The Gryphon: Fall/Winter 2021

FALL/WINTER 2021

REFLECTIONS

Voices from the Black community at CSW.

2 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2020–21

THE GRYPHON, FALL/WINTER 2021

Allie Altman P ’12 Treasurer; Chair, Finance Committee

Lise Charlier Head of School

James Bonsey

Emma Fedor Director of Marketing and Communications

Lise Charlier Head of School Howard Cooper P ’15, ’20 Neta Crawford P ’18 Maura Farrell John Finnerty P ’21 Michael Flanagan P ’20, ’22 Patrick Foley Faculty Representative Ann Gorson P ’16 Chair of the Board Cynthia Harmon

Andrea Finnerty Chief Development Officer Rosanna Salcedo Dean of Equity & Inclusion Jordan Clark ’05 Director of Community Programs for Equity & Inclusion Diane Stansbury P’20 Assistant Director of Alumni/ae and Parent Engagement Jeanette Origel Assistant Director of Communications

Snowden Henry P ’16, ’18 Chair, Governance Committee Ashley Ho ’21 Boarding Student Representative

CONTRIBUTORS

Ben Ibbetson Faculty Representative

Jordan Clark ’05

Miriam Levine ’21 Day Student Representative

Rosanna Salcedo

Chin Lin P ’18 Secretary

Yelena Jeune ’07 Becca Spence ’21

Kevin Mendik P ’20 John Thompson P ’05, ’07 Chair, Development Committee Dan Wolf ’65

DESIGN gokorodesign.com

Vivien Wu P ’23 Alana Zola ’09

ON THE COVER “What impressed me was how different my worlds were. And nobody ever wanted to come to my side of the street. I always had to go to their side of the street. People want to bring everybody into their world. They don’t want to investigate the richness of the world of the other.” — Sandy ’66

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR We are proud to share that in addition to the stories featured here, all creative vendors for this issue — from illustration to design — are individuals who identify as Black or Brown.

Illustrated by Becca Spence ’21, the cover image of this issue was inspired by the above quote from alumna Sandy Walker ’66, one of the many community members of color who graciously shared their stories with us for this issue (page 12). In it, a boy contemplates his own identity, as he struggles to reconcile the predominantly white world of CSW with the world of his home and family.

The Cambridge School of Weston is an independent, coeducational day school for grades 9 – 12 and post-graduate study.

Inquiries for admission should be directed to the Admissions Office at 781.642.8650.

The Gryphon welcomes class notes and photographs by alumni/ae, parents, and friends.

Please email submissions to alum@csw.org, call 781.642.8619, visit www.csw.org, or send to: Alumni/ae Relations The Cambridge School of Weston 45 Georgian Road Weston, MA 02493

CONTACT To contact the editor, email gryphon@csw.org Website: www.csw.org

TEXT GOES HERE • 3

Fall/Winter 2021

THE

Gryphon 2 Leading Thoughts 4 On the Quad 10 Faculty/Staff Spotlight: Bernice Ruiz 11 New Faculty & Staff 12 Reflections 14 Is Progressive Education Anti-Racist?

18 Interview with Roland Gibson 20 Creating Spaces 22 Racial Equity Task Force 24 Idea Committee 26 Class Notes 29 Healing From Within 36 Alum Spotlight 41 My Five

Artwork: Valeria Chavez ’22 Untitled

2 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

LEADING THOUGHTS read the testimonials and stories shared here, you will feel inspired to take action in your own life.

However, before you embark on the pages within (of which we are very proud), I would like to make a few things clear. First, we must acknowledge that one singular magazine issue cannot pretend to wholly represent, nor make amends for, all of the injustices and incidents of racism that Black and Brown members of this community have experienced. Period. What you read and see here is but the beginning of what we hope will be a continuous and ongoing effort to offer more honest, diverse, and representational content with the community moving forward.

I must also point out that while it brings me great pride and joy to see so many Black and Brown faces in this issue, CSW remains a predominantly white institution, and the abundance of diversity seen here is, unfortunately, far from reality. Please know that it is not our intention to insinuate otherwise.

Finally, we recognize that those who identify as Black or Brown are not the only victims of racism, injustice, and prejudice, at CSW and elsewhere, and we as a school are in no position to place one population’s plight over another. However, given the onslaught of horrific violence against Black and Brown people in the United States today, we felt it especially urgent to highlight this particular issue now.

Dear Community, This past spring, public outcry in response to the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black and Brown Americans served as a wakeup call for educational institutions across the nation — including CSW. Through social media, email, and other messaging platforms, alums, students, and faculty past and present called on us to acknowledge our status as a predominantly white institution, examine current practices and procedures, and take meaningful action towards becoming a more anti-racist living, working, and learning environment.

With this special edition issue of The Gryphon, the school’s most widely-read publication, we hope to extend this important work of listening, learning, and acting, to the entire CSW community, drawing your focus and attention in upon the Black and Brown experience at CSW. Our goals in publishing this issue were threefold: (1) Highlight and explore the experiences of Black and Brown students, faculty, and staff, past and present; (2) Amplify underrepresented voices in the CSW community and beyond; (3) Share some of the steps CSW has taken, and will continue to develop, in our aspiration to be an anti-racist institution. It is our sincere hope that as you

Special thanks go out to Jordan Clark ’05, Director of Student Programs for Equity & Inclusion, and Rosanna Salcedo, Dean of Equity and Inclusion, who served as guest editors on this issue, and to all of the contributors, who took the time to share their stories with us. We are so grateful for your openness and trust. In a world that can sometimes feel dominated by an inclination towards data, statistics, and charts, the personal story remains an equally powerful and essential medium. Telling your story as a student or faculty member is an important part of validating your experience here, and your voices cannot be lost.

I would also like to thank you, dear reader, for taking this important journey with us, as we seek to better the CSW experience for the students of today and tomorrow.

This is our moment to decide: How will we answer to history? Let us all commit to showing up for each other, here, now, and always.

Sincerely,

Lise Charlier, Head of School

TEXT GOES HERE • 3

Over the summer of 2020, Becca Spence ’21 worked with faculty member Tom Evans P’06,’10 to design this Black Lives Matter mural on the side of the CSW Art Building.

Students Ruby Antinori ’21, Katey Finnerty ’21, and Miranda Scripp ’21 helped bring the project to life.

4 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

ON THE QUAD

Our Path to Reopening After a fully remote spring in 2020, planning committees comprised of students, faculty, and staff, focusing on issues such as Public Health & Hygiene, Calendar & Schedule, and Diversity, Equity & Wellness, worked hard over the summer to prepare CSW for a safe return to school in the fall.

The first three weeks of school (September 8 – 25) ran with academic classes online with opportunities for students to come to campus for D Blocks (sports and other co-curriculars) in the afternoon. After weeks of professional development work on agile teaching over the summer, faculty practiced teaching from their classrooms with new technology setups the week of September 21-25. On September 29, on-campus classes resumed, albeit with a number of changes.

Students were given the chance to engage in classes virtually from home, or live and in-person on campus, meaning all faculty had to quickly learn how to simultaneously teach students in-person in their classrooms in Weston, and online, to students across the globe. This variance in engagement styles also compelled the school to completely re-imagine its schedule, building out a new weekly structure that accommodated students in multiple time zones and allowed for a weekly deep cleaning of campus.

At the start of the school year, roughly 85% of students opted to learn on-campus, with about 15% at home. Thirty-six boarding students returned to CSW to live and learn on campus, down from the usual 90 student residents.

ON THE QUAD • 5

Central American-American In honor of Latinx Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15), CSW’s Sociedad Latinx affinity group invited María J. Durán to speak at our virtual all-school assembly. María, who identifies as a Central American-American, was born in Managua, Nicaragua, and came to the U.S. when she was six years old. She is the Florence Levy Kay Fellow in U.S. Latinx Cultural Studies at Brandeis University. María spoke about her struggles to stay connected with her Nicaraguan heritage in high school and college, before rediscovering herself and her culture in graduate school. “We all have different gifts, privileges and resources,” she said. “There is a place for you in this social movement, in pursuit of social justice, that extends beyond the end of Latinx Heritage Month.”

6 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

Art Alum Series One silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly been the opportunity to connect students and fellow alums with speakers who might otherwise have been unable to come to campus. As part of a new Art Alum Series, the Office of Alumni/ae Engagement, in partnership with the Visual Arts Department, has been hosting Zoom presentations with alumni/ae artists like visual artist Martha Willette Lewis ’83, animator Abby Austin ’14, costumer Aryn Murphy ’07, illustrator and surface designer Krishna Chavda ’04, and musician Amelia Meath ’06 of the band Sylvan Esso. Be sure to stay tuned for more art alum events this spring!

Artwork by Krishna Chavda ’ 04

Native Threads On Indigenous People’s Day, CSW welcomed Jared Yazzie, owner of OXDX Clothing, a Native American-owned business based out of Tempe, Arizona, that specializes in graphic art, screen-printed apparel, and “cut’n’sew” clothing. Jared spoke about his artwork, activism, and clothing line, all of which seek to increase awareness of indigenous issues and to show the beauty of Native culture.

The name of the company, OXDX, is an abbreviation for the word “overdose,” and is a commentary on the state of modern society.

Identity Exploration Day This year, in observation of the annual event previously known as Diversity Day, CSW community members engaged in an Identity Exploration Day series, which kicked off with a moving keynote from Terrence Roberts of the Little Rock Nine. Roberts discussed his childhood growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and his journey through this pivotal moment in history, framed by the context of today. A video of Roberts’s presentation is available on the CSW website in the news and events section.

Together in advisory groups, students processed Roberts’s words and created an “identity molecule,” to more fully understand the intersectionality of race and other aspects of their identities. Students also explored the documentary Little White Lie, and read and discussed the story of Lacey Schwartz (who directed the film), as an example of someone coming to terms with their racial identity.

ON THE QUAD • 7

Was, Is, An Eclipse Artist and CSW alum Kasem Kydd ’14 gave an artist talk at assembly this fall in which they shared the thinking and inspirations behind their art, tracing back from their days as a student at CSW to the present. Their recent exhibition in the Thompson Gallery, Was, Is, An Eclipse, confronted viewers with a rumination on the roots of white supremacy and its persistent effects on Black people(s). Was, Is, An Eclipse simultaneously examined self amidst these changing times, while the installation poetically but soberingly called to memory the history of colonial slavery.

Operation Outbreak CSW’s SNAP! (Science Nerd Advisory Posse) ran a virus simulation with the entire on-campus school community this fall with the help of alum Ben Law ’13 and the team at Operation Outbreak, an innovative platform for STEM education on infectious diseases and outbreak preparedness created

by Sarasota Military Academy Prep and the Sabeti Lab at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. The app collects data to track how a virus would spread through communities like CSW.

8 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Takes the Theatre Outdoors The cast and crew of A Midsummer Night’s Dream didn’t let the COVID-19 pandemic get in the way of their fall production. This year’s show was performed both inside the theatre and at various outdoor locations throughout the CSW campus, making for a truly unique and unforgettable viewing experience.

ON THE QUAD • 9

“Being Black in White Spaces” with Julie Lythcott-Haims CSW was pleased to virtually welcome author and educator Julie Lythcott-Haims in November for a series of conversations titled “Real American: Being Black in White Spaces.” Julie Lythcott-Haims is the New York Times bestselling author of the anti-helicopter parenting manifesto How to Raise an Adult. Her TED Talk on the subject has more than 5 million views, and in 2020 she became a regular contributor with CBS This Morning on parenting. Her second book is the critically-acclaimed and award-winning prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces, and served as CSW’s 2020-21 community read.

In her talks, Julie shared moments from her life that have shaped her and her ever-evolving identity as a biracial women, like the time someone wrote the N-word on her locker in high school, or the parent of a classmate publicly insinuated that she had been unjustly accepted to Stanford University over his son, simply because of the color of her skin. She explained how these moments inspired a deep self-hatred of herself, and her Blackness, that took years for her to move past.

