Volume CXXIV, No. 1
Kanye’s Words
Dariya Subkhanberdina ‘19 Opinion Writer As a loyal Belieber and a devoted Directioner, I’m the first to admit that I am not one who pays much attention to what goes on within the hip-hop industry on a day-to-day basis. However, when earlier this month, Kanye West, one of the most influential names in the music industry, raged a tweetstorm in which he publically endorsed Donald Trump, expressed politically Conservative views, and argued that slavery was a choice for black people, Kanye’s words went beyond the hip-hop industry and left millions of his followers feeling outraged and deeply hurt by the sheer absurdity of his words. Whether you love him or hate him, it is an undeniable fact that Kanye West is a genius in his own right, and yet in light of recent events, the media continues to diminish Kanye to a mentally-unstable maniac, a drug addict, or a raging radical extremist. While it is easy to write Kanye off as mentally unfit, our response does not deny the fact that his words have both meaning and consequences. Even if one attempts to brush off Kanye’s words for what they are, just words, these careless words take form as bullets. When reflecting upon West’s tweets, it was only when I watched his thirty minute interview for TMZ live when I finally understood what he is saying and where he is coming from. During his live interview for TMZ, when handed the opportunity to explain himself and the support he demonstrated for Donald Trump on Twitter, Kanye admits that “[he’s] never been into politics. [He] just loves Trump.” Serving as a symbol of outrageous wealth and shameless narcissism prior to his presidential election, Donald Trump was seen as an icon within the hip-hop industry. As a billionaire real-estate mogul, by virtue of the sheer prominence of his name and the flamboyance with which he leads his life, Donald Trump has served as CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
THIS WEEK’S MEASURE
Monday, May 21st, 2018
Touré Shocks Student Body in Keynote David Shaw '20 News Writer Touré ('89) opened Milton’s 2018 Seminar Day as the Sally Bowles '56 Keynote Speaker with a fiery and somewhat controversial talk on the importance of truth in media. Before hosting his own podcast The Touré Show, Toure co-hosted The Cycle on MSNBC and was CNN’s first Pop Culture Correspondent. He began his address by describing his journey to the top, from his days at Milton to his time as an intern at Rolling Stone, where he interviewed several high-profile celebrities like Kanye West and Jay-Z and launched his journalism career. Touré critiqued the problem of “false equivalence” in the media, when journalists feel obliged to present both sides of an argument as equals, even if one side is clearly the truth. For example, a journalist might write, “some scientists believe that climate change is real, and some do not,” a statement which implies that both sides of the climate change debate should be considered equally. In fact, Toure explained, 97% of scientists believe in climate change, so a reader would be left with a false
Crazy Rich Asians
Jack Sullivan ‘20 News Writer As the 2017-2018 school year comes to a close, Milton is starting to look ahead to next year and to a new wave of student leaders from the Class of 2019. Recently, the Day
and Boarding communities each held an election for their respective representatives: the Boarding and Day Monitors. After each candidate presented a speech to their respective student body, Milton students voted to elect Ryan Choi (II) and Ify Ofulue
(II) as Boarding Monitors, and Jack Delea (II) and Shayla Kelley (II) as Day Monitors. Because they engage with the student body and speak at assemblies more often, Head Monitors and Class Representatives hold
Olivia Wang ‘20 Opinion Writer “I know you don’t like to read for fun, but this book is literally Gossip Girl with an all Asian Cast; you are going to love it!” Erika Yip (III) exclaimed to me earlier this year. In spite of my reluctance to leisurely read, I took her advice and purchased Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan to read over spring break. I have absolutely no regrets. In short, Crazy Rich Asians is a love story. Rachel Chu, the main character, is an American-born Chinese economics professor who accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young, to Singapore for a wedding and to meet his family. The plot is essentially an Asian version of Meet the Parents, except the antagonist is Nick’s mother, who has mastered a disdainful side-eye. Unbeknown to Rachel, Nick is from one of the wealthiest families in Singapore, so she is immediately thrust into the exclusive world of elite money and must face all the obstacles that come with dating “the Prince Harry of Asia.” I managed to read only half of the book through Spring break, and my being at Milton essentially prohibits any sort of downtime reading. However, just as I was putting the novel to the back of my mind, the trailer for Crazy Rich Asians dropped on April 23rd, and my life once again became consumed by this best-seller. As the first mainstream, feature-length Hollywood production to feature an entirely Asian and Asian-American cast in over a quarter century, Crazy Rich Asians is a historical and social turning point for Hollywood. Unsurprisingly, the internet has both praised and critiqued this film. Despite the screenwriter, Adele Lim’s, attempt to cast as accurately as possible, the internet has put the film (or what has been released of it) under fire about the lack of Asian diversity. The film largely takes place
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NEWS
OPINION
A&E
SPORTS
Touré ‘89: Milton’s Seminar Day Keynote Speaker
impression of reality. False equivalence arises when “journalists don’t want to use the L-word (lies) because they don’t want to seem biased,” he said. But Touré’s talk received mixed reactions when he compared MSNBC, where he previously worked, to Fox News. “Everyone I’ve worked with at MSNBC, they put all their energy into pursuing the truth — they dare to be true,” he said, invoking Milton’s motto. He added, “However, at Fox News, they deliberately tell lies. They mislead the public. Fox
NPR
News acts as propaganda; they tell their viewers what they want to hear instead of telling the truth,” — a bold statement that drew disgruntled murmurs from some in the Milton community and snapping from others. He continued, “during any Trump scandal, look at CNN, NBC, or MSNBC, and they will be covering it, but if you go to Fox News, for example, they will be talking about Syria.” When a student asked him if there was any hope for reconciliation between liberals and conserCONTINUED ON PAGE 4
New Leaders: Day & Boarding Monitors
From left to right: Ify Ofulue (II), Ryan Choi (II), Jack Delea (II), Shayla Kelley (II)
Denuclearization - Page 4
Iran - Page 6
Gambino’s TIA - Page 10
Varsity Sailing - Page 11
Rudy Giuliani - Pages 5
Milton Speakers - Page 7
Junot Diaz - Page 10
New Turf Field- Page 13
Monday, May 21st, 2018
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The Milton Measure est. 1894
The CXXIV Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief John Albright ‘19 & Andrew D’Ambrosio ‘19
Managing Editor Jack Delea ‘19 Nicholas Taborsky ‘19 Layout Editors Derek Cui ‘19
Senior Editors Desi Devaul ‘19 Alana Greenaway ‘19 Eva O’Marah ‘19 Dariya Subkhanberdina ‘19
Web Editor Niall Murphy ‘19 A&E Editors Michael George ‘19 Ethan Furdak ‘20
News Editors David Shaw‘20 Idone Rhodes ‘20
Opinion Editors Olivia Wang ‘20 Pari Palandjian ‘20
Sports Editors Louis Barber ‘20 Blair Englert ’20
Faculty Advisor Liz Matson
News Cameron Hoffman ‘19 Charles Leonetti ‘19 Alexander McEvoy ‘19 Samantha Bateman ‘20 Kiran Biddinger ‘20 Ainsley Iwanicki ‘20 Leydn McEvoy ‘20 Jack Sullivan ‘20 Cece Zinny ‘21 Eliza Dunn ‘21 Ian Glick ‘21 A&E Kelly Han ‘19 Gracie Chiang ‘20 India Claudy ‘20 Katie Conn ‘20 Madeline Fitzgibbon ‘21
Humor Thomas Swirlbalus ‘19 Cole Ehret ‘19 Owen Ryan ‘19 Vicker DiGravio ‘19 Finn O’Brien ‘19
Opinion Yunqing (Star) Hu ‘19 Cade Rose ‘19 Alexander Shih ‘19 Dariya Subkhanberdina ‘19 Ugur Gurol ‘20 Sophie Lachenauer ‘20 Andrew Ma ‘20 Jana Amin ‘21 Shannon Kim ‘21 Sports Will Bucci ‘19 Dylan Hickey ‘19 Zane Bookbinder ‘20 Ben Monnich ‘20 Kavi Shah ‘20 Colin Baker ‘21
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THE MILTON MEASURE IS ONLINE Electronic Copies of The Milton Measure If you would like to begin receiving copies of the Measure via email, please send your email address to Niall Murphy at:
niall_murphy19@milton.edu Letters to the Editors Please either email our editors or mail to: john_albright19@milton.edu & andrew_dambrosio19@milton.edu The Milton Measure 170 Centre Street Milton, MA 02186
Greetings from the CXXIV Editorial Board Let’s be frank: most of you read the Measure for the backpage. While we all like to think of ourselves as politically active and socially aware, the truth of the matter is that when it comes to this publication, the only section that ever sees the light of day is humor. And, admittedly, this selective reading makes sense. As students at such a rigorous institution, we are constantly consumed by a myriad of academic, athletic, extracurricular, and social responsibilities. While we recognize that to read— and effectively understand—a multi-layered article takes a solid amount of our beloved time, in light of both the validity and local relevance of each of our articles, we implore you to take the time to tune in to the voices of your peers. Generally, we’ve observed that the community has largely moved away from listening to the opinions of others and towards consuming convenient, self-confirming content. By promoting a diversity of opinion, the CXXIV Editorial Board encourages the student body to step outside of the comforts of passivity and to break the culture of one-sided conversation. When talking with students on campus, we find the most common Measure critique to be its perceived “censorship.” While the Measure is Milton Academy’s official newspaper, and is thus somewhat limited on what can actually be published, we do feel our differing political opinions will serve as an interesting compromise. As a board diverse in many respects, we want to ensure that various voices continue to be heard across campus. Since the events of last spring left us picking up pieces of the Milton community, our administration—unsure of how to piece it back together—has bent over backwards to integrate cross-cultural dialogue into everyday life at Milton. As the mouthpiece of the Milton community, the Measure must serve as a platform that not only amplifies the voices of our student body, but also challenges us as individuals. This year, the Milton community has dedicated a great deal of time and effort to learning how to foster healthy discussion. While it is true that we have come a long way since last spring, we still have a long road ahead of us. As we creep closer to graduation, we must consider what we hope to accomplish in the upcoming year. Serving as the bridge between youth and young adulthood, Milton means to prepare us for challenges outside of the Milton bubble. When reflecting upon the response to Seminar Day speaker Touré’s keynote address, it soon becomes apparent that our community continues to struggle to hear voices that contradict our own. By focusing on current events and relevant issues, from both inside and outside the Milton bubble, we hope students will become more invested in taking the time to listen to what each of us has to say. Only by stepping outside of the boundaries of comfort will we be able to grow, and so it is our responsibility, as Miltonians, to challenge ourselves by striving to feel comfortable with being uncomfortable. That being said, achieving our goal of advocating for crosscultural dialogue is contingent on the involvement of the student body. We hope that you—as our readers—will help support us in creating an impactful publication through which we can better understand each other.
