CASTILLEJACOUNTERPOINT.COM
12/01/23: VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Uniform overhaul makes way for student expression NEWS
Castilleja students express their thoughts on uniform transformation and self-expression
From devoted performances from underclassmen to shaken up lineages, this year’s ringing has no doubt been one to remember. [PAGE 3]
ARTS “Applying for performing arts is just a trip,” said Carolinda Silva ’24, who intends to study musical theater. [PAGE 4]
FEATURES We’ve all faced a similar situation at least once — where a friend asks for feedback, or you find yourself bracing for a confrontation. We are all unique in our responses, actions and preferences. [PAGE 5]
ILLUSTRATION BY NOLA DOORLEY ‘26
By Deeksha Venkat ‘27
OPINIONS At its core, Mean Girls allowed for an incredibly important message to be delivered in a palatable way. The clichéd line that still remains true: be yourself. [PAGE 7]
With all the new changes to Castilleja this year, one of the most significant is in the uniform updates. The school previously followed a stricter set of uniform guidelines, in which students constantly tried to find loopholes, but typically ended up with dress code violations. One of the biggest changes to the uniform this year is how modern it is. The previous uniform guidelines drew from more traditional aspects, with students donning the classic skirt and polo pairing almost every day.
“I feel like people were wearing spandex and shorts with skirts, nowadays people are wearing more pants,” Danielle Molotsi ’24 said. In fact, arguably the biggest change to the uniform is that Casti removed the requirement of the skirt altogether - a change some students have welcomed. “I haven’t worn the skirt in weeks by now. I just have a lot more options,” Reagan Raphael ’25 said. Molotsi described the alternative of pants as “more freedom,” and said it makes her “actually like the uniform.” Other big changes noted by students are the resurgence of pants, which some students prefer to the skirt. This noticeable difference comes with
CASTILLEJA SCHOOL: 1310 BRYANT ST, PALO ALTO, CA 95070
the change in tops students are allowed to wear. Students are now allowed to wear any Casti spirit gear (anybody else digging out their What’s Possible t-shirts?). “The polos are super uncomfortable. I haven’t worn one in so long,” Corinne Chang ’27 said. Paired with the lack of skirts, the Casti uniform has certainly gone through some big changes. Any day in 2022, a visitor to the campus could walk outside and see a sea of students dressed in a navy blue sweater, a polo, and a light blue skirt. Now, almost no student is wearing the same thing: students are dressing in jeans, sweatpants and many students have chosen to give up the polo entirely. [CONTINUED ON PAGE 5]
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Work underway for DEILC
PHOTO BY EVE SYNDER ‘24
ANTI-RACISM Castilleja’s new diversity, equity and inclusion leadership council begins tackling relevant issues around campus.
By Aasiya Memon ‘24 The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leadership Council (the DEILC) presented its first committee updates at Upper School Meeting Nov. 14. The DEILC is composed of eight committees, each led by a committee chair responsible for facilitating committee meetings and organizing delegates in furthering their specific goals about inclusion and justice around campus. Hannah Nguyễn, who started at Castilleja last year as the Director of DEIJ, conceptualized the Council based on her activism at USC, her alma mater. “We advocated for more resources for students of color and other marginalized student
Q&Avery By Avery Neuner ‘24
Victora Perez
Lora Saarnio
NEWS
populations on campus through a diversity task force that we established when I was there. This was something that represented all the interests and needs of the affinity groups,” she said. Nguyễn said her goal was to establish a lasting structure at Castilleja that would give students similar opportunities. The Council allows its members to identify issues they find to be the most pressing from the student perspective and take action with faculty support. Committee foci this year range from equity in hiring and admissions to inclusive language in Castilleja texts. Nane Tofavaha ’24, chair of the Family, Collaboration & Access subcommittee, said she initially only applied as a delegate. “I trusted that my peers would create meaningful committees that I would be happy to join,” she said. “But during the interview process, Ms. Nguyễn asked me, ‘What is an issue at Castilleja that you’d like to fix?’ I basically talked about [my current committee].” Tofavaha said she expressed interest in being a chair after the interview and was accepted for the role. “[The council] isn’t just one position that’s visible, but it is a collective, and I think there’s power in community,” Nguyễn said. “These are issues that students have identified that students are passionate about, and they are driving the advocacy work. It is paramount that stu-
What books are on your nightstand and/or coffee table right now? I have Angela Davis, Freedom is a Constant Struggle. She is someone that I look up to a lot. I was first introduced to her around her work with the prison industrial complex. She became a professor at UCSC while I was there. I never went to talk to her, but I dreamed of it. I was too shy. Rest is Resistance, which is a really great one. Tricia Hershey, is the author’s name. It’s looking at how rest is in fact resistance in a system that looks to exploit us for our labor or our productivity and is looking to produce constantly. Rest is an important manner of resisting that. What is your favorite piece of media and why? What impact did it have on you? Barbenheimer. They were two movies I super loved. I knew Barbie was going to be good because I’m a fan of Greta Gerwig. Everything she does is so clever and writerly. I never thought it was going to be talking about patriarchy in a smart and funny way. Then Oppenheimer was because I love the Cold War. That’s one of my favorite periods. I actually taught a course before called Cold War literature, so that’s why I like Oppenheimer. When you were a little kid what did you want to be when you grew up? As a really little kid, I wanted to be a mermaid. Then it turned into an octopus, but that wasn’t possible either. That turned into an author. That was a human job. And then an actress. And, oh, by the way, I developed major stage fright when I was about 14. So that went out the window. Then, an artist.
Sara Popelnykh
Read more Q&Avery answers on our website.
dents are given a seat at the table when it comes to decisions that impact them.” Nguyễn said the task force she helped establish at USC has since expanded to include head administrators of almost every department on campus. “My vision, hopefully, is that one day faculty and admin [at Castilleja] will be a part of the DEI Leadership Council as well. And that they will work hand in hand with students and see them as voices that are important to be included in these major decisions about their education, ultimately, and their student experience.” From the canceled move to the Sixth C article, Tzewa Dingpontsawa ’24, co-chair of the Board & Administration subcommittee, said she believes that transparency between faculty, administration and the student body are all the more relevant at Castilleja today. “I just found it really important to me that student voices were heard in the realm of DEIJ,” she said. Nguyễn said she is excited about some of the new committees this year, particularly Tofavaha’s subcommittee tackling family access, which she said she hopes will support students overlooked or in the minority. “I think it’ll be really beautiful for them to see actual steps being taken so that their families feel like more part of the Castilleja community, whether there’s a language barrier or an accessibility barrier,” she said. “I’ve never seen my parents fully engaged with the school,” Tofavaha said.
