The Vanguard
November 2026
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Volume 55 / Number 5
Buckingham Browne & Nichols Upper School, Cambridge, Ma
November 2026
US tests LockDown Browser in classes New tool aims to curb AI use Christian Chow On Campus Editor
Last year, Upper School (US) History Teacher Matt Turnbull could no longer recognize his own students. Not by their faces, but by their writing. “I couldn’t tell what was legitimately students’ work and what wasn’t,” he said. “Whether it’s Grammarly or ChatGPT, I don’t trust that a whole group of students is going to not use those things. I would rather give kids three days to work on something than have to do it in class by hand in one period. But we’ve gone past that time.” This fall, Respondus LockDown Browser — a Canvas add-on that locks a laptop to a single assignment — appeared in classrooms across the US. It was implemented because teachers asked for a test-taking app that blocks the internet to eliminate AI concerns. The technology department also needed to find a solution compatible with students’ personal computers for those with laptop accommodations. So far, the technology department has received mixed feedback from teachers and students. Currently, teachers have the discretion to decide whether to use the browser in their classrooms. In past years, Mr. Turnbull assigned a multi-night takehome essay to his junior class. This year it was completed online through the LockDown Browser during class. “When it was a take-home assignment, it was becoming more difficult to tell whose writing I was reading,” he said. “Really, what it’s replaced is some homework that is now in class. I am a big proponent of handwriting, and I would rather do more of that than more LockDown Browser.” According to Technology Officer Megan Bounit ’97, the department chose LockDown Browser over alternatives like Exam.net because it’s compatible with Canvas, and the department offered it to teachers last spring.
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Photo Courtesy of the BB&N Archives
Mrs. Brown teaches Saffy Patel ’22 the intricate details of costume design and sewing. Mrs. Brown began as a dance teacher at the Upper School in 2002, and later transitioned to costume design.
A legacy of caring
US mourns beloved teacher Louise Brown Mimi Shaywitz and Lucia Longstreet-Lipson
Managing Editor and Editor-In-Chief
“When we talk about the virtues of the school, when we talk about integrity, inquiry, kindness, identity, Mrs. Brown was all these things. She was incredible,” Upper School (US) Theater Director Ross MacDonald said. US Costume Designer Louise Brown passed away from cardiac issues on Sep. 30. Before coming to the US in 2002 as the dance instructor, Mrs. Brown traveled all over the world working in television and film as a producer and a performer. In 2005, she took over the position of costume designer. She started teaching students garment construction and costume design in 2007 through the after-school costume design program. She designed costumes for 66 produc-
tions for the US theater department. Mr. MacDonald first met Mrs. Brown when he came to interview for his position. “She struck me as this incredibly thoughtful, perceptive artist who was clearly passionate about the school, and passionate about the students and passionate about the department. That was my overwhelming impression of her and she was very, very cool.” Mrs. Brown brought her perspective as a performer to the costume department. “She never said, ‘I can’t do it,’ she never said, ‘this isn’t going to work,’” Mr. MacDonald said. “She was brilliant. I don’t think people just understand how lucky we were to have a costume designer who’d also been a performer in their own right. She knew that costumes not just had to look good, but they had to be worn and actors needed to move with them.” Continued on Page 17
US reworks Service Learning requirement
What’s Inside Student Curriculum Council Page 5
Midterm Election Briefing Page 7
New point system leaves students confused Henry Carroll Arts Editor
A recent update to the school’s Service Learning Program was intended to make the service requirement clearer. Instead, it has left students unsure of how it works and questioning the values it promotes. The new Upper School (US) Service Learning Program was created by the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Global Education (DEIG) department and was rolled out to students throughout October. The junior class was the first to learn of this program, receiving an email from Associate Director of DEIG and US Service Learning Coordinator Patty Dei at the start of
the month. The program introduces a new point system in which students earn points by completing Canvas assignments — which include creating videos, slideshows and written reflections — and doing community service volunteering either through the school or with an external program. The point system is outlined in a document Mr. Dei shared with students in his email. “Every student’s service learning work is tracked through a points system,” the document states. “To graduate, students need 34 points total: 28 earned through the required grade-level assignments described above and six earned through additional service of their choosing.” However, US Service Learning Coor-
dinator and Latin Teacher Nicole Wellington said the requirement is actually only 28 points, and the mention of six additional points was incorrect. “I didn’t know that the requirement was sent out like that because we had revised that part,” she said. “I do apologize because that information did come out incorrectly, because it was an idea we had kind of thrown around.” Once the requirement is corrected, a student who completes the service learning assignments each year will reach 28 points by the end of their senior year. Extra service is encouraged but not required, Ms. Wellington said.
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Athletic Burnout Page 15
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The Vanguard
November 2026
Editorials
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Locked in or locked out? A few years ago, with the advent of AI, teachers moved take-home assessments and essays to inclass handwritten assignments to combat cheating. This year, the Upper School (US) moved in-class assessments back online, but with a twist: Respondus LockDown Browser monitors and restricts students’ access to outside sources. The Vanguard editorial board is split on whether this is a good addition. For more reading on the LockDown Browser, see “US tests LockDown Browser in classes” on page 1.
Locked out
Where did this new technology come from, and why?! The institution of the Respondus LockDown Browser felt like it just popped up out of nowhere, with no formal communication except for a quick announcement in advisory. And what was so bad before? We wrote by hand when needed, and if we needed to type, teachers monitored our screens. Cheaters will always find a way, so don’t punish other students by installing this annoying technology. Students have two major stress points when taking a test or writing an in-class essay: how much time they have and what grade they’re going to get. The Lock-
Down Browser increases anxiety over both of these. First, the dreaded lag and setup. The browser takes a solid five minutes to set up out of a 45-minute block, which is a whopping 11% of the assessment time. And that’s only if it is working properly, which happens only about three-quarters of the time. Then, once you start typing, the first word appears only after you finish the second, and so on, creating an irritating delay. Typing increases efficiency, but with this lag and setup, it only slows us down. Second, students want to maximize grades, which the browser hinders. Teachers, whether they recognize it or not, have subconscious biases when grading, which is why they often use a “blind” grading system; but with handwriting, the teacher can identify the student even without the name. This means that when some people use the LockDown Browser and others write by hand, students with handwritten essays could have an advantage or disadvantage depending on the teacher’s previous impressions of the student. Students with typing accommodations are given a computer to level the playing field. But, with LockDown Browser, every student gets to type, meaning that people with learning disabilities no longer have a tool to make the assessments equitable for all. Also, students with learning profiles are often allowed to use
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School 80 Gerry’s Landing Road • Cambridge, MA 02138 vanguard@bbns.org, vanguard.bbns.org (617) 547-6100 Volume 55, Issue 5 Projects Editor Christine Tao
Editor-in-Chief Lucia Longstreet-Lipson
Opinions Editor Ethan Moran
Managing Editor Mimi Shaywitz Production Manager Harper Dubovik
Editorials Editor Scarlett Hawkins
Production Manager Sydney Ruiz
On Campus Editor Christian Chow
Digital Media Editor Adi Bhatia
Off Campus Editor Pilar Bowen-Arce
Asst. Production Manager Lauren Li
Features Editor Rima Demir
Asst. Production Manager Noura Farahat
Sports Editor Kate Tregay
Photo Editor Katy Varadi Arts Editor Henry Carroll
Faculty Advisor Kim Whitney
Asst. Photo Editor Tristan Ko
The Vanguard’s mission is to examine and engage the school community by providing news and information about events affecting it and by featuring the diverse range of people and perspectives that comprise it. We strive for fairness and accuracy in our content, and we strive to present that content with integrity and respect. The Vanguard is the official student newspaper of the Buckingham Browne & Nichols Upper School, which has 534 students, 84 faculty members and 79 staff members. Affiliated with the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the paper is a forum for differing views and welcomes comments from its readers in the form of Letters to the Editor. No anonymous letters will be printed. The Vanguard reserves the right to edit all letters for length. The Vanguard publishes eight issues per annual volume and prints between 500 and 800 copies of each issue. About 200 of those are mailed out; the rest are distributed around campus. Copyright © 2026 The Vanguard. Staff Writers: Olivia Bell, Jack Reinfeld, Sydney Xu, Leah Cooper, Maggie Whitney, David Zhou, Robbie Lally, Julia Agudelo, Alice Chung, Viola Shepard, Vivian Cain-Weingram, Catalina Longstreet-Lipson, Marwa Benyounes, Bradley Shen, Siran Arakelian, James Tao, Alex Berk, Rachel Goldberg, Leo Brodsky, Sophia Kluzak Staff Photographers: Azariah Zewde Staff Artists: Lauren Li, Sydney Ruiz, Sydney Xu, Rachel Goldberg, Christine Tao, Marin MacDonald, James Tao, Catalina Longstreet-Lipson, Mimi Shaywitz, Katy Varadi, Scarlett Hawkins
Grammarly, but the LockDown Browser does not allow the tool to be used. The LockDown Browser isn’t what US students need. We hope the school will go back to the original system. —Scarlett Hawkins, Lucia Longstreet-Lipson, Harper Dubovik, Sydney Ruiz, Katy Varadi (all ’27), Pilar Bowen-Arce, Christian Chow, Noura Farahat, Lauren Li and Tristan Ko (all ’28)
Locked in
Though the LockDown Browser has been a tough adjustment for students, it’s better than handwriting an essay with a mechanical pencil whose lead breaks every two seconds. Yes, the screen may lag every now and then, but is that really worse than the hand cramps that come with trying to write as many words as possible in a limited amount of time? Not only is typing faster, but it also makes editing easier. Instead of crossing out entire sentences or erasing words to replace them with better phrases, students can revise their work with just a few clicks. And let’s not forget that the alternative could be much worse. Without the LockDown Browser, teachers concerned about cheating could impose stricter restrictions like prohibiting technology for all assignments. The browser limits opportunities for academic dishonesty without taking away the convenience of typing. It can also make take-home writing assignments possible by allowing students to work on computers while restricting access to outside resources. In addition, AP English and History exams now include timed essays written digitally. If students are already expected to demonstrate these skills on major exams, shouldn’t they have opportunities to practice them in class? Many courses at the school aim to prepare students for future academic challenges, whether that’s an AP exam or college-level coursework. Learning to organize, write and edit an essay under timed digital conditions is a skill worth developing. One could argue handwritten essays may receive more lenient grading than typed ones. But is that really a reason to return to handwriting? If anything, it raises questions about fairness. The fact that teachers can’t initially match a student to an essay helps ensure that students are held to the same standards. Students should be evaluated based on the quality of their writing, not who they are. Many teachers already use blind grading; the LockDown Browser having this feature isn’t a restriction but an enforcement we should already practice. The sudden introduction of the LockDown Browser has been an adjustment, and nobody likes having more restrictions placed on them. Rather than eliminating the technology entirely, why not focus on making it work better for students? If the alternative is going back to handwriting every essay, we will take the browser any day. —Mimi Shaywitz, Ethan Moran, Adi Bhatia, Christine Tao (all ’27), Rima Demir, Henry Carroll and Kate Tregay (all ’28)
Let us eat cake!
