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the Standard
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Curriculum changes
Start the discussion
Importance of Female leadership
Hole in music curriculum
The challenge of fielding a full team
Classes are introduced for 2017-2018, changes include a new science curriculum, new math and social studies courses.
The Standard calls for increased open dialogue within the student body, namely a structured forum for discussion.
Following recent U.S. political shifts, female leadership and activism within the school and beyond are examined.
Students in and out of the music program share their passions and frustrations with the current curriculum.
Ahead of Winter ISSTs, the varsity rugby program scrambled to recruit players in order to field a team for the tournament.
News 2-6 | Opinions 7-10 | Features 11-19 | Culture 20-24 | Sports 25-28
The silent minority A divisive election left the school politically divided, with some students struggling to have their voices heard Tyler Skow | Editor-In-Chief Story on page 12-13
March 2017 | Volume 42, Issue 4 The American School in London | One Waverley Place | London NW8 0NP U.K. | standard.asl.org
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THE STANDARD | March 2017
Curriculum changes French elections
Security procedure reinforced In brief Young Power Conference
MICHAEL FLAHERTY STAFF WRITER Students received an e-mail on February 10 from Director of Student Life James Perry informing them that they would have to use their ID cards to enter and exit the building. Students have always been expected to use their ID cards, but the rule has not been strictly enforced. Head of Security Barak Favé saw a senior who looked like a full-grown man and approached a new security guard, confusing the new guard immensely. This interaction triggered a discussion about the necessity for students to use their ID cards entering and exiting the building during throughout day. Additionally, using ID cards at the Waverley Place barriers logs students into a system which can tell the security team who is in the building based on who has scanned themselves into the system. However, this system does not monitor students while in school. Since High School students can leave campus during school hours, this system enables the security team to check whether students are in the building in case of an emergency. Middle School and Lower School students do not need to use their ID cards because the expectation is that they should always be with a teacher once they arrive to school. Some students agree with the new policy, encouraged how it aids the security team. “It helps with security because if you don’t have to use your ID [to get into the school], then anybody can come in,” Michael Konzal (’19) said.
Students are required to use IDs for entering and leaving the school. Loudoun Road is also closed to students during school hours.PHOTO BY MADDIE SAYRE If someone forgets their ID, they are required to put their name onto a computer at Waverley Place Entrance. Punishment will be forced upon students for multiple logs into the computer. The punishment is yet to be determined by Favé and Perry. Although Loudoun Road was initially closed due to the Paris bombings last year, Favé believes it may open up again as threat levels decrease. However, there are no plans to open Loudoun Road or the time being. At the moment there isn’t a way to control students coming in and out of the Loudon exit, but Favé hopes the security team can implement some enhancements to make this possible.
One enhancement may be positioning a security guard near Lower School reception, as done previously. The guard would hold onto a device that each student would be obliged to scan their ID card on, subsequently entering them into the system. Although closing Loudoun Road has been a huge security boost for Favé and his team, he also realizes there are some setbacks that come with it. “I’d like to open it during the day. I know the appeal of the arcade and the great food they have at the back,” Favé said. Rocky Roedy (’20) agrees that Loudoun Road’s closure has not greatly affected his lunchtime. “I like to use the back so I can get home easier at lunch so I can eat,” Roedy said.
Housing property reserved for private leasing IMOGEN WEISS STAFF WRITER In 2010, the Board of Trustees set up a Strategic Plan which, among other things, included purchasing homes adjacent to the school on Loudoun Road. With the nearing completion of the Strategic Plan, the current status of the two purchased houses on Loudoun Road remains uncertain. The original purchase of 49 Grove End Road in 1969 was to provide Bruce House for the Head of School, Director of Operations Jim Heynderickx said. As part of the Strategic Plan, the other half of Bruce House [47 Grove End Road] was purchased. Heynderickx said the purchases were to allow the school to definitively determine the south end of campus. “It’s nice to know that the security perimeter of the school wraps round the south end of the campus, whereas before when [47 and 49 Grove End Road] was privately owned, it was [the owners’] responsibility and our guards weren’t going to be checking the doors,” Heynderickx said. The purchase of 47 Grove End Road also allowed the school to construct additional facilities, such as the Aquatics Center, with
little to no inconvenience. “Since we owned the property, it was easier to do the construction work. If it was still a private owner, we would have to be very careful about noise and debris,” he said.
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Everything is a possibility at this point, but 10 and 12 [Loudoun Road] are restricted to residential use. Julie Skattum Board of Trustees Co-Chair Years after the Strategic Plan had been set in motion, the school had the opportunity to also purchase two more properties: 10 Loudoun Road in 2014 and 12 Loudoun Road in 2015. “Right now, those [properties] are simply being rented providing income to offset to the mortgage payments,” Heyndrickx said. The school’s future plans for 10 and 12 Loudon Road remain uncertain. “Everything
is a possibility at this point, but, 10 and 12 are restricted to residential use [for now],” Board of Trusties Co-Chair Julie Skattum said. Whilst the school still has to follow Westminster Council’s rules, Skattum hopes that “Westminster will agree that [the school] can use [the houses] for academic use.” She believes that the houses could serve as anything from a preschool, to specialized classrooms to further the study of certain subjects. “Who knows what education’s going to look like in the next 10-15 years. We might need much bigger spaces, more like the MILL [Make Invoate and Learn Lab] or maybe there will be something we haven’t even thought about,” she said. Before anything can officially be decided, the school must ask for permission from Westminster Council, which Skattum predicts is a few years away. Whilst nothing is set in stone, both Heynderickx and Skattum anticipate the permanent use of 10 and 12 will be decided in the distant future. “We’ve just finished two big projects. The school has to absorb [the new projects] and, we have to see how it is used before we start thinking about other types of capital projects,” Skattum said.
A Young Power Conference was held at Quintin Kynaston (QK) on March 17. Along with ASL and QK several other London state schools participated in the event. The event was lead by Anna O'Neil (’17), Nils Skattum (’17), Tania Veltchev (’17) and Shaurya Prakash (’18). The conference was held during school hours and focused on various topics including young empowerment, oppression and privilege. Students formed break out groups where they discussed these topics in more depth. Several speakers also attended the conference, including Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss and Middle School English Teacher Darnell Fine. The conference was aimed to initiate interaction between ASL and other schools within London as well as discuss social issues.
Galilee Model UN
The Galilee Model UN Conference (GALMUN) took place in Nazareth, Israel from March 20-21. St. Joseph Seminary & High School-Almotran hosted the event at the Golden Crown Hotel. English Teacher Alissa Mears and Social Studies Teacher Chris Wolf accompanied the students to Nazareth and although there were some concerns regarding passport stamping and safety abroad, Head of Security Barak Favé confirmed that the trip and city were completely safe and that Israel doesn’t stamp passports at David Ben Gurion Airport.
Program in Wales ASL’s annual summer programs range from trips to various countries to courses focusing on certain subjects in more detail. This year, the school is encouraging students to enjoy the outdoors more. Arabic Teacher Ruth McDonough is hosting a nine day hiking trip (seven days hiking, one day to prepare, and one day to travel) to the Brecon Hills, Wales, the week after graduation. The trip focuses on building leadership as well as team skills whilst doing various bushcraft related activities like learning to read a map, and understanding how to move through trails.
PCA Auction ASL’s annual auction took place on March 17-18. The PCA raised an estimated £977,000 in gross revenue, which adds up to an overall profit of £760,000 for the PCA and the school. The money will go to a two year PCA operating budget, the purchasing of equipment for both the Make Innovate Learn Lab (MILL) and science classrooms, and used for building an eco-classroom at Canons Park. The auction also launched an endowment fund called the Coreen R. Hester Fund for Excellence in Teaching, which was created in honor of Head of School Coreen Hester’s dedication and service to ASL. All proceeds will go to the financial support, retention and training of faculty and staff. The “One of a Kind” video, promoting the endowment fund, is currently featured on the school’s website.
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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News
Finalized logistics for athletic facilities A look into the programs and reactions that have materialized as a result of ASL’s new facilities Schedule for use of athletic facilities CAMERON CAMPILI
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
NEWS EDITOR
Pool: Swim Stars lessons
Monday
Pool: family swim
Pool: open lane lessons Yoga Class Pool: family swim Pool: Swim Stars lessons
Pool: open lane Zumba Class
Pool: family swim
Pool: Swim Stars lessons Pool: open lane Pool: family swim
Pool: Swim Stars lessons
Jim Heynderickx Director of Operations
Pool: open lane Pool: family swim
8 a.m. - 10 a.m. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 12 p.m.- 2 p.m.
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday
Pool: Swim Stars lessons Pool: open lane Yoga Class
Zumba Class
Pool: family swim
Pool: family swim Pool: Swim Stars lessons
Sunday
Aquatics and Fitness Center Manager Keith Mainstone believes that students and faculty input is a crucial aspect of adding programs to the membership program. “The offerings that we supply are constantly changing. We’ve had a demand from some of our members for a more high intensity class so we put on a HIIT class because that’s what they wanted. The classes that we provide are created by the community,” Mainstone said. The pool has also offered many more advantages for the swim team. Sissel Anderson (’18) believes that the pool has given the swim team more privacy, allowing them to partake in different types of practices. “We’ve been able to do a lot more because we don’t have to compete with the public swimming lessons. We’re also able to use more equipment during our practices,” Anderson said.
HIIT Class
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
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It’s kind of like the [new facilities] are moving in. They need little repairs and little alterations make everything better.
Pool: open lane
Pool: Swim Stars
Friday
A
SL has undergone immense change following the completion of the New Frontiers campaign, and after six months the projects logistics have been finalized. A major aspect of New Frontiers was the creation of the Aquatics Center and Fitness Center. In order to offset the cost of the athletic facilities, the school has implemented a fitness membership program. The membership costs £40 a month for adults, £20 a month for ASL students under-18, £10 for a one-time guest pass and £5 for a one-time under-18 guest pass. Members are allowed to use the facilities from 6 - 10 p.m. on Monday to Thursday, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. on Fridays, and 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Morning swims are also available Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. Membership also includes access to classes such as:, zumba, yoga, pilates and the high intensity interval training (HIIT).
Pool: open lane Pilates Class
Pool: family swim
Pool: family swim
There has also been an implementation of the Swim Stars program, an after school program that teaches swimming
to all members of the community. However, Swim Stars has subsequently taken up practice time and lanes from the swim
team. Anderson has been frustrated by the amount of space they have had for practice and the constant presence of Swim Stars during practices. Lifeguarding is an opportunity Mainstone believes students should get involved in. Although he tried to set up an opportunity for students to enroll in a program lasting a total of 48 hours which would was offered to students during February break. However, there wasn’t enough student interest to commence the program. Lifeguard training courses run almost every week across London and the Athletics Department wants to help students find times that work for them to enroll in these courses costs between £300 and £380. In terms of taking advantage of these facilities, Mainstone believes student input is crucial. “We are keen on setting up an information line where students can just drop in suggestions where we can try to accommodate students opinions on the facilities,” Mainstone said. The gym and pool have received both negative and positive reactions from students. Tom Linkas (’18) believes that the gym has improved immensely in terms of safety due to the cage facilities. The cages have a safety bar that is able to catch a lifters weight, something not implemented in the former gym. However, Linkas also contends that the gym has some negative aspects, the major detriment being its size. “The gym is smaller now and you can’t have as many people in there at once so it definitely prolonged the amount of time that a workout would take because you had people trying to do the same exercise,” he said. During the past six months, the facilities have been subject to a few setbacks. Director of Operations Jim Heynderickx has found that a small change was needed in the pool. The school found out that there was some cold air blowing on the sensor, making the heating system feel as if it has to blow more hot air which wastes energy. Heynderickx believes that facilities need housekeeping. “It’s kind of like the [new facilities] are moving in. They need little repairs and little alterations make everything better,” he said. More construction will take place this coming summer. HS Science classrooms will be refurbished. Several storage, spatial and acoustical additions will be added to the rooms. “We’re just working on the detail designs for that now,” Heynderickx said. “It’s going to be a big project this summer to refurbish the labs.”
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News
THE STANDARD | March 2017
Q&A: Seven questions with Student Council leaders Student Council President Ayse Yucesan (’18) and VicePresident Charlie Victor (’18) discuss the future of the Council, their aims for the term and their personalities SOURNA DANESHVAR JR. LEAD NEWS EDITOR Sourna Daneshvar Jr.: First of all, congratulations on being the President and Vice- President respectively. To start, how would you describe each other? Student Council (StuCo) Vice-President Charlie Victor (’18): I would say that [StuCo President] Ayse [Yucesan] is focused, more than anything. I think she is very able to apply herself efficiently to get the best possible things for the students. Yucesan: I would say [Victor] is an amazing presence to be around with his positivity and his constant desire to improve everything around him and make sure everyone has the appropriate spirit to continue on in whatever activity it is. And I would say the one thing that makes me happiest working with him is knowing that everyone will be comfortable going and speaking with him because they don’t just seem him as a member of the council that they have to listen to, they see him as a friend, which is going to be a key part of ensuring our success on the council this year. SD: How do you two intend to lead the Council? CV: Dictatorship, full dictatorship, actually would be ideal. AY: That is a joke, just to get that on record. I would say we are both determined, dedicated to the council, we’re both very passionate, we do have very different personalities and that is going to play in our leadership this year as a team. I feel like I’m going to make sure the behind-thescenes, little details, everyone’s aware of their roles, everyone has been delegated an important role. I feel like [Victor] being the spirited and the kind, funny person that he is going to be an important role of keeping up the morale and making sure everyone is enthusiastic and passionate – not just the members, but the entire student body is passionate and enthusiastic about the work of the council. CV: And another things is, as [Yucesan] said, our personalities are quite different, but something we both share is we do want to have fun and in Student Council meetings we’re going to try and make them seem light and fun and all school events, anything that’s assemblies, spirit week, all of that, we just want to make sure it’s as good an experience as possible.
