V38 Issue 5

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CPAC DISCUSSES FUTURE OF REPUBLICAN PARTY

By Gina Montagna News Editor

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference took place on Feb. 25 through Feb. 28 in Orlando and was met with a large spectrum of questions regarding the future of the GOP and former President Trump’s involvement.

In years past, the CPAC has been used as a time for conservatives and members of the Republican party to come together to discuss new approaches, current issues and the future of the party and its leaders. This year, the conference took place after Trump’s loss and was the first time he spoke out after being banned from social media platforms because of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“Usually CPAC is a way to reinforce conservatism and a springboard for presidential hopefuls,” history teacher Amy Livingston said. “Mostly it is a way to fire up the base, highlight what conservatives hold to be true, and rally people to stand up for what they believe.”

Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis kicked off the conference, and other speakers included Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Mike Pompeo. Former President Trump gave the closing speech on Feb. 28. Speakers addressed various topics including abortion, cancel culture and the 2020 election. Many speakers like Pompeo directly “The entire Republican Party is

wrestling with its future, but I think CPAC represented both sides well, however Trump got the most attention because he was the keynote speaker,” junior Tucker Sachs said. “I did watch Trump’s speech. I agreed with most of his policy remarks and his stance on the Biden Administration, but I also think some of it was purposefully aimed at making the media go into a frenzy state.”

Although the CPAC is an annual event, this was the first time in four years that Trump was not in office during the event. Many speakers addressed the election saying that it was “stolen” or “fake” despite the recounts that occurred in states like Georgia and Pennsylvania. Another common theme throughout the conference was the disapproval of Biden’s new policies and a battle against the media and its reporting regarding the election.

“[The CPAC] had some great speakers this year, like Governor Kristi Noem, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Governor Ron DeSantis, Charlie Kirk... just to name a few,” Livingston said. “Although all supported Trump, conservatism is bigger than Trump, and true conservatives know this. While Trump helps fire up the crowd, conservatives know the future lies past him in many rising stars within the GOP.”

Republicans have been put in

By Blair Batson Editor-in-Chief

Though the eventful November elections concluded months ago, residents in the City of Dallas will have the opportunity to cast a ballot in the upcoming City Council elections. The election will take place on May 1, with early voting running from April 19-27.

In previous years, voter turnout for local elections in Dallas has been low. During the May 2019 elections, only 11 percent of registered voters voted. And that was when there was also a mayoral race on the ballot.

This May, there is no mayoral race, as current Mayor of Dallas Eric Johnson was elected in 2019 for a four-year term.

In 2017, Dallas’ last non-mayoral election, only 6.5 percent of registered voters voted. According to a March 29 poll of 144 students, 44 percent of students who are eligible to vote plan on voting in the upcoming City Council elections.

However, the events of the past year—the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter Protests and the snowstorm in Texas—have highlighted the importance of local

government, raising the question of whether voter turnout might increase this year. The number of candidates—50—running in Dallas City Council’s 14 districts is the most the city has seen in a non-mayoral race year since 1990, and all 14 races are contested. The country saw the highest voter turnout rate since 1990 in the November presidential election, but current Council Member for District 13 Jennifer Staubach Gates is hesitant to predict that this high voter will carry into the May elections.

“It would be great if it did because I think it’s really important that people get out and vote, and we hear from everyone, but it would surprise me if it’s a large voter turnout because it’s not a mayoral election year, which always gets more turnout,” Gates said.

“But [there are] a lot of candidates running. Every race is contested. I had two years where I wasn’t contested and so you’re not going to get people in districts that don’t have a race...But I might be surprised, and that would be a great surprise, but I’m still hesitant to think that we’re going to have this large turnout, but we’ll see.”

a tense position regarding their political alignments because of Trump’s loss, impeachment and the Capitol insurrection. Republicans like Senator Mitt Romney and Senator Susan Collins have outwardly opposed Trump and supported his impeachment, drifting away from the majority of Republicans. Thus, many Republicans have had to question whether or not to stand with the majority of Republicans supporting Trump or shift away toward the middle.

“What differed this year was the large presence of Trump after his loss in November,” Livingston said. “The purpose of CPAC is to reinforce conservative values among the base and Trump’s presence loomed large over this one, more so than political leaders in years past. This is something that the core of the conservative base is going to have to figure out quickly. Do they allow, in a sense, a Trump takeover or use that fire and determination that Trump had to move forward, but without Trump?”

Americans have speculated as to whether or not Trump would create his own party after his loss in the 2020 election. However, during his speech he made it clear he was sticking with the Republican party.

“The goal was to reaffirm the connection between Trump and the GOP to his base, a goal which I think

Despite these predictions, Gates stressed the importance of local government, as it is the level of government that has the greatest impact on one’s everyday life, controlling factors like the quality of streets, public safety, sanitation services and zoning. Because the Dallas City Council is a body of 15 that meets regularly, they can respond to constituents’ needs faster than representatives for the state or federal government.

“Local government is the most impactful government on your life truly, and it really impacts your quality of life as well—how safe your city is [and] economic growth of your city,” Gates said. “You feel the influences of local [government] work I think even at a greater level than at a state and a federal, but it doesn’t tend to get as much attention or even participation from the voters.”

In the past year, senior Zaria Osimetha started to pay more attention to local government and plans on voting in the upcoming City Council elections. Seventyfive percent of students believe the

events of the past year have caused them to pay more attention to local government.

“I think before, a lot of us, including myself, really only paid attention to the presidential elections, but then, over the past few months, especially this summer, you can definitely see how local government comes into play,” Osimetha said. “...A lot of people, including myself, have begun to realize that it really starts with local government, and the only way to really cause change in our own community, at least within the legal and political systems, is to make sure that you know who you’re voting for, make sure that you’re voting for other offices besides the president and trying to learn more about who is running and what they’re running for.”

Gates also emphasized the importance of not only voting, but also casting a well-informed vote. Gates suggested using resources like the Dallas Morning News and candidates’ campaign websites to educate oneself on the election.

“What I would suggest is one, if you’re eligible to vote, you should be

they achieved very effectively,” senior Carter Bakewell said. “In his speech Trump reiterated multiple times that he had no interest in forming his own political party, and he was loyal to the GOP to the end. Whether or not that is true has yet to be seen, but it at least appears that Donald Trump will remain a powerful force in the Republican party.”

Many Republicans saw the CPAC as a success in that they reiterated Republican values and promoted the future of the party, mainly focusing on Trump as a significant leader. However, some raise the question as to whether or not the Republican party will stick by Trump and his beliefs or diverge and move past the history from the past four years.

The political landscape is changing, Donald Trump’s brand of conservatism lost big last November, and there is no guarantee that it will ever recover,” Bakewell said. “The Republican Party is in quite the tricky position. On one hand they stay with Trump and go down with the ship, on the other hand they abandon him and suffer the consequences of it in 2022 and 24. Donald Trump’s politics have changed the DNA of the republican party. For better or for worse they will never be able to shake off the past 4 years. They can try to embrace that, or they can return to the pre-Trump times.”

voting,” Gates said. “But two, when you cast a vote, you should make an educated vote...Do a little homework, know what issues are important to you—if you want a candidate that [focuses] on [homelessness] or if you’re worried about public safety... Think what areas of city government that you’re most concerned about and then see where you think those candidates fall.”

In deciding who to support in her district’s City Council race, Osimetha is looking for a candidate that promotes equality when it comes to social justice issues, economic issues and education. Osimetha encourages all students who are eligible to vote, to vote in this election.

“People forget that it’s really not just about the presidents,” Osimetha said. “People forget that our local officials have the power to create change in our communities. And while it might not affect the rest of the world or the country, we can actually change our cities for the better if we know who we’re voting for and what we’re voting for.”

BARROW SOLOMAN, FRESHMAN

“Student council has done a good job with the kahoots at lunch and with the games to raise points for our teams.”

JOHN CAHOON, SOPHOMORE

“The guessing games we did during lunch to win gift cards were fun and my friends and I liked dressing up for the themed days during student body week.”

NIA BETHEA, JUNIOR

“The stuco week dress up days were really fun. A lot of people got really creative with their costumes and went all out which made it interesting.”

EMILY RUBIN, SENIOR

“Students coucil has done a really good job with things like the donuts during spirit week and the dress days have also been really fun for us”

Student Council keeps the community unified

With the pandemic affecting school spirit and activities, student council gets creative

By Katherine Mote Staff writer

Student Council has found ways to be creative when planning events meant to unify the community this year. Annual traditions such as pep rallies, school dances and football games have all changed because of COVID-19 guidelines. And it has been up to the Council to figure out new ways to keep the community engaged.

“Student Council’s main job is to unify the community,” sophomore class leader Amelia Sinwell said. “All of our meetings have the goal of making the student body and teachers have a fun time and connect more. The student body week activities are made for the student body.”

The movie night on March 11 had to be contact traceable, the snack shack had to be organized by SAGE and pep rallies had to be socially distanced. However, Student Council came up with other ways, such as dress days and special treats, including doughnuts in the morning, to make events like Homecoming and Student Body Week seem relatively normal.

“We have faced many challenges but the main challenge has been coming up with fun activities [while still contract tracing,]” sophomore class leader Jack Massey said. “This

year has been something that we’ve never experienced on the Student Council, but we’re making the most out of it.”

For instance, before the Homecoming football game, Student Council was planning to have a movie night with the entire high school student body, but with COVID-19 cases rising, they were unable to have it until this past month when it finally got rescheduled.

“The movie night idea at the end of Student Body Week was actually [what] we’ve been trying to get approved since the fall,” Massey said. “Cases just kept going up so we were finally able to do it during student body week in March and it was a success. We socially distanced and held the event outside with

masks as well as arranging seating by English class.”

THIS YEAR HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT WE’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ON THE STUDENT COUNCIL, BUT WE’RE MAKING THE MOST OUT OF IT.

Jack

Massey,

Sophomore Class Leader

Movie night, which featured the film “Knives Out,” was held outdoors in God’s Front Yard. Students were encouraged to bring pillows and blankets and were then separated by English classes. Snacks were provided by SAGE to ensure safety with crosscontamination. The entire week leading up to Friday was Student Body Week, which consisted of dress days and fun surprises for the students. With the challenges of this year, building relationships with the administration has been crucial to making this year successful.

“We have pushed for whatever we can, but we don’t have dances and we don’t have those typical things so we have tried to build relationships with the deans and the administration,” senior and Student

EUROPE PAUSES ASTRAZENECA

that cause blood clots, European countries are still skeptical and want to investigate further.

After a large cargo ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, salvage teams were able to free the ship on Monday. Global trade was affected as a result of the blockage because ships could not travel through the canal, delaying other shipments. SUEZ CANAL UNBLOCKED

Body President Ava Thompson said. “This way when opportunities arise they trust Student Council enough to do them.”

Earlier this semester Student Council held the Freshman Leadership Retreat, where the upperclassmen provided insight into what it takes to be an effective leader. They had discussions with some council members and learned how to be a high schooler that people look up to.

“We broke into small groups and discussed ‘What Would You Do?’ scenarios,” freshman Addison Page said. “It was very helpful for us to see the perspective of others and the importance of an inclusive environment. I feel closer and more connected to my peers and I learned that being a leader is much more than just having a title. It is setting a positive example and being an advocate for the community.”

The leadership retreat was modified to adhere to COVID-19 protocols including social distancing and mask-wearing. As this school year has progressed, Student Council has gotten used to the COVID-19 rules, which has made it a lot easier to plan events. In the final months of this school year, Student Council has come up with several ideas to unify the community,

including collaborations with the art department.

“With ISAS being canceled we wanted to create something at ESD that the art students can do since their shows and galleries have been canceled,” Thompson said. “We wanted to do an art appreciation week the first week of April because the virtue of the month is creativity to let the art students know that we appreciate their work.”

In addition to unifying the community on campus, Student Council is also faced with making sure remote learners still felt included and part of the community. Although it was difficult they were able to safely pull off quite a few events for the community.

“For meetings, we have added a virtual component so that remote learners can still be a part of our weekly meetings,” Student Council Faculty Sponsor Megan Schroeder said. “We didn’t want anyone to feel like they had less of a place on Student Council just because they were learning remotely for a long period of time or for contact tracing. I have been so impressed with how the executive officers, council and entire student body have adapted to the changes we have had to make this year.”

RESTRICTS HONG

China cut Hong Kong’s directly elected legislatures from twenty to ninety, which is another attempt at undermining Hong Kong’s temporary democracy. Amidst the various protests, many are calling on British forces to intervene as the Chinese government continues to restrict Hong Kong.

CHINA

KONG

Compiled by Gina Montagna News Editor

Photo used with premission from Handout/DPA/ Zuma Press/TNS

HITTING THE BIG SCREEN The movie night was held outside in god’s front yard and students were encouraged to bring pillows and blankets and were then separated by English class to watch the movie. “Since we have not had dances this year, the council has worked hard to make the things that we could do safe and fun.” Schroeder said. Photo by Sophia Ukeni

covid-19 news health updates

pandemicpost

Spring break travels lead to quarantine

Govt. requires negative COVID-19 test for international travelers, school encourages quarantining

By Gardiner Vose Views Editor

As the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic––that has caused mass quarantine and shutdowns in the United States––recently passed, many people have begun traveling and taking less precautions. This may be due to pandemic fatigue as well as the increase in vaccination roll-out, which has given many people, especially high risk individuals who have received both doses of the vaccine, a greater feeling of safety. However, the challenges of the pandemic are still prevalent and in order to promote COVID-19 safety, the school has implemented strict guidelines following spring break to prevent the spread of the virus on campus.

According to the health guidelines implemented by the school, if someone travels to a place out of the country, they have to be quarantined for a minimum of seven days until they can return to on campus learning. This is contingent, however, on students getting a PCR test on day four or five of their quarantine, which, assuming it is negative, would clear them to return back to school on day seven. But if a student or faculty member travels domestically, quarantine and testing is not required, and it is instead left up to the individual to decide whether quarantine or testing is necessary in their circumstance.

As spring break approached earlier in March, students and faculty were interested in how the school would respond to the large number of students that were planning on traveling internationally, especially as a greater number of COVID-19 variants continue to spread across the world with higher infective rates and potentially more dangerous symptoms.

“People definitely need a break from everyday life right now, especially since nobody has really been traveling for a long time,”

few days before we left Cancún, and everyone I was with tested negative, so I guess what they are doing is working.”

On Feb. 12, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring all tourists returning to the United States to have a negative COVID-19 test result in order to gain entry into the country. This policy was aimed at preventing the spread of new variants of the disease in the U.S.

“I went to Mexico and the testing process was really pretty streamlined—it definitely felt legitimate and made me feel more comfortable traveling back home,”

senior Payton Meister said. “I had a time scheduled with the hotel to get tested and the nurse came to our hotel room and did it. It took no longer than five minutes, and we got our results later that day.”

Students traveled to a variety of locations over the break, so they had to be prepared for a number of different protocols regarding testing and travel depending on the area that they were visiting.

“My experience traveling domestically was really fun,” senior Ava Thompson said. “I drove with some friends to New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. I chose not to quarantine after I traveled because I practiced social distancing and stayed in the country. When we traveled through the Navajo nation they were very strict about COVID and took our temperatures at every stop.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tourists should try to get tested one to three days before their return flight to the United States. The school policy that requires students to quarantine after arrival into the country further ensures that students can return to the classroom safely. It is up to students whether they want to do the extended quarantine, which is 10 days, or the shortened seven days one, which requires a PCR test.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to be online, but I thought it was best if I just stuck to the full 10 day quarantine to be safe,” sophomore Chase Chazanow said. “Honestly, as a school I think everyone did a good job following the rules and keeping each other safe.”

The struggles of online school

On March 2, in the midst of national mask and public capacity debates, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was lifting the statewide mask mandate and all COVID-19 restrictions. Abbott’s announcement allowed businesses in Texas to open at 100 percent capacity starting on March 10. This change in policy sparked debate amongst the student body at a time when risk for the spread of COVID-19 was still high due to people lowering their guard in regards to social distancing and masks.

Some students welcomed the governor’s announcement.

“Honestly, think it’s great for me as the masks for me have been a

and worries about falling behind on schoolwork played an important role in the decisions of some students to return to in-person learning.

“I haven’t been online in so long; it took some time to get used to,” sophomore Ella Sjogren said. “However, I think the process ran very smoothly. I went online for three or four days, got my PCR and was able to return on Friday [to school].”

For those who chose to stay in Dallas, or travel domestically, these rules did not apply and they were able to return to school on the Tuesday after spring break.

“Since I did not go anywhere

struggle to adapt to,” sophomore Blake Scheinberg said. “Even though it has affected a great deal of people, feel as though we should be able to have the choice to mask up or not.”

But some students, such as sophomore Ellie Parra, disagreed.

“Personally, I think it was immature to do it this early on,” Parra said. “I feel like the decision was made because he was worried about the public’s view of him, which is selfish, especially for a leader. It really doesn’t change anything at all for me; I’m going to continue wearing a mask when I go out in public. I have immunocompromised sisters, so I’ve been very cautious since the beginning [of the pandemic].”

for spring break, I was able to just return back to school which was nice,” sophomore Jake Swift said.

“Even though I miss my friends being back in school, I think the precautions being taken are good for the community’s safety.”