Julie ended her remarks with an expression of hope in, and advice for, the next generation.

“More than any generation prior to you, you know in your bones that yes, all lives do matter (should matter), and we need to make it clear that because all lives don’t matter the same in this country, we need to do something about it.”

“Don’t distort your sense of self because of someone else’s version of you,” she said. “Speak up. Speak out. Listen. Listen to others without taking the mic and making it about you.”

CSW sends a special thank you to Arthur Berndt ’68 and the Maverick Lloyd Foundation for their support. Their generosity enables us to bring great authors and speakers like Julie to the CSW community.

10 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

FACULTY/STAFF SPOTLIGHT

BERNICE RUIZ Health Education Coordinator and School Counselor

Bernice Ruiz joined the CSW community in 2017, and she holds a number of important roles in the community. As the Health Education Coordinator to new students, she builds curriculum and programming for students as it pertains to their physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.

She also coordinates the Peer Mentor Leadership Program, which trains upper school students to help deliver the orientation program for new students through their first two mods at CSW. Lastly, but certainly not least, Bernice works as a Dorm Parent in Warren House, a role she says is one of her favorite parts about working at CSW.

WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? Much of my motivation is influenced by my own long-held passion and interest in education. I’ve known I wanted to work with adolescents since I started doing so in my sophomore year in college. Whether it was leading students through the college application process, providing academic tutoring, teaching, or aiding inner-city students in applying for, receiving admittance to, and succeeding at college preparatory institutions, working with adolescents in various capacities has felt like a deep calling.

It is an indescribable feeling knowing that you are supporting individuals through what is typically one of the most challenging and formative periods of their lives.

WHAT MENTAL HEALTH TRENDS HAVE YOU WITNESSED AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN RECENT YEARS? It probably comes as no surprise that there is an increase in the number of adolescents reporting symptoms indicative that they are struggling with anxiety and depression.

Indeed, anxiety and depression are mental health illnesses that typically present themselves in tandem, having debilitating effects on one’s ability to effectively move through this important time period called adolescence. I would say that eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), and substance use disorders follow closely behind, although not necessarily in that order. What is important to point out is, not necessarily that there are more adolescents struggling with the aforementioned mental health issues, but that adolescents have become increasingly more comfortable with being open to discussing said issues and reaching out for support. More specifically at CSW, it has been incredible to witness the type of help-seeking behaviors exhibited by members of our student body. It has been encouraging to watch students consistently “show up” for one another by reaching out to their peers and/or trusted adults when they are worried about themselves or another student. CSW students are incredibly empathic and caring in that way, and that makes this school a truly special place to do this sort of important work.

WHAT IMPACT HAS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAD ON STUDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH? The COVID-19 pandemic has, understandably so, allowed for increased feelings of isolation for so many of us. For new students in particular, it has added new complexities and increased challenges to creating and sustaining authentic peer connections. For all students, it has led to a noticeable sense of loss. It is a loss for those students who have bravely chosen not to be on campus, for those who have had to forfeit whatever sense of a “normal” beginning to high school they may

ON THE QUAD • 11

WHAT IMPACT HAS THE RECENT FOCUS ON SYSTEMIC RACISM AND THE VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE HAD ON BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS AT CSW? While in some ways it has been encouraging to see increased focus and attention given to the systemic racism and violence against Black and Brown people, many students cannot help but to temper that enthusiasm with a “wait and see” approach. There have been too many instances of groups riding the wave of a significant social event, but not necessarily following through with any actionable items that feel real and genuine in a pursuit to true racial equity and justice. Students (and adults) are not interested in piecemeal or half-hearted calls to action that will temporarily assuage their concerns, only to have the same conversation once another similar event occurs in a year or two.

One of the biggest frustrations BIPoC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) students and faculty have had with the more recent focus is that the issue isn’t new; the attention is. On the one hand, it is encouraging to know that others are finally taking heed of some of the very same issues BIPoC students have been concerned and hurt about for years. Yet, on the other hand, it begs the question, “why now?” What is so different about now that has evoked such great levels of “outrage?”

For some BIPoC students, the renewed focus has made more salient how silenced and invisible they have previously felt in various spaces on campus where they are the “only ones.” The only one that seems to “care” about an issue, or perhaps seen as the only one who should (or could?) speak on issues related to racial inequities and violence. All in all, I think BIPoC students are hoping that these aren’t issues that others pretend to care about for the moment and that our whole community perceives conversations about racial equity to be an important and essential part of the fabric of a truly progressive school.

NEW FACULTY & STAFF

Alex Goldberg History Department

Astin Stratoti Theatre Department

Randy Jose Admissions Office

Rose Rosenthal Science Department

GUESS WHO! Can you match them up with the facts below?

Samson Egilman ’07 Dean’s Office

Sarah Lewites Math Department

Taylor Kaufman Theatre Department

A

E

I essentially have no sense of smell.

I was on the trial team that won five verdicts against Smithfield Pork in 2018.

I love playing frisbee golf.

I went to a bookstore party for the release of the fifth Harry Potter book and won the raffle (so I got the book for free and the first out of everyone there).

My birthday is the day before a big U.S. holiday.

I have a split chromosome, which makes my thumbs noticeably different lengths.

B

I have met and chatted with the Dalai Lama (the real one!).

I play bass for a local indie pop/rock band that has over 1 million total streams on Spotify.

I have traveled to 14 different countries outside of the U.S. C

I was born in Yokosuka, Japan.

My favorite professional wrestler of all time is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

I’ve auditioned for the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” twice, and was featured in the Boston premiere episode for three seconds in 2013.

D

I have a cat named after one of the Powerpuff Girls.

I love the beach.

I do not have a green thumb.

F

I used to bowl competitively.

For 80% of my life I have had a pet bird.

I was ranked one of the best violinists in my home state.

G

I have been studying puppetry for almost five years now.

I have been attending anime and comic conventions for 10+ years and have won several cosplay awards.

I have been to the real life Hobbiton Shire from Lord of the Rings.

ANSWERS: A. Samson Egilman ’07 B. Alex Goldberg C. Randy Jose D. Taylor Kaufman E. Sarah Lewites F. Rose Rosenthal G. Astin Stratoti

have thought they’d have, and it is a loss in terms of their ability to join in community through close contact sports and extracurricular programming, and so on. All of this works to increase our sense of isolation, while still trying to find some sense of comfort and meaning in knowing that we are going through this simultaneously. I hope it continues to challenge us to find more innovative ways to stay connected to one another.

“

12 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

“

I don’t believe they meant to be racist, but shortly before graduation, a faculty member tried to encourage me not to seek a college education. They felt it would be better for me to go to a trade school.

My father was a professor at Howard University at that time and when I told him that he hit the ceiling.” — David ’72

In my time at CSW, it was pretty common, especially for Black and Latino men, to not make it through CSW. They would be suspended or pushed out to leave, to struggle to keep up with the academics and have to leave for those reasons…

— Anonymous ’04

REFLEC “

What impressed me was how different my worlds were. And nobody ever wanted to come to my side of the street. I always had to go to their side of the street. People want to bring everybody into their world.

They don’t want to investigate the richness of the world of the other.” — Sandy ’66

“

“

I know for me, growing up, I’ve

always been told, ‘You have to work twice as hard to get half of what someone has. You always have to be at the top, number one.

You have to strive for that, or else people are going to think you’re lesser than.’” — Shari ’12

The amount of times I’ve been confused for other Black girls in the school (by white teachers especially) is ridiculous. Our population is so minuscule yet you still manage to confidently call me the wrong name and carry on a whole conversation before I stop you and tell you I’m not who you were looking for.”— Anonymous, @voicesofcsw instagram

“

REFLECTIONS • 13

At the time, my Blackness was really tied up with my socioeconomic status, which often for me meant feeling insecure about what my family had compared to what my more affluent friends had. And so I don’t think at any point, during my four years at CSW, any of my friends visited my house or came inside of my home. That was not a thing that happened. — Anonymous ’04

CTIONS “ “

My first few days at CSW I felt lost as I tried to mend two worlds that were drastically different. As a Black student I quickly realized that I could rarely be comforted by my white teachers because of their lack of awareness of their own whiteness. My BIPoC peers were outlets when I could not articulate my experiences at the time.” — Orion ’21

It is more difficult for an African American to succeed in an environment that doesn’t seek to understand that person’s ethnicity and struggle.” — Earl ’72

“

“

I’m Black and queer and I feel uncomfortable in the spaces for Black people because of my queerness, but I also feel uncomfortable in the spaces for queer people because of my Blackness.” — Anonymous, @voicesofcsw instagram

I have definitely been forced to answer questions about race in class. Almost every time a topic about race comes up in class, I am looked at and I think others (who are white) assume that I have an answer just because I’m a kid of color. It’s uncomfortable for me because I don’t know everything about race, ethnicity. etc, but others think I do.” — Anonymous, @voicesofcsw instagram

ISIS PROGRESSIVE PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION EDUCATION

By Rosanna Salcedo

ANTI-

REFLECTIONS • 15

I

started working at CSW with almost twenty years of teaching and administration under my belt, and my own experiences as a student in a variety of school settings, none of which could be described as progressive. As a first-generation Latina and the daughter of immigrants, I would say that my own education was far from progressive.

In fact, I would say that I was thoroughly institutionalized.

-RACIST?

16 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

Straight rows of desks and chairs, overcrowded classrooms, traditional (read white supremist) prescribed curricula, standardized testing, textbooks, ability grouping and tracking, and many other oppressive practices characterized my education.

However, as I immersed myself in graduate studies pursuing a degree in human development, I was exposed to progressive education ideologies. I was drawn to and impacted most by the writings of Paulo Freire, who resonated with me intellectually and spiritually. While some may consider his ideas radical, I found his ideas about the democratization and humanization of education to be sensible, compassionate, and just. I personally had both negative experiences, and experiences that were formative and affirming as a child, and I wanted to believe that if done intentionally, thoughtfully, and lovingly, school could be a place where all children flourished.

When I began my work at CSW I felt that more than any other institution I had experienced in the past, it attempted to embody some of these ideas. At CSW, every student is considered an individual with needs, interests, and passions. Students are treated with respect and encouraged to ask questions, use their voice, and become engaged members of the school community.

Freire wrote, “What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.” I see this idea in action every day at CSW. Students are encouraged to be creative, try new things, discover untapped talents, and pursue areas of interest. Close relationships with peers and adults creates an environment where many students feel comfortable and safe enough to be themselves. For many students, CSW will be the most affirming and supportive environment they will ever experience.

Unlike traditional curricula and texts that amplify the voices and ideas of those who have access, power, and privilege — events told from the perspective of the dominant group or culture, CSW values taking opportunities to amplify the voices of those who have been disenfranchised.

In its curricular focus on and consideration of historically oppressed groups, CSW attempts to approach the teaching of history by acknowledging that the voices of Native Americans, African Americans, women, and other groups have been largely omitted, and prohibited from the telling of history, and allows students to consider a broader range of perspectives.

And yet, even at this progressive school, there are students, namely students of color, who aren’t quite able to find that feeling of

belonging; they feel like guests at the dinner table, instead of hosts at the party. For the last few years I have been asking myself the question, as a progressive school, does CSW serve its BIPoC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) students well? Do we support and affirm students of color? Do they thrive at CSW? Are we adequately preparing them to thrive beyond CSW?

UNPACKING WHITE PRIVILEGE AND WHITE SUPERIORITY AT CSW With about 30% of students receiving financial aid, CSW continues to be an exclusive independent school that serves primarily families with means. Twenty-five percent of students identify as domestic students of color, and of that number only three percent of students self identify as Black. For the relatively small number of Black students who attend the school, it can be very challenging to feel like you belong when there are so few students who look like you. Although the curriculum and pedagogy attempt to be anti-racist, the culture of the school continues to be distinctly white and privileged.