12/01/23 “They didn’t feel like they completely belonged in the Casti community, and that has a lot to do with language and economic differences, and I just think that’s a shame. I think it’s a shame when parents don’t feel like they can thrive in a community that their students have to, basically. A lot of my friends have shared the same sentiments.” “This is going to be a hard issue to face, because it’s so nuanced, but I’m committed, and so are all the people that signed up for the committee. No one else is thinking about it, so we will. And we’ll see it through,” Tofavaha said. When it comes to the future of the DEILC, Nguyễn said she is prioritizing student leadership. “I just want [the chairs and delegates] to see their goals come to fruition. And even if they don’t fully come to fruition, that they learn the value of planting seeds. Change doesn’t happen very quickly. It can be frustrating,” she said. “I think I have really had to unlearn that and focus on imagining what could be, even if it felt really far-fetched—and I think about what we have now, right, and how probably my ancestors thought that would have been really far-fetched.” “I just want students to be able to have that imagination, and have the perseverance or resilience to be able to continue the work even beyond Castilleja, and know that what they started here has a legacy that will be continued. And they had a role in building that legacy.”
Dance at Casti returns with a new look
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAELA MILLER ‘27
By Ruby Dowling ‘24 Castilleja announced the school will still put on a dance production in the spring, though the show will be held later than usual and will feature key differences from past performances. Following the departure of Castilleja’s former dance teacher in 2021, Georgianna Shea, the dance production workshop course and later Shea’s brainchild, Arts With a Heart, were dissolved. Shea oversaw Arts With a Heart, an annual fundraiser event put on by the dance production workshop and dance 8 students, since its inaugural performance in 2005. The show, now called the 2024 Dance Production, is scheduled to be held March 8 and 9, 2024 instead of in February and will be led by Castilleja dance teacher Karl Kuehn, who served as a faculty advisor to the final student-led Arts With a Heart production. “We started a little bit later in the game just to work through some of these transitional pieces, to make this work for everyone,” Kuehn said. Kuehn announced Nov. 14 at upper school meeting that the theme for the Dance Production will be “Dancing Through the Decades.” Unlike Arts With a Heart, the show will not be a fundraising event, though Kuehn said he plans to work
with the ACE Center to come up with three options for local nonprofits that focus on the performing arts for the production to partner with. “There are some changes, but there are still a lot of the similarities that have existed in the previous years with AwaH, just restructured a bit under my guidance and direction,” Kuehn said. Despite the increase in teacher involvement in the show, “There will still be a lot of student involvement,” Kuehn said. “So they will have full creative control over what they are bringing to life on stage.” Deciding which nonprofit to partner with is a task for the show’s eighth grade “focus and outreach liaisons,” one of the various opportunities for student involvement in the show, which are applied positions divided by grade level. Instead of live auditions, the Dance Production took video submissions. According to Kuehn, the format accommodates dancers on Castilleja’s JCC satellite campus, who Kuehn said will, similarly to how they would for an athletic event, use the school’s shuttle routes to get to rehearsals. Kuehn said his next steps for the production are to begin rehearsals as soon as possible to catch up on missed time in the fall. For questions about the show, email kkuehn@castilleja.org.
12/01/23
NEWS
‘Tis the season... for ringing
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Fall Highlights US LIFE - Three-time ASB representative Julia Zeitlin ‘24 kicked off the 2023-24 school year with a standing ovation for her senior speech on how the administration asked her to cancel a panel about reproductive legislation in 2021 because the issue was too controversial.
LEADERSHIP CHANGES - In a surprise announcement Sept. 7, Nanci Kauffman stepped down from her position as Head of School. Kathy Layendecker has assumed an acting role while the Board searches for a new Head.
RINGING
PHOTO BY AYDA GOKTURK ‘25
SIXTH C - An anonymous group called the “Sixth ‘C’” published a 4,000-word post on blog site Medium.com outlining the ways in which they said “coded racism” had played a role in leadership decisions.
From left to right: Chloe You ‘25, Natalie Wong ‘24, Naomi Rockower ‘24 and Ayda Gokturk ‘25 after their ringing reveal.