But even with the many restrictions, students enjoyed the break.

“The pandemic did not stop everyone from having fun, safely of course,” senior Reece Huggard said. “Since we went to Mexico, there were a lot of restrictions getting in and paperwork provided to make sure everyone was cleared, but it was worth the hassle.”

Graphics by Gardiner Vose

Meeting service hour requirements proves difficult

Due to COVID-19, some have struggled to find community service, others have found ways to adapt

By Jiaying Fu Web Editor

Additional Reporting By Blair Batson Editor-in-Chief

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been more challenging for students to find volunteer opportunities this year. Many organizations have switched to organizing virtual projects in contrast to previous years when those projects were held in person.

According to Director of Community Service Learning Courtney Phelps, many students have found avenues through which to participate in both virtual and in-person community service, and students are evenly split between participating virtually versus inperson.

“I have done some community service in person, but I’ve definitely had to find online options,” sophomore Bridget Wang said. “There haven’t been any significant challenges, but it was sort of difficult to adjust. It’s been hard because I’m not really sure where to look, but Ms. Phelps’s community service emails have been really helpful. I am really going with the flow right now. If I’m able to get many hours, great. If not, that’s okay.”

Junior Ashley Jaynes normally gets much of her hours from volunteering at the Aged Woman’s Home of Georgetown in Washington, D.C. However, the home is not having in person volunteers due to the pandemic, so Jaynes has adapted by volunteering for them virtually over the summer.

“[While volunteering virtually,] I helped explain to [those who were new to the house] how they can get set up,” Jaynes said. “Because I used to run errands for them, I would try to help them out [and say] ‘oh there’s this place nearby where you can get stuff’ when I can’t physically help them out.”

Though she has been able to find virtual and COVIDcautious in-person volunteer opportunities, Jaynes believes that

it has been harder to find volunteer opportunities this year.

“I would definitely say [the pandemic has] made [finding hours] a lot more difficult,” Jaynes said. “I was able to get enough hours for [National Honor Society], but compared to previous years, it’s a lot harder to find hours because before there were a lot more [opportunities].”

Virtual opportunities are just one of the ways in which the community service has adapted during the pandemic when it comes to community service.

“We’ve done everything virtual this year,” Phelps said. “We have very limited in-person interaction with our community partners so some of our projects were not able to happen this year because we could not make them virtual. We meet with organizations online for virtual visits and try to support their needs in a safe way. We’ve also created more projects for students to work together in advisory on different topics that relate to service like advocacy.”

Kindness Week and planning the virtual volunteer fair in April.

Sophomore Lilian Nettle is one of the secretaries for the Community Service Council.

“This year, the Community Service Council meets all online, so communication between the council can be challenging at some points, but our presidents and Ms. Phelps have helped communication improve by the council participating in breakout rooms each meeting,” Nettle said. “This year, the Community Service Council has acknowledged the difficulty of finding community service opportunities. So, we have provided the student body with a list of in-person and online service opportunities to help.”

HAVING VERY LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES FOR IN-PERSON COMMUNITY SERVICE HAS FELT LESS FULFILLING THAN WHAT I HAD BEED USED TO PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.

Charlotte Clark, senior

Phelps is also the sponsor of the Community Service Council. The Community Service Council has worked to try to make sure their typical annual activities happen like having virtual drives, advisory service activities, virtual Random Acts of

The graduation and President’s Volunteer Service Award community service hour requirement has not decreased because of the pandemic, and Phelps anticipates there will be a decrease in the number of recipients of the award.

Senior Liesl Small has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award every year of high school, though she will not be receiving the award this year.

“In the past, I’ve gotten a lot of my hours from summer camps and camps that were during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, but those haven’t been happening because of COVID-19 and that’s where I got like 75 percent of my hours usually,” Small said.

However, Small has still been able to find some volunteer opportunities during the pandemic, such as Meals on Wheels and some camps through Good Shepherd Episcopal School. She does miss the human aspect of volunteering before the pandemic.

“I used to do Meals on Wheels before COVID, and I also did Habitat for Humanity and that kind of thing,” Small said. “But now, you don’t get to see people’s reactions as much to helping others, and it’s not as personal anymore.”

For students who are struggling with finding volunteer opportunities, Phelps suggests that they search online.

“It is still a challenge because while many organizations have found ways to allow volunteers to stay engaged, others have struggled because of the nature of their work,” Phelps said. “We’ve all learned to adapt by being creative and offering virtual opportunities. At this point, organizations have done a great job of sharing their opportunities online, on their social media sites, and updating volunteers through email.”

One way senior Charlotte Clark has done community service during the pandemic is by writing cards for the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas. Like Small, she misses volunteering in person before the pandemic but knows that her actions still have an impact on the community.

“Having very limited opportunities for in-person community service has felt less fulfilling than what I had been used to prior to the pandemic,” Clark said. “However, writing these cards hopefully brought a sense of excitement to the people receiving them. Even though we may feel like we’re making less of an impact because much of the work we’re doing is at home, there’s actually no better time to perform these acts of service.”

SERVING SOCIETY On March 6, seniors in National Honor Society pick up trash on Ferguson Rd. for the Ferguson Road Initiative. The opportunity was open to all members of NHS and was a chance to fulfill one of NHS’ pillars—service—while staying conscious of COVID-19. “It was very rewarding to be able to give back to the community while having fun with my friends in NHS,” senior Katherine Cowser said. Photo provided by Lauren Redmond

NPR inspires students to create their own podcasts

Race in America and U.S. history classes share their point of view on current events, submit pieces online

By Satori Griffith

On March 15, National Public Radio held the 2021 Student Podcast Challenge, a chance for students across the country to submit a podcast in hopes of winning the competition.

Junior and senior students in the Race in America class and Ronald Frankland’s U.S. History class worked on podcasts for the competition. With upper school History Teacher and Junior Class Dean Claire Mrozek and Frankland’s assistance, students divided themselves into groups and chose topics to dive into and discuss. NPR provided a list of prompts that students could choose from, but all topics related to the concept of race, history and current events; each providing a new perspective on the topic. For the Race in America class, the podcast needed to incorporate race in some way. The ability to provide students with the chance to talk about something that matters and interests them is a fundamental part of understanding how race and history play into government systems in America.

“Practice in research, [and the] opportunity to dive into a topic that was of real interest gives a sense that adults, at least me and the people at NPR, are actually very interested in what teenagers think is important,” Mrozek said.

When Mrozek chose this assignment, she did so with the intention that it would be a good enrichment project to focus on the matter of race in the United States on a broad spectrum. NPR provided prompts like: “show us both sides of a debate about an issue that’s important to you” and “what do you want to change about the world?” With these guidelines, students came up with topics to discuss. Some examples include social media and race, systemic racism in the criminal justice system and police brutality.

“I thought that the questions would really fit well with some of the things I want kids to think about in the Race in America class,” Mrozek said. “From what I’ve seen of the work done so far, it has definitely been an effective platform for kids to show their thinking.”

The Race in America class took the opportunity to discuss matters that were of importance to themselves and create personalized discussions around their topic. From topics like the portrayal of race in the media to current systemic issues, the students were able to share their perspectives and hear others’ views.

“Making the podcasts really gave me a new point of view,” junior Nick Roberts said. “I was able to hear about other students’ experiences and beliefs, while learning about

important issues. It was a great opportunity to learn more about issues I find important and be able to share my own ideas.”

But Frankland’s U.S. History class, following the same guidelines as Mrozek’s class, took a different approach to tackling the project.

Frankland had the students utilize the podcast to discuss history from different perspectives, to look at things in a new way. In class, the students were able to connect a current event topic of their choosing and relate it to something they have learned in class. This approach to the project allowed students to form connections between the material they have learned and modern events.

“My goal was for my students to see this podcast project as a new

way to take what they’ve learned in class and apply it in a way that would allow them to create something original,” Frankland said. “This project showed them that they could demonstrate their learning and mastery in a new way, not a traditional assessment.”

Both Frankland and Mrozek felt this assignment was a productive way to allow students to grow their knowledge while doing something engaging and fun. While neither class was able to submit their final podcasts due to timing, both teachers have expressed that it was a successful project and will likely continue utilizing it in the future. Not only the teachers thought it was successful, students in both classes have expressed their fondness of the project.

“I thought it was a great project that really allowed me to use what I have learned and connect it to useful matters today,” said junior Casey Curtis. “It also helped me learn not only how to conduct research, but how to present it in speaking format while conveying points from my research.”

Asst. Photo Editor

inbrief

Freshman leadership retreat a success despite pandemic

ON MARCH 6, MANY MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2024 took part in the Freshman Leadership Retreat, organized by the student council. The day started out with a presentation in the Bray Theater about leadership. Then, the freshmen rotated in groups to three different activities: a panel on leadership with a group of upperclassmen, a discussion of

WORDS OF WISDOM Passing on leadership advice to the class of 2024, seniors Sam Lindsey, Zaria Osimetha, Ellie Bass and Lilly

partake in a panel at the Freshman Leadership Retreat on March 6. This panel was one of the three rotations freshmen attending the retreat participated in. “I had a great time at the leadership retreat and was honored to be able to pass along some helpful advice to the freshmen,” Lindsey said.

“What Would You Do?” scenarios and a diversity discussion. The pandemic complicated planning for the retreat, as a lot of the planning had to occur over email or on Zoom, making the process feel less collaborative.

“[Planning the retreat] in the pandemic was a lot harder because a lot of the things that had to be checked off, I just had to make sure I was doing on my own with the help of some other student council members,” senior and Student Council Secretary Penelope North said. “...So [it was] definitely more an independent thing having to plan it during the pandemic.”

Freshman Addie Click attended the retreat. She learned valuable lessons from the day, such as how to manage her time between sports and school and to focus on taking Advanced Placement and honors courses that she’s interested in. The retreat also gave her an idea of what leadership roles she wants to pursue in the future.

“I really want to do student council next year because Ava Thompson said she had a really fun experience because she was on it all four years [of high school],” Click said. “They talked about what positions you can have and what the different positions do and so I’m really interested in running for student council.” North believes the pandemic made the Freshman Leadership Retreat important in giving the class of 2024 an idea of what leadership in the upper school looks like in a non-pandemic year.

“We thought it was still important because as seniors, we’ve had the four years of experience but as freshmen, their freshman year has kind of been upended and so they might not know what a typical ESD leadership role would look like because we have had such an absence of opportunity this year,” North said.

School takes on Random Acts of Kindness Week

DURING THE WEEK OF FEB. 22, THE UPPER SCHOOL’S Community Service Council organized Random Acts of Kindness in their community. Each day of the week included different activities such as sharing positive words, writing thank you notes and doing an act of service for the community.

This year, Random Acts of Kindness Week underwent some changes due to the pandemic. The Community Service Council had virtual meetings and made sure to observe social distancing during the entirety of their planning. Students who were virtual were also encouraged to still participate from home, continuing to spread positivity in the community.

“I think overall the week went pretty well,” Director of Community Service Learning Courtney Phelps said. “It was kind of hard to tell whether or not people engaged since so many were virtual, and we were coming back from the week of no school from the snow storm.”

Community Service Council members kept the community engaged following the chaos of the winter storm.

“I think the biggest message we were trying to send to students was to just do something kind for their community,” sophomore Community Service Council member Bridget Wang said. “The biggest challenge we faced was definitely trying to replan the week following the winter storm and also communicating with each other while some were still virtually learning, but overall I’d say we pulled it off.”

While there were more obstacles this year than during past Random Acts of Kindness Weeks, students were still committed to making the community a more positive place. And Phelps was delighted to see the entire community get excited about the week.

“Even though the past month has been really difficult to navigate, students still found a way to get involved in the activities,” Phelps said.

Teachers plan collaboration with Tanzanian sister school

AFTER EXPLORING DIFFERENT CANDIDATES TO collaborate and partner with, Curriculum Specialist and English teacher Lindsey Cullins helped develop the relationship between ESD and its sister school Africa Mainsprings campus, the Tanzania organization providing refuge and education for children.

Since the sister school teaches in English, teachers can directly communicate, plan activities and build curriculums

overseas. Recently, middle school students sent the school Lego robots with Lego accessories to build their own project and compete in Lego league.

“The robotics program that they have in Tanzania now is kind of one of their signature programs, one of the only programs like it in Tanzania,” Cullins said. “Now that the kids are really getting more into robotics, they’re developing a coding curriculum that our teachers are helping with.”

The schools will be matching teachers who are willing to collaborate further, which mostly were history and geography teachers. The collaboration is still developing as Tanzania has a particular curriculum required by the government to cover certain topics.

“We’re talking about sharing perspectives, especially historical perspectives,” Cullins said. “It’s just evolved naturally based on our needs and goals and their needs and goals meeting together.”

History teacher Marc Salz is volunteering to collaborate with the sister school this year and is looking forward to sharing documents to study decolonization and historiography. Salz’s desire to work with the students grew from the fact that he went to Tanzania four years ago with a group of teachers.

“They have so much to teach us about how to teach and learn with a different set of resources,” Salz said. “I know that these are students that have the same level of commitment to excellence as ESD students, although in a lot of cases they won’t have the opportunity. They’re getting an education that could go on to college, but even if they go on to college, there aren’t quite as many economic opportunities in Tanzania as there are in the United States.”

Teachers feel relief after COVID-19 vaccine

By Kara Dross Staff writer

Since March 3, Texas teachers and childcare workers have been eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This decision was made when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expanded the Phase 1A and 1B vaccination groups to include school workers. After the Texas Department of State Health Services met, Dr. John Hellerstedt, the department’s commissioner, sent a letter to all vaccine providers in the state and informed them of the change. According to the Texas Education Agency, this change will add an estimate of around 719,000 people who are eligible to receive their shots.

Upper school French and Arabic teacher Laila Kharrat was able to receive her first vaccine shot on March 5 after the announcement was made.

“As a teacher, it was hard waiting all of January and February to get it when people were already getting it,” Kharrat said. “Back in August, they told us we were first responders, and of course for students’ emotional health and for parents to be able to go back to work, the necessity for us to be in person was so great that we were called first responders. I love teaching in person, and I love being face to face, I would 100 percent choose this over an online option, but it was definitely hard for me having to wait.

I wish I could have had the shot in January or February.” Kharrat received her first shot of the Moderna vaccine through the Allen Fire Department and is programmed to receive her second dose on April 2.

and I posted it on Facebook and then Mrs. Rossiter called me suddenly and said, ‘Wait a minute, how did you get it?’”

After economics and history teacher and senior class dean Caryn Rossiter learned of the extra doses from Salz, she got in her car and met Salz and got her first shot.

For Salz and Rossiter it was an emotional moment.

“We were both sitting there crying afterwards because it was emotional knowing I could do my job in a way that feels so incredible,” Salz said. “As teachers, I think we were so emotional because [getting vaccinated] allowed us to breathe a little bit.”

For teachers, receiving the vaccine took a lot of pressure off. Salz remembers how hard it was when the school went remote last March.

“I knew it was odd for the kids and hard, but for the teachers it was really hard,” Salz said. “We love being with kids, we love having you in the classroom and seeing your eyes and your faces. So to not have that energy or collective group was very hard, not just because of the teaching aspect but just the community we have here.”

AS TEACHERS, I THINK WE WERE SO EMOTIONAL BECAUSE [GETTING VACCINATED] ALLOWED US TO BREATHE A LITTLE BIT.

Tolly Salz, Upper school English teacher

“It was so easy, I picked up my kids from school, drove up to the stadium and I pulled into the lot,” Kharrat said. “The guy who gave me my shot was so nice and even let me take pictures and videos. I was so proud and so happy I had finally gotten my shot. My arm definitely hurt the next day. I did have to take some Tylenol and Advil on the second day, but by the third day, I didn’t take any and my arm felt back to normal.”

Similar to Kharrat, upper school English teacher Tolly Salz was able to get her first shot after Texas made the change.

“It is actually a funny story,” Salz said. “I was trying to sign up, and it was just a nightmare, and I could never get anywhere through the website. A good friend of mine was on several waiting lists and was finally able to get off of one and get her vaccine. She was still on another waitlist and said ‘come with me,’ so I went with her late that night, and they still had vaccines available. When I got up there, they had extra doses,

On March 23, Texas announced that all adults in Texas will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine on March 29. The announcement was made by the state, and explained that this change would apply to all adults over the age 16. Pfizer’s vaccine is at the moment the only vaccine that has been approved for people 16 and older. Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is available for those 18 and up. Texas is now part of the group of states including Alaska, Mississippi and Arizona who have opened up vaccinations to the general public.

According to a March 28 poll of 144 students, 96 percent think it is good that Texas has opened up COVID-19 vaccines for adults ages 16 and up, and 70 percent of students plan to be vaccinated.

“I think it’s good that vaccines are becoming available to those 16 and up soon because it’s going to bring us one step closer to getting out of this,” junior Erika Batson said. “I’m glad the people who really needed it had a chance to get it first and others were prioritized, so I think it’s a positive step moving towards everyone being vaccinated.”

“We’re trying to keep everyone safe,” Salz said. “So knowing that I could get a vaccine that would prevent me from being hospitalized, that would prevent me from getting so sick that I couldn’t teach, that would prevent me from spreading something unintentionally and not have that extra layer of fear has been amazing.”

