Issue III

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the Standard

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Q&A with Anne Richardson

Disciplinary review Food for thought

Faith and Freedom

Winter Season update

Ten questions with the new Director of Academic Advising and College Counselling for the 2017/2018 school year.

The Standard calls for greater consistency in the disciplinary process amid discrepancies in the treatment of students.

A look into the religions that make up the student body and the tensions some experience in expressing their beliefs.

Recapping the winter season so far with just 4 weeks until winter sports teams will compete in their respective ISSTs.

PAGE 11

Three students who follow different diets explain their decisions and how they navigate the social effects.

News 2-5 | Opinions 6-9 | Features 10-15 | Culture 16-20 | Sports 21-23

Beyond the gateway

The factors that contributed to the abuse of LSD among underclassmen and how the school supports affected students

Sophie Ashley | Opinions Editor Alexandra Gers | Culture Editor Michaela Towfighi | Lead Features Editor

Story on pages 12-13

January/February 2017 | Volume 42, Issue 3 The American School in London | One Waverley Place | London NW8 0NP U.K. | standard.asl.org

News Page 2

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THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Q&A with Anne Richardson Students aid refugees

Robotics tournament participatation capped TYLER SKOW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Each day after school, roughly 80 students rush around the Make Innovate and Learn Lab (MILL) designing and constructing. They are preparing to send these robots to Shenzhen, China, to compete in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) regional championship.

This years robotics trip is unique in two respects. Firstly, the team will travel to the recently developed regional competition in Shenzhen, China as opposed to New York City, New York, where they have gone for the past two years. Secondly, due to growth of the program and a limited number of spaces for travel, some students who would have previously met the requirements to travel in the past, will be unable to attend this year.

ASL’s robotics program, consisting of two teams – The 1884 Griffins and 1797 Phoenix – has experienced a surge in popularity, with 93 members, following October’s club fair.

Attrition over the past three months has seen the team’s size decrease to roughly 80, a figure much larger than the 60 students that comprised the program last year.

The team will only be allowed to take 48 students on the trip to Shenzhen, China, the same number of spaces the team had last year, despite the increase in popularity.

Chloe Fink (’17), Head of Finance for robotics, believes the trip is integral to the robotics experience. “It’s really important for everyone on the robotics team to see the hours they put into the team, and the hours they put into working late on the robot really meant something,” she said.

Fink acknowledges that the trip is far from the only reason to be on the team, citing that many indispensable members will ultimately

not attend. Yet, she maintains there is something special about the competition. “I went on the trip last year and it really of brings together the whole experience,” she said.

With the limited number of spaces this year, Fink wonders if it may have an adverse affect on the team. “I think missing out on a trip shuts you down because you don’t feel important,” Fink said.

The requirements to make the trip last year were thorough with members of the Griffins required to be present for two thirds of the available hours, and members of Phoenix are required to be present for half of the available hours.

Head of the Robotics Program Muktar Ali believes that some students who would have met the criteria to travel last year may not be able to attend this year. “It’s heartbreaking for me. A majority of these kids will put in 150 hours, and the kids who are here over [February] break will be up to 250-275 hours in the program, which is insane, and the potential that some of them might not make it is difficult for me, but it’s something I have to accept,” he said.

The mentors of the robotics team and Principal Jack Phillips met several times this year to discuss the possibility of expanding the number of trip spaces; however, because the trip was planned before the start of the season, changes are difficult. “We all agreed to stick with the plan because we allocated a number of chaperones and we are talking about days away from school and additional funding from the school and those are kind of hard to change midcourse,” Phillips said. “But when the season is over this year we will revisit what next year is going to look like.”

Earlier in the season, as it became apparent to Fink and other leaders on the team that the number of travel spaces might not be enough,

The robotics team working ahead of their trip to Shenzhen, China. Despite the increase in numbers and two teams, the program remains limited to only sending 48 students to the tournament.

PHOTO BY MADDIE SAYRE attempts were made to raise more money to purchase additional spaces.

Part of Fink’s job as head of finance is assisting in raising money for the team. “We were able to raise the funds fairly quickly [this year] and so as soon as we did that we were thinking, ‘ok an issue with bringing more people [on the trip] must be the expenses’, so we thought ‘what if we can raise more so more kids can come?’, so we worked with that idea and we did put it forth but it unfortunately was shot down,” Fink said.

The robotics team is capped at raising £10,000, thus, Fink and other members could not raise additional funds to bring more students on the trip.

When the team acquired the ability to fundraise two years ago the advancement office and administration stipulated that all funds must be raised from corporations and cannot exceed

a cap that is determined on a yearly basis. “Fundraising really is part of the charge and mission of FIRST,” Phillips said. “So we agreed this is acceptable but there would be a limit and that we can only approach companies.”

As this season comes to a close, Ali and the administration will consider developing new opportunities. “There’s a broader conversation once this season ends,” he said. Pertaining to the possibility of starting new programs that cater to an even wider group of students Ali said, “maybe there is someone that does not like robotics but there’s something else we can offer like an architecture program, anything where we can encourage problem solving. I think [for] the next few years I am very hopeful, very optimistic about what we could be bringing to this school and offerings that we could be giving to high school students.”

Evaluating freshman study hall importance MADDIE SAYRE STAFF WRITER Since the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, Study Hall has been a mandatory class for Grade 9. In past years, a class called Foundations was required, however, the current Advisory program now takes it place. Study Hall provides Grade 9 students structured time to organize themselves.

The Study Hall block is scheduled twice a cycle, alternating with Physical Education.

Director of Student Life James Perry believes the main purpose of Study Hall is to give Grade 9 students time management skills.

“We just want to ensure that freshmen get off on the right track and maybe learn some of these time management techniques on their own, so by the time you’re in Grade 10, you have more free time and you are able to handle that free time maybe more productively,” Perry said.

The decision to keep Study Hall as a Grade 9 class was made last year when the students were given a survey. Grade 9 Dean Jennifer Craig sent a survey which asked students two

questions: “Do you want to keep Study Hall?” and “do you need Study Hall?” Many students stated that they needed it for study time and many parents agreed it was a necessary class. “I think the point was, there is a space and time to just help you organize a little better with somebody in the room to help you and to formalize that you use your time well,” Craig said.

Anna Heinrich (’20) believes that Study Hall

“You have those kids who do absolutely nothing in Study Hall and just watch television for an hour, and then you have those kids who use it to get their work done.”

Anna Heinrich (’20)

is a beneficial class as she is able do homework and meet with teachers. “I do think it helps us use our time wisely and again sometimes you just have those days where, even if you do your homework the night it is assigned but still have too much work, instead of going to bed two hours later that day, you can get it done in Study Hall,” Heinrich said.

She believes that whether or not Study Hall is useful depends on the type of student. “You have those kids who do absolutely nothing in Study Hall and just watch television for an hour, and then you have those kids who use it to get their work done,” Heinrich said.

Anabelle Pinkston (’19) believes that Study Hall would be more beneficial for a Grade 10 student. “I would’ve liked to have been able to take PE and health for a full year in Grade 9, so I wouldn’t have to take it this year and I could possibly have an extra elective. I think free time is more important in Grade 10,” Pinkston said.

Nils Skattum (’17) had Foundations instead of Study Hall during his freshman year. “I think the important thing about Foundations was it was the starter class for building the person you wanted to be in high school, by having the interactions you wanted to have, and practicing through that class,” Skattum said.

The goal of Foundations was for Grade 9 students to understand the appropriate skills and building blocks to be successful in high school. “It was almost advisorial in nature, kind of like an advisory for 9th graders,” he

said. “With the combination of Study Hall to give the Grade 9 students some structured free time to stay up on their studies, and then advisory which we are starting to differentiate within each grade, I think we felt that accomplished the same thing,” Perry said.

With his introduction to the High School, Skattum said he enjoyed the Foundations class and has been friends with people he met there ever since. Skattum believes that Foundations was a more valuable use of time and Study Hall isn’t necessary in Grade 9. “The reality is freshmen year is difficult, there is some work, but I think it is manageable,” he said.

Heinrich thinks Study Hall has been a valuable use of her time and she appreciates having the class this year. “Seeing how much I need Study Hall and how much it has helped me, I think that [Study Hall] has made me more aware of how I could use my time,” Heinrich said.

The administration believes that Study Hall has been a success and should continue for the next year. “Anecdotally, from what I hear, it seems as though Study Hall is useful and productive time spent,” Perry said. “Right now there are no plans to change it.”

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

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News

Q&A: 10 Questions with Anne Richardson Appointed as the new Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling, Anne Richardson, schooled in England, talks about her time at University, Kents Hill and return home SOURNA DANESHVAR JR. LEAD NEWS EDITOR Sourna Danesvhar Jr.: What made you apply to ASL? Anne Richardson: I visited ASL a couple of years ago and spent the afternoon in the college counseling office because I wanted to know more about the UCAS [The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service] system because in my job over here, I am finding more and more students interested in UCAS and applying. And so at that time I got a tour with Patty [Strohm, current Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling], I got a tour of the school I just found it to be an incredible school. ASL has been on my radar in that sense as a great school that is doing exciting, neat things in a city that is a fabulous city and was once my home. ASL has an incredible reputation so when the job was posted I thought, “Well, now’s the time to give this a try.”

Anne Richardson has spent the last 19 years at Kents Hill school, a boarding school in rural Maine. At the conclusion of the 2016/2017 school year Richardson will replace current Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling Patty Strohm.

PHOTO COURTESY KENTS HILL SCHOOL

SD: Why did you decide to work in education?

AR: I didn’t originally decide to be in education. When I did my O levels and A levels back in England, I was going to be a pediatrician. I did Science A levels. I did biology, chemistry and maths and then sort of half way through I discovered that I did not want to be involved in the blood, guts and gore of medicine. And what I discovered then when I went to college and became an English major was that the piece of being a doctor that attracted me was being with people, and most of all I enjoyed being with young people. So from that English major I did a couple of practicum in college in schools and teaching, and being in a school, was something that I really wanted to do. So right out of college I started as an English teacher.

SD: What would you say is your philosophy as a college counselor?

AR: My philosophy is that this is a studentdriven process and the student needs to be heard and to be validated as do the parents.

Parents have a strong stake in this and the parents are an important piece of the process, but ultimately, it should be studentdriven and my goal for each student is that they find themselves on May 1 enrolled in an institution or a higher education place where they are going to be at their most successful academically, socially, athletically. That’s what I want. I want their success.

SD: How familiar are you with applying to higher education in places outside of the U.S.?

AR: Kents Hill is 25 percent international, so each year we will have applications that will go all over the U.S., but also into Canada, the U.K., Japan, Spain, you name it. Even if we don’t put in an application in the end we have at least explored lots and lots of options with them. This is an office that has multi-national experience when it comes to applications. So we have done

SD: What were you like in High School?

AR: Oh, I was pretty average. I was a B, C student. I was not an ideal fit for the English System because the English System is very exam oriented and I’m a terrible test taker. I was a good leader though. I was head of my house and I was head of the service program when I was in high school. I was a good leader and a good administrator. I was a terrible athlete! But I think what I loved most about my high school, which was a high school in England, was that

UCAS applications in this office probably for the last five years.

it was all women so I had really powerful women teachers who ended up being good mentors to me and I think that really set me off on a good path.

SD: What do you remember most about your time in college?

AR: Coming from an all girls, very proper school in England, Oberlin was mind blowing. It was one of the most liberal, progressive colleges in the country at that point and I went from an all girls situation to a co-ed dorm, which was extraordinary. But Oberlin was another place where I grew enormously. It balanced out my thinking. It made me think critically. It turned me into an activist.

SD: What’s your pet peeve?

AR: I always like it when people talk faceto-face. If you have something important to say it doesn’t always fit well in an e-mail.

It’s better to just talk face-to-face.

SD: What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

AR: My favorite thing to do on a rainy day is to bake and to read a good book by the fire.

SD: If you were going to write a recom-

mendation about yourself, what would you say?

AR: I would say that I work hard. That I get things done. That I really try to listen and empower people to do things that they thought they couldn’t do. I’m pretty flexible, I’m pretty good at multi-tasking. I have a good sense of humor and wherever I work I try to make that place a better place.

SD: What about your family?

AR: My husband is coming with me and I think he is going to be working in the Field Hockey program [at ASL]. I have a son and a daughter both who went through Kents Hill School. They’ve both been to London many times and they are very excited that we are moving there. My daughter has graduated from college and works in Washington D.C. for an international company. And our son next year he will be in his senior year of a nursing program at St. Anselm college in Manchester, New Hampshire. But the other thing you should know about him is that he is a very high level Field Hockey player, which is unusual in the United States and is currently a member of the U.S. national team.

SD: So a high level athlete for sure.

AR: They are training for the Olympics.

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News

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Sustainability Council works towards Green Flag Award MARTHA COLLINS DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MICHAELA TOWFIGHI LEAD FEATURES EDITOR

Smog clouds engulf cities as kids walk to school wearing face masks. This is the image Josh O’Toole (’18) sees when visiting family in China. The culprit: Pollution.

For O’Toole, pollution and climate change come hand-in-hand, and are two pressing issues. This encouraged him to join the recently formed Sustainability Council.

Founded by Science Teacher Marisa Wilson, the Sustainability Council is a new initiative in the High School this year. The Council includes Wilson and a group of 20 students who joined after an application process.

Sophia Linkas (’17) is one of the leaders of the Sustainability Council, which serves to “trying to make our community more sustainable by spearheading initiatives and raising awareness.”