By Amelia Yuan ‘26 Year after year, ringing season, heralded by the influx of ringing account follow requests on Instagram, promises an exciting few weeks filled with secret gift deliveries, throwback childhood pictures posted on Instagram and seniors racking their brains guessing who their ringers are. Yet, as this year’s ringing season has reached its end, there have been a few surprises too. From devoted performances from underclassmen to shaken up lineages, this year’s ringing has no doubt been one to remember. A defining feature of this year’s ringing is the significantly larger size of the senior class compared to the junior class. Matching 61 people in the class of ’24 to a much smaller 48 in the class of ’25 is no easy feat. The number of people in each ringing group changed from the classic double match-ups to groups with as many as three juniors and four seniors. “It was definitely challenging at times to have more seniors in the group than juniors, but it also made it more fun to prank them and get them confused,” Noelle Madden ’25 said. As the sizes of the current sophomore and freshman classes also vary, it will be interesting to see how the tradition of ringing adapts. Another highlight of ringing has always been the “lin-
bit more mixed up this year and that there weren’t specific groups dedicated to just one sport or one community,” Stella Tenta ’25 said. Tenta was in a group with seniors she had no prior connections to. “It felt a little bit more mixed around, which I think was great because it gave people more chances to strengthen and form new inter-grade relationships. Also, it gave me the chance to further connect with some people in my own class who I don’t have many classes with and who I usually don’t hang out with a lot.” One treasured part of ringing is the bonds it forges not just between the current junior and senior classes at Casti, but also with recent alums and even underclassmen. This year’s ringing season also saw a rise in the involvement of underclassmen recruited to help with the ringing process, spreading the joy and excitement of the tradition to all members of the upper school. In the weeks of festivities leading up to reveals, Maddie Chen ’26 was recruited to participate in a performance with other sophomores of “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys as part of a gift delivery for Lowell during her gender and sexualities class. “It was really fun, just because I feel like it’s a tradi-
“But one thing’s for sure: no matter what, it’ll be a time filled with laughter, surprises and cherished memories for all Casti students to hold on to.” eages,” generations of ringing groups which are linked together by a shared extracurricular. These lineages are often passed down through the years via Castilleja sports teams, theatre, Gatorbotics and other extracurriculars. Madden, whose ringers are Sydney Lowell ’24, Ella Debenham ’24 and Mia Ramirez ’24, is now part of the long-running water polo team lineage. “It just felt really special to be able to be part of something that’s been going on for so long, and to be able to have that connection with people who graduated. We even got DMs from our ‘great-great-grandringers’ on Instagram after the reveal welcoming us to the family,” Madden said. Lowell and Debenham were also paired together as ringees last year: “It was kind of a full circle moment, like we were able to talk about what we did last year and the similarities between them. And obviously, we’re very good friends, so it’s nice that we got to continue the water polo lineage directly,” Lowell said. But not every ringing group was as easily predicted or guessed this year. “I think we had a lot more randomized groups, and I think that the pairs of juniors were a little
tion that underclassmen can look forward to so getting to be like a little small part of it this year was super cool, especially when you know who the junior is and who the senior is,” she said. Another addition to ringing culture this year was brought about by none other than the junior class. “Something really fun and unique that our grade also started doing this year was making these edits for the ringing Instagram accounts,” Madden said. “I had the best time making them and I know everyone was always really excited when a new one popped up on Instagram.” The video edits often featured trending social media audios and hilarious photos or clips of their seniors, and are sure to be a new feature of ringing that sticks around into the future. Ringing season ended with exciting reveals and even more excited seniors who finally got to know who their ringees are. All Castilleja traditions must evolve with time, and we can only wonder what will be in store for next year’s seniors. But one thing’s for sure: no matter what, it’ll be a time filled with laughter, surprises and cherished memories for all Casti students to hold on to.
CELEBRATIONS - The annual Fabulous Dinner Dance theme was “Meet Me at Midnight” after the acclaimed album by pop icon Taylor Swift. Students enjoyed a night of food and dance in celebration of the class of 2024.
SPORTS - Castilleja varsity volleyball went on a winning streak to reach the second round of NorCal playoffs. The team was captained by Ruby Flath ‘24 and Thea Louise Dai ‘24, and headcoached by Kimmy Washington.
MS LIFE - The class of 2030 spent the semester on a satellite campus at the JCC, where they will spend the rest of their sixth grade. Castilleja announced Oct. 5 that all grades will return to the Bryant Street campus in the 2024-25 school year as construction begins.
SPIRIT - Spirit week wrapped up with Gator Day, complete with a kickoff carnival and the annual pep rally. After the assembly, the community came together to celebrate the kickoff carnival, complete with games on the circle.
STANDING TOGETHER - Amidst war and conflict in the Middle East, the JSA, MSA and MEAG came together to affirm their solidarity. The affinity groups presented a current events segment at Upper School meeting to raise awareness and offer multiple nuanced perspectives.
ARTS - The Castilleja theatre department put on three performances of Mean Girls: High School Version Nov. 10 through 11, starring underclassmen Sadie Evans ‘26 and Natalie Dang ‘26.
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12/01/23
FEATURES
Applying to college for the arts gets “very complicated” for Castilleja seniors
PHOTO BY EVE SYNDER ‘24
ARTS Carolinda Silva ‘24 preparing to rehearse her dance choreography for college prescreens.
By Michelle Leonard ‘24 As the weeks tick down to Winter Break, Castilleja college counseling’s deadline for seniors completing college applications — Dec. 15 — looms large in students’ minds. For many, essays, interviews and the myriad other elements of the college process are top of mind. Students applying to specialized arts programs, however, have more to think about. With additional supplementary materials, increased selectivity, longer college lists and earlier deadlines, the process is complicated at best. “Applying for performing arts is just a trip,” said Carolinda Silva ’24, who intends to study musical theater.
These supplements could include prescreen video auditions, supplementary essays or letters of recommendations from arts coaches or mentors. “It is almost as though they have two application processes going on at the same time for each of their colleges,” said Gabrielle McColgan, Director of College Counseling and one of Castilleja’s two college counselors. Despite the increased workload, many VPA applicants apply to far more than nine colleges — the typical recommendation made by Castilleja’s college counselors. By November, Silva had applied to 12 schools out of 26. “For the most part, most of these selective art and performing art programs tend to be more selective than even the most selective schools that Castilleja students are looking to apply to,” McColgan said. Specialized arts programs can admit classes of as few as nine students a year, according to McColgan. “I go to a mid-size program, and that’s 32. That’s mid-size. Small is like, 12,” said Emma Holmes, a Casti ’23 alum who currently attends the CAP21 Conservatory at Molloy University for musical theater. With the support of her college counselor, Holmes applied to 26 colleges. “We usually recommend that students have a slightly longer list to increase their chances of being invited to audition, being invited to go through the full application process,” McColgan said. “‘No more than nine’ — you know our mantra — doesn’t usually apply for our students applying to selective visual and performing arts programs.” These programs’ hyper-selectivity can lead to even more subjective admissions. “If the school already has four brunette sopranos, you’re kind of out of luck,” Holmes said. “This is the case for all schools — you don’t know what they’re always looking for.” “I’d get rejected and I’d be like, ‘why does everyone hate me?’ But a lot of it is
“‘Applying for performing arts is just a trip,’ said Carolinda Silva ’24, who intends to study musical theater.” Along with the traditional college application — including academic history, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation and essays — VPA applicants typically must submit supplements specific to their art form.
just out of your control,” Holmes said. That’s not to mention the accelerated timeline VPA applicants must adhere to. “The deadlines tend to be a lot earlier, especially if there’s a pre-screen audition to get offered an audition,” McColgan said.