News
Monday, May 21st, 2018
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Kilauea Volcano Eruption Devastates Hawaii’s Big Island
Leydn McEvoy '20 News Writer Hawaii’s Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has been spewing lava for more than three decades. But in the past week, geysers of lava flown hundreds of feet high, more than a dozen new fissures opened up, and billows of steam and ash have all threatened the communities around Kilauea and forced more than 1,700 residents to evacuate the area, according to CNN. Though volcanic activity has been relatively low in the past few months, earthquakes and changes in the shape of Kilauea have caused the volcano to erupt. The changes in stress in the volcano due to the earthquakes have left devastating effects on communities. The volcano has been erupting since 1983 with some breaks and changes in behavior, according to the United States Geological Survey. However, areas that previously weren’t threatened by the volcano’s low activity have been completely submerged in lava and have caused residents in more populated areas to flee their homes. The lava has destroyed 36 structures—including 26 homes—and submerged 117 acres. Although geologists facilitated early
Helicopter footage of erupting Kilauea volcano warnings to residents, they never predicted the earthquake of a 6.9 magnitude to strike. The earthquake resulted from a built up of magma along the volcano’s rift zone, according to Hawaii News Now, and hasn’t occurred of this size since 1975. This earthquake and a series of smaller ones have opened up 18 fissures, vents formed when the earth’s surface cracks to allow lava to flow through them. With more than a dozen fissures opening up and more predicted to occur at any time, these events are believed to not stabilize anytime soon. The concern of residents and officials are not limited
to the threats of lava. According to Hawaii News Now, the new fissures are releasing deadly levels of sulfur dioxide gas into the air. These toxic fumes will prevent any emergency crews from responding to those affected. Prolonged exposure to high levels of sulfur dioxide can lead to widespread human respiratory problems and difficulty breathing, says the Environmental Protection Agency. The effect is most detrimental to children and the elderly, but if levels are high enough, the gas can hurt even the healthiest of people. The volcano can also produce volcanic fog, or vog, a fume consisting of sulfur dioxide
abc news
and other tiny particles and compounds. Vog forms when sulfur dioxide gas is exposed to sunlight, oxygen, and other compounds. The National Weather Service believes that vog could become more dispersed on the Big Island due to an increase in winds over the next few days. Additionally, the dangerous sulfur dioxide concentrations create acid rain. Though acid rain does not threaten human health, it harms plants and animals and could damage infrastructure. In response to the events, President Trump declared a major disaster in Hawaii on May 8, according to CNN. He announced that federal
assistance would be available to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas most affected by the eruptions and earthquakes. This move comes in response to a request from the Governor of Hawaii, David Ige, for a presidential disaster declaration. Although Hawaii is thousands of miles away, students can get involved with a few clicks of a button to support disaster relief efforts or to help those immediately impacted by the event. GoFundMe, a donation website, created a verified page of campaigns to help people who lost their homes and other personal items. American Red Cross has partnered with AT&T services to develop a line for uses to donate money. AT&T users can text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to Red Cross relief efforts. Although there is certainly some distance between Milton Academy and those affected by these disasters, our empathy and response to the Hawaiians needs should not be undermined.
Puerto Rico Experiences Extended Power Outages
Samantha Bateman ‘20 News Writer Just seven months ago, 1.4 million Puerto Ricans lost power after Hurricane Maria decimated over 80% of Puerto Rico’s power lines, according to Newsweek in April 2018. On Wednesday, April 18th, Puerto Rico fell into darkness yet again when an excavator got too close to an energized power line. This island-wide blackout was the first since the prolonged outages in the fall of 2017. The recent outage did not last very long; by Thursday afternoon, Puerto Rico’s energy provider, the Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority (PREPA), reported that they had restored power to 97% of their customers-- the same percentage that had power
Nuevo Dia. In response, Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello tweeted on April 18th that he suggests PREPA “cancel[s] the contract with the Cobra subcontractor that is directly responsible for this power outage.” Still, many Puerto Ricans are frustrated by these repeated and prolonged outages. Jose Carrillo, a Puerto Rican resident who lost power for three months following Hurricane Maria, told the New York Times, “It’s frustrating. You go three months without electricity and you think you’re getting back to normalcy, and this happens again.” Even Justo Gonzalez, PREPA’s chief operating officer told the New York Times in a telephone interview, “I’m angry. This is the second time
2018, many Puerto Ricans are afraid to buy food for more than a few days because of the concern that yet another outage or power surge will render their household appliances useless. Similarly, Jose J. Villamil, an economist who works for a disaster management company, explained that the outages have hurt businesses who cannot afford to invest in pieces of technology like voltage regulators or generators. Juan de Jimenez Quinones, a Puerto Rican man affected by the outages, summarized, “It hasn’t been easy, man. You know what’s it like to to cook your meals on firewood? It’s like country living,” according to the same Times article. In turn, floods of Puerto Ricans have left the island: according to NYT in
“Just seven months ago, 1.4 million Puerto Ricans lost power after Hurricane Maria decimated over 80% of Puerto Rico’s power lines, according to Newsweek in April 2018. On Wednesday, April 18th, Puerto Rico fell into darkness yet again when an excavator got too close to an energized power line.” before the outage, according to NPR. However, this outage is one in a series of others by the same company. The subcontracting company, D. Grimm, was also responsible for a power outage that affected 870,000 Puerto Ricans just last week according to El
in a row. I give the people of Puerto Rico my word: we are going to restore power in every last house.” Their frustration is understandable: the outages disrupt nearly every aspect of everyday life in Puerto Rico. According to CNN on April
April 2018, nearly 300 schools are expected to close because of a steep drop in enrollment following Hurricane Maria. Many are left wondering why Puerto Rico has struggled so much to get back on its feet. One likely explanation is money. NPR’s Tim
Webber argued last fall that "Puerto Rico's debt crisis has prevented much-needed improvements to power plants that are more than a half-century old." Cost certainly poses a hurdle in restoring power: PREPA is indebted, and be-
organizations to consider. For cash donations, consider ConPRmetidos, a nonprofit based in San Juan which works to raise $10 million to finance long-term repairs to Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, including the power grid, or
cause Puerto Rico is an island, Puerto Ricans already pay higher electricity rates than most people on the U.S. mainland, NPR reported in April 2018. However, the federal government will pay for 90% of the cost for permanent improvements to grid, according to the Associated Press. After April’s outage, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that $2 billion in disaster recovery grants, including some that will go towards improving the grid, will help rebuild Puerto Rican communities. If you are looking for a way to help with the restoration efforts, listed are some
the Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund, which supports specifically low-income Puerto Ricans. Alternatively, organizations such as Casa Pueblo and Lifesafe’s Safe Water Fund help distribute specific supplies and aid to Puerto Ricans. These organizations, with our help, will work to rehabilitate Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans are left struggling and unsure if their alarm clocks will go off tomorrow.
“Their frustration is understandable: the outages disrupt nearly every aspect of everyday life in Puerto Rico. According to CNN on April 2018, many Puerto Ricans are afraid to buy food for more than a few days because of the concern that yet another outage or power surge will render their household appliances useless.”
Monday, May 21st, 2018
Touré , Continued
vatives, Touré replied, “look, I don’t know if we can go back — I mean, Trump supporters, they’re sunk, they’re in a lower place.” Many students let out gasps, while others began to whoop and clap. Some Milton students were taken aback by Touré’s
ed about falsely portraying both sides of an argument as equal, and I believe that for too long in this political climate we’ve treated both sides as equal even though in many cases one is blatantly wrong.” Students continued their
divisive rhetoric. As a reflection of the sensitivity of the topic, most students declined to be quoted by name. Allison Reilly (III) noted, “I thought that many of his statements made unproductive generalizations. Throughout the year, we've talked about promoting dialogue between people with different perspectives, but Touré seemed to shut down those who disagreed with him.” Another student agreed, saying, “he presented his argument in a really divisive way that served to single out groups of people in the community rather than to bring people together to a common understanding of the issue.” On the other hand, one student said, “although Touré was divisive, Touré was telling people what they needed to hear. A message that really connected with me was when he talk-
Seminar Day experience by attending additional discussions, many of them led by Milton alumni or parents. The sessions featured a wide variety of topics, ranging from the lack of Asian representation in government to Boston Children’s Hospital’s Simulator Program (SIMPeds) to social justice. From Toure’s opening address to the diverse seminars that followed, Seminar Day certainly inspired many conversations in the Milton community.
“Some Milton students were taken aback by Touré’s divisive rhetoric. As a reflection of the sensitivity of the topic, most students declined to be quoted by name. Allison Reilly (III) noted, “I thought that many of his statements made unproductive generalizations.”