For members on the council, their interest in the environment may have been sparked through classes like AP Environmental Science or Ecology, or simply, like O’Toole, have a firsthand experience with environmental issues such as air pollution.

“I think everybody cares about the environment to a certain degree, but these are students who really have first-hand experience with an issue, or have a really strong knowledge base,” Wilson said.

ASL has been registered with Eco Schools, a program aimed at encouraging sustainable practices in schools, for about seven years. Wilson discovered Eco Schools and registered ASL while working with a group of students to build a solar panel for Quintin Kynaston (QK).

Eco Schools engages students around the globe to make their schools more ecofriendly. Approximately 17,000 schools in Britain are registered. The organization presents a Green Flag Award to schools that meet specific seven criteria in their efforts to increase sustainable practices. Around 1,200 schools in Britain hold this award.

The council, in its inaugural year, is still deciding what they want to focus on. Linkas sees the Green Flag Award, given by Eco Schools, as a longterm goal for the council.

In O’Toole’s opinion, though difficult, achieving the award is the main goal and motivator of the council. “It is feasible [to earn the Green Flag Award], but it is going to be tough. We are going to need to coordinate on it with a lot of people, but it is definitely feasible. It is not a very long process, if we are efficient,” he said.

One requirement of the Green Flag Award is to have an Eco-Committee comprised of students and faculty advisors. The Sustainability Council fulfills this requirement. However, the Eco-Committee must

The seven steps to obtain a Green Flag Award

The Eco-Committee

Students share responsibility with adults for running and keeping a record of the meetings

The Environmental Review

There are seven main judging criteria that must be met in order to obtain a green flag award. Securing a Green Flag Award remains one of the main aims of the newly formed Sustainability Council. involve members from all three divisions of the school in order to meet the criteria.

Linkas and O'Toole attended a meeting in the fall with administrators, facilities managers and teacher representatives from all three divisions to discuss the future of sustainability at ASL. “That group, while

“I think everybody cares about the environment to a certain degree, but these are students who really have first-hand experience with an issue, or have a really strong knowledge base.”

Sustainability Coordinator Marisa Wilson

it’s made up of a lot of adults who can help the different divisions of students go forward with these things is really important, at the end of the day it’s about the students and they have to come up with how they want to make sustainability better at this school,” Wilson said.

A central aspect of the Green Flag Award is that the efforts towards obtaining it must be a student initiative.

The Green Flag Award also requires the Eco-Committee to conduct an Environmental Review of the school on areas including waste, energy, water and litter. The Sustainability Council has already completed this review. They are currently in the process of analyzing the review to isolate areas in which they want to focus their efforts and develop their Action Plan.

Eco Schools requires students to create an Action Plan and choose three areas to focus on, one of which must be energy usage at their school. After the other areas are chosen, the council will implement programs and initiatives to improve sustain-

able methods. In addition, they will complete the “monitoring action and evaluating progress” step set out by Eco Schools.

One aspect Wilson believes the school needs to improve greatly is in transportation usage. “Transportation is the area where we can make the biggest change, but it’s also the most difficult,” Wilson said.

“You think about Alternatives, those are some great trips, but can they still be great if we don’t fly all over the place?”

The Eco-Committee must also find a way to link sustainability to the curriculum. Both Wilson and Linkas believe this is a key step in increasing overall environmental awareness at the school. “That’s the way students are going to go forward and have these ideas instilled in them,” Wilson said.

“Whether they go into the business world, engineering, fashion... they have a little bit of a sustainability idea in their mind in terms of whatever they're doing.”

Through integrating environmental ideas into lessons, Linkas hopes to instill students with more conscious mindsets. “We need is talk to all the teachers about incorporating sustainability and environment into their lessons for all classes in some way. For instance, if the statistics teacher is doing a lesson he can do it on carbon emissions or renewable energy,” she said. “So just talking more about the environment is a huge part of it.”

The Eco-Code

The school has an agreed Eco-Code that is integrated into the school’s mission statement and core values.

Students and adults on the Eco-Committee plan and carry out an environmental review of the school

The Action Plan

The Action Plan contains timescales, who is responsible and how targets will be monitored and evaluated

Monitoring action and evaluating progress

Evidence has been collected, analyzed and evaluated to show the school’s progress and develop future actions

Linking to the curriculum Environmental issues have been covered in at least three curriculum areas by most year groups

Involving the whole school and wider community The EcoCommittee regularly communicates activities to the school and wider community

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

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News

Page 5

Students travel to refugee camps Inspired by their trip, three students create a charity to continue supporting the refugee crisis

CAMERON CAMPILI NEWS EDITOR

OLIVIA ABRAMS CULTURE EDITOR With over 1 million Syrians having requested asylum in Europe, there is no question that the Syrian Refugee crisis poses one of the greatest geo political challenges the world has ever faced.

From Greece to Germany, these refugees have traveled thousands of miles to seek safety from the current situation in Syria.

Earlier this year, three students ,Ayse Yucesan (’18), Rayan Ghandour (’18) and Celine Sawiris (’18), began reaching out to several refugee organizations throughout London. The students contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), helping them plan a trip to Jordan and Greece, partnering with them to raise awareness.

In order to assist in the global crisis, the students made a trip during Thanksgiving break to Syrian refugee camps. The students travelled to Amman, Jordan, where they stayed for two days, and then continued onto Athens, Greece where they visited a refugee camp and also settlements within the city.

Having left Egypt in 2011 after the revolution, Sawiris is grateful of the privilege in her life today.

As a result of her background, she wanted more hands-on exposure to the crisis. “ I just wanted to be able to relate to them on a personal level,” Sawiris said.

Similarly, Ghandour lived in Lebanon for 14 years and being half Syrian, feels a cultural tie to the crisis that has devastated millions. While the war in Syria started in 2011, political turmoil in the country had been present for many years prior. While living in Lebanon, Ghandour grew involved in helping refugees, but he felt his involvement begin to diminish after moving away from is home. “When I moved to London I felt that my connection was lost, but I still wanted to do something, which is why I became involved in our charity,” he said.

Before leaving for the trip, Yucesan was expecting a “sense of hopelessness, anguish and sorrow.” However Yucesan was shocked to realize that her experience contrasted many of her ex-

pectations. “The refugee families that we met and the people that we interacted with were so full of hope and so joyful that it was crazy for us to see,” Yucesan said.

Ghandour observed thousands of refugees attempt to recreate their hometown. “Its is pretty devastating, there is no electricity or heat, but it’s heartwarming to see them try to mimic their lives in Syria,” he said.

During their time in Athens, Ghandour connected with a boy, named Sammit, who lives in an orphanage. “It started off as an emotional talk about what happened in Syria, but then it truly became a talk between two 17-year-olds,” he said. Ghandour continues to

“When I moved to London I felt that my connection was lost, but I still wanted to do something which is why I became involved in our charity.”

Rayan Ghandour (’18)

communicate with him today.

In attempt to relate to children in the camps on a more intimate level, Sawiris interacted with many teens her age. However, she found one conversation to be particularly meaningful. Sawiris was told by a young Syrian girl that the absence of electricity is what she was missing most in life. Sawiris believes that at ASL, “everything we have, we take for granted.”

Reflecting on her own experience, one interaction still resonates in Yucesan’s mind. When speaking with a refugee father, Yucesan asked him what hopes he had for his children. He said that he hopes they will attain an educated and achieve their dreams so that maybe one day they can go back to Syria.

Yucesan realized that this father has the same hopes and aspirations for his children as many parents in her community, a dream that all fathers have for their children.

Yucesan, Ghandour and Sawiris will continue raising awareness through the implementation of their organization, Teens with Refugees. “Essentially what we are hoping to do is to not only

raise financial aid for the camps that we visited, but also raise awareness among our age group, among teenagers and students for the crisis and find ways to work with the UN for teenagers to get physically and actively involved,” Yucesan said.

The group will be present at ASL’s annual auction where they hope to raise money through selling a piece of artwork created by a refugee they met during their trip.

“Spreading awareness is a big part of [our organization] however, like any charity, raising money is one of our primary goals,” Ghandour said.

Ghandour believes that it is important to note that there are no age requirements for aiding the Syrian crisis. He hopes the group can “show people there is no age limit, and that they can help out in any way they can, no matter how young they are.”

Because he youth are a crucial part of this project, Yucesan, Ghandour and Sawiris are focusing on high school students.

Ghandour believes that many adolescents can relate to this topic.

“We believe the changes that the youth start making now, could be the changes that cause long term benefits for this crisis,”Ghandour said.

Ayse Yucesan (’18), Rayan Ghandour (’18) and Celine Sawiris (’18), spent time in Amman, Jordan and Athens, Greece visiting several refugee camps. PHOTOS BY AND COURTESY OF CELINE SAWIRIS

Opinions Page 6

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THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Istanbul attack Letter to the Editor

Consistency needed in disciplinary process

Editorial

O

n January 5, Principal Jack Phillips delivered a speech to the High School outlining a recent disciplinary case that resulted in the expulsion of a student.

Phillips included only the details necessary to illustrate the community’s standards on substance abuse. Names were not used, preserving the anonymity of those involved.

This recent expulsion marks the fourth in four years, and in light of the discrepancies in the handling of different disciplinary cases, we, as an Editorial Board, are calling for greater consistency in the management of severe Code of Conduct infractions.

Procedure is pivotal in these instances, especially ones that may lead to suspension or expulsion.

A thorough, clearly documented procedure ensures fairness and

CARTOON BY STELLA JORGENSEN limits any bias or mistreatment through the disciplinary process.

Instances this year have caused this Editorial Board to call into question the administration’s management of the disciplinary process and their conviction to follow procedure without fail.

In previous expulsions, the affected grade had been informed before the rest of the community; an important step that breaks the news to those most affected that was forgotten in the recent expulsion.

We implore the administration to maintain this practice. Grade levels are important communal units and should be prioritized in receiving the news of the dismissal of one of their fellow classmates.

In a more glaring instance of inconsistency this year, the ad-

TYLER SKOW Editor-in-Chief MARTHA COLLINS Deputy Editor-in-Chief SOURNA DANESHVAR JR. Lead News Editor CAMERON CAMPILI News Editor SOPHIE ASHLEY Opinions Editor MICHAELA TOWFIGHI Lead Features Editor ANANYA PRAKASH Features Editor QUINN WHITMAN Features Editor OLIVIA ABRAMS Culture Editor ALEXANDRA GERS Culture Editor JONATHAN SHEVES Sports Editor ANKIT MEHRA Online Director STEPHANIE BRENDSEL Online/Photo Editor CHRISTINA LEONARD Online Editor SHANNON MILLER Adviser CARTOONISTS Stella Jorgensen STAFF WRITERS Maya Ariburnu, William Brummette, Martha Duff, Phaedra Letrou, Anastasia Ruimy, Houdah Daniels, Michael Flaherty, Rohan Haarman, Isabella Lhuilier, Jonathan Novak, Naz Ozturk, Jonathan Philips, Lorenzo Rasetta Moini, Maddie Sayre, Ethan Snizek, John Towfighi, Imogen Weiss, Amaan Zafar

ministration contradicted the precedent set in maintaining the anonymity of students involved in Code of Conduction violations.

As a punishment for an offence equivalent to academic dishonesty, a student was made to publicly apologize in front of their grade in a class meeting, disclosing the details of their disciplinary case.

As an Editorial Board, we take serious issue with the handling of this disciplinary transgression. We believe discretion is a pillar of discipline, especially among minors. As young adults, we should be held accountable for our mistakes, but we should also be allowed to move on from them.

Disclosing the details of a disciplinary case to the entire grade greatly hinders one’s ability to do so. Unless other students are directly impacted by the violation,

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

there is no reason to share the disciplinary proceeding with anyone else.

Making this information public when it isn’t necessary creates a culture of shaming. Public apologies as a form of discipline can also solidify stereotypes of individuals for what may have been a lapse of judgement or poor decision under extreme circumstance.

Everyone in this building and among the broader school community have made mistakes before, some more serious than others, but we all deserve the opportunity to move on without informing the entire school of our mistake.

We believe that there should be a punishment for those who do infringe on the rules set by the Code of Conduct, but we strongly disagree with the measures that

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

were taken on this particular case.

A disciplinary process in which students are forced to publicly own their disciplinary cases in front of the community is one this Editorial Board views as inappropriate and valueless. Thus, we request the administration avoid similar forms of retribution in the future, refraining from making a precedence of this punishment. We believe that if students are subjected to this form of punishment, it treads the line of public humiliation, which isn’t a form of punishment members of this Editorial Board deem tolerable.

The Editorial Board calls for the evaluation of the High School’s disciplinary process. Specifically we encourage the addition of a detailed protocol for the administration and SFDB’s handling of suspensions and expulsions to the Code of Conduct.

thoughts through letters to the editor, guest columns, online comments and story ideas. Contact the appropriate section editor(s) for submissions.

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THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

•••

Opinions

Page 7

Editorial

Trump is living up to his promises

Long before President Donald Trump ever imagined himself sitting in the Oval Office, he made a name for himself in the business of abruptly cutting futures short. With “The Apprentice”, and American game show, he banked millions off the simple, wounding phrase: “You’re fired.”

Now that Trump is the leader of the free world, he’s continuing his reign of turning reality on its head for so many, severely hindering their chances of a better future. On January 27, Trump issued an Executive Order barring the entry of all refugees into the U.S., as well as temporarily suspending the entry of anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The entry of any persons from Syria has been suspended indefinitely.

