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Volu m e 6 1 , Is su e 3
Novemb er 6, 2012
A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill and Winsor Schools
Senior Class Rejuvenates The Loop By Henry Ogilby
Panel Staff
Gustav Freedman Alex Haigh
The Loop cheering on the football team
Look Inside Election: The Political Environments at BH & Winsor pgs 10 & 11 Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana pgs 8 & 9
Gates Dupont
Mr. Zamore Circles Back to Belmont Hill Art pg 14 Football Coaches Step Up after loss of Mr. Fleming pg 18
Three Winsor Debaters compete internationally pg 2 Student learns from volunteering with Joe Kennedy pg 3
The older guys aimlessly swagger about, while the younger ones tend to scurry quietly in small packs. They all seem unsure of both their destination and their purpose, lost in strange territory. Then, the moment our teams step on the field, rink, or court – everything changes. The discontinuous patches of students surge together to form a rising tide of loud, raucous, blue-attired Belmont Hill boys known simply as The Loop. This year, led by the senior class, The Loop has seen a resurgence. Belmont Hill guys revel in being the very best, and on occasion, rubbing that in – particularly to fans of our respected, always friendly, and always sporting competitors. Everyone at Belmont Hill, students and faculty alike, believes in a central tenet of the school: the pursuit of excellence. This tremendous desire for victory affects every facet of student life. In the classroom, on the field, and in all the various extra curricular activities on campus – and particularly The Loop - we want to be the best.
Students enjoy packing a hundred people into the tiny student section of our hockey rink, students enjoy yelling so loud that we absolutely drown out any other fans, and students enjoy abusing our vocal chords until we simply cannot speak. If you were to ask a senior what some of his best memories of Belmont Hill have been, he might very well remember several hundred electrified boys storming and climbing the glass after the epic, triple-overtime, postseason hockey victory over Exeter, or the surreal experience against St. Sebastian’s under the lights at the very first Frozen Fenway game, with alumni and students alike cheering on our players. While The Loop is not a competitor, members are tremendously invested in the contests’ outcomes. Some of that interest stems from this pursuit of excellence. Our fans relish winning and being the loudest in the stands, but at the end of the often long, cold afternoon, fans are fanatic because we watch far more than games. We watch our best friends forge a reputation and record for themselves and our school. That camaraderie generates campus energy for our sports teams. continued on page 4
Censorship Controversy in Joint Play By Susannah Howe Panel Staff This year’s Winsor-Belmont Hill Upper School play, After Juliet by Sharman McDonald, sounds fanciful, even fluffy: a sequel to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, with Rosaline, Romeo’s old flame, as the main character. In fact, it’s a dark exploration of gender, violence, and other complex themes and, as such, contains explicit language and other unsettling material that director Beth Peters has had to carefully consider how to address. After discussing these potentially uncomfortable elements of the play with the cast, Ms. Peters decided to remove profanity from comedic scenes while leaving other elements as is. continued on page 8
Captains Provide Insights from Experience By Maddy Batt & Bibi Lichauco Panel Staff Have you ever thought of being a captain of a Winsor team? Many Winsor athletes have; however, very few truly understand what this leadership position really means. Delancey King ’14, co-captain of varsity soccer, recalled learning the importance of helping her teammates realize that mistakes are acceptable and inevitable. “It is crucial to maintain a positive environment where kids feel comfortable trying new things and making mistakes,” King remarked, “because that is the only way any of us can get better.” Additionally, one of the varsity field hockey captains, Sarah Prickett ’13, remembered the various advantages of setting goals. continued on page 17
The varsity soccer team gathers together before a game
Gustav Freedman
Exploring India: From Mosques to Classrooms headquarters. However, everyone’s eyes lit up when we roamed Delhi’s streets at night, visiting a bazaar in Connaught This past June, a group consistPlace for haggling and shopping. Next, we went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It just ing of 9 seniors, 1 sophomore, Mr. Koso happened that day would also be the lovos, Brother Patterson, Ms. Gettings, hottest one of the entire trip, reaching and Ms. deKenessey traveled to India a temperature of about 115 degrees for service learning and sightseeing. After a five-hour layover in HeathFahrenheit. Stepping through the dark threshold and seeing the row, London’s main airport, we boarded pure marble structure bathing the eight-hour flight to Delhi, India. in the sunlight was breathUpon arrival, the heat struck us immediately, and when taking. The Taj was evwe walked outside to our erything anticipated and transportation, our more. On our final day in clothes immediately Delhi, the group visited stuck to our skin. Fortua local hospital affiliated with the Smile Train nately, the rest of the organization. It was retrip would involve much freshing and uplifting to time spent in the lifesee the generosity of saving air conditioning both the doctors and of the coach buses. the people around the The first day world, working toincluded visits to gether to provide supthe Red Fort and port for a family in need. the Friday Mosque, Holly Gettings among other attrac- Belmont Hill students enjoy REDS, an orphanage in Bangalore, India. continued on page 4 By Kevin Chen Panel Staff
tions in Old Delhi. Later that night, when the jet lag started to get to us, everyone went to a Hindi class. Tired but dazed, we absorbed as much of the language as we could to get us by the days to come. Each day brought about new sights and activities. Our second day consisted of visit-ing several factories and
Winsor News
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Th e Pan el
Mr. Doherty Works on Plans for New Building By Susannah Howe Panel Staff Tucked away above the boiler room, overlooking the front of the school, is the sunny office of Winsor’s new Director of Campus Planning, John Doherty. Though all Winsor girls know about the new building, not many know about Mr. Doherty. He started work this summer and since then has been handling plans for the new building. Said Mr. Doherty, “I oversee what goes on on a day-to-day basis with the facility... I’m also very much involved in construction as far as the documentation, what goes on for permitting, what goes on in communications from the general contractor, the architects, the engineers. I go through the drawings to find things that we may want to change.” The job description may seem vague, but it is an important one. Mr. Doherty is one of Winsor’s main advocates in the planning process, and his concerns range from the environmental to the practical and financial. “I make suggestions, or recommendations... I’m always thinking of it from Winsor’s point of view, as opposed to just getting it done. As important as just getting it done is, [the building] needs to work with the school, they need to flow together.” Figuring out how he could help integrate the new building into the existing school required getting up close and personal with the current facilities. When Mr. Mr. Doherty at work in his office Doherty first arrived at Winsor in July, he said, “there were fewer people here, so I got to crawl all through the job. Having attended Beaver Country Day School and school and learn all the little nooks and crannies of the Governor’s Academy, he is familiar with independent schools. He has been involved in construction “since [he] probably 8 years old.” He started out visiting con“I’m always thinking of it from Winsor’s point of was struction sites with his father, who managed construcview, as opposed to just getting it done.” tion projects as an owner’s representative, later working on construction jobs to pay for engineering school and building and facilities and grounds.” This process helped ultimately worked his way up from manual laborer to him get to know the school better; he also tries to meet manager. He has managed his own construction company as many people as he can in order to understand bet- with a focus on biotech facilities and has worked for other ter how to meet the needs of the Winsor community. construction firms. With his personal background and exMr. Doherty brings significant experience to the tensive experience in all levels of the construction busi-
Susannah Howe
ness, Mr. Doherty is well qualified to oversee the building of Winsor’s Center for Performing Arts and Wellness. It is easy to forget how much hard work is and will be required behind the scenes to bring Winsor its new building; most Winsor girls’ main construction-related concern is where the soccer team will practice while the CPAW is being built; but, although Mr. Doherty’s job may not seem glamorous, he’s the one who will ensure that construction runs smoothly and that the new building will be safe, functional, and integrated into the rest of the school. And he has already started becoming a part of the Winsor community: he said, “I had lots of fun at Under the Lights!”☐
Collect Looks to Re-evaluate the Upper School Club System By Holly Breuer Panel Staff
What is a club at Winsor? The answer may seem simple: a club is a group of people you meet with once a week at lunch because you share a common interest, or affinity, or goal. But this year Winsor’s community government, Collect, is looking to reevaluate what it really means to be a club. The intent behind this process is twofold: first, to identify what the Winsor community has the potential to and should gain from the club program, and second, to evaluate how current and potential Winsor clubs compare to such a standard. When Collect examines club proposals each spring, factors like a distribution of different types of clubs, space and advisor limitations, and scheduling concerns play a role in decisions to approve or deny club requests, but the club itself is evaluated with care, too. This year, Collect hopes to give student club leaders a guide to what is expected of a club and prospective club leaders a set of criteria against which Collect judges clubs proposed for the upcoming school year. Though the Winsor Family Handbook states that “clubs allow studnets to pursue interests they already have or explore new ones with one another,” the core belief behind the clubs evaluation is that clubs at Winsor are, or should be, more than just a group of people with whom you share something in common. Perhaps they might include having community involvement, problem-solving, or being a place to connect with members of difference classes; per-
Bessie Frias
Students excited for new clubs at the club fair haps something else. In the quest to develop a definition of what Winsor clubs should be, Collect intends to consider the question of what that “more” means this year, but, most importantly, it wishes to pose the question to Winsor’s Upper School students. In the words of Regina Noonan ’13, Collect president, “We’re revisiting the idea of clubs at Winsor because we want them to be as effective as possible. There is a wide range of clubs at Winsor, and we hope that, by re-considering what it means to be a club, each club can have a more meaningful and active place in the community.” The clubs discussion will be occurring all this school year. Join Collect at lunch on Tuesdays and Fri- Club boards in the Upper School hallway days in Room 206 to take part in the conversation.☐
Holly Breuer
Winsor Debaters Travel to Canada for Internationals By Kate Elfers Panel Staff What is 2,578 miles away from Winsor? Calgary, Canada. While most Winsor students used Parent Teacher Conferences to sleep in, Winsor debaters woke up in Calgary over 2,000 miles away from home. Jessica Yamada ’14, Anissa Lee ’14, and Polly Gabrieli ’15 used the long weekend to represent Winsor at the International Independent School Public Speaking Competition. These three students have been working hard all year in the art of debate. Each year Ms. Berg hosts a try-
out to choose which students will represent Winsor at the International Debate to debate with students from schools in the U.K, Canada, India, Bermuda, and the U.S. At the debate, students competed in three different events: Persuasive Speaking, Interpretive Reading, and Parliamentary Debate. Persuasive Speaking is an event where people speak for seven to 13 minutes on a topic of one’s choice. In this debate Yamada spoke about sexual violence in Somalia, Lee spoke about human trafficking in the US and Canada, and Gabrieli spoke about agricultural subsidies. Interpretive Reading is seven to 11 minutes of reading a passage from a book. Yamada chose a reading from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Lee read from Night by Elie Wiesel, and Gabrieli
read from Sophie’s Choice by William Styron. For Parliamentary, students debate larger relevant issues such as gun control, legalization of marijuana, or drone warfare. While debate is a lot of hard work, these students also find it fun. After asking Anissa Lee ’14 what her favorite part of debate is, she said, “Thinking on the spot. It’s sometimes nerve-wracking to hear an opponent’s point and then only have several minutes to refute it, but it’s kind of exciting too. You learn to think on your feet and be spontaneous. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. I guess that’s the fun of it.” After such so much time spent in preparation, the three Winsor debaters return to Winsor with more experience on the international stage.☐
Winsor News
Novemb er 6, 2012
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Political Gaffes in the 2012 Presidential Election Mitt Romney: Keyword: “47%”
By Abigail Parker Panel Staff Today’s 24/7 news media picks through everything the presidential candidates say, just waiting for them to slip up and say something that their opponentscan use against them. The sound clip of each ill-advised sentence is played over and over, and the mistake is discussed by pundits and alluded to for weeks on end. The Panel has compiled a guide to a few of these gaffes to explain how each has been a mistake and to present readers with the contexts in which they were said, which so rarely figure in to the discussions about them.
Governor Mitt Romney
President Barack Obama
flickr.com
cbsnews.com
Full quotation: “There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean the president starts off with 48, 49, 40—he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. 47% of Americans pay no income tax, so our message of low taxes doesn’t connect. So he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean, that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending on in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not.” Context: Romney said this quotation at a $50,000 a plate fundraising event in May. The video was later leaked. Romney’s statement that he will not worry about 47% of the U.S. population sent shockwaves across the country. Factually, within that 47% of people who do not pay income taxes, 60% do pay federal payroll taxes. A family of five within that group makes approximately $50,000 dollars a year, or the amount that it would cost to go to that event where Romney implied that he disagreed that they had the right to food, housing, and healthcare. The fact that this is what Romney has told his biggest donors made people across the country question whether they want a president who has stated that he will not worry about 47% of its population. Not only does this quotation state that Romney had no intention to concern himself with 47% of the electorate, it also characterizes those people as having no sense of personal responsibility. Calling nearly half of the people that he wants to represent in government irresponsible is definitely not a good way to gain support. This alienates Romney from voters as he insults lower-income Americans.☐
Barack Obama: Keywords: “The private sector is doing fine” Full quotation: “The truth of the matter is, as I’ve said, we’ve created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine. Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government, oftentimes cuts initiated by governors or mayors that are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don’t have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in, and so if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry because the recipes that they’re promoting are basically the kinds of policies that would add weakness to the economy, would result in further layoffs, would not provide relief in the housing market, and would result, I think most economists estimate, in lower growth and fewer jobs, not more.” Context: This sentence rapidly created much outrage; however, like so many things that politicians say, it was played out of the context of Obama’s full point when he said it. He was saying only that the private sector is doing fine in comparison with the economy at the level of state and local governments, which he wants to focus on improving. Later the same day, he clarified his position, saying, “It is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine; that’s Like what you see? To read more about politithe reason I had the press conference; that’s the reason I spent yesterday, the day before yesterday, this past week, this cal gaffes in the 2012 Presidential Election, visit winsorpast month, this past year talking about how we can make panel.org. The Winsor Panel has officially moved online! the economy stronger. The economy is not doing fine.”