Lutz

Photo by Erika Batson

Photo by Bridget Wang

COMING TOGETHER ESD teachers pose for a photo with their sister school counterparts in May of 2019. “They’re great people to be around,” upper school history teacher Marc Salz said. “Their attitude about cooperation and communities is really positive and front footed.” Photo provided by Marc Salz

By Blair Batson

By Elisabeth Siegel

By Maddy Hammett

THROWING AWAY HER SHOT French and Arabic teacher Laila Kharrat receives her first Moderna vaccine at Allen Fire Department on March 5. Photo provided by Laila Kharrat

life

mixedmedia

SOPHOMORE SHINES WHILE PERFORMING ON STAGE

By Alexandra Warner Staff writer

As choir performer, actor and sophomore Liam Pham falls to the ground during the last scene of “The Crucible,” the lights flash on and Lauren Redmond, the Director of Performances, runs up to him onstage and tells him excitedly that he put on an amazing act.

Starting out with singing in the fifth grade, Pham has continued to explore the realm of fine arts in high school and found a passion for acting. He was involved in middle school plays such as “Into the Woods,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Mary Poppins” and also had a major role in last year’s musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” which is rare for a freshman. In the latest play “The Crucible,” Pham had the honor to play John Proctor.

“After ‘Clue,’ which was our fall play, I realized that I wanted to pursue [acting] more because I always thought that singing was my main ability and that I was a mediocre actor,” Pham said. “I really wanted to take time to start refining and honing that part of my craft as early as possible, since it’s such a huge part of performing.”

Pham’s appreciation for fine arts started with listening to different genres of music, and he began to learn how to interpret songs in different categories. His favorite genres are adult standard or jazz and musical theatre or “show tunes.”

“You can interpret a song in mainly three ways: What does this song mean to the performer? What am I or my character trying to express to the audience? How can

I convey that meaning through my phrasing, accenting notes, dynamics or even my diction?” Pham asked. “Musical theatre music doesn’t really allow for that, but with characters and their intent, the music becomes a huge part of how we express that feeling that they have.”

Since freshman year, Pham has taken both acting and choir, however, because of the COVID-19 outbreak and more demanding academic classes this year, Pham decided to only explore acting this semester.

“Since we weren’t working on major songs in choir, I switched to [Advanced] Acting in the second semester, but next year I’ll be taking both [fine arts],” Pham said. “I’ve been taking Acting [since] the second semester, but I’ve been working with Mrs. Redmond since the beginning of last year.”

But this year, his performance in the winter play, “The Crucible,” where he starred as the main protagonist John Proctor, was video recorded and later streamed from Feb. 25 to the 27 for the community to watch. Although the play was never performed live, Pham cherishes memories with his friends while recording the play.

“Some of the best and most memorable parts in shows are when we messed up,” Pham said. “I recall one scene in particular, which wasn’t by any means supposed to be funny, when Hunter, who played Minister Hale, [and I] couldn’t stop laughing during filming.”

When performing the fall play, “Clue,” it was lighthearted and upbeat compared to “The Crucible,”

which was a morbid and serious play, focusing on the Salem Witch Trials. Thus the winter play came with an extra set of challenges for Pham and the rest of the cast.

“The biggest challenge that I had to overcome was my lines [because] they were in weird spots sometimes and we had to cut each other’s lines off a lot,” Pham said. “But the whole cast, everyone in the performing arts community, is so supportive and kind to each other.”

Redmond, who directed the play, helped Pham through hard scenes during the play and was able to see him grow and push him as an actor.

“Liam is a chameleon [because] he’s able to change his persona very easily and step into many different roles, where some actors are ‘typecast,’ which means they fit into one box,” Redmond said. “John Proctor

was a meatier role, meaning there was more depth to his character that Liam could delve into. There were times that I pushed him extremely hard and deep down I worried that he wasn’t ready, but he proved me wrong and I couldn’t have been more proud of him.”

Senior Monse Rodriguez, who is one of Pham’s good friends and played Elizabeth Proctor, not only believes that Pham is a hard worker and performer, but she also knows that he is caring and entertaining.

“[Pham] handled new challenges with extreme dedication and unrelenting effort, and it’s that drive that makes him the incredible actor that he is,” Rodriguez said. “All of his quirks and his humor that never fails to make me laugh or put a smile on my face, his work ethic when it comes to acting is something

I admire about him, and he is so passionate about what he does and the people around him.”

As Pham continues to act and sing throughout high school, he finds himself thinking about the future and possibly pursuing a career in performing arts.

“I’ll definitely continue with performing arts in the future,” Pham said. “It’s my life and it’s what I want to pursue, best case scenario, as a career path, so I’m definitely sticking around.”

Daylight Savings harmful to mental health; legislatures considering to repeal

By Luke McCabe Life Editor

Every year, on the second Sunday of March, millions of people around the world turn their clocks ahead at 2 a.m. and lose an hour of their day to daylight savings.

The idea of daylight savings began with New Zealand entomologist George Hudson in 1895 when he proposed the two-time, one-hour shift so that he would have extra daylight after work for outdoor studies. It wasn’t until after WWI in 1918 that Congress first implemented the idea nationwide. At the time, daylight savings was practical for the average working man, especially farmers, and aided in the U.S. war effort by reducing coal usage in the home. However, as our society has modernized, more and more criticism has been raised about the mental and physical effects that changing our clocks really has on the human brain function.

“Circadian rhythm is our biological clock that has a 24 hour cycle. It is what controls what time we feel sleepy, what time we wake up on our own in the morning, when our body has a higher temp in a 24 hour period and when it has a low point in a 24 hour period,” psychology teacher Amy Henderson said. “That is why daylight savings may be hard at the beginning because we are used to certain times

of waking up and going to sleep and even though it is slightly, we have to change that...I think it may increase sleep troubles and increase sleep debt in the two weeks that we change the time, which has effects on mental health.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 28 states have over 64 pending pieces of legislation in 2021 that would seriously reconsider the time change. One of these states is Texas.

“The practice of moving our clocks back and forth twice a year is something that needs to end,” Texas Senator José Menéndez said in a 2019 interview with ABC news. “Since repeatedly changing our clocks impacts the safety and health of our constituents, we believe that the people of Texas need to vote and make the ultimate decision to address this.

This bill will allow Texans to pick a time they feel is best for them.”

Daylight savings is no longer an issue of saving energy because our nation has increased its sustainable energy sources immensely, but rather, it has become more of a geographical concern. Because the Earth is tilted on an axis, the distance one travels from the equator greatly affects the hours of sunlight a state may or may not be getting, so different states have very different relationships with daylight savings. Author of “Seize the Daylight”

David Prerau said in an interview with National Geographic that Arizona, a state that has already done away with daylight savings, is a prime example of this.

“In the summer, everybody loves to have an extra hour of daylight in the evening so they can stay out another hour,” Prerau said. “In Arizona, it’s just the opposite. They don’t want more sunlight, they want less.”

“It’s very important for people to understand the difference between short-term, transitional effects and long-term benefits,” Prerau said.

“You’re talking about an eightmonth benefit versus a one or two day negative.”

THE PRACTICE OF MOVING OUR CLOCKS BACK AND FORTH TWICE A YEAR IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO END.

Having sunlight for longer, especially when that sunlight is coming from the scorching Arizona sun, has serious detrimental effects other than a rise in heat exhaustion. Daylight savings has also been linked to car accident fatalities, rise in heart attack and stroke risk, harmful medical mistakes and general reduction in mental health immediately after the shifts.

José Menéndez, Texas Senator

However, heart attacks and fatal traffic accidents should be considered as more than simply a “one or two day negative.” He said that traffic accidents and heart attacks are only linked to temporary fatigue due to a change in sleep schedule, but research about circadian rhythms indicates that changes in sleep patterns do affect humans far more than a few days.

Research also suggests that circadian rhythm disruptions cause stress responses in human beings regardless of age or physical wellbeing, but the scale of the stress response depends on the person.

“I always thought daylight savings was pretty pointless, and I’m glad legislators are starting to agree,” senior Lucy Sinwell said. “Whenever the time shifts would happen, I would either wake up even more tired or wake up way before my alarm and have to sit and wait for the hour to pass.”

Sinwell, a self declared night-owl, said she never feels like she has good sleep after any time shift. Just like a form of jet-lag, daylight savings is proven to hurt the quality of people’s sleep. And Henderson agrees.

“I think teens need to realize how important sleep is for your brain, development, physical and mental health and over wellness,” Henderson said. “Students have so many demands that I think sleep takes a back seat and is pushed to the side, when it can affect so many things and is really important.”

So, why is daylight savings still around despite the tons of research on its negative effects? The problem lies within our legislative processes and voter turnout.

“Since I am now a voter, I get to voice my opinion about things like [daylight savings],” Sinwell said. “So next time I get to the polls, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the bill to repeal it, and I encourage others who feel the same to do that too.”

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION Sophomore Liam Pham rehearses a scene from “The Crucible” with co-actress senior Monse Rodriguez. He said that this play enhanced his acting skills. “My favorite parts of the show were the important moments that we had to hit right on target to make the show good,” Pham said. Photo by Lauren Redmond

Society judges the lives of celebrities

Harsh criticism, fame at a young age negatively impacts mental

By Grace Worsham Staff writer

Britney Spears can no longer handle the constant sound of clicking cameras as she violently drives an umbrella into videographer Daniel Ramos Ford Explorer while paparazzi capture the bald-headed pop star in what seems to be a mental breakdown. This event was captured on camera in 2006.

Stories like these spark great interest as readers find curiosity in the less “perfect” side of celebrities. Paparazzi and reporters seek to find stars in bad moments in hopes of making money from viewers using such evidence to further judge or criticize them. According to a -- poll of -- students, -- percent of students...

“Paparazzi photographers do it for the money,” upper school photography teacher George Fiala said. “The more controversial, the more wrong the celebrity does, the more money the photo is worth.”

Many people take interest in negative news about celebrities and judge them for certain accusations without further researching if the information is valid. For example, tabloids around Meghan Markle have caused great upheaval and led to the Duchess of Sussex explaining the truth in an interview with Oprah, which aired in the U.S. on March 7. Certain answers in the interview shed light to the gravity of the situation as Meghan said that she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”

“It is not right to judge a celebrity based on pictures or magazines about them because, in the world we live in, social media and fake news can distort the reality of the situation,” junior Kai Robinson said. “It is important to look at multiple different sources when making judgments about celebrities.”

Information and photos are often exaggerated or edited to further accentuate the intended point. This is validated through “Riverdale” stars Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes, who called out Cosmopolitan Philippines for photoshopping their bodies to make them slimmer. Both stars posted the original picture on Instagram to prove so.

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pressure onto shaping [a] person on what they want to see,” sophomore Annabelle Heppner said. “[This is especially hard for celebrities] at a young age [because] don’t know what they want entirely.”

Fame at a young age often occurs unexpectedly and the extreme lifestyle change can cause conflicts too. The stress, lack of childhood and publicity can be too much for many.

“Fame at a young age can be bad for [a] person because it gets in the way of having a normal childhood and school experience,” Robinson said. “[This] can be bad for their mental and physical health.”

Many celebrities who grew famous at young ages have shed light to their experiences growing up and the negative impact fame has had on them.

“You see so many childhood stars like Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato and Lindsey Lohan come out about how being famous at a young age really messed up their mental health and led to developing unhealthy habits,” junior Erika Batson said. “There are so many more bad experiences with childhood fame than there are good ones because it is so hard for people to be cast into such wide fame at such a young age that they can’t really cope with it and understand it.”

As explained by Psychology Today, judgment and criticism are part of human nature as the brain involuntarily creates expectations and evaluations of others. Some judgments can be harmless, while others quite detrimental. This source published an article with statistics stating that 75 percent of the participants admitted that they had misjudged someone at least once a month and 23.4 percent stated they misjudged someone based on their appearance two or three times per month.

THE PUBLIC CAN PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ONTO SHAPING [A] PERSON ON WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE.

Annabelle Heppner, sophomore

“Pictures are often photoshopped these days,” Fiala said. “Today’s corporate media only cares about ratings, and it often does not tell the truth or give us the entire story. No one has the right to judge, especially someone you do not know on a personal level.”

Even if the information is valid, it is often only the negative news that is shared, which causes viewers to judge a celebrity’s character inaccurately. Celebrity relationships and breakups are also greatly exaggerated and personal details are often exposed. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s file for divorce became greatly publicized as sources such as Vogue. “We are witnessing the demolition of a creative powerhouse. Kim and Kanye always seemed so right for each other, each marveling at the other and enamored with what they saw,” Vogue magazine published at the end of February. Many news sources always seem so sure of how celebrities feel, but statements like these are based on assumptions.

“The public can put a lot of

“No one should be making fun of other people,” Fiala said. “Unless you know them well and they know you are joking, it is not okay.

Since you do not know the celebrities at all, don’t make fun of them.”

There is some news that does deserve some attention and justice, though. When a celebrity is truly in the wrong, it is not frowned upon to share one’s opinion on such actions.

“If a celebrity is caught saying or doing something bad, I do think they should face criticism and judgment for it,” Batson said. “But if it is hate comments on an Instagram post, body shaming or saying mean things, I don’t think [those] people should feel entitled to make such comments about a person when they don’t deserve it.” Many find it easier to judge celebrities for the same actions someone around them does because they believe their criticism will not affect the celebrity.

“It is so much easier to see a photo or a video of a celebrity and make fun of it than it is to with someone you personally know because celebrities are so widely criticized… that the chances of a comment getting back to you are really slim,” Batson said.

“Especially with people we know, we have to think about what we say and how it will affect their feelings, but with celebrities, it’s almost like we treat them like they aren’t people and that we can say whatever we want about them.”

Others often do not take into account the extreme spotlight

celebrities are forced under though. No human is perfect and the mistakes one makes each day are greatly amplified as a celebrity.

“There is [so] much pressure from the media and the corporations that invest in celebrities, Fiala said. “You also lose your privacy because you are always in the spotlight. It could really damage a person as I have seen with many celebrities.”

Inevitably, every individual is entitled to their own opinions, whether it be justified or extremely controversial.

“It honestly depends if [celebrities] make a controversial statement or action,” Heppner said. “[If so], I believe we are allowed to have our opinions over the topic because they have made the choice to be in the public eye. We can have our opinions over what they choose to do.”

Graphic by Grace Worsham

thebuzz

“One year I decided to pull the trick where you stuff paper in the ends of someone’s shoes so it feels smaller on my little sister. She was in Kindergarten at the time, and I remember her trying to put her shoes on and she just could not figure out why they wouldn’t fit on. I thought it was hilarious because she’s so little and hadn’t really experienced April Fools Day yet, so I felt like I had to pull a trick on her.”

Brayden Girata, freshman

The joke’s on you

Students and faculty talk about their most memorable April Fool’s Day Prank

By Callie Hawkins, Luke McCabe, Alexandra Warner and Grace Worsham

“One night when my brother was sleeping I decided to pull a classic April Fools Day prank on him. I had bought shaving cream and a feather earlier that day and hid it in my room. When he was asleep I sneaked into his room and put a lot of shaving cream on his hand. I grabbed the feather and started tickling his nose. He flung his hand at his face and shaving cream went all over him. I ran out of the room. It was pretty funny but he was so mad so I was skeptical for the rest of the night.”

Cooper Raney, sophomore

“My brother always played pranks on me, so I thought that I would get him back last year. I had seen this prank before and I thought it would be funny. I went down to my pantry and grabbed the pack of Oreos. I went back up to my room and filled them with my toothpaste which matched the color of the filling and put the Oreos back downstairs. My brother loves Oreos, so later the next day, he went to get some and I watched, trying not to laugh and as soon as they went in his mouth he spit them out dramatically. It was so funny.”

Emily

junior

Yancey,

“Me and some other students were in online film class one day, and we decided to try and play a prank on Mr. Weiss on April Fools Day. We told him that we broke his camera because we thought it would be funny, but then he was like the joke is actually on you because now you have to pay for a $3,000 camera and then we were like oh April Fools... So it didn’t exactly work out as planned.”

“When I was super young I had a friend named Olivia who looked extremely similar to me. So on April Fool’s Day we decided to switch classes and names. I went to all of her classes and all the teachers thought I was Olivia. We even switched lunch periods and lunch boxes. No one suspected us for the entire day at school. At the end of the day, when it was time to go home, I got into her mom’s car because she thought I was her daughter. It was a pretty fun April Fool’s Day.”

Ava Thompson, senior

Anneke Albright, chemistry teacher

Attacks on AAPI community rise during pandemic

Model minority myth, racist rhetoric on social media among factors for rise in violence

By Evelyn Zhao Editor-in-Chief

Over the past year, there have been more than 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents in the United States alone, according to a report by Stop AAPI Hate, a non-profit coalition that founded the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center. The evidence has been circulating across social media platforms with graphic videos of innocent Asian-American elderly being violently shoved to the ground in California and of subway riders in New York City getting verbally and physically attacked, to name a few.

From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to Japanese-American internment camps during World War II to Hollywood’s use of yellowface (where white actors would change their appearance to portray East Asian characters), Asian-Americans have had a long history of injustice in the United States. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the increase in harassment, violence, hate incidents and racist rhetoric against the Asian American Pacific Islander community has brought about the need to finally put an end to Asian hate and discrimination.