There has been a noticeable lift in the spirit of Upper School (US) students as they saunter from their class to lunch. We have a small but mighty change to thank for this increase in joy: dessert. That’s right, dessert. So far, students have relished multiple ice cream servings, which is more than the near-zero amount we were given last year. We don’t know what prompted this shift, but The Vanguard is here to say keep it coming! Students in the US work very hard in their classes, extracurriculars and athletics, and dessert is always a way to reward us. When a student is tired from studying, the extra sugar keeps them going. It’s a simple recipe: Hand us sugar, and we will deliver good grades. Many of our peer schools, such as Nobles, Andover, Governors and Brooks have had their own ice cream stations and/or daily dessert for decades. Could it be time for one at our school? The summer camp has dessert every day. Why not us? Sure, we see the argument that dessert is unhealthy for our bodies, but is a little sugar and cream really that bad compared to the chicken nuggets and fries served at lunch? And, at the US, we exercise plenty during our required athletic commitments, so we can allow for a little indulgence. On behalf of all US students, we politely ask the kitchen staff to keep the dessert coming.
The Vanguard
November 2026
On Campus
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US tests LockDown Browser in classes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
No substitute platforms are being considered yet, she said. “This is a solution. Is it the best solution? It’s not the only solution; we know that,” Ms. Bounit said. “We’re still in the data collection stage and are optimistic that LockDown Browser will meet our needs. But if it does not, then we’ll have to go back to the drawing board.” The tool was not built for essays that span days, Director of Academic Technology Yumi Nakanishi said. “LockDown Browser essentially was made for a one-and-done kind of assignment,” Ms. Nakanishi said. “We’re still exploring.” Students disagree on the effectiveness of the technology. Nathan Ma ’27 uses the browser frequently in his history class. He said he prefers take-home assessments. “Almost all of my take-home essays have been replaced with online in-class writes with LockDown
Browser,” Nathan said. “My best work doesn’t happen in class. I don’t work well around other people.” Take-home essays teach students crucial time-management skills, he said. “You can procrastinate all your work until the last day if it’s a threeday essay,” he said. “But you’re kind of taking that away and not giving kids the ability to work on that skill. That’s something that’s really important, especially going to college. Just give it to us on paper.” Cheating is a student’s own decision that takes away from their education, Nathan said. “At this rate, what’s the point of having homework at home?” he said. “You can’t punish the good kids because bad kids exist, right? It’s unfair to the kids that aren’t planning on cheating, and at some point, kids need to be trusted.” Jone Abadie ’28, who uses the
browser in her English and physics classes, said she prefers the new browser to paper. “It’s more efficient, and they can make sure that no one uses AI,” Jone said. “With handwriting, my mind moves faster than my hand, and then I can’t get all my ideas down. At the end of the day, I see it as better than handwriting.” US English Department Head Ariel Duddy said in-class writing has its benefits and drawbacks in terms of students getting to determine when they do their writing. “I understand that some students would like to take writing home and decide: My best working time is from 4 to 5 p.m., and now I’m going to work on it,” Ms. Duddy said. “When we use Lockdown Browser in class, we’re not giving that flexibility anymore. Having to complete written work during class time can be hard for students.”
Her ideal is neither all in class nor all at home, she said. “I think a hybrid model of inclass writing, paired with at-home revision, is the best system,” she said. “I just don’t think we’ve quite figured out how to do so for all writing assessments.”
QR Code Courtesy of Ms. Bounit & Ms. Nakanishi
Scan this QR code to give the technology department your thoughts on the LockDown Browser.
This year, 22 new clubs were created, bringing the overall total at the Upper School to 100. Bring Change to Mind Club
“Mental health is something that many people deal with, and being able to have conversations about it and relate with other people is extremely important,” Nora MacCutcheon ’27 said. Nora is one of the four founders and co-presidents — along with Marina Kluzak ’27, Gemma Friend and Jone Abadie (both ’28) — of the Bring Change to Mind (BC2M) club. BC2M is a national youth-focused nonprofit that aims to end stigma around mental health. One of its main initiatives is supporting student-led mental health clubs in high schools. The co-presidents hope to create a safe space where students at the school can feel comfortable addressing their mental health rather than hiding their struggles. “Ultimately, suppressed feelings just grow and become harder to deal with,” Nora said. “I think that just realizing that other people feel similarly and being able to talk about it to make not only you, but others feel comfortable as well is vital.” The co-presidents are peer counselors and will use the skills they have learned through peer counseling to create positive change at the school, Nora said. “Within peer counseling, we learn to become active listeners and how to be there to support each other,” she said. “I think that bringing awareness to mental health and bringing this to the community as a whole will make for a better environment within the high school.” The club will educate students on how to support others, Jone said. “When people come into our club, they should feel welcomed and they feel accepted and they feel like they have a space to be, but also, sending people out into the BB&N community and into the world with resources to help them help other people and spread the message of ‘everyone should feel supported.’”
Staff Photo by Katy Varadi
Jone Abadie ’28 leads the first meeting of the Bring Change to Mind Club. Jone and other peer counselors started the mental health club this year.
—Lily Ryan ’30
Pickleball Club
According to data from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, popularity of pickleball has risen significantly over the past five years. At the club fair on Sept. 30, 71 students — 13% of the US student body — signed up to join the US’s first pickleball club. Isaac Xu and Nolan Merenda (both ’29) created the club so they could play at school and introduce other students to the sport. “My buddies and I really like pickleball, and we wanted to start something,” Isaac said. “Our goal is to bring the community together, have fun and teach people about a new sport.” The club will meet at the Nicholas Athletic Center and plans to give students several opportunities throughout the school year to compete against each other. “We plan on doing twice-a-month small tournaments, and then we plan on having a larger tournament at the end of the year,” Isaac said. The club is open to all students, even those without prior pickleball experience. “We hope that a lot of people will come,” Isaac said. “We hope that they have fun, start liking pickleball and maybe even continue it.” —Lily Ryan ’30
Career Club
The Career Club does not expect members to leave each meeting knowing what they want to be. Ideally, they leave with more questions than answers, Career Club Co-President Sophia Kluzak ’29 said. With the help of Associate Director of Alumni Engagement and Giving Brianna Smith ’10, the club plans to host workshops every three weeks and feature guest speakers from varying occupations. The club will meet on Mondays. Professionals will share the ins-and-outs of their role, Sophia said. “The Career Club helps students understand what a job looks like beyond its title from a person who experiences it firsthand,” she said. “I wanted to create a space where kids can become inspired by adults with real professions who love their jobs. They can learn about the daily responsibilities and the paths they took to become successful in the work.” The creation of the Career Club came from a shared desire to understand future career paths, Career Club Co-President Margot Reinfeld ’29 said. “My friends and I came up with this idea because a lot of people do not know what they want to do later in life or how to get there,” Margot said. “It is important to introduce these career topics early, before you enter the workforce and feel lost.” The club has not scheduled specific speakers yet. Members can use a form to suggest careers they want to explore and connect with professionals for future mentorship or shadowing, Margot said. “Personally, I have always wanted to be a dentist, so I am really excited to dive into that,” Margot said. “I am most looking forward to meeting different people in the workforce and seeing their unique paths.” —Charlee Creighton ’30
The Vanguard
November 2026
On Campus
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A real-world lesson
US students enhance learning through field trips Rima Demir
Features Editor
“And then you realize the Romans built this so, so long ago, but here it is standing right in front of you. You’re literally facing history,” Riley Meek ’27 said, describing her experience seeing ancient artwork in person during an art history field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). With museums, historic sites and urban spaces just beyond campus, Upper School (US) students have opportunities to experience their coursework firsthand. Through field trips, students are able to engage directly with what they are studying, Riley said. In art history, students visit the MFA to give approximately 15-minute presentations on artworks they have researched. Riley, who presented information on an ancient Egyptian coffin, said seeing the piece in person helped her see details that were hard to identify in photographs. “You can see so much more when you’re there,” she said. “I could just see so many more symbols when I went there and saw it in front of me.” Riley said the presentations encourage discussions among students and help them engage more deeply with both their own artworks they study and those their peers study. “When you’re spending like 15 minutes looking at the artwork, and one of your peers is presenting it, you just absorb so much more information when you’re actually seeing it in real life.”
Photo Courtesy of Riley Meek
Riley Meek ‘27 visits the Museum of Fine Arts with her Art History class. The trip deepened her learning.
Art History Teacher Sasha Lyons said seeing the original artwork can create an emotional connection that classroom slides can’t. “Art has power; it has an aura,” she said. “It does something to you, and it’s really hard to experience that from a slide. The actual artwork itself feels more meaningful. It sort of gets into your soul more deeply than a slide ever could.” Beyond helping students understand individual artworks, Ms. Lyons hopes the trips encourage them to continue visiting museums on their own. “Field trips make them museum-goers; they want to go back for more, and that’s a great thing,” she said. “Whatever they’re learning about in class, if they want to go and visit museums and look at art, then my work is done.” Field trips are also part of
En español, por favor
US English classes. In US English Teacher Akemi Ueda’s Junior course, That Way Madness Lies, students visit Harvard Square to observe their surroundings and develop ideas for an essay exploring what they consider “mad” about society. “I want them to make connections not only to the literature that they’re reading, but how do we see that in our society?” she said. “How do we define madness? What do we think about that?” Ms. Ueda said the US’s location in Cambridge allows students to explore places close to campus. “Part of going to this school is also taking advantage of what is in your immediate surroundings,” she said. “We’re in a city, but we’re also in close proximity to beautiful natural spaces or historical spaces.” Audrey Buller ’28, a student in Ms. Ueda’s Junior course, said the
trip helped her observe aspects of society she wouldn’t normally pay attention to and better understand the themes discussed in class. “Especially when we’re talking about society, it’s really different to see it in your class and watch videos on it,” she said. “But then actually seeing the real world and it happening right when you’re watching it, it’s really different than just watching it in class.” US Photography teacher Andrew Warren takes students off campus to explore photography beyond the classroom. While beginner classes usually visit Harvard Square, intermediate and advanced classes travel to photography exhibitions at institutions such as the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover. “What I usually try to do is make it an art appreciation experience,” he said. “For a lot of photographers, myself included, anytime I can get out of my normal daily routine, it gives me a fresh way of looking at the world.” Aidan Ashaye ’28, who has attended both Harvard Square and Andover field trips, said taking photographs in new environments has encouraged him to pay closer attention to his surroundings. “It gives you a chance to appreciate the scenery at a deeper level because you’re looking around and thinking about what would make a nice photo,” he said. “You’re trying to see how you could capture the essence of a place you haven’t seen before in one photo.”