Winsor Students Campaign to Get Involved in Current Politics By Leila Vicinelli Panel Staff My feet beat heavily against the warm pavement as I, clutching my clipboard and array of fliers, walked up to and rang yet another doorbell and waited on the welcome mat. It was a hot August afternoon, and I was canvassing in Newton for Joe Kennedy’s campaign for United States Congress. I visited around thirty homes that day, meeting over thirty different people – all strangers – and at each house, I asked the same question: “Can we count on your vote for Joe Kennedy? Before leaving the Newton headquarters, I took a script, informational pamphlets, an address list, and a printed Google map. Although all volunteers are told to
Instead of a ballot, I gave my time and effort. stick strictly to the typed conversation on the script, it soon became difficult to use only the mechanical, rigid dialogue. I found myself straying from the standard discussion of “Who will you be voting for in the Democratic primary? Are there are any issues that you are most concerned with?” and began discussing, with absolute strangers, why I was spending my final weeks of summer volunteering for a political campaign when I am not even old enough to vote. I talked about Kennedy’s plans for the economy, his hopes to create jobs and rebuild the middle class, his interest in finding renewable energy sources, and his dedication to providing a first-rate education to each child in the fourth district. To those whom I could not sway to vote even after much debate, I simply said, “Thank you very much for your time; have a nice evening,” and continued on to the next house. As Winsor high schoolers, many of us follow the political goings on not only of the current presidential cam-
Leila out campaigning
Courtesy of Leila Vicinelli
paigns but also of the local Massachusetts government. It may appear difficult to become actively involved in supporting a candidate when under the voting age, but rest assured there are still ways to show your support even if you are not 18. Volunteering to rally supporters through making phone calls and canvassing throughout neighborhoods is a great way for any high schooler to help promote a candidate.
Joe Kennedy
Google Images
Volunteering for the campaign enabled me to help out in the one way I could: I will not be able to vote for the next two years, and so instead of a ballot, I gave my time and effort. I talked to and persuaded people I had never met before, and as the sun sank behind the horizon on that warm August evening, I walked home knowing that I had made a difference.☐
Belmont Hill News
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Th e Pan el
Exploring India: From Mosques to Classrooms Rejuvinated Loop
continued from page 1
Belmont Hill students washing an elephant in Southern India continued from page 1 The highlight of the trip took place in Deepahali, a small village town outside of Bangalore. After a short flight from Delhi, our bus took us to REDS, a school where 14-18 year old boys (previously rag-pickers) learn useful trades such as plumbing, woodworking, metalworking, etc. Our service project here was to paint two rooms and a long corridor, as directed by Brother Raj, the school headmaster. While painting was the reason for the stay, the REDS kids quickly became the focus. We played cricket, soccer, basketball, and seesaw each day and our language barrier dissolved im-
mediately. As sophomore Alex Hall put it, “One thing that struck me about REDS is how happy the kids are. Even though they are street kids who pick through garbage to get by, they are full of energy and spirit; that happiness is infectious.” While at Deepahali, we took two short trips into Bangalore. The first was to the New Baldwin International School, a high-end private school that had certain aspects we were familiar with. The second was to Infosys, one of India’s leading technology companies. Stepping into the Infosys campus was like stepping into a different world; it was surprising to see such a modern and
Chris Kolovos
affluent community within a city filled with poverty. After four days at REDS, the group moved on to Mysore, but the smiles and joy of the boys remained on our minds and continue to reside in our hearts today. The last leg of the trip was spent at an elephant camp in Mysore. It was the ideal way to relax, enjoy some group time together away from the crowded cities, and play with some curious elephants before we boarded the flight back home. Those who went on the trip will have many lasting memories to hold onto, and to those yet to experience such an eye-opening journey, India awaits. ☐
Under the visionary leadership of George Sullivan ’07, The Loop fostered record student attendance at athletic contests, coinciding with the 2006 New England championship football season. This year’s organization seeks to match and surpass those achievements. But The Loop doesn’t generate audience energy only for first-string competitions. Spectators at Mr. Kaplan’s 7th grade football games will see the boys in blue cheering on their peers. The Loop rallies the 3rd string quarterback at the end of 4th quarter with the same exuberance that characterizes its first-quarter cheers. All contests are key to the Belmont Hill Loop. The Loop has no formal recognition on the academic side of campus: no faculty sponsors, no meeting times, and no officially planned events. Technically speaking, it does not exist. Indeed, for much of the 2011-2012 year, it did not exist. After the season opener for Football, games were sparsely populated at best. This year at Camp Cody, the fall senior retreat, the sixth form circled up without any teacher or supervision, and talked about what we were going to do with our senior year. Form president Nick Favaloro was the first to bring up The Loop, calling for revitalization and inspired leadership. Petros Palandjian and Dan Kreytak accepted the challenge and now officially lead The Loop. Lunchtime Loop announcements, Loop t-shirts, and spirit posters launched the resurgence. In the leadup to Homecoming, the normally somber library corridor brick walls were transformed into a gauntlet of Belmont Hill pride (and maybe a little anti-BB&N sentiment). Under its new leadership The Loop harnessed its fanbase and school energy. While in the end the scoreboard of the BB&N football opener did not yield the desired outcome, from beginning to end the game was energized by the cheers of several hundred fans who showed up, loud, rowdy, and blue – proud to support Belmont Hill and their classmates. The Loop is back. ☐
South African Exchange is a Success
Ms. Zener Joins BHS from NCDS
everything is done. The smaller classes create a much stronger focus on work and provides more individual attention.” On the For the past 4 weeks, Warren Black, topic of intensity at school, Warren notes a South African student, has been at- “Lastly, and probably the most significant, tending Belmont Hill and living with is the amount of homework that is given Belmont Hill student Justin Grady. at Belmont Hill. At Bishops I will usually Grady said, “Doing an exchange like get no more than 30 minutes of homework that has always been something I’ve been a day, while here most of the 10th grade interested in. When I saw that it was to boys get up to 3 or 4 hours of homework South Africa, I knew every day. This was I wanted to do it.” really strange for With help from the Bishops and Belmont Hill are very me, because I’ve school, for 4 weeks similar schools in the way that they never been given this past summer, Jusboth focus very strongly on aca- that amount of tin stayed with Warhomework in my demics, sport and culture. ren and his family in entire high school South Africa. He atcareer at Bishops.” tended classes at Warren’s school, BishIn addition to taking classes at Belops College, and got to experience the mont Hill, Warren has also had the opporculture of South Africa outside of school. tunity to play on the JV A soccer team. “I’ve “One of the best parts of the trip was really enjoyed being able to play soccer as being able to experience the culture there. a school sport, especially since we’re undeIn particular, visiting the Langa township feated so far this season.” Sports at Belmont was a particularly eye-opening experi- Hill has been one of the most enjoyable ence.” noted Justin. Warren has also got- parts of the exchange so far, says Warren. ten to experience a different culture in Both Justin and Warren agree that the exAmerica. Here, he has gone to a Red Sox change has been a fantastic opportunity to game and a Patriots game, and he has cer- learn about the other country’s culture, and tainly noticed both similarities and differ- when asked what he would say to anyone ences between his school and Belmont Hill. who is thinking about doing the exchange “Bishops and Belmont Hill are very in the future, Justin says, “Traveling the similar schools in the way that they both world is just one of many opportunities focus very strongly on academics, sport that this school presents and I think that and culture. Also, the fact that they are every student should at least consider goboth boys-only schools makes them very ing on exchange somewhere in the world. similar. The main thing that I have found to I hope that next year someone from our be different here is the intensity with which school will continue this exchange.” ☐
Richards and Mr. Sweeney). Right out of college, she wanted to be a magazine editor and worked at Vanity Fair, but after a few years, she decided to pursue a career in eduMs. Zener joins Belmont Hill after cation. She went to Harvard Divinity School a successful and long tenure as a history and studied African-American and Native teacher at Newton Country Day School. At American history. She worked at Newton NCDS, she taught World History for soph- Country Day School, teaching World Hisomores and AP Comparative Government tory and serving as a college counselor. for seniors. In her first year at Belmont Ms. Zener loved teaching at NCDS; Hill she is teaching a full load of history so why move to a new school? Well, Ms. courses, including World Issues, Modern Zener has two young boys, and as they European History, and Global Economy grow up, she wants to learn more about and AP Comparative Government, both how boys learn and operate, so that she of which are new classes to Belmont Hill. can better raise her sons. Teenagers can be She is also the faculty advisor of Model UN extremely difficult for parents, but hopewhich is being reinstituted after a long ab- fully this added experience will help her in sence from the Belmont Hill campus. Stu- her quest for parental excellence. During dent head of Model UN John Driscoll says, the interview process, we learned that Ms. “Ms. Zener has been a great help Zener is an awesome teacher who in restarting Belmont Hill’s Model is successfully integrating herself UN club. She brings a lot of energy into our community. As we progand enthusiasm to every meetress further into the school year, ing. I am very excited to have hopefully everyone will get to her here at Belmont Hill.” Alex meet her in either a class or a Hall, a sophomore student in club because she has a lot to ofher Modern European Hisfer to the Belmont Hill comtory class, says, “She is almunity. We are all very ways energetic and sponexcited to have Ms. taneous in class. She uses Zener as a new faca variety of great teaching ulty member here methods... I look forward to at Belmont Hill, having Modern European and the school History every single day.” looks forward After growing up in to having central California, Ms. Zeher here for ner attended Harvard Unimany years Mihir Gulati to come. ☐ versity (where she met Mr. Mrs. Zener teaching class
By John Driscoll Panel Staff
By William Treanor and Sreehaas Digumarthi Staff Writers
Belmont Hill News
Novemb er 6, 2012
Students Lend a Hand in the Dominican
Pa g e 5
Belmont Hill Builds a Stunning New Entryway By John Curtin Panel Staff
Courtesy of Belmont Hill
Students posing with children in the Domincan Republic By Matt Czarnecki Panel Staff Backbreaking labor performed in sweltering heat thousands of miles from home usually is not in the cards when an archetypal Belmont Hill student thinks about his summer. Neither is spending eleven days in a place where modern technology simply is nonexistent, and where zero of the inhabitants speak English. This past June, ten Belmont Hill students and two teachers, Señorita Whitney and Mr. McCarthy, selflessly gave up part of their summers in order to help better the lives of others. They traveled to the Dominican Republic for eleven days to learn about Spanish culture, to construct a basketball court from scratch, and to put smiles on the faces of hundreds living in a humble Dominican village. For three years in a row, Belmont Hill has engineered a trip through Global Roots to the Dominican. Three summers ago, Mr. McCarthy and Señorita Whitney traveled with Belmont Hill boys to a different Dominican village. It rained nearly every day, and
most of the students on the trip came down with a serious virus. This year was much different, as the sun shined on the Belmont Hill crew just about the whole time as they shoveled, dug, and picked their way to a magnificent product. An immense collective effort was placed into the creation of the basketball court, but the outcome proved exceptionally gratifying for both the students and teachers. As Señorita Whitney genuinely stated, “It’s such a great experience for these guys…the service trips are just so rewarding.” While in the village, the Belmont Hill students interacted with residents of all ages. Señorita Whitney described a dance called the Merengue, original to the Dominican, that the students learned from the bubbly inhabitants of the village. Stepping out of their comfort zones, the Belmont Hill boys danced with the spirited children, parents, and even the grandparents of the community. The dialect spoken in the settlement was substantially different from anything the students had learned, but as Mr. McCarthy asserted, “We go to a country where the language barrier is a challenge, but by bringing a
soccer ball or baseball, suddenly sports becomes a universal language, suddenly dance becomes a universal language.” Mr. McCarthy and Señorita Whitney sensibly described the profound effect that the experience had on the Belmont Hill students. “It’s amazing for our students to get out of their comfort zone. They don’t have access to their parents. It’s not their house. It’s not their food. They don’t have a large set of choices, and sometimes it gets pretty hard. They don’t have an emergency backup plan to call Mom or Dad, and they have to be very independent…I think it is excellent from a maturity standpoint.” As Mr. McCarthy aptly put it, “To be able to participate in a culture without the ability to speak a common language, to join a community for ten days, make a difference, and feel welcome, I think it’s special.” Next summer, Mr. McCarthy will lead a similar trip to Ecuador, and it surely will improve the lives of those in need and inspire the hearts of more Belmont Hill boys. Service trips like these truly define what Belmont Hill stands for and hopes to accomplish as a school. ☐
As most of you have probably noticed, this school year, returning students were greeted by a campus with a new look and feel. Over the summer, an aggressive and high-paced maintenance project took place, taking advantage of the time when students were away. When I talked to Mr. Bounty, who directed the project, he informed me that the two main goals of the project were to improve safety and wheelchair accessibility. The project was designed to encompass other parts of Belmont Hill (i.e. the entrance to the upper parking lot now mirrors the entrance to the athletic center parking lot), and the work started immediately after graduation ended and finished right before school started. The workers were very fortunate to have a dry summer, as the crew was on a very tight work schedule. As Mr. Bounty put it, “It only rained three days over the summer. If there had been a week of steady rain, we would have probably not completed the project on time.” The first goal of the project was to improve the safety of certain areas at Belmont Hill. As most returning students can remember, the brick walkway that went through the main office was often very slippery during the winter. Also, the concrete-slate squares would rise up unevenly due to snow and rain. Because this walkway was unsafe, Belmont Hill decided to redo the walkway completely so it would provide a safe surface and easy maintenance year round. The second goal of the project was to make Belmont Hill handicapped accessible. Belmont Hill accomplished this goal by building ramps and paving certain walkways. Now, Mr. Kolovos’ room, MacPherson, the Head of School’s office, the Robsham Building, and the Kraft Theatre are all handicapped accessible. Overall, the project was extremely positive and successful, and Mr. Bounty and the Belmont Hill maintenance crew are pleased that they have made the school a safer and better place. ☐
New entrance to the Library Corridor
Alex Haigh
Belmont Hill Warmly Welcomes Back Mrs. Iandiorio from Two Year Break By Edward Columbia Panel Staff Several Fridays ago, I sat down with Mrs. Ann Iandiorio (affectionately known to most students as Mrs. I) to interview her for this piece. We met in Mr. Collins’s classroom, where Mrs. I teaches Algebra 1A and Algebra 2. She teaches part-time at Belmont Hill these days in order to balance her work schedule with caring for her two children, Mason and Ellie. Our interview took place around noon, and Mrs. I arrived carrying Ellie in her arms, having just picked up her daughter from daycare in Belmont. Two and half years old and about as many feet tall, Ellie is full of energy and laughter. While her mother and I speak, Ellie dances around the room listening to Nora Jones on Mrs. I’s smartphone. Mrs. I seems used to the chaos, pausing in our
conversation only to stop Ellie climbing up on one of the desks. Still, it is clear that her daily schedule is busy. Her son Mason, age five, is in kindergarten at a school in Acton. Between readying Mason for school and Ellie for daycare and dropping them off, Mrs. I’s mornings are hectic. Mr. Iandiorio, who taught for some time at Belmont Hill, currently works long hours as a lawyer downtown, meaning that Mrs. I also picks up Mason and Ellie after their schools let out in the early afternoon. Many of you readers will remember that Mrs. I was teaching at Belmont Hill only two years ago. She recalls vividly her last day at the school, March 5th, 2010. And for good reason, as that is the
day Ellie was born. Mrs. I took one year off from work to be at home with her newborn daughter. She returned to teaching in 2011 in a part-time position at the Rivers School. Rivers offered a very different environment from that of Belmont Hill, the most distinctive change being that Rivers is co-ed. I remember one day last year when Mrs. I, on a visit to Belmont Hill to catch up with faculty, told Mr. Martellini how “thoughtful and polite” girls are in the classroom, not suggesting any comparison, of course, to middle school boys. While the co-ed system and casual dress code at Rivers had their appeal, Mrs. I found that, teaching only two classes (Pre-Calculus and Geometry) on a rotating schedule, she never
met most of the people at the school, faculty and students alike. This year, with Mr. Collins shouldering the dual roles of math teacher and diversity coordinator for Belmont Hill, an opportunity presented itself for Mrs. I to return to a school where she has close connections with most of the other teachers and many of the students as a result of her tenure over the last two decades. In reflecting on those aspects of Belmont Hill that drew her back, Mrs. I fondly refers to this “builtin network.” She appreciates her colleagues’ help in balancing the moving parts of her daily schedule and is grateful to return to a community both familiar and warm. Belmont Hill, too, is grateful to have reunited with Mrs. I. She brings with her a wealth of teaching experience. After teaching at Belmont Hill for the first time from 1994-1998, Mrs. I worked at Bank of America. Eager to return
to teaching, Mrs. I taught for one year at Lincoln’s Carroll School, an institution that prides itself in helping children with dyslexia and other language learning disabilities. From the Carroll School, Mrs. I moved to Chicago, where she remained for three years, teaching at the Francis Parker School. In 2006 Mrs. I returned to Greater Boston and began her second stint at Belmont Hill, which lasted until 2010. Many of my senior classmates will remember her as the patient and calm (in the face of some craziness) leader of our eighth grade class trip to Washington, D.C., in the spring of 2008. Mrs. I has contributed a great deal to our school in the past and returns this year to contribute even more. I encourage those younger students who have not met Mrs. I to find an opportunity to do so, and those older students who have not seen her in years to reacquaint themselves. Welcome back, Mrs. I. ☐
Winsor Opinion
Pa g e 6
Th e Pan el
UTL...under Construction By Leila Vicinelli Panel Staff The day of red body paint, overflowing pans of celebratory baked goods, and spirited cries in the halls undeniably has a special place in the heart of each Winsor girl. Under the Lights (UTL) has come and gone as usual for 2012, but will it ever be the same again? As many of us are aware, the construction for the new gym and arts facility is supposed to be well underway by the fall of 2013; the work is slated to begin the day after graduation. If everything goes as planned, this leaves one question lingering: what will beHolly Breuer
A Winsor student uses her school-issued iPad
Are the iPads App-ealing?
