Standard
the
September/October 2014 | Volume XL, Issue I
A community under the microscope After a year of change, The Standard looks at the current state of the High School and its imminent future, as outlined by Principal Jack Phillips Read more on pages 13-15
James Malin | Issues Editor
Gabriel Ruimy | Senior Editor
Ian Scoville | Editor-in-Chief
The American School in London | One Waverley Place | London NW8 0NP U.K. | standard.asl.org
News
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
O
n August 19, a YouTube video went viral of a supposed British member
Since then another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, and British care worker, David Haines, have also been executed on camera by IS. IS, formerly known as ISIS and later ISIL, was originally formed in April 2013 as a Sunni extremist group that came out of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam with
o f t h e terrorist group, the Islamic P State (IS), with HO TO American BY approximately photo journalist YA 87-89 percent RR James Foley, who A of the world’s had been kidnapped EL M Muslims forming and held hostage in Syria AS the denomination. since 2012. RY IS promotes an Foley, thought to have been extreme anti-Western forced to read from a script, conbelief and advocates religious demned the U.S. military for bombing IS to protect the Yazidis violence, publicly stating that
Their first step would be to combine Syria and Iraq into one country, but the terror group has released plans indicating that their caliphate would spread throughout the Middle East, into Northern Africa, and even reach Spain. Amin Ojjeh (’16), who is Syrian, believes that IS goal to combine Syria and Iraq into one country is what is drawing people from all over the world to fight. “I can see why people believe combining Syria and Iraq under one government makes sense, because both countries are currently in a civil war, and both countries are currently facing huge economic difficulty,” he said. “You would have more land, more economical resources, and you would have less religious conflict.” Their recent terror attacks in the Middle East, which include mass executions of Iraqi soldiers and forcing of young children to watch live beheadings, have given the group global attention, especially since there has been an alarming increase of British, American and Australian citizens joining IS. This has provoked the U.K. government to raise the national threat level from three to four out of five, meaning there is now a severe threat of a terrorist attack. The last time the U.K. terror threat was severe was when four Islamic extremists detonated bombs on a bus and on the underground, killing 52 people and injuring over 700.
thing, and perhaps there’s a desire for these people joining IS to feel as if they belong to a group with a shared sense of identity, a shared belief system, and a shared perspective on the world,” he said. Pavel believes that the U.K. government should work with members of the British Muslim community to reach out to young Muslims who feel discouraged in their society. “We need to continue to build this dialogue [between the U.K. government and those attracted to IS] through members of the Muslim community. There has to be a more substantive dialogue about why there are young Britons who are Muslim who feel alienated,” he said. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has proposed that “anyone attempting to return to the U.K. from visiting Iraq or Syria without a good reason should be classified as a potential terrorist and arrested.” Amnah Ahmad (’15), a Muslim student, has mixed views on this plan, seeing it as something that could potentially aggravate the Muslim community but also introduce a well-needed security measure. “If he [Boris Johnson] does that, he’s going to anger the community. They can’t just go arresting people and calling people out because then more people will join IS,” she said. “On the other hand, I think that some personal freedoms can be sacrificed, because I would rather know that I’m safe than to know that the government is not looking into things because they’re afraid of affecting a few citizens.” Head of School Coreen Hester recently sent out an email addressed to all parents ensuring
bassy), the school is still a low risk target. “The real threat is in the Middle East at the moment, and the British authorities are doing the best to make sure that we are safe here and that jihadist warriors that are coming back from the area are checked and under surveillance,” he said. Favé and his security team have still taken great precautions to increase the security around the school since the UK Home Office raised the terror threat level for the UK. “The raised security level did not come as a shock to me,” Favé said. “The two beheading videos were well-planned; they killed an American journalist, but they used someone with a British accent. It wasn’t a coincidence, it was an indirect threat.” Favé believes that recent recruitments of British terrorists in IS is due to the British and American involvement with rescuing the Yazidis. After the terrorists threatened the Kurdish capital of Erbil earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force began bombing IS targets in an attempt to protect the Yazidis, a religious minority, who were stranded on a mountaintop in Northern Iraq, surrounded by IS fighters. In a speech given on September 10 by President Barack Obama, he announced a 6-point plan for defeating IS that will include expanding the bombing campaign in Iraq, training and equipping the Iraqi army and Kurdish troops, and begin bombing IS controlled areas in Syria. His plan, however, seems so far to have been less than convincing with American audiences. In a recent poll by NBC News
They killed an American journalist, but they used someone with a British accent. It wasn’t a coincidence, it was an indirect threat. BARAK FAVÉ, HEAD OF SECURITY in Iraq, and then addressed his brother, who is currently in the U.S. Air Force and said, “think about the lives you are destroying, including those of your own family.” Foley was then executed on camera, as the British IS member vowed to spread bloodshed to the rest of the world.
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anyone who does not agree with their ideas are infidels and apostates. Their stated goal is to establish a new Islamic caliphate across the Middle East, under the name of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a selfproclaimed caliph who is also the present leader of IS.
According to the U.K. Ministry of Defense, there are between 500 and 1,500 British citizens that have been recruited by IS. Social Studies Teacher Todd Pavel believes that the problem of British citizens joining IS lies in a philosophical alienation. “There’s always a desire to belong to some-
that because of the recent developments with IS, ASL security has been raised in multiple ways such as a new CCTV camera system and increased patrol hours. Head of Security Barak Favé thinks that despite ASL housing the second largest group of Americans in London (after the U.S. Em-
and the Wall Street Journal nearly 70 percent of Americans say they lack confidence that the U.S. will achieve its goals fighting IS. On September 26, the U.K. announced that it would join the U.S. on targeting IS. Beginning September 28, the Royal Air Force carried out air strikes in Iraq.
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News
Scottish independence Israel/Gaza conflict
IS poses threat to the UK LORENZO MAGLIONE STAFF WRITER
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Scottish independence vetoed CHARLOTTE YOUNG News Editor
The vote cast on September 18 was one that could have ended Scotland’s 307 year union with Great Britain. The question for Scottish people to vote on was a simple yes or no: Should Scotland be an independent country? On September 15, six students met in the Commons to debate whether Scotland should split from the United Kingdom. Brigitte Fink (’16), debated against Scotland seceding from the U.K., believes that the repercussions for Scotland to secede would have outweighed the benefits. “Their secession is just creating a whole array of issues which don’t even need to be created,” she said. “There would be benefits, and the worries of the Scots are viable and definitely have backing to them. There is no immediate problem and it’s a mutually beneficial relationship and therefore there is no inherent incentive for them to secede.” When the Scottish National Party (SNP) was elected, one of the key points of their campaign was for Scotland to become independent from the U.K. As a result, The Scottish Independence Referendum Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2013. Assistant Principal Karen Bonthrone, who was born in Scotland, is skeptical as to whether or not independence from the U.K. was the sole reason the SNP was voted into parliament as the majority. “The SNP, who are currently the leading
party in Scottish parliament, has always had this on their manifesto. This is one thing they said they would always do,” she said.
“If you ask a Scottish person, ‘what nationality are you,’ they’ll say ‘Scottish,’ they don’t say ‘I’m British.’” Karen Bonthrone Assistant Principal
The Act of Union in 1707, which created the United Kingdom by joining Scotland with Wales and England, was already unpopular from the perspectives of the Scots. Bonthrone believes that this disfavor is because Scots do not feel they are English. “A lot of it is emotional, it is about identity,” Bonthrone said. “That’s one thing you could probably say about Scots, there is that emotion behind it. If you ask a Scottish person, ‘what nationality are you?’ They’ll say ‘Scottish’, they don’t say ‘I’m British’.” Jack Potrykus (’16), who debated for Scottish independence, understands the emotional reasons for independence. “I think historically they have justification for it [since Scotland was] forced into the
union, but that was 300 years ago,” he said. The last referendums in the U.K. were in 1997, when Wales held a vote for the devolution of power to create the Welsh Assembly. This was followed a week later by a second devolution referendum for the creation of a Scottish Assembly. The economic and societal repercussions of Scotland seceding from the United Kingdom would not have solely affected the newly independent country. Both banks Llyods TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland had stated that if Scotland was to secede from the U.K., the banks would shift their head offices to London from Scotland. At the same time, the pound sterlingbecame weaker leading up to the referendum due to uncertainty of the vote’s outcome. If the results of the poll were that Scotland was to separate from the U.K., the pound sterling would have only fallen further as a result of the uncertainty of whether Scottish currency would continue to be the pound sterling. One important political outcome of the referendum for the Scottish Parliament is more power from the U.K.-wide political parties. This enlargement of power was contingent on if Scotland voted to continue to be part of the U.K. The Scottish independence referendum results showed that 55.3 percent of voters were against Scotland seceding from the U.K. Alex Salmond, who led Scotland’s bid for independence, announced a day after the vote that he would step down later this year as first minister of Scotland, and from the SNP.
55.3% of Scottish voters chose to stay with the United Kingdom
Voters for Scottish independence had to be at least
16
years of age or older
US History course comes under fire CHARLOTTE YOUNG News Editor
One of the most well-known Advanced Placement (AP) courses, AP United States History [APUSH], has come under fire recently by the Republican National Committee (RNC) after changes were made to the exam. The RNC claimed that the new exam “reflects a radically revisionist view of American history that emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history.” Kris Westgaard (’16), who is taking the course this year, first heard of the changes made to the AP exam and the claims made by the RNC over the summer. Westgaard does not agree with the challenges made to the exam. Claims by the RNC include that the revised AP does not require knowledge of specific figures who shaped America for the exam. “They brought up that nowhere does it mention Martin Luther King [Jr.] needs to
be known for the AP exam, meanwhile, we study the Civil Rights movement. When you study the Civil Rights movement, it includes people like Martin Luther King [Jr.],” he said. Social Studies Teacher Mike McGowan, who has been teaching AP United States History for 10 years, introduced this year’s U.S. History students to the course by telling them about the RNC’s push to change the AP exam. “For me it’s been really exciting to see all of this controversy over [APUSH] because it brings a lot of history to the course,” he said. When McGowan first heard the RNC’s admonishments of the new AP exams, he was “pretty skeptical largely because there have been these wars between conservatives and liberals over what is the ‘correct’ history of the United States. I always think it’s part of promoting another political agenda,” he said. McGowan believes that this political
Among the RNC’s claims is that figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. are not taught specifically in the course. PHOTO FROM US MARINE CORPS agenda is possibly linked with the upcoming midterm elections on November 4. McGowan speculates that the Republican Party has made these claims about the AP exam to create a “wedge issue”. McGowan explained that a wedge issue is one created by a political party to essentially
make voters decide between two candidates. “I don’t have proof of this, but I would not be surprised if a large part of this focus on the AP exam is aimed at some other larger political purpose,” he said. “When a political party makes a statement we can usually assume that statement has political purposes.”
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Summer of conflict
West AFTER THE DEATH OF FOUR israeli and palestinian TEENAGERSBank BETWEEN
JUNE ANd JULY, TENSIONS ERUPTED AGAIN, WITH ROCKETS FIRED from both sides
A
fter decades of hostility and violence between Israel and Palestine, tensions rapidly escalated again this past summer. In June, three Israeli boys: Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Fraenkel, and Gilad Shaar were kidnapped and murdered, with supporters of Hamas, who were not under the orders of the organization to kidnap and kill the boys, claiming responsibility for their deaths. As a response to the deaths of these three boys, an American-born Palestinian boy, Muhammad Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and burned in July. The kidnappers are widely reported to be Israeli Jews, with no affiliation to the Israeli government, however these reports remain unconfirmed.
Gaza
These two events were the main public aggravation from both sides that led to a summer of war and continued strain since then. The conflict came to head shortly after the death of Abu Khdeir on July 7 when 80 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) retaliated by launching Operation Protective Edge, where they entered parts of the Gaza Strip to explode tunnels as well as firing back at Gaza. The IDF’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip was in part to destroy tunnels that ran through northeast Gaza, under the border, and into southern Israel. Israel, seeing the
Gaza Strip Behind: A map of Israel and Gaza. Left: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu. Right: Senior Political Leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh. ILLUSTRATION FROM DORRELL, PHOTOS FROM OLIVIER DOULIERY AND AHMAD KHATEIB.
the tunnels to not exist, not in the sense that people should go back to being separated, but for there not have to be any tunnels,” he said. When the IDF were firing rockets from Israel into the Gaza Strip, they were accused of purposely bombing United Nations (U.N.) schools run in Gaza, killing children who were inside the buildings. The IDF justified their bombing of the U.N. schools by accusing Hamas of firing rockets close to the U.N. schools. At the same time, the U.N. has found catches for weapons in its schools. Hamas, on the other side, was accused of using Palestinians as human shields by deliberately telling them to stay in buildings after having information that Israel was going to bomb them, and also by hiding weapons in innocent civilians homes. According to the BBC, the struggle between Israel and Gaza this summer produced a death toll of more than 2,100 Palestinians. Many of the Palestinians who died were mainly civilians, while of 72 Israelis who died, 66 were military personnel. One reason for the contrasting death toll gaps between Israel and Palestine is Israel’s
Jerusalem
tunnels as an increasing threat, especially after a July 17 attack carried out by 10 Hamas fighters near the town of Sderot, entered Gaza to destroy them. The use of tunnels in Gaza to Israel and Egypt remain disputed. Because of the blockade that Israel has on Gaza, these tunnels have been used as a resource to smuggle supplies and goods into Gaza. Simultaneously, they have been used by Hamas to carry out attacks on Israel. The flare of conflict between Israel and Gaza this past summer is not an anomaly. While there have been international protests regarding rockets deployed from both sides this summer, violence and tension has
ISRAEL
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News
Tel Aviv
cHARLOTTE yoUNG | NEWS EDITOR
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Hebron
been ongoing between Israel and Palestine for decades after Israel was declared a Jewish state in 1948 and Jewish migration to the area increased as a result. Rami Kablawi (’16), who is Palestinian and was supposed to spend part of his summer in Gaza participating in a program called GoPalestine, which is based in Ramallah but takes trips to cities such as Nablus and Jerusalem. Kablawi instead spent his summer in Jordan because of safety concerns. While he does not support the use of the tunnels, he believes that there should be less segregation between Israel and Gaza, making the need for tunnels to decrease. “I think that the best situation would be for
During dialogue sessions, Sousou also noticed a recurring theme that campers from both sides did not agree with their governments’ handling of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. “It’s completely government against government. During the dialogues the Israelis were saying, ‘it’s not us who are sending the rockets over to Gaza’, and the Palestinians were saying that it wasn’t them who were sending over the rockets, it was Hamas,” he said. Recognizing the enmity between Israelis and Palestinians in an international context, the Middle East Club has sought to bring students who are from the Middle East or who have shown an interest in the area together. Two years ago, the Club focused on the conflict between Israel and Palestine during Middle East Night, where the theme was ‘Cousins’, showing that Arabs and Jews were intertwined rather than being two separate groups of people. English Teacher Peggy Elhadj, one of the club’s advisors, has put an emphasis on this type of peace between students from different areas in the Middle East. “The Middle
Sousou believes that both sides are to blame for the fighting, which is why resolution is so difficult when each side believes the other is to blame. “People aren’t able to see which side is wrong or which side is right, obviously neither is right or wrong, because one country is shooting a rocket at the other country and the other is responding by shooting a rocket back,” he said. A new aspect of the conflict is the unity government formed between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (P.L.O.) and Hamas. Hamas, which does not have a specific leader, is recognized by countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom as a terrorist organization according to The Council on Foreign Relations. Hamas has been seen this summer to take a more public role in the clash between Israel and Palestine while the P.L.O. has stepped back. According to The New York Times, many nearby Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt have reacted to Hamas’ Islamic fundamentalism by allying themselves with Israel. At the same time, nearby countries such as Qatar and Turkey continue to support Palestine.