One aspect of the dominant culture at CSW is a sense of privileged liberalism, which is often conflated with progressivism. Privileged liberalism often plays out as righteous intolerance of values that are not distinctly white liberal values, and a tendency to call them out. This is sometimes combined with a general lack of awareness and/or respect for cultural differences and the values of non-Western cultures. We often fail to see the double standard that exists in our society, and in our community, with regards to how white students and students of color are treated and perceived. For example, individual self-expression is valued at CSW and you will often hear members of the community say, “CSW is a place where you can be yourself,” but to what extent is that true?

“I was scared of wearing my hijab at CSW because I would hear people talk about how Muslim girls who wore hijab hated themselves, looked ridiculous, and so on. Eventually, I left the school because I couldn’t handle constantly being in denial of such a large part of myself.”

The previous quote was submitted to the Voices of CSW Instagram page anonymously by an alum. It is unclear when this student attended the school, or who she was referring to as “people.” It could have been students, adults, or both. Regardless, the message was pervasive enough that it made the student leave. Many of our students of color come from other cultures and

countries, and experience feelings of alienation when aspects of their culture, religion, or values are diminished.

As a school community that aspires to be inclusive, how do we broaden our world view and our acceptance that members of our community are not required to assimilate to the dominant culture’s values and perspectives? How can we normalize differences, and not just the types of differences we are comfortable with?

It is interesting to see how many students at CSW feel comfortable experimenting with the color of their hair, fashion, and other forms of self-expression without judgment, and yet Black and Muslim girls feel selfconscious about wrapping their hair in a scarf or head covering. Self-expression and identity exploration is valued in our community, and yet some students do not feel comfortable simply being themselves.

When we place a high value on selfexpression, we should also consider that the freedom to do so feels like a privilege to some people. In a recent conversation with a Black alum we talked about how his white peers were able to experiment with selfexpression and identity exploration in ways that felt like a privilege he could not avail himself of, because it was incoherent with the expectations at home, in his own community, and because of concern for how he might be judged as a Black person.

Something that seemed completely innocuous and even fun among white students, like wearing pajamas to school, was something he did not feel he could engage in for fear of how he might be perceived by both the dominant culture, and his own community. Having to constantly navigate the different expectations in their respective environments is a burden and a skill that students of color must master, which can ultimately leave them feeling like they do not belong in either space, and mentally and emotionally exhausted.

An example of another, more subtle way in which white dominant values play out at CSW, is a general denunciation of the idea of hierarchy because it is deemed fundamentally undemocratic. Hierarchy can be undemocratic if significant power is assigned to positions, but it need not be, and I know few organizations and institutions that do not have some sort of hierarchy.

Ideas about hierarchy and respect are entwined in many cultures, and while we may disagree with the idea of hierarchy as individuals, or even as a school, we should not place judgment or ostracize members

IS PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION ANTI-RACIST? • 17

of our community wanting and choosing to adhere to these ideas. Many people are socialized to offer respect to elders for example, and there are boundaries and behavioral norms that define relationships between people based on age, gender, level of education, etc. This includes customs about how to address each other, eye contact, register of speech, and many other ways we show respect. It may be difficult for a student of color who comes from an immigrant background to feel comfortable addressing their teacher by their first name. And it might feel diminishing to a faculty member of color who has spent many years achieving a high level of education, and is perhaps the first in their family to get an advanced degree, to forgo using a title like “Doctor.”

Having to constantly navigate the different expectations in their respective environments is a burden and a skill that students of color must master, which can ultimately leave them feeling like they do not belong in either space, and mentally and emotionally exhausted.”

At what point did CSW stop using titles?

I imagine it was still considered an educationally progressive school even when it embraced titles and other customs denoting respect. Did it stop using titles and start to address everyone by their first name as a way of downplaying hierarchy, and in the name of equality? Would it be more equitable to allow people to decide for themselves how they would like to be addressed? Are we actually less hierarchical for not using titles? Are we actually more socially progressive by not observing certain social norms, or are we just less tolerant of social conventions?

Even if we choose to adopt the norm of forgoing social practices that may seem too formal, traditional, or hierarchical, we should, as a community, at least recognize and consider that there are individuals in our community for whom informality feels casual and disrespectful. This kind of cultural awareness can only serve CSW students well as they may at some point find themselves traveling, living, and working in a country with more formal and traditional social norms. Additionally, we cannot call ourselves an inclusive school if we are intolerant of ways of being that are different from the dominant culture.

The idea that learning should, among other things, feel like play, and the valuing of choice, while perhaps pedagogically sound, are also privileged ideas in our society. I once heard a white male student at CSW talk about how he recognized that he had the privilege of not having to worry about where he went to college, what he would major in at college, or if he went to college at all.

He explained that his future was financially secure, and that he could afford to dedicate his time to any pursuit. He wasn’t being arrogant, he was being sincere, self-aware, recognizing his privilege as we were discussing inequities. This was within the context of a course called Alliance Building Across Cultural Differences, that is now part of the 11th grade PACE program. One of the goals of this program is to help students develop awareness of self and others, and the literacy to be able to understand the roots of inequity, and feel comfortable recognizing and discussing privilege.

For many students of color, getting good grades, hitting certain benchmarks, and being competitive will be the keys to access higher education and greater social mobility.

There is certainly joy in the process of doing school — making friends, sharing meaningful conversations with teachers and peers, the satisfaction of meeting and even exceeding the expectations for an assignment, feeling accomplished after your best performance — and school is also seen as necessary work for a successful future by most students and families of color.

As an inclusive school community we must develop awareness of the ways in which being a student of color has different implications in our society. We live in a racist, classist, sexist, homophobic world that has impressed on many of us that we have to be “twice as good to get half as far.” While we need to dismantle a system that is biased, we must also offer those against whom there is bias the best chances of succeeding by considering what they need to be successful. The response should include

providing sufficient scaffolding, support, clear expectations, as well as classroom pedagogy and an environment that reflect and affirm the experiences of its members.

WHAT DOES BEING AN ANTI-RACIST SCHOOL MEAN? The work of anti-racism has to be intentional, strategic, and sustained. From the boardroom to the classroom, from the kitchen staff to the chief financial officer, every member of the school community must be involved in the process of self-examination, learning awareness, and building skills to identify privilege and dismantle oppression. This requires developing a high tolerance for discomfort and mistakes, empathy, and courage. We may have to say and do unpopular and difficult things, and be steadfast, to challenge the status quo.

The work of anti-racism is not a democratic process, it is about amplifying the voices and recognizing the needs of those members in our society who have been historically disenfranchised and oppressed, even if they are in the minority, and not acquiescing to the demands of the dominant majority because they are greater in number, or because they represent the historical norm in our society.

As a school community, we have to consider the unconscious messages we perpetuate about what is valued. The work of shifting culture, dismantling ingrained ideologies, and nurturing an inclusive community of diverse learners and teachers is difficult work, and the most important work we can do as an anti-racist school. As an institution charged with shaping the intellect and character of our young citizens, we cannot ignore the responsibility of critically examining systems that were created to maintain racial and socio-economic castes, and this should begin with unpacking and critically examining our own culture, policies and practices.

As an independent school, CSW is in the position to shape the hearts and minds of our students, many of whom will go on to create and lead institutions and organizations across industries. Helping students understand how the mechanisms of racism and oppression work gives them the knowledge and awareness to choose not to be complicit. It is imperative, then, that we begin to dismantle the myths of white superiority, and examine our privilege and implicit and explicit biases in an intentional way, so that every student has the opportunity to flourish to their full potential, and become the architects and protectors of equity and justice.

Special thanks to Rae Walker ’13 and other alums who inspired aspects of this piece through our conversations and their submissions to the Voices of CSW Instagram.

18 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

INTERVIEW WITH ROLAND GIBSON

By Rosanna Salcedo

Roland Gibson worked at CSW from 1969 to 1972, serving as one of the school’s first African-American faculty members and administrators. Roland grew up in Cambridge, MA, and attended Rindge Technical High School (now known as Cambridge Rindge and Latin). His freshman year, one of his teachers said to him, “This is a goodlooking report card, boy. You should consider the college program.” Roland received this feedback as encouragement to pursue his highest aspirations.

INTERVIEW WITH ROLAND GIBSON • 19

After high school, he joined the U.S. Air Force where he served from 1955 to 1959.

During this period, he was able to see many other parts of the world, and believes that his experiences abroad were crucial to his development, widening the lenses through which he perceived the world.

In 1960, he enrolled at Eastern Nazarene College.

Roland recalls not being aware of racism until he began attending college in Quincy, MA, in the early 1960s. He remembers much hostility towards Black Americans in Boston at the time, and can think of several examples of interpersonal and institutional racism that personally impacted him.

Roland accepted his first teaching position at The Bromfield School, a public school in Harvard, MA, in 1965, and taught social studies there until 1969. He learned of The Cambridge School of Weston after a number of students left Bromfield to attend school there.

When asked why he chose to teach in a predominantly white school, Roland says that he “wanted young people to know there was life beyond their world,” and he believed he had experiences and perspectives that would enhance their world view.

CSW Dean of Equity & Inclusion Rosanna Salcedo sat down with Roland in January 2021 to learn more about his experience at CSW. CSW: How were you welcomed

to CSW by the faculty and staff? What was the onboarding like?

ROLAND: I felt welcomed and accepted — no hint

of “you don’t belong here,” from staff or students.

CSW: Were you able to find a sense of community among the faculty? ​Did you feel included?

ROLAND: As I mentioned, I felt like I “fit in.” CSW was not your typical college prep school. My understanding of what education should be was not oppositional to CSW’s approach. Progressive was the term: actions / behaviors were demonstrated: think and do, outside the box.

CSW: Did you ever experience racism with students or adults at CSW?

ROLAND: I have no recollection of personal affront by colleagues or students.

CSW: How were you

supported and affirmed by your supervisor and the community?

ROLAND: Headmaster Dave Hardy was very supportive.

He never asked me to redirect or modify my approach, which was a student-centered approach of encouraging students to explore, ask questions, and seek deeper understanding of issues, either historical or contemporary. It was okay to challenge or question traditional views. It was also okay to be yourself; one did not always need to conform.

CSW: What could the school have done more to help you feel supported?

ROLAND: I never felt unsupported. To the contrary, I felt encouraged to do more of what I was doing with students. As a history teacher, my job was to introduce them to more than one narrative about American history. Most, if not all. knew the traditional

narrative – America was great, land of the free, home of the brave. Part of my job was to introduce them to other narratives, especially in the shadow of the Civil Rights Movement. They got to read The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, a.k.a. The Kerner Commission Report, which concluded: “​O ur nation is moving toward two societies, one Black, one White — separate and unequal​.” Students could make up their own minds about what happened, why it happened, and what could be done to prevent it from happening again.

CSW: Outside of teaching,

did you play a special role with students of color at CSW? With white students?

ROLAND: I supported the anti-nuclear war movement.

I was an advisor to STOP Nuclear War, a student group. Although I did not live on campus, I spent a great deal of non-class time on campus, interacting with students and attending activities. I was available to all students. I was a role model for all students.

CSW: How do you think you impacted the school during your time as a faculty member?

ROLAND: I definitely felt I added value to what I understood CSW to be all about: There’s more to teaching than covering material. I focused on the “more.” It was not enough to know facts or to pass a test, although facts were important.

Studying history is more than a cerebral event, in the distant past. Life experiences are deeply personal and profound.

I’m truly grateful for my CSW experience, which added

value to my understanding of what education could be.

It also introduced me to the importance of leadership.

During my third and last year, the board appointed Bob Peirce as acting headmaster.

He had been director of admissions and head of boarding. The board asked him who he wanted to be his assistant. He replied, “Gibson,” and I became assistant headmaster and director of admissions. As a Black male and as an educator, I was a role model.

CSW: Have you remained connected to CSW?

ROLAND: From the time I left in 1969, I have remained connected, attending reunions, and other special events. During Jane Moulding’s tenure I became more connected. Her approach to education, to change, and her leadership skills transformed CSW. She did not know this, but she became my mentor. I consulted with her, on more than one occasion, about an educational matter I was dealing with.