Ayse Yucesan (’18) and Charlie Victor (’18) both were voted as Student Council President and Vice-President on February 24. Both spent the past three years on the council as representatives. Last term, Yucesan served as Secretary of the Council and Victor served as Public Relations officer. PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL
SD: What is the role of the Student Council? AY: I think when the administration makes decisions or changes are made in the High School, it’s often thought that the students really don’t have a say. And I think the presence of the Student Council allows for the students to be represented. Even though it might not seem like it in certain aspects. The past few years the Student Council’s role was to ensure that the changes that actually affect a student’s high school experience are made with the student’s best interest, and the best way the administration can know those interest is through the student body. So, we are just the bridge through which the students can communicate any thoughts they want to the administration and to ensure that they have the best experience they can have. CV: I think a lot of times when decisions are made in the High School – the administration likes numbers, they like testing to say overall people seem happy, but I think at the same time I think they forget that what we really want they don’t even take that into account and I think it is our job to just be there and when we can have our input and say, “listen, this is actually what we want. Yes, all that’s important, but maybe you should do something that is popular for the students.” SD: What’s your favorite color? CV: Let’s go for a mix of magenta and blue. Call it fuchsia.
AY: I like all colors because I don’t like to discriminate. CV: This so sums us up, fuchsia and all colors, I refuse to choose. SD: What do you like to do in your free time? CV: I would say kicking back with some Netflix. AY: I’d say I enjoy going to cycle classes and I recently started kick-boxing, so those kind of energy releasing activities. SD: So if anyone tries a coup... AY: I’m ready with my six kickboxing moves. CV: And I will support from the side. AY: Charlie will destroy you with his words. SD: What should underclassmen know about you? CV: That we’re here to have a good time. I think I talked about this a little bit in my speech about how I think that both of us are pretty approachable and that’s what we are really going to focus on is to make sure we are open and that it’s not just us running things so anyone, regardless of grade, should come talk to us, message us on Facebook. If they have a good idea it should be heard as soon as possible. AY: Not only are we here to have a good time, but we’re here to make sure they have a good time. Both of us, we can both promise this with infinite guarantee, anyone
who comes to us and says, “Hey, I’m so and so, I’m a freshman, I’m a sophomore, I had a question about this, or I have a concern about this,” we will always be 100 percent welcoming and 100 percent accepting of what they have to say because we don’t see ourselves as an older kid or someone who’s not willing to talk to an underclassmen, we see ourselves as two people who enjoy making new friends and who are always willing to be open. SD: What do you hope your legacy is? AY: We had a good time. CV: We had a good time. No big mistakes is really the goal, if I’m being honest, nothing embarrassing and just honestly I think the best legacy is to have everything go very smoothly. In a way no legacy is the best legacy. As long as we’re not known for some big mistake, I’m happy. AY: I do think one big change is by the time we leave as seniors when someone gets asked, “What does the Student Council actually do?” I want the answer to be something beyond party-planning. I want them to be able to say “Oh I attended a meeting with the Student Council last month actually and we talked about how much better advisory is.” Or, “Oh, I saw an e-mail from the Student Council about what they’ve done to the curriculum this year or how we have teacher feedback forms and how teachers are so much better.” So Student Council working on school related issues, rather than just having events.
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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News
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Adopting comprehensive curricula NEWS EDITOR
SOURNA DANESHVAR JR LEAD NEWS EDITOR
S
tarting next school year the Biology and Molecular Biology courses will be removed by the science department, and replaced with a Science 9 course mirroring the format of the English 9 course. The following year, Chemistry A and B will be replaced with a Science 10 course. The changes to the science curriculum were made to better align the courses with the other core departments, namely English and Social Studies. Likewise, the new structure follows the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a U.S.-based group of educators committed to a cohesive and quality scientific education, Assistant Principal Karen Bonthrone said. Three years ago the administration and science department
Anatomy & Physiology Dynamic Earth Astronomy
Evolutionary Biology Genetics Ecology
identified the need to overhaul the progression during their review of the curriculum, as they do every six years. During this reviews they examined the state of the curriculum and how it reflects the standards for the department, in this case the NGSS. In that examination, Bonthrone and others questioned and contemplated the new curriculum. “Is this going to serve our kids? Is this going to get kids where they want to go? Are we definitely seeing the things we want to be seeing?” Bonthrone said.
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“We don’t make these decisions lightly.” Science Department Head Bill Kenney developed the curriculum alongside other science teachers in all three divisions of the school. Both the Science 9 and 10 courses will include the three core disciplines of science: biology, chemistry and physics. Kenney believes a more thematic approach to teaching science will better prepare students for the world of science today. “The way I was taught, you did biology, you did chemistry, you did physics,” Kenney said. “But real world science problems really inBill Kenney volve all the different disciplines Science Department Head together and so what we’ve come up with is a four-semester sequence that makes sense to us in terms of remains unconfirmed. “In some developing our understanding of respects we are building the air science.” plane as we lift it off the ground The science department final- and try to fly it,” Kenney said. “I ized the curriculum and guess that’s what schools schedule for the Scido in terms of curence 9 course, riculum developPhysics but the Sciment.” AP Physics ence 10 curWith the cours1, 2, C riculum es, Kenney envisions a more interactive and lively curriculum compared to the current biology and chemistry courses, where classes consist heavily of lectures. Kenney hopes this will develop a AP Environmental scientist “who understands Science the role of a AP Chemistry hypothesis, AP Biology has designed several experiments, gathered data, interpreted that data, presented it [and] had to defend it, maybe be forced to go Focuses on back to the drawing board because the work hasn’t been supported or biology, the corroborated. Someone who really creation of life has a good understanding of how on earth and we generated this information.” environmental Removing the specific introscience ductory courses to Biology and Chemistry will inevitably result in a loss of some specific understanding of each discipline, Focuses on but Kenney believes the wellchemistry, rounded education a student physics and the will receive more than comcreation of earth pensates for that. “I think we have high expectations for what we want students to know. I think the knowledge someone is going to generate is going to be, I would like to think, more holistic,” he said.
We have high expectations for what we want students to know. I think the knowledge someone is going to generate is going to be, I would like to think, more holistic.
Science 10
Science 9
Students currently taking Biology and Molecular Biology must follow the current science progression and take Chemistry next year. The administration and science department has yet to decide how the change will affect offerings for courses in upperclassmen years. “We are starting to talk about the implication of having a two-year integrated science sequence and what that means for the upper levels in science courses,” Kenney said. All the AP courses in the science department will remain intact and students with adequate pre-requisites, for now, can take AP Physics 1 as a sophomore. “At the moment [AP courses] are not changing, but we do think that’s going to evolve,” Kenney said. Outside of science, a plethora of electives available in the English and Social Studies departments will change. After sending a survey to students, the Social Studies department added a Topics in Government and Law elective and a year-long Human Rights Seminar. Students in Human Rights Watch seminar will work with and shadow outside organizations like Amnesty International and Humans Rights Watch in order to create their final project, a symposium. Social studies teachers Chris Wolf and Terry Gladis will coteach Humans Rights Seminar together. Wolf believes that it has a strong emphasis on the world outside of ASL. “The students would be doing something that would give them a way of engaging with the world. There would be some sort of payout in terms of making a difference in the world and using what you learned to make it better,” he said. Conversely, the year-long elective on Government and Political Theory will not be offered next year. World Languages courses available to students remain unchanged and in math, a semester-long elective called Financial Mathematics will be added. The course focuses on basic financial management. In addition, the visual arts department re-structured the photography sequence. Students must now take a Foundations of Photography course before taking Black and White Photography or Digital Photography.
i
IN
Science Science 9 Science 10*
Social Studies Human Rights Seminar Topics in Government and Law English Asian Literature Craft of Writing Literature and Art Math Financial Mathematics
Visual Arts Fashion Design and Illustration Design and Engineering Fundamentals of Photography Experiential Learning Research Seminar Science Biology Molecular Biology Chemistry A* Chemistry B* Social Studies Government and Political Theory English Philosophy and Literature Math Discrete Math *Changes will be implemented during the 2018/19 school year.
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THE STANDARD | March 2017
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News
France nears presidential elections Ahead of the first round of voting next month, French community members discuss the implications of possible outcomes of the 2017 French presidential election MARTHA COLLINS DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
J
Benoît Hamon FR: Parti Socialiste EN: Socialist Party
Marine Le Pen FR: Front National EN: National Front
François Fillon
FR: Les Républicains EN: The Republicans FROM TOP: PHOTOS FROM FLICKR.COM/LEWEB14, FLICKR.COM/THEGLOBALPANORAMA, FLIKR.COM/ FKCCI
osh O’Toole (’18) sat amongst a sea of 3,500 fellow French nationals, all eyes were on one man: French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron. The candidate who is the former Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs held a speech at Westminster Central Hall on February 21. Macron focused his speech toward improving the lives of French citizens who have come to England for better opportunities. “[Macron] literally said, ‘I know you guys came here because this is what you were looking for, and you couldn’t find that [in France],’ and politicians never say that,” O’Toole said. “He said ‘I’m going to make you come back, I’m going to change mentalities because that’s the critical thing that needs to happen’.” Many of Macron’s points resonated with O’Toole. He believes that Macron is the best candidate. However, his doubts are still apparent. “When I saw him I was very impressed, he looked very sincere, but I personally think he’s still an actor,” O’Toole said. He believes that Macron is attempting to falsely brand himself as a “new breath of fresh air.” French Teacher Patrick Marinucci believes that Macron’s candidacy is very strategic. “Macron has played it smart by not revealing too much of his program. I really think that’s his weakness, but in a way it’s also his strength. He’s just giving enough,” Marinucci said. “He’s just waiting for the other ones to collapse [while] he makes his way. I’m not betting anything...but I think he has good chances to become the next president.” Along with Macron of the independent, newly-formed “En Marche!” party, there are four other candidates in the 2017 French elections. Marine Le Pen is the far right Front National candidate, François Fillon of the centerright Les Républicains, Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the left La France Insoumise and Benoît Hamon of the left Parti Socialiste. Voters will go to the polls on April 23 for the first round of the elections, and again on May 7 when the top two candidates will face off. A candidate needs to secure the majority of the electorate to win the election. French national Mary Sarfas (’17) believes there apparent negativity surrounding the presidential race. “I’m really not too optimistic at all because I feel like my views don’t really align with any candidate. It’s scary really because I think, like in the U.S. elections, people aren’t voting for a candidate but are voting against one and nothing great seems to come from that,” she said. One of the central policy-issues being debated by candidates is France’s future within the European Union (EU). Sarfas believes that if Le Pen is elected, France’s borders would be closed off to refugees, putting immense
pressure on other European nations.“France is supposed to be the country of fraternity and the right of man, so not only do I feel like closed borders could mean trouble for other countries, but it also shows a shift in the way France is presenting themselves,” she said. Echoing Sarfas’ statement, Marinucci believes that this election is a pivotal one for France and the EU. “Depending on what will happen... in France and after in the fall in Germany, it could be the beginning of the end of the European community as we know it,” he said. Another defining aspect of this presidential race has been the controversy surrounding Fillon, former Prime Minister of France, who is under investigation for allegedly paying his wife government funds for little to no work. “He’s completely lost it, he’s given employment to [his wife and] kids. That comes out of taxpayer money,” O’Toole said. Prior to the allegations, Marinucci be-
“You see the right wing movement getting stronger, and people from the left are rejecting that totally, so instead of getting closer, I think the political world is getting polarized where ideas are becoming extreme,” he said. O’Toole hopes to see his future president combat the issue of unemployment. “People are losing their jobs. I just want people to be happy, and people are not. People are dissatisfied with the system,” he said. Placing importance on economic success, Sarfas hopes for the nation to return to its founding ideals. “I think there’s a new class in France of oppressed workers and there’s really no hope for better years ahead for them. I hope to one day go back to France and find the prosperity and culture that France was once so famous for, has returned,” Sarfas said. “I want to see liberty, equality and fraternity for France.”
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Depending on what will happen... in France and after in the fall in Germany, it could be the beginning of the end of the European community as we know it French Teacher Patrick Marinucci
lieved that Fillon was the favorite to win, because leftist candidates Mélenchon and Hamon don’t appeal to the general French public. “The election for Fillon was almost wide open, the socialists were... destroying each other and Le Pen was still strong, so it was a big, open boulevard for him, and now he might not even make it to the second round. It’s just insane,” he said. Marinucci is baffled by France’s current political landscape. “If you would have told me that Brexit would pass, that Trump would be the President of the United States and the election would go on as it’s going on now in France, I would’ve said no way,” he said. “I’ve been really shaken up about all this, I didn’t see it coming and I think that we’re in a historical phase of the world that in 20, 30, 50 years we’ll look back and say it all started there.” Trying to stay optimistic about the future of France, Marinucci highlights Macron as a potential solution to France’s central issues. “If you have something that makes sense and that people can relate to and say ‘okay, we’ll go through tough years but there will be better years coming’ [then voters will accept it],” he said. However, Macron points to the divergence of French political thinking as a hindrance.