News
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Day and Boarding Monitors, Cont.
the flashier positions. Meanwhile, Day and Boarding Monitors work in the shadows. They rarely address the whole student body, and when they do, they usually discuss something relatively inconsequential, such as Day Student Breakfast or Boarder Brunch. But the Boarding and Day Monitors have their fair share of responsibilities. Since Boarding and Day Monitors sit on discipline committees, they will help to decide a punishment for anyone who gets into trouble. Appendix VII of the Student Handbook also states that in case a Head Monitor loses their position, Day and Boarding Monitors should “run in the new election.” Boarding Monitors lead the Boarding Council, which addresses boarding student issues, like boarding-only
and Ify Ofulue discussed the addition of more boarder activities. Ryan, from Norris, tells the Milton Measure that he plans on creating a loyalty system with local restaurants so Milton boarders who order food can get discounts. Ify, from Millet, has notably set the school record for Girls’ Discus— 123’ 8”— in her sophomore year. In their speeches, the Day Monitors discussed a reform of the “late to assembly” policy. As it stands, if a day student gets any more than five assembly cuts in a semester, and if a boarder gets any more than two, they will get detention. A student will get an assembly cut if they do not sign in with their class dean before eight o’clock. Jack mentioned in his speech, “I’m hoping to institute a late policy that will keep us day students out of
events and room visitation policies. Day Monitors, on the other hand, lead the Day Council, which addresses issues like parking tickets and day student gear. In their speeches, the boarding monitors Ryan Choi
detention and at parties that have the appropriate number of chaperones and have been cleared by the dean’s office.” Jack also wishes to help bridge the gap between the faculty, the administration, and the students.
“Boarding Monitors lead the Boarding Council, which addresses boarding student issues, like boarding-only events and room visitation policies. Day Monitors, on the other hand, lead the Day Council, which addresses issues like parking tickets and day student gear.”
Shayla, like Jack, lives in Milton. She wants to represent day students well in the SGA, and she wants to distinguish assembly “lates” and assembly “cuts” so day students are not punished as harshly for missing only a few minutes of assembly. Each new member of the SGA wishes to enact some sort of change, but will they do so successfully? Ryan’s loyalty system plan will require extensive communication with restaurant owners, but if restaurants can have loyalty systems for college students, a high school student loyalty system could be possible. Meanwhile, Shayla’s plan to distinguish “lates” and “cuts” would require an amendment to the Student Handbook. Making such a change might be difficult, but as Jack said in his speech, “I can’t really come up with a lot of other particularly pressing issues to day students, but if you think of one let me know and I will hammer it into the administration so goddamn hard that they will be at their knees begging for mercy.” With the ambitious plans and the can-do attitudes shown in their speeches, the new members of SGA can potentially enact some positive change.
North and South Korea Meet to Agree on Denuclearization
Kiran Biddinger '20 News Writer In an effort to win World War II, the United States launched “The Manhattan Project," the pioneering of the nuclear bomb. According to nobelprize.org, the project employed over 200,000 workers and several thousands of scientists. Towards the end of the war, the United States eventually dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan, and revealed to the world the horrific devastation caused by nuclear
manufacture or acquire weapons and non-nuclear states will not make or receive nuclear weapons, all countries have the right to “the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” and nuclear-weapon states will negotiate nuclear and general disarmament. Despite steps taken to control the management and use of nuclear weapons, many people still fear the artillery of North Korea. According to The Guardian, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls his artillery a “powerful trea-
“Despite steps taken to control the management and use of nuclear weapons, many people still fear the artillery of North Korea.” weapons. Since those bombs were dropped, the world has feared and attempted to control nuclear weapons to prevent any recurrence of that level of destruction. According to marketwatch.com, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was signed in 1968. Marketwatch states that signers of the document agree to three main notions: nuclear-weapon states will not help non-nuclear states
sured sword for defending peace” and “a firm guarantee by which our descendants can enjoy the most dignified and happiest life in the world was provided.” In order to project his power to other countries, he has ordered five nuclear tests since 2006, according to the same Guardian article. The regime even claims, in the words of TIME Magazine, that it “is capable of devastating anywhere on
the continental U.S.” Thus, North Korea has given the world much preoccupation about the prospect of nuclear war. However, in recent talks with South Korea, North Korea has given reason to believe that they could soon denuclearize. On April 27th, The New York Times revealed that North Korea and South Korea had agreed to work towards removing “all nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula.” In that summit, the two countries also agreed to work to officially end the Korean War, which still has not had an official ending. NBC states that the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, declared that North Korea “has expressed its commitment to ‘complete denuclearization’ of the Korean Peninsula and is not seeking conditions.” Furthermore, a TIME article announced that China, Japan, and South Korea agreed on March 9th to work together to end North Korea’s nuclear program. A different TIME article detailed that, according to South Korean officials, Kim Jong-Un would exchange his nuclear war-
heads for a non-aggression pact from Washington. The United States and North Korea have agreed to meet and discuss conditions and a possible agreement themselves. TIME reported that U.S. Secretary for State Mike Pompeo personally traveled to North Korea “to
seem committed to reaching a mutually beneficial deal. Even President Trump believes that there is a “good chance” that the denuclearization of North Korea will come soon, according to CNN. Nevertheless, the coming weeks and months will show whether these leaders
“However, in recent talks with South Korea, North Korea has given reason to believe that they could soon denuclearize.” finalize details of a summit planned between President Donald Trump and Kim.” According to the article, Kim Jong-Un offered to, in his words, “lay out a map that would help us achieve [denuclearization]” in his future meeting with President Trump. The U.S. also seems to be committed to working out a deal to denuclearize North Korea, as NBC reports that U.S. Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood announced that “the United States remains committed to complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.” At least to the public eye, both the US and North Korea
are telling the truth or merely putting up a facade for their public reputations. Furthermore, we do not know exactly what North Korea wants in return. Though President Trump tweeted that the U.S. will not have to sacrifice “anything”, North Korea will likely not give up their entire nuclear artillery for the sake of an agreement. In turn, demands from North Korea include the removing of American troops from South Korea and the lifting of sanctions against North Korea. As these discussions occur, people around the world anticipate a long-awaited outcome that could lead to more defining moments in history.
News/Opinion
Monday, May 21st, 2018
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Rudy Giuliani Slips Information on Stormy Daniels Controversy Idone Rhodes ‘20 News Writer At the end of April, Jay Sekulow, Trump’s personal lawyer, announced Rudy Giuliani’s addition to Trump’s legal team. Giuliani is the former New York City mayor and one of Trump’s closest friends. Shortly after Sekulow’s briefing, Giuliani released a statement that his role on the team would be “limited,” and he would be mostly focused on the ongoing Mueller investigations; however, since then, Giuliani’s involvement in Trump’s legal affairs has centered around the news, particularly regarding his statements on the Stormy Daniels controversy. Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, is in the process of suing Trump over a potential cover-up involving some of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign funds. Daniels claims that she slept with Trump in 2006, and Trump has since been threatening her to keep quiet. Reports have come out that in October of 2016, only one month before the presidential election, Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, paid Daniels $130,000 as part of a non-disclosure agreement that required Stormy to not publicly address the affair. Daniels claims that since Trump never signed the document, it is not legally binding. Where the money came has remains unknown as Cohen originally claim-
Giuliani fumes over Stormy Daniels controversy
ing that he himself paid it and Trump later saying that he had reimbursed Cohen. Given the timing of the payment (in its proximity to the election), Stormy’s silence, or lack thereof, could have directly influenced the election. Thus, the most severe
in the Stormy Daniels narrative. On Wednesday, May 9th, Giuliani, while at an interview on Fox News, stated that the “money was not campaign money… [There was] no campaign finance violation.” Moreover, Giuliani stated that Trump had in
“Upon joining Trump’s legal team, Rudy Giuliani has taken on a major role within the Stormy Daniels narrative.” issue with this controversy, aside from the manipulation and coercion that Daniels has faced, is that, if Cohen made the payment on Trump’s behalf, it could be considered an illegal donation for Trump’s campaign. Upon joining Trump’s legal team, Rudy Giuliani has taken on a major role with-
fact reimbursed Cohen for the payment, information which calls into question the credibility of the claim that the money had nothing to do with the election. Trump quickly tried to control the damage after the interview, releasing a statement on Twitter that read, “Mr. Cohen, an attorney,
Politico
received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA.” On that same day, Giuliani, at an interview with Fox and Friends, poured gas on an already raging fire by saying, “Imagine if [information on the Stormy Daniels affair] came out on October 15th, 2016, in the middle of, you know, the last debate with Hillary Clinton,” a statement which suggests a direct connection between the payments and the presidential election. As noted in a CNN article from May 7th, Trump tried once again to fix Giuliani’s mistake by ex-
plaining that Giuliani, still a relatively recent addition to Trump’s staff, was still in the process of “learning the subject matter.” Additionally, Giuliani’s law firm, Greenberg Traurig, which he has since resigned from in effort to focus entirely on Trump, has renounced Giuliani’s comments and said that it does not excuse the potentially illegal nature of Cohen’s actions. On May 8th, Michael Avenatti, Daniels’ lawyer, tweeted that he wanted to have an on-air discussion of the case with Giuliani, to which Giuliani responded that he doesn’t “get involved with pimps.” In early April, an FBI raid on Cohen’s home revealed documents pertaining to Daniels’ case, and, as stated by an April 11th CBS News article, she has since cooperated in the federal investigation surrounding Cohen’s payments and the legality of the non-disclosure agreement. Giuliani has repeatedly stated that Daniels does not have a case since Cohen paid for the non-disclosure agreement to protect Trump’s family, not his campaign. At this point, the future of the Stormy Daniels case and its outcome are truly unpredictable, and one can only wonder what Giuliani will say next.