US language classes leave students with varying levels of fluency Pilar Bowen-Arce Off Campus Editor
After taking Chinese classes at the Upper School (US) for three years, Mimi Fulop ’28 hoped to be able to communicate with her native Mandarin-speaking family. However, she found she was unable to effectively hold a conversation with her grandparents. “They told me that my Chinese wasn’t understandable at all and that it was very confusing because the tones didn’t make any sense,” she said. “I try to practice it with my family, because my mother speaks Chinese a little bit, but I get made fun of because it’s so bad.” Mimi said she can translate and understand the language, but it is nearly impossible to be fluent. “Because of the complexity of the language with the pronunciation, you have to start speaking it really young and get used to hearing it and to be able to distinguish the tones,” she said. “It can either take a really, really long time with a lot of hard work or you’ve already been exposed to it.” According to the US Program Planning Guide, US students are required to take three consecutive years of one of the six languages. The goal is fluency, but time constraints and language complexity make that difficult, US World Lan-
guage Department Head James Sennette said. “The World Language Department considers fluency to mean ease in speaking the language, the ability to understand and the ability to be understood,” he said. “Fluency doesn’t mean perfection, but it’s just the rate at which you speak and your ability to use complex sentences and speak fluidly.” The level of fluency a student reaches depends on the language, Mr. Sennette said. “Russian uses a different alphabet. Chinese uses a different alphabet. Arabic uses a different alphabet. So, fluency in those courses looks different than what it might look like in a Romance language.” Mr. Sennette said the biggest barrier is the classroom setting. “The challenge is that speaking four times a week is not the same thing as living in a country or speaking it at home. It requires students to be committed to speaking the language, to hearing the language, to using the language as much as possible.” US Spanish Department Coordinator Rosario Sánchez Gómez agrees. “One hundred percent fluency cannot be accomplished in a school,” she said. “You can accomplish a lot and if you pair that with outside practice and work you could, but it
is very difficult.” Dr. Sánchez Gómez said she pushes for conversational fluency. “My priority is communication,” she said. “Even if it’s not perfect, even if it’s not 100% fluent. Everybody’s at a different point in their fluency. I encourage them to take risks when they are in the classroom, to push themselves beyond their comfort zone as a way to keep improving and also to take it outside of the school to talk to people … who speak their language.” US Chinese Teacher Yinong Yang said Chinese is difficult because of the different tones. “I tell Chinese students, ‘the most difficult thing is: how do you master tones?’ Tones are very challenging. In order to get the tones you have to speak a lot to get the muscle memory.” Erin Fisman ’26 is minoring in French at McGill University after taking both French and Spanish for four years at the US. “Simply taking a language class at BB&N won’t lead to fluency unless you are dedicated to practicing frequently on your own and engaging with the language outside of class,” she said. “For example, watching movies, talking with friends, listening to music, etc. I graduated with a strong ability to read and write, while my ability to listen at the speed of native speakers and speak
spontaneously is still improving.” Yuiko Hotta ’27 has taken French for three years and Spanish for four years. She went to a bilingual French-English elementary school. She said her speaking improved after attending the US French exchange program. “It was pretty cool because I was speaking with people my age and there’s a lot of slang and expressions that you wouldn’t learn in class,” she said. “We were also speaking French the entire time, so we’re fully immersed.” Yuiko said higher-level French and Spanish classes focus more on speaking than grammar. “I noticed that last year in AP Spanish, conversations were our main focus,” she said. “I definitely do speak a lot and the whole time I’m listening to the teacher speaking or watching a video in French or Spanish, so there is constant oral.” Still, Yuiko said it would take a long time for her to become fully fluent. “Even if I’m getting better at speaking, I struggle to say everything I’m feeling and expressing and every thought in a foreign language as well as I do in English, and that’s something that’ll take a long time to get over.”
The Vanguard
November 2026
On Campus
Page 5
Students and teachers join forces
Curriculum council now allows elected student representatives to serve Kate Tregay Sports Editor
“We try to consider the student perspective … but we, as adults, have a limited viewpoint. We are not students. We do not live your day-to-day experience, and that is really why we need to have student voice on the EPC,” Dean of Teaching and Learning Michael Chapman said after serving on the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) for seven years. The new Student Curriculum Council (SCC) allows four Upper School (US) students, one from each grade, to sit on the EPC, a group that makes recommendations on courses, academic requirements and other changes to the US’s academic program. Students will gather input from their grades and bring those perspectives to discussions with faculty and administrators. In the past, the EPC collected student perspectives through surveys. “We sent them out either before planning or creating something, or we’ve done something and then said, and now here’s a survey, tell us how this change is affecting you,” Mr. Chapman said. Including students in the process allows the EPC to consider questions that surveys alone may not address, he said. “This student curriculum council helps to bring the student voice not only into the questions of ‘how do we think this is going to impact folks?’ but also as we’re designing it, what are the considerations that we should be keeping in mind? Which I think allows us to, one, be much more proactive about that. And two, it gives students more voice in our academic policies, which affect all of you more so than they affect any of us as adults.” US Assistant Director Katrina Fuller said the EPC oversees changes to
Staff Photo by Katy Varadi
Eric Shao ’27 gives his speech during elections for the senior class representative on the EPC. Students have not previously been represented on the EPC.
the US academic program. By joining the committee, students can ensure decisions reflect their experiences. “The committee oversees anything that’s printed in our Program Planning Guide,” Ms. Fuller said. “So anything in that document can’t be altered in a major way without going through the educational policy committee.” The sophomores and seniors held elections during their class meetings on Oct. 21 and the juniors had their elections during CAB on Oct. 22. The freshman class will hold their election in a few weeks. Eric Shao ’27, the SCC representative for the senior class, said his time spent at the US will be an asset to the committee. “Seniors have a valuable perspective on BB&N’s curriculum,” he said. “We’ve experienced almost the entire US, from choosing courses as freshmen to navigating AP classes and graduation requirements as seniors. I believe having someone from our grade means we can use our experiences to directly inform conversations about academic programming.” Eric said he is excited about contri-
buting to conversations surrounding AI among other controversial topics. “There are many ways AI can enhance our education, but I also recognize that the line between helping us learn and doing our work for us can be very thin … I want to help shift our approach from simply telling students what they can and cannot do toward encouraging meaningful conversations about the ethical implications of AI and how it can support learning without replacing independent thinking,” he said. To learn more about his grade’s opinions, Eric wants to use a combination of short surveys and informal conversations with classmates. “Surveys are very useful to understand broader trends, while individual conversations could help me understand why students feel a certain way,” he said. The newly-elected representative for the sophomore class, Sophia Kluzak ’29, wants to focus on decreasing stress. “I want to look at how AP exams, the profile and the history research paper are all in the same trimester for juniors, which puts a lot of stress on students,” she said. “I think that this
ine connection with the communities they served,” Mr. Dei said in an email at the time. “This transactional mindset diminished the depth of the service experience.” Now, Rishaan Chowdhury ’29 worries that the newest policy reintroduces that transactional mindset. “If someone knows they have to make six points just to graduate … maybe they’ll work really hard and make all their points, but they’re not doing it for the right reasons,” he said. “I don’t know once they graduate, whether they would continue to do community service.” Rishaan said the service requirement does not clearly explain how to earn the points. “It’s complicated enough that people who are motivated don’t actually understand it,” he said. “I actually care about community service, and I think a lot of my classmates do too. But I don’t think half of them would understand what this requirement is. I don’t understand what it means.” While there has been no sign that the school has any intentions of bringing back an hours-based requirement, Tess Lessig ’28 hopes they will consider it. As a sophomore, she participated in Season of Service — an afternoon community service program that replaces a season of sports — which shaped her perspective that hands-on volunteering is more impactful than completing assignments
within the school. “It sounds better to me because you really have to pick something and just go do it for that amount of time,” she said. “And at most schools, it’s a significant amount of time, and so … it’s going to be impactful.” She wants the focus of the Service Learning Program to be on the actual service and not on completing assignments in Canvas. “Half of the students are just using ChatGPT to make the slideshow,” she said, referring to one of the service learning assignments that the sophomores complete. “If the school wants us to do impactful service, make an hours-based service requirement. Instead of having us balance a point system, just have us go do the service. Getting hours in is what has truly impacted me the most.” US Director Jessica Keimowitz sees the research and reflection assignments as important parts of the Service Learning Program. “It’s one thing to go, ‘I went to a food pantry, and I stacked cans for two hours,’ but it’s another to have to reflect on: What did I learn from this experience? What impact do I think I had? Would I want to do it again? Would I not want to do it again?” she said. “That selfreflection may not impact anyone outside of the school, but it’s part of what the switch is from community service to service learning. We do want that learn-
council is just a great opportunity to put our voice into changing things that could really decrease stress among students.” Arguing a point may be challenging at times, Sophia said. “It might be a little bit awkward or intimidating to disagree with someone who might even be my own teacher, and someone who obviously is of a higher standing than me,” she said. The role of a SCC representative is larger than her perspective, she said. “What this position means to me is representing my grade and setting aside my own opinions. I think that is how I will determine whether I’ve been successful or not, because I want my whole grade to think of me as a trustworthy person and someone who will get the job done,” she said. Valor McGrath ’28 said the perspectives of student representatives on the EPC should be supplemented by grade-wide surveys to ensure they accurately reflect their classmates’ views. “Having a body to represent the grade is great, but having the body be the mind is not necessarily the answer. So if they really want this to work, then they’re going to have to figure out ways to make sure that the representative’s perspective is still truthful to the grade’s opinion.” As elections draw to a close across grades, the new SCC representatives are set to have their first meeting with the EPC on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2027. At this time, the sophomore, junior, and senior representatives will hold the three votes for the SCC, while the freshman grade representative will be present to learn about the proceedings. When the senior representative leaves to complete their senior spring project, the freshman representative will take over that vote.
US reworks Service Learning requirement Continued from Page 1
The new point system has led some students to believe the service requirement’s workload is increasing, but according to Ms. Wellington, it is the same as before. “Nothing has changed since last year,” she said. “We’ve just quantified everything because it seemed like, from student feedback, that felt like something more tangible to grasp.” Jack Reinfeld ’27 said students’ general confusion around the new requirement is partly due to the school’s method of explaining it. “In the past, the requirement was clearly communicated … but now it’s really vague,” he said. “They say, ‘join the Canvas page, and I’ll tell you what to do.’ But once you’re in the Canvas page, it’s not really too concise or too straightforward.” This revision to the Service Learning Program is the latest in a series of changes. About two years ago, the school shifted from a system that required students to complete 40 hours of community service by graduation to a broader service learning curriculum. The Vanguard covered this change in a 2025 article (See Volume 53, Issue 7: “New service requirement implemented for juniors”) and interviewed Mr. Dei about the rationale behind the decision. “The hours-based approach often encouraged students to focus on logging time rather than fostering a genu-
ing component to be an integral part.” Another important focus of the Service Learning Program is giving students agency to incorporate their personal interests into the curriculum, Mr. Dei said. “People are saying, ‘oh, I have to go and do work at Catie’s Closet, and I have to go and do this,’” he said. “Service learning is not about that. Service learning is about taking what you’re passionate about, taking the skills that you have, taking what is near and taking issues that are important to you, and finding that little cranny where you can make some change.” Regardless of the exact service requirement, Board of Trustees member and US parent Pam Baker P ’23 ’25 ’28 appreciates that the school prioritizes community service and has a Service Learning Program. “I think community service is a critical part of a student’s development and that understanding of how to offer yourself in the service of others is both an obligation and a privilege,” she said. “My older kids both had the opportunity to work with organizations that they continued with over the course of their high school careers, and those experiences helped shape some of their long-term interests.” While students, faculty and parents broadly agree on the need for a service requirement, the best way to structure such a program remains controversial.