“Often, a student may have ten or twelve or fifteen applications due by early November.” “It is work intensive,” McColgan said. “Most students who are going down this path find that it is best to get a lot of this work done over the summer before senior year.” Holmes completed all of her college essays within the first two weeks of her senior year. “It was kind of weird,” she said. “I always felt that I was on a different timeframe than everyone else.” Students agreed that, as a college preparatory school, they felt Castilleja’s focus is more academic than artistic. Holmes
interests as you.” Similarly, Holmes said she found working with an external college audition agency “really helpful,” and Silva shared she has an “unofficial coach” and participated in The College Audition Conservatory, a summer audition preparatory program. “What we find is that students who are this serious about their art are studying their art very seriously both at Castilleja and outside of Castilleja,” McColgan said. “So they also have the support of their private teachers and their private coaches outside of Castilleja who are very much their mentors in this process as well.” To younger students interested in
“Students agreed that, as a college preparatory school, They felt Castilleja’s focus is more academic than artistic.” said she only knew of two Casti students who applied to audition-based theater programs before her. “If I was in a bigger school, or at a performing arts school, I totally would have known what I was getting into,” Holmes said. “I’m really glad I went to Casti, but because Casti has so few people apply every year, it’s not something that’s talked about as much.” Claire Wong ’24, who uses the pronouns he, she and they, said they found Castilleja’s academic focus reflected in programming like Global Week, which they said tended to focus on STEM or DEIJ topics. “We’re small,” McColgan said. “It’s hard to be excellent at everything as a school, but I think we do it pretty impressively considering our size.” McColgan added that she began her admissions career at a music conservatory, and both she and Alyson Tom, Castilleja’s other college counselor and Assistant Director of College Counseling, have extensive backgrounds in vocal music — all of which can be an asset in guiding VPA applicants. VPA applicants still often seek support from external sources. “I’m lucky enough that I had friends who went through the process who were like, ‘OK, Claire, let me talk to you for three hours about how this actually works,’” Wong said. “The great thing about theater applications in general is that the way it happens, you often get to meet other young performers,” Wong said. “Especially in an environment like Casti, it’s great to find another environment where everyone has sort of the same goals or has the same
pursuing the arts in higher education, McColgan recommended getting as much experience in their art form as possible— exploring multiple media as a visual artist, or studying theory, musicianship, and performance as a musician. “Build your skillset,” she said. “Whatever it is that you do, you want to do it at the highest level you’re able to do.” McColgan also emphasized the value Castilleja’s arts faculty can bring to students interested in the arts. “Take full advantage of knowing your VPA teachers at Castilleja and benefiting not only from what they have to teach you but from what their path has been to inspire you to see all the different ways you might move forward in the arts,” she said. For students who are interested in the arts, but ambivalent about committing to one discipline for higher education, their options are still open. “There’s no one path,” McColgan said, highlighting the diversity of schools attended by professional Broadway actors. “The vast majority of the colleges that Castilleja students apply to are what are called liberal arts colleges that allow students to explore disciplines from photography to physics to everything in between,” she said. “If you’re undecided at Castilleja, that’s okay. There’s still many, many wonderful schools out there for you where you’re going to be able to pursue what you love to do,” McColgan said. “If you want to do theater, or like any performing arts, definitely do it. Because why would you want to spend your life being sad?” Holmes said. “Start early. And understand what you’re doing before you do it. But still do it.”
Congratulations to our signed senior athletes! Three seniors signed a National Letter of Intent Nov. 8 to study and compete at their respective universities. Go Gators!
Olivia Detter
Emma Foster
Sydney Lowell
Northwestern University, Swimming
Howard University, Softball
Stanford University, Water Polo
12/01/23
FEATURES
PAGE 5
Do we need to lie to our best friends? By Maddie Park ‘27 A little while back, a friend came up to me and asked me a sensitive, personal question. I didn’t know how to respond. Should I be the friend that is brutally honest? Or, should I be the friend that tells a white lie to make the other feel better? We’ve all faced a similar situation at least once — where a friend asks for feedback, or you find yourself bracing for a confrontation. We are all unique in our responses, actions and preferences. “When a situation escalates for one person – like something goes on in their life or something’s feeling a little bit more vulnerable – the behavior will shift completely,” Wellness teacher Lea Pence said. “The friend will show up in a different way to care for their friend. That might be a place where there’s a lot less honesty, and more ‘little white lies’. And also the converse.” Pence said that friendships are “little templates” for how we observe the world, and for what kind of spaces we feel familiar in. In these spaces, we cannot constantly give advice to our friends — Eve Kulbieda, Dean of Upper School Students, said that it is important to ask what our friends need. “Often, when we’re with our friends, we think about what we want to provide for them, but often we don’t think about asking them what they want out of this.” Students shared context is also essential. If the conversation is about clothes or appearance, ASB members Greta Bollyky ‘24 (secretary), Liv Nickel ‘24 (president) and Annika Heinemann ‘24 (wellness
representative) said they would consider a friend’s mood, and only share opinions when asked. In a different context, Heinemann said she would pivot: “As far as more serious situations, I think honesty is really important. If your friend does something wrong, it’s important to recognize that, and hold people accountable — even if you’re best friends. It’s kind of your job, right?” Kulbieda said that when a friend asks for feedback, lead with questions. However, in confrontations, it’s important to give a heads-up over text, and then have the conversation in person. Misunderstanding can happen in any kind of conversation with a friend, but especially during emotionally charged or confrontational scenarios. “I feel like misunderstanding is always something that gets in the way when people hear words that elicit an emotion. Sometimes, it’s hard to find your friendship through that emotion,” Pence said. “It’s certainly hard to find the friendship that you were used to.” To avoid misunderstanding, Pence said to first, acknowledge the context; second, be mindful of the approach of the topic; and third, if possible, rehearse beforehand. Lastly, it is key to be honest and vulnerable about our own feelings going into the conversation. “And then, prefacing the entire conversation with your feelings of being nervous, your feelings of trying to have care, and that you really don’t want this to go wrong,” Pence said. In the same way, our good intentions can also have harmful consequences. There are times when we choose to tell bigger lies in an attempt to protect our