Emmanuel Macron
FR: En Marche! EN: Forward! (Independent Party)
Jean-Luc Mélenchon FR: La France Insoumise EN: Unsubmissive France
FROM TOP: PHOTOS FROM FLICKR.COM/PIERRE-SELIM, FLICKR.COM/PARTISOCIALISTE
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Opinions Page 7
Hiring internally The importance of the press
Editorial
CARTOON BY GABY IWEGBUE
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nowing how to engage in productive debate and discussion is an integral skill that should be taught in a high school environment. For students to learn how to hold a conversation with an individual who holds differing views than themselves is essential for preparing students for university and beyond. Founded in 2014, the Social Justice Council (SJC) presents itself as a perfect platform for discussions to be had. The mission statement states that the SJC, “aims, through action and education, to promote a school environment in which all members feel safe to voice their opinions while embracing the identities and backgrounds of their peers.” In order to success-
fully promote a safe space for all viewpoints to be heard, the SJC should actively provide the venues and outlets for productive conversations to be had, not only within the council itself, but also catered to the larger student body. One such initiative by the SJC that this editorial board feels was successful is Aequitas Day, which provided a forum for productive discussion on important issues, such as race, class and feminism. Aequitas Day was well-executed, however it was just one day. This editorial board would like to see the SJC encouraging student discourse on current, and perhaps controversial, events on a regular basis. We are not suggesting that Aequitas Day should be held on a
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 CARTOONIST Gaby Iwegbue STAFF WRITERS Maya Ariburnu, William Brummette, Martha Duff, Phaedra Letrou, Anastasia Ruimy, Houdah Daniels, Michael Flaherty, Rohan Haarman, Isabelle Lhuilier, Jonathan Novak, Naz Ozturk, Jonathan Philips, Lorenzo Rasetta, Maddie Sayre, Ethan Snizek, John Towfighi, Imogen Weiss, Amaan Zafar
more frequent basis, as the obvious schedule disruptions are deterances. Rather, we suggest that more discussion forum opportunities are held to coincide with important events. The Gender Equity Club sponsored an observance of International Women’s Day that encouraged community members to wear red to school and for women to avoid making purchases in order to contribute to “a day without women.” This editorial board supports the acknowledgement of this day and strongly commends the club for its championing of this cause. However, this editorial board is disappointed with the lack of encouragement from the club for students to engage in
Standard
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jagger Boussuge, Eliza Blakemore, Sofia Janssen, Jordan Koski, Athena Lambropoulos, Kenzie Morris, Imogen Hare, 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 is held to, and will only be published at the discretion of the editorial board and the adviser. The Standard
debate and discussion on the day. Some students wore red, debates were held in grade-wide Facebook groups, but there was a lack of initiative for students to hold structured conversations in real life. This editorial board does not point to a lack of venues for discussion, rather a lack of participation from the wider student audience. The SJC and the Gender Equity Club often encourage non-members to attend their meetings. However, the issue stands that many of the members of the SJC are also members of the Gender Equity Club, and are often like-minded. In order to hold a truly valuable debate on an issue, students with a range of perspectives need to be present. If students who hold differing views from the
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. ENGAGEMENT WITH READERSHIP The Standard encourages all readers to submit their
members of these organizations don’t feel comfortable expressing their opinions in the forums offered, then new platforms need to be introduced. We are not aiming to insinuate that the lack of discussion venues are the fault of any specific student organization, rather a void in our community. As a student organization, The Standard also has a responsibility to inform students and provide them with a platform to engage in constructive dialogue and disagreement. Thus, we are proposing to introduce events sponsored by The Standard open to the entire student body, which coincide with important days of observance or current events. We want you to join the discussion.
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
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THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Opinions
The importance of the press ALEXANDRA GERS alexandra_gers@asl.org
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The freedom of the press, a right guaranteed under the constitution, is the most important thing in a Trumpruled United States as it is the only defense for the truth and holds leaders accountable for their actions.
Prior to the 89th Academy Awards on February 26, The New York Times published its first TV advertisement since 2011. The ad opened with, “The truth is our nation is more divided than ever,” and ended with, “The truth is more important now than ever.” The words ring loud and clear to me when I see the division created by President Donald Trump and his offensive rhetoric against reliable, credible and critical news sources. The freedom of the press, a right guaranteed under the constitution, is the most important thing in a Trump-ruled United States as it is the one defense for the truth and holds leaders accountable for their actions. President Trump proceeded to respond to the ad in typical fashion, with an angrily worded tweet that read, “For first time the failing @nytimes will take an ad (a bad one) to help save its failing reputation. Try reporting accurately and fairly!” This isn’t the first time President Trump has called a news publication inaccurate. He’s previously directed his insults and anger toward the likes
of CNN, ABC and CNBC deeming them “fake news.” As a journalist, I understand the importance of accuracy and the truth. For The New York Times to blatantly reveal their bias in regards to the current political climate was momentous and an extreme rarity. They’ve previously condemned President Trump’s actions and policies, and advocated for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Presidential Campaign. Some may argue that their bias deems them unreliable, however taking a stance does not deter them from their ability to report on the facts. For President Trump to discredit Pulitzer-Prize winning publications demotes the decades of hard work invested into making The New York Times, CNN and ABC world-renowned and widely read news sources. Furthermore, Trump has succeeded in barring the aforementioned publications from White House Press briefings, an action almost unheard of from past administrations. This decision has to do with President Trump iso-
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lating news sources which call out his “alternative facts,” such as his claims of the attendance for inauguration being the largest ever, for what they are: lies. Although the size of his inauguration crowd seems like a harmless fib, it represents Trump’s greater neglect for the truth. He’s demonstrated his lack of concern for verity when describing the current unemployment rate as “close to 18 to 20 percent” or “even 42 percent,” or when making accusations about rampant voter fraud in the states of California, Virginia and New Hampshire, all states which Hillary Clinton won. News publications have a responsibility to report when the President and his administration are telling falsities to the entire population of the U.S., and they have. Despite this, Trump claims that their reporting is only to make him appear worse to the public. He has even gone so far as claiming these news sources are “the enemy of the American people.” In doing so, he’s limited the freedom of the press which goes
against one of the founding pillars of the U.S. Trump is using the news as a scapegoat and portraying them as an enemy to garner validation from his supporters. I find the attack to be wholly unpresidential, undemocratic and on par with the actions of an authoritarian leader. the publisher of The New York Times Arthur Sulzberger Jr., recently said, “In a world where there is so much uncertainty about what is real and what is fake news, we remain steadfastly committed to a search for the truth.” I agree with Sulzberger Jr. entirely; in a time where the American public no longer knows if what the President and his cabinet are speaking are lies or the truth, it is up to the press to hold them accountable and deliver the unfiltered truth. The New York Times ad ended with the statement, “The truth is hard.” I can only hope that despite the roadblock placed in front of them by President Trump, these news sources continue to write and report with dignity.
PHOTO 1 BY TYLER SKOW, PHOTO 2 BY SOPHIE ASHLEY, PHOTO 3 FROM COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG, PHOTO 4 COURTESY COLLEGEBOARD.ORG PHOTO 5 BY ALEXANDRA GERS AND PHOTO 6 STEPHANIE BRENDSEL ,
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Revolution: (A) The great Zeig liberated Bottom O The Standard 1. Zeig and returned her to the people. Bloodless rebellions, after 4. all, are necessary to clear out the cobwebs of ageing social Editorial Board gives establishments. All hail the great Zeig. Tyler Skow the school its third Reopening: (B) I missed Chai lattes for two 5. 2. Beatles weeks. Quinn Whitman quarter progress Leicester City’s Champions League Run: (A) A better 6. than I could write in my English elective. report. 3. story Ankit Mehra
College Board: (F) Thanks for making me take my SAT the day after my AP exams. Cameron Campili
IDI Survey: (D-) There could not have been a more poorly worded survey. Alexandra Gers Quiz bowl: (A) “Who’s the best quiz bowl team in London?” Kuenstler… and the other guys Sourna Daneshvar Jr. Post Scriptum: Happy birthday Uncle Sam
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Opinions
Rise of right wing populism ANANYA PRAKASH
ananya_prakash@asl.org
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There have been countless acts of violence incentivized by xenophobia in America in the past few months, directed by a misguided sense of nationalism.
“Go back to your own country.” It’s unnerving the number of times I have read this sentence or have heard similar sentiments on the news depicting a person of color, possibly an immigrant, being verbally and physically abused in the name of patriotism. Whether it be the recent shooting of Deep Rai, a Sikh man who was a U.S. citizen, or the two Indian engineers who were shot in Kansas, there have been countless acts of violence incentivized by xenophobia in America in the past few months, directed by a misguided sense of nationalism. Ultimately, it is fueled by a combination of extreme anti-immigrant and white supremacist views. Throughout the past year, my news feeds have been filled with countless stories of hate crimes worldwide. I have noticed a blurred line between what is considered patriotism and what is considered mindless hatred. There seems to me a rampant need for many to assert their own sense of nationality through ignorant and violent ways, to an extent that the two have almost become synonymous with each other. Right-wing populism – the political ideology that aims to attract the ordinary conservative citizen, uses emotion and exaggerated nationalism to gain support and goes against most commonly held ideas – is gaining acceptance throughout the world. Although it has always ezisted, increasing xenophobia and racism around the world accompanied by widespread economic dis-
content has catalyzed an increase in the number of right-wing parties and heightened the support for populist demagogy. This can most clearly be seen through the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, where a right-wing candidate, whose campaign was shaped by right-wing populist ideals, was chosen to serve as the president of the U.S. by several million citizens. Donald Trump took advantage of perceived rural economic anxiety and a world overwhelmingly concerned with national security to spread his stereotype-laden, anti-minority rhetoric. The conjuring of anxiety and emotion, a key tactic of populist leaders, also manifests itself in media, given the recent popularity of controversial right-wing public speakers such as Ann Coulter and Tomi Lahren, and also the rise of the “Alt-Right” movement. With their wide influence through social media, as well as other public platforms such as YouTube, these speakers express polarizing political views that draw most of their appeal from the average, middle class ethnic majority. The drastic views of this new wave of demagogues are expressed by consistently denouncing the concept of political correctness and often attacking minority groups. They use these techniques and play into the fears of the ethnic majority, who feel threatened by minority groups and their presence in society. These perceptions fostered by right-wing
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politicians and Alt-Right activists result in the belief that immigrants are somehow “stealing” the jobs of Americans and detracting from the “cultural purity’”of America. However, this trend of hatreddriven extreme patriotism is not only seen in the U.S., but also in Europe, where far right-wing parties are also gaining acceptance. With the dramatic changes they propose, such as Brexit last year, these populist parties ranging from Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France and the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands to the Freedom Party in Austria, are attracting more citizens with their increasingly well received anti-establishment right-wing political dogma. This right-wing populist movement and the seemingly nationalistic uprising it has inspired has been, in my view, the direct source of the rise in hate crimes we hear about today. This is evident in the murder of Labour Party politician Helen Joanne Cox last year by a man affiliated with far-right organizations. Furthermore, right-wing populism is not only on the rise in the Western world, but is also a growing cause for concern in the Eastern hemisphere. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi – leader of a Hindu nationalist party and a man infamous for his neglect for Muslims during Hindu-Muslim religious violence – was elected in 2014 enthusiastically promising change through right-wing economic principles.
Narendra Modi continues to pursue Hindu ideals and encourages Islamophobic beliefs in a country fraught with religious tension, leading to a rabid form of nationalism that is not only generally less inclusive, but also actively discriminatory in many circumstances. Having people that are in positions of power who represent extreme right-wing views creates an environment in which the general public models that behavior, sending a message that it acceptable to be intolerant of people that do not belong to majority groups and the privileged rank in society. There is no one solution to address this issue of rising right-wing demagogy, but I believe that many of the skills that we learn at ASL allow us to critically examine information that we are presented with and look beyond the emphatic rhetoric that these populists often use to sway our views. However, I believe that there still needs to be more awareness about the consequences of being indoctrinated by populists who value emotional appeal over policy. There are ways to show your patriotism while still embracing the diversity of views and people. Being patriotic should not mean that one turns a blind eye to the issues facing their country, and nor does it entail using hate as a form of nationalistic expression. It means accepting the change that is required, and being critical of those who might be misguiding us.
If you really knew me
SOPHIE ASHLEY
sophie_ashley@asl.org
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Instead of my openness breeding new friendships or understandings, all it’s given me is a deep-seeded fear that someone will breach confidentiality.
I sat on a beanbag around a furry green carpet with a group of my Health classmates, a large portion of whom I’d never spoken to outside of school. I looked around nervously, my fingers fidgeting restlessly with the hem of my sweater. After watching a video of a school where students had been brought closer together by an activity called ‘If you really knew me’, we were being asked to do the same. “If you really knew me” consists of each member of the class revealing something about themselves that gives the others a deeper understanding of who they are. Each student starts with the phrase “If you really knew me, you would know...,” then attemps to give their classmates a better understanding of what they have going on under the surface. The idea was that maybe, if we knew some of the things going on in each other’s lives, we would
treat each other differently. As lovely as this idea is, it’s just not realistic. I’ve always been someone who values and enjoys Health as a class. To me, there was a signficicant contrast between the comfortable, relaxed way that hard topics have been handled in the past and the approach taken with this activity. In a rushed 15 minute conversation, I listened as my classmates, some more than others, opened up. We went around in a circle, taking turns sharing intimate details about our lives. I knew that there was no way that my grade could be brought down by my unwillingness to share. Yet, a part of me felt an innate pressure to do as the person next to me had done, and even as my teacher had done. And as a result of that pressure, I shared something pretty intimate with a group of 17 people,
and gained nothing from it except some uncomfortable smiles. Maybe I approached the activity wrong – perhaps I shared something that I wasn’t ready to, or I wasn’t open to changing the way I think. But no matter what made this activity so uncomfortable for me, the possible benefits at a school as small as ours could never justify the risk that students face of feeling the way I do now. Instead of my openness breeding new friendships or understandings, all it’s given me is a deep-seeded fear that someone will breach confidentiality. Any fleeting glance in the hallway or casual conversation with students from that class are tainted by my knowledge that this near stranger knows an intricate detail of my life that most of my close friends do not. Moreover, I have friends who’ve expressed that they felt almost guilty that bad things hadn’t hap-
pened to them in the past, that they didn’t have something interesting to share.There is just something fundamentally wrong with an activity that makes students feel like they’re in the wrong for not having gone through anything traumatic I know there are students who really enjoyed this activity, but there just doesn’t seem to be any positive effect that comes from confiding in a roomful of strangers. If this activity continues, there should be less pressure to share your specific story. I believe this could be easily done by having the teacher leave the room. This would make the activity seem much more optional, and would also take pressure off of students who have nothing they feel they need to share. I urge the Health teachers to rethink their decision to have this activity in its current form as part of the curriculum.
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Opinions
SOURNA DANESHVAR JR. sourna_daneshvar@asl.org
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While a “fresh perspective” often benefits the school, allowing someone with a familiar perspective to enact change can prove as much if not more powerful to improving the school.
