helped her to transition. “Before I came to London, I saw a completely different culture, I think it was very different from where we were in Madagascar, because we didn’t have mainstream shops or restaurants or cinemas and the way people thought and the sense of people not caring what you wear,” she said.
While Marinucci was aware of the dominant culture, he did not feel the need to conform to fit the norms of the school community, especially as the school is located in a cosmopolitan city like London. “[Although] I’m not American and working in an American school, I never felt that I was not part of the group,” he said. “You could be different and be totally accepted.” Although Byrom acknowledges that “there’s a diversity mission statement, and there are funds that are relegated to professional development for all the faculty to understand diversity and inclusion of racial, ethnic, learning,” she believes that there needs to be more of an “institutional way that we approach kids and help them... express their culture.” Even though there are clubs and activities that allow people to express their cultures, such as the South Asia Club and their South Asia night, Ogino believes that the school should do more to allow people to express themselves and their cultures. “It’s amazing that there is a club like [South Asia Club], however that is not enough,” she said. Ogino believes that it is important for students to be more informed about different cultures. “I think the more you understand about other cultures, the better you are as a person.”
GRAPHICS FROM PUBLICDOMAINPICTURES. NET AND PIXABAY.COM
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Features
Addressing the stigma of bisexuality With bisexuality becoming more apparent over recent years, the different stereotypes and negative connotations surrounding it have also grown in society Ananya Prakash | Features Editor
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ne day, when Izzy Harris (’19) was in Grade 7, she sat beside her mom with her heart pounding. She was about to come out as bisexual. Coming from a conservative family, Harris was unsure how her mother would react. Her hands were clammy. The dread of being told she was simply confused about her sexuality building up. Harris finally mumbled, “I like guys, but I also like girls and I want to marry one.” Bisexuality, generally used as an umbrella term describing a person’s sexual orientation to be attracted to more than one sex or gender, is becoming more visible in society. In a survey done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bisexuality has almost doubled in the last five years in the U.S. Harris, who sometimes prefers the they/them pronouns, believes that this increase is also evident at ASL as there is a rising number of openly bisexual students present. Despite the greater visibility of bisexuality, another study at the CDC shows that people who identify as bisexual are more likely to be subjected to rape or physical violence, as compared to gay and lesbian people. Additionally, they are found to have a higher percent of issues regarding mental health such as anxiety, depression and mood disorders. Research at PubMed Central further suggests that these problems stem from biphobia. Biphobia is usually referring to the stigma surrounding bisexuality which originates from both homophobia and its lack of validation within parts of the gay community. The biphobia present is recognized by Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Co-President Marina Pavoncelli (’18), who came out as bisexual at the beginning of Grade 10. Aside from the homophobia bisexual people can face, she is aware that “there’s some people in the LGBT community who don’t see you as real. They don’t see your sexuality as valid.” Harris echoes Pavoncelli in that the occurences of bisexual people being invalidated has increased. “A lot of times biphobia comes out of straight or gay people telling you to pick a side,” Harris said.
“People might think you’re being greedy, like your either gay or you’re straight. They can’t understand that you like more than one gender.” In the past, there have been instances outside of ASL when Harris had her bisexuality denied by her friends which really hurt her as it made her feel unheard and her sexual orientation trivialized. “Everyone is who they want to be, denying someone their rights to
be free is not okay,” Harris said.