Trump made this ill-informed, impulsive and prejudiced order without the guidance of fact and history.

This Editorial Board views Trump’s actions as insufferable and frankly, unpresidential.

We refuse to sit back and watch Trump’s America develop into one where the lives of people of certain faiths are prioritized over others, nor where fear-mongering, xenophobia and hatred serve as advisors to the President.

By title, the order claims to be, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” Yet, so many of the refugees who seek safety in the U.S. – especially those from Syria – are victims of terrorism within their own nations.

They aren’t attempting to perpetrate terrorist attacks on the U.S., but flee from the terrorism happening in their own backyards. Hard-working civilians with once stable lives do not voluntarily flee unless what was once their home is now an inhabitable warzone. The U.S., with the president at its helm, has a responsibility to aid these civilians, no matter their nationality or religion. Judge James Robart of Seattle, Washington recognizes this point and swiftly challenged the order on February 3, temporarily lifting Trump’s travel ban. This Editorial Board supports Robart’s interpretation of the Constitution in ruling the ban unlawful.

In the very first section of the order, the attacks of September 11 are referenced. This Editorial Board does not seek to undermine the severity of the attacks in any way, but to simply state the fact that Trump’s Executive order would have not aided in preventing September 11 and that he is

merely using the event to fear-monger. None of the perpetrators of the attacks were from one of the seven countries from which citizens aren’t allowed into the U.S.; of the 19 hijackers, 15 were from Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was from Lebanon and the last was from Egypt.

This poses the question, why wasn’t Saudi Arabia included on the list? Simply excommunicating Saudi Arabia was not in the cards for Trump, as according to Forbes, the country is responsible for 14.3 percent of U.S. crude oil imports. Additionally, Trump has had business ventures on Saudi Arabian soil in the past, launching plans for property development, which were later cancelled, according to The Washington Post.

Trump issued the ban to present himself as coming down hard on terrorism, wanting to be remembered as the president who keeps Americans safe. However, the safety of Americans depends largely on the stability of regions across the globe, including regions in which many of the seven countries are located. This travel ban – often dubbed as a “Muslim ban” – does not reduce the pres-

ence of terrorism, but in fact increase it. For the leader of the free world to issue a blanket ban on travel for these seven countries only vilifies the U.S. further, making the country more of a target.

During his campaign, Trump tirelessly boasted about his plans, if elected, to not allow Muslims into the country. At a December 2015 campaign rally he told supporters, “Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.”

However, thanks to James Madison, Trump could not openly state that he was issuing a ban on all Muslims into the U.S., so he took it as far as he thought he possibly could. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of State is granted permission “to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality.”

All seven of the countries included in the ban are majorityMuslim, so the language is insin-

Progress Report SERVICE

SPIRIT WEEK

PATRIOTS

PHOTO 1 AND 3 BY SOPHIE ASHLEY, PHOTO 2 FROM COMMONS. WIKIMEDIA.ORG, PHOTO 4 FROM INSTAGRAM.COM/HSSTUCO, PHOTO 5 BY OLIVIA ABRAMS, PHOTO 6 FROM GENIUS.COM

LOCK IN

1

2

3

4

5 1.

6 4 4.

The Editorial Board of The Standard gives New England Patriots: (A+) Brady looks good with five the school its first 2. rings. What do you think Goodell? Michaela Towfighi 5.

Connection: (F) E coming up in the top left correport of 2017. 3. Phone ner might as well mean we don’t have a connection at all. 6.

Fruit Cups: (A+) Now I don’t have to go all the way to Pret to enjoy some lush mango with a slice of lime.

Martha Collins

Ankit Mehra

uating that Christians, religious minorities in those nations, will be looked upon as higher in the eyes of the U.S. government. Cite James Madison again and decide if this is constitutional. Robart did just that in suspending the order. Additionally, on February 5, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th District denied Trump’s Department of Justice a stay on Robart’s order on February 5. Trump responded to these developments in manner he knows best, Tweeting, “If something happens blame him and court system.”

Trump is attempting to pit arms of government directly against one another, an action which this Editorial Board views as childish and detrimental.

Trump’s Executive Order does not solve the issue of terrorism, add stability to the Middle East, nor does it improve U.S. foreign relations.

Less than a month into his presidency, Trump is burning briges and igniting the fear that many felt during his campaign. Trump is attempting to ban the citizens of seven nations from stepping on U.S. soil, but that does not mean those citizens no longer exist. The issues they are facing are not erased, only magnified.

Spirit Week: (C) Spectacularly average. As much as I love being able to wear a Tiger suit, the obscure spirit days led to lacking participation. Sourna Daneshvar Jr. Junior Lock In: (B+) Needed some fresh air. Otherwise very decent. JUNIORSSSSSS! Cameron Campili Culture Album: (A++) Rain drop. Drop top. Migos just changed hip-hop. Jonathan Sheves Post Scriptum: Rose Gate; sloppy Council?

Page 8

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

•••

Opinions

Promoting productive debate SOPHIE ASHLEY

sophie_ashley@asl.org

“

We can not let ourselves be threatened by opinions that differ from our own.

During Aequitas Day, I went to my first break out session, Gender Bias in Education, uncertain about what I had signed up for.

I ended up sitting in a haphazard circle of chairs that formed a Harkness table with a group of other students, most of whom I’d never spoken to.

Once the topic was introduced, we had free reign over the conversation.

For the first half of the session, nobody was speaking. It took almost 45 minutes for a conversation to really get going, but once it did, people in the room (including myself ) limited the conversation to revolve around one very liberal opinion. Anyone with even a slightly different viewpoint was shut down almost immediately.

Rather than having a discussion with a meaningful exchange of ideas, our conversation turned into a one-sided reiteration of one leftist viewpoint.

We can’t let ourselves be threatened by opinions that differ from our own. We shouldn’t be afraid to disagree with others, but we need to let these differences in opinions develop into debates. Debate helps us develop critical thinking and argument skills, and also allows us to understand different perspectives. If we do not take advantage of the opportunities we are given to do exactly that, why should we have them?

I know that the point of a Harkness discussion is partly to consider alternative ideas to my own. But instead, as I sat in this workshop and listened to the ideas of someone who had grown up differently than I had, my first instinct was to shut them down.

I was so certain that my liberal viewpoint was right that I couldn’t even consider another side to the argument.

This was also a common theme during the 2016 election season.

Those students who supported Trump were either too afraid to share their opinions, or their arguments were automatically devalued or ignored by most of the student population. Over 95 percent of students and faculty supported the Clinton campaign, and we were so convinced she was the right choice for the presidency that we barely paid attention to the small portion of our high school who ended up on the winning side.

We have students from all over the world. Surely, there is a greater diversity in opinion than I am seeing represented, whether it’s in the conversation I hear in the hallways or in my Aequitas Day workshop. At a school as diverse and transient as ASL, we need to take advantage of our unique opportunity to grow as individuals. The wealth of experiences we have as a student body, and as a community, needs to be exploited more than it currently is.

We have the power to make ASL a much more open forum for discussion. Although I’ll always advocate for writing a piece for The Standard as a means to have your opinion heard, we also need to be able to express ourselves in other ways.

This is an invitation for anyone with an unpopular opinion to speak out: Don’t let yourself shy away from an argument. You deserve to be heard, and being afraid to disagree just backs you further into your corner.

I urge our community to take advantage of the diversity of ideas at this school. Be the one to bring up hard topics. Start conversations that aren’t easy to have. Just because you don’t share the same liberal ideology as your classmates, your opinion is just as valid. Whether this results in a lively debate or a change of heart, your understanding of the world and other people will improve.

Seeds of Peace widens understanding AMAAN ZAFAR

amaan_zafar@asl.org

“

Even if you don’t have a large amount of knowledge about the conflict, still realize that at Seeds of Peace, your voice is heard and your opinion matters.

I was sitting in a room full of Israeli and Palestinian students, tensions were high and opinions were polarized. I was at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine.

All Israeli students in the room wanted to have a one state solution, combining Israeli and Palestinian people. The Palestinians in the room countered saying that the Palestinian people would be discriminated and as a result, they wanted a two state solution, splitting the people.

One student from the Israeli side listened as one Palestinian student discussed the problems with the Israeli government. As the debate continued, the tension increased.

It culminated when the Israeli student then asked, “In five years, when I am a n Israeli

soldier at the checkpoint, would you try to kill me?” He slowly replied, “Yes.” The Palestinian student looked around at the bewildered students and rushed towards the door, slamming it behind him.

This was just one of the powerful situations I witnessed. Seeds of Peace brings students from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, the U.K. and the U.S. together for a month-long program. The program addresses the conflict in the Middle East and its aim is to hear everyone’s side of the story. Small dialogue groups help the students to gain new perspectives by listening to personal stories and watching people’s body language in a safe space, free of physical violence.

In the beginning, I was scared because the directors for the U.S. and U.K. group said that some of the other kids might verbally attack you and tell you that you were not needed. My

problem was that I thought the kids were right. Why would I be needed to discuss the conflict when I hadn’t been affected by it at all? I couldn’t understand why I was accepted into this illustrious program about sharing my opinion when I only just learned about the conflict through online research a few months before I was thrown into this overwhelming situation.

To begin, the dialogue sessions were extremely uncomfortable for me because they seemed formal and intensive yet I only had surface level knowledge of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Most of the other students were mourning deaths of family members and shouting with the fullest of emotions. I felt guilty about my privelege when I couldn’t relate to the pain of others because I have lived in such a safe area where violence has never been a major problem. Some of the kids living in places like Gaza would never travel again, let alone have another experience like Seeds of Peace. There was no reason for me to feel annoyed about the situation I was in and I had to stay positive throughout the entire camp.

Amaan Zafaar spent a month discussing global conflicts with a diverse group of students.

PHOTO BY BOBBIE GOTTSHCALK

During camp, one of my friends from the Palestinian Delegation named Maaz was sadly informed that his mother was put in the hospital after a bombing. This was the point where I decided to change my attitude by connecting with people on a deeper level and trying to put myself out there whenever I could.

I came to appreciate the situation that I was in. I opened up and tried to speak to people I would never have spoken to. I was more confident heading into the dialogue sessions because I was realizing that every voice matters.

Seeds of Peace is a welcoming place which opened up my eyes about the conflict and the power of future generations. While gaining leadership and communication skills are key factors to the camp’s goals, expanding your horizon on different sides to an opinion, is a considerable step towards peace. Even if you don’t have a large amount of knowledge about the conflict, still realize that at Seeds of Peace, your voice is heard and your opinion matters.

While knowing that not everyone can attend Seeds of Peace, it is important to keep a strong and open mindset throughout any experience.

Being close-minded and cemented into one opinion are some of the main reasons for conflict. Having the privilege to be a part of a small step to a solution and to inspire others was a humbling experience.

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Page 9

•••

Opinions

Focus on the tragedy, not the terrorists MAYA ARIBURNU

maya_ariburnu@asl.org

“

Accusations and questions of blame should be secondary to the recognition of the tragedy that just happened.

Political commentary For more coverage on the 2017 election, read about Learning Specialist Roger Smith’s experience at the inauguration at standard.asl.org.

Page 10

•••

THE STANDARD | November/December 2016

Opinions

Inside the Trump campaign

An alumnus reflects on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election after working for the Trump campaign, and on his current role on the presidential transition team JAMES MALIN (’15) GUEST WRITER

In the weeks and months since Labor Day, it has been my honor and privilege to work for and serve the President Elect of the United States Donald Trump.

My interest in Trump’s campaign as an observer and a supporter goes back to the very beginning, to the infamous pictures of Trump and his family descending the escalators at Trump Tower in June 2015. While Trump’s direct language caught my interest as he announced his candidacy that day, I had little idea that in just over a year I would be riding that very same escalator into work every morning.

My personal role in the Trump campaign began in voter services, where I logged incoming mail, as each piece of mail sent to the campaign was responded to.

I read the stories of hundreds every day, all of whom were desperate for Trump to win. People who had been left behind and forgotten, who felt that Trump was the only candidate speaking directly to them and their concerns. People without a reliable paycheck donated amounts as small as $5 to help the man they believed in. These are people who just want a better future for themselves and their families.

After working with voter services for several weeks, I transferred to the communications department. I

Hundreds of millions of advertising dollars were spent by Trump’s opponents, both fellow Republicans in the primaries and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the general election, with the sole purpose of besmirching Trump’s character. Partisan advertising is to be expected, and its effects were felt on both candidates. What is not expected, however, is a partisan media.

Wikileaks published over 50,000 of Clinton’s Campaign Chairman John Podesta’s emails, some of which showed evidence of favorable treatment from journalists from Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Even CNN, which is assumed to be centrist, was in on the racket.

During the Democratic primaries, debate questions were allegedly leaked to Clinton on more than one occasion.

All of these connections comprised a coordinated effort to render Trump unelectable, and it almost worked. However, the mainstream media did not account for the plummeting public trust in news coverage. On November 9 the supposed experts were just as surprised as the people relying on their coverage for information.

In the aftermath of the election, I was disappointed, but unsurprised, to see the results of a poll of 315 High School students conducted by the Government

“

I read the stories of hundreds every day, all of whom were desperate for Trump to win. People who had been left behind and forgotten, who felt like Trump was the only candidate speaking directly to them and their concerns. was moved to the War Room, which is the center of all communications activity. During the latter stages of the race, the War Room worked nearly 24/7. I continue to work there during the presidential transition, monitoring news for both positive and negative stories.

and Political Theory class that showed only 17 percent of students favoring Trump. What was perhaps more disappointing, and less expected, was that of the 53 faculty members polled, all voted for Hillary Clinton.