CSW: What else would you like to share with us about your time at CSW?

ROLAND: In a word, my tenure at CSW was transformative.

My colleagues were an inspiration and my students enabled me to become a more effective teacher. My introduction to leadership and problem solving added significantly to my professional life and portfolio.

It’s been a very special honor to meet former students at reunions and have them share how my classes added value to their lives.

This interview has been edited for length.

20 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

CREATING SP

A

By Yelena Jeune ’07

Being “one of the few” at CSW meant that you had to exceed expectations. There were few people of color in roles of power at the school, but the ones who were there never let us forget that we had to be exceptional.

s a teenager entering into high school, you know very little about what you should expect to get out of your experience, aside from a diploma and the hope that you will make friends. I had the unique opportunity to experience another private high school before becoming a permanent student at CSW. As school years start at slightly different times in the private/independent school community, I started the school year at CSW first, but after my first week at CSW, I was offered a bigger scholarship at another school that began a week later.

In that first week at CSW, I reconnected with some friends from summer camp, toured a campus filled with art, took a course called “Food and Culture,” and I watched as the older students danced in the grass barefoot. I was both excited to start my time at CSW with some old friends and nervous that I would turn into one of the barefoot dancing students. Spoiler alert: my shoes, for the most part, stayed on. When my mother told me I had to leave CSW after that first week to attend the school that had given us more money, I was heartbroken and my experience there did nothing to make me feel better. I was surrounded by students who spent more energy flipping their golden tresses than they ever did dancing in the grass, there was no art, there were no “Food and Culture” courses, and more importantly, there were no friends. After spending some time at this other school, I quickly realized that CSW was the school for me and begged my mom to get me back in. When she did, I felt so relieved and when I stepped foot back onto campus, I knew I was home.

My whirlwind beginning at CSW gave me a great deal of appreciation not only for the school itself and what it offered, but also for curating what my experience would be moving forward. I immediately locked in friendships with all of the students of color. There were only a few of us so naturally, as marginalized groups do, we flocked to each other. Forming the United Students of Color (USC) group during my freshman year only made sense. We all spent lots of time together already, but our time at the USC meetings was intentional and focused. We used our meetings to really get to know each other, creating goals and milestones for the group to accomplish. The group paved the way for me to have a built-in support system in a predominantly white institution, where I often felt overwhelmed and overlooked. We were all different, beating the odds in almost every avenue of our lives, many of us coming from single parent or low-income producing households. We did not arrive here by mistake or accident, nor did we have the benefit of generational wealth making our presence in private school all but a foregone conclusion like some of our white classmates.

We worked hard to get here, we worked hard to stay here,

REFLECTIONS • 21

PACES and each of us had our own hurdles that we chose to work hard every day to overcome.

Being “one of the few” at CSW meant that you had to exceed expectations. There were few people of color in roles of power at the school, but the ones who were there never let us forget that we had to be exceptional.

Having this constant reminder both empowered me and tore me down. While I was inspired by the Black leaders who pushed me, I also resented that they, not the white faculty, were the only ones constantly reminding me that I was different, widening the gap of difference between “us” and “them.”

USC was the only space for the students of color to be just that, united in our shared difference, comfortable in our color, free to intentionally talk about some of the experiences we were having in school and emboldened to organize monumental trips like the first-ever Historically Black College tour that served us. However, when those meetings ended, that was it. There weren’t very many spaces in CSW that celebrated racial identity, so we took it into our own hands to create more. During my time at CSW, we started USC, we created the first all students of color theater company, and we launched the first hip hop dance team by the time I was a senior. CSW encouraged student leadership and it was great that we had the agency as students (as kids!) to create space where there wasn’t, but I wish that as students (as kids!) we didn’t have to.

Although most of us never felt that the predominantly white staff and faculty ever intentionally made us feel different, seeing the lack of intention around creating safe spaces for us as a minority group forced us to identify the differences and make the change ourselves.

I am still friends with all of the Black kids that I knew at CSW, one of them is my roommate in Brooklyn, another was my roommate when she first moved to New York and most of them I talk to on a weekly basis. Why is that? Why have we held on so fast and so tight to one another? I now realize that although we did not talk about it then, although we do not name it now, our bond is unbreakable because we went through something unique together. We created safety for each other at a time we did not know we needed it, in a place we never thought we would be in.

We were the only Black kids at a predominantly white high school. The only. Shared experience takes something from you and gives it back to you different, not better, or worse, but different.

I hope that future BIPoC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) students at CSW forge these same bonds, though I also hope the circumstances are different. I hope they do not have to seek out or create these safe spaces but that the spaces are already there for them to enter into with ease. Yet still, I hope that if CSW fails to create these spaces for these students, that the students of color at CSW continue to make a way where there is no way, either bolstered by the institution or in spite of it.

REFLECTIONS Alumnus Kenneth Johnson ’00 considers the question: What do you wish others knew about your experience as a Black student at CSW? Ground yourself. Frankly, in 1996 the CSW Black population was still stuck in tokenism; upon my arrival from Roxbury, I experienced immediate culture shock and hyper-visibility (fishbowl effect, expected but not prepared for, being Black with an afro) from the time I reached Brookline Village on my morning commute to when I returned that evening. I immediately took refuge in the handful of Black faces I could find while remaining open to the rush of attention from what felt like everyone.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to faculty members Ingrid Tucker and Brian Walker, who both had similar backgrounds as me and their words of encouragement helped me ground myself and keep going.

Microaggression Preparedness. My freshmen year had me constantly asking “was I the first Black kid from (a Boston) Public School?” because I experienced trouble trying to communicate and connect with my peers and teachers. I wish I knew then what microaggressions were, as many of the hurdles I faced were with faculty who treated me like an experiment that stuck with me for years. Despite the chip on my shoulder that my experience left, the cultural education I received from meeting people from so many wonderful countries with their own cultures and languages has helped me tremendously to navigate all social interactions I’ve dealt with. So, though I would not trade it for any other high school education, partly because I know I would have had a similar experience in any of the New England private schools that accepted me, I felt unprepared to defend my agency from the persistent slights. My Momma would be my Johnnie Cochran for the times I was the victim of baseless allegations, price gouging, and tone-dead remarks (I’ve removed the dissertation-length details).

In summary, you passed the tests, jumped through all the hoops and the quad holds space for all walks of life; don’t let anyone make you feel like you do not belong.

PS: I hope my experience is an old relic and will not be shared by current Black students or faculty, eventually becoming a “look how far we’ve come” anecdote... I also believe diversity comes from the top down, so there’s still much work to do at CSW, which has done well hiring women but could do better with POC (People of Color) in top positions, which mirrors the USA’s comfort level with progress in diversity. Finally, I am grateful for the friendships and bonds I’ve made through my four years at CSW and hope for Black students that since I experienced that, hopefully you won’t have to go through that. Peace.

22 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

“WE ASK THAT YOU LEAVE ROOM AND SPACE FOR BLACK VOICES. WE ASK THAT YOU WORK HARD TO EDUCATE YOUR PEERS, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR COMMUNITY OUTSIDE OF CSW. WE ASK THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT BLACK STUDENTS ARE HURTING RIGHT NOW, AND THAT IT IS NOT YOUR JOB TO BE THEIR VOICE, BUT TO AMPLIFY THEIR VOICE. WE ASK THAT YOU USE YOUR ANGER NOT TO DROWN OUT THEIRS, BUT TO FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICE. Statement f rom CSW United Students of Color June 2020

RACIAL EQUITY TASK FORCE • 23

Charge

Timeline

The CSW Racial Equity Task Force will define desired outcomes for the experience of Black and Brown students, and determine which data to collect and analyze to ensure that CSW continues to make progress on advancing racial equity. It will also analyze existing data and produce a report with findings and recommendations, which the Dean of Equity and Inclusion and the Head of School will present to the Board of Trustees.

JA N UA R Y

Purpose

Begin data collection using focus groups and other empirical data.

Finalize collection protocol and initiate rollout.

F E B R UA R Y

Concerns have been voiced about racial equity on our campus We want to dig deeper and give more voice to students who identify as Black and Brown CSW is a microcosm of the larger society and we have to address these issues here first We want to include the community in this process, hence the different constituencies represented in the task force (board members, administrators, faculty, staff, students, alums, parents) and focus groups.

Goals for CSW

Continue data collection.

Begin data analysis in small groups.

MARCH

Continue data analysis.

Identify themes, trends, and findings.

Present findings within task force.

APRIL

Ensure Black and Brown students have equitable access to opportunity and participation in school life.

Make sure Black and Brown students feel supported, affirmed, and experience a sense of belonging.

Embrace anti-racism as a way of being: a school free of racial bias and institutional racism.

We want to identify what racial disparities exist in terms of access and experience, and make recommendations for how to address them.

Draft recommendations and report.

A full report will be shared with the CSW community as soon as it is available.

The Racial Equity Task force plans to conduct focus groups with students and alumni/ae who identify as Black or Brown. They will be reaching out to provide specific information. The Task Force recognizes that there may be a level of distrust about providing information, and has therefore hired an independent consultant to facilitate these focus groups.

Task Force Members Allie Altman P’12, Trustee Lace Campbell, Theater Department Chair Lise Charlier, Head of School Jordan Clark, Director of Community Programs for Diversity Equity & Inclusion Neta Crawford P’18, Trustee

Lindsay Gould ’18 Cynthia Harmon, Trustee Patricio Hernández, Spanish Faculty, Administrative Council Qai Hinds ’23 Tara Keppler P’15,’18,’20, Director of Admissions

Dmitri Kiryk ’21 Meira Levinson P’24 Fredrick Mann P’23 Bernice Ruiz, Counselor, Health Educator, Dorm Parent Rosanna Salcedo, Dean of Equity and Inclusion Diane Scott P’23

Kevin Smith, Science Department Chair Folashade and Jesse Solomon P’23 Kareema Thomas ’08 Rae Walker ’13 Warren Wang ’23 Anna Whitney ’21

24 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

IDEA COMMITTEE

Meaningful Changes for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programming Over the past four years, the Department of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion has embarked on a journey to recognize and enhance the core values of our school’s programming. Community involvement in this process has been key, with CSW’s Diversity Committee playing an important role in shaping community objectives.

Comprised of elected students, faculty, and staff, the Diversity Committee strives to make CSW an open and safe community that encourages all voices to be heard in a respectful manner, promoting the enrichment of our school culture through discussions, events, and wide-ranging curricula. As a committee, the group seeks to foster a campus that provides a sense of inclusiveness that reflects the broad range of ages, races, genders, ethnicities, cultures, nationalities, religions, sexual orientations, social and economic classes, and physical and learning differences in our community. There are two representatives from each class and meetings are open to all.

The Committee recently examined the goals and accomplishments of the work they have done and challenged themselves to strengthen and grow the work for the future, establishing the following priorities: 1. Strengthening leadership 2. Empowering committee members 3. Rebranding the committee and programs 4. Creating a legacy

A New IDEA This past spring, members of the Committee collectively agreed the time had come to re-examine their name. For weeks, committee members reviewed their goals and brainstormed names that they felt better encompassed the core tenets of their work. They arrived at the IDEA Committee — Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action. The key word is “Action.” Through guest speakers, workshops, all-school programming, curriculum development, etc., IDEA Committee will continue to bring topics to the community that provide a space for learning, personal growth, and common language, with a specific focus on anti-racist work.

Identity Exploration The Committee also rebranded the event formerly known as “Diversity Day,” a full day of workshops exploring a variety of topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, ranging from cultural traditions and stereotypes to gender, class, and body image. This important day on CSW’s annual calendar will now be known as, “Identity Exploration Day,” a name that more aptly encompasses the mission for the day, which calls on community members to share aspects of their identities, in doing so developing a deeper understanding of themselves and those around them.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Toni Singleton School Nurse I see joining this committee as an extension of my personal, professional and global commitment to achieving a more just, equitable, kind, and humane world. I believe every school has a culture and that school culture lives organically in a space that can have the capacity to influence both local and global communities with the clear expression of its ideas and ideals. I take immense pleasure in bearing witness to and participating in the exploring, toiling, and forming of individual and ultimately, organizational, conscious awareness. The work that is achieved in this committee can be foundational in supporting social justice at CSW by exemplifying mutual respect and dignity for all of the members of our community. It is light. It is beauty. It is love.

