January/February Issue 3

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the Standard

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Protests rise in Iran

Editorial: Telling our stories

Retaining teachers of color

Review: Hamilton Restoring the hits London hype at home

The ASL community reacts to protests in Iran, following a month long call for economic and social reform throughout the country

Following Kevin Jenning’s speech to the High School during Aequitas Week, the Editorial Board encourages students to share their story

Teachers of color discuss their experience at the school and the administrative initiatives to retain employment

A review of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit broadway show Hamilton: An American Musical, which opened on December 21 in London

PAGE 31

Through the eyes of the varsity basketball teams, examining home support at games and how this season’s atmosphere is different

News 3-7 | Opinions 8-12 | Features 13-22 | Culture 23-25 | Sports 26-32

A CLOUDED CONCEPTION

One pack of cigarettes. This is the amount of nicotine in one JUUL pod.

Although the usage of e-cigarettes and JUULs has increased, knowledge about the risks of these devices remains limited, raising community concerns.

Alexandra Gers | Lead Features Editor

Christina Leonard | Managing Editor: Online

Story on pages 14-15 January/February 2018 | Volume 43, Issue 3

The American School in London | One Waverley Place | London NW8 0NP U.K. | standard.asl.org

www.standard.asl.org

SPORTS

Alumni athletes: Q&A with University of Pennsylvania rower Sarah Brunsberg (’17)

The Standard

Grace Bake (’17) and Sarah Brunsberg (’17) finished first in the Women’s U-18 category at the National Schools Regatta PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH BRUNSBERG

OPINIONS

Stop watching the NFL - Sourna Daneshvar Jr. Reflecting on Trump’s first year - Lucas Romualdo Changing school start time - Estee Jorgensen

Westminister Abbey illuminated during Lumiere London.

PHOTO BY QUINN WHITMAN

CULTURE

Review of the top five pieces from the Lumiere London light festival - Quinn Whitman

In case you missed it...

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A student contemplates whether to order an Uber.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA ABRAMS

FEATURES

Community questions viability of Uber

Examining the power of crypto currency

For content found exclusively online visit our home page at standard.asl.org

@TheStandardASL

January/February 2018

Student population Teaser 1 Teaser 2 Safeguarding

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NEWS

Professional development focuses on identity Recent professional development seminars for faculty and staff have been centered around creating awareness of diversity and cultural competency.

CAMERON CAMPILI LEAD NEWS EDITOR

ISABELLE LHUILIER NEWS EDITOR

S

tudents may have noticed an increase in the number of substitue teachers on Monday and Tuesday, January 22 and 23 as more than 75 faculty, staff and other members of the school community took part in a workshop on issues related to diversity. While not all workshops will see such a high number of teachers out of thier classrooms at one time, this and other professional development seminars are aimed at improving teaching techniques and cultural competency.

Taking place from January 13 to 14, the Having Hard Conversations seminar was given by author Jennifer Abrams. The presentation was centered around two of Abrams’s books ‘Having Hard Conversations’ and ‘Hard conversations unpacked’.

These are about preparing to have challenging conversations with parents, colleagues, supervisors who teachers work with.

Although hosted at ASL, the workshop was sponsored by Chapters International, a professional development company that supports seminars internationally. Most educators who took part were from ASL, however, several teachers from other schools in England also took part.

Abrams enjoyed giving her presentation as she felt that her audience was engaged and inspiring.

She also thoroughly enjoyed the audiences discussions and dedication during the weekend. “A group of educators who wanted to learn about this topic so much came on their weekend. It was people who chose to come and they brought honest, sticky, challenges that they want to work on,” Abrams said.

Abrams acknowledges when speaking to a group of international teachers, versus schools in the U.S., her style of communication differs.

“If I am talking to somebody in an American school in London, they are going to have maybe similar IB coursework, conversations. I have to [understand] the different types of coursework that people are talking about,” Abrams said.

In addition to Abrams’ workshop, on January 22 and 23 Glenn Singleton hosted a diversity seminar for faculty and staff interested in participating. Administrative Assistant to HS Principal Ruksana Murtaza was

one of the 75 participants and believes the workshop, focusing solely on race, was “incredible”. “Personally I have never done anything like this before and it’s definitely changed my thinking and my understanding of who I am,” Murtaza said.

For Phillips, the workshop was one of the most powerful he has ever attended, crediting the host, Glenn Singleton. “He was a pro in terms of pacing. We were talking about some difficult things and the way in which he ramped up to get to those difficult conversations was very skillful. He was a master adult teacher,” Phillips said.

Additionally, faculty and staff have taken part in another professional development exercise to explore the impact of power and privilege during a recent faculty meeting.

“

The professional development at ASL is really good and just keeps getting better and better.

Ruksana Murtaza, Assistant to HS Principal

Members of staff were given colored chips to trade with each other and placed into groups based on the value of the chips they had collected. However, after the first round each bag was rigged so the same group always maintained their wealth and position of power.

Science Teacher David Partridge believes it was a valuable experience. “It’s very easy to live in our own bubble, and think that everybody’s the same as you,” he said. “It’s very easy to look at people who are much less privileged and not realize that you are in a position of advantage.”

As he was placed in the lowest group, Partridge found the experience to be eye-opening. “When I realized there was no possibility of winning this game, psychologically I became disengaged. I realized that I was just playing along knowing nothing would change,” he said. “The point of it was to actually show how people in privileged positions tend to maintain that privilege. Those that are less privileged are the ones that tend to stay down and get despondent.”

Murtaza believes that these types of workshops are reflective of the schools commitment to strong professional development

and, although some are focused on faculty members, Murtaza believes ASL is doing more to bring in workshops for staff members too.

“As a support staff member a lot of the workshops we have at ASL are mainly geared toward the faculty, but they’re making a lot more effort towards bringing in things that are more applicable to staff who work in the school,” Murtaza said.

Moreover, Murtaza feels that the strong focus on professional development is a unique aspect of working at the school. “[The administration] are constantly trying to find different [opportunities]. The professional development at ASL is really good and just keeps getting better. We are quite fortunate,” Murtaza said.

Those who give these seminars and workshops are not usually soley contacted to give a seminar, but have connections to other faculty and staff members at ASL. Principal Jack Phillips believes it’s through these connections that the school is able to hold these seminars. “[Seminars have] been connected to different individuals, so someone knew Glenn Singleton [host of Beyond Diversity] for example as he only goes to schools where he’s got a connection,” Phillips said. “Word of mouth, that’s how we get these people.”

Phillips strongly believes that these workshops are among the most important professional development the faculty and staff do for several reasons, one being that it helps mold better educators. “Getting all the adults on the same page and raising our level of awareness will help us be better educators for students,” Phillips said. “We can’t ask our students to take on this work if we can’t do it ourselves.”

Working with Glenn Singleton, the “Beyond Diversity” workshop ran from the 21 to the 24 of January, and was attended by 75 members of the school community. The workshop focused on the impact of race on education.

ALL PHOTOS BY OLIVIA ABRAMS

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news

TheStandard Standard The

Iranian crisis sparks protests ASL reacts to the protests that have emerged in Iran and across the globe in reaction to the crisis currently plaguing the country.

MICHAELA TOWFIGHI | EDITOR IN CHIEF: PRINT

INCREASE IN PRICE OF FUEL BY

50%

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AGES 15-29

24%

SOURNA DANESHVAR JR. | EDITOR IN CHIEF: ONLINE

3,700

PEOPLE KILLED DURING PROTESTS

PEOPLE ARRESTED DURING PROTESTS

21

40%

ANNUAL INFLATION DECREASED BY

DECREASE IN ANNUAL CONSUMPTION OF BREAD, MILK AND RED MEAT

25%

A total of 3,700 Iranian citizens were arrested and 21 were killed as a result of government protests in Iran, according to the Associated Press. In Massad, Iran’s second largest city, citizens began protesting against the government on December 28, upset at a lack of economic prosperity promised by President Hassan Rouhani, as well as desired freedom for women. However, on January 3, Brigadier General Mohammad-Ali Jafari, top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, claimed the protests had ended with no new resolutions.

STATISTICS FROM HTTP://WWW.BBC.CO.UK AND HTTP://WWW.CNN.COM

news

January/February 2018

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arius Radseresht (’19) visits Iran at least once a year as his father was born there and finds the residents of Tehran to be very expressive. “People are very connected there. It’s all about food and music. People walk the street. There’s bazaars,” he said. “It’s not what people usually think it is like: a policed area.

There’s a lot of culture to it, a lot of aspects, music, art and food.”

However, his most recent visit with the protests ongoing was atypical. “There were a lot of police, armed. It was odd. It was a different experience,” Radseresht said.

Radseresht believes the tensions in the country continued to escalate after the Iran Nuclear deal in 2015. “That was the one thing [Ali Khamenei] did that people loved, but after that, people started to get mixed opinions and radicals from both sides had different opinions, it was getting

drive the protest onward. “Women are essential. They played a huge part in the revolution in 1979 as well. I think the fact that it’s been decades and there’s been no progress in fact there’s been huge regressions it’s hugely important that Women have a role in the protests,” he said.

According to the Human Rights Watch, women cannot leave the country without the approval of their husbands or fathers, nor enter stadiums. They are also forced to wear a hijab as early as elementary school. Despite this, English Teacher and Published Iranian Author Dina Nayeri notes that women continue to enjoy their daily lives. “[For] Iranian people- and Iranian women specifically- it’s incredible how much joy they can suck out of a bad situation,” she said. “Under this regime it’s a feat and a real act of daring and a real statement.”

“

I think it is such an important message to show that women still have power and can say something.

Lauar De Beer (’20) worse and worse and I saw from this visit it was much different now,” he said.

Due to safety concerns, Cameron Moghadam (’19), whose parents were both born in Iran, has never visited Iran and with crimes committed by the government, he does not see that changing soon.

“The media might portray the current government as moderate, but the fact of the matter is they often hang gays, they discriminate against women and they often ignore the poor,” he said.

From afar Moghadam saw the protests quickly developed.

“There were so many times when the government angered the people. While the protests started off because of economic reasons, I think it has a broader context,” Moghadam said.

The broader context includes the infringement of women’s rights. They, Moghadam believes,

In 2009, protests in Iran erupted surrounding the upcoming presidential election. State media reported over 36 people died and 4,000 were arrested in the 7-month-long protest. Like protests of the past, they amounted to little. However, Tara Tadjbakhsh (’19), whose dad fled Iran during the revolution, believes these current protests are different due to the magnitude of the current situation. “It is interesting because it is not anything Iran has seen before. Obviously there have been protests in the past, like the Green movement [in 2009], but this one is more widespread throughout Iran and happening more in rural areas which is really interesting,” she said.

Likewise, Nayeri feels that these protests are unlike any seen before in the country. “I think what’s important is they’re risking their lives,” she said.

5

Protestors gather outside of the Iranian embassy in London in response to predicaments in Iran.

PHOTO BY QUINN WHITMAN Lauar De Beer (’20), whose mother is Iranian, recounts reading about a protest in which a woman removed her hijab and was later sent to prison. “I think it is such an important message to show that women still have power and can say something,” she said.

Reacting to the protests, the government implemented new measures of control. During the 2009 protests citizens used Twitter to confuse the government, as many users world wide changed their location settings to Iran. Furthermore, the platform was used for frequent communication between anti-government protesters. During the most recent protests, social media outlets

In addition to restricting social media, the government has recently prohibited teaching English in Iranian primary schools. For Nayeri, this exemplifies the fear of westernization.

“There’s the fact that English is the gateway to western culture and western opportunities and all the things they don’t have, so it makes people aware of all of the economic unfairnesses they are living with,” Nayeri said. “If [the government wants to remain] for another generation, of course they are going to keep kids from learning English.”

Tadjbakhsh also believes the restrictive government is limiting

“

There were so many times when the government angered the people. While the protests started off because of economic reasons, I think it has a broader context.

Cameron Moghadam (’19)

such as Telegram have been blocked to prevent similar measures according to the New York Times. During Radseresht’s most recent visit with the protests ongoing, both his Facebook and Instagram were restricted.

the potential of the country. “Iran is still a country with a lot of potential that isn’t being used well because it has a young population and a lot of natural resources and it is being misused,” she said.

Moghadam believes international pressure is key to impactful protests. “I hope they gain international support. We have seen a few nations support their resistance,” Moghadam said.

With international pressure rising, Nayeri awaits for change in the future. “I’m watching with anticipation. It feels too much to hope for a new government and an overthrow. But it doesn’t feel too much to hope that maybe women will be freed from the hijab,” she said.

De Beer agrees, hoping that change would provide not only new freedoms for women, but a chance for her to visit the country and relish in the life her mother once lived. “[My mother] was upset to have left and I am upset to not be able to go,” she said. “I hope that [the protests] bring... political change and culture change in the society that women don’t have to cover themselves up and keep themselves closed.”

In the meantime, Radseresht intends to visit within the year, although he admits his feeling about the country will be different after these protests. “I feel like people have this opinion and view on Iran that it’s a completely policed area and that it’s a dangerous place, but honestly it’s a great [country],” he said.

Radseresht believes that it is unfortunate that people’s views on Iran are solely focused on the policing, protests and violence, but has hopes for Iran to be viewed differently in the coming future.

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news

TheStandard Standard The

Solving the student population puzzle Exploring the factors which contribute to the fluctuation of the student population.

CAM CAMPILI

LEAD NEWS EDITOR

SOURNA DANESHVAR JR. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ONLINE

T

he current High School population stands at 487, an increase of 0.03 percent from last year. In the High School, Dean of Admissions Jodi Warren believes it is best for each grade to hold around 120-125 students, however, this might fluctuate depending on several factors.

The most pressing factors in determining grade size is retention rate.

ASL’s retention rate has increased by about 1 percent over the past five years. The admissions office uses an average withdrawal rate of the past three to five years of a specific grade to determine the amount of prospective students they can accept into that grade.

Typically, admissions accepts more students than spots they have available in the class to account for accepted students who don’t attend.

However, if there are any anomalies in a year, whether that be a lower withdrawal rate or higher acceptance rate, the department is left without flexibility in numbers. The department processes offers of admission before knowing the number of students leaving the school, and can’t reject potential students if the projection of students leaving is higher than expected. “If we’ve accepted someone and they’ve accepted our offer, we can’t just change our minds,” Warren said.

Another complex aspect of the admissions process is financial aid. The school prioritizes its financial aid

budget on subsidizing current students who need aid, before accepting new students.

In terms of financial aid, ASL is need-blind, meaning that the school doesn’t take financial aid into account when reviewing applications. Once accepted, ASL requires families who need financial aid to complete an online form from the National Association of Independent Schools to determine the amount of money they can contribute towards tuition. This past year there were 20 students for which “in the end we didn’t have financial aid for, didn’t have money for. The kids were great and they qualified for financial aid, but we didn’t have enough [money],” Warren said.

“

I’m not aware of any place where we’re breaking the rules with too many people because if we did then we start getting into structural [issues].

Jim Heynderickx, Director of Operations The school is not required to meet cultural or racial quotas of any kind. Admissions pay specific attention balancing gender within grades, although with an uncertainty of who is staying and leaving in a specific grade, achieving the balance can be difficult.

Student Retention population rate

Financial aid

86% 87%

132 142

480 487

...of students K-12 re-enrolled

...students in high school

2012-2017

vs.

Statistics provided by Dean of Admissions Jodi Warren.

While there is flexibility, the school has some definite limits for numbers of students, such as the Specific Learning Department (SLD). First the school evaluates the support it can offer to an applicant.

“If a student needs any kind of support we have to look if we have the support available, so sometimes we can’t offer a place to students because we don’t have a program for a particular student,” Warren said.

Apart from spaces for SLD, there are physical spaces to contend with too. The school can only hold around the current population of students based on Westminster City Council’s evaluation.

PHOTO BY LYDIA CONDON Students sitting in the crowded School Center during the High School quiz bowl assembly.

...students K-12 on financial aid

2017-2018

Westminster City Council determines this capacity partly on space in the school, Director of Operations Jim Heynderickx said, but mostly because of traffic generated by the school in the morning and afternoon.