Palestinians who live under Hamas rule are having to deal with a situation where they’re either getting Hamas or they’re getting Israeli power over the area,” he said. “It’s like if a gun was held up to your head and someone offers to pull you out at any means. I think you’ll always ask that person who is capable to take the gun away to do it.” Sheves, while understanding why the P.L.O. signed a unity agreement with Hamas, sees it as an impediment towards peace talks between Israel and Palestine. “I think Hamas is just a massive bump in the road, having that extremist group join in the conflict hurts the peace talks. But we’re always going to have those extremist groups from both sides, not just Hamas,” he said. While Egypt is still recovering from the Arab Spring of 2011, it has taken a leadership role in brokering peace talks between Israel and Palestine this summer. However, both sides have broken these ceasefires by firing rockets. Fayyad hopes that this round of peace talks will be successful after years of past failed ones, one of the most notable being the Oslo Accords in 1995, leading to the as-
THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND GAZA THIS SUMMER led to A DEATH TOLL OF more than 2,100 PALESTINIANS and 72 israelis
Dead Sea
Iron Dome, an air defense system that is designed to intercept and dismantle shortrange rockets. The Iron Dome is able to dismantle roughly 90 percent of the rockets fired at Israel. At the same time, Gaza is densely populated, which is a cause for the increased casualty rate in Gaza. Borders between Israel and Gaza are also closed, making it impossible for Palestinians to leave Gaza. Farid Sousou (’17), who is half Palestinian, spent part of his summer participating in the Seeds of Peace program in Maine. Seeds of Peace campers come from conflict-ridden areas around the world, as well as from other countries such as the United States. At the camp, they discussed international issues such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. What Sousou found while at Seeds of Peace was that Israelis and Palestinians had fundamentally different views of each other. “Most of the Palestinians were calling the IDF the occupation force while the Israelis were saying they were the defense force. When either person said either one they would start a fight over what the army actually was,” he said.
East Club has always sought to emphasize the fact that we are all part of the ASL family, regardless of our political beliefs,” she said. “We listen to each other respectfully, even during times when differing views are expressed with passion, such as during the Palestinian- Israeli debate held two years ago.” Ilay Sheves (’16), an Israeli, spent part of his summer in Israel during the conflict. For Sheves, not initially being in Israel over the summer when violence broke out was hard for both him and his family, as they wanted to be in the region, like many Israelis. “When you’re in the area you have that extra point of view on the situation. It’s so tough to see it from an outsider’s point of view. When I arrived in Israel it was the time when the flights were being delayed, I felt so lucky to return to Israel,” he said. Sheves feels extremely connected to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. “It means the world to me honestly. It means that my country is in danger of its’ survival. It saddens all of us that we have to have this ongoing conflict with our neighbors.”
Dima Fayyad (’16), a Palestinian who lived in Jordan until last year, believes that tension between Israel and Palestine had already been building up as a result of the unity agreement between the P.L.O. and Hamas before the deaths of the four boys. “There had been growing tension for a while since April between Israel and Palestine, after Hamas had finally signed [a reconciliation agreement] with the P.L.O. Maybe both sides were looking for an excuse to attack each other,” she said. However, Fayyad believes that not all Palestinians support Hamas, regardless of the unity between the group and the P.L.O. “A lot of people when they think of Palestine they think of Hamas, and that’s inaccurate because Palestinians don’t really agree with Hamas necessarily, it varies a lot. Some people obviously support them, some people don’t. They won in the elections by a slim percent, it wasn’t a huge win,” she said. Kablawi, on the other hand, while also not a supporter of Hamas, sees why Palestinians choose to pick them over the alternative of possible Israeli occupation. “The
sassination of then Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin. “Some people might think that Palestinians don’t really want these [peace talks] and that they want the attacks to continue, but to be quite honest, I don’t think either side does. They’re kind of at a point I think where they want to live in some form of harmony, or more than they have in the past at least because it’s just been going on for so long,” she said. At the same time, Fayyad sees impediments to peace because Egypt is a third party. “While what Egypt has been trying to do has been good, it’s also difficult to have someone from the outside who has taken a clear political side get involved.” While Fayyad is hopeful about peace between Israel and Palestine, she is skeptical of it actually happening. “It’s [the conflict] been going on for so long, it’s hard to see a clear ending or how that ending will look, but I do believe that neither side will stop until some sort of compromise has been reached,” she said. Talks between Israel and Gaza, brokered by Egypt, continued on September 23.
Opinions Page 6
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Opinions
School should start later ANKIT MEHRA
ILLUSRATION BY MICKEY SCHULKES
Creating a community we can all support preach the same message: We need to build a community, but if we are going to do it, we must do it the right way – together. Anger and protest aside, a critical and holistic look at the purpose of the initiative renders it quite ignorant to say we would be better off without an improved community. The clues are there to indicate that we do not have the most intimate of high schools. The typical depiction of our High School is students split up into cliques, content to form an impermeable social bubble around themselves. The recent Yik Yak craze only emboldened how willing we were to degrade one another behind each others’ backs. At times, we need a little more school spirit. And some students do need to learn to treat each other better. But to say that to fix these issues we need a complete culture change is erroneous and misleading. As an Editorial Board we believe that community is an edifice we can only build together, where the presence of individuals can account for each demographic and niche of the high school – not superficial initiatives that further alienate students from community. The Back-to-School Bash can only be described as a major success. That was because all of us, students, faculty, and administration, came together and had some fun on
a Friday evening by choice. We were not forced to sit awkwardly with our Alternatives group members on the first day of school; we were not forced to go on stage and “celebrate learning”; we were able to enjoy each others’ company in a natural, comfortable setting. As students, we need to realize that things aren’t perfect. Not everyone is content at ASL and not everyone has the sorts of social interactions that we would like. We have to understand that things can change for the better for everyone, as long as we work towards a common goal. The most important message, though, is for the administration. As an Editorial Board, we cannot support a forcefully imposed culture change that enlines with the elementary mentality that the adults, and only the adults, know best. It is time to put away this arrogance. Time and again have we proved capable of displaying the required maturity, and if not, well, perhaps it is time to be given the opportunity to learn. So simply put: Include students in the process. Tell us what the plan is and how you want to achieve it, let us advise you, let us help you. Let us communicate with you. Let’s work together for a more intimate community by working side by side with communication going back and forth. It’ll be much easier to work with us than against us.
Standard
the
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CARTOONISTS
JAMES MALIN Issues Editor
Peter Ryan, Mickey Schulkes
GABRIEL RUIMY Senior Editor CHARLOTTE YOUNG News Editor ZACK LONGBOY Lead Features Editor TYLER SKOW Features Editor MAYA JOTWANI Culture Editor NADIA SAWIRIS Culture Editor YARRA ELMASRY Photo Editor ANKIT MEHRA Online Editor SEBASTIAN MAYR STAFF WRITERS Lorenzo Maglione, Allie Zirinis STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Tania Veltchev, Kiran Rajguru
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ZACK ASHLEY Opinions Editor
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School should start later Symbiotic learning
ankit_mehra@asl.org
A school is not only a place to thrive and develop but a place to remember and to cherish, somewhere in which you not only find yourself, but also find others and, more importantly, a sense of belonging. That belonging, as experience will point out, is a byproduct of an inclusive and enjoyable community; one that we, as a school, and not only the administration or faculty, must define and cultivate. School is not a day job, and that’s what the administration-backed community building plan is trying to ensure and establish. The relatively new tenure of Principal Jack Phillips has almost exclusively been synonymous with the school’s new community initiative. New events, new philosophies, new positions – sometimes averse to change, it’s hard for the student body and faculty alike to see ASL change so drastically, but furthermore, change so drastically without the sense of shared ownership. The initiative insofar, to be blunt, has been met with its fair share of mockery and cynicism – a practice that Phillips ironically condemned at the High School’s first assembly. Admittedly, members of The Standard’s Editorial Board were amongst these cynics, often wholeheartedly disagreeing with some of the methods used in trying to achieve this higher community. But today we nonetheless
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
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“
It is scientifically proven that it is impossible for both adolescents and adults to become used to getting ‘less sleep’
With start times for high schools suddenly being scrutinized across America, it is time that ASL changes the current 8:05 a.m. start time.Research done by The Atlantic states that adolescents require an average of nine and a quarter hours of sleep per night, U.S. teens currently average seven and a half hours of sleep per night. Melatonin is a sleep hormone concerned with the regulation of the reproductive cycle. it is released later at night, which makes it difficult for adolescents to fall asleep prior to 11 p.m. Teens may actually be more “awake” or “fresh” at 10 p.m. than they are earlier in the day due to melatonin. An individuals biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycle shifts to a later sleep and wake time as children become adolescents. This means that it is crucial that growing teenagers are able to get the sleep that is necessary, by altering potential time for sleep, to help imrove academic and personal success. Melatonin makes it harder for teens to wake and be alert before 8 a.m. With homework, stress, and studying all playing a role in the everyday lives of students, sleep can sometimes prove to be a non-factor. I, for one, know that there have been nights where the anxiety of a test has
Progress Report PERRY
FORKS
ITALIANS
increasingly become greater, causing for late night study sessions. I believe that ASL’s start time should be moved an hour later; even the smallest amount can make a difference for the growing minds of developing adolescents. For Nauset High in Eastham, Massachusetts, one of the first schools to change their start time, the productivity was evident as they reported a 53 percent drop in the number of failing grades, a 38 percent decline of D’s and F’s as well as the number of days students were suspended for disciplinary reasons plummeting from 166 in the first two months of the 2012 - 2013 academic year to 19 days in September and October of 2013 2014 academic year. All it took was moving the schools start time one hour later. Though the construct of free periods exists within the school, the chance to get an adequate amount of sleep only occurs once in an eight day cycle, if, and only if, procrastination does not occur. W According to the study in The Atlantic, of the 9,000 students monitored from eight high schools, spanning over three states, benefits of increased sleep include improved overall test scores as well as a 65 to 70 percent decrease in car accidents involving adolescents.
According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation, 90 percent of parents acknowledge the “great value” of sleep, but one fourth of those parents conclude that their children regularly get an hour less than what’s recommended. It is scientifically proven that it is impossible for both adolescents and adults to become used to getting “less sleep”. A sufficient amount of sleep for adoloscents is essential. This is due to the fact that a lack of sleep affects the mood of an adolescent as well as the ability for adolescents to regulate their moods during a growth period of their lives. Not only does a lack of sleep effect an adolescents ability to think, but it also hinders their ability to perform and react appropriately and safely in various situations. Though there are cons such as less time spent with friends after school, less time to study and almost the encouragement for students to sleep later with this adjustment, the fact that students can come to school with an increased attitude and awareness that is positive towards learning is something that should be regarded as indispensable by schools, and delaying the start time of school would go a long way in achieving this.
PHOTOS 2, 3, 4, 5 AND 6 BY YARRA ELMASRY; PHOTO 1 BY KIRAN RAJGURU
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Morning Announcements: (F) Sure, we all love see1. a teacher try to conceal annoyment, but what other 4. The staff of The ing benefits do the morning announcements offer? Those
minutes at the start of class are very often the most Standard give ASL its five important. This is a high school, not a middle school, StuCo. Ian Scoville first progress report of James Perry’s Southern Charm: (A-) This man could 5. anything at an assembly and it wouldn’t matter the year 2. spew all thanks to his natural charm, boyish good looks, and exemplary sense of fashion. (P.S. this was written before our little chat). Zack Ashley
Reading List: (D) I have been waiting to read 3. Summer the Lord of the Rings trilogy for years, unfortunately I found myself reading Jane Eyre. Tyler Skow
6.
Plastic Forks: (F) When you have to go to a meeting, the most inconvenient thing to do is running down before class starts to return your fork to the cafeteria. Bring our disposable forks back, please. Nadia Sawiris (Certain) Italians in the High School: (B+) Their language rolls off their tongue. Naturally handsome people. Stefano rocks a satchel, Filo’s curls undulate like the Sicilian sea and Ale is ballin’. Gabriel Ruimy Decorations at Bottom O: (A) Nothing brightens up my day like the myriad of photos of Tarush Gupta (’15), Mir Riaz (’15) and Jack Roberts (’15) at Bottom Orange. A special thank you to the Perry/Phillips duo for allowing these pictures to stay up. James Malin Post Scriptum: JACK LIME IS A GREAT MAN.
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Opinions
Evaluating why we go abroad
ZACK ASHLEY
zack_ashley@asl.org
“
Equally degrading is posing for pictures with little kids, as if they’re objects, and hoping it gets us a good amount of likes on our next Instagram post.
IAN SCOVILLE
ian_scoville@asl.org
“
An environment has to be created where students are forced to take ownership for getting themselves the support they need.
Imagine this scenario. A student posts a picture of themself wearing “disheveled” clothing, with an ear to ear smile, holding an adorable African or South Asian child as a prop. It’s not a hard thing to picture is it? That’s probably because the average person at ASL saw these photos popping up across social media this summer. It begs the question, why do we serve? What is the real significance of going where we go and trying to help? Are the trips we take over the summer really helping anyone, or are their main function social networking attention and resumé building? My cynicism doesn’t extend far enough to say that any form of service over the summer went to waste. There are plenty of opportunities to provide genuine service and I praise anyone who went out of their way to help people this summer, without the involvement of an incentive. My cynicism extends more to organized trips that send upper class teenagers to third world countries across the world to do “service”. My first issue with this is the idea that privelaged 16-year-olds have a better idea than locals of these respective places on how to improve the community. One could say they’re lending their labor but they’re not experts on how to build or farm, and certainly are more useless than people that do that for a living. You could also say that they are lending their funds to the project by paying for the trip, but that’s not their money, they didn’t do anything to earn it. The fact that we think we can go to these countries and immediately be of service and know better than the people that live there what is best for them is downright degrading. Equally degrading is posing for pictures with little kids, as if they’re objects, and hoping it gets us a
good amount of likes on our next Instagram post. There is nothing wrong with going on these types of trips for the experience. I personally love travelling and believe going to a different country is a great way to learn. I went on a summer program to a different country and had a great time. This trip wasnt meant to be for service though, I went for my own personal reasons. Unfortunately, not everyone goes on these trips for personal gain. On my trip I heard on countless occasions, “this is going to look so good for colleges” and “which one should I upload to Facebook?”. I even witnessed tourists paying young children they found cute to take pictures with them. It’s a dangerous and degrading mindset that we often find ourselves falling into. It is importang to be conscious of how we act and portray ourselves when we travel abroad. Stereotypes in our society often paint pictures of inferiority
the cracks. Emails are automatically sent home when students perform badly in a course, deans are notified when a student fails a test, and the attendance policy has been strengthened to ridiculous levels. Put simply, the cracks have been filled. But by beginning the implementation of these new policies, the administration has set up a situation where the student’s responsibility for maintaining a support network has been taken away. By going over a students head and making sure that all important-parties know a student is struggling, the crucial aspect of self-responsibility has been taken away. It is being made so that it is no longer our job to seek help. Students should be the ones to tell their deans that they are struggling in a class. Students should be the ones to tell their deans that they’re having a hard time with a friend. Students should be the ones who are responsible for getting to class. The best option for reforming this system is not to strictly-regulate our lives, but to improve the available avenues for
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Opinions The symbiotics of learning GABRIEL RUIMY
gabriel_ruimy@asl.org
ILLUSRATION BY MICKEY SCHULKES in respect to the people in the countries which so many of us visit. When we bring these stereotypes into the way we carry ourselves abroad it can be detrimenta to our opportunity to learn from others abroad, our ability to gain proper experience from the new places we are visiting and our endeavors to show proper respect to the people who are kind enough to have us in their country.