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Hiring internal candidates
The school places immense value on community and continuity, and rightfully so. In order to cultivate a comfortable and successful learning environment in any setting, there must be a strong community where there is familiarity among students, faculty and staff. With such a transient student body, and to some degree teaching staff, it is paramount that the school and senior administrators continue to look within the school when filling new or vacant positions. Before I explain the extent to which giving more faculty members promotions could benefit the school, I must note that by no means is familiarity with the school the only reason an employee should be selected. Ultimately, the school must hire the best candidate, and the administrators know this. However, often the best candidate lies within Waverley Place, not half-way around the world like the ones that are so often chosen. I also realize the school has hired internally in the past. This provides further proof that not only must they continue to pursue these opportunities, but also change the attitude towards the hiring process when internal candidates are involved. The best example of a faculty member progressing up the administrative ranks is that of Middle School Principal Peter Lutkoski, who started working at ASL 14 years ago as a music teacher. He then became the department head before transi-
tioning to Middle School assistant principal and now principal. However, Lutkoski should serve as a prime example, not an exception. With someone who’s spent over 10 years at ASL before occupying a principal position, Lutkoski can better understand how a teacher or other Middle School faculty members would fit within the community than any external candidate. He can fulfill his job with greater success because of his experience, and hire employees who better fit ASL’s mission statement and attitude. Lutkoski understands more intimately the nuances and logistics of life at ASL, which no doubt facilitated a smoother transition. His knowledge of various fields at ASL makes him a more understanding administrator and gives him a better holistic understanding of ASL than a principal hired from outside of London would. Hiring internally allows for people who understand ASL’s problems to address them from a position of knowledge. While a “fresh perspective” often benefits the school, allowing someone with a familiar perspective to enact change can prove as much if not more powerful to improving the school. For the three administrative openings this year (Head of School, Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling and Lower School Principal) none of the nine finalists were from ASL. It remains difficult to understand how not one
person currently working at ASL would not be considered at the very least as a finalist for one of those positions. It displays a lacking commitment to searching within for qualified candidates. When the school posts job openings they feature numerous requirements and desired experiences. It is perfectly understandable why the school would want someone with prior experience as an administrator to fill an identical administrative role (i.e. the school wants someone with experience as a principal to serve as a principal at ASL), but that does not mean they should automatically exclude or pressure candidates from within ASL from applying. Unfortunately, faculty members at ASL have showed interest in a new opening and conversations occurred where they have been told, implicitly, they should not pursue the application process. The school should never eliminate a candidate from exploring the process. Although it may be difficult to choose an external candidate over an internal one due to numerous pressures from the community, ultimately the administrators must focus on what benefits the school most, not the backlash to their decision. Allowing an internal candidate to proceed with pursuing a vacancy could lead the school to a better person for the role and any amount of public repercussions makes that worthwhile. To the school’s credit, the process
for hiring internal candidates mirrors that of external candidates. They follow the same schedule as any external candidates and job offerings within ASL are shown first to ASL employees. However, the mindset among administrators remains unforgiving to internal candidates. ASL emphasizes professional growth and development. With an increasing number of professional development days and the rotational system of Department Heads that remains clear. By cultivating an environment where ASL employees feel comfortable to pursue promotions within the school the school can greater facilitate professional development. In addition, truly considering those candidates and allowing them to pursue the process only furthers their development and the development of the school as a whole. The majority of the time the school hires incredible people to fulfill vacancies within the school. Instead of constantly looking elsewhere to replace those in higher, administrative positions, the school should look within. Those great candidates are no further than a few doors down the hall. Teachers and other faculty members at ASL should continue to search fearlessly for openings within the school if they wish to do so. The administration should foster an environment where ASL employees can do so in order to breed better continuity within the school.
Implementing a service requirement QUINN WHITMAN
quinn_whitman@asl.org
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If students are made to take part in community service opportunities like mine, they will be able to possess a greater global perspective.
Every Thursday during the winter sports season, I have gone to Rugby Portobello Trust to work with underprivileged children who live in the Notting Hill area. Being able to take a few hours each week to step outside the ASL bubble has allowed me to understand the lives of others in the community. Understanding these people has enabled me to gain a broader global perspective of others. There is no doubt taking part in community service has made me a better person and I urge the administration to implement a community service requirement for graduation. Many private schools like ASL in the United States place an emphasis on community service. For example, Columbia Grammar and Prep in New York requires 60 hours of community service for
graduation. I believe that if high school students are made to take part in community service opportunities, they will be able to possess a greater global perspective, a component of the school’s mission statement. Being able to immerse oneself in the broader community allows students to grow up with a more unique and diverse perspective. This means we should step out of the walls of ASL to gain more knowledge of others who are around us. Our school has a tremendous Service Learning department which has thrived over the past few years, and it would be a disservice to the community if we do not take advantage of it. In the 2014-15 school year, 199 members of the High School Student body took part in a community partnership, while 266 students in
the High School took part in the 2015-16 school year. In the 201617 school year, 280 students took part. These rising statistics show that community service is becoming more and more popular among High School students. While participation is on the rise, I believe that it should be a requirement for all students to take advantage of the service learning opportunities the school offers. According to a study led by Maya Khanna of Creighton University, students who take part in community service are more likely to be successful than students who don’t. If the school were to implement this requirement, the results of community service could reap positive rewards for students in terms of higher grades. This could eventually lead to long-term impacts on college matriculation as
students would be able to better perform in their classes and on their standardized tests. Furthermore, the study shows that people who take part in community service have higher emotional health levels. Because students will be able to empathize with others, it leads to higher levels of self-esteem, which is essential to our own motivation towards our academic studies, our relationships and ourselves as people. I believe that people who don’t already do community service should sign up and take part. Taking part in the community through service and projects promotes the courage to act for yourself and others in an empathetic way. Thus, I affirm that all students should have to fulfill a community service requirement in order to graduate.
Features The refuge of writing: Dina Nayeri
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Legacies Language immersion
English Teacher Dina Nayeri shares her journey from her childhood in Iran to becoming a published author
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Sourna Daneshvar Jr. | Lead News Editor
iving in Iran during the heart of the revolution, English Teacher and published author Dina Nayeri remembers two things about her earliest schooling: Head scarves and bombs. Describing the ringing bomb sirens in her lower school, Nayeri talks about her childhood without emotion or inflection. It was simply what life was like in Iran during the revolution. “I had a fairly peaceful life, but, of course, there was a war going on,” she said. Soon after Nayeri turned 8, her family sought asylum, fleeing Iran and spending two years as refugees, one in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and one in Rome, Italy. The two years contrasted starkly. Her first weeks in Dubai were blissful, spending hours with her mother in supermarkets, discovering Western foods. Nayeri learned to swim, an opportunity unavailable in Iran. In her time in Dubai she attended a private British school without knowing a word of English. Later she moved to Rome where she “had absolutely nothing to do.” After a year, her family received asylum from the U.S. and moved to Oklahoma. As an Iranian refugee, challenging times filled her transition to the south.“Oklahoma was not a good experience for me because at that point the First Gulf War was about to happen and they weren’t used to an Iranian,” Nayeri said. “They weren’t used to Eastern people and so I wasn’t very easily accepted for years.” Until she arrived in Oklahoma, Nayeri didn’t realize how closely tied her Persian background was to other’s perception of her. In Oklahoma, it differentiated her from her peers. “No one saw anything else and I came to believe that my Iranianess
was a huge negative,” Nayeri said. “I thought I was doing a good thing being a good person and obedient and not trouble making to shed the Iranianness.” During her adolescent years Nayeri soon distracted herself with the “obsession” of attending a highachieving university. “I spent so much time on it that I didn’t have time to be unhappy,” she said. Now, Nayeri views herself “as someone who has lived many different lives, and very quickly one after another.” In high school, Nayeri spent her time playing sports and studying, earning a Taekwondo National Championship as a student before her high school career propelled her to Princeton University. From there, she attended Harvard Business school, teaching economics to undergraduates, then moving to New York, Boston, Paris, Amsterdam, Iowa City, France and, finally, London. At Harvard, Nayeri found herself on a path of a financing CEO and, until she realized that she was “not a refugee anymore,” and didn’t consider what she wanted from her career. That reflection led her to writing and now, a few years later, Nayeri’s published works include multiple articles, essays and, most notably, a book. Her first novel, A Tablespoon of Earth and Sea, takes place in Northern Iran, but Nayeri doesn’t consider it to be a story about herself. With her first book she “wanted to do the opposite of what new writers do,” by not writing auto-biographical fiction. Researching her book included giving drafts of her story to those she interviewed to inspect its accuracy. In return for the original draft, were “pages of mistakes,” leading Nayeri to “rewrite the entire novel.”
PHOTO COURTSEY OF DINA NAYERI Despite the daunting and intimidating self-editing process, Nayeri learned the key of her book lay in the emotional aspects and not the re-
“There were Iranians who said because I had been out of Iran for so long and lived such a privileged second half of my life that I shouldn’t write the Iran experience. I should leave it to some freshly-arrived Iranian writer.” English Teacher Dina Nayeri
sarch. At that point, she accepted the research as a necessity to reach the heart of her book. Her novel was not entirely met with praise. “There were Iranians who said because I had been out of Iran for so long and lived such a privileged second half of my life that I shouldn’t write the Iran experience. I should leave it to some freshlyarrived Iranian writer,” Nayeri said. After discovering Rasht, a city in Northern Iran, through her research, Nayeri “so wanted to be immersed in that place. I started to become obsessed with it.” Now the book is published in 14 different languages and provided an opportunity outside of literary
success.“It was my diving back into my culture after having lost it for so long,” Nayeri said. Her notoriety as an author, in part, prevents her from returning to Iran, where she hasn’t been since she fled as a refugee. Nayeri “constantly” thinks of visiting Iran, but based on her refugee background and profession fears for her safety. Currently, Nayeri teaches an American Literature English course focused on those who live outside the social norms in American fiction. She is teaching this semester while her second novel, Refuge, enters the production phase. Refuge is scheduled for release in July.
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Features
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THE STANDARD | March 2017
The great divide
In a school where the vast majority of faculty and students are liberal minded, it can be difficult to express a dissenting opinion. Students with alternative political beliefs discuss the challenge of having their voices heard. Tyler Skow | Editor-In-Chief
In June 2016, Jackie Dishner (’17) turned 18. For many cultures, an 18th birthday marks the graduation to adulthood, perhaps signified best by an obligation to register for the draft, but also the privilege to cast a vote for the next president of the U.S. As the summer months turned into the election season and e-mail scandals competed with questionable tax returns, Dishner struggled to find inspiration in either major presidential candidate. Come November, when Dishner cast her first vote, it was for neither Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump. When Dishner made her decision public, her peers made their dissent known. “I actually felt a little bit attacked when I was talking about [my decision], because eventually I did tell people, but everyone was like, ‘Oh, my God, why would you [not vote for her?]’,” she said. The surprising backlash Dishner felt came as a consequence of not supporting Hillary Clinton. CARTOONS BY GABY IWEGBUE
THE STANDARD | March 2017
The demographics
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he reactions Dishner experienced are symptomatic of what Jon Sullivan (’19) believes is a much larger issue within the High School. “In our school there [are] lots of very diverse backgrounds, but it almost seems like, at times, the political background can be less diverse,” he said. While Social Studies teacher Mike McGowan believes some classes he teaches are well versed in a range of political viewpoints, he generally observes a distinctive political makeup amongst the student body. “I think by and large ASL students are quite liberal on social and cultural issues. Certainly within the American political context it would be on the left,” he said. However, McGowan has noted that amongst upper classmen the spectrum of beliefs tends to include more contrast. “I feel like
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expressing my own ideas, but I think that other people, who have ideas that are more right leaning, I don’t think that they feel as comfortable in this environment,” he said. The environment Sullivan describes is not necessarily hostile towards opposing political beliefs, but rather unaccepting. “There [are] definitely instances of more closed mindedness, where people will generalize about more conservative ideas, as opposed to looking at different facts and looking at a wide range of opinions,” he said. To combat the sometimes monotonous nature of political discussion in class, McGowan occasionally advocates for the underrepresented political opinions and contradicting arguments. “There have been situations where I feel like in order to try to present other sides of an argument when I am lacking students who are willing to express other sides, I, as the teacher, have to kind of become the devil's advocate,” he said.
Features
similar trends in his classroom. “I have seen in class this year there are students, who, for example, might support some of President Trump's policies, but who are very reticent to express their genuine feelings in class,” he said. “Some students this year, and I don’t think I have seen this in the other two years I have been here, were visibly uncomfortable or annoyed anytime political events are discussed in class.” The rise in hostility towards conservative beliefs that students like Robert and Dishner have experienced since the election mirror developments in the U.S. In late January riots shook The University of California Berkeley when Republicans on campus invited former Breitbart Editor Milo Yiannopoulos to speak. Similar chaos engulfed Middlebury College in early March when Charles Murray, a conservative political scientist, came to speak. The developments taking place on university campuses in the U.S. and even ASL might
McGowan, who did not participate in the protest in order to avoid “imposing my own views on my students,” wonders if some students were not deterred from sharing their true opinions on the matter in light of the school structured stance against the ban. “The prevailing reaction to [the immigration ban] was widespread condemnation,” he said.
“You can automatically be associated with being a racist or a homophobe or a xenophobe. It’s just not true, but that’s the stigma that has been portrayed within ASL and through media.” Brain Robert (’17) “I wondered, are there students here who actually might support that, and would they feel comfortable speaking out in class? Or might they fear that they would be labeled as bigot
The spectrum 16.83% when you start to dig deep into the beliefs of a lot of juniors and seniors at least, they are not quite as liberal on economic issues as they might initially think,” McGowan said. The tone of conversations centering around current events and politics often reflects the predominantly liberal political demographics of the school that both McGowan and Sullivan identified. “I can think of times when I felt the classroom really leaned towards one direction and almost felt exclusive of other ideas,” Sullivan said. Moderating conversations of a political nature is something that McGowan consistently grapples with, especially in light of concerns such as those raised by Sullivan and Dishner. “I feel like in the last year I have found myself questioning myself more about what events I choose as current events and whether the choice of those events actually is construed as a political choice,” he said. “I don’t want to shy away from political events or developments that can be perceived as political in nature, but I think I try to at least question myself a little bit more for why I am choosing certain events or developments.” Like Dishner, Sullivan is among a political minority of students that struggles to have their ideas heard. Sullivan attributes this struggle to his beliefs not necessarily fully aligning with the liberal status quo of the High School. “Personally, I do feel comfortable
In November 2016, The Government and Political Theory class held a mock election between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The class polled 315 students.