“I was just scrolling through Instagram, and I saw this one post,... and it was about this grandpa being beaten on a subway, and it just sort of struck me how serious the situation is and how widespread it is,” sophomore Bridget Wang, who is of Chinese descent, said. “I feel like racism has always been an issue in this country, and I don’t think it should’ve taken this kind of violence for us to speak out against it or speak out and advocate for ourselves. I’m trying to deal with the reality that we haven’t spoken a lot about it until now, which is sort of upsetting.”

this Chinese Exclusion Act,’” history teacher Claire Mrozek said. “Now, getting back to the why we don’t talk about it piece, again, it’s just so blatantly racist, and I think part of it is that model minority myth, where so many Asian-Americans have done okay in the United States economically that Americans are like, ‘oh, they’ve done great here.’ It’s easy to make assumptions, and it’s complicated and hard to go back and look at the roots of how we treat certain groups.”

Senior Katherine Cowser, who was also adopted from China when she was 15-months old, has personally fallen victim to the model minority myth but never saw it as a negative stereotype that affected her until recently.

“I do fit the [Asian] stereotype of [getting] good grades, kind of nerdy, [and] I’ve always known that was kind of the stereotype, but I didn’t really think it was a bad thing at first because I was like, ‘oh they think you’re smart, oh, that can’t be bad,’” Cowser said. “But if you expect everyone of a certain race or ethnicity to live up to that standard, and you think that they’re all like that, then you’re putting some down. Also, just seeing someone as those characteristics, you can’t really see them as individuals.”

Political figures’––such as former President Donald Trump’s––perpetual use of “Chinese Virus” and “Wuhan Virus” are believed to have instigated anti-Asian racist attitudes and hatred against the AAPI community.

A HATE CRIME IS SOME VIOLENT ACT OR A CRIME THAT’S MOTIVATED BY A HATE OF SOME CHARACTERISTIC LIKE A SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR LIKE ETHNICITY.

who actually is Chinese and who is American of Chinese descent and who is Filipino and any of those other distinctions that we should really be making. And again, it’s a way to lash out and address a situation that’s really scary, not to justify at all or explain it.”

Until recently, however, many media news outlets failed to cover the rise in anti-Asian hate when it first occurred last spring. In an interview on “Reliable Sources” with CNN’s Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter, award-winning journalist Connie Chung expressed her disappointment with the media’s coverage of anti-Asian hate incidents.

pulling their eyes back for the look or dressing up like something that isn’t a cultural standard. It’s definitely been there this entire time, I just don’t think it was that violent or that out. [Now], all of that violence and all that racism is on display, like everyone can see it all around the world. I don’t think it’s ever been out there as much as it has since this pandemic.”

Margaret Siu Class of 2015

Some attribute the silence from the AAPI community to the so-called “model minority myth,” in which a minority group––like Asian-Americans––is stereotyped as successful, smart and non-threatening, living the “American Dream” while being far less problematic in society. In reality, the myth promotes damaging microaggressions and racial stereotypes and can cause division between distinct minority groups.

“[In the past], [politicians] could discriminate against Asians because there wasn’t a significant political backlash to doing so, so they didn’t have to worry, ‘oh no I’m going to alienate the Asian vote if I passed

The repeated blame on China and racist rhetoric likely caused Asian-Americans to become a scapegoat for the pandemic in the U.S. In a study published by the American Journal of Public Health, the results showed that only 20 percent of hashtags associated with #COVID-19 reflected anti-Asian sentiment while 50 percent of hashtags associated with #Chinesevirus reflected antiAsian sentiment.

“I think this pandemic is so confusing and bewildering to so many people that blaming it on China is just this sort of knee jerk, ‘I’m afraid, I need somebody to blame my uncertainty and fear on, and they’re over across the ocean, so I’m going to blame them, and oh, you happen to vaguely look like this person, and you might be Chinese,’” Mrozek said. “Again, with no real consciousness of understanding

“Anti-Asian hate started the moment it came out of President Trump’s mouth,” Chung said in the interview. “A few weeks earlier, the New York Times had a story about Asian hate prior… to these horrendous murders in Georgia, and it had it on the front page… Broadcast organizations frequently use the NYT as their daily assignment sheet. Not until it appeared in the NYT did other news organizations pick up on it and start reporting about Asian hate... The media has been miserably late, and it’s because we’re that minority that is invisible.”

According to a March 29 poll of 144 students, 81 percent were aware that Asian-Americans had been facing violence from the start of the pandemic to now. Forty-four percent of students were aware of anti-Asian racism and violence before the pandemic started.

“[Racism] definitely did [exist],” Wang said. “I don’t think it’s the outright things that really happen to us; it’s the subtle things like people

Nationwide support for the STOP AAPI Hate movement climaxed following the mass shooting and murder of eight people, six of whom who were Asian women, in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16. Although federal prosecutors have yet to determine whether the shooting was a hate crime, many in the AsianAmerican community believe it was.

“A hate crime is some violent act or a crime that’s motivated by a hate of some characteristic like a sexual orientation or like ethnicity,” Chinese-American alumna Margaret Siu ‘15 said. “The fact that the majority of the people were Asian women makes me certainly inclined to think about this as a hate crime. The man said that he had a sexual addiction, which makes me think about yellow fever, and the fact that he said that he goes to a lot of these Asian businesses and massage parlors to relieve a sexual temptation...also makes me think about the fetishization of Asian women.”

The Atlanta shooting brought much attention to America’s history of Asian fetishization and sexual violence against Asian American women. According to Stop AAPI Hate, 68 percent of the 3,800 hate incidents reported were hate crimes against AAPI women.

“Since the introduction of Asian

women in America, a lot of these women were portrayed as sexual objects,” Siu said. “During the Vietnam War, men would take home Vietnamese ‘war brides’ because they were perceived to be more docile [and] listen to the patriarch. The different sexism that Asian women face compared to white women owes a lot to the differences of history at play and the differences of stereotypes at play. The portrayal of the exotic and submissive China doll would never be applied to a white woman especially because of the role that mainstream media has played in perpetuating that.”

Siu believes English and history curricula should include books written by Asian-American authors for students to better comprehend the contemporary racial movement and understand other diverse perspectives as well.

“The sheer amount of white authors is not reflective of the changes that are going around in the contemporary movement, and in English and history classes especially, I think that’s where a lot of these discussions and learning moments can come up,” Siu said. “The failure to include diverse voices is also a failure to discuss a lot of these topics and challenge beliefs.”

I REFUSE TO BE SILENT Senior Evelyn Zhao took a self-portrait to symbolize the portrayal of Asian Americans in the United States. One side of her face depicts the fetishization of Asian American women and the other side depicts the model minority myth, and the falling piece of duct tape symbolizes the AAPI community’s refusal to be silent. Photo by Evelyn Zhao

Graphic by Evelyn Zhao

Honor council system upholds academic pledge

Student-run organization determines consequences of student violations, if requested

By Grace Knudson Photo Editor

Every August, at the beginning of the school year, all community members sign the Academic Pledge to uphold the school’s three founding tenants – Honor, Respect and Integrity. However, with inevitable violations bound to occur, in 1989 an upper school student recommended creating the Honor Council.

The Honor Council, which is an upper school student-run organization, ensures all members abide by the tenants and determines an appropriate disciplinary response when a member violates the Academic Pledge. The Council consists of three members from each upper school grade, the Student Council executive president and council advisor Mary Jo Lyons. When a teacher suspects a violation of the Academic Pledge, the faculty member communicates with Assistant Head of Upper School Jeff Laba to decide whether the student committed an offense and if it should go to the Council. Laba then informs the Council and they meet to discuss a possible guilty incident. Possible offenders and their violations remain anonymous until the offender, his/her advisor and the teacher issuing the matter come before the Council. At the meeting, the case is explained by the teacher involved in the situation with the Council alone. It is only after this that the student joins the meeting and shares his or her story. The Council reviews all the information

and discusses what level of offense, if any, the student committed and the consequences of the offense.

“I have had [Honor Council] meetings be 15 minutes and some be over an hour,” junior and Honor Council member James Click said. “It just depends on the severity of the case and whether the student is being upfront with what they did. Some students will just automatically say, ‘Yes, I made a mistake,’ but in other instances, the situation can be unclear and last a lot longer. We definitely have had disagreements among guilt and innocence and punishments, but we’ve always been able to work it out where everyone’s content with how we decide the case.”

EVERY VOICE IS THE SAME NO MATTER WHAT AGE YOU ARE, AND THERE ARE NO SET POSITIONS WHICH I FOUND REALLY AWESOME.

Charlotte Clark, senior

Once the Council decides on a consequence for the student, they share their recommendation with Head of Upper School Henry Heil for approval or changes. The convicted student, however, may disagree with the Council’s verdict and appeal to Heil’s decision.

“Mr. Heil needs a really good reason to not follow the Honor Council’s recommendation,” Laba said. “Generally, appeals are for [when] there was a mistake in the system or if [the student] just doesn’t agree. The reason this process is there is if you feel like the Honor Council didn’t do something right or if they didn’t hear all the evidence.”

Four-year Honor Council member and senior Charlotte Clark enjoys the equal playing field that all Honor Council members have, despite grade level. All meetings have a chairman and secretary, but both roles rotate each session, that way all members have the same amount of say in the

conversation.

“Every voice is the same no matter what age you are, and there are no set positions, which I found really awesome,” Clark said. “Everyone [on the Council] has a chance to exhibit leadership, even though they are already doing that by being on the Honor Council. We are definitely on the down low compared to Student Council, which is a different type of leadership because a lot that the Honor Council does goes unnoticed by the rest of the student body, but it is a kind of leadership that I like to do.”

But things have been different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Honor Council adapted to include the members who attended school virtually. Also, to comply with social distancing protocols, the Council tried out new spaces to hold their meetings rather than gathering in one of the Frank building classrooms.

“We have a whole set of process and procedures to have [online]

waiting rooms and letting people in and asking people to verify they are not recording and that they are alone in the room,” Lyons said, “Last fall, we had our hearing in the Eagle Gallery, and… it was loud, and we had two big glass windows, and we had to get them covered. This semester we tried a room above senior hall and the room set up and acoustics are better, and that’s where we will finish out this year.”

Additionally, despite some students taking part in school online with possible temptations to cheat and pressures regarding the pandemic, the amount of Academic Pledge violations are not more than past years.

“I wouldn’t say that this year is unusually higher or different from past years in terms of number of cases,” Lyons said. “But, I don’t know if there’s instances where teachers are having conversations with students that don’t elevate to the council because we are not privy to that.”

While the Honor Council keeps the names of the individuals who may have violated the academic pledge a secret, community members can find all procedures and rules regarding the Academic Pledge and Honor Council in the Upper School Handbook.

“I think a lot of students and maybe even faculty don’t realize how much is actually in the handbook, and it explicitly walks through the [Honor Council] process and protocol and what the violations are and consequences are,” Lyons said. “I keep the handbook with me for every hearing, and when a student in the Council has a question when deliberating, I can look in the handbook for the answer or ask Mr. Laba. I will always say that I’m impressed with the thoughtfulness and the empathy the students put towards every case that they hear, and I’ve been super impressed with the majority of the group of students that listen to the cases.”

Photoillustration by

Grace Knudson Gavel image: Flickr Creative Commons

CULTURE CRASH is a compilation of significant pop culture events made by Life Editors Emily Lichty and Luke McCabe that highlight tech news & other short snippets of info regarding important people and events from around the globe.

1Royal Reveal

On March 8, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview. It aired on CBS and attracted around 17.1 million viewers. During the conversation, the couple discussed their separation from Buckingham Palace, the gender of their second child, Markle’s struggle with depression and the presence of the media in their lives. The information revealed in the interview sparked discussions surrounding the character of the royal family.

2 3 4 5 6

Digitally Framed

On March 12, artist Mike Winkelmann, who goes by the name Beeple, sold a non-fungible token, or NFT, for $69 million. An NFT is a rare digital piece of art or item that only one person can own, enticing collectors and artists to purchase or create their own. Many digital creators have been joining the craze of NFT collectibles, an asset similar to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, shifting the focus of the art world.

Musical Moment

Hosted by Trevor Noah, the 63rd Grammy Awards were held on March 24, celebrating the accomplishments of artists from the past year. Winning artists include Beyonce, who received enough Grammy awards, including song of the year, to become the most awarded woman artist in Grammy history. Best album went to Taylor Swift for her album “Folklore” and Megan Thee Stallion received best new artist. The ceremony featured performances from BTS, Cardi B, Doja Cat, Harry Styles and more.

Ruff Start

President Joe Biden’s dogs, Champ and Major, returned to the White House after being sent away for training. After Major, the first rescue dog to live in the White House, bit and injured a Secret Service agent, the two dogs were sent to Delaware to work with a trainer. Biden revealed on March 24 that the dogs had returned to the White House once again.

More than a grain of salt

Internet famous butcher Nusret Gökçe, also known as Salt Bae, visited Dallas in early March to open another location of his famous restaurant NursEt. With over a dozen locations around the world, Nurs-Et first opened in Turkey in 2010 and features a menu of expensive steaks and meats, including a $1,100 dollar steak covered in edible gold. Famous for his tableside cutting and salting techniques, Gökçe came to Dallas to open Nurs-Et’s newest location.

Justice from Justin

On March 19, singer-songwriter Justin Bieber released his new album “Justice.” Many of the songs were recorded in Bieber’s home studio throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and feature guest artists such as Khalid and Chance the Rapper. The album also includes clips from Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, resulting in backlash from some as the speeches are often used in songs about marriage and love.

Yoga classes provide respite for students and faculty

French and Arabic teacher offers to lead classes after school

By Maddy Hammett Staff writer

For years, teachers and students in the community participated in weekly yoga sessions led by an outside yoga teacher. Now, facing restrictions during the pandemic, French and Arabic teacher Laila Kharrat leads the weekly classes.

It’s no surprise students and teachers are eager to participate in the class, as the ancient practice offers a multitude of benefits. The benefits of yoga stretch beyond just the physical, offering aid in relaxation and focus.

According to the National Institute of Health “regular yoga practice may reduce levels of stress,” and that “yoga supports stress management, mental health, mindfulness, weight loss and quality sleep.”

THE

their experience level and she makes sure that everyone feels included in her class. I really like when she uses oracle cards because it is a good way for everyone to participate and feel included.”

Teachers feel the same inclusivity and enthusiasm from Kharrat in the adult yoga class. These yoga classes help teachers who have never tried yoga broaden their understanding of the activity.

WAY [KHARRAT] TEACHES YOGA MAKES EVERYONE FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THEIR EXPERIENCE LEVEL.

Camille Gravel, sophomore

In the Physical Education course called Lifetime Fitness, students participate in Kharrat’s yoga classes every Tuesday and Thursday. Students in the course look forward to learning about the various practices of yoga and are captivated by Kharrat’s unique teaching style.

“Madame Kharrat’s teaching style is very positive and inclusive,” sophomore Camille Gravel said. “The way she teaches yoga makes everyone feel comfortable with

“Madame Kharrat is really thoughtful and intentional about the way she plans out the sessions,” upper school history teacher Claire Mrozek said. “She really pushes us while also giving us modifications. Her class gives me the chance to decompress in the way that I don’t do consciously enough on my own.”

Kharrat teaches these classes with an enthusiasm for yoga that has grown ever since she was a high school student at The Greenhill School. Kharrat’s passion for yoga is evident in her extensive experience with the activity.

“I first became interested in yoga when I was a three-sport athlete at Greenhill,” Kharrat said. “We had a foreign exchange student from Germany who taught us all yoga in the spring of 2000. It was life-changing for me. Yoga

helped me relieve stress and balance my energy.”

Beyond enjoying the activity, Kharrat’s class teaches some of the cultural aspects of yoga. Kharrat uses oracle and affirmation cards to provide students an opportunity to fully participate and appreciate ancient practices associated with yoga.

“I like to use Oracle Cards or Affirmation Cards at the start of each class,” Kharrat said. “I fan the deck and everyone selects a card. They read the card aloud, which helps them and others set an intention for our practice that day. You can keep your own intention, share with someone else or throw it out entirely. It’s an exciting way to enter the practice with a motivating or affirming thought, advice, suggestion or inspiration for the practice of yoga.”

Kharrat’s class uses traditional poses and practices that help improve the health and wellness of her students and fellow teachers.

“My favorite part of her class is when we go into shavasana,” Gravel said. “We lay down, relax and focus on our breathing. It’s nice to have a time in the day when I can just sit with myself and relax with my thoughts. I always feel really energized and focused when I finish shavasana.”

Kharrat’s passion for yoga in large part stems from her passion for health and wellness. Kharrat hopes to offer the community an opportunity to work on themselves spiritually and physically by teaching these classes.

“My favorite part about teaching yoga is that I can help support the health and wellness of our students, faculty and staff through the practice of yoga,” Kharrat said. “Sharing a wellness activity that is designed to connect the body, breath, and spirit is very motivating to me.”

TEXAS TAKEN BY STORM

Community copes with damage from rare snow storm, look to politicians to improve infrastructure

Editor Carolyn Langford and Communications Director Elisabeth Siegel

Freezing water gushes through a burst pipe of sophomore Mason Carr’s parents’ bedroom. The ceiling begins to droop as water rises up the walls and the room floods. Carr stands in six inches of water and feels the snow fall inside the room. Weeks later, the room still has no ceiling, walls or floors.