Creating a better support system Although it may often be an underappreciated issue, the most important conversation we need to be having as a school right now is that of setting up our support systems. Whether we like it or not, we, as students, need a strong support network. We need a group of people to be ther for us in our toughest times, and to advise us on our future. We are still only teenagers, unable to always make the tough decisions. We still need the support of our elders. The current support system we have in the high school – based around a dean system – works well for the most part. Students are able to get the advice that they need from someone with experience, and when times are difficult, they have someone they can talk to. But, as I see it, a crucial piece of our support network risks being undermined by new initiatives developed by the administration. This key piece: Trust. New policies are being developed to ensure that students don’t fall through
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
offering us support. The concept of developing an advisory system instead of a dean system is a good one. Having someone who we can build a relationship with, perhaps even more so than in our current dean system, is an excellent way to force us to build a strong support network. But the solution has to be greater than just having a stronger relationship with one adult in the school. An environment has to be created where students are forced to take ownership for getting themselves the support they need, and not a system where we are spied on from afar to make sure we don’t mess up. The only thing I can think of that would force this environment to form is mandatory, regular meetings with a student’s dean, a trusted teacher, or in the future, their advisor. All too often students ignore the help that is so readily available to them, making the safety net that has formed necessary. For a school that prides itself on creating “future leaders” it needs to allow us a bit of independence.
When we start paying attention to details, and formulating opinions, and testing them out, we, as individuals or groups, learn. When we learn we attain a further level of understanding which enables us in infinite ways; we learn to progress. Historians and students alike will agree that one of the ages that mark human intellectualism is the Renaissance, an era that coincided not mistakenly with the Age of Discovery. We looked around us and started asking questions: What is the quickest way to Asia? How do I place a large golden sphere atop a 100 meter dome? Why do rivers and oceans bear a strong semblance to veins and the heart? Eventually, we got the answers – though not always to the questions we posed, Christopher Columbus could say in hindsight. But the collection of wisdom we accrued over a couple of decades was marked by the rebirth of an ideal so central to learning and so central to knowledge that, when without it, Europeans spent centuries walking down the same paths the Romans had carved us – quite literally, Roman roads were used in Britain for centuries after the empire lost the island. That fundamental ideal was the symbiotics of learning. A spider provides protection for a tree with its ensnaring web while the tree provides food to the spider by attracting bugs into that web. This example of symbiosis in nature seems rather abstract to apply to the practice of learning, but in fact, it is the clear epitome of the mindset that enabled polymaths to be polymaths and geniuses to be geniuses. You are neither the spider, nor the tree: You, and I, we are the entire biological system, the biome. Diversity and variety lend themselves to complexity but moreover to ability; a jungle with multiple species will be able to cultivate life much more expediently than a desert will, and a student with multiple skills will be able to entertain problems more numerous and harder than another with limited skill. The spider, you can say, is your experience with biology, the tree, on the other hand, is your skill at drawing portraits – both reach an otherwise unattainable degree of excellence when you are adept at either. Leonardo da Vinci, the name often cited
According to the article, the spider represents one of an individual’s many skills ILLUSTRATION BY PETER RYAN for artistic prowess and pictorial genius, studied the engineering and workings of nature and anatomy long before painting Mona Lisa; he knew that nothing is ever complete, and much less so when isolated: “Every part is disposed to unite with the whole, that it may thereby escape from its own incompleteness.” Albert Einstein, an author of modern physics and all things nuclear, found in physics and math his second passion. Years before, when he was 13 to be exact, he found a love profound enough to last him a lifetime: It was the violin. Einstein never entertained the thought of a professional musical career, but he understood that relegating a passion to the status of hobby was a disservice to himself and his capabilities. The relationship music played to his science was so intrinsic that it rooted itself at the origin of all of his thoughts: “I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music,” he said. That, though, is not to say, abandon physics and start painting, or ignore calculus and start singing. That is to say, continue physics but try painting, keep to calculus but attempt singing. When I moved to England eight years
ago, I knew the words pig, apple and sunshine. It was hard to communicate, apart from those six days of the year where it didn’t rain. But instead of learning the bare minimum with which a French-Moroccan immigrant can be excused, I started reading and I started writing. Not only did I find in literature something that molded my everyday thoughts, but in practicing writing – both creative and journalistic, that is – I created the perspective with which I approach everything from a five-paragraph essay to a conversation with a stranger. Prowess in literary analysis and writing lent itself to my abilities to understand and to communicate; another relationship was established in the biome that I am, so to say. The educational experience is as rich as the breadth we allow it to expand to. It’s like dropping ink into a glass of water: You want to make sure the glass is as full as it can be. Try new things, join other clubs, play more sports, partake in everything your time allows you and you’ll see the pleasure of an excited brain – the pre-overdose Bradley Cooper in Limitless is really an attainable level, you just have to find the right stimuli.
We are as rational as we are abstract, and tinkering all along that spectrum is what allows us to be creative and to be exact. It is abominable to think that experiences – academic, social, emotional, or physical – are one-dimensional; it is ignorant and an intellectual crime tantamount to burning a book, for the reason that by confining learning to one compartment of your life, you are depriving the rest of yourself from benefiting from it. Some of us have four years of high school left, some of us have a handful of months left, but it is never too late to start something. And however trivial you think it might be, however ephemeral the experience you think it will be, it never is: Pay attention and every little scrap of your time will become a wealth of knowledge. I have no background in neurodynamics or psychology, neither do I command the authority to talk professionally about education, all I have is the humble experience of an observant student of 13 years. What I can advise from that is to try anything, abandon some things, but remember everything; try things, explore things, and you will see in all things growth. You will see, as Da Vinci said, that “experience never errs.”
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Opinions
Opinions
Israel and Gaza amidst conflict and destruction The conflict in Israel and Gaza this summer caused and had varying effects for even more than personal experiences and
NADIA SAWIRIS
nadia_sawiris@asl.org When we read a headline relating to the death of children, it is a natural reaction for us to be abhorred; unfortunately, it often comes to cloud intelligent judgment on a more holistic level. At the start of summer, I let media, and only media, influence my point of view on what was occurring in the turbulent Middle East. Through social media, such as Instagram, Tumblr, and other image-sharing services, I was exposed to perturbing images, such as that of an Israeli soldier pointing a rifle at a Palestinian toddler. I became infuriated at the Israelis, likening them to butchers.
SEB MAYR
sebastian_mayr@asl.org Ninety kilometers to my south a man is plotting an attack on my vicinity, a small city to the north of Tel-Aviv. Safely hidden under one of Gaza’s countless “terror tunnels”, his next decision remains capricious, albeit an imminent one. Comfortably sitting in my own bedroom, which has of late been used as a temporary bomb shelter and is somewhat sequestered from the turmoil unfolding throughout the country, I can only speculate the surge of fear endured by the Iron Dome-free citizens of Gaza. A technological phenomenon no doubt, I almost feel guilty, sheltered by this impenetrable bubble, consolidated by the fact that the majority of Hamas rocket’s will immediately be intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces (I.D.F.). My thoughts immediately return to the soldiers fighting on the frontline risking their lives for my safety, the recent public outcry by United States President Barack Obama and other Western leaders con-
I was convinced about my opinion to the point where I would get into heated debates with anyone who disagreed with me. This was until I considered other people’s points of view. In a conflict as complex as the current situation in the Middle East, there are many factors that come into play – and looking at humanitarian casualties of small instances is ignorant to say the least. The Gaza-Israel conflict is simply not a “but they started it” war - it has escalated to a point where there is no clear aggressor and no clear victim. In an effort to educate myself on the topic, and make sure my opinion was not blatantly ignorant such as ones usually found in Facebook statuses and Instagram posts, I read up a bit. I looked at the history of the region and conflict, read articles from a variety of sources and talked to people from both regions in order to be exposed to different views. I soon came to the realization that what seemed to be a form of massacre was ac-
tually a two-sided conflict for survival. On one end, the Israelis were defending their people and their livelihoods, who have been time and again persecuted for the nature of their religion since the dawn of time. On the other are the quarantined Palestinians, who are being deprived of a society, an economy, and more importantly, a life with security. Photos assimilating the Israeli Defence Forces (I.D.F.) to Hitler’s Nazi regime, or depicting a Machiavellian Hamas force using its citizens as a human shield immediately resembled the propaganda that pacified the world into genocide in the 20th century. When I spoke to an Israeli friend of mine, she emphasized that if it were up to Hamas, they would annihilate her people – stating that the only reason her country is acting the way they are is to avoid that. She constantly referred to it as an act of self-defence towards people who, most of the time, shoot first during ceasefires. “If we actually wanted to kill
them, why would we tell them to evacuate before we bomb them?” she asked me. I don’t have an answer, and I don’t think anyone has the right answer. But that’s not what I’m here to argue: People must be knowledgeable on a topic before giving it an opinion, in the same way you expect a judge to hear the evidence before passing a verdict. What I know is that I’m not Palestinian, nor Israeli. I haven’t been bombed and forced out of the home that my ancestors have been living in for generations, nor persecuted and hated for the association of my faith. The conflict is not black and white, as decades of stalemates and still no solution will point out, so I urge you all to look past your emotions – those often elicited by the sensationalized media – and to look to information. Look around and have an open mind towards ideas that may differ to yours. It’s like any debate in World Civilizations, do your research or you sound ignorant.
cerned about the preservation of innocent lives within Gaza. An array of unanswered questions flood my mind. Was there truly an I.D.F. sponsored attack on the United Nations (U.N.) school in Rafah that prompted the organizations leader, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to condemn Israel’s alleged immoral and criminal act? Were the “terror tunnels” intentionally constructed by the Islamic Jihad and Hamas to infiltrate Israeli territory on Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish New Year festival, and take as many Israelis captive as possible? While the I.D.F. continues to nullify Hamas’ rocket attacks, which have paralyzed citizens with perturbation throughout the country, over 60 I.D.F. and six Israeli civilians have died, while sustaining over 1,300 injuries. Meanwhile, some 1,900 Gazans and militants- among them innocent children and civilians- have been killed by the conflict. I continue to question whether several of these deaths were indeed orchestrated by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, using methods of martyrdom and human shields to instil a sense of purpose and fuel surges of anti-Semitism throughout Europe and the globe? I fail to understand why many Palestinians who usually renounce violence supported Hamas’ recent endeavors. Yet I’ve also been confronted with videos and images of Israeli Jews watching from a hill in the town of Sderot, applauding the Iron Dome
defense system shooting down incoming rockets and cheering as Israeli airstrikes penetrated and repeatedly hit Gaza. I worry for the owner of a delicatessen on the corner of my street, Igal. With both of his son-in-laws called up for their respective military duties, he seems increasingly despondent these past days. Known for his benevolent and spirited character, Igal’s emotional hardship leads me to reconsider the gravity of the situations possible ramifications. To Igal’s own consternation, one of his son-in laws suffered three bullets to the stomach and hand one week later, a stark reminder of the ever-present peril unfolding within Gaza. In late July, playing tennis just north of Tel-Aviv one night, a disconcerting siren echoes throughout the neighborhood, causing civilians, including myself, to drop our rackets and find the nearest shelter. Despite Israel’s unprecedented attempts to avoid human casualties, I am wholeheartedly convinced the I.D.F. is not purposely targeting innocent civilians, as countless articles and leaders have alleged. Israel’s economically crippling blockade has certainly exacerbated the conflict. It is unacceptable that 1.8 million Palestinians continue to live in an open-air prison. Rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure through the free flow of construction and building materials may be the best way to achieve safety
and security. Yet how can this be made possible when the materials are instead used to create the terror tunnels? It pains me to think of the motives behind constructing such a sophisticated and extensive tunnel network. These tunnels required years of planning and millions of dollars to build, diverting a significant amount of funds which could have instead been allocated towards improving Gaza’s faltering infrastructure with the addition of buildings, schools and hospitals. I cannot begin to express my relief over the recently open-ended truce agreement between both nations. While the gruesome images and terrifying realities of Operation Protective edge linger on, I do believe Palestine and Israel can reach a conclusive deal appeasing both, although Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has refused to discuss the opening of the Rafah border. Having returned to a more serene environment since my stay in Israel, I ask of the man hiding beneath his terror tunnel, was it worth it? How did it feel when more than 3,500 attempts failed to subdue and terrorize a nation? What was it like for him, watching an impervious bubble protect over eight million citizens, maintaining a near 90 percent success rate? This was the third war between Hamas and Israeli forces since 2009, and it won’t be the last, unless the proper lessons are finally learned.
massive amounts of destruction and fatalities, those killed. Four ASL students share their opinions concerning the conflict
TYLER SKOW
tyler_skow@asl.org Firstly, let me declare that I have never been to Israel or Palestine; I have no family members who live there. My knowledge comes only from what friends have told me and what can be read in newspaper or watched on television. However, over the summer I was captivated by the events taking place in Israel and Palestine, so I dug a little bit deeper and reached a few conclusions. I believe this conlfict it is without a doubt the largest international conflict of the century. Two states, stained by injustice, desperate for acknowledgment and fair treatment. This conflict has
TAMARA MASRI
tamara_masri@asl.org Last month, on August 26, I was relieved to hear that a ceasefire had finally been signed ending the latest round of armed aggression in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel. This summer I got my first taste of what it is like to be under occupation and an imposed curfew after witnessing Israeli soldiers raiding the near by Balata refugee camp in the middle of the night. Balata is a refugee camp on the edge of Nablus that houses Palestinians who were exiled during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. During my time this summer, I was staying at Tomorrow’s Youth Organization, an American nonprofit organization that enables disadvantaged children, youth and parents in Palestine to realize their potential as healthy, active and responsible family and community members. One morning I faced children who had endured terrorizing attacks on their refugee camps the night before. Israeli soldiers were culpable for these attacks. The children
claimed the lives of women, children, soldiers, doctors, Jews and Muslims alike and has no clear end in sight. My understanding is that some 67 years ago the United Nations (U.N.) provided the Jewish community with a basic right, a right that they had been denied for centuries: The right to have a home, a place where they were in the majority. In this case, the justice done for the Jews proved to be an injustice for the Muslims living in what was Palestine, as at the expense of the Zionist movement, they were forced to leave their homes. The second conclusion I reached is far more alarming. What has now become an international spectacle for foreign policy makers worldwide, the Israel-Palestine conflict is a movement that has the potential to completely wipe Palestine off of the map. In 1946, modern-day Israel was nearly completely in Palestinian majority. Originally what is modern-day Israel, Palestinians are now spread out through the West Bank and the Gaza Stip.