ASL is a school that says it

James Malin (’15), bottom right, watches alongside President Elect Donald Trump as the votes are counted on election night.

PHOTO FROM TWITTER.COM/IVANKATRUMP

champions diversity, which in my 7 years as a student there, stood as a fair statement. The liberal faculty consensus shown by this poll, suggests ASL is not as diverse as it claims to be. Yes, there is diversity in ethnicity, race, religion and appearance at ASL, no one can dispute that. But is there diversity of thought and ideas at ASL? This poll says there is not, which is frankly disappointing and indicative of troublesome hiring patterns for the school.

I am not saying that all faculty should be rabid Trump supporters, far from it, but I do find it astounding that not a single of the 53 polled faculty members has a strain of conservative ideology to bring to the table. Were there no economics teachers in favor of the deregulated, lower taxed economy that Trump was offering? Were there no social studies teachers sympathetic to the rise in anti-globalization sentiment seen across the world, mirrored by candidates like Trump, Marine

“

Le Pen and Nigel Farage? Does no teacher see the faults in Obamacare that Trump pointed out?

For a rigorous academic debate about the merits of any political ideology, manifest in economics or any other school of thought, ASL should provide both sides of the argument, which is apparently not happening.

Groupthink and confirmation bias of liberal sensibilities is a big part of why Trump won this election. It is too easy for people who do not like Trump to dismiss his supporters as racists. That also defies logic and data, it is the opposite of what I found in countless letters I read, and is not a winning political position either.

To say Trump won because of racist America, is to ignore the facts. Trump could not have won Florida without large CubanAmerican and Haitian-American support. Trump could not have won Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa without winning the support of people

who voted for President Obama 4 and 8 years ago. What the mainstream media missed was that Trump’s movement was not a racial movement, but it was a movement to restore government honesty and fidelity to the American people.

Members of the ASL community may believe Trump’s Presidency will see a new rise in deliberate, institutional racism. However, in his victory speech, Trump stated his victory was a “movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.”

President Elect Trump has no ulterior motives or special interests, all he has is a debt of gratitude and loyalty to the American people who elected him their President. Trump will enter office full of new, bright ideas, excited to “Make America Great Again” for every single American in the country.

It is rational that ASL’s faculty, registered Democrat, Reupublican, or otherwise, would choose not to vote for the candidate who so egregariously stands against their school’s mission statement.

At around 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day, a gunman entered Reina nightclub in Istanbul and killed 36 people. The attacker was recently arrested and identified as Abdulgadir Masharipov from Uzbekistan.

The events left the entirety of Istanbul’s population and that of Turkey shaken and terrified during what should have been a night of celebration.

The attack was deeply shocking for me as personally I am Turkish and have family, friends and a home in Istanbul. Moreover, had it not been for my mother’s intervention, I would have been meters away whenthe attack happened.

What I had anticipated to be a night of counting down to midnight, watching fireworks and dancing with friends into 2017 quickly changed course. My friends and I were planning on spending the evening in a nightclub across the street from Reina and were on

our way there when my mother insisted we stop by at a family friend’s party first, and only once we’d made an appearance were we allowed on our way. As we were being driven closer to the club, we noticed queues of police cars, military officials and tanks filling the streets, but not once did it cross our minds that 36 people had been shot dead on the same street we were driving to.

When the driver received a phone call and informed us what had happened, our expressions quickly changed to panic as we struggled to find a safe route home.

In the days that followed, we couldn’t leave the house. The whole city ground to a halt.

Sadly, these attacks are becoming all too normal. Whether it’s the Orlando shooting or the truck attacks in Berlin and Nice, no city seems safe in an age where it doesn’t seem to require immense resources or planning to have a horrific impact.

Letter to the Editor Since I joined the ASL community the autumn after James Malin (’15) graduated, I haven’t met him, but I appreciated reading his article in The Standard’s November/December issue, “Inside the Trump Campaign.”

What I appreciated most were his references, if brief, to policy. I came to London from Washington, D.C., where I’d lived most of my adult life, surrounded by family and friends who are steeped in policy issues.

Besides the inflammatory rhetoric of 2016’s campaign season, what sickened me most was the dearth of substantive policy discussion. I was frustrated for myself and for my students, many who were cognizant of the content of a presidential campaign for the first time, and yet were witnessing a parade of platitudes and impish rhetoric.

Before I address my primary concern with Malin’s claims, let me also praise his desire to be a part of a community that encourages and facilitates thought-provoking debate. I come from a politically divided home, and while my parents have voted outside of their preferred parties, they have tended to cancel out each other’s votes. So in a private sphere, I have long experienced the tension but also the critical thought and challenge that comes from divergent opinions trying to coexist.

I hope that after 2020, we once again have the caliber of candidates that allows for spirited, intellectual and rigorous debate. Donald J. Trump was sadly not a candidate that granted this.

This is primarily why I do not

feel Malin’s concerns about the poll conducted at ASL are accurate. Malin wrote that the poll conducted at ASL indicated “not a single…strain of conservative ideology.” But he must surely know that many registered Republicans refrained from voting for Trump. I know other Republicans who did vote for Trump but did so quietly, noses held, purely out of party loyalty, hoping he would concede the reins to those Republican leaders with more experience, more qualified to do the job.

I think it is rational that ASL’s American faculty, registered Democrat, Republican, or otherwise, would choose not to vote for the candidate who so egregiously stands against their school’s mission statement, learner profile and basic sense of ethics. The diversity of thought and ideas is well and alive at ASL, I can assure Malin of this.

But frankly, his candidate brought loud horns full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

A small confession. As an educator, I felt a strange liberation this election; never before have I been so open about my choice for candidate with my students, primarily because the other candidate stood so squarely against the core values of every school I’ve worked at and attended. But that liberation came at a hefty price. I worried and continue to worry, as many educators of young people do, about the language Trump uses, both knowingly and unknowingly on camera: The truncated vocabulary, the aggressive, bombastic speeches dealing less in facts than in

To experience something so close to where I was gave immediacy to what before I had only witnessed on the news. I felt so lucky to have narrowly missed being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Reina was criticized in the days after the attack for not having sufficient security on the night. There was also a wealth of intelligence surrounding the threat level to places that would be crowded and full of tourists on New Year’s Eve which, coupled with the fact the club is opposite a police station, made many incredulous that the attack happened at all. A further point of discussion is how much information has surfaced that would contradict Masharipov’s claim to be linked to Islamic State (ISIS), such as how the attacker escaped alive, and how the attacker smokes, which ISIS bans and severely punishes.

I feel that such accusations and questions of blame should be sec-

ondary to the recognition of the tragedy that happened. When anger is the reaction to violence we are in danger of perpetuating the problem.

Whilst the media focused solely on Masharipov himself, such incidents are not just the work of disparate individuals across the globe, but rather symptomatic of wider ideologies and beliefs and I believe it is the latter that should be discussed.

My reaction is not anger but rather extreme sadness. Turkey has suffered from political unrest and violence that has made headlines all too often in recent months. Not only has the daily life of many locals changed as they live in fear, but also, the associated loss of tourism will have continued and detrimental effects on their country and their lives. I can only hope that 2017 improves for Turkey as the year goes on and that at some point in my life such attacks become a distant memory.

sensations, easy emotions and unfounded observations, and certainly the demeaning and inflammatory remarks made on tape. Frankly, it has felt predatory. I don’t want my students and my own children to think this is the language of diplomacy, public service or character.

2016 was the fourth election cycle of my teaching career, and never have I experienced a student reaction like this one. By halfway through first period on November 9, 2016, I had listened to one of my student’s concerns that he may not be allowed to marry in four years time. Another said he overheard younger students imitating what they had heard Trump say in disgust about his religion.

Another bemoaned how much intolerance has been normalized in the last six months. As a teacher this leaves me deeply sad. I am confused. I am angry. I am fearful, mostly for my students and my own children and the damage a xenophobic, ignorant, self-serving president might do.

Malin expressed concern for Americans presumably outside of his immediate sphere: Those in need of hope, destitute and as he notes, left behind. I worry that these people, vulnerable people, have been hoodwinked by Trump, that the promise to deliver on “every dream you ever dreamed” will not even come close to being delivered.

But I do hope I’m wrong.

I agree with Malin that this election was a red flag to many inattentive Americans. It is the best in America that acknowledges those most vulnerable voices, those that have felt silent and silenced,

and invites them to the table. But inviting them in does not and should not mean dismissing others.

America needs constant reminders of how to be free and how to be brave. Trump has been a wake up call to be involved, to extend the hand. But thus far he has been a counterexample of what it is to be free and brave. He has led with brutish narcissism, responding to the smallest of criticisms in the smallest, most childish and most belligerent of ways. It is not a biased media telling us this; it is President Trump’s Twitter account.

Trump has descended his escalator to a job he is magnificently unfit to do. The results of ASL’s poll are a reflection of values, not partisan politics. This faculty believes in decency, kindness, intellect, honesty and humaneness.

I am proud of a faculty and community that despite differing opinions on politics, shares a moral fiber. So I offer Malin this comfort: Had it been a Kasich-Clinton election—that is, a clash of differing political views but one bound by constitutionality, respect for the rule of law and absent of the cruelty that has been the hallmark of the young Trump Administration—I suspect you would have found the breadth of views and debate you’re wishing for.

Alas, Trump, his approach, and his cronies make that impossible.

Alissa Mears High School English Teacher

Read a full version of Mears’ letter online at standard.asl.org

Features The story behind the counselor Page 10

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

•••

Mindfulness Meet Shrita Garjendragadkar

Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling Patty Strohm will depart following the culmination of the 2016/17 school year. After spending eight years at ASL, she will return to Washington DC where she can be closer to her children and grandchildren.

Tyler Skow | Editor-In-Chief

G

esturing with her hand toward a wall covered with photos of her family, Strohm didn’t use many words to explain why she felt it time to return home. “It’s time to spend time with my grandchildren,” she said. “Time to be closer with my family.”

Her colleagues describe her as “an inspiration,” a testament to the years of success she has brought to the school in the realm of college counseling. “She sets a wonderful tone of professionalism and leads us all to feel like we are doing good work for the students,” College Counselor Ivan Hauck said.

Strohm’s students hold her in similar esteem, claiming her fluency in all things college related gives her advice a ‘magic touch’ like quality.

Strohm’s expertise in the college process did not develop by chance. Her knowledge of the process is the result of dedicating nearly her entire professional career to education.

Even so, she claims to have been teaching long before the age of 22. “I had been a teacher since I was a little girl, I have always been a teacher. That’s just who I was as a child,” she said.

The world of college counseling enveloped Strohm, like it does for many, when her own children started their college application process. “Our sons went to a large public [school] so they really did not have the kinds of resources that kids at ASL have,” she said.

“So I had to learn a lot, and I did learn a lot,

and were into college, Strohm took a break from teaching and worked as a cartographer for National Geographic. “I know it sounds really odd, but I needed a break from teenagers for a while,” she said.

Strohm worked as a researcher collecting data and creating both digital and physical map projections. After her brief spout working for National Geographic, Strohm decided to take on college counseling as a profession.

The experience she acquired in helping her own children through the process landed her a job as a college counselor in an all girls school in Washington DC. Strohm had no intention of leaving her post in Washington DC, but when ASL called to encourage her to apply to become the next head of college counseling, she did. “It was a good opportunity for me to do something new. My husband had passed away and you know how you get a little restless, my kids were grown so I thought, ‘ok, maybe I will try a new adventure’.”

With over a decade of experience in college counseling before she came to ASL, Strohm has observed some important developments to the process.

For starters, Strohm recalls a system in which colleges and universities were more easily distinguishable when her own children were applying 20 years ago. Stohm cites the development of the Common Application as an agent to this change.

Patty Strohm has been Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling for eight years. Next year she will move back to Washington DC where she will work part time with underprivileged high school students.

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL

sive list of accomplishments at a younger age is another recent development in the college process. Universities used to be “looking at potential more than at achievement. And you know what we really should be looking for in all of us, even into middle age and beyond is potential and what kind of potential can we

“I could see with our older son how the process of applying to college really made him more confident and more sure of himself.”

DIRECTOR OF ACADEMIC ADVISING AND COLLEGE COUNSELING PATTY STROHM and I found I really liked it.”

Watching her eldest son mature throughout the process showed Strohm the value the college process can have on high school students. “I could see with our older son how the process of applying to college really made him more confident and more sure of himself,” she said. “I saw this intellectual and social and emotional benefits that actually going through all that decision making and reflection had and what it could do for person growing up.”

After her children completed high school

When her eldest son was applying she felt, “just by reading the application you could get a sense of the nature of the school. You could get a very clear sense of it,” Strohm said.

Strohm sees this development as an unfortunate loss to the process. “That loss of individuality through this trying to make things uniform is one the biggest changes to happen and I think it makes it much harder for you to discern differences and to figure out where you want to go,” she said.

Strohm also believes the expectations for teenagers to mature and have a comprehen-

build on to become better people and more interesting people, more helpful people,” she said.

With an increasingly large emphasis being placed on what students have already accomplished, Strohm feels some concern for how this can impact the development of some teenagers. “I always think late bloomers are best, to give yourself a chance to grow up, and that’s one other thing that worries me about college admissions now,” she said.

