Vol. LXXXV, No. 6
DEERFIELD ACADEMY, DEERFIELD, MA 01342
Path to Finding Success:
2011 Pathways
By JACQUI COLT and HENRY LEWIS Staff Writers While many students merely see January as the deepest winter month, it represents a significant event for seniors: Pathways. This annual program allows seniors to learn about fields of interest for the future, connects alumni to Deerfield, and develops ties between students and alumni. Each year, a unique group of ten alumni return to talk to seniors about the paths they have taken in their post-Deerfield lives. This year’s speakers represent a wide variety of interesting career fields, from working within the government’s homeland security program (Matt King ’77) to activism against human trafficking (Emily Pataki ’97). Other members of the 2011 Pathways program are Sara di Bonaventura ’01, a students’ support coordinator for a high school in Boston; Ana Edwin ’02, a human resources analyst for Goldman Sachs; Andy Ling ’77, who specializes in copyright and intellectual property; George Mesires ’87, a partner at Ungaretti & Harris LLP who specializes in corporate restructuring and bankruptcy; Dave Miller ’97, a financial investor; Ayr Muir ’96, CEO of Clover Fast Food, Inc.; Meg Nolan ’97, a published young adult author and travel journalist; and Richard Prum ’79, a professor of ornithology at Yale. According to Director of Alumni Relations Mimi Morsman, who is in charge of the Pathways program in conjunction with the 2011 Pathways Committee, the program has two main goals: “connecting alumni to Deerfield and connecting students to alumni.” Another goal of the program is to show seniors that the path to success is not always straight and
easy. Each year’s program tries to bring in alumni who found their callings after initial uncertainty. Mr. Ling, a popular returning Pathways speaker from last year, talked about this issue in an emailed response to the Scroll. “I didn’t physically develop until college,” said Mr. Ling. “Then, my martial arts and Olympic training took off, and I met people from all over the world, incorporating a training regimen, which helps me today with my personal and professional life.” Based on his experience, Mr. Ling “supports a liberal arts education rather than focusing on a certain discipline,” and believes that all a person needs to succeed are the three fundamental areas: “Research, writing, and analysis.” Mr. King echoed Mr. Ling’s sentiments. Mr. King plans to talk about his “life as a Special Agent” and life of service for the government. He admitted that he also had no idea that his life would take this course after majoring in English literature at Wesleyan. Despite not having his career planned at his high school graduation, Mr. King said his experience at Deerfield played a large role in shaping his future. “I credit DA for my work ethic, my sense of camaraderie, and my intense pride in belonging to a larger whole,” he said. “Deerfield also let me explore boundaries and gave me the latitude to find myself,” said Mr. King. Last week, seniors picked their preferences for which seminars they would like to attend. On January 6, students will find out their assignments, and on the 16th, seniors will attend two seminars and then attend a brunch where students and alumni can meet on a more personal level. “If there’s one senior who connects with one alumnus, it’s a great success,” said Mrs. Morsman.
STUDENT COUNCIL UPDATE AT MIDYEAR • The deans’ new housing proposal does not give priority to any students. This proposal was drawn upon Student Council’s proposal, and will be announced on January 4. • The Council website is on DAnet and will feature an online ballot box in the spring. • Nominations for school meeting emcees will be accepted over break. • The clarified DA to Z policy regarding the school’s disciplinary reach is pending publication.
p. 4 Get a “Little” taste of geology
December 15, 2010
Gina Apostol Receives Philippine Book Award
LOCAL HERO
By NINA SHEVZOV-ZEBRUN Staff Writer
Alex Berner Charlie Marsh, a stone mason in the Deerfield Grounds Department, found a missing 7-year-old Conway boy on Thanksgiving morning, after more than one hundred police, firefighters, and community members spent an entire night searching for the boy. “I saw the boy’s little head bobbing... I was happy to see him,” said Mr. Marsh.