well in class, and, by using the iPad, we have to relearn how to take notes and be efficient in class,” said Hailey Yetman ’16. There was a buzz in the Class III However, new technology can also and Class V homerooms on the first day have its faults: as Natalia Lindsey ’16 exof school as students eagerly received plained, “Some of the resources that are brand new iPads. The iPad pilot program offered to us don’t always function prophad officially launched, bringing with it a erly, which defeats the purpose and makes whole new mindset to Winsor classrooms. it more difficult to do work.” Perhaps such The iPad pilot program was designed technological glitches will be fixed with last year after conversations among faculty time and students will continue to learn members about how to enrich Winsor’s how to navigate the new technology. Some classroom environment. “Your daughter’s students have also criticized this someability to use technology for learning is a times-faulty technology and the moving critical skill and an important component of away from traditional notebooks and pens. a relevant education,” said Director Ms. Stet- Using iPads means “we become completely tler in a letter home to parents. After just two dependent on technology, and if we have months with the iPads, both students and no Internet for a weekend or if we forget to teachers have already learned a lot about this bring our iPad to school, then we have no new technology and seen some of the bene- alternative,” said Grace Eysenbach ’16. We, fits of a modernized 21st century classroom. and many other students find it difficult to The new stay focused and iPads are bennot get distracted eficial in the by the games, classroom bevideos, and applicause they help cations that can students orgabe downloaded nize their work with the tap of and save paper, a finger. It is up while also ofto the individual fering many to stay on task great applicabecause teachtions and the ers will not alopportunity ways know when Elizabeth Roe a student using for each girl Students use educational apps like this one to create her her iPad for acaown customized system. “I like to use the demic purposes or not. In this sense, the iPad for my schoolwork because it helps to iPads have the potential to help students organize my notes and work. All of my things mature as learners by encouraging girls to are in one place so I will not lose them,” said exercise self restraint. Despite the drawAlessandra De Vito ’18. The iPads also make backs of this pilot program, we think that students’ backpacks much lighter and save the benefits outweigh the negatives. The paper by taking the place of piles of note- iPad program allows us to keep up as the books. “Biology class is a much greener world continues to advance in technology. classroom. Ms. Rawlings and I have not Because it is still early in the year, it handed out any paper except for the quizzes is unclear whether the iPad pilot program and test. Students access all handouts from can be considered a success or not. While Haiku and open them on their iPads,” ex- in classrooms iPads can be helpful, the plained Ms. Lima, a Class V biology teach- number of games and entertainment apps er. In addition, the iPads offer hundreds easily equal, if not overtake, the number of applications that allow students to take of educational apps. From the perspective notes, read books, look up words, write es- of a student who does not have an iPad, says, and receive teacher feedback all in one the most visible features of the devices are place. “I’ve learned to become more com- the fun games constantly being played in fortable with the fact that girls are setting the hallways.The iPads are only as successup highly individualized ‘systems’ for good ful as each individual makes them. There study-habits,” said Ms. Chugani, a Class III are many choices that each student makes English teacher. “In the Lower School, we on the iPad that will determine the eflearned effective ways to take notes and do ficacy of the pilot program at Winsor.☐ By Kate Elfers & Elizabeth Roe Panel Staff
iphonefreak.com
blog.ce.org iphonefreak.com
148apps.com appshopper.com
Turns out applications can be used for non-academic purposes, too
mzstatic.com
come of Winsor’s beloved U T L ? We have been told that Wins o r will find alternate locations for sports games and that Winsor students will be able to utilize the Simmons facilities to fulfill their P.E. requirements, but how could UTL take place anywhere other than the fields of Winsor? A relocation, we can rest assured, will probably not happen, as Ms. Geromini, director of athletics, says that UTL will take place on our campus, despite construction. As of now, Ms. Geromini says the plan for UTL during the years of cons t r u c t i on will involve a two-day celebration, turning UTL into “more of a homecoming event than it was before.” Since the soccer field will be rolled up due to the construction work, Winsor will only be able to use what is now the field hockey field. To accommodate this change, all the middle
school teams would play on the Friday; Saturday festivities, including JV and varsity games, would foll o w. While these n e w plans f o r UTL a r e u n like anything W i n s o r h a s ever done before, Ms. Geromini believes that “UTL has been a tradition, but, moving forward, this may be something we like even more.” Some students, like junior Sophie Cyker ’14, worry that, “a lot of non-athletes will lose the motivation to come if [UTL] is on Saturday, because they aren’t already at school.” UTL has been, and will hopefully continue to be, an event in which members of the entire Winsor community—athletes and nonathletes, students and teachers, Upper S ch o ol ers and Lower Schoolers— participate. Next year we are going to face many changes in o u r day-to-day Winsor lives, but, despite these concerns, I think we can take comfort in the fact that we will still have UTL for all the years to come. Yes, UTL will not be the same day that we all know and love; however, the pep rally, the games, the community, and the spirit that make Under the Lights the spectacle it is will surely remain the same.☐
Photo credits: Georgia Williams (top two), winsor.edu (bottom three)
Executive Editors Eva Epker Abigail Gabrieli Ian Meyer
Arts Editor Kevin Chen Anushree Gupta Sports Editor Jon Goodman Lindsey Ruggles
Photo Editor Alex Haigh Georgia Williams
Editors-in-Chief Elizabeth Hiss Joshua Lee J.P. Thomas Online Editor Nell Birch Kyle Laracey Sean Fahey Editor-at-Large Abigail Parker Assistant Editors Arman Ashrafi Kelly Chen Sean Fahey Claudia Forrester Susannah Howe Louisa Kania Caroline MacGillivray Shea Necheles Henry Ogilby Michael O’Neill Bernardo Pacini Matt Ryan Colin Sargis
Copy Editor Nell Birch Kelly Chen Matt Czarnecki Andrea Zhu News Editor Cole Durbin Kate Elfers Opinion Editor Holly Breuer George Holderness Faculty Advisors Katherine Hamblet Stephen Murdock Tom Wensink David Hegarty Juliette Zener
The Panel, founded in 1953, is the official school newspaper of the Belmont Hill and Winsor schools. The Panel is the voice of the student body. We publish articles that are of consequence to the students, as well as the school communities. The views expressed in The Panel belong solely to the authors and editors and do not necessarily represent the student body, faculty or administration of either school. Any comment about the content should be addressed directly to the editors. The Panel encourages responsible opinion in the form of Letters to the Editor. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Copyright 2011 The Panel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the Editor-in-Chief. Published by the Belmont Printing Co., Belmont, MA 02478.