Nickel said that it is the big things that cause annoyance for her, such as a friend lying about spending time with another friend, even if she already knew about it. Heinemann said that lies don’t help, even when trying to protect others’ feelings. In fact, lying makes it worse. While lies can deteriorate a friendship, it’s also great to have differing relationships within a friend group. “You don’t have to be best friends with every single person in the group, to have beautiful relationships in the group with the individuals,” Kulbieda said. Kulbieda also said that there is a fine line between lies and nondisclosure. “Sometimes, people like to keep things private or confidential, and I don’t think that’s lying. I think everyone has the right to not disclose things about themselves.” However, lies can cause cracks in the friendship. “It could start to form trust issues,” Nickel said. “Friendship should be built on trust, transparency and being genuine with each other. When lies start
Uniform overhaul makes way for student expression
By Deeksha Venkat ‘27 [CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1] The new guidelines have also led to students caring less about their inner layers, with more of a focus on outer layers. “I think only being responsible for your outer layers has been a really great change, because it’s really annoying to wear polos underneath whatever you’re wearing,” Olivia Stinson ’24 said. Students have also noted the addition of colorful socks to the uniform, with Niva Himatsingka ’27 sharing that she “likes
outfit is a staple. “I normally wear just sweatpants and a t-shirt or the polo,” said Raphael. Similarly, Himatsingka shared that her go-to outfit was “probably just a navy polo, paired with jeans or pants.” This idea of casual pants instead of this skirt was a common thread among the interviewed students, and Molotsi said that she “rotates between sweatpants, pajama pants, and jeans for bottoms.” This sudden burst of changes has also led to more students disobeying the dress code. Some students feel the new guidelines were never made clear, leading them
ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE CHENG ‘27
FRIENDSHIP Friendships involve several ups & downs, and one of the most important things is how to deal with them. to bubble up, I feel like you’re hiding your true self, and you’re not being authentic.” There is also a difference between lies and white lies. “I think white lies are important though — for little confidence boosters,” Bollyky said. At the end of the day, it’s important to have a friend that appreciates who you are. “I think it’s the difference between having a friend that likes you for who you are, versus wanting you to be someone else,” Bollyky said. Kulbieda said that courage is essential. “I think being brave in relationships is really important. And that means being honest.”
lar to Casti’s aesthetic,” Izzy Spieser ’28 remarked, while Emma Siegel ’27 shared that she could “just buy any sweater from Brandy and it’d probably fit the dress code.” Other stores mentioned were Hollister and Urban Outfitters for sweatpants, and Pacsun for sweatshirts. In the ever-changing environment of Castilleja’s uniform changes, the shift from the traditional skirt and polo combination to a more versatile, comfortable and unique attire has been met with approval among the interviewed students. The changes have brought in a new era of personal expression within the uniform. Students enjoy the newfound liberty to choose from a diverse set of clothing options, leading to a departure from the simple sea of the once-standard uniform. However, these changes have also brought about a challenge in maintaining adherence to the updated dress code, prompting teachers to provide clearer guidelines and enforcement. As students continue to experiment with different styles, it’s evident that the uniform transformation has not only redefined the dress code but also empowered individuality and self-expression within the Castilleja community.
ILLUSTRATION BY NOLA DOORLEY ‘26
to believe they can wear checkered pajama pants, sweatshirts with any design or cut the necklines and hems off their shirts. Now, teachers are being equipped with posters detailing the uniform guidelines, making it easier for them to hand out UVs. In terms of the best ways to style the uniform while staying in dress code, students have a lot of similar answers. 11 interviewed students shared their love of Brandy Melville, explaining that the sweaters and pants sold at the store fit the aesthetic of the Castilleja uniform perfectly. “The vibe of the store is just so simi-
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FEATURES
AI finds its place in the classroom By Naomi Rockower ‘24 Math teacher Rachel Tucker knew that due to the amount of writing needed for the year-long AT statistics project, there was a possibility that some students would use ChatGPT, so she told them they would be allowed to use it as long as they cited it as a source. “AI is going to be a part of our world going forward,” Tucker said. “And so teaching thoughtful, productive use is important. And filing it under honor code situations is also important. If schools try to ban it altogether, [that won’t] be productive because students are going to use it anyway, but without guidance and coaching on what’s useful, productive, or will give good results.” To prepare students for this new academic landscape, history teacher and freshman Class Dean Christy Story held a workshop for ninth graders to “have a conversation about tools that exist and that they’re using, but to have that conversation grounded in understanding the limitations.” As for how AI should be used, “I see us as a community of honor,” Story said, “but I also see us as a community that embraces emerging technology. And so how can we have those two things be true, and meet our culture?” According to Story, appropriate times to use AI, for which she said a teacher’s expectations should be clear in the course description, should be “in collaboration with your teacher,” and that “you should always be citing it, because it’s a source [just] like any other source. If you’re not clear with your teacher, [they don’t] know whether it’s masking a skill deficit or not.” Story said that AI would be helpful for three main uses: drafting ideas, research, and reviewing or decoding text. Instructional and programming librarian Tasha Bergson-Michelson said that for last year’s ninth grade history final, students were given the option to “use AI to build stepping stone resources to help them identify search terms,” and that former
science teacher Tiffany Crist-Studley assigned a project in her eighth grade science class to fact check essays written by ChatGPT. “I really don’t believe that fighting change tends to be very successful,” Bergson-Michelson said. “Librarians fought against the web when it was introduced. We ended up having so much less research education in schools because we weren’t keeping up as a field.” Tucker proposed that generative AI could increase the accessibility of education, even if it wasn’t world-class quality, saying that it could be beneficial “if every single student could have a mediocre tutor through AI.” “I want students to learn how to use [AI] thoughtfully because I think it is going to be a tool in the future,” said Tucker. “But I also want to make sure it’s not doing the thinking for the students.” Tucker likened the use of AI to that of a calculator, which are typically not allowed in elementary schools even though later in life, devices that can do any calculation are readily available. Without a strong understanding of basics such as addition or multiplication, it’s difficult to understand more complex ideas such as exponents, derivatives, and calculus. Similarly, “if we’re letting AI do the basics, then students don’t develop enough to get to the high level thinking that AI can’t do,” said Tucker, emphasizing the necessity of “a similar process of teaching the basics and then, as students grow, teaching them how [and when] to use AI.” “It really is a blend of [what] we’ve been seeing happen in a whole new world based on just how much more it can do,” said Tucker. “The speed of change with technology is hard for both teachers and students to navigate.” Story stressed the increasing importance of a strong student-teacher relationship in the age of AI. Because artificial intelligence tends to “hallucinate” or make up information and students are less prepared to catch these mistakes. “That relationship between teacher and student is only becoming more important just at the
Game plan: Veganism is for athletes, too
LIFESTYLE Julia Zeitlin ‘24 refutes common misconceptions surrounding being vegan as an athlete.