“Westminster kind of likes [ASL] the size we are now because they don’t think we are going to be too noisy or create traffic jams with the school buses or taxis or with parents trying to pick up their kids. So [our size] is more of a transport issue than with the actual size of the building,” Heynderickx said.

However, there are some spaces in the school where the increase in population is noticeable, namely the School Center. According to Heynderickx, at its maximum, the school center can seat about 400 people, far below the total high school population of 487. Despite the shortage of seating, the space remains safe to use because it has a fire limit of around 600 people. “We do know what the fire limit is, and that’s higher than 400, but on the other hand...we don’t want to have people in there for hours having people sitting on the steps because that’s not comfortable,” Heynderickx said.

While student comfort is important, ASL’s foremost concern is safety and a main determiner of that is fire capacity. “I’m not aware of any place where we’re breaking the rules with too many people because if we did then we start getting into structural [issues],” Heynderickx said. “As far as I’m aware we’re

not running that risk anywhere here right now, but it’s something we always keep an eye on.”

The school uses an independent, third-party to calculate how efficiently spaces are used, the fire capacity of spaces and, thus, the maximum number of students that can fit in a space. Some subjects, like science, which need space for lab equipment and storage, do require more physical space than other subjects. “When they do that analysis they compare us against benchmarks for U.S. independent schools and best practices for recommended teaching of that subject,” Heynderickx said.

With the slight increase in high school students over the past five years, there is still a cap on the student population for academic reasons. For example, all students in Grade 9 and 10 take the same social studies and English classes.

Because of this, the school can only accept a certain amount of students based on the amount of social studies and English teachers that can teach these classes.

Along with the physical space, Assistant Principal Karen Bonthrone attributes more classes reaching capacity due to students taking more classes than in past years. Regardless, Bonthrone has no concerns about overfilling classes, but continues to monitor the situation. “We are constantly thinking about [scheduling] and trying to make sure we can make it as flexible [and] as adaptable to student learning,” she said.

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January/February 2018

7

Introducing the ASL Safeguarding Team Exploring the role and work of the Safeguarding Team within the community.

JOHN TOWFIGHI FEATURES EDITOR

A

place of immense growth both physically and mentally for adolescents, schools are often faced with a variety of issues regarding the student body. To combat these issues, maintain a safe school environment and offer students the necessary support, the U.K. government requires that every educational system has a “safeguarding” team: a group composed of teachers or

““

[Safeguarding] surrounds everything you could think of to do with safety Adam Bonnington, Nurse adults, particularly within counselling or health related fields, whom students may approach if they are concerned about the safety of themselves or others.

part of the senior leadership team.

Among those on the senior leadership team, Chapel’s position as Director of Teaching and Learning deemed her the most suitable for being the safeguarding lead.

Made up of 13 faculty and staff from all divisions of the school, the members of the safeguarding team serve as an outlet for students to voice their concerns about a variety of issues. Nurse Adam Bonnington, who is a member of the team, described the issues they face as “everything you could think to do with safety, really. Examples of things that would come under the safeguarding umbrella would be neglect, abuse, physical or sexual concerns around that, malnourishment, bullying, mental health issues, self harm, or even suicide,” he said. “[The team] is set up to listen to those issues, support people with any concerns that they [have] had, and try and support the student involved.”

For MS Counsellor Kelley Reid, the essence of having the team is to keep students safe both physically and psychologically, and to remind people that “no one person should try and handle this kind of stuff on their own.”

A number of posters are displayed around the school in order to inform students of the members of the safeguarding team. she said. “No issue is too small.”

The team is dedicated to helping all students in the school, and is able to assist through conversations within ASL or by involving external practices through a referral.

Additionally, the team also works on taking steps to limit the number of concerns. “Part of safeguarding is not only reacting to concerns but also being really proactive, so that’s why this team, the nurses, the counsellors, are all thinking “what are we doing as a school to address the wellbeing of students,” Chapel said.

“

Robyn Chapel informs a student about the Safeguarding Team.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA ABRAMS Director of Teaching and Learning, Robyn Chapel has spearheaded the program at ASL since 2015.

The safeguarding team has been at ASL for more than 20 years, but Chapel assumed the role recently as new U.K. legislation stated that the safeguarding lead must be a

Chapel feels it is important for students to remember that no problem regarding health and safety is of little importance. “The safeguarding team is about wellbeing, and people should be able to feel like they could go to someone on the team about anything,”

People should be able to feel like they could go to someone on the team about anything Robyn Chapel, Safeguarding Lead When a student comes to someone on the team, the action taken depends on what issue they are dealing with. Potentially being

faced with concerns that require immediate action, there is a risk assessment analysis done by the team to determine the best course of action. “If it’s a serious issue, one where the child is at risk for him or herself in terms of their safety, one of the first things we do is call home and then we take it from there in terms of looking for other resources to support the child,” Reid said.

The focus of the team is getting the best possible support for each student, and everything is discussed between the members and analyzed clearly before moving forward with a plan. “[If you] report a concern to the safeguarding lead, they will help you assess it and see if it’s something we can manage here at school or whether we need to involve the social services,” Bonnington said.

Maintaining confidentiality is an important aspect of the process, but can’t be guaranteed depending on the magnitude of the issue. “I think that sometimes a concern for high school students is that if they go and say something [they think] everyone will know about it,” Chapel said.

However, she asserts that privacy is of utmost important and

the goal is to build trust between the adult and the student. “I know [HS Counsellor] Stephanie Oliver has worked very hard to establish relationships where people can

“

No one person should try and handle this kind of stuff on their own Kelly Reid, MS Counsellor come to her,” she said. “We really are there to be supportive.”

Hoping to continue building an environment at ASL that is secure and comfortable for everyone, the members of the team are always available for students to talk to. “If you have any kind of gut level feeling about something, even if it’s a small twinge, don’t keep it to yourself,” Reid said. “And it doesn’t have to be the safeguarding team only, it can be any trusted adult...we will try to sort it out working as a team.”

OPINIONS

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Aziz Ansari Teaser 1 Jerusalem Teaser 2

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Editorial

Sharing our stories | April 2017

“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” This was the Horace Mann quote Kevin Jennings presented to the High School community during an assembly kicking off Aequitas Week on Tuesday January 16. Jennings, co-founder of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month, the Gay-Straight Alliance and the President of the Tenement Museum in New York, shared his life story with the student body and encouraged others to do the same. What was different about his presentation was the message he left with the crowd: What’s your story and how do you want to be remembered?

Jennings’ message was simple, but resonated strongly with the Editorial Board.

What are our stories? What is our legacy?

His presentation focused on how his parents’ tough upbringing guided him to better appreciate the education he received and his urge to make a difference. In 1988, Jennings co-founded the first Gay Straight Alliance and later became President of New York’s Tenement Museum, which spotlights the stories of immigrants who came to Manhattan between the 19th and 21st centuries. After hearing his story, we present one question to the community: How

CARTOON BY GABY IWEGBUE can we share our stories and learn from each other? As a diverse community we all have a unique story to share. Now it is a matter of creating a platform to do so.

For some, their story might start simply with their family, where they are from or the neighborhood they grew up in. For others, this story could encompass their heritage, or simply a favorite hobby.

While guest speakers at assemblies have been a part of the High School experience for as long as this Editorial Board can remember, too often have they been about how our surroundings influence us, not what we can do to influence our surroundings. Jennings’ message prompted this Editorial Board to consider how our experiences can influence the stories we want to tell, whether it be through student communication, or by speaking to members of the community.

With this, we encourage the community to be open and honest. By simply being vulnerable and sharing our stories, we are able to better learn from ourselves and others.

This can be facilitated through spaces that we as a community make where people are able to honestly share their perspective and be heard. In previous years, TedxASL pre-

sented that exact opportunity for students to share, yet after its cancellation, no other platform has emulated this style. We hope that TedxASL, or a similar entity, returns, as it would serve as the exact platform for students to share and learn.

Sharing stories is not a nuanced theme in our community, but we hope it is one that will thoughtfully be considered and acted on. Within the first week of school, Head of School Robin Appleby shared her theme for this year as “What’s your story?”

Adding to this, the theme of this year’s Global Festival is “Share your story.” This theme highlights the importance of our community not only sharing stories, but also empathizing with each other.

As an Editorial Board we frequently share anecdotes from our lives in our articles. So, we hope to facilitate a platform for the entire community. While TedxASL is a concrete step in this direction, we also hope that these discussions will be facilitated around the Harkness table or in other classes. Some of the best conversations fall outside of the curriculum, yet the topics discussed in class are not always applicable to what we, the students may have on our minds.

Rather than always using lectures to learn about different perspectives, having a few minutes dedicated in class to discussing them would be just as beneficial in understanding varying viewpoints that come from our peers.

In addition, having more assemblies with influential guest speakers would foster conversation amongst the students about how we, too, can share our stories.

Following Jennings’ presentation, there was immediate praise and approval of the assembly among students and faculty.

If different organizations in the High School such as the Social Justice Council, Student Council or student-run clubs reached out to people as influential as Jennings to come and tell their stories, not only would students hear amazing anecdotes, but they would be inspired to share their own experiences.

This Editorial Board intends to share our stories and encourage the community to do so as well. We all have something to be proud of, something we are curious about, something we want to raise awareness about and we hope that with a platform to do so, the community is encouraged to consider Jennings’ message in finding what their legacy will be.

Standard MICHAELA TOWFIGHI Editor-in-Chief: Print SOURNA DANESHVAR JR. Editor-in-Chief: Online ANANYA PRAKASH Managing Editor: Print CHRISTINA LEONARD Managing Editor: Online CAM CAMPILI Lead News Editor ISABELLE LHUILIER News Editor SOPHIE ASHLEY Opinions Editor ALEXANDRA GERS Lead Features Editor MARTHA DUFF Features Editor JOHN TOWFIGHI Features Editor PHAEDRA LETROU Culture Editor QUINN WHITMAN Culture Editor JONATHAN NOVAK Sports Editor JONATHAN SHEVES Sports Editor OLIVIA ABRAMS Print and Online Media Editor MICHAEL FLAHERTY Online Editor IMOGEN WEISS Online Editor SHANNON MILLER Adviser CARTOONIST Gaby Iwegbue STAFF WRITERS Maya Ariburnu, Amaan Zafar, Anastasia Ruimy, Rohan Haarmann, Jonathan Philips, Ishaan Rahman, Allegra Albanese, Taylor Anderson, Amelie Angelov, Sal Cerrell, Emily Forgash, Lea George, Helena

Hansen, Izzy Harris, Estee Jorgensen, Lena Levey, Uma Mokhtarzadeh, Liz Merryweather, Eli Nilson, Lucas Romualdo, Sara Short, Elijah VanderMolen, Lily Whitman STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Emily Forgash, Piya Garg, Addie Grigs, Eliza Blakemore 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 P-101, 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

retains the right to edit letters for length and AP/Standard style. All letters must be signed in order to be considered for publication.

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January/February 2018

SOPHIE ASHLEY

sophie_ashley@asl.org

“

This example is why we need to start a conversation about a type of consent that falls into a grey area.

opinions 9 How the Aziz Ansari case questions consent In recent months, the #MeToo campaign has helped many people gain the confidence to publicly share their experiences with sexual assault. On January 14, an article posted by a woman under the pseudonym Grace on the women’s news and lifestyle site babe.net detailed her story of sexual assault while on a date with comedian Aziz Ansari.

When I saw the headlines, I was frustrated. Aside from the expected anger I feel on behalf of each victim with each new accusation, this one hit pretty close to home. As a huge fan of Ansari and his work, I felt almost personally attacked by what I thought was going to be another story in the #MeToo campaign’s rapidly growing collection.

I was also incredibly surprised.

Ansari is an avid and open feminist. He accepted his recent Golden Globe wearing a “Time’s Up” pin.

Many of the episodes of his television show Master of None present feminist ideas. I felt like the admiration I had for Ansari had been misplaced; if he is capable of sexual harassment, it seemed to me like everybody is.

But then I continued reading the

article. My anger shifted from Ansari to Grace. The article – titled “I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life” – described what seemed to me as a just bad (OK, horrific) date rather than sexual assault.

Grace shares that after they met at the 2017 Emmy Awards after-party, Ansari took her to dinner in New York City. Following dinner and drinks, they began to get intimate, and Ansari encouraged her to perform sexual acts without her initiating them. He pressured her to go further, but at her first verbal sign of discomfort, he suggested that they just watch TV, as “it [was] only fun if [they were] both having fun”.

While Ansari’s actions were definitely wrong, they do not fit into the same category as the actions of those accused in the other #MeToo stories. There is an immense difference between assault and Ansari’s actions.

Grace also published text messages with Ansari that, to me at least, shed light on his positive response to her experience. Following that night, Grace texted Ansari about her discomfort. Ansari re-

sponded, “I’m so sad to hear this.

Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry.” Although a sorry text, more often than not, is insufficient in these types of situations, Ansari’s argument of ignorance towards Grace’s discomfort is supported by her telling of the events. In acknowledging that his actions could be verging on harassment, Ansari takes the first steps towards improving himself and demonstrates his respect for Grace.

There is a clear line between Ansari’s actions and sexual harassment. Although he may not have been ignorant to her nonverbal clues, he stopped at her first verbal opposition. Ansari did not force Grace to stay nor do anything she was uncomfortable with.

This article also came at the right time for its viewership to skyrocket. #MeToo is, inarguably, a hugely positive movement, yet, it also provides the opportunity for articles like this one to diminish its importance.

I am the last person to want to deny anyone the right to voice their discomfort in a situation like this, but doing so in the way Grace did

Progress Report ROBOTICS.

STRESS

SUPER BOWL

has larger repercussions. By publishing such an article and categorizing it as she did, she disvalued the other claims made throughout the movement. Unfortunately, two steps forward and one step back applies to the feminist movement, and stories like this often result in one huge step back.

This one beneft of Grace’s article is that it exemplified the necessity in starting a conversation about a type of consent that falls into a grey area. What classifies as consent?

Who is allowed to make the first move in pushing things further?

To what extent can one be expected to read another’s nonverbal cues?

Questions like these are often forgotten in light of ones that have more obvious answers. Especially when alcohol or drugs are involved, the meaning of nonverbal discomfort is more easily misconstrued.

It has taken our society up until this generation to really promote the reporting of crimes related to sexual assault. We must uphold the solemnity of these accusations, while also using them to spur conversations on how exactly we want to move forward.

PHOTOS 1, 3 AND 6 BY SOPHIE ASHLEY, PHOTO 2 FROM HTTPS://PXHERE.COM/EN/PHOTO/1375354, PHOTO 4 FROM NETFLIX.COM, PHOTO 5 FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;

TEA

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2

3

4

5

6 4

in Academic Advising: (A-) Helping me slowly 4.

1. Tea wean off caffeine. Alexandra Gers

The Good Place: (A) Kristen Bell’s sarcasm and the constant questioning of morality has got me hooked. Phaedra Letrou

Robotics Food Budget: (C-) 30k spent daily on people’s dinners. Sourna Daneshvar Jr.

5.

Super Bowl: (B) As a New York fan, I was excited to see either team lose. It lived up to expectations.

Jonathan Novak

Junior Class Stress: (F) Mr. Yeoh, help us.

Christina Leonard

6.

Bhupendra: (A+) The cause of so many smiles and lost ID card saves. Sophie Ashley

The Editorial Board of The Standard gives 2. the school its first report of 2018. 3.

Post Scriptum: 2 juul 4 skool

10

opinions

TheStandard Standard The

Point

JONATHAN PHILIPS jonathan_philips@asl.org

The embassy moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is not only logical and mandated in American law, but also just.

Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama all proclaimed that Jerusalem is Israel’s eternal capital. But the words of these Presidents served only to appease; they were hollow. President Donald Trump broke this trend by moving the embassy from Tel Aviv, a city that barely registers as a centenarian, to Jerusalem, which is not only Israel’s administrative capital but also has been the capital of the Jewish people for over 3000 years.

In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act which stated not only that Jerusalem was rightly Israel’s but also that the U.S. embassy should reside there.

The act included a presidential waiver, whereby the president could postpone the moving of the embassy; presidents in the past had to sign this semiannually. President Trump did not. He declared both in speech and in action that Jerusalem is and has been the capital of the State of Israel and that the U.S. will move its embassy there. Unlike the lip service of his predecessors, this President is following up.