Belmont Hill News
Novemb er 6, 2012
Pa ge 7
A Close Look into the Current State of BH Food By Alex Santangelo Panel Staff Food is vital for any human being, but it’s especially important to the Belmont Hill boy who lives a demanding and energy-intensive lifestyle. We all have different tastes, but almost everyone has some sort of standards. Students disagree about what their favorite meal is or how good the food is, but the majority would label the food at Belmont Hill with one bland word: tolerable. With the high, and recently increased, tuition of $37,700 for day students and $44,700 for five-day boarding, the current quality of food at Belmont Hill could be better. In this article we seek to provide a balanced view on the food service. As it turns out, many students are not pleased with the food here. Our survey gives a feel for student dissatisfaction, with 24% of students polled saying the food is either unsatisfactory or very unsatisfactory. A certain number of students are always bound to be dissatisfied, but a quarter is a strikingly high number. One athletic student complained, “How am I supposed to perform in a game when there is no protein in the meal? Please serve foods that benefit our nutrition.” The call for such reform is widespread, and is not only felt by the students but also some of the teachers. One teacher explained that he relies almost completely on the salad bar for lunch as he feels many of the meals have low nutritional value. Another member of the faculty pointed out, “You have got to get creative around here with that salad bar or else it gets pretty boring.” For most at Belmont Hill, there are three major food issues: quality, variety, and nutrition. Almost 50% of respondents to our survey viewed the quality of food as being the biggest problem. Dissatisfaction with the meals is especially prevalent among the
boarding students, who eat more of them. Many of them are unhappy with the dinners, which they feel should be better than the lunches, since the staff has to cook for only thirty students. One boarder wants to “have different food at dinner and better steak or no steak at all.” These boarding students, who pay a higher rate and are, for the most part, locked into eating Belmont Hill meals three times a day, need more nutritious and quality meals. One boarder says, “No student should be put in this position every day, and something needs to be done.” The need for better meals also applies to lunch, as many students find themselves passing up the main course for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or something salvaged from the salad bar. Upper Schoolers eating during lunch time If you feel that you are eating the same meal all all students are involved in athletics, the the time, it’s partly true. The salad bar provides the majority of nutrition. menu runs on a four week Many students speculate that the food cycle and has not changed budget is to blame. During the 2010-2011 much at all over the years. school year, only 3% of the school’s budTo many, it feels as if they get was allocated to the food service. This are greeted by some bland is approximately $750,000 that is spent for variety of pasta or pizza ev- the entire year to pay not only the shipping ery other day. Then, when and preparing of food, but also payment of there is some sort of variety, kitchen staff. The average price for one stuthere is a strong backlash dent lunch was not released to the Panel, but because of the quality, and simple arithmetic yields a per-meal cost of many rush to the salad bar about $3.77 per student. When asked about or make PBJs. It appears the his thoughts on the budget, Mr. McManus food service has little noted said the amount of money is “at or above nor thoughtfully addressed these reactions. what comparable schools give.” The all-girls There’s no need to put together a whole day school, Winsor, allocates a similar pernew menu, but the food service could take centage of its budget to the food service, but easier and simple measures. They need to that works out to about $7.20 per student try new recipes and innovate. Students are per lunch, far greater than Belmont Hill. Mr. willing to try new things as long as they McManus notes that Belmont Hill’s family are of good quality, tasteful, and nutritious. style meals make it hard to experiment with Most students, day and boarding, new things that regular style cafeterias could worry that they are not receiving the proper easily do. It would be difficult, for example, nutrition. One student pointed out, “Al- to make alternative meal stations a reality though the chicken nuggets and tater tots are and it would even be tough for a panini press. tasty, how healthy are they? Keep it on the This is not to say that the food service menu, but there need to be better options is doing a terrible job. In fact, they have done along with it. My body needs good fuel.” It’s a tremendous amount since Mr. McManus unfortunate that at a school where almost joined five years ago. He points out that a lot
Angus Smith
of experimentation goes on at the salad bar, with a deli bar twice a week, a soup and vegetarian option every day, and increased protein and grain options. Another important improvement the food service has made in the past five years is providing fresh fruit, cereal, and a PBJ station at snack bar. Mr. McManus makes it clear that “we truly do want to provide the best possible food service program we can here at Belmont Hill, and we will continue to look for opportunities to do so.” If it’s hard to experiment in the main meals, all efforts should be put into making the highest possible quality meals while being cost effective. The food service has made strides in purchasing local produce but mainly relies on multi-national food distribution corporation Sysco. The red meat we have is “choice product,” which is normal, as “prime grade” meats are found only in nice restaurants. The poultry is Grade A, the highest rating for poultry. So why is the ground beef tasteless and crumbly? Are we now to question the cooking techniques? It’s clear that Belmont Hill needs to address its food program. A creative use of funds and products could lead to marked improvement in the food, benefiting the health and energy of the school within the confines of our lunchroom and family-style meal tradition. ☐
Where Belmont Hill Food Can Go Moving Forward By Michael O’Neill Panel Staff Some of the most polarizing discussions that occur among Belmont Hill students center around the school’s food program. Lunch and, for some, breakfast or dinner, is a consistent part of the Belmont Hill experience. Since the food program affects every student at school, there are many opinions on how the food tastes, and how it can be improved. Students have always been very vocal about their opinions, both good and bad, and groups such as the Food Committee hope to use these opinions to improve the food program for the benefit of both the students and the school. One of the Food Committee’s biggest goals this year is to install panini presses in the lunchroom. This idea has been bouncing around for a while now, and enough support from the student body could edge it toward reality. Nearly half of the students polled said they would most like to see the addition of small cooking appliances, including panini presses, more than any other option. Another one of the committee’s goals is to make the food program at Belmont Hill more sustainable. In our poll, one student said, “I really hate to see food go to waste during waitering - a lot of food is just thrown into the trash. I think there should be a compost or something to put the wasted food to better use and be more sustainable.” With the help of the food committee, the school can put changes like these into place. While the Food Committee is working hard to improve the food program, the one culinary aspect it has little control over is also one of the most discussed: the taste of the food. Student responses in our poll were varied: about 75% of those polled said that they were at least somewhat satisfied with the food program, but only eleven out of
eighty-two said they were “very satisfied.” That still left onefourth of the responders being “unsatisfied,” with seven of those students being “very unsatisfied.” In addition, nearly half said that their biggest qualm with the food program was the quality of food. The student-submitted comments
from our poll displayed these varied opinions. “The food at Belmont Hill is great, and I look forward to lunch every day,” put forth one student, while another had a more negative view of the program, stating “there is much that can be Jamnesty done.” Obviously, the taste of the food is very important to the student body, and so it should be for administrators as well: variety and health of food don’t make much of a difference if no one is eating it. If the Food Committee asks for more student input and tries to cater to student tastes, not only will students be more satisfied, but the choices made by
the committee about the menu will have more relevance. While some students think the quality of the food is an issue, others believe that the real problem lies in the food program’s budget. Most of these students, of course, only speculate on how much Belmont Hill spends on food, but we found the facts. The food program at Belmont Hill represents 3% of the school’s operating budget, which is comparable to other ISL schools but still drastically lower than the amount of money spent on other items such as athletics, counseling, and facilities. Some members of the Belmont Hill community think that more money should be put aside for the food program. Students echoed this sentiment in our poll, with one upper schooler saying the food administrators “need more finances.” With a more generous budget, the food program will be better able to make some of the aforementioned changes, and hopefully improve general opinion and satisfaction with the meals. Though many students are displeased with how the food at school tastes, the kitchen staff, as we students see every day, is always working its hardest. Going into the future, there’s no doubt that the staff and administrators will continue working to improve the quality of the food at Belmont Hill. Still, many Belmont Hill students expect better food quality given the lofty tuition fees, and rightfully so. A poor-tasting or unhealthy lunch can throw you off for the rest the day, affecting your academic and athletic performance. The kitchen staff works hard, and we certainly aren’t attacking anyone involved in the food program. That said, we do want to show the school that it can and should make adjustments to the food. If the school focuses and acts on some of these issues, the Belmont Hill experience will be improved for everyone. ☐
Medical Marijuana
Pa g e 8
Th e Pan el
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Medical Marijuana Pro-Legalization In all likelihood, you do not have a debilitating medical condition. In all likelihood, you have not tried countless medical treatments, all of which have had little to no effect on your symptoms. In all likelihood, you have never had to consider medical marijuana as the only remaining option to ease your suffering. On November 6, ballot question three will require Massachusetts voters to determine whether or not they support the legalization of medical marijuana in our state. Opponents of legalization champion the alleged risk. They focus on the possible problems with the legalization of medical marijuana—the potential for easier access and increased recreational use (and resultant effects of these issues, like higher rates of car accidents and more use of ‘harder’ drugs); but they disregard the larger concern, which is that, for many patients, medical marijuana is a last resort after dose upon dose of other treatments that have not worked. The bill is specific in its target. The terms specify limitations on what conditions qualify a patient for the use of marijuana as medication, where marijuana for medicinal use can be grown, who can grow it, and how patients for whom access to a treatment center proves to be a hardship can be accommodated in a safe, regulated way. Despite issues that some states, particularly California, have had regulating
Anti-Legalization
medical marijuana, the Massachusetts bill is, as explained above, both more specific in its qualifications (written diagnosis and doctor’s opinion instead of written or oral opinion) and limited in its scope (patients in Massachusetts may never have more than a 60 day supply of marijuana, unlike those in California who, upon doctor’s request, can have an unlimited amount). This is by no means a bill that, if passed, will sanction the rampant abuse of marijuana as a recreational illicit drug. Massachusetts is considering legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, not for general consumption by you and me. The odds that the controlled legalization of marijuana for a small segment of the population will negatively affect your life are very low, but those that it could change the life of someone living in pain and suffering as the result of a condition like cancer, ALS, or multiple sclerosis are high. For some patients, marijuana is the only option left. This is not simply a question of the dangers we associate with recreational use of marijuana—that it is bad for our health and can lead to the “stepping stone” effect toward harder drugs. Ballot question three asks the people of Massachusetts to have compassion for those in need and to consider whether or not marijuana must be an entirely evil, damaging presence in our society. Maybe it is time we think about someone else’s needs. ☐
The justifications abound. Circumstantial evidence and shaky logic is repeated over and over. Yet in a divisive debate occurring in Massachusetts and beyond, one thing remains clear: the legalization of marijuana will both have direct negative impacts on the well being of adolescents and adults as well as lead to many adverse externalities, including ‘harder’ drug addictions and death. Marijuana, or cannabis, is an addictive, mind-altering substance that has pervaded the culture of this country. It is the most common illegal drug in the US; according to the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) 40% of high school students have admitted to using it at least once and 20% admit to using regularly. The pervasiveness of this drug (the ‘everyone’s doing it’ mentality) leads some to believe that marijuana is harmless – this is completely wrong. There are many direct impacts of smoking marijuana. Repeated usage has been linked to heart and lung disease, throat cancer, and decreased memory capacity. Cognitive ability is impaired (there’s a reason it’s called ‘dope’) and, while many people smoke marijuana to relax, regular usage can eventually lead to anxiety and/or depression. Even with these numerous, serious health risks, the most harmful ef-
fects of marijuana may be its indirect externalities. Since 2000, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 25% of people killed in car accidents had narcotics found in their bloodstream; autopsies have confirmed that marijuana is by far the most common drug found in these bodies. The advocates of legalizing marijuana usually cite its supposed medicinal uses. In reality, the medicinal benefits of marijuana are nominal and easily interchangeable with other legal drugs. The Food and Drug Administration [FDA] says that marijuana has “no additive medical benefit of any kind” while the American Medical Association [AMA] says that any benefits of marijuana could be more effectively treated with legal substitutes. Legalizing medical marijuana will not vastly improve the wellbeing of patients and will simply make it easier for abusers and addicts to attain the drugs. To put it simply, our society needs fewer drugs, not more drugs. We need more teenagers in classrooms and fewer in the alleys. We need fewer intoxicated drivers, fewer diseased family members, and fewer college students damaging their brains. It is preposterous to think that legalizing this damaging drug would lead to anything but a higher body count and lower human capital across the board. ☐
Belmont Hill & Winsor Sound Off Teachers “I would agree with it [medical marijuana] because I’ve seen friends who have gone through cancer and have had marijuana help them calm down and given them an appetite...” “All drugs should be legal, if you want to shoot heroin...shoot heroin.”
“I agree with legalization as long as there is evidence of success in other states [that have done it] and safeguards for people abusing the availability. As long as it’s regulated properly.”
“In the American culture, it seems that if it something you can’t do, you have to do it...but I also don’t think that by the sheerly legalizing it, the problem will be solved. I use to live in California and I’ve seen what happened, and I’ve seen the culture, and it’s not exactly helping a lot of people.”
Students “‘Medical marijuana’ as many advocates like to call it, rarely serves for medical [sic] purposes. If one were to look at the system in California, he/she would find that it has been largely abused and that the majority of people who use marijuana (legally) do not need it for medical purposes. There is no denying that marijuana is a gateway drug.”
“Though I acknowledge that medical marijuana would be difficult to regulate, there are people who need it desperately and who have no other options left, and I think that it would do far more good than harm. It’s heartless to deny sick people the help they need. Medical marijuana is a matter of compassion.”
Kelly Chen
Novemb er 6, 2012
Medical Marijuana
Question #3: A Look into What’s Being Voted on in MA George Holderness Panel Staff Questions concerning the legalization of the medicinal use of marijuana have become more prevalent on state ballots in recent years. Seventeen states, including four in New England, plus the District of Columbia, currently permit and regulate medical marijuana. In this fall’s election, on November 6, the question of legalized medical marijuana will appear on the ballot in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative, as it is known, originated as a petition from citizens, along with the text of a proposed law. The state legislature chose not to act on the measure, so instead the voters get to decide its fate. If the measure passes, the proposed law will go into effect on January 1, 2013. It would eliminate state penalties related to the medicinal use of marijuana, allow patients meeting certain conditions to obtain marijuana from state-regulated centers, or grow their own in specific hardship cases. If the measure fails, there will be no change in existing laws. Under the proposed law, the medicinal use of marijuana would not be penalized under state law. Medical marijuana, however, will be available only to people meeting certain requirements. They must
be diagnosed by a physician as having a “debilitating medical condition,” such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, and others. After the diagnosis, they need to obtain a license allowing them to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. In most cases, a patient needs to obtain the marijuana from a treatment center; there are instances when it would be permitted to cultivate limited amounts of marijuana at home. At no time would a patient be allowed to possess more than a 60 day supply of marijuana. It is important to realize the restrictions on medical marijuana under the proposed law. Marijuana would not become a sort of prescription drug-doctors would not be able to prescribe it as treatment; they would only have the power to certify that a patient meets the requirements for use. The use of marijuana, even for medical reasons, would still be prohibited in public places, workplaces, and schools; driving while under the influence of marijuana would remain illegal. The law, of course, would penalize any attempt to use medical marijuana fraudulently or for profit. Legalized medical marijuana may well become a reality in Massachusetts, as recent polls show widespread public support for the initiative. As citizens, it’s valuable for us to understand the extent and limitations of the proposed. ☐
Pa g e 9
Should Medical Marijuana Be Legalized in Massachusetts?
Belmont Hill
Winsor
The Past, Present, and Future of Medicinal Marijuana Ann McDonald & Hailey Yetman Contributing Writers No matter what you choose to call it—pot, weed, grass, dope—contact with marijuana is part of the high school experience. As teenagers, we have a complicated relationship with marijuana. It is prevalent and, to some degree, acceptable in American teen culture—two out of every five of our peers has at one point participated in recreational marijuana use—yet marijuana is still an illegal drug. Marijuana was introduced by the Spanish to the New World in 1545, at
which point it became a cash crop in the form of hemp, a fiber used to produce ropes and sails. In the 1920s, marijuana became more prevalent as a social drug; singers began to write songs glorifying the drug, and marijuana clubs, known as “tea pads,” became prevalent. In 1913, California became the first state to prohibit marijuana. The US Federal Bureau of Narcotics, part of the early prohibition movement in the late 1930s, began a nationwide campaign depicting marijuana as a dangerous gateway or “stepping stone” drug that would lead users toward more addictive drugs. In 1970, the United States classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, part of a class
of drugs that includes LSD and heroin and is defined as having no medicinal use and the highest potential for abuse. However, the question of whether marijuana has medicinal benefits—allegedly for the increasing of appetite and relief of pain, both symptoms of concern for patients with debilitating medical conditions like cancer and AIDS—is up for debate. Cannabis (marijuana) was listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia as a treatment for labor pains, nausea, and rheumatism from 1850 to 1942; however, the US Drug Enforcement Administration holds that “smoked marijuana has no accepted medicinal value in treatment in
the United States.” According to “The DEA Position on Medical Marijuana,” released by the US Department of Justice, the American Academy of Pediatrics believes “[a]ny change in the legal status of marijuana, even if limited to adults, could affect the prevalence of use among adolescents,” and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Cancer Society, and American Glaucoma Society—all organizations representing patients with conditions that some say would benefit from legalized medical marijuana—do not recommend legalization Nevertheless, many doctors believe that marijuana has the potential to relieve enormous pain for patients struggling with symptoms of cancer, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, and other severe illnesses as a supposedly safe, less addictive pain medication. As Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School Dr. Lester Grinspoon writes in his book Marihuana Reconsidered, “If marijuana were a new discovery rather than a well-known substance carrying cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug.” Today, marijuana is still a widelyused recreational hallucinogen despite laws against its use. In 2009, possession of marijuana up to one ounce a civil rather than criminal infraction under Massachusetts law. Adults caught in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana have to pay a hundred dollars and forfeit the drug. If a minor is caught in possession, his or her parents are notified and he or she must preform a certain amount of community service, attend a drug awareness program, and pay a fine. As of today, selling marijuana is a criminal felony in Massachusetts, despite leniency in possession laws. As of the 2012 election, six states—including Massachusetts— have legislation pending to legalize the use of medical marijuana, at which point they would join the George Holderness ranks of 17 other American states. ☐
2012 Election
Pa g e 1 0
Th e Pan el
Belmont Hill & Win Student
BHS Political Atmosphere
If the election were held tod you vote
Does BH Educate Informed and Opinionated Voters? By Ian Meyer Panel Staff It is that time of year. Halls are abuzz with political chatter, history and English classes are only inches from erupting into debate, and in some circles one is almost as likely to hear “did you see that foreign policy debate last night?” as “did you see Gronk’s spike?” The atmosphere is electric, ready to spark at any moment as a political current flows through the entire school community. But how exactly does one characterize the political atmosphere at Belmont Hill? While the school is not nearly as polarized as the chambers of the Capitol, there certainly exists magnetic attraction that pulls conversations toward the political. Are Belmont Hill students informed? Do the faculty lean in one particular direction? Do we educate thoughtful voters? Yes and no. As faculty member Mr. Kirby marveled, “I am really blown away by the depth of knowledge and mature political speculation I hear daily in conversations with students and overhear in passing through the corridors.” On the other hand, some students lament the lack of political awareness among the student body. Senior Nick Favaloro said that among a “semi-informed student population” there are “about fifteen kids who are really passionate and understand a depth [sic] of issues.” All this despite a curriculum that appears on its surface—with such classes as Form II U.S. Government, Form III Ethics, U.S. History, Comparative Government, and The Global Economy— to be designed to educate informed and inquisitive citizens. Edward Columbia ’13 argued that the curriculum itself, in fact, stands in the way of a good civic education at times: “The major barriers to political awareness at Belmont Hill boil down to two words: curricula and syllabi... current events [usually] take a back seat to the class’s daily agenda.” Heavy homework loads on debate nights seem to fly in the face of the goals those very classes aim to accomplish.