Furthremore, Harris has seen biphobia especially through media on the internet. “I definitely see it in media…[People say] ‘I see all these bisexuals invading LGBT spaces’. Why is this necessary because it is LGBT; bi[sexuality] is a part of it,” Harris said. “Why are you discriminating against your community? That doesn’t make sense why someone would do that.” In the rare occasion bisexual people are seen in the media, Harris believes they are not portrayed accurately and are stereotyped to be always attracted to everyone. “When there is bi-representation in the media, it’s more like they can’t make a commitment, they’re constantly cheating on their significant other. [In reality], there are people who identify as bisexual and are committed to their partners,” Harris said. Cecelia* (’19), who identifies as
a panromantic asesexual (someone who is romantically attracted to others not limited by the their sex or gender, but does not experience sexual attraction), believes biphobia could come from people having the misconception that bisexual people are not acknowledging that they are actually gay. “Society often forces heterosexuality on people and then as they grow up, some people believe that [bisexuality]
es studentsto attend a GSA meeting where discussions take place. “You should want to know how you can be there for people who are struggling and the best way to do that is to ask them and learn and educate yourself.” Although Cecelia doesn’t talk about LGBT related topics at ASL often, Cecelia be-
open community. I came out in Grade 8 and I was met with open arms,” he said. While the community was ultimately accepting, he noticed that initially people felt it to be “unusual” as “[bisexuality] isn’t the norm.” Wakefield feels the widespread acceptance of different sexual orientations at ASL is a result of the community being used to accepting people of different backgrounds. “It’s just the idea that we’re an international school and that we include so many different cultures. We have to accept that someone might have different norms than you,” he said. While coming out can be difficult, Cecelia believes that there is no pressure to use labels and terms to describe sexuality. “Just wait until you’re ready and comfortable... If you don’t really like labels, that’s
GRAPHIC FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
“A lot of times biphobia comes out of straight or gay people telling bisexual people to pick a side... They can’t understand that you like more than one gender.”
Izzy Harris (’19) is just a result of that mixed with them being gay, but it’s not actually that,”Cecelia said. The consequences of invalidating bisexuality can be difficult to deal with as Pavoncelli believes “it’s hard when you struggle to be accepted by the majority of straight people, but then you [also] find it hard to be accepted in your own [LGBT] community.” In order to get rid of this negative mindset and help people who are dealing with biphobia in the community, Pavoncelli encourag-
lieves that most of the discussion regarding issues such as biphobia happens in GSA. “They have all been really positive about it...About half of [the GSA] are straight people coming to learn more about it, and the other half are the people in the [LGBT] community. It’s just very welcoming,” Cecelia said. Although Izzy Wakefield (’19) who identifies as bisexual, recognizes that biphobia is present in the wider society, he does not see it at the school. “ASL is a super
fine because no one really needs to fit into a box.” Pavoncelli further encourages people to be open about their sexual orientation at ASL, especially as has she “never experienced proper biphobia” in the school. “No one is going to judge you, no one is going to tell you that you can’t be who you want to be. I know it’s hard, but try not to fight yourself on your feelings. If you’re feeling something, let yourself feel it.”
*To protect the privacy of certain students, names have been changed.
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Culture
Stranger Things Spring Loaded
Designing the future of fashion Stephanie Brendsel | Online/Photo Editor
Aveleigh Baker (’17) hopes to challenge societal standards for women by diversifying the fashion industry
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lipping through iconic fashion magazines, Aveleigh Baker (’17) sees photos of the same skinny models covering each page. Baker wanted to read a magazine where the models were shaped like her, yet still fashion forward. “I have always wanted to really put my words into actions and create a magazine,” she said. Baker wants to create a different type of role model that young girls like her could look up to. She eventually hopes to create her own fashion magazine that entails issues of social justice, body image and race to make fashion a more “inclusive” place. Baker aims to challenge unrealistic adverts in magazines. “Everyone is talking about how unfair it is and how it is unrealistic and how no one can really obtain that [model’s] style, but no one is really doing anything about it,” she said. In a step toward this goal, Baker has done numerous work experiences, beginning with working for On Motcomb boutique, a buy-in store that sells dresses costing up to £40,000. This experience interested Baker because it took her passion for designing evening gowns to the next level. Bakers experience began to develop her interest in designing and selling clothing. Most of Baker’s experience has come from dressing models at fashion shows. This process entails standing around waiting for
direction of who to dress and what to dress them in. Once the models are dressed, the designer checks the state of the clothing, paying particular attention to the fit. The dresser proceeds to help the model into other outfits, making sure they are steamed and ready for the runway. Although this is done in a time constraint, where there are many problems that can occur, Baker believes that there is not time for worry. “You don’t really have time to be nervous about who you are around,” Baker said. “You are just getting it done.” As Baker is one of the youngest dressers in her field – the next
“Everyone is talking about how unfair it is and how it is unrealistic and how no one can really obtain that [model’s] style, but no one is really doing anything about it.” Aveleigh Baker (’17) youngest being 24 – at times she feels intimidated. “Especially since [I] haven't even started university, and these people are studying this stuff.” Although she can dress at shows, there is not much Baker can do without a degree.