From a practical point of view, it makes sense to have our embassy in Jerusalem. The drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is over an hour long. Embassies are there to do diplomatic work, and having our embassy away from Israel’s capital hinders our ability to do so. It is nonsensical to have an ambassador so far away from the capital.

Perhaps the most common argument against both the move and Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is that this land is not rightly Israel’s. That is folly.

No other country has been denied the spoils of war, nor has there been a country repeatedly attacked by all its neighbors several times. The city has had a Jewish majority for over 150 years, and only lost that majority, when the Jews were in exile, because of mass expulsions and ethnic cleansings. Throughout Israel and particularly in Jerusalem, there is massive archeological support that shows a continual presence of Jews in the city. Coins, pottery and the gigantic Jewish temple in the center of the city demonstrates this beyond rebuke.

The Philistines are extinct. The Canites are gone. But the Israelites are still around; despite unimaginable hardships, the Jews have remained players on the global stage for 3000 years. King David moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem where it has remained for millennia; Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Islamic state.

When Jews today pray thrice daily, they turn towards Jerusalem Muslims, even on the Temple Mount, do not turn towards Jerusalem or the center of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Instead, they face Mecca, often resulting in their backs turned towards Jerusalem. I am not claiming that Muslims have no connection to the city. But Israeli control of Jerusalem doesn’t hinder that perceived connection. Israeli freedoms actually enhance religious expression in the city.

Further, a plurality of East Jerusalem Arabs said that they would rather have the Israeli government, and not the Palestinian Authority or a future Palestinian state, control the city, according to a 2011 poll by Petcher Middle East Polls. Reasons cited include freedom of movement, job security, a high standard of living and good healthcare. Because East Jerusalem Arabs prefer living in Israel to a future Palestinian state, the argument that Israeli control over Jerusalem is perpetuating oppression to East Jerusalem Arabs is invalid.

Notably Jerusalem, east and west, is not under military control, but under democratic civilian control. It is governed by civilian courts, and the elected mayor of Jerusalem.

Israeli sovereignty over the whole city guarantees the rights of all people to pray where they choose and to live how they want in peace; this freedom stands in stark contrast to the way that Arab governments have ruled Jerusalem in the past, where Jews were not allowed to pray and their religious sites, including cemeteries, were desecrated, looted and destroyed.

Contrary to popular belief, the move will actually help the peace process. America finally declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital takes the most contentious negotiating issue off the table. Jerusalem is, and will continue to be Israel’s capital. The neighboring Arab states condemnation of the move was expected and most probably calculated by the White House. But the outrage will subsides; Israel’s long held dream of peace and trade with her neighbours is materializing faster than ever before. Relations with Saudi Arabia are now at their strongest.

Ultimately, the move reinforces that Israel is here to stay and that contrary to what the United Nations says, Jews do have a historical claim to the city. It is only when these messages are understood that the Palestinian Authority can join as a true partner with Israel in finding peace.

“

Perhaps the most common argument against both the move and Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is that the land is not rightly Israel’s. That is folly.

Counterpoint Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is not only an injustice to Palestinians but also an obstacle to peace.

On December 6, 2017, President Donald Trump made an announcement that was a cause for joy and grief; the U.S. had recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and would move their embassy there. This decision has endless implications for the Palestinian people, the U.S., and the state of Israel as it is the home of some of the holiest sites for Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

When I heard this announcement, I immediately saw the repercussions for the Palestinian people; it was a direct attack on their future prospects. However, looking further into the consequences, I saw that this will also negatively affect the U.S. and the state of Israel.

In 1947, the United Nations designed a partition plan that created a homeland for the displaced Jewish people in Palestine.

This plan divided the small country into two territories: one for the Jewish immigrants and one for the indigenous Palestinian people.. Part of the plan was to establish Jerusalem as an international city, open to all religions and administered by the U.N. Trusteeship Council. The partition plan failed, and the 1948 war resulted in the day of the independence for the newly created State of Israel, and the Nakba (or “catastrophe”) for the Palestinian people. By the end of the war, the Israelis had conquered West Jerusalem while East Jerusalem came under the control of Jordan.

This division of the ancient city continued until the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel also gained control of East Jerusalem and all of the West Bank. Today, West Jerusalem is mostly Israeli, while East Jerusalem continues to have a majority of Palestinians, but both are under Israeli control. The U.N. has decreed that the West Bank and East Jerusalem must be returned to the Palestinian People (U.N. Security Council Resolution 242). To the Palestinian people, East Jerusalem is still seen as the future capital of the Palestinian nation.

In 1980, Israel passed a law that claimed all of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The U.N. Security Council condemned this move and to this day most of the world recognizes Tel Aviv rather than Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

All embassies are located there. By recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the U.S. legitimizes the seizure and military occupation of East Jerusalem. It also legitimizes the degrading and discriminatory treatment of the Palestinians that live in the city. By occupying the land of the Palestinian people, Israel is re-

MARIAM SOUSOU

mariam_sousou@asl.org

sponsible for their welfare. This responsibility has been neglected. Palestinians are continually faced with the Israeli government denying building permits, and destroying Palestinian homes. Palestinians have limited access to water, electricity, and other basic services that are more available to Jewish settlers. They also face daily harassment.

The U.S. government is granting Israel the freedom to speed up the policies of settlement in occupied Palestinian territories and the efforts to erase the Palestinian history.

After Trump’s announcement, Israel has proposed 1,800 settlement housing units in East Jerusalem.

The American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel also largely affects the relationship between the U.S. and other Middle Eastern countries and the violence that occurs in Israel. Trump has gained the appreciation of the Israeli nation (they have even planned to name a train station after him), but his allies in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have condemned the announcement and see it as “unilateral”.

Saudi King Salman said it would greatly detriment the seven decade fight for peace. Even America’s European allies have denounced the move, as have the Russians and Chinese. Only 7 countries voted with the U.S. and Israel: four of them tiny Pacific islands states dependent on the U.S. plus 3 other small dictatorships looking for U.S. aid. This unilateral move by Trump has isolated the U.S. and disqualified it as an honest broker in the peace process.

Israel too will be worse off. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the decision was “illadvised” and a massive setback for peace. The Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit alerted the United States; “we say very clearly that taking such action is not justified…

It will fuel extremism and result in violence.”

This violence will harm the Israeli people living in and around Jerusalem. Israel’s future depends on a peaceful resolution with the Palestinians and this move only makes it less likely.

I understand that there is a desire for the people of Israel to make Jerusalem their capital.

It is an extremely holy place and sanctuary that is far away from the years of discrimination that the Jewish people have faced. However, it is also important to recognize that Jerusalem is a holy place and sanctuary for the Palestinian people as well. President Trump has made a careless decision and the Israelis and Palestinians will pay for the consequences.

“

The U.S. government is granting Israel the freedom to speed up the policies of settlement in occupied Palestinian territories and the efforts to erase the Palestinian history,

opinions

January/February 2018

11

Why you should vote NATALIE JAWORSKI natalie_jaworski@asl.org

“

Democracy only works if you show up and vote. If you don’t, you are letting the special interests control our government because you are not telling them that you want something different.

When I was asked to write a piece on why you vote, I struggled to begin because for me voting is like breathing. I must do it. It is ingrained in me for all the typical reasons. I feel it is my civic duty to make my voice heard. Millions of people around the world have fought and died so that I could have this right. Alice Paul and other suffragettes chained themselves to fences and starved themselves in jail cells, being force-fed so that I may walk into the polling booth. The history of the struggle for representative democracy flows through my body, and it is unquestionable to me that my vote is my voice and the most important one that I have.

When I can escape the fog of history through which I see the world, the real questions emerge.

Why don’t you want to vote? Why don’t you care about it? Why do you need convincing?

Perhaps you feel that elections are foregone conclusions. We treat political elections like a horse race and the cycle of advertisements and news stories is exhausting. By the time an election rolls around you might think that the winner

has already been decided by the special interest groups, the political party machines and Political Action Committees.

Perhaps you feel like you don’t really have a stake in the outcome.

It doesn’t matter who is in charge, your life is mostly unaffected. You will go to school and buy a Starbucks and check your Instagram the same way you did the day after an election as the day before.

My answer to all of those reasons is that democracy only works if you show up and vote. If you don’t, you are letting the special interests control our government because you are not telling them that you want something different.

If you believe the polls and never doubt the media that is presenting them to you, then you are allowing them to convince you that your voice doesn’t matter.

And if you believe that government doesn’t affect your life, then you haven’t taken a closer look at what government does. Schools, roads, hospitals, taxes, fees, jobs, college tuition, pollution, food safety, vaccines, disaster relief, the drinking age and even what access you will have to the internet

so you can binge watch Stranger Things. All of this is connected to the government’s laws and regulations. If other people are the ones who show up, (and they do, by the way, in mass numbers from older generations) then you are allowing them to decide your future.

Perhaps you feel that democracy is too slow. The slowness of the system has often left me frustrated, but I have realized that it needs to be. When the party or representatives that you like are in office you wish they could just change everything quickly and get stuff done.

But you also need to realize that your party won’t always be in power. Democracy means that the power will always change hands.

There will be times when you are incredibly thankful that the system moves so slowly so they can’t change everything. It is the beauty of the system.

And if you don’t like the candidates because you feel like you are choosing between the lesser of two evils, then I don’t just want you to vote. I want you to run for office. Change the system. Fix it and make it better for everyone. Be the

representative you are looking for and do the job well.

Perhaps you feel the democratic system doesn’t represent you. And on this you may have a point. As a historian, I believe that representative democracy is the most equitable and efficient government system that humankind has devised.

But your world is changing rapidly and maybe you will think of something better. You are open to sharing your life on the internet, indicating that you value transparency.

You are open to sharing ideas without having to make profit like on Wikipedia, indicating you value autonomy and purpose over money.

You are open to changing the currency of the world into bitcoin and getting rid of banks, indicating you are willing to break down systems that have dominated the world for hundreds of years.

These are new and exciting ways of interacting. It may cause the decentralization of governments and nation-states. And if that is the case then I hope your revolution is complete and makes the world a more fair and honest place. But until then, I will proudly wear my sticker that says, “I voted.”

Don’t change for college ROHAN PRASAD

rohan_prasad@asl.org

“

What defines our high school careers is surely not which college we go to.

It is the things we learn, the friendships we make, and the passions we find.

This past fall I, along with many other seniors, applied to college. That means that I filled out over a dozen forms, wrote 30 personal essays, and stayed up past midnight on a Thursday in anticipation of hearing back. It’s almost a rite of passage at this school.

But I confess that for me, applying to college has meant more than that. Applying to college meant that I filled my after-schools with robotics and tutoring and anything else that could better “tell my story”. It meant that I started clubs and volunteered for community partnerships partly because I enjoyed it, and partly because it would demonstrate the qualities of “leadership” and “service” that I was meant to have. It meant that while I signed up for AP Calculus I had the rate of change of my transcript in mind.

I think the bizarreness of this fully hit me the moment I wasn’t accepted into my top choice college. Those words “It has been an extremely competitive year…”, and the rest of the letter, nearly sent me reeling.

Because in the years of preparation throughout high school, I thought that I was bound to be admitted.

I thought I had decoded the plots of Naviance and defied the sub-10% acceptance rate by “telling my story” and being “unique”, but to them, I hadn’t. I realized just how unpredictable selective college admittance is. It’s a system with loopholes and human elements -- it’s not something a high school student can expect to beat.

It’s the time of year where juniors are researching schools, and

are encouraged to take on “leadership positions”. Sophomores frantically write WorkX applications so that their summers complement “their stories”.

Freshmen will soon be planning next year’s courses and the rest of their time in high school.

Even as a senior, I can feel the stress that pervades the halls.

If I could go back in time and talk to my younger self, having been through this rite of passage, I’d try to impress just one thing: it’s not worth it.

It’s not worth losing sleep every night for “AP ___” on your transcript.

It’s not worth starting a club that you don’t even care about, just for a line on the Common App. It’s not worth spending your precious summer vacation in an office building when you’d rather be enjoying the sun outside.

Of course, there are times when it is worth it. The times when you stay late after school working on a project for your favorite class, or wake up at 5:30 a.m. to go to sports practice, or juggle three different lunch meetings because you can’t bear to miss one.

But we shouldn’t do those things to get into college. We should do them because it is what we love doing.

Because what defines our high school careers is surely not which college we go to. It is the things we learn, the friendships we made, and the passions we find.

Maybe those things will make us stand out to an admissions officer, and maybe not, but I don’t think that’s the point. We are college applicants but we are chiefly high school students, and it’s time to start living that way.

12

opinions

The Standard

Mental health needs addressing LENA LEVY

lena_levy@asl.org

“

In the five years that I’ve been at ASL, mental illness has been rarely discussed in class. This made me feel alone and uncomfortable asking for help.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 20 percent of children will suffer from some sort of mental disorder before reaching adulthood. Despite this significant number, ASL seems to gloss over the issue of mental illnesses, such as anxiety and depression, in the health curriculum. In doing so, the school loses the opportunity to help destigmatize mental health disorders and may stop some students from getting help.

I have grappled with anxiety and depression at various points since I was 10 years old. I’ve had episodes where I have relentlessly tried to control every aspect of my life, and times when I can’t find the energy to get out of bed. In the five years that I’ve been at ASL, mental illness has been rarely discussed in class. This made me feel alone and uncomfortable asking for help. My experience would have been more manageable if ASL had played a more proactive role in educating students about mental health.

I’m not suggesting that the school is responsible for providing individual counselling for every student, and I am aware that students can reach out to teachers, the safeguarding team, or counselors for help.

However, education is a necessity. By discussing mental health challenges that can occur among teens, ASL could set the stage for students to raise issues with the support team available. Moreover, sharing with students some of the skills of how to deal with anxiety and depression might have a significant benefit for all students, and especially those who aren’t comfortable initiating a one-onone conversation.

For me, the point of discussing mental disorders is to let people know they aren’t alone and facilitate students getting help, if needed. This means talking to students of all ages. I know that these topics can be difficult for young students to grasp, but if it helps the, understand what

they are going through, I think it’s worth it. Mental illnesses are stigmatized in society, and if ASL doesn’t educate students about the symptoms and effects of mental illnesses, the stigma will be perpetuated.

The first time mental illness is explicitly covered in a health class is during Grade 7, when students study and present on topics such as eating disorders, depression, or self harm. During these projects, there is an emphasis on preventing these issues from developing. The next time there is a full unit on mental health is in Grade 10.

The type of unit that is done in Grade 7 can be helpful. However, it could have so much more benefit if the mental health unit is covered sooner and if the subject raised more regularly. There is a three year gap between the instances when the school talks formally about mental health in the curriculum, and many students transfer into ASL in the interven-

ing years. Between Grades 7 and 10, ASL should educate students about both prevention of mental illnesses, and specific strategies for how to cope with them. Students in Grade 5 and 6 could also benefit from this kind of information. The earlier our community talks about these issues, the less students feel alone.

ASL also emphasizes that in order to receive the best help, students should be open about their problems. While I agree that being open about one’s struggles can make the experience easier, this sentiment could be far more effective if combined with a thorough education. How can students be open if we don’t talk about mental illnesses in school?

If students like me have been dealing with mental health issues for five years, the health curriculum should reflect that. ASL has a responsibility to help the ever-increasing number of students coping with a mental illness by going in depth into the issue earlier.

Using modern examples in class SAL CERRELL sal_cerrell@asl.org

“

Students would hear a wide range of opinions on current events, rather than a single, potentially biased news source.

[It] would give students informed opinions on world affairs.

In my World Civilizations I and English 9 class, there is a universal theme: we learn about those who came before us. We must learn history to understand the mistakes of previous civilizations, and make sure we don’t do the same in the future. Understanding history will also help us make sense of current events, and in turn fashion us an informed, global perspective of the world. As evident in ASL’s mission statement, the school values this global perspective amongst students.

However, World Civilizations I and English 9 rarely include discussions of current events, and a “global perspective” cannot be possible if you don’t understand what is going on in our world today.