The Vanguard
November 2026
On Campus
Page 6
Readers respond: the Cornell 7 The Vanguard talked to two current Upper School (US) seniors and a US alum and current freshman at Cornell who requested anonymity because he is concerned about backlash from Cornell. They reflected on the criminal investigation into an alleged Oct. 2024 sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University.
“Seeing the way that this situation specifically unfolded, especially the way that Cornell just hasn’t really taken accountability for the way that they dealt with these seven students, really makes me think about the fact that so many of these schools out there are not actually having their students’ best interests at heart.”
“The point is not to find out who she is and what her stake in the game was, or what she could have done wrong. She was allegedly raped by seven men and nobody stood up for her, that is the point.”
Quinn Reynolds ’27
Erin Yu ’27 “It’s definitely played a big part in my decision not to apply to Cornell. I want an environment that I can thrive in, and I also want to feel aligned with the school’s values. This really strips away the romanticized image of the Ivy League, at least for me, and I hope that also has happened for a lot of other people, too.”
“I think high schools should talk about it because it’s important, especially because we are students of a larger community and we’re about to go to college. I’m really angry about it, and for the school to not address it is unfortunate.”
Anonymous BB&N Alum
“It’s almost hard for me to picture Cornell without this issue looming in the background. Morally, of course, everybody’s like, yeah, it’s tough to see that your school is not having the best response. The administration at Cornell is not having the best response to this type of an issue. People here are really just trying to have a normal college experience, too, especially the freshmen who just got here.”
Up next: Wall Street?
Staff Photo by Lucia Longstreet-Lipson
“A lot of people worked really, really hard for most of their lives to get into a school like Cornell. And now, students are told that if they don’t transfer they’re in support of rape. It’s really tough, of course we feel terrible, it’s an unjust situation. But, for students, we want the media to highlight that this is an issue with the Cornell administration and not an issue with the Cornell student body.”
Photo caption: (Left to right) Kaeleigh Neil, Quinn Reynolds (both ’27) and Charlotte Dahl ’28 discuss the Cornell case at a FemCo meeting. The case drew national criticism to rape culture and how administrations at Ivy League universities handle issues of sexual assault.
Investment Club members learn financial literacy at a young age Setti Sekhavat
Contributing Writer
“No one controls the stock market,” Investment Club President Lucas Ho ’28 said. “It can go up, down, sideways. And it can crash tomorrow.” Lucas is one of several Upper School (US) students who invest in the market, cryptocurrencies and meme coins through apps like Cash App and brokerage accounts, which are opened with a financial firm and used to buy and sell investments. For minors, both apps and brokerage accounts require parental sponsoring and oversight. Through investing, many students are learning lessons about financial literacy with real-life consequences. Lucas began investing in freshman year without any prior knowledge. He said he learned along the way through the Investment Club and websites such as Investopedia, MarketWatch and the New York Times. “I started investing around second half of freshman year,” Lucas said. “I was investing in the big companies: Google, Apple. I put in $20. I wasn’t very patient, so I took it out very often … But I was very interested back then because I was like, no way, you can just see money grow and you don’t have to do anything.” His first investments were in crypto and meme coins. “Before I started investing in real stocks, I was doing some crypto,” he said. “And then I got into meme coin trading, which was not a good idea.
is you have the ability to make mistakes and learn from it without it being detrimental to your success later,” he said. “Investing is learning to take risks.” He said investing has changed the way he thinks about money. “I would say investing has made me be more appreciative of money, but it has also made me realize that money can come and go much more easily than you might think,” he said. “Ninety percent of retail day traders lose money. So I mean, investing is not necessarily a thing where you’re always gonna win.” Unlike Pierce and Lucas, memStaff Photo by Tristan Ko bers of Investment Club don’t begin A student’s laptop displays graphs, predictions and data about the stock market. investing right away, President of Students attempted to grow their portfolios through learning about trading. Investment Club Tommy Bresler ’27 said. I started to get addicted to meme quick,” he said. “I mean, that’s what “We tend to try to start out with coins because it’s one of the craziest happened to me with meme coins, more of a basic understanding of the casinos out there … The charts go up and I lost all my money. People want market as a whole,” he said. “And and down, up and down, and I got to turn their $100 into $200 by to- then we move into having them do the adrenaline rush … I actually made morrow and then be done with it.” their own individual stock pitches as some money, but I didn’t take it out Like Lucas, President of Invest- a practice just to practice looking at because I thought maybe it can go ment Club Pierce Seth ’27 has learned the market and choosing a stock and even higher, and then suddenly it all from his previous experiences. evaluating whether it would be good wiped out. I learned after that not to “Because I’m young, I used to to buy.” touch meme coins because … meme make a lot of rash, maybe emotional Tommy said financial literacy coins are more based on just luck be- decisions when investing. Ultimately, is an important skill to gain in high cause they’re being controlled by who- when you lose money and you realize school. ever is behind it.” this is a real-world thing, you realize “It’s more important in high Apps such as Robinhood, the the value of money, but also that you school to just learn about money news and social media influence what can’t be emotional when it comes to and learn how to invest, even if that Lucas decides to invest in. investing. It’s absolutely a learning doesn’t involve … investing your own Often high school students mis- curve.” money,” he said. “The earlier that you understand the goal of investing, he Pierce started investing in middle learn about it, the better because the said. school. earlier you can start.” “People want to get rich too “The benefit of investing early
The Vanguard
November 2026
Off Campus
Page 7
Currently, Republicans control both chambers of Congress — the House of Representatives and the Senate. Midterm elections are held halfway through a U.S. president’s four-year term and have a substantial impact on Congress. Across the 50 states, voters elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives, around a third of the Senate and many local officials. The party that controls Congress after the midterms significantly influences how easily the president can pass legislation. Beyond Washington, midterms also impact state and local issues, like housing and public safety. —Mimi Shaywitz ’27
Five of the nine ballot questions
U.S. Senate Race Ed Markey (incumbent): Ed Markey, 80, is a progressive Democrat from Malden. He is running for a third term and has served 53 years in public office. John Deaton (challenger): John Deaton is the Republican candidate originally from Michigan but currently living in Bolton. He lost the Senate race to Elizabeth Warren in 2024. Deaton currently works as a trial attorney. Housing affordability: Markey has co-sponsored and backed legislation that prevents bulk corporate home purchases and targets large investors who drive up rents and home prices. He also cosponsored legislation to invest government money into building new affordable housing units. He wants to build five million new homes across the U.S. over the next five years. Energy and utility costs: Markey released a policy to lower energy bills by increasing the capacity of the power grid, shielding budgets from market fluctuations and preventing utility practices that drive up system costs. As the co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, he believes clean energy paves the way to long-term affordable energy instead of relying on fossil fuels. Deaton also wants to expand clean energy usage, specifically by deploying small modular nuclear reactors. He calls for deregulating clean energy and net-zero mandates, arguing hidden surcharges drive up utility bills.
State primary elections: Currently, Massachusetts holds a Democratic primary and a Republican primary. The highest-voted Democratic candidate and highest-voted Republican candidate advance to the general election. The proposed law would replace the two-party primaries with one allparty primary. The two candidates with the highest votes, regardless of party affiliation, would advance to the general election. Election Day registration: Currently, individuals must register to vote before a certain deadline. If they turn 18 after the deadline but before the election, or if they forget to update their address, they are unable to vote. Voting yes would permit eligible voters to register or update their address at their polling place on Election Day. Single family homes: Voting yes would allow single-family homes in residential areas to be built on a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet, as long as the house meets additional conditions like public sewer and water access. The law would combat the state’s housing shortage, but potentially increase traffic and neighborhood density. Prohibit retail sale of adult recreational marijuana: In 2016, Massachusetts voters approved recreational marijuana legalization. Voting yes would end legal marijuana retail sales and change the penalties for possession of marijuana. Firearms regulation: Voting yes on this ballot question would keep an existing law on restrictions and requirements around gun usage. For example: more regulation of untraceable firearms, an expansion of rules concerning assault-style firearms, additional restrictions on carrying guns in certain places, an expanded eligibility to request court orders that temporarily remove firearms from a dangerous individual and additional firearms licensing and training requirements.
Immigration and ICE: Both candidates agree policies around immigration and ICE need to change. Markey believes in abolishing ICE. Deaton advocates for reforming policies to hold ICE agents accountable, such as body cameras, stricter training requirements and opposition to aggressive tactics. Taxes and economic policy: Markey co-sponsors and supports policies to raise taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Deaton opposes raising taxes and supports estate tax cuts, tax-free tips and state-level taxpayer relief mechanisms.
AP U.S. Government and Politics Teacher Jessica Stokes comments on the midterms: “Midterm elections are important even in a state like Massachusetts where it doesn’t look like they’re particularly competitive because the conversations that happen as a result of those elections change what policies are happening in the state. For instance, Governor Healey is officially advocating for a gas tax holiday, which is in direct response to something that Minogue, her competitor, had raised. Even though he is significantly behind her in polls, because the election is happening, that policy has traction, which is good for constituents who want their voices to be heard. Also, the nine ballot initiatives, arguably, are going to be the most important part of this election, and they’re highly contentious and will directly become law, which is an important aspect of this election cycle.”
Massachusetts Governor Race Maura Healey (incumbent): Maura Healey is a pragmatic Democrat, and the 73rd governor of Massachusetts. She served two terms as the state attorney general before becoming the first woman and first openly LGBTQ+ person elected as governor of Massachusetts. Mike Minogue (challenger): Mike Minogue is the Republican nominee for governor of Massachusetts. He is a U.S. Army veteran, West Point graduate and founder of MedTechVets, a non-profit organization helping veterans transition into medical technology careers. Affordability: Healey signed and supports legislation to increase overall supply of housing and lower regulatory barriers to the construction of new housing projects. Minogue has proposed an 11%-16% tax return increase in exchange for shorter permitting times for single-family homes in an effort to encourage the building and buying of larger homes. Energy and utility cost: Minogue supports investment in clean energy and modular nuclear energy options. He advocates cutting the Net Zero mandate (net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050) and focusing on energy innovation that will lower costs. He has also promised to implement a gas-tax holiday when prices per gallon reach $4, with the end goal being eliminating state gas tax. Governor Healey stands firm on maintaining the Net Zero 2050 mandate. She has pivotally aligned with Minogue’s interest in advanced nuclear energy and has introduced aggressive, short-term rate-cutting measures to address soaring utility costs. Immigration and ICE: Healey has passed and supports legislation to limit ICE access and practices. Minogue wants to repeal the law passed by Healey, arguing that it limits cooperation between local, state and federal law enforcement. However, Minogue criticized the aggressive ICE raids and believes enforcement should focus on undocumented immigrants who have criminal records and not target innocent families and individuals.