Thinking about ASL specifically, Strohm has observed a growth in the diversity of

schools students apply to. “That fact that [students] are going where it’s right for them to go rather than where they think they ought to go; that’s to me a really good movement,” she said.

In upcoming years, Strohm wonders whether more college application platforms will make themselves available, and also if standardized testing will continue to play the same role. “You know there’s a lot of cheating on the standardized tests in different parts of the world, what’s going to happen to all that testing? You really wonder how that piece of it is going to play out,” she said.

Cost is another issue that Strohm predicts may cause major changes to the system in the upcoming years. “I think the traditional model of the four year school may not be sustainable,” she said.

Next year Strohm will do part time work helping underprivileged students with academic advising. While Strohm looks forward to this new opportunity, she will miss her time at ASL. “ I love the students.

I think the kids here are really wonderful, I think you have a sense of adventure, a sense of openness, a sense of curiosity, and I love working with the faculty here,” Strohm said.

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

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Features

Food for thought Three students who have chosen to follow different dietary lifestyles explain their decisions and how they navigate the social outcomes us with vegeta umm

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Martha Collins | Deputy Editor-in-Chief

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t the age of 8, Livy Scott (’17) read a book that went into depth about the slaughtering processes used to kill animals for consumption. As a result, she gave up eating meat on the spot.

“It was one of those ‘what are you eating’ types of books, so I stopped eating everything,” she said.

However, she quickly became anemic – a condition involving a reduction in the number of functioning red blood cells – because she did not have enough iron in her diet.

Now, the only meat Scott consumes is chicken, making her a pollotarian. “I’ve chosen to just eat chicken because of ethics,” she said. Placing higher value in the lives of mammals, Scott cares “more about the way mammals are killed than I would care about the way a bird is killed.”

Seeing as they are not mammals, her ethical beliefs would allow her to eat fish, however she doesn’t like the taste.

Like Scott, Mariam Sousou (’18) attempted maintaining a vegetarian diet, however medical issues arose that inhibited her from doing so. “I stopped being vegetarian because my iron levels got so low, I was so tired that I wasn’t running as well or playing sports as well,” she said.

Sousou’s father, however, has chosen to follow a vegan diet.

At home, Sousou and her family mainly eat vegan meals, and she is conscious of the meat she consumes out of the house.

Sousou adopted a diet of less meat due to influences from her father, whereas Quinn Link (’20) was influenced to go vegan by its growing popularity. “I looked into it because it’s been something more popular and more talked about,” he said.

After researching the effects of meat on the environment, Link was motivated to stop eating all animal products just over a year ago.

“When you’re taking plants and feeding [them] to animals and then feeding it to humans there’s a lot of lost energy and water and resourc-

es,” he said. “I decided that if I went straight to the plants it would be more efficient, more environmentally-friendly.”

Since becoming vegan, Link has not felt huge shifts in his wellbeing. “It was pretty easy for me, but I know for a lot of people it would just be impossible because it’s a big part of their culture or their life,” he said.

Yet, Link encounters issues

“When you’re taking plants and feeding [them] to animals and then feeding it to humans there’s a lot of lost energy and water and resources... I decided that if I went straight to the plants it would be more efficient, more environmentally friendly.”

Quinn Link (’20)

Scott believes her pollotarianism can present issues in social situations as well. “If I went out to dinner and a food had some kind of red meat in it I get very picky in social settings about what kind of food [I eat], and it’s kind of embarrassing,” she said.

Being picky is not an option for Link, as with an already heavily restricted diet, options – when available – are a luxury. In the cafeteria, Link feels that the vegan options are limited, but avaliable.

Although Scott’s diet is less restrictive than Link’s, she finds people struggle to understand her motivations. “It’s definitely well known that I eat weird and that I have interesting views on what kind of animals you should eat,” she said. “I would say it’s definitely a running joke among my family and friends.”

Aside from the jokes, Scott has felt backlash because of her diet.

“I’ve gone on a couple school trips where teachers have been really annoyed by me refusing to eat things,” she said. “I’ve been told by a couple teachers I need to grow up, which I do not take kindly.”

Standing by

her decision to only eat chicken, Scott believes that becoming a vegetarian is not the only way to make a positive change on nature. “It would be great if other people were more aware of that you can just eat one specific type of meat and that there’s a healthy way to do it,” she said.

Echoing Scott’s statement, Sousou believes that restrictive diets are not for everyone. “I would say don’t go completely vegetarian or vegan, but try to limit yourself on dairy products and meat products,” she said.

Veganism is personal for Link and centered around environmental consciousness. “Obviously there are some people who are vegan that are quite aggressive in how they promote it, but that’s not my goal in being vegan,” he said. “It’s a personal decision that I do for myself and I do for the environment.”

when eating out, as sometimes at restaurants, “you’ll be the person with the huge salad or the plate of french fries for every meal.” Regardless, Link is always able to find something to eat.

PHOTOS BY MARTHA COLLINS

escalating temptation

In light of recent disciplinary issues involving the use and distribution of LSD, exploring students’ exposure to drugs and how the school can help Sophie Ashley | Opinions Editor

Alexandra Gers | Culture Editor

LSD

Michaela Towfighi | Lead Features Editor

“I

wish that the first time we come together as a community were under better circumstances, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

I need to update everyone about a serious disciplinary matter.” These were the first lines of a speech given by Principal Jack Phillips, to Grade 9-11 students on the first day back from Winter Break.

Following an expulsion before the break – a case involving LSD – Phillips felt it was necessary to communicate information on the incident, the school’s illegal substance policy and how students can receive help if needed.

In addition to the fact that students in the High School were in possession of LSD and sharing it with others, Phillips felt unprepared in dealing with a drug itself as he had not seen it before. “That’s what scared me the most, that this was a drug I was not familiar with and one that has a reputation,” Phillips said.

THE CULTURE

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reg* (’19) claims the usage of LSD was brought up casually in conversation amongst friends, however, he didn’t realize the gravity of the situation until people around him started taking it. He believes that the consumption of LSD began with gateway drugs. “It started out with alcohol and weed. Then ’shrooms [and finally] LSD,” he said.

Student possession and distribution of LSD is something Phillips has never encountered before in his career. He, as well as the rest of the administration, have struggled to comprehend the ease of accessibility of all drugs amongst students.

Especially with the legalization of marijuana in the U.S., it is harder for Phillips to craft a message against it. “It becomes trickier when we are sending a message saying ‘hey, this isn’t a good thing’ but more and

“That’s what scared me the most, that [LSD] was a drug I was not familiar with and one that has a reputation.”

Principal Jack Phillips

more it is being becoming more socially acceptable and readily available,” he said.

This was the case for Martin* (’20).

Able to walk into Camden market and get approached by dealers almost instantly, Martin and his friends had no trouble acquiring marijuana. Beginning in Grade 7, some of Martin’s friends tried marijuana– which eventually cultivating a habit. Enticed by the lure to partake with his friends, Martin found himself involved as well. “They were always around me doing it. I tried to stay out of it but eventually... when they’re your friends and you’re always around it, it’s hard to stay away,” Martin said.

Martin feels that smoking marijuana is a problem for a lot of his friends, as their habits have intensified with their entrance into high school. To Martin, it is the beginnings of a dangerous cycle “where there are more days they have smoked than not,” he said. “I think [this is] where it starts because when you go into high school there’s this whole, ‘oh I’m older now and that’s what older kids do,’ and there’s that pressure to do it, not from anyone but just because it’s high school.”

Hassan* (’17) has been approached by numerous underclassmen for help acquiring marijuana and alcohol, but never LSD. Hassan doesn’t distribute drugs, but he struggles to figure out where someone would even acquire LSD. “I literally have no idea where you could buy it. I have no idea where to get your hands on it,” he said.

But Hassan has witnessed the effects of LSD first hand. At a friends house one night, he saw the ramifications of the drug when one of his friends took it. “It was sort of like they were in a different world. They were aware of what was going on but they weren’t really paying any attention,” he said.

However Hassan does understand the nature of students asking other students to buy drugs for them.

“You’re taking a lot less of a risk buying from a kid at school who you know,” he said. “It’s not just some random guy in Camden. It’s just safer to buy drugs from a kid you know.”

The SCHOOL

T

o Phillips, distribution is what the school is able to tackle and reprimand. “That is where we can concretely draw the line about what is acceptable for here at school and what is not. And then keeping our community safe, which is why for example dealing is not acceptable no matter where you are,” he said.

Phillips’ main concern is the safety of the student body, hence the school is able to support those who need help. “Most drug use, especially for adolescents, is trying, testing, experimenting. We don’t think it is a good idea but we want to hear you, and help you understand why you shouldn’t do that,” he said.

Health Teacher Joy Marchese, who is often sought to discuss issues relating to drugs, believes the only reason for teachers to break confidentiality on personal matters is if the situation harms a student’s immediate health. “Our biggest concern is the safety and well-being of students and in order, I think, to keep

students safe, they need to trust you. It does take time to build trust,” she said.

Brian Robert (’17) feels safe reaching out to teachers about personal problems depending on the level of trust within the relationship. “I feel safe about speaking to two or three of my current and past teachers just because of the relationships I’ve built with them in particular, but I wouldn’t say I feel safe to speak to all of my teachers,” Robert said.

However, Robert feels skeptical about approaching some teachers about personal issues. “I worry that some [teachers] don’t know students well enough to handle the situation properly and don’t know how to take care of it without telling someone else,” Robert said.

In most situations, the school is focused on helping students. “Ultimately the reason students would be coming forward about themselves is because they know they need help.

So we would not punish a student for coming forward because they are asking for help, we would get them the help that they need,” Marchese said.

As ASL is a pivotal part of Robert’s life, there is still a fear of com-

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“I tried to stay out of it but eventually... when they’re your friends and you’re always around it, it’s hard to stay away.”

Martin* (’20) on his experience with marijuana

marijuana

under the influence

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alcohol

promising this. “For most of us, everything revolves around ASL and if we do something to jeopardize our enrollment, we’re not going to want to tell anyone because it would already make the situation so much worse,” he said.

“If the admin- istration insists on helping students experiencing problems, then they can’t punish them for coming forward.”

Yet students like Martin feel comfortable approaching the administration for help on all issues, not just substance abuse related.

“I already have sought out help before and I feel comfortable doing that. I came with problems to them and they said they’re going to help,” he said.

*To protect the privacy of certain students, names have been changed in this article.

Staff Writer Anastasia Ruimy contributed to the writing and reporting of this article. See her full piece at standard.asl.org

A visual representation of the areas of the human brain affected by the use of LSD, marijuana and alcohol based on research related to the topic. ARTWORK BY MICHAELA TOWFIGHI, FRONT PAGE PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL

t’s Saturday night, and Kendal Fass (’19) finds herself the only sober one at the party. What started as a few beers freshmen year, has now spiralled into an uncontrollable cycle for her classmates. “[Freshman year] is when it got really bad, before that it was a couple beers and that would be it, but now it is a lot of hard alcohol plus a lot of beer,” Fass said.

Having to help people on multiple occasions, dealing with drunk classmates is all too familiar for Fass. “I wasn’t one of their friends and I am still helping them do something that you shouldn’t need help with,” Fass said. “I had to slap them awake, slap their face, make them drink water, put food in their mouth.”

This situation is recurring for Fass. “Some people who I’m not closest with know I’m always going to be there, and I’m going to clean up anyways, and help them anyways,” she said. “So sometimes it feels like just because I don’t drink I’m labelled as the mom, or like the housekeeper.”

Sam Holzman (’19) has found himself in similar situations as Fass before, sometimes of a greater magnitude. “One time my friend drank, I think, 10 shots without eating any food, and then when I saw them, about 10 minutes later I found them in a bathroom in a pile of throw up with blood coming out of their nose,” he said. “Me and one other person had to put her in the recovery position and clean everything up.

She was passed out for the next two hours.”

Caitlin Welch (’18) believes that just because people get older, it doesn’t m e a n they have a better grip on alcohol.“I feel like a lot of my friends if they want to have fun at a party they need to drink to be more careless,” Welch said.

Welch believes this stems from a culture in the High School of0students following their older sibling’s behavior. “I think there’s more of a pressure in society in general, there’s more of a pressure to grow up sooner,” she said. “So I think people if there are people freshmen year who have older siblings, they see them and they think ‘oh they’re drinking, our grade should drink’.”

For Greg, the drinking culture resulted in increased pressure. “I [drank] as a freshman because there’s this whole culture behind it. Being around seniors and all that as a freshman. The entire High School is built around them and respecting their authority, and not getting blacklisted basically. There’s definitely a lot of pressure to partake,” he said.

With a sibling in the Middle School, Suzy* (’18) has noticed similar trends in the Middle School, yet it is hard to reprimand her sister for it. “Around the same time, I was getting involved [with alcohol], so I don’t think it is fair for me to be second guessing [my younger sister] when I didn’t think twice about it,” she said.

European culture and the drinking age also spur more students to drink, Suzy believes. “People’s parents are more accepting in the U.K. than they are in the U.S. At least, my mom felt more comfortable with it, because my older sister was legal to drink here,” she said. “She felt fine with me drinking because there were people who were responsible, and we all are more educated here than people in the states.”

The mix of cultures at the school blurs the lines for Phillips, as it is hard to deem what is okay and what is not. “Here we are in the U.K. context, where it is perfectly fine for an 18 year old to go to the pub and drink unsupervised in whatever way he or she sees fit. But 85 percent of our [seniors] the next year will go to the U.S., and now it becomes illegal,” he said. “Added on top of that, is the mixture of cultures within the school, all different kinds of backgrounds. People with an observant Muslim background will not touch alcohol, others for some European cultures it is very much drinking from early on. There is navigating that complexity of it.”