Amnesty Advocates for Fair Trade Products on Campus By CHARLES JONES and MADDIE LANE Staff Writers Inspired by Ben Skinner, a recent Amnesty-sponsored speaker and modern-day anti-slavery activist, the club is pursuing fair trade alternatives on campus. One of Amnesty’s first goals is to substitute the coffee in the Koch Center with a completely fair trade version. “We have contacted Dean’s Beans, a fair trade coffee distributor,” said Amnesty head KG Kaelin ’11. Dean’s Beans is a local company that provides organic and fair trade coffee, and already supplies the coffee in the dining hall. According to its website, Green Mountain Coffee, the main provider of the Koch Center coffee, attempts to uphold a fair trade commitment. However, the New York Times reported that only 30% of the company’s coffee is actually fair trade, compared to 100% for Dean’s Beans. Kaelin went on to explain the importance of fair trade. “Often, the coffee we consume is a function of human trafficking or other forms of labor exploitation. Making the conscious decision to consume fair trade coffee, in turn, is indicative of a greater consciousness of one’s impact as a consumer.” Joel Thomas-Adams, English teacher and the faculty advisor for Amnesty, said that “many schools we are compared to have already made the switch” to fair trade and environmentally friendly products, and Deerfield is well on the way to following suit. The club also hopes to evaluate the sustainability of the Keurig K-Cups currently in the Koch Center and possibly revive the
p. 5 Alaina Belanger ’12 in The Nutcracker
use of coffee pots as a more environmentally friendly option. Amnesty also looked to take advantage of the recent dining hall survey by giving feedback regarding the use of ethical and sustainable food products on campus. “We should care about where our products come from,” Mr. Thomas-Adams said. “Deerfield strives to be an ethical community,” said Mr. Thomas-Adams, and “an ‘ethical community’ acts in concretely ethical ways. Therefore, one of Amnesty’s goals is to make the ‘ethical community’ a reality in terms of what we buy and what we consume.” Spurred on by Skinner to further combat modern-day slavery, the Amnesty group will continue to write letters to a Massachusetts senator. “We wrote, signed, and sent letters to Senator John Kerry, urging him to reconsider antislavery legislation in Massachusetts, one of the only states without any kind of anti-slavery law,” explained member Anna Gonzales ’12. Amnesty screened a documentary on human trafficking to continue the discussion Skinner sparked on the topic of slavery and labor exploitation on December 7. In the immediate future, Amnesty looks to bring Dean Cycon of Dean’s Beans to campus to speak to students about the significance of fair trade. Gonzales concluded, “Across the political spectrum, basic human rights are something anyone can agree upon, and that’s what Amnesty is all about.” For Additional Information: www.deansbeans.com www.greenmountaincoffee.com
English teacher and novelist Gina Apostol received the 2010 Philippine National Book Award for Fiction last month for her work, The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata. The novel, largely based on various Filipino generals’ memoirs and other primary sources, discusses the unsuccessful Philippine Revolution through the eyes of a partially-blind general, Raymundo Mata, who proves more concerned with reading and writing than with war. According to Ms. Apostol, the fictional memoir centers on a “shadow version of a real Filipino national hero…a poet and writer killed by Spaniards.” The novel intertwines fictional historical analysis with the general’s memoir. Copious footnotes by “two editors gone crazy,” explained Ms. Apostol, help shed light on the true history behind the story Mata conveys. In writing the novel, Ms. Apostol thought about “[her] country from a distance.” “Every story can be told in so many ways,” said Ms. Apostol, remarking that the best known versions of war stories are usually those told by the victors. She looked to share the story of “all the other people”: the Filipinos who lost the war as Spain sold the country to America. Indeed, according to the Philippine National Book Development Board, Ms. Apostol’s novel is “a firecracker of words,” and “affirms, if it still needs to be affirmed, the power of fiction to shape and reshape the gaps in the narratives of our history as a nation.” Luis Francia of the Philippine Global Nation Inquirer praised the work as a “construction of the past that is still there.” Faced with the challenge of writing about Philippine history while in America, Ms. Apostol intended for the novel “to be read back at home.” She sought to reconnect with the people living in the Philippines, “bringing back the stories of [real] generals and heroes to Filipinos who don’t read them.” Receiving the Philippine National Book Award for Fiction, a prestigious prize not awarded last year, helped inform Ms. Apostol that she achieved her goal of writing about Philippine history for the Philippine population. “It feels good to know people at home are reading and valuing the novel,” said Ms. Apostol.
p. 6 Girls’ ski team stoked to shred