Staff Photos by Lucia Longstreet-Lipson and Mimi Shaywitz
The Vanguard
Page 8
THE
November 2026
Current Topics
ORNELL 7
In October 2024, a student at Cornell University was allegedly raped by seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity. Almost two years later, the alleged victim, referred to in legal documents by the pseudonym Jane Doe, filed a 101-page lawsuit that has drawn national attention and controversy to Cornell University and the individuals labeled “The Cornell 7.” According to a statement by Jane Doe, after already being intoxicated, she went to the fraternity to meet up with a male friend, where she was coerced to take ketamine, a substance that left her incapacitated for the rest of the night. While she was in this state, messages spread on the fraternity’s Snapchat group inviting others to take advantage of her. Despite 57 members of the fraternity receiving these messages, none of them decided to call the police or report what happened to authorities. Twenty days after the incident, she gained the courage to report what happened to campus police. After an internal investigation, the university only permanently expelled two of the seven students. Some of the individuals were only made to write reflections, a punishment that has recently faced backlash for not matching the severity of what took place.
After everything that happened, Jane Doe was unenrolled from Cornell and, in September 2026, filed a civil lawsuit against Chi Phi and the seven members involved, her sorority Tri Delta, the nightclub she went to that night and the university as a whole. Currently, the ongoing investigation is being looked at in depth by both the New York State Supreme Court and a local district attorney. The investigation has dominated social media accounts. The case has also started an “I am Jane Doe” trend where thousands of women have felt compelled to speak out about their own experiences with sexual assault. Regardless of how the trial unfolds, the case has brought about debates regarding the values of Greek life, the impact of substances like ketamine and the complexity of sexual assault cases. —Christine Tao and Adi Bhatia (both ’27) Source: The New York Times
Upper School (US) Dean of Students Rory Morton ’81 shares his reaction to the Cornell case and how the US prepares students to address and report unsafe situations. When you first heard about the Cornell case, what stood out to you most as a dean of students? You look at Cornell, which is one of the top institutions in the world. These are supposed to be the best and the brightest. You can’t pretend that this only happens with a certain kind of person or a certain kind of place. The thing that makes me cringe most is the list of people on that text line. Those were all potentially people who could have stepped in and said something to stop this from continuing. When you’re on that text line and you read that, your response can’t simply be that you weren’t there. That’s not enough. How does BB&N prepare its students to respond when they witness misconduct or see a peer in an unsafe situation? In ninth grade through Knight School, they’re trying to teach students about responsible behavior and recognizing dangerous situations. A lot of our groups, whether it’s FEMCO or our peer counselors, have conversations about behavior, engagement and individual and group responsibility. What is one thing you hope BB&N students learn from cases like Cornell’s about their responsibility to one another? It’s so important that we recognize the importance of not letting group mentality overtake us, leading us to contribute to destructive and harmful behavior or allow it to happen. We can’t just look the other way or, in some cases, even cheer on that behavior when we hear about it. It’s not okay. And that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be yelling at the top of your lungs. You might be the person who picks up the phone and calls 911. Those kinds of actions matter.
The Vanguard
November 2026
Current Topics
Page 9
The Vanguard conducted an anonymous survey with 93 US students on how the Cornell 7 case has influenced their college decisions and perception towards Greek life.
disclaimer The following pages include details of sexual violence and may be distressing for some readers. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know needs support, please reach out to a school counselor, a teacher, an administrator or a trusted adult.
Direct Distract Delegate Document Delay
After learning about the Cornell 7 case, has it changed your interest in applying to or attending Cornell University?
To what extent has the Cornell 7 case influenced your perception of the risks associated with Greek life?
Middle School (MS) DEIG Practitioner Tiffany Rice and Health & Wellness Teacher & Curriculum Coordinator Dawn McGrath describe the bystander intervention program taught at the Lower School (LS) and MS and the lessons they hope it teaches students. How does the Upstander peer-to-peer program work in grades 4–8, and what are the most important lessons you hope students take away from it? Ms. Rice: We created a train-the-trainer workshop model for sixth through eighth graders last November. We taught a learning module to them about upstander training, understanding the Five D’s and the situations in which they would use them. We gave students a quiz so that they could understand how they might be inclined to respond using the Five D’s. Afterwards, they had a chance to model a workshop off of a template, and were assigned a homeroom in the LS or MS to teach (sixth graders taught workshops to grades 4-6, and seventh and eighth graders taught workshops in their grade level homerooms). Ms. McGrath: We are interested in thinking about how a peer-to-peer model might look at the US if students were interested. When you first heard about the Cornell case, what stood out to you most from the perspective of someone who teaches bystander intervention? Ms. Rice: Sometimes students think we make them do bystander intervention in MS because it's only relevant to MS issues or when it extends into high school, but these are tools that people are using for the rest of their lives. Situations vary, but we're preparing students to go out into the world and hopefully make a difference to help others. Ms. McGrath: What I feel proud about is that we do this proactively here at BB&N. We start talking about autonomy, boundaries and consent in the LS now with our health programming. We call our bystander intervention program Upstanding. We think about cases across the board where harm might be happening, and we think about situating yourself. We teach how you can respond, and give you a handful of strategies that you can use instead of just feeling direct response is the only way to do it. So, it's not just specifically situations that are extremely harmful like the Cornell 7 case, but in general, we want kids to feel like when they witness harm, they have a bucket of strategies that they can go to.
Drawings by Noura Farahat, Lauren Li and Christine Tao
The Vanguard
November 2026
The Pulse
Page 10
PHONE POLIC What are the biggest drawbacks of the phone policy, if any?
Here are a few anonymous responses:
Harder to communicate with parents and family - 69.64% Harder to coordinate with friends - 79.46% Difficulty checking time or schedule - 75% Less freedom or independence - 29.46% Restrictions on AirPods 33.93%
Overall, how do you feel about the phone policy?
No noticeable drawbacks - 6.25% Other - 3.57% Strongly support - 8.93%
Somewhat support - 26.79%
Neutral - 25.89%
1. I’ll never forget making ey tact with a teacher in the bat while scrolling on my phon getting away with it.
2. It is nice that fewer people their phones in the hallways, I found annoying last year.
3. Librarians give a whole gr strike if one person has their out.
Somewhat oppose 27.68%
Strongly oppose - 10.71%
The Vanguard conducted an anonymous survey with 115 US students about how the phone policy has affected their school day. Since the phone policy began, how frequently have you tried to illicitly use your phone during the school day?
Do you feel more connected to your peers as a result of the phone policy?
Staff Photo
A US student scrolls on their phon
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The Vanguard
November 2026
The Pulse
CY
Page 11
Enforced at the start of the 2026-27 school year, the new phone policy has banned Upper School (US) students from having their phones out during the academic day. Instead, students are required to store them in their backpacks. —Christine Tao and Adi Bhatia (both ’27)
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Jayden Resnick ’29 disapproves of the new phone policy and suggests how it could be improved. If I could change one thing about the phone policy, it would be allowing students to listen to music with earbuds. I also think students should be able to check their schedules or check the time, especially those who don’t wear watches. However, I understand that allowing these exceptions could make the policy more difficult to enforce.
Staff Photo by Katy Varadi US students can mirror their iphone onto their macbooks.
CAUTION: HERS MAY NOT LOOK Drawings by Rima Demir
Mimi Fulop ’28 shares a positive effect and drastic change in her daily routine caused by the US’s new phone policy. The phone policy has made me less dependent on my phone. In the past, I would sometimes scroll through Instagram during my free periods, then work on assignments, and go back to scrolling whenever I had a few minutes to spare. I feel like this habit reinforced my dependence on social media, so not having access to my phone throughout the school day has helped me break that cycle.
The Vanguard
November 2026
Features
Page 12
g n i f e i r B y k c Bu
The
Eco Reps bike share, Cram Jam and the Round Square trip to Australia
Eco Reps Bike Share
Cram Jam
The Eco Reps are reviving the school’s bike share program after years of declining student use. By repairing bikes and planning new promotional efforts, the group hopes more students will take advantage of the program, Eco Reps faculty advisor Christian Tonsgard said.
On any given Monday CAB, relaxing study music and the sound of chip bags emanate from room 183. During the twice-weekly Cram Jam sessions, this space is filled with students of all grades receiving personalized study advice from the multiple teachers in attendance. Laptops are found open as students view their assignments for the week and mark the dates of assessments on the provided templates to plan their time. Cram Jam, designed primarily by Upper School (US) Learning Specialist Cayes Jarda, is a study group focused on helping US students develop effective study habits. The sessions take place during CAB on Mondays and Wednesdays and are run by Mx. Jarda and Education Fellow Benjamin Rogak. “One of the main goals of Cram Jam is to help learn efficiently and in a way that information received in class actually sticks to your brain,” Mr. Rogak said. According to Mr. Rogak, Cram Jam exposes students to multiple exam preparation strategies. “On Mondays, during our organization day, we go through different tools that can be used to structure your time,” Mr. Rogak said. “We go through the school calendar and plan out the week. On Wednesdays we offer the Summary of Understanding learning method and the SOU Survival Guide which is a template to organize and break down your studying.” Mr. Rogak said Cram Jam makes the drudgery of studying bearable. “By having a lively environment with the music and the snacks, it doesn’t feel like much of a chore, but you are still getting the benefits of studying,” he said. Ara Surati ’29, a frequent Cram Jam participant, said the meetings add structure to her studying. “Mx. Jarda always has some sort of plan and a focus on what we’re supposed to be doing. One of the weeks was making a study guide and what to think about and other weeks have a lot of different study strategies.”
Staff Photo by Katy Varadi
The Eco Reps provide free bikes to students underneath the stairwell in Renaissance Hall. The Eco Reps revived the bike share program.