Kanye’s Words: When Vision Meets Reality, Continued
the embodiment of excessive wealth throughout the 21st century. When considering Trump’s luxurious lifestyle, it comes as no surprise that uprising rappers within the hip-hop industry have been idolizing Trump’s successes as the fruits of a Capitalist economy. By expressing his support for Trump, Kanye is not aligning himself with Trump’s political views. He has continuously expressed that he does not care for politics, and so when evaluating his support for Donald Trump, we must come to terms with the fact that Kanye does not give a damn about what Trump stands for. What Kanye loves about Trump is that Trump is not afraid to “think freely.” When combining Kanye’s public endorsement of Trump with Kanye’s own disdain for the democratic party, West’s devotion to free thought is drowned out by the age-old battle cry of the conservative party: the constitutional right to free speech. Kanye does not want to be limited by his being black; he condemns the democratic party because he refuses to conform to the “mob’s” expecta-
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Kanye poses for picture at red carpet tions just because the “mob” tells him so. When considering the impact of Kanye’s words, we must first recognize that when Kanye talks about slavery, he is talking about the enslavement of the mind. As a black man in constant scrutiny under the limelight of his fame, it comes as no surprise that Kanye is sick and tired of the limitations
placed upon him by society’s definition of what it means to be black. There is no doubt that Kanye has lived a life of being told what he can and cannot be, thus it is only fitting that Kanye hopes to empower black people, yet by the careless way of his words, he unintentionally tore them down. He remained oblivious to the fact that his words sent shrapnel flying at the backs
of those who have stood by him. So, while Kanye’s TMZ interview gave us a glimpse into a deeper, more nuanced point of view that cannot be brushed aside as mere ignorance, the toxicity of his words cannot be ignored. There is a certain responsibility that comes with having a platform of West’s magnitude, so while it is true that his words are of just one man, they’re the words of one man with direct access to the thoughts and feelings of 28.3 million people. Despite the fact that there are those who wish upon him a bullet between the eyes, neither for his actions nor for his words, but for the color of his skin, Kanye wholeheartedly believes that love conquers all. Underneath his outpour of superficial support for the man who wants to “Make America Great Again,” or his words concerning slavery, what Kanye really wants comes down to one thing: love. In spite of his misguided delivery of the message he chooses to send, we can find at the root of all his words that Kanye is clearly fueled by a blinded faith in
humanity, God, and the Universe. He wants to love, to be loved, and wants the rest of us to feel the same way, and yet while this sentiment a beautiful thing, the sad reality is that we cannot look at a broken America through rose-colored glasses. When vision meets reality, reality perseveres; thus, Kanye’s vision lacks insight into where we are socially right now. He may be full of love, but he is also ignorant. His idealistic view of the world comes from a place of comfort and privilege that he has rightfully earned through the grace of his own genius. But, while he leads a life of being an artist and making music, the real world keeps on spinning. Grounded in reality, we know that social and economic marginalization cannot be solved by preaching love. West fails to recognize that oppression goes beyond love. Love is not enough to put an end to a vicious cycle of systematic inequality, and although free love may be his and our ideal vision, we cannot let this vision blind us in enacting real change for the better.
Opinion The Drawbacks of Abandoning The Iran Nuclear Deal
Monday, May 21st, 2018 Ugur Gurol ‘20 Opinion Writer On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, President Trump announced that he would be withdrawing the United States from the Iran nuclear deal. What is the Iran nuclear deal, you might ask? The agreement, reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia), dictated that Iran would disassemble much of its nuclear program and, in turn, the P5+1 would relax their economic sanctions against Iran. Until now, the deal had kept Iran and the P5+1 satisfied, as neither side had violated the terms of the agreement. However, President Trump has adopted a very different stance on the deal than his predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump has found the deal ineffective in its inability to guarantee that Iran will not be able to develop a nuclear weapon in the long run. Thus, he has felt that America was overly generous in lifting economic sanctions on Iran, and, in doing so, made the deal one-sided. Furthermore, he has cited Iran’s continued testing of ballistic missiles and the country’s support of sectarian violence in the Middle East as issues that the deal failed to address. For these reasons, Trump has decided to pull the US out of the deal; however, he has left the door open to re-negotiat-
in Singapore, yet many point out that it doesn’t feel Singaporean. According to the The Establishment, Singapore prides itself on being a multicultural society, with ethnic Chinese making up 74% of the population, Malays 15%, and Indians 7.4%, but keeneyed observers have ranted on Twitter about a majority ethnic Chinese people in the trailer, and only a few brown faces, those of which appear as servants. The lack of South Asians or anyone with dark skin has the internet suggesting new names for the movie: Crazy Rich East Asians and Crazy Rich East LightSkinned Asians. As a misrepresentation of authentic Singapore, the film obscures the
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Hassan Rohani throws cold water over Trump’s decision to pull out from the nuclear deal ing the deal. While Trump’s decision may not be entirely illogical, one cannot help but feel as though his decision was rash, especially in a situation as volatile as this one. Not only does Trump risk furthering himself from important American allies but, more importantly, he risks wiping out the progress that has been made at limiting Iran’s nuclear capabilities. In anticipation of Trump’s pulling the US out of the deal, leaders from France, Germany, and Britain have urged Trump to reconsider his position for months. Although Trump has made his decision official, the rest of the members in the P5+1 have stated that they intend to remain part of the deal. However, a Vox article from May
ing the P5+1’s multiple economic sanctions relaxed, and Iran has not dared to break any terms of the agreement. But now, with Trump taking America out of the deal, the agreement seems vulnerable to collapse as the P5+1 is no longer in unity about how to denuclearize Iran. The disunity that has been created by America’s departure will certainly not help to ensure the sustainability of the deal. Ultimately, the main flaw with Trump’s decision was that it was unnecessary in the fullest sense of the word. The deal has served its purpose, and both sides have remained committed to its principles. While Trump’s fear that Iran would develop a nuclear weapon once the deal expired
Crazy Rich Asians, Continued
Crazy Rich Asians depicts the scandalous lives of Singapore’s elite the racialization of “crazy rich” behavior — does little
“Truthfully, it portrays only the 1% of Asia: those of inconceivable wealth and privilege. The controversy of this movie lies in its possibility of functioning as a source of misinformation to unknowledgeable audiences who could associate this movie with all Asian experiences.” Malay, Indian, and Eurasian populations who make the country the culturally rich and unique place that it is. Additionally, the story of Crazy Rich Asians — and
8th reported that if the US were to reinstate strict “secondary sanctions,” sanctions that punish European banks that do business with Iran’s oil sector, European nations could quickly lose the incentive to stay in the deal as well. By isolating the US from some of its closest European allies, Trump’s relationship with these countries will certainly deteriorate. Not only does Trump’s decision cause him to lose the trust of these allies, but it also makes America seem selfish in an effort that is best conducted collectively. One of the main factors that made the Iran agreement so effective in the first place was the sheer power that the P5+1 yielded globally. Iran’s economy has benefited greatly from hav-
to combat the perception of Asia as a continent stuffed with materialistic, flamboyant billionaires with extravagant lifestyles. Truthfully,
it portrays only the 1% of Asia: those of inconceivable wealth and privilege. The controversy of this movie lies in its possibility of functioning as a source of misinformation to unknowledgeable audiences who could associate this movie with all Asian experiences. However, as an Asian American who grew up watching American films with characters who looked like me but didn’t act like me, I am ultimately thrilled and extremely proud of the upcoming release of Crazy Rich
Entertainment Weekly
Asians. Ashley Lee perfectly concludes on Twitter that this film “is a studio movie with an all-Asian cast, none of whom are doing any martial arts moves or leaning into subservient stereotypes but instead are thriving in designer decadence and universal attractiveness, [thus it] is a pipe dream come true.” The new source of relatability that Asian and Asian American audiences can have towards the storyline and characters of Crazy Rich Asians is a step in the right
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is understandable, his thinking that he could get Iran to sign a better deal is simply unrealistic. The current deal took years to negotiate, and, once again, it is quite unlikely that Trump would be able to convince Iran to sign a permanent deal. If Trump had kept the US in the Iran nuclear deal, who knows—maybe Iran would have wanted to extend the deal once it expired, as the deal has helped get its economy back on its feet. The bottom line is that Trump did not need to take the US out of the deal. Politics involve compromise, and compromise was the only reason why the Iran nuclear deal was reached. But Trump’s pulling the US out of the deal and re-imposing sanctions on Iran could very well cause Iran to lose the incentive to continue with the deal. If Iran regenerates its nuclear program, experts say that Iran could have a nuclear weapon built in a year—a scary prospect. President Trump’s decision was completely uncalled for, and he failed to consider its potential implications. Had he exercised more restraint, we never would have been put in a situation this tense. While Iran has vowed to remain committed to the deal, it is not difficult to imagine things taking a turn for the worse in the coming months.
direction for Hollywood, an industry long criticized for whitewashing Asian characters or not casting Asians in leading roles. Beyond the affluence and extravagance of Rachel’s newfound world is an accurate documentation of the Asian American experience. Rachel’s assimilation into American society has made her a stranger to her ancestral country, and her navigation of her identity as both Chinese and American is an Asian-American experience that is common, yet underappreciated. There is no single movie production that will fulfill the wants and needs of diversity. Crazy Rich Asians can not be seen as a solution to all of Hollywood’s representation issues, as there are still clear matters of misrepresentation, but this movie marks a start to a new era of Asians in the media. For the first time, I am hopeful that I will start seeing more major films with people who look like me and share the same experiences as me, and it is our responsibility to give the forthcoming film the hype and credit it deserves.
Monday, May 21st, 2018
Opinion/A&E
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Milton Speakers: an Echo Chamber in Disguise Andrew Ma ‘20 Opinion Writer Milton’s subpar speakers have included: a religious speaker who isn’t religious, a conservative club speaker who isn’t conservative, and a most recent keynote addresser who fails to bring a valuable keynote. All speakers from this year have a common trend: they are examples of the school’s attempts at appearing nonpartisan but actually exposing its largely one-sided views. Touré, class of ‘89, opened Milton Academy’s Seminar Day 2018 as the Sally Bowles keynote speaker on Wednesday, May 2nd. His message was far from a substantial note; instead, it was an attack on many rightists and, thus, on a percentage—albeit small—of Milton students. As someone who isn’t conservative, assemblies like these have become repetitive, a report on everything wrong with Trump and the other side. I don’t disagree
with all of his points. In fact, it is the opposite. The issue with these assemblies is that by repeatedly affirming the ideas of most Milton students, students can easily become increasingly close minded, and conversations on campus remain largely one-sided without substantial progress. This unwillingness to present students decent arguments from the other side is the exact reason for past conflicts on campus. Let's focus on Milton’s Class of 1952 Religious Understanding Speaker: Megan Phelps-Roper. Megan was raised in the controversial Westboro Baptist Church and was later enlightened by a Jewish leader on Twitter. Megan’s story was productive in teaching us how to communicate with those that we disagree with; however, Megan is non-religious. For a Religious Understanding Speaker, I would argue that the best way to learn about religion is to listen from someone who
still practices it. This way, we could see how someone felt in the moment about his or her ideas, instead of having our opinions confirmed by someone who abandoned a disputed—or to others, misunderstood—religion. Megan wasn’t fully restricted during her childhood. She attended the normal public school, had access to social media and internet, and from what she explained, was loved by her family. Megan was raised poorly in many ways, but her family seemed to have had many relatable qualities and had given Megan many freedoms. A speech talking about one’s dedication to religion would be much more impactful. The Conservative Club assembly had a chance to spark meaningful conversation. Gabriel Gomez was invited because of his past candidacy as a republican. However, many of his views were not conservative, such as pushing for a ban on assault weapons.