Where classrooms may fall short, family-style lunches and extra-curricular clubs begin to compensate. Discussions of recent candidate gaffes or the philosophical nuances of moral pragmatism are much more likely to be held between 1:35 and 3:05, after classes are over, than at any time earlier in the day. The ease with which lunch table conversations turn political and the sheer number of politically related clubs (now numbering nearly half a dozen) are testaments to the extension of students’ political education beyond the confines of the classroom. So what exactly is the political charge among the students? Again, it depends on who one asks. Senior Diego Fernández del Castillo declared, “Contrary to what many people say, there are no real independents at our school. Everyone seems to take a clear political stance in these conversations,” adding that faculty are equally open with their political opinions in the upper classes. Fellow senior Zach Kelly disagreed, however, remarking, “I think that Belmont Hill students generally are educated to be inclusive of all opinions, and are therefore more centrist in their politics.” Perhaps what this boils down to is that students seek to form strong, informed opinions, even if those opinions do not neatly fit into one red or blue box. Nick Favaloro made the distinction that students seem to be fiscally conservative while socially liberal. In the end, though, students seem to be inquisitive and open-minded. As Mr. Kirby observes, “students are, in many ways, less locked into a particular ideology than most faculty (including myself) tend to be.” Belmont Hill as an institution may have a conservative mien: students wear a coat and tie, are all-boys, and value tradition (note that the current Republican Presidential nominee sent all five of his sons here). It is impossible to place Belmont Hill at any one point on the political spectrum, but the political diversity, openness, and energy found here are as much an integral part of the educational process as any. ☐
What Political Party Do You Most Identify With?
Students Democrat
Not Sure / Other
27%
37%
Republican
36%
Teachers Democrat
Not Sure/Other
63%
Republican
22%
15%
Obama
35%
Gates Dupont
Undecid
12%
78%
6. % Belmont Winsor Hill
6. % Belmont Hill
Where Do the Candidates Stand
Obama On education, Obama’s policies have been transformative. Obama has doubled funding for Pell Grants, provided families with a tax credit, and capped maximum repayments owed on federal loan debt. He has encouraged states to revamp their school systems and has succeded in getting 50 states to expand learning time for some schools, 46 states to adopt serious testing standards via the Common Core, and 30 states to agree to consider merit, based on test results, when evaluating teachers and giving them raises. Although these gains came at the cost of functionally de-fanging No Child Left Behind, there is, in the end, a reason why even Mitt Romney praised Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.
Issu
Educatio
The keystone of Obama’s stance on health care is the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, which is legislation aimed at reforming insurance policies in health care. The law generally requires all individuals to buy government-approved health insurance, extends subsidies to people whose employers do not provide health insurance, expands the availability of Medicaid to more individuals, and prevents insurance companies from discriminating on the basis of preexisting conditions by increasing the risk pool in a responsible fashion. The constitutionality of the law (and, specifically, the individual mandate) was challenged and upheld before the Supreme Court in 2012.
Health Ca
Obama has been a strong abortion advocate and has stated that Roe v. Wade “affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.” He has strongly supported equal treatment for the queer community. He has refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court and became the first president to advocate for same sex marriage. He repealed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2010, ordered federal agencies to give same-sex partners the same benefits as straight employees’ spouses, and banned discrimination based on gender identity in federal workplaces. Obama has been a strong supporter of affirmative action but hopes for a shift from race-based to socioeconomic-based preferences in the future.
Social Iss
Obama’s economic policies have been fairly slow and steady. On taxes, Obama has called for modest revenue increases, especially through increases on the very highest income brackets. As PolitiFact verified, spending under the Obama administration has accelerated at the lowest rate of spending under any president since Eisenhower. Although the federal debt has ballooned from about $10 trillion to $16 trillion. Obama’s stimulus has been credited with helping the US economy recover, though the recovery is still sluggish and unemployment, while at its lowest level in years at 7.8%, still has not fallen to a healthy level. Overall, though, Obama’s economic policies have been credited with helping to 63% blunt the recession by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and contain the kind of detailed, specific information that Romney’s proposals entirely lack.
Econom
2012 election
Novemb er 2, 2012
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Winsor Election 2012
ent Poll
Winsor Political Atmosphere
eld today, for whom would ou vote?
ndecided
Does Winsor Offer Diverse Political Discourse?
Romney
By Elizabeth Hiss Panel Staff
5%
53%
17%
Winsor
Belmont Hill
Winsor
Gates Dupont
and on Issues that Matter to Us?
ssue
ducation
alth Care
Romney Governor Romney argues that while the United States is a leader in education spending, the American educational system does not produce the results necessary to keep American workers competitive. At the heart of Romney’s plan to reform the education system is a “school voucher program” allowing K-12 students to move to a new school and to bring funding with them; schools who do not provide quality education will be forced to close down. Romney believes that this more market-based approach will reward good schools and hold the stick of cutting funds to incentivize improvement in bad schools; moreover, the voucher system would give families more choice in where they send their children to school. On his first day in office, Mitt Romney has promised to issue an executive order granting a waiver from the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) to all 50 states. Romney will keep some parts of the bill, like allowing children to stay on their parents’ plan until they are 26, but eliminate other parts and replace them with what he sees as a system based around a market competition and individual choice. His replacement program would be in a large part based on a plan created by his running mate, Paul Ryan, which would leave insurance premium price controls to the market and turn Medicare into a voucher system. Governor Romney’s endorsement of Paul Ryan’s plan is consistent with his efforts to distance himself this election from his health insurance reform achievements while Governor of Massachusetts.
cial Issues
Romney tends to support the Republican party platform on most social issues. On affirmative action, Romney stated that he opposed quotas for college admissions, hiring, or government contracting as a means of promoting diversity and inclusiveness. Mitt Romney believes that Roe v. Wade should be overturned and that abortion should be illegal in all cases except rape, abortion, and danger to the mother. He also supports the Hyde Amendment which withholds federal funds from abortion-granting organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Romney believes marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and backs a proposed Federal Marriage Amendment Act.
conomy
Reducing taxes, relaxing regulation, and the eliminating tax loopholes are part of Romney’s strategy to grow the American economy. He plans to cut individual tax rates by 20% across the board and reduce the corporate tax from 35% to 25%. To compensate, he plans to buoy the revenue stream by eliminating loopholes and deductions. Romney also plans to cap government spending at 20% of GDP by eliminating programs not worth the debt to China their funding would incur. This so called “China-test” would cut federal funds for many of the programs that are products of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), as well as Amtrak and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting.
The 2012 election is absorbing the nation through TV commercials, Facebook newsfeeds, and the press. Election and campaign coverage reach more deeply than ever into the lives of Americans, and young Americans in particular. The Winsor hallways are atwitter the morning after a debate, and election talk has spilled into classroom discussions. But among students, what is the political atmosphere like at Winsor? How do students align themselves politically? Do they feel a majority opinion prevailing in discussions? These and others are questions The Panel posed as we took a snapshot of the Winsor community before the 2012 Election Day. Winsor students, like the US population, represent different parts of the political spectrum, with some identifying as Republicans, represented as the “right,” and some as Democrats, to the “left.” These two entities represent the majority parties in the country’s two party system, although others do identify as Independent or with other political groups. For the purposes of data collection, The Panel polled the Winsor Upper School and faculty with three questions. The results, shown in the graphs, reveal that among both Winsor students and faculty, the prevailing party is the Democratic Party, the preferred candidate is Barack Obama, and the perception of Winsor is that it is primarily Democratic. Are these results surprising? Considering what we know about Winsor’s demographics, these results make sense, and the answer would be “no.” Winsor is in Massachusetts, a traditionally liberal state. Our state legislative body has almost always been held by a Democratic majority, and, with the exception of Republican Senator Scott Brown, our Senators have mostly been Democrats. So it should come as little surprise that the liberal view prevails at Winsor. There are various organized ways in which Winsor promotes political discourse such as the Class VIII Government and Contemporary Politics class, with its campaign volunteering requirement, and the bi-annual Community Curriculum Day. Hannah McGrath ’13, a member of the Government class, said the class offers a unique forum to discuss the election and learn about real politics through the volunteering requirement. “Anyone can watch the debates or watch the news, but being in the campaign and seeing how much work goes into it is fascinating and can’t be learned in a classroom,” said McGrath. Given that she will be voting for the first time in the upcoming election, McGrath is glad the class is allowing her to delve deeply into the political issues which will inform her voting. A newly established political forum this year is the Young Conservatives Club, led by Elizabeth Brewster and Carolina Young, both ’14. Young said the club “offers a conservative approach to politics that is rarely seen at Winsor, and both liberals and conservatives alike are intrigued to see what our club has to offer because it is so different from what you would normally find in a political discussion at Winsor.”
She said that the club has seen students from different ends of the political spectrum in attendance and that it benefits from the “exciting political atmosphere” found at school. Young also noted the value of a club like Young Conservatives for its ability to encourage discussions. “Winsor does tend to lean towards a more liberal stance, and most students identify as liberal or democrat, but I am glad that the conservative voice is able to be heard during this election,” said Young. While Winsor as a whole may demonstrate a liberal majority, it is promising to see that students are finding ways to engage in open political discourse and learning about policy issues, in and outside of the classroom.☐
Student Responses
Faculty Responses
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Upper School Play Raises Questions of Censorship continued from page 1 Explaining her reasoning, Ms. Peters said that making the play accessible to the audience was her first priority. “You pick the play first, and then you… figure out, how do you fit the play with your audience.” She continued, “The more comedic scenes, if it were a professionally done play with a regular audience of people choosing to come to the play, they might laugh when the f-word is onstage, but it’s kind of questionable, will your grandparents or your parents or your English teacher laugh when they see a student say the f-word? They might not. And so for us to really serve
those scenes, we need to take it out.” Most After Juliet cast members are ambivalent about the changes to the play. Said one, “There’s no censorship in this play, it’s just that you don’t want to sound like an [expletive] by saying [expletive] every other word.” It’s true that, in the grand scheme of things, a few swear words in one play don’t matter very much, and I understand much of the director’s reasoning. Scripts are often somewhat fluid, for a variety of reasons. And, of course, some explicit language remains in places where the director feels it is “really true to the story,” as do the play’s complex, mature themes.