In the meantime Baker hopes to continue making connections and participating in Work Experience (WorkX) fashion internships. Baker has styled models with Grace Coddington, who is a friend of Vogue Editor–in–chief, Anna Wintour. More recently, Baker has become involved in creating costumes for the High School play. It began last year when Drama teacher Herron asked Baker to create Eliot Konzal’s (’17) dress for her part as Sharpay in High School Musical. Next thing she knew, Herron was telling all of the actors to go to Baker so she could decide what they will wear. Baker ended up piecing together 300 costumes for the actors to wear in the play within two months. She created all of the costumes for the fall production 39 Steps. With her eventual goal to create a magazine, Baker sees these opportunities as the first steps in the right direction. She hopes to further her understanding of fashion in terms of business in college. Baker is plans on majoring in business and pursuing fashion in graduate school. Until then, she will continue with dressing and creating costumes for the upcoming play. “There’s stuff I can do in my own time,” she said.
SKETCHES COURTESY OF AVELEIGH BAKER
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T HE U PSIDEDOWN Olivia Abrams | Culture Editor
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Reviewing the hit Netflix original series Stranger Things with a fan base of over 14 million
s the credits flashed on my computer screen, I sat wondering how I completed an entire television series in less than 48 hours. Not typically a fan of science fiction, I found myself stunned with utter enjoyment while watching the new Netflix original series, Stranger Things. The series begins on a late night in the early 1980s, when four best friends sit down for a standard session of Dungeons and Dragons. Once the fun is over, 12-year-old Will Byers bikes home and comes across something otherworldly. Despite his best efforts to call for help, Will vanishes, plunging the otherwise sleepy town into turmoil. After her son has been missing for countless hours, Will’s frantic mother Joyce, played by awardwinning actress Winona Ryder, notifies the authorities. During the search for her son, Joyce meets detective Jim Hopper, who is initially no help in responding to her motherly intuition. Despite the lack of help, Joyce is not discouraged, and she is not the only one who longs for the re-appearance of Will. In school, Will’s friends wander helplessly, burdened by questions about the disappearance of their best friend. The trio is smarter than they appear, and after being told that this was strictly a job for the police, they sneak out into
the woods to search for Will. This is where Dustin, Mike and Lucas meet the mysterious Eleven, a practically mute girl who joins them on their quest. We soon learn that Eleven, who is quite literally a government lab rat, has a psychokinetic gift. Played by Millie Bobbie Brown, the strange girl with a shaved head can flip cars and shatter windows. By far the most intriguing character in the series, the Eggo-waffle-lover Eleven, learns the virtues of kindness and loyalty after befriending the trio, while having been held in captivity for the entirety of her life.
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The series possesses an ability to make you believe that the impossible is possible. My compulsion to continue watching this series was rooted from a place far beyond entertainment. At the end of every episode, I found myself in a pit of wonder. So many separate events were somehow linked together in 45 minut es. Although at first the plot is hard to digest,
taking many unexpected turns, before I knew it, I was completely absorbed in the Netflix series. The series possesses an ability to make you believe that the impossible is possible. Mixing two parallel universes and three middle school boys, makes Stranger Things far from predictable. In fact, over the course of the nine episode season, there was never a moment where I was not taken by surprise. Stranger Things is a coming of age about the supernatural forces that lurk in a world separate from our reality. The series posseses the quintessential
themes of kindness, friendship and adventure, but elevated to a whole new level and suitable for any audience. The writers of this series – Matt and Ross Duffer – have a mind beyond the average imagination, allowing you to embark on an adventure in the small town of Hawkens, Indiana.