By Sara Flexer ‘26 Julia Zeitlin’s celebrity status at Castilleja encompasses her role as a passionate climate activist, captain of the varsity tennis team, ASB representative and vegan. For the past seven years, Zeitlin has remained committed to a vegan diet, making her the past seven years, Zeitlin has remained committed to a vegan diet, making her
PHOTO BY SARA FLEXER ‘26
among the 1% of vegans in the U.S. Zeitlin became a vegetarian when she was five years old, but she and her family eventually decided to go vegan due to health and environmental impacts. “I think people often discount how big of an impact what you eat has on the environment,” she expressed. “Plant diets lead to 75% less climate heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich ones. That’s a big, big comparison.” According to Zeitlin, simply changing what you consume is “one of the biggest things an individual can do to reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions.” Zeitlin expressed that animal rights
moment that students are thinking, ‘I don’t need a teacher because I have AI,’” Story said. According to Tucker, “it’s easy just to trust [information] that you see written or said really confidently. This is a great way to teach critical thinking and cynicism about how you interpret or how much you trust things in the world which, given the introduction of AI, is important.” Similarly, Bergson-Michelson stressed the importance of fact-checking in the wake of AI hallucinations. She said she has “watched people forfeit critical thinking for the ease of using Google search.” Stating that “information skills are at the core of the challenges we have as a nation in the world right now” and that “research skills are the basis of an informed democracy,” she values her students’ capacities to “express themselves [and] think critically about the information they engage with” and worries that these skills will be lost to generative AI.” English teacher Matt Callahan hasn’t seen “a way in which AI would synthesize ideas or help in a way that’s not short circuiting a goal of [students moving] towards what [he calls] high level literary analysis.” He said his goal is for students to develop their own “unique critical voice.” This cannot be found in AI-generated essays, which he said he doesn’t want students to even consider as an option due to their investment in the questions explored in class. If the game was just to win, to get an A or a 4 under time pressure, Callahan said that it would make sense that students would use AI; yet it wouldn’t be used “if the goal is to create a shared intellectual community where we’re really engaging with these deep questions, preparing for college-level writing and grappling with big ideas through writing.” Callahan and Bergson-Michelson both stressed the importance of setting clear goals in education to be cognizant of when surrounded by technology able to do much of the work. “Education changes very slowly,” Tucker said. “I think schools will continue to look very similar. I hope that it makes teachers thoughtful about what assignments they give to make sure that their concerns significantly contributed to her decision to go vegan, since the impact of the food industry on animal suffering contradicted her core family values. “It’s hard because much of the way we function as a society really separates the animal life from the food,” she said, emphasizing the importance of thinking about where your food comes from. “When you get chicken nuggets, you don’t see the chickens in tiny cages, all stacked up. I know it’s upsetting to think about, but instead of seeing that, you just see the tasty food.” In addition to her vegan diet, Zeitlin also incorporates environmental sustainability into her everyday life, through everything from fashion to transportation. She encourages thrifting as well as seeking out ethical and sustainable brands. And she is often spotted biking to school or the Rinconada tennis courts on her electric bike. As an accomplished tennis player, Zeitlin strives to denounce common misconceptions surrounding being vegan as an athlete. Her current tennis coach is vegan, but she recalled how her first coach once told her, “What are you doing? You need to eat meat.” However, Zeitlin stressed that several prominent athletes follow a vegan diet, including Alex Morgan, Lewis Hamilton and Novak Djokovic. “A lot of industries profit off of misconceptions and misinformation,” she said, “such as the idea that you need to eat
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TECHNOLOGY In an ever-changing digital landscape, teachers are finding different ways to adapt. assignments are teaching and assessing what they want them to.” Callahan said he had pessimistic views about technology in general. “Technology further alienates us from the world,” he said. “I worry that AI will have this sort of degrading effect on reading and writing. I don’t think it will be permanent. I think just like everything, it’s like a pendulum swing.” He said he predicts we will be flooded with AI-generated text lacking personality and meaning, but then there would be a response to this, a change in the way we write and read that would compensate for AI generation. Bergson-Michelson said she saw parallels between the rise of AI and other advances throughout history. She said that things tended to accelerate, such as with written language, the Internet and Wikipedia, and now, AI. However, like Callahan, she said that “this constant search of peak efficacy is like losing something integral to all these processes that are going on.” “When it comes to technological innovation, it’s good to think about it with a head of cynicism and be wary of the outcome,” she said, but also said she is hopeful about a positive outcome. “The world is an infinitely interesting place,” said Bergson-Michelson, “and we will probably find infinitely interesting ways to use generative AI and just hope that it doesn’t shortcut our ability to build a functional society that we want to live in.” animals to gain muscle and strength.” She continued, “Perhaps the biggest misconception [about vegans] is that you don’t get enough protein, which is not true.” According to Zeitlin, vegan athletes just have to make more of an effort to think about what foods contain protein, whether that be legumes, grains, tofu or fruits. “There’s also the myth that being vegan is much more expensive,” she added. “While meat and dairy replacements, such as vegan Parmesan cheese, may be more expensive, major protein substitutes like grains and beans are much cheaper than meat.” On days when the Castilleja lunch doesn’t offer foods she can eat, she resorts to a sunbutter and jelly sandwich. Other lunches are more promising, with food options including curry, pasta, grains and fajitas. “Those are all options that I think a lot of people like and that are totally vegan,” she said. In addition, she suggested bringing back “meatless Mondays,” emphasizing the positive environmental impact of a consistent plant-based diet. “I know a lot of people don’t have the option to decide how or what they eat, and that’s totally okay,” Zeitlin concluded. “I’m not making any judgments about people. I just think if you do have that option to control or change what you eat for a certain meal, take that opportunity and make that choice when you can.”