The battle
B
rian Robert (’17) identifies fiscally conservative, but his social beliefs, which he describes as more liberal, means he swings between Republican and Democratic principles. Despite his hybrid political beliefs, Robert often finds his peers assume all of his beliefs are conservative. “People assume I am super Republican with most things just because some of my views are slightly more conservative, which is just not true,” he said. Robert also feels the stigma attached to being Republican in the High School is particularly negative. “You can automatically be associated with being a racist or a homophobe or a xenophobe. It's just not true, but that's the stigma that has been portrayed within ASL and through media,” he said. Sentiments like these thwart Robert’s enthusiasm to engage in political discussion. “I honestly don't always get involved in political conversations just because of the fact that if I say something from my view point that is right of center, people just get really defensive about it and they say, ‘how can you think that, that's just absurd.’ I think, if I am respecting someone's left of center views then they should also be respecting someone's right of center views,” he said. Since the election, McGowan has observed
pose serious implications to the future of free speech if dissenting views are continually silenced.
Institutional bias
S
tanding in opposition to the faculty protest of President Trump’s Executive Order restricting immigration into the U.S. from seven countries, Sullivan wore a piece of tape emblazoned with #BuildTheWall, a reference to Trump’s proposal to build a wall across the southern border of the U.S. In what Sullivan described as a “social experiment not necessarily representative of his political views,” some of the reactions he received reinforced his fear of an established anti-conservative bias within the High School. Without any inquiry into the intentions of Sullivan’s demonstration, fellow students, some unknown to him, assumed Sullivan’s intentions racist. In one instance, as he settled into a class a peer called him out across the room, saying, “How could you wear that? What you're doing is offensive,” without providing Sullivan the opportunity to explain his position. Sullivan acknowledges his demonstration was inflammatory, but is disturbed by the dearth of acceptance for alternative political views.
83.17% or a fascist or... some other derogatory label.” Math Department Head Neil Basu, who co-organized the protest, maintains that the demonstration was a response to what he viewed as an infringement of human rights. “For me, the most important thing is for people to understand the idea of it not being political, but it being about human rights,” Basu said in an article published on standard.asl. org on January 31. While Sullivan is grateful he attends a school where many teachers openly share their political opinions, he questions the message such an organized protest sends to the student body. “It's OK if 95 percent of teachers lean towards one side of the political spectrum, but when the administration and most teachers get involved it’s like saying this idea is the acceptable idea and that other ideas are not,” he said. Sullivan, Dishner and Robert don’t expect, nor do they yearn, for the High School to reach a utopian homeostatic political balance. There is a question, however, of how the recent election has influenced the way politics are discussed in the school. “I think that all reasonable ideas are worth hearing, including conservative ones. Our society is one that values free speech and an open market of various ideas, even if those ideas aren’t common within our school community,” Sullivan said.
the female faces Of Leadership
Within the High School, the past five Student Council Presid However, outside the doors of ASL the role of females in lea into question with the current American political situation. Fo community, female leadership is important now more than e Stephanie Brendsel | Online/Photo Editor
Student Council President Ayse Yucesan (’18)
Leadership
W English Department Head Eve Ellis
Jambalaya Editor haley kopfler (’17)
social justice council co-President maddie kolaja (’18)
Deans Department Head jennifer craig
hen Head of School Coreen Hester was appointed to her current position in 2007, she, along with other heads of international schools, attended a conference for their respective job. Out of the 54 in attendance, only four were women. Only heads of school were allowed to attend the conference, yet men still posed Hester with the question: “What is your job?”
Jambalaya Editor ruba nadar (’17)
director of teaching and learning social justice council co-President dean of admissions robyn chapel maya matejcek (’17) jodi warren
For Hester, despite the speculation from some on her role as a female Head of School, she is not phased. “It has been hard but it has been the best job in the world. And I kind of love that I am a woman in a job that most people think would go to a man,” she said. Former President of Student Council Ariadne Letrou (’17) believes having female leaders at school is important to break down the stereotypes of what a leader should be and should look like. “In order to change that perception you have to start at the root when you are very young and create role models for students that are both male and female,” she said. Agreeing with Letrou, Hester believes it is important to equally represent all genders in leadership roles. Although more frequent with females, Hester cites an incident in Iceland where male leadership was among the minority. After 40 years of consistently having female Presi-
Michaela To
dents, Icelandic bo impression that th to become the Pres Letrou was the o Council representa class. “For me [my something that wa
“IT HAS B BEST J I AM A PEOPL
former student council president ariadne letrou (’17)
I was so determine and represent the g cause the council it inated. So that kin join Student Coun Within the scho oritized ensuring of both genders th divisions. Howeve she believes fema minority of leader preponderance of m very important for leadership role m do believe that wo to have more leade the end it is also fin Letrou draws th leaders experiencin as female scientist there has been a s
s p
social studies department head natalie jaworski
dents have been female. adership positions comes or members of the ASL ever.
robotics captain roxy sammons (’17)
assistant principal karen bonthrone
world languages and cultures department head lanting xu
sustainability council co-president
sustainability council co-president
director of academic advising and college counselling patty strohm
sarah brunsberg (’17)
helen craig (’18)
owfighi | Lead Features Editor
oys were under the hey could not aspire sident. only female Student ative in her Grade 9 y gender] was never as a setback because
scientists. And being a female you’re the fork in the knife drawer. As in you don’t really fit in and there already is, before go you into science [professions], a preconception that you’ll fail,” Letrou said. When Letrou ran for Student
in the presidential cabinet. “[President Donald Trump] has created an atmos- head of school phere that challenges women as not becoreen hester ing able to do things, just how he says things like, ‘women should dress like our voices heard… Not only complaining women’ and all of his comments on how about it, but making sure people hear you in an effective way.” we should be,” she said. After attending the Women’s March in London, Sam Holzman (’19) agrees with Konzal on the importance of advocating for your beliefs. “I think that it is very important to [advocate] because we live in a democracy and that’s what it is designed for people who do or do not agree with what’s going on,” he said. However, Holzman has noticed an undefined area when it comes to women’s rights and feminism. Holzman believes some boys can be mistaken on the definition of a feminist, which In response to Trump’s presidency, he defines as, “Anybody that wants Konzal, along with thousands of other equality for every single person,” he women, marched in Washington DC said. Faculty Adviser of the Gender Eqon January 20. At the culmination of the march, Konzal and others contin- uity Club Mark Mazzenga has seen an ued to walk towards the White House increase in feminism in response to and past the Treasury building. “We Trump’s presidency, and holds similar were chanting ‘we will not go away, concerns to Konzal’s, especially regardwelcome to your first day’ and it was ing Trump’s language and rhetoric. “I echoing off of the Treasury building think some people believe that a Trump and you could see the White House presidency threatens the progress that behind it,” she said. “It was such a women have made and are continuing powerful message and all of those to attempt to make, in terms of receiving equal wage and, truthfully, just revoices, it was really incredible.” The march reaffirmed for Konzal that spect,” he said. “Some of the rhetoric advocacy is the most effective way to pro- that he’s used that center specifically on mote change. “I think it is scary to think women has been fairly inflammatory, that it seems like we are going backwards and so with a Trump presidency there instead of working forwards to everyone is the fear that... [his comments] have a being equal and everyone having peace,” ripple effect, and it gives permission to she said. “I think that we should make others to behave similarly.”
BEEN HARD BUT IT HAS BEEN THE JOB IN WORLD. AND I LOVE THAT A WOMAN IN A JOB THAT MOST LE THINK WOULD GO TO A MAN.” HEAD OF SCHOOL COREEN HESTER
ed to share my view girls in my class betself was male domnd of spurred me to ncil,” she said. ool, Hester has prithere are leaders hroughout all three er, outside of ASL, ales are among the rs. “We have had a male leaders, so it is r girls to see female odels,” she said. “I men need advocacy ership roles, but in ne to have balance.” he analogy of female ng a similar stigma ts. “I always felt like stigma for [female]
Council President she felt like she experienced criticism because of her gender. “I felt like a lot of comments [from students] were targeted towards my gender, rather than my skills and qualities for being president. A lot of them ranged from ‘If you’re a girl, then you’re a party planner’ to ‘we’ve had only girl presidents in the past and that’s why nothing is being done’,” Letrou said. “And, for me, attending a school which prides itself on social progress, I was taken aback when I heard those comments.”
Activism
W
ith the current political situation in the United States, Eliot Konzal (’17) fears the lack of female leadership with-
former student council vice president
ayla mahmood (’17)
sojourner editor-in-cheif rebecka henrikson (’17) Yet, with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, Mazzenga recognizes evolving female leadership in politics. However, this does not equate for the inequalities women face in both the U.K. and U.S. “We have seen women occupy very powerful offices in this country, but that is not the end all and be all,” he said. “That would be like saying we have had a black president therefore we live in a non-racist society.” In order to achieve equality, Hester agrees with Konzal that advocacy is the strongest path to change.“Women need to use their voice,” she said. “People have got to say something and do something, write letters, make phone calls, if they are upset.”
*Staff writer Phaedra Letrou contributed to reporting.
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Features
Challenging the stigma of legacy Addressing the misconceptions surrounding college legacies and the influence they have on the community Ananya Prakash | Features Editor
GRAPHICS FROM PIXABAY
W
hen Sana Jumani (’19) hears her classmates talk about their connections to prestigious universities, she feels a sense of anxiety. “It really is stressful, to be honest. I sometimes feel bad, because I don’t necessarily have a legacy,” she said. Jumani, among many students in the High School, already feels mounting pressure about the college process and the impact legacies have on that. Jumani believes that her lack of legacy at university leaves a lot of uncertainty in her furture, especially in contrast to other students. “Some of these students already know where they want to go to school and exactly what footsteps they want to follow in because they have a legacy at these schools,” she said. “It makes me feel sad because
Quinn Whitman | Features Editor
IMPLICATIONS I feel like there is something wrong if I don’t know what direction I am going in or if I don’t have something to follow.” College Counselor Nicole Thompson believes that there is no one answer to how legacy affects college admissions. “It really depends on what that relationship is, it depends on the school,” Thompson said. “If you’re in a place that happens to have a lot of legacy in your applicant pool, that could have an impact as to whether it’s even used or weighed heavily.” However, Thompson does acknowledge that there are certain universities that “place a lot of emphasis on their alumni because their alumni are very active in the school,” Thompson said. “So at those places they might feel a bit
more an obligation to make [legacies] part of the process.” Having previous experience working in admissions at Columbia University, Thompson is aware of the views some universities hold regarding the implications of legacies. “From the college’s standpoint, legacies represent tradition, they represent continuity. They represent people who are really passionate about the institution and want to pass that on to their kids or their relatives,” Thompson said. Similarly, Luke Bandeen (’17) believes that students who have legacies can often times feel more encouraged to apply to that university, not because of pressure from parents, but because “naturally the university is more prevalent and more known to you,” he said.
Having a legacy, Bandeen feels he doesn’t always want to openly talk about it. “I guess I’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable because it wasn’t an advantage because I worked hard or accomplished something,” Bandeen said. “It was because I was given it.” Although it is different for every college and every student, Director of College Counseling Patty Strohm believes that being a legacy can have an advantage if the student is already successful in school. “It gives that little gold dust, that little star. It is like that frosting on the cake. The cake is the student’s transcript, the application and the standardized testing, but the frosting is [the legacy].” However, College Counsellor Ivan Hauck believes that in some cases, a
student might decide where to apply for college based on a legacy, which can be detrimental. “If [a student has] a legacy connection somewhere, there’s of course this idea that ‘oh if we apply here, there might be an advantage of gaining admission’, [yet] it may or may not be the best fit of a school for the students,” Hauck said. Due to this, Hauck believes that to some extent, legacies can be detrimental. “Sometimes I would almost argue and say that’s a disadvantage because it adds more pressure to apply to a certain school,” Hauck said. Strohm strongly believes that the most valuable connections that students can form come outside of familial relationships. “Some of your most powerful connections are not who mommy and daddy know,” Strohm said.