Let’s begin with my World Civilizations I class, where freshmen are currently learning about Islam. Although the class is, and should be primarily focused on teaching history, current events and news should not be excluded. They should be used to enhance learning and understanding of the historical events being taught, and in one class a current event was actually used. This was achieved once when we spent one period learning the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Doing so really helped me understand that what happened in the past still affects our world today

Unfortunately though, that was the first and last time we discussed a current event in class. It would be so valuable for us to do this more, considering the diverse studentbody ASL possess. Students would hear a wide range of opinions on current events, rather than a single, potentially biased news source.

All of this would give students informed opinions on world affairs.

Coupled with the formation of informed opinions, current events and news could also be used to give students a better understanding of historical events. The Saudi-Iranian conflict is a good example of this.

We have touched the Sunni-Shia split in Islam (which is the source of the conflict), but teachers have not explained the problems it has created in Middle-Eastern politics.

It would be helpful for students to understand how a single split in religious beliefs in the past still have a lasting impact on our world today.

This would then give students an understanding on what caused the conflict, and the effect it has.

Another example of a current event that can be incorporated into Grade 9 World Civilization classes is radical Islam. This is quite a sensitive topic to discuss, but it would still be valuable for students to discuss the effects such a small group

of individuals has had on the perceptions of a billion person-strong religion. Similar to the Sunni-Shia split, it would be beneficial to explore the trace of radical Islam, and how the beliefs came about.

After all, this subject impacts ASL students considering the recent terror attacks across the U.K. Understanding radical Islam would also help students understand the falsely attributed stigma associated with Muslims in media. Again, this is a dicey subject to discuss in class, but learning about this would give us an accurate representation of the beliefs Islam is founded on ,rather than listening to the falsehoods littered throughout the internet nowadays.

This can also be applied to English classes, where Grade 9 students are in the middle of learning about Julius Caesar and his role in the Roman Empire. We are also exploring political rhetoric, and how characters in the play used it to win over support of the Roman people.

Although there have been brief comparisons made to modern-day politics, not enough has been done to fully incorporate current events into the class. The rise of Donald Trump in the United States is a topic that could be used to show how successful rhetoric is still be-

ing used in politics. This is relevant to many of the American students in the class, as they have been impacted by the election whether it be positive or negative.

Finally, learning about current events in school is vital if its students are to solve the challenges our world faces today. As it is not talked about in school, news and world affairs are perceived as unimportant to most students. That will lead to fewer people taking interest in them, which means ASL students will become uninformed.

Again, history and English classes should not be centered around news, rather incorporate them into the curriculum when it is relevant to discuss.

Overall, current events and news could be used more often and more effectively to enhance the learning of students. Although they are discussed from time to time, it is not consistent and incorporated well in the class. How are we to be the change in the world, if we are not learning about the problems we have been tasked with solving?

As shown above, there are a number of news stories that would be appropriate to include in class discussions, and would enhance student’s understanding of the historical event being studied.

January/February 2018 standard.asl.org

SLD Teaser 1 Teaser 2 Home away from home

Feeling SAD?

FEATURES

Exploring the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) within the High School.

Martha Duff | Features Editor

Alexandra Gers | Lead Features Editor

Quinn Whitman | Culture Editor

S

easonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a recurring depression, or lack of energy that affects approximately one in 15 people living in the U.K. According to the National Health Service (NHS), SAD occurs frequently throughout the winter months and amplifies unhappiness, pessimism and low spirits.

For Grade 11 Dean Rodney Yeoh, SAD manifests itself in a lethargic attitude and lack of happiness.

Yeoh explains how “you just don’t feel like going out, it goes hand in hand with energy, but that is how I feel during winter time in the U.K.,” he said.

Yeoh, who was born in Malaysia and previously lived in Boston, Massachusetts is used to being in the sun. Although he has lived in London for three years, this is the first year Yeoh has noticed significant effects of SAD. “This is my first year where it is really bad. Normally during winter break I would go home to Boston or Malaysia, but this was the first time where we stayed here,” he said. The inability to return home and experience more moderate weather left Yeoh feeling despondent.

“

You just don’t feel like going out, it goes hand in hand with energy, but that is how I feel during winter time in the U.K. Rodney Yeoh, Grade 11 Dean Anna Duffy (’21) believes that the lack of sunlight causes little desire to want to be outside. “When there is daylight in the winter, it is always overcast. There are always clouds in the sky and you don’t really get pure sunlight. It is harder to appreciate things outside, and I don’t want to be outside, I want to be inside,” she said.

Yeoh believes that his home life throughout the winter is disrupted as a result of this lethargy. “In the summer when there is so much sun-

light, I am almost like a different person. But this doesn’t mean that I am sad ... the bigger problem is the lack of energy.”

For World Languages and Cultures Teacher Mario Rojas, who is from Panama and has lived in Florida, the

is on s eD pre

Sa

uG ilt

A

and [it was] easier to get angry and [have] mood swings.”

For Rojas, the darkness of winter in London amplified his poor mood, irritability and lack of energy, where some of [his] worst depression episodes have happened since moving.

Bipolar II, or whether it is just the poor weather in the winter months that triggers a lack of energy and happiness. He believes that psychiatrists may not actually diagnose SAD for what it is, but they will frequently diagnose it as Bipolar II.

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transition to a colder climate during his first year of college in Massachusetts affected his mood and mentality considerably. “I started to notice that I would get pretty down during the fall, and then especially during the winter I would feel that it was harder to do things,” he said. “I would start to notice my irritability

i a p es

r

F

In Rojas explained how his unhappiness prompted him to seek out a counselor, where he was diagnosed with Bipolar II, a type of manic depression where frequent mood swings occur. One hour one could be happy, and the next they can be in a state of depression. Rojas doubts whether he actually does suffer from

e u g at i

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Theo Longboy (’19) agrees with Yeoh and Rojas, and believes that SAD has a distinct effect on her day to day life during the winter. “I have a lot less energy around this time of the year because it’s getting dark at 4 in the afternoon and you sort of feel like it’s time to go back to your house and settle in and almost go to

bed because of the way the weather is,” she said.

Longboy has noticed the effects of SAD within many of her peers, as has Rojas who has observed a particular decrease in the moods of his students, which surprises him because “it’s the first and second weeks back, there is this sense of dread,” Rojas said.

In order to combat SAD, Yeoh, Rojas and Longboy bought SAD lamps.

SAD lamps simulate natural sunlight, causing the release of natural chemicals like serotonin which improve one’s mood. “I have a SAD lamp that my psychiatrist recommends, and it’s a little bit of pop psychology because [the lamps] have become popular,” Rojas said.

Longboy uses a SAD lamp, but questions the effectiveness of the device. “I think [the lamp] may be a sort of placebo effect, [but] it’s important that you recognize that you may be affected by SAD,” she said.

Duffy, who does not have a SAD lamp, believes that “turning the lights on as soon as I get up, and appreciating it when it gets sunny,” really helps her to make the most of winter. “I try to take five minutes just to get as much sunlight as I can,” she said.

Additionally, Rojas takes daily supplements such as vitamin D and magnesium to boost his mood. He also believes that going for walks around midday and exercising daily can dramatically reverse the effects of SAD. “I think that definitely with exercise you feel benefits right awayyou have endorphins, you feel better,” Rojas said.

For Longboy, the biggest motivator getting her through her SAD is the prospect of spring and summer’s ultimate arrival. “When you start to see little bulbs on the side of the road or start seeing some green in the trees or five minutes of sunshine when you get home,” she said. “Just small little things that remind you that spring is coming, summer is going to come, and winter is not going to carry on forever.”

PHOTO FROM PUBLIC DOMAIN PICTURES AND VEXELS SYMPTOMS ACCORDING TO NHS

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TheStandard Standard The

JUUL: the modern cigarette As usage of the new e-cigarette increases, an examination of the rise in JUUL’s popularity among students and the administration’s response.

Alexandra Gers | Lead Features Editor

O

ne pack of cigarettes. That’s the amount of nicotine in one juul pod, according to the official brand of the e-cigarette, JUUL. Since its release in 2015, the juul, a rechargeable e-cigarette system with flavored juul pods, was designed for adult smokers.

Yet, the juul has found an audience in teenagers and it’s popularity has been on the rise as of late.

On January 8, High School Principal Jack Phillips and Middle School Principal Peter Lutkoski released a joint statement warning students of the dangers of vaping and advising against e-cigarette usage. “One recent study found that young users of e-cigarettes are more than four times as likely to begin smoking tobacco within 18 months than their peers who do not vape,” Phillips and Lutkoski wrote in the email.

After noticing other schools in the U.S. beginning to pay more attention to the increased usage of vaping amongst students and

hearing a few cases of ASL students using the devices, Phillips and Lutkoski decided that it was time to send an email of their own. “We heard a lot of feedback from parents about wanting information [about juuling], and [we] felt like it was appropriate just to get some information out to the community,” Lutkoski said.

Usage A

t one point this year Ted* (’19) was juuling “a pod a day.” He was able to purchase the device from another student after learning about it at a party outside of school. Since that initial period, Ted has quit juuling, but still sees the widespread usage amongst his peers. “It's gotten to the point where it's cool to have one so everyone wants one,” he said. “I think the people who really started using them and now are really ad-

Christina Leonard | Managing Editor: Online

dicted to it just can't stop. As someone who used to use one, the feeling of using one is very good.

The buzz you get off of using it is very pleasant.”

Ted cites a number of reasons for his decision to quit using a juul: the cost of pods, his future athletic career and the inconvenience. As juul pods have a nicotine content of about 47mg, they are illegal in the U.K. where the limit is 20mg. This created a dilemma for Ted, as he either had to purchase them from students selling them for a profit of £15 per pod, or ship them from the U.S. “[Shipping pods] meant that I would have to buy a lot at one time.

Because shipping was $90, I probably ended up spending £600 plus on pods,” he said.

For Morgan* (’19), her juul provided an alternative to cigarettes which she rescripts as “actually kind of nasty, and it’s literally like inhaling hot tar.”

After being exposed to juuls by a friend, she instantly became

hooked. Having owned three juuls since this summer, she began using the device out of boredom and then became “low-key addicted.”

Unlike Ted, Morgan felt like it took time to get used to the sensation as the nicotine content comparable to cigarettes is very high. She mentioned that the head rush feels “like you stood up too fast,” and that, “sometimes your feet go numb.”

Compared to both Morgan and Ted, Willow* (’20) has been vaping since the age of about 12 when one of her family members was trying to quit smoking and began using a vape as an alternative to cigarettes. Willow tried the device out of curiosity, and she only began juuling about two months ago.

Contrasting juuls, Ted explained that vapes have two different types of liquids in the devices: Propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG). VG compared to PG, gives much more “of a throat hit,” whereas “PG is what gives you the clouds [of smoke],”

commonly associated with vapes.

“In juuls, there’s a lot more VG because it’s trying to mimic a cigarette,” he said.

Although Willow began vaping before juuling, she was unused to the difference. “When you first start juuling, it can give you a head rush for a couple minutes and you just feel really dizzy and out of it,” she said.

However, now she uses it much more often because “it’s just easier and looks really slick, it literally looks like a USB,” she said. “It doesn’t smell, so it’s really easy for people to do it discreetly.”

Agreeing with Willow, Ted believes that the discretion of the juul is what makes it so ideal. “The thing about the juul that's so attractive is the fact that there's almost no vapor that comes out, so it's very inconspicuous,” Ted said. “I know kids that have used it during class with the teacher in the room. The main, I think, reason it’s caught on so much is because it’s so inconspicuous.”

features 15

January/February 2018

“The thing about the juul that’s so attractive is the fact that there’s almost no vapor that comes out, so it’s very inconspicuous. ” TED* (‘19) Although they recognize the numerous negative impacts, both Morgan and Ted believe that using a juul facilitates a social community amongst its users. Specifically at parties and other social events, the juul is passed between friends seamlessly. The variety of juul pod flavors, including mango, Virginia tobacco and cool mint, entices users to share amongst each other. “Especially at parties where there's no consequences of using them out in public, everyone's like, ‘yeah, sure, whatever, you can use mine I'll use yours’,” Ted said.

“I'm friends with kids I didn’t think I'd be friends with because of the juul, as weird as that sounds.”

For Willow, the benefits of juuling are more personal than social. “It does kind of chill you out, especially when I’m doing homework it just really helps with anxiety,” she said.

Additionally, Willow explained that on one occasion when she felt stressed during the school hours she has used her juul. “If it’s in my

bag and I’m alone then maybe I’ll have a few hits if I’m stressed out.”

Phillips is aware of the usage of juuls and e-cigarettes, both on and off-campus and considers them to be “drug paraphernalia.” Within the code of conduct, Phillips explained that their usage on campus would be akin to the usage of cigarettes on campus, for which the punishment “could range from... closed campus, detention, even days of reflection.. to even our most severe consequences like suspension and expulsion.”

However, if a student was using a different substance within the vape, such as liquid marijuana, then the student would “fall into the category of harder drug use, which is more severely punished at school.”

Although there has been a limited number of Student Faculty Disciplinary Board (SFDB) cases at the moment in regards to students using e-cigarettes at school, the SFDB, alongside Phillips, are still determining the punishment; however, both Phillips and Lutkoski want to

remind students that they do “take it seriously, [and] there will be consequences” that range in severity depending on the circumstances.

Phillips feels strongly that students should not possess either vapes, juuls or any other form of e-cigarette, especially on campus.

“Am I aware that students probably [own them]? Yes, they are extremely difficult to detect. But, we are not a culture where we search lockers or search bags and we do not want to [have] that culture,” he said.

Impacts and the future W

ith the recent introduction of e-cigarettes, a lot is unknown about the devices. There can be the incorrect assumption that they’re safer than thet actually are because “there has not been enough time for the restrictions

and the regulations to catch up,” Lutkoski explained.

Health Teacher Bambi Thompson believes that with the surge in use of e-cigarettes by adolescents and unknown consequences, students are risking their health in order to be trendy and to fit in. “[Students] are taking [their health] really lightly, yet we don’t know all the potential [negative] impacts, so why gamble?”

Thompson said.

Morgan recognized the lack of benefits she was feeling, which ultimately lead to the end of her using the device. However, echoing Thompson’s concerns, while using she tried to not think about the impacts. “Teenage brains, you know, we think we’re invincible,” she said.

Lutkoski plans to adjust the health curriculum in the Middle School to account for the recent adaptations in e-cigarette usage and how to communicate effectively with parents and students

alike. “Health classes in the Middle School will be having conversations about this communication specifically and e-cigarettes specifically,” he said.

Lutkoski believes that juuls are an example of how as technology changes and evolves, parents and teachers must be “on the look-out for the kinds of things that can present a risk to adolescent health.”

Phillips concurs and believes that this is just the beginning of the usage of these kinds of devices. “I think schools don’t know how to deal with this, I think parents don’t know how to deal with this, I think that there is something of a fad right now, and so it will be interesting to see how this develops,” he said. “But we’ll do our part to continue to educate and stay on top of the research.”

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

features

A SYSTEM OF S

With the Specific Learning Differences (SLD) program a school examines the established program and new alter Helena Hansen | Staff Writer

T

wenty percent of ASL’s 482 high school students have diagnosed learning differences.

To enter the Specific Learning Differences (SLD) program, students must have an outside evaluation completed by a psychologist that pinpoints their distinct learning needs. There are 42 students enrolled in SLD who are scheduled to meet individually with SLD specialists. During this time, specialists assist students with time management, self-advocacy and coursework.

The other 57 students are accommodation-only, which could mean receiving additional testing time, typing rather than handwriting or a change in setting during exams. Once a student is diagnosed with a learning difference, they are evaluated every three years in order to remain in the program.

Moving in and out of the program Educational Psychologist Helen Jackson (’79) does diagnostic testing, and observes students’ cognitive abilities, memory skills and their functioning in subjects such as reading, writing and math. Jackson explained that everyone’s abilities will range, but SLD students show a pronounced difference in their abilities compared to students without a learning difference. “All of us struggle periodically,” but some SLD students struggle continuously with learning new studying methods and techniques.

Acting SLD Department Head Terri Moyer believes, the program teaches students to “understand their strengths and use their strengths to support them in areas where they struggle some more.” By the end of the program, Moyer hopes that students are able to take control of their learning. “The goal is eventually for [SLD students] to know themselves as learners, be able to understand how they need to approach their classes, how they need to approach their teachers and hopefully become independent,” Moyer said.