“The only thing I was thinking was how unexpected it all was,” Carr said.

Story by

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Photoillustration by Communications Director Elisabeth Siegel

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM DURING THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM, FEW TEXANS foresaw the energy collapse and icy temperatures that would take over the state for nearly a week. The unpreparedness of politicians and deregulation of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas are debated to be the causes of Winter Storm Uri that left 4.3 million people without power and 15 million with water issues, according to poweroutage.us.

There are three major power grids across the United States: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection and ERCOT, which covers most of Texas. ERCOT is independent of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s jurisdiction, which makes Texas the only state excluded from the ability to exchange power with other states.

“There have been systems such as ERCOT in Texas, which basically controls the supply and demand of what everybody is making and what everybody needs,” Lewis Gillies, CEO of Rockall Energy based in Dallas said. “They were the ones that were trying to balance the whole system out. There’s a pretty extensive and deep review going into their historic performance. I believe quite a number of people at a pretty senior level have unfortunately lost their jobs as a consequence of the whole event.”

Texas power plants were exceedingly unprepared for the upcoming freezing conditions. The state does not require power plants to be winterized, and ERCOT’s planned worst-case scenario didn’t anticipate the scale of outages.

“If you want to be able to deal with weather extremes, then you have to invest in advance, either in winterizing or having standby capacity available,” Gillies said. “Ultimately, it will be the consumer that has to pay for all of that to be done, but it’s going to require the state to legislate that requirement. That’s not typically something that the state has done in the past, but I suspect they will be considering it very carefully as something they want to do going forward given these strange weather patterns we are beginning to experience.”

Assistant Head of Middle School Meg Fahrenbrook actively listened to weather forecasts and online commentators leading up to the storm. She prepared to lose power by making sure she had food, batteries, candles and other essentials.

“We live in a 1950s home, so [my husband] was wrapping exposed pipes with different things,” Fahrenbrook said. “We actually wrapped them with twinkle lights to keep them warm.” On the other hand, many Texans underestimated the warning signs of the upcoming weather.

“Texas usually doesn’t get weather like this,” Carr said. “It just came out of nowhere. The week before, people were saying it’s going to snow, but a lot of people didn’t think it was going to be as bad as it was or think that we weren’t going to have school for that entire week. From what I heard, people were saying it was going to snow Monday, but that’s about it.”

On Thursday, Feb. 11, more than 130 vehicles crashed on an icy

Texas interstate, leaving six people dead and dozens injured. This event marked the beginning of a precarious week ensured by under-preparedness. Due to the hazardous road conditions, Head of School David Baad closed school for the day.

“Conditions on roadways can change rapidly, and unfortunately, even with proactive measures the unpredictable and fast-changing severe Texas weather can still result in some ice accumulating,” the Fort Worth Fire Department said.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM

ON TUESDAY FEB. 14, COLD AND ICE BEGAN TO SET IN, AND power outages spread across the state. The Texas power grid was on the brink of total failure, and President Joe Biden declared the storm a major disaster, opening up federal funding for relief efforts. Junior Camille Greening was one of many that suffered damage as a result of the cold temperatures.

“It started feeling really serious when it started affecting me,” Greening said. “After that, I started paying attention. A sprinkler broke in my ceiling in my living room and everyone in my neighborhood was at my house trying to get all the water out. We couldn’t figure out how to turn off all the water. We went to a hotel that night and were able to get a plumber soon. Now our floors are all messed up.”

As the temperature plummeted, Texans turned on their lights and heating while electricity supply plants shut down. The shortage of gas from oil and gas plants filled the power ridge and couldn’t get to the power station.

“Just as you had a big surge in demand, you had a fall in supply,” Gillies said. “Then the whole system started to fall over and had to start shutting off customers all over the state so it could continue to run in a stable way.”

The reactions of politicians and elected officials were highlighted, some receiving criticism and others receiving praise. Sen. Ted Cruz was met with backlash after he decided to take a trip to Cancun, Mexico during the storm, while New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised $4 million to assist recovery efforts.

“I think a good leader is someone who is going to be there when there is a crisis and when people need them and they need to be visible,” Fahrenbrook said. “I was really disappointed to see some of the leadership leaving our state in a state of crisis.”

Like Ocasio-Cortez, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped in to help Texas relief with a generous donation to Genesis Women’s Shelter, despite not having any affiliation with the crisis itself. Genesis Women’s Shelter in Dallas offers temporary housing to women, safe from situations of domestic violence. The shelter lost power, therefore the electromagnetic locks meant to keep the 87 women and children living inside safe stopped working. Eventually, water tore through the ceilings and flooded the apartments, forcing residents to evacuate while attempting to social distance.

“I basically said, ‘Grab your important documents, things that are irreplaceable, and we need to get out of this building,’” Director of Education and Advocacy Krista Fulz said in an interview with Marie Claire. “Coming to transitional housing is giving them a bit of safety and security in a time of pandemic and fleeing from super abusive partners. That was all ripped out from under them in a matter of days.”

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Women’s Studies Organization stepped in quickly to help by applying for the Community Impact Fund, which provides money for student groups wishing to make donations to nonprofit organizations. The donation funded snack food for the children at Genesis.

“Because of our consistent support, these snack food items are no longer [have to be] budgeted for at Genesis,” WSO Advisor Dr. Catherine Civello said. “We could not have a physical collection of items because of safety concerns, social distancing and COVID... They rely on our generosity.”

Head of School David Baad announced that remote learning would resume Wednesday, Feb. 17. Teachers had to prepare for if their students or themselves couldn’t make it to class.

“It’s always hard to know where our students are emotionally in that moment,” Fahrenbrook said. “A lot of the messaging I sent out to my students was [giving] them something they could do, but letting them know they wouldn’t be impacted negatively if they couldn’t get it done, since this is clearly an emergency situation.”

However, after receiving many reports from the community about power outages, burst pipes and other hardships, Baad suspended all instruction for the rest of the week.

“When we did [online school] for one day, we learned that there were more people affected than we had realized,” Head of Upper School Henry Heil said. “It had some good impacts, but it was creating a couple of stressors for some people who were not able to access WiFi. We decided if it was going to create more anxiety, then [we should] stop doing it.”

THE AFTERMATH

EVEN THOUGH THE SNOW AND ICE EVENTUALLY MELTED, many homes were uninhabitable and dozens of Texans were left dead. According to CBS, the storm cost $200 billion in damage, rivaling the damage of the most destructive weather events in U.S. history, such as Hurricane Harvey. The week after, lawmakers in the Texas Legislature held hearings and looked for answers after the breakdown of the energy grid, with ERCOT at the center of attention. On Jan. 22, 27 Texas members of congress signed a letter to President Biden to “expeditiously approve federal assistance for all counties.”

The aftermath left constituents questioning their politicians’ action, or lack thereof, amidst the snowstorm. Many felt betrayed that politicians failed to upgrade their infrastructure, despite knowing there was an issue. According to a Feb. 29 poll of 144 students, 61 percent of students who kept up with Texas politicians’ responses believed they should have done more.

“I expect more from our politicians in times like these,” Greening said. “A few years ago, when this happened in 2011, the government told us to join the electrical grid. We were warned about this issue, so it’s not like [Texas politicians] didn’t know. I think they should [join the national power grid], but I don’t think they will.”

Some attribute the lack of action to republican initiatives to maintain low taxes. Others believe that the gravity of the problem outweighs having to pay more.

“I think that everybody wants energy security, but nobody wants to pay for it,” Gillies said. “That’s the reality, but I think in practice, that doesn’t work when you get extremes, whether it’s really cold or really hot. We seem to be getting more of these extreme weather events, and if we don’t pay to be prepared for that, then we will pay for it upfront and at the time. As a consumer, I would be very happy to pay more for my utilities if I knew that the facilities were secure through these events.”

Forty-two percent of students believe that the storm was in part a result of climate change, and 29 percent are unsure. While scientists disagree as to whether or not global warming is connected to the February snow, it is certain that rising temperatures will make storms worse and more unpredictable. Greening believes the storm is directly related to climate change.

“When the North Pole gets hotter, the warm air replaces the cold air in polar osmosis,” Greening said. “That’s when we see things happening like Alaska being warmer than us. I saw on the news that this same thing happened in the 1980s.”

Fahrenbrook agrees that Texas must define how much they are willing to put at risk for lower taxes.

“It is really important for Texas to prioritize infrastructure moving forward, and for Texas to think deeply about their desire for independence from government oversight,” Fahrenbrook said. “What do we lose by pushing so much for our independence? There’s a real reckoning that needs to happen in Texas state politics around what they can actually provide their people versus what kind of help they need to seek from the federal government. That is not a sign of weakness; that is a sign of doing what is right for your people.”

Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas politicians blamed the power failure on green energy, even though the state runs on fossil fuels. Abbott not only denounced the Green New Deal, but also ERCOT, who operates the grid.

“It would be harsh to blame anyone,” Gillies said. “I think if you’re going to have renewable energy in your portfolio, you’ve got to be prepared for circumstances where that doesn’t work, and you have to backup for it. The state needs to think of a comprehensive energy provision plan for weather extremes, whether it be very hot or very cold, and have a recurrence of what happened this winter.”

In addition, COVID-19 vaccine shipments faced widespread delays due to poor road conditions and the closure of vaccination sites. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines needed to be stored in ultra-cold temperatures, so unused vials had to be quickly administered or re-refrigerated otherwise the doses would have had to be disposed of.

“Someone I know got their vaccine cancelled due to the storm,” Greening said. “It caused a lot of issues because some people waited so long to get an appointment.”

With the aftermath bringing to light many fundamental issues in Texas’ infrastructure, many hope for change to prevent a future storm’s damage being detrimental, as with Uri. 77 percent of students think that Texas politicians should work to improve infrastructure in the future.

“Texas wasn’t prepared for anything like this because we didn’t have the necessary materials or preparation,” Greening said. “I feel like it should be a wakeup call to get connected to the national power grid and become aware of climate change.”

percent of students lost power

percent of students think Texas politicians could have done more in their response to

percent of students had water issues (such as burst pipes and contaminated water

percent of students think Texas politicians should work to improve infrastructure in the future

Source: March 29 poll of 144 upper school students

Mysterious Media

The Eagle Edition evaluated top true crime podcasts, docuseries and YouTube channels

Hosted by former journalist Ana Garcia, this podcast is updated daily with the newest true crime stories. Accompanied by former defense attorneys, police officers, crime experts and neurologists, Garcia covers the most bizarre, shocking true crime stories. Garcia gives the facts of the cases and others provide commentary based on previous cases they have witnessed. She also delves into the psychological background of each criminal and the facets of each disappearance. This podcasts’ commentary focuses more on the prosecution of the murderers and the judiciary processes they go through rather than the victims, and does not cover the most infamous true crime stories but rather the newest and latest stories audiences might not have heard of yet. Overall, this podcast is great for those who are interested in the latest in true crime, but not great for those who would like to learn about more infamous stories.

This Netflix original documentary released February of this year follows the tumultuous and dark past of the Hotel Cecil in Los Angeles, California. The main focus of this four-episode long documentary covers the mysterious unsolved death of Elisa Lam and briefly mentions other murders that took place at the Cecil. This documentary comes from the creators of the “Confessions with a Killer: Ted Bundy Tapes,’’ a documentary miniseries that took Netflix by storm in 2019. This documentary showcases various social media conspiracy theorist groups and entertains the many outlandish theories about Elisa Lams’ murder posted on Facebook groups and Reddit discussion boards. While focusing primarily on the tragedy of Elisa Lam, various conspiracy theories are mentioned sporadically, largely taking away from the crux of the story. The main issue with this documentary is that while it does mention the other deaths occurring at the Cecil Hotel, it does not cover the stories of the 25 other victims at the hotel who lost their lives along with Elisa Lam. Although Elisa Lam’s unsolved death was especially captivating, I wish the other 25 deaths would have at least been investigated more. The Hotel Cecil is home to various suicides, homicides and was even home to the notorious Los Angeles “Night Stalker”, a serial killer that took the country by storm in the 1980s. The documentary had so much potential, and I think the creators just got too caught up in the nitty gritty of Elisa Lam’s death. I would only recommend this documentary to those who are interested in the conspiracy theories surrounding true crime instead of the actual facts.

This podcast covers the most infamous stories in true crime, covering everything from the AxeMan of New Orleans to the mysterious suicide of Hitler’s half-niece Geli Raubal. Each story is spread over two episodes, about 40 minutes in length each. Providing a dramatic modern twist on old time radio, this podcast surely does not disappoint. These episodes provide entertainment for audiences as the shocking reenactments prove to be captivating. Hosts Carter Roy and Wenndy Mackenzie explore true cold cases in-depth, covering what happened, the investigation and possible culprits. Roy and Mackenzie give historical context and set the stage for each episode. Although this podcast does cover the possible culprits of each unsolved murder, little attention is paid to conspiracy theories and hypotheses that take away from the main points of the story. The episodes of this podcast are extremely well-researched and the hosts are well informed on the intricacies of each cold case. This podcast is great for anyone who wants to know more about classic unsolved murder mysteries, especially if they like history. This podcast is entertaining, well-researched and dramatic, but not over the top.

YouTuber Bailey Sarian delves into various true crime stories with her 4.2 million YouTube subscribers while also doing her makeup on camera. While this combination might seem odd at first glance, this influencer combines the two best parts of YouTube: True crime and makeup videos. The appeal to Sarian comes in large part from her enthusiasm for true crime stories. In every video, Sarian is excited to dive into each story, but also retains enough composure to not let her enthusiasm come off as offensive to the families of the victims. This balance is difficult for many true crime YouTubers to maintain, as satirical commentary for entertainment purposes can be perceived as offensive or insensitive. Sarian’s videos on average are about 20 minutes in length, allowing Sarian to cover most of the details of a true crime story without falling down the rabbit hole of Internet conspiracy theories and Facebook groups. I recommend this YouTube channel to anyone who would like to start to learn more about true crime but does not have the time to finish an entire documentary series.

Reviews and photo by Maddy Hammett Staff writer

staffstance

CURRENT EVENTS SHOULD BE DISCUSSED IN CHAPEL

In an unpredictable year such as this one that included a pandemic, a divisive election, racial unrest, snow storms and many other challenges, awareness and understanding of current events is essential for upper school students. The Eagle Edition believes that daily chapel should be a time where the community can discuss national and school news through talks and announcements in order to provide students with a safe space to reflect on current affairs.

To maintain pandemic safety protocols and social distancing guidelines, the upper school student body has not been able to gather as it has in years past. Announcements and upper school-wide discussions are now limited to Schoology, email or virtual chapel. And with virtual chapel currently being the only time the upper school can come together as a whole, discussions about current events are only possible during this time. To ensure each upper school student is able to have an informed civil discourse, utilizing this valuable time to educate the community is important.

While students do spend time in the classroom discussing the news, these discussions are not mandatory and are limited to times when class work is not being completed. Having these conversations regularly during chapel as well designates a time for students to reflect on current issues in the context of their faith and moral values.

With a more prevalent mental health challenge this year, it is essential to provide every student a safe space in the form of chapel to process these events. In a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, 70 percent of national upper school respondents said that they believe anxiety and depression are major issues among their peers. In comparison, 84 percent of students believe that anxiety and depression are major issues for upper school students, according to a March 28 poll of 144 students. And with intermittent virtual learning, students do not have the same environment to

relax and reflect on challenges they are facing as they have had in years past. Additionally, many places of worship around the world spend time during their services making announcements to the community and discussing current events. According to the National Congregations Study, an ongoing survey of the religious leaders of America’s places of worship, 34 percent of congregations offer opportunities for political activities at a worship service. We should also utilize our chapel time in a similar way as most other churches by discussing current events in a spiritual light.

It is also important for students to develop the skills necessary to speak to a large group of people, especially in relation to something they are passionate about. Giving clubs and student organizations the opportunity to share their opinion on current matters and to inform the community about the club’s

upcoming events ensures that every member of the student body can benefit from the club’s hard work, especially since clubs have had fewer opportunities to gather this year.

However, many students do not feel comfortable speaking in chapel. According to a March 28. poll of 144 upper school students, 53 percent of students would not speak in chapel if given the opportunity. To maintain community awareness of current events and unique student perspectives, every student should feel secure to speak in chapel.

Chapel talks from students and teachers regarding their experiences and thoughts on national and school news can be important learning opportunities for those with varying views. Opening the eyes of students to the different backgrounds and mindsets of other members of the school community during chapel will promote connection and understanding. While chapel is not

JUNIOR MARY GRACE ALTIZER

a place to change people’s opinions, it should be an environment where students can be exposed to a diverse array of perspectives and feel like their own opinion is accepted.

The Eagle Edition also recognizes that the purpose of chapel is rooted in “creating, maintaining, and nurturing a diverse, safe and inclusive environment as [ESD] prepares young women and men for lives of service, intellectual discovery, integrity, morality and purpose.” The discussion of current events should only enhance this mission and not take away from the sense of safety that chapel provides. While chapel is not an appropriate time for heated debates or polarization, integrating current affairs in chapel talks should add value to the chapel’s purpose. Collaboration between the student body and administration can allow for the news to be discussed in an appropriate and healthy manner that is beneficial to the student body.