Located beneath the staircase in Renaissance Hall, the bike share provides Upper School (US) students with free access to bikes without requiring them to own one. First established roughly 10 years ago, the program encourages sustainable transportation, Mr. Tonsgard said. “The idea was to give students and faculty an opportunity to get off campus and explore Harvard Square and the surrounding areas without needing a car,” he said. “We’re lucky to live and work in such a beautiful area, and the bike share encourages people to get outside, explore and stay active.” In recent years, however, student use of the program has declined. The Eco Reps have been working to make the program more accessible to students, he said. “The Eco Reps have been working hard to get the bikes back into shape. They’ve been fixing flat tires, oiling chains and tackling whatever maintenance they can,” Mr. Tonsgard said. Eco Reps member Sydney Xu ’28 said the program also aims to bring students together. “I feel like if you’re biking with your friends, it’s a really nice way to hang out with your friends and have fun,” Sydney said. “Also, it’s a really nice mode of exercise because when you’re biking versus riding in a car or a bus, you’re getting exercise while moving your body.” To increase participation, the Eco Reps plan to promote the bike share through posters around campus, Instagram posts and “What’s Happening” emails. Although some details are still being finalized, the Eco Reps hope to encourage students to replace car rides and other less sustainable forms of transportation with biking, Sydney said. For some students, biking is already a regular part of their routine. Quinn Conine ’27 has biked to school nearly every day, weather permitting, since middle school. “I bike to school pretty much every day, unless it’s really heavy rain or it’s really icy out,” Quinn said. “It’s a practical alternative, so I just kept doing it since middle school. It’s also just like a nice way to get up in the morning, it’s a good habit.” — Elaine Li ’30
Staff Photo by Katy Varadi
Mx. Jarda and Mr. Rogak present on how to utilize calendars at a Cram Jam session. Cram Jam sessions covered different study skills in each session.
Cram Jam offers personalized attention, Ara said. “The ratio of adults to students is not a large amount so it’s focused on you and what you need … I feel a lot more organized by talking with Mx. Jarda, they help me understand what I’m actually doing when I’m studying,” she said. Vivian Zhang ’29 said she highly recommends attending Cram Jam sessions. “It’s super helpful, and organization is the main point if that is something you need to work on. As we go over our school work and learn how to organize them I have learned what to study,” she said. — Jason Min ’30 and Kate Tregay ’28
The Round Square trip to Australia More than 10,000 miles from home, eight Upper School (US) students snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef, rafted through the Tully River and connected with students from across the globe. Through the US’s Round Square Club, the students traveled to Australia to attend the annual Round Square International Conference. After participating in pre-conference activities in Cairns, they traveled to Sydney to join more than 1,000 students from over 150 schools worldwide, where they exchanged cultural perspectives and discussed education and the environment.
Staff Photo by Noura Farahat
Koalas living at a zoo in Cairns, Australia. US students visited the zoo as part of the Round Square trip.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Global Education Associate Alina Balseiro attended as a chaperone and said the goal of the experience was to challenge and expand the students’ worldviews. “We had a lot of students who were quite shy on the trip at first, but they quickly developed into some outgoing students,” Mx. Balseiro said. “Seeing those levels of change and evolution within confidence and interest in getting to know new people and new experiences was really, really beautiful.” For Marwa Benyounes ’28, the conference provided opportunities to form friendships with students from around the world. “There were a lot of opportunities for programming for us to be able to just talk with people, and now, I have my South African friends, and my friends from Toronto,” she said. “We got to the conference and met all these people from all over the world and were able to see how these people were all the same age, and we were all so different, but we also had similarities.” Gabe De Oliveira ’28 said the conference reshaped his perspective on life. “It definitely gave me a broader view,” Gabe said. “If my view of life before was in the lens of a fish, now it’s in the lens of an eagle … It’s remarkable. I’ve met so many people; my views on art, sports, ways to communicate, ways to express emotions and ideas — they are all just diversified.” — Evelyn Marks ’29
The Vanguard
November 2026
Features
Page 13
All-School Pep Rally! On Oct. 8, a sea of blue and gold flooded the NAC gymnasium. For the first time in three years, Lower, Middle and Upper School (US) students came together for an all-school pep rally. Students competed in freeze dance and worked together for a relay race. Varsity Football Coach Mike Willey addressed the community ahead of Homecoming. The rally concluded with Lower School students teaching the community their school song, followed by a performance from the US orchestra as confetti cannons went off in the gym. —Adi Bhatia ’27
TOP RIGHT: A Lower School student runs to their team during the relay race where students had to dress up in BB&N Athletic gear. LEFT: Head of School Jennifer Price high-fives Lower School students as they enter the NAC.
Right: Colin Hoffman ’27 and a Lower School student interact during the all-school Pep Rally. Bottom LEFT: Upperclassmen cheer on competitors during the all-school relay race. Bottom Right: US Music Teacher Elliot Cless ’02 directs the US Orchestra in their closing performance as confetti cannons go off in the gym.
“We were in the Upper School gym and we were sitting there. And we were mostly watching and cheering BB&N, BB&N, BB&N!”
—Betty Lou Goldhaber ’40
The Vanguard
November 2026
Opinions
Page 14
Carefree and barefoot
The perfect landing
Those who have played sports with me over the years know I don’t like to wear shoes. I do while I’m actually playing, of course, but otherwise you’ll find me walking around in socks. My logic is this: if I’ve just finished volleyball practice or just gotten out of a boat, why would I ever put my dirty socks back into my clean shoes? If it’s raining, I’m walking in socks. When I have to help carry a 200-pound four boat across the gravel, I’m in socks.
“Any landing you walk away from is a successful one.” My grandpa used to tell me that long before I had ever landed anything. He served in the Army, and years ago he came close to earning his own private pilot license. He never quite finished, but his love for flying never left him. Somewhere along the way, it became mine, too. I took my “discovery flight” – a first introductory flying lesson – at Chatham Airport when I was 14, before I was even allowed to drive a car or vote. I remember the runway markers zipping by faster and faster, the rattle of the wheels going silent as we lifted off and the steady buzz of the engine. Then came the turns — wide, sweeping banks where the horizon tilted on its side and the landscape just unfolded beneath me. It was a little terrifying, but it was the most alive I had ever felt. By the time we touched down, I knew I wanted to keep doing it. Deciding to become a pilot is considerably easier than becoming one. Most people picture open skies, sunsets and aviator sunglasses. The reality is checklists, weather briefings, radiocalls and a vocabulary full of acronyms. Earning a private pilot license means passing written and practical exams on everything from aerodynamics and meteorology to federal regulations. Then there’s the work on the ground: preflight inspection, chart study and emergency procedures rehearsed until they become instinct. Flying, I learned, is all about preparation. Through much of it, my grandpa was right there, sometimes literally, sitting in the back seat of the Cessna while I flew with my instructor.
Photo Courtesy of Quinn Reynolds
Quinn Reynolds ’27 (far right) swims with her neighborhood friends at the public pool. She moved from New Jersey to Boston two days later, in 2020.
Not many people get it. The rowing coaches worry that I’ll step on a rusty nail. That’s fair. My mom hates it, because she tries to wash them, and then has to buy a new pack. People know I’m a practical person, so it surprises them when I do something “stupid” on purpose. It doesn’t bother me — it’s pretty weird. I don’t like to wear shoes because I never did growing up. Before I moved to Boston, every house on my street had someone my age, and we never played inside. A summer day might go like this: wake up at 7:05. By 7:15, you are already at Mira’s house. You’re shoulders-deep in her freezer drawer, looking for the last Eggo waffle or a stray Trader Joe’s yogurt. She’s sitting at her island, reading some fantasy, dystopian epic that she’ll try, and fail, to make you read next. Both of your ankles are stacked with ratty friendship bracelets that should’ve been cut off months ago. By 7:25, Quinn Reynolds you’re out the door, on the way to Liv’s house Quinn Zooms In across the street. And so you go around the neighborhood until it’s 8:00 and you’ve got a band of 15 kids ready to build a treehouse or play fase-ball (football-baseball). You might be really lucky, and Charlotte Ford’s parents forgot to take down her blow-up waterslide. The last thing you are thinking about as you race down it is how dirty you’re going to be after.
Photo Courtesy of Quinn Reynolds
Quinn Reynolds ’27 (far left) dresses up with her neighborhood friends before going trick-or-treating. Quinn said her favorite childhood costumes were Cheerios, peppermint and Elsa.
To be clear, you’ve been stepping on acorns, avoiding twigs, splashing into mud pits at the bottom of slides, and of course, tracking all of that grime into every house you pop into to get a snack. By the time you get home at 5:15, your hair is sweaty, and you’re ready to watch “Dragon Rider.” Your feet are so grubby your mom makes you soak them in the bath. I was lucky to have a magical childhood. When my family moved to Boston in 2020, I felt like my childhood was over, and I would never have fun like that again. I had to grow up and spend my afternoons in front of a computer instead of a swing set. I had to worry about transcripts instead of my budding tie-dye T-shirt business. Yet, I wanted to keep some of the magic of those days. That looks like walking around in socks instead of shoes. It’s a way for me to remind myself that I’m bigger than the worries I have. In the end, the real goal is to be as happy as I was when I was running around my neighborhood, carefree and barefoot.
Photo Courtesy of Will Sammons
Will Sammons ’27 flew a Cessna 172 in Chatham. His passion for airplanes taught him valuable lessons about responsibility and perseverance.
I’d like to say my first landing was smooth and graceful. It most definitely was not. It was “firm”; in plain terms. Yet, as we rolled out, I was struck by one fact: I had just landed an airplane. However imperfect, the accomplishment was mine. When I shared the news with friends and family that evening, most were congratulatory. A few asked whether everyone was OK. By my grandpa’s standard, though, it was a complete success. We walked away. In the years since, my landings have improved, but the bigger changes have been in me. Chatham is a windy place, and high winds have grounded more of my lessons than I can count. I’ve learned to check the forecast, study windsock straining sideways and make the call nobody wants to make: not today. As pilot-in-command, that decision belongs to no one else. At 14, a canceled flight felt like a wasted morning. Now I understand that knowing when not to fly is part of knowing how to fly. Crosswinds taught me humility, too. Just when I was convinced I had crosswind landings figured out, I would come in for one that felt like my very first again: drifting, correcting and settling onto the runway with far less grace than I had planned. Each one reminded me that I hadn’t mastered anything yet. I was still learning, and I always will be. So, what does flying actually feel like? People ask me this all the time, and I still don’t have a clear answer. It’s freedom, but not the carefree kind. It’s watching the ground shrink into a painting while also monitoring the oil pressure, listening to radio static, and planning the next turn. It’s feeling Will Sammons completely free and completely responsible at Guest Column the same time. And, honestly, it’s still the same feeling I had on my discovery flight at 14. My grandpa passed away last year. He won’t get to see where flying takes me, but he’s a big part of why I’m still doing it, and maybe part of why I’ve started to wonder about serving someday, the way he did. To anyone chasing a goal that seems too far away: start anyway, and expect your first attempt to be slightly rough. Mine certainly was. I will never have a “perfect” landing. But I’ve walked away from every one of them, and by my grandpa’s standard, that makes every one a success.
