Deerfield Scroll: May 26, 2010

Page 1

Vol. LXXXV, No. 2

DEERFIELD ACADEMY, DEERFIELD, MA 01342 May 26, 2010

2010 Commencement Rush McCloy ’92 Back on Campus By NINA SHEVZOV-ZEBRUN Staff Writer

effort on combating the use of bottled water on campus. Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator and the head of ESAC, Kristan Bakker, explained that water bottles are both “environmentally and economically impractical.” Peer schools have already banned the sale of bottled water, just as other, like-minded environmental groups have sought to eradicate them on campuses across New England. To reduce the necessity of bottled water, ESAC plans to place water spigots in the bathrooms of each dormitory hall. So far, Barton, Rosenwald-Shumway, McAlister, and Field dormitories have the facility installed. “Hydration stations,” or water fountains for filling reusable water bottles, are also planned for nearly all academic buildings. One has already been installed in the library. Director of Food Services Florrie Paige, who works on behalf of the dining hall with ESAC, reported that there was a “very good feedback from students.”

In addition to these two initiatives, unlike in the past, the Dining Hall no longer served bottled water on last Parents’ Weekend. This move, according to the dining hall, saved 2,800 plastic bottles. Surprisingly, Ms. Paige noted that, “There were no comments from parents or students.” Clearly bottled water is not missed. Most notably, ESAC has worked with the deans to remove fridges from student rooms. Mrs. Bakker asserted that fridges are “always on, use energy when they are empty, and are more energy inefficient when smaller.” The decision to eliminate refrigerators followed the lead of peer schools, including Hotchkiss, Exeter, NMH, Andover and Choate, all of which already have bans in place on refrigerators. Of those, Andover, Hotchkiss, and Choate also have a ban on the sale of bottled water on their campuses. Despite some student resistance, the removal of fridges is no doubt another success for the environmentally conscious as the school year winds down.

A navy lieutenant, private equity investor, and entrepreneur, Rush McCloy ’92 is returning to Deerfield as the 2010 commencement speaker. In planning commencement ceremonies, Director of Alumni Relations Mimi Morsman looked for a “guest speaker with a Deerfield connection…a parent or an alumnus.” Mr. McCloy was a natural choice: five members of his family attended Deerfield, including his wife, Brooke Goodchild McCloy ’95, whom he met in high school. A “very loyal alumnus,” Mr. McCloy serves on the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association. “He is very proud of his Deerfield diploma,” said Mrs. Morsman. After graduating from Deerfield, Mr. McCloy attended the University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute and Wharton Business School, where he was the recipient of the Paul Green Award for Knowledge Creation. According to Mrs. Morsman, “one of the first responders at Ground Zero to locate survivors among the rubble after 9/11,” Mr. McCloy joined the Naval Reserve shortly after the incident. He has served in Afghanistan since September 2007, where he “personally led missions to fight, capture, and convert Taliban and anti-government elements.” Prior to his service, Mr. McCloy founded both Run4Research—an organization that “raises money for pediatric cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering”—and Channelstone Capital Partners. “Deerfield instilled a sense of service and teamwork that I have carried with me throughout my personal and professional life,” said Mr. McCloy. Indeed, he has “run marathons and ultra

Shin ’10 after attending the video conference. “It showed us that Obama’s administration is still practicing extraordinary renditions,” Nick Whittredge ’10 said, “and that no one is safe from executive power unless everyone can speak up.” Mr. Arar, a dual citizen of Canada and Syria, was subject to a program implemented under the Bush administration as a protective measure in the years following 9/11/01. While on a business trip to the U.S. in 2002, he was stopped at JFK airport in New York due to some unproven but potentially suspicious information that Canadian authorities shared with the CIA. After detaining him for a

week, authorities flew Mr. Arar to Syria, the country he had left with his family at age 17 to avoid military service. He knew that torture was a routine practice in Syrian prisons. “All the time on the plane I was thinking of how to avoid being tortured,” he recalled. Mr. Arar vividly remembers the physical and mental torture and threats inflicted upon him over the ensuing year. “I thought that they would put me there for only a few days,” he said, “not ten months.” He was brutally beaten, forced to confess to false accusations, and then placed in a tiny cell below ground. His wife and others fought for his release, and his case soon