Students who don’t require any academic and organizational support

After being in the program since Grade 2, Julia Muoio (’18) exited this semester. She explained that SLD periods are more productive as a class period compared to free periods, due to the guidance of the learning specialists. “The SLD teacher is there to keep you on track… but we need to drive our own success,” Muoio said. “[The SLD department] has given me skills that I’m definitely going to bring to college because it made me successful in high school.”

Jack Roth (’15), diagnosed with dyslexia in Grade 5, is now a junior at Yale University after being in SLD from middle school to Grade 10.

Liz Merryweathe

Warren considers wheth will thrive at ASL. According to the schoo marked attention difficul guage processing difficul stimulating and verbal cu and may not be well suppo The SLD program do whose learning difference port offered by the progra SLD program only has a s and is often full,” Warren s

“[The SLD department] has given m I’m definitely going to bring to colleg it made me successful in high s Julia Muoio (’18)

Roth believes he reached “a place that made me good at organizing myself and staying on top of tasks I needed to complete.”

Students like Muoio and Roth exited the program when they felt confident with the skills they’d mastered. The program is designed for seniors to exit by their second semester, and this year 14 seniors exited the program, but some still check-in periodically.

Seniors frequently exiting the program results in vacancies, allowing other students to enter the program. The prevalence of learning differences has resulted in a list of students waiting to enter the program. These students have priority over students applying to ASL. Currently, the program is at capacity and there are no current plans to expand it.

Admissions

When examining prospective SLD students’ applications to ASL, Dean of Admissions Jodi

times with new students, e would be great if they were gram, if we don’t have a sp we can’t offer them a place Additionally, there is an students depending on th Full-time SLD students, w riods per cycle pay £5,450, a £2,725 an additive to the no Moyer explained the p pacity, and they must hon tion that families pay for. I SLD students, the departm ing a program that provid students. “Just because yo learning difference doesn some needs,” Moyer said.

Jackson explained that into categories that they First, there is a category inc

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even though we think they e here and in the SLD propace in the SLD program, e.” n extra tuition fee for SLD heir level of involvement. who are enrolled in four peand half-time students pay ormal tuition of £29,950. program has a limited canor the one-to-one attenInstead of accepting more ment has focused on creatdes general support to all ou don’t have a diagnosed n’t mean you don’t have

students can be grouped naturally move between. cluding students who have

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In an effort to provide more opportunities for student support in the High School, SLD specialist Daniel Russell is in the process of starting a peer tutoring program, which will be different to the peer tutoring currently offered by the National Honor Society students. in that applicants will be trained by Russell, as tutors. “We’ve typically heard of those tier-two type students who don’t need full SLD support but might need a little bit of help. [The peer tutoring center] will be another way to provide support beyond the traditional SLD sense,” Russell said.

During his time as a learning specialist at the International School of Beijing, Russell ran a successful peer tutoring program. “I started the program because what I realized ... is that a lot of times students needed extra help and that they struggled. At the same time, we had a lot of competent students who wanted a way to give back,” Russell said.

As the head of the K-12 Student Support Team, Jackson is looking forward to the implementation of the additional resource for students at ASL. “It is a gem, and I’m so excited to see how it plays out,” she said.

The program will begin March 1, and six trained tutors will be available on Tuesday and Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Russell said the program will start small, but he envisions it growing with time. He hopes that peer tutoring will evolve into a version of SLD that is accessible to the other 80 percent of high school students.

“I was happy with the response from the students community, and I think the parents will be pleased also,” Russell said.

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ol’s website, “students with lties and significant lanlties may find the highly urriculum overwhelming, orted in this setting.” oes not accept students es exceed the level of supam. “The tricky part is, the specific number of spaces said. “Unfortunately, some

a diagnosed learning difference and need various support from SLD. The next group is students who have no association with the SLD program but may require extra support at times. The third category is students who require no support. Jackson believes that much more support in the High School is needed for those students.

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SUPPORT

features

Students with a diagnosed learning difference, granting full support of SLD

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features

TheStandard Standard The

A multilingual identity Bilingual students reflect on their experiences living in an American community.

HELLO

¡Adiós! Au revoir Ciao Adijo

Isabelle Lhuilier | News Editor

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Merhaba

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Ahoj Bonjour

¡Hola!

Hej då

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你好

Guten Tag

t 8 years old, Ayse Yucesan (’18) moved from Turkey to London without speaking a word of English. Yucesan was placed into the English as an Additional Language program, and within two years was fluent in the language. Yucesan recalled the transition as difficult. “I felt very insecure because I didn’t speak English. It made me feel like an outsider,” she said.

In addition to experiencing a language barrier, Yucesan faced a cultural barrier as “language is often associated with culture. Not knowing English made it difficult for me to know small things like the difference between a Jolly Rancher and a Tootsie Roll, or the lyrics to a Beatles song.”

Yucesan struggled with these barriers throughout lower and middle school as she felt different from those around her. “I was insecure when my parents came to pick me up and tried to speak English. I was embarrassed of their accents, and inability to be fluent as well,” Yucesan said. “I made a point to develop my English skills so I would not feel different to my peers anymore,” Yucesan said.

Yucesan now feels that being bilingual has helped shape her identity and given her more confidence. “Looking back, it was difficult then, but it’s a lot better now, and it’s made me the person that I am,” Yucesan said.

Imogen Hare (’18) is not a native French speaker, with English being her first language. However, Hare quickly learned French after she was placed into a French school whilst living in Australia. “No one in my family speaks French, but my parents wanted me to be bilingual. The plan was to place me in the French school until I was 6, but by then I spoke French as well as I spoke English and my parents did not see the point in taking me out of the system,” Hare said.

Additionally, Kian Tajbakhsh (’18) grew up in Paris speaking only

Imogen Weiss | Online Editor

French and had to learn English when he moved to the Tokyo International School at 10 years old. Without knowing the language, Tajbakhsh experienced many challenges while attending the school. “It was really hard to even speak to my teachers and understand what the classes were about,” he said.

During his first few months in Tokyo, Tadjbakhsh was accompanied to class by a French speaking teacher who would translate the material being taught to him.

“I would be sitting in math class and the teacher would be saying something at the board and [this] teacher would be telling me what [the other] said,” he said.

“I made a point too develop my English skills so I would not feel different to my peers anymore.”

Ayse Yucesan (’18)

EAL Teacher Patricia Elsea believes that many bilingual students struggle with a language barrier, although they can speak conversational English, it can take up to six years for students to become fully academically bilingual. “They can speak social English but when it comes to really analyzing [English] it takes many years to develop that academic or cognitive thinking in another language,” she said. “I think that the assumption is that it’s going to happen in one year or two years, but the research shows that it takes many years.”

Despite struggling with an initial language barrier, a benefit to being bilingual Tadjbakhsh noticed is that he is able to communicate with more people. “I feel like you can get along with more people than if you just speak one

language,” he said. “Sometimes I bond with people just over speaking French. I would say that I am friends with all the kids that speak French in my year.”

Likewise, Nick Anderson (’19), who learned German from his father as a child, also feels that being able to speak another language allows him to connect with others. This year Anderson was able to bond with a new student in his grade who also spoke German.

“You are able to connect with other people who speak that language and it’s much more personal than just speaking English,” he said.

Additionally, Anderson believes being bilingual will provide him with numerous benefits when he is looking for employment in the future. “I don’t think there is any example where it’s not a benefit to speak another language. You can get jobs in other countries, you can get jobs working with different kinds of people,” he said.

Anderson is also taking Arabic in school and believes that learning a third language will open up even more pathways for a potential career. “Hopefully, eventually I can be fluent in Arabic and then I can work in Dubai, I can work in Saudi Arabia. I can work in all these different countries that I wouldn’t have been able to work in before,” Anderson said.

Similarly, Hare also believes that speaking French has opened several doors for her academically. “Being bilingual helped with the college application process because colleges like the diversity it brings to their student body,” she said. Hare plans to study comparative literature at university, and take half of her classes in French. “If I were not bilingual, I would not be able to study what I love,” she said.

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features 19

January/February 2018

Home away from home

LONDON, ENGLAND SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Three students share their experiences of living away from their families.

Christina Leonard | Managing Editor: Online John Towfighi | Features Editor

E

ffie Ogino (’19) was startled when she learned her family would be moving back to Yokohama, Japan in the middle of her junior year. With junior year signifying the middle of high school and the beginning of the college process, Ogino felt uncomfortable moving away from the familiar environment of ASL. After Ogino’s close friend, Isabel Rosen (’19), heard the news, her family immediately offered for Ogino to stay with them for the rest of high school.

With the transient nature of ASL’s community, many students have to move in the midst of their high school career. However, recently, there have been a few ASL families, like Rosen’s, who have opened their homes to students whose families have moved.

After attending school at ASL from Grades 8 to 10, Anya Edelstein (’18) and her family moved back to Seattle, Washington to finish her last two years in high school. However, at the conclusion of her junior year in Seattle, Edelstein missed her friends, school and London, and wished to return to ASL for her final year of high school. That’s when Diego Martinez’s (’20) parents, close family friends of Edel-

MAP FROM WIKIMEDIA.COMMONS.COM

stein’s, offered for her to stay with them for the year and attend ASL. Thrilled, she accepted, looking forward to spending her senior year with her friends.

For Martinez, hosting Edelstein has been an interesting experience. “It’s kind of cool to be living and interacting with someone different. I like it, and it’s nice of my parents to do something like that for her,” he said.

Thus far, Edelstein has been able to enjoy the independence brought upon her by her living situation.

“One part for me that’s really fun is that I’m a second semester senior, so being without my parents I feel like I have so much more freedom because I’m not constantly checking in with [them],” she said.

Similar to Ogino and Edelstein, Argy Sakti (’20) moved in with Markos Glucksman (’20) and his family when his parents moved to Indonesia following the first semester of this school year. Knowing that the education he receives in London is better than what he would have access to back home in Indonesia, Sakti said it was a “no-brainer” for him to stay with the Glucksmans.

Having lived with the Glucksmans for only a few weeks, Sakti

said he isn’t sure how the next few months will play out, but as of now, it “definitely feels different.” Noting that he hopes his ASL education will aid him in going to a top tier college, Sakti feels the experience “[will] definitely be worth it.”

For Sakti, the transition was generally smooth, and he didn’t feel like he had to adjust as he was continuing life as it was during the first semester. Returning to all his regular classes and friends, staying in London was much easier than having to settle back into Indonesia, where he has not lived for two years.

However, Edelstein found that it was a harder transition than she expected, although she was returning to a familiar environment. “I’m the only [person I know] who’s moved in this situation. When you go to college or your whole family moves, everyone’s trying to adapt to the situation... but in this case, all my friends and their families already have their routines established and I’m trying to integrate myself into what’s already there,” she said.

Edelstein added that one of the most startling parts of adapting to another family’s dynamics was just the ordinary things that she took for granted. “I didn’t realize how much of a shocker it would be to not have

JAKARTA, INDONESIA

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

all your favorite foods in your fridge,” she said.

Ogino agrees with Edelstein in that she definitely thinks adapting to a different family’s environment will be the hardest part. “Especially because I’m a Japanese person, it’s going to be hard fitting into an American family culture,” she said.

While adjusting wasn’t too strenuous for Sakti, he expressed that there have been difficulties in learning to live with another family. “I always have to be the best version of myself. I’m not as comfortable [with the Glucksmans] as I am with my family,” he said.

Despite the undoubtable homesickness Ogino knows she’ll endure, she is most excited about reducing her commute to school. Having lived in Richmond since she moved to London in 2015, Ogino has had to spend about four hours just commuting to and from school each day.

“I’m going to be saving 15 to 20 hours a week just by moving into her house.

I’m going to have quite a lot of time, I think. That’s the best part,” she said.

Like Ogino, Edelstein and Sakti both experience benefits that wouldn’t have been possible had they moved. Living in an international city like London may prompt this transient nature of life, but through connections with friends they have been able to maintain a consistent high school environment. For Edelstein, the focus is not to get too caught up in being away from home, and to take advantage of the opportunities at hand. “If I keep busy and have a lot going on, it’s hard to have time to just be homesick,” she said.

20

features

Moving towards cultural competency

TheStandard Standard The

With recent professional development days dedicated to exploring race at ASL, the ways in which it impacts faculty has been discussed widely. Faculty of color discuss their experience at the school, and the administration explain the steps taken to foster a supportive environment.

Ananya Prakash | Managing Editor: Print

professional development, institutional practices, training

retention of teachers, equity policy, new opportunities, sense of belonging,

A

re you going back to China for the summer? This is a question that World Languages and Cultures Teacher Ting-Chi Li is tired of hearing. Li, who is from Taiwan, is too used to people frequently confusing her with other Asian ethnicities.

As one of the few faculty members of color in the High School, Li experiences regular assumptions and lack of understanding of her identity and culture. “People confuse [me] with Japanese or Chinese, not knowing that I’m from Taiwan,” Li said. “I didn’t make an announcement that I’m from Taiwan, but don’t assume I’m from China.”

The generalizations Li faces are not unique and are common to other faculty of color, such as MS Social Studies Teacher Darnell Fine. Fine recalls on his first day at ASL, he arrived for an introductory meeting prior to the new teacher orientation. However, on his arrival, he was not permitted to enter the building after security mistakenly found no appointment under his name.

Over his four years at ASL, Fine has since seen other people being allowed to at least sit in the reception area until the appointment scheduling issue is clarified, yet for him this option was not offered. At the time, “I [felt] as if because I wasn’t recognized as a

person that should be here, I was sent away,” Fine said.

From that first moment, Fine felt like he was seen in a different way as a black man at ASL, whether it be experiencing physical barriers like security or other intangible barriers. “I did not always feel as if ASL was a welcoming place,” Fine said.

D

Professional development

irector of Teaching and Learning Robyn Chapel, who is involved in ASL’s Cultural Competency and Organizational Health initiatives, recognizes that there are issues that faculty of color face that must be addressed to ensure a positive environment. “[The school] really pays attention to and makes sure that as we recruit faculty of color or any underrepresented group, that they are happy here, that they stay here, that they feel that they can contribute fully,” Chapel said.

One primary initiative to improve teachers’ experience is professional development opportunities that focus on cultural competency and professional evaluations of the school. The cultural competency aspect highlights the set of behaviours and policies that allow an organization to work proficiently in

cross-cultural situations. “We’re always looking for feedback on institutional practices that we are blind to, for whatever racist or classist or sexist nature, and how do we undo that,” Chapel said.

Chapel recently organized a professional development session where faculty, administration and members of the Board who chose to participate attended a two day immersive training called “Beyond Diversity,” with educator and author Glenn Singleton.

Singleton describes the training as an introduction to a protocol in how to talk about race in schools. “We talk about whiteness and privilege and entitlement and how that runs in conflict with decisions of the school to diversify,” Singleton said. “[In the sessions], we were listening to those personal narratives and [educators] discovering aspects of race in their lives and being able to talk about them with their colleagues.”

Singleton has noticed that schools such as ASL have “an equity problem,” which creates an environment in which “people of color don’t feel a sense of belonging,” he said.

To ensure this changes, Singleton believes the school should focus on creating an equity policy. This policy would assess the impact certain institutional practices, such as

the hiring process, have on minority groups. “[The equity policy] is a set of questions that we ask before we enact a policy. [It] is asking how are historically and contemporary marginalized groups of people experiencing this policy?” Singleton said. “I think that establishing a really solid applicable equity lens, that’s a really practical tool.”

As exemplified by Singleton’s training, Head of School Robin Appleby said that the school has a focus on “bringing in experts and readings” to increase the cultural competency amongst faculty.

Alongside professional development days, Appleby believes that the conversation around race has become more prevalent and is evolving. “[The school] is moving forward with this work,” Appleby said. “Faculty has been discussing it in meetings.”

Former Learning Specialist Jeri Byrom, who left ASL last year and is now teaching in South Africa, believes that the professional development days were effective in improving her experience as a teacher of color. “I have to commend the school for it, even if it is a hard mission,” Byrom said. “[Talking about race] is a hard initiative to tackle and a lot of people don’t want to do it because they feel like it opens up doors of discontent, they rather keep it under wraps.”