In the past I have found myself questioning the unrealistic attributes of supernatural characters, and the over dramatized scenes which are present in TV shows of this genre. Stranger Things was the one exception. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the second season, which is rumored to air sometime before July 2017. If you haven’t seen the sci-fi phenomenon, you are missing out.
PHOTO FROM NETFLIX
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Culture
Spring into action
How Sebastien Fousse’s (’18) relationship with depression inspired him to start his online clothing brand, Spring Loaded Alexandra Gers | Culture Editor
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Spring Loaded logo with artwork by Katsushika Hokusai
hile many high school students spent their summer doing internships or going to camps, Sebastien Fousse (’18) spent his creating Spring Loaded, an online-based clothing line centered around his personal story of struggling with clinical depression. The nature of Fousse’s depression is episodic, meaning, “it’s fine for a while and then it’s more intense for a short period of time,” he said. Fousse found that distracting himself with different activities helped the most during periods of depression. “The clothing business was a way for me to spin my depression into something positive,” he said. As a result of travelling to Japan when his depression began in 2014, the inspiration for his first collection is primarily Japanese artwork, featuring the works of acclaimed artists like Katsushika Hokusai. The logo of Spring Loaded is a spring simplified to five lines on an upward slant, meant to “represent the monotony of everyday” and “the gradual increase in happiness and peace of mind” he said. Although Fousse previously sold simple t-shirts on RedBubble, an online marketplace for art and clothing, this was the first time he
decided to sell clothes he designed himself. The process of making the collection began toward the end of the summer, when Fousse spent a large amount of the time creating rough drafts and sketches of design ideas. He then turned the designs into an Adobe Photoshop format and found a print shop willing to recreate his sketches. Fousse first posted about Spring Loaded and his depression on Facebook on October 10, 2016, World Mental Health Day. Fousse received almost entirely positive reactions. “People have taken time out of their day just to talk with me. Everyone is
“The main message [of the clothing line] is just that people should be more open about [depression]. It’s not something to hide or be embarrased about.” Sebastien Fousse (’18) a lot more supportive than I would have originally thought,” he said. Fousse felt a similar degree of support when he received a surplus of orders upon the launch of Spring Loaded. Fousse hand-packages and sends the clothing himself. By using Big Cartel, a website creation platform, he manages and individualizesthe orders, including a handwritten note in each package. As Fousse has partnered with Young Minds, an organization which helps “teens and children specifically with their ment a l
health issues,” the note includes a thank you and that for every item purchased, £0.50 is donated to the charity. As for the future of Spring Loaded, Fousse hopes to grow in content, as he only produces graphic t-shirts right now. He aims to sew his own clothing, as he currently outsources this component of production, and he also wants to create a larger catalogue including “outerwear, bombers, trousers and hats.” Fousse aims to have the second collection come out in about a month or two, this time focusing on the theme of “medication and external support.” Fousse hopes this imagery “reflect[s] the help of [his] family and doctors” during his depression. He also hopes to create a promotional video with the help of a film student living in the U.K. While everybody deals with depression differently, Fousse sees external support as the most valuable. For Fousse, the goal of Spring Loaded is to start dialogue about depression and to remove the stigma surrounding it. “The main message is just that people should be more open about [depression]. It’s not something to hide or be embarrassed about,” he said.
SKETCHES COURTESY OF SEBASTIEN FOUSSE
Spring Loaded logo with artwork by Katsushika Hokusai
PHOTO BY SOURNA DANESHVAR, JR.