But I don’t agree that school plays should be modified to be more palatable to an unsophisticated audience. I’ve heard the modified scenes in rehearsal, and, for
production; why shouldn’t high school plays have similarly high-minded aspirations? Although it may be reasonable to think that changing the
script gets the play’s one scene in particular, the substitutions seem The real problem is not censor- message across more obvious, the scene ship, but underestimation of effectively—as another cast member said, “If as a whole stilted audiences and, more impor- we kept the swearing... and unnatural. More tantly, high school students’ that’s kind of all [the importantly, the lack ability to create art. parents] are going to of explicit language take away from the changes the characters’ development and falls short of giving the play”—this viewpoint underestimates honest representation of life that theater both audiences and actors. is meant to give. “It sounds forced,” said In my most dramatic, adolescent one actor. Profanity moments, I am tempted to portray this is actually used case as an adult conspiracy or brutal fairly sparingly in censorship on the part of a “big brother” the original script school administration. (It’s not; Ms. of After Juliet— Peters was quite transparent with me there is only one about how she made her decision, and scene with a high it came from her, not from Belmont Hill density of swear or Winsor administrators.) Actually, as words, besides a few I’ve considered the situation more, I’ve scattered expletives come to believe that the real problem is here and there— something else entirely, in which students and the contrast participate just as much as adults: not between moments censorship, but underestimation of that do contain audiences and, more importantly, high profanity and school students’ ability to create art. moments that don’t Yes, most of the actors in After Juliet are is significant and inexperienced; yes, the production values thought-provoking, are relatively simple; yes, most of the whether the scenes audience members will be there because in question are their friend or their sibling or their child is comedy or drama. in the play, not because they are especially C o m p r o m i s i n g discerning theatergoers. But that doesn’t a play’s artistry mean that the cast and crew can’t produce by removing something extraordinary. The peculiar such layers of concerns of high school theater—like complexity would appeasing Grandma’s sensitive ear— be frowned upon should not trump the essential goal in a professional of any good theater production: art.☐
Taylor Swift’s Summer of Love Starting Off on a High Note By Caroline MacGillivray Panel Staff Just when it seemed like the lights were dimming on the Kennedy saga— “Camelot,” as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis wistfully called it—the members of the famous family have been called out for an encore. It’s typical of Kennedy girlfriends to be intimidated by the press attention— unless you are bringing the attention with you, like country singer Taylor Swift. This summer, Swift began dating Conor Kennedy, grandson of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy watchers and country fans alike were treated to images in global newspapers and magazines that were almost reminiscent of Camelot’s golden days. Although the Kennedy and the country starlet sounds like a perfect match on paper, the romance has been more complicated than that. The relationship comes while Conor is reeling from his mother’s suicide in May, while she and her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., were locked in a bitter divorce battle. There is also a wide age The lovebirds and lifestyle discrepancy—Kennedy, 18, moved for his junior year at Deerfield the same day 22-year-old Swift performed at the Video Music Awards. The Boston Globe accused Swift of “stalking” the famous family and trying to emulate some of its more prominent members to an almost
obsessive extent. Several reports confirmed that Swift has even bought the house across the street from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. Kennedy brought Swift uninvited to a Kennedy wedding, and Swift refused to leave when the bride asked her to. Hyannis and Hollywood have mixed before, when John F. Kennedy Jr. dated Kill Bill actress Daryl Hannah from 19861994. Like Swift, Hannah didn’t exactly fit the Kennedy mold. Although Hannah is an involved activist from a wealthy Chicago family, she did not have the elegance or the reserve of John’s mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Over the summer, Kennedy watchers speculated that Swift was attempting to become Jackie 2.0; she tossed her usual glittery garb aside in favor of 1950s style house dresses, and she has developed a newfound taste for touch football. Only time will tell whether Conor and Taylor’s relationship is a summer fling or the real deal—but Kennedy watchers do not seem to be hailing the new Queen of Camelot just yet. pikosky.sk
By Kelly Chen Panel Staff The assembly was packed to the brim for the first concert of the year, the Fall Concert, which also marked Ms. Taillacq’s 35th year at Winsor. Lower School Descants opened with “Shenandoah,” arranged by Jeff Funk, and “I Hear Sweet Music,” by Andrea Klouse. Sophie Ruehr ’14 commented, “As always, I was amazed by the incredible musical capabilities of the Lower Schoolers!” The Upper School part of the concert began with performances of “Si njay nay njay,” a Zulu folksong, with Ailyn Rivera ’15 and Taylor ’15 on the drums, and “Sing When the Spirit Says sing.” Small Chorus, accompanied by Ms. Brady on percussion, sang “Cape Breton Lullaby,” by Kenneth Leslie, “Ode to Joy,” by Beethoven, and “Joyful, Joyful,” by Beethoven, with Lena Afeyan ’13 and Caiana Luse ’14 as soloists.
NOTE: As this issue was going to press, it was reported that Taylor Swift and Conor Kennedy broke up after three months of dating. A friend of Swift’s told Us Weekly, “It was just a distance thing.”☐ Senior small hits the high notes
The undeniable highlight of the concert was Senior Small, made of nine girls this year. They began with “So Hard to Say Goodbye,” as popularized by Boyz II Men, with Ellie Bridge and Lena Afeyan performing as soloists. Next, they sang “Fix You,” by Coldplay. Meilyn Huq, Corinne Candilis, Jenny Walsh, Michaela Morrow, Lena Afeyan, and Ellie Bridge each performed as soloists. As their last notes tapered to a close, everyone broke out in applause and standing ovations. Corrine Candilis ’13 commented after the concert,“We somehow managed to sing without looking nervous which was a huge relief.” Despite an early scheduling of the concert, leaving less time to practice, and several Senior Small members being down with colds and sore throats, Ms. Taillacq commented, “Hats off to all of our singers and musicians for their first performance! A special shoutout to Senior Small!”, a fitting kickoff to her 35th year!☐
Joe Broughton
Winsor Arts
Novemb er 6, 2012
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Our Writers’ Mission: Find the Best Frozen Yogurt
Berryline: chips, and M&Ms, as well as fruit. While the choco1377 Boylston Street, Boston (Fenway) late chips were good quality, the fruit was macerated and syrupy. When mixed with the yogurt, all of Berryline, the frozen yogurt option closest to Winthe toppings improved its taste, but alone they were While the political battle raged in the media, subpar. We rank Berry Freeze fourth on our list. sor, was a familiar but pleasant experience. The venue is both convenient and welcoming, with a pastel color scheme two Panel staffers set out to investigate a battle even and a Boston-themed mural. The yogurt at Berryline was closer to home: the battle of fro-yo. With clear eyes, Sweet Tart: refreshingly tart with a sweet, rather than chemical, afterfull wallets, and empty stomachs, we set out to de749 Beacon Street, Newton Centre taste. Smooth and creamy, the yogurt’s texture was pleastermine once and for all, who serves the best yogurt? As newcomers to this establishment, we were surBerry Freeze: prised when we entered Sweet Tart--in the best way. Un273 Harvard Street, Brookline like the fro-yo joints we are used to, Sweet Tart stepped up its game with bright yellow paint, pink furniture, Berry Freeze, although in a convenient Coolidge Corner location, was also somewhat disappointing. Not as bright or welcoming as Sweet Tart, Berry Freeze was grey and quiet upon our entrance. With seven flavors to choose from, the offerings were original and fruitier than those at Sweet Tart. However, the lemonadeflavored frozen yogurt had an off-putting flavor; its lemon flavor was too strong and did not mesh well with the frozen yogurt. The plain yogurt was better, with a clean, tart taste. Both yogurts had a good texNell Birch Berryline’s variety of toppings By Nell Birch & Andrea Zhu Panel Staff
The fruity walls at Sweet Tart
Brain freeze at Berry Freeze
Nell Birch
ture. They were both very smooth and pleasantly solid. Berry Freeze’s toppings selection was more limited than Sweet Tart’s. Offerings consisted of the more classic candies, such as Reese’s, chocolate
Nell Birch
large bins filled with every sort of candy you could imagine, fun cylindrical cereal dispensers of an equally large assortment, an extensive fresh fruit bar with one sort of berry we did not even recognize, and Ghirardelli sauce dispensers with chocolate and caramel sauce. Unique flavors like Red Velvet and Dulce de Leche were impressively decadent for soft-serve frozen yogurt, but we would still prefer ice cream for that sort of flavor; the plain also had a strong yogurt taste that we enjoyed. The texture, unfortunately, was icy and grainy; it also melted very easily. Overall, Sweet Tart wins on variety and quality of toppings, but we wish we could just have that assortment with ice cream instead of their subpar yogurt--you are not saving on any calories with options like cheesecake bites and brownies anyway. We rank Sweet Tart third on our list.
All artists have a status quo that stays in the domain of a specific genre or transcends through multiple genres. In the past, Taylor Swift’s songs consistently demonstrate a country vibe, however in the recent hit single, “I Knew You Were Trouble”, Taylor’s genre begins to shift as the artist and her music grow older. When asking other students, Pallavi Krishnamurthy ‘16 says Taylor is “repetitive” and “all her songs sound the same.” Many huge Taylor Swift fans have changed their opinions of her music because of Taylor Swift’s lack of change of tune. Last time I checked, Taylor Swift sang country, but her new hit single says otherwise. Taylor Swift’s new song has changed everyone’s views of her music. “I Knew You Were Trouble” has heads turning as her more conservative country-pop has been forgotten, and Hailey Yetman ‘16 said, “this song makes her seem a lot edgier. I like it!” Rumour has it, this song was based off of
Berryline also serves Belgian waffles, an offering unique to any frozen yogurt location, and perhaps appealing in the winter when colder options could lead to numb tongues. Given the location and intriguing waffle possibilities, we rank Berryline second on our list. Pinkberry: 288 Newbury Street, Boston
Pinkberry felt more like a social destination than any of the other places we reviewed, for not only the fun pink and green decor but also the crowd of people inside. This chain has taken the Boston area by storm with five locations almost constantly filled with long lines--in fact, the frozen yogurt obsession as a whole almost seems synonymous with the Pinkberry fad. Is it Swift’s relationship with John Mayer. As her boyfriend he was worth all the hype, or are people just buying into its popularity? Fruit toppings are especially fresh here. You can see not completely devoted to the relationship, eventually dumping her once he got bored. Like she does in most of her other the staff cutting them up behind the counter rather than resongs, she describes her past relationships, and, she states all the faults of someone who seems to be John Mayer while still ultimately blaming herself for getting involved with him. Unlike her other peppy songs like “Our Song,” this one has lines like “Now I’m lying on the cold hard ground” and “And he’s long gone when he’s next to me,” stating that this pop-star’s life is not what the media says. Taylor Swift portrays herself as the good girl and is constantly getting hurt by someone else; however, in this song she admits that her heartbreak was her own fault with lines like “Shame on me” and “The blame is on me.” The fresh new sound of “I Knew You Were Trouble” brings a new audience to her music. Now, will old Taylor Swift fans follow the artist with her new sound? Just ask around the school and find what happens to Taylor Swift’s bakingmehungry.com usually constant fan base. We’ll all be wondering. We love her Pinkberry’s welcoming exterior new song and cannot stop listening to her new album, Red. ☐ filling from a huge container of already-cut fruit. We highly suggest trying their ‘deluxe’ toppings as well for something you could not get at any other fro-yo place, especially the chocolate hazelnut crunch, which tastes like Nutella mixed with melted Crunch bars. Most notably, however, Pinkberry is the only place where the non-plain flavors are preferable to plain. Unlike at other yogurt shops, they are a perfect blend of the flavor and yogurt, neither trying to imitate ice cream nor a peculiar sugary mix of fruitiness and tart yogurt. The plain, while good, is no better than that of any of the other providers and therefore probably not worth the price. One con is that you can’t serve up toppings yourself, and sizes are predetermined rather than charged by weight. In a way, though, considering how good the yogurt tastes, it works. At Pinkberry, you feel as if someone put effort into planning your frozen yogurt dish and making sure all the flavors work together in harmony, like you would at a restaurant instead of a chain or selfserve cafeteria. However, Pinkberry is the most expensive of the four that we reviewed. We rank it first on our list.☐
Swift’s New Album is RED Hot! By Brigitte Schmittlein & Hailey Fuchs Contributing Writers
ing and not distracting, although it melted faster than some other options. While the flavor selection, three choices that rotate regularly, was more limited than that of many other locations, each flavor was palatable in yogurt form. Like at Pinkberry, toppings are not self-serve, but there is a larger selection of toppings than at Berry Freeze, with higher quality fruit and more interesting choices, like Tazo chocolate flakes. Prices are lower than at Pinkberry, but still high, especially because the price rises with each additional topping.
Belmont Hill Arts
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Mr. Zamore’s Return Reverberates Across the Belmont Hill Community
Matt Ryan
Mr. Zamore teaching a student in his drawing class By Arman Ashrafi Panel Staff Last year, Mr. Zamore embarked on a year-long sabbatical, filled with travel, adventure and most importantly, painting. Back on the Hill, he has enjoyed a warm welcome-back from the entire community. He will resume teaching Nonfiction Writing, Comedy, English 4, Story (a senior Inquiry) and painting. Unknown to most of the student body though, Mr. Zamore is an accomplished painter and line artist having studied those arts at the Rhode Island School of Design and Columbia University, in addition to his study of English at Middlebury College and Princeton University.
In fact, he taught both painting and drawing at Belmont Hill until 1995, when students David Prin and Don Harding proposed the creation of the Nonfiction Writing course to him, their faculty advisor. He resumed teaching the arts back in 2002, though only for a year, when Mr. Morange went on his own sabbatical. Since the inception of Nonfiction, he was drawn away from Robsham and he said that, “I missed teaching painting and drawing to Belmont Hill boys.” Now, during most free periods, you will find Mr. Zamore in the art studio spreading his knowledge among the hordes of artists, surrounding him and eager to learn. For his sabbatical, Mr.
Beetlecat, Westport River, MA
Mr. Zamore
St. Michael’s Maryland
Mr. Zamore
Zamore traveled up and down the Eastern seaboard, out to California and even across the Atlantic, to France. He started in Maine during the summer of 2011, venturing across the border to Canada and down to the Cape and Chesapeake area. Until March, he slowly moved South, going from Virginia and D.C. to North Carolina and Florida. Fortunately, Mr. Zamore stayed with family in each state; in return for their hospitality, he awarded each family member with a painting. As mentioned, he also journeyed to France, biking thousands of miles, where he not only painted but also gained facility in taking film on his iPad, all in preparation for teaching a new Inquiry
“Story” to the seniors in the spring. The highlight, besides France, was California, where all the beautiful seaside communities, like Santa Barbara, presented the ideal backdrop for his work. Throughout his trips, he stuck to his passion, painting mostly shorelines, landscapes and coastal regions, totaling approximately 100 paintings, “all two by 2 feet in dimensions”. He has even created a blog called “Christopher Zamore Paintings”, containing about 60 of these works; if interested, contact Mr. Zamore for any help finding this website. The remainder of his sabbatical, from April through August, he read and prepared for the English courses, Nonfiction, Comedy, English 4 and Story, all
in eager anticipation for the start of the long- awaited school year. Only his longing for Belmont Hill detracted from the experience: “I missed [Belmont Hill] quite a bit, working with students, teaching writing, and coaching both skiing and sailing.” When asked further about the difficulty in the transition from school to sabbatical, he responded, “with my son now in college, [it was] easier to go away for an extended period because there was nothing much preventing me from leaving.” Overall, Mr. Zamore greatly enjoyed his sabbatical, doing the things he loves most, painting and reading. Welcome home Mr. Zamore. ☐
Seniors Engage in an A Cappella Singing Group By Kevin Chen Panel Staff
A couple of weeks into the school year, some seniors decided to band together and recall the senior A Cappella group from its hiatus last year. For the past two months, the harmonious choir, with voices given by the muses, has practiced every Monday at X block, dedicating a period of the day to singing fun. Each week has brought a new face, but the assembly has eagerly absorbed every member and given him a stage. As of now, the first tenors consist of Danny Fischer, Mudit Tandon, Keelan Smithers and J.P. Cannistraro. The second tenors include Nick Har-
rington, Arman Ashrafi and Kevin Chen. The baritones are comprised of Aaron Reid, Edward Columbia, Mark Thurner, Nick Favaloro, Pat
Each week has brought a new face, but the assembly has eagerly absorbed every member and given him a stage. Westwater, J.P. Miller and David Pottle, while the basses have Jacob Kotlier, Zareh Deirmendjian and Yonas Dinkneh. Many of the mentioned people have experience in the B-Flats or perform regularly in coffee house events, so a strong core can share their gathered knowledge and the en-
tire group will grow at an eager pace. After establishing harmonies and deciding on soloists for End of the Road, by Boys to Men, the A Cappella moved on to the next song; Burn by Usher. Nick Favaloro has set up many of the intricacies of both pieces, and Brother P has occasionally popped his head through the doors to catch up and share his wise opinions. With the coffee house coming up soon, the group will prepare a few more selections, some of which will be saved until performance night. Until then, the members of the senior A Cappella will meet the community at the end of the road on center stage. We hope to see a strong showing as we unveil what we have to offer. ☐ Brother P leading some students in song
Bill Mahoney
Belmont Hill Arts
Novemb er 6, 2012
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New Musicians Playing around the BH Campus By Mihir Gulati Panel Staff The musicians of the instrumental program at Belmont Hill this year are looking forward to performing and entertaining the student body, broadcasting their extraordinary talents and learning more advanced music as they progress through their instrumental careers. New additions to the music program are mainly from the middle school, but several new upper school students are extremely talented when it comes to the performing arts. First Former Nick Carroll is a talent-
Chris Duckworth jams on the guitar.