Ella Harrington ’21 I chose to join the IDEA Committee because I care deeply about helping CSW to be an equitable and informed community. I feel that as a white person, it is my responsibility to put in the personal and actionable work towards dismantling white supremacy. I am excited to learn, listen, and work with my CSW peers and faculty. In a community that prides itself on its dedication to social justice, I believe it is imperative that our actions match our intentions. IDEA Committee is essential to this goal because it is creating a framework for work to be done by implementing policy, projects, and personal support in pursuit of our shared goals.

Arissa Emile ’22 I find it important to make sure everyone’s voices are heard and understood. As a Black woman at a predominantly white institution, I know how it feels to not have your voice heard. I think it is very important for everyone to feel heard and comfortable. IDEA Committee is the place to achieve that. The work IDEA Committee does is important because the Committee works to make sure that everyone feels included and understood in the CSW community and to bring awareness to important topics

James Foleno ’24 I chose to join IDEA Committee because I want to be an advocate for social justice.

Because I am a white man, it is important for me to use my privilege to fight oppression. I want to be part of a younger generation that supports the values of the IDEA Committee. Even though CSW is a progressive school, we have lots of room for growth. I would like to be a part of positive change.

The IDEA Committee carries forth the message of social justice throughout CSW. It is important to educate the CSW community around oppression and its impacts. IDEA Committee also gives a voice to those who have been historically silenced. As a school, we must stand on the side of justice.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! In spite of all the challenges this year, CSW is thriving. Our faculty have gone above and beyond to respond to the moment, adapting their classrooms to a hybrid learning environment in support of our students, and all of our community members have worked hard to follow safety protocols keeping themselves and one another safe.

We are proud of all that our school has been doing but recognize that

none of this would be possible without you and the support you have shown CSW. Because of you, CSW has been able to pivot from a position of strength, seizing upon our progressive values and the financial security your past generosity has helped to garner.

Special thanks go out to the following individuals, who have dedicated their time, energy, and expertise towards a safe reopening of school. We could not have done it

A note to teachers, parents, students, alumni/ae, and staff from Head of School Lise Charlier.

without you: Jill Finnerty P’21, Ann Gorson P’16, Paula Henry P’16,’18, Phebe Kiryk P’21, Nancy Sieber P’16,’18, David Sinclair P’21, and Carey Thomson P’22.

We wish you all continued health and safety. We are all of us in this together, and though none of us can predict what the future holds, we know that there are brighter days ahead. Thank you for being a part of this community and for your support and care.

26 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

CLASS NOTES 1940s Maggie Domini ’44: I am still alive! I have various aches and pains, but still have my own home and activities. My Domini family and my own Colt family bring me enormous pleasure. I am staying with my daughter to ride out the pandemic, but hope to return to Florida after being vaccinated. With deep gratitude for the end of Trump and his henchmen.

Paul Sapir ’46: Have been retired from the practice of psychiatry and psychoanalysis for nearly ten years. I had mixed feelings about winding up this central part of my life, but it was appropriate and timely to do so.

Our twin sons are well, and two grandchildren are thriving, the older of which is now at Shady Hill School, which many CSW classmates attended. If there is a reunion (75th) in 2021 it will be something to look forward to.

Penny Witte Allderdice ’49: We have been living life during the pandemic with our hens in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

1960s Esther Miskolczy Pasztory ’61: When the coronavirus began, I had been working on a book of essays entitled, Our Lady of the Amazon, about present and future trends. I had to rewrite and and rethink a lot!

Steve Webber ’62: Steve made a recent trip to campus to meet with Head of School Lise Charlier and visit the costume shop in the Mugar Center for Performing Arts.

Steve and his siblings (Ronald Webber ’58, Karen Webber Mulhauser ’60, Susan Webber Risho ’65, and Peter Webber ’66) named the costume shop in memory of their mother Leta Henderson Webber.

Heather Reed ’66: Greetings to all my classmates. This certainly has been an unforgettable year. I hope you and your families are all well and able to find glimpses of light each day. During this year, I was able to see a number of you and other CSW-ers, including Sarah Ladd Meiklejohn ’66 and her husband, Jon, Judy City Bernstein and her husband, Al, and my roommate Marsha Thomas Cymerman ’68 and her husband, Allen. I joined in zoom sessions with Richard Shapiro ’66, Tony Barnston ’66, and Ed Hamilton ’66, and almost got to see Glenn Wright ’66 in Maine. I’ve also had a lot of email and text chats with some of you, and I am grateful for our continued contact. I encourage you all to reach out to one another any way you can. There may be some who could use an extra hug that we aren’t aware of.

We need to keep our family well and keep the love we have for one another bright.

2021 marks our 55th anniversary of graduation, and

Penny Witte Allderdice ’49 with some feathered friends!

Heather Reed ’66 enjoying a walk along the beach and finding nature along the way.

soon we’ll begin planning our reunion (April 30 – May 2, 2021).

It will be virtual this time. Jill Harkaway ’66 has kindly offered to help me as a co-organizer, and she and I have already attended a zoom preplanning meeting. Reunion can be anything we choose it to be, and CSW is behind us 100%. We can have a virtual talent show, brunch, cocktail hour, dinner, discussion group, memorial service, break into small groups, etc. If anyone would like to volunteer to help or has special ideas and requests for our reunion, please let me know. Granted, it won’t be nearly the same as being on campus, and topping our 50th will be hard to do,

Steve Webber ’62 visting the CSW Costume Shop.

but the one great benefit of going virtual is that we can hopefully bring in our classmates who live remotely or overseas. It might even be the first time we’ve “seen” them since graduation. If anyone’s contact information has changed, please let me know so I can update my records and notify the school.

Blessings to each of you. I hope to see you in April if not before. — Heather Heath Reed ’66, Class Agent/Den Mother Anki Wolf ’67: Although 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, I had three grandchildren this year. My older son, Matt, and his wife had a baby boy in late August,

CLASS NOTES • 27

and my younger son, Jake and his wife had twin girls the day after Thanksgiving.

Very exciting for all of us. My husband, Mark, and I have been living in New Hampshire since COVID hit in mid March.

On a brief vacation to Martha’s Vineyard in October, we visited with Lisa Wiesner ’67 and her husband, Fred Volker.

Jonathan Haydn ’67: I’ve been painting for years now, sculpture on the back burner, all in my little northwest Arkansas home. I wanted to add a photo of my November painting: Hope trumps Fear Based Power for Joe and Kamala. TLC to all. P.S. my

website is currently in transition mode.

Nancy Eldred Williams ’68: I passed my “stay at home” time by waiting for, and then receiving, back surgery. In January 2020, I rolled over in bed, felt something funny in my back, and then couldn’t stand or walk. Loads of fun. My back is a mess due to spinal stenosis.

After several steroid injections — some successful, others not — I had a L2 laminectomy and a L4-5 fusion in August. Recovery is very slow. However, the good news is that I have a grandson, Elliott, born in March. I haven’t met him in person, but we are hoping to do so in January 2021.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Everyone is invited to submit news to the Alumni/ae Office. Please email news and photos to alum@csw.org.

I hope my fellow classmates are doing well. The 50th class reunion in 2018 was terrific!

Roger Conrad ’69: After retiring in 2014 from a career with the Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for International Development, we relocated to Amelia Island, Florida, in early March 2020. We were fortunate to move into our new home just before the COVID lockdown.

Artwork by Jonathan Haydn ’67: Hope trumps Fear Based Power.

Virginia Giritlian ’69: I had the great privilege of attending a CSW reunion back in Spring 2019, the first time I had been back to the campus since I graduated in 1969. The quad, the surrounding buildings, and the view of the field have not changed that much, and so it was certainly a flood of memories. Seeing old friends and teachers was phenomenal and we continue to communicate on Facebook.

Join our group if you dare!

There is a certain quality about Cambridge School grads. We learned to think and evaluate, and that never left us. I live in the Los Angeles area and welcome any communications from my alumni friends.

Colored pencil drawing by Catherine Clark Demetriadi ’70 during a week on the Isle of Skye.

Anna Dibble Newton ’69: Hi! Latest here is that two years ago I started a collaborative arts/ecology nonprofit, Gulf of Maine ECOARTS, and our main project is creating a large-scale sculpture installation at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine. We hang it October 2021, and it will be in place for a year. The collaborative consists of students and teachers from 12 schools (middle through college level), a curated team of 8 professional artists, and regular input from the phytoplankton research scientists at Bigelow. I am also continuing to paint a lot. My

work was just was accepted into the 2021 biennial show at Portland Museum of Art, which will run from February 12 to May 2021. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep the museum open during at least some of the run. Things are going very well here in Freeport, Maine! Recently turned 70 — daunting, but I think it’s given me a new kind of energy.

Todd Sostek ’69: I recently retired after 38 years with SoCalGas, a large natural gas utility in Los Angeles. I was blessed with a fantastic career being on the ground floor of the environmental movement in the early 1970s. Hats off to teachers Mario Castillo and Finlay McQuade for helping me on the pathway towards making a significant contribution to our planet’s well-being. I am happily married and living in Glendale, California.

1970s Catherine Clark Demetriadi ’70: I plan to work in the international charity sphere for the foreseeable future (no retirement in the offing, i.e.!) and will be relaunching FundraisingPoint as PhilanthropyPoint in the new year, reflecting the holistic nature of the consultancy and welcoming new associates with African fundraising and communications expertise.

Lockdown found me and husband/business partner Julian furloughed by the UK government. We have spent much of our down time exploring the wonderful local Wigtownshire and Galloway landscapes in dozens of long walks. A September week on the Isle of Skye, between

28 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

COVID-19 restrictions, inspired me to start drawing again.

My son, James Clark ’05, was in twenty-three-and-a-half hour lockdown for much of the spring and summer, but has remained well and even cheerful throughout. We managed to visit him in a mad March dash to Boston, days before U.S.-UK travel was banned by the U.S. government. James would love to hear from his classmates!

Celeste Nossiter ’70: I retired from college textbook publishing four years ago.

During this pandemic I’ve been leading a more contemplative, creative life and relishing the slower pace. Although I’ve been an avid knitter for a long time, I’m enjoying playing with embroidery on felt. I’ve also had yarn made from my own sheep and goats, which is too much fun! Below is a hat I made with Mohair from my Angora goat. The pink felt piece is Circus (11”x27”); the blue one is Growing (6”x9”).

Artwork by Celeste Nossiter ‘70.

Artwork by Jody Guralnick ’71.

Amy Goldstein ’70: We are fine, COVID notwithstanding.

Doing our best to not let the pandemic get in our way. But, like you, missing hugs and more. Hope to spend time in Maine during 2021. Wishing everyone well.

hopes, share about partners, grandkids, and others in our lives, gab about movies... You name it! I am very glad that we’ve established this new WALRUS. Particularly during the pandemic it’s been a terrific way to connect.

Jackie Reizes ’70: After our virtual reunion, our class and friends began meeting twice monthly for online WALRUS. Some of you may remember Friday afternoon tea/discussion at the head’s house. The inspiration was, of course, “The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things...” It has been delightful to catch up, forge new relationships, and chitchat with fellow alums. We routinely have six to twelve participants, and of course welcome “newbies” to join us.

Our group has been involving members of our class and adjoining classes who live all over the place, from Hawaii to Scotland. We reminisce, talk politics, celebrate accomplishments, share

Jody Guralnick ’71: Jody’s latest project, Prima Lingua: First Words of the Earth is currently on display at the Denver Botanic Gardens (December 19, 2020 – March 14, 2021). Jody’s work explores the intersection of science and art, bringing to light the microscopic and often unnoticed structures of lichens, mushrooms, molds, and more.