Only after the inquiry from one of the Milton students, Gomez stated that he now identifies as independent. During his speech, Gomez exposed Trump’s issues and identified how it was up to our generation to make a change. Again, students’ views were confirmed and no valid points were made for the conservative side. I would much rather have seen proper representation from a political leader who firmly stood on the right. Two weeks ago, Touré, host of The Touré Show, surprised Milton students with unexpected claims. Unfortunately, the statements were not in favor of conservative views. Instead, they were outright attacks on the right’s media and supporters. Touré insisted that Trump supporters were “in a sunken place,” implying that they were mentally lost and not saveable. He also told students that media such as Fox News and reporters like Bill O’Reil-
ly “lie to their audience all the time,” and that stations like MSNBC always put forth indisputable truth. The only issue for left-wing media was “false equivalence,” where media validates the opposing side of an argument to sound unbiased. Ironically, Touré’s claims could be considered biased themselves, as Touré formerly worked for MSNBC. Once again, Milton and student’s perceptions were confirmed with even more exaggeration. A speech from Ben Shapiro or even Bill O’Reilly would have better impacted students. Until Milton Academy is willing to allow real, all-inclusive conversation, tensions will always remain on campus. If Milton brought in people who strongly believed in conservative views and students agreed to respectfully listen, we could snap out of this spell and have progressive, robust, and interesting conversations.
The Problems with Touré’s Keynote Address
Pari Palandjian ‘20 Opinion Editor Seminar day embodies a lot of what I believe our school stands for, the ability and opportunity to get to know other viewpoints and gain knowledge. Milton’s basic function as an institution is to bring students (and teachers) together and, obviously, to be a place where one learns. Milton consists of a diverse community in which opinions often clash, but this discourse is important for a school like ours. Nonetheless, it is statistically likely that liberals vastly outnumber Conservatives on a private school campus located in New England, like Milton’s, therefore the minority may be uncomfortable engaging in debate when they have a viewpoint that is often dismissed as the “other side” and “obviously invalid” because it demonstrates “bigotry” or lack of sophistication. Our debate also does not leave room for centerists, such as a “hypothetical” person who may be pro-choice but also favors a smaller government. I noticed this problem, but
in a much more highlighted way, on seminar day when our very own alum, Touré Neblett, spoke as the keynote speaker. At first, I was pretty excited to see what Touré’s address was going to be like; what is he going to talk about, what is his job like? So, when I stepped into the ACC, I was ready for a pretty cool assembly. Touré began by speaking about his journey as a journalist, a story which was really fascinating to listen to, and mentioned the names of some big artists he has interviewed, like Kanye, Jay-Z, and Q-Tip. He also discussed certain parts about his identity, and I really respected him for sharing them with us. Specifically, where his journey in writing began, which he shared to us in telling us about his experience in college where a classmate deemed him “not really black.” Touré’s overall message seemed to be that he was a truth-seeker, no matter the circumstances, which is clearly an ideal quality for a journalist to have, and which I saw a lot in his openness
while sharing with us. However, I found that he, ironically, had some holes in his reasoning when he began to tell the “cautionary tale” of fake news. Touré warned his audience about Conservative media, like Fox News, and how it reports on opinion rather than fact. He also added that Liberal media constantly has to overcompensate in order to seem unbiased. Though this statement may be true, a fair amount of Liberal sources report on “fake news.” Even Touré’s very own former employer, Rolling Stone, is infamous for publishing a story about a gang rape that was eventually proven to have been fabricated by the accuser. Though this story was redacted, I am surprised that Touré did not raise this example, or any example of Liberal media being mistaken, in tandem to issues with Conservative media. Fake news does not obey partisan boundaries, but Touré portrayed it as if it did, thus demonizing all Conservative media. I also remember Touré admitting that he does not see
reconciliation between the two parties as feasible. He thinks that the Republican party primarily focuses on irrelevant issues and denies the facts of climate change, among other topics. If this point is true, why not engage in discussion to point out certain flaws or share new beliefs? One cannot afford to simply ignore half of the country and count them as irrelevant, even when it may seem ridiculous to have to argue that climate change is, in fact, real; what persuasion ultimately needs is patience. Touré fails to recognize that a large portion of Republicans do not agree with the views of their party that he considers to be defining traits. Though he mentioned one family who disowned the GOP, not all Republicans should have to proclaim themselves to gain Touré’s, and other’s, inherent respect. Touré ignores moderates and focuses on extremism, a selection which I disagree with, for engagement and reconciliation, in my opinion, are essential to progress. Also problematically,
Touré assumes everyone reasonable is a Democrat. Though some may disagree with my interpretation of his words, he said certain things along the lines of, “everyone in here is Liberal, right?” and “I get the feeling a few of you may be Conservative.” The role of sentiments like these is to polarize, not to reach an audience. If Touré does not surround himself with people who disagree with him, he will fail to grow as a person and broaden his perspectives, just as people will fail to recognize the complexity of issues if they get their news from only one source if they don’t follow Touré’s suggestion of consuming a broad “media diet.” The Liberal bubble that Touré lives in does not benefit others or himself, but actually draws him further away from reality. Though Touré was able to tell us about some important traits of being a journalist, and generally had some pretty fascinating stories to share, I cannot credit his presentation with being emblematic of the truth-seeker he claims to be.
Beerbongs & Bentleys: Post Malone’s Varying Musical Content
Kelly Han ‘19 A&E Writer With fans waiting over a year for the release of Post Malone's second studio album, it finally dropped on April 27. Post first began hinting at the album in December 2016 by changing his Twitter alias to Beerbongs & Bentleys and posting a video preview of "rockstar." Although he initially intended to release the
album in December 2017, he delayed the release, tweeting "I'm sorry to let you down, but I need to make sure this album is perfect for you. I'm gonna keep working my a** off and make the best f***ing album ever. I love ya." Post has been known to avoid confining himself to one genre of music; in an interview with DJBooth, Post
explicitly states that he's not a rapper, stressing that he also plays guitar and wants to incorporate a wide range of sounds in his music. This album features eighteen songs ranging from acoustic ballads to more upbeat raps. Following in the footsteps of his debut album Stoney, Post continues to explore the themes of love and
fame. Beerbongs & Bentleys has received mixed reviews from its listeners. On one hand, people have enjoyed the moments in which Post makes himself vulnerable in his lyrics and opens up about his rags-to-riches life, pain, and heartbreak. Listeners have enjoyed the songs "Better Now" and "Over Now," which both describe mov-
ing on from a breakup. Post talks about how he would have done anything for his ex-girlfriend but was ultimately hurt when she took his love for granted – a relatable story for many listeners. Using an acoustic approach, Post’s song "Stay" outlines his struggles in maintaining a relationship. On the other CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
Monday, May 21st, 2018
Centerfold
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Monday, May 21st, 2018
Centerfold
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Does It Measure Up?
Does
Doesn't
Asia Chung (II)
Mikey George (II)
The Weather
The Weather
+Die Lit **
Ye vs. The People
Anything
Nicholas Tasborbi (II)
Laurel
Yanny
Senior Spring
Junior Spring
The CXXIV Editorial Board
TMP36
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Monday, May 21st, 2018
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Childish Gambino Tackles Gun Violence in “This Is America”
India Claudy ‘20 A&E Writer On Saturday, May 5th, Donald Glover, better known as Childish Gambino, released the music video for his brand new track: “This is America.” The rapper won a Grammy for Best R&B performance in January with “Redbone,” featuring a chant of “Stay woke,” fittingly framing the message behind this new video. The audio for “This is America” was artfully crafted, but its video caught much more attention. The video brims with symbolism as to what it means to be black in America. Gambino’s track begins with an upbeat sounding intro and a man peacefully playing the guitar before quickly escalating to a political statement in multiple regards. The first recognizable political statement occurs with the same peaceful man being shot in the head by Childish Gambino. The gun is then carefully removed from the frame and the dead man is nonchalantly dragged off by two men, his wound leaving a bright red streak on the ground. About a minute after the first death, an all-black choir is brutally murdered, again by Childish Gambino. This second instance with gun violence comes with more surprise, as the machine gun used is quickly thrown on camera for Gambino to use; the unexpectedness of the shooting leaves
Childish Gambino shows his moves in viral music video viewers shocked. The gun is again tended to with care, while the choir is left lying lifelessly on the ground. CNN interprets this juxtaposition to reflect America’s placing the importance of guns above its citizens. Childish Gambino’s and director Hiro Murai’s clear statement on gun violence strikes a poignant chord with the current national conversation on gun laws and shootings. Childish Gambino’s dancing elucidates a second demonstration on modern blackness in America. The Guardian suggests that Childish Gambino’s exaggerated dancing and facial expressions represent Jim Crow’s caricature, a racist depiction of a black man.