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OPINIONS
The paradox of college preparation at Castilleja
PHOTO BY RUBY DOWLING ‘24
COLLEGE Even though Casti is a college prep school, worrying about the future shouldn’t consume our underclassman years.
By Avery Neuner ‘24 Sometimes it feels like Castilleja students have been thinking about college since they set foot on the bright green fake grass of this hallowed circle. Casti is a college preparatory school, and so it’s not unreasonable that we have college in mind from day one. But sometimes that preparation feels like it creates students who are too excited for what the future holds as opposed to the present. I feel like I was a unique freshman in many ways, because college hadn’t even entered my consciousness outside of the occasional class meeting. I didn’t know that I was “supposed” to be filling out applications for college prep
summer programs or piling on extracurricular activities, so I didn’t. Instead, I discovered the joy of a place called Younger Lagoon in my hometown of Santa Cruz.I used to ride my bike there and sit as the sun set over the lagoon that led out into the Pacific. I don’t share this anecdote to claim that I was superior because I looked at the ocean as a freshman. Instead, I want to give you an example of what my priorities were on days like that when things felt simpler. Sophomore year was when college became a blip on my radar, and I, like several underclassmen I know, was thrilled about it. There are so many first in sophomore year. I got my drivers license, I turned the quintessential high school age of 16 and I felt like I had solid friends for the first time in my life. But it was also the first time I was stressed about grades for the sake of college. Every English essay or chemistry lab felt like a huge deal. Believe me when I say sophomore year isn’t the time to stress about your future. You will do plenty of that in the next two years as you go into junior and senior year. I wish I would have known that. Junior year is when it feels like you are constantly thinking about but never talking about college. It’s as if a switch flips and you and your friends are no longer talking about your futures as lunch, what you want to be, and where you want to go. Suddenly your future
that it becomes taboo. The one thing about Castilleja’s college process that seemed genuinely odd to me walking in was that switch. Younger students seem so much more open and curious about this process, as if they’re running headlong into it, whereas older students are reserved about it, as if they’re suddenly scared. You go from sprinting toward your future to tip-toeing toward it like it’s some kind of angry animal. Both of these approaches undeniably have their flaws. I can’t claim to be an expert at senior year, since I’m right in the middle of it. But I can say that I feel like endless college essays and meetings to ensure that I’m going where I want to go in the future have given me a healthy dose of perspective. On the one hand, it’s exciting! I’m going to be 18, an adult. I’m going to move out and figure out who I’m going to be. On the other hand, it ranges from mildly to majorly terrifying. These days, there is forever something college related on my to do list. I know my college counselor reads my Counterpoint pieces (Hi Ms. Tom!), and I know that I’m excited to start this new chapter of my life. But if I could tell Castilleja as a whole one thing it would be this: your future is coming, I promise. There is no use in rushing it, and I know for a fact there is at least one thing, big or small, that you can enjoy about high school in the moment.
‘Mean Girls’ is more relevant than we think By Zoë Friedman ‘26 As someone on the Theatre Advisory Board and in the musical, I strongly advocated for Casti to do “Mean Girls” as our fall musical. “Mean Girls” is iconic, and undoubtedly so. It has forced its way into the cultural zeitgeist of Gen Z and Millenials, providing instantly recognizable one liners, including, but not limited to, “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” and “she doesn’t even go here!” From a cast member’s perspective, doing “Mean Girls” was a true testament of the trust our theater department has in one another. The musical version of Mean Girls takes a lot of teamwork, collaboration and of course, trust. So much trust, in fact, that we had a scene where actors fell backwards off a table into the arms of other cast members, cheerleader style. We also knew that picking “Mean Girls” would generate interest. And it did. Tannis Hanson, director of the show, told the cast that on opening night, we had the most people in the audience she had ever seen at a Casti musical. People know Mean Girls. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it as the 20th Greatest Comedy of the 21st century, citing its quotability and satirical relatability. But why did “Mean Girls” reach an astronomical amount of success? What’s so different about “Mean Girls” that it can withstand the test of time, so much so that 20 years later, there’s interest in a movie musical? The plot of “Mean Girls” is based on the timeless stereotypes of high school cliques. We’ve seen the trope of the three high school “mean girls,” made popular first by “Heathers”
ILLUSTRATION BY FLO CORREA AGAZZI ‘25
(1989), and later the stereotypical cliques in Disney Channel shows. Yet, all the characters in Mean Girls, while viciously stereotyped, are also undeniably three dimensional. At its core, Mean Girls allowed for an incredibly important message to be delivered in a palatable way. The clichéd line that still remains true: be yourself. In the musical, the Queen Bee, Regina George herself, is initially depicted as cold, manipulative and, of course, mean. And while these traits never really change in Regina, as the movie progresses, we have sympathy for Regina as we watch her struggle with insecurities in her body and social status. Meanwhile, Cady, the archetypal new kid, wants so desperately to fit in that she makes bad decisions and ultimately hurts the people who care about her the most. When she arrives at North Shore High, she is depicted as self-reliant and confident, and looks down upon the Plastics and other students who are so obsessed with the
THEATRE The Mean Girls story is timeless. social hierarchies controlling the school. However, she succumbs to the desire Mean Girls director Tina Fey argues we all have: the need to fit in. Cady molds herself to fit the expectations of the many cliques at school, but ends up disliked by everyone. Ultimately, she redeems herself by returning to the person she was when she arrived at North Shore, with the lessons she learned along the way. In essence, “Mean Girls” stands as more than just a teen comedy. Its enduring popularity among high schoolers lies in its ability to capture the universal struggles of adolescence, addressing issues of identity, friendship, bullying, and societal expectations. The musical demonstrates the universal truth of the high school journey: that regardless of what we say, at our core we just want to fit in.