The Vanguard
November 2026
Sports
Page 15
It’s a ‘love-hate relationship’ Student-athletes reflect on burnout Alex Berk
Staff writer
According to an article from Johns Hopkins, children are starting sports earlier and earlier. Yet, 70% of young athletes stop participating in organized sports by age 13. The article said intense training from a young age can lead to burnout, depression, stress, anxiety and unhealthy perfectionism. Upper School (US) Athletic Trainer Alessia Pesaturo said burnout in student-athletes can present in different ways and varies per individual. She said burnout doesn’t only consist of physical fatigue. “Many students have multiple commitments during the season, so a typical day could look like captain’s practice in the morning, attending school, after-school BB&N sport, night club practice or evening workout and needing to complete any academic work,” Ms. Pesaturo said. “The accumulation of all activities with little rest can lead to overtraining or athletic burnout, and that workload can be interpreted as emotional, physical and mental.” Students tend to feel more burned out around recruiting season. “The pressure student-athletes face can be very challenging and hard to manage alone,” she said. “In a lot of cases, the athlete has been playing their sport for years and has in some way tied their identity and success to it. Shifting the main focus from performance and recruitment expectations to outcomes the student-athlete can control, like being a good teammate, leader and remembering that they are also looking for a right fit mutually can help relieve some stress that may come from the process. ”
Staff Photo by Katy Varadi Liam Cunningham ’27 sits in the trainers’ room. Student-athletes said burnout could lead to injuries, among other challenges.
Though she loves soccer and looks forward to practice, Girls’ Varsity Soccer Midfielder and Williams commit Kate Sullivan ’27 said the pressure can be mentally taxing. “Especially in times when it’s a big recruiting season, it’s really hard for people with the amount of pressure,” Kate said. “It’s getting more normalized now, feeling burnt out with your sport. After a long day of school and practice, sometimes all I want to do is just sleep and let it all
out. If I’m super tired after my game, I’ll just go home, eat, take a shower and go to bed, and I’ll wake up early to get my work done.” Athletes can experience different levels of burnout, Kate said. “Burnout to different people means different things,” she said. “There’s a difference between being tired after everything and then truly feeling just a more complete exhaustion. Also mentally, it kind of builds up and at some point you just break.
And that’ll happen maybe like once a year or a couple times.” Kate said her relationship with soccer has changed as she’s gotten older. “When you’re younger, it’s a little bit more free and fun,” Kate said. “Now, there’s a lot of pressure put on us with college and recruiting. The stress makes it hard to say you still love your sport and balance everything because it turns into a lovehate relationship sometimes. You need to do things that help you stay grounded and have an identity outside of your sport to counteract it.” Girls’ Varsity Hockey Forward and Brown University commit Kate Glantz ’27 started hockey when she was 3 and has had a similar experience to Kate Sullivan. “When you’re younger, you don’t really know what’s going on, you’re just running around on the ice, and it’s just a thing that’s purely for fun,” she said. “Getting older, when you start to get expectations for yourself and feel a bit more pressure, it can easily turn something that you love into something that’s more of a stressful thing.” Despite the pressure, Kate said she looks forward to hockey practice all day. “It’s important to remind yourself as you’re getting older that you’re still doing this for fun. It’s not supposed to be anything but fun,” she said. “While hockey is such a big part of my life and it’s not just a game, it also kind of is just a game. It’s important to remind yourself of that because you should be having fun with the sport that you play.”
The Crossword Across: 1. Found in caves and baseball games 4. An animal known for carrying supplies on mountain trails 5. Sharp teeth belonging to a vampire 6. Trick-or-treating will start at 7:00 and ____ 9:00 7. To cut or tear with your teeth Down: 1. A cake baked in a circular pan with a hole 2. Green organisms that grow in water 3. What we have during critical academic periods 4. ___-pedi 5. The shortest month
The Vanguard
Page 16
LeBron’s last dance
November 2026
Opinions
This past offseason, LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of his 24th National Basketball Association (NBA) season — a league record. With James turning 42 on December 30 this year, it can’t help but feel like the end of his career is near. Of course, critics and fans have said this about LeBron for the last decade, but by signing only a two-year deal, this time the end feels legit. It’s a sad reality for many of his supporters and an immense relief for others. The new contract James signed is worth just $8 million over two years, the league’s veteran minimum. However, James is well above the minimum in terms of talent, production and success. His name alone generates the 76ers far greater than $8 million, not to mention his actual contributions to winning. Tom Brady took this same approach: Take a massive pay cut to help the team and prioritize winning. The 76ers built a team this offseason that should help LeBron have his Cinderella ending. Philadelphia already had major contracts signed with former NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Joel Embiid and All-NBA guard Tyrese Maxey. The 76ers also found an up-and-coming star in VJ Edgecombe of last year’s NBA Draft. Finally, the 76ers traded for former Celtic Jaylen Brown, who was an NBA Finals MVP. The team certainly has the star power to succeed, but if I had to choose a team to win the NBA Finals within the next two years, it would not be the 76ers. With their new roster, the 76ers went 1-3 in preseason. While generally the preseason isn’t a great tell of how good a team will be, the 76ers played the Celtics in their fourth game of the preseason and Jack Reinfeld lost 125-120 with their stars all on the court; meanReinfeld’s Playbook while, the Celtics only played with bench players and two-way contracted players — players who are contracted to play mainly in the G League, the NBA’s ‘minor leagues’, and only occasionally in the NBA. It was a terrible showing for this new roster. Of course, it takes time to gel with new teammates, so it is reasonable to have early-season setbacks. The preseason woes aren’t what makes me think the 76ers are not a dream team; it’s the state of the rest of the league. Each team has so much star power, and other teams have more depth. For example, the Celtics: They have stars in Jayson Tatum and Paul George, but they also have a strong core of effective role players in Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Mike Conley. There are numerous teams just like the Celtics. The Thunder, Nuggets, Spurs, Knicks and Cavaliers all have the same roster makeup. This structure of stars and role players has been the blueprint for success in the NBA for the past several years.
Drawing by Scarlett Hawkins
It is exciting to see all of the stars coming together in Philadelphia, but I wouldn’t expect a championship to come out of it. The 76ers are still contenders, but by no means favorites. Last year they won 45 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals before getting swept 0-4 by the eventual NBA Finals Champions, the New York Knicks. But this new top-heavy roster doesn’t strike me as the type of team to make it over the hump. Normally we would be able to look past all of the signs pointing to failure because of LeBron James, but approaching 42 years old, he isn’t the same player anymore. LeBron will still be able to help his team win and be efficient himself — he is the greatest basketball player of all time. But with many stars on this roster who want the ball in their hands and not enough role players, the 76ers are most definitely not my pick to be the 2027 or 2028 NBA Champs.
The problems of real-life Monopoly
The game Monopoly gets a lot of things right about life. Families arguing over money. Landlords charging ridiculous amounts of rent and someone inevitably flipping the board. However, Monopoly leaves out one important detail. In real life, buying a house with the money you have is only half the battle because the bank then spends the next 30 years reminding you where the money came from.
Graphic Courtesy of Federal Reserve Economic Data Soaring home prices and mortgage rates squeeze Massachusetts home buyers. Higher rates locked owners into their low mortgages, keeping homes off the market and decreasing buyers’ options.
Those reminders come in the form of mortgage payments. A mortgage is a loan taken in order to buy property, which the bank has the right to confiscate if the buyer fails to pay back his debt. The buyer repays not only the debt itself, called principal, but also interest, i.e., the cost of using other people’s money. And right now, borrowing that money is expensive. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.4% on October 15, compared with 6.27% a year earlier. “Fixed” means the interest rate stays the same over the loan’s term – great if you locked in a low rate, less exciting if you are shopping now. To understand why rates are important, consider purchasing a house for $500,000, and putting down $100,000 on it, making the mortgage $400,000. With an interest rate of 3%, one will have to pay $1,686 every month on the principal plus interest for 30 years. However, at an interest rate of 7.4%, the monthly payment is estimated to be around $2,770, which translates into $13,000 extra every year on the same house without other costs. As Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors, put it, “Further increases in mortgage rates in recent weeks mean fewer buyers can qualify to purchase a home.” But who determines these rates? Contrary to what one might hear from news headlines, it is not the Federal Reserve that determines your mortgage rates. The Fed indirectly sets the cost of borrowing through its interest rates, but the mortgage rates are also determined by the yields on long-term bonds, the expectation of inflation and the risk of lending money for the purchase of houses. You would think that increased borrowing costs should cause home prices to fall. When fewer people are able to pay for an item, then its price should be reduced, shouldn’t it? That is often true, but there is a twist to housing. Imagine already owning a home with a 3% fixed mortgage. Moving might mean giving that up for a new loan at more than twice the rate. Suddenly, the toilet, which doesn’t flush well, seems manageable. Economists call this the “lock-in effect;” where owners stay put, fewer homes reach the market and buyers’ options shrink. Higher rates can weaken demand while also restricting supply. And there is already a supply issue that has existed for a longer period in America. Building new houses requires land, labor, materials, capital and authorization. Zoning can control where housing is Ethan Moran developed and the number of houses constructEcon with Ethan ed. More expensive borrowing costs could also affect the ease of financing development. It will be favorable for buyers if borrowing costs are lower, yet they do not create additional supplies immediately. The data from the Fed shows the value of the housing market for U.S. households is estimated to amount to about $50 trillion by the second quarter of 2026. Housing plays an important role in accumulating wealth rather than merely providing a home. Buying a house can appear far off for Upper School students, but the impact could come sooner via rent and choosing your work location post-college. As fewer people can afford to buy homes, more continue renting, which can increase demand for apartments and push rents higher. That means even a fancy finance job in New York City could leave you taking a chunk out of your salary on a tiny apartment you share with two roommates. None of this suggests every housing market is collapsing or every seller can demand whatever they want. Conditions can vary, and more inventory can give buyers much more negotiating power. But affordability is about the whole equation: prices, interest rates, incomes and available homes. So, no, skipping a few Felipe’s runs will not solve America’s housing problem, and the goal should not be making every home cheap overnight. It should be making owning a house possible without a lottery win or parents willing to fund the down payment.