This huge reduction in land mass has resulted in more than 4.7 million Palestinian refugees. From a western perspective, and coming from a country built off of the sentiment of different immigrants coming together to find peaceful coexistence, it can be difficult to imagine why this is such a dangerous situation. However, the need for Palestinian self determination, at this point is needed in order to preserve a nation with unique culture and history, otherwise, it may be wiped off of the map entirely. The fall of Yugoslavia epitomizes the danger of different ethnic groups living underneath the same roof, as upon its breakup into seven different nations, entire ethnicities were cleansed from society. Such conflicts arise when there’s a yearning to control disputed land and cultural differences that divide two factions, which is seen between Palestine and Israel. My third conclusion is that no one side is ‘right’. In such a conflict, it is impossible to claim that one side is more morally
explained that their fathers were arrested – without warrants – their bedrooms were trashed, and everything in site was burned to the ground. The Israeli soldiers were in search for answers as to the whereabouts of the three missing Israeli settlers, after being kidnapped in the West Bank. Their kidnapping was one of the tipping points in a series of bilateral altercations which resulted in a mutual downpour of bombs on the Gaza Strip and southern Israel this summer. However, due to the unbalanced access to resources, Israel’s armed aggression led to a larger death toll and devastation in the Gaza Strip. This reckless war should be the last. The task before both sides now is to end the 47 year occupation over the West Bank and Gaza, and to rebuild Palestinian lives and homes from the devastation and destruction that has occurred. It is also time for the Palestinian and Israeli leadership, with American mediation, to establish a Palestinian state and to remove the three-metre wide, eightmetre high wall (declared illegal by the UN resolution 10/14) that encloses Palestinians within the West Bank. Despite the fact that Gaza has been under siege for the last seven years, half a million Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes, I still believe that the spirit of justice and common sense can prevail. Palestinians and Israelis need to work together to foster a feeling of partnership be-
tween the two people in order to gain prosperity, a better future for their children and the ability to move freely on Palestinian land. I recently read an article on CNN, written by Steve Almasy and Josh Levs, reporting that Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel had appeared in a new ad campaign stating that the conflict between Gaza and Israel is a battle between “those [Israelis] who celebrate life and those [Palestinians] who champion death.” One statement that Wiesel consistently returns to is that Palestinian hatred and the desire to destroy Israel is the root of the problem in the current conflict, and not that Israel is occupying Palestinian territories. Once Palestinians love their own children more than they hate Jews, says Wiesel, the conflict can be resolved. In contrast, I believe that the problem lies with the Israelis failing to see Palestinians as they truly are, human beings seeking simple justice and liberty. Their opposition to occupation doesn’t come from anti-Semitism nor is it rooted in educated hatred. Just like the children I worked with this summer, all Palestinians simply want to be free. I met a Palestinian spoken word artist this year named Rafeef Ziadah and in one of her poems she is prompted with the question, “Don’t you think that everything would be resolved if you would just stop teaching so much hatred to your children?” Her response is precisely my message, “We teach life, sir.”
deserving than the other. Nevertheless, Western nations have favored Israel and this has proven costly to the construction of any solution. The U.S. pro-Israel policy stems from a relationship that has grown over decades. Acting as blockade against Soviet expansion in the Middle East, Israel became a close ally of the U.S. during the Cold War. This displays a relationship the U.S. has forged out of cold hearted strategic gain, which consequently has left little support for the Palestinians. The Israeli-Palestine conflict has been perpetuated by the hegemonic support from Western powers towards Israel; thus this conflict is only resolvable if the international community provides Palestine with international legitimacy and immediate foreign aid. We have to remember that the Palestinians have to overcome exile from their home. However, I believe if the palestinians are presented with the ability to self-determine, like their Israeli counterparts, then peace can be found.
1,881 Palestinian Deaths
67 Israeli Deaths
6,761 total missiles fired STATISTICS FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES PHOTOS FROM FLICKR/WISEGIE AND FLICKR/NICOLASRAYMOND
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Culture Editor Nadia Sawiris sits down with new Director of Student Life James Perry to discuss his goals, his job description and duties, as well as his personal life 1. What are the parameters that differentiate the new position Director of Student Life and the old title Dean of Students? I think historically, “Dean of Students” carries with it more of a disciplinary feel, someone who is in charge of making sure that the rules and procedures are clear. I think the change to “Director of Student Life” gives it the feel of the entire emotional and social well-being of the student.
2. Joe Chodl, your predecessor, was prominently in charge of admonishing students. Will you continue this role, and if so, how will you balance your role as a ‘friend’ to the students in addition to your role as a disciplinarian? I think the biggest thing is letting kids know that it’s okay to make a mistake. I think you need to make the rules very clear... And then, when a kid slips up and he does something, whatever that punishment may be, [let] them understand that they are not necessarily judged because of that. We all make mistakes, and in the past, I’ve been able to have great relationships with kids that I’ve reprimanded or disciplined in some way. So when I see that kid, a day later, it’s not that I look at them any differently, or look down at them.
4. Define “community”. When I think of community, I think of an interconnected set of people, places and events, that all have something in common. For ASL, I think it’s both geographic [and] people who are part of the ASL community who don’t necessarily go to school here. Maybe they work here in some capacity, or maybe it’s the guy who serves coffee at Starbucks or sandwiches at Bruno’s. Anyone who has a hand in interacting with a child’s educational experience at ASL I would say is part of our community.
5. What changes do you hope to implement in the High School? Before I implement any changes I need to figure out sort of what works right now and what doesn’t work and what is needed. I get the feeling early on that there are a lot of things that were done in the past that were sort of done off the cuff, maybe without policies or procedures, so establishing more strict guidelines, not necessarily being more strict from an un-adult point of view, but establishing more clear rules and guidelines for how things operate.
3. What are your goals as a new member of the administration of ASL?
6. Do you think that there is a strong pressure on the students to academically perform a certain way?
My goals as far as the students are concerned is that everybody feels safe and welcome here and because of that, they’re able to get the best education they can. [And], because of those first two things, that they can then have a great time, have fun and leave ASL saying “I love that place.”
I think that there’s pressure at every American institution to perform academically, I think a lot of it is college-driven, it’s parent-driven, it’s also studentdriven, AP-driven, so I suppose some of that pressure is healthy, but I wish it wasn’t all there.
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Cliques Cheating
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Features
10 Questions
7. If you had to go on a date with one celebrity, who would it be?
8. If you were to be reincarnated as a vegetable, which one would it be and why?
When I was younger I had a huge crush on Elisabeth Shue, because she was the star in... I think it was Adventures in Babysitting; huge crush on her. And then maybe Scarlett Johansson, but I’ve already cleared that with my wife; she’s aware of those two.
A carrot, I like carrots. I like raw carrots. I like how they can be dirty, you can peel them for two seconds and then you have this great snack. They taste sweet to me and I think they’re good for your eyesight.
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Meet Director of Student Life James Perry 9. What was the last show you binge-watched? House of Cards, and before that, Breaking Bad. [My wife and I] only watched three or four [episodes of House of Cards] a day. The worst I ever got was a few years ago, with Prison Break, I kind of got addicted. The most recent [television series] I watched was Fargo, it’s one season and based on the movie Fargo that came out five or 10 years ago. It’s good; I recommend it.
10. Tell us about your dog. I love our dog. Her name is Georgina, and her birthday is (September 4), she turns one year old. She’s a golden retriever, she was a birthday present for me, I got her in late October, a week before I heard about the possibility of this job. Had it been the other way around, had I heard about this job and then the thought of a dog came up, I might have said no, so we brought her over here and we love her. Until we have kids, she’s sort of our de facto child and she’s a lot of fun.
Perry was named to the newly created position in February 2014. PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY
THE NEXT
ERA
Principal Jack Phillips entered the community last year, cognizant that though the school was a remarkable institution, there was one stone missing, one crucial piece of the edifice that was superficial or, worse yet, non-existent: A community. Continues on pages 14-15
James Malin | Issues Editor
Gabriel Ruimy | Senior Editor Ian Scoville | Editor-in-Chief
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
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Features
Features
I WANT THIS PLACE TO FEEL LIKE HOME FOR EVERYBODY... DIRECTOR OF STUDENT LIFE JAMES PERRY
From the Top Like almost all initiatives at the school, building community is rooted in the administration’s job of implementing the 2010 Strategic Plan. “It’s almost impossible for me to talk about what’s happening at the school without referring to the strategic plan ... together, the faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees developed a unified vision of the direction [of the school],” Head of School Coreen Hester said. That unified vision included a commitment to developing an inclusive and diverse community. Point three of the Strategic Plan reads, “we must also reaffirm our commitment to inclusivity in order to strengthen our supportive and engaged community on campus and worldwide.” The true agent for the change requested, however, didn’t arrive until the 2013-2014 school year. “The appointment of Phillips was a really important one. Because he came in and he didn’t have a particular agenda, and he got to the end of the year, and he said, ‘This is what’s missing.’ So he’s the one really who’s done a good job of clarifying [our community],” Hester said. Although Phillips’ arrival provided a catalyst for developing community in the High School, the belief that change is required has existed for a long time. “It’s been a while that we’ve been thinking how does the high school feel, how does a High School student feel connected. So it’s not so much that we thought there was something really wrong, but something that we thought could be better,” Hester said. With both an agent and motivation for change, the
stage was set for changes to the high school’s community.
Community examined Chief among Phillips’ many goals for ASL lies the desire for an inclusive, holistically positive community – a place where everyone feels comfortable. “When a student feels they are safe and they belong, and they have that school spirit, that they feel part of something bigger than themselves, they are going to do better in their academic learning,” Phillips said. This sentiment is shared by Director of Student Life James Perry. “I want this place to feel like home to everybody – it doesn’t mean being friends with everybody, but having a couple friends they can confide in, and also a couple of [teachers] that they can confide in too.” The ambitions for community expand beyond simply creating a “home” for students, however. The administration also wants to foster a community wherein all students have the same desire to learn. “As a school, the intellect has to be at the center,” Phillips said “We are in the business of thinking.” Where the high school stands on creating a community based on intellect is up for debate. Head of Academic Advising and College Counselling Patty Strohm believes that “the learning has gotten deeper, kids are doing more sophisticated kinds of schoolwork than they did six years ago.” In agreement with Strohm, Science Teacher David Partridge expresses a sense of anticipation with regards to the newfound emphasis being placed on intellect. “I
personally didn’t identify the need to create this [intellectual] community, but if [Phillips] did, then let’s see what he means by it and see where it goes,” he said. Though the implementation of community didn’t arise from a call from faculty, many teachers and staff have rallied behind the call for inclusivity and pervasive friendship in the High School. “I can’t speak for the faculty, but I can speak for a large number of them. I can say that we feel positive about, holistically, that the High School is progressing,” Partridge continued. The budding community, though, entertains dissent in some questions about the future and what it will mean for the school “Tensions will erupt as individuals and groups within the community struggle to define, interpret and transform the master narrative. That seems to be what we are currently witnessing in the High School,” English Teacher Stephan Potchatek said. At the heart of the wary mindset is the fear of the irreparability of such a groundbreaking change. “It cannot be overstated: The collective memory of an organisation like ours is of profound importance to the successful working of that organization,” Potchatek said. Implementing the community initiative – as well as the other plans of the administration – was presented with what Phillips, at the time, considered a potential roadblock: 21 teachers were leaving, and 21 new teachers had to be hired. The unprecedented turnover inspired a sense of trepidation in Phillips at the time. “About six months ago I was wishing it was going a bit slower, particularly around personnel changes. Now that we’re here, I’m so glad that the people who are here are here in
terms of what they bring to the table and the experts that they are,” he said. In retrospect, Phillips views the experience garnered through the turnover as ultimately beneficial for himself and the High School as a whole. “I had to see it as an opportunity. And now I’m seizing the opportunity. Looking at it now, we’re going to do some things a little differently now. I’m very lucky, I get to build that team, and hire people that are aligned with your vision, it’s a very nice opportunity.” With the new teachers on board, Phillips feels the time has come for forward thinking. What that will look like, he doesn’t know yet; what is certain, though, is that there is unequivocal support behind the community initiative.
Following through the cracks Creating a homely environment based on intellect is only half the goal, however. The administration also wants to ensure that all students feel tethered to the school in some manner — whether that be anything from extracurriculars to athletics. “I think that’s something that Phillips and I and Strohm and all the deans and all the counsellors, are looking at: The best system we can put in place to prevent kids from falling through the cracks,” Perry said. Perry identifies the common misconception that only students whose struggles are ostensibly obvious need help; instead, he believes that the students who fly under the radar go without help. “Usually, it’s a kid who’s do-
ing okay, their grades aren’t bad enough to sound any alarms, but there’s something not right and that kid needs help. With the right systems in place, I think we can do a better job of helping those kids,” he said. The goal is a support system bolstered by both teachers and the administrative team. “Nobody likes that some students fall through the cracks. So [the teachers] are looking to help,” Phillips said. An avenue currently being explored is to offer students a homebase in school in the form of an advisory program. While the planning is in the formative phase, Perry believes that there is already support in place should the school decide to go ahead with advisories. “I do think there are a lot of folks who’d like to see an advisory system. There’s an overwhelming majority of the faculty who’d like to be a part of that,” Perry said. Hester is among the supporters of an advisory system; in fact, she was an advisor herself at ASL during her previous stint at the school, when High School Principal. “Most American high schools have advisory or some kind of small group activity. And the ASL high school used to,” she said. Between her two spells at the school, however, the advisories ceased to exist. Now, Phillips and the rest of the high school administration are looking into the logistical pros and cons of such a system.