Petie Moeller ’71: I retired from Kaiser Permanente in 2018, after 29 years there providing occupational therapy services to the pediatric population, including the tiniest humans in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into my retirement routine. Like many

others I stepped up my baking skills (maybe not such a great plan!), taught myself to sew face masks (donated around 600 to date), and focused my attention on my garden (going native) and my neighborhood. Have also written many hundreds of political postcards; I am currently writing to Georgia Democrats. Grateful always for the CSW community. STAY WELL. Hope to see 1971 and friends in person in 2022.

Elizabeth Meyer ’71: Hello, friends. I live on a farm in Westport, Massachusetts, with Michael, my husband of 30 years. We are both sailors, boat and building restorers and preservationists (houses, barns and other commercial structures), and outdoorsy types.

CSW was one of the two most important influences on my life.

The other, and honestly greater influence, was Alamoosook Island Camp (AIC) in Maine.

Quite a few CSW students are/were also AIC campers.

Robert Friesen ’71: It’s tough to come up with a cheerful opening line to accompany ten months of COVID. I have been busy attempting to keep a new company afloat and completing many post-divorce house projects. The company failed and we are closing it down.

But new opportunities always come up. I am on the boards of advisors of two healthcare companies and advising the founder of a terrific gourmet charcuterie company (Tempesta Artisan Salumi) that satisfies my enduring love for cooking and eating. Bob Vickers ’71 learned the virtues of Tempesta’s “Dante” sandwich in person during a Chicago stopover as part of his recent nationwide Tour de COVID. He stopped in Chicago on his cross-country COVID-beDamned driving tour and we celebrated his birthday at Chicago’s wonderful RPM Steak restaurant. What an evening for a couple of 39-year-olds.

Ummm… okay, 40-year-olds.

But still displaying all of the maturity of a pair of 16-year-olds, so all is good. Board work is less demanding than consulting,

CLASS NOTES • 29

Healing From Within

Robert Friesen ’71 and Bob Vickers ’71 celebrate Bobby’s birthday in Chicago.

Ssanyu Birigwa ’95 is an indigenous bone healer, Ugandan shaman, and narratologist. She describes her work as an endeavor to “bring in the intersectionality of how our stories are embedded into the ways in which we show up in life, and how is it that we can attune to these narratives that live in our bones, and in our bodies.”

As the CSW community and so many around the world find themselves burdened with elevated levels of stress, anxiety, and tension, we asked Ssanyu to share strategies for slowing down and making space.

Set Intentions

Ignite a daily practice that’s going to propel you forward into the day with a positive attitude. One way to do that is to set an intention. Your intention could be to be kinder to yourself, to be a better listener, to rest when you feel tired, or not to judge yourself or others. “We’re all energy,” says Ssanyu.

“There’s energy around us, we are energy, it propels that into the world. The universe can’t help but to conspire to make that intention be what it is.”

Remember to Breathe David Holzman ’71 and his dog, Natalie, running along the beach on Cape Cod.

although I do miss the day-today partnering with executives to address strategic and innovation challenges and may seek a project or two in the future. Seriously, think about my look from sophomore year. Was the first thought in your head, “He’s going to love working with the leaders of corporate America?” Our 50th reunion of ‘71 + Friends will most certainly be delayed for a year. Class members overwhelmingly opted for an in-person event and I am not foolish enough to try to reverse the tide.

David Holzman ’71: My two favorite personal essays got published this year. Google “Heeding her invitation six decades later,” a story about my

mother and me, and “’60s summer Peugeot 404,” which is my version of “A La Recherche du Temps Perdue” (in search of lost time), the 404 being my madeleine that brings back the year in France.

Besides that, I wrote a lot about HIV, COVID-19, microbiology, and pain medicine, and other medically related stuff for various clients, including Harvard Medical School. My dog, Natalie, a border collie, and I have probably run around 800-900 miles this year, mostly in Beaver Brook Reservation, but some on the Cape this fall.

And I’ve had fun interacting with classmates on Facebook and a little bit via zoom. I’m hoping I will see you in person for our 50th in 2021.

Take a deep breath in and exhale out. Bring your hands to your heart and feel your heartbeat, your aliveness. Concentrating on your breathing will allow you to slow down.

Practice Gratitude

Develop a regular routine for acknowledging all that is good in your life. Keep a dedicated journal by your bed and write down five to ten things you are grateful for. It can be simple, Ssanyu says — I’m grateful my refrigerator works; I’m grateful that I have clean water to drink; I’m grateful I can walk.

Show Up for Yourself and Commit

“I’m East African. We drink coffee, I like my coffee,” says Ssanyu. “But if I can commit to making my coffee every day, why can’t I commit to just making an intention?” As you seek to integrate self-care into your life, allow yourself to start small, and be consistent. As habits form, and you begin to feel the benefits, you can then start to expand your practice.

Learn more about Ssanyu’s work and practice at www.letgoandletlove.com and follow her on Instagram at @ssanyubonehealer.

Photo credit: Shelby Gordon photography

30 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

Andy Ruina ’71: Andy was featured in Ithaca Times in July 2020. The article touched on Andy’s history in Ithaca and the many ways he and his family give back to the community. In repsonse to the pandemic, one of Andy’s social justice projects, The Bryant Avenue Sewing Group, made over 4,000 face masks for healthcare workers and migrant farm workers in the area.

Jane Ira Bloom ’72: I participated in an online fundraiser in July 2020 called, “Live From Our Living Rooms Creative Summit & Fundraiser” for musicians in need.

Lissa Castillo ’73: Greetings, all. I am living in Northampton now, in Western Massachusetts. I set out to seek my fortune for the second time nearly ten years ago. The first time, back in 1977, I was in an on again/off again relationship with Michael Coffey, traveling (sometimes together) back and forth across the country for several years. I/we lived in Madison, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Seattle. (In SLC and Seattle I/we lived with Yda Smith ’73 briefly). I had the idea to make papier mache masks for my living, which proved impractical, so I took various temp jobs in factories, restaurants, cafeterias and whatever other opportunities came my way.

Mostly food service. In 1980 we had our first child, and our wandering days were over; or, at least limited to Eastern Massachusetts. Our firstborn child, Vernon, grew up and joined the circus; in 1987 we had George, who grew up and headed to Hollywood to do stand-up comedy, and in 1991 we had William, who grew up and headed off to the woods, (the Appalachian Trail, and others). So when the kids got all grown, I set out for my second round of autonomous pursuits (augmented by day-jobs), and I’m trying to crank up my craft-making operations, and make more art

Lissa Castillo ’73 working with collegues at Belly of the Beast and two friends modeling her papier-mâché masks.

again. Michael is doing his own thing, growing vegetables and maintaining trails on conservation land in Central Massachusetts (and good luck to him). I am sharing a living space with my very first best friend, Erinn Ervin (her older brother, Stephen Ervin ’69, went to CSW). Erinn and I were practically inseparable from toddlerhood ’til puberty, and are together again after menopause. Currently, my day-job is dishwasher and prep cook at Belly of the Beast, www.bellyofthebeastma.com, a small, unique restaurant in downtown Northampton. Belly has been here for almost four years, vigorously striving to run a no-waste kitchen.

Butchering whole animals in-house, making our own bacon, ham, pastrami and sausage (also known as a great restaurant for vegans).

We try to utilize every bit of vegetables, animals, and other food ingredients, source sustainable products, and recycle or compost as much of our waste as we can. Currently, due to the pandemic, all the food is served via take-out or delivery. The sales dropped to an unsustainable level, but an exciting collaborative venture has breathed new hope: a group of indigenous chefs, seed savers, and knowledge keepers: www.icollectiveinc. org. It’s lovely to work with new personnel, new menus, and cooking techniques. The I-Collective members have traveled to Northampton from

Seattle, Michigan, New Mexico, and Oaxaca. The Oaxacan Mixteco chef, a founding member of the I-Collective, has lived locally for many years; all other cooks who traveled from afar underwent stringent testing and quarantining before physically entering our workspace. I am making the tortillas for Taco Sundays, a skill I learned from my grandmother at an early age. It is a full-time job for the day, 300+ tortillas in 5 hours of service, but they are so very fresh and tasty, superior to the alternative (commercially made) version. Belly of the Beast is applying for (more) PPP loans and grants, and the I-Collective has had a GoFund-Me campaign to help out, but the collaboration ended at the start of 2021. It remains to be seen if Belly will be forced to shutter their doors due to the pandemic. We hope the grants come through (please, let your congresspeople know that more funding should go to the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation Small Business Grant Program! As it is, only 9% of the overwhelming number of applicants will receive much needed funds). It is hard enough to create a successful eatery in the best of times, and these are not those. But enough about my employers.

In general I feel lucky to have good health, loving family, and to maintain connections with many CSW friends and acquaintances through social

media. I’m enjoying making art, and look forward to increasing my connections with other creative people.

My latest series of work is: “Fully functional art masks” and pandemic puppets. You can see some of my artwork at www.facebook.com/ Lyssamasks. Good health and fortune to all reading this!

William “Billy” Rising ’79: After living overseas in American Samoa, Guam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia for the past 33 years, Billy has repatriated to the U.S. He is now living with his wife, Celeste, in Alexandria, Virginia, and working in international relations for FreeportMcMoRan Inc. He continues to be in regular contact with Nevin Shalit ’79, Frank Araby ’79, Karen Ascheim Wysopal ’80, Edith Lockhart DiFrancesco ’81, and Kevin Redmond ’81, and would love to reconnect with others!

1980s Lelia Elliston ’80: From the Weston Town Crier newspaper: Elliston Farm on South Avenue has a noble history. Bill Elliston, a Children’s Hospital orthopedic surgeon, and his wife Harriet Elliston ’22, an anthropologist, loved farming and gardening and purchased the property at 263 South Ave. in 1937. They received peonies as gifts from patients and then

CLASS NOTES • 31

Dashka Slater ’81: What a strange year it’s been! I had a busy year of travel planned with two books released in 2020 (The Book of Fatal Errors, a middle grade fantasy novel, and A Book for Escargot, the standalone sequel to my picture book, Escargot), but 2020 had other plans. Instead, I’ve been at home busily working on new books and hoping next year will allow me to promote them. Ways of staying sane include texting through the weirdness with Karen Wysopal ’80, Edith Lockhart DiFrancesco ’81, and Kevin Redmond ’81, and fighting the sense of the walls closing in by swimming in San Francisco Bay. This is my first winter as an open water swimmer and I’m completely obsessed. The pandemic has brought many of us former pool swimmers into the wild and we have our own lively cult as we endlessly discuss such topics as “acceptable levels of hypothermia” and “seals: how close is too close?” I hope everyone is well!

Lelia Elliston ’80 and her roadside farm stand.

Isabel Balseiro ‘81’s new book, The Passport That Does Not Pass Ports.

more peonies from Weston friends. Later, a director of the Arnold Arboretum gave peonies to the Ellistons, so peonies soon became a hallmark of Elliston Farm, where bouquets were for sale out front on South Avenue.

It’s worth noting the Ellistons were active in supporting the Roxbury Weston program, a precursor to Weston’s METCO. Lelia Elliston moved to Weston in 1985 to help Harriet after Bill’s death. She has found the

Recent books by Dashka Slater ’81.

property a labor of love that she now shares with her life partner, Suzanne Hecker, a social worker. Lelia’s day job is business analyst at State Street Corporation. Out on the street an upright umbrella is a signal to passersby that flowers are for sale and sometimes herbs, potted plants, and extra vegetables.

Lelia says sales at the stand are by the honor system, with some people now paying through Venmo, a phone

app. The Facebook page is “Elliston Farm.” Customers often leave notes that Lelia and Suzanne treasure, notes that now are under magnets on their refrigerator.