ed guitarist, who has been playing for four years and will be performing in the rock band, as his favorite genre of music is rock. Pat Connor, another form one student, dabbles in trumpet and percussion and is also a talented pianist. He plans to play with the Jazz band while at Belmont Hill, and he is eager to perform some country music. John Markis, in the First Form, is keen to delight students with his Euphonium, or Baritone Horn, similar to the trombone. He has been playing for three years and has begun to take Baritone Saxophone lessons. He switched because he enjoys jazz and he wanted to be a part of a larger jazz band. The euphonium differs from the saxophone in that it has a different reed and a different clef. John looks forward to playing in the Jazz band and wants to perform before January. He enjoys playing the song “Charlie on the MTA” which he learned while playing in a bass choir. Jumping to the ninth grade, Didier Lucceus will share his talents on the string instruments this year. He plays not only vioMatt Ryan lin, but also the viola.
Mrs. Suzanne Kaplan Returns to Teach Art By Deigo Fernandez Del Castillo Panel Staff
A violinist for six years, he is a student at the mous Will Malloy, one of the new upper prestigious New England Conservatory. He school sophomores, began to play the alto enjoys playing in an orchestra, studying mu- saxophone in fifth grade. While he presical theory, performing in chamber ensem- fers the saxophonist Clarence Clemons, he bles and taking lessons at the Conservatory. also enjoys playing and listening to Bruce His favorite piece on the violin is by a mu- Springsteen’s “Waiting on a Sunny Day”. ☐ sician, Kreisler, and is called “Praeludium and Allegro.” While he has been playing viola for only a month, he enjoys playing Bach’s Cello Suite, rewritten for the viola. He loves to play baroque and symphonic music on the viola and his favorite artists are Shostakovich and Bach. In the upcoming school year, Didier wants to play with the Orchestra. Another ninth grade musician is Spencer Kim, who is a talented cellist. He has played classical music for about six years, and also takes weekly lessons at the New England Conservatory, where he studies with the well-known cellist Eugene Kim (no relation). This past July, Spencer was part of the Foulger Music Festival in New Jersey. Right now he is working on a piece known as Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85. He looks forward to performing for the Matt Ryan school. Finally, the already fa- Spencer Kim on the cello
Music Participation Booming on the Hill
Community Looking Forward to Sing-off, Winter Concert, and A Cappella is to use music from other parts of the world to explore other cultures and native languages, to incorporate more of This year, the music programs a worldly feel to the music. “This year here on the Hill have soared in num- we want to do something other than bers of participants including the well- the usual beats and rhythms,” said Bknown performances of groups like the Flats head Mr. Patterson. But to do B-Flats, Orchesthis, there needs tra, and Jazz band. This year we want to do some- to be 2 things: an Newly formed is thing other than the usual beats upper school glee the Belmont Hill club, and more flexand rhythms, Sing Off, where the ible times for these idea is to have an groups to meet, and A Capella group from each Form per- the 2:15 extracurricular time has been form; this year’s musical groups feature helping these groups meet more often a variety of performances. The variety and for longer periods of time, without will also be seen in the types of music interfering with usual extra help time. performed by these groups. The goal Another change this year is the By Charlie Blank Panel Staff
Belmont Hill extends a warm welcome back to faculty member Mrs. Suzanne Kaplan! Several years ago, Mrs. Kaplan first came to Belmont Hill to teach ceramics when Mr. Morange was on sabbatical. Prior to her return, she worked in the Hudson Public School system as a speech and language assistant. While there, she pursued her passion for interacting with children by helping many young students with difficulties articulating their thoughts. Furthermore, she has been teaching ceramics parttime for nearly the past twenty years. For instance, Mrs. Kaplan taught at both the Belmont Hill Summer program and Summer Fenn, a day camp in Concord, MA, and has offered many private classes in several nearby communities. Through these programs, she has combined her passions for teaching and for the arts. Additionally, since 1994, Mrs. Kaplan has been managing her own ceramics business, which has allowed her to display her talents and to share her work both locally and nationally. With all that she has done in the past, Mrs. Kaplan is happy to return to the Hill. “The students, faculty and staff have been very supportive and welcoming. I feel at home in the art studios and really enjoy teaching students of all levels. The boys are fun and seem interested and engaged in learning!” This Fall, Mrs. Kaplan has been teaching the required First Form art class. This course helps seventh graders to adapt to the challenges and struggles of Belmont Hill by allowing them to enjoy a brief hiatus from academics and to explore the arts, where they may find a previously unknown passion. “My goal is to expose the students to a variety of different techniques and materials, getting them used to the studio environment. Earlier in the year they did a lot of two-dimensional stuff and practiced developing stronger drawing and visualization skills. Recently, they have shifted to threedimensions, where they have sculpted clay models. Some of the work really challenges the boys, and they are developing progressing! I truly enjoy the creative spirit which the art rooms foster and I think we’re all having a lot of fun!” Overall, Mrs. Kaplan has enjoyed her return to the Hill so far and looks forward to the remainder of the school year! ☐ The B-Flats in a concert last year
Bill Mahoney
winter concert. Usually performed with an array of our singing groups and those from Winsor, this year’s will only be performed by Belmont Hill groups and could include instrumental groups as well. Additionally, with the explosion in participation, two jazz bands and additional orchestras will be fielded this year. In fact, throughout all rock bands, and other instrumental groups, the numbers have been great. Even in the middle school, numbers have been rising and the newly named A-Sharps, deriving from the B-Flats, saw a rise in numbers for the club. The middle school glee has turned somewhat from simply filling a requirement to a core group of kids who will stay with the group for the entire year. An idea Mr. Patterson shared with me was that the interest in the Music composition and Music appreciation courses has contributed to the influx of students participating. “With this new technology, the iPads, the laptops, iPhones, music is so easy to find and send and hear right there in class,” Mr. Patterson explained. He went on further to describe a situation where, if preparing a song for a performance, the group can simply call the song up on YouTube, play it and sing along. The students joining these groups have been from all Forms, Mr. Fiori and Mr. Patterson have said; a positive sign that shows this isn’t simply one Form getting involved and that these groups could continue to grow in the coming years. All in all, this benefits everyone involved in Belmont Hill to have Mr. Fiori and Mr. Patterson leading so many new musical groups and I, for one, certainly look forward to hearing all of these new groups perform in Chapel and other musical events in the near future and throughout the year. ☐
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Soccer
Field Hockey
4 wins, 1 tie, 2 losses
7 wins, 1 tie, 2 losses
Crew Textile regatta: the 4 got 8th place and the 8 got 11th place New Hampshire Championships: the 4 took gold and the 8 placed 11th Head of the Housatonic: the 4 got 3rd place and novice 8 came in 3rd
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Cross Country season in the EIL. They have defeated runners from Bancroft School, Pingree School, Beaver Country Day School, Newton Country Day School, Dana Hall, Concord School, and Landmark School. They took home 3rd place at the Canterbury Invitational.
3rd.
Gevvie Stone ’03 Reflects on her Olympic Experience Abigail Parker Panel Staff Most of the world remembers how much they love the Olympic Games only when the Visa “Go World” commercials start coming out during the buildup to the Olympics. However, for thousand of athletes, the Olympic dream is part of their lives for years leading up to the event. This Olympiad, Winsor had its own Olympian: Gevvie Stone, the US single sculler. Gevvie graduated from Winsor in 2003 after winning the USRowing Club National Championships in Winsor’s first four in 2002 and 2003. Since then, she has rowed for Princeton University and on various National Teams. In 2011, she went to the World Championships as the US single and placed 11th, missing Olympic qualification for the boat, but at the end of May, she qualified for the Olympics at the final Qualification Regatta in Switzerland. Gevvie is the first Winsor graduate to go to the Olympics. She finished seventh among all the women’s singles at the Olympics. This means that while the first through third finishers in each semifinal raced in the grand final for the medals, Gevvie raced in the petite final for the fourth through sixth finishers from each semifinal and won that race. Recently, The Panel asked her a few questions about her experience.
What was it like rowing at the Olympics? How did you feel about your races? How to describe racing at the Olympics? I don’t know if I can capture how incredible it was for me. It literally was a dream come true: to race on the biggest stage against the fastest women in the world and to do it in a
spite a very tough field, I had hoped to make influenced you? Do you ever the A final, and I had weaknesses in how I handled my rowing mentally and technically. think back to high school? But, in the final, I was able to race my best I was just at dinner with three race of my life (thus far). I was really happy friends from Winsor, and I still stay in touch about that. I’m still really happy about that. with many of my classmates, so I guess my answer would be, of course I think back to Winsor! I am a member of the “8 year club,” Do you have any other fun and who I am now has been very much influstories from London? enced by the school. A few important things Oh man, lots of fun stories from Lon- that come to my head: I learned how to be a don! I could tell stories that started the second leader from my experience in clubs, on teams, my Dad and I stepped off the plane to find two and during group projects. I learned skills of men in pink shirts waiting for us so they could time management. I learned to speak up and lead us through Heathrow around passport to ask questions. I learned about friendships control to the special no-wait Olympian pass- and how to build friendships that would last. port control and ended with the special tem- I learned how to challenge myself in the classporary (3 days!) terminal that Heathrow built room and in athletics. I learned about making for Olympian departures. It had fake marble mistakes and about how to learn from them. poster-board around the metal detectors and That list could go on for a while. To add some actors dressed as Buckingham Palace guards. lighter lessons, I also learned to love the Red In between, I went through US team process- Sox and oldies music and always to have a box ing where I got to get fitted for opening and of brownie mix in the cupboard just in case. Facebook Gevvie rowing at Winsor closing ceremonies gear by Ralph Lauren emcountry that LOVES rowing knowing that ployees and then got gifted two giant bags full I had fantastic support back home. And, to of Olympic clothing. At the course and at the What are your plans for the have the opportunity to race as fast as pos- rowing satellite village, I ate meals with rowers sible just for the sake of racing as fast as pos- from all over the world. I got to build two cus- future? More racing? sible. It was the first time in years for me that tom pairs of Oakleys. After rowing was over, For now, I’m back at Tufts Med School imnothing hung on my result--not making the I got to go to other events and cheer on other mersed in my third-year rotations. Much more team, not qualifying a spot for the Olym- US athletes at women’s basketball, water polo, time using my brain and much less time using pics, etc. I got to go out on the course and beach volleyball and track & field. I walked my quads. I’ll graduate in 2014. Then, we’ll see. I’m thinking about Rio 2016. As of now, I’m “[At Winsor] I learned how to be a leader...I learned to speak up and to ask not ready to be done with rowing and racing. At the Head of the Charles Regatta questions. I learned about friendships and how to build friendships that on October 20 and 21, Gevvie raced in both would last.” the Women’s Championship single and the Women’s Championship Eight. In her single, she won the race, as she has for four out enjoy the opportunity to race my heart out. through the tunnel at Closing Ceremonies into of the past five years. The eight was a boat In my final, I had my “great” race. In the the roar of the stadium. I could go on and on. composed of elite scullers that Gevvie orgaheats, quarters, and semis, I had good races, nized from the women that she met combut I knew that I could do better and had peting at the Olympics. They placed second something extra to give. In particular, I was Would you say that anything after the US Women’s Eight featuring many disappointed after my semi-final race. De- from your time at Winsor has of the crew that won gold in London.☐
Gevvie strokes the “Great Eight” to second place in the Women’s Championship Eight at the 2012 Head of the Charles
HOCR.org
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Winsor Sports Captains Discuss Leadership Roles continued from page 1
gling with something.” Likewise, King finds it difficult to “always put the team before myself. If I’m having a rough day, I can’t show up to practice with a bad attitude.” Despite the challenges, our captains lead us to new heights every week. For cocaptain of cross country Hannah McGrath ’13, the hard work that goes into being a captain pays off. “The best part about being a captain is motivating the team before a race or hard workout,” McGrath reflects. “We’ve run some hard workouts and races, and seeing how everyone runs through them makes it all worth it.” Thanks to our captains, our sports teams are fun, successful, and one of the best parts of life as a Winsor student.☐
To Prickett, a goal like winning first place in the league “requires the team to plan each step of the way, to work toward improving skills and teamwork in order to win crucial games.” While duties such as sending out reminders, organizing equipment, or, most vitally, ordering apparel are relatively straightforward, a captain’s more complex responsibilities are perhaps what differentiates a good captain from a great one. As Lena Afeyan ’13, co-captain of crew, noted, “It is the responsibility of the captains to set a precedent for the team through their hard work and to personally see to it that each rower develops over the season and feels like a part of the team.” The best sports teams feel and function like a family; practice is Varsity soccer rallies around their captains
Gus Freeman
fun, your teammates are your friends, and is every player’s best friend. They know how everyone can rely on each other for motiva- to have fun and still lead the team by examtion and support both on and off the field. ple.” However, leading a team is challenging. Afeyan mentioned The captain’s that the hardest actions and role in part about being the team do not go captain is “balancunnoticed. Anshi ing letting people Moreno ’15 said, learn lessons on “The best kind of captain is the one their own and trywho keeps the team ing to help them excited, happy, and Gus Freeman if they are strugGus Freeman
Told on the Turf
Roughly 5% of this is fact. 5-10% resembles fact. We cannot speak to the accuracy of the rest. -The Khorasani sisters, Sarah ’13 and Sophie ’16, are once again placed on the Mid 4 soccer team. The girls are still hopeful, though, and one day dream to make JV.