Implementation The administration recognises that in a challenge like the one it is currently undertaking, there is a need for balance between top-down action and community-driven initiative; where that
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balance lies, though, is where opinions diverge. Phillips, for that reason, will be playing a defining role in the actions of the coming months and the legacy of future years. “The last thing I ever want to do is produce a climate which is tumultuous. On the other hand, you always hire people who you hope will make things happen,” Hester said. Phillips recognises the importance of evolution, and welcomes that part of his job. “I am not a believer in doing things the way we’ve always done them just because we’ve always done them,” Phillips said. Partridge expresses a more tepid view towards the change, reserving judgement until the dust settles. “This is part of what a new leadership does. He comes in, observes the school, sees where it is, and identifies certain changes he would like to administer and proposes that to the faculty, and hopefully persuades us to follow suit. We’re used to it, this is what happens,” Partridge said. Phillips, though the principal agent of change identified in this initiative insofar, recognizes that his work is only as beneficial as the community views it. And for some, the reform has been wholly positive. “I think you can definitely see most of the rewards of the changes that have been implemented. You can see the difference since he’s come into the high school in that it’s much less intimidating,” Student Council (StuCo) Vice President Dariush Yazdanpanah (’15) said. For others, the goal is pure and desired amongst the high school population, but the methods insofar have been inefficient and sometimes even further divisive, as James Lituchy (’15), a student of ASL for many years, describes see-
ing. “I don’t think we’re more of a community now, but I think we’re headed in a positive direction.” “I get the feeling that other people feel threatened that their seniority is being threatened, because we’re [the Senior class] supposed to have all these special seniority things. And he’s [Phillips] trying to make it more [inclusive].” The greatest establishment of community envisaged so far is the creation of mutualities and connections across intramural groups and clubs. “I would love the continued sense of shared ownership. I want that sense that we’re always doing something,” Phillips said. And this, Phillips expounded, will be attained with communication, “There are going to be conversations that will need to happen quietly, but again 90 percent of what happens is transparent,” he said. When recalling errors and regrets in the sphere of communication, Phillips remembers the Ski Trip caution. In an effort to condemn the illegal and dangerous events and practices that occur on Senior Ski Trip – a studentorganized trip that isn’t part of the school’s jurisdiction –, Phillips, at the end of the last academic year, contacted the Parent Community Association (PCA) and then parents, advising them against allowing their children to attend Ski Trip. By the time Phillips spoke to the now-Senior class, anger mounted and trust dissolved between the two parties. Phillips, today, looks back on that as a learning mistake: “I think that was a misstep on my part in terms of where the conversation centrally needs to take place and that’s within the school first,” he said. “I misstepped in how I com-
municated it, I regret having spoken to the parents before the students, and I wish I had done that.” Beyond communication, groups and individual students alike look to establishing practices that will define us as a community, rather than leaving to students to fill the void – like organizing the senior class trip (Ski Trip). “We [StuCo] want to have more events like the Bash, improve assemblies and implement spirit days for sports,” Yazdanpanah said. This practice is one coined by Potchatek in theory: “We construct and at the same time transform our collective memory through rite and ritual of all varieties.” The said collective memory though is only experiencing change, as Hester would point out; we are not consigning the pre2013 ASL to history. “I think things have to change to stay good. You don’t want to fossilize something. And yet, you don’t want to make so much change that people feel unsettled,” Hester said. Going forward, Phillips strives to cultivate an ethos of experimentation and positivity within ASL’s walls. “Something I wanted to push with the faculty, which is also a good message for the students, is that the perfect is the enemy of the good,” he said. But the end product is tangible and defined, for, after all, students are here to learn. “I want people to know, you can’t get an education like this anywhere else in the world, or that you can get an ASL student anywhere else in the world,” Phillips said. Yazdanpanah, while effusive about the current ASL landscape, is excited to see the next stage in the school’s evolution. “I think in a year or two from now, the school will be very different to the high school I entered, and for the better.” ALL PHOTOS BY YARRA ELMASRY
THE SCHOOL WILL BE VERY DIFFERENT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL I ENTERED, AND FOR THE BETTER. DARIUSH YAZDANPANAH (’15)
CLIQUES Zack Longboy | Lead Features Editor
An investigation into ASL’s social structure, the clique society that exists within the
student body and faculty and staff, as well as how this atmosphere can lead to exclusion
PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY
“For someone who doesn’t necessarily have friends or is new, they think, ‘why aren’t these people including me? What have I done? I’m just like them.’ a lot of people don’t see the negatives until they feel it.” Zainab Mahmud (’15)
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lex Hogenhuis (’15) tried every conversation starter he could think of as he followed a group of students on their way out to lunch. “I couldn’t start a conversation with them. Anything I said was either ignored or kind of dismissed,” he said. “I was a bit of a sideliner because I just sat there listening [and] I didn’t understand – [It was] hard.” Cliques. Harmless to many but for those excluded or on the outside looking in, they present a significant social obstacle. “I think there is a feeling among those on the inside that [a clique] is a very special group, but I think from the outside,
the perception is that a clique does their own thing and even if [someone] wanted to get involved there’s really no forum for that to happen or there would be discomfort in trying to make that happen,” College Counselor Ivan Hauck said. Not to be confused with “friend groups”, Principal Jack Phillips, believes that, “where cliques become problematic is when they become exclusive. When there are those who are actively and systematically excluded and who feel they have no place,” he said. Cliques are often seen as impenetrable, From Maya Matejcek’s (’17) experience, cliques are also, “pretty elitist and can be
quite judgemental of other people.” This can be exposed in both daily personal interactions as well as across social media. “Gradually, over my time at ASL, I’ve noticed a lot of quite serious [clique structures] and perhaps some bad blood between those cliques, which never really manifests itself during the school day, but I’d imagine now on Facebook and Twitter and other social networks,” World Languages and Cultures Teacher Victoria Hamadache said. “I’d imagine that people are becoming more ostracized.” The close-minded and specific mindset which comes with cliques often facilitates the formation of specific groups where
members must fit a certain idea or personality. At least in her grade, Ana Salitan-Alvarez (’16) feels the groups are strictly classified into such categories as “the more popular group” or “the more fashionable group.” She added, “Everyone knows what these groups do and what these groups are like; they have been the same since Middle School.” Although having a group of loyal, dedicated friends is not considered a negative thing, it is this static nature which Salitan-Alvarez alluded to that was labeled the most negative aspect of cliques. Hauck echoed this concern. “The dan-
ger with cliques is that they are very stagnant in nature; there’s not a lot of flexibility. But the more that everybody in these groups can understand that it is okay for people to move in and out freely, the better off we are.” From the experience of Zainab Mahmud (’15), this often creates a mindset where students are unwilling to look beyond the extent of their own clique. “When people are comfortable with their friends they don’t see any negatives [to cliques] because they are happy.” However, Mahmud said, “For someone who doesn’t necessarily have friends or is new, they think, ‘why aren’t these people including me? What
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You are popular if you are attractive and also, at this school, if you have a lot of money, it really helps your popularity. Ana Salitan-Alvarez (’16)
have I done? I’m just like them.’ A lot of people don’t see the negatives until they feel it.” Salitan-Alvarez is another student who has experienced this static atmosphere on a daily basis. She notices this most during the lunch period, where she often feels a negative atmosphere created by the strictly-defined groups. “At lunch, at the tables around the black chairs, there will be a group sitting on one side and then on the other side, another group,” she said. “Everyone just knows who is friends with who.” However, cliques are not only a phenomenon that occurs within the student population as cliques can also affect member of the faculty and staff. “When I [first] came [to ASL], I was the one not in the cliques because I wasn’t American and I felt outside of the cliques,” Hamadache said. “I felt completely out of the loop and I certainly wasn’t ever spoken to on any social level by any of the parents or any of the parent groups.”
MEDIA & FORMATION
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hillips believes that the media can perpetuate the idea of how high school students should act socially. “When I look at the typical high school experience, especially in American films, it seems to accept as the status quo a cliquey, popularity, dogeat-dog kind of experience,” he said. While media coverage often suggests otherwise, including the popular film “Mean Girls”, which portrays girls as the main perpetrators of cliques in high school, Mahmud believes cliques run across gender. However, she does see differences, “with girls it’s more targeting their emotional strings, for guys [being in a clique] is more like a pact. It’s not as emotional; I just don’t hear about guys’ cliques doing stuff to other guys cliques.” For most, finding a way to build a community that is 100 percent inclusive would be a step forward. However, Khari Brandes (’16) believes the chances are slim. “While in a perfect world not having cliques would be a good thing, people are just naturally going to have other people that they gravitate towards,” he said. Cliques can be formed through a variety of identifiers including sports teams, clubs and in some cases, looks and or wealth. “It’s always going to be the case,” Salitan-Alvarez said. “You are popular if you are attractive and also, at this school, if you have a lot of money, it really helps your popularity.”
Sports can often be especially divisive in forming cliques as Hauck points to a created structure where students are labeled as superior to others. “Naturally you are broken up into teams, and sometimes there is a hierarchy there,” Hauck said. “That is what often times create cliques, where there is a hierarchy of who’s better, who’s more important.” This hierarchy, whether it be created through sports or other means, is what usually creates the tension between cliques and can threaten to separate an entire grade. Taking place earlier this year, the Senior Sunrise ritual was an event that many, including Mahmud were looking forward to. However, at Senior Sunrise, one individual decided to stand up and make a
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When there are those who use their group and status to make others feel excluded, inferior, unwelcome, that is when it is not only negative but unacceptable here at school. Jack Phillips, HS Principal
speech. That morning “there was one really big group sitting in the front and another group sitting at the back,” Mahmud said. Then “[this individual] got up and said something pretty offensive. I remember him saying, ‘We’re all here this morning to celebrate being connected as the senior class of 2015, I feel as though we are all really bonding here sitting in this one group, except for the 50 people sitting at the back.’” While for many this comment was labeled as nothing more than humor, some, including Mahmud, were shocked. “This is our Senior Sunrise. We are all meant to be here together; why are you doing this?” she said. “I was personally sitting at the back and this really [angered] me.” She added, “I was [angry] because I’ve been here for a really long time and I was like, ‘I don’t need you to tell me that I’m not part of our grade’.” For Mahmud, the disconnect between
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the cliques in her grade stems mostly from arrogance. “[The fact that some cliques feel they are more important] really pisses me off. We are in high school, we are all supposed to [respect each other]. We’ve all earned the right to be seniors,” she said. It is this arrogance, stemming from an artificial hierarchy, that Phillips deems a problem. “When there are those who use their group and status to make others feel excluded, inferior, unwelcome, that is when it is not only negative but unacceptable here at school,” he said. “We have to be deliberate in dismantling that.”
PROMOTING INCLUSIVITY
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mong others, one of Phillips’ initiatives to help build a more inclusive community in scheduling events like the Back-to-School Bash. While heralded as one of the best school held events in the last few years, some students are still skeptical about how much it really did for the health of the community. “I think [socials] have an opposite effect and strengthens the so-called problem with cliques,” Brandes said. “When you get people together at a school event, people tend to stick with their friends and it’s just another opportunity to show that you have a clique, in front of other cliques.” While some students like Brandes, Mahmud and Hogenhuis doubt that events like these directly impact ASL’s social structure, Hauck believes that the school would be doing a disservice if they left students to foster an inclusive community of their own. “As much as we empower students to create their own social climate of a school, we understand that there is also a responsibility of the adults to model appropriate behavior and to also try to create some of that environment,’ he said. “It’s working in conjunction with the students. I don’t think it’s successful if adults try to say ‘this is what the social situation should look like’ because there will be pushback.” Although Mahmud believes that the administration must do more than it is currently is to alleviate the divisive nature of cliques at the school, she recognizes that this is an extremely difficult task. “I think [the social events are] an attempt,” she said. However, “because we are in a school setting, I just don’t think the groups would ever change. I appreciate the efforts, but you can’t really force people to change.”
James Malin contributed to reporting
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Features
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Is cheating a problem? Yes No I don’t know
Tyler Skow | Features Editor
“I
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I think the school itself puts a lot of stress in achieving grades Jack Glen (‘16) caught was racing through his head, but the desire for a completion grade was far stronger. In that specific instance the teacher did not even check the homework. Reflecting on his actions, Shaw now sees the errors in his ways. “I am not into cheating on a massive test or a
project, but if I look back now I don’t think that assignment was important enough for me to go out of my way to cheat.” While Shaw defends that this was a one time occurrence for him, he also claims it is a very common occurrence at ASL. As defined by The Code of Conduct, cheating is the act of taking and presenting someone else’s work or ideas as if they were your own. Cheating can be anything from plagiarism, copying homework to taking a notecard into a test without permission. Kjersti Anderson (’15), CoPresident of the Student-Faculty Disciplinary Board (SFDB), said issues involving academic integrity are the most commonly seen by the SFDB. However it is also the “most avoidable,” she said. Shaw explained that what he did in his class was something that happens all too often: “From my experience it is a recurring problem within the community,” he said. The motives for students to cheat vary, however the external pressure to succeed stands out amongst others. “[Students] think [assignments] are so important that they think their whole grade is going to deteriorate,” Shaw said. The pressure students experience to achieve the letter grade they are aiming for can foster a student-teacher relationship built on lies. “They would rather
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Anything for an A+
As pressure mounts, some students make the decision to cheat and compromise their morals in the meantime
*To protect certain students, names have been changed in this article. t was a simple homework assignment,” Robbie Shaw* (’17) explained. “We just had to do a long reading and then take notes on it.” As class started to settle down, Shaw began to move uncomfortably in his seat. He knew he had done neither, and feared the teacher was going to check for proof that the assignments had been completed. He saw the teacher gazing at the other students’ computer screens so he panicked. Shaw looked to his left and saw an open computer screen with completed notes. “I did not think it was a big deal,” he said, and so he quickly copied the notes onto his own Word document. The fear of getting
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
154 students were polled by The Standard.
cheat than confess that they have not done the homework,” Shaw said.
Who cheats?
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oday it is difficult to delineate the specific profile of students who cheat. However, it is evident that students who have high aspirations for their academics are amongst the mix who succumb to the pressure. The stress to do well has lead to students compromising their own integrity in order to be competitive. For Shaw, anybody can cheat; it’s not about the type of person that they are, but rather about the pressure they are experiencing. In fact, sometimes Shaw sees that those who cheat are the ones who do the best in his classes. Anderson agrees with Shaw that there is not a particular profile of students who cheat. “There are cases where people who have very high standards in their education and their academics cheat because of pressure or other reasons,” Anderson said. However, “there are also people who cheat because they want to get by, I don’t think there is a distinction.” Being the largest issue the SFDB sees, one of their long term goals is to tackle the conviviality of cheating at ASL. “By just the enforcement of the rules and very clear standards by the teachers,” Anderson is confident the problem can be addressed.
Why students cheat
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ecent studies suggest that cheating in U.S. high schools has been proliferating over the past 50 years. According to 2006-2008 U.S. News reports, a rise from 60 to 64 percent of students who admit to cheating has been witnessed. Anderson reaffirmed this was likely due to wider access of the internet. During Assistant Principal Karen Bonthrone’s time as a teacher, she has seen an upward trend in plagiarism. “When I first started teaching the internet was not there. So it was much harder to get information easily and in a form where you could just cut and paste.” However, Emily Gossett (’16) thinks other external pressures play a similar role in schools such as ASL. The fact that people are always reminding her and her fellow students of how lucky they are to have such a great education acts as a huge pressure for Gossett. “I think people feel the need to keep up with the people around them and go to these great [universities],” she said. Jack Glen (’16) agrees with Gossett in that students are resorting to compromising their integrity in order to be competitive. “There is a big environment [of ] competitiveness and about achieving better than your friends and everybody else,” Glen said. “I think the school itself puts a lot of stress in achieving grades.”
While the internet has certainly played a role in the rise of cheating, it is possible the pressure institutions are putting on students is having a similar effect. It’s likely that people have been cheating since the first tests were ever administered, but while it continues to increase in many institutions, it does raise the question as to whether students are in a moral decline. Because the mentality wherein most strive for perfection that Gossett identified it is often smaller assignments students decide to cheat on. She believes for smaller assignments, when students no longer have the energy, they will sometimes resort to cheating. “I think a lot of the cheating is on pointless homework assignments,” Gossett said. Social Studies Department Head Todd Pavel does see that cheating of all sorts is a phenomenon in the high school. “My experience at ASL is that students want to do well,” Pavel said. “I think that desire to do well when it’s going on with lots and lots of extra curricular activities and lots of other pressures [can lead to] students feeling so overwhelmed that they make the decisions we don’t want them to make,” he added.
Finding a solution
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hile the pressure may be great at ASL, there are still always other options than cheating. “We can push ourselves. We can always try to be bet-
ter, but also honor our core values as a school,” Pavel said. While this is possible Pavel recognizes there are places the school could improve. “[We need to] have opportunities for conversations between students and teachers in really honest ways,” Pavel said. Agreeing with Pavel, Bonthrone believes students’ inability to cope with large workloads can be dealt with by dialogue between students and teachers. “I hope most of our students have confidence in their teachers. If they are feeling that they’re maybe not doing as well as others to maybe go and talk to that teacher and get help and get support and then take a test honestly.” Shaw disagrees that increased dialogue will improve the problem at hand. He believes the problem to be too inherent to be dealt with. “It is just how our community works,” he said. Shaw explained that those who do “snitch” are actively evaded by those who are trying to get away with cheating. “Unfortunately those guys who do enforce the rules, they are the ones who don’t see anything because they get avoided,” he said. Bonthrone also acknowledged a rationale for cheating comes from the pressure students experience. “Everybody in this school wants to do well, so I am sure there are some students who feel that [there] is a pressure on them.” As if learning has been trumped by assessment, some students feel
the pressure has gotten so great that their ambitions are entirely focused on the grade. “It’s all about getting the best grade, and then students see failing as being a defect in their transcript,” Glen said. In addition to speaking to teachers, the administration is taking on a new initiative which will hopefully help eliminate small-scale cheating across the high school. “We are trying to move towards a model of education which is called a Standards Based education which means you have to have evidence of your learning,” Bonthrone said. This new focus of education will hopefully take away the emphasis on completing homework to a perfect standard, releasing some of the pressures which sometimes causes students to cheat. “People are copying homework less because homework is counting for less. When I first started teaching you got major points for every piece of homework and so everybody copied at that point,” Bonthrone said. In generations where some students have observed and practiced cheating as an acceptable norm, it raises concerns about the future. In just a few years, today’s students could be the CEOs of major companies or politicians of high caliber, and some find it worrying that those students were raised in a culture where cheating occurred. “I think that every person has a good side and a bad side and it is just important to reflect on that good side of yourself,” Gossett said.