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Student musicians take the online spotlight MADDIE SAYRE STAFF WRITER
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hile there are a variety of talents recognized by the school community, some students have chosen to pursue their musical passions through social media platforms. Kenzie Wilkin’s (’18) musical motivation comes from a desire to write lyrics to make others feel good when they listen to her song. “Music is such a big part of my identity, and it’s something that I want to share,” she said. “Listening to a song someone else writes can foster a feeling, and I want to be that person to write something that makes somebody feel something.” Isabella Mattera (’20) believes that being able to express her feelings was one reason why she chose to write her own songs. “I get my
inspiration from everywhere, but it always starts with a feeling that is really intense or really specific and writing songs helps me get that feeling out and feel better about it,” she said. While the songwriting process is occasionally difficult for Lucy
“I would encourage people to put themselves out there, especially in song writing, because I think that sharing it with other people is actually really interesting and it motivates me to do more.” Siena Moran (’19)
Park (’17), she finds pure enjoyment in creating music. Park concentrates mostly on the melody and tries to think about the lyrics afterward. Once she gets ideas, she
adds words and phrases to the melody she’s created. Similarly, when Siena Moran (’19) starts a song she doesn’t always know where it is going. “First I find different chords on the guitar and soon words will start to come along and I’ll sort of get a better idea of what it’s about,” she said. Their next step after writing a song is to share it with others. While some might fear performing in front of their peers, these musicians are determined to share their passion through other platforms. “I would encourage people to put themselves out there, especially in song writing, because I think that sharing it with other people is actually really interesting and it motivates me to do more,” Moran said. Many have been able to share their work on SoundCloud where they can publish their own original music. SoundCloud is an alterna-
tive to live performance, of which there are only a few opportunities during the school year. SoundCloud has enabled students like Mattera to pursue her current passion for writing songs. She has been able to post her own music on the platform and receive similar positive feedback she receives when performing in front of a live audience. Another form of sharing music is through performing with a band. Wilkin said that she is in the process of creating a student faculty band, that she hopes will involve many in the High School. Park believes that in high school, students are continuing to find their passions and share interests and it shouldn’t matter what others think of you. “If it’s something you love, why not do it?” she said. “High school is a time to figure out what you are interested in and figure out what you like to do.”
Student Musicians on SoundCloud
isabella_ kensington13
sienachanel
lucypark GRAPHIC FROM FLICKR
A capella arrangment to debut on Music Tour
A look at the process of Addison Crump’s (’17) a capella arrangement of the piece ‘Hollow Mind’, which will debut during Music Tour. JOHN TOWFIGHI STAFF WRITER
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he Chamber Choir’s repertoire for the upcoming Music Tour is not abnormal: A few pieces, ranging from foreign compositions to prominent solos, with the exception of one piece produced by a member of the choir. On the tour, Addison Crump (’17) will debut his arrangement of the song “Hollow Mind” by electronic music group Eminence. The piece is Crump’s first attempt at arranging music, however he has been around music his entire life. He has been practicing music since the age of 3, and over the course of his musical career he has played the violin, piano, flute, all four types of saxophone as well as the Irish whistle. Having lots of experie n c e when i t
comes to playing instruments, and studying music theory, Crump has built a foundation as a well-rounded musician. He is currently in the AP Music Theory course, and just finished his Grade 6 Music Theory Exam. The latter is an important step up in one’s music fluency, as it takes the basic functions learned in previous levels, and combines them together to begin working on full musical compositions. Looking for a piece for his first full arrangement, Eminence’s song, “Hollow Mind,” which features the vocalist Q’AILA, was Crump’s first choice as he noticed its potential as an a capella piece. “It was both the combination of vocals as well as the underlying track that made me want to arrange it for a cappella,” he said. The task of converting a song that was originally dubstep to an a cappella piece for five voice parts was an enduring one. While developing voice parts, Crump took the
song apart chord by chord, “There was a lot of listening to the song over and over again, and figuring out a chord at a time,” he said. “Playing a little bit on the piano, [then] on the computer, [then] back on piano.” Over the past few weeks, Crump has toyed with the piece, taking out parts he had come to dislike, adding harmonies and adjusting it to include more of his personal touch. “Originally there was one voice and a piano, not an a cappella arrangement, and then I converted that into four voices and a piano, and then it became five voices and no piano,” he said. When it comes to the Chamber Choir’s actual performance of the piece, and who will have control over teaching it, it is presumed to be a mix of both Choral Director Lisa Ross and Crump. “I’m probably just going to edit pieces while we’re practicing it, because it hasn’t ever been sung before,” Crump said. The process of arranging music was entertainging for
Crump, and it wasn’t a sentimental or personal meaning that drove him to take the reigns of this piece. The appeal for Crump in creating his own piece is the ability to understand how music works. The fun of discovering how parts of a song come together, as well as “figuring out how the underlying music works” is what Crump enjoys about arranging music. “When it comes down to it, it’s nice to just know how a piece sounds from how it’s written,” he said. This arrangement is only the start for Crump, and it opens up a new side of music to explore and tamper with. Although he doesn’t see himself taking on music as a career, he said it would definitely be something he would do in his free time. Crump believes there’s a sense of self control that comes from music, and it is something that helps with focus. “I will rarely do any sort of ac-
tivity without playing a tune in my head,” he said. “It’s just constant music.” Despite having just finished arranging “Hollow Mind” for the Chamber Choir, Crump already has his sights set on new projects. “I’ve already got my next one in mind,” he said. “I won’t give that one away... it’s just going to be a continuing thing.”