SOPHOMORE LAYNE SCHEINBERG

JUNIOR DAY NETTLE students speak out

“It is important to acknowledge what is going on both outside and within our community. Through talking about current events in chapel, I believe students would be provided with a safe space to use their personal faith to navigate their viewpoints and any actions they take from there.”

“Current events are not related to God or “chapel time,” so it doesn’t feel right to use that time for current events. [Discussing current events] can be done in other ways that don’t take away from god time, like a Schoology post or advisory activity.”

“I think clubs should still be able to do announcements and short speeches in chapel. Without having assemblies this year, chapel is probably the best place for those right now. ”

Graphic by Emily Lichty

Social media diet trends are a sham

Luke McCabe Life Editor

ACCORDING TO THE CENTER FOR Disease Control, 17 percent of Americans are on a diet of some sort. This is largely attributed to the rise of ‘diet culture’ and the increase in social media influencers that promote veganism, for example, as a healthy way to slim down. Although many Amerians could use a change in their nutrition, (the CDC reports that the adult obesity rate in the U.S. is still a whopping 42.4 percent), the culture of adopting fad diets from social media is hurting our health rather than helping.

A study by researchers at the University of Glasgow found that eight out of nine times, the “facts” that are presented by the top-followed diet influencers are proven false or contain untrustworthy sourcing material. One account even falsely claimed that they were a registered nutritionist with medical qualifications in an attempt to legitimize their poor advice. Additionally, many of these accounts promote diets without detailing the precautions that need to be taken in order to maintain a healthy balance of nutrients while on these specific eating regiments.

Veganism, which has increased in popularity by 600 percent since 2017 according to GlobalData, is one of these trends that is causing these health concerns. First, social media has created the perception that a plant-based diet provides all the needed vitamins and minerals for a healthy body. This statement is wrong. For example, Vitamin A, Vitamin K2 and Vitamin D are only present in animal products and are vital for immune regulation, digestion, and hormone balance. The increase in popularity of soy-based products, like soy milk, can lead to serious problems like hormone disorders caused by the extreme phytoestrogen content in soy. Soy-based ‘meats’ and other synthetic plant-based animal products like BeyondMeat, which are highly endorsed by social media health celebrities, are exactly what veganism is supposed to prevent: highly processed ‘food’ that contain a slew of mixed chemicals and preservatives. However, there are healthy ways to sustain these popular diets like veganism. Taking vitamin supplements daily and having a diverse palette with large portions is a start, but in order to stay healthy, one must do some serious research.

The ketosis low-carbohydrate diet is another misunderstood trend that has gained popularity among social media influencers. It supposedly helps the body enter a state of famine where fat is burned more efficiently, but for many, the diet is simply not sustainable because of how precise intake must be measured. It was actually created to help children with epilepsy reduce seizures, and many people are adopting it without realizing that it is not meant to be used to lose weight. The University of Chicago’s medicine department conducted a study that found ketosis actually increases the risk of low blood pressure, kidney stones, heart disease and nutrient deficiencies. What we consume is important and should consist of the right balance of nutrients. Every time you see a “new trendy diet that will make you feel amazing” on social media, I recommend thinking twice and doing your research before committing to it.

ing up a THE VIEW FROM 5’2

Government needs to enact new gun control laws

The Biden administration and Republicans can no longer be partisan when it comes to gun control, need to work together to protect American people

Gina Montagna News Editor

ONE YEAR APART. EXACTLY ONE YEAR

ago on March 16 was the last major mass shooting in the United States. This year, Americans stood in shock on March 16, as they realized another shooting had happened and the pre-pandemic crisis had been pushed to the back of their minds. In less than a week, two mass shootings occurred in Atlanta and Boulder, marking the return of an era where mass shootings in the United States became a “norm.” Quarantine and COVID-19 has overshadowed the violence and fear that ravage our country and now this situation has been brought back to light, allowing the conversation about gun control to arise.

The shooting on March 16 in Atlanta killed eight Americans, six of which were AsianAmericans. The alleged shooter, Robert Aaron Long, acted alone, but investigators continue to question his motivation behind his actions. His attack on the various spas, which he frequented, seemed to point toward AsianAmerican hate and a new form of terrorism that investigators are calling “male supremacy.”

Less than a week later, 10 people were killed at King Snoopers grocery store in Denver. The shooter had previously been charged with assault and was linked to another investigation with the FBI. This shooting was not linked as any sort of hate crime, but rather an act of violence committed by someone who had previous mental and social issues.

Although the motivations for both of these mass shootings were very different, they both remind Americans of a widespread issue across the country: gun control. With readily available guns being sold everyday, guns act as an easy

EVictoria Willox Art & Design Director

convoy for performing racially sparked hate crimes or simply terrorist acts of violence. These shootings should serve as a wake up call for Americans and our legislators to finally implement more strict gun control laws. We cannot let our country fall back into a state of desensitization following each mass shooting. President Joe Biden needs to take action, and parties need to work across the aisle to protect Americans.

Biden hopes to pass three executive orders that would restrict the purchase of military grade guns, implement more background checks for gun purchasers and classify “ghost guns” as firearms. These steps are just the start of what his administration hopes to put into place in order to prevent future mass shootings. There is no reason for any American to own military grade rifles that are made for a battlefield. Republicans preach that gun control laws would infringe on their Second Amendment right, but there is still no logical reason as to why average Americans should be allowed to keep assault rifles.

As of 2019, there are close to 65,000 gun stores across America, allowing any American to easily be able to access guns. Thus, background checks must be more substantial and reliable in order to prevent people with mental illnesses or past misconduct to purchase guns. Both of the shooters from Atlanta and Denver bought their guns days beforehand. The Denver shooter was able to purchase a semi-automatic pistol despite his past charges and present connection to an investigation.

After years of attempts by Former President Barack Obama to create more strict gun laws,

Biden once again attempted to plead with the Senate to pass gun control laws amidst the two latest shootings. He was met with a blockade of oppositions from Republicans, pushing anti-gun control beliefs and simply having no consideration for the families’ lives that have been lost. In an interview after the shootings, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “This is not about getting rid of the Second Amendment. It’s simply about saying we need reasonable gun safety laws. There is no reason why we have assault weapons on the streets of a civil society. They are weapons of war.” Continuing to allow Americans to have access to military grade guns will accelerate the rise in shootings as less people stay home due to COVID-19. Gun control should not be a partisan topic. There needs to be better gun control laws in the U.S. Republicans have no reason to oppose this legislation when American lives are being lost. The Second Amendment is not being taken away; it is still there. Neither is anyone saying that Americans cannot own a gun. There simply needs to be additional laws and revision in order to protect American lives and eliminate the rampant fear of shootings across our country. Americans should not have to fear that they might die when they enter a grocery store. Children should not have to grow up in a country where they never know when their last breath might be because government officials put guns over lives. The refusal to take action creates a direct blame on Republican legislators because of their unwillingness to take steps to protect American citizens who do not want to live in fear because of unreasonable gun control laws.

veryone has that item they cannot part with; maybe it’s a baby blanket, a stuffed animal, potentially a family heirloom. For me, it’s my books.

Books have always played an integral part in my life. My most prominent memories from my elementary school years are the days I spent in the library. I felt safe in the stacks of stories that lined the walls and the isles, full of secrets and possibility. To me, stepping into the library was akin to stepping through a portal into another world.

I developed a deeper relationship with literature during middle school when I began struggling with anxiety. The novels I read were transformative, providing me with an escape from my reality and allowing me to explore and identify with other beings’ human experiences.

As James Baldwin, an influential American writer and activist, once astutely explained: “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me the most were the very things that connected me with all the people who

Design

Director turns to reading as a form of escapism and self-reflection

Literature promotes empathy, introduces diverse point of views, pandemic caused resurgence in reading books

were alive, who had ever been alive.”

Baldwin’s statement reflects the powerful nature of literature, which has been shown to increase empathy and provide readers with more diverse, nuanced perspectives on life. Unfortunately, the societal value of literature and the humanities, in general, seems to be decreasing. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, between 2011-2012 and 2016-2017, the number of English language and literature degrees awarded to college graduates fell 23 percent and is expected to continue to decrease. These statistics are troubling given the current state of civilization, which seems to grow increasingly polarized on nearly all issues, whether they be social or political. Thus, the skills literature teaches us, such as empathy and diverse perspectives, are more imperative than ever to construct bridges of understanding between our disjointed population.

It is understandable that people may be feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of information that barrages them daily through news outlets and social media, making many less inclined to want to sit down and read a book at the end of the day.

However, while convenient, these short form methods of relaying important messages through technology cannot replace the journey that long form literature provides, allowing a reader to escape and grow. It is hopeful that this so-called literary escapism may be sparking a resurgence in the book industry. The pandemic has resulted in unparalleled levels of isolation and fear, pushing people to find comfort in stories once again and rediscover the love of reading. According to the NPD Group, which specializes in market research, 2020 was significantly the best-selling year for U.S. print books in the last decade, with growth in every category; thus, providing hope to literary lovers everywhere that the book industry may be making a comeback during a time we need it most. It would be nescient to assume that books could solve all of society’s woes, but failing to promote literature will prove to be pernicious over time. Take it from a self-proclaimed book hoarder; delving into the psyche of another allows for increased tolerance of antipodal values and, in reflection, a greater understanding of ourselves.

Photoillustration by Gina Montagna

Should the government make public universities free?

Pro: Free College

Working into the late hours, studying for upcoming tests and quizzes, writing essays for classes and reviewing for the ACT and SAT. This is the reality of what many high schoolers’ week looks like. After all the stress that high schoolers endure, they have something positive to look forward to: College. College is an exciting next step in a teenager’s life after graduation, but it also comes with many responsibilities and struggles. The affordability of college and the student debt crisis rising in the United States right now is raising the question: Should public college be free?

But although getting into college may be exhilarating, it also comes with a hefty price. Despite colleges offering student scholarships, the financial aid that the school ends up providing is usually not enough unless it is a full-ride scholarship. With free public college tuition, students would never bear the burden of graduating with a hefty student debt — one that graduates usually carry for years after graduation.

According to CNBC, an estimated 44 million Americans collectively owe $1.6 trillion in student debt. Since 2008, the cost of college has increased by 25 percent, and student debt has increased by 107 percent. Student debt will affect these students anywhere from 10 to 30 years after they leave college, which means students can be working to pay off their debt until they are well into their 50s. This debt will affect them and their families as well.

In a March 28 poll of 144 upper school students, 34 percent believe public college tuition should be free to American students. Along with eliminating the debt issue, having free public college would also broaden the spectrum of students that would be able to attend college. Without the debt worry, more students would feel inclined to attend college. With this, there would likely be a rise in the college application rates resulting then in a better educated workforce. And a better educated workforce means higher wages. CNBC calculates that college graduates earn 80 percent more than those with just a high school diploma.

Having to decide between the risk of going to college and being in debt or having to miss out on the advantage that a college degree provides should not be a decision a student is forced to make.

Free public college tuition is a change that should be considered by the federal government as it would ensure every student gets an equal opportunity to have a higher education.

82 percent of students think college tuition is too expensive

Con: No Free College

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there has been a 26 percent increase in students who attend college from the years of 2000 to 2018. This may be attributed to increased societal expectations for higher education or an increasingly competitive job market that has more rigid qualifications for job applicants. Whatever the reason for the increase in college enrollment, however, it should be noted that it is not necessary for a person to attend college to achieve success. Although a college degree may make it easier to start off, there are many paths to success.

College is expensive, and although attending does seem somewhat unachievable for many, there are options for financial aid, student loans and scholarships that one can work hard for and achieve if they truly believe that college is the right path for them. Making the leap to take out student loans and other financial aid programs is an investment into one’s future, and by doing so we are betting in ourselves with the hope that we can work hard enough to get ahead of the competition and pay back those loans in the future.

Recently, however, as politicians that align more with socialist ideals have come into the political spotlight, there have been increasing discussions of free college education at public universities. In an ideal world college would be free. The reality, however, is that we do not live in an ideal world, and, although free college may seem fair, it would actually hurt many Americans.

One reason why free college might be detrimental to the success of Americans is that college really is not for everyone. The amount of work and studying that it requires is difficult, and with college being free, more people may choose to “give it a shot” and end up dropping out, which is unfair to them and the more qualified people who’s spot they took. An option for people who might not fit into the academic setting of traditional college is trade school or technical school. In institutions like this people can hone their skills on jobs that they want such as electricians, plumbers, mechanics and many other trades. Some employers will even send their employees to trade school and for the entire education, the average cost is about $33,000 according to USNews.

There is a reason that there is a small number of people who receive a college education, and that is because there are not enough white collar jobs available in America for everyone to get out of college and go straight into the job market. And for those that believe that they will have less money issues if they do not have to pay off student loans, they will have a rude awakening when taxes are raised in order to provide strangers with college education. It is not the duty of every American to pay higher taxes so that some people could go to college.

37 percent of students think free college tuition for public universities is not a good idea

Winter storm should make Texan legislatures reevaluate power system

Alexandra Warner Staff writer

During the Feb. 2011 snowstorm, Texas energy generators faltered, leading to rolling blackouts that affected millions of people and families across the state. Recently, this past February, Texas experienced another snowstorm with similar consequences.

ERCOT, an American organization that operates Texas’s electrical grid, did not require energy companies to winterize (to adapt or prepare for use in cold weather) the Texas power system after the 2011 cold wave. I believe that since Texas did not winterize, this was the reason for the massive power outages in the state, and ERCOT should have required winterization among the power system.

Since Texas never undergoes such extreme winter weather conditions, when the abnormal weather hit the state in mid February, the energy system that was built couldn’t sustain the freezing temperatures, and there was a demand for energy that couldn’t be met. This storm resulted in natural gas plants to shut down and windmills to stop working because they weren’t winterized, resulting in rolling blackouts that

occurred for days in many households across the state. Texas is fully competitive, meaning that anyone can come to Texas and sell power. The more sources that people can buy from, the higher the competition; this drives energy prices down. Different families, depending on the size of their home and how much energy they use, are able to choose their own energy plan and provider. Differently in the Northern U.S., neighborhoods have one source of power, which is unfair to those who may be using more power than others and those who have bigger houses. So, naturally, Texas’ competitive state seems beneficial. However, families and customers in the snowstorm who had variable rate power plans or did not have a contract, saw a much higher electric bill that month.

Variable plans can be appealing to customers in better weather conditions, and the bill can be lower than the fixed-rate ones. However, when the wholesale price increases, the variable plan can be the worst option, as prices become extremely expensive.

Since Texas is the only state that operates an independent electric grid, it couldn’t receive help from neighboring states, making the imbalance between Texas’ energy supply and demand causing prices to skyrocket from $20 to $9,000 per megawatt hour in Texas’ freewheeling wholesale power market.

This incident raised the question of whether power generators buying in the market had a profit motive to avoid buying natural gas and shut down.

Other ideas have been brought up to store power to end any future rolling blackouts during extreme weather conditions. Currently, there is no possible way to store energy as the electricity grid takes the energy made from power plants, windmills and other sources of power and immediately uses it. But another probable solution is turning hydrogen into electricity. Although it has been done before, it has not been done at such a large scale. These possible solutions could be the next big step to solving rolling blackouts, high prices and other problems during extreme weather conditions.

Gardiner Vose

Kara Dross Staff writer

Source: March 29 poll of 144 upper school students

Graphic by Gardiner Vose

just a THOUGHT

its place in a just society because it generated surplus wealth that a society can then extend to its weakest members.

However, Smith also recognized that humans have needs that transcend consumerism, such as emotional education, self understanding and social living. And he saw the economy’s inherent limitations in meeting these needs. For example, in the opening chapters of “The Wealth of Nations,” Smith discusses the benefits of specialization and the division of labor.

The true Adam Smith remains “invisible” to many

By Lauren Weber Managing Editor

Adam Smith is one of history’s most widely referenced economists and political philosophers, and yet his theories are frequently misrepresented. Smith’s name immediately brings to mind “The Wealth of Nations,” his most famous book, and that tract’s most memorable concept, “the invisible hand.” But the reality of Smith’s economic philosophy is far different from how many of his advocates

portray it.

Smith is viewed as the godfather of modern capitalism, and yet his primary goal as a philosopher was in making nations and people happier and the capitalist economy more humane. Smith struggled with the same questions we face today, such as: How do we ensure that the rich do their part for the poor? Or, how do we improve society? Speaking to the former question in his lesserknown work, “The Theory of Moral

letter editors to the

Sentiments,” Smith believed that high taxes would leave the rich discontented and desirous to leave their home country. His view was that what the rich truly craved was honor and respect, and so he suggested that the state provide these wealthy individuals with honors and status in return for help with the less fortunate. Smith also defended consumer capitalism on the basis that it does more good for the poor, and he saw that consumerism had

Dear Eagle Edition,

However, if one reads on to around page 400, Smith then talks about how the division of labor has the potential to destroy human beings by turning them into ignorant and stupid machines. He argued that in any civilized society, precautions must be taken to prevent such an ugly result. The real Adam Smith wasn’t just concerned with equality of opportunity; he desired equality of outcome, views that “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” spells out in great detail.