The Vanguard
November 2026
Arts
Page 17
Relocating the heART of Harvard Square
Petropoulos event hotspot to move from current location Noura Farahat
Assistant Production Manager
A woman screamed in agony as she watched her husband turn into a rhinoceros on what should have been a regular day at work. On Friday, Sept. 18, a group of Upper School (US) students saw the play “Rhinoceros” at the American Repertory Theater (ART) as a part of the Petropoulos Arts Scholar program. “Rhinoceros” was one of the last plays shown at the current location of the ART in Harvard Square before it moves to a new location in Allston in the spring. The Petropoulos Program funds extracurricular arts experiences, including performances, museum visits and workshops for students interested in exploring or pursuing the performing and visual arts. The program was created in 1984 in honor of former US Ceramics Teacher John B. Petropoulos, who passed unexpectedly during his tenure. Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco wrote “Rhinoceros” in 1959. The play takes place in a small French town, in which residents one by one turn into rhinoceroses. Many people join the rhinoceroses out of peer pressure until only one man is left. Alone, he doubts himself before finally fighting to stay human until the end. Ionesco wrote
“Rhinoceros” as an allegory for fascism. Izzy Konstantopoulos ’28 attended the play because she had never participated in a Petropoulos event before. “I really liked the play because it had weighty themes, but was still funny. I think the actors were good at bringing out the comedic side of the characters,” she said. “The play on paper sounds serious, but I found myself having a good time throughout it.” Izzy said she plans on attending Petropoulos events at the new ART in the future. “I don’t think the move will change that much about my experience. The play was what I enjoyed, not the location … I don’t think the theater makes the performance. If anything, a larger space will be beneficial for the actors.” The ART’s rendition of “Rhinoceros” featured Emmy-winning cast members Tatiana Maslany, Paul Giamatti and John Turturro. “What interested me were the play’s existential questions and its questions related to personal identity,” US English Teacher and Petropoulos Coordinator Allison Kornet said. “Specifically, Turturro’s line as the only human left, ‘What is my language if there is no one left who
speaks it?’” Ms. Kornet said the move will not affect the Petropoulos program. “Being able to walk to the outing was fantastic. We’ll need transportation to future ART productions, but that’s not a big deal,” she said. “We did that for the Jacob Collier event, took a short school bus to the Museum of Science and back.” Associate Director of Stewardship and Major Gifts at the ART Lisa Field-Coleman said the location change is for the better. “The ART’s new location will hold one very large theater, a smaller theater, three studios, multiple rehearsal spaces and an outdoor space. Currently, there is only one theater room, and we have no rehearsal space. ‘Rhinoceros’ rehearsals were in New York City.” Ms. Field-Coleman said she hopes the move won’t change viewership of the ART. “Some people are very nostalgic about the ART. We’ve been in Harvard Square for a very, very long time, so people are very comfortable with where it is right now. But the new location is only a 15-minute walk away from the current one. We hope that the folks who love the ART will follow us across the bridge into Allston and really embrace the new and innovative work that we can cre-
ate and produce in this more expansive space.” The new location creates more opportunities for students, Ms. Field-Coleman said. The ART is currently in a building owned by Harvard University, allowing performances to be held there, as well as student programs through the university. After the move, students will continue to have access to the ART in both locations. “We are currently located in the heartbeat of Harvard University, so we are very close to a lot of student activity, making it very easy for students to come see our shows. By expanding to the new location, students will have access to this bigger establishment, as well as the current location. The ART is a part of Harvard University and has become a part of its cultural and educational side. We are more than just a theater that represents shows for people to see.” The ART in Allston will officially open in the spring 2027. US students can expect to visit the ART with the Petropoulos Program.
A legacy of caring CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Mr. MacDonald said he’ll miss Mrs. Brown’s friendship. “I still go to the costume room and I probably will keep going to the costume room hoping she’s there. I’m going to miss our chats.” Lindsay Kwon ’27 developed a close relationship with Mrs. Brown during her time acting in the musical and designing costumes junior and senior year. “In the spring, we had a lot less people, so sometimes it would just be me and her, and we would just talk for hours and she would just tell me stories,” Lindsay said. “She was the most interesting person I’ve ever met, and I will say this forever: She had lived so many lives.” Lindsay said Mrs. Brown treated everyone with patience. “In my junior year, there were a ton of new people, so she would sit there and teach us how to sew,” Lindsay said. “It was a lot of us raising our hands, being like, ‘Mrs. Brown, we broke the machine,’ and she’d come over and fix it. She was just super patient. She’s really big on taking care of each other and being a whole community. That’s the legacy she left, always taking care of each other, giving each other the benefit of the doubt, just being really sweet and being able to handle adversity with such grace.” When Audrey Buller ’28 joined the costume team her freshman year, she had no sewing experience. “For every new sewer, she had separate meetings with them to really teach them how to sew, and she was okay with you messing up. She never got mad that I never knew how to do anything, and she would always take her time and could
Staff Photo by Katy Varadi In the US second-floor art gallery, students and faculty write messages on a piece of fabric that will be sewn into a quilt for Mrs. Brown’s family. Mrs. Brown sewed and designed costumes for 66 US productions.
show me things a couple times if I needed help with the difficult part. She would drop what she was working on to help us. She never stopped helping, but she knew when to push you. She knew when you could do it yourself, and she was always very encouraging.” Audrey shared her favorite memory of Mrs. Brown. “There was one Saturday tech rehearsal where no one came in for costumes except me, and so it was me and her in a room for like three hours just sewing, and that was so fun. I always would talk to her, and so would every other person that did costumes, and she made that space more than just a costume room. It’s because of her, it’s also a room where you feel comfortable. It was a space where we all connected,” Audrey said. Sofia Chen ’22 started sewing at a young age, but said she fell in love with it during her time with Ms. Brown.
“She completely supported me throughout all of high school and college and became a very good friend,” Sofia said. “Her room and costume design was really where I found my home at BB&N. It was the place I felt like I could go to unwind from everything else but also work on what I really cared about.” Though Sofia appreciated all aspects of the US theater productions, Ms. Brown’s costumes were “the star of the show,” she said. “The fact that she was designing all of the costumes with such a strong and clear vision in every show and then also physically making them is so much more impressive than she ever got credit for. She’s also such a kind and welcoming person. She gets people from completely different skill levels, but she really manages to meet where they are, when I think sewing can be incredibly technical and intensive. “ Sofia and Ms. Brown grew close in high school, and they continued
to meet for coffee when Sofia went to college and grad school in Cambridge. “Whenever there was a show that I knew she was very proud of, I would go and see it to see the costumes,” she said. “I’m going to miss seeing her on a regular basis. As I got older, there was so much more for us to talk about in terms of art and design. I’m going to miss having someone who is such an inspiring artist to talk to about my work as well as just a friend to catch up with.” Sofia is currently working on her masters in design and computation at MIT. “In costume, I sewed a lot, but I also did a lot of the sculptural pieces, and so I gained this interest in material properties influencing art that then is basically what all my research and engineering and design now is about on a more technical level,” she said. “It completely started within sculpture pieces in costume design at BB&N, and Mrs. Brown gave me the chance to explore that, and that was a very pivotal moment in how I view my own art.” To honor Mrs. Brown’s legacy, the US created a display of her costumes and props in the second-floor art gallery. All students are invited to visit the gallery to write an impression or memory on a piece of fabric, which will be sewn into a quilt for her family.
The Vanguard
November 2026
The Back Page
Page 18
Not a retirement plan!
FALL IS IN THE AIR
Photos Courtesy of Gwen Watson, Alaia Hassan, Pilar Bowen-Arce, Harper Dubovik, Kaeleigh Neil, Mirabel Ge, Adyson Balter and Princess Adeoye.
Notable Quotables! “Whatever evils are sitting in your basement, just let them sit there.” —US Math Teacher Tom Randall on not simplifying denominators when finding derivatives
“Enough math, let’s do a dog show and tell.” —US Math Teacher Mara Vatz during the last 10 minutes of a Friday afternoon extended block
“I have a pet parrot but it was neglected so it looks like a vulture. It’s the ugliest thing and it only loves me. It doesn’t have feathers and it can’t fly.” —US Film Teacher Chris Gaines
Dearest Gentle Reader, Consider yourself alerted, for by the time this column has lent itself to your eyes, many senior scholars will have submitted their applications for the premiere round of university decisions – you may recognize them as “Early Decision” or “Early Action.” Apart from the demographic of students who have elected for athletic recruitment, the release of the aforementioned round of decisions is the first opportunity for the class of 2027 to be privy to their future academic pathways. Indeed, in a mere few weeks, some of our ton will have decided on their ensuing place of study. While this is all very exhilarating indeed, might I hold space for the utmost unease that many are feeling during this era of suspense. Amidst the transient window in which our eldest students apply to colleges, the stress emanates through the air; it can be all but tasted on one’s tongue. And with fair reason, dear reader, for it seems that everything one does makes an impact on one’s collegiate outcome. Primarily, colleges consider academic performance in the highest regard. This element of one’s application is particularly taxing, for many seniors are taking the most rigorous Lady Knightingale course load of their entire high school ca- Dearest Gentle Reader reer, and they must balance it with the time required for writing said declarations of interest to colleges. Beyond that, our eldest scholars have inherited a multitude of leadership positions that call for their attention. These extracurricular commitments are accompanied by athletic endeavors that are both physically draining and time-consuming. A number of scholars also consign hours on financial pursuits and good works. Bless me, dear reader, for to obtain a momentary rest during this period is a near impossibility. Even one’s luncheon hour is preoccupied by informative assemblies with visiting college representatives — a time in which many feel pressured to present themselves in a rather professional manner. Pray do tell, how in Nature’s spinning sphere does one balance it all? Between academic achievement, athletic exertion, the leading of organizational societies, civic engagement, employment, allotments for social pursuits and adequate slumber, this author can only imagine the undertaking to be like spilling the history of our academy’s happenings in a single tea time — oh, the thought of it! I sometimes feel the expectation of attending a renowned university is so thickly ingrained in our veins that the strain of fulfilling said prophecy raises our very blood pressure. While I can hold appreciation for the lofty goals that students set for themselves, this author feels some may be attempting to secure a retirement plan before even receiving their high school diploma! Scholars at our ton have such a wide variety of proficiencies and passions that are discarded whilst allocating one’s time in completing a Resume of Incomparable Excellence (or RIE, as this author has coined it). I should be rather astonished and pleased to catch word of an individual straying from the trodden path — one who fears not the pressures of society and instead follows after their own heart. Would one’s six-figure destiny truly be unachievable should they elect to reside on a Scottish farm for a year, living in harmony with the sheep and relying on the nourishment of raw milk and potatoes? Or, perhaps an excursion through the mountainous wonders of Patagonia, with nothing save for the basic commodities that fit on one’s back? Honestly, dear reader, have we ever allowed ourselves to consider the extent to which we can utilize our free will to construct greater happiness? As the Early Decision application window draws to a close, this author does encourage seniors to reflect on what will truly bring them joy. For while this intense time may feel vital for paving the path to success, you still have your entire adult life ahead of you. Consider the following — and to be frank, I should address this pondering to all readers, students of every grade and faculty alike — when you are elderly and frail, reclined in your rocker beside your loving partner or loyal hound, will you be satisfied? Let this letter serve as a gentle reminder to check in with your heart and make sure it is in harmony with your resolute head. And for the senior class, as you prepare your schedules for your springtime excursion, or SSP, as it is commonly acknowledged, I do hope you’ll bear in mind the following: tempting as it may be to rest — and rest you absolutely should after this final push — be sure to make good on such a unique opportunity. Challenge yourself in ways you weren’t able to prior; for fortune awaits those who are bold enough to seek her. But alas, I digress. It seems I’m sharing my piece on matters far beyond this sphere of time. Thus, until next time, Gentle Reader. Sincerely, Lady Knightingale