GRAPHICS FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA GERS
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THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
Life as a Libero Profiling All-Tournament volleyball player Emily Barlow (’18) and one of the most unforgiving and unrecognized positions in the sport: The Libero Sourna Daneshvar, Jr. | Lead News Editor
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iddle Hitter Momo Steele (’16) leapt and spiked the ball to win varsity girls volleyball ISSTs last season sending the crowd into euphoria. While the play culminated with Steele’s spike above the net, it certainly didn’t start there. That play, as do most for the varsity girls volleyball team started with Libero Emily Barlow (’18). Barlow started playing volleyball in California, one of the world’s most competitive volleyball hotbeds. She discovered the game at the age of 10, while most of her teammates had already known the game for years. Barlow’s frame left most coaches unsure where to position her. That was until her middle school volleyball coach and teacher Kate Ward showed her the Libero position, a match made in heaven for Barlow’s “personality” and size. “I immediately knew she would be a great Libero because she is really tough,” Ward said. Relentlessness, which is an inherent quality in any solid Libero, was what Barlow possessed at the outset of her volleyball career. “She just kept going. If she missed it she would get the next one. She was just fearless,” Ward said. The Libero is the Designated Hitter of volleyball: A player solely operating in the defensive back row that is not permitted to serve and rarely hits given their position away from
orchestrates the passing. A large part of Barlow’s responsibilities include managing her backcourt teamates, including Outside Hitter Marianne De Ridder (’18). “She calls the shots back there. If I am in the backcourt with her I know she’s going to get the ball if she says she’s going to. I have complete faith in her,” De Ridder said. Volleyball is a game played above the net, a space Barlow seldom occupies. Based on her position, that fact doesn’t serve as an obstacle, though it impacts her play in other areas. “It’s not really the height, it’s more the power. How much power you produce. How much you use your legs and how much your arms. When I set, I jump. I have to put my whole body in it, whereas someone else could just use the upper half of their body,” Barlow said. Most volleyball plays culminate with im-
“She calls the shots back there. If I am in the backcourt with her I know she’s going to get the ball if she says she’s going to. I have complete faith in her.” MARIANNE DE RIDDER (’18) the net. To differentiate the libero from their teammates, they sport different colored jerseys. Like most sports passing proves critical to a successful team and, ideally, the Libero
pressive hits, one of the few things on the volleyball court Barlow cannot do. She finds this in part contributes to the unforgiving nature of the Libero position that allows little room for error and equally, acclaim. “I set up
the rest of the point, if I don’t pass it to the setter perfectly, the setter can’t set and the hitter can’t hit,” Barlow said. “I feel like I don’t get as much recognition as say Maya [Matejcek (’17)] does because what
people see in the game is Maya hitting the ball down.” However, Barlow isn’t just a Libero; she’s an exceptional one with numerous talents, among them being one of the fastest on the team and above all stability in almost every fundamental skill in the game. “She’s one of the most consistent players on our team,” De Ridder said. At the height of her abilities Varsity Girls Assistant Volleyball Coach Lisi Arrarte identifies Barlow as “pretty flawless in terms of her passing.” Beyond the praise of teammates and
coaches, Barlow owns the accomplishments, including winning the girls volleyball London Youth Games with her club team as well as a varsity girls volleyball Divison 1 ISSTs gold medal. Barlow also served as the only Libero from last year’s AllTournament ISST team and repeated the feat this fall, cementing her status as the best Libero in Division 1. In the U.S. Barlow’s height would be a quality that leads many coaches to dismiss her abilities. “I’m a vital part of the team, even if I could have been there the coach would have never acknowledged me as that. Here I know I am,” Barlow said. “That’s why I love playing volleyball here because I’ve been given an opportunity I wouldn’t be given otherwise.” Beyond her volleyball skills, De Ridder feels Barlow’s leadership is her strongest asset. “All the six players on the court are important to support eachother, but she, especially, is what I need on the court.”