By the numbers
Features
25 percent of students polled admit to some form of casual cheating on smaller assignments. Photo was staged for the article. PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY
“If students get the message that you’re not supposed to cheat, but if we don’t catch you it’s okay, I think that is really dangerous.” HEAD OF SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT TODD PAVEL
Students who admit to being academically dishonest on:
Unaccredited sources
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Major assignments
Minor assignments
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
I don’t know 154 students were polled by The Standard
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Features
2010-11 New: 64 Total: 464 14% new 2011-12 New: 64 Total: 468 14% new
Tyler Skow | Features Editor
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2014-15 New: 59 Total: 480 12% new
2012-13 New: 66 Total: 489 13% new
2013-14 New: 71 Total: 483 15% new
Statistics courtesy of Admissions Office
This year, the High School has seen the addition of 19freshmen 16sophomores 27juniors 8 seniors
hen Jack Plocica (’17) first arrived at ASL, he faced the typical issues new students struggle with; Plocica had to adjust to living in a new city, in addition to mastering ASL’s complex geography of multicolored staircases. However, Plocica also experienced something revealing about the community. He didn’t feel that the difficulties inherent with being new were eased by the school. “People were not trying to help,” Plocica said. Zeb Berg (’17), had a similar experience. “I came to ASL not knowing what to expect because I had never changed schools and I honestly thought ASL would be a more welcoming school,” he said. But, “people did not go out of their way to help me.” Coming to a new school, especially when it is far away from one’s previous home, is a stressful experience, according to Monica Brendsel (’15). “The whole aspect of moving scared me and coming in senior year is hard because friend groups are formed already,” she said. The experience of moving can be exacerbated when a community is not welcoming. When students struggle to become integrated into the community, the effects can be long-lasting. “I think the longer it takes to be integrated, the harder it becomes later,” Counselor Stephanie Oliver said. “One starts to become resentful of the community.” Oliver explained that there are various factors that can cause a new student’s experience to be negative. She believes it is difficult for new students because their confidence is low coming into a new environment. It can also be “risky” for returning students to reach out and be inclusive to new students, Oliver said. When Zainab Mahmud (’15), was new six years ago to the community she experienced what Oliver described. “[As a new student] I struggled to make friends at first. I’ve always been pretty confident in myself but there were times when that confidence wavered and I just didn’t feel I belonged here.” Furthermore, Oliver believes that London itself often presents challenges. “I also think just living in London can really wear someone down if it is not familiar to he or she,” she said. Oliver believes the best way to make a new student’s experience positive is not through actions inside school, but rather outside. “I think it is important for returning students to take it upon themselves to invite someone to a specific event outside of school,” Oliver said. “It seems that new students are loneliest
Allie Zirinis | Staff Writer
when it is not school hours.” While in the past some new students have struggled, initiatives have been introduced this year to make ASL a more welcoming place and to strengthen the community. These initiatives include the Back-to-School Bash, changes to Alternatives and to the Student Ambassador program, to name a few. Director of Student Life James Perry was pleased about the outcome of the Bash. “I was delighted at how it played out. To ask a bunch of high school kids to come out on a Friday is a big ask and the fact that most people came out speaks a lot to the school,” he said. While some thoroughly enjoyed the Bash, others found it overwhelming. “It felt sort of forced. I think the idea was really good but as a new student I felt that it was a lot at once,” Emma Bareihs (’16) said. Although Neil Meehan (’17) had a great time at the Back-to-School Bash, he, “did not use it to meet new people, I just hung out with the friends I [had] already made.” In addition to the Back-to-School Bash, changes to the the Student Ambassador program have been implemented. While the program last year assigned one ambassador to each new student, this year, two ambassadors were assigned to groups of roughly six new students. “The program was made to be more inclusive and more about teamwork instead of an individual experience,” Student Ambassador Kevin Fribley (’15) said. The aim of this change was to make the community feel stronger and for new students to become familiar with as many faces as possible. Fribley believes the change achieved that goal. “With the new program the six new students got to know each other well and they seemed to feel calmer and more excited for the first day of school than I remember being,” he said. The goals of these new initiatives have been to make the high school more welcoming to new students. Principal Jack Phillips has expressed on several occasions since he began his work in the High School last year that he wants the school to feel like “home” for students. “When people feel that they belong, and they feel safe, their academic performance improves tremendously,” Phillips said. Edward Black (’15), amongst many new students this year has found his experience to be positive. “Its been quite welcoming,” he said.
Culture Page 21
Superfoods Futures
The struggle to be new
Who’s new?
Culture •••
Looking for something to do in london? Maya Jotwani | Culture Editor September18 2014 - Feb 2015 The Royal Observatory Greenwich is
Astronomy Photographer of the Year, showing the top winning
housing the
photos taken by astrophotographers from around the world. Go to look at out-of-thisworld photographs!
Nadia Sawiris | Culture Editor
September 30 2014 - January 4 2015 Celebrating the 30th year of the
Turner
Prize,
an annual contemporary art award presented to young British arsists for an exceptional exhibition or presentation of their work in the preceding 12 months. Venture into the unconvential world of contempary art and come see the the Turner Prize winners
September 26 2014 January 4 2015
October 1 - November 2 2014 Join an expected 280,000 people from around the world at the world’s biggest
The Big Draw.
With drawing festival, this year’s theme “it’s our world”, draw away at different venues around the country while considering the environment and its sustainability.
October 16 - 19 2014
October 17 2014 (7-10 p.m.)
Nathan Sawaya is a New-York based artist who is the first artist
Get sprayed by glow-water, and run to the beat of electronic music while completing a three km run in the dark with UV lights guiding you to the finish line – all while helping fundraise for the Royal National Institute for
LEGO
to ever use in his work. The Old Truman Brewery Gallery on Brick Lane is showcasing his most recent work featuring new conceptual art and replicas of other iconic works of art. This exhibition will awe people of all ages, lego fans or not.
Glow Neon Fun Run
Blind People. If this doesn’t sound like a rave, then we don’t know what does.
Enter the world of an unsurpassed art ranging from the likes of Rothko and Picasso to up and coming young artists. Every year, Regent’s Park becomes the home of one of the world’s leading
Frieze.
art fairs, the The fair consists of galleries from around the world displaying their finest pieces. Live, a new event dedicated to performance-based installations, will debut at the upcoming fair. Bring your sweaters, it’s going to be friez-ing.
Oct 24 2014 - March 31 2015 Every Wednesday in October
Every year, the Natural History Muse-
Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which this
Start your weekend off with a 10km run at 10:00 a.m., meet outside the lululemon store in Covent Garden.
um hosts the
year attracted 43,000 entries by both professional and amateur photographers from 96 countries. The 100 winners will have their photos shown in the exhibition. Come to see fascinating species, intriguing plants, and breath-taking landscapes from around the world.
Every Saturday in October Too busy during the week? Start your weekend off with a 10 km run at 10:00 a.m., meet outside the store in Covent Garden.
Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) - A long term exhibition At first, they are silent and still – they are not experiencing suffering. Gradually, each individual is at mercy of one of the four elements: Earth, air, fire, and water. There is no sound, only movement of the wind, flying earth, fire, or torrents of water assaulting the individuals. All four peo-
ple are lined up, each taking up 1 plasma screen. This video installation, Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) is artists’ Bill Viola and Kira Perov most recent exhibition at St Paul’s Cathedral. It is a longterm exhibition, and will be in the cathedral for approximately 10 years. As each individual is repeatedly assaulted by each of the
four elements, their quiet resolve remains strong. The exhibition evokes questions such as: Are they being punished? Or did they bring this unto themselves? Why are they taking it so calmly? This video and these questions will stay with you beyond the time you spend taking this video in.
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Culture
Page 23
Culture
The Good lIFE eATERY
uperfood Nadia Sawiris
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOD LIFE EATERY PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOD LIFE EATERY
Location: Sloane Avenue, SW1 Price: $$$ Favorite Order: red velvet cake
NATURAL KITCHEN
PHOTO BY TANIA VELTCHEV
lOCATION: mARYLeBONE, NW1 Price: $$ Favorite Order: Quinoa salad
Culture Editor
Over the last few years a new health trend has grown: Superfoods. But are these new snacks and ingredients another marketing deception or high-nutrition tasty bites?
F
or many, the definitions of “healthy” and “unhealthy” have been morphed by the media as well as an emerging market of diet foods. In striking a nutritional balance, individuals must heed the information as it comes, rather than hold on to antiquated notions of diet. Most people have a different definition of what is healthy for them, but, as of late, people are constantly being exposed to the idea that healthy is sugar-, carb- and fat-free – a myth that can lead to a path of dangerous eating habits.
Medicinenet, a website that provides information about health and medicine, superfoods are a non-medical marketing term invented to refer to foods that have healthpromoting properties. In a July 2014 article, LA Times writer Lisa Jevens emphasized the prevalence of this popularized trend. “Practically every celebrity, TV show and magazine related to food or health has come out with a list of ‘superfoods’ we all should be eating. These lists began to appear a few years ago, highlighting com-
example of kale chips that are sold at a high price, whereas they could be made at home more cheaply. Due to organic foods and superfoods being priced higher compared to normal foods, it is more challenging for people of lower socioeconomic backgrounds to consume “healthier” foods. “For people who have the means, it’s easier for them to eat healthy, and people who don’t have the financial means, they’re having to buy less expensive food, and a lot of the time, the less expensive food
age $60 billion annually on it according to U.S. News & World Report, leaving room for manipulative advertisers. Marchese believes that food markets try to turn healthy superfoods into diet foods. “They’ll have the acai berry diet or something like that where it’s only about the diet and then there’s no balance again,” Marchese said. Jad Tabiat (‘18) believes that girls have a higher tendency to eat healthy foods as they associate it with weight-loss .“I think girls eat
The art of healthy eating, for Health Teacher Joy Marchese, is balance. “I feel really strongly about not depriving yourself from things that you like and that you enjoy and that you want to have,” Marchese said. Marchese believes that nutritional value, whatever it may be – a high water content, vitamins or minerals - is crucial to a healthy diet. Though she considers foods with empty calories, or no nutritional value to be unhealthy, she thinks that it is good to eat them for enjoyment in moderation. For Marchese, it’s not just about a nutritional balance, but a balance in life altogether. Advertisements and media are regularly generating trends or “superfoods” to influence their buyers – whether they are healthy or not is still left to question. According to
mon foods that pack a nutritional punch, like sweet potatoes and blueberries. Now, we’re told we should be buying things like beet juice, acai berries, kale, quinoa and chia seeds,” she said. Marchese believes that these are simply marketing strategies. “I don’t consider superfoods ‘new’ [trends], because I think I’ve known about them for a long time. It’s interesting that they’d say that blueberries are high in antioxidants [now]; blueberries have always been high in antioxidants, and people have always known that it’s a good food,” she said. Marchese also worries about people getting too caught up with the trends from a financial standpoint. “I also think that people need to be careful about the marketing and the money around it,” she said. She cites the
is processed and fast foods, so they’re not able to eat as well,” Marchese said. Angie Kukielski (’15), agrees with Marchese and believes that it is questionable to have a trend based on foods that are overpriced. She thinks that the market for superfoods has hurt people who previously consumed these foods out of lifestyle choice or for economic reasons. “Quinoa is a big staple crop for poorer people in various countries in South America, like Bolivia, for example. Heightened demand for quinoa in places like the States has driven up quinoa prices in Bolivia, making it almost impossible for traditional consumers of the crop to be able to afford it. It’s really hurting the people who eat quinoa out of necessity,” she said. The weight-loss industry is a lucrative market, with Americans spending an aver-
healthier than guys because they care more about how they look, and they are more selfconscious,” he said. Superfoods, when consumed in moderation and in a balanced diet can offer various benefits. “It’s good for yourself [to consume superfoods] if you’re doing it in a way that’s not about losing weight or getting unhealthy,” Kukielski said. Marchese agrees, saying that she would love to see people eat for their own health and wellbeing, in order to feel good physically and mentally, rather than eating things for their appearance. “It’s a bonus that when you eat all these foods high in antioxidants that you’re skin, your hair, your nails, all of that looks better, because you’re nourishing yourself from the inside out,” she said.
It’s good for yourself [to consume superfoods] if you’re doing it in a way that’s not about losing weight or getting unhealthy. Angie Kukielski (’15)
PHOTO FROM FLICKR/STACYSPENSLEY
CHIA SEEDS AVOCADOS Put in your breakfast yogurt or dessert With protein, fibers, vitamins, and dietary pudding. This delicious treat is filled with fiber - avocados are a great source of nuprotein, fiber, and provides you with trients. Can be enjoyed in sandwiches and sustainable energy for the day. salads. Have them at breakfast on whole grain toast with chili flakes.
PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY
PUMPKIN SEEDS Sprinkle on your salad or eat it as a midday snack to improve and support your immune system and sleeping patterns.
PHOTO BY TANIA VELTCHEV
PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY
PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY
ALMONDS An easy, quick snack that you can take anywhere to re-energize during the day. It is a great source of protein and vitamin E.
PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY
PHOTO BY FLICKR/JONASTANA
70% CACAO CHOCOLATE No one would have ever thought that a form of chocolate could lower heart diseases, but packed with antioxidants, fiber and potassium, it is a treat that has numerous health benefits.
WALNUTS Enjoy this quick snack on the go all while promoting your heart and brain health.
Vantra Vitao
Roots & Bulbs
Location: oXFORD sTREET Price: $$ Favorite Order: Chai Tea Cappuccino
Location: Marylebone, NW1 Price: $$$ Favorite Order: Hawaiian wave
PHOTO BY TANIA VELTCHEV
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
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Culture
Focused on their futures Seniors discuss their summers in light of the professions they envision for their futures
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Zack Longboy | Lead Features Editor Gabriel Ruimy | Senior Editor
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took root within her halfway across the world in the packed, energetic, though often-afflicted city of New Delhi, India. Traveling with a study-abroad program called Projects Abroad, Preddy arrived in Delhi with about 15 other medicine-oriented high school students. Her day-to-day agenda consisted of assisting two central hospitals in Delhi, the Rockland Hospital and the Maharaja Hospital. Preddy chose to travel to India of all places because of the similarities the country’s medical system shares with that of the U.K. Clad in her surgical scrubs and
through the process, the smile we see on relatives’ faces, it’s just so, so gratifying. And it’s something I want to experience my whole life.” Though in the company of stories to last a lifetime, Preddy has one experience that she will carry for the rest of her life. One day, an old woman was brought to the hospital, her pulse unsteady, right about to die. The doctors tried CPR and defibrillators to resuscitate her but nothing was working. Nothing left to do, the doctor took Preddy’s hand and placed it on her right ankle so that she could feel the fading pulse. “She died right in front of me. I felt re-
“I’M GETTING MARRIED TO MEDICINE” ISABELLE PREDDY (’15)
students and instructors from conflict zones around the world – though mostly from the Middle East – to teach them diplomacy and dialogue-skills. “I heard stories about Palestine and Israel. People talking about their families dying, people living in fear. Something in myself felt this huge empathy for them – I just wanted to be there, I just wanted to be that holding hand for the families,” Preddy said, her contagious excitement turning into an aura of solemnity. And soon Preddy found the solution to her compassion: “After Seeds of Peace, I started investigating medicine.” Beginning with the odd YouTube video of live surgeries, her maturing interest in medicine
disinfected with iodine solution, Preddy was ready to see a surgery face-to-face for the first time. It turned out to be a birth: “First thing I saw when I walked in was a C-section, and the first thing of that operation I saw was the baby being taken out.” Seeing the surgery take place didn’t faze her in the least, in fact, to any curious interlocutor she will say, “I have pictures!” “I want to be right there, I want to be cutting that person open – but, oh God, it was so cool!” But there, amidst the cutting tools, the hospital gowns, in the hospital, that’s where she found what an English teacher would call the “so-what”. “It’s that I want to fix the pain, not just see it. When I’m there, seeing surgery and going
ally useless. It’s hard to let go. It’s hard to see someone die in front of you. I’ve seen people die before, I volunteer in a hospice. But feeling her pulse get weaker, and weaker, it was just…” In the future, Preddy envisages a medicinal career helping in conflict zones or underprivileged areas with an organization such as Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres). “I don’t have a certain identity, I’m not so connected to one country,” Preddy said. This affords her a liberty in finding which corner of the globe to work in. Now she’s ready to take off. “Well, you always get cold feet before you get married, but hey, there’s the love of your life. I’m getting married to medicine.”