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Reece Reads: Defy the Night By Reece Sharp ‘24
ILLUSTRATION BY RUBY DOWLING ‘24
Like most books, I first heard of “Defy the Night” while scrolling on TikTok. Well… who I am kidding, it was Instagram Reels. Nonetheless, social media was my first introduction to this novel. I saw a video about a fantasy romance novel with hidden identities and opulent wealth and was immediately hooked. On paper, “Defy the Night” by Brigid Kemmerer is a story about a mysterious disease that has spread through the fantasy kingdom of Kandala and a magical flower that works as its only vaccine. The issue, however, is the flower is in high demand but with limited supply, resulting in people stealing the flower to support their families. One such thief is our female protagonist, Tessa, an orphan working as an outcast vigilante distributing the flower to those in need. She has an intense hatred for the Royal Court, as she blames the King for her parents’ murder and the spread of the disease. Her partner is the mysterious Weston Lark, who helps her every step of the way. As a surprise to absolutely no one, a romance brews, but not in the way you would expect. This novel technically has three main characters—Tessa, Weston and Prince Corrick, the king’s younger brother—but the romance occurs between only two of them (A.K.A. no love triangle). The story is written from the perspectives of both Tessa and her love interest, but once again, I will give no more specifics. Overall, “Defy the Night ‘’ is a great young adult novel with lots of romance that doesn’t rely on more… adult themes. It was cute and sweet with a pretty consistent storyline. There is one fairly major twist/reveal that occurs early in the story, but it’s handled very tastefully and it’s pretty believable. Honestly, the book is a bit predictable, but I wasn’t expecting any less. With that said, I do have one major issue with this novel: the names. Skipping over the ridiculousness of the name WESTON LARK, the prince’s first name is Corrick and the king’s is Harristan. Not HarriSON, like a normal person, but Harristan. The benefit of reading a novel versus listening to it or watching a movie is that I can think whatever the heck I want when I read names, and you can best believe my internal monologue was not thinking “Harristan.” Nevertheless, I personally love this story because it defied the conventions of the fantasy romance genre. If you know me at all, or have read any of my fantasy reviews, you know I detest drawn-out fantasy series. Unlike my history DBQ’s when I’m trying to score all fours, brevity is preferred (and there you go, that was a Membean word). Although “Defy the Night” is around 500 pages and is technically part of a series, it reads like a standalone, and thus I will treat it as one. The ending of the first book in this trilogy, “Defy the Night,” isn’t a cliffhanger. It’s a closed loop and a complete story that leaves room for further exploration if you so choose. Personally, I will not be reading the rest of the books in the series, but I am not distraught in any way over this. For me, the story of Tessa & the kingdom of Kandala ended with the final words in “Defy the Night,” but for you, that may not be the case. And that is the beauty of “Defy the Night.” It is a fantasy romance novel for everyone. Even if the actual storyline doesn’t “Defy” expectations, its sheer existence does (please don’t mind the philosophical ending, I’m simultaneously writing an English essay and it’s hard to switch styles, iykyk). I rate “Defy the Night” four out of five C’s. I’m sorry, but the name Corrick knocks off a “C”.
PAGE 8 EDITORIAL TEAM Ruby Dowling Thea Louise Dai Editors-in-Chief Caitlyn Lee Priscilla Chan Managing Editors Abigail Kim Editor of Special Projects & Editor of Arts & Entertainment Avery Neuner Editor of Opinions Eve Snyder Editor of Photography Michelle Leonard Editor of News Naomi Rockower Editor of Campus Development & Copy Editor
ENTERTAINMENT Dear Reader,
We are delighted to produce the print edition you hold in your hands. While our online edition has served us well since its inception in 2020, bringing back print has been a key element of our goal to reestablish Counterpoint’s role as the voice of the student body around the Circle. Our paper has undergone several positive developments this semester, culminating in this special edition. The Counterpoint team has doubled in size, expanding our reporting capabilities and increasing the frequency of our reports. We have also sharpened our focus on campus news, and our team is engaged in an ongoing discussion about which topics are most important to the Castilleja community. Counterpoint and its writers are committed to upholding high standards of quality in reporting, writing and publishing, alongside training on ethical principles and journalism practices. We are dedicated to our mission of highlighting student voices by asking thoughtful questions and inviting our community to engage in meaningful discussion. We demonstrate our commitment by signing our name to every article. We hope you will see this print copy as an expression of our goal to serve the Castilleja community. Sincerely, Ruby Dowling and Thea Louise Dai, Editors-in-Chief
Kool Casti Girl & The Castilleja Award
Sara Flexer Editor of Features
WRITING STAFF
Crossword
By Ruby Dowling ‘24 & Michelle Leonard ‘24
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By Natalie Wong ‘24 This comic was inspired by Mindy Kaling’s “Badly Drawn Girl”, a strip that Kaling drew for the Dartmouth student newspaper to parody her experience while she was studying there. Her comics resurfaced in 2013 and can still be found online.
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Down 2. Proud to wear this hue 3. Castilleja choir 6. 2024 class song: 24K ___ 7. 2023 domestic GIT destination 9. Academic ____ Activities 10. Not one of the 5 Cs 11. Common misnomer for outside-the-classroom learning
Across 1. Loc. of Casti’s satellite campus 4. ‘Twas recently the season for this Casti tradition 5. Conference room 8. Often mistaken for 28 down 10. 2023 senior rivalry theme 13. legal agreement between Casti and the city 15. Vessel for senior-junior prom 17. Counterpoint’s room number 18. Library namesake 20. Musician with recently increased influence on school 24. Castilleja orchestra 25. Embrace it! 26. Only universal required subject for seniors 27. Popular spirit week activity 30. Named for its glass walls 31. Bluegrass singer Molly with a song named after the school 32. Counterpoint MS competitor 33. Stuff on the circle 34. Team 1700
12. Leadership portfolio platform 14. Publication named for campus flower 16. Sophomore class color 19. famous Castilleja alum Grace 21. Language all Casti freshmen learn 22. Mojo dojo casa house on campus 23. Dinner for upperclassmen 28. Commonly misspelled place on campus 29. Surname of school founder