January/February 2018

features 21

“

DARNELL FINE, MS SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER

Understanding prejudices D

exit interviews,

“

WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK ON INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES THAT WE ARE BLIND TO.

“

ROBYN CHAPEL,

DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

espite this gradual shift in the school’s attitude and openness in discussing race, Byrom believes that there are still significant issues that teachers of color at ASL struggle with. “You just get tired of having difficult conversations, it can sometimes feel like a burden when you’re in a place that is just not used to having people of color around,” Byrom said.

Dealing with and responding to insensitive comments was a part of Byrom’s experience at the school.

“If someone [says something to you] out of ignorance or apathy, you’re stuck with how you’re going to deal with it. Are you going to let it go? Are you going to confront it? What are the consequences of confrontation?” She said. “Those kinds of things can really just make you tired.”

Similarly, as a woman of color, Li feels she is not always heard by the other faculty and administration when she speaks up about such issues. “It’s a mix of being a female and being a minority, you can’t separate them,” Li said. “People think, ‘I have more power over you, I can correct you, I can speak louder so I can cut you off when you are talking’.”

When approaching the administration to talk about her experience with racism and microaggressions, Li has been told “‘no, that person doesn’t mean that’,” which subsequently leads Li to question herself and internalize the comments. “I feel like I’m doubting myself, that I don’t have a stance at the school to say something,” she said.

Echoing Li, Byrom felt she internalized a lot of the prejudiced comments and began to second guess herself. Although the issues surrounding race were not amongst the primary reasons why she left ASL, Byrom acknowledges

this played a factor in her decision to move schools. “I needed to be in a place that was more diverse, I needed to have a community,” she said. At ASL, Byrom had a small but supportive community, however, Byrom noticed that the turnover of faculty of color seemed to be high.

Fine, who is also leaving after this year to teach at the Singapore American School, has many reasons for leaving ASL including wanting “to be intellectually engaged,” and “to explore and learn more.”

However, like Byrom, Fine also recognizes the impact being a person of color at ASL has on his decision to leave. Many faculty of color have been asked to prove their credentials and justify their position in the school, and have noticed white colleagues not being examined with the same scrutiny or reasons.

“It gets exhausting, being told you were hired because you are a person of color and you’re some affirmative action case to fit a diversity agenda,” Fine said. “It gets exhausting having to prove to parents that you’re qualified, and to read off your résumé and where you went to school.”

To understand the experiences of leaving teachers, exit interviews are conducted by an external organization to collect information. Appleby notes the importance of the exit interview, and describes it as a “neutral, anonymous and safe” way for leaving teachers to talk about their time at the school and areas they felt needed improvement.

In past years, Chapel explains that the exit interviews have not explicitly revealed exclusion as a pattern to why faculty of color leave. The general reasons have been retirement, financial situations, family pull and new opportunities, which is a trend seen amongst all leaving faculty and staff. “We haven’t gotten data in our

“

finding community, leadership

IT GETS EXHAUSTING HAVING TO PROVE TO PARENTS THAT YOU’RE QUALIFIED.

exit surveys from [faculty of color] saying ‘I’ve left ASL because I don’t feel included’ or because ‘I don’t feel I can be my whole self,’ that’s not a pattern,” she said. “But we definitely look for that answer and would be concerned if that were to come up.”

Fine acknowledges this, however he believes it is challenging for people of color to vocalize their experiences. This is mainly because they recognize it might hinder their ability to progress in fields that are dependent on those they speak up about. “A lot of the conversations I’ve had with my colleagues of color, as well as students of color, get unsaid to those in power because those in power are often gatekeepers to the next institutions that students of color and teachers of color want to enter into,” Fine said.

Singleton similarly believes that with people of color in leadership positions, it will allow for a wider perspective, primarily as they have the lived experience of institutional practices that impact faculty of color. “From this administrative level, [they] have to really be able to have a clear direction and operationalized value around diversifying the leadership,” Singleton said. “If there is a continuation of hiring white people and not offering people of color opportunities at the leadership level, we’re going to continue to perpetuate inequity in all aspects of the school.”

Although there is more work to be done in regards to race and prejudice amongst faculty, Fine believes that necessary changes can be made. “Even though there are issues that teachers of color experience, these issues aren’t immovable,” Fine said. “They’re not things that are fixed, they are things that can be transformed.”

22

features

TheStandard Standard The

Interpreting dreams

Students and teachers examine the psychology of dreams and what influences them.

Phaedra Letrou | Culture Editor

T

alia Vasaturo-Kolodner (’19) is sitting in a crowded bus full of people. The traffic stops and everything goes quiet. She senses her deepest fear – a terrorist attack – is becoming a reality.

However, Vasaturo-Kolodner then realizes it’s all just a dream and makes it disappear.

Vasaturo-Kolodner is a lucid dreamer, holding the ability of exerting a certain amount of control during their dreams. When she was 8 years old, Vasaturo-Kolodner had a fear of falling asleep and desperately wanted to find a way to make the nightmares disappear. “I used to have pretty bad nightmares when I was younger... and it got into my head when you fall asleep, bad things happen,” she said. “I sort of trained myself to be able to control my dreams... to make them go away in any way possible.”

Even though Vasaturo-Kolodner has the ability to stop both her nightmares and her dreams, she sometimes watches them unfold and controls the situation. While she no longer has frequent nightmares, whenever she has one, it usually has to do with terrorism.

Akin to Vasaturo-Kolodner, Kendal Fass’ (’19) nightmares also stem from a fear of terrorism.

“Things that heighten my fears are things that are happening right now in the world today,” she said.

Her nightmares mainly occur during the school year, likely because of the combination of being in London and managing academic stress.

During the summer, Fass almost never has nightmares, possibly because she has less stress.

“I'm assuming that the stress of school can kind of make your mind work in ways that are unexplainable,” Fass said.

Counselor Stephanie Oliver knows that anxiety can commonly be the root of nightmares and as a counselor who deals with students who have anxiety, as a screening question to aid the diagnosis process, Oliver sometimes asks students if they have frequent nightmares.

AP Psychology Teacher Mark McVean agrees with Oliver in the regards that something that occupies

According to commondreams.org, three of the 12 most typical dreams include flying, test-taking and winning the lottery.

someone in their conscious state can make appearances in an individual's dream state as well. “Whatever the topic is, it's relevant... and it's at play in your unconscious and conscious state,” he said. “Anxiety often emerges from s o m e thing that's... not

revived recently when she read an article about exploring your inner world and how dreams give people messages.

As a way to reflect on her own life, Oliver uses her dreams to see whether she is ignoring something that is bothering her. “I remember I was feeling really bad about something I said... then I dreamt about it that night and I realized I obviously need to go apologize or talk this through,” Oliver said.

When Oliver was a teenager, a friend of hers gave her a “dream pack” as a gift.

There were three components to it: a dream journal to record dreams, a book that would help analyze dreams and a pack of archetype cards influenced by psychologist Carl Jung that are meant to impact your dreams. The cards suggested different objects to look at in an attempt to affect

“There [are] things that you wish or want to happen in a particular way, in a scenario and they occur in your dreams.”

Mark McVean, AP Psychology Teacher

dealt with in [the] conscious state and you take [it] into your dreams.

In a way, maybe you can get clarity from dreams.”

Oliver enjoys researching and interpreting her dreams. Although her interest in dreams began when she was younger, it was

your dreams. For example, Oliver said “if you wanted to be able to fly in your dream, you [should] look at clouds and leaves throughout the day.”

While Oliver practices dream interpretation, McVean believes it is not always reliable. “The practice of dream interpretation isn't really a practice by psychologists, so they listen and are interested in your dreams for sure... but they're not going to tell you to act on them,” he said.

He also sees inconsistencies in the ability to “verify our dreams.

Dreams are only verified by what you think you remember,” he said. “It's just like memory, it can be complete fiction.”

Disparate dream theories suggest that a person’s desires and wants influence their dreams.

McVean pointed to renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud’s theory that in dreams people live out their unfulfilled interests and fantasies.

“There are things that you wish or want to happen in a particular way, in a scenario and they occur in your dreams,” he said.

ARTWORK BY ALEXANDRA GERS

January/February 2018 January/February 2018

Reading for pleasure Music genres

standard.asl.org

CULTURE

culture 23

Dancing for a difference

Delving into Thalia Bonas’ (’20) passion for dance and how she shares it with the broader community through a new community partnership.

Isabelle Lhuilier | News Editor

A

n avid dancer since the age of three, Thalia Bonas (’20) has always had a passion for dance.

Through the creation of a community partnership with the Barrow Hill Primary School, Bonas is now incorporating her interest in dance into her volunteer work. “I really wanted to be able to provide for myself and a lot of other people at ASL the opportunity to do good with a skill that they don’t often get to share,” she said. “I just wanted to give people the opportunity to express themselves in a safe envi-

ing, along with a list of 30 ASL students who would be interested in joining. Bonas’s application was approved at the end of last year, and she received £1,250 to start the project. The partnership began in early January.

The dance partnership runs every Thursday to 4:30 p.m. and will continue throughout the spring season.

Although the dance classes are student led, they are overseen by Kat Rayham, a Grade 3 teacher at Barrow Hill, who has previously taught dance. “The idea of the class is that

Each session consists of a warm up, a game, a short dance routine and a cool down with an ASL student in the partnership leading a different activity. “Every person has a chance to work on their leadership skills.”

Bonas said.

Bonas hopes that the specificity of this partnership means that it will attract those who are truly dedicated to making a difference with dance.

Bonas believes that this passion will greatly improve the experience for the children taking part. “By only

I REALLY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR MYSELF AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE AT ASL THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO GOOD WITH A SKILL THAT THEY DON’T OFTEN GET TO SHARE. THALIA BONAS (’20) ronment where they can learn to sort through their feelings,” she said.

At the end of last year, Bonas discussed her idea of a new dance partnership with Director of Service Learning Brandon Block. The partnership was originally scheduled to take place during the fall community partnership season at Rugby Portobello Trust; however, due to the fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017, there was not enough interest to sustain the program. “I felt bad that there [were] so few people there and the situation was so dire that we couldn’t teach anymore,” Bonas said.

As Bonas still wished to continue the dance partnership, Block reached out to Barrow Hill Primary School, where ASL has previously run programs.

In order to receive funding, Bonas had to apply for a Community Connections grant from the Parent Community Association, which helps community members develop projects within the local area. Bonas wrote a three-page application, outlining her goals for the partnership and her plans for logistics and fund-

it will be student led, and really us as students teaching the class to let everyone work on their leadership skills,” Bonas said.

Isabella Mattera (’20), decided to join the partnership as it is a combination her two main interests: dance and community service. “I wanted to do something that I knew I could devote all my energy and time to while I was there,” she said “I really like to dance and I really like kids and I wanted to help out the community.

This just seemed to be the perfect fit.”

The students met with Rayham in December to plan the details of the program and what to expect during the first session. “She gave us an idea of what it was going to be like and what teaching was going to be like,” Mattera said.

The first session ran on January 11 and Mattera believes that it went smoothly. “We weren’t expecting the kids to be that excited to dance,” she said. “We had no idea what their level of dance was and we had no idea how well the kids listened... but it actually went really well and they responded really well to our teaching.”

having people who are really motivated in the class it will really raise the morale in general and make it more fun for the kids,” Bonas said.

Block feels that this partnership will provide benefits to both the children taking part and the students running the program. “It gives [our students] a chance to break out of the ASL bubble, connect with people who are different from the typical ASL student and engage with London’s diversity,” Block said. “[Barrow Hill] also gets to work with older kids.

Having a teenager who is fun and engaging and [who] you can connect with makes really fantastic role models.”

Making the partnership a reality has been rewarding for Bonas.

“I feel like I’m making an impact, but I’m also doing it through something I care about,” she said.

“I get to help other people do something that I love, so it’s so much better for the person who I’m teaching and me because I’m motivated. I think that comes out as I teach.”

Bonas (top right) and various members of the partnership prepare for an upcoming dance session at Barrow Hill Primary School.

PHOTOS BY IMOGEN WEISS AND ISABELLE LHUILIER

24

culture commentary

The Revolution hits Britain

TheStandard Standard The

On December 6, Hamilton: An American Musical crossed the Atlantic, bringing the original Off-Broadway show to the West End. Alexandra Gers | Lead Features Editor

“H

ow does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman,” born in the late 1700s transcend time and international waters? He arrives in the form of a rap, hip-hop musical. On December 6, 2017, Hamilton: An American Musical made its West End debut at the Victoria Palace Theatre and I was one of many who had purchased tickets a year in advance.

Since Hamilton was first performed on Broadway in 2015, Alexander Hamilton has become a household name to both theater lovers and haters alike. The show’s popularity was unprecedented, and its reputation begged me to ask: will it be overhyped? Thus, when I attended the show on January 8, I was ready to be blown away.

From the opening number, “Alexander Hamilton,” I knew this performance was different from the ones previously critiqued by reviewers. Described by the New York Times as “tall” and “authoritative” on the stage, Jamael Westman, as Alexander Hamilton was absent on the night I saw the show, so his alternate Ash Hunter played the famed role. I felt slightly cheated that night, as Hunter portrayed the founding father rather mediocrely – with barely enough stage presence to capture the spirit of George Washington’s right-hand man, the first Secretary of the Treasury and someone who left a lasting legacy on the United States.

The show, is narrated by Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s friend, nemesis and fellow politician, portrayed by Giles Terera.

The first few numbers began with a bang and set the tone for the rest of the play: a combination of a high-energy, high-intensity musical-theater experience. That said, I was positively overwhelmed after the first few numbers.

“My Shot,” showcased Hamilton as the eager, scrappy, arrogant immigrant we come to love as he sang about devouring opportunity in the U.S. In fact, the entirety of the first act was a treat. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the mastermind behind the whole endeavour, was able to blend a mixture of tones and musical styles with each different song.

My personal favorites of the night were the triplet of songs surrounding the Schuyler sisters: Eliza, Angelica and Peggy. The night I saw it, Eliza, Hamilton’s wife, was played by understudy Marsha Songcome; Angelica, also romantically invested in Hamilton, was played by Rachel John, an actress who had a booming and beautiful voice akin to Ella Fitzgerald; Peggy, the third sister, was played by Christine Allado, who also doubled in the role of Maria Reynolds.

Allado, John and Songcome’s voices blended harmoniously together, especially when it came to three of my favorite songs of the night: “The Schuyler Sisters,” “Helpless” and “Satisfied.” The rebellious spirit

Eminem-esque rhyme schemes, I would disagree. The novelty of the show added to my overall experience. I found myself learning historical facts from the songs of the play, perhaps more so than in one United States History class.

The true power in this show lies in its messages. The largely diverse cast highlights the power of immigrants in the founding of America: a fact which should be remembered today.

We learn that although Hamilton was quite arrogant, what ended up being Burr’s downfall was his inability to commit to a cause; his lack of passion. As well, Hamilton’s power is ultimately derived from his ability to write persuasively, a notion which resonates today as the power of the written word seems to be questioned ceaselessly. I could go on for pages about the complexities and clever songs of Hamilton, however enough has been said and written, to really enjoy the show, you must see it yourself.

of the three sisters was perfectly captured when Angelica sang, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’m ’a compel him to include women in the sequel.” Similarly, in “Helpless,” and “Satisfied,” Miranda was able to show the introduction of Alexander Hamilton to both Eliza and Angelica, respectively, through two completely different musical styles.

Not only do the Schuyler sisters add a new dimension to the musical, but the introduction of King George III and his ballads, sung by Michael Gibson, develop an ironic dynamic with the fellow-British audience. He observes from across the pond as America undergoes a revolution, humorously singing, “I will send a fully fledged battalion to remind you of my love.”

The second act is far bleaker, focusing on Hamilton’s personal life and the ramifications of his affair with Maria Reynolds for a large majority. It wasn’t until Burr said, “let’s get back to politics,” when I found myself re-engaged.

The introduction of the Princeesque Thomas Jefferson character played by Jason Pennycooke was genius. The power-struggle dynamic between Hamilton and

“

The true power in this show lies in its messages. The largely diverse cast highlights the power of immigrants in the founding of America: a fact that should be remembered today.