PHOTO BY ELIZA BLAKEMORE
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016
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Strenuous sports push the limits JONATHAN NOVAK STAFF WRITER
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PHOTO BY FAITH WHITMAN Aidan Norris at cross country ISSTs.
End of a drought TYLER SKOW
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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idan Norris (’19) was born to run. With a father who was nearly an Olympic runner, and for a time held the U.S. men’s 3000m record, Norris attributes all of his success as an athlete to his genetics. “I honestly only started running because I was good at it and [my dad] impacted me because he was really fast and it’s his genetics that I basically I attribute all of my success to,” Norris said. This fall, Norris won the boys cross country International School Sports Tournament [ISST] gold. Norris is the first boy from ASL to win this title in 24 years. Coming into the race Norris was expecting a victory, compounding the pressure he felt in the build up to the race. “For me it was just trying to ignore that fact that there was going to be a race for as long as I possibly could. So I was fine until like 3 hours before the race, that’s when I felt all of the nerves, before that I was just completely ignoring the fact that I had a race that day,” he said. Overall, the entire cross country team placed fourth, and Norris was pleased with the result. “I think we did really well. Honestly the only thing you can ask from people is for them to try their hardest and we had people who could not stand after they crossed,” he said.
rom waking up at 5 a.m. to practice before school starts, to celebrating with your teammates after a hard fought victory, the life of a student-athlete is one that differs from person to person. Graham Brantley (’18) is a swimmer who trains seven times a week. He swims for the school team as well as also competing outside of school. “Generally speaking it takes up most of your life, what isn’t taken up by school is taken up by [swimming],” he said. Each training session he does consists of at least two hours of physical training whether that is in the pool swimming lengths or doing bodyweight exercises on land. He swims in the morning before school once a week which adds on to his training schedule. The time-heavy swimming schedule often limits Brantley from finishing his school work in good time. “The main difficulty is finding time to do your homework and to study,” he said. “I like to sort of shut everything else out and get done with certain subjects of homework so that I can just knock that off my list.” Contrary to what one might think, Brantley believes that swimming helps his academic performance. “Even though it does take up
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL Swimmers practice as early as 6:15 a.m., allowing for afternoon studying hours. do it and then I have the night off and don’t have to stress about it when I get back from swimming,” she said. Brodie Craig (’18), a three-season varsity sport athelete, feels that playing sports helps his school performance in different ways. Craig feels that playing sports adds structure to his schedule which helps him complete his homework. “I think a lot of kids who end up not doing sports or activities will go home and procrastinate and still not do their homework until very late,” Craig said. “Whereas playing
“Even though it does take up your time and prevent you from studying and tire you out, it is also a very good way to sharpen your mind” Graham Brantley (’18) your time and prevent you from studying and tire you out, it is also a very good way to sharpen your mind,” Brantley said. Anna Podurgiel (’20) is similarly dedicated, swimming six times a week for multiple hours each session. She qualified for swimming nationals in 2016 but was unable to attend. She was ranked 13th in all of England for the 100 meter freestyle. “I was really excited because it was the first time I made Nationals,” Podurgiel said. “It was a really big accomplishment.” Podurgiel must do her homework as soon as she gets home after school due to the fact that she gets home late from swimming. “I just tell myself I really need to do it and I sit down and
basketball makes me have to structure my time for work and manage my sleep as well.” The varsity boys basketball team practices three to five times a week and can have up to three games a week as well. This does take up a lot of time, but Craig believes that only around a quarter of practice is dedicated to conditioning. Grace Bake (’17) competes for the crew team during all three seasons. Training for rowing can be found in two forms: Either athletes practice on ergometers (ergs) which are machines that replicate rowing, or the team can make the short trip down to the River Thames.