This comparison to Jim Crow displays that even in modern America, black people feel the judgements and hate linked with the caricature and live in the “new Jim Crow” era. Throughout the video, Childish Gambino is center in the frame, dancing in this accentuated style. His movement proves quite distracting from the abundance of violence and action occurring in the background. The rapper is sometimes joined by younger black dancers, clad in school uniforms, doing the latest popular dance moves. In distracting viewers from what occurs in the back of the video, Gambino mirrors how media and citizens focus more on the newest dance moves than the real,
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appalling issues of our time; our culture would rather celebrate black people for their ability to dance than appreciate their culture and make an effort to end racism and violence. A third example of Gambino’s video creating multiple political messages is the statement he makes on the police. Police cars are shown throughout the video, however police officers are never seen. The absence of police remind viewers of the lack of police enforcement where it is needed and the repeated brutality on innocent black men. The Guardian also notes significance to “this is a celly/ that’s a tool.” This lyric could refer to the recent shooting of Stephon Clark, thought to be holding a weapon when
shot brutally by the police. The “weapon” was only a cellphone. Part of the video shows a few black men documenting the disorder below them on their phones. With over 55 million views in just four days, this video has certainly caught the attention of the nation, that of which Childish Gambino criticizes. Some find the video uncomfortable to watch, many find it to perfectly capture America’s cruelty to black people, and most find it powerful. No matter how one perceives the video, all can agree that it leaves viewers with much to discuss and to contemplate. Gambino’s fellow artists, such as Janelle Monae, have applauded the artist for the brave and strong stance he took in his video. Gambino and Murai created a masterpiece of symbolism and truth in this video, making it both easy to recognize and difficult to accept that this, in fact, is the country we live in. The video closes with Childish Gambino sprinting towards the camera, a mask of fear on his face. White people chase him in the background. The viewer must decide what symbol Gambino refers to in this last clip; It could be the police, or, simply, America.
Junot Diaz Faces Sexual Assault Allegations
Gracie Chiang ‘20 A&E Writer In the era of the #MeToo and “Time’s Up” movements, more and more people are finding the courage to speak out against rape culture by sharing their stories of truth, bravery, and perseverance. These victims’ stories help inspire others, like renowned author Junot Diaz, to share their own stories. According to the New Yorker, on April 16th, Junot Diaz, one of The New Yorker’s “20 under 40 fiction writers,” a Pulitzer Prize winner, and an author frequently read here at Milton, shared an essay on how he was raped. Published in the New Yorker, Junot Diaz’s essay “The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma” addresses “X”, a person who questioned Diaz on the fact that many of his books allude to sexual abuse, wondering if Diaz himself had been abused. Initially, Diaz denied it and buried his fears deep inside himself. However, after hearing others talk about their experiences, Diaz realized his “silence would not protect [him],” leading
him to share his story. In his essay, Diaz writes about how he was raped when he was only eight years old by an adult whom he truly trusted. In the essay, he shares ways in which “it f**cked up [his] whole life.” Diaz both writes about his battles with depression and rage and also explains his multiple attempts at suicide. He explains how “[his] rape defined [him]” and interfered with his ability to have healthy relationships with others. Junot Diaz’s powerful and emotional writing caused waves of shock, but also of support. So, when Diaz was presenting at the Sydney Writers Festival and a member of the audience asked him how after being raped himself, he could turn around and abuse her, people were shocked. Within the following days, Junot Diaz withdrew from the rest of the festival, other women began accusing Diaz of abusive and inappropriate behavior, and Zinzi Clemmons, the audience member who originally accused Diaz, shared the rest of her story. According to The New
York Times, Zinzi Clemmons tweeted that she was a graduate student at Columbia University when she invited Junot Diaz to come speak at a workshop on issues of representation in literature. However, Clemmons writes that Diaz “used it as an opportunity to corner and forcibly kiss me.” Clemmons’ stories sparked others to speak out, like Monica Byrne who, in a post on Facebook, shared her story of how, at a professional dinner, Diaz continually made incredibly misogynistic comments. Finally, after Diaz repeatedly verbally assaulted her by screaming the word “rape” in her face, she left the dinner early feeling “speechless and sick.” However, Zinzi Clemmons and Monica Byrne are not alone; many other women have come out saying Diaz treated them aggressively and disrespectfully. But sadly, Junot Diaz is not the only figure in the literary world under fire for sexual harassment. Many other authors and figures in the literary world have started being accused of sexual harassment. The same day as Junot Diaz was first ac-
cused, the Nobel Prize for literature, one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world, was cancelled for 2018 following sexual assault scandals involving academy members. According to the Guardian, eight out of eighteen members of the academy resigned due to sexual assault scandals, leaving the panel with not enough people to properly decide a winner. The award will be given out next year instead, yet 2018 will still mark the first time in over seventy years that the Nobel Prize for literature has not been awarded. Additionally, according to The Washington Post, over the course of this year many other authors like Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why, and James Dashner, author of Maze Runner, have been accused of sexual harassment. Since then, both of these authors have been dropped by their agents and publishers. However, although Junot Diaz has not yet been dropped by his agent or publisher, he has stepped down as chairman of the Pulitzer Prize board. Further-
more, many bookstores have begun pulling his books off their shelves. Here at Milton, some English classes read Diaz’s books, like The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Drown, however Ms. Sabin, head of the English department, says she is unsure whether her department will continue teaching his books. On the one hand, regardless of Diaz’s actions, his books are still incredibly good and students benefit from reading them, but, on the other hand, having students buy his books benefits Diaz. Although it is unclear exactly what repercussions these accusations will have on Junot Diaz’s career, one thing is for certain: despite his tragic childhood experiences with rape and his popularity as an author, his actions will not go unpunished.
Sports/A&E
Monday, May 21st, 2018
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NBA Playoffs Roll on to Conference Finals
Kavi Shah ‘20 Sports Writer So far, basketball fans have been treated to close games, upsets, and plenty of altercations in the NBA playoffs. The conference finals are underway, and the four remaining teams are each looking for a spot in the finals. The Western Conference playoffs have turned out how everyone expected them too. The Warriors and Rockets, the top two teams in the NBA, are battling it out for a spot in the Finals. For both these teams, the road to the 3rd round was relatively easy. The one seed Houston Rockets have arguably been the most consistent team in the NBA. The team is led by a dynamic backcourt featuring MVP frontrunner James Harden and All-Star point guard Chris Paul. In the first two rounds, the Rockets handled both the Timberwolves and the Jazz in five games. The path to the Semi-finals has been equally laid back for Golden State. They started the playoffs without their leading scorer Steph Curry, but they still managed to beat San-Antonio in five games. Kevin Durant and Quinn Cook stepped up for the Warriors to make up for the absence of Curry. The Warriors went on to face the red-hot New Orleans Pelicans who came off a sweep in the first
Cavaliers’ Kyle Korver shoots a three-pointer in the TD Garden round. Steph Curry returned from his foot injury for the second game of that series, and the Warriors won 4-1. The Golden State Warriors have dominated the Western Conference for the last three seasons, and they were heavy favorites to repeat this season until the Rockets emerged as a legitimate contender. Prior to the season, the Rockets made their intentions clear when they brought in Chris Paul from L.A., they too wanted a team that could compete with Golden State for the Western Conference title. While the Rockets have been nearly perfect throughout the season when all their players were healthy, most experts have doubts about whether their greatness will translate to the playoffs. The
tempo of the regular season suits the Rockets style of play; there is very little time to prepare for opponents, so any team can run the same plays regardless of opponents. In the playoffs, however, the Warriors will have time to plan how to shut down Harden and Paul. Between the two, the Warriors are clearly the more talented team; they start four All-Stars while the Rockets only have one. The Rockets have definitely been the better team all season, but the Warriors are still clear favorites with their ability to game plan effectively in the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference, the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics will face off for a spot in the Finals. The
NBA
road for both of these teams was somewhat improbable. Cleveland finished with a 5032 record in the regular season, which for a LeBron led team was an underachievement. The Cavs struggled all season after trading star point guard Kyrie Irving in the offseason. So far this season, this team has just been a collection of talented players that can’t play well together, but LeBron’s greatness was able to counter his team’s deficiencies for the most part. Despite this, the Cavs were still the favorites to win the east throughout the season. LeBron James lead teams have won the east in the past seven years. The Cavs road through the playoffs was bumpy; they faced an elimination scare after
the Indiana Pacers took them to seven games. It took the Cavs nearly forty points per game from LeBron in the series to beat the Pacers. In the second round, they faced the number one seed in the east, Toronto Raptors. LeBron has a rich history with the Raptors in the playoffs, he beats them nearly every year. This year was no different. The Cavs swept the Raptors in a demoralizing series for the Raptors. The Celtics, on the other hand, spent their offseason last year acquiring two All-Stars after losing to the Cavs. Despite boasting 53 wins last season, the Celtics decided to start from scratch. They brought in Gordon Hayward from Utah and traded for Kyrie Irving from Cleveland. Through the playoffs, the Celtics have shattered expectations behind the brilliance of their coach Brad Stevens. The beat Milwaukee in 7, and they stunningly beat the dynamic 76ers in five games despite the injuries that have plagued the Celtics all year long. The Cavs and the Warriors once again find themselves as favorites to advance to the finals for the fourth straight year. In this year’s conference finals, we will all be in for a treat.