Jefferson is emphasized in the cabinet rap-battles about pending legislation, a scene similar to James Corden’s show “Drop the Mic,” yet as a whole, I enjoyed the first act more.

Although some might suggest to learn the lyrics before seeing the show so that you’re not left in a whirlwind of

A second booking period for Hamilton tickets available from July to December 2018 was just released on January 29.

For more information on the show and ticket availability check http://hamiltonmusical.com/london/

PHOTOS FROM INSTAGRAM. COM/HAMILTONWESTEND

culture commentary culture 25

January/February 2018

Fighting a digital battle The value of reading for pleasure and overcoming the distractions of technology.

Emily Forgash | Staff Writer

I

n a world where the swipe of a screen is quicker than the turn of a page, I find that many teenagers instinctively reach for their phones because reading a book is too taxing. Some students can live as if they’re driving on a highway, and reading is like swerving onto a country road; they grow impatient with the slow speed.

In short, the world seems like it is having trouble living at the pace of books.

“In short, the world seems like it is having trouble living at the pace of books.”

People are accustomed to instant gratification while watching a Netflix plot unravel before them, their eyes glued to the screen. Most students would rather passively watch TV in their free time, instead of actively engaging their brain through reading. Just like your body, your brain needs exercise; similar to working out in the gym, one must exercise their brain.

The many benefits of reading are often repeated by English teachers. Many say that great writing comes from frequent reading. Although the benefits that come from reading are well known, such as gaining inspiration from outstanding literature and, predominantly, expanding your vocabulary, the allure of technology overshadows these advantages.

Imagine how many miles you’ve pointlessly scrolled with your thumb. The act of picking up our phones as soon as we’re bored is something that has been ingrained

in our culture. It is as if a virus has developed in almost everyone.

Having a television in our pockets and social media just a few clicks away has a gradual harmful effect. It has gotten to the point that our use of technology could be seen as an addiction, the obsessive way that people reach for their phones for the fear of missing anything. If you’re not on social media 24/7, missing posts is inevitable. Everyone has succumbed to technology at one point or another, but only a few can say that they have prioritized reading.

For me, finishing a good book, like Gold

by Chris Cleave, is always bittersweet. I get a lingering feeling of missing the characters that I grew so acquainted to and learned so much about. If the author did their job, I feel like I went through their hardships and successes with them. Yet the silver lining of finishing a book is the chance to pick out a new book and learn about something new.

I cannot go to bed without reading. It is one of the most positive things in my life, as I read countless studies saying that staring at a screen before going to bed is unhealthy. Books are nothing but beneficial to me.

For me, the reasons for trading screens for books are endless. Books allow me to explore places that I would never otherwise visit, to broaden my knowledge of the world, to expand my vocabulary and to create my own world with the characters.

When weighing these reasons against the dependence of technology, it is your choice which side comes on top. I challenge you to trade in notifications for chapters.

ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA ABRAMS AND PHAEDRA LETROU

Defeating musical stigmas Addressing the issue of preconceived judgements on different music genres.

Izzy Harris | Staff Writer

W

Harry Potter

and the Philosopher's Stone

1984 The Hobbit

Fahrenheit 451

The Hunger Games

hen I show people my Spotify playlists, one of the first things they notice is how I don’t have the artists who regularly top the charts. Instead I trade them in for artists like All Time Low and Panic! at the Disco.

Music has always been a constant in my life. I have grown up listening to a great variety of artists and songs and have developed a certain liking to specific genres. The first impressions some people have on my music taste are often closed minded and prohibit them from learning more about me.

For example, in Grade 8 I felt that people avoided speaking to me because of my unconventional music taste. The problem I’ve noticed is the way people view different artists, and try to classify the people who listen to them into a category that is not always applicable or accurate. This creates a false identity of the listener.

Some of the artists I enjoy belong to a genre labelled as “emo” or “hard rock.” If someone were to see my music taste and not me in person, they would probably assume I am sad or lonely. These are some stereotypes that exist for the genres I listen to.

The same prejudices apply to fans of artists such as Ariana Grande and Bruno Mars, both known as pop musicians. Several of my friends have been ridiculed for their music taste by people who think and comment that the artists dress and speak about subjects that are “too inappropriate” or “too basic.”

I am sometimes considered “basic” for going to pop music concerts. Although my music taste would make it seem like I do not like Taylor Swift, I sometimes enjoy listening to her. I have been a follower

since her release of “Love Story” in 2008, when her music was mostly country. Even though her music has become more mainstream and is now considered to be a part of the pop genre, I still adore the presence she has. Her music brings life to many people, and that is what I believe defines a true artist, regardless of genre or ideas.

People are usually quick to assume that my mood is directly correlated to my music taste, but I think of it as the opposite. Artists put a lot of effort into the lyrics of their songs, and try to make them relatable to their audience. This is evident in the stories behind the song lyrics the artists disclose this to their fans. I’ve heard stories of bands reaching out to some of their fans and writing music to show them they’re listening to them and care about them.

I vary my music depending on what I’m feeling, and what I want to hear at the time.

This doesn’t exactly mean I let the music determine my moods though; I see it as the reverse. When I’m listening to music, it feels like the artist is having a conversation with me, encouraging me to fight and be proud.

People feel all kinds of emotions, and require different messages through their music, much like me. Artists across genres provide different messages, and the listeners migrate towards the artists that give them reassurance, whatever genre they fall under.

Regardless of the genre assigned, there will always be assumptions being made about people’s music choices, and I think that we should stop making assumptions and instead learn more about each other’s music tastes and respect them for their differences.

26

sports

TheStandard Standard The

Q&A: The ref talks back

Veteran official Firooz Dehdarvand talks about his professional basketball career, his time as a referee and his experience in the Farmer Family Gym. Sourna Daneshvar Jr. | Editor-in-Chief: Online Born in Ahvaz, Iran, Referee Firooz Dehdarvand lived there for 25 years, growing his love for the game of basketball as a player. He moved to the U.K. 10 years ago and continues to remain involved in the game as an official for school leagues and the British Basketball League (BBL).

Dehdarvand explains his start in the game and continued passion for the sport.

When did you first get introduced to the game?

I think I was 11 when I started playing basketball. So I played until maybe five years ago. I played for eight years professionally in Iran’s league. We had a couple of ex-NBA players playing in Iran’s league as well.

How did you become a referee?

I was studying in Swansea in Wales and [I was] asked “Do you fancy refereeing because you know the rules?” I started to help them out, but I’d never thought I’d become a referee where now I’m refereeing in the top league in the U.K., which is BBL. It was like an accident to become a referee.

What would you say a referee does?

In my perspective the referee is the kind of person to make the game safe, better and be joyful for spectators and players and everybody. I think the referee is just there to make the game better, but not change anything.

What’s your style of officiating?

I think my style is a little bit tough. I think gradually it’s better as my age goes up, so step–by–step I’m getting softer, but I’m quite tough I think.

What are the qualities of a typical ASL team?

They’re really organized. They care about what they’re doing and what they want to do. They’re one of the clubs that is really famous in London actually, or maybe between International schools in Europe even. They’re quite strong.

They’ve got good facilities here, good equipment, they’re using usually good coaches to teach the kids or youngsters very well. And I can’t say the best, but between the two best clubs I know in London so far.

How’s the crowd at ASL? They make a good atmosphere here.

The gym is not too big so the crowd appear more loud than other gyms, where you go and are bigger, but the crowd here are fantastic. I enjoy sometimes the games here more than the national league games.

How fairly does the crowd treat you?

I can understand the parents’ concerns sometimes about the kids or their children when they’re playing, but I don’t really have that many problem here with crowds because

“

I played for eight years professionally in Iran’s league. We had a couple of exNBA players playing in Iran’s league as well.

Firooz Dehdarvand Basketball Referee

we have [Athletics Director] John [Farmer] here and he’s managing everything. I never have any problems from the ASL team crowd.

You mentioned you played professionally. Just how good were you?

I was in the national camp always for the Iran national team. I was in the junior national camp, [then] I was in the senior national camp. Even one year before I came I was in senior national camp. So I was always among the 40 top players in Iran, so I was at quite a good level.

If you’re directing a movie about your life, what actor would play you?

Of course me, myself.

What question do you want me to ask you?

Do I like playing more or refereeing?

Do you like playing or refereeing more?

Of course, playing.

Referee Firooz Dehdarvand officiates an adult recreational league game at Joe Harris Academy. Along with this league, Dehdarvand works games at ASL and in the top basketball league in the U.K., British Basketball League. Before coming to London, he played in the Iranian Super League for eight years.

PHOTOS BY SOURNA DANESHVAR JR.

sports 27

January/February 2018

From the river to the rim

Varsity boys basketball center and varsity crew member Jack Wilkin (’20) discusses his passion for the two sports and his collegiate-level aspirations.

Amaan Zafar | Staff Writer

J

ack Wilkin (’20) has been an essential member to the varsity crew and varsity boys basketball teams since his freshman year. While Wilkin admits it is exciting to be an important part of two teams, it can be challenging with the heavily loaded schedule.

“I think it takes compromise. I have to communicate with my coaches on whether I can go to practice. It takes dedication. Getting as much as I can out of everyday, fulfilling my needs as an athlete, but not overwhelming myself,” he said.

Wilkin was introduced to basketball in Grade 1 when his dad signed him up for a youth league. He has played the sport ever since.

In contrast, Wilkin picked up crew during his freshman year after he was inspired by other student’s success in the sport. “I decided to

join the development crew team, and from there, I worked hard to get to where I am now,” he said.

Varsity boys basketball Head Coach Josh Davis believes that Wilkin’s attitude on the basketball court motivates others around him to improve and work harder. “He instantly gains the respect of those he comes around – thanks to his poise, attitude, and work ethic – and that made it an easy decision to put him in the starting lineup as a freshman,” Davis said.

Though Wilkin is only a sophomore, he has started as either the power forward or center for the team since the middle of his freshman year. “Honestly, I find it endearing that I start. I’m glad that I am a starter because I feel like I earned it. It definitely takes putting the team on my

back and doing my part, so that when my teammates come in the game, they feel motivated,” Wilkin said.

“As a sophomore, it does mean I am younger, and have less experience, but I have been working on basketball since I was seven.”

Both of the sports that Wilkin plays overlap in the winter season, meaning he has to find a compromise to maximize his time with practices. “I practice four times a week for basketball and three to four times a week for crew. At the moment, I am only doing morning crew practices in order to prevent conflicts after school with basketball,” he said.

On Thursdays, which are athletic off-days, Wilkin rows on his own, alongside a weight session on Saturday and a water session on Sunday.

Wilkin has found that his bas-

“[Wilkin] is single handedly one of the most mature high school student-athletes I have ever coached. He sets the bar high for himself and works extremely hard to reach his goals.”

JOSH DAVIS, VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL HEAD COACH

Jack Wilkin (’20) has been a member of the crew team since his freshmen year. PHOTO COURTESY OF JACK WILKIN

ketball and crew teammates have been great support systems and have helped make sure that sports don’t take away time from his social life. “I find that sports don’t affect me a lot because the teams I am on are very social. We do activities outside of practice and games which actually help us on the court as we can learn more about each other,” he said.

Specifically, Wilkin feels that the seniors and captains on the teams have been helpful in making the sports experience more enjoyable by organizing out of school activities like dinners, hangouts and swim sessions. “Both of the captains for the basketball team, Brodie Craig (’18) and Justin Hoyt (’18) have done a great job of making sure everyone on the team feels comfortable. Nick Kuenstler (’18) and Nick Mannhardt (’18) have also done a good job on making sure my experiences on varsity crew have gone well,” Wilkin said.

Kuenstler praises Wilkin’s com-

Jack Wilkin (’20) attempts to cross-over a Lakenheath defender as the varsity boys basketball team cruised to a 22-point victory. PHOTO BY EMILY FORGASH mitment in balancing both crew and basketball. “[Wilkin] has been a great addition to the crew team and he has grown greatly over the time that I have known him. He is always willing to learn and he always makes an extra effort to practice, even with his packed schedule,” Kuenstler said.

In October, Wilkin was selected to compete at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts.

Wilkin took it as an opportunity to test his ability and learn throughout the process. “The experience was interesting to me because I came into it with not a lot of experience,” he said. “It was a learning experience because I could see what the competition was like. It was really exciting and humbling to be picked to compete there.”

Wilkin believes that there is still much improvement to be made as an athlete, and choices he will have to make regarding both sports.

“Later on in my high school sports career, I will probably have to make some decisions on what I can do and can’t do, as right now I am a sophomore with a lot of freedom,” he said.

Davis feels that Wilkin is ahead of the curve and has a bright future in sports. “[Wilkin] is single handedly one of the most mature high school student-athletes I have ever coached.” he said. “He sets the bar high for himself and works incredibly hard to reach his goals.”

With hopes of pursuing either sport in college, Wilkin believes that playing at a collegiate level sports could be a catalyst to getting settled into the new environment. “My goal is to get recruited either for basketball or rowing.

I’ve looked at a few schools already and I think I would want sports to be an extracurricular activity,” he said. “This way it can get me into the school environment, but not dominate my life.”

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Learning lessons Grade 10 Dean Jennifer Craig and Social mean to them and the valuable lessons they’ve Jonathan Novak | Sports Editor

G

rade 10 Dean and Grade 8 Girls Basketball Coach Jennifer Craig has been an athlete and coach her whole life. Craig played soccer and basketball in high school, as well as becoming a member of the Division III soccer and crew teams at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Growing up, Craig felt a connection to sport as it was always her “thing.” She had a sister who was

needs to come with [not starting], and there’s a certain decision that you have to make as a bench player to still be fully engaged in the game but in a completely different way,” she said.

Craig feels that through this experience she was able to learn that being in the background rather than the star is such an important skill to have in life.

NOW THAT I’M COACHING YOUNGER KIDS I FEEL LIKE I HAVE AN INPUT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER... WE WORK [ON THE IDEOLOGY] ‘TEAM FIRST, INDIVIDUAL SECOND.’ JENNIFER CRAIG, GRADE 10 DEAN AND GRADE 8 BASKETBALL COACH much more academic then her so she became the athlete of the family. Also Craig’s dad was an athlete himself which inspired Craig to also pursue sports.

Craig’s father helped her to be a two sport Division III athlete and has distinct memories of her college athletic experience. One of which was scoring the winning penalty in the soccer championship. “I realised that I had the ability to clear everything out of my mind and focus on this one job that I had to get done,” she said.

“I was able to cancel out all the noise; it’s always been something that stays with me.”

One of the biggest lessons Craig learned from her collegiate sports career was learning to work for others. After her sophomore year in college, she was injured and struggled to find her way back into the starting line up, even after recovering. “I learned a lot about service and that second place is a really important place to occupy.

There’s a certain humility that

After spending many years playing sports, Craig transitioned into coaching girls basketball and tries to teach her players what she’s learned throughout her own sporting career.

“Now that I’m coaching younger kids I feel like I have an input a little bit earlier... There’s a lot where we work [on the ideology of ] ‘team first, individual second’,” Craig said. “We also talk a lot about family so our team cheer is ‘team, family, hard work’ it reminds them ‘this is why we’re here’ and ‘when things go wrong you’re not going away from any of us’.”

Craig has taken lessons she’s learned from sports and translated them into the classroom environment as well. “I think I approach many more things as a coach rather than a teacher,” she said.

Along with coaching, Craig enjoys watching youth sports, especially watching her own kids play. “To this day still one of my favorite things to do is watch my kids play sports,” she said. “When you get to my age and your kids

Jennifer Craig

Craig discusses plays and ways to improvements with her grade 8 girls basketball team during a game at the International School of Aberdeen Basketball Tournament on February 2-3. The girls basketball team won the tournament without losing a game. PHOTO BY CAMERON SPURR start graduating then I think I’m just going to start watching other kids play sports.”

As a dean, Craig has acknowledged that part of her role is to help her students grow their passions. She feels sports, due to her connection with them, allows her to create connections with her students because it’s something she is passionate about. “My job is to find and encourage all the unique talents of all my kids, whoever they are. It’s authentic.”