THE GREAT SECRET OF EDUCATION IS TO DIRECT VANITY TO PROPER OBJECTS.

Adam Smith, Economist and philosopher

economy to work unfettered. People cherry pick this passage to defend laissez-faire economics, essentially advocating that the market should run free. However, Smith clearly had a different idea of the invisible hand, and in “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” he states that if a landowner amassed great wealth and land, then out of sympathy, he should ensure that this wealth was distributed among those less fortunate. Thus, by an invisible hand--i.e., driven by moral obligation-‘there would be a relatively egalitarian outcome.’ In “The Wealth of Nations,” Smith addresses fears that globalization would hurt the English economy by driving investors to overseas markets by stating that English investors will prefer to invest domestically because of home bias, and therefore, ‘as if by an invisible hand,’ England will be saved. This assertion turned out to be both economically naive and morally admirable.

But perhaps the most flagrant (and personally, my favorite) misinterpretation of Smith relates to his most famous idea: that of the “invisible hand.” This concept is only referenced twice in Smith’s works, once in “The Wealth of Nations” and then again in “The Theory of Moral Sentiments.” Today, the invisible hand is often invoked as a powerful metaphor for allowing the natural forces of the free market

The night I read about the Atlanta spa shootings, I had a vivid nightmare about a white man murdering me because I was Chinese, and I woke up unable to fall back asleep, in genuine fear for my life and safety. As an Asian woman, I understand the stereotypes and prejudice that I will have to overcome. Many will see me as an obedient, submissive and coquettish porcelain doll, waiting for a strong man to protect me and take charge of my life. This stereotype is rampant in the mainstream Western media, with “Madame Butterfly,” “Miss Saigon” and “M*A*S*H” being prominent examples. And the danger of this stereotype was brought to life when a sex addict felt the need to murder Asian women because they were temptations for him.

But to make matters worse, there is a second, more pervasive stereotype about the entire Asian American and Pacific Islander community that the onset of COVID-19 has only amplified. With politicians intentionally labeling the pandemic the ‘Kung flu’ and ‘China virus,’ hate crimes against the AAPI community have clearly increased. In fact, according to many sources, hate crimes against the AAPI community have more than doubled from years prior. There seems to be no distinction between Asian Americans and Chinese communists, leading many Americans to verbally or physically assault an Asian American over an issue they have with China. That is a blatant example of the perpetual foreigner stereotype given to Asians. Asian Americans will never truly be seen as Americans; they will always be perceived as inside agents for their home

stuco CORNER

Right now, the Student Council has been working on celebration of the arts week. Due to COVID, most of the arts, such as musicals, ISAS and other opportunities for students to support the arts have been cancelled, so Student Council sought to find a way to celebrate the arts. We were originally going to try and do an “ESD ISAS” which would have been one day where students traveled around campus to view the visual and performing arts. Due to COVID, the planning was extremely difficult, so instead we decided to dedicate a whole week towards celebrating the arts. The week of April 12 will have musical offerings in chapel, a chapel talk about the arts and advisory activities focused on showcasing both the art and artists at ESD.

The Student Council also had a student come to us in one of our meetings to propose adding the Pledge of Allegiance to our daily routine. While the Student Council will not have the final say in that decision,

More than anything, Adam Smith was a man concerned with people’s wellbeing. Those invoking his name as a shorthand defense of capitalism overlook his true philosophical vision and his emphasis on morality and justice. Yes, Smith believed in a free-market economy, but also felt the need to regulate that system in order to create fair outcomes for all. I can’t help but wonder: how happy would Smith be with how his name is used in economic debate today?

country that aim to destroy the United States from the inside out. Another critical factor to consider is that because AAPI women become targets because of the stereotype I mentioned earlier about being weak and docile, their perceived weakness makes Asian Americans easy targets for people to bully without fear. But this issue is not confined by gender. There is another stereotype for AAPI men that assumes they are nerdy, nonthreatening and unmasculine—think Mr. Sulu from “Star Trek” or Long Duk Dong from “Sixteen Candles”— this stereotype also exacerbates the attacks against AAPI men. These characterizations combined with the pandemic make for a perfect hurricane of AAPI hate crimes.

I urge the ESD community to support the AAPI community it has and stop any of this dangerous rhetoric from infecting the community at large.

I encourage teachers to reprimand students who perpetuate these stereotypes by calling Asians bat eaters or making jokes about their heritage. It may seem like innocent joking around to most people, but it is a flower that bloomed from a root system of hate. I, and many other Asian students, have seen these things happen in class, and I know we can do better. It is now that we need to re-evaluate our unconscious biases and stand with our community.

Sincerely,

Mary Cowser, senior

we want to encourage students to bring their ideas of how to improve ESD to the council. We had a great discussion and hope to have more scenarios like this in the future. As we get to the end of the year, we have been looking at our finances. Last year the Student Council made a significant change in how we ran our finances. We would always start the year with money that had rolled over from last year and end the year with money left over to help out next year’s council. Last year we were told we could no longer do that and instead we needed to start and end the year with no money. Because we didn’t have dances and the events we normally have, yet we still did fundraising in anticipation of these events, we now have money that needs to be spent before the end of the year. The council has been brainstorming ways to spend the money such as getting things to organize the Student Council closet and buying Chick-Fil-A for the student body. Last year when we were faced with this, we rented an inflatable obstacle course for Student Body Week, yet because of COVID, a lot of these huge fun events are no longer possible. Please let us know if you have suggestions for how you wish to see the money spent or anything else you might have an idea for.

By Cleo Neuhoff

Public Relations on Student Council Executive Board

letter editors from the count DOWN

Blair Batson and Evelyn Zhao

THE BEST TO THE WORTH OF THE MONTH, RANKED BY THE JOURNALISM 1 CLASS

Students counted down the days to the nine-day spring break and looked forward to a mental break from the school’s heavy workload. Many students ended up going skiing, some went to the beach and others stayed home. SPRING BREAK ABROAD

VACCINES FOR EVERYONE

The prioritization of vaccines for teachers and all staff members was implemented in many states. On March 8, Texas began vaccinating teachers. And on March 2, all young adults 16 and older were able to receive the Pfizer vaccine, while 18 and older were eligible for all vaccines.

NO MORE PASSES

After many months of in-person learning experimentation, the decision was finally made to abandon hallway passes and oneway hallways. Students are now free to travel from class to class without the inconvenience of lengthy reroutes.

FANS ON STANDS

On March 1, the school allowed student-athletes to bring up to two spectators to each of their games. These spectators had to wear masks at all times and a wristband that had been provided by the student athlete. But children were not allowed unless they were a younger sibling of a senior player on Senior Night. On this night seniors were allowed to bring up to six guests.

A DEVASTATING LOSS

On March, the Eagles’ varsity mens lacrosse lost to the Highland Park Scots in a devastating battle, with a final score of 12-9. Eagles’ fans packed Midway to support the team to bolster morale in a time where fans aren’t allowed in the stadium. Eagles will face off against the Scots once more on Saturday, April 4 at 1 p.m.

THE POOP IS BACK

It’s that time of year again: avoiding poop and giving the furry foes the right of way on the sidewalks. Every March, without fail, the geese migrate home to our campus for the spring. Although they and their goslings are cute, their droppings and intimidation are not so endearing.

CANCUN THEN QUARANTINE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Over spring break, the class of 2021 went on their senior trip to Cancún. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, students who traveled were required to submit a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for a week upon their return to campus. While disheartened to lose a few days of school, seniors helped contribute to slow the spread of COVID-19.

While we may not be wishing this column farewell just yet (as it will appear in issue 6 of the Eagle Edition as well), this issue is our last time working as editors-in-chief. Next issue, the V.39 staff will take over: the freshmen currently in Journalism I will become staff writers, and current staff writers and editors will assume new positions.

At the start of second semester, I was in awe of the fact that our time as high school student-journalists was coming to an end. I found it hard to believe that just three years ago, we could barely design a page without the help of a more seasoned staff member and that we could barely write a full story without guidance from an editor, while now, we are the ones giving out this guidance to others. But upon reflecting on our time on the Eagle Edition, this transition is not surprising at all. The multitude of lessons we learned while working on the paper prepared us to take over as its leaders this year and have prepared us for life beyond the Eagle Edition. We hope you can also find value in these lessons.

First is the importance of making sacrifices. During worknights, people are always in need of help. Whether someone has a heavy load of their own work and needs someone to take on one of their tasks or whether someone cannot show up to worknight but their work needs to get done as soon as possible, we are always in need of people willing to help. And often, people rise to the occasion, even if it means they have to stay later at school and take away from time they could be spending on homework. These sacrifices are the reason we are able to publish the paper on time. Sacrifices are also a critical part of life—they’re a sign of people’s commitment to others. The sole purpose of life is not self advancement. We also have obligations to each other, and sometimes, fulfilling those obligations requires sacrifice.

Slacktivism

It’s so easy to give up on something that you’re not immediately good at. But don’t. When we first started on the Eagle Edition, journalism seemed impossible—that we’d ever be able to write a solid story or understand Adobe Illustrator and InDesign was unimaginable. But as each issue went by, we started to get the hang of it. The more we worked with Adobe programs, the more stories we wrote, the more questions we asked and the more mistakes we made and learned from, the more we improved. In any task, rather than giving up, commit yourself to getting better. It’s worth it.

Lastly, be a team player. On the outside, working on the newspaper may seem like an individualized effort—each person writes their own stories and designs their own pages. But even though we’re not all in the field at the

by Sumner Wooldridge

same time like in sports or on stage at the same time like in theater, newspaper is still a team effort: if one person doesn’t complete their work, we can’t publish the paper. No matter how individualized something feels—a club, a job, a class—you should always carry your weight and fulfill your duty as a member of the “team.”

The Eagle Edition has given us motivation, empathy, patience and confidence; we can confidently say that this paper has made us into the people we are today. So while our time as writers, designers, photographers and editors on the Eagle Edition may be coming to a close, we’re not leaving our time on the newspaper behind. We’ll hold onto the lessons we’ve gained over the past three years and apply them to whatever our futures hold.

news student spotlight

Junior Cheyanne Carson-Bannister plays lacrosse for both ESD and GRIT Dallas. She plays goalie and has committed to play D1 lacrosse at Binghamton University, where she will study engineering.

What made you first start playing lacrosse?

I grew up watching my brother playing lacrosse and I fell in love with it. He played goalie for Boston University and was an AllAmerican. My dad is also a goalie coach at Jesuit, so I really lucked out in that department. I didn’t start playing until I was in the eighth grade and I can’t imagine my life without it.

Who is your biggest inspiration in lacrosse?

My number one inspiration has to be my brother. We are nine years apart, and I have always looked up to him. I have watched how hard he has worked to achieve his dreams, and it gives me so much inspiration to push myself to be my very best.

Q&A sports eagleeye

JUNIOR AND VARSITY LACROSSE PLAYER SHARES HER EXPERIENCES

What has lacrosse taught you?

Lacrosse has taught me how to be really patient and has helped me develop leadership skills. Being a goalie you have to stay calm and communicate to your defense, even though sometimes they might be the ones calming down. I have learned so much about staying calm under pressure. Another is time management. I have learned so much these last two years at [the school] about balancing my life between school, family, friends and my school work.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in lacrosse?

Definitely having confidence in myself when I play. Sometimes it is really hard not to get down on yourself when you let a shot in you know you could have had or you overthrow a pass. It’s something that I am still working on, but luckily I have such a great team and they are always there to lift me up.

Interview by Jiaying Fu Web Editor

Coaches create new expectations for spring

Sports

guidelines differ from earlier seasons as spring sports begin to take place

By Callie Hawkins Staff writer

Throughout the year and the different sports seasons, coaches’ expectations have been changing constantly, and they each have fairly unique policies for their teams seeing that some coaches have loosened their reigns on their athletes where others have tightened them.

Coaches take different factors into consideration when making their rules, such as the lifting of the mask mandate, spring break and different parents’ views and leniency for the children. And the spring coaches have all different approaches on their athletes’ affairs going on outside of the school.

“I would say if you’re in season, you shouldn’t be [going to social events], pretty simply,” varsity mens lacrosse coach Jay Sothoron said. “I know it’s tough for a high school kid to be in that situation, but I also know our guys are pretty serious about lacrosse, and if they lose two weeks of a season because somebody gets COVID, it becomes an issue.”

All coaches have different ways to make sure their athletes are doing the right thing.

“Our coach, Maggie [Koch] just talks to us during practice, constantly reminding us to be responsible teenagers and we need to make our own decisions by ourselves, but with that being said, we need to make sure those decisions are the right ones,” senior and varsity womens lacrosse captain Lizzie Kelley said. “We need to make these decisions, especially on the weekends, and keep in mind that we could be putting the whole team at risk and if you go to group settings without masks and do get COVID or are exposed, you will be quarantined and might sabotage a lot of the team’s season by two weeks.”

THE WHOLE TEAM WOULD BE OUT FOR TWO WEEKS IF SOMEONE WAS TO GET THE VIRUS WHICH WOULD CAUSE US TO LOSE ALL OF OUR MOMENTUM

The school has been trying to limit big gatherings of students outside of school and has enforced a quarantine for those who have not been honest about the contact tracing process, but the coaches also added another layer of enforcement and urged students to stay at home and away from risk.

“For [the team], a lot of it is on your honor, the honor code, because again, I’m not going to be looking over your shoulder on a Saturday night, so it depends really on whether they are policing each other and policing themselves,” Sothoron said. “The guys have all signed the school’s honor code.”

Like womens lacrosse, most coaches are encouraging athletes to stay safe because if one person on a team tests positive, the whole team has to quarantine for fourteen days, causing teams to lose a large chunk of their season.

“The whole team would be out for two weeks if someone was to get the virus which would cause us to lose all of our momentum we had built up during this season,” junior and mens baseball player Mason Link said. “Pretty much everyday, our coach, [Albert Najera], reminds us to be careful and safe, wear our masks, always spread out and he has also emailed our parents and told them and us again to make sure we are being safe [outside of school].”

Though the state mask mandate was lifted, the school’s policy on mask-wearing has remained the same, and thus it applies to sports

as well. Violations of the coaches’ mask-wearing and out-of-school expectations are met with different punishments.

“I had a pretty significant group of rules before COVID, and if you’re doing something out of character or you’re jeopardizing the season in any way, I have the right to remove you if I see fit...,” Sothoron said. “With COVID, it’s going to have to be situation-by-situation, but if our guys were involved in a big [gathering], number one we would not have them back on the team right away just from a safety standpoint and, number two, there would probably be some suspensions handed out.”

Other coaches with less strict policies express disappointment in players who have made the team quarantine due to contact tracing.

“I think [our coach] will just be disappointed in us because she’s told us that the responsibility’s on us and it’s our job to stay safe and free from COVID,” Kelley said. “I think it’s more going to be guilt than actual punishment because she can’t really control what happens.”

Spring break traveling also presented a dilemma for some

coaches.

“Our coach is wanting to keep us all in the country so we don’t have to quarantine because we have a couple of games in those two weeks following the break, but at the same time, he knows that he can’t really force us to stay in the country,” Link said. “He asked us for a list of who will be out so those who would be out would have to use substitutes for those games.”

Sothoron rocked back and forth on what he wanted for the boys on the lacrosse team to do during the break.

“I don’t think traveling equals danger and risk, that’s not my issue as much, but I think it depends on what you’re doing on spring break,” Sothoron said. “You could go to Mexico and be perfectly safe but you could also stay home and be very irresponsible, so I think a lot of people lump it all together and say that if you travel, you’re putting yourself at risk, but I think it’s how you carry yourself and what you do whether you’re at home or traveling.”

After the break, sports have continued to hold practices and games with less people because of

the days

break with a limited team, due to the teammates traveling plans. “Having less players at practice definitely feels different,” Lawsyn Clements (far right wearing no. 60) said. “Even though the season has been different this year, it has still been a lot of fun and we have done well, and hope everyone else returns soon healthily.” Photo provided by Addie Click

the quarantine required for those who leave the country. Some of those who left the country received a PCR COVID-19 test in order to be able to come back to school and sports. Still, COVID-19 is a looming issue with the worry of travel sickness behind.

“We can’t control what kids are doing outside of practice, but we encourage them to do the right things like wear a mask, try to be as smart as you can around others, but we also recognize that you could get the virus from walking through the grocery store, and there are a lot of places where that could happen, but the only thing we can do is control what we can control,” Sothoron said.

SMALLER NUMBERS Junior varsity womens lacrosse team practices in

following spring

athletic

Photo provided by Cheyanne Carson-Bannister

Chess rises in popularity during pandemic

More people begin to play chess in the local community and around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, ESD Chess Club attracts new members and plays games online to maintain safety protocols

By Emily Lichty Life Editor

Originating in India nearly 1,500 years ago, chess is one of the oldest sports in the world, and now, it is facing a rise in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Looking for new opportunities for entertainment, many have turned to chess as a pandemic-friendly sport to pass time. In October, online chess platform Chess.com revealed that the number of chess games played was up 66 percent from before the pandemic.

“Chess has definitely become more popular at ESD over the past couple of years,” Chess Club member and junior Paco Gomez said. “Especially with COVID restrictions, the rise in online games has made chess more accessible to a lot of people and I definitely feel like that has helped increase its popularity.”