Milton Sailing Shines at the National Stage
Lou Barber ‘20 Sports Writer In Natick, Massachusetts, on May 5th and 6th, the Milton Girls’ Sailing team competed in the 3rd annual 2018 Linda Juliano Women's Team Race Championship, a prestigious competition offered to New England sailors. NESSA, the organizers of the competition, created the event to promote gender inclusion. Prior to the race, experienced instructors educated the girls’ team about technique and success in a male-dominant sport. Although the event did not affect their ranking in New England, Juliano’s Race alters team camaraderie, for better or for worse. During the race, Milton encountered challenging conditions on Lake Cochituate; however, the girls excelled amidst the
hand, his song "Rich & Sad” has received some negative responses. It emphasizes Post's current life of grandeur, referencing numerous items of luxury and exuding a level of pompousness. "Psycho" demonstrates his fixation on material luxuries with lines explaining how his neck is "so goddamn cold" be-
taxing weather due to their impressive communication and strong execution. Following an undefeated first round, Milton proceeded to the semifinals along with Sharon, Wellesley, and St. George’s. Unfortunately, Milton fell against Sharon 3-1. The girls unfortunately experienced unexpected wind, contributing to their defeat. Plus, the adjustment from the usual breezy practice location, Marina Bay, to the waters in Natick proved to be a struggle for the team. Following their loss, Milton competed against Wellesley and St. George’s. A rejuvenated Milton team won these two races and, as a result, finished 3rd overall. The skippers, consisting of Amelia Carlson, Julia O'Conner, and
Charlotte Kane, along with the crew members, Isabel Alex, Alexandra Barron, and Abi Borggaard, took home embroidered lunch bags as their 3rd place prize. Amelia Carlson of Class III experienced success as a lead skipper and vocalized leadership to her fellow sailors. According to Coach Pederson, “Repeatedly, Amelia helped her team get out of tight situations. This was her strongest performance at Milton Academy. Over the last two years, she has approached team racing in an extremely academic fashion, constantly reflecting on previous situations and asking hypothetical tactical questions. I was so excited to see these efforts translate into tremendous leadership and success on the water this weekend.” Coach wishes for
Amelia to continue her leadership through the rest of Milton’s sailing campaign. In her varsity debut, Abi Borggaard, a Class III student, asserted herself into the crew and vocalized support for her fellow sailors. As stated by Coach Pederson, “Abi Borggaard managed to revitalize the team after the first loss in the consolation final with her optimistic spirit, and, ultimately, we defeated Wellesley for 3rd place.” Coach Pederson believed Abi’s acts of reconciliation were essential to Milton’s victory against Wellesley and St. George’s. Regarding Milton’s execution, Alexandra Barron, a Class III crew member said, “The team worked really well together. Near the end of the day we started getting tired,
Beerbongs & Bentleys, Continued
cause of all the diamonds he wears – diamonds he gets "by the boatload." Although Post does touch on the downsides of success and wealth, the emptiness and misery, he continues to flaunt his money and behaviour towards women with songs like "Spoil My Night" and lines like "I ain't even see the face, but
she got beautiful boobies – wow!" Post also exemplifies his wild, partying lifestyle with the songs "Zack and Codeine" and "Takin' Shots." Clearly, Post Malone wants to share every detail of his everyday lifestyle. Overall, the response to Beerbongs & Bentleys has been overwhelmingly posi-
tive. It debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard 200, selling an equivalent of 461,000 units in its opening week. The day after its release, Spotify announced that Beerbongs & Bentleys broke both the United States and global one-day streaming records, and a week later, Spotify announced that the
but we were able to pull it together and work as a team in order to win against Wellesley and St. George’s.” Alexandra expects the team to manage their fatigue well and continue to rack up victories in Milton’s postseason races. Overall, the team placed 3rd out of ten teams in the 2018 Linda Juliano Women's Team Race Championship. After successfully adjusting to different weather conditions, the girls team outshone competing schools. Milton’s comeback performance at the race demonstrated grit and a great team’s desire to succeed. Hopefully, Milton sailing can continue their triumphant run at the Phebe King Memorial Trophy, a national event that takes place in Annapolis on May 12th and 13th.
album also broke the United States and global first-week streaming records without over 411 million and 236 million streams respectively. Post Malone’s success continues to climb, and his variety of content certainly contributes to his increasing popularity.
Monday, May 21st, 2018
Sports An Update: Milton’s Varsity Tennis Teams Dominate
Blair Englert ‘20 Sports Writer Both the Milton Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis teams are winding up very successful seasons. The boys’ team currently has a record of 10-2 and was only defeated by St. Sebastian’s and Roxbury Latin. The match against St. Sebs was a fight, but unfortunately, St. Sebs snuck by with an 8-7 win. The next day Milton rebounded against Belmont Hill. When asked about what he thought was the highlight of the season, Mikey George responded, “Probably the win over Belmont Hill.” This match was particularly important because it was a big upset in the ISL. With only a couple of matches left in the regular season in addition to New Englands, the boys’ team has a chance to continue dominating for the remainder of the season. The girls’ team has also had an impressive season so far. The only match they conceded was against Phillips Andover. Besides that one outlier the girls have dominated the rest of their matches. Senior captain, Natalie Wamester, commented on the best part of the season by
Milton Academy Boys’ Tennis Instagram
Boys’ Varsity Tennis stares down its next opponent explaining, “I think the main highlights were the spring break trip in San Diego and our win against Exeter. We spent a week with MABVT in La Jolla, California, training and bonding together and it was a really memorable experience. Our win against Exeter was also a highlight, as it was a really close match.” The team has many crucial players, such as the seniors, Natalie Wamester, Charis Palandjian, and Christine
Flately. All of these seniors have played in the top spots of the ladder and have made significant contributions to the team’s success. Both Natalie and Christine are competitive tournament players, who have inspired the youngers girls on the team and have led by example this season. Charis has also been really beneficial to the team because she has advanced racket skills from other sports that have propelled her to the
next level. Another player who has been impactful this season is eighth grader, Riya Singh. Riya has been playing in the first position on the team and is undefeated so far. It is really exciting to have a player like Riya on the team, as she is an impressive young player who will really help the team in coming years. Looking ahead to the end of the girls’ season, the team will be heading to New England’s along with battling Nobles. Natalie explained
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that the girls are “looking forward to New England’s, as we did not perform well last year and we hope to bounce back this time.” Both the girls’ and boys’ teams have played some really exciting matches and have performed extremely well. Not only have teams had positive results, but they have also built a close-knit community with each other. When asked about what she would miss the most from the team, Natalie answered, “I will miss the members of the team most next year. Having such a small group, we have grown to be more like a family than a team. My relationship with the team is unlike any of my other friendships, as there are many jokes and moments that I couldn't imagine sharing with anyone else.” The seniors will greatly be missed next year on both the girls’ and the boys’ teams not only for their contributions, but also for their leadership and positive presence. The upbeat attitude of the seniors has allowed both teams to excel on and off the courts.
NFL Draft Full of Surprises and Controversies Ben Monnich ‘19 Sports Writer In the three days between April 26 and April 28, the lives, dreams, and aspirations of 256 college football players were fulfilled through the NFL draft. NFL teams select the best college players to play professional football and contribute towards team success. Typically, the worst teams in the league have the first picks in the draft, as those teams are most in need of strong players. What the draft centers around is is finding the star in the rising draft class. While legends such as Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman have been the first round draft picks, countless other top picks have greatly underperformed in the NFL. Since the future of an NFL team is often decided on draft day, the NFL teams prepare and scout intensively to determine their picks. The Cleveland Browns, coming off of a winless season, had the first overall pick in the draft this year. The Browns, having not made the playoffs since 2002, needed a draft pick to give their team a boost. They decided to pick Baker Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from Oklahoma University. With this pick, the Browns hope to finally quell their quarterback and turnover troubles, and start to rebuild their franchise.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell opens 2018 draft Similarly, the New York Giants, had an extremely disappointing season in 2017, as ESPN ranked them 26th out of 32 teams in rushing offense, with only 1,549 yards over the course of the year. The team drafted the highly praised Saquon Barkley, the star running back out of Penn State. Seeking to re-establish that same dominant play that led them to the AFC conference championships in 2010, their third round pick was Sam Darnold, the highly touted quarterback out of USC. In this years draft, there was a multitude of surprises and highlights, from unpre-
dicted choices to hope-inspiring guests. One of the biggest highlights of this draft was the Seahawks’ selection of Shaquem Griffin, a linebacker from the University of Central Florida with only one arm, in the 5th round of the draft. Griffin’s success in the draft already makes him something of a role model to young football fans who face various disabilities or other challenges. Another notable event in the draft was the controversy surrounding University of Wyoming’s star quarterback, Josh Allen. Originally predicted to be among the first selected players, Allen’s fate
sportsonearth.com
in the draft change when tweets of his, which contained very discriminatory and hateful language around race and sexuality, surfaced. This controversy led many teams to rightfully doubt his character, and no team was certain as to when he would be drafted. Ultimately, he was drafted seventh by the Buffalo Bills, a team in desperate need of that one player to turn the franchise into a top-tier team. Derrius Guice, a very talented running back from LSU, or Louisiana State University, and his draft experience surprised many fans and scouts. Guice, who was
projected to be drafted in the first round or the early second round, fell to the fifty-seventh pick at the tailend of the second round. His fall was most likely due to his hostility towards players when visiting the Eagles according to SB Nation. With the draft, many teams established the future of their franchise. Teams like the Browns, Jets, and Giants, who are all desperate for change, went for players around whom they could build their franchise. On the other hand, already strong teams like the Falcons and the Patriots, who added firstclass wideout Calvin Ridley to their already stellar receiving core as well as the agile, pass catching running-back in Sony Michel respectively, looked to continue with their success and fill in any weak slots. The draft could entirely change the league, so fans, players, and NFL management all look forward to next year to see how the everchanging NFL is different next season.