“I GUESS I’VE ALWAYS FELT UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE [MY LEGACY] WASN’T AN ADVANTAGE BECAUSE I WORKED HARD OR ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS GIVEN IT.” LUKE BANDEEN (‘17)
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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MISCONCEPTIONS
O
ne of the biggest misconceptions regarding the implication of a legacy that Thompson has noticed in her years of being a college counselor is that students assume a direct correlation between legacy and admission. “I think [legacy] is a word that is very, very loaded, and I think people do often come to the process as thinking that legacy is this magic ticket, and automatically that means you’re in the door,” Thompson said. Thompson is also aware of the differentiating views and stigma surrounding legacies, especially within the student body. “There are people who don’t feel it is ethical at all to use anything other than merit to gain admission to college,” Thompson said. Thompson also believes to a certain degree, legacies have the ability
to favor the privileged. “As someone who is an educator and someone who is very, very committed to the idea of access and inclusion, I think you can tip over into an area where the pool becomes very small and the circle is closed,” Thompson said. Aryan Dhir (’19) agrees with Thompson and also believes that this stigma surrounding legacies is present in the school. “People view [legacies] negatively because sometimes people have gone to colleges by having a five generation legacy. They may not have been a good student, so I guess they could be viewed differently to someone who has worked really hard with limited resources,” Dhir said. Although Bandeen also recognizes that the favoring of legacy
students in some colleges not “necessarily the fairest system,” he disagrees with Dhir and believes that “no matter the university, no matter the legacy, they’re not going to accept someone they believe is below a standard they’re willing to accept,” Bandeen said. Consequently, Bandeen “[doesn’t] think a large majority shy away from a school they think they have an advantage in… If [a legacy] is there and you can use it to your advantage, use it,” he said. Additionally, Hauck echoes Thompson in that he has also seen the perception of legacies being considered unfair amongst students. “I think sometimes there is resentment and frustration and a feeling that [the admission process] is not a merito-
cratic system,” Hauck said. However, Hauck believes that there are many intricacies that are involved which students tend to ignore. “There is a danger in trying to simplify the concept of legacy,” Hauck said. “I think around here we often take complex ideas such as legacy and try to simplify them into issues that are easy to comment on.” Consequently, Hauck imagines that this “ends up producing a lot incorrect information” which causes disparities in views. “Sometimes students get frustrated if, let’s say, somebody gets in [to a college] and the perception is ‘oh, they only got in because of legacy’,” Hauck said. Tania Veltchev (’17) has seen this mentality amongst the student body. “I think it definitely
“WE OFTEN TAKE COMPLEX IDEAS SUCH AS LEGACY AND TRY TO SIMPLIFY THEM INTO ISSUES THAT ARE EASY TO COMMENT ON.” COLLEGE COUNSELOR IVAN HAUCK
IMPACT
T
he stigma surrounding legacy is one that Strohm believes can affect a student significantly. For students who get in to schools that they have a legacy in, Strohm wonders if “they worry that they are children of mommy and daddy and that they weren’t smart and competent” enough to get in without a legacy. “We need kids to feel smart and competent because [they] are,” Strohm said. Jumani believes that students feel worried to continue a legacy in order to fufill the mark their family has on the school. “If your family is associated with a university for whatever reason… it puts a lot of pressure on a student,” she said. “A lot of students feel, ‘I have to continue my family’s legacy that my family pays money for’.” However, Strohm believes that
the stigma goes beyond internationalization amongst individuals, and influences the community as a whole. “I think too much worrying about unfair advantage can really poison a community and it can really hurt a class,” Strohm said. Veltchev also believes that this mentality can have negative connotations among the community. “I have heard before, ‘oh, she completely didn’t deserve to get in it was just because of her legacy’,” Veltchev said. “I have even heard people say they deserved to get in more than someone else because they don’t have a legacy and the other person does and they think they are the better student.” Furthermore, she believes that whether a student is a legacy or not, it all comes down to individual merit. “I don’t feel like people are let in with a legacy if they don’t deserve to
be there. If you have gotten in, you have gotten in on your own merit, not on your legacy,” Veltchev said. Moreover, Strohm believes that often times students lose sight of their own privilege when thinking about the impact of legacies. “If you look at it from the big picture, everyone at ASL has an unfair advantage,” Strohm said. “We are pretty lucky here, all of us. In the grand scheme of things, we might think about the unfair advantage of a legacy, when we all have the unfair advantage of our privilege.” “I think students should stop worrying about legacy and start reflecting on who they are and what they want to be,” Strohm said. “I worry that people aren’t thinking about what matters. What matters is you learning and growing and becoming good people.”
is a sore spot among people and I think they sometimes struggle with learning how to deal with it and talk about it,” Veltchev said. “If you are someone with a legacy, I don’t think that you will be heavily stigmatized or judged for it, but there is an undercurrent.” Bandeen also believes that these comments stem from student’s insecurities and the mounting pressure of college in the High School. When people say a legacy was the sole factor in a student’s admission, “for a lot of people, it’s their way of dealing with certain things,” Bandeen said. “Maybe they applied to the same school and they didn’t get in...and they’re trying to find a way to equalize that in their mind.”
CARTOON BY GABY IWEGBUE
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Features
ASL, London, U.K.
Middlebury Language Program, Middlebury, VT, U.S.
Centre Méditeranéen D’etudes Françaises Immersion Program, Nice, France
The path to fluency
A look into language immersion programs and the impact they have in the classroom Isabelle Lhuilier | Staff Writer
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ost in Nice, France, Audrey Wilson (’19) and her friends from the Centre Méditerranéen D’etudes Françaises Immersion program (CMES) searched for the right train back to their camp. Unsure where to go, Wilson had to seek directions from a sea of native French speakers.“Before the camp I would have been scared to do that,” she said. “But because of all the interactions that I had I was completely fine just speaking French.” Spending her summer in France allowed Wilson to improve her skills and become more comfortable with the language. “I wanted to work on my French,” she said. “It was right before I went to high school so I wanted to be prepared for the French courses.” In order to improve his language skills,
skills and by the end he noticed progression. “I had improved those skills and I think I’d built up to a point where I was comfortable listening to instructions, knowing where I was going and interacting with other people,” he said. Although his program wasn’t in China, he still felt it was effective in improving his language abilities and decided to return to the camp for another year. To Fox, immersion is more effective than studying languages in a classroom as one uses the language constantly instead of only studying it a few hours at a time. “In immersion you learn just by being surrounded by it and you don’t go back and forth,” Fox said. “To be solely focused on one subject allows you to improve significantly quicker.”
ing able to use our French outside of the classroom so we could actually apply what we were learning.” Although Wilson took French classes, her French mainly improved through speaking outside the classroom. “[After class] we were allowed to go out wherever we wanted,” she said. “It really got me to use my French for directions and talking to people.” Wilson thinks learning in the classroom is very “technical” and immersion allows you to use your language in “a real life situation,” which was more beneficial. “If we are actually going to use the language we are learning, [speaking] is very important because I feel like that’s the main aspect,” she said. Similarly, World Languages and Cultures
“There were some people who went into the camp not speaking French at all,” she said. “By the end they were going out and having conversations with French people in shops and on the street.” Alongside her peer’s improvement, Wilson noticed her understanding of French improved as well and gave her the “quick thinking that you need to speak French.” Returning to class after attending his program, Fox also felt that the new vocabulary he had learned allowed his speaking and writing to advance. “Sometimes you have ideas but you just don’t have the language proficiency to say it. So with a significantly improved [vocabulary], writing becomes much easier,” he said.
“WHEN YOU GO TO AN IMMERSION PROGRAM, IT’S REALLY INTENSIVE AND YOU ARE EXPOSED TO THE LANGUAGE EVERYDAY.” WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURES TEACHER MARIO ROJAS Will Fox (’18) attended the Middlebury Chinese program, he had four hours of class a day followed by activities, which were all done in Chinese. Immersion was a challenge in the beginning for Fox as it required him to stretch his existing knowledge to understand the more complex phrases others were saying. “Other than the instructions [the teachers] had given us in English the day before, I didn’t really know what was going on,” he said. However, over the course of the program Fox improved his speaking and listening
World Languages and Cultures Teacher Mario Rojas agrees and believes that immersion is effective in promoting language fluency as students speak the language 24 hours a day. “When you go to an immersion program, it’s really intensive and you are exposed to the language everyday,” he said. “That really accelerates the learning curve - it’s just the number of hours alone [immersed in the language] that is greater than [living in London] can provide.” For Wilson, the main difference was “be-
Teacher Whitney Nuchereno understands that learning in the classroom is beneficial but there is only so much you can attain. “[School] gives you all the tools and foundations to be able to use the language and apply it in a real life setting. But that’s the difference: It’s not necessarily a real life setting,” she said. “Learning at ASL is a stepping stone to be able to go into that culture and do it on your own.” Wilson has also noticed language improvements in her peers during her time at CMES.
Rojas feels that students return from immersion with more “confidence” and “enthusiasm” for their language. He believes these programs force them to implement their language and provide experiences with the language in real life scenarios. “Students feel the need and the urgency to use the language a lot more because to get through their day they have to actually speak it,” he said. “The stakes are high and they are very authentic so that’s what makes [immersion] so effective.”
GRAPHIC FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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Features
The people who keep the school running Essential members of the commuity who are involved behind the scenes reveal their stories and experience at ASL Houdah Daniels | Staff Writer
J
ust past the Waverley Place entrance, Information and Facilities Coordinator Rita Bediako’s office is a hub of activity where all phone calls to the school’s main number are directed. Further along the hallway as you approach Bottom Orange, Director of Technology Nadjib Aktouf can be found behind one desktop computer screen and
with his wife, Cleaner Elizabeth Marulanda, spending around 20 of the 24 hours in a day together. With two children currently studying at university, Castaneda’s face lights up when he speaks of his family. “I am very happy with my children,” he said. Having devoted many years to his children’s needs, now that “they are adult and living apart,”
in a school setting before, began working at ASL in 2003. She found that despite ASL being “a warm place to walk into,” the first time she started it “took a while to settle in,” she said. However, it was with great thanks to relationship she built with former Information and Facilities Coordinator Anne Clay, whose role Bediako took on after her retirement. “It
Bediako spent the first 10 years of her life in Ghana but despite having lived in London ever since, she still cherishes many aspects of her Ghanaian identity. She speaks the language of Twi, can understand a bit of Ga and also speaks other dialects. Moreover, Bediako also enjoys many traditional foods such as Kenkey, bean stew (red-red) and fried
that are needed to deliver “excellent education.” Born in Algeria and raised overseas in South Yemen (the country united in 1990), Oman, New York, Syria, Jordan, Venezuela and now living in London, Aktouf considers himself a “third culture kid.” He grew accustomed to the lifestyle of “hopping around the world from a young
BORN IN ALGERIA AND RAISED OVERSEAS ACROSS SOUTH YEMEN, OMAN, NEW YORK, SYRIA, JORDAN, VENEZUELA AND NOW LIVING IN LONDON, DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY NADJIB AKTOUF CONSIDERS HIMSELF A “THIRD CULTURE KID.” one laptop screen in his office on the right. Often, depending on the time of day, Cleaner Jose Diaz Castaneda might be seen walking past both offices as he makes his way to the middle yellow pod in the Mellon Library, starting his 3-11 p.m. shift. These are just a few of the people who have a big impact on the day-to-day lives of the community, though many may not know their names.
Cleaner Jose Diaz Castaneda
Castaneda and his wife are “in another stage of [their] life,” where they are able to “[do] more activities” and have more fun during the weekend as weekdays tend to be especially busy.
Information and Facilities Coordinator Rita Bediako
S
imilarly, Bediako who works alongside housekeeping, catering, and media teams, is busy making sure facilities are available for events
C
astaneda has been living in London for 17 years and working at ASL for 12, but despite this, “in the estate I live in, it’s maybe 12 apartments, I know only my neighbor.” Castaneda recognizes the “monotony” of the usual London lifestyle, especially in comparison to the lifestyle he lived in Colombia. “I come from Cali, it’s more tropical, it’s the city of Colombia and very famous for salsa.” Castaneda reminisces that he would speak Spanish and enjoy the traditional food, “the fish, the yam, the green plantain, the red plantain…,” of his home. He also enjoyed being a goalkeeper when playing football and recited long poetry. Castaneda attributes the man he is today to his parents who taught him to give willingly and be reserved. There is resemblance in the smile Castaneda has when he speaks of life in Colombia and his family. Castaneda works together
Information and Facilities Coordinator Rita Bediako and that the events run smoothly. “We’re marrying up requests and the actions that make those events happen,” Bediako said. Whether it’s planning for a booster club meeting, a guest speaker/ author, or anything of that kind, “all those requests land on our door, and can come from anybody across the community.” Bediako, who had never worked
age.” Growing up, Aktouf found it “difficult” to travel so often, “[having] to make new friends.” However, he is now very grateful for his upbringing and speaks English, Arabic, Spanish and French, having been “exposed…to so many different people and cultures, ways of thinking and especially languages.” Aktouf believes that his experiences with different lifestyles added an appreciation for PHOTOS BY ANANYA PRAKASH his own heritage plantain. “The cooking and culture, which comes from is everything,” Bediako a “wonderful” city, located on said. One of the val- the North Coast of Africa. Akues that Bediako holds touf ’s parents made sure he vismost dear comes from ited Algiers every summer and her Ghanaian upbring- it is now where Aktouf considing, which is to respect ers home. elders and speak to peoFurthermore, Aktouf believes ple respectfully. that having the “opportunity” to work with all three school divisions “increases his appreciaDirector of tion for just how amazing ASL Technology is.” His interaction with many Nadjib Aktouf people in a relatively small space ktouf is responsible for allowed for him to fit in and Information Communi- learn more about ASL. “Having cation Technology (ICT) interactions with Lower School, that is used for operations and Middle School and High School, logistics: Communication, file and also the administrative storage, network infrastructure, side, working with admissions WiFi, the regular network and its and seeing how advancement security. Aktouf also makes sure works… it’s given me, again, an that teachers and students have appreciation of how everything the tools and digital resources fits together so well.”
Director of Technology Nadjib Aktouf
was easier for me, I think, than it would’ve been for other people,” becuase of Clay. Bediako finds that surrounding herself with good people, such as her family, who have positive attitudes is enough to keep her happy. She said that her “whole world revolves around family” and that “without that I would struggle to define who I am,” Bediako said.