Isabelle Preddy
Spies was part of a cohort of gifted musicians from around the world whose were 20 years-old: “The festival was large. It was one third high school students, one third college students, one third grads. It was a very intensive setting where you’re surrounded by talented musicians.” Some arts are often seen as a distant refuge, or something abstract or undefinable, but for Spies, music is very much a real and constructed art. “I never really think of making music as abstract or getting lost, it’s very much you have to have strong technical foundation and you have to put in the work to make sure that everything is comfortable. “Then in performance you have to plan everything out so that it is so solid that you can be spontaneous and let the music take you where it does,” he said. This ideology was proven in practice when the Royal College Orchestra he plays with performed at the BBC Proms, a classical music festival that spans months of concerts broadcasted around the world. Playing after renowned composer Joshua Bell, Spies’ orchestra performed Mahler’s 5th Symphony, a timeless piece that takes an hour to complete. “My shoulder rest wouldn’t stay on, so I had to stay in one position to make sure the rest didn’t whack into the viola,” Spies said. But the he and the orchestra pulled through. “By the end of the piece, the orchestra had put so much into it, and there was definitely a youthful positivity, and the whole viola section, we all just started crying on the last page.” For Spies, that is the most memorable event in his musical career thus far, though who knows if it will stay that way with the lifelong musical career he envisages.
Elijah Spies
he’s vibrant, the excitement, the passion, the already-nascent dedication is bouncing off her skin as she bounces in the chair, quite literally. Isabelle Preddy (’15) has always had a penchant for math and science, as she put it, but she never knew what to do with it. What Preddy has that is not often present in teenagers is a budding passion for medicine coupled with inexhaustible, infectious energy. In the summer of 2013, Preddy decided to go to Seeds of Peace summer camp in Maine, a nonprofit organization that hosts
here was not much romance between Elijah Spies (’15) and the viola at first sight, but now Spies hopes for a life-long commitment to the instrument. “I started [playing the viola] at ASL when I was 11. I started off because we had to and I chose the viola because there was just something about it I liked, and I thought why not?” Spies said. His devotion and regularity in practice fermented a budding talent with the instrument, and soon enough he was practicing at distinguished levels. The affinity Spies has for the viola is one that developed over time, but drives him as strong as any other form of passion. “It was a combination that I really liked making music and I really liked feeling my own improvement. With other things like writing, I could work really hard on a story and I didn’t necessarily feel like I did better, whereas with the viola I feel that if I played for a few hours I was getting a lot better, especially at the early stages.” This tangible progress gave him a defined sense of exhilaration for the instrument, and the rest of the story is just one remarkable achievement after the next. First came ASL’s Honor Orchestra, which he played for in the latter years of his Middle School career. “I was really busy in middle school, but that was the activity that stood out. It made me much happier,” Spies said. Soon enough he was taking lessons and passing courses at the Royal College of Music’s Junior Division, which he spent the first few weeks of summer in order to finish his curriculum. And there, a teacher took a particular liking to his playing and invited him to participate as a performer at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. Hosted in Brunswick, Maine,
Jamie Fass
D
Culture
ressed in a sterile gown, a mask covering her face and the smell of formaldehyde overwhelming her senses, Jamie Fass (’15) fought against her turning stomach. A human head, split in half from the crown to the chin, was lain out on a table in front of her. “I could see his facial features,” Fass said. “His eyes, and his nose and his lips, cut in half. And he still had hair on his head.” This human head was one of various instructional stations in a program at Georgetown University Medical Institute which aims to provide interested students with a sense of what they will experience in medical school. Fass, who has always wanted to be a surgeon, and plans to attend medical school, enrolled in the course to “see if I was cut out for this type of work.” During the eight-day program, Fass attended two lectures every day given from Georgetown professors on a multitude of subjects including radiology and anatomy as well as working on technical skills. Fass learned how to take blood and vitals, give finger pricks and wear a sterile gown. On her last day, which Fass identified without hesitation as her favorite, the students worked with donated cadavers, something which medical students will not experience until the midpoint of their first year. As well as working with a human head in order to learn about the human brain and nervous system, Fass examined joints, including legs with no flesh to illustrate the structure of bones and tendons: “One woman still had
nail polish on her toes.” While Fass tried to shut out many of the thoughts that were racing through her mind, at one point, after holding the human brain, she took a moment to sit down by herself and breathe. “One girl even passed out,” she said. There were some nerves that came with the experience, but Fass firmly believes that it was a life-changing moment. “Obviously [the bodies] are someone’s loved ones. Imagine if your dad’s face was sawed in half – I don’t think you’d be very happy about people making fun or being rude, so we were all really quiet and respectful,” Fass said. “It just puts you in this place inside yourself that you didn’t really know existed, you just kind of stay with your own thoughts and are thankful that these people donated their bodies to medicine.” Fass, who attributes her interest in medicine to her curiosity, believes “it is quite odd that we have spent so much time exploring outside of our bodies, exploring space, and have mapped out the entire planet and our galaxy, yet so many of us have no idea what is going on inside our bodies.” An aspiring pediatric surgeon, Fass feels as though this program only intensified her desire to attend medical school. She is driven to practice in a profession of “modern miracles.” “It’s just incredible what one can do with modern medicine,” Fass said. “You don’t have to chop someone in half anymore. You can just make a tiny incision and save their life.”
FIRST PAGE: Isabelle Preddy’s selfie while in surgery in India. TOP LEFT: Elijah Spies playing the viola. BOTTOM RIGHT: Jamie Fass. FROM LEFT, PHOTO BY ISABELLE PREDDY, PHOTOS 2 AND 3 BY YARRA ELMASRY
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Culture
THE SEXTUALIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY
Amidst the political turmoil in Syria, The Syria Campaign delivers a poignant reminder of the humanity affected in the conflict. Photo Editor Yarra Elmasry commends the initiative’s goals and calls for more awareness for the Syrian people.
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his was a busy summer; planes fell from the sky in the Ukraine, disease broke out in West Africa and Israel and Palestine were bombing each other again. With all of these events going on in the world and dominating news headlines, it seems that people have forgotten about Syria. Even though the Islamic State group (IS) has become more prominent recently, many people are not paying attention to the Syrian people. Many people, world leaders included, have forgotten the thousands of
war has been getting, which is why they pressure the United Nations (UN) and other world leaders to deliver aid to thousands of Syrian civilians. People are looking at the negative effects of IS, and are in turn forgetting about what matters most: The Syrian people. The Syria Campaign’s stated goal is to “capture the attention of the public and demand more from our global leaders in government, institutions and the media.” They focus on delivering movements with real impact for Syrian civilians, as well as a more positive view
by the campaign has been about these lifesavers and their need for more tools such as shovels, safety goggles, defibrillators and gas masks. The 2-minute video shows these men in one of the most dangerous places in the world, talking about their experiences, as well as footage of them rescuing a 2-week-old baby from a collapsed building. Their website highlights their principles of humanity, solidarity and impartiality and states that these men have rescued citizens from bombings of governmental
These men risk their lives every minute of every day to rummage through rubble, looking for life. With bombs and air attacks happening constantly, the conditions in Syria are unimaginable to the Western world. Dundar Sahin, the director of Akut Search and Rescue Association based in Turkey describe the situation: “To be able to understand accurately the damage and the threat and the devastation of the disaster in Syria, they are having a 7.6 earthquake 50 times a day.” The campaign has highlighted
ple, exquisite architecture and the best food in the world. I think of bustling cities and markets, closeknit families and historical monuments everywhere you look. I deplore that war has destroyed one of the most culturally rich countries I’ve been to. Seeing the heart-wrenching photos of Syrian kids sitting on the side of the road with rubble surrounding them, I can’t help but feel that not enough is being done. Not enough medical supplies are being given. Not enough food. Not enough water. Not enough people
“To be able to understand accurately the damage and the threat and the devastation of the disaster in Syria, they are having a 7.6 earthquake 50 times a day” Dundar Sahin, Director of Akut Search and Rescue Association Syrians who are being displaced, or the hundreds having bombs landing on their heads daily. All of the other things happening in the world are important, but that doesn’t justify the lack of sufficient aid to Syria. It doesn’t justify why the world has forgotten about Syria. Instead of writing about what actions President Barack Obama has for IS, or suggesting a diplomatic solution that I don’t have the answer to, I want to write about The Syria Campaign. I want to explain why you should care. Due to the ongoing civil war that has lasted three years in Syria, the media consulting firm with nongovernmental organization (NGO) like qualities, Purpose, created this campaign. They are frustrated by the lack of global attention the
of things happening in Syria. For example, the campaign condemns and posts petitions asking the UN to ban the trade of items from Syria’s Ancient World Heritage Sites, such as treasures from museums and ancient cities. The profit made from the trade goes into buying more weapons. Neighborhoods in Syria see more than 50 bombs and mortars a day landing on homes, hospitals and schools. According to their website, the bombs and mortars are filled with nails as well as explosives, and are tossed from the back of government helicopters that cause destruction and obliteration. Minutes later, volunteer rescue workers called “The White Helmets,” or the Syrian Civil Defence, rush into the rubble, looking for life. One of the most recent posts
planes, but also rescue fallen governmental soldiers so that they can have proper burials. White Helmet rescuer Abed said on the website, “When I want to save someone’s life I don’t care if he’s an enemy or a friend. What concerns me is the soul that might die.” These volunteers give hope to Syria, and show that there still are good things being done, but they need more support to continue doing them. These men are bakers, engineers, tailors, pharmacists, painters, carpenters and students, among other professions. They know very well that more bombs may fall on the same site very soon, but day after day they still go into the rubble searching for life. In the past year, they have saved 2,500 lives, a number that grows daily.
and displayed these heroic efforts to people outside of Syria, asking them to support these men with more tools, and to show a different side of the war. They show that no matter who you are or what background you come from, you have the right to live, and that there is still some good being done with all of the mass destruction taking place. The last important aspect of The Syria Campaign is their diary. The aim of the diary is to share stories of Syrians who are artists, musicians, and other professions that show hope and happiness. I am half-Syrian and half-Egyptian, and it hurts to see the mass destruction of my people, hearing the horror stories of civilians. Thinking back on my trips to Syria, I think of friendly, liberal peo-
are paying attention to the Syrians. So pay attention. Pay attention to the generation that is going to be destroyed if you don’t do anything. Pay attention to the hundreds of people who don’t have clean water. Pay attention to those kids whose futures look bleak. Visit www.thesyriacampagin. org for more information and to sign the petitions stopping the destruction of a country with one of the most incredible histories in the world. Read the stories of these people. Share the stories. Make their voices heard. Call on the international community to aid the Syrian people before it’s too late. Even doing something this small, you’re helping save those little Syrian children with big, brown eyes; you’re helping save a generation.
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Culture
Humanity amidst civil war The White Helmets resuce Syrian children from barrel bomb attacks. They have rescued 2,500 people, a number which is growing daily. PHOTO BY SULTAN KITAZ/REUTERS PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SYRIA CAMPAIGN
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Exploring the rise in sexual communications facilitated by technology Zack Ashley | Opinions Editor
I
t used to be that someone would have to muster up the courage to go, face-to-face, and ask someone out if they were interested in them. But in this modern world in which numerous ways to communicate are so conveniently available, interactions have changed. According to a survey conducted by The Standard, more than 48 percent of students have been involved in a series of text messages where one of the parties was trying to make a sexual advance. ASL, like many other communities, has found technology to be directly intertwined with its everyday social interactions. Health teacher Joy Marchese
and talked to a few girls.” “It’s a possibility to instigate sexual activity. I haven’t explored it but I know others previously at ASL who have.” Hayden Victor (’15) has also seen Snapchat used to instigate potential interaction. “I’ve heard examples where people have sent Snapchats to a bunch of girls to see what would happen. People use Snapchat in more of a dating kind of way.” Zara Mandel (’16) noticed how all of this has come together to depersonalize social interactions. “If someone needs to have a serious conversation they’ll say ‘Oh, I’ll just text them’ but the other thing about that is people can just
some reason there’s a lot of guys and not very many girls [using these applications]. People have used it to get nude pictures. You meet random girls and ask them for pictures. That was its main function.” And while Victor has not personally engaged in these activities, he does agree that relationships built off of texting add a larger focus onto the sexual side of a relationship. “I think texting in general has increased sexuality in a relationship because people are willing to
“I think everyone in general has increased sexuality in a relationship because people are willing to say more sexual things” Hayden Victor (‘15) has observed this reliance on technology in communicating with others and notes how the aspect of asking someone out, in particular, has changed. “Now anyone can do that [ask someone out]; they don’t have as big of a fear of being rejected because at least they can hide behind the technology,” she said. And these instances are not limited to texting either. Students use apps such as Tinder or Snapchat to diversify sexual interactions. A junior boy who has used Tinder casually, but has never taken a conversation beyond basic conversation, said “I don’t really know why I started using it. A senior from last year turned me on to it. He said it was a good way to test out your game. I checked it out
avoid those messages. In person you could get it done in two minutes,” she said. “Often I find people are really different online as opposed to in person.” Victor also notices how all of this encourages a less-personal relationship. “I would say [it’s easier] because often times people are intimidated by face-to-face contact. With technology you have a less personal interaction which makes it easier for introverted people.” Beyond the fact that these advances in technology have made relationships less personal, they have also brought up the issue of relationships being formed purely for sexual gains. A sophomore boy, who has used dating apps such as Tinder and Omegle in the past, said, “For
say more sexual things,” he said. “It’s usually taboo to talk about but over text [people might find it] easier.” It raises the question, while new apps and technology have made connecting easier, has it at the same time ruined the intimacy of relationships? “There are people that date, yet they really only communicate via WhatsApp or whatever [means] they’re using,” Marchese said. “How can you really connect with people without hearing [their] tone of voice, or seeing their body language or getting to really physically connect face-toface?”