Isabel Balseiro ’81: Isabel recently published a new book, The Passport That Does Not Pass Ports: African Literature of Travel in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Isabel and Zachariah Rapola (Michigan State UP, Fall 2020).

Angus Kerr ’81: Greetings to all! I hope this finds you safe and happy. After 30 years as a special education teacher in Harlem and Washington Heights, NYC, I retired September 5, 2019. I was blessed, avoiding the COVID pandemic in schools that took so many of us. My wife, Tomoko, is still designing for Coach and we live between NYC and Newport, Rhode Island. However, with the pandemic, I am in Rhode Island studying Tai Chi. I miss you all and think of you often.

Ray Tamaddon ’81: I have discovered recently that all I need to practice law from anywhere on the planet — including making court appearances, taking depositions, and participating in meetings — is a reliable WiFi. My daughter completed her first college semester 400 miles away from her college town in her bedroom.

In light of all this, I would love a remote Class of 1981 reunion!

32 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

company — which bills itself as the world’s longest-running LGBTQ theater — has already produced 33 online shows this year. Overlooked Latinas has been updated for a web presentation, among other revisions.”

1990s

Seth Jacobs ‘82’s new book.

Rebecca Parkhill ’85 and Metrowest Womens Fund co-founder Rachel Sagan.

Koh Kozuru ’21 at the piano with Joan Gitlow

Seth Jacobs ’82: My fourth book, Rogue Diplomats: The Proud Tradition of Disobedience in American Foreign Policy, was just published by Cambridge University Press. The reviews thus far have been great!

Rebecca Parkhill ’85: I recently started a new social venture that supports women and girls from low incomes in Metrowest Boston. We focus on education, safety from violence, and girls, our next generation. So far we’ve given out grants of over $43,000 in the community. Our website is www.metrowestwomensfund. com. I’d love to hear from any CSW alumni/ae who are interested in supporting this work. Thank you!

Jeff Hayes ’86 and Niho Kozuru ’86: Niho and I brought Koh Kozuru ’21, who is a CSW student since 2019, with his family to meet Joan Gitlow and her husband, Ben, in Wellfleet in 2008. Ben was an engineer who worked on parts for the Space Shuttle, and plays fascinating improvisational piano. He encouraged Koh to improvise instead of play the song he had been practicing.

Koh is five-years-old here (see photo) and was quite accomplished already.

Tina D’Elia ’87: Tina recently received a great review in the San Francisco Chronicle of her solo show “Overlooked Latinas” presented by Theatre

Tina D’Elia ’87’s critically acclaimed show “Overlooked Latinas.”

Rhinoceros: “When Tina D’Elia performed her solo show Overlooked Latinas at Brava Theater Center last year, the piece thrummed with potential.

She showed a flair for farce; an ability to define character with gesture — a grimace, say, or sashay — and a strong social conscience. Part of the mission of her play, and the TV-pilotwithin-her-play, is to give trailblazing Latina movie stars — Dolores del Rio, Rosaura Revueltas and Lupe Velez, among others — their due. So it’s galvanizing to see the piece return, this time under the auspices of Theatre Rhinoceros, one of the most prolific producers of pandemic-era digital theater. Somehow, the

Simi Ravven ’95: I recently started a position as Chief Medical Officer at Howard Center, a social service and mental health services agency in Burlington, Vermont. I started my term as president of the Vermont Medical Society in November and worked with the medical society to focus on physician activism and health equity for the annual meeting. I continue to serve on the faculty at Yale School of Medicine in the Division of Law & Psychiatry, working with forensic psychiatry trainees. I live in Putney, Vermont, with my husband, Tim, and daughters, Lucy (9), and Yael (5), who both love art and ice skating.

Would love to see them at CSW when they are older!

Erica Hruby ’96 has been named editorial director at Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. For more than three years, she has managed development of Leonardo/ ISAST’s academic, peerreviewed print periodicals, Leonardo Journal and Leonardo Music Journal, published by MIT Press. In her new role she will build on her 20 years of publishing experience to expand Leonardo/ ISAST’s dissemination in not only print but in multimedia and experimental publications.

Rebecca R. Levy ’97: Rebecca was awarded Art Educator of the Year at the annual Arts Awards hosted by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.

Rebecca sits on the faculty at Florida State College at Jacksonville, where she serves as Director & Professor of Dance.

CLASS NOTES • 33

JOIN US FOR REUNION! APRIL 30 – MAY 2, 2021 Through this role, she reaches a number of students through dance and somatics classes.

She brings a number of guest artists every year, including the 2020 artist-in-residence, Cleo Parker Robinson. In Partnership with Jacksonville University and Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Cleo restaged her historic work, Check Cashing Day, and brought her Ensemble Company to perform alongside the students. Rebecca also recently earned a “40 Under 40” award from The Jacksonville Business Journal, and was named Outstanding Faculty of the Year in 2016. She was awarded a 2019 Individual Artist Grant by Community First Bank, and a 2020 Community Foundation of Northeast Florida Art Ventures Grant for her new work investigating mental illness, to premiere in 2021.

Rebecca is a registered Certified Yoga Instructor, a certified Pilates instructor and dabbles in aerial acrobatics.

Mattie Eisenberg ’99: Hello, everybody. I always love hearing what others are up to and finally got over the hurdle to share myself. In the spring of 2020, I moved to Bend, Oregon.

My private practice, Spruce, through which I offer mind body therapy and private meditation instruction went virtual, and I am now seeing people without the limitation of physical distance, which is quite rewarding. The shift to virtual sessions provided this wonderful dissolving of the curtain between the therapy office and the world outside it.

I am grateful to the pandemic in that it forced me to overcome fears around shifting how I practiced and be reminded of the ingenuity that is available within loss. I’d be humbled if anyone wanted to take a look at my work and pass on the info to anyone that may be interested.

I’d love to connect with anyone else in the healing industry too! www.destianationspruce.com.

Peter Macquart-Moulin ’98: Thank you to CSW for the adorable Gryphon onesie they sent in January 2019! I think it may be a little small for my son now (see photo), but I have a daughter on the way so am very pleased that she will have some use for it.

2000s Robin Gordon-Leavitt ’01: My daughter Rokeya was born in September and has been a joyful presence during this difficult period. I’m living with her and my wife, Sharmeen,

Simi Ravven ’95 with family Tom, Lucy, and Yael.

This year we will host a full weekend of activities in the virtual world. Celebrating this year’s milestone years: 1946, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016. As always, alumni/ae from all years are welcome!

www.csw.org/reunion2021

in Brooklyn, where I work as a public defender.

Al Halpert-Hanson ’03: I’m currently in my second year of rabbinical school at Hebrew College in Newton, Massachuetts. However, during COVID times, I have relocated to my beloved Western Massachusetts, where I’ve been farming for the last three seasons. I’m working on a few projects right now centering trans and/or queer identified Jews — specifically a new moon group for Trans Jews and also a Queer Jewish Farmer group with the organization Jewish Farmer Network. I just co-held a Sukkes/ Harvest-time gathering for trans Jews in Western Connecticut and am excited to continue building and growing this kind of community and space. Reach out if you’re interested in being a part of or supporting!

Peter Macquart-Moulin ’98’s son models a CSW onesie.

Austin Eddy ’05: I recently opened an exhibition of new paintings in Amsterdam at the Althuis Hofland Fine Arts gallery. The paintings derive from a series of drawings made during a recent peek of the pandemic in New York City. The title of the exhibition “Birds at Night” — a variation on the 19th century poem “Birds In The Night” by Paul Verlaine — describes in a poetic manner how I felt the stillness, wonder, and romance of nighttime gave hope and light to the dark matter of daytime reality. This new series of works show a mere introspective view of the moments between dusk and dawn. Symbolizing nocturnes, or odes to the night, longing for better days ahead. Like a bird awaiting the moment to spread its wings and fly away from its cage.

Robin Gordon-Leavitt ’01’s daughter Rokeya.

34 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

Sienna Evans ’06: I gave birth to Juniper Anne Evans-Young at 9:27 a.m. on September 19, 2020, just one day after we moved into our new house in Dedham. She weighed 8lbs 4oz and she’s perfect, despite being born in the middle of the pandemic. Grandpa Tom, after quarantining and double negative test results, finally got to see her!

Andy Li ’07: In December 2020, SAMSON X LAMONTAGNE, a collaboration for NADA MIAMI with LaMontagne Gallery, featured Andy’s work. Samson’s mission is to promote the work of emerging, established, and under-recognized artists concentrating on exhibitions of local, national, and international artists.

Sienna Evans ’06 with daughter Juniper and Grandpa Tom.

Artwok by Andy Li ’07.

Molly Weinberg ’07: From giffordhealthcare.org: Molly Weinberg has joined the Behavioral Health team at Gifford Healthcare in Randolph, Vermont. Weinberg, whose clients range in age from four to the elderly, brings a rich background in the arts that she draws from to provide expressive arts therapy. She uses drama, music, art, poetry, and movement to help clients process emotions, express themselves, and increase confidence and self-esteem.

“I really bring a sense of play and humor, love to make people laugh, and engage beyond

IN MEMORIUM Martha Bixler ’44 Bill Driscoll ’46 Lestra Carpe’-Benello ’46 Mathias Striar Hernandez ’20 Mary Ann Marcus ’48 Ann Miller ’51 Rachel Nussbaum Wichert ’91 Frances Powers ’64 Rick Richards ’52 Ann Robbins ’61 Becca Schmill ’20 Tom Sullivan ’70 Gerard Swope ’52 The Treehouse in Maastricht, The Netherlands, co-founded by Josh Glass ’15.

Phoebe Einzig-Roth ’18 in The New York Times Magazine.

CLASS NOTES • 35

the usual talk therapy,” said Weinberg, who was drawn to a career in counseling after experiencing firsthand how the arts benefitted her during challenging times. “For some people, sometimes it’s difficult to express with words.

Through storytelling, role-play, improvisation, and using the voice and body, they can come to a deeper understanding of themselves and their goals and dreams.” Weinberg’s other clinical interests include mindfulness-based stress reduction, chronic illness and mental health, body image, and family therapy.

Maastricht, The Netherlands, called The Treehouse. The Treehouse is a social coffeehouse, holy-hideout, and event space supporting emotional integrity, strong community, and light-heartedness. We were nominated with three others out of 500 applicants for a 2019 Sustainable Tuesday Social Innovation Award at the Dutch Parliament.

2010s

Marcel Santiago ’17: Marcel recently joined CSW Dance Department Chair Nailah Randall-Bellinger’s “Contemporary Movement” class to offer a master

Josh Glass ’15: Between October 2018 and October 2020 I co-founded a foundation in

Jess Jaena ’15: This past year I graduated from New York University with my master’s in social work! Then. a few weeks ago, I passed my LMSW exam and am a licensed social worker.

workshop on crafting dance. Marcel discovered his love for concert dance while he was a student at CSW. Since graduating in 2017, he has gone on to pursue a dance career. Now a senior at University of the Arts in Philadelphia (BFA candidate 2021), Marcel has performed and studied in Paris and Spain, as well as various cities throughout the U.S. In 2019, Marcel served as Nailah’s assistant choreographer for the Broadway musical Ragtime, presented at the Wheelock Family Theater. A well-versed dancer, Marcel uses modern, contemporary, as well as traditional Puerto Rican movements to craft his choreography.

Phoebe Einzig-Roth ’18: In 2018, Phoebe was turned away from the voting polls. Poll

workers claimed she was not born in the United States, despite the fact that she produced three types of identification proving otherwise. Her story of voter suppression has been shared through several media outlets, including The New York Times Magazine and the flim Suppressed: The Fight to Vote.

2020s Charlie von Peterffy ’20: I am currently attending Emerson College as a media studies major. I plan to narrow down my field later on by becoming either a major in screenplay or directorial skills, but I am unsure of what major these positions fall under or when I will switch.

This past year, the Class of 2020 suffered the heartbreaking loss of two classmates. Notes from their families to the CSW community are shared below.