Rowing training is more similar to swimming than it is to basketball as it requires a lot of physical conditioning. A large portion of Bake’s training is also centered around acclimating to rowing with her partner and building team chemistry. Bake feels that she is motivated to work hard when she rows with her teammates. “If I row with other people in a boat, you want to go to training for them so you don’t let other people down,” Bake said. Arion Statovci (’19) is a rugby player who has been playing the sport since middle school. The rugby team practices five times a week, which includes going to Canons Park up to three times a week and going to the weight room at school twice a week. Tactical preparation for matches is crucial to a succesful rugby team, but Statovci finds the gym sessions just as entertaining. “Personally I enjoy gym sessions greatly as they add something new to training,” he said. Statovci feels he can efficiently complete his work because he doesn’t get home too late. “[I can do my work] quite easily because we get home around 6:30 which is plenty of time.” Similarly to Brantley and Craig, Statovci feels it helps with his schoolwork because it leaves him less time to procrastinate. All student-athletes have some problems with difficult training as well as getting school work done. The athletes all choose to compete as the pros outweigh the cons. “[I swim because] I really love it and I love competing and it makes me really happy and I have a special relationship with my team,” Podurgiel said.
Three travel to Boston for Head of the Charles MICHAEL FLAHERTY STAFF WRITER
ISHAAN RAHMAN STAFF WRITER
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n light of a strong spring season in Grade 11, varsity crew athletes Sarah Brunsberg (’17), Tyler Skow (’17) and Josey Troyer (’17) represented ASL in the highly competitive Head of Charles Regatta. The race took place on October 22 - 23 on the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This race is recognized worldwide and many well-known athletes compete in it. This year, five Olympic gold medalists competed in one of the races. Troyer was excited to compete with well
trained and experienced rowers that he hadn’t raced before. “[It was] a really great opportunity to row with some of the best people out there,” he said. The Regatta is comprised of events in nearly every boat category and level of experience. There were many different divisions, including singles, doubles, quads and eights, as well as youth, senior and club divisions. Brunsberg competed in the Women’s Youth Singles, while Troyer and Skow competed in the Men’s Youth Singles. All three athletes felt a strong desire to cement ASL as a competitive rowing program in competing at the Regatta. “I wanted to represent my school well and succeed in any way that I could,” Troyer said.
All three of the athletes agreed preparing for a race of this caliber was tough mentally and physically. They put in a lot of time and effort early in the school year to be prepared for the race. “Between September and October I had to really focus on being dedicated to the sport,” Troyer said. The athletes spoke about the mental training being one of the toughest parts of it and the difference between winning a losing a race is in the mental preparation. At the end of the race, the athletes all said they had felt they had accomplished what they wanted to. Troyer ended up finishing in 13th, and Brunsberg in 4th. Troyer had specifically said he wanted to get in the top 20 and was pleased with his result. “I
was surprised because it was such a big race for me to do that,” he said. Brunsberg was quite happy with her result considering she knew little about the course.“I think I did well and getting in 4th was good... given that it’s a completely unknown course and competition... I think I was able to handle that really well and I think that it was a good placement,” she said.
The Standard’s Editor-in-Chief Tyler Skow (’17) finished in 3rd place in the Men’s Youth Singles division at the Head of the Charles Regatta, but was not quoted in this article due to his position on staff.
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••• Life as a Libero Strenuous Sports
Jordi Albanell (’17) battles with two ACS Cobham defenders to win a header in a 4-2 victory for the Eagles on October 26. Varsity boys soccer also played ACS Cobham in the final of this year’s ISSTs and triumphed again, beating the Cougars 2-1 to clinch their first ISST victory since 2000. PHOTO BY ELIZA IPPOLITO
THE STANDARD | November/December 2016