Sports/A&E Turf Field Coming Soon to Milton Academy
Monday, May 21st, 2018 Dylan Hickey ‘19 Sports Writer With the long sought intentions of a new turf field coming to Milton Academy finally coming to life, it may be fitting to find out what the field will really look like and what effect it could have on Milton’s aesthetic. In the new era of modern sporting, turf has not only become an opportunity to play on but a necessity in high school sports. Milton Academy, until the announcement to create a new turf field for next school year, was one of two ISL schools that did not have a turf surface. This absence of turf puts Milton at a large disadvantage in multiple sports, mainly in lacrosse and field hockey, sports which are almost exclusively played on turf. Caroline Guden (III), a Varsity field hockey player at Milton said, “Yes, field hockey from grass to turf is a completely different game.” Now that turf is on its way to Milton, many players and coaches have expressed their excitement about the new field. In talking with many athletes who may play on the turf next year about what they thought about the new field, they all agreed that the turf will cause a big, positive change in terms of play style, rain outs, and preparation and many other facets of the game. Amy Shohet (II), a Milton Academy Varsity lacrosse goalie said, “from being able to have preseason practices on a real field to simply not having to reschedule games
Bird’s eye view of proposed turf field due to rain cancellations, to being able to practice and play on consistently the same surface throughout the week, turf will be a great addition to our athletic facilities,” expressing her enthusiasm in the highly anticipated new field. Eva O’Marah (II), a Varsity Field Hockey player pointed out that the turf is “so much more weather-durable. Our field would always get super mucky and we wouldn’t be able to practice sometimes for days. With turf, that’s not an issue.” Serena Fernandopulle (II), a Girls Varsity lacrosse player notes she is “really excited about the turf field next year because every other team we play plays on turf, so it would be great to be able to practice on turf in order to be more ready for away games!” Many athletes
touched on not being able to play in the rain more often as well as being more prepared for away games played on the turf surface. All the teams with turf fields at their expense seem to have a clear advantage on the field so the question has to be asked: will the new turf make Milton more competitive with other teams? According to Caroline Guden (III) the turf “will help us raise our game. Every other team we play has turf and most of the time we were spending practice time traveling to Thayer’s turf to prepare for away games.” She discerned that Milton may not gain an edge over other teams, yet will be able to play with teams who consistently played on turf in the past. Assistant Varsity Field Hockey coach, Amy Hickey,
milton.edu
said the absence of turf has caused a “disadvantage that we have had to overcome by coaching our kids to play on two different surfaces particularly in field hockey where the ball is predominantly on the ground.” The field hockey team, in particular, gets placed at disadvantage because the game has evolved so that nearly every game must be played on turf, but this fault will no longer plague the field hockey team. A whole new game and play style can sometimes be born from the arrival of new turf. For field hockey this is definitely the case. Caroline Guden (III) pointed out that “field hockey from grass to turf is a completely different game. There are so many skills that you just can’t do the same on grass. Grass slows the game down.” Coach
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Hickey went into specifics to say that “our athletes can develop bad habits playing on grass like playing too upright or too close together when turf teams know to how stretch the field. Goalkeepers need to have faster reaction time, need to move laterally quicker, and be ready for different types of shots that are easier to do on turf.” Not only will the turf help Milton on the field, but also the aesthetic will appeal to prospective students. Eva O’Marah said “it almost felt ridiculous to not have one at this point...It’ll just be great all around to have [turf] at home.” With almost every other team in the ISL having turf, turf makes any school look so much better and much more modernized. Although Milton’s grass is well kept and looks great, not having turf can easily turn some athletes away from the school. Amy Shohet mentioned how “recruits would see it as a good opportunity to play on the same surface that they would in college. The turf will look good and make the overall athletics facility have a larger appeal.” The groundbreaking ceremony for the turf was on Monday, May 14th and the construction on Voses field will start on that Monday and take place over the summer.
Review on Avengers: Infinity War (Spoiler-free) Michael George ‘19 A&E Writer Avengers: Infinity War tells the story of an intergalactic criminal named Thanos, who traverses star systems as he tortures and kills various adversaries in order to gather six super-powerful Infinity Stones. Once he's collected all six, he will be able to achieve his vision of annihilating half of the universe’s population to preserve finite resources and restore "balance." The only thing standing in his way are the Avengers, led by Iron Man, Captain America, and a string of newcomers including Spider-Man and Black Panther. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have been the latest in Marvel’s string of lesser known filmmakers to be brought on to this kind of a project. They previously directed Captain America: Civil War, which despite featuring a large band of heroes and a monumental story, remained incredibly focused. Even with the hype around Infinity War, which has been building since
the first Avengers film in 2012, the Russo brothers’ were strong choices to have undertaken the project, and their vision is mostly well executed. For a 160-minute operatic drama that packs 76 characters and six plotline into one story, the film holds together pretty well. The story jumps around and not all characters are all allotted their deserving screen time, but because the film faced so many challenges, the fact that it works at all is a small miracle. Admittedly, the humor at times is somewhat puerile, pandering to a new, younger generation of fans for when the current one grows weary of Marvel films from superhero fatigue. For the most part, it is clever, selfaware, and impactful. It also features a jab from wrestlerturned-actor Dave Bautista that ranks among one of the greatest improvised lines in cinematic history. Where the comedy shines the most is in the dynamics of our main characters. At the clashing of egos, the humor sticks well
and the levity reminds us why we love these characters. In Infinity War, the Russo brothers accentuate Marvel's "just kidding" sensibility that Marvel has used as a refreshing counterweight to the fashionable “dark and gritty” filmmaking that has become a global pop culture default in the past decade. But, as is often the case in Russo-directed Marvel movies, the humor comes across more vividly than the action. Until the third act, they capture both the violent action and the emotional moments in either a boringly flat or frantically hacky manner. The film is somewhat monotonous and too heavily relies on the audience’s previously established love for the characters to keep us invested in the story. The story tries to present a fascinating theme of the triumph of pathos over logos. There are a number of moments where our heroes are presented with an opportunity to defeat Thanos, but allow their emotions for others
to stop them. However, the film has little to say on the topic and rather sprinkles it throughout the movie. Largely, the film avoids risk, and with so much pressure on the filmmakers, their decision to do so is understandable, but every chance taken in their previous Marvel entries, such as the espionage tone of Winter Soldier or the introduction of Black Panther in Civil War, yielded great results. Again, in Infinity War, the two ambitious risks taken are some of the most laudable aspects of the film. The first is the direction the film took on Thanos, who is as wistful and lonely as he is arrogant and menacing. He is an agent of pure chaos, like an Old Testament curse come to life, picking people up by their skulls and deconstructing them into three-dimensional puzzles with a wave of his hand. The movie completely centers around him, almost treating him as the story’s protagonist, and the payoff is tremendous. The second risk is the finale. The third act of
this film makes Infinity War the first movie in the MCU to leave audiences both shocked at the present and unsure of the future. For the first time since 2008, audiences can only loosely speculate the next series of events in the MCU and that to me is really exciting. Marvel as a corporation understands that it is at its best when it takes risks, but even its highest regarded pair of directors cower away at the fear of audience disapproval. Avengers: Infinity War is currently sitting at an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and has grossed 1.3 billion dollars worldwide. I’m ranking it a 6/10.
Monday, May 21st, 2018
John Albright
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Andrew D’Ambrosio
Nicholas Taborsky
Position: Editor-in-Chief
Position: Editor-in-Chief
Position: Managing Editor
Hometown: Cohasset, MA
Hometown: Beverly, MA
Hometown: Needham, MA
Celebrity Crush: 40 Year-Old Macaulay Culkin
Celebrity Crush: Desi DeVaul (II)
Celebrity Crush: Danny DeVito
Strangest Fear: My mother
Strangest Fear: People choosing me as their least favorite board member
Strangest Fear: Tuberculosis Worst Memory at Milton: Class IV English with Desi DeVaul (II) Favorite Cheese: Milk Least Favorite Board Member: Nick Tascorbee Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: Megalodon
Jack Delea
Worst Memory at Milton: Math class Favorite Cheese: Swiss Least Favorite Board Member: Nick Tabrosky Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: A stray cat
Worst Memory at Milton: People choosing me as their least favorite board member Favorite Cheese: Yogurt Least Favorite Board Member: Neek Tabreesky Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: A Hippo
Derek Cui
Desi Devaul
Position: Managing Editor
Position: Layout Editor
Position: Senior Editor
Hometown: Brookline, MA
Hometown: Beijing, China
Hometown: Milton, MA
Celebrity Crush: Emily Oberg
Celebrity Crush: Alicia Vikander
Celebrity Crush: Margot Robbie
Strangest Fear: Brigadier General Richard F. Johnson
Strangest Fear: Having Steve Buscemi as my cell mate
Strangest Fear: Wet Socks
Worst Memory at Milton: Being tickled by Tanay Srivastava (II)
Worst Memory at Milton: Flik-fried kale
Worst Memory at Milton: Mikey Winning Head Monitor
Favorite Cheese: Parmesan
Favorite Cheese: Monterey Jack
Least Favorite Board Member: Neek Tabasco
Least Favorite Board Member: Nick Tasporby
Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: Tobacco Hornworm
Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: Duck
Favorite Cheese: Brie de Melun Least Favorite Board Member: Nick Tasborbi Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: Salmon
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Monday, May 21st, 2018
Eva O’Marah
Alana Greenaway Dariya Subkhanberdina
Position: Senior Editor
Position: Senior Editor
Position: Senior Editor
Hometown: Dedham, MA
Hometown: Milton, MA
Hometown: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Celebrity Crush: Eric Dane
Celebrity Crush: Michael B. Jordan
Celebrity Crush: Jake Gyllenhaal
Strangest Fear: Water Droplets
Strangest Fear: Ketchup
Strangest Fear: Feet
Worst Memory at Milton: barely TAPPING Dan Hernon’s (II) car and being made fun of for it for the rest of my Milton career
Worst Memory at Milton: Reading The Milton Paper
Worst Memory at Milton: Getting an E on my French exam this year hehe
Favorite Cheese: New York Extra Sharp Cheddar
Favorite Cheese: A voluptuous slab of brie (soft)
Least Favorite Board Member: Nixk Taborsky
Least Favorite Board Member: Nik Tabdorky
Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: Mustang #MiltonPride #DareToBeTrue
Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: A common toad
Favorite Cheese: stick type Least Favorite Board Member: Nik Tabourski Animal You Would Ride Into Battle: Sloth
Meet the Milton Measure CXXIV Editorial Board!
Monday, May 21st, 2018
Humor
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Overheard at The Academy “Girls’ soccer. Care.” - Danny Ventura, The Boston Herald “Can I get your IA? I left my steroids in the gym” - Nick Zuccotti (II) *Stuttering and incoherent noises* - Cole Ehret (II) “You tryna squad up in Zombs?” - Junior DSGs “Ok guys, let’s get the May birthdays up here for some double dutch” - Class Reps “nO, I dOn’T HaVE LiCe” - Spanish Exchange “Yo hit my line for a beat package” - Tanay “Slump T” Srivastava (II) “I hit your car...but don’t worry my insurance will cover it” - Eva O’Marah (II) “Being asked to Boat Dance is truly a life-changing experience” Anonymous Underclassmen Girl “So this is why Kanye won’t do interviews with me…” - Touré