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Chance the Rapper performed at the O2 Academy Brixton on November 20, 2016. PHOTO BY MARIANNE DE RIDDER (’18)
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Surveying the music scene Students and teachers recount their experiences with London’s live music scene Alexandra Gers | Culture Editor
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n February 2, Jordan Koski (’18) attended the Drake concert. Koski waited patiently along with thousands of other Drake fans for the artist to come out on stage. The crowd’s excitement and energy skyrocketed when Drake finally appeared and Koski immediately felt “overwhelmed.” “It’s someone you use as an idol in music and such an icon in the world and he’s standing 100 feet away from you,” Koski said. “I’ll never get over the fact that I got to see him live.” London’s diverse and eclectic music scene has enabled Koski to attend a wide variety of concerts with different musical genres, including American rock band The Eagles, and a collection of folk music showcases. Koski believes havig been able to see artists live was a much “different and cooler experience than listening to [their] music on the radio or through Spotify.” Echoing Koski, Marianne DeRidder (’18) believes that by “going to concerts you get more out of it than when you listen to it on Spotify or iTunes.” De Ridder attended famed
Chance the Rapper’s concert on November 20. Crowds flooded O2 Academy Brixton’s floor to get a glimpse of the artist. When he emerged on stage De Ridder and her friends shrieked and sang loudly along with the rest of the crowd. Attending the same concert, Ray Leavenworth Bakali (’19) experienced a similar reaction from the crowd. “When [Chance] came
“There’s a huge difference from listening to techno here at my desk with my headphones versus in a venue where it is super loud and you can feel the bass in your soul.” High School Math Teacher Livia Santos
out everyone just sort of went crazy and started jumping about,” Leavenworth Bakali said. As the concert progressed DeRidder felt, “[The standing section] was kind of scary at times. A few of his songs were upbeat
so when the mosh-pitting started you can fall and it’s scary.” Despite this, De Ridder believes that standing for a concert makes the experience much more enjoyable and interactive. “You jump together, you sing together, you’re all smushed together so you feel really close. You also all push to the side to try to get as close to [the artist] as you possibly can,” DeRidder said. Leavenworth Bakali believes that the atmosphere at the concert was extremely amiable. “You could literally talk to anyone and have a conversation with them,” he said. “Everyone was just having fun and that was it.” Leavenworth Bakali credits the nature of the crowd to “being around people who also love the artist.” Similarly, when Koski attended the Drake concert, he felt that the ability to have a conversation with people outside of the ASL community came from the “common interest in the artist that you’re going to see.” High School Math Teacher Livia Santos, frequently attends
live music and DJs because she feels the sound of the artist is much more enjoyable and pure in person. “There’s a huge difference from listening to techno here at my desk with my headphones versus in a venue where it is super loud and you can feel the bass in your soul,” Santos said. Santos believes that attending live music is becoming increasingly important due to the ease at which people are able to listen to music on applications, such as Spotify. “To support the artist is really important if you really like them. Going to the concert is a way to support the artist and getting the merchandise while you’re there,” Santos said. While Koski thoroughly enjoys live music, the biggest negative for him is the price of tickets. Koski has noticed that as an artist becomes increasingly popular within the ASL community their “tickets become really expensive,” which can sometimes deter Koski from attending. Similarly for Leavenworth Bakali, the downside of concerts is the extreme price coupled with
some artists performing on weeknights. “The problem is concerts are midweek a lot so I’d get home quite late from them – if they were on weekends and less expensive I would try to go to them a lot more,” Leavenworth Bakali said. While DeRidder recognizes the negatives, she noticed the ease at which she is able to travel to live music venues compared to Richmond, Virginia where she lived before London. “We’d have to drive two or three hours in order to see Taylor Swift or Justin Timberlake. [But] being in London where I can take the tube 20 minutes rather than driving two hours to see someone is a big difference,” De Ridder said, “Because it’s a city you have a lot of diverse types of music as well rather than just one genre.” Santos also feels that London’s music scene is extremely diverse, and has allowed her to attend a variety of shows. “It has everything I’ve always wanted. Before I had to drive to Austin from Houston or have to wait until they come. And here, you know that any artist that you want to see is going to come here eventually,” Santos said.
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Culture
A digital addiction High school students share their experiences with social media and how it distracts them from their everyday lives Olivia Abrams | Culture Editor
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hen Theo Longboy (’19) sits at her computer screen with her phone in hand, she is entranced by the repetitive motion of scrolling through her newsfeed. Only after looking at the time does she realize her level of unproductivity. While the digital age has redefined technology as a fast-paced and constant form of communication, it has fostered an environment of newfound distraction. “All it takes is one click to derail your homework for about two hours,” Longboy said. “I think it is so difficult to just [disconnect].” Longboy chose to address her issue of procrastination by downloading Offtime, an application that monitors an iPhone’s usage and provides analytics on daily dig-
ital habits. “You don’t realize how much time you are actually spending on your phone or on social media until the numbers are in front of you,” she said. While this application provided Longboy with a short term solution, the call to have an online presence was challenging to ignore. “It’s something we always have to have open, it’s kind of a crutch,” she said. After deleting social media applications and blocking websites on her computer for about a month,
“You don’t realize how much time you are actually spending on your phone or on social media until the numbers are in front of you.” Theo Longboy (’19) IMAGES OF APPLICATIONS FROM THE APP STORE IMAGE OF MAC DESKTOP FROM APPLE Longboy later found the desire to continue scrolling down her timeline far less compelling. While her purge proved effective initially, she eventually began to feel the pressure that is associated with this new era of networking. “Over time I would get back into the routine,” Longboy said. “I just got addicted again.” While Christopher Von Daenhe (’18) feels the distractions associated with active online participation, it has never been an impediment to his life. “It distracts me, but it’s not to the point where I can’t function without it,” he said. “I have always found that I can just put my phone away.”
However, academic unproductivity is not the only problem students face as a result of social media. Similar to Longboy, Rebecka Henrikson (’17) feels there are social pressures that come along with having an online presence. Henrikson believes that “the instant satisfaction of getting a like” is an important factor in perpetuating digital addiction. “You are constantly comparing yourself to other people,” Henrikson said. Von Daenhe recognizes that while it can be quite easy to feel as though you are missing out, he believes that online connectivity and expression outweigh social pressures and personal problems of distraction. “It allows people to be a lot more open, and also open to other people that they wouldn’t have been before,” Von Daenhe said. “If you
are smart about how you use [social media] you can really get a lot more benefits out of it than you would see negative[s].” Different from Von Daenhe, after growing overwhelmed by “absentmindedly checking and scrolling,” Henrikson deactivated many of her social media accounts. “It was one less thing to waste my time on,” she said. While social media comes with complications it creates a more globally connected world through artistic and political expression. Henrikson cited the 2016 U.S. presidential election where social media was used productively. “I think with the election especially it was really important. People who couldn’t vote were still participating,” Henrikson said. “It gets people involved.”
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THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Culture
Hitting the right note Student musicians examine the nuances of a successful music curriculum
Sourna Daneshvar Jr. | Lead News Editor
Michaela Towfighi | Lead Features Editor
ALBUM COVERS FROM ARTISTS’ RESPECTIVE WEBSITES. PIANO FROM BLURFANCLUB.COM
A first chair euphonium in the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) Honor Band, in addition to playing a myriad of instruments, John Nation’s (’19) passion for music holds no bounds. A new student this year, naturally Nation joined the band upon his arrival. However, he quickly found his passion for music was not matched by the other members of the band. “Here at ASL practice at home isn’t really encouraged,” Nation said. “In that way, the practice is not really enforced, so I don’t feel like there is anything really pushing me to get better, to be honest.”
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Culture Here at ASL since it is just one band for all of high school the content is not neessarily challenging for some of the more advanced people.” JOHN NATION (’19)
George Pomar (’17) shares similar sentiments to Nation and decided to quit the High School orchestra during his junior year, after thought and consideration about the group and his own skill. For Pomar, the practice of playing in the orchestra helped him progress his technical skills, even if the music did not match his skill level. “Any practice is good practice, but the material that we were doing wasn’t very advanced really,” he said. Pomar continues to play his violin and attends the Royal Academy of Music. He finds the difference in the mentality amongst the orchestra players at the Royal Academy of Music is what furthers his experience from ASL orchestra. For Pomar, his frustration with the ASL orchestra grew when other members held a lackadaisical mentality. “It was just a bit frustrating because it is a group and everyone has to care for it to sound good,” he said. Violinist Anshika Singh (’18) disagrees with Pomar however. After taking a break from orchestra followi n g her
freshman year, Singh plans on rejoining the ensemble next year as it provides a change of pace to her academic schedule. “I think a lot of seniors take lots of really intense academic classes, and I feel like I had a difficulty last year and this year just taking pure academic courses. So I think having [a class like orchestra] in some aspect in your life, is really important,” she said. Although Singh does not have the experience Pomar does, she feels she is pushed inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to the content in class, orchestra students are required to attend concerts in London throughout the semester. For Singh this provides an opportunity to not only experience live music, but also learn from those performing. “A requirement each semester is to go see a concert and we have to write about it. I like the fact that they want you to really indulge in what is going on in London and see the music that is happening,” she said. Although Nation is not challenged, he does recognize the benefits for other students nonetheless. “I also think it is useful for some of the people who are
PHOTO FROM PIXABAY
still trying to develop skills because it pushes them a bit further, and it is a good band,” he said. Individually, Nation relies on challenging theory books, but for him “it is almost like a self study.” At Nation’s previous school the music department was structured with two bands: A higher level and a lower level. “Here at ASL since it is just one band for all of high school the
content is not necessarily challenging for some of the more advanced people,” Nation said. Rather, the music department has four main goals in developing a young musician, Director of Performing Arts Bronwyn Harrison said. The department expects each musician to possess a rudimentary understanding of music notation, vary expression and tone within a performance, participate effectively as a team-member within an ensemble and finally apply “critical thinking to achieve musical goals.” Harrison recognizes students such as Pomar, and hopes the music department can cater to as many students as possible. “When it comes to it, we want to be able to reach the most students we can and there are lots of really capable students that assume that they might not be able to get what they’re looking for out of our courses,” she said. “We can’t change their opinion, we can do everything we can to make sure that the course is deep enough.” Contrasting Pomar, percussionist Marco Kelly (’18) and bassist of the band Cashmere, decided to rejoin the High School band this year to augment his musicianship. “The primary reason was to improve myself with sight reading and rhythm with percussion, and add to my bass skills outside the band,” he said. “Playing any instrument whether it’s classical or jazz, musicians want to be as diverse as possible so the High School band has helped with that.” Classical music dominates the pieces performed by the Band, Orchestra and Choir ensembles. While Harrison and the department hope to teach other, more contemporary genres of music in the future, they remain adamant that classical music is the primary genre for developing a musician’s skills in all styles. “Understanding of all that [contemporary] music comes from a really strong foundation, foundational understanding” of classical music. Though classical music lacks mainstream popularity, Harrison finds her comprehension of classical music allows her to enjoy more modern music. “When I listen to more popular music I listen to it with a much greater understanding of that music and how it’s working and
why it’s making me feel a particular way or how they’ve structured it or how it’s being put together than if I had no understanding of western [classical] music at all.” For flutist Valentina Hogenhuis (’18), music has been a relevant part of her life for as long as she can remember. To further her flout skills outside of the classroom, she dedicated the summer after her sophomore year to attend Interlochen Music Camp in Michigan. Hogenhuis’ grandmother, a music theory professor at The University of California Berkeley, passed down the importance of music, specifically classical music. Echoing Harrison, Hogenhuis believes classical music to be a crucial element of her musical education. “Once you understand classical music you can appreciate where modern music comes from. I think that classical music is really important for anyone learning to play an instrument because you need to know where you came from,” she said. “It’s like why we learn history, you need to know where you c a m e
Sophia Foy (’17) never participated in the High School choir because it differed greatly from her style. “I sing different songs. The material is so different and I don’t think it benefited to what I was doing,” Foy said. Instead, Foy practices on her own and takes music classes outside of school. “I never liked classical training. It’s kind of a different style of voice that I wanted to break away from,” she said. Pomar believes the quality of the program would increase if the musicians in ASL ensembles dedicated themselves more to their instrument and the group. For Pomar, the quality of the music program is influenced by student’s passion and dedication. Hogenhuis agrees, citing practice as a fundamental component of music education. “With music it’s something you really have to work at. You can understand music, but that doesn’t mean you can play it. You have to practice and put in the time. It shows the import anc e of hard work and that practice does pay off.”
from in order to move forward i n t h e f u ture.” Conversely, singer/ songwriter
PHOTO FROM PIXABAY
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Culture
THE STANDARD | March 2017
Makeup your mind High School students justify their decision to wear or not wear makeup on a daily basis Phaedra Letrou | Staff Writer
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here is a common belief began at the end of grade 8 when aware of their relationship with that women wear makeup she started watching YouTube makeup and how it affects their solely to make themselves tutorials during her free time. “I daily lives. Berinati stresses the look more attractive, but in reality couldn’t stop watching the vide- importance of students prioritizthere are many other reasons why os,” she said. Kalb describes make- ing their academics and health, up as something that started off as and also mentions students should people choose to wear makeup. Kat Smith (’19) applies makeup an obsession and has since blos- take the initiative to feel comfortto her face just before she prepares somed into a hobby. Although it is able and confident. “Whatever it to step on stage a theater perfor- something she loves, Kalb does not takes to make you feel good–to do mance. For Smith wearing makeup let it impact her social activities. “I that, I think, is a good thing,” she became an important part of her don’t mind going to school or go- said. Berinati also explains that life when she first became involved ing out on the weekends without students have various reasons to wear makeup whether it is a “decoin theater. Smith’s love of cosmet- [any makeup] on,” she said. Having never been introduced rative art” or a “way that they exics began when she wanted to help her younger sister and her friends to makeup, Ruchi Ahuja (’17) did press their creativity.” Despite these posiwith their stage makeup, and from not develop an interest in it. She there her hobby only grew. “I start- “never really felt the need” to start tives, Berinati sees a ed doing other kids’ makeup and wearing makeup because of the few problems with time and effort it requires. “Espe- makeup in relation to a then I just got into [it],” she said. Smith’s passion has now cially when High School got really greater societal issue redidn’t really have lated to the judgement of evolved into a ritual which allows crazy I women. Berinati beher to spend time on herlieves this self . “I enjoy doing it “At the end of the day it’s just makeup on judgement every morning your face and that comes off everyday, is somebecause that’s thing the time that that doesn’t change who you are.” t h a t I can set Kat Smith (’19) w o m e n aside in the beginning time to start getting “have to deal with... always.” She of each day just for me the where I’m not focused into [wearing makeup],” she said. describes women as having to con[on] school, or about Ahuja explains that she saw the stantly worry about their “superfiamount of time her friends were cial appearance” whether they are homework,” she said. Tatianna Kalb (’17) dedicating to it and that discour- “running for president or trying feels similarly to Smith aged her from learning how to ap- to teach class or maybe even being in regards to having a ply it. However, Ahuja is “in awe a teenager coming into school.” positive relationship of people who can do makeup” Berinati feels that regardless with makeup. Instead because of the skill and talent it re- of whether or not a woman chooses to wear makeup, of trying to change how quires to apply it. Similar to Ahuja and Kalb, “there are assumptions she looks, Kalb enjoys wearing makeup be- Chloe Chace (’20) does not wear that are made if you do cause she consid- makeup to school because she wear it and assumptions ers it a canvas to would prefer to sleep longer and that are made if you don’t.” Meanwhile, Smith believes explore an artistic feels confident without it. “I’m just not that insecure... I don’t re- wearing makeup is not about inskill. However, contrary ally feel the need to [wear it],” she securities but about taking her to Smith, Kalb doesn’t said. She highlights the problems mind off of things. She feels peowear makeup to school of people wearing it to hide their ple should not feel pressured to everyday because of the insecurities. “I think there’s a fine wear it to fix blemishes or what effort it requires. “I'm line between wearing it too much they deem as imperfections on pretty comfortable with because then you’re not confident their face. Smith also believes people only wearing a bit of make- without [makeup] and that’s just up like mascara to school, detrimental,” she said. Chace de- shouldn’t avoid wearing makeup and really in the morn- scribes this kind of a relationship in fear of judgement from othings I think I'm too with makeup as a negative way for ers. “At the end of the day it’s just makeup on your face and that tired to put on people to view themselves. English Teacher Eve Berinati comes off everyday, that doesn’t more,” she said. Kalb’s interest similarly cautions students to be change who you are,” she said.