Similar to drugs, the school works to control what it can in regards to school and school activities. Phillips also relies on science and research to help deter students from the substance. “There is no question it is bad for 18 year olds to drink. That is the science of it. Until your brain is about done growing at 25, you shouldn’t be altering it with substances,” he said. “We can rely on that. We think and we hope that with information [students] will make the best decisions you can.”

Page 14

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

•••

Features

The increasing practice of mindfulness

With the developing research on the benefits of mindfulness, more students and faculty recognize its positive impacts Jonathan Novak | Staff Writer

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eep in the forests of ancient India, Buddha sat meditating, starting a movement almost 2,500 years ago that involved practices that are still used today.

These practices, meditation and modern mindfulness, have been adapted and have been proven to impact education and sports. According to the American Psychological Association, reducing stress, boosting working memory, improving focus and having less emotional reactivity are all outcomes of practicing mindfulness.

English Teacher Miles Dunmore actively practices modern mindfulness, which is a secular adaptation of practices drawn from the time of the Buddha.

Dunmore believes mindfulness is “the capacity to be aware of what you are experiencing in your mind and your body in the present moment,” he said.

Meditation is an important aspect of practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness and being aware of the present moment can be achieved in any moment of the day, whereas meditation is a specific period where people strengthen their awareness by spending time in quiet thought. “[Meditation] is a way of experiencing the practice of… awareness in a concentrated form,” Dunmore said.

The Alternative trip, Zen in France, led by Dunmore amongst other teachers, is meant for students to learn from people who have devoted their entire life to the practice of Zen Buddhism, which is what modern mindfulness originated from. On the trip, students learned the basics of mindful-

IMAGE FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

ness from those whose lives revolve around it.

Kate Morgan (’17) participated in the trip and felt the benefits of the experience in the weeks following.

After moving to ASL last summer, she felt the trip helped her transition to a new school as well as deal with the stress of the first semester of senior year. “It was a real opportunity for me to breathe for the first time since I moved,” Morgan said.

Although Morgan recognizes the benefits of practicing mindfulness, she also realizes how difficult it can be to do so. “I think young people in particular have really been conditioned to rely on their phones and technology a lot,” Morgan said. To change this, one of the focuses of the Alternative was to get away from technology, which was why the teachers restricted students from bringing their phones.

Alex Ferragamo (’18) also went on the Zen in France Alternative and in the following weeks, he felt the need to use his phone decrease.

The practices of mindfulness have stuck with him to an extent but he doesn’t practice nearly as much as others might.

“I meditate on occasion, it makes me feel better, not better like happy but better like more relaxed,” Ferragamo said.

Administrative Assistant Shahira Moola practices yoga many times a week and believes that there are many benefits to someone practicing

yoga or mindfulness. “Mindfulness is not really an add on, it’s more of the missing piece. It can actually help with study, relationships, sports and in so many different things,” Moola said.

Although there are neurological benefits to mindfulness, it can be difficult for many to sit alone doing nothing for 10 minutes. “At times it can be very boring,” Ferragamo said.

One of the big struggles of practicing mindfulness is remaining focused and present

in the moment. Although mindfulness helps with focus, to really be engaged in practicing mindfulness can be a challenge.

Depending on the approach and prioritization of mindfulness,

day. “I’d love to utilize the relaxation room more but I’m also aware that mindfulness is not something you force on people,” Moola said.

Similarily, Dunmore also be-

“Mindfulness is not really an add on, it’s more of the missing piece. It can actually help with study, relationships, sports and in so many different things.”

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SHAHIRA MOOLA people can have different views on how to practice it. Ferragamo feels that the hardest part of practicing mindfulness is finding the time, however Dunmore thinks that students can manage to find the time. “Starting practice only needs 10 minutes a day, most of us can find 10 minutes,” Dunmore said.

The relaxation room was added to the High School before the 2015 school year, and Moola notices that it seems to be unused for most of the school

BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS: REDUCE STRESS

IMPROVE WORKING MEMORY INCREASE FOCUS INCREASE SELF CONTROL STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS

IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH

lieves that if students decide to undertake a mindfulness practice, it should be their own decision.

Morgan and Ferragamo both feel the relaxation room is not being used to its full potential, but find that students want to use their free time for other things besides meditating.

Morgan believes that students perfer to use the free time they get during the day, such as conference time, to socialize rather than use the relaxation room.

Despite the time it takes to practice meditation and the decrease in time to socialize, mindfulness is proven to have a positive effect. “I think people don’t necessarily see it as something you can do that will impact everything,” Moola said.

INFORMATION FROM AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Page 15

•••

Features

From the Agora to ASL Social Studies Teacher Shrita Gajendragadkar reflects on her archeological experiences at the Athenian Agora and her transition into teaching Quinn Whitman | Features Editor

A

former archeologist, Social Studies Teacher Shrita Gajendragadkar excavated during her college summers at what is regarded as the center of Ancient Greek life: The Agora in Athens, Greece.

When Gajendragadkar was in high school, she had an affinity for the Greek and Roman cultures. Her passion for their history was sparked by a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where she was prompted by her teacher to write about a piece of ancient artwork.

She chose a sculpture of the Dancing Maenad, a follower of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and festivities. “These maenads follow Dionysus through the night and sort of have big parties and celebrate the joyousness of life and the scariness of the night through big crowds and parties and mobs … I just remember that the sculpture was really beautiful,” she said.

She believes that moment motivated her to pursue this interest

mans in the classroom to archeology after one of her lectures in college.

“I went to a lecture one night for my Latin class about archeeology... I had only studied the languages and the artwork that came from Greece and Rome,” she said. “[My professor] happened to run an excavation in Athens which I applied to and got accepted.”

During the summer after her freshman year of college, she went to Athens to work at the Agora. One of her most important moments happened in her first few days when she understood the importance of learning by doing. “My trench supervisor was sitting there talking to me one day as I was throwing all these pieces of what I thought were rocks into a garbage basket and I was like, ‘what does pottery actually look like?’ ” she said.

Little did Gajendragadkar know, she was actually throwing away ancient pot sherds. She described that as a pivotal moment for her to learn

Social Studies Teacher Shrita Gajendragadkar visited and worked at the Agora in Athens, Greece.

TOP PHOTO BY IMOGEN HARE BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF SHRITA GAJENDRAGADKAR

I had learned about in a classroom, was just history coming alive,” she said. “I was the next person to see it 2000-2400 years later. And to be really present in that moment will be something I will remember forever.”

Her proudest moment occurred while she was excavating with her

Everything is usually broken, so it brings out a sense of ‘Oh my god, the last time some person touched these was 2200 years ago, and here it is’,” she said.

Even though Gajendragadkar was not planning to be a teacher, she “fell into teaching by accident and stayed

“I was the next person to see [the artifact] 2000-2400 years later. And to be really present in that moment will be something I will remember forever.”

SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER SHRITA GAJENDRAGADKAR in college. “I thought about a time in high school where I was really interested by something and I decided to take Art History for that reason,” she said.

Gajendragadkar made the jump from studying the Greeks and Ro-

about archeology as well as the role of a teacher.

Later that summer, she uncovered a bronze arrowhead in the soil from the Persian destruction which dated to 480 BC. “What that meant was that the large historical war that

team in a well that hadn’t been looted in Ancient Athens and found unbroken pots that had been stuck inside.

“We found these whole pots that had been thrown down and had been stuck in the mud and preserved fully.

That never happens in archeology.

by choice.” When she found out that she could teach something she loves, she knew it was the perfect opportunity to piece together her love for Latin and art history. “I saw a flyer when I was home for a high school reunion, ‘part-time art history, part-

time Latin teacher wanted.’ I was like, ‘I could get paid to talk about what I love talking about all the time!’”

Gajendragadkar would like to implement an interdisciplinary course where students spend part of the time in the classroom and the rest of the semester abroad studying their coursework. She describes the class as a deeper historical and architectural analysis by combining physics and engineering with art history.

Gajendragadkar hopes that everyone will study art history at some time during their academic career. “It makes you recognize that nothing is built or created or designed arbitrarily. The way that our world looks today, the way our cities look, the way our buildings look, all relates to our cultural heritage,” she said.

Gajendragadkar believes that the ideas she has taught and learned in art history are important to an understanding of the world. “There is a famous saying in art history that ‘There is no innocent eye,’ where everyone comes to a work of art or architecture with some sort of experience,” she said. “What I love doing is sharing what I have done at that deeper level of art history and archeology with my students.”

Culture Page 16

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

••• Religion in the High School Student-led production

Commentary

Fashion Prompting Change The fashion industry is taking a stance in support of topics of social and environmental justice Olivia Abrams | Culture Editor

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n a world where topics of social and environmental justice are becoming more prominent, it is only appropriate that the fashion industry develops a stance regarding the issues that flood our screens and erupt into day-to-day conversation.

Swedish clothing retailer H&M is one label that is creating change through their extensive branding platform. The company released a campaign film for its Fall/Winter 2016 collection, aiming to redefine the word “femininity.” Kicking female stereotypes to the curb, H&M describes their version of femininity as “independent, free-willed, entertaining, opinionated and offbeat.”

The campaign includes the song “She’s a Lady,” which was reworked by singer/songwriter Jillian Hervey, who is featured in the

film. “I want to redefine expectations about people based on their sex and class,” Hervey said in an interview with H&M magazine.

While Hervey finds it exciting to see “diversity and individuality” as a trend, she wishes for “empathy, intelligence and self awareness to be what our society aspires to consume, not division, material needs and fear.” The film acts as a reminder that actions should not conform to gender stereotypes.

The advertisement campaign is accompanied by a line of clothing that can be seen in the empowering film, modeled by Hervey and many others including transgender model and activist, Hari Nef. Those who sport the edit of clothing represent a larger theme of acceptance and equality.

Tackling gender stereotypes continues to become more ap-

parent, and the release of H&M’s advert was not the first time the fashion industry embraced this change. In 2016, high-end designer Louis Vuitton released their Spring/Summer collection, where actor Jaden Smith appeared in the womenswear campaign.

In the past, Smith has represented the fluidity of gender, wearing a dress to his 2015 high school prom. The 17-year-old can be seen wearing a skirt and leather jacket, posed next to female models.

Smith “represents a generation that has assimilated the codes of true freedom, one that is free of manifestoes and questions about gender,” Nicolas Ghesquière, Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton stated in an interview with The New York Times.

There is a hidden message behind the changes that are evolving

Pieces from the H&M environmentally conscious line. In the fall H&M released a film campaign aimed to redefine “femininity.”

PHOTO FROM H&M

Jaden Smith featutured in the 2016 Spring/Summer Louis Vuitton womenswear collection.

PHOTO FROM LOUIS VUITTON into this new industry of fashion.

The conventional ways of society are shifting from wear what suits your gender, to wear what suits you. The future of fashion is unisex, and this trend will be continue to break the boundaries that face dress codes and restrictions. We are not going back in time, and there is only more room for more gender equity.

Working with eco-friendly brands and global initiatives, online British fashion and beauty store ASOS, has put their effort into creating a fair-trade edit of clothing and accessories.

Launched in 2010, the ASOS Eco Edit aims to target the major issues that surround our environment. With a goal of reaching £10 million by 2020, the edit continues to manufacture clothing with a lower environmental impact.

According to ASOS, they believe that by exploring alternative options of production, “we can provide our customers with an even bigger range of truly sustainable fashion.”

H&M has also taken action to address environmental issues, where the company holds high

hopes in building a more sustainable future for fashion. “We want to make sustainable fashion choices available, attractive and affordable to as many people as possible,” the company stated. The company remains one of the biggest users of recycled polyester in the world, and has been widely recognized for their stance as an ethical brand.

Speaking at the London College of fashion in 2016, English fashion designer Stella McCartney opened up about her stance regarding animal cruelty and sustainability in fashion. Famous for her faux fur and vegan leather, McCartney has designed a luxury line of clothing that respects the planet. “Fashion is getting away with murder,” the designer said. “I believe in creating pieces that aren’t going to get burnt, that aren’t going to landfills, that aren’t going to damage the environment.”

In 2017, the success of a company goes beyond traditional forms of production. It depends on their willingness to change with the world around them. “It seems to me that fashion is the last industry on the planet to address ethics,” McCartney said.

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Page 17

Culture

From string to sterling silver Alumna Stephanie Dahl (’07) shares her experience starting her own company and jewelry line, Felice Dahl Isabelle Lhuilier | Staff Writer

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tephanie Dahl (’07) started making jewelry when she was three years old and hasn’t stopped since. What began with string and plastic beads has since evolved into gold vermeil and sterling silver. “I always [made jewelry] since I was little but I didn’t think that that would be my career,” Dahl said. “Not because I didn't want to but because it didn't cross my mind that something that I did as my hobby could also be a source of income.”

In 2016, Dahl founded her own jewelry company called Felice Dahl, a combination of her middle and last name. Since the comapny’s creation, Dahl has released two collections. She launched her first collection, “Första,” meaning “first” in Swedish, when she founded the company. She has recently launched her second one called “Ljus,” meaning “light,” as she believes her twometal collection “mimics the way light has different tones depending on the time of day.” Dahl, who is half Swedish, uses her Scandinavian roots to influence her designs, stating that the “Scandinavian aesthetic” has been “ingrained” in her since she was young.