Prior to moving to London in 2014, Craig was the varsity girls basketball coach at Hotchkiss

School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

One of her most memorable moments was when she played in a quarterfinal game in a tournament where her team was considered the underdogs. All of her players were significantly shorter in height than the other team’s and they had many players going on to play Division I basketball; Craig’s team only had one player playing Division III basketball. In order to prepare for the game, Craig called a round and got information from other coaches who had played this team and she decided to play the best defensive line up she could.

Craig’s team ended up really close to victory, but only lost by seven points. Throughout the whole experience, she took away that there can be an upside and downside to all experiences. “I remember sitting on the bus on the way back being like my team played the best game they could have possibly played and I got nothing more. I felt that this was a good coaching job and I had spent all this time on it,” she said. “I was just kind of like ‘wow, I did what I wanted to do’ but [we still lost].’”

(Sports Editor Jonathan Sheves contributed to reporting)

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January/February 2018

through sports Studies Teacher Terry Gladis discuss what sports learned throughout their playing and coaching careers. “

T

o me, [sports] have been everything,” Social Studies teacher and Varsity Baseball Head Coach Terry Gladis said.

Gladis has had been connected with sports throughout his whole life. Starting to play baseball while he was still “in diapers,” he has played, watched, coached and adored sports for the duration of his life.

Gladis’s sporting career started in High School where he was a three season athlete. He played football in the fall, basketball

how important it is to learn to accept and grow from failure. “In life a lot of things aren’t going to go the right way for you and it’s how you respond to that failure that is going to make you a better person and make you work even harder for that next opportunity.”

Along with learning about the importance of failure and moving forward, Gladis learned to be himself in order to be his best self. “You don’t have control over anything else so why worry about

weaknesses so we can work on them and make those strengths as well,” Gladis said.

Gladis notices the similarities between the classroom and the sports field and how you can learn similar lessons in both settings. “Sometimes I feel like in the classroom I’m coaching more than teaching, and sometimes on the field I’m teaching more than I’m coaching,” he said.

After years of experiencing both teaching and coaching at ASL,

IT’S HOW YOU RESPOND TO THAT FAILURE THAT IS GOING TO MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON AND MAKE YOU WORK EVEN HARDER FOR THAT NEXT OPPORTUNITY. TERRY GLADIS, VARSITY BASEBALL HEAD COACH AND SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER in the winter, and baseball in the spring. He then went on to play baseball at Wooster College in Wooster, Ohio. After college, Gladis continued his baseball career and joined the Zainesville Greys, a Single-A baseball team, before he retired to become a teacher and, additionally, a coach. “[Baseball has] been probably the most important sport in my life,” he said.

Looking back on his career, Gladis believes he has learned some of the most important life lessons from baseball. “I would say that I have an anecdote for pretty much everything in life that is baseball related,” he said. “It epitomizes the way that I live my life.”

One of the biggest lessons for Gladis is learning how to recover from failure through the nature of baseball as a game. “Baseball is a game of failure... because you can be in the Hall of Fame if you get on base three times out of 10, you’re a 300 hitter, and the fact is that seven out of 10 times, you’ve essentially failed,” he said.

Through his experience in baseball, Gladis has realized that

anything else?” he said. “Just be yourself, be you and stay within your limitations, know your role.”

Gladis feels that baseball has helped him also develop in other facets of life. “My passion for baseball showed me that if I grab onto something and I have that much passion for it I can really learn to love it, maybe it’ll rub off onto other people,” Gladis said. “I’ve used that passion and that experience from that passion, and I’ve transferred it into other things like I’m a passionate teacher and I’m passionate about history… [It’s all] grounded in the passion that I had for baseball because that was the first thing I loved.”

He translated some of these aspects into his role in the classroom and how he tries to develop his students as people, learners and academics. Gladis uses how he approached preparation for baseball and tries to help his students in the same way. “I want people to celebrate their strengths and work on their weakness. That’s another thing I learned from sports. As a teacher I can celebrate students’ strengths and also I know their

Gladis believes that common lessons are applicable in both settings.

“Sports, to me, and even [being in] the classroom are about life lessons.

For example, you can learn to work hard and you get an A on a paper and work hard you’ll become a better hitter, but to me those are minor lessons,” Gladis said. “The bigger lessons are being able to face adversity, being able to collaborate and cooperate with other people even though you don’t like them or you may be different from them. These are things we’re going to have to do for the rest of our lives and I feel like playing sports has set me up to be a much better teacher, a much better coach and, to be honest, a much better person.”

Through playing and coaching team sports, Gladis believes he’s learned to work and play for others and imports that to his teams. “As a coach I tell my team at the start of the year, that ‘this team, we are family and no one is more important or less important than anyone else. And, as your coach, I don’t go out on the field, it’s your team but know that I consider you family and I will take a bullet for you and I

Terry Gladis

Gladis warms up before a game for the Zainesville Greys, a single A baseball team. After college Gladis played professional baseball before switching his profession to teaching.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TERRY GLADIS want every single one of you to take a bullet for each other’,” he said.

Moving forward with sports Gladis feels he’ll enjoy them for the rest of his life. “I know that I’ll love them until the day I die.

Obviously I still love the competition... I’m getting older and hopefully I’ll coach for a long time.”

Gladis understands how his role in sports has changed since his playing days but still enjoys playing sports in a different role. “I still love getting out there with [the team] when we are on the baseball

field and playing with them. I feel like I’ve slowed down a little bit and I’m still doing OK,” he said.

Gladis plays so-called “life-long sports” nowadays. It’s almost a natural remedy to his problems.

“Now with golf and with tennis, what they call the “life-long sports,” I feel like I need those in my life,” Gladis said. “That is my time, that’s when I can lose myself and fall into something that I absolutely am passionate about and not worry about anything else in the world.”

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Dance team succeeds with seven Student dancers discuss why they did or did not choose to perform in the ASL dance team this year, leaving the dance team with seven members.

Jonathan Novak | Sports Editor

from page 32

dances they do affect more than the high school. “I love having Lower Schoolers there. They come and talk to us afterwards so that’s a lot of fun.”

With many people not doing dance, Kolaja believes there is a mutual respect between the people who decide to dance at ASL

During Kolaja’s freshman year, the team had a varsity and JV squad, and during her sophomore year, Kolaja had 11 teammates and no JV squad. After her freshman season, nine dancers quit the team, while two graduated and six left the school.

Maddy Callaway (’20) is a dancer who trains three times a week for London Dance Project (LDP) and one of many dancers who chooses not to perform for the ASL dance team. She felt that with the change from the previous coaches of the dance team, Olivia Buckle and Sarah Elhadj, to

“Even though I choose not to do the dance team [at school], I still respect people who choose to do it and I think it’s great.”

Emma Costin (’19)

“If [those who don’t do ASL dance] have enjoyed working with other coaches, that means that maybe [their] style of dance speaks more to the way that the coaches who worked here before [run a program] and that’s good.”

Damien Anyasi Varsity dance coach the current coaches, Amy Finch and Damien Anyasi, there was a difference in expression and style that she didn’t agree with. “I felt with the new coaches, [Finch and Anyasi] their expression and creativity wasn’t being as expressed [compared to] the previous dance teacher,” she said. Callaway, along with other dancers, have opted to enroll in programs outside of school, rather than participating in ASL’s varsity dance team.

Anyasi understands how each individual dancer can have preferences with different styles and programs because everyone likes different types of dance. “If [those who don’t do ASL dance] have enjoyed working with other coaches that means that maybe [their] style of dance speaks more to the way that the coaches who worked here before [run a program] and that’s good,” he said.

Finch echoes Anyasi and understands that due to the many restraints a dance program endures, such as the shortness of a season, a program that’s right for

PHOTO BY EMILY FORGASH To finish their performance at the homecoming basketball game on January 5, the varsity dance team poses in the front of the gym. In January the team competed in The Great Big Dance Off and the BCA Spring Spirit Cheer and Dance Competition where they placed 2nd. everyone cannot be created. “We are in our third year of coaching and we’re developing the dance team at ASL and, to do that in a really short season, it’s got its time constraints,” she said. “We’re trying our best to factor everything in and give the students the best possible experience.”

For the 2014-2015 school year, Kolaja’s freshman year, the dance program was coached by Buckle and Elhadj. The next year the coaching role shifted from Buckle and Elhadj to the current coaches, Finch and Anyasi, and they have coached the team ever since.

Kolaja notices the difference between the styles of the current coaches, but enjoys the challenge of a style of dance she isn’t yet as accustomed to. “Our new coaches do so much cool hip-hop stuff. It’s a lot of stuff, that for the people on the dance team and those who

do dance outside of school, it’s really new,” she said. “It’s definitely challenging but it’s also really fun.”

Similar to Callaway, Emma Costin (’19) has been dancing since she was 7, yet participates in LDP rather than ASL dance. She took part in the Grade 8 dance elective but not the varsity dance team after trying out her freshman year.

Costin chooses not to do ASL dance because she feels she is able to train and improve more outside of school, but admits she hasn’t had enough experience with the ASL program to fully know whether she improves as she would in her outside-of-school program. “I haven’t necessarily given the dance program here a good enough try but… [London Dance Project] is more serious and more technical, so I feel like I’m really… improving,” she said.

Additionally for Callaway and Costin, the added component of performing in front of her peers at school provides a reason not to participate in ASL dance. “It can be kind of embarrassing... if you’re good or not. It’s just… nerve-racking,” Callaway said.

Costin echos Callaway “I think that doing anything in front of your peers is always hard, especially if it’s dancing or playing a sport,” Costin said. “I think that putting yourself out there is obviously difficult, especially when it’s a smaller group.”

In contrast, Kolaja enjoys performing in front of her peers regularly but understands how it can be uncomfortable for others. “I really enjoy it, I do a lot of performing. I’m also in the musicals. I think for some people it’s more nerve-racking,” Kolaja additionally likes how it feels like the

and those who don’t. “I think there is a recognition that different people maybe don’t want to be performing at ASL sports games... it’s not what they prefer to do and I think that’s definitely OK,” she said.

Costin doesn’t feel any animosity between the two sectors however those who do ASL dance like to try and encourage others who don’t participate as well. “Some people who do ASL dance try to encourage other people to do it who they know who dance outside of school so they can get more people,” she said. “Even though I choose not to do dance team [at school], I still respect people who choose to do it and I think it’s great.”

However, despite the small team size, the dance team has been successful this season. They took part in two different dance competitions this year which included The Great Big Dance Off and the BCA Spring Spirit Cheer & Dance Competition in January, where the team placed second. Along with competing in two competitions, the team has developed two different routines that they have performed at basketball games. They are currently working on two more for the rest of the season, one of which is a team choreographed routine.

Anyasi feels that this year has exceeded expectations for the dance team. “I would say that this season has been a great change to previous seasons. “As a team, the energy is amazing and a lot of the changes that we’ve made as coaches this season is to do the best for the team,” he said.

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January/February 2018

31

Fan support fluctuates A look into the inconsistencies of student-led basketball support through the eyes of varsity basketball players.

JONATHAN SHEVES aiting for her chance to check into the game, Natalie Vann (’20) looks across the Famer Family Gym to see a plethora of empty seats, lightly occupied by enthusiastic parents.

Vann, a member of the varsity girls basketball team, believes that supporters don’t come out on a consistent basis. “I think that [for the] Friday games, there’s always a lot of turn out,” she said. “You can meet different people, it’s fun, it’s a thing to do. But any other time, only our parents come out to support.”

Varsity boys basketball center Jordan Koski (’18) is happy with the turnout to some basketball games, but echoes Vann in that he would like to see more students come out on consistently. “It oscillates between having a huge crowd, like homecoming, and then you have small crowds at smaller games against British teams,” he said. “To us, all the games are of the same importance.”

Koski, now a second-year varsity basketball player, was introduced to the playing aspect of the sport after being a regular in the bleachers. “I enjoyed being a part of the atmosphere,” he said. “Initially, during sophomore year, my best friend was on the team so I’d go out to support him and that’s how I developed my love for basketball. From there, I knew I wanted to be part of the thing that was on the court, so I joined the team.”

Since making the varsity basketball team in his junior year, Koski has relished the opportunity to play in front of big crowds. “It’s invigorating [when the stands are full],” he said. “It certainly gives

me a sense of motivation that I can’t get in practice. It’s also intimidating. When I feel there are 250 [pairs of ] eyes just on me, forcing me to make the right decision, it’s intimidating.”

Similarly to Koski, Vann believes that she’s more inclined to perform at a high level when the stands are full. “I think that when there’s hype, and there’s a full crowd, there’s more energy and it’s easier to play better because, [as a player], you get into the music, into the shouting,” she said. “That affects your play because you play harder, you play longer and you want to do really well. You want to have the crowd go wild.”

From a scheduling standpoint, Athletic Director John Farmer doesn’t believe that it is his job to motivate people to attend matches, but is happy with the current turnout. “For me, I think that this topic has come up before and I said that the reality is that my job is the sports. Making sure that the logistics are taken care of,” he said. “I’m all for school spirit and wanting people to be together and be excited about sports and the school, and if basketball is the venue for that then I think that can be a great thing. But, for me personally and professionally, that can’t be my main focus or major concern.”

The statistics back up Farmer’s claim. In a survey, 69 percent of 210 students said they’ve attended a basketball game this year. A third of those stated that they’ve been in the bleachers for three or more matches.

Farmer believes that the turnout during homecoming was positive and created a respectful atmosphere. “I thought the atmosphere was really good on [homecoming],” he said. “When I re-

flected on it, my takeaway was that the support [lead to] a fun atmosphere. I didn’t have to look into the crowd to tell people to stop making noise during other team’s free throws, or chanting things that were inappropriate or borderline uncomfortable.”

In previous years, Farmer admits that even though there were more students at the games, the attendees may have crossed the line with their aggressive support, creating a hostile environment for the opposing teams. “Years ago, maybe it was a bit more crowded for students, but there [were] definitely moments where I was uncomfortable with what was being said and how things were being done,” he said.

Anna Costello (’19), a member of the varsity girls basketball team and a long-time student at the school, agrees with Farmer. “I remember [going to a boys basketball game] and barely being able to sit down because there were so many seats taken up by people.

That was a lot different from now – having everyone crammed into those seats versus being able to pick out each individual.”

In terms of motivating students to come out and support, Vann doesn’t believe that the responsibility lies solely on the players.

“I think that it’s a multitude of things. I think that it’s important for us to generate talk, hype and tell people about it because I’m sure that a lot of people don’t even know about the games,” she said. “The Athletics Department has to be able to schedule Friday games because we only have one or two this year, which definitely hurts [the number of ] spectators because there’s only one or two games that they can come to.”

69%

73%

33%

STUDENTS HAVE ATTENDED A BASKETBALL GAME THIS YEAR

STUDENTS ATTENDED THE HOMECOMING GAMES IN JANUARY

STUDENTS HAVE ATTENDED THREE OR MORE GAMES THIS YEAR

SPORTS EDITOR

W

From a survey of 210 students

Top: Varsity boys basketball captain Justin Hoyt (’18) looks for an open teammate during the Eagle’s 66-44 victory against Lakenheath on January 5. Bottom: High school students celebrate a made basket. PHOTOS BY EMILY FORGASH

SPORTS

The Standard

Ref Q&A Learning from sports

| April 2017

January/February 2018

Dance team succeeds with seven When the buzzer sounds for halftime of varsity basketball games, the crowd goes silent and waits in anticipation for the varsity dance team. The team walks along the baseline of the court as the crowd begins to cheer. This year, however, the team lines up on the center circle with only seven members.

Maddie Kolaja (’18) has participated in dance since her freshman year. Since then, the program has ranged from 21 to seven people. Even though she’s been on teams ranging in size, she still loves being a part of the school dance team. “I really love the idea of performing at the basketball games and being a part of the team environment,” she said. “I also really love our coaches [Amy Finch and Damien Anyasi] now. I think they really care about us and have a really good feeling for the team.”

continued on page 30

“

I really love the idea of performing at the basketball games and being a part of the team environment.

The varsity dance team performed during half time of varsity boys basketball’s 66-44 win over Lakenheath on January 5.

The team have had a successful season so far, and have competed in the Great Big Dance off, as well as placing second in the BCA Spring Spirit Cheer and Dance competition. PHOTO BY EMILY FORGASH

Maddie Kolaja (’18)

”