Rebecca Mann Schmill ’20 was a beautiful and caring person with a gift for making those around her feel loved and appreciated. Her passion for life and vibrant spirit were hallmarks of her personality. She was funny, adventurous, and determined, and had a smile that lit up a room.

We are grateful for each moment we had with her, and while her passing at such a young age leaves a void in our hearts, we will forever carry with us the memories of her kind and loving nature. Becca had an innate sense of equity and fairness that led her to become involved in issues of social justice. Four years ago, Becca traveled to Opatoro, Honduras, as part of a medical brigade led by Community Health Partnership-Honduras (CHPH), an organization founded by friends of our family. This experience had a profound effect on her understanding of the world and her passion for helping others. CHPH has created a fund in Becca’s memory that is already being used to provide access to life-changing surgeries for children and adults in Honduras. Becca’s memory can be honored through a donation to this fund either online at www.chp-honduras.org or by phone at (508) 237-1384.

Mathias Javier Striar Hernández ’20 had a smile and energy that lit up the room, and he brightened our lives. Mathias knew he was deeply loved. He loved deeply right back. Mathias was curious and engaged by the many strands of his identity: the Salvadoran, Norwegian and Jewish. Racism, xenophobia, discrimination, inequality, and insensitivity pained Mathias. He identified these unfortunate elements as soon as he saw them and they affected him deeply, especially when they were directed towards people who were defenseless. Mathias worked diligently and consistently to overcome his illness, most intensively over the past two years. He was aware and saddened that other adolescents battled similar challenges, and he was grateful that he was able to receive adequate mental health treatment. He wrote his college essay about his desire to pursue a career that would help address the crisis in adolescent mental illness. We were in awe of how hard he tried every possible avenue and approach to improve both his physical health and his mental health. Mathias was especially proud of his parents’ work within the immigrant community, particularly with undocumented students and their families. He communicated this from a very early age, and his conviction deepened over time. If you would like to give in memory of Mathias’s life, KIND (Kids In Need of Defense) is doing invaluable work in this area.

36 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

ALUM SPOTLIGHT

CLASS NOTES • 37

Shari Stiell-Quashie ’12 is the co-founder and editor of Shuga N’ Spice magazine, a publication connecting West Indians globally through Caribbean culture, lifestyle, and entertainment. She graduated from CSW in 2012 before going on to study at Howard University, Bard College, and Columbia University, where she earned a master’s in strategic communications.

Tell us more about Shuga N’ Spice magazine. How did the idea come about?

My family is from Grenada, and I just felt like there wasn’t really — and there still really isn’t — any media that catered to Caribbean people in the marketplace, culturally. We have a really, really, really big diaspora and there’s so many people in the region and there’s so much talent in the region that I’m excited to expose people to. When people think of the Caribbean, they think, Oh, it’s just a couple of islands, or That’s where I go on vacation, but not every Caribbean country is an island, and there are over 40 million people of Caribbean descent in the world.

Shuga N’ Spice is available in print and online on a quarterly basis.

The magazine has four sections: Taste of Life (style, beauty & grooming, food, wealth, health), Real Good Vibez (music, film/ TV/streaming, cultural events, Internet), Sight to See (travel), and Piece of Mind (opinion), and they are currently looking for new contributors. Check it out and find out how you can support the magazine at www.shuganspice.com.

Newly elected Vice President Kamala Harris is part Jamaican. What does this mean for other Americans of Caribbean descent?

She’s the second Caribbean woman to ever run for president, the first being Shirley Chisholm, who’s Bajan and Guyanese, and I just think it’s great. I’m excited! I’m like, “Yes, we finally have somebody in the White House!” And I think for people of Caribbean descent and such, it shows that once we put our mind to anything, we can do it. There’s nothing stopping us at all from doing whatever we want. Whether it’s being the vice president or the president. And so I’m just excited, and I’m curious to see what she’s going to bring about policy wise.

A few years ago, you spoke on a panel at SXSX (South by Southwest) titled “Nuance is the New Audience.” Can you talk more about that?

There are many layers to someone’s identity, so you can’t use one medium to tell an entire culture’s story. The way we connect and the way we communicate with one another relies on a variety of different channels. For instance, connecting with my family back home, we use WhatsApp to chat and share pictures or jokes, whereas we might use Facebook to talk a bit more about what’s going on in society. When you talk about media, you also have to take individual values into account, and not just the cultural context they come from.

38 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

What are some of the challenges of being a woman of color in the media industry?

Funding! Getting people to give you money so that you can pay creators and you can create a product.

With a magazine like ours, it cannot be just me alone.

I don’t represent every Caribbean perspective. I just represent my own personal perspective as part of the Grenadian diaspora. I also think that people often underestimate women in general and in the media field, you definitely have to have thick skin or else people will think they can just walk all over you.

What advice do you have for others interested in starting a magazine?

Definitely know why you’re doing it and who exactly it is for. Know your consumer. Do market research.

Anybody who wants to create a product, in general, needs to make sure they do their market research before diving into product development. Read up on how the market is changing and determine how you can make your dent and stand out.

Shari with fellow presenters at South by Southwest. Photo credit: Bernard Osei

A YEAR UNLIKE ANY OTHER One hallmark of a CSW education is the willingness and courage to confront challenges. Over its 135-year history, our school has weathered many challenges of its own, and each time, individuals in our community have helped us move forward with confidence and courage, allowing us to emerge even stronger. And that is true again today. As we continue through this unprecedented school year, we need our entire community’s support.

Make your gift to Partners in Progress, the CSW Annual Fund, today! www.csw.org/giving

A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN

24 HOURS!

On April 9, we will harness the power of a single day to come together as a community in celebration of CSW, raising funds in support of professional development for faculty, financial aid, progressive curriculum, and more!

To participate, make a gift of any amount on or before April 9 or call 781-642-8645 or visit www.csw.org/dayofgiving.

40 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021

Spotlight on the Impact of Planned Giving THE PATIENCE LAURIAT SOCIETY The society is named after Patience Lauriat ’46, who, after providing for members of her family, left the remainder of her estate to CSW to create an unrestricted endowment fund. To date, 120 alumni/ae, parents of alumni/ae, current and past faculty, and friends have become members of this honorary association by also making provisions for CSW in their estate planning or will. CSW gathers members of the Patience Lauriat society annually and also provides special communications throughout the year about the impact of planned gifts at CSW.

Holly (Ehrlich) Henderson ’59 was a devoted alumna of The Cambridge School of Weston, whose passion and drive for the pursuit of justice and a more equitable and inclusive world has transcended her passing. Holly was an esteemed member of CSW’s Patience Lauriat Society, an honorary association of individuals whose planned gifts have already been received or will someday accrue to The Cambridge School of Weston. Prior to her death, Holly was intent upon leaving her forever mark on CSW and was able to do so by including the school in her bequest. Funds received from her estate have since allowed CSW to create and support a highly important role on the school’s senior administration team: Dean of Equity & Inclusion.

This role, now held by Rosanna Salcedo, leads and coordinates efforts to create a more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive teaching and

learning environment at The Cambridge School of Weston, by offering programming, training, and support to students, parents, faculty, and staff.

“I feel so grateful to be in a position to do the important work of promoting equity and inclusion at CSW,” Rosanna says. “In the time I have been here, I have already witnessed the power and impact of Holly’s gift in so many ways. It is a gift that has and will continue to contribute towards the healthy, informed development of a new generation.”

Funds received from Holly’s estate have been utilized to form a term endowment fund to offset the first several years of operating costs for the Dean of Equity and Inclusion role. In that time, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have been reshaped and expanded to adapt to the ever-evolving needs of the CSW community.

“Holly had a passion for children and for equity. That is why it is so appropriate that her gift honors both. Holly also had a very special place in her heart for The Cambridge School of Weston. She would be so pleased, and so proud, to know that her gift was advancing an important issue to the school.”

— Michael Broderick, friend and Executor of Holly’s estate

If you would like more information about making a planned gift please contact Andrea Finnerty at 781-642-8611 or afinnerty@csw.org. If you have already named CSW as a beneficiary of a bequest or planned gift, please let us know so that we can recognize and thank you for your gift.

CLASSMY NOTES FIVE • 41

My Five

1

2 3 4 5

DORALIS PÉREZ-SOTO Spanish

RASHID CHATANI Math

TEDDY SEEGERS ’24

BECCA SPENCE ’21

DESCRIBE A MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM YOUR TIME AT CSW:

I love the start of each year when the campus is full of light and flowers and we get to greet our new boarding students. What’s more, I enjoy the bonding activities. I remember the inflatable obstacle course in front of the Cheek building and competing with Orion to see who would be faster.

He won, of course.

The JV Basketball team had not won a game in a very long time and with 13 seconds left on the clock, Alex Polyak dribbled the ball up the court, crossed over to the middle, and hit a jumpshot over two defenders to put us up by one point. I proceeded to give perhaps the greatest time out speech of my life and the team responded superbly by playing excellent defense to stop our rivals from scoring.

We had won the game.

Meeting Gustavo at the beginning of my CSW career was great. He is so nice and he always helps me out with questions I have, getting to the smallest details so I can understand. He is not only a good teacher but also a good friend.

Over the summer, Tom Evans asked me to work on a Black Lives Matter mural for the school, so I made a design, brought it to the Art Department, and began working once we returned to campus. I love being able to look at the Art Building and see the work I put in to create a meaningful piece of art for CSW.

WHAT IS ONE SILVER LINING ABOUT THE PANDEMIC THIS YEAR?

As a parent, spending a lot of time with my children has been a real silver lining.

As a teacher, I’ve been very grateful for my students’ patience and resilience as we navigate together an intensively digital experience. We have found the humor in zoom.

It has accelerated the rate at which technology has been incorporated into classes.

Even courses that we never thought could go remote, are now utilizing technology in the most creative ways.

I have really improved as a guitarist, bassist, and drummer over the pandemic. I’ve had so much free time to practice and I have played a lot for people to make me happy. I have also had some time to learn how to produce and record.

I’ve been able to spend much more quality time with my family and my cats. I’m really glad that I have this time with them before I go to college in a few months.

WHAT FOOD HAVE YOU NEVER EATEN BUT WOULD REALLY LIKE TO TRY?

I would love to eat street foods in Bangkok or Mexico City. I would just order one of each and end up with a tummy ache, but very happy.

I have never eaten rattle snakes but I have seen them fry it in Florida and it looked yummy.

I have always been a really big fan of Asian food (Thai, Japanese, Chinese), and I have always wanted to try authentic versions of those foods in their respective countries: pad thai, dumplings, dim sum, sushi, ramen, etc.

I’m on the hunt for nut free macarons. They look so fun and I’m really curious what they taste like!

WHAT TV SHOW CHARACTER WOULD IT BE THE MOST FUN TO CHANGE PLACES WITH FOR A WEEK?

Phil from Somebody Feed Phil. I would just eat and eat all sorts of delicious food and meet wonderful people and travel! Otherwise, I would be a judge on Top Chef and taste delicious food yet be unable to criticize it.

Naruto. Naruto is a member of the hidden leaf village and the current leader. He oversees the village operations and strives to make peace with the other ninja nations. Naruto is often on multiple missions, which takes him to a wide variety of places.

Phineas from Phineas and Ferb. He always comes up with the craziest ideas and then actually builds them and tests them. I have always liked that trial and error and hands-on aspect to science.

Finn from Adventure Time.

I’ve loved that show since I was a kid and being able to explore their world would be so fascinating.

ALL-EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO SEE ANY FAMOUS WORLD MONUMENT?

Chichen Itza in Yucatán or Lake Titicaca and the ancient cities of Cusco and Machu Picchu.

The Pyramids of Giza. As a math teacher, these pyramids represent some of the greatest mathematicians and architects of that time.

Christ The Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro, Brasil, or the Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan, China.

Definitely the Eiffel Tower. I hope to see all of Paris someday.

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Homage to Basquiat: Living Dualities by Orion Douglas ’21