PHOTOS BY OLIVIA ABRAMS
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Sports
Trying times for rugby program Jonathan Sheves | Sports Editor
Jack Severino (’19) watches over the scrum as ASL take on British School of the Netherlands in their first game at ISSTs on March 9. The Pirates lost 15-0. PHOTO BY MARTY CORNELIUS
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s each year goes by at any international school, sports teams will experience turnover of rosters due to the unforseen circumstances of students leaving the school, and the inevitable graduation of the senior class. Varsity rugby, however, was hit especially hard by this going into their 20162017 season. The dearth of players started to become more of a reality following the culmination of 2015-2016 season, when the team’s members realized that they would need to completely rebuild the team’s roster to have any hopes of competing at the following year’s ISSTs. Co-Captain Brian Robert (’17) admits, however, that attempts to recruit new players didn’t necessarily materialize until August, when the team met again to begin training for the new season. “We had a small turn out in pre season. Including the JV kids, we had 17 [players]. You need 15 to field a team,” he said. “That’s when it all kicked in that we realized something needed to be done.” Ryleigh Cornelius (’18), the team’s scrum half, agrees with Robert, and believes that the team should have taken on the recruitment process earlier in the campaign. “We ignored it for a really long time, but once we realized how big of a problem it was we
went after more kids,” he said. Robert, Cornelius and co-captain Oliver Wilson (‘17) attempted to convince students to give rugby a try ahead of the season’s kick off. To the relief of the players and coaches, their attempts were successful, as there were enough names on the team’s roster for them to take the first of their international trips in December to Brussels, Belgium. Some weeks later, the team’s numbers were once again reduced and players were left scrambling, looking for more additions to the squad. At this point, according to Cornelius, the need for emergency recruitment took center stage. “We had to get serious about it,” he said.
“I was begging friends, pretty much, telling them it was me, [Robert] and [Skow’s] last chance to play.” Oliver Wilson (’17)
Athletics Director John Farmer admits that a short while before the beginning of this year’s winter ISSTs, he realized that something needed to be done about bolstering the squad, and needed to be done in a rapid fashion. “I met with the
team back in December and said ‘Look, here’s the state of the union. We are lacking players, we don’t have a full ISST squad’,” he said. Following a short period of promise where a group of athletes gave the sport a go and things looked to be resolved, hopes of participation at ISSTs once again diminished when many felt as if the sport wasn’t the right fit for them. “People came for a few sessions and then left, so I met with the captains [and told them] I got an agreement with the other athletic directors to do small [seven] sided games with our team, which would mean having to forfeit the game but at least play,” Farmer said. “That’s not what our players wanted to do.” Understanding that it was their final time to appear in orange and black on the pitch, both Wilson and Robert, alongside the remaining senior on the team, Andrew Skow (’17), once again set out in hopes of convincing students to attempt the sport. “I was begging friends, pretty much, telling them it was me, [Robert] and [Skow’s] last chance to play,” Wilson said. Robert, on the other hand, went for a more long-term strategy, and enquired about the interest of the rugby team in lower grades. “I went out and spoke at one of the sophomore class meetings… I told them that it’s four or five weeks of a great
time, the ultimate team sport,” he said. Three weeks before the start of the tournament, the team had successfully managed to recruit four senior players in order to fulfill the quota for a full ISST squad. Farmer admits that he was hesitant to allow the new recruits to be thrown straight into the mix for ISSTs. “It was with great pause that we agreed to [allow them to play]. I totally understand that there could be criticism around this, especially as we have a full fall season of rugby to try and get players ready and prepared physically to be able to play four games in two days,” he said. “As a result, I called the parents of the players [who were recruited], explained my concerns… and made sure that they knew that they are signing up for something that they think is safe for their student.” Even with a full team, their performance at ISSTs did not meet their expectation according to varsity rugby Head Coach Charlie Hughes, finishing with zero wins and four losses. “Unfortunately, this year, the team didn’t perform to their greatest ability,” he said. “They underachieved. They had all the physical attributes and the skillset of a good rugby team, but unfortunately something didn’t quite click in their mental state
over the ISSTs, which is something that we want to change next year.” Although Hughes praises the recruits for their dedication to the team, saying that “their commitment was absolutely outstanding,” he acknowledges that starting from scratch less than a month away from a major tournament was far from ideal. “It’s very hard to teach someone a very complicated and skill-based game in about four weeks,” he said. Regardless of their disappointing stretch at ISSTs, Robert believes that the future ahead for the rugby program is full of potential. “We have a really big group of sophomores who are really solid players, and some good juniors as well who all embody the spirit of the team. [They] love it and they always talk about next season, so the future is bright,” he said. Hughes agrees with Robert, admitting that the fact only four seniors leaving at the end of the year is a “huge positive,” but believes that there still is a lot of work to be done. “The rugby program is going to change next year in terms of the way we look at coaching, and things within the school,” he said. “Instead of just coaching rugby techniques all the time, we are going to be teaching life lessons; teamwork… commitment … and discipline.”
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Sports
A question of consistency Jonathan Novak | Staff Writer
Exploring the mental and physical effects of consistency in the sporting world
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hen an athlete makes the decision to play sports, they are not in for a steady ride. One game you might win, the next game you lose. It’s all part of the sporting experience. However, for unknown reasons, an athlete can have the best game of their life one day, and just a few days later their worst. Harry Nevins (’18), Captain of the varsity boys soccer team, believes soccer is his “passion.” Although Nevins understands that there are uncontrollable factors that lead to a bad performance, he believes it mainly depends on preparation. “Preparation is a big part of [playing well]. Getting a good night’s rest, eating the right meals, going in with the right mindset,” he said. Nevins feels that after a poor performance, he naturally focuses on the negatives when reflecting on the match. By focusing on the negatives, this can lead Nevins to a more pessimistic mindset when going about the rest of his day. “When I lose a game and I have to reflect on it for quite a bit, I’ll have to watch the game tape, talk with teammates about what we could have done better which can take up some time and kind of influence my mindset by spending more time on thinking about the negatives,” Nevins said. “That can make you upset and distract you from your studies in a way.” Although it can be problematic to think about what went wrong, Nevins believes he can’t let the negatives of a performance affect him. “That’s also something that is one of the great questions
“It’s hard to stay consistent throughout the whole season because no matter how good you are, you always have your off days.” Jake Perelmuter (’18)
which is, how do you not let it get to you?” he said. Lauren Brantley (’20), a member of the ASL varsity swimming team, believes that it’s important to move on after a subpar performance, and seeks support from others to do so. “My parents are
very supportive. They don’t try to make me feel bad if I don’t swim well and same with my coach,” she said. “It makes it easy for me to just get over it.” Both Nevins and Brantley don’t feel they have slumps in form; they believe it is slightly more random. “I wouldn’t categorize it into periods of good performance and bad but focus when [the bad] happens,” Nevins said. Varsity baseball player Jake Perelmuter (’18), believes that during the season he can be “streaky.” In contrast to Nevins and Brantley, he believes that there are periods of time where he is playing well and others where he isn’t. “I’ll have some days or weeks when I’m on my game and some days
or weeks when I’m off my game,” Perelmuter said. Playing poorly can affect Perelmuter outside of the world of sport as well as inside. “It upsets you in the moment when you’re playing the sport but definitely also outside because you think about it a lot when you’re doing other stuff,” Perelmuter said. “It could lead to worse performance in school or social issues just by being in the back of your mind. It can affect you greatly.” Nevins says that although a bad performance usually stays in his mind, it doesn’t affect him in school. “Let’s say I have a class with one of my teammates and there’s a low period in the class, I might comment and say, ‘if only
CARTOON BY GABRIELLE IWEGBUE forgets to do a pre-match ritual, it can affect his performance. “There are things where I will feel that I have to do before a game, during a game and leading up to it, and if I don’t, it can linger in the back of my mind for a few minutes but it goes away,” he said. Although an athlete tries to do all they are capable of to win, it isn’t always easy. So much time and effort can go into preparation for a poorly executed performance. But, it is an athlete’s job to do whatever they can to be their best even if it’s uncontrollable. “It’s hard to stay consistent throughout the whole season because no matter how good you are you always have your off days,” Perelmuter said.
we could have won yesterday, it could have been so different’ but it doesn’t stay on my mind and won’t get off topic from the actual learning from that moment,” he said. On the other hand, superstitions can be a way for athletes to achieve consistency. However athletes feel differently about having them. Perelmuter believes they are fun to have but aren’t necessarily beneficial. “It’s such a trivial thing that you know doesn’t really affect your game but you still like to have,” he said. “When I go up to bat I do the same routine... It’s less of a superstitious thing and more of having a routine, it gets you in the zone.” Nevins feels superstitions are important to the point where if he
THE STANDARD | March 2017
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Sports
Trick shots and tripods Tyler Chapman (’20) dedicates countless hours to perfecting his frisbee skills and has committed to garnering a social media following for his trick shot videos John Towfighi | Staff Writer
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really just chuck the frisbee and hope it goes in,” joked Tyler Chapman (’20), whose skill in the lesser known sport of freestyle frisbee has made him an unusually intriguing entertainer. Despite Chapman’s modest attitude regarding his skills, those scrolling through his Instagram account (@tc_frisbee), will most likely think the contrary. Videos of 60-yard backhand shots and over-the-roof throws that drop perfectly into basketball hoops show Chapman’s skill with a frisbee prominently. Chapman’s interest in frisbee was sparked when he was living in Indiana, where his friends’ participation in the sport sparked his involvement. His interest in freestyle frisbee came hand-in-hand with social media, as Chapman credits the beginning of his involvement in the sport to his friend’s social media accounts, as well as other YouTube trick shot videos. Using these videos as inspiration, Chapman created his very own trick shot account in November 2015, posting videos of himself and his friends. Using a tripod and his iPhone to film himself, Chapman sets up different angles for certain shots, always trying out “different throws to make... a variety [of ] unique shots.” In his eyes, the publicity aspect of the sport is just as important as the actual trick shots. For Chapman, social media makes him strive to be better, while also helping him with originality. “Without social media I would not be doing fris-
bee,” he said. “One of my favorite parts is showing other people my shots and get-
ting feedback.” T h e kinds of s h o t s Chapm a n takes for his videos differ from time to time, and depend on what ideas he has come up with over the week. Chapman
“Without social media I would not be doing frisbee. One of my favorite parts is showing other people my shots and getting feedback.” Tyler Chapman (’20)
draws inspiration from other trickshot accounts on YouTube, such as American Ultimate Disc League player and successful YouTube personality Brodie Smith. Chapman takes cues from Smith’s Instagram account. The slim chances of making trick shots are what make them
appealing to the public, but from the thrower’s point of view, it can be an enduring journey to sit through many attempts. Patience is an important aspect of the process, and something Chapman has become accustomed to. “Honestly it depends how lucky or unlucky I am. It could take five minutes, or four hours,” he said. It is his optimism and continuous self-reassurance that the frisbee eventually will go in that keeps him from giving up even after what could be well more than 50 misses. Attempting longer throws can be frustrating, as the wind plays a considerable part in the
frisbee’s trajectory, but it is t h e pure joy of nailing such difficult shots that attracts Chapman to the sport. “It feels like the best thing in the world...[like] winning a sports tournament.” Despite moving from suburban Fishers, Indiana, with a lot of space to play and film, to the crowded city of London, Chapman uses local parks like Paddington Recreational Ground to film videos. Spending up to four hours shooting at different locations, Chapman gets as much footage and practice in as he can. Described by Chapman as a “hobby,” his freestyle hit a turning
point when he obtained his first sponsorship. Disc Store, a major manufacturer of frisbees and apparel in the U.S. that is based in Omaha,
N e braska confirmed Chapman’s sponsorship. After seeing an ad on their Instagram about sponsorship opportunities, Chapman posted a video of his footage promoting their account, ultimately recieving a sponsorship on March 7; after signing a few forms, he will now receive free frisbees and clothing in return for his support and promotion. Having taken his love for freestyle overseas, Chapman has made the most of this sport introduced to him by his friends back home. To Chapman, it is this connection to home that brings everything together. “Frisbee is fun to me because I used to do it as a hobby with friends in Indiana, and now it has become a passion.”
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL
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Rugby Effects of inconsistency
Ally Larson (’19) competes in the 100 meter breastsroke event. Larson won the event, and also collected gold medals in the 100 meter freestyle and the 50 meter freestyle events. ASL swimming won gold at this year’s ISST tournament, with varsity boys, varsity girls and JV girs finishing first, while JV boys came fourth. PHOTO BY ANNA PODURGIEL
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL
THE STANDARD | March 2017