“

I didn’t feel like there were people putting pressure on me, but it was my inner drive that was pushing me further and further.

Stephanie Dahl (’07) Since its launch, Felice Dahl has grown in popularity. Dahl believes that having the right branding is vital to the success of a company as “jewelry can really transform depending on [who’s] wearing it.”

Although a variety of people wear her jewelry, Felice Dahl targets the “cool, sophisticated Scandi girl,” with blogger Freja Wewer set to be the face of the new campaign.

The inspiration for starting her own company came from Dahl’s desire for change from her previous jobs in fashion and beauty. “I loved what I was learning but one of the things that bothered me was in every role I only had certain tasks

that I was allowed to do,” Dahl said.

Frustrated with the lack of variation, she was inspired to create Felice Dahl and work for herself.

Ultimately deciding to leave her job at Space NK, a cosmetics company, she felt confident in her designs and believed that it was the right time to start something new.

“I think it was because I was at this point where I knew I wanted to do something for myself and I just had to go for it,” she said. “It didn’t feel like there were people putting pressure on me but it was my inner drive that was pushing me further and further.”

The initial reaction from Dahl’s family and friends was “incredibly supportive,” which she feels was beneficial to the start of her business. “I think it's really important to surround yourself with supportive people,” Dahl said. “You question yourself a lot… it's scary to just quit your job... but if you believe in yourself and the people around you believe in you, it makes it so much easier.”

Dahl attended ASL for 13 years and graduated in 2007. She spent the majority of her spare time in high school working on the Sojourner, as the Design Editor, and on The Standard, as the Arts Editor.

Dahl believes being involved in these activities helped prepare her for the working world as they allowed her to become accustomed to working in a business environment.

Dahl believes that ASL’s diverse community helped her appreciate multiculturalism, which has been beneficial throughout her life.

“When you leave school you can meet some really intelligent people but who aren't as culturally aware so I think it's something that ASL does really well,” Dahl said. “You are more open to new ideas and hearing different points of view and I think if you don’t open yourself up to that you will miss a lot of opportunities.”

In addition to teaching important life lessons, ASL also gave Dahl skills she took with her into the working world. Dahl believes that the rigorous academic environment helped prepare her for college and her career. “If you are in a competi-

tive environment and you become accustomed to it, you won't be fazed when you meet people who are trying to openly compete with you,” she said.

Dahl believes “curiosity, relentlessness and self-confidence” are important when running a business in order to stay ahead of trends, deal with challenges and bounce back after receiving criticism. She suggests that aspiring entre-

preneurs take it step-by-step, they shouldn’t be spending an excessive amount of time over-analyzing their decisions. “There will be opportunities that cross your path that you wouldn't have ever imagined,” Dahl said. “Just follow your gut, work hard and don’t overthink it.”

Top photos: Jewelry pieces from Dahl’s ‘Första’ collection. Bottom photo: Stephanie Dahl (’07) wears earrings from Felice Dahl. Dahl attended ASL for 13 years.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEPHANIE DAHL

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Culture

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

•••

Faith and Freedom:

Religion in the High School Students’ view on religion in the curriculum and the extent of religious stereotypes amongst the student body Alexandra Gers | Culture Editor • Ananya Prakash | Features Editor

41.7% 22.9% 10.8%

ity

an isti

Chr

ism

e Ath

sm

ai Jud

m

Isla

8.1%

r

e Oth

7.6%

sm

ci i t s o

6.3%

Agn

2.7%

H

sm

ui d n i

Data collected from a survey of 208 High School students. “Other” consists of Buddhism, Sikhism, Paganism and “no religion.”

“The purpose of studying [religion] is to say that regardless of what can be proven historically, what it means to be a believer is to have faith.”

SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT HEAD NATALIE JAWORSKI

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Religion and Curriculum

S

ocial Studies Department Head Natalie Jaworski stands in front of her World Civilizations I class, where she is teaching about the world religions, beginning with the philosophies and belief systems of the Axial Age and transitioning to the Abrahamic faiths.

Jaworski believes that by studying religion through two lenses, a faith lense– what it means to believe in the religion– and a historical lense of data and verifiable information, empathy for every religion is created. These lenses allow students to study each religion without cultural constraints.

“The purpose of studying [religion] is to say that regardless of what can be proven historically, to be a believer is to have faith,” Jaworski said.

When studying religion in a classroom, Jaworski strives “to create a safe space to talk about different faiths” in a way that helps students understand why people of different religions believe in their faith. “There is a way to think about and question faith

Page 19

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without being aggressive or abrasive,” Jaworski said.

Although Ally Negasheva (’17) does not believe in a God, she feels that the teachers at ASL, specifically Social Studies Teacher Todd Pavel and English Teacher Peggy Elhadj, (who taught Negasheva AP European History and Russian Literature) have helped influence and form her opinion on religion through multiple conversations about the subject. Negasheva believes that they have made her look at religion with very different perspectives. “Listening to [them] talking about it makes it sound more euphoric and I really appreciated them doing that for me,” she said.

Elhadj, who also teaches Middle Eastern Literature, chooses texts for her classes based on their “handling of the topic” of faith and she would not choose a text “which was inherently critical of a [specific] religion.” She appreciates that the students in her class continually share in a vulnerable way, which allows everyone to learn “from a basis of ground zero.”

At the beginning of every semester, Elhadj asserts that she has no bias pertaining to a specific

Culture

“Religion is rarely brought up at all, and if so, it is mentioned politely and then the conversation moves on.”

JENNY TUCKER (’19) IN RESPONSE TO A SURVEY BY THE STANDARD

race, religion or last name. “I try to make it clear at the very beginning that I’m a Christian from Boston, I married an Arab, my best friend is Jewish, I went to a Jewish college, I’ve lived in Saudi Arabia and I don’t really have a bias,” Elhadj said. “I want every student to feel comfortable expressing his or her concern.”

Contrary to Negasheva’s beliefs that the school discusses and teaches a diverse range of religions, Bader Al Hadlaq (’18)

doesn’t believe the curriculum helps to create an atmosphere of religious acceptance. Often times, Al Hadlaq feels that “the school most definitely doesn’t care” to teach students about respecting other religions or different perspectives.

In class discussions, there have been instances when Al Hadlaq felt that his voice is not heard when it comes to discussing religion and religious conflicts such as the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and

violence in the Middle East, often being the only Middle Eastern student in his class. “It makes me feel disregarded, it makes me feel like [my opinion] is unimportant [in] people’s eyes,” Al Hadlaq said.

Al Hadlaq further believes that institutionally, ASL doesn’t fully represent everyone's religious backgrounds and differences. “[The school] should respect everyone’s values, not the majority’s.

There’s a difference,” Al Hadlaq said.

“I don’t express my religion because the fear of people judging me the next time I speak to them.”

BADER AL HADLAQ (’18) Stereotypes and Freedom of Expression

J

aworski believes in general the school environment is safe for teachers to express their religions openly. “I think teachers feel comfortable doing that if they want to, but in the same way as teachers might not want to express their political view, faith is personal,” Jaworski said. “Some teachers might want to talk about it and use their personal experiences in a way to teach, where other teachers might not.”

Contrarily, as a student, Al Hadlaq doesn’t feel comfortable expressing his religion at ASL. This is mainly due to the attitude that he believes is present of some people not wanting to talk to a person because of their religion and race. “I don’t express my religion because the fear of people judging

me the next time I speak to them,” he said.

Al Hadlaq believes this is also largely attributed to religious stereotypes and the rise of Islamophobia.

“I think it’s more apparent in today’s culture that you can say whatever you want and there’s no restrictions just because there is so called freedom of speech. There is of course restrictions, but nobody knows that,” he said. “People think that they can say whatever they want without any impact or conflict.”

Similarly, Carter* (’18) doesn’t believe that the environment at ASL is one where he can openly share his religion, Islam. “I don’t think I’ve ever really found that I’ve been able to express my faith,” he said. “People don’t necessarily have full awareness and knowledge of the religion to fully understand.”

Carter further believes that this lack of knowledge results in the prevalence of stereotypes. “People

have these set images of what one is supposed to be based on their religion,” Carter said.

Aside from stereotypes, Carter believes the disagreements that arise when talking about religion prevent him from fully expressing his religion. In a school trip, Carter experienced conflict between his religious beliefs with another’s when “someone was saying ‘there’s no God, we’re all going to hell anyway’,” Carter said. “I have seen people when talking about religion get very emotional and invested in it.

The topic [of religion] is one that can divide people quite easily.”

Despite the religious stereotypes that some believe are present, Thalia Bonas (’20) doesn’t think that students at ASL have preconceived notions of certain religions. Bonas credits how “ASL is so diverse as a school [and] everyone is comfortable with each other,” to her ability to freely express her religion. “I don’t

think ASL has a bias more than anywhere else.”

Bonas recognizes that the Jewish traditions she celebreates are not widely represented in the community, unlike Christian celebrations, which are focused on more. However, she believes that it is normal considering the religious demographic of the student body with Christianity being the dominant religion.

However, Jacob Nathan (’19) agrees with Al Hadlaq and believes that religious stereotypes are still evident in the community. During a heated conversation with another student, a religious slur was used and the other student said, “You’re not paying me because you’re Jewish.” Because of this, Nathan feels as if the stereotype of Jewish people being pinned as “liars, stealers... hoarding money and controlling banks,” are still present. “I don’t think those stereotypes have disappeared, I think they are less prominent,” he said.

These stereotypes are recognized by Jaworski, and by studying religion, she believes that the stereotypes can be reduced. “Our job, particularly in World Civilizations, is to break down those stereotypes... to make sure that we are showing that there is not a stereotypical way to think about a certain religion,” she said.

By deconstructing stereotypes, Jaworski believes that the most important aspect of teaching religion, fostering a sense of empathy, can be achieved. “Rather than saying we should all believe one thing or another, or this is wrong this is right, we must understand that other people might believe different things,” Jaworski said. “We have to empathize with them.”

Names followed by an asterix are students who have been given an alias to protect their identity.

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THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

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Culture

Student-led productions Three students share their passion for being involved in all aspects of theater production Martha Duff | Staff Writer

A

t the beginning of each year, Drama Teacher Buck Heron invites eager drama students to direct the High School production of their choice. This semester Effie Ogino (’19) and Kat Smith (’19) will showcase their abilities by co-directing Paul Zindel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama: The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-theMoon Marigolds. Aveleigh Baker (’17) will also direct Patrick Hamilton’s ‘Rope.’

“Gamma Rays” is the story of a dysfunctional family trying to cope with their abysmal lives. The characters are emotional and raw, consisting of an abusive and self centred single mother and her two downtrodden daughters. Alcoholism, drug-abuse, self loathing and violence feature front and center, creating an emotionally-charged production which is thoughtfully directed by Ogino and Smith.

The subject matter immediately attracted the first-time theater directors. The idea of spreading awareness of difficult, often tragic, family situations was something

they both felt strongly about. “The reason we picked this show is because it’s all about family abuse and the impact it has on people, like an alcoholic mother whose mental issues get in the way of her children’s lives,” Ogino said.

Teaming up as co-directors made sense for both students who had not previously directed a theater production and additionally felt they could make the significant time commitment between them necessary to have the project succeed.

TOP Effie Ogino (’19), MIDDLE Kat Smith (’19) in “High School Musical” and BOTTOM Aveleigh Baker (’17) MIDDLE PHOTO COURTESY OF KAT SMITH TOP AND BOTTOM PHOTOS BY ELIZA BLAKEMORE

rest of my life because that’s something I’ve been doing since as long as I can remember,” she said.

At this point, Smith wants to focus on directing and is thinking about this discipline as a potential college major. “I want to prioritize

“I have a dream to be a movie director. Last year I directed a film, and I would like to continue that.”

EFFIE OGINO (’19) “[These] issues happen in every community, and we can’t ignore the fact that it happens here too.

So, we wanted to do something that would shed light on that,” Smith said.

Ogino agrees, and adds that “we thought [it would] be good to bring up the conversation about [family abuse] in the school.”

Both Ogimo and Smith have had a long and consistent passion for acting, each appearing in “High School Musical: The Musical” last year. Smith has plans to continue acting in the future but feels that this project demands her time solely as a director. “Once I leave this school, I don’t want to close the door [on] acting for the

directing, and want to go to school for [directing in the future]. Once, down the road, if I’m more successful, maybe I can start doing that.

But I want to build up to the point where I can [act], and have that not affect my career in directing.”

Ogino also shares this aspiration. “I have a dream to be a movie director. Last year I directed a film,

and I would like to continue that, but I was really interested in directing a play as well to see the other types of directing experiences.”

On the other hand, Baker has taken the challenge of directing “Ropes” by herself, in order to further her directing career, and prepare for her future.

“Ropes” tells the story of two young university students, who murder their fellow student in order to reveal their intellectual superiority. Set in Mayfair in the 1920’s, and containing a unique yet gruesome plot, it’s thrilling scenes are continuous and accentuated by the curtain fall at the end of each act.

Baker always wanted to direct ,but said she was too scared to do it.

Last year, I did all the costumes for the [“The Heidi Chronicles”}, so I showed that I could handle the workload. So I decided, might as well try it out this year,” Baker said.

Baker, who is headed for Queen's University Film School Canada, looks forward to her future in directing, and holds high hopes in pursuing it as a career.