became well-known. When released, he returned to Canada a different man. “I was profoundly changed both physically and mentally,” he said. “I no longer trust the [governmental] system, and I cannot concentrate for more than a short amount of time.” He still struggles to connect emotionally with others, including his own children. In September 2006, the Canadian government released the results of their investigation, which cited no evidence of wrong-doing, and apologized to Mr. Arar. They also provided him with a financial remuneration. However, the American government continues to state that evidence related to Mr. Arar’s personal

Louisa Schieffelin Eliza Mott ’12 and Gabriela Espinosa ’12 spend time with faculty children at the Relay for Life. The sixteen teams and 121 participants raised $22,555 towards cancer research.

ESAC Fights Bottled Water and Fridges By THEO LIPSKY Editorial Associate

As Deerfield’s bottled water culture begins to fade, the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC) continues to tackle other environmental issues on campus. This year, various environmental initiatives, ranging from the annual Green Cup challenge to the removal of refrigerators from student rooms, have met with success and changed habits throughout the student body. This has been largely due to the potent combination of the Environmental Proctors and the Environmental Club, which work with students and their halls to foster a more environmentallyconscious student body. Much of the work, however, can also be credited to the efforts of ESAC, a joint-group of students, faculty, and staff set up by the Strategic Planning Committee. In its first year of operation, ESAC met once a week to set its agenda. In the fall, ESAC focused its

Maher Arar’s Vir tual Visit By LIBBY WHITTON Editorial Associate In a live, interactive video conversation, Maher Arar, a human rights activist who is at the forefront of international debates and American constitutional law, spoke passionately with a packed audience in the Garonzik Auditorium. Students were left questioning the scope of civil liberties during a time of war. “I was shocked by what happened to him, but it made me more aware,” said Ellen

marathons around the world to raise money for pediatric cancer research and education in South Africa’s townships.” In his address, Mr. McCloy will seek to convey the importance of service and how service “does as much for you as it does for others.” According to Mrs. Morsman, he will aim to “relate to seniors” in his address, discussing “what he was thinking about when he was eighteen,” to deliver a speech “that kids will remember.” Looking ahead to Commencement weekend, Mr. McCloy said he has never felt “so honored and humbled as now to have the chance to speak to such an accomplished group.”

Student Speakers Address Beyond “The Hills”

This year’s graduation exercises will feature student addresses by seniors Hannah Flato and Steve Kelley. As a student speaker, Flato wanted to be one of “two individuals who would complement each other and fill in what the other missed.” Flato often thought of last year: “Ingrid Kapteyn ’09 and Alex Nicholson ’09 really resonated well together and had a good balance between narratives and messages.” Regarding the process of writing such a speech, Flato admitted the difficulty of offering “a detached point of view.” Still immersed in current school life, she said, “It’s hard to step back and look over all four years.” In preparing his address, Kelley also looked to last year’s student speaker, Alex Nicholson. According to Kelley, his speech contains “a main message similar to [Alex] Nicholson’s.” “We obviously had different experiences, but still both want to show the same respect for Deerfield,” said Kelley. He aims to “tell a story that shows his transformation from a normal person to a Deerfield boy and then analyze it with the sense of community here in mind.” connections and travel history are enough to keep him on the official no-fly watch list. Mr. Arar was “expecting the Obama administration to put an end to this,” but he still awaits an apology and reparation. While individual members of Congress and other American diplomats have made personal apologies to Mr. Arar, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security asserts that his status should not be changed. Mr. Arar and his supporters question the thinking behind the policies responsible for his hardships. “One positive that has come from this is that my eyes are now open,” he said. “I see how easily our human rights can be taken away from us.”

Page 3

Page 7

Page 8

Tea Party Movement

Chamber and Orchestra Concerts

2010 Top 10 Sports Moments


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Deerfield Scroll: May 26, 2010 by The Deerfield Scroll - Issuu