With online platforms such as Chess.com, Chess 24 and Internet Chess Club making chess widely available, many students have decided to pick up the sport.

According to a March 28 poll of 144 students, 85 percent of students have started playing chess during the pandemic.

“Although COVID-19 has been very devastating, the chess

community has been able to play through a website called Chess. com where we can play our games wherever,” Chess Club member and sophomore Teddy Sparrow said. “If anything, this has made chess easier to play and more people have begun to play it.”

Some students have turned to the school’s new Chess Club to learn and play chess with their peers. Led by Gomez and Sparrow, who both began playing chess in kindergarten, Chess Club began two years ago and is sponsored by history teacher Marc Salz.

Salz also hopes to continue to expand the club and is exploring the possibility of having members participate in competitions. However, due to the pandemic, this possibility has been placed on hold.

MY GOAL IN ESD CHESS CLUB IS TO EXPAND IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN HELP TO SPREAD THE WONDERS OF CHESS.

“After having the joy of being taught [chess], I really enjoy spreading my knowledge and expanding the chess community,” Sparrow said. “My goal in ESD Chess Club is to expand it as much as possible so I can help to spread the wonders of chess.”

Teddy Sparrow, Sophomore

“It would be a very reasonable goal to have 10 guys or ladies show up to a tournament,” Salz said. “[With COVID-19], we played online for the first half of the year, and, now, we are starting to do more chess games [in-person].”

Along with Salz, more advanced members of the club, including Gomez and Sparrow, use club meetings to teach and assist those who are newer to the game. Having played chess for most of his life, Gomez enjoys using the club to help others learn the game.

“Playing in the ESD chess club is enjoyable because of the fact that

my friends are starting to get into the game that I have played for so long,” Gomez said. “It makes me want to get back into playing it as well. I love teaching others how to play. Chess is such a fun and complicated game and I enjoy bringing others into the chess community.”

Chess not only provides entertainment but can also provide an exercise for the mind. According to healthline.com, playing chess can improve intelligence, memory, creativity, improve the symptoms of ADHD and provide therapy. Salz likes to encourage students to play chess because of these benefits.

“Chess is great for brain development,” Salz said. “There are signs that it helps people with ADHD relax and it helps people with those types of brains function. It’s good for learning, brain functioning and imagination.”

Another reason why chess has increased in popularity is due to the popular Netflix show “The Queen’s Gambit.” The show was watched by over 62 million households within 28 days after its release on Oct. 23, and a steady increase in online chess games played per day has been seen since the show debuted, according to Bloomberg Inc. The show follows

the path of a young woman on her way to become the best chess player in the world.

“Watching the first episode of ‘The Queen’s Gambit,’ I was instantly captivated by the beautifully crafted and cinematic vision of the scenes,” senior Olivia Hagge said. “The series took a topic, dense with male-domination stereotypes, and transformed it with an empowering quality, inspiring girls like me across the world.”

As a result of the growing popularity of “The Queen’s Gambit,” Chess.com has also seen a surge in female chess players. According to a March 28 poll of 144 students, 76 percent of students who watched “The Queen’s Gambit” were inpired to play chess after watching the show.

“Like most people who watched the series, I decided to step into Beth’s shadow and learn how to play chess to get a sense of the fierce, cool playing style that Beth Harmon embodies,” Hagge said. “It’s really exciting that ESD has been putting out chess boards in the senior courtyard. It has been encouraging to people to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, which is a strong component of ESD’s mission.

Graphic by Emily Lichty

Updated sports protocols now allow fans

Parents, families of athletes now able to attend games, possibility of student attendance in the future

By Sloane Hope Business Manager

While little has changed regarding COVID-19 protocols during sports practices and games, one major update has players, students and parents buzzing: spectators now being allowed at sporting events.

According to a Feb. 26 notice sent out to upper school parents and students, a new spectator policy went into effect on March 1st. The policy update stipulates that each student athlete participating in a home game will be given two wristbands per game to give to spectators of their choice; however, the spectators must be over 18. According to Jeff Laba, the Assistant Head of Upper School, factors such as SPC guidelines and meetings between the Health and Safety and Athletic departments all contributed to the decision.

“There was a lot taken into consideration,” Laba said. “Our Health and Safety Committee and the Athletic Department meet before each season to talk about the possibility of any changes to the current guidelines. At those meetings, they look at many aspects, like what peer schools such as Saint Marks and Hockaday are doing, what SPC is allowing us to do and what rules Health and Safety believes need to be enforced.”

At the moment, only families of the players are allowed attendance, however, the school is open to the possibility of student spectators in the future. According to Laba, the administration is looking into allowing seniors at a few games during the upcoming sports season.

“We have a couple of games picked out after spring break that we believe Health and Safety will let us allow seniors to go to,” Laba said. “We’re trying to pick out one game for each sport, so one game for baseball, one game for softball and one for both mens and womens lacrosse that students can go to.”

Senior Lily Yandell hopes the administration can pull through on its hopes to have students at games for the end of the second semester, noting just how dismal the past few months have been without being able to go to games.

“Not being able to attend games has not been great for school spirit or student morale,” Yandell said. “We are so burned out, all of us. The work of high school without the social aspect is very tough. Not only is it high school, but one of the hardest and most competitive schools in the state, so it can be a little bit crushing.”

Prior to the policy change, many spectators, parents and students

decided to stand by the fence along Midway road to watch many of the games that took place on the turf. A March 2 men’s varsity lacrosse game against Highland Park saw a record high number of students and parents along Midway, as everyone was eager to see how the long standing rivalry would pan out. However, many were questioning whether or not being allowed in the stands would have been the safer option.

“I don’t think standing on Midway is a bad plan since we aren’t allowed on campus,” Yandell said. “I’m in support of it, and quite honestly plan to do so myself. If [the administration] was to allow fans into the stands, assigned seating would probably be the way they would do it, which isn’t optimal, but it’s better than standing on Midway.”

Despite everything, including the inevitable spacing of students in the stands at future games, Yandell is excited about the possibility of getting to attend the last few games of her senior year, providing some semblance of normality during an otherwise atypical final year.

“Quite honestly, this has just been just another nail in the coffin of making senior year sad,” Yandell said. “I don’t blame the administration, I understand that they have to keep

us safe, but it really is unfortunate. I really regret not going to more games as an underclassman.”

It is safe to say that the players on these various teams are just as excited about fans as the fans themselves.

Senior Samantha Whiting, a captain of the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse team, is looking forward to returning to normal games before she leaves for Princeton University in the fall to continue her lacrosse career.

“I am very excited about the decision to allow spectators,” Whiting said. “Many parents would come and watch our games from Midway, but having them in the stands just makes games so much more electric and life feel normal again.”

Whiting says that she wholeheartedly believes fans are one of the keys to optimal player performance and that nothing could replace the hole left by a lack of an in-person audience.

“Having people in the stands one hundred percent affects the players and how well they perform,” Whiting said. “Having people cheer you on and hype you and your teammates up makes the successes sweeter and softens the blow of mistakes. It’s impossible to feel the same energy when all of your fans are watching from behind a computer screen.”

BY THE NUMBERS

percent of students would attend a game in the stands if it was offered

percent of studentathletes think not having fans has affected the way they play students have stood on Midway road to watch a game students do not think it is safe to stand on Midway Rd. to watch games

Source: March 29 poll of 144 upper school students

IT STANDS

Gene and Jerry Jones Family Stadium

Photo by Sloane Hope

Coach Mike Renshaw leaves lasting legacy

Retired Varsity Womens Soccer Coach passes away on Wednesday, Feb. 17

By Lauren Weber Managing Editor

in an article that deems him “one of North Texas’ soccer pioneers with the Dallas Tornadoes.”

Born in Manchester, England, Renshaw was first brought to Texas by an ad for the Dallas Tornadoes professional soccer club. Renshaw played 127 games for the Tornados, scored 20 goals, and was named MVP when the North American Soccer League introduced an indoor tournament. He even played against international soccer legend Pele in a match that ended 2-2.

When he first came to the school in 2009, the womens soccer program had not won a Southwest Preparatory Conference title in 14 years. Renshaw quickly changed that, leading the team to four successive championship titles from 2014–17.

“As much success as coach Renshaw had with our varsity girls’ program, I would have to say one of my favorite memories of him as a coach was seeing the pure joy he received out of working with lower and middle school aged teams,”

Associate Director of Athletics David Tollison said. “He had an unbelievable gift of making sure that every kid had an enjoyable experience playing the game.”

COACH RENSHAW HAD AN UNBELIEVABLE GIFT OF MAKING SURE THAT EVERY KID HAD AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE PLAYING THE GAME.

“The way that coach Renshaw saw the game was how it’s supposed to be––a game that you enjoy,” Sinwell said. “He grew up playing pickup games on every park and street corner, so that’s how he would have us play.”

David Tollison, Associate Director of Athletics

Renshaw started his famous Sunday soccer sessions for players as young as lower school. It was at one of these sessions that Sinwell first met Renshaw in fourth grade.

“To me, it was really scary at first because he was the big deal varsity coach who had won all of these SPC [titles], but he was the nicest coach,” Sinwell said. “I played a ton of sports growing up, [both club and school sports], but I’ve never had a coach who’s made me actually enjoy the game like coach Renshaw.”

Renshaw’s colleagues also noticed the impact he left on his players.

Renshaw’s coaching style was unique––he believed the only way to get better at soccer is to play soccer, which players like Sinwell believe has improved their game sense. Renshaw taught his players to work together and to play patiently with smart passes. He also did not believe in making his players run sprints but rather that they’ll get fit by playing the game.

“That made it a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable,” Sinwell said. “Going to practice, it wasn’t like an ‘oh no, we have practice today’ or ‘we played bad in the game; we’re gonna run.’ Instead, we all looked forward to practice, no matter how we played, and we’d always work on what we needed to work on.”

Renshaw uplifted his players and colleagues.

“Underneath his competitive exterior, he was genuinely caring on a personal level,” assistant varsity womens soccer coach Elizabeth Clark said. “He always treated me with nothing but respect and valued my opinion, which I always appreciated, being younger and less experienced than him. He would often ask me what I thought about a lineup, or if there were any changes we should make.”

Tollison also noted that Renshaw

made it a point to visit with as many co-workers as possible on a daily basis, just as he did with his players.

“He was always cheerful and genuinely cared about the wellbeing of those around him,” Tollison said. “He wanted [his players] to be successful and happy young women on and off the field. I know coach Renshaw was very proud to be a part of the ESD Community and took great pride in having our soccer program be a positive reflection on the School.”

Renshaw’s passion for the game and dedication to his team and players was unparalleled. He saw ESD as his family, and he was one of the only coaches to really make a point to introduce himself and welcome prospective students to the community.

“I think people don’t even realize how much time he would spend scouting other teams––varsity teams, but also [ESD] middle school and lower school teams,” Clark said. “He spent a lot of extra time hanging out and joking around with his players… He was really committed to what he did and really loved what he did.”

To Renshaw’s fellow coaches and players with whom he spent time on the sideline, perhaps one of his most distinctive traits, apart from his competitive edge, was his ability to not care what others thought.

“I think one of my favorite memories of him is when he got a new pair of shoes, and he was so proud of them,” Clark said. “They were the slip on Skechers, and he walked up, and I think he was talking to me, but [the team] was standing there. And he was like, ‘Hey, do you like my new shoes?’ And someone said, ‘Those are the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen.’ Mike responded with something like ‘Oh, bug off, they’re comfortable.’”

From his game skills to his unforgettable personality, coach Renshaw lit up every room he walked into.

“It’s just nice to know him,” Sinwell said. “He improves every person’s life. He made soccer a really joyful experience, while also leading us to win.”

By Smith Cochran Sports Editor

Asimple photo followed by a video ruled Twitter for the start of March Madness. And no, it had nothing to do with the massive amount of upsets the first and second rounds witnessed.

Something so simple that it was absurd it existed. The said picture and video captured the womens weight room, if you want to call it that, for their basketball tournament in San Antonio. The picture featured an A shaped weight rack with 12 total dumbbells delicately placed in front of a masterly set up foldable table, carrying the weight of clean yoga mats for any and all exercises.

Impressive, yes? No. Let me be more clear: this was the weight room for the 64 teams competing in the March tournament.

Oregon forward Sedona Prince shot a video of the equipment the women were dealt, and it immediately went viral, rightfully so. The video showed the enormous amount of empty space in the room with the weights and the table sitting next to a wall.

What made the video and the picture so important was the pictures that were coming out of Indianapolis, Indiana, where the men were having

their tournament. Full weight racks and platforms topped with large amounts of heavy free-weights filled up the entire room and has been accessible for all teams competing in the mens tournament.

Now if both the men and the women were given the tiny amount of weights, it would’ve been plain stupid and a reason laugh at the NCAA. The problem is the fact that the men were gifted a legitimate weight room without hesitation.

ESPN reported that the NCAA planned to send more weights to San Antonio and the womens tournament once there were sixteen teams left. While that could be the case, it does not matter. The NCAA hesitated, and they blatantly spent less money on the amenities for the women. And the weight room was only the beginning.

Another pair of infamous photographs captured the gear bags that the NCAA left in each of the player’s rooms in both tournaments and cities. Once again, the disparities were crystal clear. The mens bag had everything from a book to flags to toiletries and all kinds of March Madness paraphernalia. The womens bag included a few shirts, some water bottles and other miscellaneous items. Food in the tournament has also been unequal. The men in Indianapolis have received meals with beef tenderloin and lobster

NCAA underspends on womens tournament, disparities between mens and womens sports evident

man-n-cheese, while the women have been given boxed meals, according to NPR.

These events are just a small shrub on a wall to wall painting of disparity and inequality in collegiate womens sports. The worst part is that none of this is new, and it goes far beyond collegiate athletics. In 2019, the US Womens National Team was number one in the world coming off an insane world cup run that brought home the trophy. The team also brought in more revenue then the mens team. By a lot. Yet the USNWT was still underpaid compared to the members of the mens team.

I understand that mens basketball generates much more revenue than womens does, and I understand that the mens tournament is much more popular than the womens. It makes sense that money is poured into the men’s March Madness tournament each and every year, but more of that money needs to be put toward the womens tournament.

Because of the outrage on social media, the NCAA decided to hire attorneys with expertise in Title IX to review the possible disparities in championships in Division I, II and III. NCAA president Mark Emmert says they’re looking into “resource allocation,” to understand how much money they’re putting into each championship.

It’s nice they’re taking extra steps

13.5

million more dollars the NCAA spent on the mens tournament than the womens in 2019

in an attempt to end the inequality, but it shouldn’t take paying a lawyer over $400 an hour to discover they’re paying more money for mens championships—$13.5 million more, to be exact.

The spokesperson for the NCAA said that the organization spends based on the proportion of the event. For example, the first two rounds of the womens tournament are usually played at the higher seeds home courts, whereas the mens is at a neutral site. The mens final four is typically played in a NFL stadium, which costs much more than renting out an arena. Which brings up the issue on why the womens tournament does not get more attention from the NCAA. Yes, mens basketball is more popular, but womens basketball is picking up steam. The Big East womens tournament saw a 162% increase in viewership compared to the past three seasons, according to the UCONN athletic department.

The NCAA prides itself on equity and treating sports fairly, so one would assume they would at least attempt to lessen the gap between mens and womens basketball. But nobody should expect the NCAA to do the right thing anymore. For Mark Emmert to say that they “fell short” referring to the significantly lesser weight room and other facilities, is a sad understatement.

memorylane

Every issue, the Eagle Edition looks through photos in the school’s archives and selects a moment to look back on.

DANCERS WOULD GIVE US all of these funny props and drag people up to come dance with them. Even though no one knew what they were doing, we were all able to laugh at ourselves and take a break from school.

GROUP OF SENIORS POSE DURING A 60’S THEME RALLY DAY IN 2015. SENIOR RALLY DAYS HAVE BEEN A TRADITION FOR MANY YEARS AND HAVE ACTED AS a way to bring the senior class together and celebrate their last few months of high school. Students dress up in themes like camouflage, ski, 80s, dynamic duos and more to participate in games with their classmates, and the event is usually followed by a lunch provided by the parents.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, senior rally days have been postponed in order to reduce contact between students and maintain social distancing. In past years, rally days have been among many seniors’ favorite traditions..

“I always looked forward to rally days when I was a senior,” alumna Madison Willox ‘19 said. “Having a little break during the day where we just got to relax, eat good food and hang out with each other was always a fun change.”

Previously, the event was set up in the senior court yard and was run by the senior students’ moms. Each rally day had a theme and the students were allowed to dress up for those days.

“I don’t think rally days could have gone on like they did in the past with such big groups gathering together, but I think that there could be an alternative,” Willox said. “Even just giving seniors the opportunity to have a themed dress day would be a decent alternative that is COVID-friendly.”

Many current seniors are sad that the tradition may not happen this year, but are hopeful that the grade can still get a piece of the tradition through alternate activities.

“I always looked forward to having rally days since I was a freshman,” senior Henry Hobson said. “Watching the seniors dress up in costumes and themes always looked super fun and it is upsetting that we aren’t going to be able to have that same experience. We are still planning to have get-togethers like the 100-days until graduation lunch though, so maybe we will get the same spirit of rally days with that.”

By Gardiner Vose Views Editor

Madison Willox Class of 2019