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Sports Page 21

Winter season updates Profiling Justin Hoyt (’18)

Parental Support

Kat Bohner (’19) and her father Chuck share basketball’s impact on their relationship Sourna Daneshvar Jr. | Lead News Editor

A

SL parent Chuck Bohner’s habit of waking up at 5 a.m. started in college. As a rower, the university team mandated early-morning workouts.

After college, Chuck couldn’t escape the pre-dawn hours as he started a career as a breakfast chef.

Today, Chuck still wakes up at 5 a.m., but for a much different reason: A devotion to his daughter, Kat Bohner (’19).

During the summer after her Grade 7 year, Kat attended a bas-

more organically than family dinners, more than validating the lost sleep. “I’m so happy to support whatever they want to do. I would do anything like that. I work all day. I don’t get to see them. What an opportunity for me to have oneon-one time with her,” he said.

Previously, Chuck has coached his daughter. He liberally employs the term given the lack of his basketball understanding. However, as a recreational coach, Chuck felt the support he provided more than

now because, other than family dinners, there weren’t very many times when I would be talking to him... So now it’s more every day I get to talk to him,” she said. “It just makes me more comfortable around him.”

No longer on the sideline, watching his daughter during games provides Chuck an unprecedented sense of joy. “I really know she’s worked hard and practiced hard and be able to do that in a game situation is really hard,”

100 shots everyday and then to be able to know I’ve made the effort, put in the work and now I just get to show it. It’s made a huge difference,” Kat said. “I don’t think I would have done nearly as well in tryouts if I hadn’t done that.”

On junior varsity previously and now varsity, Kat feels some pressure from her parents ingame after spending countless hours with her father in an empty gym, it’s far from overbearing.

“There is a part where I want to

before I shot and said ‘I know I’m going to make this’,” Kat said.

After sinking the shot as she had done in the dark hours of the weeks prior, their eyes caught again. “That was a pretty good feeling,” Kat said.

Proud of his daughter’s achievement and promotion from JV, Chuck remains a stalwart in the stands. Despite the change in team, the tenor of the relationship hasn’t changed. “He doesn’t really care about any titles or how many

“The real end for me is connecting with [my kids] and hearing what’s going on in their lives and being part of their lives.”

CHUCK BOHNER, ASL PARENT ketball camp at Stanford University with many players likely to see the hardwood in college. Replicating the commitment of players on that level seemed necessary for Kat, thus the early morning starts.

Kat leads the 45-minute workouts, consisting of form-shooting, ball-handling, free-throws and other skills she wishes to develop. For Chuck, the workout proves much simpler: Rebounding.

Chuck finds that the fluidity of a sport facilitates conversations

compensated for his limited basketball knowledge.

These moments Chuck shares with his daughter transcend the court. “The real end for me is connecting with [my kids] and hearing what’s going on in their lives and being part of their lives. I’ll look back on this forever as just the best times, those times when we were just together,” he said.

Off the court, Kat feels the benefits of the many hours they share shooting, dribbling and passing. “I can talk to him more

Chuck said. “It’s so gratifying to see her hard work pay off in some meaningful way.”

Though Kat admits that her commitment to the early morning routine waned during the spring of last year, she estimates that this fall she and her father trained for all but three mornings leading to tryouts. She attributes her performance in those tryouts and eventual spot on the varsity team to time spent before the lights in the gym turned on. “Just the confidence that it gave me to make

impress [my parents] even more and show that everything that we worked on is paying off, but there’s also a part where even if I go on and miss every single shot...

I know that I’ll still come off and they’ll say ‘You did so great’,” Kat said. “It’s comforting to know that they are proud.”

Often the pace of the sport prevents Chuck and Kat from communicating, but Kat recalls one such moment during a free-throw, one of the sport’s slower moments. “I remember once I looked at him

points I make he just wants to know that I’m doing my best and happy with what I’m doing,” Kat said.

While Chuck jokes that his time as a breakfast chef prepared him well for the early mornings, his laughter belies his understanding of the finality of these treasured moments. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said. “It’s four years, that’s it. Once that’s it, there’s no more. This is a very short time in life to participate in this kind of thing.”

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Sports

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

•••

A shot in the dark

Varsity boys basketball shooting guard Justin Hoyt (’18) shares the unusual development of his game, and his hopes for the future Jonathan Sheves | Sports Editor

S

itting in his living room, Justin Hoyt (’18) was caught off guard when his grandparents came into the room with an early second birthday gift.

Swaddled in festive wrapping, Hoyt didn’t expect that the item he would receive would engulf him for the rest of his life: A basketball.

Living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the time, Hoyt credits his athletic beginnings to his classnates. “I loved [basketball]. All my friends played it so I just played with them. Whenever we were out at recess we would just play outside together,” he said.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for him. In his first year at ASL in 2014, Hoyt, a freshman at the time, made the JV team. Some weeks later, due to a drop in his grades, there was a mutual decision between the coaching staff and Hoyt’s family that it would be beneficial for both parties to cut him from the team. “I started to drop everything out of my life,” he said. My focus was just to improve my grades, and to practice basketball. That’s it.”

Given his hickup in freshman year, Hoyt acknowledges that perhaps he was a late bloomer with his passion for basketball, but sees no reason why it should hold him back. “I started doing it so much. I played before school started and after school. I found myself packing two sets of basketball clothes for the day, one for before school and one for after,” he said.

At this point, Hoyt realized that he would only get to where he wanted to be, the varsity boys basketball team, by putting in the hours. “Being one of the best in my grade, I thought to myself and said that this is something I can do if I work hard enough for it.”

21.7 Points Per Game

As an only child in his family, Hoyt feels that “earning respect from his parents” is key to his success. “Not having any siblings makes it harder for me. The way I see it, people who do have a brother and sister have people there to support them, but also to take some of the attention off them,” he said. “In my family, all of the attention is on me.”

Focusing on the team this season, Hoyt understands that the current campaign is one that will require rebuilding, and believes that he plays a pivotal role in doing so. “We had seven seniors leave last year which is a lot of leadership gone. Because this is my second year on the team, I have a bit more of a leadership role. I try to give advice, and take as much as I can from everyone else,” he said.

Hoyt also believes that his hard work has rubbed off on his close friends, who have also dedicated themselves to the sport. “Jordan Koski (’18), for example, had never played basketball until partway through last year,” he said.

“Whenever I went in [to practice], I got him to come with me. This year, he tried out for the first time and made the varsity team. I like

“I started to drop everything out of my life. My focus was just to improve my grades, and to practice basketball. That’s it.”

Justin Hoyt (’18)

to think I played a role in that. We both motivate each other to work super hard.”

Following the success of his debut season on the varsity team,

5.9

Rebounds Per Game

Justin Hoyt (’18) drives in for a lay up during the varsity boys basketball team’s game against TASIS on January 6. The Eagles won the game 58-38. PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL Hoyt was advised by the team’s Head Coach Josh Davis to join a summer development program, Global Squad. Hoyt joined the program with intent to improve his jumpshot to a more “automatic” one, but left with an array of improved traits. “When I went to camp, I was playing seven hours

2.6

Assists Per Game

a day. Wake up, play two [hours], three [hours] before lunch, and another two [hours] before dinner. It was all day,” he said.

Global Squad also gave Hoyt an opportunity to build initial relationships with college scouts and coaches, which he hopes will help him pave a way for a successful fu-

ture in basketball. He does, however, have his mind set on helping the varsity boys basketball team win their first ISST championship in 24 years.

“I want to win ISST gold and be an All Tournament player. Outside of school, I want to play basketball at a collegiate level,” he said. “For me, it’s a matter of hard work paying off.”

2.9

0.6

Steals Per Game

Blocks Per Game

THE STANDARD | January/February 2017

Page 23

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Sports

Demands of dance and cheer ROHAN HAARMANN STAFF WRITER

T

he basketball arcs down into the hoop to a horde of frenzied cheers. The game has been tied up in anticipation for the second half and nobody knows what will happen next. The dance team comes onto the court to cheers, but many forget their performance as soon as the real action starts again.

The mentality that dance and cheer should be treated as lesser sports or not as sports at all is present both in the ASL community, and worldwide society believes varsity cheer team member Alex Harrington (’17).

Harrington considers a sport to be “physical activity that does not require competition.” However, she does not feel that the ASL community treats either dance or cheer as a sport.

Harrington said that this is caused by “the stereotype of cheerleaders from movies that they are just there to cheer on the boys.”

However, she also said that the cheer team has “stopped a lot of things that could be considered sexist” in their routines to avoid that mentality.

Additionally, Harrington be-

PHOTO BY ELIZA IPPOLITO The dance team’s performance of ‘Selfie’ during the spirit assembly on February 3. The cheer team also performed during the assembly.

The popularity of the dance lieves many undermine cheerlead- athletically challenging as well.” not participate in competitions. ing because of the belief that it is However, she also believes that the and cheer teams is also at a record To compensate for this, however, not as intense as other sports. “I’ve ASL community accepts dance high participation level for girls in ASL has hosted schools both this been injured from it, you finish and “more than it used to” as a full sport. the high school. Athletics Director year and last year to participate in you’re exhausted, and you do have to “I honestly think that people don’t John Farmer said that there have the cheer and dance showcase. The run and stretch as well,” Harrington know that it’s as hard as it is,” she been “really strong numbers” on the showcase is not a competition, but cheerleading team, and that dance said. said. allows for the teams to perform out“I think it’s an artform because had “record tryouts with 22 to 24 Captain of the varsity dance side of separate games and practices. team, Eliot Konzal agreed with Har- unlike other sports, we are able to tell girls trying out for the team” with “It is a big deal at other schools and rington’s definition of a sport, call- a story and provoke emotion, but it’s full teams for the last two years. He this year we are hosting a school from ing it something that involves “be- as physically challenging as a sport,” added that “cheerleading is not a Brussels to dance at the showcase,” competitive sport at ASL” as they do ing part of a team while also being Konzal said.

Farmer said.

Winter sports season update

Winter Season Sports Coaches reflect on the season so far, and predict the outcome for the rest of their campaign

JONATHAN SHEVES SPORTS EDITOR

Varsity Girls Basketball Record so far: 8-3 Goal for the season: “We have a young team this year; more than half the team is new, and we have a new head coach,” Varsity Girls Basketball Assistant Coach Heidi McCune said.

“Our goal is to come together as a team, and to work hard in practice every day to improve.”

Group to Watch: “Returners Mia Holtze (’18), Claire Noel (’17), and Monet Streit (’19),” she said. “We have also welcomed back Riley Evans (’17) from injury, and Mariam Sousou (’18) from her semester abroad.”

Varsity Boys Basketball Record so far: 11-5 Goal for the season: “The number one goal is to win ISSTs in March.

The boys believe that they can com-

pete with anyone, and if the team develops, it can certainly play with any ISST team,” Varsity Boys Basketball Assistant Coach Mike McGowan said.

Group to Watch: “Ryan Nealis (’17) is a four-year letterman who will lead the team at the point guard position.

He is a steady and consistent performer. Justin Hoyt (’18) is a scorer.

When he’s hot, he can fill it up from three-point range. Brodie Craig (’18) is a strong rebounder, excellent defender, and plays hard during every possession. Will Sayre (’17) will provide experience and sharp-shooting, and Nic Demetris’ (’18) athleticism will be a huge asset,” he said.

Varsity Rugby

number of players that continue to stand out. Brian Robert (‘17) , Oliver Wilson (‘17) and Ryleigh Cornelius (‘18),” he said.

Varsity Dance The season so far: The varsity dance team have performed three staple dances so far: The Greatest, Dibby Dibby Sound, and Selfie.

Goal for the season: “We will focus on getting a solid foundation of dance technique for all of our dancers as well as many performance opportunities. We are looking to include a few extra routines and dance styles this year,” Varsity Dance Team Head Coach Amy Finch said.

Record so far: 6-6 Goal for the season: “Our ISSTs goal this season will be to compete and play some outstanding rugby,” Varsity Rugby Head Coach Charlie Hughes said.

Group to Watch: “There are a

Other News: “We invite schools such as Cobham, Hillingdon and Israel International School to join us for our showcase at the end of the season. It’s great fun to have their dance teams join us at ASL and creates a great buzz around dance,” she said.

Varsity Swimming

Goal for the season: “Last year our girls divisions won, and the boys placed third. We hope for the girls to hold their position and the boys to move up. The big difference is that we are expecting a top 5 finish with the JV boys,” Varsity Swimming Head Coach Rod Anderson said.

Group to Watch: “The varsity girls team has JV record holder Ally Larssn (’19) swimming varsity with returning medal winners, Sissel Anderson (’18) and Olivia Halsted (‘17). The varsity boys has a lot of experience this year, with return gold medal winners, Graham Brantley (’18) and JD Costello (’17),” Anderson said.

Cheerleading Goal for the season: “As always, our goal is to perform our routine to the best of our ability,” Varsity Cheerleading Head Coach Carriebeth Candeto said.

The varsity cheerleading team perform during the Spirit Week Assembly.

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA GERS Group to Watch: “Cheerleading is a team sport and a successful season depends on every member of the team performing to the best of her ability. So, watch the whole team, not any individuals,” she said.

Records as of February 7.

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Spirit Week Assembly

THE STANDARD |January/February 2017

The Spirit Assembly on February 3 had students competing in a range of events to secure the week’s final spirit points.

The Seniors won with 924 points, followed by the Juniors with 823 points, Sophomores with 369 points and Freshmen with 338 points.

PHOTOS BY ALEXANDRA GERS