Gus Freeman
Featured Athlete: Jess Edlund Alex Slater Contributing Writer
Many Winsor students find it difficult to find balance in their busy weekend schedules. Between seeing friends -Mr. Didier, a fervent Nicki Minaj fan, was disappointed by one of her latest songs, and doing homework, many have trouble “Fly.” He expressed his dissatisfaction with his favorite artist when he revealed to the fitting everything into a single weekend. For horseback rider, Jess Edlund ’14, this seemingly daunting task is even more -Soccer player Helen Hoyt ’14 was recognized by the varsity soccer team for her difficult. She travels travels every weekgenuine care for her opponents’ well-being. end to either her barn in Annisquam, an hour-long drive from her house, or all over New England for competitions. She this name for the last three years. Rumor has it that Zhang has decided to skip college even missed UTL and Red Day this year and instead begin her world tour in the fall of 2013. in order to compete in Maclay Regionals, one of the most prestigious competitions for junior riders in the United States. lighter recently. Coincidently, but most likely completely unrelated, varsity’s ball bag Jess started riding at the age of six and has become questionably weighty. has not stopped since. She is able to jump an astonishing three feet six inches. She re-Caroline MacGillivray ’15 indoctrinated the team into the spirit of opulent tailgating cently competed in Mass Finals for the third year in a row, and ranked 12th place out she was still barking at teammates to load the bus in a very elegant fashion. Look for of 125. She is continuing on to compete in The Opulent Tailgating Manual: Enjoying Athletics with Dry Feet and High Style in a USEF Pessoa. Jess hopes to go to a college with an equestrian team but is not going bookstore near you.
Jess jumping
Courtesy of Jess Edlund
to make it a necessity in her school search. This commitment is a lot not only for Jess, but also for her mother. Her mother drives Jess to all her competitions and practices. Jess remarks, “I am so grateful to my mom for everything...I just cannot imagine doing anything else with my time.” She also admits that the car rides have brought the two of them closer together. Riding has given Jess an appreciation for not just her mother, but for animals as well. She knows that she will always want to be involved with horses in any way that she can in her future.☐
-At one practice, the team put its seniors to the test, putting Abba Parker ’13, Lena Afeyan ’13, Elizabeth Hiss ’13, Nell Birch ’13 and Kate Traquina ’13 together in the boat did not tilt so far down to one side that they had to enlist the help of Harvard freshmen oarsmen to lift it out of the water. -After completely annihilating their league, Winsor crew looked to Olympians for Georgia Williams ’14 against Polish bronze medalist sculler Julia Michalska. The results were inconclusive. -An opponent of cross country runner Ciara Downey ’15 sustained minor injuries after Downey accidentally elbowed her in the face during a particularly intense sprint at the end of a race, proving that cross country is indeed a contact sport.
runner got in the race. - Although the idea of dressing up in matching costumes to attend a school dance wonderfully and the evening went swimmingly.☐
Courtesy of Jess Edlund
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Belmont Hill Varsity Scoreboard Team
Record
Notable Results
MVPs
Captain’s Log “The cross-country team approaches the ISL championships looking to reclaim its 2010 title. After early losses, the squad has since remained otherwise undefeated and seeded second in the league, looking to chase down Middlesex for the ISL title on November 2nd.” -Ian Meyer
“We have a great group of football players this year, and Coach Butler has done an excellent job in his first season as head coach. Every player has a certain role on this team, and everyone has done their part exceptionally well so far this season in my opinion.” -Mike Leary
“Hard work is all I ask for, and this season our effort has been tremendous. We started off the season really strong (going 4-0), but are having trouble finishing. Our Homecoming win against BB&N was a highpoint of the season, helping us start off on the right foot.” -Will Cresap
New Era for Football Program is Underway By Liam Cleary Panel Staff This fall, the sound of an air horn frequents the Belmont Hill campus each afternoon. These blasts signal the beginning and end of each segment of practice on the football field. This is the first year of Coach Butler’s head coaching career at Belmont Hill, and he has made several changes in the way the team works. Coach Butler has worked with the Belmont Hill football program for thirteen years, coaching the football team as the defensive coordinator. Now, stepping up as the head coach in his fourteenth year, he is trying to improve team chemistry and the way the team functions. The first change Coach Butler made was to distribute the lockers differently, grouping players by position. In previous years, the Saturday Varsity players were in one locker room, and the Wednesday Varsity players in the other. By doing this, Coach Butler hopes to establish a little more unity on the team, saying that “[Everyone is] all a part of the same team; even if you don’t get much playing time on Saturdays, you work hard and improve yourself on Wednesdays, and you practice hard to help everyone get better.” Coach Butler has reiterated this point several times, and it is clear that he wants everyone to be fully invested in the team; the phrase “All In” is heard almost
every day on the athletic side of campus. football program a completely different look, Another big change Coach Butler has and he is looking to start off his head coachmade is in the practice structure. Each day, ing career with a winning season. This weekthe specific scheduled practice periods are put end’s game against Milton Academy set the on the clock; team managers set the clock and blow the horn to signal the end of each period. Changes this year also include the addition of two coaches to the Varsity coaching staff. Mr. Sullivan, who in past years ran the defense for Third football, now coaches the linemen with the new addition to the faculty and coaching staff, Mr. Curran. Mr. Curran comes to the Hill from our fiercest rival, St. Sebastians. At St. Sebs, Coach Curran coached the offensive line for five years. He also ran the offense for the JV football team there, and was head coach for another year. Coach Butler’s reforms have given the Coach Butler got his first win in this game against St. Paul’s
team back to a .500 winning percentage, but Coach Butler is eager to get right back at it and win the next two games against Lawrence Academy and Governor’s Academy. ☐
Jim Miller
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Belmont Hill Crew Team Attempts to Relive History
The Belmont Hill Crew charges down the Thames River By Alexander Richards Panel Staff During the summer of 1987, a quarter century ago, eight rowers and one coxswain from Belmont Hill School won one of the most internationally renowned regattas in the sport of rowing: they won the Princess Elisabeth Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. This summer, fifteen Belmont Hill students and two coaches represented the school in an attempt to once again engrave “Belmont Hill” onto the magnificent trophy. Rowers have raced at Henley-onThames, England for over one-hundred seventy years with hopes of making history. The
Kim Maleh
majority are rarely successful. For five days in late July, from Wednesday to Sunday, the famous regatta hosts international athletes of all ages in a single elimination bracket, crowning a winner at the conclusion of the weekend. Each event varies in size, some with as many as thirty-two competitors, others with only a handful. No matter the numbers, the competition is always fierce, and it crowns only the best rowers in the world. For the fifteen Belmont Hill boys, this trip to England was far from a vacation; it was a chance to prove themselves against the most successful high school rowers in the world. The trip began not on Henley-onThames, but rather at Eton’s own racecourse,
Dorney Lake at Eton College. Eton is a private school for boys much like Andover or Exeter where students come from all over the world. Eton has a very accomplished rowing team (whom Belmont Hill boys have hosted for the Head of the Charles regatta for the past decade) and wonderful facilities to complement it. In fact, their private lake was the racecourse for the 2012 London Olympics! The Belmont Hill team was lucky enough to train on the lake prior to their first regatta (no other team aside from Eton had this privilege). Belmont Hill’s rowers spent a week training on this picturesque course, preparing for the first of the three regattas that they would compete in during their stay. The Marlow Regatta weekend could only be described as exhilarating. As Captain Henry Ogilby stated, “Marlow was the first time for any of us where we raced against some of the very best competition the world had to offer.” The first day was the first occasion where the boats would race a full 2000 meters, the international standard distance for racing. With winds howling directly across the lake at thirty-one miles per hour, it was a challenging day for both the four and the eight, and particularly their coxswains, who were forced to steer sharply into the winds to avoid being blown into the neighboring lanes. Saturday yielded no medals, but both the four and the eight won their races on the shorter Sunday sprints. The next regatta for the boys was the Reddington sprints. These races, rowed on an almost straight stretch of water, were all-out races for two and a half minutes. The regatta, as fun as it may have seemed, was a serious reality check for the eight, racing against their American rival, Groton. Gro-
ton drew the “lucky” lane, probably because of the lack of current, which had yielded ninety percent of the day’s victories, and propelled Groton past the Belmont Hill eight. Channeling their disappointment from the morning, they concentrated their energy onto their final race of the day, against American schools B.C. High and Brunswick Academy. For both the eight and the four, the afternoon victories revitalized the rowers’ spirits after the morning’s losses, and gave the boys hardware to bring proudly home. The Henley Royal Regatta was the final and most important race for the boys. The draw had been made and Belmont Hill had been selected as one of the top eight crews, giving some easier competition for the beginning of the regatta. Our crosstown rivals B.C. High were put up against the eight on the first day; thus, one American crew would come so far only to be bumped from the competition at such an early stage. Although B.C. High shot off the line, Belmont Hill responded and came out victorious on day one, with a solid performance under their belts. Day two brought the British school, Canford, who were not quite as strong as B.C. High, and allowed the boys to ease off towards the end of the race. Hampton, the quick and technically sharp English crew, brought an end to Belmont Hill’s regatta; it was a great race, but the short training time for the eight truly became apparent, not being able to equal Hampton’s speed. Unfortunately with this loss, the regatta had ended for these boys, but they should be proud that they advanced the furthest of any American crew. The end of the trip was bittersweet, an unfortunate end to a truly fantastic season. Well done Belmont Hill. ☐
Edward Columbia Represents the United States in Qatar By Henry Cousins Panel Staff
Soccer Captains: Abdurezak Shemsu and Will Cresap
Alex Haigh
Captain’s Corner: Abdi and Will By Andres Cordoba Panel Staff After a disappointing conclusion to last year’s season in which the team fell to Exeter in the New Enland Prep School Soccer Association Class A Tournament, varsity soccer came in this year with high hopes for a more successfuul season. The season started remarkably with seven wins and three ties in the first ten games, but a slump hit the team resulting in two losses in a row. A win against Milton Academy rejuvenated the team’s spirits, and the remainder of the season looks optimistic. Eight players from last year’s team have graduated, but in the face of all this change they are led by veteran senior captains Abdurezak Shemsu and Will Cresap. Even with the turnover between teams this year and last year, Abdurezak is staying confident, and went as far to say that “I feel like we’re more of a team this year, as we are working together more fluidly than last year.” Of course this year’s team won’t be unchallenged on their pursuit of a title, as the ISL is more competitive than ever. When asked what teams would serve as the biggest challenges, Abdurezak had this to say: “Brooks and Rivers come to mind,
and there’s also Thayer and Lawrence who are looking good. Overall it is a very good and a very competitive league.” The biggest game on the schedule for the fans is when rival St. Sebastians comes to Belmont to play in mid-October. While both captains admitted that St. Sebastians is a special game, they both agreed that the Brooks game takes a different meaning this year with Cresap saying “They are a top team this year and we’d like to prove ourselves.” As this is the final year for both Abdeurezak and Cresap to make their mark on the team, they have hopes to end their high school careers on a high note. When asked what are some team and personal goals he had for his final year, Cresap had this to say: “Obviously I’d really like to win the league and make the playoffs, but it would also be nice to get some recognition like All-ISL in my senior year.” Abdeurezak echoed similar sentiments stating “First things first, we’d like to win the ISL, from there we’d make the playoffs again, and hopefully we can win the New England championship. Along the way we’d like to win all our games and score some good goals.” With a good team backing these two inspired captains, this year promises to be an exciting year for Belmont Hill soccer. ☐
successful tournament, sweeping their pool in the first round. They went on to defeat Brazil, Guatemala, France, and Kuwait, before yielding to a strong English team in the quarterfinals. The squad earned eight place overall, the highest American finish in history. In addition to their team medals, as per squash tradition, many of the American athletes returned with shirts exchanged after particularly well-fought matches, tokens of their journey and sacrifice. Though another year of eligibility remains for Edward in the World Championships, for now he turns toward the coming ISL season. With an abundance of experience and talent, Edward and the Belmont Hill team have set their sights high. “Our expressed goal,” he says, “is to win a national title.” Seeking to avenge last year’s difficult loss to Brunswick at the High School Nationals, the current team, led by Edward and several returning veterans, holds a new fire for victory. Brunswick should prepare well. ☐
Since early childhood, Edward Columbia of Form VI, a genuine student of squash, has strived for mastery of the racquet. With a Belmont Hill captain-ship and a fearsome reputation among New England opponents, his practiced dominance has brought ample laurels throughout his career. Over the past summer, however, Edward found another opportunity to showcase his skills, representing, along with five other teammates, the United States in the World Junior Squash Championships. “It was an tremendous honor to play for America overseas, and one that I’ll always remember,” said Edward of his second appearance in the World Championships. This year’s tournament, held annually in alternating cities, was sited in Doha, Qatar, a twelve-hour flight from Boston. Qatar, a small, peninsular nation jutting into the Persian Gulf, featured sweltering temperatures that regularly approached the 115-degree mark, a serious challenge for guests from abroad. The seven-hour time difference also dazed many North-American travelers, forcing Team USA to arrive five days in advance in order to acclimatize to the distinctive Middle Eastern climate. Nonetheless, the rich setting fascinated Edward. “It’s like New York City,” he described, “only without the skyscrapers – a bustling, vibrant place.” Edward began his individual tournament on a strong note, dispatching competitors from Australia and Guatemala, as well as both the Iraqi and South African national champions. After a hard fought, four-game match, he finally fell in the quarterfinals to eventual winner Kush Kumar of India. Team USA also completed an extremely Edward (VI) in Qatar
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