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Sports
Sports Commentary
The ‘beautiful game’ turned into a commercial venture Sebastian Mayr
PHOTO FROM WIKIPEDIA.ORG
86%
65% 64% 54% Arsenal FC
Liverpool FC
Chelsea FC
Everton FC
Manchester City
73%
The soccer world has been experiencing quite a disappointing trend lately. Overpriced transfers and staggeringly high wages for average players have corrupted the Barclays Premier League and even, perhaps, the essence of soccer. Shane Long’s summer transfer from Hull City to Southampton for an exorbitant £12 million epitomizes my current stance on overpriced mediocrity in soccer. To put things into perspective regarding Long’s transfer. Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo cost Manchester United the same amount in 2003, and judging by his contribution to the Premier League (84 goals in 196 League appearances), Long’s move proves Premier League spending has escalated dramatically in recent years. While the transfer fees for average players continue to rise, their wages progressively increase too. Few issues in the modern game draw more criticism than the average soccer player’s salary. Gareth Bale’s move to Real Madrid in 2013 after a summer of assiduous speculation completed a world record £85 million transfer. Earning slightly below an incredulous £300,000 per week for 90 minutes of playtime, Bale’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu was a testament to the club’s preserving endeavor to return to the summit of European soccer and win their 10th European cup. When one
Highest Earners (per week) Player
Earnings
Wayne Rooney
£300,000
Cristiano Ronaldo £288,000
Wages as proportion of turnover
Radamel Falcao
£285,000
Ibrahimovic
£269,000
Lionel Messi
£256,000
Gareth Bale
£256,000
Sergio Aguero
£211,000
Neymar
£150,000
puts Bale’s wages into perspective however, the man earns double the yearly salary of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron with just a week of work. In fact, to date, the average Premier League player earns £30,000 a week, while according to the Office of National Statistics, the average annual earnings of workers in the U.K. lists around £26,500. Following the sacking of David Moyes after a hugely unsuccessful tenure at Mancheser United, Louis Van Gaal was named as the Scots’ replacement in the summer of 2014. Securing the services of Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo, Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao, Van Gaal’s summer transactions remain the club’s most expensive ever, reaching an estimated total value of £150 million. These players earn a joint average of £125,000 per week. Setting aside whether Manchester United’s spending spree will prove to be a tactical success, do these soccer players really deserve to earn such ludicrous amounts of money? Falcao will reportedly earn £285,000 per week, while Shaw’s paycheck has risen to £100,000 per week since transferring from Southampton. While Shaw’s services for the next 10 years will no doubt ultimately justify his wages, I believe paying a relatively inexperienced 19-year-old such high wages will cultivate a lack of instability within Manchester United and instigate other players to request for increased earnings too. How will Shaw’s wages affect Manchester United’s left back Rafael, who currently earns a “modest” £60,000 despite being four years older than Shaw and a regular starter for the club? Similarly, Chelsea’s experienced Brazilian left back Filipe Luis, recently signed from Atletico Madrid, will earn around £78,000 per week, marginally less than his British counterparts’ income, while still delivering an equal quality of soccer. Receiving additional earnings through individual performances, image rights and other commercial endorsements, the question remains as to where this excessive compensation will end. In 1992, the overall Premier
League wage pay was four times more than the lowest tier in English soccer, but by 2010, this number had increased to 30 times. Or even further back. Almost 50 years ago, the chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association Jimmy Hill successfully managed to lobby for the abolition of the “pay-cap” on soccer players’ earnings, allowing Fulham player Johnny Haynes to become the first ever professional soccer player to receive £100 per week. Gareth Bale earns this amount of money every four minutes with his contract at Real Madrid. From an economic standpoint, soccer, similar to any other industry, conforms to supply and demand and has therefore gradually morphed into a multimillionpound institution. From a demand perspective, these ludicrous investments and astronomical wages are given to the players with the expectation of some return of value or worth by the club. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea and other clubs increased spending over the past decade has resulted from a combination of high demand from their fan-base, and a limited supply of these unique individuals. Like any other consumers, soccer supporters demand a certain standard of product from the soccer industry. Numerous individuals, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are indispensable members of their respective clubs and therefore arguably deserve the dividends they are given. Rumors are currently abundant about a possible return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Premier League, with reputable sources mentioning that such a return would provide Ronaldo with a weekly paycheck of £500,000 or a stunning £26 million a year: if bankers wages are being capped, why not consider the same for soccer players? This would surely bring them closer to their fans once again, many of whom complain that their idols have lost touch with reality: for example, who can forget this worrying or rather embarrassing photo last year of a well-known Premier League average player using Pound Sterling notes as toilet paper?
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The Freshman Phenom
PHOTO BY COLIN BRIDGEWATER Harry Nevins in action for boys varsity soccer in their 3-0 win vs. TASIS
James Malin Issues Editor With composure atypical of a player his age, Harry Nevins (’18) stood out at boys soccer tryouts. His ability was clear for boys varsity soccer coach Akay Mustafa. “He read the game very well, his tactical knowledge was very good and his positional awareness was very good, which is rare for a player of his age,” Mustafa said. One of many who were impressed, varsity boys soccer cocaptain Bjorn Sigurdsson (’15) noticed Nevins early on in tryouts. “He was tall, he was strong, he won everything in the air, he won every 50-50, the challenges he made were amazing,” he said. Since impressing at tryouts, Nevins has continued his rich vein of form for the boys varsity soccer team. The team has started their season with two wins versus TASIS and ACS Cobham. ASL has kept clean sheets in both of these games, something Nevins, as a defender, takes particular pride in. Nevins views the start to the season in a wholly positive manner. “Two wins and two clean sheets is a great start … Overall,
we’re playing well as a team and enjoying our football at the moment,” he said. Nevins’ soccer is not limited to Canons Park, though. Playing since he was 4-years-old, the sport has always been an integral part of Nevins’ life. Initially playing casually with friends on weekends, Nevins soon got involved with his local club team, St. John’s Wood Football Club. During a game for St. John’s Wood versus Norwich City Football Club’s academy in February
der-15’s side. Impress he did, and he continues to play for Southampton. Mustafa attributes Nevins’ tactical knowledge to the high quality coaching he’s receiving at Southampton. This season, Mustafa is implementing a new formation for the team to organise itself in: 3-4-1-2. For a central defender, like Nevins, this system is an adjustment from the more traditional, ubiquitous 4-42 or others of that ilk. “We ran through the [3-4-1-2] quite briefly
Two months into his innaugaral boys varsity soccer season, Harry Nevins (’18) reflects on his soccer career thus far. From Southampton Football Club’s academy to ASL, Nevins has impressed all. Next on the agenda: Earn a schoolboy contract with Southampton. learn a new system so quickly and especially playing left-centre-back as a right footed player, I think it takes some definite hard work and awareness and general football knowledge to switch almost seamlessly, as he has,” he said. Following his impressive start to the season, Nevins is quick to stress the team’s effort rather than his own, individual success – singling out Mustafa and the captains for praise. “I think it’s down to [Mustafa] who prepares
Further along the line, Nevins harbors aspirations of playing professionally. The next hurdle for him is a player performance review being conducted by Southampton. If his review is successful, he will be offered a schoolboy contract by the club. If Nevins were to earn the contract, he’d be formally tied to Southampton for a period of time determined by the club, thus meaning he’d earn a wage. As the level he plays at rises, Nevins remains grounded in his
He was tall, he was strong, he won everything in the air BJORN SIGURDSSON (’15), BOYS VARSITY SOCCER CO-CAPTAIN 2013 – Grade 8 for Nevins –, he impressed the Norwich coaches and was invited to train with their team. Following the conclusion of his spell with Norwich, Nevins again impressed a scout while playing for St. John’s Wood. Only, this time, the scout represented Southampton Football Club. Contingent upon impressing in a trial game, Nevins was invited to train with the Southampton Un-
but we kept using it during the tryout period. We had probably one session with it before the TASIS game and he picked it up straight away,” Mustafa said. “He did well in the first game, had a few questions about the system, we answered them, and then in the second game [versus Cobham] he played a faultless game.” Sigurdsson has also been impressed by Nevins’ adjustment to the new system. “It’s hard to
us well and [Sigurdsson] who was recently named captain alongside Dariush [Yazdanpanah (’15)] and I think they’re fitting that spot well,” he said. Attempting to emulate Chelsea Captain John Terry’s twofootedness, Nevins recognizes the need to improve his weaker left foot.“I feel confident on both feet but I want to get to that next level where I can play 50 yard balls with both feet,” he said.
future aspirations. “My end goal is to always enjoy football and not treat it as a job … I’ve always found football to be one of the greatest things, so that’s something I want to do with my life. I want to be a professional player.” “I’m playing four or five times per week and keeping in shape – I think that’s all I can do: Focus on my football and the club I play for will be decided later,” Nevins said.
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Sports
Sports
The refined athletic vision Sebastian Mayr
F
ollowing the departure of former Athletic Director Sandy Lloyd, John Farmer was named as Lloyd’s interim replacement for the 2014-15 school year. Already settled into his new position after serving as the Middle School Athletic Director for two years, Farmer is intent on instilling an improved sense of community and character amongst athletes and coaching staff alike throughout his tenure. Hoping to further improve the camaraderie amongst athletes, Farmer maintains the importance of the students fostering a sense of “belonging” within their respective sports teams and programs. Working collectively towards a common goal, the end product should not be purely competitive, but rather a concoction of various elements.
information, allowing students and families to learn more about the individual coaches and the program’s aspirations. A testament to his communal endeavor, Farmer sent out two emails throughout the summer mentioning the upcoming preseason meetings as well as information regarding each teams’ specific tryouts. “That’s something that is very important to me. I want to communicate directly with the students and families, not asking someone else to do it for me or just assuming that people know. I want to make it very clear that we’re here to help people get what they need and really understand what’s happening in the athletics program,” Farmer said. The basketball teams’ trip to Doha, Qatar during the winter season of last year
they were before. That’s not an [attack] on the previous Athletic Director just more like where are we now and how we can improve. Every organization should be looking to improve no matter how or where it is,” Farmer said. A former Middle School Athletic Director, Farmer’s appointment entails bearing the schedule responsibilities of an entirely new sport - crew. Currently reaching out to parents throughout the school, Farmer hopes to garner a sense of the program’s specific needs and it’s current stance within the school. Admitting his experience pertaining to crew remains relatively limited, “For me it’s about getting some facts, getting some understanding of the culture of that sport and that program and trying to fig-
“These are people who really care about but the school and what our philosophy in the High School is about. They are really looking at wanting to build teams that are made up of really good people that are working hard together, doing things the right way and by that I mean being inclusive of each other,” Farmer said. Elizabeth Vann (’16) believes there already has been tangible progress within the athletics program’s communication with students and families. “I think they’re doing a really good job of making everything more well-known to everyone so that sports are a bigger part of the community,” she said.
“I want the students to really get a sense that their coaches are thinking about and practicing and discussing, and being very intentional about using athletics as a way to talk about character and think about community” INTERIM ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JOHN FARMER “I want the students to really get a sense that their coaches are thinking about and practicing and discussing, being very intentional about using athletics as a way to talk about character and think about community,” Farmer said. Farmer has emphasized the urgency of strengthening communications between families and the athletics program too. Currently working on a new athletics website, Farmer and the Athletic Department hope to create “an information bank” dedicated to answering common student questions pertaining to a specific sport. Included on the website will be up-todate information regarding the athletic programs’ policies and procedures, offering students and parents an insight into the team selection and captain criteria. Despite still being in the production phases, the website remains a source of
provoked drama concerning the previous Athletic Department’s partial treatment of certain sports teams. Adamant on providing an equitable and fair sports program for all teams this year, Farmer has ruled out any long-distance trips for the upcoming sports season. “I want to schedule a great season for all of our teams and I know that’s an obvious and generic statement but at the end of the day, no, we’re not going to Doha, we’re not going to some far away, big trip,” Farmer said. While acknowledging the departments previous shortcomings and setbacks, including instances earlier this year, Farmer realizes the department’s consistent endeavor to enhance certain aspects within the athletics program. “Short term I’m trying to figure out what we need to do this year to make things in my opinion better from the way
ure out what our next steps should be, not just in the short term but in the long term of how to do it,” Farmer said. In line with Principal Jack Phillips’ goal to cultivate a community-centered atmosphere within the school, Farmer maintains that Phillips’ message present within the sports teams character and general behavior. Farmer believes the extracurricular and athletic activities offered at ASL add to the learning experiences students are already offered in the classroom. The 2013-14 athletics year culminated in the departure of an array of sports coaches, including the varsity boys basketball coaches former Dean of Students Joe Chodl and High School Social Studies Teacher Terry Gladis. Experience and knowledge of the game coupled with charisma and a natural leading ability were determining factors in the appointment of the new coaches.
A 3-year varsity soccer, basketball and softball athlete, Vann’s experience with the Athletics Department is plentiful. Vann acknowledges the emails sent out by Farmer throughout the summer were the first she had ever received regarding preseason tryouts and informative advice on the sports programs’ workings. “Mr. Farmer has been really proactive, we’ve been getting a lot of emails about upcoming information in the next few weeks, and it’s been really great to see the game schedules and just stay in the loop. He’s also organized captains meetings for all the varsity captains,” Vann said. Excited by the prospect of a new website, which will include information regarding the team rosters, captains and coaches, Vann admits schools in America have already been using separate online sites for their sports teams. “It seems like the Athletic Department
Above: Athletic Director John Farmer. Top left: Assistant Athletic Director Heidi McCune. Top right: Administrative Assistant to the Athletics Department Akay Mustafa. Bottom left: Athletic Trainer Jennifer Newell. Bottom right: Assistant to the Athletic Director Doreen Murphy. ALL PHOTOS BY YARRA ELMASRY is making more of a conscious effort which has made a difference for many people,”she said. Despite recognizing basketball’s large supporter base in comparison to other sports at ASL, Vann believes the perceived equity issue concerning the sport is perpetuated by events such as the annual Homecoming, attracting masses of fans. Transportation is another factor; whereas basketball games are played on campus, the majority of other sports at ASL are featured at Canons Park, eight miles away. Administrative Assistant to the Athletics Department Akay Mustafa believes the Athletics Department has already become better integrated within the ASL community since the turnover of staff. The decisions being made are not purely athletic; they involve the school’s mission statement and core values too. Mustafa’s role is to facilitate the overall vision of the department by providing support with the scheduling and logistical planning of the athletics program. Mustafa affirms Famer’s statement that
the aim of the department is not exclusively sports-driven, instead offering students a plethora of opportunities to become involved with a specific program. This being said, Mustafa hopes to see a balance of both competition and equity unfold. “The big thing that we try to promote through sport is leadership, and sportsmanship and basically a sense of fair play. We want our players to play hard, we don’t want them to sacrifice their moral integrity. We shouldn’t be sacrificing sportsmanship and fair play in order
Mustafa and Farmer both attest to the scheduling difficulties they have faced when coordinating the sport’s teams fixtures. Conflicts with the alternative trips, standardized exam dates and various holidays means the sports team’s will not be travelling abroad other than to their respective ISST tournaments in early November. The Athletics Department recently implemented a Captain’s Council, dedicated to forming a cohesive relationship among the captains of the sports teams. The aim is for this council to bring the
“I want to make it clear that we’re here to help people get what they need and really understand what’s happening in the athletics department” John Farmer
to win,” Mustafa said. One of the main focuses of the program is to ensure that it becomes a student-centered experience. While there is a competitive aspect to the program, students should relish participating in the sport regardless of the team’s individual successes.
captains together and allow them to discuss imminent challenges and work collectively to find sustainable solutions. Mustafa hopes the forum will empower the captains and cultivate a sense of support and community amongst the students.
“It’s a form of leadership. We want them to understand that part of being a leader is to identify a problem, you will not always have the answer for it, but then you need to be able to learn how to seek the answers and here’s an arena, where if you encounter a problem, you bring it to the arena, discuss it and look for a solution together,” Mustafa said. Farmer, as well as Mustafa, remains adamant on further developing the athletics program. The Department will continue to bring everyone together and promote effective communication amongst the community, whether this involves advertising for an upcoming game or simply being involved within a sport activity. “There are always things we can do better. That goes without saying that goes for everyone, we always review our protocols and procedures and if there’s been a development in a particular field we take that on board. We’ve paid particular attention to our scheduling. We’re trying to get that up to a new level. Once we achieve that we’ll pick another area and we’ll keep trying to improve in,” Mustafa said.
Sports c
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THE STANDARD | September/October 2014
Harry Nevins Commercial venture
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NU RU IP M H S ew M
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The new athletic vision What is the future of the school’s athletic program? Sebastian Mayr